PHWM Chapter 78.1

The candy was too sweet.

 

Liang Xiao, in pain, hurriedly closed his eyes and let out a muffled groan.

 

“Don’t… I have a cold.”

 

Liang Xiao recovered a bit, becoming somewhat clearer about the boundary between dream and reality, and moved back slightly: “The production manager said it’s the flu, it’s easily transmitted—”

 

President Huo embraced his sweat-dampened back, kissed Liang Xiao’s lips lightly, and carried him up completely.

 

President Huo carried him directly into the side bedroom.

 

Liang Xiao couldn’t speak, closed his eyes tightly, and tried to suppress the dizziness that belatedly arose.

 

“I’m here,” President Huo kissed him gently. “I won’t leave.”

 

Liang Xiao made an effort to lift the corners of his mouth: “I know.”

 

President Huo looked at his hand clutching his clothes and trembling slightly, said nothing, and enveloped Liang Xiao’s pale knuckles in his palm.

 

Unable to settle down in the side bedroom, he had gone downstairs, planning to return with Mr. Liang and then resume work.

 

Liang Xiao was already fast asleep when he returned. The manager had originally wanted to wake Liang Xiao up, but President Huo didn’t allow anyone to disturb him and carried Liang Xiao back to the room.

 

At first, there was nothing unusual, but after less than half an hour of sleep, Liang Xiao began having nightmares.

 

Without making a sound, his teeth were clenched tightly.

 

Saying nothing, he just curled up desperately, silently shedding tears with his eyes tightly closed.

 

President Huo couldn’t wake him up and urgently called a doctor to examine him. The doctor confirmed it was just a cold combined with recent stress and heavy concerns, but President Huo still couldn’t be at ease and stayed by the bedside until midnight.

 

He kept watch until Liang Xiao was put on an IV drip, felt somewhat better, and his nightmares seemed to have subsided, gradually falling into a peaceful sleep.

 

President Huo couldn’t sit still and learned from the manager that Mr. Liang had wanted a piece of candy.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

President Huo stroked his back repeatedly, saying softly: “It won’t happen again.”

 

Liang Xiao, warmed by his body heat, recovered considerably, and with a pale face, tugged at the corners of his mouth: “It’s my fault for overreacting.”

 

President Huo had gone to buy him candy, and such things were only fun when kept secret beforehand. If they weren’t kept secret in the future, there would be no surprise.

 

Next time President Huo went out, he could still ambush him at the door, taking the opportunity when it opened to jump and cling to their President Huo, giving him a surprise plus from the heavens.

 

Liang Xiao cherished these opportunities quite a bit. Sniffling, his ears turning red from his thoughts, he muttered softly: “Really, you absolutely must not tell me in advance-”

 

President Huo said softly: “I’ll take you with me.”

 

Liang Xiao opened his mouth, stunned for a long while, completely defeated by the level of temptation in this condition: “…”

 

Liang Xiao coughed once, quickly changing his mind: “…You must tell me in advance.”

 

President Huo gazed at him intently for a moment, confirming that Liang Xiao’s complexion was much better than before, and the corners of his lips twitched slightly.

 

President Huo held him close, letting Liang Xiao relax against him, and nodded.

 

Liang Xiao nuzzled against his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed: “Were you scared? I’m fine… just caught a cold.”

 

Liang Xiao hadn’t eaten anything in the evening, and now that he was feeling better, he also felt somewhat hungry. He rummaged through President Huo’s pocket: “I’m not used to cold medicine. Every time I take it, I sleep too deeply and have nightmares, but it’s really nothing…”

 

President Huo asked softly: “What dream?”

 

Liang Xiao paused, lowered his head with a smile, and said nothing.

 

President Huo didn’t press him further. After looking at Liang Xiao for a while, he said softly: “Wait for me.”

 

Liang Xiao guessed he was going to get something and raised his hand voluntarily: “I want instant noodles.”

 

President Huo was slightly taken aback: “What?”

 

“I just want instant noodles.”

 

Liang Xiao’s ears felt a bit hot as he shamelessly made his request: “No need to cook them, beef flavor, and don’t cover them while they steep-they don’t taste good when covered.”

 

President Huo listened quietly, noting each point: “Alright.”

 

Liang Xiao, emboldened by the indulgence: “And I want a sausage in it.”

 

President Huo pressed his lips together: “Alright.”

 

Liang Xiao had already lost most of his composure tonight, so a little more wouldn’t hurt. With growing confidence: “And I want a kiss.”

 

President Huo was about to respond when he heard this, paused briefly, his arm still around him, his gaze falling on him.

 

“Without candy.”

 

The candy was something President Huo had gone far to buy, and Liang Xiao felt bad about wasting it: “Just, just a kiss.”

 

Liang Xiao had thought it through: “If I don’t open my mouth, I shouldn’t be contagious…”

 

President Huo didn’t let him finish, embraced his shoulders, and lowered his head to kiss Liang Xiao.

 

Liang Xiao, afraid of infecting him with the cold, sensed President Huo’s intention and unconsciously moved slightly to the side to avoid it.

 

As soon as he dodged, President Huo firmly encircled him.

 

President Huo’s breathing was also somewhat unsteady as he pressed against his forehead, his voice slightly hoarse: “I want to kiss you.”

 

Liang Xiao couldn’t resist this. Stimulated by their President Huo’s deep voice, he shuddered involuntarily, instinctively opening his mouth, allowing President Huo to kiss him deeply.

 

Liang Xiao flushed instantly but didn’t dare breathe heavily, taking small breaths, holding onto the hem of President Huo’s clothes, feeling warm all over.

 

President Huo held his hand, closed his eyes, and kissed him wholeheartedly. Suddenly, he detected a hint of sweetness in Liang Xiao’s mouth and couldn’t help but be startled.

 

Liang Xiao tensed up and swallowed with a gulp.

 

Liang Xiao: “…”

 

President Huo pulled back slightly, looking at Liang Xiao, steadying his breathing, and figured out what had happened.

 

President Huo’s chest ached: “You still haven’t finished it?”

 

“I was keeping it in my mouth…” Liang Xiao was caught hiding candy and felt embarrassed, his face and ears red. “It dissolves slowly.”

 

There was still a small piece left, which could have lasted at least ten minutes.

 

Liang Xiao regretfully rummaged through President Huo’s pocket for another piece and discreetly hid it under the pillow.

 

President Huo lowered his gaze, seeing clearly but not pointing it out. He wiped the light sweat from Liang Xiao’s forehead and kissed his temple: “I’ll be back soon.”

 

President Huo was true to his word. In less than ten minutes, he returned with the instant noodles that Mr. Liang had requested.

 

Liang Xiao hadn’t eaten such supposedly non-nutritious fast food for a while. Just smelling it made him crave it, and he sat up promptly.

 

“It’s not ready yet.” President Huo set it aside, took his hand, and reached for the medicine box. “You can eat it later.”

 

Liang Xiao’s hand was visibly in a miserable state. The back of his hand had a line of blood from hastily removing the IV needle, and his wrist had a rather alarming bite mark.

 

Liang Xiao looked down and was startled himself: “Is it that bad…”

 

President Huo glanced up at him, unable to bring himself to scold him, and steadied his breath: “Don’t do this again in the future.”

 

Liang Xiao could hardly bear to look at it himself. He turned his head away, squinting, and nodded vaguely.

 

“If it’s too painful… you can bite me.”

 

President Huo treated the wound on the back of his hand and confirmed that the wrist wasn’t bitten through, covering it gently with his palm: “I won’t use force.”

 

Liang Xiao could roughly understand that this sentence, coming from someone with muscles like him, meant “so you can bite effectively,” but still vaguely felt that the whole sentence didn’t sound quite right. He nodded in a daze: “Okay…”

 

President Huo didn’t want to dwell on his concerns and didn’t mention it further. He took a small table to set up for him and brought over the prepared noodles.

 

Liang Xiao contentedly sipped the broth, poked a piece of sausage, and happily stuffed it into his mouth: “By the way… President Huo, what were you going to get earlier?”

 

When asked, President Huo’s shoulders tensed slightly. After a moment of silence, he made up his mind and handed over a somewhat worn notebook.

 

Liang Xiao was stunned: “What is it?”

 

President Huo’s hand holding the notebook tightened slightly as he handed it over, then withdrew his hand: “Read it when you have time.”

 

He wasn’t sure exactly what Liang Xiao had dreamed about, but he could still intuitively guess that those dreams were undoubtedly related to past events with Jiang Nan.

 

They hadn’t been together for very long, but during these years, that period of time had perhaps supported more than just him alone.

 

While stumbling forward supported by memories of the past, the one being worn raw and painfully honed by longing and obsession was definitely not just him alone.

 

Liang Xiao vaguely sensed the seriousness and solemnly accepted it with both hands, feeling it: “A diary?”

 

President Huo closed his eyes: “Yes.”

 

This time when returning to the capital, President Huo had brought back more than one diary. Besides the one that was locked away awaiting destruction, this one contained all the content from his time in Jiangnan.

 

“After reading it…”

 

President Huo didn’t look at him, saying softly: “If you have any questions, you can come to me.”

 

Liang Xiao nodded instinctively: “Okay.”

 

President Huo clenched his fist slightly, and after a moment of silence, corrected himself: “You must come to me.”

 

He had been afraid to clarify all this time, not just because Mr. Liang would pounce on him and firmly seal his mouth every time he was about to tell the truth.

 

President Huo wasn’t confident and wasn’t sure how Liang Xiao would react after knowing these things.

 

Just as Liang Xiao had been uncertain whether he would be suspicious, President Huo was also uncertain what Liang Xiao would do after connecting him with his old acquaintance from Jiangnan.

 

He had indeed searched for Liang Xiao with all his might back then… but as Liang Xiao said, fate plays tricks on people.

 

By coincidence, he had misheard his own nickname.

 

He had named the pharmaceutical factory incorrectly.

 

President Huo felt uncontrollably frustrated. He closed his eyes and tried to suppress these thoughts, gathering his emotions.

 

After they separated, these years must have been even more difficult for Liang Xiao.

 

So even if he couldn’t be certain of Liang Xiao’s reaction after learning the truth, he had no right to maintain the current peace by not explaining everything thoroughly to Liang Xiao.

 

…

 

Their President Huo’s attitude was so solemn that Liang Xiao, after receiving the diary, didn’t dare to open it immediately and carefully hid it under his pillow.

 

President Huo didn’t rush him and took up his unfinished work, sitting at the head of the bed.

 

Liang Xiao still needed to memorize his lines. He picked up the script, wrapped himself in the blanket, and inched closer until he was pressed head-to-head with their President Huo.

 

–

 

Having not slept well that night, early the next morning, Liang Xiao woke up on time and got up, feeling his head was somewhat heavy.

 

“If you’re not feeling well, don’t film.”

 

Duan Ming accompanied him to the set, frowning as he looked at his complexion: “Director Jin wouldn’t refuse if you asked for leave.”

 

“If I’m going to ask for leave, I should do it several days in advance…” Liang Xiao coughed a couple of times, supporting his forehead with a smile. “It’s fine, not serious.”

 

The film crew had a daily shooting schedule and would make preparations two or even three days in advance. Props and sets could wait, but extras and related staff were paid by the day. An unexpected shutdown for a day would mean a lot of predetermined expenses going to waste.

 

Although the crew had a financial buffer for errors and could try to accommodate as much as possible, Liang Xiao didn’t want to disrupt the plan if he could help it.

 

Liang Xiao pressed his forehead, applied a gel pack, and couldn’t help but take out the diary to look at it again.

 

Duan Ming, who had been shown it all morning, roughly knew the background and glanced at it: “How far have you read?”

 

Liang Xiao was quite content: “The cover.”

 

Duan Ming: “…”

 

Duan Ming put down the schedule in his hand and went over to put a thermometer in his mouth.

 

Liang Xiao coughed once, feeling a bit embarrassed, and explained: “One page less if I read one.”

 

With the thermometer in his mouth, Liang Xiao mumbled his plan: “A total of ninety pages, reading one page every three days, I can make it last for two hundred and seventy days.”

 

Duan Ming was already used to his habit of hoarding everything but still couldn’t help but mock: “Once upon a time, there was a squirrel who couldn’t bear to eat the seeds it collected, and was afraid others would find them, so it dug holes and buried them all…”

 

The assistant, who had heard this story about ten times, looked up from his mobile game and happily continued: “Later, it cried from hunger in a small garden.”

 

Liang Xiao: “…”

 

Liang Xiao couldn’t explain to these two perpetually single people. He hugged the diary and took out a piece of candy, putting it in his mouth.

 

The scenes for the crew these days weren’t heavy, mostly unavoidable transitions without many close-ups, not physically demanding, and relatively easy to shoot.

 

Liang Xiao happened to be filming the scene where the young marquis falls ill in a dilapidated temple. He coughed half-genuinely, half-pretendingly all day, and by the end, he could barely speak.

 

“Thank you for your hard work.” The assistant director in charge of scheduling greeted him at the side of the set, offering Liang Xiao throat syrup. “Last scene, just cough and it’s done… Please take a rest.”

 

Liang Xiao hadn’t thought much of it at first, but looking at the pre-prepared medicine, he vaguely felt something was off: “Has Director Jin been talking with Director Song Qi these days?”

 

The assistant director was surprised: “How did you know?”

 

“Director Song is preparing for an award-contending film at the end of the year and wants to borrow cinematographers and art directors from Director Jin.”

 

The assistant director spoke frankly: “Teacher Chen’s schedule is tight, and he might not have time. It’s still being negotiated…”

 

Liang Xiao rubbed his forehead, took the cough syrup, gulped it down, and rinsed his mouth with a bottle of water.

 

Making the best use of talent and resources.

 

He wasn’t sure about other things, but the idea of letting him cough all day while he had a cold was undoubtedly something that Director Song, who had once made Jiang Pingchao cry for an entire week, would come up with.

 

“It’s fine.” Liang Xiao cleared his throat, feeling much better, and took the prop blood bag. “Any requirements for the next scene?”

 

The assistant director was taken aback: “What requirements?”

 

Liang Xiao wasn’t sure how much Director Jin had been influenced by Song: “For example, when I cough up blood, at which second should I start, from which corner of my mouth, what shape should the blood splatter…”

 

The assistant director listened with deep respect: “No, no, just show mental disturbance.”

---

 

(advanced chapters available on kofi)