Chapter 18
freewe(b)novel.c(o)mAt four in the morning, Yuan Ye and Fang Shaoyi walked downstairs together. Yuan Ye yawned while asking, “Are you uncomfortable at all?”
“Nope.” Fang Shaoyi seemed very alert and well. “You, on the other hand. Get some more sleep in the car.”
Yuan Ye made a noise of acknowledgement and yawned again.
Last night, Yuan Ye had given Fang Shaoyi a massage. Fang Shaoyi had fallen asleep on his lap. Yuan Ye had been reluctant to move, so sat there until midnight like an idiot.
From the start of filming to now, there was finally a mission that Chen Ru’s wealthy husband was good at. In the past, no matter what they were playing, he was always last. However, he and Chen Ru truly had a good relationship. The intimacy and synchronization in their gazes couldn’t be faked. Chen Ru often joked that he needed to exercise more; it was a little embarrassing that he got last all the time.
Today, as soon as he walked out of the hotel, he smiled and told everyone, “I really know how to do today’s sport.”
Yuan Ye greeted him and responded with a smile, “I really don’t know how to do today’s sport.”
Chen Ru tugged at her husband and scolded playfully, “You’re still bold enough to say? Quit flaunting.”
Today, they would be skydiving. Previously, the production team had repeatedly confirmed their health conditions – whether their blood pressure and heart rates were normal, whether or not they were scared of heights, etc. Among them, only Lin Tian didn’t dare to participate. However, the production team wouldn’t force her. Everything was voluntary. After all, if anything really happened, nobody could handle the responsibility. For the viewers, though, she still needed to keep up appearances. She still needed to get on the plane, but wouldn’t really jump off it.
It was about two hours to get to the skydiving facility. In the front of the car was the driver and one cameraman. The follow PDs and other workers were on the last bus. On the way there, Yuan Ye leaned back against his seat. His eyes were sometimes open and sometimes closed. It was hard to tell if he had fallen asleep or not.
There had been two times prior when Yuan Ye had wanted to try skydiving. However, both times, because of the weather, he ultimately hadn’t been able to. Today, the cloud cover was a bit thick, but there was no rain. This meant that the plane’s flight path wouldn’t be affected. Among them, only Chen Ru’s husband could go solo. He went skydiving often and even had a license. In total, there were eight instructors and a few professional aerial videographers. The director told them each to pick one that suited their tastes. Chen Ru cackled and immediately chose the most handsome one.
In the end, only two remained. Yuan Ye and Fang Shaoyi both didn’t care. They walked over and shook hands with the instructor closest to them. They had already signed their waivers ahead of time. After a simple training session, everyone split up and got into two planes. Yuan Ye was the last one to get into the plane, so would also be the first one to jump later. He told Fang Shaoyi, “Yi ge, I’m actually a little nervous.”
Fang Shaoyi looked over and joked with him, “It’s nothing, relax. Ye ge’s the best in the world. You don’t need to be nervous.”
Fang Shaoyi had done this twice before. Both instances had been because of filming needs. The first time he needed to shoot a parachuting scene, the director had asked him if he was okay with it. If so, they would try to minimize their use of a stunt extra. Fang Shaoyi had said he was fine with anything. For today’s flight, they basically didn’t need to do anything. All they needed to do was wait for the instructor to open the parachutes. At the time, though, Fang Shaoyi had also added a few motions; additionally, he had needed to control his expressions. That shot had been retaken many, many times. By the end, Fang Shaoyi’s ears became uncomfortable. It took him several days to recover.
Besides the two of them, Chi Xing and Cheng Xun were also on the plane. It was easy to tell that these two kids really did like them. They were willing to be paired with them no matter what. Chi Xing was just a little fanboy. When he looked at these two geges, there were stars in his eyes. There were cameras in every corner of the plane. These would record the moments before their jump. Chi Xing asked Yuan Ye, “Has Yuan Ye ge done this before?”
Yuan Ye said, “We’ve entered my knowledge blind spot today. I really haven’t.”
“Rare of you to say you don’t know how to do something.” Chi Xing was quite amused. “Not a swordsman anymore today.”
“I never have been,” Yuan Ye replied with a smile.
He looked over at Fang Shaoyi. His smile was quite immodest. He asked, “Yi ge, this doesn’t count as cheating, right?”
Fang Shaoyi smiled, but ignored him.
Fifteen thousand feet. Yuan Ye and the instructor tied to him jumped down together. In that moment, Yuan Ye actually felt a bit regretful. How nice it would be if the person with him was Fang Shaoyi. He had a pretty strong desire to fly like this with Fang Shaoyi at least once.
Freefalling through the cloud cover. This was a fascinating experience. One’s entire being was zoned out, to the point that even the feeling of weightlessness had disappeared. Yuan Ye wanted to turn around and see if Fang Shaoyi had jumped or not. However, he couldn’t complete this action at all. He couldn’t control his body.
He couldn’t hear anything other than the wind in his ears. His entire being felt like it was in a separate void. He seemed to have been singularly detached, then squeezed through the tiny slot between space and time.
There was a sensation of intense loneliness in a sea of people.
Yuan Ye closed his eyes behind his goggles. At this time, many thoughts flashed through his mind, as well as many impulses.
After the parachute came out, the feeling of weightlessness slowly returned. Thus, it didn’t feel that magical anymore. Yuan Ye opened his eyes and observed the mountains and ocean, experiencing the process of heading back to society, bit by bit. He smiled at the camera in the instructor’s hand. Flying around in a circle like this was truly pretty fun.
The aftereffect of such a journey was muffled hearing. It felt like there was a filter over his ears. When Fang Shaoyi landed, he took off all the equipment attached to himself and headed toward Yuan Ye. Yuan Ye smiled at him, then scooted his head close and whispered something into the other’s ear.
Fang Shaoyi burst into laughter. He raised his voice and told him, “You know I can’t hear you clearly, but you still spoke so softly.”
Yuan Ye heard this phrase. He shouted too, “I know you can’t hear me clearly, which is why I spoke so softly!”
Fang Shaoyi cocked an eyebrow. He asked, “What did you say that you’re so scared of me hearing?”
Yuan Ye smiled, turned around, and left. He yelled, “Sweet nothings!”
Stepping on the solid ground again after travelling through the sky made it feel like he had returned to society. But the true return to society would be after the filming for this episode.
That night, they stayed in a manor. The manor took up more than ten acres of land and had a little pond, along with a large apple orchard. The geography here was very interesting. The streets were like rolling hills. Yuan Ye told the male director he wanted to borrow a bicycle. He didn’t know if the director heard him or not, but the other turned around and disappeared. In the end, Yuan Ye had to go out himself and borrow the bike. He borrowed two racing bikes. Seeing such uneven roads made him want to bike.
Fang Shaoyi accompanied him. There were also two cameramen trailing behind them.
Yuan Ye bargained with them, asking, “How about taking a break for a bit? We’ll just bike around a little.”
The cameramen smiled and shook their heads, telling them to bike as they wished. They would film while following them in the car.
Yuan Ye was used to getting filmed now. These days, he mostly acted like the camera didn’t exist. Fang Shaoyi was wearing athletic clothes. He looked really relaxed, and also very young. The two of them hadn’t really ridden bikes together before. Fang Shaoyi’s identity was out there. Since they had gotten to know each other, they hadn’t had the opportunity to bike around.
Fang Shaoyi asked him, “What did you say during the day?”
Yuan Ye laughed, completely unrestrained. He leaned his head back, shook it, and said, “I actually didn’t even say anything. I only blew a breath of air into your ear.”
“Lies.” They were headed downhill. Fang Shaoyi didn’t slow down, directly charging forward. Yuan Ye followed closely behind. Fang Shaoyi didn’t continue asking about this either. Nobody could get an answer out of Yuan Ye when he didn’t want to say anything.
They would stay here overnight. For the remaining two days, they would head to Melbourne, then fly straight back home from Melbourne. When they got back, this show would be officially done with filming. There were still a few trivial matters to be taken care of after, but Fang Shaoyi probably wouldn’t appear again. Yuan Ye removed his hands from the handlebars and very boldly spread his arms. Fang Shaoyi asked him, “Didn’t fly enough during the day?”
Yuan Ye smiled and nodded. “Un, it was pretty fun.”
The corners of Fang Shaoyi’s eyes were slightly crinkled in amusement. He said, “I knew you would like it.”
Now that the show’s filming was drawing to a close, the atmosphere between Yuan Ye and Fang Shaoyi had truly started becoming warmer. Both of them had withdrawn the quills surrounding themselves. Sometimes, they seemed like a couple with many common memories. Other times, they seemed like two old friends incredibly familiar with one another. Regardless of in public or private, they were so in sync that it made people deeply believe that the two of them were a whole. Outsiders wouldn’t be able to butt in no matter what.
Probably because of the fact that he had flown once during the day, Yuan Ye’s nerves were a bit excited. At night, he experienced slight insomnia. After Fang Shaoyi fell asleep, Yuan Ye put on a jacket and walked out alone. He also carried a bottle of local beer in his hand.
The stars here were very bright. Yuan Ye sat beside the pond, gazing at the stars and the moon reflected in the water.
Someone sat down beside him. Yuan Ye turned to look. Surprisingly, it was Cheng Xun. Yuan Ye smiled and cocked an eyebrow. He asked, “Can’t sleep either?”
Cheng Xun smiled too. He sat there next to Yuan Ye and very sincerely shook his head. “I only came out cause I saw you here.”
Yuan Ye asked him, “Something up?”
Cheng Xun answered, “No, I just want to sit and chat for a bit with you. We’re done filming already, but I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to you.”
“Okay, let’s chat.” Yuan Ye took a sip of his beer and glanced at Cheng Xun, indicating for him to say what he wanted to.
Yuan Ye knew that Cheng Xun and Chi Xing were two very different people. Between the two of them, one was like a fox and the other was like a rabbit. Cheng Xun was that little fox. Oftentimes, what he thought in his heart was different from what he portrayed to the audience. Yuan Ye could tell that he considered more than he let on, but this didn’t annoy him. Cheng Xun wasn’t a bad kid.
“I’ve read all of your books before, Yuan Ye ge,” Cheng Xun started.
Yuan Ye asked him, “You’re twenty two this year, right?”
“Un, at the time, I was only in middle school. It was on a shelf in our house. I don’t know if my dad or sister bought it,” Cheng Xun said with a smile. “I wasn’t a good student, nor did I like reading. But I really liked that title.”
Yuan Ye cocked an eyebrow. “《Stubborn》?”
“No, 《Moon Mountain》.”
“Un,” Yuan Ye nodded. He laughed. “Around that time, I was about the same age as you are now. What did I know about writing?”
It was easy to tell that Cheng Xun really did like Yuan Ye – because he was able to name this book. Further into their conversation, Cheng Xun suddenly laughed. He used his left hand to gently tug at his right earlobe. He said, “In my youth, I sincerely adored you.”
“Hold up.” Yuan Ye looked at him. “What are you going to say next? I’m very faithful, didi.”
“No, it’s not what you think. I’m pretty faithful too. I like Little Chi so much.” Cheng Xun chuckled a few times. After, he said, “It was purely a type of......yearning? Admiration? I don’t know, I’m bad with words. I just felt that the world you created with your pen was very cool. You were also very carefree. I wanted to live like you did, wanted to mock people incisively like you did in the past too.”
Yuan Ye burst into laughter. Cheng Xun continued, “Later on, I entered this industry. Thus, it became practically impossible for me to live like that. In this industry......we’re fortunate to merely stay alive.”
Yuan Ye asked him, “Why did you enter this industry? Do you like singing or acting? Or do you just like being a celebrity.”
“Don’t know. It was all a jumbled mess. But oh well. I’ve never been particularly inclined towards anything anyways.” He lowered his head and paused for a moment. Then, he said, “Sometimes, I feel like it’s really a bit meaningless. There’s so much stress and I feel like I can already see what the rest of my life is going to be like: staying in this industry, rising and sinking in fame, for several years. In old age, I’ll then get eliminated.”
Yuan Ye said, “Don’t be so pessimistic. You’re only just past twenty. Besides, Little Chi is following the same path as you, which is good.”
Cheng Xun shook his head. In a low voice, he said, “You and Shaoyi ge were so perfect together, but didn’t you two get divorced too?”
He had been really straightforward with his words, but also very honest. Yuan Ye was shocked at first. After, he laughed and patted the other on the shoulder. He shook his head and said with a smile, “Where are all of you getting this news......Regardless of how Shaoyi ge and I are now, when we were just past twenty, we never considered all those things. When I was your age, I had already gotten married to Fang Shaoyi. Young people have a young way of living. Do what you want to do, take what you want to take. Don’t think about so many burdensome things.”
In actuality, Yuan Ye could also understand the emotions Cheng Xun was feeling. Everyone in this industry faced their own difficulties. He and Cheng Xun chatted some more. It was pretty nice to be able to have such a conversation on sleepless nights like these. Cheng Xun also admitted that in the beginning, they had accepted the show’s invite because they had heard that Yuan Ye and Fang Shaoyi would be attending. He and Chi Xing both liked the two of them. However, they hadn’t expected that they would really come.
He asked Yuan Ye why he had come on this show.
After only a briefly serious conversation, Yuan Ye started joking again. He leaned back and chuckled, squeezed the glass in his grasp, shook it around, and casually said, “Because of love, I guess. Haha.”
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