"Bro! Some of us are going to drink after the session and you're coming with us, whether you like it or not." Jack grinned while he approached Xiulan. He was currently wiping his sweat off of his face.

They became significantly close after the whole week. It was Saturday which meant the last day of workshops. Sunday was supposed to be a day off, one of their last ones in the next few weeks. It was like a silence before a huge storm. The tight schedule and sleepless nights were about to hit in.

"I'd rather rest." Xiulan confessed honestly. He also strangely enjoyed the company of Jack. The fact he was meant to be his best friend in the drama helped a lot.

"Eyy! I just said, 'whether you like it or not.' It means, in case you didn't know, that you don't have a choice. You're coming with us." His grin only widened. Jack always got what he wanted and this wasn't going to be an exception.

"I'm not as young as you are." Xiulan sighed and folded the towel in his hands so he could pack it up.

"You sound like your funeral is tomorrow. Stop being so uptight, I even managed to convince Jian Lan. You two are the leads, yet I haven't seen you two talk nor act together. The director also didn't say anything but she was very eager about me and Yi Bai being close as Jack and Lina. Weird, ain't it?" Jack said but Xiulan stopped listening after hearing that Jian Lan was also coming.

He noticed that Jian's behavior became more distant after their encounter on Wednesday, it made him wonder if he said something wrong or rude.

𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵? 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴. Xiulan frowned while being lost in his thoughts. It made Jack flinch and he wondered if his senior really disliked Jian Lan that much.

"Okay, I'll come." Xiulan gave up, deciding to take this opportunity to clear things up. The filming was starting very soon and he didn't want to make things awkward on the spot.

Jack blinked twice before smiling and patting Xiulan's shoulder. "That's my bro."

***

"Thank you all for your hard work. Take a good rest tomorrow and I'll see you on Monday." These words became the most beautiful melody to Xiulan's ears. The long sigh of relief that echoed in the room indicated that everyone shared similar feelings.

Xiulan changed and packed his stuff quickly while being precautious about not forgetting anything.

"Ey, Xiulan bro! Where are you rushing to?" Jack called out to him when Xiulan almost exited the room. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 "𝘦𝘺" 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦... He wondered and frowned in annoyance. He didn't manage to sneak out successfully. His mindset about going to drink with them changed over the past few hours. His body was sore and he felt like he could fall asleep the moment he would lay down.

"I just thought I'll wait for you outside and get some fresh air." Xiulan played it off with a colder tone. He was meanwhile scheming how to get out of the occasion and sneak away.

"You want to get fresh air? In the center of Beijing?" Jack laughed at his response and grabbed Xiulan's arm. "You're not going anywhere, young man." He emphasized the adjective, remembering the comment his senior made about being old.

"It sounds ridiculous when someone younger than me calls me that. Where's your respect." Xiulan frowned harder and shrugged his hand away.

"It sounds like you're his father." Yi Bai joined in. She and Jack were hitting it off quite nicely, they've already kissed a few times due to some scenes they were practicing. It was quite common to date someone during the filming to understand the character even better and then break up once it’s over.

"Don't say that, Bey. Only you can call me daddy, you already know that." He whispered loudly so the people around them could hear it.

"Jack, you-..." Yi Bai smacked off the hand he was trying to wrap around her. Xiulan coughed in embarrassment, this wasn't something he wished to hear. Instead, he decided to turn to blushing Hua Ling. Her red ears obviously caught what Jack said.

"I didn't know you were coming." Xiulan commented. He wasn't much of a conversation starter.

"Jack persuaded me. Yan-Yan is coming as well." Hua Ling smiled a bit but the exhaustion on her face was very visible. She looked like she exceeded her limits a long time ago.

"Yan-Yan? You mean Wang Yan, your drama best friend?" Xiulan asked to be sure.

"Yes, that is correct. We're getting along pretty well, I've been over at her house already."

𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴? 𝘠𝘪 𝘉𝘢𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘺, 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘠𝘢𝘯-𝘠𝘢𝘯... 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦 "𝘟𝘪-𝘟𝘪"... Xiulan thought while spacing out for a bit.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, let's gooo!" Jack chanted in an attempt to hype everyone up. Xiulan looked around and realized there were only six people in the group. This only make things harder, everyone would notice right away if he disappeared.

The ratio of genders was even and the pairs were formed before they exited the building. Jack was clinging to Bey while Xiulan was keeping an appropriate distance from Hua Ling. The last couple was Jian Lan and Yan-Yan.

"I suggest going to the Yellow Dragon, who's with meee!" Jack raised his free hand in the air again. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘺. Xiulan thought and decided to head home before they could reach the place.

Since nobody responded with enthusiastic 'meee,' though Bey whispered it to Jack's ear, Jack whipped out his phone and called a taxi.

"This evening will end very soon if you don't start enjoying yourself." He frowned before his call was connected.

Xiulan shifted around nervously. He wondered how to get out of the situation and take a subway instead. That would be a perfect chance to leave the group as well. An Ni still hasn't replied to his texts and calls so he's been taking the metro for a few days now.

"That's okay, yes, let's do that. Thank you very much." Jack hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. "They have only one car available at the moment. I bet they won't let all of us squeeze in, but they said the driver will come for those who stay behind." He explained quickly. The pressure in Xiulan's chest was suddenly lifted. He wouldn’t be surprised if wings grew on his back.

"Yellow Dragon isn't that far away, is it? I'll be faster if I take the subway rather than waiting for the taxi." Xiulan smiled and took a step back, ready to rush to the metro stop around the corner at any moment. He was about to risk it all.

"Bro, that's not necessary. Let me call another taxi company, there's no way all the cars in Beijing are occupied except one." Jack laughed nervously while searching the internet.

Jian Lan, who hasn't said much yet, noticed the strange behavior his senior showed. He remembered how his mood switched instantly when he offered Xiulan a ride back then. It only took him a moment before he connected the dots.

"I think that's a good idea! I'll take the subway with Wen Xiulan, so please go ahead and take the taxi. Besides, I bet we'll be there faster than you." Jian laughed and gave Jack an urging look. Jack interpreted it as Jian Lan's wish to be with Xiulan alone to bond. He backed down in an instant.

"If that's the case, what are you still doing here? And what was it, Jian bro? You want to race to see who is faster?" Jack mocked him but Jian Lan already grabbed Xiulan's hand and dragged him away. He was scared that the opening he created would close any moment.

Jack yelled something after them but they made a turn at the corner and didn't hear him anymore.

Jian Lan let go of Xiulan as soon as he realized what he was doing and they quietly bought the tickets. Once Jian figured out where the club was, they found the right platform and sat down on a bench.

After a long pause during which they just sat and stared at the wall, Xiulan finally spoke.

"Thank you." He really wasn't much of a conversation starter.

Jian Lan's face lit up. "No need to thank me, senior! You looked very uncomfortable and I wanted to help you out." He smiled and was all lively all of a sudden. His emotions were always over the place, he was like an open book begging to be read.

“I should also say this… I’m really not feeling well today. I promised to go but my exhaustion is hitting some limits I don’t want to push. I’ll just head home and call Jack on the way to apologize.” Xiulan was forced to explain his plan to leave.

“Ahhhh, I’m glad I’m not the only one.” His junior sighed in relief and leaned back on the bench, extending his legs forward. “I feel so tired I’m about to pass out, haha.” Jian Lan confessed and looked up at the subway ceiling. Xiulan only gave him a surprised look.

“Why didn’t you say anything then?” He asked even though he didn’t say anything either.

“Jack persuaded me by saying that this is a great opportunity to get closer to you. I didn’t want to miss that… now I have no reason to go if you’re bailing out.” He chuckled softly while staring into the dim light above him.

Xiulan shifted uncomfortably on his seat and turned to his junior. He was truly taken aback by the sudden change of mood, it was as if Jian Lan’s soul left his body. He was half-lying on the bench with a dreamy look.

“I also agreed to go so I could get to know you better…” Xiulan admitted and studied Jian’s face closer. His dark circles were showing despite the makeup he had and his eyes were red. His pale face looked somehow even paler in the weak light and his hair was all messy, it seemed like he aged a few years just after one week of workshops.

Only then it crossed Xiulan’s mind that others must feel even more exhausted than he was. He knew the whole process of filming, he had gone through it a few times already, but this was all new to the rest. They didn’t know what to expect and how much strength to save up to get by the day.

“Really? That’s kind of funny… I thought you don’t like me and want to avoid me whenever you have a chance…” Jian Lan muttered to himself and covered his eyes with his arm. His voice was getting weaker and quieter as he spoke.

After a short pause, Wen Xiulan decided to ignore that comment. He didn’t know how to respond because it was partly true, he wanted to keep a certain distance from his junior, but this applied to everyone, not only him.

“You’ve done a great job this week. I know it’s tiring but the filming will be even more stressful. Hang in there and… you can come to me if you have any problems.” Xiulan hesitated with the last part of the sentence but managed to say it without showing it. Seeing the poor state his junior was in, he couldn’t help it.

Jian Lan finally straightened up and looked him in the eye with confusion.

“The subway is here.” The arriving train caught his attention before he could react to Xiulan’s warm offer. He quickly stood up but regretted it a second later. The world around him spun and Jian stumbled, losing his balance. If it wasn’t for Xiulan’s quick reflexes, he would be lying flat on the ground.

Instead, Jian Lan found himself in the embrace of his senior. His surprisingly strong arms were wrapped around him firmly, allowing Jian to lean on him with all his weight.

“I’m very sorr-“ he wanted to push him away quickly and regain his balance but Xiulan squeezed him tighter.

“Stay still, your legs are still weak.” He ordered him sternly. It was then Jian Lan noticed how his whole body was shaking.