"No."
Coming back to his senses, Chu Ci shook his head. "I just thought your way of thinking was pretty... unusual..."
It was the first time Chu Ci had heard anything like that.
He found it novel, but he was also a little curious. "Does that mean you already have someone you like? And judging by your description, he's a guy?"
"Yes."
Ye Qingzhou nodded.
"Then..."
Chu Ci thought again of the accidental kiss he and Ye Qingzhou had shared during the dating segments of Let's Fall in Love. If the person Ye Qingzhou liked saw it, wouldn't he get the wrong idea?
"Do you need me to help explain?"
"...What?"
Ye Qingzhou didn't catch on right away.
Chu Ci explained, "I mean the things we did on the show. Do you need me to explain to the person you like that those were just for the filming..."
His words reminded Ye Qingzhou of something, and his brows lifted slightly. "Teacher Chu, when I told Grandma we were good friends, what were you about to say?"
What had he been about to say?
Chu Ci thought back for a few seconds, then remembered.
"I was going to ask whether you... kiss your other good friends too."
When he said "kiss," he paused slightly for a few seconds. A faint blush spread over his fair earlobes, making them look particularly enticing.
Ye Qingzhou's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. Remembering the soft feel of Chu Ci's lips, his breathing gradually quickened. "No."
Chu Ci looked up at him. "...Hmm?"
Hadn't he asked whether Ye Qingzhou kissed his other good friends? Why had Ye Qingzhou answered "no"? Did "no" mean he didn't kiss his other good friends?
"I don't have any good friends."
Ye Qingzhou looked at Chu Ci, his beautiful, peach-blossom eyes filled with sincerity. "You're my first good friend."
Chu Ci found that a little hard to believe. "You're so handsome, and you have such a nice personality. How could you not have any good friends? You're just saying that to make me happy, aren't you?"
Although hearing "first" really did feel great, Ye Qingzhou couldn't just take him for a fool and lie to him.
"I don't have a nice personality."
Ye Qingzhou explained earnestly, "And I don't want to be friends with them either. They're noisy."
When he said "noisy," the disdain in his eyes was undisguised. Thinking of how Ye Qingzhou had treated the other guests during filming... Chu Ci somehow found the statement quite believable.
"I don't have friends, so I don't kiss them."
Something seemed to occur to Ye Qingzhou. He licked his dry lips, and a blush spread over his jade-white earlobes too as he stammered out an explanation to Chu Ci. "Today... was my first kiss too..."
Chu Ci didn't notice the "too." His attention was elsewhere. "Then why did you want to be friends with me? We'd only just met."
"Love at first sight."
Ye Qingzhou still gave the same answer.
Chu Ci instinctively wanted to correct him, but on second thought, he decided there was no need. It wasn't as though Ye Qingzhou didn't know what the phrase meant. He must have his own reasons for saying it.
"Then let's introduce ourselves properly."
Smiling, Chu Ci held out his right hand to Ye Qingzhou. "Chu Ci. I'm glad to be good friends with you."
"Ye Qingzhou."
He smiled and took Chu Ci's right hand.
Without realizing it, the two had already reached the market.
Only then did Chu Ci remember the actual business for today. "Was there something you came back to find me for?"
If he remembered correctly, Ye Qingzhou had turned back midway because he had something important to tell him?
"The production team wants to hold another livestream at nine tonight. The director couldn't get through to your phone, so he asked me to let you know..."
Chu Ci's phone had shut down not long ago.
"...Another livestream?"
There was some confusion in Chu Ci's voice. "What do you mean? We have to go film again tonight?"
Hadn't they only just finished filming today?
"Not exactly."
Ye Qingzhou explained patiently, "You can do this livestream right from home. The main purpose is to interact with fans and bring you closer to them. You can also think of it as a Q&A livestream. Fans post questions in the public chat, and you just answer them."
Simply put, it was the after-sales service for Let's Fall in Love. It was rare for such staggering fortune to fall into the director's lap, so he wanted to take this opportunity to solidify the fan base. That way, more people would watch the next filming session.
"So that's it."
Chu Ci understood.
"This mainly depends on whether the guests are willing."
Ye Qingzhou didn't know what Chu Ci was thinking. He explained gently, "If you don't want to livestream, you can just turn the director down. After all, this livestream isn't covered by the contract you signed with the production team..."
"Does it pay?"
Chu Ci voiced his first question of the day.
Ye Qingzhou froze for a few seconds before nodding. "...Yes."
"Then what's there to hesitate about?"
What Chu Ci needed most right now was money.
He had checked the original owner's balance on his phone. Under Cui Xuemei's oppression, the original owner had only a few thousand yuan left.
Chu Ci wanted to move somewhere else with Grandma.
The environment here was too poor and wasn't suitable for an elderly person.
"You agree?"
Chu Ci nodded.
"Then I'll call the director and let him know."
Chu Ci nodded again.
The market was rather noisy, so Ye Qingzhou could only go outside to make the call. Once his figure disappeared from view, Chu Ci turned his attention to the ribs in front of him. "Hello, how much are these?"
Unexpectedly, the stallholder's attention wasn't on Chu Ci. He asked curiously, "Was that Ye Qingzhou talking to you just now? My daughter really loves the TV dramas he's in..."
Chu Ci's thoughts drifted for a moment.
Seeing this, the stallholder pressed on. "You two seem pretty close. Could you help me get an autograph? If you get me one, the ribs are free."
"Huh?" Chu Ci sounded puzzled.
Ye Qingzhou's autograph could be traded directly for ribs?
The stall next to the ribs sold pork. Hearing the stallholder's words, its owner hurried to add, "Me too! If you can get me an autographed photo of Ye Qingzhou, the pork is free..."
"Me too! If you can get me an autographed photo of Ye Qingzhou, all the vegetables here are free!"
"Me too! If you can get me an autographed photo of Ye Qingzhou, everything here..."