After Zhang Jin’an returned to Hangzhou, he filled Jiang Siyang in on everything. That matter was considered settled for the time being. As for coming clean to Jiang Siyang’s father, they decided on a gradual approach; Jiang Siyang would call his father a few times first to get him mentally prepared.
“…Mm-hmm, okay, Dad,” Jiang Siyang said into the phone, nodding every now and then.
Zhang Jin’an watched him.
They were standing on the balcony of Jiang Siyang’s room, which faced the small lake behind the hotel. Unless a reporter was out on a yacht, it was impossible for anyone to snap a photo. Zhang Jin’an was wearing a simple long gray hoodie and dark jeans, while Jiang Siyang was dressed in a black jacket paired with a blue striped tie, black cargo pants, and combat boots.
Jiang Siyang rarely dressed in all black; this outfit had been put together by Liu Wenping because he had a program to film that morning.
*What a handsome young man,* Zhang Jin’an thought. No matter how one looked at him, he was a heartthrob.
From the moment Jiang Siyang started the call, Zhang Jin’an stopped speaking. This was a tacit understanding they had developed over many such phone calls.
The various lights of the city made the night bright enough. Zhang Jin’an and Jiang Siyang stood on the balcony, letting the evening breeze brush against their faces and slip through the gaps of their interlaced fingers.
“Mm… yeah,” Jiang Siyang replied softly.
Zhang Jin’an glanced toward the room and mouthed silently, “I’m going to get some water.”
Jiang Siyang nodded.
Zhang Jin’an kissed Jiang Siyang’s earlobe and quietly walked away.
“I didn’t expect you to know about that too…”
…
This was only the second time Zhang Jin’an had entered Jiang Siyang’s room since they started dating. Previously, it was always Jiang Siyang who went to his place to discuss scripts or have late-night snacks.
Actors lived in hotels for two or three months at a time. Although the layouts of the hotel rooms were identical, personal habits varied, and so did the interior arrangements.
Jiang Siyang had specifically bought a floor-standing garment rack. Several shirts, pants, and items that wrinkled easily were hung neatly. On the TV cabinet facing the bed, there was a photo from the production’s opening ceremony, encased in a wooden frame.
Zhang Jin’an had been the one to give him that frame. It was the day after he had returned to Xiaonanshan. He had come across a small shop on his way to the airport and took a liking to the frame at first sight.
That day, the Super Topic had been flooded with photos of him entering and leaving that shop. Although the photos were quite nice, some of the headlines written by fans were straight out of the "UC Department" clickbait style—for instance, "SHOCKING! Zhang Jin’an actually went out on a rainy day!" It had nearly made Li Qiang die of laughter.
Zhang Jin’an picked up the photo to look at it, his finger slowly tracing over the glass. Looking at the date at the bottom, he sighed. “A month or so has flown by in a flash… in a few more days, everyone will be wrapping up their scenes.” He had never felt time move so quickly before. It felt as if things were ending just as they had truly gotten to know each other.
Zhang Jin’an shook his head slightly and put the frame back in its place.
“The weather’s been changing fast lately, make sure to wear more layers.”
Jiang Siyang waited until the person on the other end finished speaking before nodding in response.
“Yeah, I know. You too, Dad,” Jiang Siyang sniffled. “Oh, right. I’ll be busy starting next month, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to come back to see you, but I’ll try to make it as early as—”
He was interrupted before he could finish.
“Hah, being busy is a good thing! It means your career is going well,” Li Guoan laughed heartily. “Just focus on your work. I’m doing great. I just started learning military chess from Old Lin recently; I’m going to take them on for a few practice rounds in a couple of days.”
“Alright, I’ll go see Uncle Lin when the time comes,” Jiang Siyang said with a smile.
“You definitely have to see him. He mentions you all the time. After I told them about your TV show, his whole family started watching it. They all keep praising you, saying your acting is getting better and better,” Li Guoan said cheerfully.
“Is that so? I’ll definitely go to Uncle Lin’s house to see him,” Jiang Siyang said.
“But…” The other end of the line went quiet for a few seconds before continuing, “If you come in December, remember to go see your mother.”
Jiang Siyang took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“Look at that, it’s getting late. You should probably get some sleep, right? I’m hanging up now.”
“You get some sleep too,” Jiang Siyang said.
Li Guoan chuckled. “Right, right. I’ll study military chess for a bit longer and then I’ll head to bed.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Siyang waited for Li Guoan to hang up before bringing the phone in front of his eyes. Looking at the call log, he shook his head with a helpless smile.
“Finished talking?”
Jiang Siyang looked at the returning Zhang Jin’an. “Finished.”
“Why was it so quick today? Is your dad going to sleep?” Zhang Jin’an handed the water to Jiang Siyang.
Jiang Siyang took the water. “No, my dad always goes to bed at exactly twelve. He said he’s going to look at some military chess stuff for a bit before sleeping, but I reckon that ‘bit’ will be at least half an hour.”
Zhang Jin’an laughed. “Like father, like son. You have to wake up at six in the morning, and he has to sleep at twelve.”
Jiang Siyang chuckled. After taking a sip of water, he held the cup with both hands, leaning his arms against the railing. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back and see him. If I go back in December, I can visit my mom too… Time really flies. Another year is about to pass.”
“Yeah, it goes by very fast,” Zhang Jin’an agreed.
Time drifted like water. Each of them was a small boat in the ocean of time. It was just that before meeting Jiang Siyang, Zhang Jin’an had always felt his boat was moving very slowly. Looking back now, he realized he had already sailed so far from the shore.
“After the production wraps up, there are all the award ceremonies in December. After a short break, I’ll be heading off to film a new drama…” As Zhang Jin’an spoke, something suddenly occurred to him. “Hey Siyang, was *Friday Morning* nominated for anything this year? I seem to remember there’s a separate gala for web variety shows and television.”
“Yes, that award is also in December,” Jiang Siyang recalled. “I think we received a notice. I’ll ask PD Jiang next time.”
“If you guys win this time, I’ll have to give PD Jiang a proper congratulations,” Zhang Jin’an said.
“There are several other excellent web variety shows, so it’s probably a long shot. But we’re satisfied just being nominees. This year has already been much better than last; the viewership is growing day by day,” Jiang Siyang said.
“True. Variety show awards are mostly decided by buzz, but buzz isn’t everything. Sometimes it’s just because the guests are popular. A good show like yours will definitely become a massive hit if you keep at it,” Zhang Jin’an said. “Your show has been consistently in the top three, and the latest episode hit fifty million views and is still rising. You gain a batch of fans with every episode; becoming number one is just a matter of time.”
Zhang Jin’an finished speaking but didn’t hear a response from Jiang Siyang for a long while. Turning his head, he saw Jiang Siyang staring straight at him.
Did he remember the view count wrong? Zhang Jin’an felt a bit uncertain. “What’s wrong? Did I… say something wrong?”
Jiang Siyang shook his head, a look of pleasant surprise blooming on his face. “Ge, you know more about our show than we do.”
“You suddenly went quiet and gave me a fright. I thought I’d misspoken,” Zhang Jin’an breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Jiang Siyang with a hint of pride, “After all, my partner is in it and I’m a recurring guest. Shouldn’t I keep an eye on these things to be a better supporter?”
This was the truth. He watched every episode and had saved quite a few GIFs of Jiang Siyang from the Super Topic.
Aside from the GIF of the two of them standing on the mountain looking at each other, Zhang Jin’an had found a new favorite. That GIF was clipped from a recent episode where they traveled to Lishui. In that episode, the entire cast was in period costume. Jiang Siyang was dressed in pale ash-gray, standing at the bow of a boat with his hands behind his back. A light drizzle fell into the pond, stirring up a layer of mist.
What Zhang Jin’an loved most about this GIF was the caption a netizen had written for it.
*“Whose lover is this, and for whom does he wait to enter his painting?”* A single short sentence immediately created a whole story.
When Zhang Jin’an saw that sentence, he had sat bolt upright in bed. If he could, he would have shared it ten times over—this was *his* lover.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
UC部 | UC Department | Refers to the "UC Browser" news style in China, known for sensationalist, clickbait headlines.
军棋 | Military Chess | Also known as Luzhanqi, a popular Chinese board game.
超话 | Super Topic | A feature on Weibo (Chinese social media) similar to a subreddit or a dedicated fan forum.
杀青 | Wrap up | A film industry term meaning the completion of filming for a project or a specific actor's scenes.
姜pd | PD Jiang | "PD" stands for Program Director/Producer, a common title in variety show production.
丽水 | Lishui | A city in Zhejiang Province, China, known for its scenic landscapes.
情郎 | Lover / Sweetheart | A somewhat poetic or old-fashioned term for a male lover.
