In the dead of night, Ming Qi slept soundly in his arms.
Yu Qinzhou looked at the reflection of the two of them in the floor-to-ceiling window, and his fingers brushed over the young man’s cheek.
The pressure and guilt rooted deep in Ming Qi’s heart were like mountains. A few words alone from him might not be able to move them at all, but Yu Qinzhou knew Ming Qi was actually someone willing to actively change; otherwise he would not have gone to see a psychologist back then.
What he could do now was to stay consistently by his side.
“Good night. I hope your dreams also have their love.”
…
Early the next morning, around six, Ming Qi got out of bed.
Standing by the bathroom window, he silently looked at his reflection in the mirror. Until a tall figure appeared behind him—Yu Qinzhou was still in sleepwear, casually placing his hand on Ming Qi’s shoulder and asking, “What are you looking at?”
Ming Qi turned back, leaning his face slightly closer to Yu Qinzhou’s. He pointed at the area under his eyes, his expression somewhat serious: “Is it swollen?”
Yu Qinzhou naturally pressed the pad of his finger against it and gently rubbed. It was quite soft.
He turned Ming Qi’s head back: “Hurry and brush your teeth and wash your face. I’ll have Cen Jing prepare ice for you to apply.”
Usually, if it was swollen, it was just swollen. But today was different—Ming Qi still had to go to Tong City to shoot an advertisement.
When Meng She slowly shuffled into the villa living room, Ming Qi was already using ice on his eyes. He greeted Meng She, but Meng She’s gaze first landed on what he was doing, and his brows immediately furrowed: “What happened to your eyes?”
Ming Qi: “A little swollen.”
He moved his hand away and leaned over for Meng She to see.
Meng She glanced at Yu Qinzhou, who wasn’t at the dining table, and couldn’t help lowering his voice curiously and asking Ming Qi: “Crying?”
Ming Qi: “…Mm.”
Meng She gave a meaningful “oh,” his tone rising exaggeratedly in a short burst: “Mr. Yu is that intense?”
Did he make you cry?
Ming Qi’s brain froze for ten seconds before he realized what Meng She meant by “Mr. Yu is that intense.” His expression stiffened, his eyes gradually becoming indescribable, and he said, unable to hold it back: “Bro, are you a paint bucket?”
Meng She: “What does that mean?”
Hearing the word “assistant” all of a sudden, Ming Qi almost laughed out loud.
The supreme head of the Yu Corporation, one day actually mistaken for his assistant. And yet Yu Qinchou didn’t show any intention of correcting it. He nodded slightly toward Sisi, his voice warm and gentle: “Hello.”
Sisi: “Hello, hello.”
Ming Qi’s manager was really tall—standing next to Ming Qi, he was actually a little taller than him, and from his brows and eyes he also looked extremely handsome.
After getting into the nanny van, Ming Qi took off his mask, while Yu Qinchou sitting beside him remained as before. At first Sisi didn’t pay much attention, only chatting briefly with Ming Qi about today’s shooting requirements.
“The weather is really nice today, feels like the photos will turn out great.” After saying that, Sisi lowered her voice and asked Ming Qi, “Qiqi, can you reveal a bit about your upcoming work schedule? The fans in the group yesterday were saying they really want to see you filming movies.”
After yesterday, Sisi had completely gone from a simple face fan to a hardcore fan.
During filming, you could see most clearly an artist’s temper and personality.
She could fully confirm that Ming Qi was worth supporting.
“Maybe I’ll go audition for a literary film. It’s not clear yet. I’ll let you all know if there’s good news,” Ming Qi said with a smile.
“Alright, alright.” As long as he was working, that was good!
Fans were most afraid of their idol staying at home doing nothing.
Kuju really was as their manager said—though not a very big brand, the boss was very rich. They directly booked a very famous seaside resort in Tong City, and even the surrounding several kilometers of coastline had no other people, making filming extremely smooth.
The spring sun wasn’t yet harsh, but Ming Qi’s face still got a little sunburned and turned slightly red. Yu Qinchou lightly touched his cheek, frowning as he asked, “Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt, it’s fine. I’ll just put on a hydrating mask when I get back.” Holding the fruit tea provided by the brand, one sip was icy and refreshing, making Ming Qi squint in comfort. After a few seconds, he asked Yu Qinchou, “What about you? You can just sit in the tent when I’m filming, no need to come out and get sunburned with me.”
“Alright.”
Even though he said that, when Ming Qi started filming again, Yu Qinchou still stood outside the tent, watching every movement and every back view of him with focused attention. After getting permission from the director, he even took a few photos and saved them on his phone.
Sisi and a few other staff who were temporarily free stood not far from Yu Qinchou, drinking fruit tea. Sisi reminded him, “Assistant QiQi, there’s still a lot of fruit tea, don’t be shy. There are also small cakes you can eat. We don’t even know when lunch will be today, so have something to fill your stomach.”
Yu Qinchou nodded slightly. “Thank you, but I’m not hungry right now.”
Sisi touched her chin. “Assistant QiQi, has anyone ever told you that you look like someone?”
Yu Qinchou raised a brow slightly. “Who?”
Sisi: “Yu Qinchou. But you don’t have the little red mole at the corner of your eye.”
The others all nodded as well.
Yu Qinchou let out a quiet laugh. So it seemed Ming Qi covering the red mole at the corner of his eye earlier that morning was the right decision. He didn’t respond to their teasing, instead asking, “Are you all fans of Ming Qi?”
“I’ve always been one,” a girl with long curly hair raised her hand, eyes curved like crescent moons. “Qizai and I are from the same film academy in the capital. I liked him back then.”
“Hehe, I only became a fan yesterday, I used to be just a passerby.”
“I’m different—I’m a shipper of Qizai and Bo Hongfang’s CP, hahaha!”
Yu Qinchou: “?”
The man’s relaxed, smiling brows stiffened slightly. He asked again, a bit uncertainly, “A CP fan of Ming Qi and Bo Hongfang?”
“Yes, yes,” the short-haired girl answered matter-of-factly, not seeing any problem at all. “They’ve collaborated twice already. The ‘Fangqi’ CP is already pretty popular. Hey, Assistant QiQi, can you leak a bit—do you think those two could be real?”
Yu Qinchou: “The CP name is pretty well chosen.”
Sisi couldn’t help laughing. “With that CP name, if they were really together, what are you even thinking? Besides, Bo Hongfang and Huo Chengtang are the real pair.”
“Red Sugar CP is already in the past.”
The girls laughed and argued noisily, while Yu Qinchou lowered his gaze and opened Weibo to search for the Fangqi CP. As expected, just like the girls said, the fanbase in the super topic was quite large.
He pressed his lips together and gave a faint “tch.”
As Sisi said, it wasn’t until 2 p.m. that Ming Qi and the staff finally ate lunch. However, it wasn’t boxed meals, but food prepared by the resort’s chef. The staff also got to temporarily escape the scorching afternoon sun and cool down indoors for a while.
Ming Qi had been sunburned for a long time and didn’t have much appetite. Yu Qinchou handed him his favorite sweet-and-sour ribs, but he still looked listless and didn’t want to eat.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Then have some soup?”
Soup was fine.
Ming Qi handed over his bowl, which Yu Qinchou took and filled with a small half-bowl, letting him drink slowly.
While drinking, Ming Qi asked uncertainly, “You really already ate?”
“I ate. I snuck off and ate secretly,” Yu Qinchou said casually, but Ming Qi somehow heard a hint of grievance in it.
He awkwardly rubbed his nose and comforted him, “I’ll treat you to dinner tonight. I’ll make sure you can eat openly and honestly.”
Yu Qinchou smiled. “Openly and honestly eating in a private room?”
Ming Qi: “…”
He’d been seen right through.
After lunch, they filmed for another hour or so, and the entire commercial shoot finally came to a complete end. The person in charge of Bitter Orange invited Ming Qi to dinner. Ming Qi looked at Yu Qinzhou. Just as Yu Qinzhou thought he was about to agree, Ming Qi gave the person in charge an apologetic smile.
“I already promised my assistant I’d have dinner with him alone tonight.”
He deliberately emphasized the word ‘alone’.
The person in charge thought, What’s there to have dinner alone with an assistant for? But then he looked up and saw the so-called “assistant” gazing at Ming Qi with such tenderness it seemed like water could drip from his eyes.
Wait.
It suddenly felt like he knew something.
He coughed lightly. “Alright, then I won’t disturb you two.”
The person in charge said goodbye to them and returned to the team. Sisi and the others looked up and saw only one person returning, stunned for a moment.
“President Zhang, why is it just you? Where are Ming Qi and the little assistant?”
President Zhang said, “They’ve got something to do. Tonight, it’ll just be us eating.”
Although Sisi and the others felt regretful, the thought of the big meal waiting for them quickly improved their moods. The group strolled leisurely toward the pier when the short-haired girl suddenly spotted two figures standing not far away. She quickly tugged at Sisi’s sleeve.
Sisi: “What the—”
Before the confusion could fully leave her mouth, her eyes widened uncontrollably.
In her line of sight, the little assistant who had chatted with them a few times had one arm wrapped around Ming Qi’s lower back. Ming Qi looked up and seemed to say something. The little assistant slightly raised his brows, lifted the hand on his waist to pat his head, then held his hand and bent down to enter a black Maybach together.
President Zhang had clearly seen the scene as well. His gaze swept over the few employees beside him who had already gone dumbfounded, and he quickly spoke up:
“You all know, right? What should be said and what shouldn’t?”
Sisi: “…Ah.”
Short-haired girl: “…Mm.”
The few exchanged glances. Suddenly, the short-haired girl started stomping her feet and losing her mind on the spot.
“Damn! No wonder when I said I shipped the Fangqi CP, this little assistant’s expression was so weird! Turns out he’s not some assistant at all! Makes sense though—there was never any news about Qi-zai hiring a little assistant. There’s only ever been Meng She around him. It was all just couple roleplay!”
The mastermind behind this little “romantic game,” Yu Qinzhou, sat in the back seat, his gaze falling on the rearview mirror, clearly seeing the group standing in the distance.
A long finger hooked down his mask, revealing a smile full of unclear meaning.