RSDH CH46

Filming intimate scenes in a spy thriller was certainly not as explicit and detailed as in arthouse films, but the crux of the matter was that Li Lin hadn’t arranged a bed scene for the characters in the first place; the protagonist’s romance was meant to stop at that.

Looking at Cheng Duzhou with an indescribably complicated expression, he understood that the man had grown addicted to acting alongside his husband and was reluctant to step out of character.

Li Lin crossed his arms, flashing a textbook “dame” (no-go) gesture: “You’d better just hurry on home.”

Cheng Duzhou let out a barely perceptible sigh and stood up: “I’m leaving then… Think it over carefully, because I won’t ever film this kind of scene again.”

Li Lin waved a dismissive hand: “Got it, got it.”

Cheng Duzhou gave another heads-up: “I’m really leaving now.”

Torn between laughter and tears, Li Lin said, “Alright, alright.”

Cheng Duzhou turned around, his eyes still lingering on the director: “I’m actually leaving…”

Only to turn his head.

There stood Duan Xingye, leaning casually against the doorframe ahead, watching him.

Cheng Duzhou: “…”

With a cool, impassive face, Duan Xingye crooked a finger at Cheng Duzhou.

Come on. Follow me.

…

The entire stretch from the covered corridor to the school entrance was completely deserted.

Duan Xingye laid into Cheng Duzhou without holding back.

“What were you thinking?”

“Doing charity for the film industry?”

“Cheng Duzhou, don’t you think your spirit of self-sacrifice is getting a bit out of hand?”

“Speak up!”

Cheng Duzhou stayed quiet as a clamped wooden gourd, not uttering a single peep.

He had simply wanted to extend their couple trial card for just a little longer.

Right at that moment, the team members walked in.

Duan Xingye instantly reined in his sharp aura, not letting anyone spot anything amiss.

For this outfit change, Duan Xingye went to Cheng Duzhou’s dedicated dressing room.

The hairstylist washed out the temporary hair dye, so when he stepped out, the tips of Duan Xingye’s hair were still slightly damp.

Cheng Duzhou had some business to wrap up on set, so Duan Xingye headed to his customized van first, unceremoniously taking the inner seat that belonged exclusively to Cheng Duzhou.

Putting aside the exploding official Weibo account for a moment, Lao Xu conducted an interview with Duan Xingye: “Teacher Duan, today was your first cameo appearance in a feature film. How was the experience?”

Tilting his head, Duan Xingye used an absorbent towel to wring out his damp ends, saying, “Few scenes, very relaxing.”

Lao Xu pressed further: “How did it feel acting opposite President Cheng?”

Duan Xingye lowered his gaze and said directly to the camera, “I’d advise him to focus on plot-driven dramas from now on and stop taking intimate scenes.”

Lao Xu chuckled under his breath: “Why is that?”

Tossing the towel aside, Duan Xingye smoothed his hair, tossing out an airy response: “Because it’s pure torture.”

Watching the ship sail live on set, Xiao Dai saw President Cheng getting utterly rejected by his wife, feeling both sympathetic and desperate to laugh.

Flipping a page of the cue card, Lao Xu asked, “If you were given another chance to choose, would you still be willing to marry President Cheng?”

Duan Xingye’s first instinct was: If I had a choice, why on earth would I get married? Isn’t staying single great?

Just as a scoff was about to escape his lips, he remembered this would be broadcast. Straightening his posture, he said, “I would.”

Lao Xu thought Duan Xingye would follow up with an elaboration, but Duan Xingye simply turned to look for a phone charger instead.

Opening the storage compartment beside his hand, he once again saw that face-down picture frame.

The last time he rode in this van was on their way to the production base for their Companionship Along the Way interview. Back then, he had wanted to pick it up to see, but Cheng Duzhou had moved faster, slamming the compartment lid down and nearly catching his fingers.

So secretive, who knew what picture was inside.

Still, for something to be carried everywhere by Cheng Duzhou, it was likely an important person, or a frozen moment of immense significance to him.

With a crisp snap, Duan Xingye shut the compartment.

Who wants to snoop on his private life anyway? Not interested in the slightest.

“Alright, we already interviewed President Cheng at noon, so that concludes today’s schedule,” Lao Xu said, turning off the camera. “The official account posted a teaser earlier, but the phrasing caused a misunderstanding among fans. I’ll head back first to see how they handle it.”

Xiao Dai chimed in hurriedly: “Thanks for your hard work!”

After a short wait, Cheng Duzhou arrived.

Seeing Duan Xingye sitting in his spot again, scrolling through his phone with his legs crossed, Cheng Duzhou couldn’t help but think of a cat squatting squarely on a keyboard: brazenly occupying someone else’s territory and taking it for granted without any intention of budging.

Sitting down in the adjacent seat, Cheng Duzhou covertly swatted Duan Xingye’s crossed calf, exactly like giving a cat an affectionate slap on the rump.

Lifting his eyelids, Duan Xingye glared at him in displeasure, silently warning him not to get handsy.

Just then, Xiao Dai exclaimed happily, “Companionship Along the Way put out a revised teaser Weibo post! Everything’s cleared up now.”

Duan Xingye idly opened Weibo to check.

Companionship Along the Way V:

#CompanionshipAlongTheWay# Season 2.

Today, Teacher Duan made a surprise visit to the set of The Hunt and made a guest cameo appearance as a character in the film! Lu Ye Shu Huai‘s very first big-screen collaboration, the sweetness is off the charts~ See you all this Saturday, be there or be square!

Attached below were three leaked set photos of the couple. Their clarity was high enough to serve as official stills: one looking back down the covered corridor, one gazing at each other across the library table, and one of their retreating backs as they strolled side by side.

For now, the kissing photo was kept under wraps.

Opening the comments below, the feed had completely lost its mind.

“AHHH! Republican-era lovers! President Cheng and Teacher Duan’s styling is breathtakingly handsome!!!”

“Connecting this with the previous post, President Cheng’s on-screen first kiss was with Teacher Duan all along!”

“Phew! Why didn’t you just say so earlier instead of giving us heart attacks? Congrats to Lu Ye Shu Huai on unlocking the on-screen couple achievement!”

“Dammit, when is this hitting theaters? I can’t wait to watch it!”

“Both of them have cinematic faces, pure perfection. Just looking at the photos, I’ve already written a hundred-thousand-word Republican-era tragic romance novel in my head.”

“A real couple sharing scenes is simply top-tier! They’ll definitely drop the kiss scene leaks on Saturday, right?!”

Before long, #ChengDuzhouAndDuanXingyePlayRepublicanLovers# trended at the top of the search charts, completely organic, pushed up solely by enthusiastic fans without any PR marketing.

Yet amidst the CP fans’ revelry, a reposted Douban discussion thread made its way to the public feed, claiming a prominent spot near the top.

Bored, Duan Xingye clicked on it to read.

momo posted a discussion:

What tier of marketing does Lu Ye Shu Huai‘s latest PR move fall under?

This CP is arguably the fastest-rising, most successfully marketed textbook case in the past two years. Some of those idol-drama traffic stars trying to sell queerbaiting should really take notes.

One is a film titan, the other is a music top-tier; neither lacks exposure, yet they haven’t passed up a single drop of CP dividends. The second they blew up on a romance variety show, they started guesting on each other’s sets and rolling out cross-promotions, maximizing every resource around them. All I can say is, making money in showbiz through your own capabilities isn’t shameful, but looking at those CP shippers who genuinely believe they’re a real couple and recommend them to everyone, it honestly feels pathetic and hilarious.

Anyone with half a brain can see that the other three guest couples posted set-visit photos and tagged each other today. Only this pair left everything to official promotional channels, having zero personal interaction on Weibo. It’s a crystal-clear business arrangement! But no matter, the CP fans will dutifully carry them onto the trending searches anyway. No arguments accepted; if you want to push back, just answer this: did your ship serve any real sweetness today?

Sunflower: Spot on! I’ve felt this pair was bizarre from the start. Super sweet on livestream, completely dead offline. And that trending search where they sang a love song over the phone earlier was so obviously scripted by the show, yet CP fans keep gushing over it like lunatics.

Olive: Couples like this usually don’t dare interact online because they’re terrified of how humiliating it’ll be to delete their Weibo posts after getting divorced.

momo (not OP): How would they dare interact? The internet has receipts. [doge]

Nana: Pathetic and hilarious my ass, mind your own business.

One Summer: President Cheng and Teacher Duan have always kept a low profile and don’t like flaunting their daily lives. Is that really so hard to understand?

Baibai: Teacher Duan literally said on the romance show that he’s very busy and rarely thinks of President Cheng. It would be bizarre if he suddenly started doing PR posts on Weibo. Stop forcing the exact same relationship dynamic onto every couple, okay?

momo: Sigh… CP fans truly cannot be awakened.

…

A single thread had spiraled into thousands of comments of flame wars.

Xiao Dai happened to be reading the battlefield too, gritting his teeth in frustration: “They really have too much time on their hands! What’s so hard about posting a quick promotional Weibo? Our Teacher Duan just doesn’t feel like it, that’s all.”

Duan Xingye exited the thread.

Having just checked the other guests’ Weibo accounts where everyone was interacting, Cheng Duzhou remarked mildly, “If you need cooperation on my end, just say the word.”

Xiao Dai’s eyes lit up.

Though he sounded dismissive, which CP shipper wouldn’t dream of their ship dropping sweet crumbs across every platform?

Propping his cheek on one hand, Duan Xingye said lazily, “No need.”

In his view, the anti-fans had hit the nail on the head regarding one detail: post frequently on Weibo now, and deleting them after the divorce would only be messy and humiliating.

Cheng Duzhou locked his phone.

Xiao Dai let out a disappointed sigh.

Without mission rewards on the line, Teacher Duan went completely hands-off the second he stepped off the variety show.

When they arrived home today, the sky was still bright.

Hearing the door open, the kitten Matchmaker bounced out of her bed. With all four paws scrambling in different directions, she dashed to the entryway, pouncing playfully toward Duan Xingye before stopping a short distance away, then doing a couple of pounces toward Cheng Duzhou.

Duan Xingye noticed the cat was growing more lively by the day. Fortunately, she didn’t cross boundaries; at times, she even felt like an exceptionally well-behaved child.

Stepping inside, Cheng Duzhou bent down to scoop the kitten up, turning around: “I’m taking her to the pet shop for a checkup in a bit. Want to come?”

Going out in public as a celebrity was far too troublesome, and besides, the kitten wasn’t his responsibility anyway.

Duan Xingye answered lazily: “Not going.”

Holding the cat as he walked into the living room, Cheng Duzhou lowered his head and whispered to her, “Now you see who actually treats you well, don’t you?”

“???”

If Cheng Duzhou wanted to play the comparison game, Duan Xingye couldn’t help but get competitive: “Who was the one looking after her these past few days? Were you even home?”

Cheng Duzhou glanced back at him, then told the cat, “Don’t listen to him. I was out earning money for your cat food.”

“…”

Idiot.

After setting an appointment with the pet shop, Cheng Duzhou told Duan Xingye he had some tasks to handle and headed into the study.

Duan Xingye ignored him. Arriving home before 5:00 PM like today was exceedingly rare; in the past, either one of them wasn’t home, or they returned later and later, spending a rushed night before parting ways again the next morning.

Yet even with this extra time together, they still went about their own business.

Having nothing to do this afternoon, Duan Xingye sprawled across the sofa with the remote control looking for a movie. Flipping through without finding anything new, he ended up putting on Sleepless in Seattle, the film directed by Li Lin, which coincidentally also starred Cheng Duzhou.

He genuinely didn’t care who the lead actor was; he simply liked the story in the film.

Matchmaker trotted out of her bed again, circling Duan Xingye’s slippers twice before crouching close, kneading her paws rhythmically against the upper surface of his shoe.

With the study door shut, the soundproofing was excellent, leaking no sound whatsoever; who knew what Cheng Duzhou was doing in there.

Duan Xingye had no interest in finding out anyway. Slipping on his glasses, he lay on his side on the sofa, propping his head and focusing on the movie.

Nearly an hour slipped by like this. Sunset clouds painted the horizon, and the outdoor light softened into twilight.

Cheng Duzhou stepped out holding his phone, draping a jacket over his shoulders: “I’ll take her to the pet shop first. What do you want for dinner?”

Duan Xingye said, “Whatever.”

He wouldn’t have to cook anyway, and the key was that everything Cheng Duzhou made tasted delicious. On that front, he wasn’t picky.

Placing the kitten into her pet carrier capsule, Cheng Duzhou glanced at the TV screen, then looked again.

It was a movie he starred in.

Picking up the carrier and walking past, he paused, circled back, and stood right in front of the TV, asking Duan Xingye: “Tell the truth, are you actually a fan of mine?”

“…” Duan Xingye lazily lifted his eyelids, flicking a finger to the left: “Scram.”

And so, one man and one cat smoothly scrammed.

Not long after,

Duan Xingye received a message from Sister Yu, asking him to send over the evaluation sheets for each trainee from his coaching session the other day.

He wasn’t at the company right now, but he remembered the files were backed up on the cloud drive, so he paused the movie and went to the study.

The computer was in screensaver mode. Duan Xingye entered the passcode, opened the browser, located the evaluation forms, and emailed them to Sister Yu’s inbox.

Just as he was about to log out, he noticed a lone folder sitting on the desktop labeled “New Folder.”

It hadn’t been there when he checked the computer last night.

Clicking it open, he found two files inside: one in a video editor project format, and an exported video file.

Judging by the last modified timestamp, it was the very thing Cheng Duzhou had been secretly tinkering with in the study just now.

Seeing that the video thumbnail was a photo of himself, Duan Xingye arched a brow.

This was definitely worth a watch.

Cheng Duzhou had left his headphones plugged in nearby. Duan Xingye picked them up, put them on, and clicked play.

Once it started rolling, he realized it was a fan-style CP edit of himself and Cheng Duzhou.

“…”

Setting aside the bizarre fact of a celebrity editing a shipping video of himself, Duan Xingye watched with an expression of pure, baffled curiosity.

Soon, he realized Cheng Duzhou had used the video of him and Xie Hang as a template, copying that exact “past and present lives” narrative arc, only with far richer material, including the leaked photos from their Republican-era set.

Between clips, there were cheesy heart-attack visual effects and floating, translucent pink text commentary, giving Duan Xingye full-body second-hand embarrassment.

Truly the handiwork of a goofy, unsophisticated dog.

Yet having endured the awkward beginning, Duan Xingye’s expression gradually grew focused. Eventually, his lips curled, suppressing an irrepressible laugh as a bright, fond amusement danced in his dark eyes; he was actually thoroughly captivated.

At the end of the five-minute video, against the backdrop of the music, a shot of the two looking at each other appeared, accompanied by the man’s deliberately disguised, low, and magnetic voiceover: “If I am fortunate enough, please allow me to reach straight to your soul through your eyes; for all the days ahead, I wish to walk alongside you.”

Duan Xingye blinked. After a long beat, he finally couldn’t help but collapse onto the desk, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

…Could this get any cheesier?

When Duan Xingye lifted his head again, his face was thoroughly flushed, entirely from laughing. Resting his chin on one hand, he idly jiggled the mouse with the other.

Right at that moment,

a notification banner popped up in the top-right corner.

It was Cheng Duzhou’s WeChat, still logged in on the computer.

Brother Duo: [Your Weibo burner account has been registered. Username: …]

Brother Duo: [By the way, what do you need an alt account for?]

The corners of Duan Xingye’s lips curved upward. He realized Cheng Duzhou had finished editing the video, but hadn’t posted it yet because he lacked an account.

Clearing his throat, Duan Xingye sat up straight, rolled up his sleeves, closed the video, right-clicked the file, and dragged it straight to the Recycle Bin.

The pet shop was right inside Vanke Metropolis, taking barely half an hour round trip.

When Cheng Duzhou returned, he found Duan Xingye still lounging on the sofa in his signature “drunken concubine” pose, watching the movie.

He asked, “Are you hungry?”

Duan Xingye shook his head.

Walking toward the cat bed, Cheng Duzhou said, “Then I’ll cook in a bit.”

After settling Matchmaker, he slipped back into the study.

Only this time, within just a few minutes, Cheng Duzhou came back out.

He found an empty spot on the sofa by Duan Xingye’s legs and sat down, not watching the movie, just looking down and fiddling with his phone.

For a while, only the audio from the movie echoed through the living room.

Suddenly,

Cheng Duzhou spoke up: “A fan tagged me on Weibo. Looks like someone made a fan-edit video of the two of us. Want to watch it?”

Without looking away from the TV, Duan Xingye said lazily, “Get lost.”

“…”

Licking the corner of his lips, Cheng Duzhou played the video right then and there. The background music mixed with the original audio from their romance show drifted out, mingling with the TV audio into a slightly noisy blend.

Yet, unprecedentedly, Duan Xingye didn’t tell him to put on headphones.

After watching for a bit, Cheng Duzhou asked again, “It’s only five minutes. You really don’t want to watch?”

“Not watching.”

“…The editing is much better than the one of you and that kid.”

“…”

Duan Xingye slowly turned his gaze, lifting a foot to step right on Cheng Duzhou’s shoulder: “Say that again.”

Cheng Duzhou fell silent, lowering his head, his side profile masking his thoughts.

Reaching out a hand, Duan Xingye sighed with feigned, generous resignation, as if carving out precious time out of pity: “Let me see it then.”

Only then did Cheng Duzhou look somewhat pleased. Scooting a bit closer, he dragged the video progress bar back to the very beginning and handed the phone over to Duan Xingye.

Looking down at the screen, Duan Xingye asked casually, “Who edited this?”

“Not sure,” Cheng Duzhou said mildly. “A fan, probably. Posted in the Super Topic, blowing up really fast.”

“Oh.”

Yet after watching for less than half a minute, Duan Xingye lost interest, tossing the phone back and turning back to the TV: “Just average. Bilibili is overflowing with videos like this.”

Cheng Duzhou pressed his lips together lightly. Suddenly feeling it was pointless as well, he closed the video and prepared to make dinner.

Just before getting up, however, his eyes caught the comments below.

The top-voted comment read:

“AHHHHH! Screaming and crying! Can someone please link the Weibos of the two voice actors at the end?!!!”

Cheng Duzhou: “?”

He had edited it himself and voiced it himself.

Where on earth did two voice actors come from?

__

Author’s Note:

Teacher Duan: Unable to endure tacky taste, decided to step in and save it.

Goofy Dog twirling happily: Wifey is the best.