QT: Don't fall in love with the Male Lead

Su Xueyi follows him all the way to the trailer, and has no qualms about going inside when Xi Zirui leaves the door open behind him.

He finds Xi Zirui sitting on the narrow cot with his face cupped between his palms.

Xi Zirui feels the bed dip when Su Xueyi sits down next to him, and then his broad hand drawing soothing circles over the narrow expanse of his back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Su Xueyi asks, his tone earnest.

Xi Zirui sighs into his palms. "I've been an idiot."

Su Xueyi hums thoughtfully. "Is this about Han Yu?"

Xi Zirui snorts, self-deprecating. "Who else? I can't believe I trusted him."

Su Xueyi wraps his arm around Xi Zirui's shoulders and pulls him against his chest. "Whatever he did, you shouldn't blame yourself for it."

He lets himself melt against Su Xueyi's warm chest and sighs again, heaving with hopelessness. "Did you know that he kissed me here, earlier? He said he was serious about me, that it wasn't all about publicity, and I believed him." He shakes his head, choking on a bitter laugh. "But then, just now at lunch, I saw that he got a message from some girl thanking him for last night."

Su Xueyi clicks his tongue and his arm travels up from Xi Zirui's back to rub over his nape. "You deserve better than him."

Xi Zirui doesn't let his thoughts show on his face, and just nods noiselessly against Su Xueyi's chest. "Thank you for listening, you've been a really good friend."

Almost imperceptibly, Su Xueyi's fingers tighten over Xi Zirui's nape, close to pinching the skin, but it only lasts for a moment before he's back to his gentle petting. "Zirui can count on me for everything."

With another mournful sigh, Xi Zirui pats Su Xueyi's thigh, almost distractedly, like one might a clingy dog. "You're very kind."

A flicker of something flashes through Su Xueyi's eyes but it's gone too fast for Xi Zirui to put name to it.

Su Xueyi seems to struggle with his own thoughts for a moment but after some time, finally says. "You can always get back at Han Yu, for playing with your feelings like that."

Xi Zirui lets out another self-deprecating snort. "How? By getting with someone else? Would he even care?"

Su Xueyi ponders over his next words carefully before saying, "A guy like that, he must have an ego, maybe he'd care more than you think."

Xi Zirui shakes his head. "No, I don't think making him jealous would work. I think he'd see right through it."

The soft fingers over Xi Zirui's nape grow sharp once again, just for a moment, before they resume the circular soothing motions. "Then you hurt him where it hurts...his career."

Xi Zirui turns his head to the side, to look Su Xueyi in the eye. "He's already in hot water because of the whole scandal with Bai Mi..." he says, his tone contemplative.

"Maybe you could add fire to the flames," Su Xueyi suggests.

"How so?"

Xi Zirui opens his eyes wide and lets his mouth hang open in anticipation, Su Xueyi's eyes are momentarily arrested by the wet swipe of his tongue over his pink bottom lip, and then he tells Xi Zirui exactly how he can fuck Han Yu over.

---

He manages to persuade Su Xueyi to go ahead before him and give him some moments alone to gather himself before he has to see Han Yu again.

Su Xueyi gives him a look filled with understanding and compassion, and then runs his thumb over Xi Zirui's cheekbone, muttering an heartfelt, "Of course."

Xi Zirui's sad smile slips off his face as soon as the door closes behind Su Xueyi's back. Frowning, he rubs the wide sleeve of the wedding robe over his cheek, intent on wiping away all the traces of Su Xueyi's touch.

Who does this guy think he is? Acting as if he's magnanimously doing what Xi Zirui asks him when he tells him to leave his own fucking trailer. Touching him all over as if he has any right to.

Ni Ni chimes with an unwanted opinion as usual. "Why couldn't Host act this well when he is filming the drama?" It might be his imagination but he thinks she sounds a little despondent.

He actually has a good answer for that. "Because I wasn't acting, I was lying."

He takes his phone out of the folds of his waist sash, and confirms it recorded all of Su Xueyi's detailed suggestion to create a fake WeChat conversation between himself and Han Yu, where he tearfully confronts him about the baby rumors, and Han Yu is not only dismissive of his concerns, letting him know there's nothing between them for Xi Zirui to be nagging him, but also that he isn't going to be a father to any damn brat, and if Bai Mi got herself pregnant it's her own damn fault for not getting an abortion before it was too late.

Xi Zirui had openly wondered, "Doesn't Su Xueyi think it would look bad for me when the conversation was revealed?" making his voice a whole octave higher even without any voice editing software, and leaving no question as to who was saying those damning words.

Su Xueyi of course assured him it would clean up his image as the public would feel sorry for him, and realize he was as much a victim as Bai Mi.

Xi Zirui didn't need his platitudes, though. That last part of the video would be cut out, as would any mentions of his name or any information that might make his identity obvious.

He just needed Su Xueyi to respond to his own name, and those first seconds of "no, no, of course not, it will be good actually..." His own voice could be easily edited and made unrecognizable.

Xi Zirui might be a mediocre actor, but he is a very good liar.

---

When he gets back to set he has to focus on keeping his eyes downcast and his expression forlorn. That's a bit tricky for him, as it requires far more acting. He's much more comfortable lying to someone's face, honestly.

Besides, he has a hard time restraining a grin when he spots Han Yu across from him, talking with Liao Min.

She sees him standing there, twiddling his thumbs with a puppy-eye look, and calls him over with an exasperated wave of her arm.

When he reaches them, both Director Liao and Han Yu have their heads bent over the script.

"So what we need in the next couple of scenes: eagerness from Xiu Xianren, but tempered with careful restraint, you don't want to seem so eager that it gives off rapey vibes," Liao Min says, running her finger under key lines on the script, as Han Yu nods in understanding.

To Xi Zirui she turns with a frown. "From Hai Yaomei we need reticence, about the marriage and what it means for him and his future, and some virginal shyness."

Xi Zirui's eyes widen comically while he mouths the word "virginal" to himself. Han Yu catches him at it, and bites down on a grin.

Liao Min's frown deepens when she sees Xi Zirui's wide eyes; she smacks him on the arm with the folded up script. "Focus! And listen, don't be so anxious and reticent that you look like a dead fish on camera. This is supposed to be sexy, or a very tame version of that, whatever." She runs her free hand over her prickly scalp. "The point is, Hai Yaomei is attracted to Xiu Xianren, and has feelings for him, and that should show. At one point he'll let go of his apprehension and let himself be swept up in the moment. Got that?"

He nods before Liao Min has the chance to smack him again.

After that invigorating and uplifting pep-talk, the makeup artists descend on them again, armed with their brushes and sponges.

The first scene is going to be a long shot of Hai Yaomei and Xiu Xianren entering the nuptial chamber, and then of Hai Yaomei carefully disrobing Xiu Xianren.

Xi Zirui isn't looking forward to that, but at least it's only going to be from the waist up.

Han Yu takes his hand, and guides him from behind the camera, and into frame, as they make their way to the low platform where the canopy bed, decked in thin red muslin curtains, red silk sheets and pillows sits.

They stop in front of the bed, and Xiu Xianren raises Hai Yaomei's lowered chin to gaze deeply into his humid eyes.

"A-Yao doesn't need to be scared," Han Yu says, before pressing a fleeting kiss to Xi Zirui's lips.

Xi Zirui doesn't have to fake the little thrill that does down his spine at that chaste bit of contact, but he has to fake the coyness as he turns his face to the side and lowers his lashes in embarrassment.

"I'm not scared," he says, making it sound like a question.

Han Yu smiles softly and leans over to kiss his forehead. "We don't need to do anything if A-Yao doesn't want to. No one needs to know what happened here, we can just sleep."

Xiu Xianren's considerate words are supposed to awake Hai Yaomei's fighting spirit. Who presses his lips into a thin line, and says, this time with confidence. "I'm not scared of anything, least of all this."

Han Yu gives him an indulgent smile and says, "As A-Yao wishes."

Then he reaches towards Xi Zirui's hair and pulls out the hairpin holding his hair in place inside the crown. The loose hair waterfalls around his shoulder and chest in a dark inkspill of silky strands.

Han Yu runs reverent hands over the loose strands framing his face, and continues downwards into the neckline of his robes. His other hand comes up to the his waist and loosens the sash holding the two halves of the robe together, at the same time he pulls the neckline to the side making the robes part and fall down in a wave of red down Hai Yaomei's shoulders.

Hai Yaomei gasps at the feeling of the smooth silk slipping down his skin, and the cold brush of air against his bare skin.

Xi Zirui has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep that look of dazed coyness on his face. Why the fuck would Hai Yaomei be gasping? How can any of this be surprising to him? What did he think would happen on his wedding night? That he and Xiu Xianren would play go?

The worst part is that since he hasn't read the original novel, Xi Zirui has no idea if he should blame the author or the scriptwriter for the travesty that are some of Hai Yaomei's honestly ridiculous actions when it comes to Xiu Xianren.

Now he's the one who has to stand in the middle of a crowded set in nothing but the red underpants that make up the wedding robes, with lowered eyes as if he's just been bullied by some pervert.

Thankfully that's the end of the scene and Liao Min yells. "Cut! That was actually very good. Keep that energy. From the top guys."

He lowers himself on the floor to pick up the discarded robes, and his fingers bump against Han Yu's, who did the same.

"I wonder if didi will look that shy the first time we fuck," he whispers, discreetly rubbing his thumb over Xi Zirui's knuckles. His eyes are glued to Xi Zirui's small, pink nipples.

Xi Zirui snatches up the robe and gives Han Yu a withering look. "Does it look like I will?"

Han Yu smirks. "No, I think didi will try to boss me around."

Xi Zirui smirks too. "I won't just try."

They're keeping their voices low, and Xi Zirui's expression looks caustic enough from a distance, but he's still aware of Su Xueyi watching them from the shadows.

He pushes Han Yu away with a hand on his chest. "Don't come close to me."

Han Yu puts his hands up in mock-surrender and walks away backwards, the smirk never leaving his lips.

He's as infuriating as he is attractive. Xi Zirui can't wait to show him just what he got himself into.