Spilling the Tea on the Movie Star Who Won't Leave Me Alone - Chapter 26

Watching Xu Chi bow his head and eat so earnestly, Gu Jingxuan’s heart softened. He felt an intense urge to pull the man into his arms right then and there. Gu Jingxuan felt a lingering sense of dread just thinking about how he had nearly missed out on such a wonderful person.

He had eaten something with Xie Mingjie at his restaurant around noon, but because his mind had been so heavy with worry, he found himself feeling hungry again. Seeing the serious way Xu Chi ate made the food in front of him seem like a rare delicacy.

Xie Mingjie was a childhood friend; their families were close, and the two of them got along well. Whenever Gu Jingxuan encountered trouble as a child, he would seek out Xie Mingjie and use him as a “tree hole,” pouring everything into his ear. At first, Xie Mingjie would protest, but over time, he simply let Gu Jingxuan ramble on.

After Gu Jingxuan entered the entertainment industry, their communication decreased significantly. Xie Mingjie was quite handsome—even more so than most “little fresh meats” in the industry. Initially, Gu Jingxuan wanted to pull him into acting, but Xie Mingjie insisted on cooking and eventually opened a chain of restaurants.

When Gu Jingxuan suddenly sought him out, Xie Mingjie knew without a second thought that Gu Jingxuan definitely had something to tell him.

When Gu Jingxuan was in university, they weren’t in the same city. One night, after making a phone call saying he wanted to see him, Gu Jingxuan flew straight there. He knocked on Xie Mingjie’s dormitory door in the middle of the night, giving him quite a fright.

However, seeing Gu Jingxuan today still came as a bit of a surprise to Xie Mingjie. Compared to seeing him on TV, Gu Jingxuan’s complexion was not great when he went to see him at noon. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent; he looked like someone who hadn’t slept well all night.

Xie Mingjie chose his own restaurant and ordered a few light dishes. He propped his head up and watched Gu Jingxuan, waiting for him to speak first.

“If you liked someone, would you care about what they look like?”

As expected, Gu Jingxuan asked the question he had been harboring before he had even settled into his seat or taken off his coat.

Xie Mingjie was stunned by the question. Since elementary school, Gu Jingxuan had been receiving confessions from both girls and boys. Curious, Xie Mingjie had asked him about it before, even joking once about whether Gu Jingxuan liked him.

Gu Jingxuan’s attitude had always been cold. He had his own ideas about other matters, but regarding emotional affairs, he was like a child whose mind hadn’t quite opened yet. No matter what anyone said, he didn’t know what “liking someone” was supposed to feel like.

“Um…” Xie Mingjie fell into a rare silence. “What kind of ‘like’ are we talking about?”

Asked this, an unusual flush of embarrassment appeared on Gu Jingxuan’s face.

“The kind… where I want to marry him.”

Xie Mingjie’s gossiping spirit was instantly ignited. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Gu Jingxuan, struggling to hold back the questions he wanted to blurt out.

“Are you sure?”

Gu Jingxuan’s hand tapped restlessly against the side of his glass. He remained silent for a while.

“I’m sure I have feelings for him. I just really want to be with him, and I don’t like it when he gets too close to others.”

Hearing this, the smile on Xie Mingjie’s face became somewhat distorted. A chill ran down Gu Jingxuan’s spine, giving him the uneasy feeling of being stared at by a “creepy uncle” on the subway.

“Then what difficulty have you run into?”

Gu Jingxuan had the looks and the family background. Although the media often said he had high standards and looked down on others, he was actually very polite. He was almost the image of a Prince Charming in everyone’s hearts. In Xie Mingjie’s view, as long as Gu Jingxuan confessed, there shouldn’t be a situation where he’d be rejected.

For Gu Jingxuan to know he liked someone but still wear an expression like he’d been abandoned, it could only mean that Gu Jingxuan was questioning his own feelings internally.

“He’s… a bit different from others. Not in other ways… but physically.” Gu Jingxuan opened his mouth, only to realize he didn’t know how to describe Xu Chi’s situation.

Xie Mingjie raised an eyebrow, not understanding this non-sequitur.

“It’s just that… in other aspects, I like him very, very much, but his body is… very special.” After searching for words for a long time, Gu Jingxuan settled on “special” to describe Xu Chi.

Upon hearing this, Xie Mingjie actually burst out laughing. His shoulders shook so much that Gu Jingxuan wanted to grab his glass and throw it at him.

Under Gu Jingxuan’s murderous gaze, Xie Mingjie coughed for a long time before regaining his voice.

“Why do you like him?”

“It’s very comfortable. I love being with him. Seeing him makes me feel very happy; he makes me feel like the world is a beautiful place.”

When Gu Jingxuan spoke like this, it was sickeningly sweet. Xie Mingjie shuddered to shake off the goosebumps Gu Jingxuan’s words had caused.

“So, you don’t like him because of his money, his looks, or his body, right?”

Gu Jingxuan looked at Xie Mingjie in confusion. He had just said it all once; why was he asking again?

“Yeah.”

“Then isn’t that enough?” Xie Mingjie raised his glass and drank most of the water. “What you like is the person, and the way he makes you feel. Those things won’t make you like him any less just because his body is special. You’ll still like being with him, won’t you?”

Gu Jingxuan nodded, seemingly understanding the meaning behind Xie Mingjie’s words.

“Then that’s it. What does it matter if his body is special? You didn’t fall for him because his body looked good.”

As soon as Xie Mingjie said this, Gu Jingxuan remembered the waist and legs Xu Chi had revealed while soaking in the hot spring the night before.

Actually, I like his body too.

Xie Mingjie’s point was simple: no matter how special Xu Chi’s body was, he was still a complete person. He just had one more organ than other men; it wasn’t like he was some man-eating monster. Gu Jingxuan had feelings for him before he knew about Xu Chi’s body, and he knew clearly that he hadn’t fallen for him because of some external reason or pressure.

The confusion that had been clouding his mind was finally cleared up by Xie Mingjie’s reasoning.

Seeing Gu Jingxuan’s expression gradually relax, Xie Mingjie finally couldn’t help himself.

“Who are you in love with? Is it Lu Qing, who’s in the same production as you? Or Shen Qian, who won Best Actress for her last film?”

Xie Mingjie’s grinning face was exceptionally irritating. Gu Jingxuan twirled a forkful of pasta into his mouth. He ignored the question entirely, said “See you later,” and left the restaurant to go find his “little one.”

Watching Gu Jingxuan’s retreating back, Xie Mingjie shook his head and laughed somewhat helplessly.