President Huo and Mr. Liang didn’t emerge for the entire night.
The next day, Mr. Liang—who didn’t have to rush to the film set—luxuriously slept until late morning. Yawning, he wandered out of the master bedroom and got into the car heading to the airport with his manager.
“It’s essentially a cocktail party,” Duan Ming explained.
He handed Liang Xiao an invitation as they drove: “For networking and relationship-building within the industry. The organizer is someone we know.”
Swaying drowsily, Liang Xiao asked: “Who…”
“Did you only go to sleep at dawn?” Duan Ming felt Liang Xiao’s forehead. “What did President Huo do to you last night?”
Liang Xiao was still dozing but suddenly jolted awake at the key words: “Nothing.”
Duan Ming looked skeptical: “How did President Huo eat that cake? Did you eat it together? With cream and all…”
The manager’s suggestive implication flew right past Liang Xiao’s face, but he was now fully awake, straightening up with heated cheeks: “Brother Duan!”
Duan Ming: “Without cream then.”
“…” Liang Xiao took a deep breath and pressed his forehead: “President Huo… was just chatting with me.”
Duan Ming couldn’t help himself: “Just chatting?”
“We also ate cake,” Liang Xiao said defensively. “I fed President Huo, and President Huo fed me.”
Duan Ming let go of his excessive expectations and sighed: “What did you talk about?”
“He told me about his childhood.”
Liang Xiao leaned back against the seat, squinting at the bright light before pulling down the sun visor: “I couldn’t help thinking about it for a while… so I didn’t fall asleep.”
Perhaps it was the effect of making the cake together, but last night Huo Lan had been exceptionally open, answering whatever he was asked and even sharing stories about his past unprompted.
Duan Ming was surprised: “Why did President Huo also—”
Liang Xiao paused: “What?”
Duan Ming: “…Nothing.”
Last night, the butler had also suddenly pulled him aside and told him everything about President Huo from his birth until he was five years old.
Duan Ming had listened uncomprehendingly for half the night and was also very tired. If not for maintaining his dignity in front of his client, he would already be lying down catching up on sleep.
Duan Ming gulped down some coffee: “Did President Huo not sleep either?”
Liang Xiao’s ears turned slightly red as he coughed: “President Huo slept very well.”
The human pillow had slept particularly soundly last night. After sharing the strange polyhedron-shaped cake that was less than six inches across, washing up, and lying down together, they hadn’t talked long before Huo Lan had fallen asleep holding him.
Huo Lan hadn’t shared his past to make Liang Xiao sad—he’d been exceptionally brief, presenting facts that could almost have been posted directly on an encyclopedia page about Xingguan’s current CEO.
Holding his human-shaped pillow, Liang Xiao couldn’t help but spend the whole night wondering what kind of little Huo Lan was hidden behind those particularly concise details.
Duan Ming rubbed his forehead: “I think I know up to age five…”
Liang Xiao was taken aback: “What?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Duan Ming patted him. “After I’ve heard up to age eight.”
Liang Xiao didn’t fully understand and gave his manager a puzzled look before taking the invitation and opening it.
“Jiang Pingchao’s studio is leading it.”
Duan Ming stopped being mysterious and explained: “Year-End just officially wrapped filming. There’s a week’s vacation before the promotional tour starts.”
Liang Xiao nodded: “The gap period is too long.”
With his reputation sustained by photos, Liang Xiao could still be considered somewhere within the main cast, but he didn’t necessarily need to participate in all promotional activities with the production team. Jiang Pingchao was the male lead of Year-End, required for all filming and promotional activities.
Liang Xiao had joined the production midway and finished filming earlier. Jiang Pingchao had genuinely stayed with the production for over three months. Including pre-production preparation and post-production promotion, he would have invested at least half a year.
“They’re still in a remote mountain area this month,” Duan Ming added. “Cars can’t even get in—forget interviews, they have to walk around the mountain just to find the signal for their phones.”
Liang Xiao was stunned upon hearing this and couldn’t help remarking: “Fortunately we left early.”
Duan Ming: “…”
Duan Ming reminded him: “There will be reporters at the party. Remember to say that you deeply regret not being able to participate with the crew in the production of the final large-scale scenes.”
“You really wanted to share the hardships with the crew; it wasn’t a scheduling conflict but because there simply weren’t any more scenes for Yun Lang.”
Fearing Liang Xiao might speak his mind again, Duan Ming emphasized: “If there’s another collaboration in the future, you’re looking forward to being with everyone from the very beginning to the end, from the start of filming to its completion.”
Liang Xiao nodded cooperatively, jotted down a few notes, and silently rehearsed them several times.
Seeing how skilled Liang Xiao was at taking notes, Duan Ming couldn’t help asking: “President Huo—”
Liang Xiao looked up, his eyes immediately brightening.
“…” Duan Ming pushed down the metaphorical antenna that had sprung up on Liang Xiao’s head: “Does President Huo still punish you by making you copy scripts? If you really don’t like it, just tell President Huo and see if you can negotiate.”
Having observed many relationships in the industry for so long and having confiscated quite a few of Liang Xiao’s “yellow literature,” with his professional experience as a manager, Duan Ming had never seen any couple having conflicts over memorizing lessons and punishment copying.
Somewhat worried they might make history, Duan Ming reminded: “President Huo isn’t unreasonable. Try again… with different approaches.”
Liang Xiao had tried before and sighed dejectedly: “What approaches?”
“For example, if President Huo forces you to copy scripts again,” Duan Ming steeled himself, “don’t let President Huo hold you while sleeping…”
Liang Xiao’s ears heated up, and he replied reluctantly: “I’ve only just managed to get President Huo to hold me while sleeping every day.”
Duan Ming was stumped: “If President Huo makes you copy scripts, don’t let him hold and kiss you anytime, anywhere.”
Liang Xiao was unwilling: “Just yesterday, I finally convinced President Huo to agree to holding and kissing anytime, anywhere.”
Duan Ming: “…”
Duan Ming: “President Huo—if President Huo makes you copy, don’t let him kiss you while undressing you.”
Liang Xiao’s eyes brightened, and he suddenly sat up straight.
Duan Ming felt some hope: “This one works?”
“It works,” Liang Xiao quickly noted it down. “When I get back, I’ll teach President Huo and see if he can learn to kiss me while undressing me.”
Duan Ming: “…”
Liang Xiao looked up: “Brother Duan?”
“Nothing,” Duan Ming said. “Just keep copying.”
Duan Ming patted his shoulder, put on his eye mask, set down his coffee, and reclined his seat to catch up on sleep.
—
Xingguan was well-prepared on the other end. As soon as Liang Xiao landed at the airport, a team was there to pick him up.
Not counting the Xingguan banquet where President Huo had taken a bite, and aside from the dangerous “feast at Hong Gate” he’d attended at Long Tao years ago, this was Liang Xiao’s first semi-formal occasion since re-entering the public eye.
The Xingguan team was thoroughly prepared, having put considerable effort not only into the formal attire but into other aspects as well.
“At formal banquets where you’ll be wearing formal attire, it’s inconvenient to wear an inhibitor bracelet,” the team leader explained. Having been briefed beforehand, they were careful to be respectful and polite as they introduced the alternative to Liang Xiao: “These are gland inhibitor patches, prepared for your use in case of emergency.”
Liang Xiao had heard of these before and curiously accepted them: “Are these also from Feiyang Pharmaceuticals?”
The team leader nodded with a smile: “Yes, they match natural skin tone, so they’re almost invisible when applied.”
Duan Ming, who had inquired about inhibitor patches for Liang Xiao and knew roughly how much they cost, couldn’t help taking a closer look.
Unlike inhibitor bracelets that could be used long-term, inhibitor patches became ineffective once removed. Each patch was already quite expensive, and given their one-time use limitation, hardly anyone would buy them unless they were in special circumstances where bracelets were truly inconvenient.
“Mr. Liang’s glands have been injured before,” Duan Ming, always thinking ahead, asked on his behalf, “Is this type—”
“No problem,” the team leader assured them. “We’ve consulted regarding Mr. Liang’s medical history. This is a specially made version that minimizes impact on the user—you can use it with confidence.”
Duan Ming thanked them and helped Liang Xiao put the patches in his pocket.
Since receiving stable temporary markings from President Huo, Liang Xiao’s pheromones had become much more manageable compared to before. Recently, he had been gradually reducing the frequency of inhibitor use.
The more Duan Ming thought about it, the more optimistic he became. He whispered a plan to Liang Xiao: “Maybe after more recovery, you’ll only need inhibitor patches or a bracelet in the future.”
Liang Xiao smiled: “I’ll do my best.”
“It’ll definitely work,” Duan Ming had great confidence in President Huo. “Just take care of yourself—it’s only a matter of time.”
Liang Xiao nodded slightly and accepted the watch box handed to him by the team. After a moment’s hesitation, he moved to remove the bracelet from his wrist.
When boarding the plane earlier, he hadn’t felt anything unusual.
That morning, Huo Lan had unusually skipped his morning exercise. When Liang Xiao woke up, he was still using President Huo’s arm as a pillow. Opening his eyes, he immediately saw Huo Lan impressively managing to both serve as his pillow and handle work matters.
If not for the laptop sitting right on top of his head, Liang Xiao might have been deeply touched by President Huo’s romantic gesture of “the king neglecting court affairs.”
President Huo’s identity made it inconvenient for him to attend such banquets. Liang Xiao was only coming back for one night and would return the next morning, so it didn’t make sense for Huo Lan to go through the trouble of accompanying him. After disembarking and getting into the car, Liang Xiao sent a message back reporting his safe arrival, specifically promising to steal some candy for President Huo.
…
And now he was being sentimental just about removing a bracelet.
Liang Xiao couldn’t help but righteously condemn himself as he took off the bracelet.
“It’s fine,” Duan Ming, vaguely guessing his concerns, assured him quietly. “Nothing like what happened five years ago will happen again.”
Liang Xiao smiled: “I know.”
It wasn’t just that Xingguan would strengthen protection; Jiang Pingchao’s manager had been badly burned before. The entire studio, under the boss’s post-traumatic stress response, had declared absolute enmity with inducing agents. The list of items strictly prohibited from the cocktail party alone took up a whole page sent to guests.
If something were to happen again, Liang Xiao would truly consider finding a temple to pray at.
Duan Ming was puzzled: “Then what are you reluctant about?”
Liang Xiao sighed: “This isn’t just a bracelet.”
“…” Duan Ming quickly supplied: “It’s also a bracelet that President Huo gave you.”
Liang Xiao had already scolded himself for being sentimental and didn’t want to bring it up, but his manager insisted on pressing: “This is a custom bracelet that President Huo gave me, that President Huo personally put on my wrist, and that contains President Huo’s emergency contact information.”
Duan Ming wished he could take back his first two statements: “…”
They had been speaking quietly, and the team leader hadn’t heard. Curious, they asked: “Is Mr. Liang concerned about safety—”
“No,” Duan Ming, having already been through this entire conversation once, interrupted promptly. “He’s being sentimental.”
The team leader was momentarily taken aback before quickly understanding and offering reassurance: “It’s alright; it’s just for one night.”
“This watch actually wasn’t prepared by us either.”
The team leader took the watch and opened the box: “President Huo had it sent over. It was originally meant to be Mr. Liang’s birthday gift.”
Duan Ming was curious: “What do you mean by ‘originally’?”
“This morning we suddenly received a notification saying that President Huo had already given Mr. Liang his birthday gift last night, and Mr. Liang really liked it.”
The team leader smiled: “President Huo sent the notification himself and even held a meeting with the department heads… had a chat with them.”
Liang Xiao finally understood what Huo Lan had been working on all morning: “What did they chat about?”
The team leader replied: “That Mr. Liang really liked it.”
Liang Xiao paused, seeing that the team leader wasn’t joking, and after careful consideration, suddenly understood the meaning behind those words.
Liang Xiao couldn’t help imagining their President Huo seriously holding departmental meetings, solemnly explaining to each department head that his gift had been well-received. Touched by this thought, he felt a softness in his chest and smiled: “Alright… I understand.”
Liang Xiao carefully put away the bracelet and took the minimalist starry-dialed watch, meticulously fastening it to his wrist and adjusting the fit.
He rarely dressed formally, but now that he was properly groomed and had spent so much time with Huo Lan, he had unconsciously adopted the habit of maintaining upright shoulders. The well-tailored formal attire accentuated his impressively clear and elegant demeanor.
The team was diligent, quickly finding angles and lighting to take several formal photos before sending Liang Xiao properly to the cocktail party.
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
