Chapter 29
Two days before the premiere of “Mountains and Rivers,” Tang Xiyan’s talent show, “One-Tenth,” also premiered its first episode. Although Fang Yingying and Tang Xiyan’s interaction wasn’t part of the main broadcast, it was included in the behind-the-scenes footage, instantly making it the number one trending topic.
Some people thought it was just an attempt to gain attention, but most believed that Fang Yingying was just helping out subconsciously. To avoid more contact, she had only lightly touched Tang Xiyan’s waist with two fingers, which looked rather cute. Moreover, despite not being a great dancer, she surprisingly had a contagious singing voice.
On the second day of the premiere, a fan page was created for her, complete with an official Weibo account, and even the fan club’s official colors and slogans were chosen.
Fang Yingying’s Weibo gained tens of thousands of followers overnight, which, while not a huge number, was quite impressive compared to other contestants.
After the premiere of “Mountains and Rivers,” Qu Di officially left his job with Tang Xiyan and immersed himself in scriptwriting. He had initially planned to bid farewell to Tang Xiyan when he left that day, but when he arrived at her home, he found it empty and had to send her a message before leaving.
“I’m back,” Shu Yi would always inform Qu Di if he was coming home for dinner.
As soon as he entered, the aroma of food greeted him. After changing his shoes, he went into the kitchen to find Qu Di busy cooking.
Qu Di turned around. “You can change into something comfortable. You’ve come back just in time for dinner.”
Shu Yi didn’t move. He walked over to check and asked, “Is there any need to change? I’ve been in the studio all day. Is there something delicious tonight?”
Qu Di gestured for him to take the soup to the dining table. Shu Yi washed his hands and came to help. He glanced at the dishes, all of which he liked. However, he remembered mentioning wanting to eat “mouth-watering chicken” last night. Qu Di had claimed he didn’t know how to make it, but tonight it appeared on the dinner table.
“I smell mouth-watering chicken,” Shu Yi remarked.
Qu Di felt a little guilty. Truthfully, he hadn’t made it himself. He had attempted to cook it, but failed because he didn’t want to waste the entire chicken he’d eaten for lunch. So, he had bought ready-made food from the supermarket for dinner.
“You wanted to eat it… I tried making it,” but he trailed off, swallowing the rest of the sentence. He would make it perfectly next time.
After they sat down to eat, Shu Yi automatically served the rice. He took a piece of mouth-watering chicken for himself. After savoring it, he asked, “This tastes familiar.”
Qu Di had no choice but to confess, “Actually, this is from the supermarket’s prepared foods section.”
Shu Yi paused for a moment, then chuckled. “I thought so. I often eat from there. No need to feel embarrassed. I don’t have to eat what you cook.”
Qu Di served him a piece of lotus root. “I’m learning to make it. I’ll get it right next time.”
Although he had been in the kitchen many times from childhood to university and had often cooked for Yang Ji, the truth was that his culinary skills were only passable. He could make simple, everyday dishes, but for anything slightly more challenging, he had to consult cooking tutorials. Fortunately, he had more free time now. Besides concentrating on writing the script, he had plenty of time for other things. They did household cleaning only when they had spare time, and Shu Yi helped. The house was a bit messy, but it was still relatively clean.
After dinner, Qu Di pushed Shu Yi to take a shower while he cleared up. They had a dishwasher, so there was no issue of who would do the dishes.
Once Shu Yi returned to his room, he received a call from his brother-in-law, Lu Huayan. His smile vanished instantly. It was the first time he didn’t want to answer Lu Huayan’s call, but he eventually picked up.
Lu Huayan said, “We’ve found the person, and everything is arranged. We’re just waiting for the status on your end of things.”
Shu Yi remained silent for a moment before saying, “I understand.”
Lu Huayan sensed that Shu Yi seemed emotionally distant, as they hadn’t contacted each other for two weeks due to their busy schedules.
He cautiously asked, “Is it…?”
Shu Yi quickly interrupted him, “No.”
“I just need a bit more time; he hasn’t given me the finished product yet.”
In truth, Shu Yi hadn’t inquired about it during this time. He had pushed the matter aside, letting himself get immersed in it temporarily.
“…If you don’t want to do it, just let me know at any time. Shu Yi, I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
He hung up the phone and sat on the bed, lost in thought. Suddenly, he noticed a book on the table: “A Thousand Words of Love: Guide to Romantic Phrases.” He picked it up and flipped through it, finding some notes inside.
The first page: “Why are you so impulsive, suddenly crashing into my heart.”
He thought this phrase was good and had even marked it in red.
He had bought this book on a whim back then, rushing through it to say a few words on the night of the meteor shower. He had forgotten it all afterward. Although TV dramas had sets of romantic lines, in reality, Shu Yi couldn’t say a single one.
He had only read this book a few times. After realizing it was of no use, he had abandoned it. Since being together, they hadn’t needed any special effort. Just being together quietly, even if they were leaning against each other to watch an old movie, made time pass by sufficiently.
Lu Huayan probably guessed. Shu Yi was hesitating. The determination he had back then had disappeared, and lately, he had often dreamt that Qu Di was as he had expected, oppressed by him and looking at him in despair before turning and leaving.
He woke up with a racing heart, feeling like he had lost something important. Even in the middle of the night, he went to Qu Di’s room, sitting on the floor and silently watching the person on the bed, hoping to find a sense of security and reassure himself that it was just a dream. Qu Di was still with him. He returned to his own room only as dawn approached.
He had considered giving up, but every time he thought of Shu Man, he felt that his kindness toward Qu Di was shameless. He had easily fallen into that useless love, becoming cowardly and uncertain.
“Why haven’t you gone to shower yet?”
Qu Di appeared at the door, holding sliced fruit and a cup of floral tea. Shu Yi quickly hid the book under the pillow.
“I was thinking about something, got a little distracted. I’ll go now.”
“Then, have some fruit first. The apples today are good; I bought a few.”
After they both showered, they watched a movie together. Shu Yi sat behind Qu Di, and they sat on the couch with the air conditioner on
They could be considered respectful to each other, but the emotions seemed to come so suddenly, just a movie could make them lose control, and the pheromones in the air grew stronger.
Alpha’s voice was magnetic, “If you were an Omega, you would definitely smell my pheromones out of control.”
Qu Di lowered his head and dared not move, “Actually… actually, I can smell it a bit.”
Shu Yi first paused, then smiled and asked, “What does my pheromone smell like?”
Qu Di raised his head, and his eyes turned slightly red due to shyness.
“Peppermint, it’s a very fresh peppermint scent.”
“You… really can feel it?”
In principle, Betas in the world shouldn’t be able to sense pheromones, but research shows that some more advanced Beta individuals can slightly sense them, although they are not affected by them. Such Betas account for only 0.5% of Betas. He didn’t expect to have one right in front of him.
Qu Di nodded.
“I didn’t expect to pick up a treasure.”
He kissed Qu Di’s soft cheek, pushed him away, and Qu Di hurriedly picked up the small blanket that had fallen to the ground.
He looked at Alpha, who was about to go upstairs, and asked, “Where are you going?”
Shu Yi helplessly looked at himself, “I’m going to take a shower.”
“I can help you…” For some reason, this sentence just blurted out without thinking, and he was also surprised after saying it, but he didn’t deny it, just stood there waiting for Alpha’s response.
“I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
By the time Qu Di came to his senses, the movie’s plot had already progressed to the next day, and the male and female leads woke up in the sunlight.
In the living room, there was only him left, but he couldn’t help but smile, with no embarrassment of being rejected.
In the bathroom, Shu Yi was lost in thought. He suddenly wanted to know what Qu Di’s scent was like, whether it was as soft and sweet as it looked.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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