In Name Only - Chapter 3

Xu Jingzhe deeply regretted not changing his socks before getting out of the car.

The color of his socks wasn’t actually that bad. However, it was a little bit oversaturated. It wasn’t exactly the classiest color to go with.

Liang Yu didn’t look like he was at a Japanese restaurant. He sat very casually. The attendants serving their food were all wearing kimonos. When they entered, they would say “sumimasen“. Xu Jingzhe took off his hat and smiled at the girl. Then, he took the wasabi from her hand and said, “I’ll take it from here.”

Liang Yu watched from the side.

As long as outsiders were present, Xu Jingzhe would behave the same as he did on set. He was very professional, and his tone of voice was familiar and considerate. “Would you like more wasabi or less?”

Liang Yu swept his tongue across his molars and said lazily, “More.”

Xu Jingzhe gave him half of it. He even added a bit of soy sauce.

The girl in the kimono looked back at them a few more times. She wasn’t quite able to control her expression. She hid her face behind the serving tray and backed out of the room.

Liang Yu laughed and said, “You sure are impatient. I bet everyone outside knows by now.”

Xu Jingzhe pushed the sashimi in front of Liang Yu. He said lightly, “The paparazzi are just there for show. There’s always going to be people who claim the photo’s fake. However, it’s actually very easy to get people to believe it. We just have to act like we did just now.”

Japanese food wasn’t really to Liang Yu’s liking. The fatty tuna in front of him made him rather picky. He didn’t really touch it. He took a sip of umeshu and prepared to talk about business. “You already know everything about the agreement, right?”

Xu Jingzhe nodded. “I know.”

Liang Yu: “Although it’s going to be ‘fake’, I don’t like working with people who can’t honor an agreement. A fake relationship is still a relationship. You’d better be able to keep it in your pants.”

Xu Jingzhe probably hadn’t expected him to speak so directly. He found that the real Liang Yu was completely different from the Liang Yu in front of the camera. The man who appeared in the public eye was a man of few words and even fewer facial expressions. His style was that of a cool guy. However, Xu Jingzhe was starting to realize why he didn’t speak much. After all, everything he said in just this short period of time was enough for him to end up on the trending list.

Xu Jingzhe looked at him like he was an endangered animal. “If you really knew about me, you would know that I haven’t had a single scandal even after all these years.”

Liang Yu gave him a disdainful look. He said sarcastically, “You’re very good at hiding from the paparazzi.”

“…” Xu Jingzhe couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “How are you acting like such a straight man when you’re gay? Would it kill you to say something nice once in a while?”

Liang Yu didn’t get angry. He even laughed, as if he had heard a joke. He pushed the sashimi plate back in front of Xu Jingzhe and said, “You ordered it. Make sure to finish it. Don’t waste food.”

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All of this would definitely be photographed by the paparazzi. So, although the two agents didn’t have anything to say to each other, they still waited together in the car.

It was Xu Jingzhe who paid the bill at the front desk. Liang Yu stood right behind him. He was very close. Before getting into the film industry, he was a professional runway model. Liang Yu was 188 centimeters tall. He was significantly taller than Xu Jingzhe, who was just over 180 centimeters. When he looked down, he could see into the other party’s collar. Xu Jingzhe had his head bowed and was earnestly scanning the code to pay. His neck was fair and slender. Because he was rather thin, the joints of his spine were very pronounced.

“Get a parking coupon.” Liang Yu reminded him.

Xu Jingzhe asked the boss for a parking coupon. The other party had clearly recognized who the two of them were. It was super obvious from his expression.

Liang Yu placed his sunglasses on his head. Then, he placed a hand against Xu Jingzhe’s waist as if no one else was around.

It would be a while before the nanny van arrived, so Xu Jingzhe stood under the eaves of the restaurant. He and Liang Yu were standing shoulder to shoulder, idly looking around.

“The paparazzi sure are dedicated,” Liang Yu suddenly said. “They even pulled out the aerial cameras.”

Xu Jingzhe subconsciously wanted to look for the cameras. He was worried that there would be an issue with the angle. He didn’t want the pictures to come out badly.

Liang Yu stopped him. “Don’t move.”

Xu Jingzhe froze mid-way. “?”

Liang Yu’s eyes met his. Xu Jingzhe couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not. “Why don’t we give them something interesting to look at?”

Xu Jingzhe was still in a daze. “What?”

In the next second, Liang Yu’s lips pressed down on his.

This was a gentlemanly and restrained kiss. It was like a kiss between teenagers who were afraid of being found out yet still couldn’t help themselves. It was the kind of kiss that was persistent yet cautious, a first kiss for the person you like most.

Liang Yu had both hands in the pockets of his overcoat, maintaining a distance from the other the entire time. He simply bent forward and kissed Xu Jingzhe.

Xu Jingzhe could hear the sharp sound of the camera shutter from above them. He didn’t refuse the kiss. Instead, he calmly waited for Liang Yu to end this sudden, one-sided kiss.

Liang Yu even ended the kiss with an ambiguous “pop”.

Liang Yu didn’t speak after he backed away. He did all of this so naturally. He even had the spare time to take a look at the aerial camera.

Xu Jingzhe ducked into the camera’s blind spot and wiped his lower lip with his hand. He calmly said, “This could be considered going off script. I could sue you for sexual harassment.”

Liang Yu’s house was located within 3rd Ring Road. It was less than three hundred square meters. Even though he bought it early, it was still pretty expensive.

“Liang Yu doesn’t usually stay there,” Yang Jierui explained. “He usually stays at the apartment by 5th Ring Road.”

Xu Jingzhe didn’t really care where Liang Yu lived. Zhang Man had told him it would be best for the two of them to live together after the engagement was announced.

“Mr. Xu owns a house in the suburbs. It is a bit further away, but it’s convenient if you need to get to the airport.” Zhang Man was a little nervous about Liang Yu. After all, he was a movie emperor. He wasn’t someone she could offend. “Mr. Liang, what do you think?”

Liang Yu glanced at Xu Jingzhe. He was rather indifferent. “In that case, I would have to move out in front of all the paparazzi after our ‘break up’. The headlines are all going to say that I was ‘kicked out of the house’.”

Zhang Man: “…”

Xu Jingzhe had a bit of a headache. He said, “I can move you into your place. It doesn’t matter.”

Liang Yu stared at him for a while. Then, he suddenly smiled. “I’m joking. Why is Mr. Xu taking it seriously?”

Zhang Man probably didn’t expect Liang Yu to have this kind of personality. Not to be cliche, but he was like a rose with thorns. The rose-colored glasses were instantly gone. Looking back, Xu Jingzhe was still better. His requirements were a little strict, but at least he was emotionally stable. He definitely wouldn’t go around offending people.

Since they needed to wait until three or four in the morning, the four of them simply started playing mahjong in Liang Yu’s basement.

Xu Jingzhe wasn’t very good at mahjong to begin with. Plus, his luck was kind of bad today. He lost to Liang Yu several times. It was clear that Liang Yu was an old hand at the game. Towards the end, Yang Jierui almost lost his pants.

The funny thing was that Liang Yu finally seemed a bit more normal when he was playing mahjong.

It was probably because he was very serious when it came to earning money. He didn’t really say much besides “Pong”, “Kong”, and “Mahjong”.

Of course, he was also very proficient when it came to calculating money. He actually had a ledger which contained records about everyone who owed him money.

Xu Jingzhe was a little shocked when he saw it at first. He turned a few pages and saw the signatures of several acquaintances and famous directors. His mood became even more complicated.

Zhang Man saw that it was about time, so she called for a driver to bring the nanny van. She also had a “middleman” let a little bit of information slip along the way, letting the paparazzi know to keep their spirits up. There was going to be a scoop soon, so they couldn’t fall asleep.

Xu Jingzhe was obediently putting his shoes on by the door when Liang Yu suddenly stopped him. “Wait.”

Xu Jingzhe saw that Liang Yu was holding onto the ledger. Xu Jingzhe frowned. He figured he would probably have to pay up all the money he lost today. He was worried that Liang Yu might make him sign his name in his ledger.

Fortunately, he didn’t do that. The man went upstairs. Then, he came back down after a while with an overcoat in his hand.

“Put it on,” Liang Yu ordered.

Xu Jingzhe was rather sleepy at this point. He didn’t think much about it and obediently put on the overcoat. Liang Yu looked at him with satisfaction. “‘Lingering Late Into The Night, Leaving In His Boyfriend’s Jacket’. There. I’ve already thought of a subheading for them.”

Xu Jingzhe: “…”

Zhang Man was very happy to see that Liang Yu was cooperating so well. She wasn’t worried about Xu Jingzhe, but, since she wasn’t familiar with Liang Yu, it was a little difficult for her to relax. After spending some time with him, it was clear that he wasn’t quite normal, but she didn’t have any complaints about his professionalism.

“Would you like someone to help clean up the villa?” Zhang Man was still replying to her WeChat messages. Both her and the PR team would not be sleeping tonight. As soon as the media exposes the relationship, they would need to begin public relations right away. Anyway, she was way past the point of feeling sleepy, so she decided to discuss work matters with her boss. “It’s best for the rooms to be on the same floor. If there’s anything inconvenient lying around, you can clean it up in advance. You guys can visit IKEA together. I’ll arrange for some paparazzi to take pictures. We can let everyone know that you two are getting engaged and living together. The two of you are probably going to be trending for the rest of the year.”

Xu Jingzhe looked out the car window. His mind was elsewhere. Zhang Man didn’t know what he was thinking about. After a while, he suddenly asked, “How many years will this cooperation last?”

Zhang Man blanked. She looked down at the notes on her phone and replied, “Three years.”

“Three years…” Xu Jingzhe sighed, seemingly talking to himself. He said, “It’s like I’ve taken on another endorsement.”

Zhang Man was speechless for a moment. She could only echo along, “I am glad you’re so dedicated to your work.”

Xu Jingzhe gave her a strange look. His expression seemed to say, “Isn’t this only natural?” Then, he continued to brief her on work matters, “However, don’t go out of your way to buy a spot on the trending list. It’s not good for public opinion.”

Zhang Man nodded. “The team knows what to do.”

Xu Jingzhe added, “If I recall correctly, Mr. Liang has a holiday film coming up. Go contact their team. Do I need to show my face and help with the promotion?”

“…” Zhang Man tried to hold herself back, but, in the end, she couldn’t help it. She cautiously asked, “Boss, are you aiming for employee of the year or something?”