Before bed, Ming Qi received Xiao Ba’s usual playful video. But today was a little different. Besides Xiao Ba, there were also five arrogant white geese flapping their wings and running wildly through the garden. To prevent them from pooping everywhere, Cen Jing had thoughtfully prepared diapers for them.
At a glance, they looked especially silly and adorable.
Ming Qi watched seriously, then held the phone in front of Yu Qinzhou and muttered softly, “Xiao Yi is the fattest.”
“Xiao Yi?”
“I temporarily gave them names, from Xiao Yi to Xiao Wu. Easy to remember.”
Ming Qi spoke with complete confidence, but Yu Qinzhou’s gaze landed on the five geese. Aside from the goose called Xiao Yi, whose chubbiness stood out dramatically, the other four looked pretty much the same.
No one knew how he was telling them apart.
Still, Yu Qinzhou knew one thing—these five geese would probably escape disaster. Since Ming Qi had already given them names, they most likely wouldn’t end up becoming braised goose anymore.
At the end of the video, Xiao Ba scampered quickly behind Xiao Yi, then used a long-lost legendary cat qinggong to leap over all five geese one after another before jumping onto Cen Jing’s shoulder.
Anyone who saw it would have to say: impressive as hell.
After admiring his son’s performance, Ming Qi finally set down his phone and prepared to sleep. Having already shared a bed once, sharing it again now felt perfectly ordinary. Ming Qi naturally lay down and pulled the blanket to his shoulders, then turned his head toward the man still sitting against the headboard beside him.
“Do you still have a lot of work left?”
“Getting sleepy?” Yu Qinzhou closed his laptop.
The moment he saw the movement, Ming Qi blinked and quickly said, “You don’t have to accommodate me. I sleep really well. I can still fall asleep even if there’s noise.”
“My work’s basically done too.” The laptop was set aside on the nightstand. Yu Qinzhou lifted a hand and switched off the bedside lamp. The entire room instantly sank into thick darkness, making even the faintest rustling sounds especially clear. “Sleep. Don’t you still have a full day of work tomorrow?”
Ming Qi obediently closed his eyes and slept until dawn.
He woke especially early today; the sky outside hadn’t fully brightened yet. Carefully lifting the blanket and getting out of bed, he had just slipped his right foot into a fuzzy slipper when Yu Qinzhou’s low, hoarse voice sounded from behind him.
“Why are you up so early today?”
Ming Qi turned around and lifted Yu Qinzhou’s blanket, urging him, “You can get up too.”
Yu Qinzhou: “…?”
Although Yu Qinzhou wasn’t someone who liked sleeping in, he was still curious why he had to wake up this early.
Ming Qi replied righteously, “Aren’t you coming to the set with me today? I still have to pick you up at the entrance to the film studio and bring you onto the set. That’ll take quite a bit of time.”
Yu Qinzhou understood.
Sure enough, getting him to appear properly in public required quite a bit of effort.
He found it amusing inside, but still cooperated. He got up, washed up, changed clothes, put on a mask, and before even having breakfast, politely asked Ming Qi, “Then I’ll call you once I arrive at the studio entrance? Mr. Ming, remember to personally come pick me up.”
Ming Qi coughed lightly. “No problem.”
To make up for the bit of guilt and embarrassment rising in his heart, Ming Qi personally escorted Yu Qinzhou to the door and, dragging his slippers along, pressed the elevator button for the first floor for him.
“Please, Mr. Yu.”
Yu Qinzhou gave him a half-smiling glance and obediently stepped inside.
Ming Qi stood at the elevator entrance watching the numbers descend all the way to the first floor before turning back. Not long afterward, Meng She entered carrying breakfast. The moment he noticed Ming Qi already fully dressed and bending over to grab his phone as if preparing to head out, he froze in surprise and asked suspiciously:
“Where are you going?”
Ming Qi’s face wasn’t red and his heartbeat remained perfectly steady. “Mr. Yu said he’s at the entrance to the film studio. I’m going to pick him up.”
Meng She: “?!”
He hurriedly stuffed the buns in his hand into his mouth in two bites, utterly shocked. “Mr. Yu came to visit the set? This early?”
Ming Qi nodded. “Mm-hmm. He came over right after getting off the plane. I already asked Director Zhang, and fans are allowed to visit the set. I’ll go pick up Mr. Yu and bring him around the set for a bit later.”
“Hey, don’t. Eat your breakfast. I’ll go pick him up.”
Meng She pointed at the breakfast on the table. “It’ll get cold later.”
The moment he heard that, Ming Qi instantly understood what Yu Qinzhou had meant when he deliberately said before leaving, “Mr. Ming, remember to personally come pick me up.” Turns out he had already guessed Meng She’s reaction.
—How can he predict everything?
Ming Qi awkwardly rubbed his nose, afraid Meng She would say more. He grabbed his phone and hurried out the door. “He came to see me, so of course I should personally pick him up. Bro, eat breakfast first. Besides, I’m not really hungry anyway.”
Meng She said nothing more.
He picked up a purple sweet potato bun and sighed emotionally as he watched the young man’s figure disappear behind the elevator doors. “What a passionate two-way relationship between an idol and his fan. So nice.”
Then he turned around and continued eating in complete peace.
Ming Qi ran into Bu Hongfang’s assistant, A-Chao, in the first-floor lobby. The two greeted each other briefly before Ming Qi hurried off again. But the moment he stepped through the entrance, someone grabbed his arm.
The force of inertia made Ming Qi stumble forward and then backward. Startled, he turned his head and caught sight of Yu Qinzhou looking at him with smiling eyes.
“Eh…”
Yu Qinzhou pulled up the hood of his hoodie. “What do you mean ‘eh’? Don’t tell me you were really planning to walk all the way to the entrance of the film studio? It’s so far away—you’d be walking forever.”
“Come on, let’s go back and eat breakfast.”
Ming Qi thought that made sense, so he followed him back toward the hotel.
The hotel receptionist had clearly already noticed the two of them. Leaning her chin on one hand and sipping soy milk, she watched in confusion.
A few minutes ago, the slightly taller man dressed in black had walked out of the hotel. A few minutes later, Ming Qi had also walked out. And then they came back together again.
…Had they argued? Then made up?
But she hadn’t seen them fight, nor had she seen them kiss and reconcile.
What a pity. The hotel staff had all signed confidentiality agreements with the various drama crews. Otherwise, she absolutely would’ve discussed this thoroughly with her girlfriends today.
Completely unaware of the gossiping eyes hidden behind the front desk, Ming Qi brought Yu Qinzhou back to the room. The moment Meng She saw them, he quickly said, “Hurry and eat while breakfast’s still warm.”
Then he asked Yu Qinzhou, “Mr. Yu came straight to Jiang City?”
Yu Qinzhou gave a quiet mm. “I figured I didn’t have much going on, so I came over to take a look. I also happen to be quite interested in how actors film.”
Meng She suddenly remembered the gossip he had seen on Weibo earlier that day. “I heard the Yu Corporation acquired Qiancheng.”
Ever since Yin Anchi had indirectly pushed the name “Yu Qinzhou” onto Weibo’s trending topics, many of Yu Corporation’s actions had been magnified online, including the latest acquisition of a cinema chain brand.
The most ridiculous part was that because cinema chains were connected to the entertainment industry, some netizens had started speculating that Yu Corporation’s expansion into a previously untouched field was very likely because Yu Qinzhou had a secret little lover in the entertainment circle.
The acquisition of the cinema chain was supposedly just to win a beauty’s smile.
Then, because Yin Anchi had appeared at such a coincidental moment, many people immediately pinned the identity of “little lover” onto him.
But that theory was quickly denied.
And the reasoning was simple—you, Yin Anchi, are still just an idol traffic star. You don’t even lead your own television dramas yet. Who knows when you’ll ever star in a theatrical movie? What ability do you possibly have to make Yu Qinzhou buy an entire cinema chain for you? Dream on!
It had amused Meng She so much that he found the logic extremely convincing.
Honestly, the theory that Yu Qinzhou had gone crazy from idol chasing and bought the chain just to support his idol sounded more believable.
Yu Qinzhou clearly also knew the acquisition had made the trending topics. He didn’t deny it and simply said, “Yu Corporation does have plans to enter the entertainment industry, and those plans are already being carried out.”
Hearing the conversation, Ming Qi looked completely bewildered. Then he stared at Meng She with a shocked expression. “Bro, you even know about this?”
Meng She curled his lip. “You’re the only one who doesn’t. It’s been on Weibo trending for the whole day.”
Ming Qi: “……”
Well, he really hadn’t had time to open Weibo.
After all, he’d been pretty busy these past two days—working and entertaining Yu Qinzhou.
Work was manageable.
But entertaining Yu Qinzhou was genuinely exhausting.
While eating breakfast, Meng She continuously praised the Yu family’s housekeeper auntie, fully giving face to Yu Qinzhou as the master of the house. Today the auntie had prepared crab roe noodles for Ming Qi. While lifting the noodles with his chopsticks, he glanced at Yu Qinzhou and silently asked with his eyes.
Yu Qinzhou tapped the instant coffee in front of him, immediately making the look in Ming Qi’s eyes carry a trace of sympathy.
Back at home, at least he could drink freshly brewed coffee. But after coming to Jiang City to visit the set, he could only drink instant coffee now.
Ming Qi secretly unlocked his phone and messaged Yu Qinzhou:
Do you want me to order a coffee machine right now? Same-city delivery—it’ll probably arrive by noon.
Yu Qinzhou’s gaze landed on the message, the corners of his lips curving upward. Instead of answering directly, he replied:
Looks like Mr. Ming has already prepared himself to take in this fan long-term.
Ming Qi paused.
Right. How had he forgotten? Yu Qinzhou wasn’t here filming. Even if he was visiting the set, he’d stay at most a couple of days before leaving. There was no need to go through so much trouble.
He pressed his lips together awkwardly, then quickly withdrew the message as though nothing had happened.
Yu Qinzhou was already used to this kind of self-deceiving behavior from him. But with Meng She present, he refrained from teasing him.
After breakfast, the three of them walked together toward the set.
Even though the staff members bustled around busily handling their own work, Yu Qinzhou was simply too eye-catching. Especially with the mask covering his face, his tall figure and striking brows stood out even more prominently.
Huai Manyun happened to be getting her makeup done at the time. Through the mirror, she spotted Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou standing side by side behind her and immediately exclaimed:
“What’s going on? Ming Qi, who’s the super handsome guy beside you? Is he here to make a cameo appearance in our drama?”
Ming Qi imagined what it would look like if Yu Qinzhou actually made a cameo appearance. He wondered whether Zhang Cong would also start cursing at this man if his acting was bad. The thought of Yu Qinzhou getting scolded made Ming Qi want to laugh, though he quickly suppressed it and answered Huai Manyun instead:
“He’s a fan visiting the set.”
Hearing that only made Huai Manyun find it more interesting. “Your fan? With looks like that, he could debut directly.”
Ming Qi tugged lightly on Yu Qinzhou’s sleeve, and the man chuckled softly. “You flatter me. I don’t really have any abilities. Relying on my face alone wouldn’t work.”
Huai Manyun waved a hand. “You can learn if you don’t know anything. Who didn’t start out clueless? Oh right, have you eaten breakfast yet? I still have several cups of soy milk here.”
“We already ate.” Ming Qi turned and asked Yu Qinzhou quietly, “Do you want to look around? I can have Meng She take you around a bit.”
“And you?”
“I need to do makeup and change clothes.” He pointed toward the seat beside Huai Manyun. The makeup artist had already prepared everything and was waiting for Ming Qi to sit down.
Hearing that, Yu Qinzhou pulled over a chair nearby and sat down. “I’ll stay here and watch you.”
That worked too.
Ming Qi sat between Yu Qinzhou and Huai Manyun, eyes slightly closed while the makeup artist’s brushes swept across his face. Occasionally he responded to Huai Manyun’s conversation, and because he was worried Yu Qinzhou might get bored, he deliberately kept finding topics to talk about.
After a short exchange, Huai Manyun’s brows had already lifted high. On her face—which looked especially exhausted and fragile under the makeup—appeared a strange hint of suspicion.
Listening to how naturally Ming Qi spoke to him, these two didn’t really seem like an idol and fan at all.
They seemed more like old friends who had known each other for years.
But after thinking about it, there were plenty of people in the entertainment industry who became friends with their fans—or even got together with them romantically. Huai Manyun immediately felt it wasn’t that strange anymore.
While she was silently pondering this, Yu Qinzhou calmly lifted his phone and snapped a photo toward the mirror.
Then he lowered his gaze to examine it. The angle he chose was excellent, showing only a small portion of Ming Qi’s body along with the long fingers resting on the chair armrest. Since the makeup artist was standing beside the chair, anyone could tell at a glance what Ming Qi was doing.
He posted the photo to Moments, and replies quickly flooded in.
Xi Yixiu: ?
Xi Yixiu: Can’t you move your phone a little to the side? Chairman Yu can’t even take a proper picture!
Hansen: Is he so exhausted he needs makeup to maintain his condition?
Xi Yixiu replied to Hansen: Are you driving right now?
Hansen replied to Xi Yixiu: I’m not driving. I’m sleeping at home.
Xi Yixiu replied to Hansen: ……
Min Zhengyue replied to Hansen: He’s an actor! The makeup is for filming!
Xi Yixiu: Holy crap, so the rumors online are true? You’re really entering the entertainment industry for your little lover?!
Yu Qinzhou watched their group chat for a long while before finally replying to Xi Yixiu:
That’s called a legally recognized partner. Did overtime work fry your brain?
Xi Yixiu: You still know I’m working overtime? Evil capitalist!
Yu Qinzhou: Fine. You can get off work then.
Xi Yixiu: ……
That absolutely would not do. Even though overtime was exhausting, he deeply loved Yu Corporation’s overtime pay.
Sitting in the genuine leather chair inside the president’s office, Xi Yixiu crossed his legs and stared at Min Zhengyue’s reply for a long time. In the end, he still couldn’t resist secretly poking him:
Bro, give me a hint. What’s his name?
Min Zhengyue sent a zipper-mouth emoji, then very smugly sent a voice message:
“I’m not telling you. The feeling of being the only one who knows something none of you do is way too satisfying.”
Xi Yixiu: “……”
How boring.
…
During the time Yu Qinzhou spent joking around with Xi Yixiu and the others, Ming Qi also finished his makeup.
Different from what Yu Qinzhou had imagined, the makeup made Ming Qi seem somewhat more mature, especially after he changed into a dress shirt and suit pants, then put on a white lab coat and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
“Why are you making that expression?” Ming Qi grew embarrassed under Yu Qinzhou’s stare. Tugging at the shirt sleeve hidden beneath the lab coat, he asked, “Is something wrong?”
“No. It’s just that a very different Ming Qi is standing in front of me, so I’m a little surprised.” Yu Qinzhou smiled lightly. “Going to film now?”
“We’re waiting for Director Zhang’s notice.”
Ming Qi waved for him to come along, and the two walked together toward the set.
On the way they ran into Bu Hongfang, Zheng Liang, and A-Chao.
Bu Hongfang had been about to greet Ming Qi, but his eyes immediately landed on the man beside him. Narrowing his eyes, he carefully examined the upper half of Yu Qinzhou’s face exposed above the mask. His gaze was so focused that it quickly drew Yu Qinzhou’s attention.
The man lifted his eyes and looked back.
The moment their gazes met, it felt like a flash of white lightning exploded inside Bu Hongfang’s mind.
Holy shit?!
Wasn’t this the big shot who’d been trending on Weibo yesterday?!
Bu Hongfang was internally stunned, while beside him Zheng Liang couldn’t help staring at Yu Qinzhou too.
Swearing on his identity as a talent manager, this guy was definitely extremely handsome.
So he lowered his voice and asked Bu Hongfang, “Who’s this guy? Any interest in joining the industry?”
Bu Hongfang’s eyes rolled once before he replied maliciously, “Ming Qi brought him here, so why ask me? Go ask the two of them yourself.”
Fair point.
Zheng Liang immediately stepped forward and proactively greeted them. In no time, the topic naturally shifted to Yu Qinzhou.
“Ming Qi, this your friend?”
Ming Qi still used the same explanation as before. “He’s a fan visiting the set.”
“A fan, huh? Don’t be shy—take off the mask and let us see?”
Bu Hongfang: “……Damn, impressive.”
Straight up asking Yu Qinzhou to remove his mask.
“If you don’t know how to talk, then shut up,” Zheng Liang shot him a glance. “I just want to see your fan’s face. Maybe three years from now he’ll become another superstar famous across the country.”
Ming Qi glanced at Yu Qinzhou, thinking this was already the second person in a short period of time who wanted Yu Qinzhou to enter the entertainment industry.
Sure enough, being good-looking really was something extraordinary.
While thinking this, he blinked meaningfully at Yu Qinzhou. Receiving the hint in his eyes, Yu Qinzhou smiled at Zheng Liang and said:
“That wouldn’t be suitable. I have injuries on my face.”
Zheng Liang paused and hurriedly apologized. “Sorry about that.”
Yu Qinzhou replied, “It’s fine.”
After getting rejected by Yu Qinzhou, Zheng Liang kept frowning. In a bad mood, he suddenly kicked Bu Hongfang hard. Bu Hongfang turned around and glared at him furiously. “Are you crazy? Why are you kicking me?”
Zheng Liang sighed. “Did I accidentally poke someone’s sore spot just now?”
Bu Hongfang looked surprised. “Oh? Didn’t expect you to actually feel guilty.”
Then he added, “But don’t worry. He’s fine—he just isn’t interested in becoming a celebrity.”
Zheng Liang frowned. “How do you know?”
“Guess,” Bu Hongfang said, sticking his tongue out at him, then thoughtfully rubbed his chin. If his ears weren’t deceiving him, he seemed to have heard Ming Qi say that this Yu Qinzhou guy was a fan?
He grabbed Ming Qi’s arm the moment Ming Qi passed by and asked quietly, “Is this fan the same one who visited the set a couple of days ago?”
Ming Qi: “……”
Not expecting that question, Ming Qi answered a little guiltily, “This is a different one. He only arrived this morning.”
A face squeezed in from the side—it was A-Chao. He asked gloomily, “Really? But I saw him coming out to pick up food delivery last night, and I even greeted him.”
Ming Qi: “……”