Chasing the Light

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When Xia Yuanhang arrived at the Hengdian set at 9:00 p.m., Liang Xincheng was shooting the last night scene of the night, so Xia Yuanhang was brought in by a staff member he knew. Not wanting to disturb the others who were busy working, he found a position in the back corner and stood there. His eyes fell on Liang Xincheng’s body in the crowd, never moving away.

Standing under the corridor, Liang Xincheng was dressed in a green shirt and long coat, his thin body wrapped in the cold and silent moonlight. He slightly tilted his head, gazing at the flower bud quietly blooming on a branch in front of him. There seemed to be a light in the bottom of the eyes, and then dimmed without a trace.

Xia Yuanhang watched quietly, knowing that this was acting, and yet the lonely look on Liang Xincheng’s face still stung his heart slightly.

Liang Xincheng still looked better when he smiled. Xia Yuanhang thought that even when facing him in the past, his snicker that often hid sarcasm was much more distinct and vivid.

Only after the director was finally satisfied with the shoot did Liang Xincheng walk out of the set. He took the jacket handed to him by his assistant and put it on before greeting the others and went back to the lounge to pack his things. His work for today was finally over.

Xia Yuanhang did not rush over. He stood in place for a while before turning around to leave the set

After sitting in the car, he sent Liang Xincheng a WeChat message. A few minutes later, he saw Liang Xincheng, who had hurriedly left the set, was looking around. Xia Yuanhang pressed the horn and flashed the lights a few times.

Liang Xincheng saw his car and ran over with a big smile, pulling open the door hard and going into the passenger seat. Not knowing whether he was too excited or running too fast, but his whole face was red as he panted with slightly opened lips. The surprise in his eyes could not be concealed: “What brings you here? Did you drive here alone?”

Xia Yuanhang lifted his hand to brush away a strand of forehead hair that had fallen to his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to rest for a few more days? How come you’re back to work today?”

Liang Xincheng did return to the set after only one day off; he could not be idle and his high fever had almost subsided: “I’m fine now. If I finish the filming early, the filming can be wrapped up early. I didn’t expect you to come…”

“I promised to come visit the crew when I was free sometime before, and it just so happens that I have work in Shanghai these two days, so I drove over by the way.”

He drove for a few hours at night and came to Hengdian to visit him. How could it be ‘by the way”? Liang Xincheng smiled and did not expose him.

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“I’m hungry and want some late night snack, let’s go eat?”

“Okay.” Xia Yuanhang bent over to help him fasten his seat belt. Liang Xincheng lowered her eyes and smiled softly without making any sound.

When starting the car, Xia Yuanhang received a WeChat from Ding Yao: “Yuanhang-ge you came to Hengdian? I think I just saw you on the set?”

Xia Yuanhang didn’t know how to reply for a while, and gave Liang Xincheng a slightly embarrassed look. Liang Xincheng noticed the content on his phone screen, smiled and pushed his arm: “You can ask him to come with you.”

A few minutes later, a giddy Ding Yao got into the back seat of the car and plopped down behind Liang Xincheng’s seat back, greeting Xia Yuanhang happily: “Yuanhang-ge it’s been a long time, why did you suddenly come to Hengdian?”

“Come to visit the crew. I’ll go back in a while.” Xia Yuanhang didn’t explain much. He started the car and stepped on the gas.

 

Twenty minutes later they found a small restaurant and sat down. Ding Yao gulped and ordered a large pile of barbecue. His mouth was full of words: “Yuanhang-ge is so kind to treat us to a snack as soon as he arrives. I haven’t eaten barbecue for a long time, I’m so hungry.”

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Xia Yuanhang shook his head helplessly and whispered to remind Liang Xincheng: “Don’t eat the barbecue, you just got better. I’ll order something else for you.”

Liang Xincheng smiled and winked at him: “Yao Yao is complimenting you, why are you ignoring him?”

Xia Yuanhang put his hand under the table on Liang Xincheng’s knee, pressed it lightly, before silently picking up the teapot to help them warm the cups and bowls.

Ding Yao was still burying his head in the menu, not noticing these small movements between them. Liang Xincheng looked askance at Xia Yuanhang with a grin and turned his head to ask Ding Yao: “Are you a hungry ghost? Why are you ordering so much in the middle of the night? Have you never eaten barbecue in your life?”

“This,” Ding Yao nodded his head vigorously. “The last time I had a barbecue was, I don’t even know how many years ago, I’ve almost forgotten what barbecue tastes like.”

Ding Yao rambled on and on, complaining that his family and Xie Qinfeng were in charge of him, forbidding him to eat this kind of junk food. The assistant also listened to his uncle and would not agree to help him buy it at all.

“Then you follow ge in the future, I will take you to eat and drink every day.” Liang Xincheng smiled as he deliberately teased him.

Ding Yao rolled his eyes: “Then, forget it. I know you can’t get fat. I’m not like you. After eating this meal, I’ll still be hungry for three days when I go home. Comparing myself to other just makes me angry ”

Listening to the two of them bickering with each other, Xia Yuanhang was a little surprised. He didn’t expect them to become so familiar with each other. However, thinking about it again, it seemed that Ding Yao had always had a good impression of Liang Xincheng before, so it was not surprising. The only one who really looked at people through colored glasses was actually him.

Ding Yao ordered almost all the barbecue on the menu. Xia Yuanhang added a shrimp congee and called the waiter to place the order, making Liang Xincheng protested unsatisfactorily: “I’m the one who asks for a late night snack, but I can only drink congee ah?”

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On this point Xia Yuanhang was determined not to give in: “Drink the porridge. When you get well next time, I’ll eat with you anything you wanna eat.”

The smile in Liang Xincheng’s eyes grew brighter and brighter when he heard the words. Xia Yuanhang patted the back of his hand and Liang Xincheng finally obeyed and stopped complaining.

Ding Yao looked at them acting like this and was curious. Xia Yuanhang used to say that he and Liang Xincheng were not even ordinary friends, but now it seemed that their relationship was more than just friends. What happened in the middle was really intriguing. Of course, Ding Yao was not really that stupid, no matter how much he wanted to gossip, he had good eyes so he didn’t ask much.

After the food was served Ding Yao lifted his sleeves and started to feast on it, Xia Yuanhang also ate some. Although Liang Xincheng could only smell the aroma and drink the porridge, he was very happy. He sat at the side of Xia Yuanhang, and when he raised his eyes, he could meet Xia Yuanhang’s gaze towards him from time to time.

Ding Yao, who was engrossed in eating hard, didn’t notice that the two people around him would look at each other and smile from time to time between eating. The tacit feelings of each other were outlined in the flow of their eyes, and everything that had not been said seemed to be in silence.

 

After the supper, Xia Yuanhang drove Liang Xincheng and Ding Yao back to the hotel. The sleepy-eyed Ding Yao got off first; when he saw that Liang Xincheng was still sitting in the car and seemed to have something to say to Xia Yuanhang, he waved his hand casually and went upstairs first.

Xia Yuanhang helped Liang Xincheng unbuckle his seat belt and softly reminded him, “Go up and hurry to bed, it’s late.”

“Do you have to drive back to Shanghai this late?”

“En. The return flight to Beijing is early tomorrow morning. I’ll be late if I don’t go back now.”

Liang Xincheng lowered his head. After a brief silence, Xia Yuanhang stepped on the gas pedal again and drove the car forward a bit more, turning into a small road without street lights before stopping.

After turning off the engine, even the light went dark. Xia Yuanhang leaned over and reached out to hug Liang Xincheng.

In the closed space with no light, only their gradually accelerating heartbeats and deliberately suppressed breathing could be heard. Liang Xincheng closed his eyes and put his hand around Xia Yuanhang’s waist.

They rubbed their faces against each other gently, and Xia Yuanhang murmured in a low voice: “Don’t get sick again, I’m worried about you.”

“En.”

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“I’ll come see you when I get back and finish the work at hand.”

“Don’t come,” Liang Xincheng muttered in a muffled voice. “I can’t concentrate on my work if you come, I’ll be distracted, I’ll be finished next month anyway.”

Xia Yuanhang hugged him tighter and sighed: “Then I won’t come…You work with peace of mind, pay attention to your body. I’ll wait for you to go back.”

“Okay.”

After quietly hugging for a long time, Xia Yuanhang drove the car back to the hotel. Liang Xincheng finally smiled at him. He urged him to pay attention to safety on the road before pulling open the car door and getting out.

Watching Liang Xincheng walk into the hotel and disappear in the elevator, Xia Yuanhang leaned into the back of his chair and raised his arm to cover his eyes, smiling