Chapter 75

Act IX: The Secret That Cannot Be Told (9)

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At the end of the scene, Sister Yan'er immediately took off the microphone attached to her forehead and greeted the backstage staff: "Are there any cold drinks? Get two bottles of iced water for Xiang Cai, I'm afraid that his face is so red he’s about to explode."

The backstage was full of laughter.

Xiang Cai hung his head and rubbed his red-tipped ears. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to go stand in a corner.

The supervising music director teased him: "Xiang Cai, you are not that young, have you not dated someone yet? When you were kissed by our sister Yan'er, you looked so scared, as if your feathers exploded.”

"Yes...I have been with someone before, but..." Xiang Cai was still in a state of utter confusion.

Just now on the stage, Sister Yan'er had suddenly kissed him in order to rescue the situation. Xiang Cai was not mentally prepared at all, and subconsciously wanted to push her away. However, after his hands touched the shoulders of his female partner, he immediately realized that there was still an audience watching and immediately changed his actions to a hug, not revealing his timidity.

The kiss came at the right time, so it not only didn't appear abrupt, but also set off the feelings of the characters. The audience's thunderous applause also proved how much they liked the kiss.

Sister Yan'er patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, in this industry, it's normal to kiss, touch, and hug. You should have seen a foreign drama, they can get naked on the scene."

She raised her hand and rubbed Xiang Cai’s hair: "Child, why are you so thin-skinned? When I acted with my partner, we had to kiss more than a dozen times after a scene. The first time I partner with you, you are as scared as if I am taking a bite out of you when I kiss you. Then how can we act tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?"

Xiang Cai sat on the stool and slowly recovered.

Sister Yan'er was right. As an actor, it was very normal to have physical contact with one’s partner on stage. What's more, they were acting in such a silly and sweet drama. The audience walked into the theater to watch a handsome man and beautiful woman fall in love, and kisses were naturally within everyone's expectations.

Xiang Cai was an actor, so there was nothing wrong with him kissing the female lead!

—But, but...

Xiang Cai’s palm pressed on the left side of his chest, and recalling the look he had seen in Tan Yiming's eyes just now, he suddenly felt an indescribable, strange feeling.

It was a bit like when an elementary school student was forced to read their composition in public at a parent conference, and wanted to directly find a hole to drill into. However, other than that, it also seemed to bring him an unspeakable guilty conscience.

"Sister Yan'er, I have a question I’m curious about," the boy suddenly asked.

"What's your question?" Sister Yan'er answered casually while removing the net from her hair.

"I remember that you are married, right?"

"Yes, my kids are in kindergarten!"

Xiang Cai bit his lip and asked softly: "Then, if you are so close with your male partner on stage, won’t your lover be jealous?"

Sister Yan'er smiled. She stopped her movements and looked at him in the mirror: "Xiao Xiang, you were so mature on stage, I almost forgot that you have just graduated. Your question is really cute."

"...?"

"No matter how true our acting onstage is, it is all fake. We enter into that life, performing scenes of joy and sorrow, but the people on the stage are not us, after all." Sister Yan'er had rich experience, of course she could answer this. “However, it is true that because some actors are too close to their partners, they turn such a good thing into a mess. Those who watch the play become jealous first, then they are suspicious; and those who act in the play also have a subtle sense of infidelity..."

Hearing the word ‘infidelity’, Xiang Cai’s heart jumped.

Sister Yan'er didn't notice his unnaturalness. She blinked and said with a chuckle: "So, for actors like us, the best choice is to find someone—"

Xiang Cai answered, "Find an actor in the circle?"

"Wrong!" Sister Yan'er patted her thigh, "Look for a fan if you want!!"

Xiang Cai: "???"

Sister, do you know what your behavior is called in the entertainment industry...

The makeup artist who was listening to the conversation between the two of them was amused. Seeing that Xiang Cai looked scared silly, he hurriedly said: "Xiao Xiang, Sister Yan'er is not kidding. Her husband is her fan, and not only is he a fan, but he has also watched all of the plays she has starred in."

Compared with the distinct film and television circles, the relationship between fans and actors in the domestic stage acting industry was much closer. There were no agents, assistants, or bodyguards around the stage actors. They often went backstage alone to do their make-up, and then removed their makeup and left by themselves.

If an audience member often entered and exited the theater, squatting outside the SD and waiting for the actor every time, it would only take a few times for them to leave an impression on the actor.

"Really, it's best to find a fan." Sister Yan'er taught with her experience, "My husband is not only not suspicious of me, but also supports me in acting, because the me he had fallen in love with at first is the one that shines on the stage."

Sister Yan'er fell into her memories. She had been married to her husband for many years, but when she talked about her lover, she still looked like a young lady immersed in love.

"I also asked him, when I say that I am in love with my male partner, will you not be jealous? He said no, because - 'Even though the audience has seen you with thousands of different appearances, there is only one way I see you'."

...

Every word that Sister Yan'er said repeated in Xiang Cai’s mind. Even when he left the theater and sat in Tan Yiming’s car, that sentence still echoed in his mind.

The rain had stopped and the traffic conditions had improved. The SUV shuttled on the road late at night. The theater was in the north sector of the city, but their home was in the east of the city.

"Are you tired? Why are you so quiet?" Tan Yiming asked.

"Very tired." Xiang Cai turned his head to look at him. He was wilted, like a small plantain ravaged by a torrential rain. "After I received news from the producer last night, I packed my luggage overnight and rushed to the airport early in the morning. I thought I would be here at noon, but because of the heavy rain in Huacheng, we stayed in the cabin for a long time before taking off. After landing, I rushed over to rehearse while putting on makeup...I feel that I’ve been holding this breath in my chest that I’m unable to let go...Now that the performance is finally over, I just want to go home and sleep in bed."

"If you are tired, just sleep in the car for a while, there is a blanket in the back," Tan Yiming said thoughtfully.

"No need." Xiang Cai shook his head. He held the cushion of the seat in his arms, and slid under the seat like he did when he was in high school. He curled up in the passenger seat, not looking like an adult at all. "It's not safe to drive late at night. I’ll talk to you so that you don't get sleepy."

Tan Yiming raised his eyebrows, "So considerate?"

"Of course I am considerate." Xiang Cai said triumphantly, "There is no actress who has worked with me that doesn't like me, they all say that I am especially gentlemanly."

"Oh?" Tan Yiming threw out, "Sister Yan'er said the same?"

Xiang Cai: "..." And he dared to stay up for him.

Tan Yiming stopped, not continuing to ask. First of all, Xiang Cai was an actor, and all the interactions between him and the female protagonist onstage were justified; secondly... He was the landlord and had no position to be jealous of his tenant.

Tan Yiming found himself to be strange. He was obviously a 30-year-old adult man, yet his emotional ups and downs were tied to the little ancestor beside him all day long.

Xiang Cai didn't speak, and his fingers hidden under the seat tapped on the seams.

He looked at Tan Yiming's expression, inexplicably happy.

At this moment, Xiang Cai’s phone rang, it was a message from Chen Ziran.

Face genius Chen Ziran: Buddy, I’ve just finished acting, have you finished?

guess: I just came out of the theater, what's up?

Face genius Chen Ziran: Did you receive the flowers I asked my assistant to give you?

guess: [Cute Goose shocked].jpg

guess: Why are you spending so much money again!

Face genius Chen Ziran: How many times have I said, don't use the poor income level of musical actors to measure the pockets of a traffic actor.

guess:...

Face genius Chen Ziran: Come on, get on your knees.

When Xiang Cai left the theater, he had walked directly through the back door without passing through the lobby, and naturally didn't see the conspicuous flower stand that Chen Ziran had sent him as support.

Feeling a little guilty, he turned his head and asked Tan Yiming if he had seen the stand.

Tan Yiming: "I saw it, I took a picture, too."

It was not convenient for him as he was driving, so he handed the phone in his pocket to Xiang Cai.

Xiang Cai had received the man's phone by chance, and felt a little hot.

Tan Yiming didn't think there was anything wrong with it, and frankly told Xiang Cai the password of his phone.

His password was a four-digit number, one that was particularly familiar to Xiang Cai.

"This isn’t…"

"It's your rent," Tan Yiming replied, not even blushing. "I set your rent as a password to save me from forgetting to collect your money every month."

He didn’t know who this answer was trying to deceive.

The phone entered its main interface. As soon as it was turned on, Xiang Cai was shocked by the bright red 99+ symbol on the screen.

Needless to say, WeChat, QQ, and email - even lifelike softwares such as Alipay, Are You Hungry, AutoNavi Maps, and Youdao Dictionary had bright red reminder symbols in their upper right corner.


Xiang Cai had never seen such magnificent sights as these red mountains and rivers of the motherland, and tremblingly asked him: "Don't you ever click to open it?"

Tan Yiming explained embarrassedly: "Those are all forwards, I'm too lazy to click them."

"Then turn off the background forwarding directly."

"...I don't know how to turn it off." Tan Yiming coughed, and said with a guilty conscience, "Then, I will study how to turn it off when I have time..."

Xiang Cai looked at Tan Yiming, then at his mobile phone, and thought, Tan Yiming usually looked very capable, even his house was tidy and in order. He did not expect that there was such an ‘eclectic’ side.

And such a private habit was impossible for anyone else to know.

The words Sister Yan'er had said sounded in Xiang Cai’s mind again, causing him to be blank-headed throughout the following journey. He held Tan Yiming's mobile phone and moved his fingers mechanically, zooming in and out the picture of the flower stand, but in fact, he didn't even notice the color of it.

Tan Yiming certainly didn't know that his mind was wandering. Tan Yiming only saw Xiang Cai watch the photo for more than ten minutes, and became sour from the inside out.

...So Xiang Cai likes the flower stand so much.

...

The car drove into the basement of their community. Xiang Cai jumped out of the car, and waited for Tan Yiming to lock the car.

"By the way, where is my luggage?" Xiang Cai had come back this time with only a large baggage with everything in it.

The luggage was not easy to take backstage, so Xiang Cai kept it in Tan Yiming's car.

Tan Yiming casually said: "I put it in the trunk."

As soon as his words were spoken, he immediately remembered that there was still a bouquet of ambiguous white roses in the trunk! He hurriedly rushed over, wishing for Xiang Cai to move towards the elevator.

"Cai Cai, you go up first, I'll take the luggage for you."

His overly diligent attitude naturally aroused Xiang Cai’s suspicion.

"I have hands and feet, I can take my luggage."

"No, no, you must be tired after acting for so long. You should go wait for the elevator first."

Xiang Cai increasingly felt that he was acting strange: "I have recovered after resting for so long, and there are only a few changes of clothes stuffed in the bag, I can handle it myself."

"Don't move!" In a hurry, Tan Yiming didn’t care how abrupt his behavior was, "I'll be right there!!"

Xiang Cai: "..."

Seeing his persistence, Xiang Cai could only temporarily let go of the strange feeling in his heart, agreeing: "...Alright, you get it quickly. I'll go and wait for you first."

With that, he turned and walked towards the elevator.

Tan Yiming stood by the trunk and let out a long sigh of relief.

However, before his hanging heart could rest easy, Xiang Cai unexpectedly turned back, flexibly stretched out his hand, and directly grabbed the car key from Tan Yiming's hand. Tan Yiming had carelessly lost hold of it, and before he could react, Xiang Cai had already pressed the open trunk button on the central control lock.

With just a beep—the trunk door rose in response.

The yellow light up above shed down light, illuminating the entire trunk.

There were a lot of things in the trunk, including Xiang Cai’s black backpack, Tan Yiming's spare suit... There was also a rose bouquet that had been bumped around all this way in the airtight carriage, but was still delicate and elegant.

The scent of the roses wafted out quickly, domineeringly encroaching on Xiang Cai's breath.

Xiang Cai stupidly looked at the white rose bouquet, suspecting that he was in a dream.

He softly asked, incredulous, "Is this...?"

"This is... This is..." Tan Yiming racked his brains to compose a reason, "Tomorrow is the birthday of my company's commercial director. This is a surprise I’m giving her on behalf of the company."

It sounded reasonable and convincing.

However, as if laughing at his lie, the pink greeting card in the bouquet suddenly fell down, along with a crushed rose.

Xiang Cai reflexively caught the greeting card, took a deep breath, and slowly opened it—

　　"Cai Cai:

　　The light belongs to you

　　The stage belongs to you

　　The applause belongs to you

　　I belong to you, too

　　—Your first fan: Tan Yiming"

The text written by the man himself was vigorous and powerful. It was just a few dozen words, but Xiang Cai spent a long, long time reading it.

It felt like he didn’t recognize those words, but he desperately opened his eyes, trying to engrave every character in his mind.

This was the most implicit and direct confession that Xiang Cai had ever seen in this life.

He had countless words to say, but those words filled his chest, slowly, slowly filling his whole heart.

Xiang Cai silently closed the greeting card, and looked up at the man standing in front of him, unexpectedly seeing Tan Yiming's expression that was as if he was so nervous he couldn't breathe.

It was this somewhat ‘silly’ expression that suddenly amused Xiang Cai, who also let all those words in his heart dissipate.

What was the use of thinking so much now?

He picked up the crushed white rose, turned his slender fingers flexibly, and slid the rose branch accurately into Tan Yiming's shirt pocket.

The petals of the white rose layered on top of each other, blooming on the man's left breast pocket.

"Thank you for the love of this fan—" Xiang Cai gently closed the card, "—I accept your gift."

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The author has something to say: I don’t know if you still remember, I wrote it in a previous edition, saying that this novel could also be called ‘How a Fan Can Get Their Idol’~

I hope that when the Cai Cai chases Old Tan, Old Tan also chases Cai Cai.

Worshipping each other, being obsessed with each other, becoming the idols and fans of each other.

***

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