Blazing fire is hard to extinguish chapter 52
He Chases
Thailand.
Lin Chi pushed open the window, the scent of wet grass and plants filled his lungs, making him sigh deeply.
Chiang Mai was very hot in July, but now it was six in the morning, and it had just rained, leaving a slight coolness in the air.
Lin Chi walked down the wooden stairs and got a cup of coffee in the lobby.
While he was sitting in the veranda drinking coffee, Gu Yiyuan also got up, walked into the lobby, and without any courtesy, sat next to him and took a banana from his plate.
Lin Chi: “…”
He really wanted Huo Yuning to see this. The high-cold, smart, classy director she had in her mind was actually like this.
Gu Yiyuan ate the stolen banana and asked Lin Chi, “Why are you up so early today? I remember your scenes are in the afternoon.”
“Yes, but I just couldn’t sleep, planning to go out for a walk in the morning.”
Lin Chi drank his coffee, sitting in the garden, inexplicably feeling very good.
This was his seventeenth day participating in Gu Yiyuan’s new movie shoot.
The first filming location was in Thailand.
Gu Yiyuan had booked the entire hotel for the crew’s accommodation. After more than half a month of working together, although Gu Yiyuan had a bad temper on set, as malicious as the stepfather of Snow White, he was fine off set, and there were no weird people in the crew, so Lin Chi was quite happy.
Of course, it would be better if Gu Yiyuan could scold him less.
Gu Yiyuan’s coffee was also delivered. He gulped down half a cup at once, like a cow chewing peonies.
“Where are you planning to go?” he asked, “Do you need someone to take you?”
“No need.” Lin Chi shook his head, checked the time, and stood up, “I just plan to walk around and visit the market.”
Gu Yiyuan nodded and didn’t interfere further, as he had to go to the set later.
“Remember not to be late for the afternoon shoot.” He reminded.
Lin Chi made an ok gesture and took his coffee out.
He had no particular destination, just strolled like a tourist, wearing a loose white cotton shirt, sandals, and sunglasses.
He haggled in English with the locals, bought a unique postcard made of plant material, some nice-smelling incense, and a bag of fruit.
But just as he was about to leave, his fruits accidentally swept onto the neighboring stall, knocking over a display of glass items.
With a crash, several glass perfume bottles fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Lin Chi was stunned.
The neighboring stall was run by an elderly man who immediately grabbed him, speaking rapidly in Thai that Lin Chi couldn’t understand, while glaring at him.
Lin Chi knew he was at fault and gestured, trying to offer money to resolve the issue, but he hadn’t brought much cash.
He wanted to use Alipay but couldn’t communicate this in English to the elderly man, who didn’t understand.
The stall owner he had just bought from kindly helped with the communication, but unfortunately, these small stalls only accepted cash.
What a headache.
Standing under the scorching sun, Lin Chi felt dizzy and looked around, hoping to find a fellow Chinese person to exchange some money.
Before he could find anyone, a tall figure approached him.
Lin Chi heard a familiar voice speaking in Thai.
His fingers, holding the fruit, twitched.
Turning around, he saw a person in a washed blue top taking out some Thai baht and placing it on the elderly man’s stall, communicating a few words. The stall owner accepted the money, looking satisfied, and even gifted a small glass bird.
This person chuckled and said a word of thanks before looking at Lin Chi.
Lin Chi’s breath caught.
Tourists were swarming around them.
The world’s languages seemed to mix here, the market bustling with activity, sweet fruit juice and floral scents blending in the air, the sunlight hot on the ground and on their bodies.
Everything around seemed to be shouting the word “summer” with all its might.
Looking at the person across from him, Lin Chi felt dizzy.
It wasn’t until Li Tingyan stood in front of him that Lin Chi found his voice.
“What are you doing here?” he asked softly.
He looked up, the bright sunlight illuminating Li Tingyan’s face, every detail clear.
The dizziness lingered, making Lin Chi feel dazed.
It had been five months since that night in Helsinki. They hadn’t seen each other in five months.
Li Tingyan looked unchanged, only the backdrop had shifted from icy winter to scorching summer.
He still appeared out of nowhere.
Always showing up in Lin Chi’s life in unexpected ways.
…..
Li Tingyan had been following Lin Chi since earlier.
He had arrived in Chiang Mai the night before, wanting to find Lin Chi but unsure of what excuse to use.
Seeing him leave the hotel today, he followed, staying not too close, not too far, like a shadow.
Like a tourist wanting to strike up a conversation but unable to think of an opening line.
Only when Lin Chi ran into trouble did he reveal himself, feeling that his appearance was too abrupt.
But now, looking into Lin Chi’s eyes, he couldn’t think too much. Just being gazed at by those eyes made him feel like he was burning under the sun.
“Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?” he smiled helplessly.
“No.”
Lin Chi answered quickly.
Li Tingyan chuckled again. This time, his smile wasn’t as tense as that night in Helsinki, not like a cornered beast, but genuinely from the heart.
While walking through the market earlier, a girl selling sweets had given him a few flowers, a cluster of jasmine. He saw people pinning them to their hair.
So he did the same, gently pinning the flowers next to the second button of Lin Chi’s shirt, like a beautiful brooch.
The jasmine scent clung to his hand and to Lin Chi.
He softly said, “I wanted to see you, so I came.”
No grand excuse.
He didn’t want to cover up his intentions.
He wanted to see Lin Chi. He finally could see him, so he showed up.
….
The market was too crowded, so they didn’t stay long.
Lin Chi was escorted back to his hotel by Li Tingyan. He had a shoot in the afternoon, so despite having a lot to say, now didn’t seem like the right time for a conversation.
Li Tingyan didn’t stop him from getting out of the car but held onto his wrist.
“Can I pick you up for dinner tonight?”
Li Tingyan asked softly.
He looked at Lin Chi without blinking, the intensity of his gaze making Lin Chi feel hot.
Lin Chi couldn’t help but shrink back, his mind a mess, like a thousand trumpets blaring in his head.
It made him a bit apprehensive of Li Tingyan.
But he couldn’t say exactly what he was apprehensive about.
In the end, he nodded randomly, his voice dry, “Okay.”
He tried to gather his thoughts, “I’ll probably finish around nine tonight, if there’s no delay. If you can wait…”
“I can.”
Before he could finish, Li Tingyan interrupted.
“I will wait for you.”
Lin Chi felt his ears burning.
He pressed his lips together, said nothing more, broke free from Li Tingyan’s wrist, and got out of the car.
…..
Because of this incident, Lin Chi was a bit out of it during the afternoon’s shoot.
But Gu Yiyuan wanted him in this state, ethereal and otherworldly, wearing a snow-white long robe, standing among lush green plants, locked in a deep courtyard, catching the heroine’s eye through the window’s grilles, a fleeting glimpse she would never forget.
When they finished work, it was indeed already 9 PM. Gu Yiyuan praised him with great satisfaction, “You did well today. If you can do this every day, think of how much time I’ll save.”
Lin Chi was preoccupied and had no mind to listen. He gave a perfunctory smile, packed his things, and prepared to leave. He had informed his assistant in advance that he would head back alone, allowing the assistant to go home directly. The assistant, without much thought, cheerfully agreed.
At 9:30 PM, Lin Chi was lurking near a 7-Eleven, hesitating as he sent a location pin.
Moments later, a black car pulled up in front of him. The window rolled down halfway, and Li Tingyan, sitting in the driver’s seat, looked at him with gentle eyes.
Considering Lin Chi’s growing fame, even in Thailand, they needed to be cautious of their surroundings.
Li Tingyan had booked an entire restaurant for them. It was a small villa with a green and white theme. As they climbed the stairs, the wooden floor creaked beneath them, and the menu was filled with local specialties.
Lin Chi pretended to study the colorful menu, but his mind was in chaos. He wondered if the heat had caused him to suffer from heatstroke. He flipped through page after page without absorbing a single word.
“When did you arrive in Thailand?” he asked, his fingers unconsciously folding the corner of the menu.
“Last night.”
Li Tingyan wasn’t looking at the menu at all; he was watching Lin Chi, making Lin Chi’s neck feel heavy with the weight of his gaze.
“I wanted to come to you as soon as I landed, but I was afraid I’d scare you. So, I stayed at the hotel. Today, I waited outside your hotel early in the morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of you, and it seems my luck was good.”
Lin Chi was startled.
He finally looked up at Li Tingyan, asking curiously, “How did you know where I was staying?”
Li Tingyan wasn’t the least bit embarrassed.
“I have my ways,” he said gently yet firmly. “I know where you’ve been filming these past six months.” He paused, then added slowly, “Including whose parties you’ve attended.”
And who you’ve been secretly meeting on balconies.
But he swallowed the last part, knowing that nothing had happened between Lin Chi and the blue-eyed French guy. There was no need to bring it up, especially since they had no formal commitment to each other. Lin Chi was free to leave him for someone else if he wished.
Still, jealousy is a tough emotion to extinguish.
Li Tingyan’s fingers traced the embossed patterns on the glass, his lashes lowered to hide his feelings.
Lin Chi could tell something from Li Tingyan’s straightforward response.
No wonder, he thought, no wonder Li Tingyan always managed to find him. It was the same in Helsinki, and now in Chiang Mai. How else could Li Tingyan know so much about his whereabouts?
“You…”
He was so frustrated he wanted to hit Li Tingyan with the menu, but facing Li Tingyan’s candid, almost obsessive gaze, he lost his resolve.
“You’re a pervert,” he muttered.
In the end, Lin Chi ordered a few of his usual Thai dishes. As he closed the menu, he called the waiter back to order two of their special drinks.
When the drinks, adorned with little umbrellas, arrived, he pushed the non-alcoholic one to Li Tingyan.
He raised his glass and clinked it lightly with Li Tingyan’s.
He had so much he wanted to say to Li Tingyan from the moment he saw him. But now, sitting across from him, he couldn’t find the words.
All he could manage was, “It doesn’t matter why you’re here, it’s always nice to meet an old friend in a foreign land.”
In a low voice, he said, “Let’s toast to our reunion.”