"Jiang Cheng," Nini patted her hands, "it's your turn, hurry up!"

Jiang Cheng put down his water bottle and stood up. Gu Fei was no longer staring in their direction. He was looking down at the photos he had just taken in his camera, his side profile unreadable, looking just like he usually did when fiddling with his camera.

For a moment, Jiang Cheng thought he had imagined that stormy and gloomy expression on Gu Fei's face earlier.

"We'll talk more later," Tan Lin added behind him.

Jiang Cheng paused for a moment without turning back and walked away directly.

Talk more later?

Talk my ass!

Could what just happened even count as talking!

When he got to Gu Fei's side, he realized the stormy expression wasn't his imagination at all, because the clouds were still hovering over Gu Fei's face. It was very noticeable head-on, even his eyelashes were lined with dark clouds.

Gu Fei didn't wait for him to speak first. With a twist of his camera lens, he said coldly, "Talk less to him."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was frighteningly icy.

Jiang Cheng frowned. He was already annoyed by Tan Lin's relentless questions earlier, and Gu Fei's reluctance to elaborate further also annoyed him. And now, Gu Fei was inexplicably upset at him... Most importantly, Gu Fei had no reason to be angry at him!

"I only said 'Mm' three times," Jiang Cheng looked at him steadily, "If that counts as talking, I'll just talk to you like that from now on."

Gu Fei glanced up at him.

"Mm?" Jiang Cheng held his gaze.

"Get to work first," Gu Fei said.

"Mm," Jiang Cheng grunted in acknowledgement and turned to go to the set.

They were shooting his and Xiao Zhen's couple photoshoot section now. When Xiao Zhen came over and stood next to Jiang Cheng after changing into new clothes, one of the brand's staff nodded approvingly, "They look good together, there's chemistry."

"You think so?" Xiao Zhen smiled and glanced at Jiang Cheng, "Give me ten or eight more guys like this, I absolutely won't complain about having too many."

"Let's start," Gu Fei raised his camera.

The camera obscured Gu Fei's face and Jiang Cheng couldn't see his expression. Usually when Gu Fei took photos of him, he would give all kinds of detailed pointers on hand positioning for the most flattering angles and how to tilt his face for the best lighting effects...

But now he was completely silent, just clicking away with his camera, the only time he spoke was to ask Nini to adjust the lighting angles.

To be honest, Jiang Cheng felt very uncomfortable. He wasn't a professional model and lacked experience. He usually relied on Gu Fei's guidance, but today this bastard wasn't saying a word. He could only freestyle it.

Luckily Xiao Zhen had done this for many years and was very experienced. She also had an outgoing personality and would guide Jiang Cheng on how to pose.

"Be a little more intimate, right now it looks more like girl friends than a couple," said the brand's employee observing them.

Girl friends my ass!

Jiang Cheng was incredibly irritated. Under normal circumstances, he would have walked away already at this point. But right now he was being paid to do this job, even though he wasn't hurting for money at the moment...

He could only put on an display of intimate closeness with Xiao Zhen. Unlike Gu Fei, although he didn't like being touched, with some mental preparation beforehand, some physical intimacy with a girl didn't make him uncomfortable.

Not like a certain someone, who was so afraid of girls sitting behind him on his bike that he would frantically speed off like his life depended on it, as if he'd be immediately slaughtered if he went any slower.

Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng felt like laughing a little, but one glance at the dark clouds nearby killed his urge to laugh entirely.

This was probably the most uncomfortable few hours Jiang Cheng had experienced since he started modeling. During breaks to change clothes and use the bathroom, he tried to catch Gu Fei's eye several times, signaling that he had a few minutes free now if Gu Fei wanted to say anything.

But Gu Fei never met his gaze.

On the other hand, Tan Lin smiled at him in a friendly manner twice, and Jiang Cheng wanted to go over and tell Tan Lin to just spit out anything else he still wanted to say, all at once.

It wasn't until the photoshoot finished that Gu Fei finally came over and said, "Let's go, I'll wait for you to change."

"Mm," Jiang Cheng grunted in response.

After changing and coming out, Gu Fei was already waiting with his things packed up in the hallway. Tan Lin was standing to the side. When he saw Jiang Cheng, he smiled, "Leaving?"

Jiang Cheng nodded, wiping the water off his face, and walked out.

Following behind Gu Fei towards the elevator, Jiang Cheng really couldn't hold it in anymore. "Gu Fei."

"Mm?" Gu Fei turned around.

"If you've got something to say, then say it," Jiang Cheng said. "Your face is already long enough to drag on the ground."

"I just want you to stay away from Tan Lin," Gu Fei reached to press the elevator button but Jiang Cheng slapped his hand away. He turned to look at Jiang Cheng.

"I don't know who Tan Lin is to you," Jiang Cheng looked back at him steadily, "But to me, he's just a stranger, and a stranger who doesn't match your own description of your relationship with him."

Gu Fei didn't say anything, only his brows continued furrowing, and reached around Jiang Cheng's hand to press the elevator button.

"If he wants to talk to me, what can I do? I only said 'Mm' three times, that's keeping my distance enough already. Why are you giving me the stink eye?" Jiang Cheng asked.

The elevator doors opened and Gu Fei walked in. Jiang Cheng stayed where he was.

"Let's go," Gu Fei said. "I just want you to keep your distance from him, that's all."

"That's all, and it's making you pull your face down eight feet long? Not even the ceiling height can stop you," Jiang Cheng was truly annoyed now. He didn't actually care that Gu Fei was sulking, he knew Gu Fei was in a bad mood after seeing Tan Lin, but he was fed up with not being able to ask about the unclear relationship between them. "Why don't you go tell him to keep his distance from me? Constantly bumping into him, if I have to look at your face for a few more hours next time, I'd rather go hand out flyers on the street."

Gu Fei stuck his hand out to stop the elevator doors from closing, then walked out. He dropped the camera bags in his hands onto the floor and headed in the other direction.

"Where are you going!" Jiang Cheng called out.

"I'm going to tell him to keep his distance from you," Gu Fei replied without turning back.

Jiang Cheng froze, staring wide-eyed as Gu Fei walked through the doors. It took him nearly ten seconds before he snapped out of it and rushed back. After two steps, he remembered Gu Fei's equipment still on the floor. That stuff was valuable, it wouldn't be easy to replace if lost.

So he turned back to grab the bags.

When he got back to the studio, Gu Fei wasn't inside. Jiang Cheng looked around but didn't see Tan Lin either.

"Why did you come back?" Xiao Zhen had just finished removing her makeup and came out, sitting there holding a small mirror, seemingly about to reapply it. Without makeup, Jiang Cheng almost didn't recognize her.

"Did you see Gu Fei?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"I thought you came back to ask for my contact info," Xiao Zhen sighed. "He's in there with Boss Lin, probably talking things through." She pointed at a side door, which was a storage room filled with props and costumes.

Jiang Cheng went over and tried the locked door handle. It didn't open.

He pressed his ear to the door to listen, but with music playing in the main room, he couldn't make out any sounds from within.

If Gu Fei was only exchanging a few words with Tan Lin, that would be fine. But if things got physical... Although he wasn't afraid of fights, he didn't want Gu Fei getting into one here.

This environment wasn't a steel factory or "students brawling" context. A real fight would look very bad.

Jiang Cheng took two steps back and pulled out his phone, thinking of calling Gu Fei.

His screen had just lit up and he hadn't opened his call log yet when the door opened and Gu Fei came out.

Jiang Cheng put his phone back in his pocket, quickly scanning Gu Fei's face first. Clean and neat and handsome, so he immediately looked past Gu Fei into the room.

Tan Lin was also walking out, looking tidy, but he raised a hand to wipe at his mouth in a conspicuous manner, glancing at it himself. This motion made it obvious to Jiang Cheng with one look that Gu Fei had hit Tan Lin.

However, when Tan Lin came out, his expression was calm. He even nodded at Jiang Cheng in greeting.

"Let's go," Gu Fei went to grab his bags and headed out.

Jiang Cheng followed behind him, eyes still fixed on his clothes and pants, looking for any signs of a scuffle, but there were none. So Tan Lin had obediently taken a punch from Gu Fei.

This surprised Jiang Cheng a little. On the surface, Tan Lin looked refined and cultured, but he gave off the impression that he wasn't the type to take a beating quietly. Yet he was so calm about this.

Standing at the elevator doors this time, Jiang Cheng didn't try to stop Gu Fei from pressing the button. But once they were inside, he still didn't know what to say.

So the ride down was silent. When they got to the apartment building where Jiang Cheng lived, Gu Fei spoke to him, but Jiang Cheng had lost all motivation to respond by then.

"Want to get something to eat?" Gu Fei asked.

"Mm," Jiang Cheng grunted.

"Where do you want to eat?" Gu Fei asked again.

Jiang Cheng didn't reply. He had no appetite, it didn't matter where they ate.

"It's quite a long story to explain everything clearly," Gu Fei looked at him. "If you want to hear it..."

"If you don't want to say it, then don't," Jiang Cheng cut him off. "I'm not bent on digging up things you don't want to talk about. But if it's stuff you don't want to say yourself, then keep it bottled up. Don't take your anger out on me. I don't know anything, I don't know which steps can set off your landmines. I also don't want to tiptoe around cautiously. And I don't owe you anything! I'm just a f*cking insignificant nobody!"

Gu Fei looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and turned his head away after a while.

"I'm not eating. You go eat by yourself. I still need to sleep, then go pick up Pan Zhi in the afternoon," Jiang Cheng said and turned to go into the building.

He felt rather conflicted. When Gu Fei was unwilling to elaborate, part of Jiang Cheng felt that if Gu Fei didn't want to talk about it, he shouldn't pry. Everyone was entitled to their own space. Yet another part of him felt it was too evasive to not say anything at all.

And now that Gu Fei was willing to explain, one side of him wondered if he was making too big a deal out of this, that he should just let it go if the other person didn't want to talk about something. It was rather embarrassing. But another part still felt, hey, if you're going to talk about it now, this insignificant little nobody doesn't even want to listen anymore, choke on it!

It wasn't until he reached his door and took out his keys that Jiang Cheng sighed. That was youth for you, a young romance was never steady, it was as if it didn't count as love without some drama, probably because of having too little experience, always reacting strongly to every little thing...

As he inserted the key into the lock, Jiang Cheng suddenly sensed a familiar scent.

Gu Fei's very pleasant smell.

Then a shadow fluttered in his periphery.

Although his mind simultaneously identified the person as Gu Fei, he still couldn't help but jump badly, nearly snapping his key off in the lock.

"What the hell, are you nuts?" Jiang Cheng glared at Gu Fei, keeping his voice low. "Hurry up and call that private stalker number on the utility pole downstairs, ask if they're still hiring people to look for the other mistress!"

"I just walked up the stairs normally, didn't sneak," Gu Fei said.

"Then can you at least call out to me?" Jiang Cheng tugged at the keys several times before prying them out of the lock. He took a look - they really were a bit bent now.  

"I wouldn't dare call you," Gu Fei said. "I'm afraid you'll make me leave once you find out."

"I'm going to make you leave anyway, now that I've found out," Jiang Cheng said.  

Gu Fei didn't respond. He quickly pushed the door open, shoving Jiang Cheng aside in the process, and carried his bags into the apartment.  

Jiang Cheng watched his smooth, seamless movements somewhat speechlessly. He followed Gu Fei inside and closed the door.  

"You have noodles here, right?" Gu Fei headed towards the kitchen. "Let's cook some noodles?"

"No more," Jiang Cheng sat down on the sofa. "Even if there were noodles, it wouldn't matter. There's no ingredients, not even oil or salt, just vinegar."  

Gu Fei glanced at him, then went into the kitchen. He probably checked the fridge and such, because then he left the apartment without another word.

Tsk.  

Jiang Cheng sprawled out on the sofa. One sentence and he'd run off.  

But Gu Fei hadn't closed the door, and Jiang Cheng was too lazy to go close it himself. Gu Fei would have to come back up when he realized his equipment was still here.  

But Jiang Cheng didn't hear Gu Fei's footsteps going downstairs. Just as he was wondering about that, he heard someone knocking on the neighbor's door, followed by Gu Fei's voice: "Auntie, I live next door."

To Jiang Cheng's shock, he listened to Gu Fei first borrow oil and salt, then ginger and scallions. Step by step he borrowed noodles, and finally even got four eggs and two tomatoes.  

When Gu Fei came back in with arms full of ingredients, Jiang Cheng sat up, truly at a loss for words. He even heard the auntie next door telling Gu Fei not to return them, she had more if needed.  

"I'll make noodles," Gu Fei said. "Soup noodles, I like soup noodles."

"No, wait," Jiang Cheng looked at him. "You know the neighbors?"

"Don't know them," Gu Fei said. "But I do now... You don't know them either?"

"Of course I don't know them, I don't even know if anyone lives next door!" Jiang Cheng said.

"Then remember to say hi if you see them next time." Gu Fei went into the kitchen. "Easy to recognize, the auntie has a mole by her eyebrow."  

"Oh," Jiang Cheng responded absently, then stood up after a moment and followed Gu Fei into the kitchen. "Who said you could eat here? I'm still upset!"

"Back when Tan Lin didn't have his studio yet," Gu Fei put a pot of water on to boil, cracking eggs into a bowl on the side, "he was in a band - the same one as Sister Xin's. He was their original vocalist."  

Gu Fei started so abruptly that it took Jiang Cheng several seconds to process what he was talking about. "Oh."  

You really couldn't tell just by looking at Tan Lin.

"I got to know him pretty well back then, when I was playing with them," Gu Fei continued beating the eggs. "He came by a lot, even after he left the band."

"But you said you weren't friends," Jiang Cheng said.  

"Even after today, I'd still say the same," Gu Fei kept his eyes down, focused on the eggs. "We don't keep in touch now."

"I see." Jiang Cheng responded.  

"Do you still remember when you realized you liked men?" Gu Fei glanced over at him.

"...Can't remember exactly." Jiang Cheng frowned.  

"I don't remember clearly either. But by then I already knew how I was," Gu Fei put the beaten eggs aside and rinsed the tomatoes. "But I was scared. Other than Ding Zhuxin, I hadn't told anyone else, and didn't plan to."

Jiang Cheng felt a twinge in his heart, a complex sort of sourness - half jealousy, half heartache.  

"And here I thought nothing could faze you," he sighed. "I always felt you were impervious."

"It's having too many fears that makes you impervious," Gu Fei's mouth quirked up slightly. "I'm scared of a lot, even now..." He trailed off.

Jiang Cheng stayed silent.  

"Tan Lin's probably about ten years older than me," Gu Fei resumed cutting the tomatoes. "He was pretty open, changing boyfriends every month or two, bringing them around to hang out, didn't care at all. Sometimes I'd feel close to him, because we were the same kind, you know?"  

Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue, though he wasn't sure why he did.

"He probably...liked me a lot," Gu Fei's hands stilled for a moment. "But he never said it outright."

"Fuck," Jiang Cheng gritted out. At least he knew why he was cursing.

"The band's keyboardist, nicknamed Xiao Bing," Gu Fei kept dicing the tomatoes, "was about my age, maybe two or three years older. Can't remember exactly. Just remember he was a dumbass."

Jiang Cheng watched Gu Fei. His tone was calm, as if recounting someone else's old news. But talking while occupied like this, never turning to look at Jiang Cheng and only showing his back, conveyed a certain emotion that Jiang Cheng could sense.  

Probably not as unruffled inside as he seemed on the surface.

"He and Tan Lin were pretty close, often went out together, whether anything happened I don't know. But..." Gu Fei set down the knife and transferred the diced tomatoes to a plate. "Tomato egg noodles okay?"

It took Jiang Cheng a good few seconds to respond: "Okay."

"One day we went to a bar, lots of people, there were some other bands and friends too. Drank a lot," Gu Fei leaned against the counter, looking out the window. "Tan Lin called me out, said he had something to talk about."

"Confessing his feelings, I bet," Jiang Cheng could practically smell the vinegar coming off himself. He reached over to put the vinegar bottle in the fridge.

"He was drunk, rambling incoherently about who knows what. Sounded earnest, at least. I'd had a lot to drink too, and actually felt moved," Gu Fei gave a short laugh before continuing. "In the end he asked if I was repulsed by him."

Gu Fei stopped there. Jiang Cheng waited for a long time, but he didn't go on. Jiang Cheng couldn't rush him, only lean against the wall watching his back, waiting.  

After several minutes, Gu Fei spoke again: "I said I wasn't repulsed. That I was the same way, but...I didn't feel anything for him."

He fell silent again after that line.  

Jiang Cheng cleared his throat. "That's it?"

Gu Fei didn't respond.  

"That's nothing, then. He liked you, you rejected him..." Jiang Cheng tried to think it through. "Fuck, did he out you?"

"No," Gu Fei turned around to face him. "But Xiao Bing recorded the whole thing."

Jiang Cheng's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"

"From start to finish," Gu Fei spoke very slowly. "He recorded the entire conversation. And everyone there saw it play out."  

"What the fuck?" Jiang Cheng felt his own voice go crooked, his breathing turn stilted.  

"When I got back to the room, they were all laughing," Gu Fei said haltingly. "I just stood there. Felt like I'd been sliced open for all to see. And they kept laughing, like they'd never laughed before in their lives."

Jiang Cheng couldn't find any words. He didn't dare imagine the scene - even in dreams, that kind of terror was unbearable.  

"So...Tan Lin and Xiao Bing were in on it together?" he managed to ask.

"Tan Lin didn't know. Xiao Bing just wanted to test if I was really..." Gu Fei fished a cigarette out of his pocket and stuck it between his lips. "Said it was a joke. But whenever I see Tan Lin, I think of that day. Plus he kept pestering me, so I got annoyed with him too."

Jiang Cheng looked at him.  

"That's it," Gu Fei removed the unlit cigarette. "Give me a hug, Brother Cheng."

Jiang Cheng blinked in surprise, then immediately rushed over to wrap him in a tight embrace. "I shouldn't have asked. Fuck, actually, I'm the kind of person who doesn't dig into others' pasts. I just...I'm just..."

"You're just jealous," Gu Fei leaned his head on Jiang Cheng's shoulder.  

"...Yeah." Jiang Cheng sighed.

"It's not like I can never talk about it. But sometimes I don't want you to feel that way," Gu Fei stroked his waist. "Feel bad for me and stuff."

"No pity, no pity at all," Jiang Cheng patted his back. "I don't feel bad for you one bit, honestly."  

"You really know how to comfort people." Gu Fei laughed softly.

"Oh, one more thing," Jiang Cheng said. "Don't give me that cold shoulder anymore, whether you're upset or annoyed. Even getting in a fight is better than the silent treatment. I really hate being ignored like that. My family used to do it when they didn't want to talk to me. Feels very...oppressive."

"Got it," Gu Fei nodded.