The unfamiliar voice made Wen Yulan pause mid-step. He turned slightly. The faint light ahead could only barely outline a half silhouette of a tall figure. The feeling of being watched from the darkness made Wen Yulan uncomfortable. Unlike his usual gentle and polite demeanor, his voice carried a hint of displeasure.
“Sir, isn’t it a bit impolite to eavesdrop on someone’s phone call?”
“Eavesdrop?”
The lazy tone carried obvious indifference. Yu Qinchou slowly straightened and walked over. The moment he passed Wen Yulan, he stopped.
His nearly 190 cm height forced his gaze downward as he looked at the younger man beside him. He let out a soft chuckle and asked, “Does Mr. Wen also clear out an entire area before answering a call in a public place?”
Wen Yulan’s expression stiffened slightly.
He hadn’t expected the person hiding in the shadows to be Yu Qinchou.
Even though Wen Yulan didn’t often involve himself in their social circle, he had still heard of Yu Qinchou’s name. Two months ago, people in the Yu family circle were still mocking how this illegitimate son had finally failed abroad and was returning home. A month later, those same people, when facing Yu Qinchou, became silent like frightened birds.
No one wanted to offend Yu Qinchou.
Wen Yulan was no exception.
Almost instantly, he composed himself again, returning to a polite and friendly expression. “My apologies, Mr. Yu. I disturbed your rest.”
Yu Qinchou’s eyes flashed with faint mockery, though his tone remained flat. “Mr. Wen and your fiancé really do have a relationship that others admire.”
…
When Ming Qi noticed Wen Yulan returning from the call, he seemed a little distracted.
He put down his chopsticks and asked considerately, “Is there something urgent you need to handle?”
Wen Yulan came back to his senses. The doubt in his brow was suppressed, and he smiled. “Nothing much. I just ran into someone unexpected earlier. Xiao Qi, you might have heard of him too—Yu Qinchou.”
Ming Qi nearly choked on his pear juice, coughing hard as the corners of his eyes and the back of his neck turned red.
He thought to himself: not only had he heard of him—he had even signed a marriage agreement with him.
Wen Yulan didn’t expect such a big reaction and quickly handed him a tissue. Ming Qi mumbled a thank you, wiped away the tears from coughing, and took a sip of tea to calm himself.
“Why are you so startled?” Wen Yulan laughed. “You must’ve heard the rumors about this big figure, right?”
Ming Qi opened his mouth but didn’t tell the truth. In the end, he just nodded.
“Even though it’s unlikely you’ll run into him, Xiao Qi, it’s still better if you avoid him in the future,” Wen Yulan advised. “He’s not a good person.”
Ming Qi paused slightly while folding the tissue. “Why do you say that?”
Wen Yulan didn’t notice the subtle change in his expression and just joked, “Haven’t you heard the rumors? What, you still think he’s a good person?”
“Rumors are rumors. Seeing is believing.” Ming Qi said seriously. “I think he seems pretty good.”
Wen Yulan hadn’t expected him to disagree on this. After a brief silence, he smiled. “You’re right.”
After dinner, Wen Yulan dropped Ming Qi off at Shangti Lüyin. After getting out of the car, Ming Qi pressed his face against the window and waved with a smile. “Drive safe. Take it slow.”
Wen Yulan smiled and agreed. “You should rest early too. Since you rarely have free time, take care of yourself.”
Ming Qi quickly nodded and urged him to go home.
Wen Yulan rolled up the window and drove off.
Not far ahead, he noticed a luxury car parked by the roadside. The night was too dark to see clearly, but judging by its outline, it was likely extremely expensive. He didn’t pay much attention—there were plenty of luxury cars in the capital.
Ming Qi had just walked a few steps into the residential area when his phone buzzed. He turned back to the gate and scanned around, quickly spotting the nearly invisible Koenigsegg blending into the night.
Afraid Yu Qinchou had been waiting too long, he jogged over without hesitation.
When he reached the car and was about to knock, the door automatically opened. Yu Qinchou clearly intended for him to get in directly, so Ming Qi obediently climbed inside.
A faint chill clung to him from outside, but his face was slightly flushed from the short run.
“Have you been waiting long, Mr. Yu? You could’ve just messaged me earlier—you wouldn’t have needed to make a special trip.”
Yu Qinchou understood his meaning but pretended not to. “Oh?”
Ming Qi smiled. “My friend said he ran into you at Spring Autumn House. I was there too.”
“Wen Yulan?”
“Mr. Yu knows A Lan?” Ming Qi asked in surprise.
“A Lan”—what an intimate way to address him.
Yu Qinchou’s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, the motion slightly heavier than usual. Something like a dark cloud seemed to gather in his chest, blocking out the sun.
But before Ming Qi could notice, it was already concealed.
He asked casually, “You and Wen Er are close?”
Ming Qi nodded honestly. “We’ve known each other since high school. We were in the same class. Later in university, even though we studied different majors, the art school and film academy are on the same street. We’re close by, so we often went out to eat together. Our relationship never faded.”
Speaking of university, Ming Qi found himself talking more without realizing it.
“I heard that Mr. Yu studied abroad for college?”
“Who did you hear that from?”
That question immediately stumped Ming Qi. He blinked and replied innocently, “A lot of people.”
But he couldn’t remember exactly who anymore.
After all, ever since Yu Qinzhou returned to the country, he had done things that were far too attention-grabbing. People talked about him a lot, so naturally his overseas education had come up as well.
“Oh right, did Mr. Yu wait for me at the entrance so late because of something?”
“I brought you tea leaves.”
Ming Qi: “…Huh?”
How did Mr. Yu even conclude that he liked drinking tea?
A trace of confusion rose in Ming Qi’s eyes, until the man beside him added, “You can use it to make milk tea at home.”
The confusion faded, replaced by delight.
Ming Qi loved milk tea, coffee, and desserts—anything that could lift his mood. The jar-baked milk tea he had tried last time with Wen Yulan at that café had lingered in his mind for two whole months. He had been thinking about going again, and he hadn’t expected Yu Qinzhou to actually bring tea leaves to him.
“Thank you, Mr. Yu. I really like it.”
Yu Qinzhou looked at the way his brows curved slightly upward, and his fingers itched faintly. After a moment, he said, “I’m glad you like it.”
…
After a hearty dinner and receiving Yu Qinzhou’s gift, Ming Qi walked along the residential path humming softly.
That night, he changed into a comfortable fleece sleepwear set, curled up under the blanket, and watched an old film from over a decade ago. He memorized the face of the lead actor carefully, satisfied, then pulled the blanket over himself and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, Meng She rushed over in his little battered Santana and knocked on Ming Qi’s door at Xiangti Green Shade.
Once inside, he saw the young man looking sleepy-eyed, walking a little unsteadily, but with a healthy flush to his face—much better than during his fevered days around the New Year. It seemed he had truly recovered.
He urged him confidently, “Hurry up and wash up. I brought you your white-moonlight jianbing guozi.”
Meng She theatrically pulled out a still-warm pancake from his coat. As soon as the plastic bag was opened, the aroma of the whole-grain jianbing filled the air, instantly driving away Ming Qi’s drowsiness.
“If you want to eat it, go wash up quickly.”
Pushed along, Ming Qi hurried into the bathroom in three quick steps.
Meng She leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, watching the young man bend over to wash his face. The loose sleepwear draped down, revealing a glimpse of his pale, jade-like collarbone. Meng She clicked his tongue again, once more marveling at his artist’s natural beauty and fair complexion.
Then he said, “I followed the reviews for Death Notice all day yesterday. Quite a few netizens mentioned you, and the feedback was positive.”
Ming Qi didn’t really believe Meng She’s “quite a few netizens.”
Meng She liked to hype things up. Ming Qi had only just entered the industry, but fans had already created a fan circle for him. Meng She had been ecstatic, saying he was going to blow up, and even told him, “There are already a lot of fans in your circle!”
Ming Qi had checked it at the time:
Post: 1
Followers: 6
One of them was even Meng She’s alt account.
Through the mirror, Meng She also seemed to recall that embarrassing moment and gave an awkward laugh, quickly defending himself, “This time I’m really not exaggerating.”
Ming Qi replied calmly, “But my total screen time in Death Notice is probably less than two minutes.”
Meng She grinned shamelessly. “Even two minutes is enough to make people remember you—that’s your ability!”
After washing up, Ming Qi returned to the dining area and ate the jianbing while browsing Weibo and Douban for discussions about Death Notice.
Death Notice, a suspense film fully directed by renowned director Zhang Cong, starred two lead actors: Ji Xinran, a two-time Golden Crane Award Best Actor winner, and veteran actor Bo Hongfang.
With that lineup alone, it was already highly eye-catching.
In the film, Ming Qi played a character who was brutally murdered by a serial killer—a miserable victim who also directly interacted with Bo Hongfang’s killer character and Ji Xinran’s police inspector role.
With the performances of those two senior actors alone, the film was guaranteed not to be bad.
As expected, most of the reviews were full of praise: tight plotting, no dragging, strong performances across the board, and an adrenaline-pumping pursuit between police and killer.
And within those discussions, Ming Qi found comments related to himself:
[Who is the handsome guy whose legs got chopped off by Bo Hongfang? I’m a fan of Bo, but I genuinely wanted to kill him in that moment. @Actor Bo Hongfang, how could you do that to such a handsome guy!]
[I really liked Zhang’s new film, but if I had to complain, next time please cast ugly people as the dead so I won’t feel bad : )]
[Help, the way this guy looked when his legs were severed and Bo’s face covered in blood gave me nightmares all night.]
[Bo is really good at playing psychos, and “7 Treasure” acted really well too. Truly my hidden gems!]
“See?” Meng She stood behind Ming Qi with his hands behind his back, smiling as he watched him read the reviews. He felt like his little artist had finally made it.
“You can also go search Bilibili for a creator called ‘Takoyaki Human Delicacy.’ He made a video analyzing standout supporting roles in Death Notice. In the ten-minute breakdown, your screen time is the highest, and he praises you a lot.”
Meng She looked proudly pleased with himself.
If he wasn’t afraid of scaring the creator, he would have wanted to personally bow in thanks.
Ming Qi didn’t like hype or marketing. Meng She also didn’t want him to get involved in the industry’s bad habits, so they both agreed to avoid unnecessary spending or promotion. Because of that, a genuine recommendation from a million-follower creator felt especially rare—and meaningful.
Ming Qi’s eyes curved slightly as he put his phone away.
“Let’s save the video for later. Let’s go watch the movie first.”
The online reactions had fully raised his expectations for Death Notice.
“Alright, then let’s head out.”
…
Ming Qi and Meng She went to the 16th floor of Dongyu Cinema, specifically choosing seats in the back rows.
Ming Qi held a bucket of popcorn while Meng She followed behind carrying two cups of iced cola. As they walked up the steps, Meng She complained, “I just bought you stomach medicine a few days ago. Be careful or your stomach’s going to hurt again.”
Ming Qi said seriously, “I’m in a good mood today. I won’t get stomach pain.”
Meng She was speechless. “Where did you even get that logic?”
After finding their seats, he handed over the iced cola and said in a slightly more serious tone, “Drink slowly. If your stomach hurts, I’m not taking you to the hospital.”
“Got it—” Ming Qi dragged out the words, “Thank you, the best Meng-ge in the whole world.”
Meng She rolled his eyes.
Every time it was like this. His words were so sweet that it completely disarmed him.
Ming Qi ignored him, holding the two movie tickets between his fingers. He snapped a few quick photos and uploaded them to his Moments:
Going to watch a movie 😀
Just a few seconds later, a red notification dot appeared on WeChat.
Ming Qi opened it, and saw a comment from Yu Qinzhou.
Y: Mr. Ming, it seems like you chose the wrong person to watch the movie with.