Disclaimer: I don’t own True Star. This is a copy from the MTL. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Short Film Series: Lu Tian Chen x Tang Feng – Hundred Years of Solitude (part 2)
“I can give you my loneliness, my darkness, the hunger of my heart, I am trying to bribe you with uncertainty, with danger, with defeat.” –Borges.
“Use what you can.”
The notes jumped as the elegant man’s fingertips danced on top of the black piano as he stared at him while sitting on the couch.
His face was calm as water. His black hair was combed meticulously. No, it was slightly different. There were a few rebellious strands of hair on the man’s forehead and cheeks as they moved along with Tang’s body. His occasionally playful fingertips moved as if following where the wind blew. The strands of hair blocked Tang’s face.
Lu Tian Chen could not see any expression on the man’s face. The man was always calm and elegant like a gentle sculpture who could walk.
There were only the two of them in the room. Yes, only the two of them.
No boss, no colleagues, no servants.
In fact, they were in Tang’s home. Lu Tian Chen did not find the initiative to invite a guest to his house. He was not clear of this. There was always something faint and unknown, and he was at a loss.
There was a feeling that ordinary people would find difficult to detect. But he was Lu Tian Chen, an excellent investigator. He had the keenest instinct and the most clever figurehead, which was the reason why he appeared in Paris.
Lu Tian Chen knew that he should not make a man, especially a man like Tang, show any shred of emotion outside of work like what he had been doing. He suppressed his feelings. He locked them away like a child with his toy in a precious tin box and buried it on the ground.
Lu Tian Chen looked at the man’s perfect figure. Tang had a respectable job with a high income. He was gentle and aristocratic. He had an elegant way of conversing intelligently. He was almost something like a god.
He looked at Tang that took care of his neat suit. Not a trace of dust marred his shoes. No detail was spared. Every place that was revealed made Lu Tian Chen feel as if his chest was being squeezed.
How perfect was the man, but how far away was he from him.
This made Lu Tian Chen want to destroy the other side to see if there were any feelings. He was too lofty so he wanted to pull the other side to contaminate him, to see him full of mud and ashes. He was too meticulous. So he wanted to tear off the cool mask from the other’s face to see more of his real emotions, sadness, confusion…
Just thinking about it was enough to make Lu Tian Chen’s fingertips tremble in excitement.
He had now learned that the offender’s motive had not been identified.
“You’re preoccupied.”
A glass of water appeared in front of his eyes. Realizing that he was being rude, Lu Tian Chen stood up in panic. “Sorry…”
He took the glass and their fingers inadvertently touched together.
“I’m glad that you can relax your mind from too much pressure, Tian Chen.” Tang gently said the last words as his voice shook.
There was a looming mood between them. As this happened, Tang’s demeanor was extraordinarily difficult to compare. Dr. Tang had always been an exceptionally calm and restrained man. Any sparse or normal emotion was difficult to show from him.
Lu Tian Chen acknowledged that the other man had affectionately called him by his name. His heart throbbed more intensely. He tightly held the glass as his mouth touched it. He did not notice Dr. Tang’s eyes watching him as cunning flitted across them with bright colors.
+++
What happened?
Such a picture still remained in Lu Tian Chen’s memory. For more in-depth knowledge of the perpetrators’ motive, he came to Tang’s house. Tang was playing the piano. They talked. And then he drank the water.
Then, he opened his eyes and found himself sitting in the bathtub. His arms were tightly bound. The bath water was turbid and contaminated by blood.
Lu Tian Chen suddenly felt as if his head was about to explode.
“Dr. Tang! Dr. Tang!”
At that moment, the elegant man appeared. The meticulously combed hair was now messy and scattered. His pair of eyes was like a calm body of water. When Lu Tian Chen looked at them, there was a hint of imperceptible and shrinking sadness. But soon, they became gentle and relaxed.
“You finally woke up, Tian Chen.”
His restrained voice was weak and had a little hint of relief.
In Lu Tian Chen’s mind, a few fragments of his memories suddenly flashed. Dr. Tang put him on the ground. He even had to slap him in the face which had become swollen.
[Wake up, Tian Chen. You are not him. Wake up!]
[Stop, Tian Chen… Recall who you are.]
Oh, my God. He did it. He did it to Dr. Tang.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
Lu Tian Chen knew that this apology was very weak. But now, in addition to his apology, he did not know what else to say to the hurt Dr. Tang.
“You woke up just fine. And now, I’ll help you to bed, okay? The medicine cabinet…”
+++
Their relationship became abnormal. They should not be together, Lu Tian Chen knew this.
But he could not control his love for Tang. Their relationship started for the first time in the worst way. Time and time again, Lu Tian Chen would dream of that terrible night.
Tang’s cries. Tang’s tears. Tang’s disheveled form…
This made Lu Tian Chen feel a heavy sense of guilt but, at the same time, it gave him untold excitement.
He had only seen Tang in a three-piece suit. He had turned the neat Tang into a mess. His meticulous hair lost neatness, as well as Tang’s every expression changed under his hands. These things made Lu Tian Chen go crazy.
Tang did not reveal everything, which made Lu Tian Chen aware of the other side’s trust on him and a trace of his love. After all, doing that kind of thing would send most people to court. He was also a person who worked in town. Life became a mess.
The fact was they were together. They had a delicate relationship between being friends and couples.
Sometimes, Lu Tian Chen would bring meals to Tang’s home. They wanted to have dinner together and exchange their views. Respectively, when they were hugging, Lu Tian Chen did not want to hurt this exquisite and perfect man.
Thankfully, he had the courage to kiss Tang that last time that they parted. Tang smiled back at him, which gave him a lot of confidence.
He was just busy with work and did not have many opportunities to get together with Tang.
The increase in the murders also occurred. They continued to be of middle-aged elite men. As much as possible, he wanted to find out more clues to the commonality of the victims. They were middle-aged, good men who came from different schools and different industries. But when they were all in school, they received scholarships.
They narrowed down the trail and finally found that the deceased were in school and were funded from the community. The funding came from the same person.
Lu Tian Chen thought they finally found an important clue. But they were damned when they found out that the sponsor had already died many years ago.
“I knew him. In fact, I also received funding when I was in college,” Dr. Tang said these words. His eyes revealed a rare vulnerability and sadness.
It made Lu Tian Chen feel that he immediately wanted to hold the man. He would like hugging him. He realized that Tang would likely be included as an object of the attack.
It was a weekend night. Tang invited Lu Tian Chen to dinner.
After dinner, Tang did not sit in front of the piano to play as usual. He went to get two glasses of wine.
Tang knew that Lu Tian Chen wanted to talk. Lu Tian Chen cherished the opportunity to also thank Tang for his confidence in him, which was a good thing for the progress of their feelings.
Tang told Lu Tian Chen more things about the scholarship, what kind of sponsor they had. The person had never revealed his identity. Tang also only knew the reason for his sponsor’s death until much later.
“His career was not as glamorous as people imagined. In fact, he died due to AIDS. But it did not erase his glory in the slightest. He was such a kind person to poor people.”
Unable to control himself, Tang let out a little emotional vulnerability. It made Lu Tian Chen immediately put down the glass of wine in his hands and gently hugged Tang.
They spooned that night. He felt a substantial development, at least that was what Lu Tian Chen thought.
As they got more and more in-depth with the cases, their relationship became more harmonious. Accurately speaking, Lu Tian Chen found himself increasingly becoming highly dependent on Tang.
He no longer needed to meet the night alone, lying in his empty home. Dr. Tang was focused and charming when he was playing the piano that he liked. The man was all neat and meticulous on the outside, and only he can appreciate and see Tang’s confused side.
This made Lu Tian Chen feel some fear. He did not clearly know how much Tang loved him in the end. Sometimes, he looked into Tang’s black eyes but be cannot see himself in them.
He did not find out the answer to this question himself when Lu Tian Chen accidentally caught the violent, fanatical vampire copycat at Tang’s home. He was trying to kill Tang.
Note: We are now at part 2/3 for this short film. How will this story develop? The climax is up next!
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