Accident 3

Xie Yibai gnawed on his finger and said hoarsely, "Yes. He did something really awful."

"Huh?" Zou Yan assumed he was just acting spoiled and laughed. "Did you two have a fight? Did he say something to scare you again?"

"No... it was... something really awful." Xie Yibai had cried for so long that his sore eyes wouldn't open. He rubbed them and pleaded, "Brother Yan, can you make it back tomorrow morning? I want to see you... I want you by my side."

Zou Yan sighed. "I'm sorry, Xiaobai. I can't come back tomorrow. I have to stay until the day after at least. Are you in some kind of trouble? Tell me about it. Maybe I can help you think of a solution?"

Xie Yibai said anxiously, "No, I want to see you. I want you standing in front of me... Brother Yan, can you come back for a bit? Do it for me."

"Xiaobai, I can't this time."

Zou Yan's voice was like a sharp blade, cutting off all his hopes.

No matter how earnest and accommodating the rest of his words were, he couldn't take in a single one.

"I can't get away from here. Can you wait two days? I'll definitely make it back the day after tomorrow."

No matter how earnest and accommodating the rest of his words were, he couldn't take in a single one.

"Oh... then go on with your work." Xie Yibai hung up, utterly lost. An overwhelming loneliness and silence closed in around him.

Who else could he turn to and cry to? He couldn't go to his mother about something like this. He was a financially independent adult. If he wanted to report it to the police and defend his rights, he could contact his agent; if he wanted company, Zou Yan wasn't there, but Xing Zhanyun would always come, and failing that, he had a whole crowd of admirers who would come at his beck and call.

But why did he feel as though loneliness was a great tree, covering his night sky and moon? Wherever he looked, a bottomless darkness surrounded him.

There was no one, no answer.

So he really was all alone.

Xie Yibai pressed a hand to his chest, suppressing the suffocating sensation of seawater flooding over him.

There was nothing he wanted to do.

Defend his rights? Bring it all out into the open? Then was he going to continue acting in this production or not? Did he still want to be a star?

Leaving aside whether the charge would even stand, the person he would be suing was a great director who had been put on a pedestal. Was he determined enough to stake everything he owned to drag Sheng Ke down?

When it came down to it, even accusing Sheng Ke of violating him was a stretch. Where was the evidence? Hadn't he booked the room himself and sent the invitation himself? He had even made ample preparations beforehand.

Have Zou Yan testify for him? Would Zou Yan take his side unconditionally over an accident and let his good friend bear a lifelong stain and disgrace just to help him vent his anger?

Producers and directors were the ones whose interests were aligned. Actors could be replaced whenever they wanted.

Helpless? It wasn't that bad, really.

Hadn't Sheng Ke offered him a way to make it up to him? A choice between two.

One was a producer who had poured his heart and soul into him; the other was... a director who was hard to describe in a few words.

If he viewed the two men only as two paths, the choice was easy. He could pick Sheng Ke with his eyes closed. Film was the director's art, and as long as the director didn't drop the ball, the actor could soar along with him.

But these were two people. People had thoughts and feelings, character and personality. Keep company with the good and you become good; keep company with the bad and you become bad. Whichever one he worked with would affect the course of his life from then on.

Thinking about it gave Xie Yibai a headache, so he decided to stop. He got out of bed at a snail's pace and hobbled to the bathroom to take a shower.

When he took off the bathrobe covering him and saw his body in the mirror, he cursed through gritted teeth.

What a beast! He'd bitten him all over, leaving no patch of skin unscathed!

Vampire!

Zombie

! Werewolf!

He looked perfectly respectable, so how could his character be so rotten?

Ahhh! Of all the people he could have preyed on, why did he have to come after him? What had he ever done to deserve this?

Muttering curses to himself and feeling deep contempt for Sheng Ke, Xie Yibai finished his shower without realizing it. He wrapped himself in a bath towel and came out of the bathroom with his hair wet.

Just then, the door opened.

His black hair was soaked, droplets falling from the ends, as he and the person who had entered stared at each other.

The moment Xie Yibai saw it was Sheng Ke, his taut nerves and agitated cells relaxed completely. His fright had been for nothing, and he was utterly astonished. "Didn't you leave?" he asked.

Sheng Ke came in carrying a plastic bag and locked the door behind him. "I only went to buy you a late-night snack."

The warmth and aroma of the food filled Xie Yibai's empty heart. Honestly, in those few seconds, he didn't hate him quite as much.

Xie Yibai had intended to refuse the food with a cold look, but he really was hungry. He hated Sheng Ke, not himself, so why wouldn't he eat food delivered right to his mouth?

Even so, he didn't lift a finger. He simply sat on the edge of the bed and watched Sheng Ke open the takeout containers, prepare the disposable utensils, and place a bowl and spoon in his hands.

It was a steaming bowl of seafood congee, richly fragrant.

"Sit over there and eat. There are side dishes and pastries too." Sheng Ke tried to persuade him to sit at the table.

"No!" Xie Yibai resisted fiercely. He couldn't refuse the food, so he had to refuse something else to take back the initiative.

Sheng Ke knew he was in a terrible mood and didn't argue. He asked considerately, "Can you hold the bowl? Do you want me to feed you?"

To Xie Yibai, that sounded no different from mockery. Who couldn't hold a bowl of congee unless they had muscle weakness? He ignored Sheng Ke and stirred the congee with his spoon.

The rice congee had been freshly cooked with shellfish he didn't recognize, fresh shrimp, and crabmeat. It was just too hot, so he blew on it gently, cooling it before putting it in his mouth.

It smells wonderful, but even eating a mouthful is such a hassle. I might as well let Sheng Ke feed me.

Xie Yibai was too embarrassed to change his mind, so he went on enjoying his late-night snack by himself. He had to admit,

good food

could heal the soul. A few spoonfuls of congee filled his empty stomach, warming him from the inside out, and his heart stopped hurting.

Sheng Ke went to the bathroom for the hair dryer, found an outlet, and sat down on his right. With his tacit permission, he dried his hair for him.

Slender fingers moved through his hair as currents of warm air dried the dampness and smoothed the ripples in his heart. Calm and composed, he looked back over the many changes that had taken place that day.

Perhaps it wasn't necessarily a disaster. It might even be an opportunity.

His hair was dry, and he had finished the congee. Xie Yibai dropped the spoon into the empty bowl and handed it back to Sheng Ke.

Sheng Ke threw the bowl and spoon into the trash and asked, "Full already? Is there anything else you want to eat?"

"No more. At least you know how to behave." Xie Yibai sat cross-legged on the bed and said, "What happened today has happened. I'm not going to sue you."

Sheng Ke asked, "Were you planning to sue me?"

"Yes! That was nonconsensual sex, and I have the right to sue you!" Xie Yibai blustered.

"Mm. Then why aren't you going to sue me now?"

"I thought about what you said just now. It wasn't entirely unreasonable."

A smile appeared at the corners of Sheng Ke's mouth. "Oh? Then between Zou Yan and me, who are you going to choose?"

"Zou Yan," Xie Yibai said without hesitation, giving his reason. "He's a better person than you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!"

Sheng Ke thought for a long while before managing, "Then... I wish you two happiness?"

"Cut the insincere act!" Xie Yibai roared. "Are you saying you're not interested in me? I could tell what kind of person you were when you touched my hand in the car that time! You're despicable and sleazy! If you hadn't come and preyed on me today, Zou Yan and I would have been just fine. All my suffering is thanks to you. You really ought to beg my forgiveness!"

When it came to lust, Sheng Ke had no understanding of human nature, only an animal's instincts. He said, "Actually, I've never had any improper thoughts about you. I just found you quite cute after spending more time with you. I didn't mean anything malicious by those actions, and I hope you won't take them to heart."

"No improper thoughts?" Xie Yibai pointed at the marks on his body and demanded, "Then these, these... what are they? Did a ghost bite me? You gnawed on me like a dog in heat with a bone, and you still say you haven't had improper thoughts about me? Could you be any more of a hypocrite?"

Sheng Ke couldn't hold back his laughter. Watching his expressive gestures, he said, "You really are well suited to acting. Whatever expression you make is a pleasure to look at."

Xie Yibai was in the middle of cursing him when the sudden compliment made his face flush red in an instant.

"Who, who asked you that!?" His train of thought had been cut off, and he couldn't find anything to say. He stammered, "Shameless... what's wrong with you?"

Even so, he had underestimated how thick-skinned Sheng Ke was. As soon as he finished speaking, Sheng Ke sat down again where he had dried his hair, studied his face, and said with a perfectly straight face, "I believe what your body feels is the truest thing. Your brain may be deceiving you. The previous few times, you didn't know it was me, so your impressions were hazy. Why don't we try again with the lights on? Then maybe you'll get a more direct sense of which one of us you prefer."

Xie Yibai slapped him, knocking that very obviously handsome face to one side. "That's my direct feeling. You're a lunatic!"

After taking the slap, Sheng Ke bit the inside of his cheek on that side, the angles of his jaw and the line of his nose like snow-capped peaks. When he looked at him again, there was a hint more unruliness in his eyes. "Let's forget it for today, then. Calm down first. Zou Yan will be back the day after tomorrow, so take these two days to think it over."

Chapter 42: Accident 3

Xie Yibai really couldn't stand that damned attitude of his. He snapped, "What gives you the right to tell me what to do? I've already said I choose Zou Yan. Even without Zou Yan, I wouldn't choose you! I'm warning you, you have to keep your mouth shut about this! If you dare tell anyone-"

"I'm dead?" Sheng Ke finished for him. "How are you going to kill me?"

Xie Yibai couldn't bring himself to do anything as extreme as taking them both down, but he didn't want to admit defeat just yet. He laid out what was at stake. "If you tell anyone, none of the three of us will have a moment's peace! Have some decency! Don't let so many years of friendship be destroyed in an instant because you acted on impulse!"

But his words held no threat for Sheng Ke. "That's all speculation on your part," Sheng Ke said. "Zou Yan isn't as scary as you think."

"Being a good person doesn't give you a reason to betray him! He asked you to bring me flowers because he trusted that, as his best friend, you wouldn't do anything to wrong him. But look at what you've done!" Talking about it brought Xie Yibai to the brink of heartbreak again, but he truly had no tears left to shed. His voice merely trembled as he said, "I have nothing to say to you. You're not normal... there's something wrong with your head."