Chapter 19.2 (1/2)
Deep in the Act
Translator: Kotoni
Editor: Isalee
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter 19.2
The shoot should have been easy enough - it was only a simple photoset of a kiss between them - and yet, Chen Hsin ended up having no choice but to grab Zhang Zhun by the hand. Before this, the older man had always endured his touch with numb pa.s.sivity. No matter how far Chen Hsin went with his advances, they were always met with rigid restraint. But now, Zhang Zhun's actions were enlivened by a dash of youthful shyness: the closer Chen Hsin came towards him, the further he backed away from the younger man.
As they strained against the distance between them, each harboring hidden feelings of his own, everyone else in the studio began to sense the suggestive tension between them. Somewhat anxious, Chen Hsin rushed forward to claim the kiss before they could even get into position, only to have Zhang Zhun shrink away from his lips in apprehension. Yet, doubting his own reaction almost immediately, Zhang Zhun began stealing furtive glimpses at Chen Hsin. The flickering ambivalence in his eyes agitated Chen Hsin. Pulling on Zhang Zhun's hand, Chen Hsin lunged forward once more. Over and over again, they went through the same motions like two macaws locked in an elaborate courts.h.i.+p dance, probing each other on a single tortoisesh.e.l.l rack, their brilliant plumes raised and aflutter.
”Eh, what's-your-name.” Sensing that something was not quite right, Wu Rong turned to Zhou Zheng and asked, ”What's going on between them?”
Zhou Zheng, however, was vague with his response, ”Just trying to get in the mood, probably.”
”You two.” After spending a long time adjusting the focus on her camera, Zhu-jie finally spoke up, ”You can romance each other to your hearts' content after we wrap up the entire shoot. For now, all I need is a kiss - make it short and sweet, okay?”
Someone in her team of a.s.sistants laughed. Chen Hsin toughened up and latched onto Zhang Zhun's lips in one fell swoop. But that was all he did: he held Zhang Zhun's lips with his own and went no further. With dazed, wide-open eyes, Zhang Zhun peered up at Chen Hsin through the blurry haze before him; they were so close that everything between them had slipped out of focus. The flash went off, again and again, like a continuous stream of countless broken dreams refracting the light in those eyes - and in the waves of the vast black ocean beyond the light, his soul slowly lost itself.
”Ladies,” Zhu-jie called out again as she pressed the shutter, ”can I get some action please? Are your tongues just for show?”
They were synchronized by a tacit connection between them. A mere lift in the corner of Chen Hsin's lips was all it took for Zhang Zhun to part his lips on cue, obediently welcoming the other man into his moist, willing mouth. It was a connection forged through fifteen mornings and nights of absurd debauchery - a tacit understanding ingrained in them as they mindlessly rutted against each other in the blue light from the screen after every film they watched.
”F***…” Dumbfounded by the sight before him, Wu Rong pulled on Zhou Zheng's sleeve and declared, ”No way I'm going to be able to do that. That's too darn intimate!”
Glancing sideways at Wu Rong, Zhou Zheng remarked to himself in silence: Wu-laos.h.i.+, there's nothing for you to worry about; you're getting ahead of yourself.
When Wu Rong's turn came around, he realized that he had gone a little weak in the legs. Chen Hsin stepped out of the frame and brushed past him with an arrogant air. The heavy light fell on Zhang Zhun like the somber glow in an ancient cathedral. Zhang Zhun waited for him, the light illuminating half of his face while casting the other half into shadows, giving his smile an almost ephemeral quality.
The closer Wu Rong went up to Zhang Zhun, the more he felt the subtle tension in the air, as if he were being pulled into the depths of a bottomless abyss. He cleared his throat with an uneasy cough. Then, shrugging his shoulders, he took his spot facing Zhang Zhun.
”How do you want to do this, Senior?” Zhang Zhun asked, his gaze colored with a certain charm so amorous that he looked almost unlike himself. ”I'll go along with what you have in mind.”
It must be the light - Wu Rong thought - it was just the light playing tricks on his mind. ”You know what, I'll follow your lead instead.” He seemed a little nervous as he added, ”I don't have any experience with this kind of thing.”
Under Zhu-jie's instructions, Xiao-Hai tucked a single bloom into the breast pocket on each of their jackets. Once she was done, Zhang Zhun took a step forward. The tips of his shoes rested against those of Wu Rong's shoes. His white rose was pressed against Wu Rong's chest, while Wu Rong's red bloom pressed back against him.