Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 215 : The Strained Relationship (2)

Chapter 215: Chapter 215 : The Strained Relationship (2)

They did not return home together that evening.

Yan Renzhong also left no message.

Not in the mood to cook, Shen Jingwei ordered food from outside for two people.

As he ate his dinner in silence, he kept throwing glances at Yan Renzhong’s untouched food.

"..."

What if he didn’t come home tonight...?

Should he send him a message, asking him what time he would be home...?

But then Yan Renzhong’s cold, sour expression flashed through his mind and he was instantly discouraged.

He should wait patiently until Yan Renzhong came home.

Just like yesterday night.

Didn’t Yan Renzhong also wait for him to come home...?

So Shen Jingwei waited and waited.

He moved from room to room, attending to household chores, fixing shifty paintings, heating up Yan Renzhong’s dinner, doing whatever he could to stay awake. It became increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open as the night deepened.

Eventually, exhaustion got the better of him and he fell asleep while sitting on the couch.

His sleep was so deep that he didn’t even wake up when Yan Renzhong slipped through the door sometime after midnight.

"..."

Seeing his boyfriend curled up on the couch, conflicting emotions warred within Yan Renzhong’s mind.

Silently, he sat in front of the couch and looked at Shen Jingwei’s sleeping face.

The fall and rise of his figure.

The soft breathing sound that filled the room.

His fluttering eyelashes, long but thin against his fair cheeks.

His soft lips, parting slightly with every puff of air.

Yan Renzhong gingerly brought his hand to Shen Jingwei’s face, but he hesitated to initiate any skin contact.

In the end, his hand traced the contour of Shen Jingwei’s nose, lips, and jaw without actually touching his skin.

The suffocating emotions in his heart swelled into a painful knot, too large to swallow.

"Jingbao," he whispered in a barely audible voice. "Jingbao..."

Yan Renzhong lowered his head and sighed to himself.

He then scooped Shen Jingwei up, one arm around his torso and the other under his knees.

"Mmm... Yan..."

Shen Jingwei mumbled in his sleep.

"..."

Yan Renzhong shifted Shen Jingwei’s body in his arms. He leaned the younger man’s head against his neck and carried him to their shared bedroom.

Shen Jingwei lifted one arm and hooked it around Yan Renzhong’s neck. He took a deep breath and an unfamiliar scent entered his nasal passage.

"..."

... Perfume?

His fingers inadvertently tightened around Yan Renzhong’s collar.

Unease spread through Shen Jingwei’s heart, but he said nothing.

It was already late.

What was the point of initiating a difficult conversation?

When Yan Renzhong lowered him on the bed, he curled up in fetal position, his back facing Yan Renzhong’s side.

"..."

Yan Renzhong raked his fingers through his hair, his gaze fixed on Shen Jingwei. After slipping under the blanket, he instinctively reached out for him.

However, Shen Jingwei’s sleeping position was defensive, his body curled into a tight ball that seemed to ward off any approach.

With a sigh, Yan Renzhong withdrew his hand and turned to face Shen Jingwei’s back, his heart heavy with a sense of loneliness and rejection.

That night, it was Shen Jingwei’s turn to endure a sleepless night.

Sometime before dawn, he slipped out of bed and headed to the kitchen to heat up some milk.

Habitually, as he drank, he opened his phone and scrolled through Weibo.

He did not know why, but he ended up typing Yan Renzhong’s name into the search box. As soon as he hit enter, a long list of posts were shown, all related to Yan Renzhong’s recent activities.

Shen Jingwei filtered the search result to past 12 hours. And then, he clicked on the first post.

"Emperor Yan and Empress Hua : A Spectacular Reunion of Two Superstars?"

"..."

Empress Hua...

Right below the title was a picture of Yan Renzhong and a beautiful woman, their lips locked together in a kiss.

"..."

He continued reading.

"In a shocking turn of events today, former lovers and A-list celebrities, Yan Renzhong ’Emperor Yan’ and Hua Xueying, ’Empress Hua’, reignited their romance at the grand premiere of their latest movie tonight.

The pair, who once dated during their early careers, were seen sharing a passionate kiss on the lips as they walked the red carpet..."

"What are you doing?" Yan Renzhong’s voice sliced through the air like a blade, almost causing Shen Jingwei’s heart to leap out of his chest.

"Nothing."

Shen Jingwei switched his phone screen off and hid the device behind his back.

"..."

Shen Jingwei raised his eyes and met Yan Renzhong’s.

Something indiscernible flickered in their depths, but Yan Renzhong did not know what.

"I am going to bed," Shen Jingwei announced. He walked past Yan Renzhong, but then his wrist was captured and he was forced to halt.

"Jingbao, I need to talk."

"..."

This ominous sentence foreshadowed a string of unfortunate events. No positive outcome ever materialized from the subsequent discussions.

Shen Jingwei swallowed hard.

"I am tired," he said. "Let go."

Instead of loosening, Yan Renzhong’s grip around Shen Jingwei’s wrist tightened.

"... What are you doing...?"

Yan Renzhong clenched his jaw. He yanked at Shen Jingwei’s wrist without warning and pulled the latter into his arms.

"... Yan...!"

Whatever Shen Jingwei wanted to say died out in his throat when he was silenced by a pair of lips, pressing intently against his.

"Mmm! Mmm!!!"

Yan Renzhong pried Shen Jingwei’s lips open skillfully before forcing his tongue in, ravaging Shen Jingwei’s oral cavity like a starved beast.

He kissed Shen Jingwei with such fervor, leaving the latter no time to draw a breath at all.

Shen Jingwei was kissed to the point of suffocating.

Eventually, his survival instincts kicked in.

"...NO!!!"

Shen Jingwei shoved hard against Yan Renzhong’s chest, separating their bodies in an instant.

Some blood stuck to Yan Renzhong’s lips, but the stinging pain on his own lower lip told Shen Jingwei’s that it was his blood and not Yan Renzhong’s.

Yan Renzhong licked the blood away.

"What’s wrong?" He asked, the coldness in his eyes matching his tone perfectly. "Can’t we even kiss anymore?"

Shen Jingwei trembled from head to toe.

He raised his hand and delivered a crisp slap across Yan Renzhong’s cheek.

"..."

Yan Renzhong slowly turned his head and pierced Shen Jingwei with a stare.

A veil of tears blurred Shen Jingwei’s sight, but pride forbade him from crying in front of Yan Renzhong.

And so, he marched toward his own bedroom and locked the door from inside.