Chapter 22: The Final Day

Early the next morning, Shang Yin discovered that Su Shengxin was still curled up against his chest.

As soon as he moved, the other man tightened his embrace, holding on firmly.

Shang Yin had no choice but to lie still. Moving with extreme caution, he pulled away slightly to observe the sleeping face before him.

The eyelashes were long, like raven feathers, casting faint, delicate shadows.

There was not a single blemish on his skin; Shang Yin felt that Su Shengxin’s elaborate skincare routine was entirely redundant.

Time passed. Sunlight from the vacation villa pierced through the curtains, casting the patterns of the drapes onto the floor like ripples dancing on the surface of a lake. Shang Yin noticed the eyelids of the man in his arms fluttering; he was finally waking up.

Shang Yin lifted the other man’s chin and kissed him. He parted those lips, slipped past the teeth, and enveloped the tip of his tongue.

Still dazed, Su Shengxin instinctively responded, even reaching out his arms to wrap them unconsciously around Shang Yin’s neck.

The lingering kiss lasted for a long while.

When Su Shengxin opened his eyes, he was startled. He hurriedly pushed Shang Yin away, asking, "...You?"

Shang Yin’s face remained perfectly calm: "You were the one who burrowed into my arms."

Su Shengxin’s hands were still braced against Shang Yin’s chest, but his expression was deeply skeptical; after all, in the business world, Shang Yin’s daily routine involved playing tricks on others.

"Don't believe me?" Shang Yin curled his lips slightly and scratched Su Shengxin’s chin. "Why don't you look behind you and see how much space there is? Then look behind me. You kept burrowing into my arms, pushing with your head, until I was backed all the way to the edge of the bed. If I had backed up any further, I would have fallen off."

"...???" Su Shengxin looked back. Sure enough, the other half of the bed was empty, the sheets messy with the impression of a body, while they were both huddled on Shang Yin’s side, right at the very edge.

Shang Yin’s mind worked too quickly; sometimes, Su Shengxin truly could not win an argument against him.

Su Shengxin sat up.

Because he was so close to Shang Yin’s side, even with his height of over 1.8 meters, his feet couldn't reach the floor. He had to use his hands and feet to shuffle awkwardly until he finally reached the edge of the bed.

Shang Yin chuckled again.

After finishing their morning wash, the two returned to work on the courtyard.

Thanks to the massage from the previous night, Su Shengxin felt a slight ache in his legs, but it was bearable, and he could continue working.

They scattered gravel, spread wood chips, and inserted two small windmills between the two flower beds. By placing a long bench in front of the window, their side was essentially finished.

Then, just as they had discussed before going to sleep the night before, they went to help the Great Director and the Film Queen.

The director and the actress were pleasantly surprised and thanked them profusely. Shang Yin simply said, "Su Shengxin is such a good person."

Su Shengxin glanced at him, knowing this was a response to his own words from the previous night: "Actually, I’m not really such a good person."

Shang Yin was still affirming him.

After saying this, Shang Yin joked, "However, this 'good person' chose me, a nationally recognized villain and unscrupulous merchant."

Su Shengxin found it incredible. "Villain and unscrupulous merchant? I think you sound quite proud of yourself when you say those words?"

"Average," Shang Yin smiled. "What I’m proudest of is being married to Teacher Su."

Su Shengxin went silent.

Even though he knew this sweet talk was just for the show, his chest still felt a slight numbness.

He thought to himself, self-deprecatingly: It seems I really do need others to acknowledge me, like me, and be proud of who I am.

He couldn't help but look at Shang Yin again.

...

Later, the couples ate the final meal of "The Promise of Three Lifetimes." The guests were reluctant to part, the sound of clinking glasses never ceasing. They took turns sharing their nervousness before arriving, the joy of getting to know one another, the delight in discovering how well they clicked, their mutual appreciation, and gratitude. They spoke of how observing others' ways of interacting had taught them so much, things that would help them walk through life better with their own partners. Each couple concluded by saying, "If we offended anyone during these two weeks, I hope you can forgive us."

Among them, it was actually Su Shengxin who received the most "appreciation" and "gratitude."

In the end, as they wished each other well, Su Shengxin drank quite a bit.

At the very end of the meal, the producer handed out cards to everyone and said, "There is one more part to this 'dinner.' I would like to ask each of you to write down your reflections on participating in our show. Five years from today, our production team will mail this card to your partner. By then, perhaps your relationship will have improved, or perhaps you will be facing a crisis... But regardless of the outcome, I think that upon seeing this card again and remembering these two weeks, you will all have some different insights. You might think: 'Ah, I was so naive then; my thoughts on love and marriage are much more mature now.' Or perhaps: 'I was so pure then, and that state is worth cherishing for a lifetime.' You might feel you loved him/her so much back then that your current love seems shallow, or you might realize that compared to now, you didn't love him/her enough back then, and your love is deeper now. We hope this show can continue to bring you good luck years from now. At the same time, a confession that spans five years and crosses time is quite romantic, isn't it?"

The words moved everyone present.

The producer promised, "No one from our production team will read these cards. Once you finish writing, we will seal the envelopes directly and keep them safe. You can confess to your heart's content."

"..." Su Shengxin held his fountain pen, hesitating for a long time.

He didn't actually know where the future would lead for him and Shang Yin after today.

Stripped of the ambiguous atmosphere, away from the psychological suggestion that "we are a married couple" and "we are deeply in love," could they really "be together"?

He didn't really know what Shang Yin’s intentions were.

In fact, he didn't even really know what his own intentions were.

Was two weeks enough to decide a lifetime?

But the tremors in his heart, time and time again, were real.

So real, so vivid—for the first time, he felt a shiver run through him.

He pondered for a long, long time. It wasn't until the other couples had finished writing and sealed their cards that Su Shengxin finally put pen to paper.

He only wrote one sentence:

[Shang Yin, during those two weeks on the show, I truly felt my heart stir; I truly thought about "forever."]

He didn't use the address "Mr. Shang," but called him directly by his name.

After finishing, Su Shengxin folded the card, smiled, and handed it to the producer. When his gaze returned, it tangled with Shang Yin’s for a second.

...

The final farewell event for the entire season of "The Promise of Three Lifetimes" was a ball—specifically, a masquerade ball.

"You guys are really trying too hard..." Su Shengxin asked the producer. "At the very end of the show, you're still thinking about 'highlighting the sponsor's lipstick'? Just to highlight the lipstick, you’re covering our eyes and noses?"

The producer laughed heartily. "Caught by you, you clever thing."

Before the dance, outside the ballroom, the producer gave Su Shengxin an exquisite golden mask.

The mask covered the area around the eyes, revealing them, with a rather intricate design—the patterns were all filigree, faintly revealing his skin tone, with one side normal and the other decorated with abstract wing-like ornaments.

Su Shengxin had a high nasal bridge, so beneath the mask was his prominent, straight nose, and below that, his lips, painted with the sponsor’s product.

Shang Yin, meanwhile, was given a black mask, oppressive and dark, like a phantom from the Middle Ages.

The two looked at each other, their eyes subtle and deep, locking onto one another.

"This thing," Su Shengxin thought, "can really prevent others from identifying the person wearing it? It’s too absurd. Movies seem to stretch the truth a bit."

When seven o'clock arrived, the farewell ball began on time.

The producer had wanted their pair to follow a very "alluring" route, claiming the audience would go crazy for it. He even hired a pair of professional male dancers to demonstrate some moves for Su Shengxin and Shang Yin. However, the problem was that after watching, Su Shengxin felt the designed moves were so brazen he couldn't accept them. For the first time since joining the show, he politely expressed his objection.

The moves involved twisting the body like a swimming fish into an 'S' shape, stroking one's own side profile with the right hand, sitting on Shang Yin’s leg while he was positioned between Su Shengxin's knees, and so on...

At the time, Su Shengxin said sincerely, "I'm sorry. I really can't do it. It's a bit too much."

Although almost everyone said Su Shengxin was alluring, he felt that his way of being alluring was not like that.

The producer hated that he was so unyielding, but respected his opinion. In the end, only a small portion of one dance track was arranged with a few movements.

As the music started, each couple walked from the sides of the dance floor to their designated spots and took each other's hands.

The focus of the event was naturally the professional dancers, who stood in the very center.

The show tried to design unique highlights for every couple—throughout the season, there had been segments for playing instruments, performing scripts, showing athletic ability, and dancing ballroom.

As for Shang Yin and Su Shengxin, because they weren't considered "bold" or "eye-catching" enough, they were placed in a corner.

The beginning of the music was soft and slow, but the pianist and the lead dancer, along with the female-female couple, were incredibly sexy from the very start.

Following the rhythm, Jiang Wen caressed Xiahou Miao’s face, held the back of her neck, or wrapped her arms around her slender waist, swaying her body to the music. Jiang Wen had previously worn designer couture shirts, but now in a gown, everyone realized her arms were covered in thin, toned muscles—incredibly healthy and beautiful.

Shang Yin and Su Shengxin just watched each other quietly.

Because this was their last hour of "pretending to be a couple."

They still couldn't determine where the two of them would head after "The Promise of Three Lifetimes" ended.

The atmosphere between them wasn't particularly sexy; instead, it had a peaceful warmth.

One rested a hand on the other's shoulder, the other held the first's waist, and then, at some moment, they secretly sucked on each other's lips in the corner.

Under the cover of the show, they secretly kissed each other once more.

They thought no one would pay attention to them.

But the lead dancer, moving with ease, spotted them immediately. While dancing, she secretly gestured to the cameraman, pointing a finger toward the secretly kissing Su Shengxin.

The cameraman immediately turned the lens toward Shang Yin and Su Shengxin. Su Shengxin didn't know, and Shang Yin saw it but pretended not to notice.