CH 47

TL: Hua

February 14th, Valentine’s Day.

The program team announced that today’s recording will end at 6 p.m., so after they prepare dinner for the guest, they’re free to move about.

The people who were gathering together for lunch were all confused when they heard the news. They had never encountered such a situation since recording the show, where they stopped recording when a guest showed up.

All of them couldn’t help but speculate in their own minds about the origins of this guest.

Gu Meiling put down her chopsticks and asked the director, “Who is coming with such great fanfare?”

The director smiled and said vaguely, “I don’t know; it should be someone at a senior level. I’m not qualified to know this.”

Seeing that she couldn’t find out the news, Gu Meiling pursed her lips and said, “Then why don’t you just let us rest for a few more days and go back to China to celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

Lu Tongtong also looked puzzled. “Right, what’s the point of taking a night off? We might as well finish recording and go back home earlier.”

Jiang Sicheng took the opportunity to move next to Xue Qingchu. “Isn’t it nice to have some time off? There’s no need to fuss about it. We are going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day today; what do you think, Qingqing?”

Xue Qingchu concentrated on eating the food in the bowl and said nothing.

After a while, she turned to look at Qi Xiaoyu, sitting aside.

Qi Xiaoyu sat upright, holding a bowl in his left hand and chopsticks in his right hand. His eyebrows were lowered, and he ate with pleasure. He was not affected by the sudden incident last night or the sudden suspension of recording for the whole night.

In comparison, the psychological quality of the other person involved last night, Fang Qi, is much worse than Qi Xiaoyu.

She has not appeared since Qi Xiaoyu posted on Weibo last night.

Gu Meiling then raised her head and glanced at Qi Xiaoyu. “Xiaoyu, what are you going to do tonight?”

Qi Xiaoyu slowly swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking, “The director said that he has something to find me in the evening. I’ll just stay in the restaurant. I’m not going anywhere.”

Lu Tongtong exclaimed, “Ah, can’t Xiaoyu go out to play? Then let’s not go out. How about we play poker? Brother Zheng, will you play with us?”

Zheng Peizu remained silent. After hearing this, he glanced at Qi Xiaoyu and nodded. “Okay, let’s play together.”

Jiang Sicheng was the only one who was persistent and unyielding. “If Qi Xiaoyu doesn’t go, then we can go. We can go out and play.”

Xue Qingchu said silently, “I also want to play poker.”

Young Master Jiang, in the midst of roaring laughter, conceded defeat and slumped on the table, lamenting, “OK, OK, let’s just play poker; I want to play too.”

Arrangements were made for the evening’s activities, and the group was active in preparing the food in the afternoon.

Qi Xiaoyu skillfully put the ribs into the soup pot, added ginger slices, and then closed the lid.

Jiang Sicheng held a bowl in his hand, squinted his eyes, and acted like a detective. “Come here to eat; pictures were not allowed… I just passed by the VIP lounge and saw people coming in and out who seemed to be cleaning up the room. Who is this person who comes here just to have a meal?”

Neither Xue Qingchu nor Qi Xiaoyu answered.

Jiang Sicheng himself was very attracted to the drama and then analyzed, “I just asked the director secretly, and he doesn’t seem to be lying about not knowing anything. It appears that only Director Wang knows who the person is. But Director Wang has tight lips that can’t be pried open at all. Tsk, tsk, tsk, who can be so arrogant and pretentious…”

Halfway through, he suddenly froze. “It can’t be the person Fang Qi found, right? Doesn’t she have a good relationship with the senior officials of Longjiang Satellite TV?”

Then he turned to look at Qi Xiaoyu and said, “Xiaoyu, if she gives you trouble, you can come to me for help. I will forget the fact that you posted my photo without permission yesterday…”

Jiang Sicheng was talking to himself when the curtain in the kitchen opened and a person suddenly walked in.

He glanced at the visitor and spoke out, “Fang Qi, why are you here?”

Fang Qi’s eyes were red and swollen. “I’m looking for Qi Xiaoyu.”

Jiang Sicheng and Xue Qingchu both looked at Qi Xiaoyu worriedly. Everyone knew what happened last night.

First, Fang Qi sent a very ambiguous photo of the starry sky with only two people’s fingers.

Less than half an hour later, she was mercilessly slapped in the face by Qi Xiaoyu.

Jiang Sicheng knew that he had taken the group photo in a hurry, but after Qi Xiaoyu posted it on Weibo, he was both surprised and regretful. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance? At least let me put up a more attractive pose before posting it.”

Then he immediately said, in surprise, “Xiaoyu, not bad. You’re quite direct and frank.”

Jiang Sicheng still remembers last night when Fang Qi was ridiculed by the netizens.

Qi Xiaoyu’s fans naturally laughed while watching Fang Qi’s misfortune.

Fans of the show also jumped out to defend the guest, asking Longjiang TV to cherish this show and control the situation.

Even passers-by couldn’t stand it, saying that this woman was too self-centered and would do whatever it took to gain popularity.

Then, while Jiang Sicheng was eating melon online, he miraculously discovered that he was forced to bind a CP named Siyu with Qi Xiaoyu.

“Didn’t anyone notice? It was quite interesting when they were filming The Legend of the Tang Dynasty Empress together. At that time, Tang Kui said that Jiang Sicheng bullied Xiaoyu, but when I saw those videos, they were clearly showing elementary school chickens fighting and playing. How lovely.”

“Yes, from the first episode of Eat Light on the Road, I think the partnership between Jiang Sicheng and Qi Xiaoyu is the funniest. Have you seen Xiaoyu ever get angry at anyone? No! Except Jiang Sicheng, and now he even specifically posted a Weibo to celebrate Jiang Sicheng’s birthday.”

The naive and simple Jiang Sicheng was shocked by these remarks.

That night, he slammed his cell phone on the pillow, pointed at Qi Xiaoyu, and said, “Don’t post photos of me and you randomly in the future. What if Qingqing misunderstands me?”

Regardless of what Jiang Sicheng thought, Fang Qi was really pissed off.

She worked hard to flirt with Qi Xiaoyu for seven or eight days, trying to stir up her and Qi Xiaoyu CP, but to no avail. She also got a lot of scolding, and the funniest thing was that she actually stirred up the Qi Xiaoyu and Jiang Sicheng CP instead.

Now she was standing at the door with her arms crossed, saying that she wanted to talk to Qi Xiaoyu.

*****

5:45 p.m.

Xun Qian’s Mercedes-Benz quietly drove into the parking lot outside the restaurant.

Before he even got out of the car, he heard two staff members from the program team gossiping in the corner, where they were smoking.

“It’s said that women chase men with a veil between them1[女追男，隔层纱]: An old proverb that originated from ancient Chinese Confucius culture. It is believed that women shouldn’t actively pursue men, which is quite outdated.. I just learned today that this is not the case at all.”

“You mean that thing between Fang Qi and Qi Xiaoyu? I even saw Fang Qi looking for someone to talk to this afternoon. Do you know how it turned out? I saw that the two didn’t say a few words before Qi Xiaoyu pissed off Fang Qi.”

“Speaking of which, with Fang Qi’s figure, it’s really not easy for a young man of Qi Xiaoyu’s age to hold back.”

“Haha, maybe Qi Xiaoyu already has someone.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. He is only in his early twenties, and in this industry, he shouldn’t dare to fall in love.”

Zhang Han originally wanted to open the car door and get out, but now that he heard these words, he was stuck in the middle. He didn’t know if it was better to get out or not. However, when he secretly took a look in the rearview mirror, the boss seemed to be in a good mood.

*****

Qi Xiaoyu was left alone by the director, not really knowing what to do.

Everyone else is now gathering in the restaurant lobby to play poker, and the lively sounds can be heard from afar.

He wore a loose and comfortable white T-shirt and a pair of jeans, standing opposite the director… He felt that the director’s attitude towards him was a little different from usual.

The director was very polite: “We have a guest coming later, and I want you to go and receive them.”

“Okay.” Qi Xiaoyu glanced at the unusual director suspiciously. “May I know in advance who the next guest will be?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”

The director accompanied Qi Xiaoyu to the door of the only VIP box in the restaurant and helped him push the door open.

As soon as the door was opened, before Qi Xiaoyu could do anything else, a black dog rushed towards him, circling around him and clawing at him frantically with its two paws, barking “woof, woof, woof” in excitement.

“Ha ha ha ha.”

Qi Xiaoyu was made to laugh by White-browed hero. He coaxed and stroked it for a long time before he could calm down the little raving dog.

Then he held the dog in his arms and had time to look at the surroundings.

Xun Qian is here.

He was leaning back in the wheelchair, with both hands resting on the armrests. The thumb of his right hand gently rubbed the pad of the index finger of his left hand. Seeing Qi Xiaoyu come in, he raised his chin slightly with a faint smile on his lips.

He didn’t wear black clothes today. He changed into a white shirt and a dark gray loose suit jacket. His face was paler than usual. It’s unknown whether it was because of the clothes or something else.

But he looks very nice.

He usually doesn’t notice it when he sees Xun Qian every day, but after not seeing him for a few days, he was struck by how good-looking he is at first glance.

The director took one look, immediately closed the door, and went out. He had been in the entertainment industry for so many years, and he had never seen anyone look like the person inside. Every inch looked like it had been carefully crafted by an artist, but he vaguely guessed the identity of the person inside and didn’t dare to stay any longer.

In the room, Xun Qian looked at Qi Xiaoyu quietly. He was still coughing and said in a rustling voice, “Sit down.”

Qi Xiaoyu sat down across the dining table.

The room has been carefully decorated and is no longer what it was before.

But unlike the girly, romantic atmosphere of yesterday’s birthday celebration for Jiang Sicheng, it’s more low-key and classy.

The dining table was covered with a white crocheted tablecloth, and a few warm lights decorated the atmosphere just right. A gramophone was also specially brought to play the songs he heard last time in Xun Qian’s bedroom.

Qi Xiaoyu lowered his head and teased White-browed hero for a while, then raised his eyes and looked at Xun Qian and said, “Why didn’t you tell me in advance? I could pick you up at the airport.”

“It’s not troublesome to come over.”

Xun Qian still cherished his words as ever, and the conversation could be killed after two sentences, but it doesn’t matter; Qi Xiaoyu can chat. He pointed to the dishes on the table and asked, “Can you guess which ones I cooked?”

Xun Shao nodded and scooped up two bowls of soup, pushing one in front of Qi Xiaoyu. “The soup is good.”

In the soft and melodious singing, Qi Xiaoyu lowered his head to drink the soup and wanted to ask Xun Qian why he came here today. This day… is quite special.

But after thinking about it, the question seems abrupt.

After he finished drinking the soup, he heard Xun Qian say to the person next to him, “Bring up the cake.”

Qi Xiaoyu was slightly surprised when he heard the word cake. He wondered if this cake meant what he thought.

But he wasn’t given much time to speculate because he saw Zhang Han coming in pushing a gold-rimmed glass cart. There is a box with a silver ribbon on the cart. Judging from the size and shape, it is a cake of about 8 inches.

At Xun Qian’s signal, Zhang Han unwrapped the ribbon and took away the box. Inside was a simple-styled white buttercream cake, on top of which a black chocolate plaque with white buttercream read, “Happy Birthday, Xiaoyu.” Next to it stood a little figurine wearing overalls and a brown sweater, the exact same look he had that day at the airport.

Qi Xiaoyu lowered his eyes and placed his hand on White-browed hero’s smooth and hot fur.

He really didn’t expect that Xun Qian could remember his birthday. Even the original owner’s father and half-sister didn’t give him any news. Besides, January 16th is on the lunar calendar and not easy to remember.

Xun Qian not only remembered it but also ordered a cake for him and even came over in person.

The light fell and shimmered on the gold-trimmed dinner plates, the song flowed through the air like water, and everything was just the right amount of tenderness.

Qi Xiaoyu’s eyes stayed on the cake for a while before slowly looking back.

Xun Qian covered the corners of his lips and coughed a few times. “It may not be as delicious as what you make.”

“Thank you.” Qi Xiaoyu said softly and stared at Xun Qian’s face for a while, “Are you feeling unwell, Third Master?”

“I’m fine.”

“The climate here is very different from S City. It’s easy to catch a cold when you first come here…” Qi Xiaoyu thought for a moment, “After dinner, I’ll take you back. Are you staying in the hotel?”

“Yes…you come and cut the cake.”

“Okay. Wait, let me make a wish first.”

“Zhang Han, turn off the light.”

The candlelight swayed gently, reflecting on the young man’s soft silhouette.

In fact, there was a momentary blankness in his mind; he had never had a birthday, never made a wish, and for a moment he didn’t know what to ask for.

He subconsciously thought that this birthday was given to him by Xun Qian, so he wished Xun Qian good health.

Hua: Sorry for the lack of updates. I haven’t dropped this novel just superrrrr busy with work.