LOI Chapter 42 — Uncontrollable

The second tour stop was in another city. Rong Ke arrived with the theater troupe a night early.

After putting his luggage in the hotel room, he figured Yan Zhi would be messaging him soon. Sure enough, within five minutes, his phone buzzed with a WeChat notification.

[Yan Zhi: Have you arrived?]
[Rong Ke: Yes, I have.]

The next second, Yan Zhi initiated a video call. Rong Ke was about to shower, but he set aside his change of clothes and answered.

“How’s the weather there?” On screen, Yan Zhi sat on a couch. Rong Ke recognized the TV dialogue in the background—if he wasn’t mistaken, Yan Zhi was watching episode eight of “Patchwork Family.”

“Hotter than back home.” Rong Ke aimed the camera at his sweat-drenched neck. “I’m soaked.”

His Adam’s apple was more prominent than usual, the sticky sweat seeming to accelerate the evaporation of pheromones.

Lewd thoughts began piling up in Yan Zhi’s mind, but the view was fleeting. Rong Ke’s face reappeared, asking, “Are you watching ‘Patchwork Family’?”

“Mm-hmm.” Yan Zhi panned out to include the figure beside him. “Watching with our son.”

A lifelike silicone doll sat quietly on the sofa, dressed in clothes Yan Zhi had picked out. The scene exuded a sense of domestic harmony.

Yan Zhi put his arm around the doll’s shoulders and said to Rong Ke, “Say ‘Daddy.'”

Then he pressed down forcefully. The doll’s butt was surprisingly responsive; as soon as it hit the sofa, it let out a shrill “Daddy!” that made Rong Ke’s scalp tingle.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Rong Ke asked, exasperated.

“You’re not here, so I’ve got no one to watch shows with,” Yan Zhi said. “I really like this doll.”

Rong Ke suddenly realized that Yan Zhi had a formidable inner strength. Even though Rong Ke had impulsively ordered him a silicone doll, Yan Zhi’s mental state remained incredibly stable. He even managed to keep the game going in his own way.

“Enjoy your show,” Rong Ke said. “I’m hanging up. Going to shower.”

“Alright,” Yan Zhi replied. “Good luck with tomorrow’s performance.”

With the first show under his belt, Rong Ke felt less nervous for the second performance.

However, today’s audience was noticeably younger. The front rows were filled with students around twenty years old. When Rong Ke appeared on stage, a commotion erupted in the audience, which made many actors on the stage feel confused.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and the performers, being professionals, weren’t affected by the disturbance.

It wasn’t until the curtain call that Rong Ke understood what was going on.

“Rong Ke! Look over here!” “Rong Ke! You’re the best!” “Rong Ke! We support you!”

A group of ten to twenty people occupied a corner of the front rows, each holding up a light board with Rong Ke’s name.

Though the light boards were only phone-sized and not too conspicuous, Rong Ke’s heart still skipped a beat when he saw them.

After the curtain call, the actors exited behind the curtain.

Rong Ke initially followed the other actors backstage, but the audience’s cheers were too intense. He turned back and approached the group that came for him.

“Rong Ke’s coming over!!”

“Shh.” Rong Ke put his finger to his lips, gesturing for them to be quiet.

He walked to the front of the stage, took a marker, and began signing autographs. “Where did you all come from?” he asked.

“I’m from XX!” “I’m from OO!” “I’m from ΔΔ!”

“You’ve come so far. Thank you for your effort.” Rong Ke finished signing and obliged their photo requests before saying, “Please don’t do this next time. The other actors are my seniors, and they perform much better than I do.”

“We know not to disturb others!” a young man said. “That’s why we only called out to you during curtain call!”

Rong Ke sighed, “Your voices were really loud.”

“Of course!” another girl said. “We’re professionals at showing support!”

Clearly, they did not understand Rong Ke’s meaning.

Rong Ke appreciated these fans coming specifically for him, but he felt the need to clarify. “Wouldn’t it be better to save your airfare for a trip? I’ll go back to filming after the play anyway. You can still see me on TV.”

“But TV isn’t enough,” someone else said. “Can you take on more events? We want to see more of you!”

“I’ll try my best,” Rong Ke said. “Alright, head back now. Pay attention to safety.”

Having finally calmed the fans, Rong Ke returned backstage to remove his makeup.

By now, most actors had left, with only two or three colleagues remaining in the dressing room.

A senior actor teased Rong Ke, “Your fans really shocked us.”

“I’m so sorry,” Rong Ke said, pressing his palms together apologetically. “I’ll post online later and tell them not to come to the theater to support me.”

“That’s right,” another senior said, reaching past Rong Ke to pat his shoulder. “These fans are young. You need to guide them properly.”

The remaining colleagues left one by one, leaving Rong Ke alone in the dressing room.

He only removed his wig and beard and planned to finish the rest at the hotel. Just then, a theater staff member knocked on the dressing room door, poking half their body in to tell Rong Ke, “Teacher Rong, you have a friend here to see you.”

Rong Ke was packing his bag when he asked, puzzled, “A friend?”

“A handsome guy,” the person said.

Rong Ke quickly recalled that he shouldn’t have any friends in this city.

He glanced at his phone, noticed Yan Zhi hadn’t messaged him for most of the day, and reasonably suspected that the “handsome guy” the staff mentioned might be Yan Zhi.

“No need to stop him. Let him in,” Rong Ke said.

After the staff member left, a tall figure soon entered the dressing room.

By now, Rong Ke had finished packing and was about to leave. Upon seeing who entered, he immediately stopped and asked exasperatedly, “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were on tour here,” Jiang Si removed his mask and said somewhat awkwardly. “I happened to have work nearby.”

“So I’m asking, what are you doing here?” Rong Ke repeated patiently.

“To see your performance. You really did well,” Jiang Si said.

Seems like nothing’s wrong.

Rong Ke walked past Jiang Si out of the dressing room. Jiang Si hurriedly put on his mask and followed.

“I saw on Weibo, is Yan Zhi pursuing you?” Jiang Si asked.

Rong Ke stared straight ahead. “It’s none of your business.”

“So you pretended to be with him before just to get back at me,” Jiang Si said.

Rong Ke rolled his eyes at Jiang Si. “Can you stop being so full of yourself?”

“Then why did you pretend to be a couple with him?” Jiang Si asked. “Besides angering me, I can’t think of any other reason.”

Being his first time at this theater, Rong Ke wasn’t very familiar with the layout.

He couldn’t be bothered to engage with Jiang Si further and followed the signs toward the exit. Jiang Si, like a piece of gum, stuck close behind him.

“I’ve been having terrible luck lately. I wonder if it’s heaven punishing me.”

“I only found out later that the paparazzi who exposed me and Liu Qing was actually hired by Liu Qing. I was set up.”

“You should have some time later, right? Can we have dinner together?”

Finally finding the exit, Rong Ke quickened his pace.

However, just as he stepped out of the theater doors, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist. A familiar cologne scent wafted to his nose. Before he could react, Yan Zhi had already pulled him behind himself.

“Who are you asking to have dinner with?” Yan Zhi looked at Jiang Si, his tone loaded with hostility.

He held Rong Ke’s hand with one hand and a bouquet with the other. It seemed Rong Ke’s guess was right—Yan Zhi’s silence for most of the day was indeed because he came to surprise him.

“You’re here too.” Jiang Si looked at Yan Zhi with disappointment, then asked Rong Ke, “Do you have plans with him?”

Rong Ke and Yan Zhi answered in unison. “None of your business.”

Jiang Si was momentarily taken aback, then said to Rong Ke with apparent understanding, “Your performance today was brilliant. Since you have plans with him, I won’t disturb you. We can meet another day.”

With that, he left without waiting for Rong Ke’s response, cutting a rather dashing figure as he walked away.

“Why was he here?” Yan Zhi frowned and asked.

“No idea,” Rong Ke shrugged, taking the bouquet from Yan Zhi’s hand. “Must be out of his mind.”

This explanation was clearly unconvincing. Yan Zhi continued to ask, “Did he go backstage to find you just now?”

“Yeah,” Rong Ke said. “You don’t think I went looking for him, do you?”

“Damn it,” Yan Zhi muttered. “How did he manage to find the backstage area?”

Rong Ke: “…”

So Yan Zhi had been waiting at the entrance instead of going backstage because this direction-challenged prince couldn’t figure out where the backstage area was.

“By the way, what are you doing here?” Rong Ke asked. “Isn’t the doll I bought you fun enough?”

The attempt at deflection didn’t work. Yan Zhi’s expression remained sour. “If I hadn’t come, he would’ve whisked you away.”

“That’s impossible,” Rong Ke said with a slight grimace. “Do you think I have so little integrity?”

Yan Zhi ignored Rong Ke’s words and continued, “Does he know we’re not together, so he’s trying to win you back?”

In fact. Rong Ke also felt this way, but he didn’t dwell on it, finding the idea rather nauseating.

“But how can he be sure we’re not together?” Yan Zhi said. “What if my Weibo post was just for fun?”

“Oh, that,” Rong Ke scratched his cheek with his index finger. “I told him.”

“What?” Yan Zhi narrowed his eyes, his face darkening as he turned to leave.

“Hey, wait! It’s not pleasant being constantly mistaken for a cheater,” Rong Ke hurried after Yan Zhi. “He asked me, so I told him.”

Yan Zhi didn’t stop. With his long legs, he strode forward without looking back. Rong Ke had to jog a few steps to block his path, asking, “Where are you going? The exit’s behind you.”

Yan Zhi didn’t go in the right direction and arrived at an empty parking lot.

Seeing him finally stop, Rong Ke sighed, complaining, “Who’s chasing who here? Why do you have such a bad temper?”

He grabbed Yan Zhi’s wrist, intending to lead him in the right direction. Unexpectedly, Yan Zhi twisted his hand, pulling Rong Ke towards him. His other hand pressed against Rong Ke’s nape as his burning lips covered Rong Ke’s.

In broad daylight, Rong Ke was stunned.

He instinctively tried to push Yan Zhi away, but the hand on his nape was too strong, making it impossible to break free.

—There shouldn’t be anyone around.

With this thought, Rong Ke’s defenses crumbled completely.

Yan Zhi kissed him forcefully, with less tenderness and more frenzy.

This was actually their first kiss as “non-sisters,” and it felt very different from before.

Rong Ke realized just how aggressive Yan Zhi could be, every movement exuding intense possessiveness.

In his daze, he wondered, had Yan Zhi always kissed like this?

It seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.

The familiar part was the scent, the unfamiliar part was the uncontrollable heartbeat.

Distant footsteps sounded, and Yan Zhi finally released Rong Ke.

His earlier dark expression had vanished. In a good mood, he answered Rong Ke’s question, “I’m the one chasing you.”

As strangers entered the parking lot, Yan Zhi suddenly knew the correct way, walking straight towards the theater’s main entrance, leaving Rong Ke frustrated in place.

Damn Jiang Si.

Disrupting his rhythm.