OSM Chapter 25: “Today’s your birthday, right?”

He and Li Yuze had been friends for years, yet they’d never publicly acknowledged their friendship.

Not that Gao Kui minded – it’s not like there was anything shameful about it.

But Li Yuze had always been particular about privacy, insisting their relationship was nobody’s business.

If he’d refused to acknowledge it all these years, why suddenly show up for a visit today of all days?

Besides, it was New Year’s Day.

A quick glance at the date—February 13th.

The Award-winning actor might be straightforward, but he wasn’t stupid. He pulled Li Yuze into a brief hug, whispering through gritted teeth, “Who are you really here to see?”

Li Yuze didn’t bother hiding it, glancing at He Zhiqiu across the courtyard. “My wife.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but just enough for Gao Kui to hear.

Gao Kui muttered, “Do you have no shame?” Then, almost unexpectedly, he felt a strange sense of happiness.

Li Yuze had always referred to He Zhiqiu this way in front of friends before.

But it had been many years since he’d used that title.

Gao Kui suddenly felt the need to have a good talk with Fang Haochuan about this.

The thought of Fang Haochuan made him think of Pingsha.

And that, in turn, reminded him that Li Yuze had surprisingly shown some concern for his career this time.

As soon as he thought about his career, his gaze instinctively shifted to He Zhiqiu.

For a moment, Gao Kui felt a bit dazed on set, wondering if he’d been tricked.

Director Mu had worked with Li Yuze twice before and greeted him warmly. After a quick chat, he asked about recent events but didn’t have time to linger. Since he knew Li Yuze was here to visit Gao Kui, he let Gao Kui take a break and gave them some time in the lounge while the rest of the crew continued working.

The lounge was in the courtyard, a traditional, elegantly furnished room designed for visitors.

Gao Kui invited Li Yuze to sit, turned on the air conditioning with a remote, and poured two cups of tea.

“So, what’s the deal with you two?” Gao Kui asked, handing Li Yuze a cup of tea.

Li Yuze replied, “There’s no deal.”

Gao Kui raised an eyebrow. “No deal? You came all the way to see him. You didn’t say anything to him just now?”

Li Yuze, distracted by his phone, typed something before replying, “Talking to him would just cause trouble.”

Gao Kui thought about it and agreed.

He Zhiqiu was still a newcomer, just starting out. If he formed any public ties with Li Yuze now, his career could be over before it even began.

It wasn’t that He Zhiqiu wouldn’t gain fame from Li Yuze.

But as an actor, he might never escape the shadow of being “Li Yuze’s plus one”. After all, the media didn’t care who He Zhiqiu really was. It was much more valuable to label him as “Li Yuze’s something” in the headlines, no matter how well or badly he acted.

Gao Kui nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly froze, asking, “Then, aren’t you worried about causing trouble for me?”

Li Yuze, still engrossed in his phone, glanced at him briefly and asked,”Why do you think wife’ and ‘friend’ are different words?”

Gao Kui, a bit taken aback, asked, “Why?”

Li Yuze answered, “Because they mean completely different things.”

…

Damn!

Gao Kui was so annoyed that he took a sip of tea and said, “I quit this friendship.”

Li Yuze said, “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Oh? Not possible? He couldn’t let go?

Is this about realizing you’ve taken something for granted only after losing it?

Gao Kui sneered and kicked back, crossing his legs. “So that’s up to you now, isn’t it?”

Li Yuze gave him a sidelong glance, passed his phone to him, and walked over to the window, saying, “Actually, it’s up to neither of us anymore.”

Gao Kui, confused, flipped through the phone and immediately fell silent.

Li Yuze’s visit to the Pingsha set was trending on Weibo.

The fact that he and Gao Kui were good friends was trending too.

While Gao Kui wasn’t particularly petty, he wasn’t blind either.

He scrolled through the comments and found fans overwhelmingly shocked and some even speculating that it was all a fake story.

“How could Li Yuze possibly be friends with Gao Kui? They’re not even in the same circle! There’s no way he’d visit Gao Kui on set. This must be an excuse to visit someone else while using Gao Kui’s name.”

It was funny, but this clever netizen had gotten part of it right.

Gao Kui was about to like the comment when he noticed Li Yuze had already done so.

“This Weibo account… whose is it?” Gao Kui scrolled to the homepage and saw a string of jumbled characters from a newly created account.

But the account had been active for almost a month, with shared funny videos and several well-read movie reviews. Gao Kui clicked on one, and it was well-written and professional, showing a keen eye for film.

“This is…”

“My account.”

“Yours?” Gao Kui was surprised and walked over to Li Yuze. “You have a dump account?”

“Is it so surprising?” Li Yuze didn’t even look up, his gaze focused on He Zhiqiu’s profile through the window, the latter in costume, carefully watching the lead actress perform.

“What do you think… does he feel?” Li Yuze suddenly asked.

“Who?”

“He Zhiqiu.”

Li Yuze sighed. “He knows that when I was married, keeping his distance was the right thing to do. But even after he found out I’m single again, he’s still behaving like this…”

You think, how does he feel?”

Gao Kui shrugged, “How would I know? I’m not a relationship expert.”

Li Yuze asked, “Do you think he’s stopped feeling anything for me?”

Gao Kui, with a touch of objectivity, said, “It’s possible. You’ve been apart for so many years, it’s natural for feelings to fade.”

Li Yuze nodded and casually changed the name on his Weibo account.

Gao Kui didn’t see what he changed it to but noticed him lowering his eyes. He cautiously asked, “If he really doesn’t feel anything for you anymore, what will you do? Give up?”

Li Yuze thought for a moment, then answered reasonably, “Of course, if he truly doesn’t feel anything for me, I wouldn’t force it.”

Really? Gao Kui gave him a suspicious look, doubting his sincerity, then left the room.

At 10:30 PM, He Zhiqiu finally finished shooting for the day. After a quick discussion with Gao Kui about tomorrow’s scenes, he helped with some props for the next day’s shoot. Before entering the set, Xu Sui had suggested sending an assistant to He Zhiqiu, but he had refused. It would be a waste of resources, especially since he didn’t have many scenes and could handle most things on his own.

Gao Kui finished up and headed to the hotel to rest.

He Zhiqiu stayed a while longer, waiting for most of the crew to leave before approaching the lounge. He peeked inside, but the room was empty. Li Yuze had left earlier in the afternoon.

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he sat down on the lounge door frame.

The set manager asked when he was leaving, and He Zhiqiu said he’d wait a bit longer.

It wasn’t unusual for actors to linger on set to gather their thoughts. The set manager didn’t think much of it, leaving him a light and asking him to turn it off when he was done.

He Zhiqiu sat, pulling out his script and noting down the key points from his scene with Gao Kui.

The New Year’s night was still cold. After a while, He Zhiqiu’s hands froze from the cold, and he considered heading back to the hotel. But he glanced at the time and decided to wait another five minutes.

Just five more minutes.

As he counted down the seconds, he saw someone approaching in the distance.

He stared at the figure for a long while, then lowered his head, expressionless.

Oh no… was he hallucinating from the cold?

“He Zhiqiu.”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing sitting here?”

He Zhiqiu, still in a daze, looked up slowly to find a pair of shoes in front of him. His gaze followed them up, and he asked, stunned, “Are you Li… Yuze?”

“Who else?”

“Didn’t you leave?” He Zhiqiu quickly stood up, never expecting Li Yuze to return.

Li Yuze said, “I forgot something.” He handed He Zhiqiu his jacket, noticing his red nose from the cold.

He Zhiqiu was about to refuse, but Li Yuze insisted, draping the jacket over his shoulders, blocking his line of sight.

The small light outside the lounge flickered faintly in the dark.

Li Yuze opened his phone, searched the room, and grabbed something from the corner, slipping it into his pocket. Then he turned to leave.

He Zhiqiu, still holding the jacket, glanced at the time, feeling like there was nothing left to regret.

Just as he was about to say goodbye, Li Yuze stopped in front of him, holding a beautifully wrapped small cake.

“You…”

“Today’s your birthday, right?” Li Yuze smiled, his lips curling up. “I remembered halfway here and picked this up for you.”