“Okay, you’ve got your text?”, the man asked, correcting the lighting.

“All ready”, Shi Yue confirmed, getting into position.

“Text? What text? I don’t have the text”, the surprised voice of Xie Yi sounded, running onto the set. The director turned to him and patted his shoulder.

“Because you’re shitty at memorizing lines”, he said seriously. “So. Just go with the flow. Feel the tension! Stand your ground against him! You want to leave at all costs, okay? Stare him down!”

“I understand”, Xie Yi grumpily responded with a deep frown on his face.

Muttering something like ‘I can do it’, he walked towards the set.

It was ‘his’ bedroom. It was early evening, with the sun already hiding behind the horizon.

The adjusted the lighting one more time, checked the camera, and then the director raised his hand.

Shi Yue closed his eyes and opened them again.

“There is no way I can accept this!”, he shouted furiously. “You won’t leave!” 

As he said this, he reached out to grab Xie Yi’s arm. The man frowned and looked at it. Then his eyes slowly raised up to meet Shi Yue’s.

“I’m going.”

“I forbid it!”, Shi Yue bellowed. He had fixed lines, but he would have to adjust depending on Xie Yi.

“You are walking into your doom”, he growled, reaching out to hold up Xie Yi’s chin and glaring at him. “They will destroy you. Why do you have to play with your life?”

Xie Yi glared back.

“Is it really worth it? ...To lose your life for revenge?”

They weren’t really far from each other. He could feel Xie YI’s breath on his face. The man kept holding his gaze.

“...In the end… they…”

Wait, what was his text again?

Shi Yue kept on staring at the sunset coloured eyes that were completely focused on him and felt his brain shutting down.

...Ahh… So cute…

He leaned forward, bridging the last tiny gap, and brushed his lips against Xie Yi’s for a curt moment.

Xie Yi made a small sound, then blinked, his face switching to confusion. “Ah? Was there a kiss in this scene?”

Whoops.

Shi Yue heard the director sigh.

“Shi Yue…”

“...I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“...”

“...It was because he was staring.”

“You and your goddamn PDA¹Public Display of Affection. You are killing us poor single dogs”, the director grumbled, rubbing his temples. “Repeat! And this time don’t kiss him!”

“Yes”, Shi Yue guiltily replied.

Once more, the scene repeated.

This time he acted more aggressively, pulling Xie Yi back. With his hand on the other’s collar, the clothing accidentally ripped open a bit, revealing the pale skin beneath.

Xie Yi was still staring at him - as ordered by the director - without moving his eyes away.

Shi Yue swallowed hard.

In the corner, the director cursed.

“That’s it. I’m scrapping this scene.”

---

“I agree!”, Mingtian shouted at the same time as Xue Hua shouted: “I don’t!”

The director looked at Xue Hua, trying to placate the blushing youth. “It’s just a short scene! Not that explicit, either. You will be fine.”

“Yes. You will totally be fine”, Mingtian sang, completely disregarding Xue Hua’s rejection and throwing the beauty over his shoulder.

Xue Hua shrieked, then tried to struggle. “Let me down!”

“As you wish, darling”, Mingtian hummed, placing Xue Hua down - right on the bed.

The other man’s eyes widened in surprise, then he blushed even more furiously and tried to push away the man who was above him with a wicked grin.

“What are they doing?”, Xie Yi asked, coming in from the side. He curiously watched the two of them try to overpower the other while licking on an ice cream that Shi Yue had bought him.

“Deciding whether to go through with the scene or not… Probably”, the director said with raised eyebrows. Was this going to end as a rated scene?

“Hmmm”, Xie Yi hummed, watching them for a while. “Is it a scene where they play together in bed?”

The director sweat-dropped. Well, Xie Yi did have interesting ways of describing things. He couldn’t tell whether the other was innocent or lewd most of the time.

Xie Yi tilted his head. “It’s boring like that, though. It’s much more interesting if-”

“Xie Yi!”, Shi Yue screamed, running up from behind and clamping a hand over the young man’s mouth. “You don’t need to talk about that!”

Xie Yi looked at the person peering angrily over his shoulder and blinked innocently. He gave a small nod and Shi Yue released him with a sigh.

Anyway, the whole studio had perked up their ears and were suddenly working very quietly.

Mingtian, however, had stopped moving. With a dark face, he turned around.

“Shi Yue… Just what kind of weird things are you doing with my little brother”, he snarled slowly. Getting off Xue Hua, he began to approach the man.

Shi  Yue glared back. “Those kind of matter are none of your business.”

The two men stared at each other. Xie Yi continued to lick his ice cream.

Xue Hua got himself together, fixing his clothes, and walked over with an awkward face. A conflicted expression showing, he looked at Xie Yi.

“You… Are not doing anything you don’t like, right?”, he nervously asked. Not that he doubted Shi Yue or anything, but-

Xie Yi shook his head. “No. It’s all fun stuff. For example-”

He leaned closer and quietly explained so that only Xue Hua could hear. If only he could hear, then surely Shi Yue wouldn’t get mad?

However, Xue Hua turned white from blue. Slowly his eyebrows sank and he turned to glare at Shi Yue with an incredulous expression. “Y-You! You-You…”

Shi Yue flinched. 

“How can you!”, Xue Hua shouted, pulling Xie Yi into his arms. The young man twisted his body, saving his ice cream. Nonchalantly, he continued eating.

“Why are you getting mad at me when it’s him taking the initiative for everything!”, Shi Yue shouted back awkwardly.

“He doesn’t understand!”, Xue Hua shouted back.

The director stood at the side, the camera in his hands rolling.

“What’s that going to be?”, one of the staff asked curiously, watching the scene go on.

The director shrugged. “Blackmail material.”

---

“Are you sure she won’t mind?”, Xue Hua asked, smoothing his clothes for the n-th time.

Mingtian laughed. “Not at all. I’m sure she will be happy to have a son… in-law. Yeah. She will be happy to see us. Certainly.”

He walked three circles around Xue Hua as he talked. The bird stopped his movements and looked at his mate with a deadpan face.

“Hey, rather than me being nervous, it’s you who is freaking out, right?”

“Me? Nervous? What, no. I’m not nervous”, Mingtian laughed dryly, his eyes jumping around. Under the avian’s stare, he lowered his head between his shoulders and whispered. “...A bit. Come along, please?”

The man rolled his eyes and reached out to grasp Mingtian’s hand. He dragged him forward to the corner.

The woman was running around, helping people with carrying stuff. Most stood in awe at what kind of things she easily placed on her shoulders.

Towards the end, Xue Hua was pushing Mingtian forwards. The beast was completely stiff.

When she spotted them, her face froze in the middle of talking.

“Hi”, Mingtian croaked as he fiddled with his fingers. “...Mother?”

She stared for a few seconds. Her white hair was roughly fixed up and the ivory horns grew over her head. She was white like a spirit and sparkling like crystals in the sun.

She moved. Her face lit up, tears in her eyes. She jumped forward and pulled Mingtian into her arms.

“Oh my darling!”, she shouted in pure joy. “My little baby! All grown up! Look at what a handsome little thing you are, exactly like your father! I chose a good man to have a child with!”

She held him at an arm’s length and looked him all over, then turned him around. Mingtian sniffled.

She wiped his cheek with a lopsided grin. “Little darling… And your mate? A good one.”

The woman walked over to Xue Hua and pulled him in a hug likewise.

The director, a bit farther away, dabbed at his face with a handkerchief.

“Should we postpone the next scene”, a staff member whispered to him.

“Yeah, we will film another one first”, the director sniffled. “And get me someone to do something about my puffy eyes.”

---

“I will protect him and kill anyone who touches him”, Mingtian declared with his cheek squashed against Xie Yi’s child-version. The little one blinked his eyes.

Adult-Xie Yi cocked his head. “But he’s finished with his scenes and is leaving in an hour.”

“I’ll adopt him.”

“But he has an adoptive father already”, Xie Yi said bluntly while pointing to a corner where Feng Yan was standing. The old man awkwardly waved at noticing he was being looked at.

“I will fight”, Mingtian growled with a glare.

A fist hit him over the head violently. “No, you won’t.”

“Xue Hua”, Xie Yi greeted. 

“You can’t expect me to let him go! Look at him! He’s tiny and adorable and I want to keep him!”

“You are being treated as a pet, I think”, Adult-Yi whispered to his mini-version.

The child, only a few years old, wriggled in Mingtian’s arms and whispered back. “He’s warm. It’s fine.”

“Xue Hua is right, you can’t keep him. He has to go home”, Shi Yue said as he walked over with a bottle of water for Xie Yi.

Mingtian glared at him. “Oh really?”

He stood up, Mini-Yi in his arms, and handed the child over to Shi Yue.

Seeing the huge, innocent eyes focused on him, Shi Yue’s face stiffened. Mini-Yi moved around a bit, made himself comfortable, and went back to silently accepting the situation.

Shi Yue’s arms tightened a bit.

“So? Go ahead and give him over to Feng Yan”, Mingtian laughed haughtily at Shi Yue’s troubled face.

“I wish we had a Mini-Yue”, Xie Yi complained under his breath. There were no scenes with Shi Yue being small so they hadn’t gotten an actor for it. “Should I ask the author to add one last-minute?”

“God, don’t”, a staff member said while passing by. “The timeline is a mess already.”

“Awww…”, Xie Yi complained, throwing a longing look at Shi Yue.

The man cleared his throat. “I have childhood photos, at most.”

“I’ll take those, too.”

“You all are weird”, Mini-Yi said from within Shi Yue’s arms.

Shi Yue patted the boy’s head. “Whatever you say.”

---

The director tried to stand his ground against Xie Yi but it sure was problematic.

“Why can’t you film the scene!”

“Can’t”, Xie Yi repeated again, like a broken record. “It’s no good today.”

“Is it good on another day?!”, the director snarled, furious at the breaking of his plan.

Xie Yi cocked his head in thought and pursed his lips. “Probably… But I’d have to see on that day.”

“Alright, Almighty Actor. What is your problem. Is the weather too cold?”, the director tried to ask calmly. They were running on a tight schedule and had to get that bathhouse scene done.

“No, it’s fine”, Xie Yi said as he shook his head.

“Then is it too revealing for you?”, the director asked between clenched teeth. Another headshake.

“No, I don’t mind revealing scenes.”

“Then what in the world is your reason!” The furious bellow of the director could be heard throughout the studio.

Xie Yi pouted and pulled his collar to the side, revealing his shoulder. Numerous, rather obvious red marks were standing out on his white skin.

“This is kind of not suitable for filming, right?”, the young man asked with a confused frown.

The director stared at the marks. He pointed at them, looked at Xie Yi with a dropped jaw and furrowed brows, then closed his mouth and breathed in deeply.

“SHI YUE!”

“Yes?”, came from the make-up room a good bit farther away.

“You are sharing a room with Mingtian tonight!”

“What?!” Some noises, then Shi Yue looked out of the room to the dismay of his make-up artist. “Why!”

The director, fuming, pointed at Xie Yi without a word.

Silence fell over the studio.

“You totally deserve that”, Mingtian’s quiet humpf sounded from somewhere in the crowd.