Ch.83 – The Star Around The Sun

Xia Xingcheng urged Xia Ye to get a move on. In the end, Xia Ye hastily finished his cigarette before pulling open the car door and getting on, then drove towards the airport’s VIP parking area.

He was still grumbling as he drove. 

Xia Xingcheng asked him, “How are mom and dad?” 

Xia Ye said, “They’re great.” 

Xia Xingcheng asked again, “What about sis-in-law? Is she on vacation?”

Xia Ye said, “What vacation! She only gets off on the last day of the year. I already told her to quit her job and go home with the kids to take care of mom and dad, but she didn’t even listen.” 

Xia Xingcheng let out a laugh. “It’s fine if you say this in front of me. Don’t let sis-in-law hear it though, I’m afraid she’ll hit you.”

“Is it her hitting me or me hitting her?” Xia Ye sneered unconvincingly.

The VIP parking area was small, and when they were still at the entrance, Xia Xingcheng saw someone standing by the terminal exit in the distance.

He promptly said, “He’s out! Hurry up!”

Xia Ye roared at him, “So what if he’s out? Can’t he wait a little?” 

Xia Xingcheng also yelled back, “He’s cold! What if he catches a cold?”

Xia Ye glanced to the side and saw a man wearing a coat that went down to his knees. He was very tall and seemingly in good shape. The man stood outside the terminal’s main gate with a relaxed posture.

As he got closer, Xia Ye saw that he was wearing a pair of sunglasses on his face which covered almost half of his face, and his exposed jawline was fine and smooth. As their car approached him, the man took off his sunglasses, and underneath them were a pair of beautiful eyes and extremely outstanding looks. Moreover, he looked very familiar to Xia Ye. 

As soon as he stopped the car, Xia Xingcheng eagerly pushed the car door open and got off, and he heard Xia Xingcheng shout, “Ming ge!” 

All of a sudden, a name burst forth in Xia Ye’s mind: Yang Youming! He had opened the car door to follow his brother out, but with only one foot on the ground, his body froze. He was a little dumbfounded–because someone like him who didn’t pay attention to the entertainment industry at all also knew that Yang Youming was a genuine superstar. 

Yang Youming was followed by an airport staff.

Xia Xingcheng practically wanted to throw himself at the man but merely stopped in front of Yang Youming with sparkling eyes. “Are you cold?”

Yang Youming smiled, “It’s not cold.”

It was only then that Xia Ye came over. 

Xia Xingcheng introduced him to Yang Youming, “This is my brother, his name is Xia Ye, and he’s here to pick us up.” Then he said to Xia Ye, “This is Yang Youming, my Ming ge.”

Yang Youming extended a hand towards Xia Ye, “Hello.”

Xia Ye promptly extended his hand to shake his hand, momentarily not knowing what to say, then merely saying, “I’m Xia Xingcheng’s brother.”

Hearing Xia Ye say that, Yang Youming added, “I’m Xingcheng’s friend.”

Xia Ye was still a little stunned. He thought that Xia Xingcheng’s friend would also be a young man in his twenties. In the face of Yang Youming, the attitude that he had originally drawn up was rendered inappropriate. He couldn’t think of anything else to say and could only go with, “Get in the car first. It’ll take more than half an hour to get home. Our family’s waiting to have dinner together.” 

The accompanying staff helped put Yang Youming’s luggage in the car then respectfully opened the door for them. 

Xia Ye returned to the driver’s seat and sat down, watching Yang Youming enter the backseat of the car and Xia Xingcheng who immediately followed suit. He couldn’t help but turn his head to shoot a glare at Xia Xingcheng, not feeling all that happy about it. 

Xia Xingcheng, however, didn’t even notice him and only reached out to take the jacket Yang Youming took off and said, “Have you been waiting long?”

Yang Youming said, “Not long, I just got here a moment ago.”

The car door was gently closed and Yang Youming nodded through the window to thank the staff.

Xia Ye started the car and made a U-turn to drive out of the airport.

The city Xia Xingcheng grew up in was a second-tier city located in the north. It had just snowed two days ago, and as they drove away from the airport, one could still see that the roofs on both sides of the road were covered with a thin layer of white snow.

The air was biting cold, but the inside of the car was warm due to the heater. It wasn’t long before the glass windows fogged up. 

Xia Ye reached out and pressed the defogger, then took a look at the rearview mirror, just in time to see Yang Youming. As he drove, he opened his mouth and asked, “How old is Mr. Yang?”

Yang Youming replied, “I’ll turn thirty-eight after the new year.”

Xia Ye said, “I’m turning thirty-five.” He was usually exposed to the elements and never really paid attention to taking care of himself. If one only looks at the face, he appeared two or three years older than Yang Youming. All of a sudden, he couldn’t help but shoot another glance at the rearview mirror. 

If he hadn’t heard of Yang Youming’s name more than a decade ago, Xia Ye probably would’ve thought that the man had just turned thirty.

Yang Youming said, “If you don’t mind, you can just call me Ming ge like Xingcheng.”

Xia Ye promptly said, “What do I mind ah! I’m just afraid that a big star like you would dislike our–“

“Ge!” Xia Xingcheng harshly snapped at him from behind, interrupting him before he could finish his sentence.

Xia Ye stopped speaking.

The car smoothly traversed the highway. There didn’t seem to be many cars, probably as it was going to be the new year soon. A vast, flat wilderness lined both sides of the road, tinted with lines of bleak yellows amidst winter snow white. The landscape upfront assaulted their senses through the car windows and as they flew past.

It wasn’t convenient for Xia Xingcheng to talk to Yang Youming in such a narrow space. Every single word that came to mind was too intimate, so he sat there quietly, sometimes looking out the window, sometimes turning to stare at Yang Youming. 

Yang Youming also sat without speaking. Once he noticed Xia Xingcheng’s eyes on him, he would turn his head to shoot a quick glance at Xia Xingcheng as well without much expression, just a quiver of his eyelashes, his gaze growing gentle. 

Xia Xingcheng abruptly recalled the conversation between Yang Youming and Xia Ye just now. It turned out that after the New Year, Yang Youming would be thirty-eight, and in two more years, Yang Youming would be forty.

He suddenly felt a little despondent, thinking that he got to know Yang Youming too late. Perhaps, if they could’ve met a little earlier–how great would it be if he had met Yang Youming at eighteen, the year he debuted. He wouldn’t have let Yang Youming squander away several years of his life to be with Yuan Qian. 

After the car drove on the highway for more than half an hour, the scenery on both sides of the road slowly became more lively. The newly developing suburbs were lined with tall buildings, and pedestrians in thick clothes could be seen on both sides of the street.

The road gradually became congested and Xia Ye had no choice but to slow down the car. He complained, “I’d say it’ll take more than an hour to get home.” He stepped on the brakes to wait for a red light at an intersection and opened his mouth to ask Yang Youming, “How did Ming ge get to know Xingcheng?”

Yang Youming replied, “We acted in a movie together.”

Xia Ye asked, “What kind of movie? Why didn’t Xingcheng tell us?”

Yang Youming glanced at Xia Xingcheng and didn’t answer.

Xia Xingcheng quickly said, “Why didn’t I tell you? It’s you who doesn’t remember.” In fact, he really didn’t say anything to Xia Ye at all. He only mentioned a few words to his mom when he was on the phone with her, telling her that he was filming a movie with Yang Youming, but he didn’t say anything about the movie’s subject matter. 

At that time, Mama Xia called out in surprise, “Aiya! Yang Youming! Aiya!”

Xia Ye was dumbfounded. He didn’t know whether he had really forgotten and asked, “So when is it going to be released? I’ll go see it at the cinemas.”

Xia Xingcheng said, “It’s still a while away, I’ll tell you then.”

It was very likely that ‘Gradual Distance’ wouldn’t be shown in the country at all, but the movie could still be watched through the internet or other means. When the time comes, Xia Ye would definitely try to look it up and watch it, but right now Xia Xingcheng wasn’t all too willing to explain much of it to Xia Ye. 

By the time they arrived, it was getting dark.

Xia Ye steered the car into an upscale villa community in the downtown area. The car slowly glided through the neighbourhood in silence, then gradually reduced its speed and finally stopped in front of a villa.

Xia Xingcheng had bought this villa in the second year of his career, together with his brother. At that time, Xie Ye had been in business for several years already, and it had just taken a turn for the better. 

Xia Xingcheng didn’t come home all that often nowadays, and the only people living in this villa were his parents as well as Xia Ye, his wife, and his twin sons.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Xia Xingcheng and Yang Youming opened the door and got off from both sides. The door at the top of several small steps ahead of them opened, and Papa Xia stood at the doorway, peering out, then asked, “Are you back?”

Xia Ye got out of the car and went to the back to open the trunk and help them with their luggage while answering, “We’re back!”

There was only a not-so-bright street lamp outside, and Papa Xia could only make out the vague silhouette of three slender figures. Without clearly seeing who was who, Papa Xia turned back towards the inside of the house and shouted, “Xingcheng’s back!”

Shortly after, Mama Xia rushed to the door while wiping her hands on her apron to see for herself. The first person she saw was Xia Xingcheng, and she immediately shouted in excitement, “Xingcheng!” Afterwards, she noticed that there was another man next to Xia Xingcheng. 

At that time, Yang Youming was taking the luggage that Xia Ye had taken out of the trunk. He first handed over Xia Xingcheng’s suitcase to him, then received his own suitcase. He said to Xia Ye, “Thank you.”

Xia Ye closed the trunk then clapped his hands together and said, “So polite.”

Only then did Yang Youming take his suitcase and follow Xia Xingcheng towards the door.

Once they reached the door, Mama Xia could plainly see his face. Her eyes and mouth instantly widened and she raised both hands to cover her mouth, wanting to shriek, yet not a single sound came out. 

Yang Youming bowed slightly and said with a gentle laugh, “Hello uncle and aunty.”

Papa Xia, who really didn’t recognize Yang Youming, looked at Mama Xia worriedly. It was too late to respond to Yang Youming by then, so he grabbed his wife’s shoulders and turned her around instead. “What’s wrong? Hey! What’s going on?”

Xia Xingcheng obviously realized what was going on to his mom and walked over to hug her, laughing as he said, “Mom, don’t block the door, let Ming ge come in first.”

With a smile on his face, Yang Youming walked into the house with his suitcase.

From the dining room, a short-haired woman of about thirty years old came out. She was first stunned for a moment upon seeing Yang Youming, and then actually screamed out, “Ah—! Is this Yang Youming?!”

Mama Xia, who was behind Yang Youming, nodded vigorously at her daughter-in-law, so excited that her eyes were watering a little.

Xia Ye walked at the very back, and after entering the house, he closed the door and said with a cold face, “You’ve all gone crazy.”

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