As soon as Zhang Huaqing said this, not only the audience in the live broadcast room, even Ming Qi himself looked completely confused as he turned to Yu Qinzhou.
But Yu Qinzhou only smiled lightly and said to Zhang Huaqing, “Teacher Zhang still remembers me.”
Zhang Huaqing didn’t respond for a moment, but there was clearly a hint of satisfaction in his gaze toward Yu Qinzhou.
[What what?]
[Teacher Zhang speaks and you just know there’s something there. Yu Qinzhou, what did you do behind our backs?!]
[I think I finally understand the weight of the words ‘long-planned’]
[Exactly, even Ming Qi’s teacher was secretly approached]
[Ming Qi, why do you look more confused than us]
Of course Ming Qi was confused. He never would have imagined that Zhang Huaqing and Yu Qinzhou actually knew each other. He had originally thought that what Min Zhengyue said about Yu Qinzhou visiting Jing City No. 1 High School was just to see his cousin—but now it clearly wasn’t that simple.
Did Yu Qinzhou see him that day? And what did he say about him to Teacher Zhang?
He was curious in his heart, but after Zhang Huaqing said that, he showed no intention of continuing the topic, so Ming Qi opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t ask further.
…He felt that Teacher Zhang’s silence was probably because they were facing a camera right now.
Zhang Huaqing changed the subject, smiling as he pulled over two chairs for them. The two sat around the office desk, and Zhang Huaqing then stood up, intending to make tea for them. Seeing this, Ming Qi was about to stop him, but Yu Qinzhou had already taken the kettle from Zhang Huaqing’s hands.
The man’s brows were gentle as he said, “I’ll do it.”
“Then I won’t be polite with you young people.” Zhang Huaqing laughed heartily and pushed the tea leaves toward Yu Qinzhou. “This was brought back by my son a while ago. You two should both try it.”
[Seeing Yu Qinzhou take the initiative to grab the kettle really got me. He’s so good! He has no airs at all in front of Ming Qi and Ming Qi’s close people!]
[Waaah sister, you said exactly what I was thinking. He’s really so good]
[Sigh, it’s because he really loves Ming Qi]
[Compared to that, the guy from the other show is such a textbook male chauvinist, I don’t even know how he has the nerve]
[Our Ming Qi deserves it! Yu Dong is the perfect match!]
Inside the office, the two people were unaware of the situation in the live stream. Zhang Huaqing drank his fresh tea and spoke with great interest about matters related to Ming Qi.
“When ‘Undercover’ was released, Teacher Bian insisted on inviting us to watch the movie. She always liked you the most. Seeing you act so well made her extremely happy. Originally I said she was going to wait here if you came, but she was called away by their team leader at the last minute.”
The Teacher Bian Zhang Huaqing referred to was Ming Qi’s former Chinese language teacher, a very cute elderly lady.
Upon hearing this, Ming Qi couldn’t help but smile and didn’t feel awkward at all. Instead he asked, “Did I act well?”
Zhang Huaqing patted his shoulder. “Very good.”
Then he turned to Yu Qinzhou and pointed at Ming Qi. “When he said he wanted to take the art entrance exam, our entire office was so angry we nearly fainted. We thought, with grades like his—always in the top two in the school—how could such a smart kid think so wrong? With his ability he could pick any top university in Jing City. Why insist on an art exam? Later I finally pried the reason out of him. What was that saying again… following in the father’s footsteps?”
“It was also because he really liked it.” Ming Qi rested his face in his hands with a bright smile. “After deciding to study acting, Teacher Zhang and the others helped me ask around, even found training programs for me. They’re all tough-talking but soft-hearted.”
Yu Qinzhou looked at Ming Qi gently.
Those parts of life they were talking about were the parts of Ming Qi’s life Yu Qinzhou had never participated in. There was some regret, but at this moment, that regret seemed to be filled in a little.
Especially when Zhang Huaqing took out his phone and invited Yu Qinzhou to look: “I have a lot of class photos from Ming Qi’s class over the years, and also photos of Ming Qi. Come take a look.”
When Zhang Huaqing opened his phone, the production crew, with his permission, moved the camera closer. On his phone album, everything was neatly categorized, each folder labeled with year and class number. He opened one, and the first thing that popped up was Ming Qi smiling shyly toward the camera.
Zhang Huaqing recalled, “This was when he was awarded the school-level second good student award. I took this photo of him at the ceremony.”
Most of the following photos were group shots.
But Yu Qinzhou could always instantly recognize the most special boy in the crowd.
At that moment, the boy in the photos gradually overlapped with the figure in his memory.
“You don’t know how popular Ming Qi was at school. If it weren’t for our strict rules prohibiting early relationships, I think the girls’ love letters could have filled an entire drawer.”
Ming Qi couldn’t help laughing. “Is it really that exaggerated?”
“How is it not? There were cases of it. I even saw once when a girl from the class next door slipped candy and origami cranes into your backpack during gym class.”
Ming Qi: “……”
He turned to look at Yu Qinzhou and immediately explained, “I didn’t accept them.”
The situation Zhang Huaqing described did happen many times. However, whether it was love letters or small gifts, Ming Qi almost always returned them.
Upon hearing these firm two words, Yu Qinzhou merely raised his brows slightly, saying nothing more. He thought that Ming Qi indeed would not accept them—after all, back then he and Wen Yulan were still on good terms. Accepting those little things would have been inappropriate.
But the past was already the past. Yu Qinzhou did not intend to dwell on it. He was not that kind of person.
In fact, if he were that kind of person, he would not have come this far with Ming Qi.
Ming Qi keenly noticed that Yu Qinzhou’s reaction to the mention of love letters and gifts was unusual. Based on his understanding of Yu Qinzhou, he would normally have smiled and teased, “Really?”
But…
He remained calm on the surface, but a seed was quietly planted in his heart.
He thought he would have a good talk with Yu Qinzhou about the past tonight.
After looking through the photos Zhang Huaqing had kept for so long, Teacher Bian finally finished her work and returned to the office. Seeing Ming Qi, the elderly lady’s face was full of smiles as she held his hand and repeatedly said he was good.
Then she asked, “When does your program finish recording? Let’s have a meal together later.”
“Okay.” Ming Qi had originally planned the same. He even applied to the production team for a suspension of filming during dinner time, and the production team did not refuse.
After agreeing on dinner time, Zhang Huaqing and Teacher Bian did not keep them long and urged Ming Qi to take Yu Qinzhou around the school. When leaving, Yu Qinzhou added Zhang Huaqing on WeChat; Zhang said he would send all of Ming Qi’s photos to him.
Hearing this, Ming Qi couldn’t help but lean into Yu Qinzhou’s arms and quietly negotiate: “You’re getting so many of my photos, shouldn’t you also send me your high school photos?”
Otherwise, it’s too unfair.
“Want to see?” Yu Qinzhou raised an eyebrow. Looking down at the eager, watery, puppy-like gaze, the corners of his lips curved. He covered Ming Qi’s face with his hand and said, “The photos are all in the overseas manor. I didn’t bring them back. After some time, we’ll go to the manor and look together, okay?”
Ming Qi was tempted.
He had long wanted to see the place where Yu Qinzhou had lived for many years.
And also… he blinked and lowered his voice, “Do you still remember the street where we first met?”
He also wanted to go see it.
“I remember. I’ll take you there then.”
Everything about Ming Qi, Yu Qinzhou remembered very clearly.
In fact, later he had also gone there alone. The pedestrians around him hurried past, and Yu Qinzhou walked along the roadside alone, unexpectedly meeting the man selling candied hawthorns from that year. Time had left deep marks on his face, but strangely, Yu Qinzhou recognized him at a glance and bought a strawberry candied hawthorn skewer from him.
…
Said to be just there to join in the fun, Ming Qi also took Yu Qinzhou to the auditorium. At this moment, the auditorium had already begun the school anniversary speech, with past outstanding alumni sitting in a row. Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou sat in the last row, watching them go on stage to speak.
As Jing City No. 1 High School, the top high school in all of Jing City, its alumni over the years included many well-known figures—scientists, entrepreneurs, writers, and more. Watching them in suits, speaking about their alma mater’s nurturing with either youthful or mature faces, Ming Qi suddenly became curious. He tugged at Yu Qinzhou’s sleeve and asked softly, “Did you ever come back as an outstanding alumnus to give a speech?”
Ming Qi felt that he must have.
Sure enough, Yu Qinzhou nodded. “Once. I don’t really like this kind of activity. Later the school invited Xi Yixiu instead.”
Xi Yixiu and Yu Qinzhou graduated from the same university. Even under Yu Qinzhou’s overwhelming presence, Xi Yixiu was still a remarkable figure.
“Was there any recorded video?”
This question stumped Yu Qinzhou a bit. He hadn’t paid attention to it. After thinking for a moment, he replied, “I’ll ask Xi Yixiu later.”
Ming Qi nodded with bright eyes.
He said, “If only I were there.”
He had only pieced together how outstanding the young Yu Qinzhou was from Min Zhengyue and Xi Yixiu’s descriptions, but he had never seen it with his own eyes.
After watching the two alumni speeches, Ming Qi pulled Yu Qinzhou out of the auditorium. He checked the time—it was already noon. However, the high school cafeteria required a meal card to purchase food, and he hadn’t asked Zhang Huaqing for one, so he didn’t plan to eat there. Perhaps they could go to the snack street behind the school.
Just as he thought this, he suddenly noticed a figure brushing past him stop.
Then the young man looked over. After seeing Ming Qi’s face clearly, he smiled.
“Ming Qi!”
Ming Qi’s thoughts were suddenly pulled back. He looked up and saw a face that was somewhat familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar.
After a moment, he remembered the identity of the other person, and a smile appeared on his face. “Vice class monitor.”
“Hey,” the vice class monitor Zheng Weiyan smiled. “I thought I saw wrong.”
Zheng Weiyan from Ming Qi’s high school days chose the normal university track after the college entrance exam. Ming Qi learned from Zhang Huaqing’s Moments that he also worked at Jing City No. 1 High School and even took a “two generations together” photo with his former teachers on his first day.
“Where are you two going?”
“Back street.” Ming Qi’s eyes curved.
Hearing the familiar words “back street,” Zheng Weiyan seemed to recall something and immediately smiled. “Let’s go together. I heard your white moonlight is here today too.”