Spilling the Tea on the Movie Star Who Won't Leave Me Alone - Chapter 24

Gu Jingxuan scrolled through his contacts for a while before finding a suitable person to call.

“Xuan! Happy New Year!” A voice shouted over the sound of loud, chaotic music. The person on the other end sounded incredibly excited.

Gu Jingxuan rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “Where are you right now? I need to see you. Come out and meet me.”

The person was clearly surprised that Gu Jingxuan would call him at a time like this. He left the room where a group of people were fighting over a microphone and screaming.

“What happened? I’m at a KTV by the river. Where should we meet?”

Gu Jingxuan rarely sought people out, and even if he wanted to have fun, he wouldn’t choose this time of day. His friend assumed he must be facing some sort of difficulty.

“I’ll come to you,” Gu Jingxuan said, grabbing his car keys and heading out the door.

Xie Mingjie had been his best friend since college. He was a true confidant, the kind of friend he could tell anything to.

After returning to his apartment, Xu Chi immediately called Director Jiang and bluntly turned down the recommendation.

“Won’t you reconsider?” Director Jiang clearly appreciated him; in his heart, he had already decided that the role belonged to no one else but Xu Chi.

How could Xu Chi not want it? To be able to work on another of Director Jiang’s scripts was a dream, especially since the other male lead was Gu Jingxuan.

Xu Chi’s fingers tightened around his phone, and he let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, Director Jiang. I don’t think I can accept this role. I’ll have to trouble you to choose another actor you find suitable. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s alright. I respect your decision.”

After hanging up, Xu Chi sat dazed on his sofa.

Because the crew had played so hard the night before, Jiang Yusen had given them two days off. Xu Chi, who had been looking forward to the holiday most, suddenly found himself with nothing to do. He didn’t know how long he sat on the sofa before he suddenly stood up.

Just as he was preparing to give the apartment a thorough cleaning, his phone rang without warning. Xu Chi thought it was his agency calling to interrogate him for rejecting Director Jiang’s project.

When he saw the words “Brother Gu” on the screen, he froze in place. He noticed his hand was shaking as he reached for the screen. After steadying his emotions, he answered the call.

“Brother…”

Before he could finish, Gu Jingxuan spoke urgently.

“I’m downstairs at your building. Let’s talk.” He sounded very rushed and hung up before Xu Chi could even agree.

Standing in the living room with a broom in his hand, Xu Chi held the phone to his ear, unable to snap out of it.

What is this about? Does he think I’m unlikable and came here specifically to start a fight? Or is he going to hit me because of the script?

Regardless of the reason, Xu Chi felt an irresistible force pulling him downstairs. He was so flustered that he forgot to put on a coat. Standing downstairs where the street was bathed in sunlight but still freezing, he shrunk his neck into his shoulders.

Gu Jingxuan arrived quickly. Seeing Xu Chi shivering, he frowned and turned up the heat in the car.

“…” Xu Chi wanted to ask where they were going, but he noticed Gu Jingxuan showed no signs of driving. He looked over in confusion and suddenly met Gu Jingxuan’s gaze. His heart skipped a beat.

Even though he had been heartbroken this morning due to Gu Jingxuan’s attitude, meeting that look which seemed so full of affection made him blush uncontrollably.

“Why did you suddenly reject Director Jiang’s invitation?” Gu Jingxuan didn’t waste time and went straight to the question he wanted to know most.

As expected, he thinks I deceived him and came here to settle the score.

It hadn’t occurred to Xu Chi that if Gu Jingxuan truly didn’t want to deal with him anymore, he could have sent a manager or an assistant. There was no need for him to come in person.

The light in Xu Chi’s eyes dimmed bit by bit until he finally lowered his gaze. “I just, felt it might not be suitable for me. With my current acting skills, jumping into another project so quickly might negatively affect the entire production.”

Xu Chi’s words were stumbling and his logic was weak, which made Gu Jingxuan frown.

“Is that really the only reason?” Gu Jingxuan felt this wasn’t a good reason at all.

“Yes… that’s the only reason.” Xu Chi’s head dropped even lower, his chin almost touching his collarbone.

“I don’t want you to leave.” Gu Jingxuan’s words made him snap his head up, his eyes filled with confusion and a tiny spark of hope.

“Acting with you is very easy, and I really like you.” Once Gu Jingxuan said it, he felt a sense of relief. He stared directly at Xu Chi, his beautiful eyes curving slightly with a smile.

Xu Chi didn’t expect the plot to shift so quickly. He blinked, indicating he hadn’t fully processed it yet.

“I thought you… didn’t like me.” The attitude from last night until this morning had made him very anxious.

Gu Jingxuan knew his abnormal behavior had scared Xu Chi into wanting to run away. “Something happened yesterday and my attitude wasn’t very good. It made you uncomfortable, didn’t it?”

Upon hearing this explanation, the knot in Xu Chi’s heart completely dissolved, and he immediately smiled. Shaking his head, he said, “It’s okay. Brother Gu, are you feeling better now? Nothing serious happened, right?”

Looking at Xu Chi’s pure and innocent smile, Gu Jingxuan sighed to himself. Nothing serious happened to me, but it might be a big deal for you.

However, he didn’t say that out loud. He just nodded. “Yes, it’s resolved. When I heard from my manager that you rejected the invitation, I came to find you immediately. So? Do you still not want to act with me?”

His face turning red, Xu Chi felt very embarrassed. He stammered, “I… I want to. But I already replied to Director Jiang. I… I’m sorry, Brother Gu.”

Xu Chi cursed himself inwardly for being so rash. He had given up the role without thinking it through, nearly losing the chance to stay in the same crew as Gu Jingxuan.

Knowing that the “little one” was still willing to act with him, Gu Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the boy didn’t reject him, any problem could be solved.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Gu Jingxuan reached out and pinched the younger man’s cheek. Feeling the soft, cool skin, a ripple of emotion stirred in his heart.

“You came down without even putting on proper clothes. If I had been a little slower on the road, you would have caught a cold.” Gu Jingxuan took off his own coat and draped it over Xu Chi, then grabbed a spare jacket from the back seat for himself. “Let me take you to lunch. That takeout you had at noon was terrible. I know a Cantonese place that is exceptionally good.”

Wrapped in Gu Jingxuan’s coat, Xu Chi lost the ability to think. He could only nod foolishly and say yes.