Giving Mosquito Repellent

"You came here specifically to keep me company because you thought I was all alone?" Xiao Ming joked.

"Ah..." Qu An nodded solemnly, then added, "Well, not exactly. Mainly, left-behind children shouldn't always be by themselves."

In an instant, he had lowered Xiao Ming's generation by one, and the joke happened to strike the most vulnerable place in Xiao Ming's heart.

The expression on his face changed for a moment. Before the cameras could catch it, he tucked away his loneliness and embarrassment. But Qu An saw it and realized he had said the wrong thing. He rarely made mistakes like that.

"I'm an empty-nest elderly man. The two of us can keep each other company."

Xiao Ming knew Qu An had not meant it that way and did not think badly of him because of it. He merely composed himself and teased him back. "Ah, but I'm older than you. You're the kid."

Perhaps because he had accidentally touched on Xiao Ming's sore spot, Qu An felt guilt and heartache unlike anything he had felt before. So he went along with Xiao Ming and said, "Mm, I'm a kid."

Xiao Ming was amused by Qu An calling himself a kid, and the gloom in his heart vanished. "Kiddo~ Call me big brother~"

It was an online meme. Qu An understood it quickly, and sensing that Xiao Ming was in a better mood, he gave an affected "Mm" before saying, "You're so greasy."

Xiao Ming pretended to punch him, and Qu An pretended to dodge. The atmosphere was cheerful.

[Waaah, why did watching these two fool around make me cry?]

[They're both only in their early twenties, really.]

[I love seeing this kind of thing.]

[Thank you, Full Speed Ahead!, for letting us see such a vivid Anbao. I really want to cry.]

[Xiao Ming is seriously so cute when he smiles.]

[They're obviously both smiling so happily, but my nose is unexpectedly getting all tingly.]

[Same here. So weird.]

[Am I the only one who thinks they're such a good ship? That youthful bickering.]

[And they're normally super reliable, but they become childish in front of each other.]

[Qu An has really gotten more childish with every episode. At first, he still had that feeling he gave off at formal banquets, but later on he just became a childish college guy.]

[Childish college guys are the best. I seriously love it. He's so cute.]

[Is this Qu An's new persona? A gentle, reliable young master with a childish core?]

[Even if it is a persona, I'll accept it!]

After that, the situation in this episode was that the Red Team suddenly lost Xiao Ming, Qu An, and Sun Junlei, who had just been caught. Of the two remaining offline players, Shan Yi and Jiang Yuan on the Blue Team were also caught shortly after confirming Xiao Ming's answer. Shan Yi had incorrectly verified Jiang Yuan's answer too many times, while Jiang Yuan was caught while looking for the final answer clue.

The offline acceleration team members evaded the hunters, while the online members failed to obtain clues and complete the questions. In the end, they failed to complete the mission.

The acceleration team members' activity range rapidly shrank. Seven hunters conducted a tight search, and before long, Jiang Yuefeng, Li Zichang, and You Duidui were caught.

With thirty seconds remaining, Xing Tong and Yi Xiaoda were each sprinting wildly. Would it be a shared victory for Red and Blue, a complete loss for both, or one side claiming victory?

In the end...

Xing Tong was caught as hunters closed in from all sides, while Yi Xiaoda used an unconventional method—climbing a tree—to secure the final victory.

The Blue Team's other acceleration team members gained fifty thousand Acceleration Energy. Xiao Ming and Qu An had not worked for nothing; altogether, they had earned nearly a hundred thousand this episode.

As soon as the program ended, Tang Gudu called out to Xiao Ming. "Xiao Ming, wait for your Brother Tang."

Xiao Ming truly did not want to deal with him. The man did not even bother hiding his intentions. He had not expected him to come right up to him.

Out of courtesy, and because the program had not yet removed all its cameras, he stopped. "Brother Tang, what is it?"

"Look, we haven't really gotten together since the last production wrapped." In Xiao Ming's memories, "Xiao Ming" had not liked Tang Gudu either. Since the two people sharing this body felt the same way, it meant this man was genuinely awful.

"I haven't seen anyone else from the production recently either. Have you all gotten together, Brother Tang?" Xiao Ming kicked the ball back to him, subtly expressing his displeasure and rejection of Tang Gudu's attempt to use the production as an excuse to approach him.

Just then, Chen Anle, who had finally come over to find Qu An, saw Xiao Ming and greeted him. "Brother Xiao, long time no see!"

Xiao Ming had learned these past two days that Chen Anle was actually a year older than him. Now, hearing him call him brother always felt strange. Thinking of the way he called Qu An brother, he wondered whether Qu An found it strange too.

Tang Gudu looked displeased at being interrupted, but that displeasure faded somewhat when he saw Chen Anle.

Chen Anle was the type with delicate, pleasant features, and he looked like someone with a very pure disposition.

"Is this your friend?" Tang Gudu asked. He hid it well in person and was not as blatant as he was when contacting people online. Still, that was only natural—who in the entertainment industry was simple?

But Xiao Ming already knew what kind of person he was, so he pulled Chen Anle to the side. "Yes. He's also Brother Qu's younger brother."

At the mention of Qu An, Tang Gudu seemed to lose much of his interest. Yet he continued pestering Xiao Ming about having a meal together. There was no way his idea of a meal would be just the two of them eating.

Toward the end, Tang Gudu became a little impatient and once more used the same threatening line as before. "Xiao Ming, do you still want to make it in this industry?" He lowered his voice, smiling with narrowed eyes, but it made people deeply uncomfortable.

Qu An came over then. Rather than going to Chen Anle's side, he stood beside Xiao Ming in a protective stance.

"Teacher Tang, if you have nothing else to discuss with Xiao Ming, we'll be leaving first." Qu An's eyes were smiling, but the smile did not reach them.

Qu An calling Tang Gudu "Teacher Tang" was merely a polite form of address, but Tang Gudu could not possibly accept it in earnest. His status was far below Qu An's.

Although people in the industry had always said Qu An was aloof and did not play by their rules, Tang Gudu did not believe it. They were both men—how could he not know that men liked to put on airs while being rotten to the core?

His desire to take Xiao Ming away cooled somewhat. He had wanted to make a move on Xiao Ming ever since the production, but Xiao Ming was probably still Qu An's person. He knew when to read the situation.

"Ah, then I won't disturb you." Tang Gudu felt some regret. He had never found an opportunity before, and later, when he tried to threaten Xiao Ming using the program, it had not worked either.

He had always found Xiao Ming's cool, innocent air especially alluring and had wanted to humiliate him. He had not expected someone else to get there first.

Although Qu An still seemed to be keeping up that useless pretense of aloofness and had not made a move on him yet, as long as Xiao Ming was his person, Tang Gudu had to think carefully before touching him.

Still, he only had to wait a little longer. Even if he could not have the freshest taste, he had plenty of tricks.

"By the way, Teacher Tang, don't you have a drama about to start filming?"

Qu An asked casually, as if making small talk, but Tang Gudu immediately broke out in a cold sweat and did not dare reply.

That was his warning.

"Ah, yes. I've been a little busy lately too. Well, Xiao Ming, when we have time, Brother Tang will get everyone from the production together again." Then he made an excuse and left.

Xiao Ming watched from the side, unable to understand why Tang Gudu had been so startled after Qu An asked that question.

Chen Anle had been Qu An's assistant for two years, so it was impossible for him to understand nothing. He immediately grasped Qu An's meaning, and gossip flared in his eyes. He had only been gone for two days—what had happened?

Walking beside Chen Anle, Xiao Ming did not ask Qu An much. He only asked with mild curiosity, "Have you been with the person who took you away that day these past two days? Is he your brother?" He meant nothing by it; he was just making conversation.

To his surprise, as soon as he asked, Chen Anle turned red all over like a crab and even started walking sideways.

Qu An caught up with them then. Xiao Ming turned to look at him, his eyes filled with confusion. Those eyes seemed to be asking, What's wrong with him?

Qu An smiled and shook his head, then raised the phone in his hand to indicate that it was not convenient to talk about it now and they could message later. Xiao Ming received the message he had "sent" and nodded heavily.

"Where are you planning to go next?" The next recording would be in about a week, so the time in between belonged to them.

Although Xiao Ming and Qu An were fairly familiar with each other now, they were not yet at the point of fully reporting their schedules to one another.

Xiao Ming had considered this question yesterday and had already decided what to do next, so he answered directly. "I'm planning to go back home in Capital City first."

He had no plans to travel during the remaining time. In fact, every recording session took him to a different place, so that counted as a kind of travel anyway.

There was about a month until school started. For now, he planned to look over what he would be studying, then see whether he could find some sort of part-time job. There was also the fan club's theater-buyout event later on.

Although recording the program had already earned him quite a bit, after all twelve episodes, combined with submitting his previous works during this time, he could probably save up close to a million.

A million was nothing much in Capital City, but he was still happy that it was money he had earned himself.

Before Xiao Ming left to travel, he had sent messages to both his parents, but neither had replied. Their family did not have a family group chat, and his parents did not use WeChat much either. They generally called, and even then, they did not necessarily answer.

When he saw the Holographic Pod on the program yesterday, he knew they would likely be busy again. Holographic Pod maintenance, Holographic Pod upgrades, reducing Holographic Pod costs—these would all become his parents' research topics.

"What a coincidence. Brother Qu and I are also going back to Capital City." After chatting some more, they discovered they had both booked flights, though their flight times were different. Xiao Ming's was later.

"Brother Xiao, will someone from your family pick you up at the Capital City airport?" Chen Anle asked casually. People from Capital City generally cared a great deal about their children, and he had also learned that Xiao Ming was an only child.

Xiao Ming shook his head and said indifferently, "I'll go back by myself. I'm pretty familiar with the route from Capital City airport to my home." When he had participated in various national and even international competitions before, this was basically how he always handled things.

Chen Anle did not think much of it and did not continue the topic. He merely let something slip unintentionally. "Brother Qu is going back to go into seclusion. Sister Fei has urged him several times already."

He did not know about Qu An's follow-up appointments, so every time, he thought Qu An was going into seclusion. He even found it novel that someone in this day and age actually did that.

"Sometimes, Brother Qu really doesn't feel like one of us modern people! When he isn't working, he likes staying by himself at his villa in the mountains."

Xiao Ming had not expected Qu An to have that side to him. The way he usually acted did not make him seem like someone who disliked dealing with people.

"Xiao Le is back in Capital City too. I don't mind having him come pick us up." Qu An knew best how to handle Chen Anle. Sure enough, Chen Anle fell silent after he said that.

Chen Anle awkwardly adjusted his collar and tugged it upward. Through the movement, Xiao Ming saw many faint red marks partly hidden underneath.

"Xiao Le, did mosquitoes bite you? Do you need mosquito repellent? It looks pretty serious." Xiao Ming's gaze was clear as he took a small bottle of mosquito repellent from his bag.

Chen Anle did not take the mosquito repellent. Somewhat embarrassed, he waved his hand. "Ah, Brother Xiao... I'm fine. I already put on mosquito repellent."

They had only met two days ago, but Qu An now had a deeper understanding of someone's lack of restraint. At that moment, he genuinely began considering whether he should find Chen Anle another job.

[Qu An: Did Chen Anle ever say he was interested in post-production?]

[Gu Wenjun: What, are you trying to transfer my wife to post-production? Don't! He really likes being your assistant.]

[Qu An: Either stop seeing each other, or he changes positions. Double his salary.]

[Gu Wenjun: What kind of nonsense are you pulling now? Who upset you?]

[Qu An: You.]

[Gu Wenjun: ??? I haven't done anything recently.]

[Qu An: You took my assistant away for two days. When he came back, he was covered in marks and walking strangely. What do you mean, you did nothing? I need a new assistant.]

Gu Wenjun knew that after Chen Anle got together with him, Qu An had actually arranged many fewer tasks for Chen Anle out of consideration for him. He had even given him several days off.

Seeing the messages, his first reaction was that Qu An truly wanted to replace his assistant, which was why he said all that. But the instant Qu An sent the next message, he knew the man was jealous.

[Qu An: You cling to him every day. Do you have nothing else to do?]

[Gu Wenjun: You scared me to death, man. I really thought you were angry. I was even going to tell Aunt Yan so she could be happy. Turns out you're jealous.]

[Gu Wenjun: Wait! You're jealous?!]

[Gu Wenjun: Damn, you actually have an emotion like jealousy. No way—you didn't suddenly realize you like my wife, did you? Absolutely not! He's my wife! A friend's wife is off-limits!]

[Qu An: Get lost.]

[Qu An: There's a kid with me. He's already seen the marks on Chen Anle twice. Don't corrupt children.]

[Gu Wenjun: Oh~ A kid, huh~ Which kid? Don't tell me it's the one from the high-speed rail station last time?]

[Qu An: Don't gossip.]

[Gu Wenjun: Fine, fine, I won't gossip. But don't replace my Xiao Le, okay?]

[Qu An: I'm only telling you clearly, as a friend, that he isn't suited to continue being my assistant.]