Crossover Actors

Translator: Hua

Chapter 24

The ripples of the lake water were so gentle, which made Qu Yanting want to sink into the water and relax his mind and body. He didn’t like being with strangers, and it was inconvenient, therefore he booked the pool in advance.

He asked again: “What are you shouting for?”

Lu Wen didn’t expect that the person who booked the pool was Qu Yanting,  and suddenly wilted a little: “I want to swim too.”

The cold wind was blowing for so long at noon, Qu Yanting almost wanted to kick Lu Wen into the water, and wondered if Lu Wen had a reasonable explanation.

He said: “Let’s change clothes and go.”

Inside the swimming pool, the high dome was decorated with LED spotlights. Floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, a pool of deep blue water, the surface of the water was undulating, full of brilliance like broken silver.

Qu Yanting came in first and walked along the edge of the pool unhurriedly. As he walked, he pulled off the ribbon around his waist. The bathrobe fell loose and was thrown on the resting bed by him.

Lu Wen changed into a pair of swimming trunks. He wasn’t afraid of the cold, without the rest of his clothes, nor slippers, he walked in barefoot and caught a glimpse of the crow-blue silk bathrobe.

Qu Yanting had already entered the pool, shuttling in the azure blue water.

Stepping on the marble pool bank, Lu Wen has a panoramic view of the huge swimming pool. Qu Yanting was weaving through the water, dozens of meters away, half-submerged in the water, like a wisp of white tulle.

Lu Wen jumped into the water with one arm supporting the pool bank. The water temperature was slightly cool, diffusing all over his chest and abdomen. He moistened his shoulders and neck with a few handfuls of water, and after adapting, he stretched his body and swam forward.

There was only the sound of water in the huge space.

Lu Wen and Qu Yanting were far away from each other. The two swam back and forth in two separated lines, as if they would never meet.

After half an hour, Lu Wen could not remember how many laps he swam, then he stopped at one end and stood firmly in the water. He wiped his face and flicked away the water droplets on his short hair like a dog. He rested his elbows and back on the shore of the pool, leaning lazily.

Looking around, he really felt helpless because of Qu Yanting.

The whole avenue booking was rather too thorough, not even a waiter was around.

In the distance, he couldn’t see that person clearly. He only saw a stream of water gradually splashing over. Lu Wen stared at him without blinking, tapping his fingers on the marble surface and quietly timing. After nine seconds, the water splash came to this end.

The speed is good, he commented silently.

Several meters away from Lu Wen, Qu Yanting “crashed” out of the water.

His body floated slightly on the water surface. When he emerged from the water, he raised his head. His ink-colored hair was gathered on his head, the tip of his chin, and his Adam apple, forming a beautiful arc.

Qu Yanting was dripping with water everywhere, forehead, temples, and his sunken collarbone. Droplets of water were flowing on the cold fair skin, refracting the light, like swimming through the Milky way.

Lu Wen’s palm clasped the edge of the pool bank, heating the cold marble floor. He suddenly removed his hand, and with a bang, he touched the drink tray on the pool bank.

Qu Yanting heard the sound, and finally looked over toward Lu Wen with a pair of light and moist watery eyebrows.

Lu Wen was at a loss, and looked away abruptly. He went to look at the glass window, pretending to admire the night of the city outside, but he only saw their reflection on the window.

Qu Yanting coughed, covering his mouth, his voice muffled.

There was mineral water in the tray. Lu Wen took a bottle, half swam and half walked to Qu Yanting, stopped half a meter away, unscrewed the bottle cap, and handed it over.

Qu Yanting took a sip and the cough stopped. There was no sound of splashing around. In this quiet and empty space, he watched Lu Wen silently.

Within three seconds, Lu Wen was panic-stricken: “What?”

There was a faint echo between the words, and Qu Yanting said, “Don’t you want to say something?”

Lu Wen raised his eyebrows. The other person chose to play it cool, but he was bewildered in his heart. What does Qu Yanting mean? Should he say something?

After pondering for a moment, he found a suitable topic for the occasion: “I saw that you are good at breaststroke, do you know butterfly stroke?”

Qu Yanting said: “Yes.”

Lu Wen tried to mobilize the atmosphere: “Do you want to compete for a lap?”

Qu Yanting said: “No.”

Lu Wen hesitatingly said, “Oh”, and the topic of swimming was brought to the end in two sentences. He didn’t want to think about new ones anymore, besides, he had a really curious question.

“You…” he said, “Why didn’t you go to the Group B dinner party?”

Qu Yanting replied: “Too many people.”

Lu Wen was dismissed by three simple words. He didn’t know if it was the truth, and asked again: “Why did you book the whole swimming pool?”

Qu Yanting replied: “ditto.”

Lu Wen said: “Then why did you let me in?”

Qu Yanting exhaled helplessly, he already regretted letting Lu Wen in. With the mineral water still in his hand, he replied: “It’s good to have a water server when my throat is uncomfortable.”

It’s really impossible to talk, Lu Wen said: “Ok, ok, ok, you drink, you drink more.”

Qu Yanting tightened the cap and put the mineral water on the bank: “I don’t want to drink mineral water. Go to the water bar and bring me a cup of oolong tea.”

Lu Wen frowned at how he reached out for a yard after taking an inch. In order to repay Qu Yanting’s drama teaching, he nodded and agreed. But in order to save face, he said: “It just happens that I want to drink dragon fruit juice, so I will bring you a cup of tea in passing.”

Lu Wen turned back and supported the counter with his hands. The water droplets sliding down the slightly arched shoulder blades, and the thin and tough muscles on the back highlighting its shape.

Behind him, Qu Yanting didn’t feel better after ordering him around. Instead, he felt stuffy. Lu Wen pushed himself out of the water and the splashing sound rang out. He couldn’t help but take advantage of the situation to ask.

“Did you forget something at noon?”

Lu Wen’s movements stalled, not expecting Qu Yan Ting to bring it up.

But how should he answer, saying that he had not forgotten, he had not missed the appointment, he held a persimmon all the way, and even foolishly took first place on WeRun1WeRun is a feature in WeChat that tracks your daily step count. There’s a leaderboard showing the user and their friends fitness status..

Then, he was cut off by Ruan Feng.

Qu Yanting asked more specifically: “Why did you stand me up?”

Lu Wen took a deep breath and replied, “I missed my noon nap.”

Afraid that Qu Yanting would say anything more, Lu Wen propped up the pool bank, and quickly headed to the water bar.

Oolong tea must be freshly brewed, fire dragon juice must be freshly squeezed. His mobile phone was in the changing room locker, so Lu Wen waited quietly, and listened to the two men at the next table talking about real estate, debenture, and finally health care.

He drank the juice first, and returned to the swimming pool with a cup of oolong tea, just like holding a big persimmon to the lake, and they were all given it to Qu Yanting.

In the past ten minutes, the matter that happened this noon should have passed. Lu Wen shouted casually and searched for Qu Yanting’s figure in the echo.

No one responded.

There were no waves on the deep blue water surface. He fixed his eyes to the center of the pool. Under the glimmering water, Qu Yanting sank motionlessly, like stagnant clouds.

Lu Wen shouted: “Teacher Qu?”

The next moment he lifted his leg, his heart was instantly flustered: “Teacher Qu!”

Lu Wen threw away the oolong tea and ran along the bank of the pool. Plop! He rushed over and plunged into the swimming pool, vigorously raised his arms, and shouted as he swam: “Teacher Qu! Qu Yanting!”

“That person surnamed Qu!”

Swimming to the center, Lu Wen dived to the bottom of the pool and reached his arms towards Qu Yanting.

Qu Yanting held his breath, and was wrapped in water from head to toe. The light weightlessness relaxed his day-long tense body.

Suddenly, he was held by a pair of big hands, and then a warm and strong body pressed against him. The other party gripped his waist, hugged him tightly, and pulled him out of the water.

Qu Yanting squinted his eyes because of the dazzling light. His cheeks were scratched by Lu Wen’s short hair, making him feel itchy.

He was tightly bound by an iron arm and dragged to the bank. He was still dizzy and his body suddenly lightened. Lu Wen lifted him up and put him on the marble shore.

Afraid of him falling down and knocking his head, Lu Wen was still in the water. He first raised his hand and held the back of Qu Yanting’s head. At this time, he was met with Qu Yanting’s clear eyes.

Lu Wen was scared to death: “You…are awake?”

Qu Yanting’s face was calm, his calves hanging in the water, his knees touching Lu Wen’s… the upper part was his chest, and the lower part was his abdominal muscles. He nodded with water dripping from his chin.

The palm covering the back of his head slowly moved away, and supported the shore to surround him. Confirming that he would not fall, Lu Wen glared at him and asked, “What are you doing all by yourself?”

Qu Yanting said: “I—”

“Do you know how dangerous it is?!” Lu Wen interrupted mercilessly, with a roar.

He had forgotten both of their identities at the moment, he only remembered the fright he had just received. Lu Wen exclaimed: “Teacher Qu, Screenwriter Qu, do you have a common safety knowledge? Where did you learn to swim? Who taught you to sink under the water alone without moving!”

Qu Yanting explained: “I just want to relax.”

Lu Wen raised his volume: “Not as relaxed as you! In case of leg cramps, how can you come up? You’re going straight to f-cking heaven!”

“Booking the whole place? Not even a lifeguard is left around!”

“There’s no one to save you if there’s an accident! Fortunately I came back in time!”

“F-ck, did you deliberately make me leave? You can’t relax when there’s someone around?!”

In his lifetime, Qu Yanting was scolded by a star for the first time. He had a headache and said, “Okay, I’m fine.”

Lu Wen, with a fiendish look on his face, said: “Fine What fine!”

Qu Yanting said: “Don’t worry.”

“Who’s worried about you!” Lu Wen exploded again, “I am angry! I tell you, my blood pressure and heart are not good, and I lack calcium! It scared me out of my mind…..it’s a work injury!”

Qu Yanting was helpless. He was afraid that Lu Wen would attract the waiter if he shouted again, so he held out his hand, attempting to press on Lu Wen’s forehead in the same way he coaxed his own cat.

“Stop yelling.” He said, “Is your throat not hurt ah.”

Lu Wen was dumbfounded for a moment, only staring at his eyes.

It seemed to work, so Qu Yanting rubbed his head slowly and said in a low voice, “Thank you.”

Lu Wen’s tumbling mood stopped abruptly, and he couldn’t say a word. Qu Yanting said “thank you” to him. How could he let the other party say it first after he had been holding back these two words for a whole day?

He didn’t know what to do.

Lu Wen dodged, moved two steps to the side, and leaped onto the pool bank: “I won’t swim anymore.”

Qu Yanting was also tired of tossing and turning. He originally came to relax, but it became very stimulating instead.

He put on his bathrobe and followed behind. When he looked up, he was almost dazzled by Lu Wen’s long, straight legs, smooth neck and shoulders, and slightly convex arms and waist. The water droplets stroked every inch his muscles, then dripping down to form a water trail.

Two people entered their respective locker rooms, took a shower, and got dressed.

Qu Yanting’s hair was a little longer, so it took more time to blow dry. When he walked out to the corridor, Lu Wen’s voice became clearer and clearer.

“…There are too many potential safety hazards here. Under no circumstances can there be without a lifeguard. Oh, he said to book the whole place, not clearing the whole place. And you can’t just let him do anything just because he paid2Lu Wen kinda sounds like a Karen here xD…”

The waiter nodded again and again: “It’s our negligence.”

Lu Wen was wrapped in a velvet bathrobe, with his hands tucked in the small embroidered pockets, as if akimbo. When Qu Yanting came over, he closed his mouth, pretending that he hadn’t let out a fart.

Qu Yanting cooperated with his performance: “Let’s go.”

The two silently went back to the 62nd floor. There was no communication during the whole process, as if they were a little allergic to each other. Arriving at his room, Qu Yanting habitually glanced at the wall vase. Since that day, he had a psychological shadow and couldn’t help but pay attention to the daily flower color.

Each turned his back and opened his own door.

After soaking in cold water for so long, he didn’t get to drink the oolong tea, as a result Qu Yanting’s throat was itchy, and he coughed in a low voice.

Lu Wen gripped the doorknob for a moment and broke the silence: “Wait a minute.”

Qu Yanting waited. He saw Lu Wen swiping his room card, then ran out in a few seconds, holding a big ripe persimmon in his hand.

“For me?” Qu Yanting asked.

Lu Wen replied: “My agent said that his mother eats persimmons to moisten the lungs and relieve coughs.”

Qu Yanting caught it. It was heavy with the temperature of the other party’s palm.

After tossing about, Lu Wen finally sent it out. He wasn’t reconciled and couldn’t help but retorted: “Actually, I didn’t stand you up.”

Qu Yanting: “Then you…”

It was a bit awkward to mention Ruan Feng, so Lu Wen lied: “I fainted in the grove.”

Qu Yanting waited for so long in vain. It was worthy of the song lyrics “For you, I suffered the cold wind”. Hearing Lu Wen’s reason, he wasn’t as unhappy as he had imagined. He smiled convincingly: “You can really come up with silly new tricks everyday.”

After laughing, he asked: “Why were you looking for me?”

It’s very late, so Lu Wen made a long story short: “You taught me the drama, I know all about it, and I want to thank you.”

Qu Yanting only reacted after a few seconds. As far as he was concerned, this incident was forgotten in the past, and he didn’t take it to heart at all. He held the persimmon and said, “Thank you for the gift.”

After saying “good night” to each other, Qu Yan Ting went back to his room, took a spoon and went straight to the sofa and sat down.

Pulling out the stalk of the persimmon, he dug in and stopped suddenly.

Eating alone was a bit wasteful. Qu Yanting turned on the projection and looked for a movie while eating and watching. When the opening music sounded, he even knew what the subtitles rolled over every second, because he had seen them countless times.

The title appeared, and the words “Echoes of Heaven3The movie ticket that Father Ye bought for Ye Shan on the day of his car accident.” were impressive.

Qu Yanting took a bite of persimmons, supported by Lu Wen’s blessing, this time when watching, he felt sweet.

The author has something to say: If it weren’t for calcium deficiency, Lu Wen could grow up to two meters. (Reminder: Echoes of Heaven appeared in Chapter 22)

Hua: Semi-hiatus until I finish my other 2 projects.

1WeRun is a feature in WeChat that tracks your daily step count. There’s a leaderboard showing the user and their friends fitness status.2Lu Wen kinda sounds like a Karen here xD3The movie ticket that Father Ye bought for Ye Shan on the day of his car accident.