Translator: izzy
Editor: Hawon
The next day, Doggo went home to pack a bunch of clothes, toiletries, and some commonly used miscellaneous items. Before Zhang Jing returned home, Doggo dumped his clothes on Zhang Jing’s bed, different articles of clothing strewn across the sheets.
When he arrived home, Doggo was already playing video games with the laptop placed on his lap. “Jingjing, you- you’re home?”
Seeing the mess on the bed, Zhang Jing kicked him. “You think this is your house now? Are you planning to live here for a while?”
Doggo nodded. “Yeah, because I re- realized that cuddling while sleeping is comfortable…”
“Shut up,” Zhang Jing laughed. “If you wanna cuddle, go find a girl. I don’t want to hug you. Don’t forget that I’m a gay.”
Doggo shook his head and mischievously smiled. “I only want to hug you.”
While Zhang Jing folded and transferred his clothes into the closet, he responded, “Aren’t you scared I’ll harm you when you’re asleep?”
Doggo guffawed, “Go for it. Then, you’ll have to take responsibility… for your actions. If the doer is someone as- as handsome as Jingjing, why should I object?”
Even though Zhang Jing told him to shut up, it was apparent in his heart that he was content with Doggo’s presence. With him here, the atmosphere was always jubilant and upbeat. If Doggo actually focused on speaking properly, he could stop stuttering—after all, he must maintain professionalism whilst speaking to his boss. But normally when he’s relaxed, he wouldn’t spend his time worrying about that. Zhang Jing’s already accustomed to his stuttering anyways.
Back then, in their dorm, the three of them would always jest about Doggo’s stuttering. Every time, Doggo would laugh along with them until breathing hurt, and would continue scolding them after he finished laughing.
However, when Zhang Jing overheard a few people from the student government mimicking Doggo’s form of speech—Zhang Jing beat up all of them.
Doggo said, “I brought a pot so I can cook… noodles for you.”
Zhang Jing sat down next to him and ruffled Doggo’s hair into a mess. “Do you plan on paying me rent?”
Doggo: “Nope.”
“Why?”
“You should be thank- thankful I’m not asking for… an accompanying fee.”
Zhang Jing locked his arms around Doggo’s neck and wondered, “I really don’t understand. My Doggo has distinct facial features, a successful career, and a kind, understanding heart. How come no girls have noticed him yet?”
Doggo, attempting to squirm his way out of Zhang Jing’s grip, stammered out a response. “Who- who knows!”
The next day, Zhang Jing had to go to the filming location since the client approved their project plan for electric scooters. The plan was fairly simple, but filming was usually troublesome and time-consuming. Shooting product commercials can be both extremely simple and insanely difficult. For some, this task only takes a few minutes; but if the results aren’t satisfactory, a whole day wouldn’t suffice. This is especially the case for outdoor filming as there are more variables to account for, so refilming requires them to set up the same scene repeatedly.
Monitoring the filming process had always been Zhang Jing’s responsibility. When he left at six in the morning, the sun was already out. “I can’t believe daytime spans for so long. I’ve never noticed,” he thought to himself. For some reason, his mood fluctuated according to the time of day; it was always better when it was bright out rather than dark.
The model for the commercial did have an attractive face and figure, and it was a guarantee the client would agree to recruiting her. However, Zhang Jing felt conflicted and upset—the product was catered to smaller sized ladies, so a model with long legs wouldn’t fit the image of the product. A petite model would’ve been more suitable.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
As a result, Zhang Jing asked the director, “Are there any other models? I remember us agreeing on a different one during our last conversation.”
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Zhang Jing was disappointed. “I’m not questioning her skills. Don’t you think her legs are too long? And the electric scooter being too small for her size? She doesn’t match the product image.”
The director looked towards the client. “Mr. Xu, what’s your stand? If you also agree that she isn’t the best fit, we can switch the model. However, if we take that route, we wouldn’t be able to film today.”
Zhang Jing frowned. “We can’t find anyone else for today?”
Just as the director opened his mouth, the client, Mr. Xu, waved his hand and said, “No need, let’s just continue with her. She seems good enough.”
Zhang Jing saw fit to just give up and cease his complaints. If the client didn’t have an issue with it, why should he? They were hired to provide an advertisement plan for the production company to film. As long as the client is satisfied with the results and pays them, nothing else should matter.
However, Zhang Jing didn’t expect the model to be inept in riding an electric scooter.
He found this to be extremely ridiculous—if you didn’t know how to ride an e-scooter, then why film an advertisement for it? Only after they finished perfecting her makeup and outfit did she awkwardly say she couldn’t ride it.
If she was uncomfortable on the scooter, her nervous facial expressions would ruin the final result.
The process of this commercial filming enraged Zhang Jing because up until lunch time, they were still debating whether to teach her how to ride an e-scooter, or to just let her pose and request the post production team to produce the final result through editing.
When Josh called, Zhang Jing was berating the director. “If we rely on editing for everything, then why are we filming? Let’s just use 3D modeling and animation then!” His aggressive tone blasted through the answered call.
Josh smiled and placatingly asked, “What happened? Did someone provoke you?”
Zhang Jing pursed his lips. “Sorry… I couldn’t control my emotions.”
“Don’t worry,” Josh responded. “What are you doing?”
“On-site for advertisement filming.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
Zhang Jing drank some water and squatted on the floor. “Not yet. We’re gonna eat together after we finish filming.”
Josh then asked, “When will you guys finish?”
“I’m not sure.”
Josh sighed, “Where, then?”
Zhang Jing told him his current location, thinking it best to end the call short. “I still have to go back to work.”
Once he got a response, Zhang Jing hung up. Seeing such a stubborn crowd kickstarted a headache, especially that girl who was cramming her two long legs into the small e-scooter. Not only did she look awkward, she also couldn’t move.
This production company was appointed by the client, so this was Zhang Jing’s first time working with them. He decided to himself that this would be their last time collaborating—people with such different aspirations and principles shouldn’t work together.
Sometime during the filming, Bai Qi called him for a progress update, so Zhang Jing excused himself for a bit to answer the call. Aside from that small break, he spent the rest of the time watching the girl learn how to ride an e-scooter. Zhang Jing suddenly realized why he’s a gay.
When Josh arrived, Zhang Jing was outside sitting on a small wooden bench, staring blankly into the distance. He flinched when Josh’s voice sounded from above.
Surprised, hee stood up and asked, “Why are you here?”
Josh swung the bag in his hands. “To bring you food.”
Zhang Jing was at a loss of words and smiled embarrassingly. “You really didn’t have to come all the way here—maybe I shouldn’t have given you the address. Sorry for troubling you—I just didn’t expect it.”
Josh chuckled, “Don’t be sorry. Remember what I said? You should get used to asking me for favors.”
Zhang Jing notified the director and followed Josh to his car. Josh handed him a bottle of water and said, “I don’t know what you like to eat, so I bought a variety of stuff. Eat whichever ones you like.”
“Ah… I’m not a picky eater. Anything works.” To be honest, he felt uncomfortable. If he was a girl, he might’ve felt touched—unfortunately he’s not. Moreover, they don’t know each other that well, so compared to other emotions, uneasiness and guilt weighed the most.
Josh wasn’t the type to talk much, only speaking a few sentences here and there. Zhang Jing would also respond briefly in between his bites and chewing.
Once he finished eating, he gingerly said, “Uh… thank you.”
“I already said no need to be so polite.” Josh smiled at him. “What do you think our relationship is right now, hottie? Even if we aren’t together as of now, we will be in the future. Instead of thanking me over and over again, I’d rather you just tell me where you are and what you want to eat.”
Zhang Jing subconsciously turned away from Josh’s face, and his fingernails sank deep into his palm. “Actually—”
Josh smiled and interrupted him. “My instincts tell me to interrupt what you’re about to say.”
Zhang Jing merely glanced at him and quietly replied, “Mhm.”
Josh proceeded to stare at him for a long time, causing him more visible unease. Seeing this, Josh sighed and forced out a smile. “Hey, pretty boy. I genuinely really like you.”
“…”
“I don’t know if you find me too old. Earlier, I asked Bai Qi for your age. He said you’re twenty-eight—I’m eight years older than you.”
Zhang Jing shook his head. “No, it’s not about the age.”
“I just want to say…” Josh reached out his hand to hold Zhang Jing’s hand. “There are advantages to finding an older boyfriend though. I may not be as romantic as the younger guys, but I would definitely treat you better.”
Zhang Jing couldn’t concentrate on the words because of the hand in Josh’s hold. The only feeling he had was extreme discomfort. All he wanted to do was pull his hand away and let the wind cleanse it.
Josh squeezed Zhang Jing’s hand and smiled. “You can continue with your work. I also have to go back to mine, even though I really want to stay here with you.”
Zhang Jing immediately interjected, “No need, no need. You should go back to work, but thank you a lot for coming here.”
Josh sighed helplessly, “You’re welcome. Then, I’ll leave now.”
Zhang Jing walked off the car, responding with a plain “bye.”
When Josh’s car disappeared from his sight, he reflected that his heart was probably frozen. He’s the type to lack authenticity and emotions, so warming his heart up is quite difficult.
Zhang Jing walked back to the film set with his head lowered; but the moment he raised his head, he noticed a car parked in front of him. Ji Dongxun was leaning on the car’s door, looking at him coldly. A black trench coat paired with a white collared shirt. The sharp jawline and facial features were as beautiful as always. Zhang Jing’s heartbeat stopped for a second. He also felt guilt amidst the diffidence for some reason—and this reaction became an instinct, one he could never conceal.
Kind of hilarious.
Zhang Jing just stood there and closed his eyes.
He realized that his heart wasn’t born to be frozen, he just chose to spend all of its heat on one person.
When he opened his eyes again, both the person and the car disappeared, as expected. He touched his chest, his heartbeat still above a hundred.
When he returned to the film set, the model finally grasped the basics of riding an e-scooter. They took three takes consecutively, but all of them contained mistakes here and there. At last, the director asked him, “Why don’t we end here? These three takes should be enough footage to produce one smooth-flowing advertisement. Worst case scenario: we spend more money on the postproduction.”
Zhang Jing tilted his head towards the client and said, “Ask our client. I don’t care.”
Interacting for a few hours was enough to recognize that the “client” was simply a random person sent by their company. The client obviously knew nothing about advertisement production, so he was here just to finish the job. Zhang Jing couldn’t communicate with these types of people, since focusing on the details would merely be deemed unnecessary to them.
As expected, the “client” had no objections, and Zhang Jing was just glad it’s over.
Before he left, Zhang Jing looked for somewhere to wash his hands. If he didn’t wash his hands, he couldn’t ride his motorcycle, otherwise he would feel the same irritation the next time he touched it.
Today wasn’t a good time to reject Josh since he traveled all the way here to bring him lunch. But after he held his hand, Zhang Jing was determined to find a proper time to reject and apologize to him.
Back when he asked Bai Qi for his contact, he hadn’t realized how serious his haphephobia was. Now, his primary concern was no longer whether or not he loved Josh, because of his intolerance to Josh’s touch.
They were both grown and mature men, so a platonic relationship would be impossible. If they were actually together, physical touch would be inevitable. However, Zhang Jing felt disgusted just by simply holding hands.
Hence, at this point, he didn’t want to waste his time: a relationship was out of the question.
When he returned to the office, Bai Qi asked him, “Done filming?”
“Yeah.” Zhang Jing slumped into his chair and continued, “I’m never working with this production company again. I’m blocking them, those stupid fools.”
“Sure. Once we finish this project, we’ll say byes to them.” Bai Qi then handed him three documents. “Remember the company from last time? The one you discussed a contract with? I finished the preliminary plan, and I included three potential routes. Later, when you’re free, ask them to choose which option they like.”
Zhang Jing’s eyes immediately shot open. “Which one?”
Bai Qi casually answered, “Ji something? That company.”
Zhang Jing blinked a few times, but remained composed on the surface. “Oh, them. Sure. Got it.”
“Appreciate it.” Bai Qi poured him a cup of water. “Can you go tomorrow? If they like any of these options, we can finalize the contract.”
Zhang Jing gulped his water. “Okay.”
So… Is the Ji Dongxun that MC kept seeing just his hallucinations or did he appear for real? I really do hope he’s real 😭
Woohoo they’re going to meet up for real! I can’t believe I could be satisfied by just them seeing each other.
Thanks for the chapter 💕
Thank you for the chapter!!💖