Although Ming Qi’s original plan had been to take Yu Qinzhou to the most famous restaurant in all of Tong City for a grand meal, in the end they turned instead toward a small seaside town.
Unlike the refinement and luxury of the previous resort, this seaside town was very ordinary, but the seafood was incredibly fresh, and the owners of the little restaurants were extremely warm and welcoming.
Ming Qi asked more than once, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Yu Qinzhou shot him an amused glance.
“Looks like, in your eyes, I’m really delicate.”
The kind who could only go to high-end restaurants.
Ming Qi thought, Well, isn’t it because of your special status?
Seeing that Yu Qinzhou truly had no objections, he tugged on his sleeve and walked forward while saying:
“Actually, I know this place pretty well. When I was little, my dad and the others needed a seaside town as a filming location for a scene. They discussed it for ages and picked this place. I came along too.”
Over the past few years, he had actually come here from time to time as well.
“Anything in particular you really want to eat? If not, I’ll decide?”
“No problem.”
Ming Qi picked a guesthouse. The moment they stepped inside, they heard someone ask:
“Staying the night?”
The speaker was a middle-aged woman. When she looked up and saw Ming Qi, who had already removed his mask, she immediately smiled.
“Ming Qi! Sit down, I’ll go cook for you.”
Only then did her gaze land on Yu Qinzhou standing beside him. She looked at Yu Qinzhou in surprise, then at the overly close distance between the two. Understanding instantly dawned on her face.
“So you’ve finally grown up—already know to bring your boyfriend to meet me.”
Ming Qi was embarrassed by her teasing. His face even felt a little hot, so he could only resort to his usual trick.
“Aunt Lin, what delicious things do we have today?”
“Today we’ve got really fresh clams and yellow croaker.” The middle-aged woman smiled and patted his head, urging him along. “Take your boyfriend around nearby for a bit. No one’s staying at the guesthouse these couple of days, so I only bought enough for the family. I’ll go buy some more.”
“Okay. Sorry for the trouble, Aunt Lin.”
That evening, Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou sat down right on time to eat the meal Aunt Lin had made.
All the seafood was simple home-style stir-fries—not as fancy as a restaurant’s—but the flavor was so fresh it felt fresh enough to knock your eyebrows off. Aunt Lin even brought out homemade rice wine she had brewed herself.
Ming Qi chatted with Aunt Lin and the others while sipping wine. By the time he came back to himself, he was already pleasantly dizzy, yet he still remembered to quietly ask Yu Qinzhou:
“Do you like tonight’s dinner?”
“Of course I do.”
Yu Qinzhou gently touched his burning-hot cheek. Looking at how adorable he was, he couldn’t help but laugh softly.
He liked more than just tonight’s dinner.
He liked the atmosphere of the dinner too.
Aunt Lin was warm and enthusiastic. Uncle Lin was quiet and reserved, but always chimed in at the right moments.
Seeing that Ming Qi had truly drunk almost too much, Yu Qinzhou stood to say goodbye. Aunt Lin immediately said:
“Why not stay here tonight?”
Though Yu Qinzhou really wanted to accept Aunt Lin’s kindness, neither of them had brought a change of clothes.
Once Aunt Lin heard that, she agreed it made sense. As she walked them out, she glanced at Ming Qi, who had fallen asleep leaning against Yu Qinzhou’s chest, and smiled.
“The first time I met him, I think he had only just started high school.”
“His complexion looked pretty bad back then. He sat alone on that stretch of beach, and I had no idea what he was thinking about. I saw him there in the morning, checked again in the afternoon—still there. By evening, I finally couldn’t help asking if he wanted to come to my house for a meal.”
“He turned me down, but he didn’t turn down my youngest son. Back then my son was only a few years old and just grabbed his hand and brought him home.”
“After that, he came here every year. Didn’t really do much—just like before, sitting by the sea watching it. Once he’d had enough, he’d come eat at my place.”
“Never thought one day he’d actually bring his boyfriend along.”
Aunt Lin smiled and patted Yu Qinzhou on the shoulder.
“Hurry back now. Get some rest early.”
Yu Qinzhou nodded and gently thanked Aunt Lin.
Before leaving, he also slipped the cost of today’s meal into the small notebook at the front desk.
…
Inside the car, the partition between the front and back seats rose, separating the two sides.
Yu Qinzhou lowered his gaze to the person in his arms. After getting drunk, Ming Qi was very well-behaved—not noisy or troublesome. He simply nestled quietly against him, breathing in his scent and sleeping peacefully.
Long fingers played with Ming Qi’s fingers as Yu Qinzhou silently traced his features with his eyes, a hint of a smile spilling from his gaze.
Actually, everything Aunt Lin had said, he already knew.
And the fact that Ming Qi could bring him here made him very happy too.
He had only casually mentioned it:
“The seafood in a seaside town like this probably tastes more authentic, right?”
And Ming Qi had seriously asked if he wanted to come eat in the town.
The door to Ming Qi’s heart had completely opened to him.
…
The hotel belonged to the Yu family group.
Yu Qinzhou’s mask had been left in the car, ignored. One arm wrapped around Ming Qi as he pressed the other man’s face against his chest while walking toward the elevator.
“Feeling uncomfortable?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ming Qi sleepily opened his eyes. In his blurry vision appeared Yu Qinzhou’s face—the kind blessed by God Himself.
Suddenly, he stared blankly.
After a long moment, he pursed his lips into a shy smile and said:
“You’re really good-looking. You kinda look like someone I know.”
Yu Qinzhou clearly hadn’t expected him to answer a completely different question, much less say something like that. Stirred by alcohol-fueled mischief, he slightly raised a brow and smiled.
“Oh? Like who?”
“Come closer. I’ll tell you secretly.”
Bracing one hand against Yu Qinzhou’s arm, Ming Qi struggled to stand up straight and crooked a finger at him.
Yu Qinzhou obediently leaned closer.
Warm breath brushed against his ear, and he heard the softest whisper:
“You look like my husband.”
This time, Yu Qinzhou truly couldn’t hold back.
The smile spilling from his brows and lips was nearly overflowing as he deliberately teased him.
“Then do you like your husband?”
Ming Qi froze.
He thought, This person’s kinda bad. One question and he hit the deepest secret in my heart.
Furrowing his brows, he hesitated over whether to answer. Normally, he definitely wouldn’t say it.
But this person didn’t know him anyway, so telling the truth probably didn’t matter.
Yu Qinzhou saw the hesitation in his eyes. The smile in his gaze softened as he reached out to pinch his cheek.
“Is that question really that hard to answer?”
“Don’t pinch my face. My face will swell.”
His expression was completely serious as he answered the previous question too.
“It’s not hard to answer. I’m just thinking about whether I should tell you.”
“So, have you decided?”
“Will you tell my husband?” Ming Qi asked back.
“Since you secretly told me, I definitely won’t tell him.”
Yu Qinzhou tried to pry out the secret from his lips, coaxing him into spilling all his honest thoughts.
“Tell me, okay?”
Ming Qi thought his voice sounded really nice—soft and gentle, brushing against his ears until they felt a little itchy.
He lifted a hand to cover his ear, leaned in, and whispered softly into the man’s ear:
“It’s hard for anyone not to like him.”
After a pause:
“That dog excluded.”
Hearing the words “It’s hard for anyone not to like him,” Yu Qinzhou felt as if someone had squeezed his heart.
He lowered his gaze to the young man who couldn’t stand steadily and had returned to his arms, head tilted up to reveal a clean, beautiful face.
No one knew how long he looked before suddenly lowering his head to rub his face against him.
“And it’s hard for anyone not to like you too.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Then will he like me?”
“Your husband? He likes you the most. He only likes you.”
Satisfied with the answer, Ming Qi yawned. Very naturally, he wrapped both arms around the man’s neck, leaned his face against him, and said with complete confidence:
“I’m really tired. Can you carry me?”
As if worried he’d refuse, he added:
“You said my husband likes me the most. If it were him, he definitely wouldn’t say no.”
Too adorable.
Yu Qinzhou had never imagined that a tipsy Ming Qi could be this adorable.
He bent down, slipped an arm under Ming Qi’s legs, lifted him bridal style, and walked into the elevator.
Completely unnoticed, three people at the front desk were currently staring at each other wide-eyed.
The short-haired girl bit her lip, eyes fixed intensely on the elevator direction. Only after the elevator doors closed did she let out a low, suppressed shriek.
Holy crap, who gets this, who gets this?!
Barely moments ago, she had just learned that Ming Qi and the “little assistant” by his side were a couple.
And then immediately afterward discovered that the “little assistant” was actually that person from the Yu family group!
So the news about Yu Qinzhou appearing at the film studio really had been true. And he had actually gone there to see Ming Qi!
And she had actually shipped Ming Qi with Bu Hongfang right in front of Yu Qinzhou.
Help. Someone please save me!
Sisi ignored her friend who had once again started losing her mind in place. Taking a deep breath to calm herself after accidentally noticing Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou and reacting quickly enough to dart behind the front desk to hide, she slapped her chest.
“Holy crap, this is so freaking sweet.”
“Right?! Tell me I’m right!”
She turned to the front desk worker, who wore the exact same I’m dying from shipping this expression. The front desk worker nodded furiously.
“In my entire life, I never dreamed I’d get to see something like this. Seriously, benefits for Yu Group employees are just amazing, hahaha!”
The three of them huddled together gossiping excitedly for quite a while.
Not long afterward—
A famous Fangqi CP superfan suddenly posted on Weibo:
“Sorry, sisters. Your girl is setting sail tonight. I’m abandoning the Fangqi ship. Your girl’s going to ship a new CP now.”
PS: “Join me in shipping the new CP and enjoy a beautiful life.”
Other Fangqi CP fans: ???
[LMAO, you just ran off like that?]
[What do you mean? You gave up just like that?]
[Super curious who your new CP is. Is it still Qi-zai? If it’s Qi-zai, how could there possibly be a better pairing than Fangqi?!]
The short-haired girl let out a scoff.
Of course there was.
A wealthy family heir in power × a soon-to-be dazzling superstar, and an actual real-life couple too. Wasn’t that obviously the best one?!
But she couldn’t say it.
She merely joined Sisi and the front desk sister in creating a supertopic for Yu Qinzhou × Ming Qi, naming it:
Zhouqi CP.
Damn it, didn’t that already sound way more badass than Fangqi CP?
Sisi and the short-haired girl squeezed together in front of the same coffee table. Holding her face, she dug out the side-profile photo she had saved of Yu Qinzhou being photographed at the film studio, along with what she considered Ming Qi’s best-looking picture, and uploaded them to the supertopic:
Zhouqi CP — if you ship it, you profit!
The fans of Fangqi CP followed their runaway superfan into the Zhouqi CP supertopic and stared dumbfounded at the side-by-side photos of Yu Qinzhou and Ming Qi.
After a long while, someone finally left one sentence:
You three really dare to dream.