Scumbag Actor Screwup System

Chapter 22 - Does this count as moshang?

Airplane was a nerd like Cucumber, but unlike the latter, he spent a lot of his hard earned cash on merch. There weren't any cheap things in his apartment, oh no. Only fancy originals of the figures of the characters in his novels, his favorite anime waifus, and one huge dakimakura of a realistic Zakharov photoshopped into Mobei Jun, custom made for himself. He'd even stuffed it with a smaller pillow at the crotch area so he looked about as hung as he really was.

The apartment was chaotic but not dirty, only full of notes, some diagrams with character names, spread around and no surface without at least one or two nerdy items.

"Bro, your house seems more virgin than mine and that's saying a lot," said Shen Yuan, peeking into the bedroom. There was an official "Proud Demon Immortal Way" bed cover and the lamp had a very old Kuroshitsuji lamp shade, not to mention all the many, many figures.

"Hey I've had sex!" he protested opening the door more widely and starting to take off his clothes. Shen Yuan looked away.

"In here? Who would ever- oh I don't really want to know."

"Some day I'll bring Zakharov Jianjun here and let him fuck me," replied the drunk little guy very proud in his Naruto boxers.

"I think you'd better not. You've slept with him already, haven't you?"

"Of course not, it's not like I can go knock on someone's door and ask for sex. I was just bluffing that time when you cruelly kicked me out," he said, tossing an oversized Luo Bighe t-shirt to Shen Yuan.

"I'm not wearing this. And I thought you two got along? I saw you sitting with him the other day."

"I do sit with him. I bring him water too, but we never really talk. Or rather, I talk and he looks at me as if I were some sort of insect. It's really hot," he had a goofy grin on his face.

"You need therapy," said Shen Yuan, sighing, "do you have any shorts or something?"

"Why, are you scared that if I see your ass it'll make its way onto the screen? It might even if I don't see it!"

Shen Yuan rubbed his forehead, he'd drunk too much to go about arguing with a horny author so he just locked himself inside the bathroom and changed. By the time he came out Airplane was asleep on his bed, face down, legs sticking out. Shen Yuan just took the couch.

On his phone there were quite a few congratulatory messages he'd missed before. One of the last ones was from the recently unblocked Xu Xiaosi.

"It's past midnight, why are you still awake?"

"I was practicing some lines. And you, shizun?"

He got up and took a photo of Airplane's feet so that they looked huge and ugly.

"I am sleeping over at a friend's."

"I didn't know you had a foot fetish! Are you really sleeping with a man that isn't me? I'll get jealous! Oh but let me send you a picture of my feet, I'm sure you'll like them better."

He did send it. They were cute. Not an ugly bone in his body.

Shen Yuan wanted to write that Qinghua's feet were his main erection killers but instead he answered to the other part.

"I've slept in the same bed as other men before. It means nothing." There, that'd show him how straight he was. Little asshole thought he was special.

"That means we can sleep together again then! As friends, of course, since it means nothing."

Shen Yuan felt the heat rising on his face. The. Little. Bastard.

"I have no reason to share a bed with you. Now I'll go sleep with my pal, good night!"

He put down the phone and went to lay down on the couch. There was enough room on the bed for two, but he was quite self conscious now. It was too nice to feel another person's scent and warmth, as he'd learned from getting close to Xu Tengfei. He really needed a girlfriend ASAP.

The phone buzzed again and he ignored it, drifting to sleep as his imaginary girlfriend grew body hair and a wide, masculine chest.

Luckily, the day after, he remembered nothing of his dreams.

While he was trying to get himself some coffee he checked his phone again. Xiaosi had sent a selfie in bed which he promptly ignored. His cousin on the other hand had sent a long and nice message detailing their play watching plans.

"Good morning shizun! I hope I'm not waking you on your day off," it started, as if his phone's soft buzz could compete with Airplane's snores, "the play we're watching is on the XX of XX, that's next week on sunday. Would you rather meet there or should I pick you up? I can borrow my uncle's car. I'd also like to take you out for dinner after if that's fine with you. My treat since you're nice enough to come with me to the play. Please let me know what works best for you!"

It was kind of cute how he'd turned a WhatsApp message into a whole e-mail. Shen Yuan was older but this kid typed a bit like a grandpa.

"I'd rather we meet there. Thanks!" He added a cute Shen Qingqiu sticker.

Xu Tengfei replied immediately with a Luo Binghe sticker bowing.

In a silly impulse, Shen Yuan sent him a selfie, framed from his mouth down, showing the Luo Binghe shirt he'd borrowed from Airplane.

It took young Tengfei some five minutes to answer, of which his status was set to "typing" for eight ninths of the time. Shen Yuan started preparing some rice while looking at the phone and expecting another email length message.

"That's a very nice shirt. I really like it. And your legs look really nice as well."

Shen Yuan's face suddenly felt very hot. He hadn't even thought about his legs being visible. Did the kid think he was flirting? He surely thought he was gay. Oh no, what had he done?

The nex message was a photo of Xu Tengfei, in a Shen Qingqiu shirt, muscular legs showing. He looked fucking hot.

"Don't send such pictures so recklessly, what if they make their way onto social media?"

"I trust you, shizun."

Shen Yuan just left his phone on the counter, to cool off. Xu Tengfei wrote again.

"Thank you for trusting me as well."

Fuck. How do you answer that he'd just not thought about it before sending the photo? It felt like kicking a puppy.

"Just don't let me down," he replied after some consideration. Distant but not puppy bashing.

"I won't. I'll see you on sunday"

"Until then."

He sat down and breathed a bit, then looked at the rice cooker. Better finish making breakfast and not think too much. Thinking too much only brought trouble.

When Airplane woke up and started eating, sweet denial had kicked in, and the worries were all gone. 

Next Chapter - Chapter 23 - Not a date