Chasing the Light

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The day after the new film was finished, Xia Yuanhang packed his luggage and went to the airport alone. After sitting down in the waiting room, he received a video link from his assistant, reminding him that it was an exclusive interview with Liang Xincheng.

Xia Yuanhang unconsciously touched the ring on his ring finger and clicked on the link. It was an exclusive interview with a video website that Liang Xincheng had accepted in passing when he returned for a celebration party a few days ago.

“The female lead in ‘The Drunken Golden Tomb’ is Gu Rong, this must be your first time playing a sister and brother, right? Do you think a mature older sister type like Gu Rong is suitable for you? Will this drama have an impact on your realistic view of choosing a partner?”

Liang Xincheng in the video listened quietly to the reporter’s question and smiled slightly: “Actually, my view on choosing a partner has never changed. I’ve liked that person since I was fifteen and I still like them now. I’m very stubborn in this regard and won’t change easily.”

“Someone you’ve liked since you were fifteen? Is it your first love?”

“Yes, it was my first and only love. He has a great influence on me, the goal I have been pursuing all along. It’s because of him that I chose to get into this circle and I was able to grit my teeth and persevere through the most difficult times.”

The reporter’s voice became obviously excited: “So the person you like is actually your colleague? So you’re together now? Does she1In mandarin, both she and he are pronounced as ta, but with different characters. She (她) and he (他). So LXC use ‘他’ and the reporter thought it’s a she know about it?”

Liang Xincheng smiled and nodded, his clear eyes looking tenderly into the camera and into Xia Yuanhang’s heart: “We’re together, will always be together.”

Xia Yuanhang was in a daze for a moment until his assistant sent another message to remind him that the video had gone viral on the internet and fans were going crazy. There were all kinds of speculations, but Liang Xincheng had not responded yet.

Xia Yuanhang lowered his eyes and chuckled silently. In fact, in Liang Xincheng’s interview video, he did not explicitly say who the love interest was, or even that the other party was also a man, but the majority of opinions on the internet pointed to him, so he was actually quite happy.

The boarding announcement had already been made, so he sent a text message to Liang Xincheng, ‘I’m boarding, I’ll be there in three hours, see you later’, and stood up.

It was eight in the evening when he arrived at his destination and Liang Xincheng’s assistant Xiao Qian came to pick him up: “He’s still shooting the night scene, so you can wait for him at the hotel first.”

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Xia Yuanhang nodded, and stopped by to buy some supper to take to the hotel.

Liang Xincheng didn’t come back until half past ten. As soon as he entered the door, he threw himself into Xia Yuanhang’s arms without even removing his makeup first: “I thought you wouldn’t be able to come until tomorrow…”

“I couldn’t wait,” Xia Yuanhang smiled and bowed his head to kiss him, “I’m done shooting my scene, so I’ll be here with you from now on.”

Liang Xincheng squinted his eyes and smiled happily.

He had a little more than half a month to go before his new movie was finished. After that night, Xia Yuanhang really stayed behind, doing nothing all day and not even bothering Liang Xincheng on set, only staying in the hotel and waiting for him.

Liang Xincheng’s role was so important that he would not return until late every night, and he would be so tired that he would fall asleep in bed. They couldn’t do anything else, but the half an hour they spent talking and exchanging kisses every night before going to bed was enough to satisfy them.

Liang Xincheng’s team had never responded to the public about the relationship. He himself was isolated from the world while filming on the set, while Liu Fan was too lazy to deal with the annoying media reporters. This was the response they had agreed on early on; no response, no avoidance, just let things happen and let the public get used to it.

At the end of June, all of Liang Xincheng’s scenes were finally wrapped up. The day after he attended the closing party, he sent his assistant and his staff back to Beijing first, while he and Xia Yuanhang drove back to their hometown hundreds of kilometers away.

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It was a small city in the south. Since going to university in Beijing, Liang Xincheng had not stayed in this city for long, except for occasionally returning to pay respects to his parents. Although this place did not leave him with many good memories, it nurtured his initial, most youthful and naive love for Xia Yuanhang, which was also the most inseparable softness in his heart.

Xia Yuanhang also didn’t have many relatives staying in his hometown, especially since he hadn’t been back for several years after his grandparents passed away. This time they came here just to get a marriage certificate.

It was noon when they arrived, so they found a small, quiet restaurant to fill their stomachs. It was still early, so Xia Yuanhang drove around the road and before he knew it, he drove to the gate of the middle school where they were studying.

The car was parked across the road. They didn’t dare to get out for fear of being recognized. Liang Xincheng leaned over the car window and looked out, sighing with emotion: “It’s been so many years, but this place hasn’t changed at all. Those students are still wearing the same uniforms as when we were there.”

Xia Yuanhang asked him softly: “What were you like at that time?”

The corner of Liang Xincheng’s mouth curled slightly: “Didn’t you see me before?”

“Only that one time. Have you always been like that at school?”

“Just not talkative and withdrawn. After I went to high school, I had a lot of fun peeping on you every day. You were so brave. You were in your third year of high school and you played basketball all day. I just hid and watched you every day.” Liang Xincheng replied casually to him. What was once a difficult past to talk about now seemed to be something he could comfortably talk and laugh about.

Xia Yuanhang held his hand in distress, regretting why he hadn’t noticed the pair of eyes behind him that had been silently watching him. It was a pity they had wasted so many years.

“Was it hard?”

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“It’s nothing really. It’s kind of fun to have a crush on someone. You’ll never get to experience it in your lifetime.”

Xia Yuanhang squeezed his hand tightly and didn’t ask any more questions. After looking at the time, he restarted the car.

It was an ordinary working day and not an auspicious day, so the small local marriage registry office was very empty. There were only a few idle staff and two other couples in the process of getting their certificates. They walked hand in hand, went to the self-service counter to get the application form and found a corner and sat down, carefully studying the contents of the form.

Liang Xincheng was looking at the form very carefully, while Xia Yuanhang casually skimmed through it and then turned his attention to Liang Xincheng, leaning sideways on the edge of the table to watch him with an intent and tender look on his face.

“Why are you looking at me?” Liang Xincheng raised his eyes and looked at him suspiciously, reminding in a small voice, “You hurry up and fill it out.”

Xia Yuanhang smiled: “Looking at you who is so good looking. There is no hurry, and you have good handwriting, so you can help me fill it out when you are done.”

“Why are you like this.” Liang Xincheng complained, but the smile floating at the corners of his lips couldn’t be hidden.

Xia Yuanhang leaned close to him and murmured in a low voice: “Baby, please help me.”

Liang Xincheng smiled and lifted his hand to flick him on the forehead: “You’re annoying as hell.”

Half an hour later, after the two forms had been filled up and double-checked, there were more people coming to register. Some people had already recognised them and were whispering about them. The two of them were very unperturbed and calmly got up and queued in front of the counter, submitting their application forms to the staff, together with their pre-prepared household documents and identity cards.

The staff looked at them twice and checked the information correctly, before entering it into the computer. After the official stamp was sealed, the staff handed them the two marriage certificates: “Congratulations.”

Liang Xincheng took it with both hands and smiled slightly, “Thank you.”

 

1In mandarin, both she and he are pronounced as ta, but with different characters. She (她) and he (他). So LXC use ‘他’ and the reporter thought it’s a she