PHM chapter 3

Yan Xi was at a loss, finally understanding why his grandfather had refused to come.

He hadn’t expected his usually strict and old-fashioned grandfather to want to set him up with Pei Yuxing. And judging from Pei Yuxing’s attitude, was he actually willing to continue?

He didn’t understand.

It wasn’t that he was belittling himself. In the eyes of his relatives, he was the “other people’s child”—he had always had excellent grades, decent looks, and a knack for learning quickly. But compared with Pei Yuxing, those advantages hardly counted for anything.

Pei Yuxing was widely recognized in the industry as someone favored by the heavens. Many veteran artists who had worked with him never hesitated to praise his talent in front of the media. He was a rare genius in the country who had won all three major acting awards at a young age. At twenty-five, he had even brought home a major international film award from an overseas film festival, rewriting the history of domestic cinema.

“A legend of the film and television industry”—he deserved the title without question.

For someone so dazzling, Yan Xi couldn’t imagine what he could possibly have that would attract him.

Pei Yuxing had been in the entertainment industry for many years. His standards should be extremely high.

“I…” He was speechless for a moment before finally managing to say, “May I ask if you’re joking?”

Pei Yuxing was very serious. “I wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

Yan Xi no longer knew how to answer.

Actually, Pei Yuxing had left him plenty of room to respond. If he didn’t have that kind of intention, all he needed to do was use work as an excuse.

With a busy schedule, there naturally wouldn’t be time to meet again.

But Yan Xi was somewhat hesitant. After all, someone as knowledgeable and considerate as Pei Yuxing was rare enough even as a friend.

He respected and admired the man in front of him, and they had gotten along very happily, but they had only met once. Becoming partners after just one meeting seemed a little too rash.

If it were simply an invitation between friends, Yan Xi would have agreed without hesitation.

Seeing the panic all over his face, Pei Yuxing curled his lips and said unhurriedly, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not asking you to give me an answer right now. Why don’t we try spending some time together first? If there’s anything that makes you uncomfortable, you can stop at any time. The choice is yours.”

“I don’t understand.” Yan Xi finally said it. He was no longer as flustered as he had been at first, and he looked steadily at the man in front of him. “You must already know about my situation from my grandfather. Whether it’s my career or my family, there’s nothing I can offer you. If… I mean, if we really got together, I imagine your fans wouldn’t agree either.”

Besides, there was an eight-year age gap between them, almost like two separate worlds. They might not even have any common interests. Maybe when they chatted, Yan Xi would send him some ridiculous meme, only for the other man to seriously reply with a smiling emoji.

Then he heard a very soft laugh. Pei Yuxing’s expression was gentle. “Although I’m a public figure, I don’t think my marriage needs to be reported to outsiders. As for everything else…”

The man’s expression became serious. “Two people being together should mean supporting each other, not thinking about what they can get from the other person. You don’t need to worry about that at all.”

It sounded like a beautiful future, with no excessive demands. They could simply live an ordinary life together, worrying about food, clothing, and everyday necessities.

Yan Xi’s face reddened, and he felt somewhat ashamed. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Your concerns aren’t unreasonable.” Pei Yuxing understood him completely and joked about himself, “Maybe I’m just a little insecure.”

That was actually not the case at all.

Pei Yuxing had countless admirers. Some celebrities had even boldly confessed their feelings for him through the media, openly saying that their future partner had to be someone like Pei Yuxing, and that if they couldn’t marry Pei Yuxing, then there was no point in getting married at all.

Unfortunately, Pei Yuxing seemed almost completely uninterested in sex, to the point of being ridiculously self-disciplined. In all his years since debuting, he had never had a single scandal. Even when he became so entangled with the female lead in a drama that audiences wished the two of them would get married immediately, once filming ended, there was never any sign of private interaction between the two leads.

He was quick to separate himself from his roles and placed great importance on maintaining the reputations of his fellow actors, except during official activities.

The incident had caused quite a stir at the time, and Pei Yuxing himself had naturally heard about it. Inevitably, the media questioned him about it.

The man smiled warmly and politely at the camera, his tone calm. “Thank you for your affection, but I have no plans to get married in the future. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

Afterward, he proved through his actions that he truly intended to remain unmarried and childless. He devoted himself to his career and remained alone. It was said that paparazzi had followed him continuously for an entire year without managing to capture a single worthwhile scandal.

He treated everyone with courtesy and was always willing to help, regardless of whether they were men or women. But that was all.

Many people lamented that such an outstanding man was destined never to belong exclusively to one person, while at the same time feeling that, since he was Pei Yuxing, perhaps there was nothing strange about it.

Marriage almost seemed like a desecration for him.

Yet the man least likely to ever marry was currently on a blind date with him.

And he seemed quite satisfied with Yan Xi.

Yan Xi found it somewhat absurd and couldn’t help laughing. “No one has a stronger sense of security than you.”

Half a minute later, after carefully thinking it over, he said, “Then let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Pei Yuxing’s expression barely changed, but light seemed to gather in his eyes. “Okay.”

Yan Xi opened his profile QR code, and he soon received the other man’s friend request.

Pei Yuxing’s profile picture was a silhouette of a person standing on a beach, with the setting sun behind him. It looked somewhat familiar, as if it had appeared in one of his movies.

By comparison, Yan Xi’s WeChat profile picture looked incredibly childish—a smiling little kitten.

But he had only just graduated from university, so it was understandable.

Yan Xi carefully saved the contact, then raised his head to look at the man in front of him. His gaze was calm and firm. “If I feel that we’re not suitable, I’ll tell you clearly. I hope you won’t find it offensive when that happens.”

“I won’t.” The man replied calmly. “On this matter, I’ll be just as honest with you.”

Later, Pei Yuxing insisted on driving him home. He only left after saying goodbye to his former teacher.

Old Mr. Yan Peili actually wanted to ask a few questions, but when he saw his grandson staring straight at him, he felt somewhat guilty and used not feeling well as an excuse to go back to sleep.

He pretended to be sleepy. Even though Yan Xi knew what he was doing, he couldn’t bring himself to question him. Thinking that things with Pei Yuxing might not necessarily work out, he only reminded his grandfather to get some rest before returning to his room.

Naturally, he couldn’t sleep that night. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, his excitement only hitting him belatedly, yet there was no one to share it with.

A message from Pei Yuxing appeared on his phone.

Pei: Are you resting? I just got home.

He was letting Yan Xi know that he had arrived safely.

It was an ordinary little thing, yet between the two of them, it felt ambiguous and intimate.

Holding his phone, Yan Xi slowly typed.

Yan Xi: I just finished showering. I haven’t gone to sleep yet.

He was still wondering whether he should continue the conversation when the other person quickly sent another message.

Pei: Mm. Thank you for your hospitality today. I’m really looking forward to seeing you next time.

Pei: Good night.

Such a straight-man thing to say.

But how could he possibly sleep?

Yan Xi hadn’t expected the man to end the conversation so quickly, and he was momentarily stunned.

In NEVER’s small group chat, Ji Zhou shared a rough draft of their new song. It was a very gentle melody. Yan Xi hummed along to a few beats and really liked it.

Everyone was still awake at this hour, and they all gave Ji Zhou a thumbs-up, but Brother Feng was worried.

The song was good, but they had no channels for promotion and no producer willing to work with them.

Yan Xi opened the chat window several times. In the end, he still sent the contact information Pei Yuxing had recommended to the group. As expected, he immediately received several question marks.

Brother Feng: Where did you get this contact?

Yan Xi: I ran into a friend today. He gave it to me and said we could give it a try.

Brother Feng: Your friend is pretty amazing. This big shot’s contact information isn’t easy to get.

Yan Xi didn’t know what to say, so he casually sent a meme. Fortunately, Brother Feng didn’t ask any more questions.

Brother Feng: I saved it. Thank him for us.

Yan Xi: [OK]

He reopened the chat with the man.

Yan Xi: My teammates asked me to thank you for the contact information. It’s very useful.

Yan Xi: Good night.

But the other person was still awake.

Pei: I’m glad I could help you guys.

Pei: Sweet dreams.

He also sent a moon emoji from the system’s default collection, exactly as Yan Xi had imagined.

As Yan Xi stared at it, he couldn’t help imagining the cool and aloof male god carefully tapping the emoji on his phone. He burst out laughing.

—

The director’s meeting still hadn’t ended, so everyone could only wait together.

Some of the guests were itching to make a move.

Most of the people in this episode were young, and almost all of them had watched Pei Yuxing’s works when they were children, leaving them with deep impressions.

He was an untouchable legend in the entertainment industry. With the real person standing right in front of them, it was hard not to get excited.

“Brother.” Lin Yi cautiously approached Yan Xi, his eyes filled with anticipation. “I want to ask him for an autograph, but I’m scared. Can you help me?”

Yan Xi: “……”

Lin Yi’s fear wasn’t unfounded. Everyone knew that Pei Yuxing never interacted with fans during his private time. He always maintained an appropriate distance from his fans, saying that actors only needed to bring good works to their audiences.

Asking him for an autograph at a time like this would definitely end in rejection.

“Brother.” But the youngest member of the team called out pitifully, and with the dark circles under his eyes, he looked especially miserable.

To keep their skills sharp, even when they had no activities, the group often trained overtime. Even the youngest, Lin Yi, had never slacked off.

Yan Xi hesitated. He glanced at the man.

Pei Yuxing was no longer talking to anyone and was resting with his eyes closed. His long, thick eyelashes cast a small shadow across his face.

The man’s eyelashes were better than those of many female stars. When the two of them were intimate, Yan Xi liked to rub them with his fingertips. At times like that, the man would stop moving and lower his eyelids halfway.

Once Yan Xi had played with them enough, the large hand would naturally seize his wrist, then unhurriedly grab the other one as well, pinning both above his head while holding his waist down and leaning over to continue.

“……”

Yan Xi said, “Give me a pen and notebook.”

Then, under the horrified gazes of his little brother and everyone else at the filming site, he walked toward Pei Yuxing.

“Teacher Pei.”

The man slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the gentle and handsome young man standing in front of him, an unreadable look appeared in his eyes.

The pressure of standing in front of him was greater than Yan Xi had imagined, making his scalp tingle.

He handed over the notebook and pen in his hands and said sincerely, “My teammate really likes you. Could you please give him an autograph?”

The young man stood straight, looking a little stubborn, as though he wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted.

There were faint sounds of people sucking in their breath inside the shed. Yan Xi could feel the surrounding gazes change from surprise at first, to astonishment, and then to mockery.

Even people in the industry could barely get Pei Yuxing’s autograph.

This person really didn’t know his place.

Everyone turned to look, unwilling to miss this spectacle.

Pei Yuxing sat up straight, his smile refined and elegant.

He said, “Sure.”

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨