First Meal

Xiao Ming was the first to react. He apologized awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Qu An waved it off without taking it to heart. He only thought that Xiao Ming's little outburst just now had looked exactly like an angry kitten—still a tiny milk-fed kitten—baring its claws and teeth without realizing it had absolutely no intimidation factor.

The bamboo shoots still needed to be drained, so they made scrambled eggs with tomatoes first. It was much simpler than cola chicken wings, but Xiao Ming still managed to burn a small portion of the eggs.

"For a beginner, this is already pretty good."

The remaining sliced pork with bamboo shoots and stir-fried Shanghai greens looked better, though the Shanghai greens had clearly been overcooked.

Qu An added the salt to the corn and pork rib soup because Xiao Ming's hands were full, but he showed Xiao Ming how much salt and MSG to use.

While making the Shanghai greens, he also taught Xiao Ming a trick: if he did not know how much salt to add, he should add less, scoop up some broth with a spoon and taste it. If it was bland, add salt; if it was too salty, add water. After that, even if it became bland, there was no need to add more salt.

Xiao Ming was very smart. He had remembered how to make all these dishes after seeing it once today. He was just still inexperienced, and without someone watching over him, he probably would not be able to make these dishes by himself next time.

By the time the two of them carried all the dishes to the table, Xiao Le had not appeared yet. Qu An called out once, and Xiao Le came out.

Seeing the two of them waiting at the dining table, Xiao Le inexplicably thought of his parents waiting for him at the table whenever he went home. Combined with Qu An calling for him just now, it felt even more similar.

Xiao Le shook his head, tossing out that strange thought. He had to be overthinking it. Brother Qu and Brother Xiao had only known each other for a few days, and besides, Brother Qu was nowhere near as approachable as he looked.

Xiao Ming looked at Xiao Le's actions in confusion, unsure what was wrong with him. Out of politeness, he asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Le immediately denied it. Nothing was wrong. He was perfectly fine.

Qu An more or less knew what Xiao Le was thinking, and only felt that he was overthinking things. Right now, he merely thought Xiao Ming was a decent person, at least someone worth being friends with.

He did not have many friends, nor did he have any specific standards. It all felt like some kind of predestined fate.

"Brother Qu taught me how to make dinner tonight. It's my first time cooking, so I'm not very skilled. The food might be pretty ordinary." Xiao Ming was not being modest; he simply knew his own limits.

But under Qu An's supervision, the meal had not turned out terribly. It just tasted like ordinary home cooking.

"Brother Xiao, the food tastes good. This soup is especially delicious."

Since the corn and pork rib soup had been almost entirely made by Qu An, Xiao Ming felt even more embarrassed and did not take credit for it. "Brother Qu made most of the soup."

"Ah, is that so? That dish is good too. The sliced pork with bamboo shoots is pretty nice." Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Xiao Le smiled awkwardly, then lowered his head and ate without saying anything else.

Xiao Ming was only disappointed for a moment before recovering. This was his first time cooking, and he felt he had done reasonably well. He could just practice more later.

It was just that he really kept embarrassing himself in front of Qu An. Xiao Ming did not know many things and had no particular talents.

After dinner, they stayed in the living room eating fruit. The three of them rarely gathered together outside of meals, and the other two were not particularly talkative, so Xiao Le kept the conversation going, mostly talking about things in the entertainment industry.

"Oh, right, Brother Qu, Brother Xiao, Sister Fei asked me to tell you that Full Speed Ahead! will air the night after tomorrow. Sister Fei has already watched the edited version, and there are no problems. Remember to keep an eye on the news and cooperate with the show's promotion when the time comes."

"Okay," the two answered in unison.

But before long, Xiao Le suddenly cried out, then urgently explained why.

"Yuan Yangming is trending! He got arrested for doing drugs!"

Yuan Yangming had originally been a regular cast member, so he appeared in both the first and second episodes. Now they urgently had to remove every shot containing him.

Something like this happening before the show aired had already led some people online to call for a boycott. It was hard to say whether it was their own idea or whether someone had hired online trolls, because another game-themed variety show happened to be airing recently. The two shows were competing, so naturally they would take any chance to stomp on the other.

Zhu Fei quickly received the news as well and went to verify it. Soon, she called Qu An.

Xiao Ming had no intention of eavesdropping, but Qu An was sitting right beside him, and his hearing was very good.

Qu An said, "Hello, Sister Fei."

Zhu Fei said, "Do you know about Yuan Yangming?"

Qu An said, "Yeah. I just saw it trending."

Zhu Fei said, "I asked around. It's real. He's already been taken away by the police. The production team is preparing a newly edited version. The editing itself is manageable since most of his shots are individual ones, but someone hired online trolls. They're probably targeting the production team."

Qu An said, "Has the show released a statement terminating its contract with Yuan Yangming?"

Zhu Fei said, "I just contacted them and explained the situation. They've already posted one, which salvaged things a little. The production team is thinking of having you do a livestream and mention it briefly."

Qu An's brows instinctively furrowed at that, but only for an instant before returning to normal. Still, Xiao Ming caught that fleeting expression.

Having caught up on most of Qu An's works and content, Xiao Ming knew very well that Qu An did not like livestreaming. He seemed to avoid it whenever possible.

Qu An said, "What did Sister Zhong Ka and the others say?" Zhong Ka had greater status and seniority than him, so if someone had to step in, it would be more appropriate for them to speak up.

Zhu Fei said, "Zhong Ka and Lin Xiang posted on Weibo. Xing Tong and Guan Jun happen to be on the same drama set, so they plan to do a livestream at noon tomorrow. I was thinking you could livestream tomorrow evening. Isn't the typhoon supposed to pass by your area tomorrow? You can use it to let your fans know you're safe. A lot of people have been asking how you're doing."

That reason left Qu An unable to refuse. After pondering for a while, he agreed.

Just as she was about to hang up, Zhu Fei suddenly remembered something and added another reminder.

"Xiao Ming is at your place, right? Have him avoid the camera during tomorrow's livestream. You two were basically together the whole time while filming the show, and the editors can't cut around it much. You already trended twice last time, so don't cause trouble for me this time."

"Got it, Sister Fei."

"Don't get cheeky with me. I can't control what you want to do, but tell me before you do anything so I can prepare."

Xiao Ming had intended to leave just now, but Qu An suddenly pushed the fruit toward him, signaling for him to eat. Thus, Xiao Ming was forced to listen to the entire conversation while finishing more than half a plate of fruit.

"I'm doing a livestream tomorrow, probably in the living room. I'll tell you when the time comes. Because the situation is unusual right now, I'll have to trouble you to stay out of the shot for now." Qu An's words could easily make it sound as though there would be a next time, but Xiao Ming knew he did not mean that. Qu An genuinely disliked livestreaming.

Xiao Le had not left either. He had been sitting there the whole time, and upon hearing Brother Qu say that, his mouth fell open in shock.

Why did that... sound so much like coaxing a wife? It had to be his imagination!

As for whether it was really his imagination, no one present could answer that. Some people might not even have figured out their own feelings yet.

The matter with Yuan Yangming continued to ferment on the trending list. When Xiao Ming took out his phone and opened Weibo, he saw a blazing red "Explosive" tag beside Yuan Yangming's topic.

Photos of Yuan Yangming being taken away in a police car had already spread online. It was practically conclusive proof.

Xiao Ming did not have much of an impression of him. He had barely seen him during filming, only remembering that Yuan Yangming had appeared once in the task results when they were looking for medicine to apply. He did not know whether that would make the show difficult to edit.

Xiao Ming was not worried for himself. Whether the show could air did not affect him much, since he had already received his payment. But he remembered that Qu An was a regular, so the quality of the show was undoubtedly tied to Qu An.

He already considered Qu An a friend, so he instinctively felt somewhat worried for him.

"Will the re-editing of that show affect you?"

Qu An could now be certain that Xiao Ming had no interest in the entertainment industry. Otherwise, Xiao Ming could have used the two times they trended together to increase his own popularity, yet he had done nothing.

Yes, whether it was those two trending topics or the release of the Mint Soda advertisement, Xiao Ming had never posted a single thing online. He had not even reposted the ad, as though he had forgotten all about it.

Because of his previous curiosity about Xiao Ming, Qu An had sent a few WeChat messages to test the waters. The result was that Xiao Ming truly did not care about such things. Whether he was insulted or praised, he showed no reaction.

Hearing that question now, Qu An immediately understood that Xiao Ming was worrying about him.

He was clearly an outstanding student from Peking University and looked cold and aloof, but he was actually foolish to death. Just treating him a little better made it seem as though he would give you his whole heart.

Qu An was a very smart person. He had long noticed his curiosity toward Xiao Ming. At first, he thought it was appreciation for Xiao Ming's personality, because people as pure as him were rare.

Later, as he learned more and more about him, that simple appreciation had turned into curiosity about Xiao Ming himself. The process had been brief, not even lasting a few days.

But perhaps there had been too many coincidences, or perhaps something long predestined had been pushing them forward—bringing them together, then turning them into friends during that brief stretch of time.

There was a saying that some friends did not need a long time together before they became close. Friends were like love; around any corner, you might meet a friend who would stay with you for life.

Qu An rarely spoke with genuine sincerity. Most of what he said was merely polite social talk.

When he had previously told Xiao Ming to come to him if he needed anything, it had been empty courtesy. But now, those words had become a promise between friends: "Come to me if you need anything." It was Qu An's promise to a rare friend.