It was already night. Ming Che lay in bed, sleepiness washing over him, about to drift off when he vaguely heard the door open. Someone approached, lifting a corner of the blanket and slipping in.

Drowsiness kept Ming Che from opening his eyes. The person beside him probably thought he was asleep, suddenly becoming bold.

Warm breath brushed his neck, gentle kisses trailing down, stopping at his collarbone.

This stirred Ming Che awake. He grabbed the restless hand, opening his eyes to see a stunned Wen Lin.

“Not sleeping, what are you doing here?”

Ming Che raised an eyebrow, his hair tousled, a pajama button undone, revealing a swath of pale skin with faint red marks.

The scene was striking, Wen Lin’s eyes darkened, not in the mood to answer Ming Che’s question.

Ming Che pressed a finger to his lips.

“So, sneaking over here at night just for this? Isn’t that a bit wrong?”

With a swift move, Ming Che flipped them, switching positions. Wen Lin stared at him, a bit dazed, which Ming Che found cute. He leaned down, kissing his nose.

“What are you doing?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Wen Lin fell silent.

So stubborn.

Ming Che lay beside him.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to sleep.”

The person beside him moved closer, wrapping an arm around his waist. Ming Che closed his eyes, continuing to sleep.

The arm tightened, and Ming Che felt the person press against him, warm breath on his ear.

“You said you quite liked me before, what about now?”

“What?”

“You said you quite liked me last time.”

Ming Che recalled, finally remembering when he said that.

“Now…”

The person beside him suddenly breathed heavily, and Ming Che felt his waist being squeezed tightly.

“Like.”

After a moment of silence, Ming Che heard a voice by his ear.

“Like.”

“I really like… you, so don’t disappear suddenly.”

Wen Lin rarely showed this side. Once deciding to reveal his vulnerability to someone, he had to be prepared for the possibility of being hurt someday.

Ming Che’s voice involuntarily softened. Though they were different individuals, at this moment, he seemed to feel Wen Lin’s emotions.

He felt he should comfort him, so Ming Che patted his head.

“I’m not going anywhere. When you wake up tomorrow, you’ll still see me.”

“Mm, I’m holding you, so you can’t run.”

Wen Lin clung to him, probably tired, his voice already drifting.

Soon, both of them fell asleep.

Habits are a scary thing. At first, Ming Che wasn’t used to being held so tightly while sleeping, but since Wen Lin naturally came over every day to sleep with him, after a while, if Wen Lin didn’t come, he felt uncomfortable.

…

The rest days ended abruptly. Ming Che had just gotten out of bed when the assistant informed him they had a flight to catch in the afternoon.

The assistant, in work mode, stood by Ming Che with his phone, reporting.

“Ming ge, the variety show is confirmed. You’ll first gather at a location for a prelude shoot, then fly abroad together.”

“Besides the male and female leads and the second female lead, Yu Cheng will also be there. Hai ge signed him, and he’s now an artist under Senhai Entertainment. Hai ge mentioned you might need to look after him.”

“Got it. Anything else?”

“We have a 3 PM flight, so we must leave by 2 PM at the latest.”

Ming Che nodded, finishing the juice on the table.

The sun was shining brightly today. Ming Che lay on the terrace chair, sunbathing. He had already informed Wen Lin of his departure via phone, but there was no reply yet, probably busy.

At 2 PM, Ming Che and the assistant left on time, heading to the airport.

The prelude shoot location was a hotpot restaurant. After freshening up at the hotel, Ming Che went straight there. He wasn’t the first to arrive; someone else was already inside.

“Hello, Ming Che ge, I’m Yu Cheng.”

The young man inside stood up to greet him. Hearing his name, Ming Che looked at him, his gaze lingering on his face.

Though they had filmed a drama together, they had few scenes, so they hadn’t interacted much, and Ming Che didn’t have much impression of him.

Now, looking at him, Ming Che suddenly noticed Yu Cheng resembled a younger Wen Lin, though their temperaments differed greatly. Yu Cheng seemed more sunny and cute, while Wen Lin was reserved and quiet.

“Hello.”

Ming Che greeted him.

“Can I sit next to you?”

Ming Che nodded, and Yu Cheng moved beside him.

The male and female leads and the second female lead arrived one after another. The hotpot was already boiling, filling the room with a delicious aroma. After exchanging pleasantries, they started eating.

As the assistant had mentioned, it was a three-day journey. Since it was essentially a follow-up to Flowing Pearl, the filming wouldn’t be long.

After finishing the hotpot and gathering enough material, they each returned to their rooms. They would depart for abroad together at 7 AM the next day.

Back at the hotel, Ming Che showered and lay on the bed, looking at his phone, which still hadn’t received a reply. He dialed a call.

After three rings, the call connected, and Wen Lin’s voice came through.

“What’s up?”

“Where are you now?”

“At home, about to sleep.”

“The message I sent you…”

“I saw it. Focus on work. Don’t you have an early flight tomorrow? Rest early.”

Ming Che responded and hung up, feeling something was off.

The next day, Ming Che woke at six. Since he’d be on a long flight, he dressed casually, not bothering with his hair, just wearing a hat.

The crew filmed the entire process of them catching the flight. Once on the plane, Ming Che put on an eye mask. The assistant sat beside him, waking him a few times for meals, but otherwise, he mostly slept.

At 8 PM, the plane landed. After disembarking, they took the crew-arranged car to their accommodation for the next three days.

Each had their own room. After quickly dividing the rooms, everyone went to freshen up, having been on a long flight.

Filming had begun, and they still addressed each other by their drama character names. Ming Che was called “senior brother.”

Dinner was their responsibility. With no ingredients at home, someone had to go out. It wasn’t safe for the girls to go out at night, so the task fell to the three guys. Ming Che volunteered, and Yu Cheng eagerly offered to join him.

So Ming Che and Yu Cheng went out together. The map showed the supermarket wasn’t far, so they walked.

In the dark, Ming Che sensed a car following them. He glanced at it, assuming it was the crew’s car, and didn’t think much of it.

“Senior brother, do you cook often?”

In the drama, Yu Cheng didn’t call him that, but seeing everyone else do it, he followed suit.

“Not really.”

“I cook often. If you need anything, just call me.”

Ming Che glanced at him, surprised, and nodded.

At the supermarket, they bought ingredients, not too much, just enough for tonight and tomorrow morning.

“Senior brother, let me carry it.”

Yu Cheng took the shopping bags, lowering his voice.

“Your hand needs to recover well. Leave the heavy stuff to me.”

“It’s fine, it’s healed.”

Ming Che tried to take a bag, but Yu Cheng dodged.

“It’s okay, senior brother. Just let me help.”

Ming Che looked at him for a moment, then let it go. The night wind was strong, bending the street trees. Ming Che wrapped his coat tighter, quickening his pace.

“Ming ge, can you zip up my jacket?”

Yu Cheng looked at him, a bit embarrassed.

Ming Che stopped, found his jacket zipper, and zipped it up.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Ming Che continued walking home, glancing back. The black car that had been following them was gone.

Back home, the five of them started cooking. The open kitchen could accommodate all of them, and they quickly prepared dinner with everyone’s help.

After dinner, it was almost ten. They sat in the living room, chatting. They weren’t really there to travel, but to work.

Guided by the crew, they started sharing fun stories from filming. Ming Che was listening when he suddenly heard his name.

“By the way, Ming Che, there’s something you don’t know.”

Ming Che looked over, seeing Yu Cheng trying to cover the female lead’s mouth, but he couldn’t really do it, so everyone heard.

“Actually, Yu Cheng is your fan. He always watched you secretly on set. Later…”

Remembering Ming Che’s injury hadn’t been publicly disclosed, the female lead paused.

“He had something that day and couldn’t visit you with us, and he talked about it for a long time.”

Ming Che saw the admiration in Yu Cheng’s eyes and smiled at him.

“Thanks for liking me.”

Yu Cheng buried his face in a pillow, embarrassed.

Cute.

But it felt different from finding Wen Lin cute. Ming Che unconsciously touched his lips. When he found Wen Lin cute, he felt like kissing him.

…

At midnight, everyone washed up and went to bed. Ming Che lay in bed, the unfamiliar scent making it hard to sleep. He took longer to fall asleep and woke up earlier than usual.

Ming Che put on slippers and got out of bed. Through the window, he saw a familiar car parked below.

[977, was the car following us yesterday the same one?]

977 floated beside Ming Che, looking down with him.

[It was.]

Ming Che leaned against the wall, watching it until the car suddenly started and drove away.

Wasn’t it the crew’s car?

The other guests gradually woke up. The ingredients they bought yesterday were quickly heated for breakfast. Today’s itinerary required going out, so everyone dressed up and left together.

Yu Cheng had revealed his fan status, so he naturally stuck with Ming Che. Before leaving, each drew a picture, needing to find the corresponding location and take a photo.

“Do you want to come with me?”

Ming Che looked at the address on the back of the picture. To avoid wasting time, the crew provided a rough geographical range.

“Our places are quite close.”

Yu Cheng looked at him expectantly.

The five of them exchanged information, finding they weren’t far apart. They decided to split into two groups and take a taxi.

In the rearview mirror, Ming Che saw the car again, his lips curling slightly.