Chapter 36

The car pulled up at the hotel, and as Ye Chen got out, he glanced up and saw a small round ball stuck to the roof of the car. Upon closer inspection, he was surprised to see that a Hundun Cub had followed them.

To prevent being blown off the car roof, Hundun Cub tightly folded its four tender wings against its body and pressed its soft round body forcefully into a flat oval shape, increasing the contact area with the car roof and sticking more securely.

Ye Chen remembered not seeing Hundun Cub when they got off at the hospital, thinking it must have followed the other vehicles from the crew and then “transferred” to Shen Mofeng’s car at the hospital.

Afraid of giving away the game, Ye Chen quickly averted his gaze, and Hundun Cub lightly flew down onto his shoulder.

Surrounded by ordinary people and not even a divine beast companion in sight, Hundun Cub dared not move or make a sound, its round body tense with nervousness. Ye Chen pretended to brush off some dust from his shoulder and comforted Hundun Cub by gently stroking it with his fingers.

The divine beast cubs must have seen Xiao Gao returning to the room to pack up and guessed that Ye Chen had something urgent to do tonight, worrying that he might have difficulty moving around. So they secretly sent Hundun Cub to follow the car. This little furball must have been terrified all the way… Ye Chen thought, feeling a bit sorry but also warmed by the gesture.

After checking in, as soon as Ye Chen entered the room, Hundun Cub, who had been suffocating on the way, couldn’t wait to spread its wings and fly up, chirping non-stop. Ye Chen smiled, caught the little furball, and rubbed it against his cheek, saying softly, “You must be tired from coming all this way.”

Hundun Cub fluttered up and down, nodding its head.

After gently scratching Hundun Cub’s back for three minutes—though it could also be the front chest— as a reward, Hundun Cub flattened into a contented blob, emitting a soft purring sound, just like a lazy orange cat. When the reward time was over, Hundun Cub left a Chaos Mark in the space, connecting the hotel room with the courtyard.

The divine beast cubs grew rapidly from eating spiritual crops every day. With each increase of one centimeter in diameter, Hundun Cub’s abilities also grew. Currently, it could support four  Chaos Marks simultaneously, emitting a pearly white halo at the edge of the mark connecting the hotel room and the courtyard, while the mark connecting the set and the courtyard emitted a light golden color— as long as Hundun Cub was present, Ye Chen could seamlessly shuttle between three different places.

Hundun Cub flew back to report to its little friends, while Ye Chen, following the principle of not burdening Mother Earth any more than necessary, took the complimentary toothbrush, comb, shampoo, and shower gel provided by the hotel back to the courtyard to store. He also brought over the old toothbrush and sulfur soap from the farmhouse room for use.

After tidying up, Ye Chen was worried that Shen Mofeng might have trouble washing up, so he slipped over to his room to ask if he needed any help.

Before opening the door for Ye Chen, Shen Mofeng was washing his face and hands peacefully. Upon hearing Ye Chen’s offer, he instantly transformed into a half-paralyzed old father, leaning against the wall with his left side, teasing his obedient little friend, “Everything needs help now, what should we do? I’m not used to using my left hand.”

Seeing Ye Chen about to speak, Shen Mofeng rudely cut him off, saying, “They’ve gone shopping for me.”

“That’s okay, then I’ll open the toiletries for you, squeeze the toothpaste, ” Ye Chen said clearly and orderly, not messy, and walked into the bathroom as he spoke, “then help you take off your clothes and adjust the water temperature. Can you manage the shower by yourself?”

Shen Mofeng followed him, his voice low, “Can’t, can you help me?”

“You should be able to shower with one hand,” Ye Chen said, feeling embarrassed.

Shen Mofeng acted spoiled, “What about washing my back?”

“If you need help with that, just say so, I’ll help you,” Ye Chen readily agreed.

There’s no reason to refuse to help a lifesaver who can’t use his hands. Ye Chen thought, full of righteousness.

“…Just kidding,” Shen Mofeng looked at him gently, picking up the toothbrush with his right hand, “It doesn’t hurt if I don’t move my shoulder, and my hand isn’t affected… After I finish showering, you can come help me apply the medicine.”

“Okay,” Ye Chen obediently responded, tossing the packaging of the toiletries on the washstand into the wastebasket before returning to his room to take a shower.

Twenty minutes later…

After finishing his ablutions, Ye Chen put on his bathrobe and happily skipped off to fulfill his duty of applying ointment.

As he entered the room, Shen Mofeng had just finished showering, wearing only a towel around his waist. His two long and slender legs protruded from beneath the towel. Along those legs, sculpted meticulously under the guidance of his personal fitness trainer, was a body of muscles, strong yet not bulky, exuding both aesthetic appeal and strength. His well-defined chest muscles, perfectly inflated, rose and fell with each breath, while his waist was as lean as a cheetah’s.

Standing bare-chested in front of Ye Chen, he held a rubber band in his mouth while his left hand gathered his damp hair into a small braid behind his head, with his bangs naturally cascading down, partially obscuring his handsome features. The allure of his appearance was lethal, as if with the blink of an eye, he could release a few specks of hormone powder from his fluttering eyelashes, dispersing them into the air with a puff.

It was a kind of aggressive masculinity that ignored gender and orientation.

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, suddenly realizing that this was the first time he had seen Shen Mofeng’s body. He had seen plenty of same-sex bodies throughout his life, in bathhouses, swimming pools, locker rooms… everywhere. Yet the realization of “seeing Shen Mofeng half-naked” still felt like a burning steel needle, piercing lightly with a scorching temperature in his mind.

“Help me,” Shen Mofeng said.

Ye Chen blinked, suddenly coming to his senses, and hurriedly took the rubber band. Shen Mofeng turned around, and Ye Chen took over from his left hand to hold his hair. As his gaze shifted, he unexpectedly caught sight of a grotesque bruise that had caught him off guard.

“Your shoulder is all bruised,” Ye Chen said softly as he helped Shen Mofeng tie his hair. The two were very close, and he wasn’t sure if he was shocked by the bruises on Shen Mofeng’s body or what, but his heart suddenly skipped a few beats.

Shen Mofeng let out a lazy hum, looking indifferent.

“Done tying. You, uh, you can lie down on the bed… lie down for a while?” Ye Chen suddenly became tongue-tied, stumbling over his words twice, as if his usual witty banter had flown away.

Shen Mofeng glanced at him sideways, chuckling, “Why can’t you straighten out your tongue?”

“I don’t know,” Ye Chen said, rubbing his face, feeling quite bewildered, “…it’s straight now.”

At the mention of the word “straight,” Shen Mofeng seemed to think of something, and his lips curled mockingly.

Then, Shen Mofeng walked over to the bed and lay face down. Ye Chen followed suit, climbing onto the bed and kneeling beside Shen Mofeng. The mattress trembled as he moved up and down.

Ye Chen opened a box of bruise cream, scooped out a dollop, and applied it carefully to Shen Mofeng’s shoulder. The room fell silent for a moment, then Shen Mofeng suddenly spoke, “The Spring Festival is less than a month away.”

“Yeah,” Ye Chen replied respectfully.

Shen Mofeng casually asked, “Have you received your Spring Festival shooting schedule?”

Ye Chen recalled for a moment and replied, “No, so I can take a few days off.”

“How will you spend the Spring Festival?” Shen Mofeng asked nonchalantly, “Will you go home to be with your parents?”

“I don’t need to go home, I’ll just stay here,” Ye Chen said, “Celebrate on my own.”

As he spoke, there was a hint of a smile in his tone, devoid of the loneliness Shen Mofeng had imagined.

“Not a local?” Shen Mofeng asked again, “Are your parents far away?”

Ye Chen quickly flipped through the character profile, adhering to the principle of “using the fewest lies to tell the roundest lie,” and said, “Not a local, my parents are both in our hometown, I’m alone here.”

All truths.

Shen Mofeng calmly asked, “Not from Beijing, but you bought a house here?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Ye Chen carefully crafted a small lie to avoid any inconsistencies, “House was bought by my family.”

“But if you’re not going home for the Spring Festival, and they’re not coming here…” Shen Mofeng probed, “Is your relationship with your family not very good?”

Ye Chen spoke honestly, “Not very good… It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

Years had passed, enough for Ye Chen to feel that it didn’t matter if they never saw each other again. His parents had each started new families, with new children. Ye Chen now had three half-siblings, either from the same father or mother. They had met a few times, strangers connected by blood.

But Ye Chen wouldn’t be lonely this Spring Festival. He had six divine beast cubs at home, and the seventh one was about to hatch, probably in the next few days. He would teach them to make dumplings, pay the electricity bill, and keep warm with the cubs, eating dumplings and watching the Spring Festival Gala… It would be nice.

“…Will you be spending the Spring Festival with your parents?” Ye Chen suddenly realized that he had been talking about himself all afternoon and hadn’t asked Shen Mofeng anything, so he quickly asked.

“Yes, with my parents,” Shen Mofeng replied absentmindedly.

He could now pretty much confirm Ye Chen’s situation.

The young man had fallen out with his family over his insistence on entering the entertainment industry. From the looks of it, he was still cut off from all financial sources, with only a courtyard to call his own. Shen Mofeng didn’t doubt this. Generally, if an artist didn’t own a house, the agency would arrange for them to rent one. No one would be so absurd as to rent a courtyard instead of an apartment. However, Ye Chen didn’t seem to be the pampered and willful young master he had imagined. Living alone in a courtyard of several hundred square meters was probably just because he didn’t have anywhere else to live.

Shen Mofeng estimated Ye Chen’s current income from film and television appearances. Although it shouldn’t be low, the agency might not pay him on time, considering deductions and taxes. Moreover, as a nineteen-year-old, still estranged from his family, living alone in Beijing, he probably wouldn’t dare to spend money recklessly. Those clothes costing tens of thousands of yuan were probably avoided if possible.

There might also be some situations he didn’t know about, such as owing money to friends when he first ran away from home, buying his own house and still paying off the mortgage… All possibilities.

But Shen Mofeng didn’t intend to dig deeper. Nineteen was the age when young men were full of pride and didn’t want to lose face. Asking too much might reveal the truth, which could potentially hurt Ye Chen’s self-esteem.

Shen Mofeng remained impassive on the surface, but his mind had already turned over several thoughts.

The author has something to say:

【Mini Theatre】

Ye Qiongqiong: Don’t just talk about back rubs as if it’s a trivial matter… Even if I had to help my Shen Ge with something more intimate, so what?!

Shen Mofeng: Actions speak louder than words. 🙂

Dealing with pseudo-straight guys like Ye Qiongqiong requires seductive techniques! (。

I won’t keep track of accounts in the future. Ye Qiongqiong is about to open a Taobao store. Movie remunerations, variety show fees, and endorsement fees will gradually come in. It’s all quite complex. Instead of that, I should focus more on the main story hhh. I’ll depict Ye Qiongqiong’s financial situation through the main text.

As for Shen Ge… I find that every time I raise the affection level, I involuntarily drag the plot along with it. It feels a bit like putting the cart before the horse. In fact, the confession might not be far off. I guess the affection level bar might not catch up with his pace~ (。