Jasmine Fragrance

The moment Qu An suddenly drove forward, causing Xiao Ming to lurch ahead, had been kept in as well. Back then, neither of them could see the other's expression, but now it was perfectly clear.

One was stunned, the other embarrassed.

For some reason, Qu An thought of the floral scent he had caught that day again. Over the past few days, he had confirmed that it really existed.

Because of the typhoon these past few days, Qu An had often smelled that pleasant, faint jasmine fragrance. It came from the flower tea Xiao Ming brewed, and Xiao Ming had even brought his own cup.

Maybe he drank so much tea that even he himself had been steeped in the scent. He did not notice it, and Qu An did not mention it either.

In the footage, Xiao Ming moved so quickly that he had barely taken any advantage of Qu An at all. It was also obvious that it had simply been an accident.

[Ignore Chang Le beside them—they really look like they're in an idol drama.]

In recent years, attitudes toward same-sex relationships in China had become far more open. There were even online dramas featuring same-sex romances.

[Two handsome guys together are seriously easy on the eyes.]

[Ignore Chang Le, hahaha. Chang Le is the main character of this episode!]

[Their names are interesting too. Willow in Shadow, Blossom in Light; a tune played on the flute.]

[Welcome to Willow in Shadow, Blossom in Light. Mountains and Rivers, journeying together.]

[What does that mean? Are their fans called Mountains and Rivers?]

[Both the CP name and fandom name are so poetic.]

Comments from CP fans were still in the minority and did not cause much of a stir.

[Our Anbao doesn't do that stuff, okay? Stay away, stay away. It was obviously an accident. They were so far apart.]

[Xiao Ming is really gorgeous. Honestly, I'm a little jealous of Film Emperor Qu for getting hugged by him.]

[Film Emperor Qu is handsome too, but I've seen him so much I'm a little immune now. Every frame Xiao Ming appears in makes me want to lick the screen. He's seriously so pretty.]

The sidecar tricycle's slow progress afterward made the viewers laugh. The three people in the vehicle looked like they had not quite processed what was happening either. The barrage comments gradually moved on, but the earlier scene had already been screen-recorded.

[Hahahahahaha, I'm dying. At this speed, walking feels faster.]

[I'm dying, Xiao Ming had the same expression the whole time, but now his eyes are wide open.]

[Film Emperor Qu is a god-tier driver, yet he's just as helpless before a children's sidecar tricycle, hahaha.]

[This is too funny. If the others come over and see this, they'll probably die laughing too.]

[I'm dying. The contrast is kind of adorable now—the image of a smart, aloof beauty getting so frightened his soul nearly leaves his body and having no choice but to hide in your arms.]

[The person above is so good at describing things.]

The other speed-up team members soon caught up. Seeing the sidecar tricycle's speed, they immediately let out miserable cries.

With such a huge crowd gathered there, they made an incredibly obvious target. When Lin Xiang was caught, they all scattered like startled birds.

Xiao Ming looked at the people inside and felt it was too embarrassing to watch. When he turned and saw Qu An frowning as well, he suddenly felt more balanced. It was fine. He was not the only one making a fool of himself.

When Xiao Ming got out of the vehicle, some barrage comments had said he was slowing them down by insisting on getting out. But when the vehicle's speed picked up, they fell silent.

Seeing this, Qu An joked, "You look pretty skinny." He did not say the rest—I didn't expect you to be so heavy—but Xiao Ming understood.

A little annoyed, Xiao Ming glared at Qu An and tossed a soft pillow beside him straight at him.

He remembered that Qu An weighed far more than he did.

Qu An caught the pillow with a smile. Not only was he not annoyed, he even handed Xiao Ming a carton of milk.

When Xiao Ming got angry, he looked more alive. Before, he had seemed like a little robot.

When Lin Xiang was caught, he had also been heading toward them. Unfortunately, a Hunter happened to be right behind him. He was exposed out on the main road and was caught immediately.

Xiao Ming's reminder afterward had also been timely. Everyone hid quickly, so not a single person was caught.

[Xiao Ming may look cold, but he unexpectedly talks a lot while doing missions, and he's so alert.]

[The main thing is that he doesn't talk nonsense.]

[Not talking nonsense is seriously great.]

[Xiao Ming runs so fast. He doesn't look like someone who works out often.]

[Is he a college student? He looks so energetic.]

[No idea. Nobody has dug into his background. It seems like he's still studying.]

[Xiao Ming is genuinely taking the missions seriously.]

In the segment afterward where Xiao Ming drove, the vehicle was clearly much faster.

"You look pretty skinny too. Looks like you're not as skinny as I am."

Xiao Ming watched the scene on television with the smug satisfaction of having won back a point.

But he did not know that certain homophones could easily give some phrases a different flavor. Qu An did not tease him over it, merely responding with an obvious smile and a hint of indulgence that even he himself did not notice.

The footage afterward mostly consisted of running and chasing, so there were not many shots of them. They only appeared more once Mission One was completed.

[So impressive, so impressive. Qu An and Xiao Ming protected everyone the whole way, right?]

[This seems to be the place Teacher Yi Xiaoda mentioned during Anbao's earlier livestream.]

[That part where Xiao Ming spotted the Hunter and shook him off was insanely cool—beautiful and badass.]

[I feel like Xiao Ming is actually pretty good at this. I have a feeling he'll become popular.]

[No need to have a feeling. Topics related to him are already lined up to trend.]

Since Yuan Yangming had not been in the commercial street area during Mission One, the editing had not been particularly troublesome.

After Mission Two was announced, the barrage was already filled with guesses about it. Qu An and Xiao Ming in the footage had figured it out as well, and they ran into Lin Shange on their way to complete it.

Because he had not known Qu An before, Xiao Ming had questions but found it awkward to ask. Now that they could be considered friends, or at the very least roommates, Xiao Ming thought it over and asked.

"That Lin Shange... is she interested in you? She seems to like you quite a lot." Other than curiosity and a little gossip, there was no other emotion on his face.

Qu An understood that as well and did not hide it. "She wants to ride the hype, and she wants to manufacture a CP."

"Manufacture a CP?" Xiao Ming understood the term. After all, he had seen the Willow in Shadow, Blossom in Light supertopic, and combined with what fans and passersby had said earlier, it was easy enough to understand. But he did not understand why, because female idols generally could not afford too many dating rumors, could they?

"Her group isn't very united. They only debuted two years ago, but someone already wants to go solo. Lin Shange contacted my manager, but I turned her down." Qu An glanced at Xiao Ming before continuing, "I don't plan to manufacture a CP. I don't want to rely on that to boost my popularity."

"I know. You're a serious actor." That was how he had seen others describe Qu An, so he said it directly now.

Qu An did not deny it. He had always had a clear understanding of his own abilities and positioning, and he knew very well what he wanted.

Xiao Ming was puzzled. "But they look like they're at the height of their popularity."

"But there will always be people with ambition."

Xiao Ming listened with some confusion. He suddenly felt that academic work was still simpler, even though it truly taxed both the mind and body.

Recently, whenever he had time, he had continued refining and revising the paper he had been writing before. He had also contacted his advisor.

At the time, "Xiao Ming" had told his advisor that he was ill and needed to recuperate, so the research and paper had been put on hold. His advisor had not objected.

Xiao Ming was excellent, but there were simply too many excellent people. His advisor also supervised several other students.

A few days ago, he had contacted his advisor again and explained that his health had improved. His advisor had invited him to join a new project, but Xiao Ming knew that what he wanted was not endless academic research, so he declined on the grounds that he had not fully recovered.

His advisor expressed regret and understanding, helped guide Xiao Ming through revising that paper, and they had already received notice that it had been accepted.

Since it was an international journal, the payment was quite generous. More importantly, Xiao Ming would hardly need to worry about finding a job afterward, and he still had an unfinished graduate degree. His mood had been getting better and better these days.

Xiao Ming asked, "Was she like that in the second episode too? I remember she's a regular cast member."

Qu An replied, "No. My manager had already made things clear to her. This sort of thing is usually arranged by both sides."

Xiao Ming gave a half-understanding "Oh" and continued watching the program. By then, they had already filmed the first clue Hunter, and it was also the only time the two of them separated during that episode.

Qu An watched Xiao Ming charge forward decisively in the footage and said, "When I recorded the show with you, I noticed that you were really proactive about missions, but you didn't seem to have much desire to win."

Xiao Ming tilted his head. Remembering the days and nights he had spent striving in the past, he sighed. Some things had long since become part of habit and personality. "I hope I can finish the mission, like answering an exam paper. Filling out the whole paper is important, but what grade you get is uncertain. So I want to finish everything I can do."

Given Xiao Ming's identity as a Peking University graduate and their interactions over this period, Qu An knew he was telling the truth.

He privately regretted that Xiao Ming had no intention of entering the entertainment industry. Otherwise, with that conviction to complete every mission and his looks, he would become popular sooner or later.

Just like Xiao Ming's eye-catching performance on this show, Qu An did not even need to open Weibo to know that Xiao Ming would be on tonight's trending searches.

The footage had reached the part where Xiao Ming hid in the cabinet. The more Qu An watched, the more he felt Xiao Ming resembled a cat, boneless and soft.

Qu An asked, "You're very flexible. Did you learn dance?"

As soon as Xiao Ming heard that, he had the urge to flee the place. He had been flexible since childhood, and because he was always sitting while studying, he unconsciously stretched his muscles and joints. That was how he had ended up like this.

But he could not dance at all. He could not even do radio calisthenics properly. He was the type who simply could not tame his own limbs. Thankfully, this program did not require him to dance.

Xiao Ming answered no and did not say anything more. Seeing that, Qu An did not ask further.