Chapter 94: Extra (II)
After that KTV night, Yu Fan and Chen Jingshen were dragged back into the old group chat. Once everybody sobered up, the chat went silent for a long time. They were all too mortified by their corny selves that night to show their faces.
It did not light up again until an afternoon half a month later.
[Wang Lu’an: One more week till New Year. Wishing everyone an early happy New Year, haha.]
[Wu Si: What is this group? I am leaving.]
[Zhang Xianjing: (shares video – “Brothers, Hug It Out” KTV live version)]
[Zuo Kuan: ?!]
[Zuo Kuan: Were you not out of the room then? Who the hell recorded this! And you dare spread it! Get out here and die!!!]
[Wang Lu’an: Get out here and die!!! … but Sis Jing is your avatar Ke Ting? That is Ke Ting, right? From high school? And why did you draw a heart on her head?]
[Zhang Xianjing: None of your business.]
[Wang Lu’an: …]
[Zhu Xu: My bad, my bad. I did not control myself and kept pouring you drinks. I will not do that next time.]
[Zhu Xu: I really have moved on now, brothers.]
[Wang Lu’an: That is the spirit. The next one will be better. I always said first love is for remembering.]
[Zhu Xu: Yeah. Speaking of which, @s did the top student and his first love make it official?]
The three who knew the truth: “…”
That night in the KTV, not one of these straight guys noticed anything off. There was a love lyric in “Brothers, Hug It Out” that made Zuo Kuan point at Chen Jingshen, but the rest were drunk, slept it off, and forgot that tiny detail.
Chen Jingshen finished his last line of code before picking up his phone. His pinned chat was quiet. Yu Fan’s business was steadily on track now, booked out for months. Today alone he had two shoots, no time for his phone of course.
There were two new WeChat notifications: a delivery notice, and the group chat.
He opened the delivery, confirmed the pickup location, then replied in the group.
[s: Mm.]
[Zhu Xu: That is great! Married yet?]
[s: No. Soon.]
[Zhu Xu: Congrats, congrats. Invite me to the banquet, I have to soak up the good luck.]
[Zhu Xu: Why is no one else talking? We can all go together.]
…
Chen Jingshen did not keep up with the topic. He shoved his phone into his pocket, grabbed his coat, and headed out.
Outside, a bunch of half-dead coworkers poked their heads over their monitors.
Even Luo Liyang stared, coffee in hand. “You are done? Going home??”
“Mm. Something to do. I ran the program a few times, no issues. Call me if anything comes up,” Chen Jingshen said. “I ordered afternoon tea. Eat, then keep going.”
They watched him step into the elevator. As the doors closed, someone collapsed onto their desk and wailed, “How can anyone be this good? I have worked here over half a year and not once left on time! Not once!!”
“Same here??”
“That is the job. No one works regular hours. He has done more this year than all of you. Today is the first time he left before dark,” Luo Liyang said. “Stop staring at the boss’s so-called slacking and get back to work. The sooner you finish, the sooner you go home.”
Yu Fan’s shoot today was in a rented storefront. The place was tiny, just one set, but enough for now.
The client was a girlfriend of Zhang Xianjing’s, apparently a soon-to-debut starlet, very natural on camera. Yu Fan ended up shooting longer than planned.
Click. “Lower the light,” he said without looking up, flicking two fingers.
The boy behind him murmured okay and dropped the stand.
Flash. Shutter. Yu Fan checked the frame. “We are done. Take a look. If you are happy, that is it for today. I will deliver retouched photos within a week.”
Once the client confirmed the raws, she left. Yu Fan was transferring files when a bottle of water appeared.
“Ge, have some water?” the boy asked.
His name was Jiang Heng, a sunny kid. He was a temp Yu Fan had just hired, introduced by Wang Yue, her cousin. He wanted to make some cash over winter break to buy electronics. Year end is bad for finding full-timers, and Yu Fan really needed an extra pair of hands. He met the kid, liked him, and brought him on for two weeks to help.
Yu Fan took the water and tilted his head back for a sip. Jiang Heng stared at his profile, cautious and burning at once.
His cousin had not warned him his boss would be this handsome. Two weeks in, he had learned the guy was cool and taciturn on the surface, warm inside.
In short… dangerously charming.
“How much are you short for that thing you want?” Yu Fan asked suddenly.
“Huh?” Jiang Heng blinked. “One thousand three hundred!”
“Keep your voice down.” Yu Fan flipped to the next image, lazy. “I will transfer it to your WeChat later.”
“Ge, we only agreed on a thousand for my pay…”
“Consider the rest a New Year red envelope,” Yu Fan said. “When we finish today, pack up and take your holiday. You do not need to come back.”
“Ge, you are firing me?”
“What are you talking about? You are going back to school after New Year.”
“I am here one more week before that.”
“No need. I found someone else,” Yu Fan said.
“Then have him start a week later. I will help for free this last week. Ge, if you ever need it, my weekends are yours forever. I will work for you for free!”
“?”
Yu Fan was baffled. “Did the work fry your brain?”
“No…” Jiang Heng blurted, “Ge, I just want to spend more—”
Knock. A soft sound cut him off. He turned and saw a tall stranger at the door.
“Who are you here to—” was on Jiang Heng’s lips when the chair beside him scraped back.
“What are you doing here?” Yu Fan was startled. It was the first time since opening shop that Chen Jingshen had come looking for him.
“To take you home,” Chen Jingshen said.
“Told you there is no need. It is ten minutes by bus.”
Jiang Heng stared, dumb as a post. Yu Fan said that, but his face clearly came alive.
“Boss, you two… know each other?” Jiang Heng asked.
“Mm.” Yu Fan shut down the computer, stepped up, grabbed Chen Jingshen’s coat, and pulled him inside. He took two steps, then remembered. “Head on home. We are done here.”
In the break room, Yu Fan gathered his things. “Why did you not text me first?”
“Would you have seen it?”
“Sound on. The assistant would hear.”
“You still would not look.” Chen Jingshen’s voice was cool. “That was the assistant you mentioned?”
“Yeah, but he is leaving after the holiday. I just hired someone experienced. I am done. Let us—” Yu Fan lifted his jacket and looked up, words stopping cold.
Chen Jingshen was slouched against the wall, very close. When Yu Fan looked up, he met his eyes.
He paused a few seconds, then frowned. “Chen Jingshen, do not look at me like that.”
“How am I looking at you?” Chen Jingshen asked.
“…”
Yu Fan could not put it into words. He stared at those dark eyes and slightly dry lips and felt like he was living backward.
Back to the time when one look at Chen Jingshen made him reckless.
Jiang Heng hesitated outside for a long time, still reluctant to leave. He raked his hair, decided to talk to Yu Fan once more.
Because he was overthinking, his steps were small. Drafting lines in his head, he drifted toward the break room and looked up, then froze. Everything he had practiced vanished.
Inside, his boss, who wore an iceberg for a face with everyone, had a man by the collar and was kissing him.
The image hit like a truck. Before Jiang Heng’s brain caught up, the man lifted his eyes and looked straight at him.
Those black eyes were clear and sharp. Jiang Heng went rigid. A second later, the man withdrew his gaze and lowered his lashes again, quietly, gently kissing Yu Fan.
Yu Fan wrenched his face away with his last sliver of rationality. If he did anything with Chen Jingshen here, he would never be able to look this place in the eye again.
In the car, Yu Fan transferred the money to Jiang Heng. He had expected the kid to argue a bit more, but the acceptance came quick, a “thanks,” and nothing else.
Fine. Saved him the trouble.
Hands loose on the wheel, Chen Jingshen asked, “Fruit?”
“No. Home,” Yu Fan said, propping his head against the window, ears bright red. “Drive faster, Chen Jingshen. I am dying.”
At home, they did not even get their coats off. From the entrance to the bathroom they kept touching, clothes shedding here and there. They were basically glued together the whole way, hands or faces or mouths.
Yu Fan’s brain fogged from kissing. Sitting on the wide vanity, he leaned down toward Chen Jingshen again. His bare feet swung off the edge and, for lack of anything better to do, rubbed his pants.
Twice.
Three times.
Yu Fan gripped his chin and pushed him back, annoyed. “Chen Jingshen, take the thing out of your pocket. It is poking my foot.”
“…”
He regretted putting him on the counter. After two seconds, he turned. “Half a minute. I will put it outside.”
“?”
He did not make it. Someone fisted his coat and dragged him back. His boyfriend’s other hand slipped into his pocket and fished it out.
Yu Fan stared for a few seconds. “What is this?”
Their faces were close, hair mingling. Chen Jingshen imitated his lazy drawl. “A ring box?”
“What for?”
“To hold a ring?”
“You wear rings?”
“Not usually?”
“Then why did you buy it?”
“To propose?”
“…”
Yu Fan’s entire flushed face went blank. Chen Jingshen could not resist pecking him while he was stunned.
“Who are you proposing to?” Yu Fan found his voice.
“Yu Fan. Do you know him?”
“…”
He came back to himself and realized what a dumbass question that had been. He swallowed. “When did you get it, Chen Jingshen?”
“Ordered last month. It arrived today. I had not even decided how to do it,” Chen Jingshen said. “Should I kneel on one knee now?”
“No.”
Yu Fan took out the ring and slipped it on. Perfect fit. “You can owe me yours. I will pay it back soon.”
He cupped Chen Jingshen’s face and leaned in again, then pulled back once more.
“Wait, Chen Jingshen,” he frowned, “if we get married, who is the groom?”
“Does it matter?”
“A bit.”
Chen Jingshen tilted in for a kiss, voice muffled. “Then you marry me.”
They stayed on the slick, damp vanity for nearly half an hour. Yu Fan’s back was icy where it pressed to the counter and wall.
After a shower they went to bed. Yu Fan stared at the ceiling. The mattress sank hard beside him.
Chen Jingshen always wore an ascetic face around others, but at certain times, with no one watching…
Yu Fan half closed his eyes, breathless, seeing nothing. The white button swung wildly in the air for a long time. His voice was shredded and hoarse. “Chen Jingshen…”
“Mm.” Lips brushed the bridge of his nose. Chen Jingshen’s low voice sounded in his ear. “You are shaking so hard, hubby.”
“…”
Yu Fan squeezed his eyes shut, reached to cover Chen Jingshen’s mouth, and had his hand caught and wrapped tight.
Boneless under the covers, Yu Fan felt like his soul had floated out to roam. Everything ached too much to move. Only when Chen Jingshen came back from washing up did he stir.
Yu Fan reached for the ring on his finger. Chen Jingshen pressed his hand down and kissed him.
“Chen Jingshen, I will kill you.”
“Next time.” Chen Jingshen brushed his hair back.
Yu Fan’s eyes stayed shut. After a while he mumbled, not quite lucid, “Chen Jingshen, what do we need to get married abroad? ID card… or household registry… Where are we going?”
“Wherever you like the scenery.”
It was a while before Yu Fan murmured an “mm.” Who knew if he even heard.
The next morning, a weekend.
Woken by the neighbor’s dog, Zhu Xu cracked his eyes and grabbed his phone to doomscroll under the covers.
He swiped aimlessly through Moments and actually saw a post from Yu Fan, who never posts.
[-: Got married. (photo)]
In the photo, Yu Fan’s fingers were interlaced with someone else’s, a ring shining on his hand.
“F***,” Zhu Xu shot upright. Screenshot, group chat, typing like lightning—
[Zhu Xu: F***! F***! Did you see Moments!! F*** Yu Fan got married!!! Yu Fan got married!!! Who did he marry? Why did he not mention it before???!!!]
The chat stayed dead as a doornail. Even Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan, usually the loudest, did not reply.
Puzzled, Zhu Xu @ed everyone. Still nothing.
He started to wonder if he was dreaming. Muttering, he lay back down and realized he had been so excited he forgot to like the post.
He hurried back to hype his buddy up.
Another post popped up.
[s: Got myself a husband. (photo)]
[Zhu Xu: F***! F***! Check Moments!! The top student got married too! The top student got married!! We were just talking about it yesterday and today he did it!! And how are he and Yu Fan so in sync! They even posted on the sam—]
[Zhu Xu: ?]
[Zhu Xu: ???]
[Zhu Xu: Wait? Is that the same photo?]
[Zhu Xu: …?]
[Zhu Xu: …………????]
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