Dark Fire chapter 32
You’re Insane
A few days later, Zhang Jing called and said she had gotten a new gig for Ling Zhuo as a regular guest on a prime-time variety show on a major TV network.
“It’s a new show launched by Nanxing TV in the last quarter of this year, called ‘Please Come to My House.’ There will be twelve episodes, with four regular guests showcasing the real lives of celebrities. Each episode, the guests visit one of the regulars’ homes. A spot opened up because someone dropped out, and I happen to know the deputy director in charge of this show, so I recommended you.”
Zhang Jing quickly mentioned who the other regular guests were, all familiar names, but Ling Zhuo didn’t have any particular thoughts about it. He only asked, “When will the filming start?”
Zhang Jing: “In late October, just after you finish filming this movie. We’ll record one episode per week, so it won’t interfere with the promotion of your group’s album.”
Ling Zhuo still hesitated: “What about when it’s my turn to host? I live in a group dormitory.”
Zhang Jing: “I was just about to tell you. Zhang Xun is about to leave the group, and the lease on your company’s dormitory ends at the end of the year. You probably won’t be living together anymore. I’ll rent a place for you separately. You can move out early, but there’s no rush since you’re currently on set. The place will be ready by the time you finish filming, and it will be more convenient and private for you to live alone.”
Ling Zhuo was silent for a moment, then said: “Alright.”
After hanging up the phone, Ling Zhuo sat dazed for a moment.
He had been living in the dormitory since his first day at the company. At first, it was like a school dormitory with multiple people in one room. Later, when it was decided that the five of them would debut together, the company rented a villa for them to live in. Even though they each had their own work in the past year or two and were often not home, he had privately regarded that place as his home.
But now, they were all going their separate ways.
When Lu Chixie came over, Ling Zhuo was still sitting on the sofa in a daze.
A cold bottle of mineral water pressed against his cheek. Ling Zhuo looked up to see Lu Chixie looking down at him.
Ling Zhuo frowned: “What are you doing?”
Lu Chixie: “Why are you sitting here in a daze? Don’t you need to touch up your makeup? You still have scenes to shoot.”
Ling Zhuo: “Not until the afternoon.”
Lu Chixie lazily leaned against the sofa and poked his face: “Feeling down again?”
Ling Zhuo: “No.”
Lu Chixie: “Ling, don’t you know your face can’t lie?”
Ling Zhuo helplessly said: “Really, it’s nothing. My agent just told me I have to move, and it’s a bit of a hassle.”
Lu Chixie looked at him.
Ling Zhuo: “What?”
Lu Chixie: “Is it really just a hassle, or are you reluctant?”
Ling Zhuo thought for a moment and told the truth: “It’s not that I’m reluctant, just a bit sentimental.”
Lu Chixie: “Sentimental?”
“Yes,” Ling Zhuo nodded, “All good things must come to an end. It just makes me feel a bit sentimental.”
Lu Chixie sneered: “You’re quite the sentimental type.”
“…Can’t you say something nice?” Ling Zhuo couldn’t stand his attitude. “Don’t you know how to comfort people?”
Lu Chixie: “Want to hear something nice?”
“Forget it if you don’t want to say it.” Ling Zhuo stood up to leave.
Lu Chixie grabbed him and pulled him back, making him sit right on his lap, then wrapped his arms around his waist.
Lu Chixie: “Where are you moving?”
Ling Zhuo couldn’t break free, so he gave up: “I don’t know. Jing jie will handle it. It should be somewhere close to the company, for convenience.”
Lu Chixie: “Then live with me. Second Ring Road, city center, my place. It’s 400 square meters. Want to move in?”
Ling Zhuo was a bit taken aback by Lu Chixie’s offer and then refused: “No need. That would be too much trouble for you. It’s not appropriate.”
Lu Chixie stared at him.
Ling Zhuo: “…Really, there’s no need.”
Lu Chixie: “I said it’s fine, so it’s fine. Just tell your agent. After filming, move in with me.”
His tone was forceful, as usual. Ling Zhuo was annoyed: “Hey, what do you mean by this? You’re being unreasonable!”
Lu Chixie: “Is it unreasonable to ask you to live with me? You didn’t have any problem living with others before. Why are you so reluctant now? Feeling wistful about moving out?”
Ling Zhuo: “You’re twisting my words. What do you mean ‘others’? I lived with my teammates before. It was arranged by the company…”
Lu Chixie: “Living with teammates is fine, but living with your boyfriend isn’t?”
Ling Zhuo wanted to argue, but Lu Chixie flipped him onto the sofa and kissed him.
Ling Zhuo’s lips and teeth were pried open, and his tongue was bitten painfully. He couldn’t stand it anymore and kicked at Lu Chixie.
Lu Chixie grabbed his leg and kissed him hard before finally letting go. Ling Zhuo’s eyes were red with anger: “What’s wrong with you?”
Lu Chixie repeated: “Move in with me.”
Ling Zhuo: “No.”
Yang Ming opened the door: “Zhuo Ge, Director He is looking for you.”
As soon as he spoke, he saw the two entangled together and was stunned: “Zhuo…”
Ling Zhuo quickly pushed Lu Chixie away and stood up, while Lu Chixie had a sour expression. Ling Zhuo glared at him and left the room.
For the rest of the day on set, Ling Zhuo ignored Lu Chixie, and Lu Chixie didn’t speak to him either.
Ling Zhuo didn’t have any night scenes that day, so he finished filming by evening and went straight back to the hotel.
At half-past ten, just as he was about to go to bed, someone knocked on the door. It was Lu Chixie’s assistant, Xiao Qian.
Outside the door, Xiao Qian looked embarrassed and said, “Lu Ge has been at the swimming pool downstairs for almost two hours and still won’t come up. Can you go persuade him, Zhuo Ge?”
Ling Zhuo frowned upon hearing this. “What’s he doing?”
Xiao Qian replied, “He’s just ignoring everyone and has been swimming non-stop. It’s been two hours, and he won’t listen to me no matter how much I try to persuade him…”
Ten minutes later, Ling Zhuo went downstairs.
The swimming pool was on the tenth floor of the hotel, adjacent to the fitness center. At this hour, there was no one else around. As Ling Zhuo entered, he saw that the large pool had only Lu Chixie swimming back and forth along the lane.
Ling Zhuo walked to the edge of the pool and called out irritably, “Come up now. How long are you planning to swim?”
Lu Chixie swam closer and suddenly broke through the water surface, splashing water everywhere. Ling Zhuo instinctively stepped back but was still drenched.
He grew even more annoyed and shouted, “What are you doing?!”
Lu Chixie finally got out of the pool, removed his goggles, and looked at him with dark eyes.
Seeing his lips almost white from soaking in the water, the words Ling Zhuo was about to scold him with got stuck in his throat. His gaze involuntarily traveled down from Lu Chixie’s perfect chest and abdominal muscles to a certain spot, hesitated for a moment, and then quickly looked away.
His face turned red.
Ling Zhuo said, “It’s so late. Why are you going crazy here and making me come to get you?”
His voice was mumbled, and his words carried a hint of discomfort. He didn’t dare look at the person in front of him anymore.
Lu Chixie coldly asked, “Why are you here?”
His attitude made Ling Zhuo uncomfortable, and his voice became colder.”Your assistant said you were refusing to leave, so he insisted I come to persuade you. I didn’t want to come.”
The two then stood there in silence, coldly staring at each other.
After a moment, Lu Chixie suddenly took a step back, his feet already at the pool’s edge. He stared expressionlessly into Ling Zhuo’s eyes and, to Ling Zhuo’s shock, fell straight backward into the pool.
Ling Zhuo shouted, “Hey!”
After the huge splash, Ling Zhuo rushed forward, only to see Lu Chixie sinking and not coming back up.
“Lu Chixie! Lu Chixie!” Ling Zhuo shouted in panic.
Knowing that Lu Chixie was a good swimmer and had done it on purpose, Ling Zhuo still panicked when he didn’t see him surface after a long time. Shouting a few more times without a response, he bit his lip and jumped into the water himself.
He hurriedly dived underwater to find him, only to have his wrist grabbed and pulled close.
Then, his waist was tightly held as Lu Chixie pulled him into his arms.
Realizing he had been tricked, Ling Zhuo struggled desperately, but Lu Chixie’s lips covered his, forcing him to open his mouth.
Their lips and tongues entwined, with water constantly flowing in. Ling Zhuo, trapped in Lu Chixie’s embrace, kicked and punched, soon choking on the water. The burning sensation in his throat made his whole body tremble. In the next second, Lu Chixie finally brought him to the surface.
Ling Zhuo coughed violently, his eyes red and tears streaming down his face. He slapped Lu Chixie hard across the face.
“You’re insane.”
He gritted his teeth and croaked out these two words, not wanting to deal with this lunatic anymore. He turned and climbed out of the pool first.
Lu Chixie followed and stopped him as he was about to leave. “Let’s take a shower and change.”
Ling Zhuo glared at him, but Lu Chixie remained unfazed. “Do you plan to take the elevator upstairs looking like this? What if someone sees you?”
Five minutes later, Lu Chixie dragged him into the locker room shower, slammed the door shut, and pressed him against the tiled wall, kissing him.
Hot water poured over them, and Lu Chixie stripped off all of Ling Zhuo’s clothes, along with his own.
He wedged one leg between Ling Zhuo’s legs, lifting him to hold him tighter. Their bodies pressed closely together, and they kissed deeply, exploring every part of each other’s mouths. Ling Zhuo felt like he was about to be devoured, finally regaining some sense amidst the confusion. As Lu Chixie’s kisses moved to his neck, he pushed his shoulder, “Shower…shower…”
Lu Chixie bit down hard on his neck.
Ling Zhuo gasped sharply, his pushing hands slowly turning into an embrace.
The sounds of their intimacy gradually drowned out by the water.
Twenty minutes later, Ling Zhuo sat in a changing room stall, wrapped in Lu Chixie’s jacket, waiting for Yang Ming to bring him clothes.
Lu Chixie leaned against the locker opposite, drinking water, his eyes fixed on Ling Zhuo’s face. Ling Zhuo felt uncomfortable under his gaze, remembering how he was almost driven to the edge by Lu Chixie’s hands in the shower. His face flushed, feeling both angry and helpless.
His voice was still hoarse as he asked, “What got into you tonight?”
Lu Chixie slowly put down the half-empty water bottle. “The shoot is over. Move in with me.”
Ling Zhuo felt a headache. After all this, it was still about that.
He said, “It’s not convenient. What if someone finds out?”
Lu Chixie replied, “What’s inconvenient? The community I live in is very private, much better than anywhere else you could stay.”
Ling Zhuo said, “My agent just got me a variety show. They’ll come to my house to film. It’s really not convenient.”
Lu Chixie said, “Are you that afraid of being found out?”
Ling Zhuo said, “…Be reasonable.”
Lu Chixie said, “No one will find out. Even if they do, what does it matter if we live together? Unless you’re feeling guilty.”
Ling Zhuo had nothing more to say.
He did feel guilty, given that his relationship with Lu Chixie was indeed unconventional.
Lu Chixie repeated, “Move in with me.”
Ling Zhuo was silent.
After a while, he finally nodded. “Fine, I’ll think about how to tell Jing jie.”
“Ling Zhuo,” Lu Chixie called his name. “You’re afraid of water, so why did you jump in earlier?”
Ling Zhuo got annoyed at the mention of this. “You have the nerve to ask. Who’s such a jerk to fall into the water on purpose to scare me?”
Lu Chixie: “Did I scare you?”
Ling Zhuo: “Next time you go crazy, can you choose a different way…”
Lu Chixie continued to stare at him, causing Ling Zhuo to lower his head.
Then he heard Lu Chixie’s laughter above him. Looking up, he saw that Lu Chixie seemed to have finally returned to normal. Lu Chixie reached out and brushed his hair. “Sorry about that.”
Ling Zhuo had intended to scold him, but when he noticed the redness still lingering on Lu Chixie’s left cheek, he felt embarrassed. He had hit him pretty hard just now.
“Does your face hurt?”
Lu Chixie didn’t seem to care. His fingers played with Ling Zhuo’s hair, and under his seemingly casual gaze, Ling Zhuo inexplicably blushed again.
“Ge, where are you?”
Yang Ming’s voice finally broke the slightly awkward atmosphere in the changing room. Lu Chixie opened the door, grabbed the clothes, and handed them to Ling Zhuo.
Ling Zhuo tugged at the jacket he was wearing. “You go out first. I’ll change and come out right away.”
Even though they had already been naked together earlier, he now felt embarrassed.
Lu Chixie’s amused gaze lingered on him for a moment. He smiled without saying anything and walked out of the changing room.
Ten minutes later, the two of them took the elevator upstairs together.
Lu Chixie walked Ling Zhuo to his door and reminded him as he entered, “It’s late, get some sleep.”
Ling Zhuo nodded absentmindedly, hesitated, and then suddenly asked, “Teacher Lu, have you really never had experience before?”
Lu Chixie raised an eyebrow.
Ling Zhuo’s voice was even more muffled: “…You’re actually quite experienced, aren’t you?”
In the shower earlier, this person had been very adept. He himself, on the other hand, felt completely clueless and ashamed.
Lu Chixie laughed, looking quite pleased. Ling Zhuo felt very uncomfortable under his laughter and frowned. “What’s so funny?”
Lu Chixie: “You’re doubting me again?”
Before Ling Zhuo could respond, he continued, “Since you say so, I’ll take it as a compliment regarding my abilities.”
Ling Zhuo had no face to continue the conversation, hurriedly entered the room, threw out a “Good night,” and closed the door.
Half a minute later, his phone received a WeChat message from Lu Chixie: “Good night, see you tomorrow.”
Ling Zhuo smiled slightly and turned off his phone screen.