In the end, Pei Qingjian couldn’t help it and gently withdrew his hand, ordering takeout for Lan Xingchen.
Lan Xingchen stood beside him, watching intently.
Pei Qingjian asked, “Do you want this?”
“Mm-hmm,” Lan Xingchen responded.
“And this?”
“Mm-hmm,” he continued.
Pei Qingjian: …
“You didn’t even look!”
Lan Xingchen smiled brightly. “I’ll eat whatever you order.”
Pei Qingjian: …
So he had to rely on his knowledge of Lan Xingchen, ordering what he usually liked.
“Done looking?” he asked, glancing at Lan Xingchen.
Lan Xingchen shook his head. “Can’t look enough.”
Pei Qingjian laughed, tilting his face toward him. “Then take a closer look.”
Lan Xingchen was instantly sweetened by the moment; his heart raced, and his breathing softened considerably.
He looked at the person before him, at the way he had tilted his face up, and felt his affection overflowing.
What had he been thinking before? How could he have considered just being friends?
He clearly liked him!
His feelings for him had never been like his feelings for any other friend!
Friends? What friends!
Boyfriend was his true destination!
“C… can I… kiss you?” Lan Xingchen asked softly, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Pei Qingjian: ???
Pei Qingjian feigned surprise. “You’re still in the trial period.”
Lan Xingchen, hearing this, didn’t dare argue.
Seeing him so obediently just staring at him without trying to fight for it, Pei Qingjian thought he was unexpectedly innocent.
After all, he was “a sponsor who only wanted to be friends” at first.
Thinking back, Pei Qingjian hadn’t anticipated that when he realized he liked Lan Xingchen, Lan Xingchen would like him back.
It made sense—Lan Xingchen had always emphasized not to fall for him.
Pei Qingjian had agreed easily, but he was just human. Being around him every day, feeling Lan Xingchen’s constant care, the daily hugs and closeness… Pei Qingjian had never experienced anything like it with anyone else.
Inevitably, he had developed feelings that were different from friendship.
But he didn’t want Lan Xingchen to bear the cost of those feelings.
It was his one-sided desire—he was willing, and no one else needed to be moved or entangled on his behalf.
Lan Xingjian was the closest, most cherished person to him in both worlds, so he only wanted their memories to be happy, to be cherished.
Memories that, whenever recalled, would bring a smile without regret.
So Pei Qingjian said nothing.
He simply cherished every day with Lan Xingchen, gently, lovingly.
Yet he hadn’t expected that on the very first day after the contract ended, Lan Xingchen would say something like this.
It turned out he wasn’t the only one who had developed unexpected feelings.
Of course—Lan Xingchen spoke of friendship, but he had never been so clingy with any other friend, nor this cautious in relationships with others.
It seemed that what he had thought was one-sided was actually mutual.
Pei Qingjian’s smile gradually spread, like a ripple about to blossom.
Lan Xingchen looked at him. “What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing,” Pei Qingjian said softly.
Lan Xingchen didn’t believe him. “You definitely are.”
“Alright,” Pei Qingjian nodded, “I just think it’s funny—first you tell me not to like you, and now you say you like me.”
Lan Xingchen: …
His face burned hot.
When he drafted the contract, he hadn’t imagined it would really develop into this. If Pei Qingjian hadn’t been so endearing, he would have kept it professional—he certainly wouldn’t have fallen for him.
“I didn’t know,” Lan Xingchen said softly. “Besides, if I hadn’t signed the contract with you first, who knows where you’d be right now!”
It could have been Xiao Jin, hmph!
Thinking this through, he felt his move had been quite wise. This wasn’t a “caged canary contract” at all—it was clearly a “wife reservation agreement”!
“If only I had signed it with you sooner, we could have spent more time together earlier. By now, maybe your trial period would be over, and we’d already be together.”
Pei Qingjian: … He had to admit, that made some sense.
“Did I say I wanted to be with you?” Lan Xingchen teased.
He hooked his fingers around Pei Qingjian’s and gently shook them. “Then you can continue your trial period—test a little more.”
Pei Qingjian tried to suppress his smile, unwilling to reveal his thoughts, but Lan Xingchen’s earnest cuteness made it impossible. Though he pressed his lips into a line, the smile still leaked from his eyes.
Lan Xingchen knew he liked him too.
If he didn’t like him, would he agree to a trial period?
Would he let him hug and hold him every day?
Would he let him hold his fingers like this?
And that talisman—on the very first day after moving out, before even unpacking, he had rushed to the temple to get one for him. Could that not be love?!
The more he thought about it, the more adorable he found Pei Qingjian, and his heart softened as if it were a light, silky candy.
“Really… can’t I kiss you?” Lan Xingchen leaned closer.
He really wanted just one kiss—even if only a single one.
Pei Qingjian’s heart nearly trembled from this request; he almost nodded immediately. One kiss? Ten wouldn’t be enough.
Yet halfway through nodding, he remembered he had said he would “observe” Lan Xingchen.
If he kissed him now, what observation would remain? It would all be revealed, and he wouldn’t be able to tease him further.
But he also wanted to be close to Lan Xingchen.
Pei Qingjian gazed into his eyes, thought for a moment, and spoke softly, “Kissing and observing—those can coexist. It won’t affect either.”
Lan Xingchen nodded. “Absolutely won’t affect it.”
Pei Qingjian smiled, tilting his face slightly.
Lan Xingchen understood immediately, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek.
After one kiss, he couldn’t resist and added another.
Pei Qingjian pulled back from his flushed face, feeling slightly awkward, and lowered his gaze—only to notice Lan Xingchen’s fingers still hooked with his.
He gently tugged; Lan Xingchen tugged back softly. The back-and-forth made Pei Qingjian feel embarrassed, and he hastily let go.
“When is this takeout going to arrive?” he asked, glancing to the side.
Lan Xingchen simply looked at him, thinking to himself that it didn’t matter—he had no appetite for food anyway.
He glanced at the neatly made bed Pei Qingjian had prepared. “So… I’ll sleep here tonight?”
Pei Qingjian: …
The food isn’t even eaten yet, and you’re already thinking about sleeping?!
He nodded, “Yeah.”
Mainly because the other rooms weren’t cleaned yet.
Lan Xingchen’s heart finally settled with that confirmation.
Good. He could at least think about skipping dinner and going straight to bed.
But, as expected, it was only a thought. Not long after, the takeout arrived. Lan Xingchen went out to get it, set the dishes on the coffee table, and they began their dinner.
Of course, Lan Xingchen did most of the eating; Pei Qingjian was more there for company.
After finishing, Lan Xingchen tidied up the takeout boxes and started thinking about sleeping.
Pei Qingjian couldn’t help but chuckle—who goes straight to bed after just eating?
He remembered that last night, Lan Xingchen had asked if he wanted to watch a movie. “Which movie were you thinking of then?”
Lan Xingchen suddenly remembered and told him the title.
Pei Qingjian’s home had no projector, and the TV was too old to cast the screen, so they sat on the sofa and watched it on the computer together.
It was a romance movie about a lively, cheerful heroine who accidentally encountered a love deity that had fallen into the mortal world atop a famous celebrity. Through their daily interactions, she developed feelings and found true love.
At the end, the love deity had to leave, leaving the heroine alone in the mortal world.
One night, under a shooting star, the heroine remembered something the male lead once told her: “A shooting star falling to the mortal world is the only way to connect mortal hearts. Make a wish upon it—maybe the gods up above will hear and make your wish come true.”
So she closed her eyes, sincerely wishing to see the one she loved again.
When she opened them, she saw the male lead walking toward her.
Pei Qingjian looked at the frozen final frame and asked Lan Xingchen, “Who do you think appears in the end? The celebrity she liked at first, or the love deity?”
“It’s the love deity,” Lan Xingchen said.
“Maybe it’s the celebrity?”
“But the one she liked was the love deity.”
“But she admired the celebrity a lot too.”
“That’s not love,” Lan Xingchen insisted. “She admired the celebrity, liked him even, but like a fan. It’s not love. The one she spent every day with, who solved her problems, who made her heart flutter, and who lingered in her dreams after leaving… that’s the love deity. So of course it should be the love deity who appears in the end.”
Pei Qingjian couldn’t help but think of himself.
He asked, “And you? If it were you, would you rather see the celebrity or the love deity appear in front of you in the end?”
“Of course the love deity,” Lan Xingchen said without hesitation.
Pei Qingjian smiled. He had expected that.
“You wouldn’t be surprised if the love deity told you he wasn’t the celebrity you thought, but actually a god who accidentally fell onto the celebrity and became the one you spent all that time with?”
Lan Xingchen thought for a moment. “If I like him, I wouldn’t think that.”
Because when you like someone, even the most unbelievable things become believable—not believing the thing itself, but believing the person.
Pei Qingjian’s elegant brows curved like a crescent moon in the night. He wanted to tell Lan Xingchen, I am the love deity, but decided to give him some buffer time.
The day had already been overwhelming. So Pei Qingjian stayed silent, only smiling warmly. “I also think it’s the love deity who appears in the end.”
“Of course it’s the love deity,” Lan Xingchen said firmly. “The heroine prayed for the one she liked to appear again. She liked the love deity.”
“Mm,” Pei Qingjian nodded.
Lan Xingchen then turned to him, speaking softly, “Just like how I like you.”
Smack! It hit straight at Pei Qingjian’s heart.
He stared at Lan Xingchen, his face slowly turning red.
Seeing him shyly look away, Lan Xingchen leaned closer. “If one day you disappeared, I would pray for you to appear again.”
Pei Qingjian glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Lan Xingchen quickly added, “No, I won’t let you disappear.”
Proudly, he said, “I react fast. See? We’ve been apart for just one day, and I already realized the severity of the problem. I came running to you, so I’ll watch over you closely—won’t let you vanish from under my eyes.”
Pei Qingjian laughed. “You? React fast?”
“Isn’t that fast enough?” Lan Xingchen thought it already was.
Though part of it was thanks to the online fans’ support, he had already vaguely sensed something was wrong last night. The contract and their prior arrangements had held him back from realizing it fully.
Had they been dating from the start, he would have understood much sooner.
Alas, the contract had both made and hindered them.
Pei Qingjian didn’t have the heart to tease him, nodding along. “Mm, that is pretty fast.”
“Still not fast enough,” Lan Xingchen self-criticized. “If I had realized it last night, you wouldn’t even be here now.”
That’s true, Pei Qingjian thought.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Lan Xingchen continued quickly. “As long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter where.”
Pei Qingjian: … Wow. This is really the difference between before and after the enlightenment, huh?
He thought, This kid really knows how to talk!
“Who gave him the enlightenment? And it’s way too intense!”
“I’m going to wash up,” Pei Qingjian said, standing and leaving the sofa.
Lan Xingchen immediately followed. “I’ll go with you.”
“You’re still in the observation period.”
Lan Xingchen: …
“Then I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.”
After saying that, he leaned close to Pei Qingjian and deliberately teased, “Waiting for your blessing.”
Pei Qingjian: !!!
“What blessing? I told you, you’re still in the observation period!”
Lan Xingchen’s tone was earnest. “But don’t you want to inspect the… hardware? That’s important too.”
Pei Qingjian: !!!
Does he really need to inspect that?! Doesn’t he already know if it works or not?!
“No,” Pei Qingjian said immediately, crossing his hands. No hesitation.
Lan Xingchen sighed, pretending to be disappointed. “Well… then consider it again.”