No one had expected Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou’s relationship to suddenly become confirmed like this.
The comments under [Give Me Your Phone Number]’s Weibo post surpassed ten thousand in a very short time. Every kind of data skyrocketed wildly—CP fans were losing their minds with happiness, bystanders were deeply invested in the gossip, and antis were furious.
[Holy crap! You guys are actually real?! You’re seriously dating?!]
[Huh? HUH?!]
[Damn, yesterday I was still analyzing with my friend how Bu Hongfang even knew Ming Qi’s boyfriend. How could he openly ship Ming Qi with someone else right in front of the boyfriend? Sure enough, the two of them are a couple!]
[Good grief, so the crown prince is really your son, huh.]
[I’m seriously starting to suspect those major fans in the ZhouQi CP supertopic already knew… they’re acting way too calm.]
[Don’t follow celebrities, but I love watching handsome guys standing together like this. Damn, it’s so easy on the eyes!]
[Where’s the novel about Capital × Big Celebrity?! Somebody write it already, I want to read it!]
[Ming Qi’s got skills, huh. He actually managed to get together with Yu Qinzhou. Tsk tsk tsk, sure enough, you can’t underestimate anyone in the entertainment industry.]
[Could today’s accidental exposure drama have been directed by Ming Qi himself? Hahaha.]
[Lol, kinda wanna know how long Ming Qi can keep capital happy. Don’t start crying when you get dumped.]
[…]
Meng She stood in the living room at Westview Bay. Ming Qi sat obediently on the sofa. Little Eight jumped from the side table onto Ming Qi’s shoulder and aggressively meowed twice at Meng She.
Meng She’s eye twitched slightly. Irritated, he said, “I’m not even here to scold your Ming Qi daddy. Why are you yelling at me?”
He had only come to ask whether Ming Qi wanted to go public directly.
“If you two got photographed but still don’t go public, the antis are gonna have all kinds of material to spin.” Meng She could already imagine the anti-fans’ narrative—
Ming Qi wants to climb higher, but Yu Qinzhou refused, so he used this method instead.
While listening to Meng She talk, Ming Qi scrolled through comments.
In fact, within this brief hour, anti-fans had already started spreading similar narratives. But other casual fans and supporters had strong combat power too, shutting everything down with one sentence:
“Are you blind? Didn’t you see how doting Yu Qinzhou’s gaze was?”
After thinking seriously for a long time, Ming Qi finally said:
“Let’s stick to the original plan.”
Meng She wasn’t particularly surprised and gave him an OK hand sign.
Meanwhile, online, discussions sparked by that secretly taken hallway photo from the club were still ongoing.
When Bu Hongfang opened his Weibo, he was startled by nonstop notification sounds. Looking at the comments, he saw nothing but question marks.
[So after all that, you were shipping a CP right in front of the real couple? That’s amazing.]
[No wonder you said Ming Qi’s boyfriend was handsome. This is freaking Yu Qinzhou—how could he not be handsome?]
[How did you manage to keep such a huge secret?]
[No wonder you admitted you couldn’t compare to Ming Qi’s boyfriend. Respect to Old Bu’s broad-mindedness.]
Bu Hongfang stared at the broad-mindedness comment for a few seconds. Thinking of how Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou still hadn’t responded, he resisted the urge to like it.
He couldn’t cause Ming Qi any more trouble.
…
Regarding the relationship, neither Ming Qi nor Yu Qinzhou gave any special response, nor did they intentionally suppress the heat.
After all, Undercover hadn’t left theaters yet, and the fifty-billion box office goal still hadn’t been broken. Appropriate publicity was only beneficial to the movie.
The other films in the May Day release period looked at Undercover’s absurd box office numbers with pure jealousy.
But there was no helping it.
The movie really was good, and the actors’ performances were solid across the board. Originally, people thought Ming Qi couldn’t carry a leading role, but after watching, they realized just how sharp Zhang Cong’s eye for talent was.
On the day the box office officially surpassed fifty billion, Ming Qi was reading through scripts Meng She had handed him.
Just as he had guessed at the beginning, the moment he became linked with Yu Qinzhou, both script offers and endorsement deals multiplied.
“You should take a look at that script-kill-style one,” Meng She said. “It was sent over by a small-time director, and it was actually before the two of you got photographed.”
“That script’s pretty interesting. It also tests acting skills, and the filming period is short.”
Following Meng She’s suggestion, Ming Qi pulled out the script for Reincarnation.
The story of Reincarnation carried a heavy mystery atmosphere.
A group of men and women of different ages and identities were invited to participate in a fortune-telling program, and the story unfolded within it.
Someone suddenly died.
Someone held a blade.
Someone began slaughtering people.
At first, everyone thought it was simply part of the show’s setup. But then they were told everything was real.
Yet just as everyone finally became convinced that what was happening was truly real—
The people who had died came back.
Ming Qi found the script quite interesting.
“It feels really fun.”
Meng She agreed.
“Right? I even checked out this director’s other films. Not many works, mostly low-budget productions, and the actors are basically unknown, but the ratings are all high. If you’re interested, I’ll go ask around some more.”
At the very least, they needed to ask about the collaborating actors and such. If they ended up stuck with someone troublesome, after working hard for three months, everything could collapse overnight. That definitely wasn’t worth it.
Ming Qi didn’t refuse.
Unlike the entertainment-seeking crowd on Weibo, Reincarnation director Ning Jiang was completely numb after seeing the romance rumors between Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou.
He had specifically studied Ming Qi’s acting in Undercover and also asked several staff friends who had worked on Winter Has Arrived.
The conclusion was unanimous:
Ming Qi’s acting skills and personality were both excellent.
So he contacted Meng She.
What he hadn’t expected was that in the span of just one night, such explosive news would break out.
Of course, as a director, Ning Jiang did not oppose actors dating.
He simply felt that once capital got involved, the resources Ming Qi could obtain certainly would not be as scarce as before. If nothing unexpected happened, one night would be enough for Meng She’s side to receive no fewer than double-digit script offers.
So the question became—
In what forgotten corner would his script end up squeezed into?
Ning Jiang somewhat collapsed as he ruffled his hair, muttering to himself for quite a while before finally barely managing to convince himself—
It wasn’t like Ming Qi was the only actor in the world who fit the character image and also had good acting skills. Worst case, he would just go look for someone else.
Bang.
His forehead hit the tabletop, and he let out a deep sigh.
Saying was one thing, but feeling upset was still very upsetting.
But it was precisely at that moment that Ning Jiang’s phone ringtone rang ding-ding-dong for a while. Expressionless, he called out:
“Xiao Ai, answer the phone.”
Immediately afterward, Meng She’s voice entered his ears:
“Director Ning, our Ming Qi is very interested in Reincarnation. He’d like to arrange a chat with you. Do you have time?”
Ning Jiang blinked blankly, not reacting for a moment.
Until Meng She received no reply and cautiously raised his voice:
“Director Ning? Can you hear me talking?”
Ning Jiang jumped, directly springing up from his chair. Grabbing the phone from the desk, he hurriedly said:
“I can hear you, I can hear you. You just said Ming Qi is very interested in the script, right? Really?”
“Yes. So if you have time, we’d like to discuss specifics.”
“Yes, yes, yes. How about this afternoon? You guys pick a place, and I’ll head over.”
Meng She: “…Alright, I’ll discuss the location with Ming Qi.”
After hanging up, Meng She turned to Ming Qi and said:
“Why does this Director Ning Jiang feel kind of… not very steady? So rushed and energetic. Feels like he’s terrified you’ll run away.”
“That’s not impossible either.” Cen Jing bent over and brought over the freshly cut fruit, smiling. “After all, judging by conditions like funding and reputation, he doesn’t seem to have much advantage.”
That was true.
“He said this afternoon we should arrange a location. Paparazzi are probably staking you out these days. Why not just have him come directly to Westview Bay?” Meng She asked Ming Qi. “What do you think?”
“That works.”
After getting Ming Qi’s approval, Meng She sent the Westview Bay address to Ning Jiang.
At 1:45 in the afternoon, Ning Jiang drove his own car and arrived at Westview Bay fifteen minutes early. The moment he got out, he saw Butler Cen, dressed in a suit, politely smiling at him.
“Director Ning, right? Please follow me.”
Ning Jiang’s gaze swept across the architecture and scenery of Westview Bay. While inwardly marveling that the places rich people lived really were different, he immediately nodded.
“Sorry to trouble you.”
“Not at all.”
Cen Jing brought Ning Jiang to the living room, served him tea, and said:
“Mr. Ming went to walk Little Eight. He’ll probably be back in a few minutes.”
Ning Jiang knew Little Eight was the cat that had previously trended online, nicknamed the Crown Prince.
He nodded and answered with an okay.
The appointment time between him and Ming Qi was two o’clock.
He himself had arrived fifteen minutes early.
Ming Qi carried the cat into the living room and immediately spotted the young man sitting on the sofa.
Ning Jiang looked around the same age as him, with delicate features. At the moment, he held a water cup, seeming somewhat restless.
Ming Qi set Little Eight down and lightly patted its butt.
Little Eight instantly darted onto the sofa, jumped up top, and let out a soft meow.
Ning Jiang’s mind was blank. Suddenly hearing a cat’s cry, he whipped his head around. At the same time he saw Little Eight, he also saw Ming Qi.
The latter curved his eyes at him.
“Director Ning, good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon.”
Although staring directly at someone on a first meeting was impolite, as a director, Ning Jiang truly could not change this bad habit.
Ming Qi didn’t mind either, letting him look him over from left to right.
Only after he had seen enough did Ming Qi step forward and invite him to the study.
Probably sensing that Ming Qi lacked some of the bad habits common among big-name actors, Ning Jiang relaxed considerably.
As he followed Ming Qi upstairs toward the study, he couldn’t help saying a few more words:
“I originally thought you wouldn’t take my script.”
Ming Qi blinked.
“Your script is really interesting. I like it a lot, so there’s no reason not to take it.”
Hearing this, although Ning Jiang said nothing, his eyes practically spelled out a few words:
You have great taste.
…
Ming Qi and Ning Jiang talked in the study for most of the afternoon.
Only when the sun had set, the sky taking on a starry blue dusk, and Yu Qinzhou—just back from the company—knocked on the study door, did they somewhat reluctantly end today’s discussion.
“It’s six o’clock already. Director Ning, stay for dinner before leaving,” Ming Qi suggested.
Ning Jiang subconsciously glanced at Yu Qinzhou.
Standing beside Ming Qi, the tall, long-legged man had refined, striking features and an extraordinary bearing.
Ning Jiang habitually magnified Yu Qinzhou’s identity as a capitalist rather than Ming Qi’s boyfriend.
Because of that, he always felt somewhat nervous and uneasy standing in the same space as him.
Yet Yu Qinzhou seemed completely unaware.
Taking Ming Qi’s hand, he smiled at Ning Jiang.
“The kitchen prepared fresh snow crab today. Mr. Ning, would you like to try some?”
With Yu Qinzhou putting it this way, Ning Jiang naturally could no longer refuse.
While eating, he absentmindedly thought—
He hadn’t expected that after Undercover broke fifty billion at the box office, he would actually be the first person to have dinner with Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou.
Ning Jiang was very satisfied with dinner.
The chefs at Westview Bay were extremely skilled. He felt that if he were Ming Qi, staying here for less than a week would probably make him gain ten pounds.
Before driving away, he rolled down the passenger-side window and said to Ming Qi:
“I’ll prepare the contract tomorrow, then send it to you.”
That rushed, energetic attitude really did make it seem like he was afraid Ming Qi would run away.
Ming Qi couldn’t help smiling and nodding.
“No problem.”
After seeing Ning Jiang off, Yu Qinzhou raised a long finger and poked Ming Qi’s cheek, sighing softly.
“You barely got any rest, and Qiqi’s already going back into a production crew again.”
It sounded kind of sad.
But—
Ming Qi grabbed his finger, suppressing a laugh as he listed the advantages:
“Didn’t people say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and a short separation feels like newlyweds? After I finish filming and come back, our relationship will be even better.”
“And this time when you visit the set, you won’t have to wear a mask anymore.”
Summer was coming at just the right time anyway, saving him from feeling stuffy being all wrapped up.
“You’ll be gone for two or three months at a time. That doesn’t count as a short separation.” Yu Qinzhou clicked his tongue lightly.
Even so, he would not interfere too much with Ming Qi’s career.
“When the time comes, if I don’t have anything going on, I’ll come keep you company. Hopefully this Director Ning will do me the favor.”
Even a strict director like Zhou Xingxiu could tolerate Yu Qinzhou wandering around the set every day, so there definitely wouldn’t be any problem on Ning Jiang’s side.
While pulling Yu Qinzhou’s hand and walking back into the house, Ming Qi said:
“Oh right, Brother Bu messaged today asking if you’re free tomorrow. Didn’t you say before that if the box office hit fifty billion, you’d treat Su Hang to dinner? If you’re free, he’ll book a table at Spring and Autumn Residence tomorrow.”
Yu Qinzhou nodded and agreed.
“No problem.”
…
More than half a month had passed since Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou were photographed.
Neither of them had made much of a move, so online rumors and nonsense naturally increased.
But the ZhouQi CP fans couldn’t be bothered with those bitter haters and instead checked in under Su Hang’s Weibo every day:
[Did Su Hang eat with ZhouQi today? No.]
Su Hang: “……”
On a whim, he specifically counted the number of daily check-ins.
There were actually four digits worth!
Why did these people seem even more anxious than him?
Finally, Su Hang replied under one of the check-in comments:
Tomorrow. We’re eating tomorrow!
CP fans: !
The entire mood was basically:
Bolting upright from a dying illness.
I’m cured. I’m happy. I’ll finally get to see my CP in the same frame soon!
So Su Hang’s four-digit number of check-in comments transformed into:
Please, absolutely turn on your phone camera during dinner. Start a livestream. Thank you.
Su Hang: “……”
So after all this, he was just a tool for CP fans to ship their CP, huh?