RSDH CH80

Spring went and autumn came. The children grew up, and in the blink of an eye, they entered the junior high section.

One day after school in the second year of junior high, Duan Xingye walked out of the school gate first, waiting for Cheng Duzhou, who was slightly slower. They were going to take the car home together.

Cheng Duzhou came out quickly. From a distance, the two looked at each other across the crowd.

Since starting junior high, Duan Xingye began to grow taller. His figure became slender day by day, and the baby fat on his face disappeared, but he was far from mature. His contours were still soft, and his features grew exquisite, so beautiful it made people’s hearts palpitate. He grew into a beautiful young man famous far and near. Standing at the school gate at this moment, he had a snow-bright cleanliness that lit up the mundane world.

Perhaps the sunlight was dazzling; Cheng Duzhou’s gaze shifted away quickly.

Cheng Duzhou walked up with his bag over one shoulder. Before he could stand still, a female student with long hair draped over her shoulders rushed from the side, excitedly handing over a pink envelope: “Student Cheng!”

“……”

“……”

As the recognized handsome boys of Huizhong, Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou knew well that the other was popular in school. Duan Xingye even had the title of “Love Letter Harvester.” Therefore, it wasn’t the first time they faced love letters from the opposite sex.

But it was the first time Cheng Duzhou dealt with this matter in front of Duan Xingye.

He was about to bypass her, intending to wave his hand in refusal as usual.

The female student boldly confessed first: “Student Cheng, you are so tall, handsome, and manly!”

Cheng Duzhou’s maturity lay not only in his introverted temperament since childhood but also in his height surpassing 187 cm. He was the main force of the basketball team. Girls privately called him “Huizhong’s Rukawa Kaede,” almost becoming synonymous with hormones.

“Man?” Duan Xingye suddenly spoke up, unable to resist reminding, “He still has to register at pediatrics when going to the outpatient clinic now.”

Cheng Duzhou: “……”

Female student: “……”

After all, no matter how tall he grew, he was only fourteen years old.

Good-looking people didn’t lack confessions. Even though the signature boards of all social accounts hung the encouraging learning phrase “Lonely king all the way to master’s and doctorate, building a beautiful China,” it still couldn’t stop the delivery of love letters.

But both Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou could refuse with hearts calm as still water. The situation lasted until high school.

Over time, Jiang Siqi said: “Seriously, it can’t go on like this.”

Duan Xingye found it funny and didn’t care: “No feeling means no feeling. Can you force early love by pressing heads?”

“No.” Jiang Siqi took out a booklet and threw it on the table, saying, “Everyone suspects you and that person don’t like girls at all. Your CP fanfiction is out.”

“……”

Out of curiosity, Duan Xingye took the printed booklet home.

He browsed it roughly. It wasn’t very readable, but because the protagonists were him and Cheng Duzhou, the reading process was extremely awkward, so he threw it aside.

After the weekend, Duan Xingye prepared to return the booklet to Jiang Siqi.

He searched through his schoolbag, then his desk, then straightened up, blank for a long while.

Duan Xingye recalled the entire weekend. He only opened his schoolbag in two places: one was his grandfather’s study, and the other was Cheng Duzhou’s room.

Wherever the CP fanfiction fell, whoever picked it up, it was a heart-skipping matter for him.

Duan Xingye continued searching his schoolbag and said: “It’s gone.”

Jiang Siqi saw he was a bit flustered and waved his hand indifferently: “Sigh! Lost is lost; I’ll print another copy for you.”

“Tsk.”

Duan Xingye really wanted to kick this idiot.

After Duan Xingye returned home, he searched secretly again, to no avail.

He couldn’t ask his grandfather and Cheng Duzhou outright if they had seen his CP fanfiction, so he ignored it. If it appeared, he would deny it was his to the death.

Another weekend, Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou returned home from outside, coincidentally encountering Kan Dashan discussing matters with a screenwriter in the living room.

The two teenagers greeted them and were about to leave when Duan Xingye glanced at the thick stack of manuscript papers on the coffee table.

Kan Dashan picked up the topmost booklet and opened it, saying to the editor: “Let me verify the latest episode with you first…”

As he spoke, he put on his reading glasses. Suddenly, facing the manuscript, he paused.

Duan Xingye’s heart also missed a beat, foreboding something bad.

Sure enough, Kan Dashan raised his eyes. His gaze suddenly became sharp, scanning back and forth between Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou in front over the top of his glasses.

“……”

Duan Xingye’s heart beat violently.

Cheng Duzhou was still unaware. Seeing him not moving, he turned back and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Duan Xingye straightened his back, turned around, and walked away quickly: “Nothing, let’s go.”

In the living room, Kan Dashan put down that booklet, picked up another one, and continued discussing with the screenwriter.

As soon as Duan Xingye returned to his room, he sat on the bed, looked up, and asked: “Cheng Duzhou, if I frame you, can you take the blame for me?”

“……”

So direct that one didn’t know where to start refusing.

Cheng Duzhou said: “No.”

Duan Xingye hung his head: “Forget it.”

Cheng Duzhou’s gaze moved, guessing Duan Xingye got into trouble. He walked over and sat beside him, wanting to ask what exactly it was so they could discuss it together.

But before he could speak, Duan Xingye mumbled: “Anyway, I wasn’t asking for your opinion, just giving you a heads-up…”

“……”

No law and order anymore.

Contrary to Duan Xingye’s expectations, Kan Dashan didn’t mention a word about the CP fanfiction.

When he went upstairs back to his bedroom, the booklet was placed squarely on the desk.

Duan Xingye picked it up and flipped through it. Before, he only felt awkward. Knowing his grandfather might have read it, he was so embarrassed his scalp went numb.

However, his grandfather had always been open-minded and probably thought there was nothing to say about this.

So as long as he wasn’t embarrassed, no one was embarrassed.

Duan Xingye locked the booklet in the drawer.

Duan Xingye only expected Kan Dashan to be open-minded, but didn’t expect Kan Dashan to be overly open-minded, his thoughts having run wild into the stratosphere.

Sitting in the study, Kan Dashan guessed the early love relationship between Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou because of the CP fanfiction he accidentally saw.

Kan Dashan was a bit troubled. It seemed having a son growing up didn’t bring only joy to the elders. No matter how excellent Cheng Duzhou was, and how much he liked the child Duzhou, it was inevitable to feel a faint regret of cabbage being arched by a pig. After all, in Kan Dashan’s eyes, Xingxing was a supreme treasure.

He sighed for a while and patted the armrest of the chair.

Decided to lay his cards on the table and agree to this marriage after the two graduated.

Cheng Duzhou felt his back prickling while drying sheets in the backyard.

He turned around and saw Kan Dashan standing in the shadow of the porch, holding a mug in his hand, looking straight this way.

After meeting eyes, Kan Dashan moved his expression, revealing a slightly complicated smile, seemingly greeting him.

Cheng Duzhou looked back twice; Kan Dashan’s smile remained.

He looked at Duan Xingye beside him: “Why does your grandfather keep looking at me?”

Duan Xingye was lying on a recliner beside him, holding an open ideological and political textbook high up to read.

“Let him look; won’t lose a piece of meat.”

Cheng Duzhou got rid of that strange feeling, ducked to the other side of the white sheet, and continued hanging it on the thin rope.

Duan Xingye suddenly said: “Cheng Duzhou.”

Cheng Duzhou responded carelessly: “What?”

Duan Xingye said: “Do you like boys or girls?”

“……”

A corner of the sheet slipped from his hand. Cheng Duzhou hurriedly pulled it back properly.

His voice remained unchanged: “Why ask this?”

“What’s wrong with asking?” Duan Xingye put down the book, his tone unhappy. “Are we friends?”

After speaking, he raised the book again.

Cheng Duzhou didn’t speak.

Duan Xingye asked again: “Boys or girls?”

A gust of wind blew, lifting the sheet.

Through the gap, Cheng Duzhou saw the sunlight shining on the side of Duan Xingye’s neck, flawless white, gentle as water.

Don’t know.

Never thought about it.

He suddenly felt dry-mouthed, lowered his gaze, and countered: “What about you?”

This time it was Duan Xingye’s turn to be silent.

Inside the ideological and political textbook was a thin booklet.

Duan Xingye’s gaze was scanning a sentence imagined by some classmate—”Their hands touched inadvertently. The electric feeling transmitted from the nerve endings of the skin, gathered to a point in the heart, and exploded, so they retracted their hands simultaneously.”

Duan Xingye pursed his lips, feeling a burst of panic for no reason, snapped the book shut, and turned his head away.

Don’t know.

In November, the highly anticipated Golden Oak Awards were held. Li Lin’s Hunting became a nomination winner.

After Hunting was released, what the film industry relished most was Cheng Duzhou’s acting skills. Because of the addition of the emotional line, it received unanimous praise.

Douban short review section:

“Cheng Duzhou is as dazzling as ever, but this movie is a breakthrough. Always thought he couldn’t act emotional scenes well; the outside world still underestimated his strength. Acted even more delicately than literary romance films.”

“The addition of the emotional line is a major highlight. All the protagonist’s hatred later found support, not appearing abrupt.”

“The scenes between Cheng Duzhou and Duan Xingye are very moving. Won’t break immersion at all; just want to put aside real people and ship the characters in the drama.”

Besides the industry, Travel at Night, Write Feelings CP fans were ecstatic. They had looked forward to it for half a year, waiting since the Travel Together period, and finally saw the final film presentation. Moreover, the couple lived up to expectations; their performances in the drama were remarkably commendable.

“Proud to be a fan of a mutually achieving CP.”

“Looking forward to the next collaboration of Travel at Night, Write Feelings!”

“Let Teacher Duan be President Cheng’s exclusive on-screen lover! Without Teacher Duan, President Cheng won’t film emotional scenes!”

Duan Xingye was also one of the invited guests for this Golden Oak Awards ceremony. Not only because he made a cameo in Hunting—although less than a short minute, it was impressive—but also because the soundtrack he composed for Director Liang’s Republican era drama was nominated.

So when walking the red carpet that night, Cheng Duzhou and Duan Xingye attended together.

Amidst the cheers of the full venue, the two arrived at the interview zone.

The host said: “The collaboration between you two this time is very dazzling. It’s President Cheng’s first time filming emotional scenes, and Teacher Duan is even more of a newcomer to film and television. May I ask how you meshed so perfectly?”

Cheng Duzhou lowered his head close to the microphone and confessed: “All my experiences of love come from my husband. Facing him, I can naturally act it out.”

Excited screams from fans rang out off-field.

The host’s microphone was handed to Duan Xingye.

Duan Xingye only thought for a moment and said: “Me too.”

In an instant, the screams became even crazier, falling for their fairy-tale love.