Silver Linings

Chapter Six - Golfing and Live Stream

Author's Notes:

Are you guys ready to find out what Gong Jun thought about the table reading? 

⊂(▀▿▀)つ❤

[28 May 2020]

⁂ GONG JUN ⁂

In a room one floor below but on the opposite wing in the hotel, Gong Jun was staring at two separate posts with golf photos that had been posted on Weibo throughout the day. Zhang Zhe Han was in too tight pants, in his opinion, and swinging a golf club at a driving range with the mountain as a backdrop.

Gong Jun was, of course, on one of his side-accounts that he used to troll through social media incognito. How early in the morning had Zhang Zhe Han gotten up in order to play golf a few hours before the table reading? And then taking off straight after to play some more? He put the phone on the wireless charger on the nightstand and stared up at the ceiling. Today hadn't gone as well as he had hoped and he was going through the events in his head trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Well, maybe not wrong, but things had felt off and he didn't like it.

Discounting the awkwardness of having to switch seats and then exchange WeChat in front of the entire production team, the morning had been pretty okay. He had found his co-lead to be very expressive and his character assessment very insightful. He had been impressed with the in-depth analysis that Zhang Zhe Han had done on their characters' relationship, and especially Zhou Zi Shu's connection with Wen Ke Xing. Thinking back, he could have sworn that Zhang Zhe Han had all but stared at him when he himself had spoken for the first time and provided his view on their relationship.

When they had stopped for lunch, he had approached Zhang Zhe Han, Sun Xi Lun and Zhou Ye to propose that they share a WeChat group. The teenage boy had been shy but had let Gong Jun scan his QR code with a subtle blush on his face. Zhou Ye on the other hand had scanned his code herself whilst trying to sport a cute smile. He had invited the three of them to a group, but not a single message had been sent in the chat at this point. He reminded himself that it had only been one day and that this awkwardness would change. It always did.

During the afternoon, he hadn't felt in character and he couldn't really pinpoint what it was but likely a combination of things. He had barely spoken two words to Zhang Zhe Han in the three days of production so far. And he still hadn't really gotten over all the things that Zhang Zhe Han had babbled into his ear when he was drunk. Even during the morning session, they hadn't spoken to each other, they had spoken out into the room because it was an open discussion. Their first actual interaction had ended up being when he'd reached out to touch his co-leads cheek. Though it was only for a split second, he still remembered how warm and soft that skin had felt. It had brought back flashes from the piggyback ride and his mind had halted a bit. His own pulse had quickened and he had been a bit embarrassed because he was sure that Zhang Zhe Han could feel it under his fingertips, considering the way that he had held his wrist. Somehow, it had all gone downhill from there.

He sighed and tried to relax back into the soft pillows, telling himself that it was just the first reading. They hadn't even been on set, nothing had been recorded and he hadn't even tried out the clothes yet. Though that bit wasn't far off. In just a few days they would have the promotional photoshoot and that would be the first time that he would see his wardrobe. Things would be fine. They just needed a bit more time together. Well, they needed to start interacting with each other and that would happen tomorrow.