President Huo was somewhat stunned. He remained silent for a moment with his head raised, trying his best to compliment: “It sounds… nice.”
Liang Xiao: “…”
“Very loud.”
President Huo vaguely saw some glittering fragments but wasn’t sure what they were. After a slight hesitation, he said: “I can see—”
Liang Xiao was too embarrassed to listen further. He grabbed President Huo and hastily kissed him, sealing off what would have been a 5,000-word essay praising the “two-kick” firecracker.
President Huo had wanted to say more, but after being kissed in the cold night wind, his ears unconsciously warmed and he quietly allowed Liang Xiao to lead him, falling silent.
Liang Xiao couldn’t conjure any romantic thoughts at the moment. He jumped up to look around, confirmed no one was coming to investigate the noise, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Moving swiftly, Liang Xiao used a pre-prepared water bottle to thoroughly douse the sparklers that had finished emitting sparks, destroying all evidence before quickly pulling President Huo away from the scene.
–
The mysterious late-night explosion had targeted President Huo’s master bedroom.
The assistant and security teams were quite alarmed as well, rushing to the presidential suite to rescue the “trapped” butler.
“Your… surprise.”
The aging butler, after arranging for the broken glass to be cleaned up and negotiating compensation with the hotel overnight, was still shaken when he saw Liang Xiao again: “Next time perhaps a bit quieter…”
Liang Xiao was deeply ashamed: “Next time I’ll buy them myself.”
Fireworks were difficult to purchase on short notice. Liang Xiao had searched around but couldn’t find any delivery service offering such items, so he simply took advantage of being near the film crew and set his sights on their props.
The filming location was relatively remote. Liang Xiao had specifically checked and confirmed their area was far from the city center and not in a zone where fireworks and firecrackers were prohibited.
Looking back now, when he was checking permits for setting off fireworks, perhaps it had been a hint from fate.
It wasn’t just fireworks that could be set off.
There were also firecrackers.
Liang Xiao still couldn’t understand it even in retrospect, pressing his forehead: “Does that mean I should have set off the ‘two-kick’ firecracker on the roof…”
Although the young marquis was also a young general who led troops, the “two-kick” firecracker was perhaps too powerful and resonant.
Liang Xiao thought for a moment, trying to find an explanation that the prop buyer didn’t understand the market, and planned to remind Director Jin when visiting the set tomorrow.
After all, the film crew’s equipment was much more expensive than glass.
If something accidentally got damaged, Director Jin might be understanding, but the production manager might have a breakdown on set.
“But your method was quite clever.”
The butler saw him lost in thought and quickly encouraged him: “Your aim was very accurate. Now the master bedroom likely can’t be used for a few days, and before the glass is fixed, President Huo will probably have to share the side bedroom with you.”
Liang Xiao couldn’t explain, feeling a headache: “I didn’t—”
Liang Xiao snapped back to attention, somewhat pleasantly surprised: “Is President Huo coming to my room?”
“Just afraid of disturbing your rest.”
The butler wasn’t being polite with him and leaned in to whisper: “The hotel says they can fix it in one day, but we’ll try to delay it to three days.”
Liang Xiao’s eyes brightened: “Would five days work?”
“Five days won’t work.” The experienced butler shook his head. “If it’s more than four days, President Huo will tell us to go buy the glass ourselves.”
Liang Xiao was a bit disappointed: “That works too.”
“Thank you for your trouble,” Liang Xiao added. “I’ll compensate for the hotel’s losses.”
The butler quickly waved his hands: “No need, no need…”
Liang Xiao smiled: “Let’s be honest.”
The butler was stunned for a moment, met Liang Xiao’s gaze, and nodded: “Alright.”
The butler made a note of it and didn’t try to persuade him further: “As for President Huo—”
Liang Xiao: “I’ll handle it.”
The butler was completely reassured, breathed a sigh of relief, nodded repeatedly, gave Mr. Liang a gesture of encouragement, and quickly left to urgently negotiate with the hotel.
After running around for quite some time, Liang Xiao entered the room still bundled up in his clothes, and without realizing it, had worked up a sweat from the warm air conditioning.
Feeling a bit hot, Liang Xiao casually took off his outer clothes, neatly arranged them, then quietly entered the side bedroom.
With the team unanimously working to delay repairs with the hotel, President Huo had been deliberately kept out of the loop. He was alone in the side bedroom, standing by the window, looking outside.
Liang Xiao stood at the side bedroom door, considered the angle of President Huo’s gaze, and suddenly felt a pang in his heart.
That direction… was where he had set off the fireworks.
The sparks had been completely extinguished, the flowing light merged into the pitch-black night, with nothing left to see.
There was nothing visible anymore.
Yet President Huo was still looking.
Liang Xiao suppressed his heartache, closed the door, and tiptoed over, preparing to give President Huo a tangible, visible surprise of love.
President Huo was very sensitive to footsteps. Just as Liang Xiao targeted his back, President Huo had already turned around and caught Mr. Liang mid-leap.
Liang Xiao: “…”
President Huo didn’t know what to do next, so he looked at him, quietly waiting for Liang Xiao to guide him.
Liang Xiao hugged his shoulders and lowered his head, his heart softening. He actively leaned down and nestled against President Huo’s neck: “Were you scared?”
In his childhood, Liang Xiao had not only set off “two-kick” firecrackers but also “dry thunder” firecrackers, and had even collected unexploded firecrackers from 9,000-shot strings to gather gunpowder. Even though he hadn’t touched them in years, it wasn’t difficult for him to accept.
Children who grew up in big cities and hadn’t experienced “two-kick” firecrackers would inevitably be intimidated by their power.
Liang Xiao randomly rubbed President Huo’s back a couple of times and raised his head to comfort him, when suddenly he was met with an especially gentle kiss between his brows.
Liang Xiao’s heart suddenly raced, and he instinctively wrapped himself around President Huo with both arms and legs.
“Don’t be afraid,” President Huo said, “It’s very—”
The effect of the latter was difficult to describe in terms of aesthetics. President Huo fell silent, then turned his thoughts back to the flowing lights that had drawn the smiley face: “Very beautiful.”
President Huo held Liang Xiao tightly, drawing him into his chest, gently kissing Liang Xiao’s eyes: “Thank you.”
Liang Xiao especially liked this kind of intimacy but was too shy to make a sound. His ears grew hot as he pursed his lips and shook his head.
President Huo called him softly: “Liang Xiao.”
“No need to thank me,” Liang Xiao couldn’t help but slip in some personal desire, coughing once and burying his reddened face in President Huo’s neck. “If you must thank me, taking a bath—taking a bath together would be fine.”
President Huo was slightly stunned, stroked his hair, and lowered his head to meet Liang Xiao’s gaze.
Having boldly teased President Huo verbally, Liang Xiao naturally curled up from embarrassment, quickly forming into a tight ball in his arms that couldn’t be pried open.
President Huo thought carefully, vaguely guessing the reason: “Don’t you remember?”
Liang Xiao: “!!”
Liang Xiao knew something big must have happened during his blackout, and anxiously asked: “After I got drunk, did I drag you into the bathroom?”
President Huo shook his head.
Liang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, slowly returning to human form.
“I went in of my own accord.”
President Huo carried him to the sofa, half-squatted down, and undid his collar: “You weren’t very clear-headed at that time… I was worried.”
Liang Xiao felt slightly comforted, lightly patting his chest twice: “I see.”
“You didn’t drag me into the bathroom,” President Huo said, “You just dragged me into the bathtub.”
Liang Xiao, patting his chest: “…”
President Huo had taken care of the drunken Mr. Liang for a night and had become quite proficient from the experience. He held Liang Xiao’s shoulders and back, letting him lean on his own shoulder.
Liang Xiao, in a daze, noticed President Huo holding the hem of his clothes and quickly grew hot: “You don’t need to—”
President Huo was stunned for a moment, raising his eyes.
With powerful willpower, Liang Xiao controlled his mouth, forcibly swallowing his words, sacrificially straightening his shoulders: “No, don’t stop.”
President Huo reached out to support him, looking at Liang Xiao stiffly hardening into a block on the sofa. The corner of his lips unconsciously lifted as he withdrew his hand.
Liang Xiao regretted it deeply: “Really, you don’t need to stop…”
President Huo held his hand, lightly kissed his knuckles, and placed it over his own eyes.
Liang Xiao was stunned.
President Huo closed his eyes against his palm, no longer looking, and accurately unbuttoned his clothes with meticulous care, completing all preparations for Mr. Liang before entering the bathroom.
…
Liang Xiao came out of the bathroom and remained flushed until the next morning.
Perhaps influenced by President Huo’s earnest thoughts while staying at the hotel, or perhaps sensing something, he sneezed several times in succession at the film set.
“Not necessarily,” Duan Ming carefully examined his complexion, “Are you catching a cold?”
Liang Xiao: “…Is it that obvious?”
“Told you not to rush to take off your clothes when you’re hot.”
Duan Ming was already used to his frequent colds and fevers: “I don’t even need to ask, I know you’ve been running around sweating and then got frisky when you returned to your room.”
Liang Xiao was speechless: “…”
In previous years, Liang Xiao’s health was genuinely poor, catching a cold at the slightest chill, almost drinking cold medicine like tea, and still keeping plenty at home.
This time, despite the cold snap in early spring and being busy for so long, he had only caught a cold once due to his own actions. Duan Ming was actually quite satisfied: “President Huo has been taking good care of you.”
“How is it—”
Halfway through his objection, Liang Xiao suddenly felt this description was quite good and happily nodded in agreement: “President Huo has been taking good care of me.”
Duan Ming had long given up on him and gave Liang Xiao an annoyed glance, having the assistant prepare a cup of cold medicine, pushing it in front of him: “Drink.”
Liang Xiao sneezed again, took the medicine and drank it all at once, rubbing his still slightly feverish face.
If he really had caught a cold, the timing actually didn’t interfere with anything.
The early spring scenes had already been filmed, and these days were all scenes of the young marquis fleeing while injured and sick. The set designs had changed accordingly, so miserable that Liang Xiao couldn’t bear to look closely each day when he reported for work.
Yet Director Jin still liked to familiarize him with the scenes: “This is the stable, this is the broken temple, this is the hay pile, you need to sleep in each of these places for one night…”
Liang Xiao shuddered and didn’t think further: “Are there many scenes today?”
“It’s okay,” Duan Ming looked at the schedule, “Three scenes, all daytime scenes, about the same as usual… why?”
Liang Xiao coughed once, unable to resist showing off: “President Huo is staying in the side bedroom these days, I want to go back early today.”
When Liang Xiao woke up this morning, President Huo had already started working beside his bed.
Cloudy days naturally make people feel lazy and relaxed. With warm light nearby, Liang Xiao curled up cozily in the blankets, listening to the soft sound of President Huo typing on the keyboard, almost feeling that life was worth living.
Although they had lived in the same suite before, living together like this felt completely different.
Duan Ming was surprised: “President Huo is sleeping with you?”
Liang Xiao really liked this phrasing, nodding with blooming joy: “Yes.”
Duan Ming almost felt that a flower had bloomed on top of his head too: “Because you blew up the master bedroom window?”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Duan Ming hadn’t been with him last night but had heard various rumors this morning, and couldn’t help being shocked: “And you blew it up with sparklers?”
Liang Xiao had even been asked this morning if he used “rushing-to-the-sky monkey” fireworks, and had given up explaining, world-weary: “…Yes.”
“You should have said this trick worked earlier,” Duan Ming was very interested, “I’ll look around and get you a window-breaking hammer next time…”
Liang Xiao became annoyed and embarrassed, threw down the script and turned to leave.
Liang Xiao asked the assistant to prepare another cup of cold medicine, strode back like a dragon and tiger, and coldly poured it into the mouth of his kick-a-man-when-he’s-down manager.
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
![After losing all his wealth, the ancestor rose from his coffin [BL]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Your-paragraph-text-1.png "After losing all his wealth, the ancestor rose from his coffin [BL]")