After finishing talking about the relationship between Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou, Meng She finally remembered why he originally came to Ming Qi’s suite.
Ming Qi had just managed to calm Meng She down when he was hit again by news that Yu Qinzhou had trended online. He nearly choked on a mouthful of milk. He coughed violently, face flushed red. Seeing this, Meng She quickly stood up to pat his back, but just as his hand moved, the bedroom door behind them opened.
Yu Qinzhou walked out and took over.
Meng She looked down at his own hand and silently withdrew it.
Damn so-called contractual marriage.
Ming Qi recovered and waved his hand toward Yu Qinzhou, then turned to Meng She. “Meng-ge said you trended online?”
Yu Qinzhou gave a soft “mm.” Compared to Ming Qi’s ignorance and panic, he was extremely calm. “Only photos of me entering the hotel were taken. I already had it removed. No need to worry.”
Meng She added, “But now everyone knows Mr. Yu has a little lover in the entertainment industry, and they’re guessing who that lover is.”
Meng She opened a poll on his burner account.
Among the options, Ji Zhao led far ahead with 58% of the votes.
Seeing Ming Qi lean over to look, Meng She comforted him, “It’s fine. You’re also nominated.”
Just… only 1%.
Ming Qi: “…You don’t need to comfort me.”
What he wanted was a nomination for the grand prize.
“Although the Yu Group’s PR team has already taken action, I just saw the production staff at the crew talking about it. It seems there are a lot more professional photo stalkers and paparazzi around the film city. Are you heading back to Jing City today?” Meng She asked the two of them.
His suggestion was not to return. It would be better to stay here for a couple more days. Based on his understanding of paparazzi, if they couldn’t capture anything for several days in a row, they would lose interest in the matter. They would assume that Yu Qinzhou and the mysterious little lover had already slipped away while they weren’t paying attention. Staying in the film city to keep waiting would become meaningless, and they would eventually leave sooner or later.
Ming Qi hesitated and looked toward Yu Qinzhou.
“Whether we go back or not is up to you. I’ll handle everything.”
“Will we get photographed?” Ming Qi asked him.
“No.”
After confirming their return to Jing City, a relatively ordinary black Volkswagen parked that afternoon in the underground garage of the hotel where the Undercover crew was staying. Everyone knew Yu Qinzhou had arrived at the film city in a flashy Maybach, so no one paid any attention to the Volkswagen leaving.
The trip to the airport went smoothly. They boarded Yu Qinzhou’s private jet.
It was Meng She’s first time on a private jet—his eyes practically widened in disbelief.
He took the wine handed to him by the flight attendant and was about to drink it when he noticed Ming Qi’s quiet, warning gaze.
Meng She: “…Right, right, I forgot. Haha.”
He handed the wine back to the attendant, eyes slightly teary. “Please switch mine to orange juice. I don’t drink alcohol.”
With orange juice replacing liquor, Meng She took a sip and clicked his tongue in amazement. “I never thought I’d ever get to ride on Mr. Yu’s private jet in my life.”
Ming Qi was holding a fork, poking at his steak. He smiled and said, “Sounds like I ever dreamed of it.”
The two looked at each other. Meng She raised his juice, Ming Qi raised his fork, and they clinked them lightly.
When they returned to West Scenic Bay, Ming Qi did not go to the neighboring villa. He walked into the living room, and a fluffy little cat shot out from inside like an arrow, clawing up his pants all the way until it reached his shoulder. It skillfully settled there, rubbing its soft face against his cheek while meowing nonstop.
Yan Jing came out and couldn’t help laughing. “Xiao Ba really misses Mr. Ming.”
Ming Qi’s heart melted at the sound. He petted its head with his left hand, and Xiao Ba immediately pushed its head into his palm in response.
The father-and-son reunion scene made Yu Qinzhou, who had just arrived behind them, raise his brows slightly. He said lightly, “When it sees me, it’s never this enthusiastic.”
Ming Qi, still teasing Xiao Ba, couldn’t help laughing at that. “Then it must mean Xiao Ba likes me more.”
Yu Qinzhou reached out, lifted Xiao Ba by the back of its neck, and placed it into his arms. “Mm. I like you more too.”
Ming Qi: “……”
Why was he suddenly flirting in front of Meng She and Yan Jing?
Feeling awkward, Ming Qi touched his nose and turned away to look at the white geese instead.
Meng She was left standing there, glancing between Ming Qi’s retreating back and the tall man leaning lazily on the sofa. Just as he was about to say something, Yu Qinzhou spoke first.
“Mr. Meng, would you like to join us for dinner?”
“…Then I won’t be polite?”
“You don’t need to be.”
…
Because Ming Qi’s hand was still injured, dinner was relatively light. Even so, the chef at West Scenic Bay cooked so well that Meng She ended up eating two full bowls of rice.
After dinner, Ming Qi went chasing Xiao Ba back to the room, leaving only Meng She and Yu Qinzhou at the table.
Meng She secretly glanced at Yu Qinzhou and noticed his elegant, refined movements while eating. Somehow, sitting across from him now made Meng She feel even more nervous than before.
“Mr. Meng.” Yu Qinzhou set down his chopsticks and looked at him with a face that seemed blessed by the gods, smiling faintly. “There are some things that aren’t appropriate to say as Ming Qi’s fan, but they are appropriate to say as his legal spouse.”
Meng She had already suspected Yu Qinzhou had deliberately sent Ming Qi away. Hearing this, he nodded immediately. “Please go ahead.”
“Normally, I won’t interfere with Ming Qi’s work. But if you encounter any problems you can’t solve, feel free to tell me. Can you do that?”
Meng She froze for a moment.
He had thought Yu Qinzhou would say something serious, but it turned out to be only this.
And from it, he could vaguely sense how different Yu Qinzhou was when it came to Ming Qi. Not sure where he found the courage, Meng She suddenly asked, “Mr. Yu… are you and Qi Zai really just in a contractual marriage?”
As soon as he said it, he snapped back to his senses. His expression changed drastically and he quickly raised his hand. “Wait—Mr. Yu, you don’t have to answer that.”
He didn’t trust his own mouth very much.
Coincidentally, Yu Qinzhou also didn’t trust Meng She’s mouth very much.
Meng She stood up and, facing the young man who held immense power and status, finally said, “I agree. But I do want to say something presumptuous—I just hope Ming Qi stays healthy and happy, no matter what.”
“Of course.”
Around eight in the evening, the driver sent Meng She home. Ming Qi also returned to the bathroom to get ready to wash up.
After yesterday’s incident, he had learned his lesson. He wore a loose cardigan that was easy to take off even with one hand.
When he came out of the bathroom refreshed, the family doctor was already waiting in the living room. Yu Qinzhou gestured for Ming Qi to come over.
“Let the doctor check the wound and change the dressing.”
The gauze was removed, and Yu Qinzhou frowned the moment he saw it.
Even though he had already heard about the situation, seeing the injury firsthand still darkened his expression. The wound was deep enough to require stitches, and that once beautiful, fair hand now bore an ugly scar.
After carefully examining it, the family doctor replaced the dressing and said, “The suturing is fine, and it’s healing well. Just be careful with your diet recently, and avoid anything that might cause scarring.”
“Thank you.” Ming Qi smiled gently at him.
“Thank you.”
After seeing the doctor off, Ming Qi checked the time and figured it was already late, so he simply returned to his own room. However, when he pushed the door open, the bed was completely empty.
He stood there in a daze for two seconds, then stepped back to check the door again—
This was his room.
He had just been showering in the bathroom inside it.
Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, Ming Qi turned his head and saw Yu Qinzhou. Confusion was written all over his face. “Where’s my blanket?”
“It’s been put away.” Yu Qinzhou replied calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Meeting Ming Qi’s increasingly puzzled gaze, his tone remained casual. “Now that we’re back home, you’re not sleeping with me anymore?”
…That sounded weird no matter how he put it.
And besides, now that they were home, wasn’t there an extra bed?
Ming Qi hesitated for a few seconds and cautiously asked, “Then… same as before? We still sleep together?”
Yu Qinzhou nodded.
So Ming Qi followed him into the master bedroom.
This wasn’t the first time Ming Qi had entered Yu Qinzhou’s master bedroom. In fact, he had been in there many times before. Mostly because Xiao Ba liked to run around, and whenever Ming Qi couldn’t find it, he would guess it had secretly slipped into Yu Qinzhou’s room.
Standing beside Yu Qinzhou, Ming Qi noticed the room had changed significantly. There was now a small coffee table and a sofa, both placed with his favorite snacks. On the other side, the open wardrobe even had his clothes hanging inside.
His clothes had been moved over.
Ming Qi started to suspect that even if he hadn’t suggested sleeping together, Yu Qinzhou would still have found a way to bring him over.
“So I still sleep on that side?”
“The other side.” Yu Qinzhou pointed.
“Is there a reason?”
“Worried you’ll press on your right hand while sleeping.”
Ming Qi didn’t remember much of what happened when he slept, so he assumed it was just Yu Qinzhou being cautious in advance. He didn’t think too much of it and obediently followed instructions. Wearing soft silk sleep pants, he climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up with one hand, revealing only his small face.
“Do you still have work to do?”
“Mm. I’ll handle a few documents. You can play on your phone for a while. Call me when you’re going to sleep.”
Ming Qi didn’t quite understand why he had to call him before sleeping, but still nodded.
The bedroom door closed. Ming Qi found one-handed phone use awkward, so he sat up cross-legged and rested the phone on his knees. That made his neck sore, so he lay back down, stared at the ceiling for a bit, then sat up again and continued scrolling.
Maybe because he had once saved Yu Qinzhou’s interview videos, or because Yu Qinzhou’s appearance in the film city had become too eye-catching, at least three out of the five videos he scrolled through were about Yu Qinzhou.
He didn’t swipe away. Instead, he listened with interest as different content creators analyzed who Yu Qinzhou had gone to see in the film city, and discussed his past.
It was actually quite entertaining.
That was until Yu Qinzhou quietly pushed the door open and walked into the bedroom, hearing the final line from a video:
“At the very least, we can now confirm that Yu Xuezhang has no physiological issues.”
Yu Qinzhou: “……?”