Land Of Settlement

“Xia Qi, you…”

Qin Le almost thought he had misheard. He had been with the company for a long time and knew some things about Xia Qi. The incident where Xia Qi almost got disfigured for refusing to accompany someone in bed was still fresh in his mind. Qin Le could not fathom how someone as honest as Xia Qi would take the initiative to bring up such a matter.

Xia Qi’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and tears shimmered in his eyes. He lowered his head deeply and said, “I’m sorry for disappointing you. I… I got involved between Mr. Lu and Bai Mu Chuan…”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Qin Le’s anger flared. “Involved? Mr. Lu was with someone else a few days ago! Bai Mu Chuan is just someone Mr. Lu took an interest in. He is not even his lover. He really thinks highly of himself, meddling where he doesn’t belong…”

Xia Qi’s neck turned red, and Qin Le waved his hand. “I wasn’t referring to you. Don’t mind it…”

Whether it was the shock of seeing Xia Qi, who was always obedient and non-confrontational, or the frustration caused by Bai Mu Chuan, or perhaps the realization that it was not a bad idea, Qin Le hesitated for a few seconds before handing over the room key he had been holding in his hand to Xia Qi.

“Thank you… Thank you, Brother Qin.” Xia Qi’s fingertips turned red, and he continued to keep his head lowered. “Thank you.” Qin Le’s expression was complex as he whispered, “I… I’ll make a phone call on your behalf. Mr. Lu might not be in a good mood, just in case he… Don’t take it to heart. Just make sure to come back afterward.”

Xia Qi understood and nodded. He just could not help himself. He used the most despicable and disgraceful way to earn himself the opportunity to meet with Lu Xuan… Maybe Lu Xuan would ridicule and push him away, or maybe he would reluctantly accept him. Xia Qi closed his eyes. He liked Lu Xuan so much, so much that it drove him crazy.

With no one accompanying him and no assistants to guide him, Xia Qi went to the hotel with the room key, feeling restless and uneasy.

When Lu Xuan saw Xia Qi, he was somewhat surprised. He already knew about Bai Mu Chuan’s situation as he heard from his secretary that Bai Mu Chuan’s manager was extremely anxious. Lu Xuan himself did not pay too much attention to it. He had been attracted to Bai Mu Chuan at first sight, purely due to his appearance. They had a meal together, but it was an average experience and nothing special. Indeed, it was possible to have a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship with him for a period of time, but… remembering those ridiculous text messages sent by him, Lu Xuan shook his head and smiled wryly. He did not want to play such a love game with Bai Mu Chuan.

Lu Xuan had always preferred obedient and well-behaved partners. Knowing each other’s boundaries was crucial, and Bai Mu Chuan did not possess that quality. Lu Xuan did not have the energy to accompany people like Bai Mu Chuan.

Lu Xuan looked at the trembling and frightened Xia Qi before him, could not help but chuckle helplessly. “Did your assistant force you to come?”

From the moment he entered the room, Xia Qi could not speak. His face turned pale due to nervousness, and he shook his head in response. Lu Xuan chuckled, “Don’t be afraid. It’s… Qin Le, right? It’s okay, you can go back. Tell him it’s not his concern, and everything will be fine.”

“That’s…not it…”

Xia Qi hated himself. It was not that he had not been on stage before. Normally, he rarely felt nervous. However, he was so nervous now that he can hardly speak. Xia Qi made an effort to maintain his calm tone and whispered, “I… I came willingly…”

Lu Xuan raised his eyebrow and smirked, “Why can’t I tell?”

Lu Xuan was handsome, and when he smiled like that, it almost had a mesmerizing effect. Xia Qi was mesmerized and got lost in thought. For some reason, tears suddenly started rolling down his cheeks.

“Thank you… I can… go to the hospital myself…”

“Is that so? Why can’t I tell?” 

Lu Xuan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Xia Qi lowered his head, rubbed his eyes to wipe away the tears, suppressed his embarrassment, and unbuttoned his shirt…

Shirt, vest, belt, casual pants, underwear… Xia Qi took off each piece of clothing, blushing all over in shyness. Slowly, he approached Lu Xuan, hesitated a while, and recalled Qin Le’s instructions before coming. He knelt down, intending to remove Lu Xuan’s belt.

Lu Xuan saw Xia Qi’s slender fingers tremble and inexplicably felt a hint of pity. He carefully pulled Xia Qi up, and Xia Qi looked at Lu Xuan with a frightened expression, like a startled little rabbit. God knew how much courage it took for Xia Qi to do it. Was Lu Xuan… going to chase him away?

Tears instantly welled up in Xia Qi’s eyes. He bit his lip, feeling lost and helpless as he looked at his own hands. What could he do to change Lu Xuan’s mind?

Lu Xuan let out a gentle sigh, kissed Xia Qi’s forehead lightly, and whispered, “Are you cold? Let’s go to bed first.”

Xia Qi felt like he had received a pardon. Tears once again accidentally escaped his eyes. Lu Xuan could not help but smile. “I haven’t even done anything yet, and you’ve already cried twice.”

The room was heated, but it still felt cold when one was completely undressed. Lu Xuan held Xia Qi’s hand and led him into the bedroom.

The memory of that day was actually quite hazy for Xia Qi. He was extremely nervous, after all, it was the person he had secretly admired for years, and their first intimate encounter happened in such a strange and awkward situation. Xia Qi tried his best to appear natural and relaxed, just to not make Lu Xuan feel like it was his first time. But before he knew it, he was still feeling awkward and uneasy. As for what happened afterward…

Xia Qi silently covered his face, rolled over, and let the blanket envelop him, while feeling endless regret. He could not blame Lu Xuan for saying he was becoming more promiscuous. On his first day on the set, instead of memorizing the script or getting enough rest at night, he was thinking about these things…

But was Lu Xuan really going to come visit the film set? Xia Qi even doubted if he was having hallucinations due to being too anxious about Lu Xuan wanting to break up with him. Xia Qi emerged from the blanket, picked up his phone, and checked it repeatedly. Indeed, there was a missed call from Lu Xuan just now. So, it was not a hallucination, right? Did Lu Xuan really say he would come to visit the film set tomorrow?

Xia Qi vividly remembered that Bai Mu Chuan had annoyed this benefactor because he asked Lu Xuan to visit the film set, this was why Xia Qi never dared to make any requests with Lu Xuan after he decided to become his sugar daddy/baby. But this time, Lu Xuan… voluntarily wanted to come?

Suddenly, Xia Qi remembered that Director Fei and Lu Xuan were acquainted. Lu Xuan seemed to have invested in “Chaos Era” as well and he probably was coming tomorrow just to catch up with Director Fei and check on with the progress of the film. Thinking this way made a lot more sense. Xia Qi nodded, but unfortunately, he still was unable to fall asleep. So, he took out the script and repeatedly read his own lines.

Today, he filmed two scenes with the male lead, mundane daily scenes that would likely be cut away by 90% in post-production, but that was fine as tomorrow’s scenes were much more important. It was a confrontation scene with the female lead. After the male and female leads quarreled, the female lead would come to the male lead’s home and encounter Xia Qi at the door. They would exchange a few words before she entered. There were not many lines, but they were crucial. The director wanted Xia Qi to portray the feeling of “Attentive people who watched the film would be able to tell from this scene that you love the female lead, while the careless ones would not be able to notice it.”

Xia Qi had already memorized the lines for this scene.

“Sister Ying is here? My brother is inside.”

“No, he slept late.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

There were only a few lines, and many of the shots were silent. The female lead was distracted and still upset about their argument from the previous day. Xia Qi felt sorry for her but could not express it verbally. The actress playing as the female lead had collaborated with Director Fei multiple times, so there were no problems there. The most worrisome part was Xia Qi as the newcomer. Before wrapping up for the day, Director Fei pulled Xia Qi aside and talked to him for a long time, urging him to carefully contemplate the scene. Xia Qi reviewed the script thoroughly again but still was not entirely confident in capturing the feeling that Director Fei wanted. What if he didn’t perform well and Lu Xuan witnessed it…?

The thought of being scolded by the director in front of Lu Xuan made Xia Qi wish he could disappear into the ground. Why did Lu Xuan insist on visiting the film set? After being caught in the act of promiscuity in bed, Lu Xuan would quickly realize that he was nothing more than a decorative vase, with terrible acting skills and unable to gain popularity. No, wait… Xia Qi felt heartbroken. He could not even compare himself to a decorative vase. In terms of appearance, Bai Mu Chuan surpassed him by miles!

After Lu Xuan became Xia Qi’s sugar daddy/baby, Bai Mu Chuan nearly went crazy. He had to rush back before finishing the endorsement shoot. He did not have Lu Xuan’s contact information, so he had to call Lu Xuan’s assistant, Yan Zhuo Yi. Yan Zhuo Yi responded with a robotic, service-like tone, “Mr. Bai, it’s like this. It seems that you had dinner at Restaurant A yesterday and went to order at Restaurant B today. Do you think Restaurant A has the right to criticize you for visiting Restaurant B? Please let me finish. Moreover, the service at Restaurant A wasn’t that satisfactory, right?”

“The choice of where to dine is always Mr. Lu’s freedom. Please understand this. Currently, Mr. Lu has no intention of replacing you with someone else for this endorsement, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. That’s all. We hope you have a pleasant working experience from now on.”

Xia Qi was beside Yan Zhuo Yi while he was on the phone with Bai Mu Chuan. Xia Qi even suspected that Yan Zhuo Yi was speaking for his benefit.

From the beginning, Xia Qi was well aware that Lu Xuan had only visited one restaurant.