26. Good luck indeed.

“April 20, 2015, overcast weather.

Got scolded by the director on set.

Not the first time, used to it. This director likes to throw tantrums. A few days ago, he smashed a glass, and no one wanted to pick it up. I did, and my hand got cut.

Hope the next film has a better director.

Don’t want Yu Yue to know about these lousy things happening outside, nor do I want to bring these bad vibes to him. But when he’s not around, I still can’t help but want to find him.

Want to hug the warmest little sun in the world, want to hear him tell me that it’s okay.”

After finishing work, Xu Yuanzhe returned home, finding it empty.

He checked Yu Yue’s class schedule and realized that Yu Yue didn’t have classes at this time.

When there were no classes before, Yu Yue would almost always be at Xu Yuanzhe’s place.

Xu Yuanzhe sat on the sofa, thinking that if he’s not here, then so be it. People have their own lives, perhaps doing their own things.

He took a shower, changed clothes, and lay on the sofa playing games for a while. Feeling like a long time had passed, he checked the time, only to find it had been just an hour.

Yu Yue didn’t look for him and didn’t send a message.

Xu Yuanzhe stared at the empty WeChat screen, finally placing his phone beside him and closing his eyes on the sofa.

He slept until it was dark, and the night fell.

When he woke up, Xu Yuanzhe glanced at his phone.

There was a message on his phone from Yu Yue.

Yu Yue said, “I won’t come over tonight. There’s a team-building activity at school.”

Thirteen minutes ago.

Xu Yuanzhe stared at it for a while and replied with a simple “okay.”

After a while, he added, “Be careful. If it gets too late, I’ll come to pick you up.”

Yu Yue replied quickly, “It’s okay. Just make sure you have a good meal.”

This seemed to be a polite refusal of Xu Yuanzhe’s offer to pick him up.

Xu Yuanzhe sat on the sofa, one leg slightly raised, his arm resting on his knee, looking at his phone.

He really wanted to see Yu Yue today, just to hold him, but unfortunately, Yu Yue wasn’t around.

The feeling of depression and oppression reached its peak.

That night, Xu Yuanzhe didn’t feel like cooking because Yu Yue wasn’t there. He made instant noodles, turned on the TV to watch movies they had seen before, but found nothing interesting.

This oppressive mood continued into the next day when he arrived at the film set.

After arriving at the film set that day, Xu Yuanzhe clearly felt a different attitude from the people on set toward him.

It wasn’t obvious at first, but when some staff who used to give him the cold shoulder suddenly came over to serve him tea and water, chatting with a smile, even the director who often threw tantrums approached him with a pleasing smile, mentioning they wanted him for the next film as the second male lead and asked if he was willing.

Xu Yuanzhe didn’t know what had happened.

The change in these people’s attitudes toward him was too obvious.

While sitting on the set waiting for the shoot, a staff member finally approached him, a mysterious smile on their face, whispering, “Your boyfriend is really nice. He came to our set last night, not only bought supper for everyone but also said he would cover the late-night snacks for the next month, generous and wealthy.” They lightly tapped Xu Yuanzhe’s arm, saying, “You’re one lucky guy.”

At that moment, Xu Yuanzhe didn’t know what he was feeling.

First was a brief blank, because he remembered clearly that Yu Yue told him last night that he was going to attend the school’s team-building event. Then came a moment of confusion, as Yu Yue did such a thing without telling him, and finally, seeing so many staff suddenly circling around him, the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness and confusion rushed over him.

Xu Yuanzhe took on this role because the pay for this film was not low, the second male lead also got tens of thousands, more than he earned from part-time jobs outside.

Not long ago, Yu Yue stumbled over chairs in their room and the tea table in the living room several times, bruising his legs. Xu Yuanzhe thought about getting a bigger house after finishing this film.

So he didn’t care about the director’s temper or the staff’s cold looks, because the pay for this film was good. He was willing to endure any unreasonable treatment as a newcomer because it wasn’t much different from working part-time outside.

He just wanted to work hard to give Yu Yue a good life.

However, at this moment, Xu Yuanzhe felt like his efforts had been negated overnight.

Because he calculated that covering supper for the entire crew for a month had already reached a five-digit figure, even far exceeding what he could earn from this film. He might not earn it back even after filming two more movies.

After finishing the shoot, the director even said he wanted to treat Xu Yuanzhe to dinner.

Xu Yuanzhe declined and went straight home.

Opening the door with the key, Yu Yue ran out of the room and hugged Xu Yuanzhe.

He acted as if nothing had happened, not planning to tell Xu Yuanzhe about it. He hugged Xu Yuanzhe’s neck, smiling, “I completed a jigsaw puzzle today, looks great. Help me hang it up when you come back.”

Xu Yuanzhe didn’t speak.

His hands instinctively embraced Yu Yue’s waist, and his pitch-black eyes, lowered, gazed at Yu Yue with indescribable emotions.

Yu Yue blinked, asking, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Yuanzhe didn’t speak.

He first embraced Yu Yue, closing his eyes and inhaling the faint fragrance on Yu Yue’s neck. But emotions were truly too complicated, and when he wanted to speak, he unintentionally found his eyes reddening for a moment.

After a long silence, Xu Yuanzhe spoke.

His voice was very low and hoarse as he asked, “Why did you do that?”