Shi Wei simply said, "Yeah."
Then he heard Ji Hanchuan snort.
What, did you want me to praise you on the spot for guessing right on your first try?
"Have you eaten?"
"No appetite."
"Oh, bye, then."
I made you all that good food, and you had the nerve to say you had no appetite? Get lost!
Shi Wei went back to eating.
"Who was that? Shi Wei, did you get a girlfriend?" Zhuo Xiao narrowed his eyes.
Shi Wei imagined Ji Hanchuan nestling in his arms like a sweet little bird...
"No way." Shi Wei brushed it off. "It was just my manager."
Zhuo Xiao frowned. "Why do you talk to your manager like he's your girlfriend?"
Afraid he would catch on, Shi Wei hurriedly said, "Tell me about it! I do whatever he says, he's the one who gives me my money, and if he tells me to go east, I wouldn't dare go west. What is he if not my girlfriend?"
Zhuo Xiao: ...Whatever you say.
They ate, chatting and laughing, until past nine.
Shi Wei had received his pay, so he generously picked up the bill.
"Since it's already this late, want to walk around, then get a late-night snack?" Shi Wei suggested.
"More food?" Zhuo Xiao hurriedly waved his hands. "I'll burst if I eat any more. We still have a show to film tomorrow."
Quite disappointed, Shi Wei said goodbye to Zhuo Xiao, pulled his cap low, put on his mask, and waited by the road for a ride.
A black car was parked across the street.
Its lines were sleek, and its gleaming body had an understated air of luxury.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was heavy.
Ji Hanchuan watched Shi Wei standing by the road, his large, well-defined hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the veins stood out on their backs.
The two of them had actually spent this long eating together, and they seemed to have enjoyed their conversation, too.
Ji Hanchuan was just about to drive over when he noticed that Shi Wei seemed to have spotted his car and was crossing the road toward him.
Shi Wei looked left and right, then pulled down his mask while no one was around and used the window as a mirror to check his eye.
Ji Hanchuan: ...
The windows had privacy film, so no matter how close Shi Wei leaned, he couldn't see inside.
Shi Wei held his eye open with two fingers. An eyelash seemed to have fallen into it, and the discomfort scrunched his gorgeous face into a knot.
The window rolled down.
Ji Hanchuan's face appeared, and Shi Wei froze in complete shock.
Shi Wei: ...
Ji Hanchuan: ...
"Getting in or not?"
Shi Wei hurriedly slipped into the passenger seat, and Ji Hanchuan rolled the window up.
"Hubby, what are you doing here?" Shi Wei asked curiously. "How did you know I was here? Don't tell me you..."
"Yes, I followed you," Ji Hanchuan said outright.
Shi Wei was even more shocked. "I thought you'd overheard my phone call and figured out I was here. I didn't know you were that kind of pervert."
Ji Hanchuan: "...What did you say?"
"Didn't you?" Shi Wei let his imagination run wild. "I've got it. You called me earlier so your people could trace my phone signal. That's how you found me!"
Ji Hanchuan: ...
"No, that's too lame." Shi Wei cast Ji Hanchuan a flirtatious glance. "It must be because our minds are connected, hubby. Our hearts are in tune, our souls as one..."
"Shut up." Ji Hanchuan turned on the light, unbuckled his seat belt, and turned toward him. "Is your eye bothering you?"
"Yeah." Shi Wei rubbed his eye. "I think the wind blew an eyelash into it."
Ji Hanchuan held his hand still. "Your paws are filthy. Don't touch it."
Shi Wei: ...
Ji Hanchuan told him to lean closer, held his eye open, and blew into it.
-Wow, this bastard is so handsome.
The frustration Ji Hanchuan had endured all evening instantly vanished.
-What a shame. He looks perfectly respectable, but he's actually a stalker. A total pervert!
Ji Hanchuan: ...
He carefully picked out the wayward eyelash, then immediately let go of him.
"Done."
"Thanks, hubby." Shi Wei blinked. The itchy feeling had finally disappeared.
Ji Hanchuan fastened his seat belt again and drove into traffic.
Shi Wei was playing on his phone when he suddenly burst out, "Holy shit!"
Ma Xianbei had sent him a last-minute message saying the company attached great importance to his upcoming variety show appearance and had tailored a persona for him.
One was "sweet little peach baby," and the other was an aloof queen. After discussing it in a meeting, they thought "sweet little peach baby" would attract more fans.
Wasn't this a little last-minute for all that importance?
And what the hell were those two personas?
Shi Wei felt helpless. It was only because Ji Hanchuan's repost of his Weibo post had gone viral that he had finally caught the company's attention.
Shi Wei: Brother Bei, I am who I am, a firework like no other. I absolutely refuse to use that persona.
Ma Xianbei was actually worried about Shi Wei getting typecast, too. "I don't think it's reliable either. How about this? You don't have to force a persona, but you have to bring a few cute things so I'll have something to show them."
He sent Shi Wei a list to choose from.
Ma Xianbei: Wear a helmet when you go out these days. I'm honestly afraid a windfall will fall out of the sky and accidentally crush you to death.
Shi Wei: ...
Putting down his phone, Shi Wei said considerately, "Hubby, how about I treat you to a late-night snack?"
Ji Hanchuan sensed a hint of danger, as though he were about to be sold out. "I suppose that's fine..."
Sure enough, Shi Wei expertly seized the opening. "Then before we eat, how about we go to the supermarket together?"
Ji Hanchuan remained calm. See?
There weren't many people in the supermarket this late. Both wearing masks, they strolled leisurely through the aisles.
"Hubby, I bet you've never been to a supermarket."
"...Do you take me for someone who lives above worldly concerns?"
Shi Wei was a little surprised. "I thought you had a chauffeur to drive you around and an assistant to take care of your daily needs, so you surely wouldn't have time for little things like this."
"Food, clothing, housing, and transportation-how are those little things?" Ji Hanchuan said irritably. "What exactly are you buying?"
"I'm looking for..." Shi Wei looked up for the signs. "Ah, over there!"
Shi Wei grabbed Ji Hanchuan's hand and ran over.
Ji Hanchuan clasped his hand in return, but as soon as they reached the toy section, Shi Wei dropped it.
Ji Hanchuan: ...
"I didn't expect them to actually have something like this." Shi Wei found a little toy and held it up for Ji Hanchuan to see.
It was a cute peach plushie.
Ji Hanchuan took it and gave it a firm squeeze, then raised his eyes to stare at him. "So soft."
Shi Wei: ...Somehow, I don't think he's talking about the plushie.
Ignoring the awkwardness Shi Wei was left to enjoy alone, Ji Hanchuan dug out another, slightly bigger plushie: the famous Crayon Shin-chan baring his butt.
"Turn around. Let me compare you to him."
Shi Wei's face instantly flushed red. "Then bring your head over here, too. My fist wants to compare itself to your big head!"
Ji Hanchuan put Shin-chan into the shopping cart as well.
The two walked away without noticing the two young women behind them grinning dotingly at them.
"Wow, they're so cute! The tall one looks so cold and aloof. I didn't think he'd tease the short one."
"They look so shippable. Do you think they're a couple?"
"They're already talking so intimately. Surely they're more than that..."