Late at night, the world was quiet, with occasional cicadas sounding outside the window.
Yu Qinchou had not fallen asleep. He leaned casually against the headboard, his left hand lightly stroking the ends of the hair of the person in his arms who had fallen asleep and was slightly flipped up. His right hand held a phone between long fingers. His gaze rested on the screen, but his mind was entirely filled with the image of Ming Qi laughing as he hugged him after returning from the barbecue stall.
Clearly a little drunk, his steps were even unsteady, yet he still insisted on posting on Weibo.
Yu Qinchou watched him struggle to widen his eyes to see the keys clearly—both adorable and pitiful—and found it amusing. At the same time, he offered to help. But Ming Qi refused. Not only refused, but even turned away and secretly posted in a corner, like a small mouse stealing food.
Yu Qinchou had no choice but to quietly wait for the little mouse to finish posting, then take care of the little mouse’s washing-up before finally having time to look at the Weibo post the little mouse had painstakingly sent out.
Just one glance, and he froze slightly. Then he lowered his eyes and let out a soft laugh.
“Baby.” Yu Qinchou put down his phone and lifted Ming Qi’s face.
The young man, who had been sleeping soundly in his arms, was forced to lift his head and clearly felt displeased. Half-asleep, he swung a hand over. But before it could land on his face, it was caught in the man’s hand, fingers interlacing. The uncomfortable posture made Ming Qi open his eyes. Through a hazy gaze, he vaguely saw the faint light illuminating the man. He mumbled, “What are you doing?”
“I want to kiss you.”
“Then hurry up. I’m going back to sleep after you’re done.” Ming Qi obediently raised his head, waiting for the kiss.
It was a very light, gentle touch of lips against lips, as if carrying no desire and no aggression at all—completely different from Yu Qinchou’s usual demeanor.
But Ming Qi was unable to notice that.
He was kissed into comfort and burrowed deeper into Yu Qinchou’s arms.
No longer teasing him, Yu Qinchou’s palm moved from the back of his head to the young man’s slightly curved, slender back, his voice soft: “You are my light.”
…
Although it was late at night, the excitement belonged to all major social platforms.
With the Golden Crane Awards announcing major winners earlier in the evening and Ming Qi revealing his relationship afterward, Weibo was refreshing almost nonstop.
As a qualified Zhouqi CP fan and Yu Qinchou’s cousin, Min Zhengyue felt he had to do something. After calculating the money he had on hand and envisioning the income he would get after joining the Yu Corporation’s project, he decisively posted on Weibo.
“Eat melon?”: Congratulations to my Qi-ge for winning the award, and congratulations to my Yu-ge for getting his status confirmed. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll just raffle off a house / fireworks
Min Zhengyue was already a major influencer in the Zhouqi CP fan circle. Because of his frequent giveaways, he held considerable influence and saw his follower count skyrocket. Now, the moment he said “raffle off a house,” the entire fan community exploded.
[Say that again—what are you raffling?!]
[I dare you to swear you’re not lying!]
[Which house is it? Don’t tell me it’s a mansion in a game?]
[Is it a handmade model villa?]
[What’s a handmade villa?]
[…paper villa burned for the dead]
Min Zhengyue quickly saw that comment and immediately replied: “Spit it out! Why would you say that on a good day!”
Then he pinned his own comment: Waterfront or city center? Let’s just do city center. Xiangyong Mansion Block 3, large flat unit—opening the raffle!
[??]
[Bro you’re serious?!]
[Some people are still doubting while others are already switching accounts to repost]
[You’re really giving away property in Xiangyong Mansion?! I’m fighting rich people now]
[Can you randomly give me a million and call me dad while you’re at it? That’d be even better]
…
When Meng She came out of the shower, he received a message from Zheng Liang: What kind of people are your two CP fans? They’re raffling apartments?
Meng She: ?
He rushed over immediately and recognized the account owner at a glance. Without hesitation, he reposted: Pick me pick me pick me. Qi-zai said he’ll get me a Rolls-Royce soon anyway. My luxury car deserves a matching flat.
Then he asked Zheng Liang: Did you join the raffle?
Zheng Liang: Of course. Anyone who doesn’t join is an idiot.
He even created several alt accounts on the spot.
Although Zheng Liang had made quite a bit of money managing Bu Hongfang over the years, who would complain about owning more property? This was future security.
Meng She nodded and sent back a handshake emoji.
Now that Ming Qi and Yu Qinchou had officially gone public, Meng She and Zheng Liang had nothing to hide either. Their big verified accounts were used for reposting giveaways. Netizens who were happily eating gossip immediately found it hilarious.
Some even joked: If the winner can’t actually produce the apartment, can Ming Qi or Bu Hongfang make up for it?
In less than two minutes, a user named “My Boss Is a Young Master” reposted and said: Who are you looking down on? The entire Xiangyong Mansion belongs to my boss. There’s no way he’d run away 🙂
[What does that mean? Your boss is Eat Melon Guy?]
[Xiangyong Mansion belongs to your boss?]
[Guys, I checked the development. The developer is Shanghe, aka Suzhou Min family.]
[To clarify: Yu Qinchou’s mother is from the Min family. So this “Eat Melon Guy” is likely Yu Qinchou’s cousin, the Min family young master.]
[…No wonder he’s so active in the CP forum, even swearing Zhouqi CP is real or he’ll livestream eating shit if it’s fake]
[Now we know who Eat Melon Guy is—so who is “CEO Yu is more handsome” account? That’s Yu Corporation CEO Xi Yi-xiu /doge]
[??]
By the next morning, when Ming Qi woke up with a slightly dizzy head, those names were already trending on Weibo.
#Xi Yi-xiu closest I’ve ever been to a CEO#
#Is Xi Yi-xiu actually more handsome than Yu Qinchou#
#How rich is Min Zhengyue#
#What kind of people are Zhouqi CP fans really#
Ming Qi clicked into each topic one by one. As he skimmed the trending content—some accounts even calculated how much money Min Zhengyue and Xi Yi-xiu had spent on CP giveaways—he twitched the corner of his eye and put his phone down to wash up.
Probably because he had drunk too much last night, his calves still felt slightly weak. He walked toward the dining area while yawning, circling through the living room, and immediately saw a man in a black silk shirt standing with his back to him.
He walked quickly over and pounced onto Yu Qinchou’s back. Rubbing his face against his ear and neck, he asked, “When did you get up?”
He hadn’t heard a single sound.
Yu Qinchou grabbed his slender wrist from behind, gently pulling him forward so he ended up sitting on his lap. His fingers touched Ming Qi’s calf, squeezing lightly.
“Leg sore?”
“Just a little.” Ming Qi showed a small gesture.
Yu Qinchou smiled. “Drinking again next time?”
“Hm—” Ming Qi thought seriously. “When I win Best Actor at the Golden Crane Awards.”
An expected answer.
Yu Qinchou slowly massaged his calf as Ming Qi lazily stayed in his arms, even drinking soy milk there. Suddenly remembering the Weibo situation, he asked, “Did you see A-Yue’s giveaway? Does he still have money?”
Ming Qi remembered Yu Qinchou mentioning a couple of days ago that Min Zhengyue had gone to Xijing Bay to say he wanted to earn money.
“Don’t worry. As long as he follows the project properly, even if the whole building is given away, no one will say a word.”
Ming Qi glanced at him.
“Why?”
“Nothing,” Ming Qi said. “Just thinking rich people like you are really annoying.”
Yu Qinchou laughed. “Don’t forget—you’re one of them now.”
Ming Qi, the annoying rich person, immediately touched his nose guiltily.
…
After the Golden Crane Awards ended, Ming Qi rested for two days before returning to the Reincarnation set. Ning Jiang noticed that Ming Qi and Yu Qinchou were no longer holding back, so the released behind-the-scenes clips now included a familiar figure—
He had asked Yu Qinchou in advance whether he minded them riding the hype. Yu Qinchou didn’t.
Still, Ning Jiang knew when to stop. One Yu Qinchou appearance per ten clips was already a super bonus.
Fans, of course, were screaming at the director for more.
But the director remained heartless and pretended not to see.
Amid the lively atmosphere, Reincarnation finally wrapped, and Ming Qi finally had time to rest.
“Take a break first? I’ve looked at some luxury endorsements—if you’re interested, we can take them.” Meng She handed over the data, then added, “Do you remember that variety show proposal Bu Hongfang mentioned? The one that wanted him and Huo Chengtang?”
“I remember. Did Brother Bu agree?”
“No.” Meng She kept a straight face. “They came to me instead. They asked if you and Yu Qinchou are interested.”
Ming Qi: “?”
Meng She: “I can only say—they really know how to pick people.”
That night, lying in Yu Qinchou’s arms scrolling his phone, Ming Qi saw Bu Hongfang’s chat log in a group. He sent him a message: You agreed to the dating show?
Bu Hongfang replied: I regret it already.
He called immediately, his voice gloomy: “Huo Chengtang used reverse provocation on me, saying I’m still hung up on him. Otherwise I wouldn’t refuse a paid invitation to act on a dating show.”
“So I got impulsive, signed it just to prove I’m not hung up on him.”
After sighing for a while, Bu Hongfang continued: “Contract’s signed, too late to back out. So—how about you and your guy join too? Others date, we three play poker.”
Ming Qi: “What about Senior Huo?”
Bu Hongfang: “He stands there. Whoever loses gets kicked once. How’s that?”
Ming Qi: “…”
You really don’t seem like you want him to survive at all.