Don’t Be a Kept Man

y pose and Chen Yi did really casually give a pose, holding the sword behind him, looking straight at the camera with burning eyes.

His composure was special, and it was eye-catching.
With his good looking facial features, this kind of face was especially easy on the cameras.
The photographer immediately took the chance to take photos and after changing into a few other outfits, there wasn’t much effort needed on his behalf before he was done.

When Chen Yi was finished, he wasn’t in much of a hurry and so after all his makeup was removed, he sat on the side, waiting for Fu Xiu Nian.
Around him, there seemed to be a few of the film crew who were his fans, and they wanted to head closer with a photo of him to ask for an autograph.
But they didn’t dare step forward, only pushing and nudging each other

Fu Xiu Nian couldn’t help but laugh when he saw this once he finished his photo session.
He went to grab the photos from them and passed them to Chen Yi who was just playing on his phone, 

“Hey, your fans want your autograph.”

Hearing this, Chen Yi lifted up his head and subconsciously received the three photos from Fu Xiu Nian.
He looked to the side where three young women were hiding and looking at him, as Fu Xiu Nian passed over a pen to him and said, 

“Sign it for them, hmm.”

Chen Yi exited out of his game that he was halfway through and took the pen from Fu Xiu Nian’s hands.
He signed his name on the photos, with a penmanship that was untamed, wild and dominant.
They say to look at your handwriting was like looking at your personality.
And his strokes were alike, just like his personality.

He passed the photographs back and the three women immediately left with happy and glowing smiles on their faces.
Chen Yi didn’t understand that kind of overflowing joy, and so he just dusted off his pants and said to Fu Xiu Nian,

“Hurry up and take off your makeup.
I’m still planning to leech a meal off you at your house.”

He said it so openly that anyone who heard them wouldn’t even think of something more.

Chen Yi didn’t actually mind exposing their relationship to the public, and he had even thought about what to say to Chen Xiao Meng.
But Fu Xiu Nian himself didn’t dare to and he worried that Chen Xiao Meng would not agree, making it difficult for Chen Yi to balance both sides.
So his attitude towards their relationship was to hide it for as long as possible.

All of a sudden, someone sighed deeply in Chen Yi’s head.

[ Hoh……]

It was almost instantaneous when Chen Yi opened his eyes.
His eyebrows twitching as he said, 

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

[ I also want to leave, but the galactic judges have not permitted my request to leave ]

The system’s voice sounded very depressed.

Chen Yi said, 

“Then when will they hand down the approval?”

[ Probably in a few days ]

Chen Yi: “That’s not too bad.”

[ But one day there means ten years in this world.
When I think that I have to be attached to you for thirty or forty years, my heart feels like it is going to throw a chainsaw.
For these many years as a system, there has never been someone who could rely on their partner.
I never thought I would fall by your knees ]

Chen Yi smiled, his interest having been piqued, 

“What do you mean? I have not been self-reliant?”

[ For some sort of meaning, yes.
Do you want to know why? ]

“No.
You can shut up now.
If you have the ability, shock me to death.”

[ **** ]

When Fu Xiu Nian was taking off his makeup, Cen Qing was also in the room and he seemed to be purposefully waiting for Fu Xiu Nian.
Everyone was busy with their duties and no one was paying attention to their corner.
With their surroundings in a busy buzz, Cen Qing quietly asked, 

“……Why him for the role?”

Fu Xiu Nian, facing the mirror, brushed up the hair by his forehead and began to take off his makeup with a cotton pad.
Hearing this, he gave Cen Qing a look and then disinterestedly said, 

“No reason why.”

Cen Qing smiled, 

“If there’s none, then there’s none.
But I do think he is more suitable than me for this role.
Not bad.”

Cen Qing’s private life wasn’t that clean, being part of the team that had no partial preference for a certain sex; whether they were male or female, he’ll be into them if he is.
And this “not bad” had too many hidden implications.

Fu Xiu Nian took out a tissue to wipe his hands and his voice dropped cold, bringing on a tone of warning, 

“There’s no relationship with you even if he’s ‘not bad’.”

And then quickly wiped off his face before leaving as he was not in the mood to continue staying there.

At the moment, Chen Yi was in the realm of living part time at Fu Xiu Nian’s, and so there were quite a few daily necessities already in stock there.
The airplane ticket was set for tomorrow afternoon, and so at night, Fu Xiu Nian was already preparing.

“I’m going to bring along your toiletries and the sunscreen spray too.
You just have to pack your clothes when you get home.”

 

Fu Xiu Nian was meticulous, where every single thing he would have prepared was prepared to the miniscule details and very clearly.
And right now, he was kneeling by the floor and just zipping up the suitcase when Chen Yi stuffed himself right beside him.
Chen Yi wrapped his arms around Fu Xiu Nian’s waist as he said, 

“My family always said to marry a wife who would be virtuous1, a pretty adept teaching.”

Chen Yi had been keeping up with his exercise everyday and this could definitely be felt through the clothes.
Fu Xiu Nian’s back was leaning against his chest, and he suddenly had the same thoughts as the many people in the fan group that salivated over Chen Yi’s waist and legs and his face started to burn hot without his control.

He embarrassingly coughed a few times, 

“Marry what, marry who.
I never said I would marry you.”

Chen Yi turned gleeful, 

“I also never said I would marry you either.”

Fu Xiu Nian unhappily pursed his lips and went to pinch Chen Yi’s calf but found that it was too muscular and he couldn’t even pinch any skin at all.
Chen Yi stopped his hand and tilted his head to bite him lightly on his pale white earlobes, 

“What, not happy?”

Fu Xiu Nian’s body was melting into his shivers with Chen Yi’s biting and that tickling feeling was spreading down to his spine and transmitting through his entire body.
He rubbed his ears hard and his eyes were sparkling with a gentle light, 

“Are you a dog? Why do you keep biting people?”

Chen Yi didn’t reply and softly patted his head, 

“So you should follow whoever you marry.
Marry a chicken, become a chicken, Marry a dog, become a dog.” 

Hearing this, Fu Xiu Nian smiled again and fell back into his embrace.
Rolling into a clump together, the two of them began kissing, forgetting everything else.

After the photos of their characters were taken and edited, the marketing team of << Minister >> started posting their official release statements and shared the promotional posters.
As the first bit of marketing, they uploaded a small set of photos. 

Because this movie was being personally directed by renowned film director, Kong Qiao, and this was paired with a first rate script writer and producer, the entire project could be said to be of excellence and an extravagant affair. 

One could say that before the film was even released, it was already riding on its fame.
The moment the first post was published, a huge amount of people went storming into its official account to see what was going on, as the general public had never stopped discussing who the actors should be since it was announced.

Cen Qing had always been walking down the path of an actor with the skills to back him up and so it was easy to see him in the role of the main protagonist, and not a lot of people were raising questions at this.
Yet when they saw the photo set for Meng Yu, the first reaction the netizens had was, Who the fuck was this handsome guy?! And then once they took a closer look, What the fuck, it was Chen Yi?!!

 

The man had a jade crown in his topknot, wearing a black coloured outfit with specialized sections of armor on his wrists and a sheathed sword by his side.
A jade amulet was tucked alongside into the waist belt of his dark black robe that was decorated with embroidery of the ocean and cliffs2.
His aura felt encompassing and authoritative with this outfit. 

In the picture he had unsheathed his sword and his eyes were serious and stern, containing a sense of fierceness and sharpness yet his mouth brought on the implication of something more, something a bit playful yet also freeing and seductive.
A war of discussion was blowing up but at the same time, he was netting a whole bucket full and more of fans who were drooling over his looks.

>> AHHHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHH I’m dying.
Mommy, I suddenly /get/ the handsomeness of Chen Yi, what a fucking alpha.
My legs and pulse are so weak.
I’m suffocating from his attractiveness!!!

>> I *** Why did they make Chen Yi the supporting actor?? Has the renowned director fallen to his knees to the hot charts too?

>> I have no power to reject this kind of “bad boy type” look, awsl, our Yi-Ge is so fucking handsome!!!! Director Kong has such good eyesight!!!

>> WOAHWOAHWOAH there’s actually our Xiu Xiu too! I’m so satisfied to have Billion Year CP in the same screen again, wu wu wu

When the schedule of Chen Yi flying to Zhejiang the next day was publicly released, the fan group immediately started chatting nonstop, discussing how to send him off at the airport.
There were even people who mentioned for the group leader to come out and even Fu Xiu Nian was silently lurking, watching this all go down.

>> @Ruo Meng Leader leader, I want to send off Yi-Ge tomorrow.
What color for the support signs do you think would be better?

>> Hohohoho perfect timing as I’m off tomorrow.
The sister before me, save me one of your private signs!! What is Yi-Ge’s favourite color!

>> I just went to take a look at his official account and I could die right on the spot from happiness.
Yi-Ge actually got an offer to be in Director Kong’s work AH AH AH AH AH.
His promotional poster is making my ovaries explode.
I’m following all of you into this black hole!!!

There were quite a few fans that echoed the same sentiments.
And on Chen Yi’s side, he was just packing his clothes in his room when Chen Xiao Meng suddenly sneaked to his side like a ghost, 

“Brother, what color do you like?”

Chen Yi offhandedly mentioned, 

“Black.
Why?”

Chen Xiao Meng paused in shock and then blinked her eyes, 

“Black? Do you have any other color preference? Something a bit brighter?”

Chen Yi tilted his eyebrows up and narrowed his eyes at her, 

“What kind of bright? Neon pink?”

Chen Xiao Meng: “…… Fine.
Black’s not bad.”

A minute later, the group leader @ all members.

>> Yi-Ge likes black, so…… everyone might need to discuss between themselves to see what kind of supporting items you would bring.
But don’t make it crazy.
Something that’s just very simple, something that can just get the thought across would be good enough.

This kind of answer was extremely difficult to decipher.
What kind of light sign or light stick would be black? And so all the fans who were discussing sending Chen Yi off silently made a new temporary chat.
They went to scour for any other information and someone found that there was a fan who had a silver led sign during Ah Ya’s concert.
They asked if they should just use silver, but then other celebrities were always supported with their favourite color so there was no reason to be this dismissive towards Chen Yi and his preferences……

The fans in the chat immediately fell into a deep and troubled contemplation.

The itinerary was set for him to take an afternoon flight, so Chen Yi used his phone to order some takeout for him and Chen Xiao Meng to make do as a lunch.
Before he left with Ling Dang, he made sure to double check everything in his luggage.
During the entire car ride, Ling Dang was very enthusiastic and thankful.

“Xiao Yi-Ge, your contract will almost be up after you finish with this role.
When you end the contract with GE, you can sign onto a better company.
After enduring it for so many years, you have finally come out on top.
I really didn’t think there would be such a day.”

There were many people who could endure and suffer for more than ten or twenty so years in the entertainment industry and still wouldn’t reach anywhere.
Half of it was on the person and the other half was down to luck.
Zhou Ming’s personality was not the best but he said something that was quite right.
Being too mundane and having no achievements for too long will eventually sand down a person’s hot bloodedness and passion.

The car reached the airport and Chen Yi wore his mask, walking in with Ling Dang.
He was about to send a message to Fu Xiu Nian when his eyes caught something in his peripheral vision and he looked over.
The airport departure area was filled with a group of people all wearing black: black shirts, black pants and their hands even held black signs.
And they all seemed to be looking left and right for something.

Chen Yi calmly retracted his gaze, 

“Whose fans are those? Dressed like they’re in the mafia.”

The moment he said that, someone in the crowd seemed to have found him, and there was a sharp shriek transmitted to his ears, 

“AHHHAHHHHAHHHHHAHHHH! YI-GE!!!! LOOK OVER HERE!!!”

Chen Yi: “……”

 

 

Notes:

*1 marry a wife who would be virtuous: This usually has a second part where it’s to marry a woman who’s virtuous/beneficial to your family/continuation of your family/lineage over a pretty woman/eye candy, which you may have guessed was pertinent mostly in ancient china, but sometimes referenced now too.
Specifically, the virtuous meant upholding a certain standard, being a feminine woman that should know her boundaries/what she can or cannot do, shouldn’t be evil/jealous, being faithful and obedient to your husband/his family, basically what was the “ideal” for women to be, which you may have more famously heard about from a certain scroll…

 

*2 parts of Yi-Ge’s outfit!

jade crown in his topknot (發束玉冠)

outfit with armor (交領劍袖服)

embroidery of the ocean and cliffs (海水江崖紋)