Deep in the Act: Chapter 5

Other than heavy breathing, there was nothing in his ears. Zhang Zhun’s whole body was burning hot, every inch of his skin taut, trembling under Zhen Xin’s touch. They lay on his bed, wearing only underwear, thigh pressed against thigh, hip bone against hip bone, nipples standing up sensitively, occasionally brushing against each other’s sweat dampened chests, sending shivers of pleasure through them.

Zhen Xin’s hair fell onto his face, light and playful. Hazy light filtered through the thick curtains, turning each strand golden. On the thirteenth day of living together, Zhang Zhun couldn’t believe they were doing this kind of thing, from kissing to embracing, to unrestrained touching, to now entwining like a real couple, locked together as if their lives depended on it.

Zhen Xin licked the hollow of his neck, both hands grabbing his buttocks through the thin fabric of his underwear, kneading slowly like he was kneading a woman’s breasts. “Legs…” he said hoarsely. “Open your legs a little.”

Lost in passion, Zhang Zhun obeyed in a daze. Immediately after, something hot and hard pressed against his groin. He had been hard for a while already, but being pressed so brazenly by Zhen Xin, he couldn’t hold back a groan.

Zhen Xin rubbed against him again and again, teasing him, alternating between fast and slow, light and heavy. “Does it feel good,” he said with a laugh in his voice. “Faster or slower?”

Zhang Zhun didn’t speak. He turned his head and bit his lip. Zhen Xin couldn’t stand seeing him like this. “It feels good, so say it. What’s the big deal.”

He deliberately provoked him, moving close to his tightly pressed lips, licking persistently like a cat lapping milk, saliva dripping, making obscene sounds. Before long, he had licked that face until it was wet and glistening. Zhang Zhun was nearly forty. It wasn’t that he had never been with women, but no woman had ever played with him like this. He couldn’t help but open his mouth, accompanied by short moans, his two arms wrapping around Zhen Xin’s shoulders.

Zhen Xin raised his upper body, looking down at him from above, thrusting his hips faster and harder, his hands roaming over that small, wet face, then sliding down along the narrow jawline to grip his neck, pressing on his Adam’s apple, then moving down to the pectoral muscles on both sides. This truly was a beautiful body, supple and lean, every muscle seeming to have a life of its own, stretching and contracting under the sheen of sweat, glowing with erotic light.

“Ah… ah…” Zhang Zhun heard his own moans, so wanton they were almost shameful. He noticed Zhen Xin watching him, and his mind went blank with embarrassment. “Don’t… don’t look at me…”

He twisted his shoulders and rolled over, presenting a smooth back to Zhen Xin. They had practiced this position before. Zhen Xin would place a towel under his buttocks and rub against him through the towel. The towel was right there at hand, but Zhen Xin didn’t reach for it. His right hand touched his own straining groin, then pulled down his underwear.

The moment he pressed down on him, Zhang Zhun felt it. That heat, that force, even the sticky bodily fluids soaking through the underwear and wetting his buttocks. He tried to resist, but Zhen Xin held him down firmly. This scene was exactly like those porn films. Zhang Zhun felt afraid, but the more afraid he was, the stronger the perverse pleasure became. He listened to the mattress creaking nonstop, listened to Zhen Xin’s rough breathing against his ear, listened to his own pounding heartbeat, listened to tears sliding uncontrollably from his eyelashes, soaking the pillow.

This kind of rubbing didn’t seem to be enough. Zhen Xin simply flipped him over, yanked off his underwear in one go, grasped his penis and his own together, and began stroking rapidly. Zhang Zhun’s mind and body seemed to split into two places. His arms held Zhen Xin tightly, his thighs curled, rubbing the inner flesh against his hip bones nonstop, yet his mouth said, “Wait… this… this feels like… we’re really making love…”

“Damn it!” Zhen Xin didn’t know what he was cursing at, or why he was cursing. He only knew to kiss him, to seal his mouth with his own. At that moment, a phone rang. Schubert’s “Trout Quintet.” Zhen Xin reluctantly licked Zhang Zhun’s tongue, then let him go. He grabbed the phone with one hand, and after calming himself slightly, pressed the answer button. “Hello, Yunting.”

Zhang Zhun knew it was his girlfriend. The underground relationship he had mentioned before. Her name seemed to be Feng Yunting. She was a model who had recently become popular, speaking in a cloying, soft voice. “Honey, what are you doing?”

“Rehearsing lines.” Zhen Xin answered absentmindedly, while his hand roamed back and forth over Zhang Zhun’s abdominal muscles. The two of them looked like they had been washed in sweat. The bedsheets were soaked through. Zhang Zhun found a towel to cover his still hard groin and got out of bed.

Pulling open the glass door to the bathroom, he threw down the towel and turned on the shower. Hot water burst from the showerhead, washing away the absurd lust. Let this end quickly, he thought, rubbing his head. If this went on any longer, he really didn’t know what would…

Zhen Xin hung up the phone in a hurry, lazily naked, walking barefoot to the bathroom. He pulled open the door, walked up behind Zhang Zhun, pressed against him, and wrapped his arms around that waist. “You haven’t come yet,” he said, sucking a trail of hickeys on the side of his neck. “Shall we continue?”

Zhen Xin hung up the phone in a hurry, lazily naked, walking barefoot to the bathroom. He pulled open the door, walked up behind Zhang Zhun, pressed against him, and wrapped his arms around that waist. “You haven’t come yet,” he said, sucking a trail of hickeys on the side of his neck. “Shall we continue?”

Zhang Zhun pushed him away and said, “Get out.”

Zhen Xin was a bit unhappy, but still clung to him. “Come on, it’s not like we’re really doing this for real. We’re just helping each other out.” He held him tightly, pressing his lower body against his buttocks, his hand reaching forward. In just that one moment of thought, Zhang Zhun slightly turned his body, his right hand clenched into a fist, and with a thud, punched him in the face. Water splashed everywhere, covering the glass wall with a thin layer of water droplets.

Zhen Xin was a bit dazed, falling onto the tiled floor. Before his eyes, two lean calves appeared in a blur. He instinctively reached to grab them, but they dodged away. He tried several times to get up but couldn’t. The shower water was still pouring down. His ears were buzzing with nothing but noise.

Zhang Zhun had thrown the punch on instinct. When he came to his senses and looked, he was scared himself. He had trained in martial arts, and his hands were heavy. He was usually gentle and accommodating in his dealings with people, precisely because he was afraid of hurting someone with his hands. He squatted down to help Zhen Xin up, but was swatted away. Zhen Xin held his head, his wet hair covering his face, cursing something in Taiwanese. At that moment, the room phone rang.

There was an extension in the bathroom, not far from Zhen Xin. He reached back and picked it up. “Hello… Director.”

Zhang Zhun took this opportunity to come closer, brushing aside the wet hair on his face. Below was a patch of purple bruising. The area under his left eye socket was already slightly oozing blood. Zhang Zhun was startled. He took a deep breath, about to apologize, when Zhen Xin hung up the phone and glared at him with a fierce, hateful expression. “Half an hour. Room 3726. The director is checking our homework.”

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. Zhen Xin met the director with that badly beaten face of his. Chen Zhengsen was smoking a cigar by the window. When he saw him come in, he was stunned for a moment. Then he directly threw the cigar on the floor, pointed at his nose, and cursed, “Damn it, Zhen Xin, you don’t want to work anymore!”

Zhang Zhun was standing behind Zhen Xin and quickly stepped forward. “Director Chen, it was my fault, I wasn’t careful…”

There were also Assistant Director Zhou, the production assistant, and two unfamiliar staff members in the room. They exchanged a look, more or less understanding what had happened. Chen Zhengsen didn’t want to look at him at all. He turned Zhen Xin’s face toward him. “Tomorrow your whole eye socket will be bruised!”

Zhen Xin was carefree about it. “I’ll put on some powder. You won’t be able to tell. I have good bone structure. It’s all in the shadows.”

The director was amused by him, slapping his cheek hard. “You’d better be ready to start filming the day after tomorrow, Teacher Zhen!”

No one said anything more. The lighting crew adjusted the lights. The camera crew set up the equipment. Zhen Xin and Zhang Zhun still sat side by side on that large bed, silently taking off their clothes. Shirts, t-shirts, long pants, all thrown at the head of the bed, leaving only underwear on their bodies. Just as they had practiced countless times before, Zhang Zhun lay down first, then Zhen Xin pressed down on top of him. After a brief moment of eye contact, their lips and tongues intertwined.

Perhaps it was because Zhen Xin’s bruised face was right in front of him, or perhaps the lingering aftereffects of the simulated lovemaking hadn’t faded. In any case, Zhang Zhun was very into it. His whole body pressed against Zhen Xin like a wave, low moans escaping from between his teeth from time to time. Saliva trickled down his small jaw onto his neck. His long eyelashes fluttered, lightly brushing against Zhen Xin’s face.

Assistant Director Zhou whispered to Director Chen, “Much better than last time. Zhang Zhun has a lot of feeling.”

The other two staff members were seeing their bed scene for the first time. They held up the sound boom, staring dumbfounded, occasionally blurting out, “Holy crap! So damn wild!”

Zhang Zhun heard them and grew shy, burying his face in the bedsheets on the side away from the light. Zhen Xin’s eyes, ears, and hands all chased after him. Just as he was about to lift him up like scooping a handful of spring water, Director Chen suddenly slapped the table and shouted at the two staff members, “What are you chatting about! Don’t you know that affects the actors’ emotions! Cut!”

Zhen Xin and Zhang Zhun immediately stopped, wanting more yet at a loss, breathing heavily in unison. The staff members lowered their heads. Director Chen vented his anger, then said to the two on the bed, who were too embarrassed to look at each other, “Very good. One more take. This time Zhang Zhun takes the lead.”

Zhang Zhun was momentarily stunned. He had never taken the lead with Zhen Xin, nor did he have the nerve to actively pleasure a man in front of the camera. He didn’t know if it was from panic or something else. He looked at Zhen Xin helplessly. Zhen Xin immediately said, “Director, in this scene Gao Zhun is the more passive one. The initiative has always been in Fang Chi’s hands. I think…”

“Are you the director or am I the director?” Chen Zhengsen rapped his knuckles on the table. “It’s Gao Zhun who first develops dependence on Fang Chi, and it’s also Gao Zhun who seduces Fang Chi first. I say how to act, and that’s how you act!”

Zhen Xin had a good relationship with Chen Zhengsen. He knew he was getting back at him for Zhang Zhun punching him. “Director, that can’t be called seduction, it’s just…”

Chen Zhengsen’s good intentions were met with ingratitude, and his anger grew even greater. “The one on the bed is Zhang Zhun, not Gao Zhun. Don’t get too into character, Teacher Zhen!”

Chen Zhengsen’s good intentions were met with ingratitude, and his anger grew even greater. “The one on the bed is Zhang Zhun, not Gao Zhun. Don’t get too into character, Teacher Zhen!”

This sentence left Zhen Xin stunned. It wasn’t that he was getting into character. Whoever spent ten days facing only one person, and a person pressed skin to skin at that, wouldn’t be able to help but care for them? He ran a hand through his hair, nodded, and plopped down on the bed. “Alright, I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

Zhang Zhun hesitantly moved closer, not quite sure where to start. Zhen Xin crossed his legs and pulled him to straddle himself. “Hey you, bring a cushion over.”

A staff member immediately threw a small cushion over from the sofa. Zhen Xin placed it between their groins, one hand on Zhang Zhun’s waist, the other gathering his hair and pushing it back. “It’s fine. Just think of me as your girlfriend.”

Zhang Zhun’s beautiful forehead was revealed. Below his forehead were straight brows and a pair of eyes glistening with moisture. Those two eyes lightly looked at Zhen Xin’s injury. The director called, “Action!”

He bent his neck. That beautiful curve appeared again, catching the light filtering through the gap in the curtains, glowing hazily. A kiss slowly landed on the bruise, light as a feather. Zhen Xin mistakenly thought he would go all in from the start. He arched up to meet him, but missed. He was a bit annoyed, grinned, and said self mockingly, “Our chemistry still isn’t there yet.”

Zhang Zhun was infected by him and laughed too. The atmosphere immediately livened up. Zhang Zhun could finally, just as he did with Xie Danyi, press his lips firmly onto Zhen Xin’s lips, rubbing cheek to cheek with him.

Zhen Xin had originally had ideas, such as at what point Zhang Zhun’s kissing should make him start acting back, or what techniques could make this kiss look more real and on point. But he didn’t expect that the moment Zhang Zhun’s tongue tentatively slipped into his mouth, he would have no ideas left at all.

Those kisses were gentle and sticky, a bit like Zhang Zhun’s personality, the kind of soft, melting kisses that would wear down all your patience. As he kissed, he also used his hand to knead Zhen Xin’s earlobe, stroking over his cheekbones, the bridge of his nose, and his brows, teasingly caressing his hair. The breath coming from his mouth was intermittent, as if waiting for you to tear him apart with force.

Zhen Xin grew restless. The sound of sucking grew louder. His two hands kneaded and pinched Zhang Zhun’s back nonstop. Although there was a small cushion between them, it was obvious that both of them had erections. The director and staff members embarrassedly averted their gazes. The people on the bed couldn’t care less. Zhen Xin bit down on Zhang Zhun’s Adam’s apple, leaving a trail of bite marks on his flat chest like a beast in heat. Then he flicked them with his tongue, and then sucked hard on one of his nipples.

Zhang Zhun bit down and groaned. It was the kind of groan Zhen Xin was used to hearing, wanton and restrained. He gritted his teeth and endured. He endured and endured, but couldn’t endure it anymore. He grabbed the small cushion from under their groins and threw it on the floor, then pinned Zhang Zhun’s two wrists down and pressed him onto the bed on his back.

The camera’s red light was still on. Zhang Zhun wondered where his shame had flown off to. He actually welcomed Zhen Xin with his thighs spread open without any reservation. Then Zhen Xin immediately responded with an even crazier, even more shameless kiss.

The atmosphere in the room was strange. The ones acting were completely lost in the moment, while the ones watching felt uncomfortable. One of the lighting crew members even covered his crotch and left his post without permission, running to the bathroom. Director Chen saw this situation and could only rub his hands together. “Cut!”

Neither Zhang Zhun nor Zhen Xin stopped. They continued entangling, rubbing their toes together on the bed. Director Chen really couldn’t watch anymore. He walked to the bedside and clapped his hands. “Cut! Cut! I said cut!”

Only then did Zhen Xin roll off Zhang Zhun, breathing heavily. The crotch of his underwear was wet. Zhang Zhun was no better off, his whole body red, half turned to the side, covering up the mess below. Chen Zhengsen was in his forties, and even he couldn’t keep his composure. He lashed out at Assistant Director Zhou, pointing east and striking west. “I told them to get along, I told them to do it like this?”

Assistant Director Zhou was huddled in the small sofa, staring blankly at the bed. Only after a long while did he let out a sound. “Huh?”

“Zhou Zheng!” Director Chen stomped his feet in anger.

At this moment, Assistant Director Zhou said very seriously, “Director, I think this film is going to work!”

After taking turns using the bathroom, Zhen Xin and Zhang Zhun got dressed and sat side by side, listening to Chen Zhengsen give them feedback. “Very good, very nice. I can see you both put your hearts into it. That… Teacher Zhen, still rein it in a bit, both in the scene and out of it. Zhang Zhun too, don’t overdo it. Right, Zhou Zheng,” he winked at Assistant Director Zhou. “You say something too?”

Assistant Director Zhou cleared his throat. “Just now the director and I discussed it. There are two days until filming starts. Teacher Zhen, take good care of your injury. And then… you won’t be living in the same room anymore. Tomorrow the various cast members will arrive one after another. The rooms will be rearranged.”