Xu Siyi wiped off the iodine and didn’t stay long. He left quickly.
The next day, early in the morning, the winter sky was exceptionally clear.
Xu Qiao sat on the windowsill, set up his drawing board, held a mottled palette in one hand, and a paintbrush in the other, painting stroke by stroke.
On the canvas was a carefree young man, riding on a tall silver-maned horse, with a bright red cloak fluttering behind him, while sunlight gleamed on the sharp, cold light reflecting off his silver armor.
However, the face of the young man on the horse was blank, with no features drawn.
Xu Qiao chose a fine brush, the tip lingering on the blank face, hesitating to come down.
Couldn’t remember.
Xu Qiao frowned, unable to recall what kind of face this should be.
The will of the world shrouded those transmigration memories in the mist. Whenever trying to remember, it was like looking through layers of veils, unable to see clearly.
The doorbell suddenly rang, snapping Xu Qiao back to reality. The tip of his pen accidentally brushed over the man’s face in the painting, leaving a smudge.
Irritated, he tossed the paintbrush into a water bucket and stood up to answer the door.
Outside stood Li Feifei. Seeing Xu Qiao, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a reproachful tone, “Big Brother, why aren’t you answering your phone again?!”
Xu Qiao pulled out his phone, discovering over thirty missed calls in the previously muted device. Most were from Li Feifei, with some from Jiang Wen, Si Cheng, Zhang Yinghui, and others.
“What’s going on?”
Li Feifei entered the room, spotting Xu Qiao’s easel by the windowsill. Unable to hold back, he asked, “Big Brother, since when did you start painting?”
How could he not remember his big brother having this skill?
Although Li Feifei couldn’t appreciate the quality of a painting, the one before him, both in color and form, was undeniably pleasing.
Even though the man in the painting lacked facial features, Li Feifei couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity.
After a closer look, Li Feifei suddenly realized. “Big Brother, are you drawing Xu Siyi?”
“What?” Xu Qiao, who had just taken a step with a cup of water in hand, paused and stared blankly for a moment.
“Isn’t this the outfit from Xu Siyi’s upcoming movie?”
Li Feifei leaned in, speaking confidently as a fan of Xu Siyi, “Although in the movie, he rides a chestnut-colored horse.”
When it came to Xu Siyi, Li Feifei got excited. “Xu Siyi is transitioning from being an influencer, you know. His acting in the trailer looks impressive. Do you know why he took on a supporting role in Hundred Ghost? It’s because Hu Zhenghua recommended him to star in this movie. Xu Siyi is returning the favor!”
Xu Qiao handed the water cup to Li Feifei, removed the pushpin from the easel, rolled up the drawing paper, and tossed it into the trash. “It’s not Xu Siyi.”
“Hey, it looks so good! Why are you throwing it away?”
Xu Qiao glanced at him and asked, “You didn’t come here just to chat with me, did you? What’s up?”
Only then did Li Feifei recall his purpose. Glancing at the rolled-up drawing in the trash, his face wrinkled. “You haven’t checked Weibo, have you?”
Weibo? What happened again?
Xu Qiao opened Weibo, his phone vibrating incessantly. The page lagged and wouldn’t refresh.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He exited and re-entered, turning off message notifications, which improved things a bit.
Rewfgber wfcalbcr oibbvfv lc. We Hljb kjr jybea ab mtfmx atfw ktfc Ol Mflofl gbiifv tlr fsfr. “Dlu Dgbatfg, pera ibbx ja atf agfcvlcu abqlmr vlgfmais.”
We Hljb milmxfv lcab atf rfjgmt, olcvlcu tlr jcv We Vlsl’r cjwfr qgbwlcfcais qjlgfv lc atf abq agfcvlcu:
“We Vlsl jcv We Hljb’r Ebwjcmf Szqbrfv.”
Xu Qiao: “……?” When did this happen, and why didn’t he know about it?
Li Feifei, standing beside him, had mixed feelings. This was the number one trend. Could just anyone make it to the top?
Normally, he didn’t know how excited he’d be, but at the moment, he couldn’t feel happy because the content was… too damn sensational.
Xu Qiao clicked on the trend and saw, just over an hour ago, an unknown entertainment paparazzi had posted three pictures with a popcorn-eating emoji.
The comments and shares below had reached an astonishing number.
The first picture showed the two getting out of a car, walking together towards an apartment building.
The photo was clear, distinctly showing Xu Qiao and Xu Siyi.
The second picture captured them entering a room, with Xu Qiao placing slippers in front of Xu Siyi.
When he saw the third picture, Xu Qiao’s lips curled.
This one showed him in a robe, sitting on the sofa, with Xu Siyi kneeling in front of him.
Xu Qiao stared at these three pictures, couldn’t help but marvel at how skilled the paparazzi was.
The images forcefully led one to imagine various scenarios of the two having a rendezvous at home.
Especially the third picture, although the reality was Xu Siyi half-kneeling to administer medicine to himself, the photo managed to portray a suggestive and intimate atmosphere.
In the picture, due to alcohol, Xu Qiao’s ears were tinged with red. His bathrobe was hitched up to his thighs, revealing two well-shaped, long legs.
As for Xu Siyi, due to the angle, it looked as if he were burying his head between Xu Qiao’s legs.
…Something that anyone who looked at it would interpret in a suggestive manner.
The comment section had exploded.
「????」
「What the heck, Xu Siyi is actually willing to let someone bite him??」
「This industry is really messy, disgusting, unfollowing, goodbye.」
「How did these two get involved?」
「Probably Xu Qiao taking the initiative to flirt, tsk tsk. Before this, Xu Siyi never had any rumors, turns out he likes men.」
「The contrast is quite intriguing… I never thought I’d see the day when Xu Siyi willingly kneels to help bite someone.」
Li Feifei occasionally stole glances at Xu Qiao, hesitating before finally swallowing and curiously asking, “Big Brother, did Xu Siyi really help you with something?”
Xu Qiao set down his phone, expressionless. “What?”
Li Feifei’s expression turned suggestive as he puckered his lips twice.
Xu Qiao looked at him disdainfully. “Is that even possible?”
“Then, what about these photos…”
“He helped me apply iodine.” Xu Qiao said, showing Li Feifei the bruised area on his knees.
Li Feifei understood, his expression a mix of relief and disappointment.
Xu Qiao checked Xu Siyi’s Weibo and found no updates. He asked, “Has Xu Siyi not done any damage control?”
Li Feifei smirked. “If what you said is true, just wait. It won’t be long before this paparazzi comes out with an apology.”
Xu Siyi had never been involved in scandals before, either because he genuinely had no ambiguous relationships in the industry, or due to his background, no gossip-hungry media dared to fabricate stories.
This paparazzi, likely new to the industry, seemed to have jumped in without understanding the rules, eager to dig up a sensational story.
They hit a snag by targeting Xu Siyi. Karma awaited.
Didn’t they see that Xu Siyi wasn’t bothered enough to suppress or remove the trending topic?
Indeed, even before Xu Siyi and Xu Qiao responded, the paparazzi came forward with an apology, releasing the complete video he captured.
From the moment Xu Qiao and Xu Siyi entered the room to Xu Siyi administering medicine to Xu Qiao, and then Xu Siyi leaving.
There was no sign of any inappropriate behavior in the video.
Netizens suddenly realized it was just about helping apply medicine to knee injuries. The unscrupulous paparazzi had maliciously distorted the facts!
The wind quickly shifted, and people started condemning the paparazzi.
However, upon second thought, they wondered why Xu Siyi went to Xu Qiao’s house. How did these two end up together?
It was implausible that they lacked any connections. Perhaps there was a bit of ambiguity between them?
Netizens began speculating.
Soon, Director Hu Zhenghua posted an apology on Weibo, revealing the truth.
【Yesterday afternoon, due to the crew shooting continuously for over seventeen hours, Ying Yuan suffered a sudden cardiac arrest from exhaustion. Luckily, Xu Qiao happened to be on the adjacent set, rushed over, and performed over ten minutes of CPR, successfully saving him.
Thinking about this incident still haunts me. I apologize to Ying Yuan, to everyone on the set, and to the public. Due to my negligence, I allowed an outstanding actor to tread the line between life and death
It’s a profound lesson. The only consolation is that Ying Yuan has now regained consciousness. The doctors assure us that, thanks to timely intervention, his health is no longer in jeopardy.
As a director, I make a commitment that in the future, during filming, I will prioritize the well-being of the actors, implement proper protective measures, and ensure sufficient rest time.
Apologies again to Ying Yuan, and heartfelt thanks to Xu Qiao!】
Xu Qiao was somewhat surprised to see this weibo. Typically, incidents like this have a detrimental impact on the set, especially in the case of a prominent director like Hu Zhenghua, which could easily lead to public condemnation.
Instead of concealing the incident, Hu Zhenghua chose to disclose it, offering apologies, reflection, and making a commitment. It was not an easy decision.
From this, one could see he was a responsible director.
On the other side, Ying Yuan’s manager posted a weibo update expressing relief and gratitude to Xu Qiao. Friends and family also reached out, hoping to thank him personally.
Xu Siyi also responded, mentioning that he drove Xu Qiao home after the CPR.
Xu Qiao, having performed over ten minutes of chest compressions on the ground, sustained knee injuries due to intense friction. Hence, Xu Siyi administered medicine for him.
The truth was finally revealed.
This time, no one was hurling insults at Xu Qiao anymore. It was a rare unanimous wave of positive feedback.
Regardless of anything else, he had saved a life. Even Xu Qiao’s long-time critics fell silent at this moment.
「Ying Yuan’s fandom expresses gratitude to Xu Qiao. Thank you, really.」
「I’m a staff member from the Hundred Ghosts crew. Thanks to Xu Qiao, we wouldn’t have known how to perform proper CPR when Ying Yuan collapsed. If Xu Qiao hadn’t been coincidentally celebrating the wrap-up on the adjacent set, the consequences would have been unimaginable. We were in a complete panic at that time, and he was genuinely calm and professional in his approach.」
「I apologize for being biased against him before, just going along with the crowd. I’m now a fan.」
「But coming back to it, even though it’s not real, that paparazzi’s pictures did have a certain charm. Xu Qiao’s visuals are amazing, with red-tipped ears and legs whiter than mine… I’m tempted to ship them.」
「Sis, honestly, I’m kind of tempted too. A true warrior dares to produce their own grains. Here’s the link, presenting it for you.」
「The sister upstairs is a talent. Salute for the creative mind.」
Xu Siyi sat alone in the empty lounge room. Bored, he took out his phone, and switched to a secondary account to log into Weibo.
Just happened to come across this comment, rubbed his chin, and finally couldn’t resist curiosity, clicking on the link.
With one foot pushing against the table leg, he slowly distanced himself from the desk, watching as the page loaded.
Lines of text scrolled on the screen. Xu Siyi read a few lines, halting the motion of pushing against the table leg.
【Xu Qiao, like a fish out of water, leaned on the sofa, drenched in sweat, his whole body limp. Lips slightly parted, he struggled to inhale oxygen. The air in front of him thickened with mist as his expression became bewildered.
Xu Siyi lifted his eyes, seeing Xu Qiao’s sweat-soaked hair clinging to his cheeks, and his excitement surged.
To this point, he had fallen in love with this young man, wishing to devour him inch by inch, to engrave him into his bones and blood.
Xu Qiao’s head tilted back, eyes vacant, fragmented sentences escaping from his lips. His hand gently rested on Xu Siyi’s forehead, attempting to push him away. However, the force was weak, more like a feeble invitation than a compelling effort.
……】
Xu Siyi: “……”
The door to the lounge room suddenly opened. Xu Siyi, felt inexplicably guilty, quickly switched off the page on his phone.
Seeing that it was Hu Zhenghua, who had just returned from the hospital, Xu Siyi asked, “How’s Ying Yuan?”
“He’s fine now.” Hu Zhenghua looked somewhat tired, sat across from Xu Siyi, and pressed his temples. “The doctor said if it weren’t for Xu Qiao’s CPR for over ten minutes, Ying Yuan wouldn’t have made it.”
Hu Zhenghua sighed, expressing relief and lingering fear. “We really owe it to Xu Qiao.”
Xu Siyi chuckled, his expression thoughtful. “Speaking of which, he seems quite fateful with the Hundred Ghosts crew.”
Hu Zhenghua: “How so?”
Xu Siyi stood up from his seat, hands in his pockets, glanced at the assistant director chatting with a female actress outside the lounge, and a subtle smile curved his lips.
“He actually auditioned for our production before.”
***
【Thank you, Rii!】
Bah!
Title of this chapter: Xu Siyi becomes a bigshot commissioner in the fan shipping circle.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING AWESOME!!!
Thanks for the chapter!
Someone is about to be thrown under the bus.
Oh my! Trouble is coming for that assistant director haha. XS is me with bl, be tempted to read everything.
Thank you for the update ☺️
Thank you for the chapter.
Ohhhhh~~~
Someone is in trouble
Thx for the chappy
One of us! One of us!
Thank you for the chapter 😍
Someone is in trouble
Thanks for the chapter
Ty for the chapter!!!
I am still sus about Xu Siyi🤔