Half an hour later, #TangTangDontBeMad was trending.
When Kang Duo called, Xu Tang was sitting at his electric piano composing. He happened to be feeling inspired today and didn’t want to waste it. And as for Zong Xuan’s red carpet appearance—which should have been must-watch viewing for him—he had forcibly made himself ignore it, or he was afraid he wouldn’t sleep tonight.
“I have no idea what Zong Xuan is thinking. Wen Hui didn’t give me any warning either. But you should still respond to this somehow,” Kang Duo said calmly.
This incident wouldn’t really affect Xu Tang. The film festival hadn’t invited him anyway. Even if he attended, it would only be as Zong Xuan’s spouse accompanying him, so the organizers wouldn’t care whether he showed up or not. But with one sentence, Zong Xuan had pushed Xu Tang onto the trending list, and the fans below were all swooning themselves senseless. If he didn’t respond, Kang Duo was worried things would spiral in the wrong direction.
Xu Tang opened his computer and skimmed through the situation. The fan art of him and Zong Xuan, which had already been everywhere, was now exploding even more.
He really hadn’t expected Zong Xuan to outright say he hadn’t gone because the two of them were having a spat. But if he thought about it carefully, the only one sulking was him. Zong Xuan was still acting as usual.
Xu Tang didn’t rush to reply. Responding too quickly could sometimes make it look prepared in advance.
After the awards ceremony ended, Zong Xuan got into the car first.
After Wen Hui finished blocking the reporters outside, she got in, slammed the door shut, and all traces of her earlier smile disappeared. Her face was cold enough to feel like minus sixty degrees, as if even her breath could freeze into ice shards inside her nose.
Her assistant wisely stayed silent. They even quietly lowered the partition, creating a safe zone for themselves and the driver in the front seats.
“What was that supposed to mean?” Wen Hui snapped. “What kind of nonsense did you say?”
Kang Duo hadn’t called her yet, but she could already imagine her reaction. Honestly—she was older than Kang Duo and also her senior in the industry, yet because of her own artist’s constant troublemaking, she could never even act like the senior one. It was exhausting.
“I just told the truth,” Zong Xuan said, unconcerned. He’d been in the entertainment industry for years and knew exactly what he was doing. He also knew what he said wouldn’t really hurt Xu Tang—it was just his way of expressing a little displeasure at Xu Tang’s refusal from afar.
“Don’t think you can act however you want just because he has a good temper. Someone like Xu Tang—if you really push him too far, there’ll be no fixing it.” Wen Hui remained stern. “I honestly think Xu Tang is great. What exactly are you dissatisfied with?”
“I’m not dissatisfied with anything.” Zong Xuan pulled out a cigarette, but seeing a lady present, didn’t light it. “I just think that little thing is way more interesting than I thought. It’s been years since anyone rejected me. Yet he’s got the nerve. Makes me want to fuck him until he’s too weak to refuse.”
He, the great Best Actor Zong, had never invited someone to walk the red carpet with him and been turned down. Usually people reacted with gratitude. Only Xu Tang had refused without giving him even the slightest face. Not only that, he’d insisted on living apart for this long and talked about divorce without leaving any room at all. He had no idea who taught him to be so bold.
Still, that only made him more intrigued. It made him want the divorce even less.
Wen Hui felt like she had never rolled her eyes this hard in her life. It felt like her eyeballs might disappear into her skull.
“What’s the point of talking dirty to thin air with your fantasies?”
“So what am I supposed to do? I can’t exactly take him right now. The relationship’s not there yet.” Zong Xuan had his own principles in this regard—or rather, when it came to Xu Tang, he had boundaries he wouldn’t cross.
Wen Hui said in frustration, “Then make the relationship right!”
Zong Xuan didn’t answer immediately. After about half a minute of silence, he said, “I need to think about it.”
Wen Hui thought there was something seriously wrong with his brain. “What is there to think about?! If you keep thinking, Xu Tang’s going to get snatched away by someone else.”
“Heh.” Zong Xuan sneered. “Someone wants to steal my person from under me? Dream on.”
Wen Hui wondered if smashing her phone over his head might cure some of his narcissism.
“Where exactly does all this confidence come from?” Wen Hui asked weakly.
“Do I need someone else to give me confidence?”
“……”
Later that night, Xu Tang posted on Weibo—
[We’re not fighting. I just wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t go with him.]
“Ahhh TangTang appeared~”
“Take care of yourself, TangTang! Don’t overwork!”
“If you’re not feeling well, get lots of rest!”
“Cough… are you all really this wholesome? Am I the only one thinking something else?!”
“You’re not alone. Fighting… not feeling well… hmm… lots to unpack there. Next person, your turn!”
“Hehe, I’m next. I know exactly what you perverts are thinking—but I’m not saying it!”
“I’ll say it! I think Best Actor Zong made TangTang too uncomfortable, so TangTang got mad!”
…
The comments raced wildly in a direction that absolutely couldn’t be described out loud. But after posting, Xu Tang simply went to bed and prepared to sleep without checking the comments.
As he lay there letting his thoughts wander, his phone buzzed.
Xu Tang rolled over and picked it up. It was from Zong Xuan. He opened it—it was a screenshot of a comment on Weibo.
Haha, could it be Best Actor Zong’s needs are too intense, and Xu Tang couldn’t handle it, so that’s why he’s upset? What do I do? My brain is full of these explicit images now. Someone save me!
Sending him something like that in the middle of the night made Xu Tang feel like he’d just been aggressively flirted with. Speechless, he replied with six dots.
……
Zong Xuan quickly replied: Not asleep yet?
Xu Tang: About to sleep.
Zong Xuan: After your post, the comments all went in this direction.
Xu Tang: Whatever. It’s just fans fantasizing.
Zong Xuan: Want to try it?
Those four words instantly wiped away half of Xu Tang’s drowsiness.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally replied: No.
Zong Xuan: Ha. Kid.
Xu Tang: ……
Zong Xuan: Alright, sleep early. Good night.
Xu Tang: Good night.
Zong Xuan had seen that comment while casually scrolling through Weibo after his shower. He sent it to Xu Tang just to tease him.
For some reason, after Wen Hui mentioned that Xu Tang might get pursued by someone else today, he’d felt a faint sense of anxiety. Yet at the same time, he mocked himself—what was there to be anxious about?
After messaging Xu Tang and confirming the little thing was honestly staying home, he felt oddly reassured.
For one brief moment, he’d really wanted to ask Xu Tang out for late-night food. But after thinking it over, he decided against it. If reporters caught them and found out they weren’t even living together, that would be troublesome.
The fans’ enthusiasm for fantasizing hadn’t died down yet. Xu Tang continued living off the meals Yuan Shang delivered, while Zong Xuan remained stuck in separation.
That evening, He Xin called Xu Tang and invited him out for late-night food at the fried chicken place they’d visited before.
Though they chatted often on WeChat, they hadn’t met in quite a while, so Xu Tang gladly agreed. Besides, hanging out with He Xin carried no pressure. Most people’s late-night meals started at ten, but considering Xu Tang’s schedule, He Xin usually started around eight.
This fried chicken place was owned by someone in the industry, so it had many private rooms specifically for celebrity friends.
When Xu Tang arrived, He Xin had already started eating without waiting.
Seeing him come in, He Xin waved his greasy gloved hand and said, “Come on, hurry. Limited edition potato-chip fried chicken—this season’s new item. Try it.”
Xu Tang shut the door and sat across from him. Looking at the table full of high-calorie food, he said, “You ordered this much? We won’t finish it.”
“It’s fine. Whatever’s left can go home with Yue Yan,” He Xin said with a grin. Then he looked Xu Tang over and noticed he’d lost weight. The reason? Probably the usual few possibilities. He didn’t want to mention them since Xu Tang wouldn’t admit anything anyway. So he only said, “Eat, eat. Pour your own cola.”
The smell of fried food made Xu Tang hungry too. He hadn’t eaten much dinner in preparation for this meal.
Putting on gloves, Xu Tang picked up a chicken wing and started eating. “You left Brother Yan home alone?”
“Yep. The housekeeper cooked, so he won’t starve.” He Xin grinned. He hadn’t brought Yue Yan for two reasons: first, Yue Yan didn’t really eat this stuff; second, he wanted to hang out with his friend without dragging along a third wheel. If Xu Tang had brought family too, that would be different. But since he hadn’t, He Xin didn’t want to rub salt in the wound.
After tossing the bones into the bucket, He Xin raised his cup and said, “Come, let’s celebrate you refusing Best Actor Zong and not walking the red carpet with him. Cheers!”
Xu Tang laughed. “That’s something worth celebrating?”
“Of course! For you, this is basically the sun rising in the west.”
“Fine.” Xu Tang helplessly raised his cup and clinked it with He Xin’s. Honestly, if this had been in the past, he probably never would have done something like this. If Zong Xuan had invited him, he’d probably have been over the moon.
He Xin gulped down half a cup of cola with a satisfied expression. He looked less like someone here to celebrate Xu Tang and more like someone who’d finally found an excuse to gorge himself, with the celebration being incidental.
“So… you really want a divorce?” Ever since that night when Zong Xuan called Yue Yan, He Xin had felt like maybe there was still room to turn things around.
“It’s not about wanting one or not. It’s that this is the only thing I can do.”
“I think you don’t need to care so much about Teng Yizheng. It’s been years. Zong Xuan and Teng Yizheng are still the same—they probably won’t go anywhere.” He Xin looked at Xu Tang. “Besides, once you win Zong Xuan over, even if Teng Yizheng is a white moonlight, he’ll turn into smog. Totally harmless.”
Xu Tang looked at him without speaking.
Win Zong Xuan over? Dream on.
Seeing Xu Tang’s expression clearly saying Did you even think before speaking?, He Xin also felt that what he’d said sounded pretty unrealistic. But he still insisted on defending his point.
“Can you honestly say your relationship with Zong Xuan hasn’t improved at all?”
Xu Tang thought for a moment. “Before, we didn’t even chat on WeChat, and we barely talked in daily life. Now we can exchange a few messages. Does that count?”
“Of course it counts!” He Xin immediately said.
Xu Tang smiled. “You can shake your phone and add random strangers, and exchange a few messages too.”
“That’s different! They’re trying to hook up. You’re trying to fall in love,” He Xin retorted, even though Xu Tang’s logic wasn’t wrong.
“Forget it. I don’t think he wants to date me.” Xu Tang picked up another chicken wing. “But I think you’re right. I should have more backbone.”
He Xin instantly choked.
Damn it. Of all the things I’ve said, why did you have to remember that one?!