Chapter 23 I Won't Become Gay
As he said this, Xie Wang felt inexplicably guilty, his eyes darting around, and he dared not look directly at Ling Shuangjiang.
Ling Shuangjiang saw through his thoughts at a glance. She sat on the bed with a hesitant look in her eyes and deliberately furrowed her brows.
His appearance made Xie Wang even more uneasy, and he stared at him nervously, as if awaiting judgment.
Suddenly, Ling Shuangjiang laughed out loud. Not wanting the injured Xie Wang to wait any longer, she nodded to him and said, "Come on up."
Xie Wang ran to the door in a few steps and got into the RV.
Although the RV was quite spacious, it was still a bit cramped and restrictive for two people. Ling Shuangjiang was sitting on the bed at the moment. Her usually neatly styled hair was hanging casually over her forehead because she had just taken a shower, and her bangs were a little long and partially covered her eyes.
It's almost October now, and the nights are quite cold. Xie Wang's coat was a bit chilly when he came in, and he took it off before approaching Ling Shuangjiang, worried that she might catch a cold.
"Sit here." Ling Shuangjiang gently patted the bed. "Let me see your mouth."
Xie Wang walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, hesitating slightly, opening his mouth awkwardly, his eyes staring at the ceiling.
Ling Shuangjiang turned on her flashlight and carefully examined the inside, finding that only the edge of the mouth was scratched, and there was nothing wrong inside.
"There's no way to disinfect your mouth." Ling Shuangjiang opened a clean cotton swab and said in a soft and patient voice, "Let me clean the blood off for you."
Xie Wang nodded with his mouth agape.
Seeing his expression, Ling Shuangjiang smiled.
About ten minutes later, Ling Shuangjiang said, "OK."
Xie Wang pursed his lips: "Thank you."
"Don't carry a rose in your mouth next time. You're such a big guy, don't you even know there are thorns on them?" Ling Shuangjiang teased him.
"I know," Xie Wang explained earnestly, "I just forgot for a moment."
With a smile, Ling Shuangjiang ran her fingers through her hair, glanced at the time, and asked, "Going to sleep?"
Xie Wang glanced at the RV bed, which was only 1.2 meters wide, and then looked down at the ground: "I'll sleep on the floor."
"You'll catch a cold sleeping on the floor," Ling Shuangjiang said. "Why don't you squeeze in with me?"
“That’s not a good idea, after all… you like boys, we need to avoid suspicion,” Xie Wang said.
Upon hearing this, Ling Shuangjiang paused in making the bed, falling silent. Now, he roughly understood Xie Wang's recent emotional journey.
His dark pupils were somewhat vacant, unlike his usual gentle demeanor. He asked Xie Wang, "If you wanted to avoid suspicion, why did you send me roses in the middle of the night and get into my RV?"
Xie Wang looked at him and said, "Because I wanted to chat with you; we haven't spoken in a long time. As for the roses, it's because Lu Shaoheng said today that you liked them, and the florist only had these two left, so I brought them to you."
Ling Shuangjiang's expression was complicated after hearing these words. He knew that these words were the truth and were quite in line with Xie Wang's style of doing things.
"Alright then." He smiled helplessly, knowing that he couldn't make Xie Wang realize his feelings in a short time, and there was no use in rushing it. So he put on his slippers: "I'll go find you some bedding."
And so, Xie Wang lay down on the floor, one meter below Ling Shuangjiang.
He lay on his side, and could clearly see Ling Shuangjiang's face. She was also lying on her side against the bed, her eyes closed, facing him.
Ling Shuangjiang's skin was very fair, with almost no visible pores, and her dark eyelashes hung down to her eyes, making her look like the most beautiful doll in the store.
Xie Wang stared at him for a long time: "Shuangjiang, do you like Lu Shaoheng?"
Ling Shuangjiang opened her eyes: "Why do you ask that?"
Xie Wang: "Because you agreed to go on a date with him."
For some reason, Ling Shuangjiang detected a hint of grievance in those words.
He thought for a moment and asked, "I used to go on dates with you a lot, why don't you think I like you?"
Xie Wang said firmly, "Because we are good friends, I can still distinguish between friendship and love."
"Is that so?" Ling Shuangjiang sighed softly, turned around and looked out the window, muttering to herself, "Can you really tell the difference?"
Seeing that he no longer answered, Xie Wang did not press the matter further and carefully closed his eyes.
The two slept soundly that night.
The next day, when Ling Shuangjiang woke up, Xie Wang was nowhere to be seen. He looked up and noticed a carefully arranged bouquet of flowers on the dining table. He walked over, picked up the card, and wrote the following message:
This is a new one I just bought; it's for you.
By Xie Wang
Ling Shuangjiang smiled, then sighed helplessly.
While having breakfast, Wen Nuan sat opposite Ling Shuangjiang and noticed that his bangs were blocking his eyes, so she said, "Shuangjiang should get a haircut."
Ling Shuangjiang nodded: "I want to edit it after the show is finished, but I don't know if I can handle it."
"The show's stylist should be able to cut your hair, but you could try a side part; it might look better that way," Wen Ai suggested.
Ling Shuangjiang: "I'm not used to parting my hair too much."
At this moment, Lu Shaoheng, holding a loaf of bread, said to Ling Shuangjiang, "If you want to develop in the entertainment industry, you have to learn to adapt to ever-changing styles."
Ling Shuangjiang nodded gently and picked up the milk.
Huang Shan then handed Ling Shuangjiang a small black hair tie, saying, "Aren't you hot? You can tie your bangs up; it will look very cute."
Ling Shuangjiang frowned: "Put bangs on your head?"
Wen Ai said, “Yes. Look, you’re sweating even while eating. You can tie it up temporarily. Many male celebrities wear small buns, but they tie them in the back while you tie them in the front.”
Huang Shan: "Can you do it? Otherwise, I can help you."
Faced with such an enthusiastic suggestion from the two, Ling Shuangjiang had no choice but to say, "Okay, I'll give it a try."
A moment later, Ling Shuangjiang tied up her black hair in front of her forehead, revealing her full, fair forehead, and looked a little embarrassed.
[Like a little apple.]
[So cute!]
[Little Apple is so cute during Frost's Descent!]
[Frost is shy.]
Xie Wang kept looking at him: "Just like when you were a child."
Lu Shaoheng asked, "Did you know Shuangjiang when you were a child, Mr. Xie?"
Xie Wang sensed a hint of jealousy in Lu Shaoheng's words. He pursed his thin lips and picked up his coffee: "I have photos of him when he was a child."
[Wow, these two knew each other beforehand?]
[That doesn't seem right; they were complete strangers in the first episode.]
[Why does the fourth male character have a childhood photo of him during the Frost's Descent solar term?]
Huang Shan asked in surprise, "Why would President Xie have this?"
Xie Wang said casually, "Some were cut from posters, and some were downloaded from computers."
[Hahaha, this is hilarious!!]
[It turns out Xie Wang is a fan of "Frost's Descent".]
[So that's how it is! Now it explains why they're so close and why President Xie chose Frostfall for their first date.]
After breakfast, the guests can still choose their favorite guest for a date, just like yesterday.
Wen Ai muttered softly, "Why haven't we had a chance to go to the manor lately?"
Director: "Because the estate is under renovation."
Comments in the live chat: The production team is quite honest.
As the selection process began, Xie Wang casually walked up to Ling Shuangjiang, swaying back and forth, occasionally looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, seemingly lost in thought.
Ling Shuangjiang saw everything, but said nothing and just sat there silently.
At this moment, Lu Shaoheng walked up to Ling Shuangjiang, and Xie Wang, seeing this, immediately approached and stared at the two of them.
Lu Shaoheng asked, "Do you want to go to the gym? I heard there's a barbershop nearby, I can take you to get a haircut while I'm there."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled and said, "Is that alright?"
“Of course.” Lu Shaoheng winked at him and held out his hand: “After you get your hair cut, you can give me your hair tie as my payment.”
Ling Shuangjiang didn't offer a hand: "Let's go."
The two passed by Xie Wang without hesitation and left gracefully.
Why wasn't Frostfall invited as the fourth male lead?
[I'm so angry! The fourth male lead just keeps swaying around and doesn't say a word.]
[Sigh, it's so painful.]
[Lu Shaoheng is so clever; he actually wanted the black hair tie from the Frostfall haircut.]
[This is something couples would wear, right?]
The gym was the only date spot located in the shopping street. The two were supposed to follow the route planned by the production team, but Lu Shaoheng wanted to take Ling Shuangjiang to get a haircut first, so he decided to navigate himself.
Soon, Lu Shaoheng and Ling Shuangjiang attracted a large crowd of onlookers, especially Lu Shaoheng's fans, who were extremely enthusiastic. Without bodyguards, the two were like puppets without strings, caught in the crowd and completely unable to control their direction.
Soon, more and more fans gathered on the edge of the road, right next to the driveway, which was very dangerous.
Lu Shaoheng initially didn't expect the nearby fans to be so well-informed. It was only after being reminded by the photographer that he realized the variety show was being broadcast live, and it was perfectly normal for the fans to know.
He saw Ling Shuangjiang being pushed aside by the frenzied fans and anxiously tried to pull him away, but he couldn't break through the crowd and could only watch helplessly. No matter how patiently he tried to guide the fans, the scene remained chaotic.
Amidst the flow of cars and pedestrians on the road, Ling Shuangjiang always felt that someone was deliberately pulling him toward the road.
The sounds of passing cars were very clear in his ears. Ling Shuangjiang's collar was being pulled so tightly around his neck that he couldn't breathe. And the force was so great that he couldn't struggle.
He turned around to see who was pulling him, but only caught a glimpse of a few fanatical fans holding up signs for Lu Shaoheng. Among them, two boys had a chillingly cold look in their eyes.
In that instant, Ling Shuangjiang felt a chill run down her spine.
"Let go of my hand!" A furious and indifferent voice suddenly rang out, and the hand holding Ling Shuangjiang slowly loosened.
Xie Wang stopped his old bicycle next to Ling Shuangjiang, stretched out his long legs, easily wrapped his arms around Ling Shuangjiang's waist, and lifted him up to sit on the crossbar in front of the bicycle.
Ling Shuangjiang hadn't reacted yet, her eyes filled with terror. Seeing this, Xie Wang gripped the handlebars with both hands, his arms tightly protecting her.
"Ah Jiang, don't be afraid, I'm here."