Chapter 10 – Green Bean Soup (1/2)

Kang Jian’s appearance was not classically handsome.

He was tall with a good body however while his nose was straight, his eyes were slightly small and he had an inner double lid. His chin was squarish and his cheekbones prominent. When he was young, among a crowd of handsome male stars, he didn’t particularly stand out. However as he got older, his appearance was more suitable for a going down a mature pathway. After he had undergone the styling for his role, he had the image of someone who looked casual and playful on the outside but hid a deep emotions on the inside. In this way Kang Jian became a “killer” of older women. {T/N: As in he’s very popular with this demographic.}

At this time in his previous life, Bai Lang and Kang Jian were just ordinary friends. Kang Jian took a lot of initiative in this regard. If he wasn’t calling to chat then he was turning up at Bai Lang’s door with supper.

Afterwards when the ugly news regarding Bai Lang’s family got around, Kang Jian began to contact him less. In contrast due to the release of his first movie and also UNI’s advertisement, Kang Jian’s star was on the rise and he became gradually known by the audience. Bai Lang naturally thought the reason for the decrease in contact was because Kang Jian was busy working.

It was not until a few years later when Bai Lang became famous again because of the popularity of “Who is Hosting Dinner?”, that Kang Jian’s frequent contact returned. At that time although Kang Jian could not be considered an A-lister, he frequently acted in small productions as either the male lead or in an important supporting male role. Compared to the popular again Bai Lang, he can be considered around same level of fame.

Thus Kang Jian never tried to hide the fact that he and Bai Lang were old friends. The two of them had different styles and thus there wasn’t much chance of them competing against each other. Occasionally when they appeared in the supermarket together, they could create some minor news and give the fans a favorable impression of two close male friends being affectionate towards each other.

This was also the beginning of the two people’s relationship.

The change in relationship was also initiated by Kang Jian.

Kang Jian was bisexual. He was okay with either men or women. According to what Kang Jian told Bai Lang, he actually preferred men over women, however the reality of his circumstances made it difficult for him to find someone good.

And Bai Lang was clean and beautiful, his personality was calm and he wasn’t the type to quibble over small things. He also knew how to take care of others. After they got to know each other, it wasn’t as though Kang Jian didn’t have any genuine feelings. However at that time he was more concerned with his own career. Since Bai Lang had a lot of troublesome news, Kang Jian decided to not pursue him anymore.

But when Bai Lang became popular for the second time, Kang Jian’s heart began to itch again. Also by that time Kang Jian had also familiarized himself with Bai Lang’s personality. He was pleased with the fact that Bai Lang was low-key, and wasn’t the type of person to nag or get jealous. After testing him a few times, he found out that Bai Lang didn’t seem to have any prejudice towards homosexuals. So he seized the opportunity when Bai Lang was drunk and sealed the deal with him.

Afterwards Kang Jian spent some time pacifying the shocked Bai Lang.

He made long speeches about his long and difficult secret love for the other person, it was only because he really couldn’t suppress it any longer that it burst out and he lost control.

In movies this type of infatuated and lovesick male character would often appear. Kang Jian’s acting was dripping with emotions. It had to be said that Kang Jian’s method was extremely correct. This type of “good friend turned lover” pathway was extremely effective on the innocent and naive Bai Lang. This way he would be more easily forgiven and accepted. Bai Lang at this time was still bearing the heavy burden of repaying Bai Li’s debts. Something like having a relationship was a luxury for him.

However he didn’t expect that Kang Jian’s promise of love only lasted for three years.

Three years of giving him his whole heart, only won back that kind of betrayal from Kang Jian.

So that’s why, after his rebirth, Bai Lang’s phone was filled with Kang Jian’s missed calls. This by itself wasn’t unusual. The fact that he ignored it and did not even return one was the unusual part.

But Bai Lang had already made up his mind that in his life he didn’t want any type of relationship with Kang Jian.

If he maintained a so-called “friendship” with Kang Jian, perhaps it would be easier to do what Bai Lang had decided to do in this life {T/N: prevent KJ’s rise}, however Bai Lang already knew the sensation of betrayal from his past life. He hated it and thus he didn’t want to also turn into that kind of person. Also more importantly, Bai Lang was afraid that in front of Kang Jian he would not be able to hide the feelings of anger and disgust in his heart.

Thinking about it now, the last time he had seen Kang Jian in his past life, the other man had still held his hand.

He had said, no matter how much the world changed, he would definitely stay beside Bai Lang’s side.

And now, seeing Kang Jian once again standing in front of his eyes, Bai Lang felt a strong sense of revulsion.

***

Kang Jian was holding three big bags of sweet soup and had come to the set to visit someone he knew.

That person was of course his senior brother from the same company, Wu ShenEn.

The artists under the same management company often did things like this. Other than helping to give face to the person they were visiting, they could use this opportunity to make acquaintances and get close to the crew. Perhaps if the timing was right, they could turn these networks into opportunities for themselves.

So it was not the first time Kang Jian had come. He greeted Wu ShenEn then began passing out the soup to the crew in a familiar manner. Right now there were still several more scenes to film and so this kind of afternoon tea type event was well-received by everyone.

Bai Lang overlooked the smile that Kang Jian gave to him and continued chatting with Director Zhou. If he left the room now, then he would undoubtedly run into Kang Jian alone. He definitely didn’t want that.

Fan Shan and Wu ShenEn also didn’t leave. After all the topic of conversation had just turned to the direction of the script. The male and female lead were justifiably very anxious about it. In the end even the actress for Chen MeiYu, Yu QianQian, also came to join them. These people surrounded Director Zhou and sat on the long work table to drink sweet bean soup and continue their previous topic of discussion.

“Director Zhou, are you being serious? You guys really went to find that fanfiction writer?” Fan Shan asked curiously.