As soon as Huo Mingjun entered the room, there was a moment of awkwardness. Sitting in the center of the bed was Xie Guan, smiling in a way that seemed falsely sweet.
Huo Mingjun walked over without glancing around, placing water and medicine on the bedside.
Suddenly, he felt a slight pull on his wrist. He lowered his head and discovered a pale and slender hand grabbing his sleeve, shaking it playfully.
Xie Guan: “Mingjun…”
Huo Mingjun’s heart trembled slightly, but he resisted the onslaught of this sugar-coated bombardment, looking back at Xie Guan with an expressionless face.
“Mr. Huo… Boss Huo…” Xie Guan said earnestly, “Daddy Huo…”
Huo Mingjun: “…”
He was thunderstruck by Xie Guan’s address, feeling a slight numbness spread from his hair to his toenails. Unable to bear it any longer, he asked, “What are you doing?”
Xie Guan: “Don’t be angry, I was wrong.”
Suddenly, Huo Mingjun leaned down with one hand supporting the bedside and trapped Xie Guan in the narrow space between his body and the head of the bed. The other hand gently pressed on his carotid artery. Lowering his gaze, he looked into Xie Guan’s widened eyes and asked calmly, “Do you truly understand that you were wrong?”
It’s so obvious that it’s fake! Why ask such a question when you know the answer!
In Xie Guan’s mind, a little figure wanted to pin Huo Mingjun to the ground and beat him up. However, Huo Mingjun’s dominating aura was too strong. Xie Guan could only stare back at him, unable to do anything.
They were very close and the distance between them bordering on ambiguity. Xie Guan’s gaze awkwardly avoided Huo Mingjun’s tea-colored pupils and slid down the straight and refined nose, only to be startled by the subtle curve of the lips. Frightened, his eyes scrambled up to the ceiling as if running away.
In just a short ten seconds or so, he showcased the agility of an Olympic hurdler.
Huo Mingjun chuckled mysteriously next to his warm ear, using his fingertip to gently caress Xie Guan’s neck. He felt satisfied when he sensed Xie Guan shiver like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
“Blushing, heart racing, accelerated pulse,” he calmly withdrew his hand and reached a conclusion with a light tone. “Evidently feeling guilty.”
Xie Guan was almost driven crazy by his playful antics, surrendering with a weak wave of a white flag. “Mingjun… I was wrong, truly. No kidding. Sister Lin Yao arranged this special appearance and it’s not easy to decline.”
Huo Mingjun could ignore his sugar-coated words, but he couldn’t turn a blind eye to this sincere request. “Is it an event that must be attended?”
Seeing a slight loosening in Huo Mingjun’s tone, Xie Guan hurriedly explained, “It’s actually a variety show appearance to promote Youth of Martial Arts. It won’t take much time and there won’t be intense physical activity. It should be over quickly.”
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.
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Leb Zlcupec mbeivc’a gfrlra tlw. Xijcmlcu ja tlr kglrakjamt, tf abbx jkjs atf qliibk yftlcv tlw jcv wjvf Wlf Xejc ilf vbkc. “Tbe mjc riffq obg jcbatfg tbeg. Qtfc sbe kjxf eq, ajxf j rtbkfg, jcv P’ii vglnf sbe atfgf.” Coafg mjgfoeiis jggjculcu atf yfvvlcu, tf lcragemafv, “Tbe riffq olgra. P’ii ub ab atf raevs, jcv P’ii kjxf sbe eq ktfc la’r alwf. Gbc’a xlmx boo atf yijcxfa.”
Wrapped in the blanket, Xie Guan looked as soft as a marshmallow. Seeing Huo Mingjun about to get up, he suddenly said, “Wait.”
Halfway up, Huo Mingjun sat back down. “Hmm?”
Xie Guan opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what he wanted to say. Unable to explain the sudden surge of emotion, he silently pulled the blanket over his face, leaving only his eyes peeking out.
Huo Mingjun felt a bit concerned, thinking that if this continued, he might have to lead Xie Guan to take an IQ test after he recovered from his illness.
Xie Guan’s eyes were not small to begin with, and due to his thinness, combined with the presence of eye bags and dark circles, his eye sockets appeared slightly deep, making his eyes seem even larger. When he stared at someone with that pleading look, a bit reluctant to speak directly, it was incredibly childlike but also irresistibly heartwarming.
A strand of stray hair fell across his forehead, blending with the long eyelashes, and someone reached out to gently brush it aside.
That fingertip traced across his brow, light as new snow falling on branches. That delicate touch rippled like water from the delicate nerve endings, and with a subtle “thud,” it resonated against the innermost wall of his heart.
“Don’t keep it all to yourself,” Huo Mingjun said after a moment. He casually uncovered the blanket covering Xie Guan’s face, “Go to sleep. I won’t leave, I’ll stay with you here.”
This time, Xie Guan didn’t say anything. A thousand words in his chest lost their voice, like a beach smoothed by the waves and settled down.
He lifted the corners of his mouth and smiled at Huo Mingjun, then closed his eyes.
Stars Have Gravity was a talk show and one of the long-standing variety shows in the country. They often invited the creative teams of popular TV dramas to participate for promotion. Youth of Martial Arts won the viewership championship for the month, and the audience’s enthusiasm for the new faces in the cast was high. Stars Have Gravity happened to be a suitable platform with a broad audience and relatively high starting point, so Lin Yao managed to squeeze this event into Xie Guan’s busy schedule.
Xie Guan informed the host and director in advance, and they were quite understanding. They didn’t arrange any physically demanding activities for him. While the makeup artist was applying makeup, the planner came over with the script to explain the process, adding a few words, “Esteemed teachers, we’ve added a new segment to this episode. We will be helping a local fruit farmer sell watermelons, and we need you to make a phone call to promote it to your celebrity friends. You can greet them before the show starts. However, this activity is for entertainment purposes, and there’s no pressure. If it doesn’t succeed, it’s okay. We can edit it later.”
This kind of promotion for agricultural products became common in recent variety shows, and most guests had some connections, so they weren’t caught off guard. In the case of the cast of the drama A Handful of Snow, Xie Guan reached out to Zhou Yuan. He played the second male lead and is a well-known chef in the industry, owning several chain restaurants. Xie Guan tried the food at one of Zhou Yuan’s hotel kitchens, and they had a good relationship. He sent Zhou Yuan a WeChat message. Zhou Yuan wasn’t filming at the moment, so he readily agreed.
The program recording process went smoothly, with only a slight delay in the first two segments. The rest proceeded as planned. The last segment involved selling watermelons, with a farmer bringing four or five watermelons on stage. The host cut two of them on the spot and shared them with the guests and the live audience, creating an exciting atmosphere.
Next up was the phone call segment.
Xie Guan stood in the noisy studio for over three hours and maintained a high level of concentration throughout. By now, he was feeling a bit exhausted and he suspected he might be running a fever again. The sounds around him seemed muffled and distorted, as if separated by a glass barrier. He wondered if he would look unwell when the program aired. Turning to the side, he took a few deep breaths, trying to appear normal. Then he heard the host calling his name.
Xie Guan stepped forward with a smile, answering the host’s questions and mentioning that he was going to call a friend who owned a restaurant. When he said Zhou Yuan’s name, cheers erupted from the audience, and even the host exclaimed, “Wow!”
In the film industry, Zhou Yuan gained considerable experience over the years and firmly established himself as an A-list celebrity. Moreover, there were no rumors about him having personal connections with any idol actors. On the other hand, Xie Guan became popular with just one or two idol dramas and was still far from the status of these film celebrities. The fact that he knew Zhou Yuan was indeed surprising.
“Alright, now let’s have Xie Guan call Teacher Zhou!”
As it was an impromptu addition to the program, the production team forgot to prepare a phone and defaulted to using the guests’ own phones. The camera focused on Xie Guan’s phone screen. However, before Xie Guan could tap “call contact,” the name “Huo Mingjun” suddenly appeared on the large screen in the background.
At the same time, his phone vibrated.
It suddenly occurred to Xie Guan that he promised to finish recording around five o’clock before leaving. It was almost seven now, and Huo Mingjun probably called to inquire about the situation.
Usually, Xie Guan didn’t bring his phone when going on shows. Unfortunately he needed it today, and Huo Mingjun coincidentally seized the opportunity for an on-screen appearance.
The unexpected turn of events caught the program team off guard. Fortunately, it wasn’t a live broadcast. Xie Guan was about to hang up when the host had a bright idea. To highlight the authenticity of the program, the host smiled, “We happen to have a new incoming call. How about this? Let’s test Xie Guan’s marketing skills live. If he can help the farmer sell two crates of watermelons, which is sixteen in total, we’ll consider it a success. What do you think?”
Xie Guan’s mouth twitched, but with no way to refuse at this point, he reluctantly answered the phone.
The earpiece synchronized the sound. Afraid to give away the situation, Xie Guan spoke before Huo Mingjun opened his mouth: “Hello, President Huo.”
Apart from joking, Xie Guan only used this form of address in front of others. Although the live audience quieted down, there were still faint noises audible. Huo Mingjun immediately realized that Xie Guan was probably still in the studio. He changed his initial question and turned it into a polite greeting, “Xiao Xie, is it convenient to talk now?”
Xie Guan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple and dropped into his collar. “I’m sorry, President Huo. I’m currently recording a program. The production team saw me answering your call and had a question for you.”
Huo Mingjun was taken aback by his sudden change of demeanor. “Hmm?”
Suppressing a smile, Xie Guan asked, “Do you like watermelons?”
“Um,” Huo Mingjun paused for a moment, “they’re alright. Do you have any recommendations?”
Huo Mingjun’s response was so smooth that Xie Guan couldn’t help but want to give him a big smooch.
The original phrase is 么么哒 aka muah; used in a cute manner between close friends.
“I have two crates of watermelons freshly picked by farmers from X County here,” Xie Guan repeated the host’s introduction and asked, “I’ll treat you to one, and the remaining fifteen… what do you think?”
Huo Mingjun thought to himself that it was fortunate Xie Guan wasn’t his business partner. Otherwise, considering their current business dealings, Hengrui would sooner or later be surnamed Xie.
The chairman of the prestigious Hengrui Group engaging in wholesale watermelon transactions was already questionable. As for Xie Guan, he didn’t even actively promote the product and only hinted at it. Yet, Huo Mingjun had to catch the implied meaning and promptly respond, “Alright, alright, I’ll take them all.”
Only Xie Guan could make him disregard the decades of accumulated prestige of the Huo family.
As for the two crates of watermelons delivered to the headquarters logistics department by the chairman the next day, how they stared in astonishment, holding the “watermelons gifted by the chairman” and speculated on the grand dramas of a wealthy family—that’s a story for another time.
After finishing the program and removing his makeup, Xie Guan’s head felt increasingly heavy, as if he had a watermelon on his neck. He bid farewell to the staff in a daze, and without forgetting to take a watermelon, he stumbled out of the broadcasting building.
A familiar Rolls-Royce Phantom smoothly slid up beside him.
Xie Guan opened the back door of the car, and when Huo Mingjun saw what he was holding, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, “You really brought it back?”
“Yeah, I promised to treat you, and I always keep my promises,” Xie Guan replied as he got into the car, sitting next to Huo Mingjun. He pressed on his throbbing temples and added, “I picked out the best one for you.”
Seeing the out-of-place watermelon, Huo Mingjun set it aside and noticed Xie Guan’s pale complexion. Concerned, he asked, “What’s wrong? Not feeling well? Come here.”
He touched Xie Guan’s forehead and felt a burning sensation.
Leaning forward, Xie Guan rested his head in the palm of Huo Mingjun’s hand for a moment. Frowning, he moved closer to Huo Mingjun and said, “Let me lean on you for a while.”
Huo Mingjun lifted his arm, and the cold Xie Guan nestled into his embrace, burying his face in Huo Mingjun’s shoulder. Huo Mingjun draped his suit jacket over Xie Guan, and he gradually settled down.
Despite years of struggling outside and dealing with colds and fevers, he had never behaved so delicately, and insisted on being held to settle down.
“Once we get back, you’re going to stay in bed. Don’t even think about going anywhere until you’re better,” Huo Mingjun said, massaging his temples. “This time, I’ll make sure to follow through. I’ve spoiled you too much.”
Xie Guan muttered weakly, “This time, it’s not a total loss. We did get a watermelon. They were boasting about it so much during the introduction so it should be delicious.”
“Haven’t you tasted it?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Xie Guan replied, resting his arm on Huo Mingjun’s waist, feeling too exhausted to open his eyes. He murmured in a daze, “Don’t worry, I definitely picked the sweetest one.”
His warm and rapid breath gradually penetrated the shirt, becoming a distinct sensation and warmth on the skin. Huo Mingjun lowered his eyes, watching the strands of hair on Xie Guan’s head, while his hand behind him gently patted his slender back.
In his heart, he silently continued the unfinished conversation between them.
—”Not as sweet as you.”
Awwwwwww! 💖
But Huo Mingjun is right, no more work until he recovers!
Thank you for the chapter.
Ahhhhhhhhh they are so sweet!!! It’s almost diabetic 😍😍
They’re not even a couple yet but they are already the sweetest!
Thank you for the update!
💖💖💖💖
Shdghdjajamkdhd huo mingjun that was smooth af 😩👌💯 now say that again directly to xiao xie’s face hehe