***
Chapter 58 – Confession
After He Yujing left, Jiang Liusui returned to the film set.
The filming of ⟪Eternal Bell⟫ progressed steadily. Director Pei was exacting—each scene often had to be shot repeatedly, polished to perfection. Since joining the crew, Jiang Liusui spent almost every day on set, observing other actors’ performances even when he wasn’t scheduled to film.
Director Pei was amiable off-camera, occasionally cracking a joke or two, but once work began, he became exceptionally strict. He never used profanity, but his blunt and sharp critiques had even made younger actors cry. When he frowned, no one on set dared to make a sound.
Many scenes in ⟪Eternal Bell⟫ took place at night. During another night shoot, Pei Wen gathered everyone: “You’ve all worked hard these past few days, especially Jiang Liusui.”
Due to the concentrated shooting schedule, Jiang Liusui had been working nonstop for several days, returning to his room each night to shower before collapsing into bed exhausted.
Fortunately, Jiang Liusui had a strong foundation. Even after such a grueling schedule, once his makeup and costume were done, he still looked radiant, showing no trace of fatigue.
“You have two outdoor night scenes. We’ll finish Scene 52 tonight, and you can have tomorrow daytime off. The remaining Scene 30 will be shot tomorrow night.” Pei Wen’s cigarette glowed intermittently between his fingers, smoke curling around him.
The intensive shooting schedule drained not only the actors’ energy but also required the director’s constant focus. The dark circles under Pei Wen’s eyes had deepened, yet his hawk-like gaze remained sharp.
“If you prefer, you could complete both scenes tonight and rest the entire day tomorrow,” Pei Wen told Jiang Liusui. “It depends on your condition.”
Jiang Liusui nodded.
Scene 52 featured his interaction with Shang Qingzhi. They finished shooting just after 8 p.m. As the night grew chilly, Ding Yan handed him a cup of warm water. After taking a sip, Jiang Liusui wearily set the cup aside.
Director Pei was busy discussing matters with the assistant director. Jiang Liusui planned to inform him later that he wouldn’t be shooting Scene 30 tonight. While waiting, he unlocked his phone and logged into his alternate account.
Jiang Liusui followed many of He Yujing’s fansite operators and noticed that, without exception, they were all wildly sharing the same video—a clip from tonight’s concert. Curious, Jiang Liusui clicked on it.
Aside from the opening show in August, this was the first concert of He Yujing’s domestic tour. The venue was in a first-tier southern city, thousands of kilometers from the capital.
The short video had been shared an astonishing number of times. The fan who recorded it had followed He Yujing for years. Her caption radiated excitement even through the screen:
『Thought he was going to sing ⟪Fading Colors⟫ for the third song tonight, but he performed an unreleased new track instead! Absolutely incredible!! My friends and I were sobbing by the end! It’s truly heavenly! We kept thinking we must have done countless good deeds in past lives to deserve hearing him sing. Experiencing this live is pure bliss.
The song is called ⟪Love Reservation⟫—also a love song, but completely different from ⟪Fading Colors⟫.
He smiled when he announced the title. It felt… how to describe it? Both happy and slightly shy? So different from his usual demeanor. The arrogant king actually turned bashful—I’m deceased!! 』
After reading the caption, Jiang Liusui put on his earphones and started the video.
The video was shot with a DSLR camera. The fansite operator had a great position and a very steady hand—the footage didn’t shake at all from start to finish.
The piano in the intro was soft and tender, while the electric guitar parts were played live by He Yujing himself. Jiang Liusui watched him play and sing, the red microphone stand poised before his lips, eyes sharp yet slightly lowered, his features strikingly handsome and refined.
During the first ten seconds of the video, continuous screams erupted from the audience, but gradually, everyone quieted down to listen. He Yujing initially sang without much expression, but near the end, he lifted the corner of his lips slightly. His image appeared on the large screen behind him, and excited screams erupted uncontrollably from all directions.
Jiang Liusui was so captivated that he didn’t even realize Director Pei had finished speaking with the assistant director and was calling his name.
“—Suisui!” Ding Yan, seeing him unresponsive for a while, quickly patted him. “Director Pei is calling you!”
Jiang Liusui snapped out of his daze as if waking from a dream and hurriedly removed his headphones. Director Pei didn’t mind actors zoning out during breaks, considering they had already filmed for an entire day. “It’s getting late, and you seem tired. Tonight, we’ll just shoot the scenes with the male and female leads—”
Jiang Liusui cut in first, “Could we—could we trouble you and the crew a bit more? I want to shoot the scenes with all three of us tonight.”
Pei Wen was slightly surprised. Jiang Liusui added,“I can handle it myself—it’s just that you and the other teachers would be working harder.”
He wanted to go find He Yujing.
Both of them had been extremely busy lately. Originally, he had planned to wait for He Yujing to return and find the right moment to properly confess his feelings. But after seeing He Yujing perform that song at the concert, it felt as though hundreds of butterflies were fluttering incessantly in his heart.
At that moment, he couldn’t wait any longer—he just wanted to see him immediately.
Director Pei and Jiang Liusui locked eyes for a moment. Thinking it was just a matter of shooting the same scene earlier or later and not a big deal, he agreed, “Alright.”
“You’re going to keep filming? No rest?”
Qin Yi and Shang Qingzhi had assumed Jiang Liusui was done for the night and came over to check. Jiang Liusui nodded repeatedly, smiling at them. “I want to finish filming everything tonight.”
Qin Yi teased, “Planning to take a day off tomorrow?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jiang Liuyi replied in a playful tone, “See you the day after tomorrow.”
Qin Yi smiled and nodded.
Before filming, Jiang Liusui sent a message to Shen Jie, asking which hotel He Yujing was staying in tonight. Shen Jie directly sent the room number and then asked: Are you going to see him?
Seeing Jiang Liusui confirm and also ask her not to tell He Yujing for now, Shen Jie sent a grinning emoji and added: I’m at the hotel too. I’ll pick you up then and hand you his room key directly.
Although the main actors made it sound easy, this scene would take at least forty to fifty minutes to shoot. Director Pei was strict, and even the slightest imperfection meant retakes.
Fueled by the thought of meeting He Yujing, his earlier fatigue vanished. While filming, Jiang Liusui suppressed his turbulent emotions, setting aside all other thoughts and focusing entirely on the shoot.
Prince Li Heng held the Soul-Binding Chain in his hand. According to tradition, the Old Prince would temporarily transfer ownership of the Soul-Binding Chain to his two sons on their respective birthdays. This was both to familiarize them with this sharp weapon in advance and to let them experience the taste of holding power over life and death, thereby intensifying their desire to compete for the throne.
Ling had only followed Li Heng’s orders today, secretly killing several death envoys. He never inquired about the details, nor did he care which faction those death envoys belonged to—he only carried out the commands of the one who held the Soul-Binding Chain.
After nightfall, Ling returned to report. After listening to his account, Li Heng, contrary to his usual behavior, gestured for him to sit down and offered him some osmanthus wine from the table.
Ling had always disliked the taste of alcohol. Seeing him refuse, Li Heng actually intended to shake the Soul-Binding Chain over such a trivial matter. In a panic, Ling pleaded, “Don’t shake it! Let’s talk this through!”
Their commotion caught Ming Zhao’s attention. Ling hurriedly called her, “Madam, please intervene!”
Ming Zhao was taken aback, not expecting him to turn to her for help.
“If I drink, I’ll be dizzy all day and start talking nonsense,” Ling puffed out his cheeks slightly and complained, “The Eldest Young Master just wants to see me make a fool of myself.”
“Cut—!”
With the completion of this night scene, the day’s intense filming came to an end.
Qin Yi was still talking to Jiang Liusui when he saw Ding Yan rushing over. “Your assistant is here.”
Ding Yan smiled at Qin Yi, then quickly stepped closer and whispered, “Suisui! I’ve bought your ticket, and the driver is waiting. I’ll accompany you to the airport.”
“You can remove your makeup in the car. We’re running out of time.”
Although he didn’t know why Jiang Liusui was rushing to catch a flight to a city thousands of miles away at such a late hour, it must have been for something extremely important.
Jiang Liusui acknowledged with a quick reply, hurriedly bid farewell to Qin Yi and Shang Qingzhi, exchanged a brief greeting with Director Pei, changed out of his costume, and rushed into the car.
***
He Yujing had just finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom.
It was almost 1 a.m. After today’s concert, he finally had a day and a half off. He had already booked an early flight for tomorrow, planning to return to the capital.
Their last meeting had been too rushed, and Jiang Liusui had seemed reluctant to let him go. If circumstances had allowed, he would have liked to spend more time with him.
He’d tell Jiang Liusui he was back after landing tomorrow and ask where he was filming so he could visit the set…
Lost in thought, he picked up his phone from the living room sofa and walked into the bedroom.
A faint noise came from the suite’s entrance. He Yujing paused. His spare key card was with Shen Jie, and she wouldn’t enter his room unannounced at this hour. Frowning, he headed toward the foyer to check.
An unexpected figure suddenly came into view, and He Yujing was momentarily stunned.
Jiang Liusui, standing in the foyer, was turning to close the door. He carried only his phone and a key card Shen Jie had given him, with nothing else in hand.
“What are you doing here?” He Yujing noticed his expressionless face as he turned around. He remembered he should be on set filming, and yet he had rushed over at this hour…
He walked quickly toward Jiang Liusui. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Jiang Liusui didn’t answer. Seeing this, He Yujing didn’t press further and pulled him to sit on the living room sofa.
Throughout this process, Jiang Liusui showed no extra reaction. After sitting down, he looked at the person beside him and suddenly called his name: “He Yujing, why did you say I was your boyfriend?”
The abrupt question made He Yujing pause in surprise. Half a month had passed since the gathering at Zheng You’s house. Back then, Jiang Liusui had heard his introduction in front of his friends and seen his phone, yet he had never asked for an explanation. He had thought they had a tacit understanding about it, but now Jiang Liusui was bringing up that night’s events on his own initiative.
Before He Yujing could answer, Jiang Liusui laid the abnormality of their relationship bare: “Why haven’t you slept with me yet?”
The second question was blunt—almost sharp. Jiang Liuse’s expression was hard to read, as if something heavy lay beneath his eyes.
Faced with Jiang Liuse’s pressing tone, He Yujing’s momentary fluster quickly turned into almost laughing in exasperation: “You think I don’t want to?”
Jiang Liusui seemed to sense the volatile emotions simmering within him. After a slight pause, his tone turned even colder and harder as he posed a third question: “So… how long will this ’lovers’ relationship last?”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
He Yujing stared fixedly at the restrained figure, gripping Jiang Liusui’s wrist so tightly that red marks immediately bloomed against the pale skin.
So he really came to lay his cards on the table.
He had clearly witnessed Jiang Liusui’s changes during this time and thought they shared the same feelings—that Jiang Liusui just needed time to figure things out. It turned out he had been wishfully thinking all along.
What exactly did Jiang Liusui mean by this?
Had he realized He Yujing’s intentions, refused to accept them, and now wanted to run away again?
A surge of emotion washed over He Yujing, darkening his expression instantly. Every word came out sharp and deliberate: “I never set a time limit from the start, and you dare to think it could end?”
He Yujing seemed about to do something, but in the end he only extended his hand, looping it around Jiang Liusui’s neck. His thumb brushed over the thin, delicate skin, sliding downward on the other’s throat.
“As for your other questions, you can figure them out yourself slowly.”
Despite the intimate gesture, it was filled with an unmistakable edge of threat. It was as if the slightest hint of resistance from the person under his hand would cause his barely restrained emotions to erupt completely.
“But no matter what you think, you are mine.”
Jiang Liusui shivered uncontrollably. Suddenly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around He Yujing’s shoulders in return.
He Yujing’s eyes still held a trace of sharpness, yet he felt those slender fingers gently pinch his neck. The soft arms looping around him made him momentarily a little dazed.
The body pressed tightly against his trembled slightly, as if trying to suppress laughter.
A moment later, Jiang Liusui really couldn’t hold back and let out a soft laugh.
“Then you have to be mine too.” Jiang Liusui’s tone was almost coquettish as he leaned back slightly, gazing at him with a smiling expression.
Seeing that He Yujing hadn’t caught on, Jiang Liusui realized he might have teased him too far and genuinely upset him. He quickly leaned in to kiss his lips, even actively licking them.
“He Yujing, would you please date me?”
Jiang Liusui pressed his forehead against He Yujing’s and hugged him even tighter affectionately. “I’ll treat you well.”
— — — —
