HIM Chapter 23: Why Did You Bring Flowers
The next day, Bo Qin went to rehearse for the evening gala. The organizers had prepared a private dressing room for him. As soon as he opened the door with the schedule in hand, a teasing voice rang out:
"Good morning, superstar!"
Bo Qin grinned, lifted his chin slightly, and walked over to bump fists with Li Qingyang.
"Who are you mocking now?"
Li Qingyang made space for him and pointed at the screen, saying,
"This stage design is badass. Very high-end aesthetic. Whose idea was it?"
Bo Qin leaned back against the chair, smiled, and didn’t say anything.
Li Qingyang lightly punched him,
"You, huh? Feeling smug again?"
Li Qingyang was basically Bo Qin’s go-to choreographer. Their artistic vision aligned perfectly, and they’d worked together for years. They hadn’t seen each other since Bo Qin’s last concert — Bo Qin had been busy with work, and Li Qingyang with competitions. Now that they finally reunited, they were pumped, immediately diving into practice.
After the intense rehearsal, drenched in sweat, Bo Qin was told by Xiao Zhu that He Xizhou had called earlier.
Bo Qin slapped his forehead,
"I totally forgot."
He quickly grabbed his phone,
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
Xiao Zhu replied,
"Mr. He heard you were rehearsing and didn’t want to disturb you, so he hung up."
Bo Qin had just told He Xizhou yesterday that he’d return to Fengjiang today. He felt a bit nervous calling back. Seeing his rush, Xiao Zhu handed him a clean towel.
The first call went unanswered. Bo Qin wiped his forehead with the towel slung around his neck.
Li Qingyang raised an eyebrow, silently asking what was going on, but Bo Qin ignored him and made a second call. They both sat down on the couch.
The call was picked up halfway through the ringtone.
He Xizhou’s deep voice came through,
"Hello?"
Bo Qin froze for a moment, then heard He Xizhou ask,
"Busy just now?"
"Uh, yeah." Bo Qin scratched his head.
"Sorry, I lost track of time while rehearsing. It’s so late now, I can’t make it back."
"No problem," He Xizhou replied. Bo Qin could hear keyboard sounds in the background.
"Still rehearsing at this hour? Have you eaten?"
His gentle tone made Bo Qin relax. He leaned into the couch lazily,
"I had dinner. Might grab a late-night snack later. Are you still working?"
"Yeah, handling some things," He Xizhou paused, then added,
"And waiting for you."
Bo Qin froze again. Li Qingyang raised an eyebrow, quietly asking,
"Your arranged-marriage partner?"
Bo Qin ignored him and didn’t respond to He Xizhou’s words, choosing instead to change the subject:
"Alright, get some rest soon."
It seemed like He Xizhou chuckled.
"Should I come pick you up the day after tomorrow?"
Bo Qin didn’t think it was necessary — it was a waste of time. But in the end, he said,
"Sure. If I’m not there when you arrive, contact Xiao Zhu."
Bo Qin looked down, a bead of sweat falling from the tip of his nose to the floor.
"I’m hanging up. Sleep early. Good night."
Li Qingyang hooked an arm around his neck,
"Come on, what’s going on with you and your arranged partner?"
Bo Qin scrolled through his phone,
"Nothing’s going on. It’s just a business marriage."
"Bo Qin, tell me," Li Qingyang asked,
"Are you really straight?"
"What else would I be?" Bo Qin didn’t even look up.
"You’ve never been in a real relationship. How do you know you’re straight? Did that whole thing with Xiao Chen give you trauma or what?"
"Tsk," Bo Qin said,
"Too many questions. I don’t want to talk about this. Let’s either get back to choreography or change the topic."
Li Qingyang laughed and ruffled his hair.
"Damn, such a bad temper. Alright, back to rehearsal."
The day before the gala, Bo Qin learned that Jiang Rong would also be performing.
He’d just finished rehearsal and stepped offstage when he heard the news. The opening of his song included two lines of Kunqu opera, requiring him to play the sanxian live. He’d been going back and forth with the sound engineer because he wasn’t satisfied with the audio pickup.
Drenched in sweat and wearing workout clothes, Bo Qin calmly said,
"I don’t remember seeing his name on the invite list."
Chen-jie replied,
"Added last minute. He’s doing a warm-up performance mid-show."
Bo Qin took off his in-ear monitor and wiped his sweat with the wet towel Xiao Zhu handed him. Everyone in the industry knew he and Jiang Rong didn’t get along. Back when Bo Qin wasn’t popular, he was often forced to share a stage with Jiang Rong. But once he became famous, event organizers made sure to keep them apart.
He finished wiping his face and asked,
"Where’s the drum I requested? Has it arrived?"
"It’s here. Just let me know when you need it," Xiao Zhu said, handing him a bottle of water.
Bo Qin downed more than half of it, then said,
"Now. Let’s run through the whole routine with the drums."
After rehearsal, Bo Qin thanked the crew and got into his RV. He had a brand event in City H that afternoon and needed to fly there.
He took off his hoodie and changed into a clean T-shirt. Chen-jie had just arrived from City S. Once he was changed, she got on the RV and asked,
"Want me to talk to the organizers?"
"What’s the point?" Bo Qin glanced at her.
"Everyone knows I don’t get along with Jiang Rong. Respect goes both ways. If they’re doing this, talking won’t help."
He opened another bottle of water and added,
"Our contract’s almost up anyway. Not likely to renew."
Chen-jie was checking her email.
"Tomorrow’s the official performance — and it’s live-streamed. Announcing him last minute like this? Fans are confused, no one’s prepared. What’s their angle?"
Bo Qin was writing a song on his laptop.
"What’s he performing? Isn’t he trained in classical arts?"
"Singing. He’s doing Rouge (‘Yanzhi Kou’)."
Bo Qin blanked out for a second.
"...What song is that?"
Chen-jie looked it up.
"It’s the theme from that costume idol drama he’s in."
Bo Qin chuckled and ignored the topic, returning to his composition.
His performance would include two songs: a new one titled Nostalgia (《望鄉》) and a previously released single.
The opening of Nostalgia involved playing the sanxian while singing Kunqu opera. Bo Qin originally wanted to go full stage makeup, but his team and the organizers rejected the idea.
"You can’t cover your face completely. Find another way to express it — your face is your brand," Chen-jie told him.
By mid-show, Bo Qin was in the dressing room. He casually strummed the sanxian. The Nanyin style had unique techniques and notation, but Bo Qin had studied Southern Pipa (Nanpa), which was similar.
Tony was crouched in front of him spraying facial mist. Bo Qin tilted his face upward, eyes on the screen. The intermission had ended — Jiang Rong walked onstage in a bright red traditional outfit with shoulder-length hair, holding a mic.
The camera showed his full face. At that moment, Tony’s face darkened. His hand slipped, spraying mist all over Bo Qin’s face.
"Are you fucking kidding me," Tony said,
"This guy completely copied your concert look."
Bo Qin quickly handed the sanxian to Xiao Zhu and dabbed his face with a tissue.
"You sprayed me in the face, calm down."
He glanced back at the screen. With makeup and hairstyle, Jiang Rong now resembled him by at least 70%. A popular female idol walked onto stage wearing the same costume style. Bo Qin had met her while promoting his new single on a variety show.
They held hands and walked toward the center of the stage, giving it a weird wedding vibe.
Bo Qin calmly observed Jiang Rong’s vocal technique and said,
"This lip-syncing wasn’t rehearsed well. Look closely and you’ll spot the slip-ups."
He smiled at Tony and said gently,
"Don’t be mad. Let’s do my makeup."
Tony didn’t respond, just started prepping. Bo Qin asked Xiao Zhu to hand him the sanxian again. Just as he strummed a few notes, Tony said,
"This is disgusting."
"You watch — there’ll be a ton of gossip headlines today. No matter how amazing your performance is, Jiang Rong and that actress will leech off your hype."
Bo Qin said,
"Can’t help it. We do look alike."
"Bullshit. You’re on a whole other level," Tony rolled his eyes.
"Only his eyes are similar. Even his nose job was based on your features. Calling him 'delicate' is an insult to the word."
Bo Qin chuckled,
"Don’t be mad. It’s bad for your health."
He added,
"Zhu Guan is experienced. He’s got tons of ways to deal with Jiang Rong."
Xiao Zhu knocked on the door,
"Ge, Mr. He just messaged you."
Bo Qin hadn’t said anything yet, but Tony immediately blurted,
"Oh, fuck."
Bo Qin let him in and scolded,
"Language."
"What do you mean? I’m about to meet He Xizhou in person. You don’t know how hot your husband is?"
Bo Qin took the phone,
"Watch your mouth. Who’s my husband?"
He opened the message: He Xizhou had arrived at the venue.
"You don’t know he’s the ultimate heartthrob? Both tops and bottoms go crazy for him," Tony said, examining Bo Qin’s face.
"And you? You’ve got all the tops drooling over you. The bottoms? They hate your guts."
Bo Qin sneezed.
"What kind of logic is that?"
Tony just laughed and didn’t explain.
"Foundation needs to be a bit darker or the stage lights will wash you out."
When He Xizhou arrived, Bo Qin had just finished his makeup. Hearing the knock, he immediately knew it was him.
Bo Qin had a throat lozenge in his mouth.
"Come in."
He Xizhou was fresh from work — charcoal gray suit, broad shoulders, slim waist, perfect tie, hair styled to perfection with a few strands falling over his forehead. And in his arms: a massive bouquet of blue roses.
For a second, Bo Qin couldn’t tell which was more stunning — the flowers or the man.
Everyone in the room stood up immediately. Bo Qin smiled, set down the sanxian, and said,
"Why’d you bring flowers?"
He Xizhou walked to the vanity mirror and casually sat on the armrest of Bo Qin’s chair. He handed over the bouquet.
"Hope your performance goes perfectly."
Behind him, Tony took a deep breath.
Bo Qin held the flowers, sniffed them gently, and looked up with a smile.
"Thank you."
Xu Zhi, carrying He Xizhou’s briefcase, greeted Bo Qin with a smile.
Xiao Zhu came in with tea and snacks. Bo Qin, still holding the bouquet, touched the velvety petals.
"You just got here, right? Have something to eat first."
He looked at He Xizhou.
"Why blue?"
He Xizhou took the tea. The steam softened his sharp features. He looked down.
"Isn’t blue your fan support color?"
He took a sip, then looked straight at Bo Qin.
"And you? Have you eaten?"
Bo Qin’s makeup was striking, borderline aggressive. But there was a faint blush at the corner of his eyes, softening the sharpness. He Xizhou thought — whoever did his makeup really knew him well. Every part of his face had a sense of “white space,” like a blade made of glass — beautiful and dangerous.
"I can’t eat. I’m performing." Bo Qin handed the flowers to Xiao Zhu.
Outside, a staff member was already knocking to remind him. Bo Qin took the performance costume from Tony and heard He Xizhou say:
"Then after your performance, let’s go eat."
"Sure." Bo Qin smiled as he walked into the changing room.
"Give me two hours!"
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