The rushing young man seemed to realize he had hit someone and quickly turned back.
“Sorry, sorry! I’m rushing to catch my train. Are you okay, bro? Should we add WeChat just in case anything comes up?”
Ming Qi, still a bit dazed as he fell into Yu Qinzhou’s arms, only reacted after hearing the voice. He quickly stood up and waved his hand.
“I’m fine. You should go catch your train.”
“Thank you!”
The young man vanished like a gust of wind.
Ming Qi was just about to look up at Yu Qinzhou when a violent coughing sound came from behind him, followed by Meng She squeezing out words through clenched teeth.
“Airport.”
Boom.
A sudden wave of embarrassment and heat rushed up, turning Ming Qi’s face completely red. He fumbled backward, bent slightly, and blurted out,
“Thank you, sir!”
Yu Qinzhou: “……”
Behind Yu Qinzhou, Xi Yixiu and the others were clearly holding back laughter, a faint “pfft” slipping out anyway.
The man’s gaze swept over them. The assistants and secretaries immediately tensed up and put on serious faces. Only Xi Yixiu was still grinning, barely holding it in.
Look at that—getting rejected already.
Yu Qinzhou withdrew his hand, nodded slightly toward Ming Qi, then turned and walked toward the exit.
After they left, Meng She quickly moved to Ming Qi’s side, glanced at the people coming and going around them, and tugged him away.
“Damn it, didn’t you say Mr. Yu was coming back in two days?!”
Ming Qi hesitated. “Maybe he finished early?”
“If he finished early, wouldn’t he tell you? I think he just wanted to surprise you, and then you two ended up running into each other at the airport. Great—now it’s not a surprise anymore, it’s a shock. I just hope no one got it on camera.”
The elevator reached the parking level. Ming Qi received Yu Qinzhou’s message with the parking area and license plate number. He tilted his head at Meng She.
Meng She immediately waved him off.
“Go, go. Hurry up and go with your husband.”
“What about you, bro?”
“You two haven’t seen each other in a while. You expect me to be a third wheel? I don’t want to get crushed by Mr. Yu.” He muttered, “I’ll go back to Xijing Bay and keep an eye on online trends.”
Ming Qi didn’t say more. He quickly found the conspicuous Cullinan and got in.
The moment he closed the door, a hand wrapped around his waist and pulled him onto the man’s lap. Yu Qinzhou pressed a hand to the back of his neck, leaning back slightly.
“Baby, kiss me.”
After days apart, Yu Qinzhou was even more intense than usual. Ming Qi was kissed until his eyes misted over. He couldn’t help but nip back at his lips.
“Hiss—”
Yu Qinzhou released him, tongue pressing against the faint bite mark, then buried his face in Ming Qi’s neck and laughed softly.
“After not seeing me for a while, your teeth have gotten sharper.”
Ming Qi felt embarrassed and rubbed his ear.
“Who told you to be so forceful?”
It felt like he was about to swallow him whole.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t recognize me.” Yu Qinzhou’s hand slipped under Ming Qi’s coat, kneading his waist lightly. The desire that had just settled surged back again. Ming Qi’s body went soft, his voice turning hoarse.
“Not here—the airport—”
His words dissolved into an uncontrollable gasp.
Ming Qi grabbed his wrist and warned softly,
“Don’t do this here.”
Just then, footsteps passed outside the car, making Ming Qi tense up instantly.
Seeing his nervous expression, Yu Qinzhou couldn’t help but smile.
“Relax. I still have enough sense.”
Ming Qi thought: doesn’t look like it.
Then Yu Qinzhou added,
“If there are any problems, it’s better to solve them at home.”
Ming Qi: “……”
He suddenly had a very bad feeling.
“You’re just taking every chance to bully me.”
“But the opportunity was handed to me by you.”
Ming Qi: “……”
Fair point.
But who could have predicted something so absurd would actually happen?
Thinking back on it, Ming Qi covered his face, then suddenly remembered something.
“Did they recognize me?”
Yu Qinzhou thought for a moment and realized he meant Xi Yixiu’s group.
Xi Yixiu had learned Ming Qi’s identity by accident—two days earlier, during dinner, his phone screen lit up, and Ming Qi’s photo on the wallpaper was accidentally seen by Xi Yixiu sitting beside him.
After seeing a bit of entertainment news about Yu Qinzhou going to a film set, he had guessed Ming Qi was in the industry and immediately recognized him.
Even Yu Qinzhou had to admit he was perceptive.
Ming Qi nodded in understanding.
“So that’s why he recognized me even though I was wearing a mask.”
Then his gaze suddenly fixed on Yu Qinzhou.
The man paused slightly under that serious look, sensing something was off.
And indeed—it was.
“He recognized me immediately, but as my legal partner, you didn’t recognize me right away.”
Ming Qi poked his chest with a finger, very seriously.
“So we’re even now. That means we don’t need to ‘solve problems at home’ anymore.”
“…So that’s the plan.”
A faint smile lingered on Yu Qinzhou’s lips.
“Alright.”
If they weren’t going to solve problems, then they could just… build their relationship instead.
That worked too.
…
The Cullinan drove into Xijing Bay. The moment the door opened, they heard Min Zhengyue’s loud voice from inside.
“Yo yo yo, look at that expression of disdain—he really does have a bit of my brother’s vibe!”
Yu Qinzhou raised a brow slightly. Holding Ming Qi’s hand, he walked into the living room, and immediately saw Min Zhengyue circling Xiao Ba nonstop.
And around Xiao Ba’s neck was a ruby necklace.
Yu Qinzhou looked away and asked casually, “Why are you here?”
Min Zhengyue answered confidently, “I came to have dinner with Brother Qi! Didn’t expect to meet the little prince first.”
Yu Qinzhou had already heard from Ming Qi about Xiao Ba’s “prince status.” He bent down and picked up the meowing cat, smiling faintly as he looked at Min Zhengyue.
“Dinner with Ming Qi? Or here to get alcohol from Ming Qi?”
Min Zhengyue: “……”
As expected of his brother—he saw right through him.
He opened his mouth to argue, but Yu Qinzhou didn’t give him the chance.
“Go pick whatever you want. Then leave. Don’t disturb us.”
Min Zhengyue nearly got kicked out, but he wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he flashed a bright, flattering smile.
“Yes, sir!”
Then, under Ming Qi’s stunned gaze, he ran to the garage, dragged out a cardboard box, and headed straight into the wine cellar.
Ming Qi: “……”
He’s got skills.
He couldn’t help asking Yu Qinzhou, “Does he always come here to restock like this?”
Yu Qinzhou gently stroked Xiao Ba’s head.
“Not at first. He used to only dare take two bottles at a time.”
Now he was just taking advantage of Ming Qi’s presence and good mood.
Quite the opportunist.
“Don’t worry about him. Let him take it.” Yu Qinzhou handed Xiao Ba back to Ming Qi. “I’m going to take a shower. Want to come with me?”
Yu Qinzhou had just returned from abroad after a full night on the plane and naturally felt unclean. A shower made sense.
But Ming Qi felt perfectly fine.
He shook his head firmly.
So Yu Qinzhou had no choice but to go upstairs alone, looking slightly regretful.
“What a pity.”
Ming Qi: “……”
Compared to him, Ming Qi felt nothing but relief.
While Yu Qinzhou was upstairs showering, Ming Qi played with Xiao Ba. Not long after, Meng She arrived. Xiao Ba immediately leapt from Ming Qi’s lap onto Meng She’s shoulder.
Meng She’s mouth twitched.
“So I’m the chief eunuch, huh? And I still get the prince’s favor.”
Ming Qi laughed out loud.
Meng She let Xiao Ba bounce around on his shoulder and recorded a video before leaving in Min Zhengyue’s car.
…
Around 7 p.m., a scandal involving Ming Qi suddenly exploded online.
Meng She rushed back in a panic, only to realize it had nothing to do with the airport incident.
Instead, paparazzi who were actually trying to photograph Huo Chengtang had captured images of Huo Chengtang entering the same hotel as Ming Qi.
And immediately declared: they must be dating.
Meng She almost laughed in anger.
“Damn it, I’ve been worrying all day, and this is what it is?!”
Yu Qinzhou sat beside him, glanced at the trending topic, and clicked his tongue.
“I’ll have someone suppress it.”
Meng She quickly waved his hand.
“No. If you suppress it, it’ll look guilty. That’s basically the same as admitting it. I’ll contact Director Zhou—maybe we should just announce it properly while we’re at it.”
He turned to make the call.
Ming Qi sat on the sofa, biting his finger while reading dozens of messages from Bo Hongfang.
Bo Senior: ?
Bo Senior: Qiqi, did he trick you? Huo Chengtang is not a good person!
Bo Senior: Don’t be fooled by his looks—he’s rotten inside!
Ming Qi read through them, his mouth twitching.
He quickly replied: Brother, did you forget I already have a partner?
Bo Hongfang froze.
But another message came in.
Ming Qi: I heard the “Red Sugar CP” is real / curious
Bo Hongfang: “……”
Bo Senior: Fake. Absolute nonsense. Who the hell is involved with that idiot.
Ming Qi dragged out an “oh,” then replied: I saw gossip saying he’s your ex-boyfriend.
Bo Senior: Unfriend. Goodbye.
Ming Qi thought to himself that although Bo Hongfang was older than him, he was sometimes even more childish.
He stopped teasing him and turned to Meng She, who had just finished the call.
“How did Director Zhou respond?”
“He said he was already planning an official announcement. Remember to repost it on Weibo later.”
“Alright.”
The rumor between Huo Chengtang and Ming Qi lasted less than an hour.
Before netizens could even figure out how the two were connected, Zhou Xingxiu’s studio officially announced the cast of the new film Winter Has Arrived, naming Ming Qi as the male lead and Huo Chengtang as the male supporting lead.
The internet exploded.
Meng She clicked through the comments carefully. With the official announcement, the rumor was completely crushed.
Now everyone was focused on one thing: Huo Chengtang playing a supporting role for Ming Qi.
“Even though you’ve landed the male lead,” Meng She said thoughtfully, “this role won’t be easy. You absolutely can’t be overshadowed by Huo Chengtang. Otherwise the public opinion will turn against you.”
Ming Qi naturally understood this as well, though he wasn’t too worried. Instead, there was even a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
“I’ll work hard.”
After all, he still had to take Yu Qinzhou to the movies in the future. No matter what, he couldn’t let his acting be so bad it hurt his boyfriend’s eyes.
“Wait a second.”
Meng She’s previously relaxed expression suddenly turned serious.
“The rhythm’s off.”
Ming Qi leaned over and looked, only to see a new Weibo post filled with trending keywords:
“How did Ming Qi get this role? Did he obtain it by clout-chasing Yu Qinzhou?” [photo]