Gently's endorsement contract was quickly signed, and the new product launch was indeed urgent. The day after the contract was signed, he was invited to the studio for a photoshoot.
These days there were too many things going on, so much so that Sulan Qiao hadn't had the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with Chu Cheng.
Those two stolen kisses had kept him tossing and turning all night, giving him a huge emotional impact, mentally and physically.
In the end, Sulan Qiao finally came to the conclusion that Chu Cheng liked him.
Thinking back to previous situations, I don't know from which moment it seemed like this person has been silently helping him.
Now, whenever Su Lanqiao thinks about it, many memories flash through his mind:
After falling on the catwalk, Chu Cheng went backstage to help him apply medicine, the heartache that flashed in his eyes for a second;
The leaked stolen photos, Chu Cheng spent a lot of money and favors to suppress the matter behind the scenes;
After participating in variety shows and facing various difficulties, bad things kept happening, and Chu Cheng helped every time, escorting him to where he is now;
The night he found out he was going to marry someone else, Chu Cheng immediately booked a flight and appeared in front of him on a red-eye flight, saying, "I'm marrying you";
And those jokes with an orange scent, birthday wishes at the right time, the kiss after the vows at the church...
Besides love, he can't find any other reasons.
Su Lanqiao felt that his nerves were really too dull, to the point of being unbearable.
Chu Cheng is a very introverted person, he can only do, not say, but given so many subtle hints, why hadn't he thought it through before?
Sitting in the dressing room waiting for the photoshoot, thinking about these, he sighed gently and complained to himself that he was really a big fool.
"What's the matter, Xiaoqiao, not satisfied with the styling?" The makeup artist took a step back, looking at the person with a worried expression, and furrowed his brows, "It looks really good."
Su Lanqiao looked at himself in the mirror. His slightly long hair had been textured, deliberately leaving a few messy strands, looking very playful. Dark eyeshadow was used to elongate the shape of the eyes, making them more charming. The whole look really suited him.
"It's nothing, you did a great job," Su Lanqiao snapped out of it.
The makeup artist breathed a sigh of relief,"I told you this style suits you very well, today's shoot for the new sleepwear needs your casual and charming temperament. But why do you look unhappy?"
Yue Xi, who was squatting playing Honor of Kings nearby, also looked up with a curious expression,"You really don't seem happy, what's wrong?"
Su Lanqiao smiled at the two in the mirror,"I thought of some private matters, I'm fine, I'll adjust my mood soon."
"Get this group shot well, it's going to be amazing." The makeup artist patted his shoulder and gestured for him to stand up and change clothes.
He patted his face and temporarily tried to forget about Chu Cheng's matter, turned around and entered the changing room to change into the first set of clothes for the shoot today.
This was a set of black silk pajamas, fitting snugly. The neckline was unbuttoned to the third button, opening up the chest, revealing beautiful collarbones, innocent and sensual at the same time.
"Xiaoqiao, you'll drive the fans crazy like this," Yue Xi looked up and glanced from top to bottom, sighing, "I recommended the underwear ad you shot for Chu Corporation to them, and they immediately took a liking to you."
Su Lanqiao forced a smile,"Yeah, I'll go shoot first."
"Cheer up, we'll talk later if there's anything." Yue Xi hooked his shoulder and walked out, lowering his voice,"Think about Mr. Chu, and you'll feel better."
Su Lanqiao sighed, this buddy really knew how to hit him where it hurt.
It was all because of Chu Cheng that he was feeling so down.
Realizing that Chu Cheng might like him, his initial reaction was joy, ecstatic even. The person he had secretly loved for years might also have feelings for him, what could be more joyful than this?
Following that came regret, regret that he had been too slow, causing their relationship to stagnate.
"Xiaoqiao is here, come, lie down on the bed first." The photographer, seeing Su Lanqiao approaching, directed the people into the scene.
Su Lanqiao glanced at the studio, the entire interior had been set up to look like a bedroom, with a large bed in the middle covered with black silk velvet.
"You're shooting on the bed today?" he raised an eyebrow and asked.
"The theme today is a tempting but distant relationship, it's a sleepwear theme, everyone likes to see this," the photographer looked at him and smiled, "Are you shy?"
"Not at all," Su Lanqiao shook his head, walking directly to the big bed and lying down under the covers.
The photographer half-crouched and tested the lighting, then directed the model, "Play some music, find the feeling of temptation, but not too provocative, you decide the degree."
Su Lanqiao changed positions twice, his mind buzzing, still unable to fully get into the mood.
The photographer coaxed, "Is there someone you like? Think about how you'd tempt them and capture that feeling."
Just then, background music started playing, a husky male voice singing a seductive tune, creating an ambiguous and lingering atmosphere.
This music was familiar, Su Lanqiao thought of the night he met Chu Cheng at the bar, the nervous yet bold feeling, and it suddenly came over him.
He imagined Chu Cheng lying next to him, he also lay facing up towards the camera, the open neckline revealing a tantalizing hint of his chest muscles, he slightly parted his lips, and even showed a little tongue.
"Perfect, that's the feeling, keep it up," the photographer saw Su Lanqiao getting into the mood and started capturing quickly.
In the next pose, Su Lanqiao turned over and lay on his stomach on the bed, his elbow lazily supporting his chin, his gaze straight at the camera like a hook, like a lazy cat staring at its prey, as if saying, "Come to me and I'll devour you."
Yue Xi stood outside the studio, thinking to himself, "Even as a guy, I can tell the feeling, he's so good at this."
After finishing the first set of shots, Su Lanqiao changed into another set of white shirt pajamas, the all-white outfit outlined his pure appearance.
"For this set, you have to go for a more innocent route, but at the same time, show a little desire," the photographer straightforwardly made the request.
Su Lanqiao nodded and directly unbuttoned all the buttons of the shirt, loosely hanging it on his body, boldly displaying his beautiful figure. His expression was quite innocent as he looked at the camera, even a little bit of reluctance and helplessness in his expression.
"The atmosphere is there," the photographer praised, "You really got the feeling right."
Having captured the essence, the subsequent shoot progressed very smoothly, in less than four hours, Su Lanqiao finished all the photos.
As the photographer reviewed the previous shots, he said, "Give me your WeChat, the brand needs a photo to be retouched today to post on your Weibo for promotion, I'll send it to you later."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work," Su Lanqiao bowed slightly and took out his phone to add the photographer's WeChat.
He changed into his own clothes and came out, calling out to Yue Xi, who was smoking at the door.
Yue Xi glanced at him, put out the cigarette, and walked side by side with Su Lanqiao towards the outside. "Tell me, what happened before the shooting?"
Su Lanqiao looked around and, seeing no one, whispered, "I think Chu Cheng likes me, but I hope it's not just my imagination."
"Why do you suddenly feel this way?" Yue Xi widened his eyes, as if he had heard some explosive news, "Didn't you say not long ago that you wanted to pursue him, and things were progressing so quickly?"
Su Lanqiao coughed shyly and said slowly, "He kissed me secretly the night before last, twice."
There were many key words in that statement, "the night before last" and "secretly kissed," meaning they kissed and then slept together.
Yue Xi took a moment to react, "Oh, then it's quite possible. If he's already kissed you, it's almost a sure thing. Why don't you just confess to him? After all, you've liked him for so many years, it's time to fulfill your own wish."
He was straightforward and didn't beat around the bush.
Su Lanqiao nodded, her eyes focusing ahead without any depth, "That's what I think too, but do I need to prepare anything for the confession?"
"Buy some flowers. In the evening, go find him with the flowers and tell him directly that you've liked him for a long time," Yue Xi, who had never been in a relationship, but considered himself to be knowledgeable in theory, advised with excitement, "You have to make yourself sound a bit pitiful, play up the sentimentality, this way he will feel more for you."
Su Lanqiao looked at him blankly, "Do we really need to buy flowers if we're both men?"
"Do you understand romance or not?" Yue Xi was eager to the point of wanting to do this himself. "Let's go, the flower shop is around the corner. I'll take you to buy some."
Su Lanqiao followed Yue Xi to the entrance of the flower shop, about to go in, but her elbow was pulled back by Yue Xi. "Wait, I'll buy for you. You're a star now, if someone sees you, it'll end up trending."
"Okay, then you do the buying." Su Lanqiao turned sideways and stepped out of the shop, waiting for him in the alley next to the flower shop.
The photographer was quick, and the edited photos had been sent to his WeChat. Su Lanqiao looked at the picture, a black silk pajama set. The last button was only fastened at the bottom, loosely hanging on his shoulder, revealing his collarbone and strong abs. He sat in the fluffy blanket, staring straight at the camera, silently inviting, indeed, the photo was very seductive.
Su Lanqiao uploaded the picture and captioned it: "@Gently Official, it's been a pleasure working together, enjoy!"
Leaning against the wall, he scrolled through Weibo for a while before seeing Yue Xi coming out with a black plastic bag.
"Where are the flowers?"
"In the bag. You can't walk around with the flowers so conspicuously," Yue Xi opened the black plastic bag, revealing a large bouquet of vibrant red roses.
Su Lanqiao was taken aback. "Roses, is that really appropriate?"
"I asked the shopkeeper, and they said you need red roses for a confession, no problem," Yue Xi patted his chest, handing him the bag, "Go on, good luck, win over Mr. Chu."
Su Lanqiao nodded and waved down a car, heading straight to Chu Cheng's house.
Chu Cheng had given him the password before, so he went straight to the living room after entering. Since it was still early, Chu Cheng hadn't returned.
Su Lanqiao took the flowers out of the bag and put them in the vase on the coffee table, arranging them into a full bouquet.
Everything was ready, all that was left was Chu Cheng.
He rehearsed the confession in his head twice, and then lazily lay on the sofa playing on Weibo. The photo he'd posted an hour ago had already garnered over ten thousand comments:
"Ahhhhhh, I'm dying, this man is seducing me!!!"
"Baby, put on your clothes for me!!! Why did you unbutton so many???"
"I've set it as my wallpaper, typing with both hands to prove my innocence."
"Great to have access to Little Qiao, collaborating with Gently."
"I'm enjoying it very much, Little Qiao is now on my bed."
"I'm a fan of Little Qiao's abs, that last button undone!!!"
"I'm done for, the man over 21 is like an electric generator!"
"I know now, to buy pajamas and deliver a photoshoot, right? Can I buy it too?"
"I can't anymore, big brother, come up to me!!!"
...Su Lanqiao made his debut as an underwear model, so he wasn't too concerned about his body being exposed. Moreover, the brand must have chosen him for that reason, so these reactions were not surprising.
But just like that, a single photo gained him several thousand new followers.
He clicked his tongue and mumbled, "A world that judges by looks and body."
The door made a sound, and Su Lanqiao suddenly looked up to see Chu Cheng walking in with a coat in hand, "Why did you come over? What's up?"
After starting work at the beginning of the year, Su Lanqiao had moved back to his own house, and the two hadn't seen each other for several days, making the situation between them a bit awkward.
Su Lanqiao glanced at the roses, his heart pounding, and what he had just rehearsed turned into a mess, "You, you're back. There's something I want to ask you."
"I also have something to ask you." Chu Cheng casually tossed the coat on the sofa, took out his phone and scrolled for a while before putting the screen in front of Su Lanqiao's eyes, speaking in a low voice, "Why did you take this kind of photo?"
Su Lanqiao looked up and saw that it was the photo of him wearing the silk pajamas that he had posted not long ago.
It had only been an hour, yet was this man constantly stalking his Weibo?
It was just a normal job, but Chu Cheng's tone was somewhat oppressive, and he couldn't help feeling a little guilty, "It's what the brand requested, a bit seductive..."
"Big brother, come up to me."
"Take off a little more."
"I want to see it all."
"Lustful and captivating, I like it."
Chu Cheng looked at the screen expressionlessly, speaking word by word, even with a hint of gritted teeth. It took a while for Su Lanqiao to realize that he was reading comments on Weibo, and she couldn't help but cover her face, "Oh, fans always exaggerate, you know."
Chu Cheng cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping down from his neck, thinking of the exposed upper body in the photo, his tone becoming deeper, "Next time, don't take such explicit photos."
Su Lanqiao thought of the series he had taken for Chusheng before, with even larger scale, wearing only a pair of underwear, and the man didn't say anything then.
Hmph, what a big double standard.
After a while, he finally reacted and exclaimed, "Chu President, are you jealous?! Don't want others to covet my body, do you?!"
"I'm not." Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow, leaning slightly on the edge of the sofa, his expression unchanged, appearing nonchalant.
Su Lanqiao stood up from the sofa, taking slow steps closer to him, with a hint of delight in her voice, "No, you are jealous."
"Are you finished?" Chu Cheng took out a cigarette from his coat pocket, lit it, and didn't continue the conversation.
Chu Cheng's reaction made Su Lanqiao even more certain that he liked her!
The suspicion level, from sixty percent in the morning, soared to ninety percent.
He bit his lip, took another step forward, almost about to fall into the man's arms, and spoke softly, "Chu President, are you kissing me because you like me?"
The playful tone in his words sounded like an offhand joke, but the slight tremor in the air revealed the speaker's nervousness.
As the last word fell, Su Lanqiao dared not look at him anymore. He lowered his head in confusion, his eyes falling on the crimson cigarette tip, flickering, the only dynamic element in the living room, leaving behind a long silence.
The silence continued until Chu Cheng quietly finished the cigarette. Su Lanqiao thought that the topic would just end like this, when Chu Cheng made a faint sound.
"Hey."
Su Lanqiao was taken aback by this short reply, it took a few seconds for him to realize that Chu Cheng was answering his previous question. The question and answer went like this:
"Are you kissing me because you like me?"
"Hey."
Despite his high probability of certainty, when he heard this almost imperceptible affirmation, his fingertips couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably, and all the words he wanted to say exploded like fireworks in his mind.
His heart was filled with a sweet and bittersweet feeling, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time.
The emotions he had for eight years were all condensed in this brief answer.
This person, who had come to him over the years, finally responded to him.
Su Lanqiao bit his lip and suddenly threw himself into Chu Cheng's arms, whispering repeatedly, "I like you too, I really like you, I've liked you for so long."
Toward the end, there was a hint of crying in his voice.
Chu Cheng's hands still hung at his sides, and he belatedly raised his hand to hug Su Lanqiao tightly, catching the key word in his words, "For how long?"
"Eight years, I have liked you for eight years." Su Lanqiao buried his head in Chu Cheng's neck, his beautiful eyes gradually becoming moist. He forced back his tears, but the bitterness and grievances of these years all rushed up in an instant.
When they first met eight years ago, Chu Cheng was the same as he was today, in a black shirt, pulling him out of the cold water and giving him a gentle hug.
That person, shone into his life like a beam of light.
Thirteen-year-old Su Lanqiao didn't know what love was, or what sexual orientation was.
He only knew that he liked Chu Cheng. If Chu Cheng was a man, then his sexual orientation was toward men.
Hearing the word "eight years," Chu Cheng was instantly speechless. It felt like a needle had pricked his heart, faintly causing him pain. How much trauma did this child endure in his childhood to be so cautious about loving someone?
When he spoke again, his voice carried a trace of hoarseness, "The person you were secretly in love with, was me."
This time, Chu Cheng used an affirmative sentence.
"Yes, you may not remember, but when you saved me when I was a child, I liked you from then on."
"You were so kind to a stranger, and I thought you were a really good person."
"Later, I found out that you were a student at Cambridge. I secretly went to the school to see you many times, you didn't know, right?"
"But you're so smart, you finished your studies early and returned to China. I even wanted to become your junior."
"Fortunately, I met you again in Beijing, that's why I used such a bold move to sleep with you that night."
"I... um..."
As Su Lanqiao kept on chattering, Chu Cheng suddenly gripped his chin and gave him a fiery kiss, very passionate, to the extent that it took his breath away.
He slowly closed his eyes, slightly parted his lips, and responded.
It was a very long kiss, unrelated to desire, unrelated to impulse.
It was just a simple first kiss between two people in love, confirming each other's feelings.
The street lamp outside suddenly turned on, and some sparse light shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, faintly illuminating the embracing couple. The shadows of the two people swayed on the wall, entwined and poignant.
It was a long time before Chu Cheng let him go.
Chu Cheng touched his lower lip with his fingertip and said in a low voice, "You should have said earlier."
"I didn't dare, I'm timid," Su Lanqiao said with a shy smile. All of this seemed unreal to him. "Pinch me, am I dreaming?"
"Fool." Chu Cheng actually pinched his waist lightly. "You've gotten thinner, eat more."
"I know," Su Lanqiao replied, his eyes bright as he looked at him and giggled foolishly. "So, that's settled? You as my boyfriend?"
Chu Cheng couldn't help but smile, raising his hand to pinch his nose. "We're already married, and you're talking about being boyfriends?"
"Right." Su Lanqiao bit his lip, smiling with dimples showing. Even though they had done everything together, confirming their relationship face to face now made him feel incredibly shy.
Chu Cheng hugged him and sat on the sofa, then noticed the bunch of roses on the coffee table. "Did you buy these flowers?"
"Yes, I bought them to confess to you. I know it's cheesy," Su Lanqiao reached out to touch the flowers, then couldn't help but hug Chu Cheng and nuzzled against him. "I really like you."
Chu Cheng snorted in his heart, feeling a little overwhelmed. Nonetheless, he honestly pulled him into his arms. "Alright, I know."
"Say you like me too," Su Lanqiao cooed, wrapping his arms around Chu Cheng's neck and sounding a little demanding, now acting spoiled.
Chu Cheng cleared his throat and unaccustomedly said in a low voice, "I like you."
He couldn't help but think of Su Lanqiao silently liking him for eight years, waiting with an unwavering heart through those long years, carrying a love without hope, and it pricked his heart.
The more he thought about it, the more it hurt.
Chu Cheng looked down at the person in his arms, from the top of his head to his chin, and furrowed his brow. "Unrequited love must be tough, huh?"
"Yes, it's bitterly sweet," Su Lanqiao said as he nuzzled against his chest, making his hair messy.
Chu Cheng reached out to help him straighten his hair. "You've been through a lot. Let me be the one to pursue you."
Su Lanqiao widened his eyes at this, suddenly sat up from Chu Cheng's arms, looking flustered. "No no no, no need to pursue, we're together now. I don't want to wait."
Chu Cheng was amused by his lack of restraint, and couldn't help but lower his gaze to kiss him again. In his usually unemotional eyes, a hint of warm affection appeared.
"We're together now, I just feel sorry for you."
"I want you to experience what it's like to be pursued, to be cherished," Su Lanqiao said.