Ch.42 – The Star Around The Sun

Only one table in the corner of the roadside stall was still empty, probably because it was a bit far from the streetlights. Since the lighting wasn’t too good, no one had come to sit down.

But this was perfect for Xia Xingcheng and Yang Youming.

The table and chairs were both very low. Xia Xingcheng felt that Yang Youming’s long legs looked very wronged when he sat down. Of course, he himself wasn’t too comfortable either, but Yang Youming looked quite indifferent to it. He used a tissue to casually wipe the table in front of Xia Xingcheng and asked, “What else do you want to eat?” 

Xia Xingcheng immediately took two tissues himself to wipe the table, saying, “Let me do that.” 

Yang Youming didn’t stop.

Xia Xingcheng then asked, “Is there anything else besides roasted pig’s feet?” 

Yang Youming said, “I remember there was also fried egg noodles.”

Xia Xingcheng looked a little troubled.

Yang Youming’s voice was soft as he said, “What’s the matter?” 

Xia Xingcheng whispered, “I do want to eat, but I’m worried that I won’t be able to maintain my figure.” Even though he was young and didn’t gain weight easily, he had to control his appetite at all times, especially when filming.

Yang Youming said, “Then we’ll order one bowl and share it between us.” With that said, he threw the tissue that he had used to wipe the table into the trash can, then looked up at Xia Xingcheng like he was asking for his opinion.

Yang Youming’s eyes were mostly blocked by the brim of his baseball cap, but his gaze still seemed to carry warmth, causing Xia Xingcheng to unconsciously lower his eyes. He said, “Okay.” 

Yang Youming stood up, his long legs crossing over the low stool. He walked over to the stall owner who was busy by the gas stove to order food.

Xia Xingcheng’s eyes followed Yang Youming. Then, he noticed that the young girls at the next table over were also staring at Yang Youming’s back. The table seemingly contained a pair of young couples, the boys were still chattering between themselves while the girls appeared to be distracted by the view of Yang Youming’s figure.

Looking further away, the people sitting on the roadside having midnight snacks were mostly young people.  Some were couples, some were friends, and there were also people carrying bags as if they had just finished working overtime.

A gust of wind blew over, and the large trees by the roadside shook, their leaves and branches making a rustling sound. Some of the leaves had already turned yellow prematurely. As soon as the wind blew, they slowly fell from the tree until they drifted down to the table in front of Xia Xingcheng.

When Xia Xingcheng reached out to pick up the leaves, he suddenly felt a sense of exhaustion in the face of life. In fact, he shouldn’t have felt this way. He was so young, and in the glamorous entertainment industry, his life made countless people’s eyes green with envy. Even if filming wore him out, his fatigue was nothing compared to the roadside vendors who were still working hard late into the night.

But he still felt tired. He felt an uncertainty about his own life and pursuits. For the first time, he didn’t know what he really wanted in the end.

Yang Youming came back. He lowered the brim of his hat under the gaze of the many people around him, silently returning to sit down next to Xia Xingcheng.

Xia Xingcheng’s seat was facing the corner, his back turned to most of the customers. He looked up at the side of Yang Youming’s face and said in a very soft voice, “You’re too conspicuous.” 

Natural born superstars, regardless if they were on or off screen, could always easily capture many people’s attention.

Although there were quite a few people nearby, he didn’t know if it was due to the fact that it was late at night, but everyone was unconsciously lowering their voices when they spoke, forcing Xia Xingcheng to speak more softly to Yang Youming.

As a result, Yang Youming leaned closer towards him, “What?” 

Xia Xingcheng looked at his fine ears and beautiful jawline and repeated, “You’re too conspicuous.” 

Yang Youming laughed as he said, “It’s okay, I won’t be recognized.”

After a short wait, the owner brought their order of two portions of roasted pig’s feet, both of which were placed on the same plate.

They were roasted until they were a tender, shiny red, sprinkled with a layer of cumin and chili on top, and covered with green onions. If you poked it with chopsticks, the pigskin faintly rippled and soaked up the juices.

Yang Youming clipped a small piece of skin from the bone of the pig’s foot with his chopsticks and placed it on the edge of the plate, then looked at Xia Xingcheng, “Try it?”

Xia Xingcheng picked it up with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth to take a bite. The seasoning was completely absorbed into the middle of the supple pigskin, soft and tender without being greasy. It was indeed worthy of the taste that Yang Youming had remembered for over two years.

He nodded with an “Mm”, thinking to himself that he would also bring someone with him in the future– his thoughts came to an abrupt end here. He didn’t even know who to bring to try it.

Yang Youming was watching him the entire time, the corner of his lips raised in a smile. 

Xia Xingcheng pretended not to care and didn’t look at Yang Youming, instead licking at the oil stain at the corner of his mouth with his tongue.

Only then did Yang Youming avert his eyes, using his chopsticks to continue separating the roasted pig’s feet, appearing unaffected. He said,  “Back then， I was thinking that I definitely have to come back and eat these again in the future if I had the chance.” 

Right then, the owner brought over the bowl of fried egg noodles they had also ordered.

Yang Youming called out to the owner and asked him for an extra empty bowl, then divided almost half of the noodles and transferred it from the large bowl to the empty bowl, leaving the fried egg in the original bowl. He pushed it towards Xia Xingcheng.

Xia Xingcheng stared at the noodles in the bowl for a moment. He had thought that they would eat the noodles together in a more intimate manner. Thinking of this, he felt that he was quite laughable, so he buried his head and ate the noodles with big mouthfuls. 

After finishing the meal, Yang Youming looked for the owner to settle the bill and Xia Xingcheng noticed that a girl was secretly filming them with her phone. He had no idea when it started.

Slightly uneasy, he grabbed Yang Youming’s sleeve before leaving and said, “Ming ge, someone’s taking pictures.”

Yang Youming didn’t turn his head to look and only said, “It’s okay, we’re just friends out for a midnight snack, if they want to film us then just film.” With that said, he patted Xia Xingcheng’s back and walked back to the hotel with him.

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⟵ Chapter 41 | TOC | Chapter 43 ⟶