Standing quietly as an invisible bystander, Lu Lu nodded at the comment and was about to reach for Bai Jinyan’s down jacket when he saw Bai Jinyan naturally hand the jacket to Qiao Huaiyao instead.
Lu Lu suddenly felt that his position as an assistant was hanging by a thread.
Qiao Huaiyao held Bai Jinyan’s jacket and said, “No need, I’ll wait for you in the audience.”
It was just an interview; it wouldn’t take much time.
Bai Jinyan patted his head and said, “I’ll go ahead first.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded. “Okay.”
Before arriving, Lu Lu had already negotiated with the production team about any issues and ensured everything was correct before handing the process to Bai Jinyan.
So, there was no need to walk through the process backstage again.
Instead, he took Qiao Huaiyao directly to the audience seats.
Even though it was just an interview and it was late at night, the audience seats were fully occupied.
Only two VIP seats were left open.
Lu Lu had anticipated this and specifically arranged for the production team to reserve them.
Typically, interviews recorded at night don’t attract many viewers.
When broadcast, people might watch the video online, but there are usually few people present at the recording.
Bai Jinyan’s work spans both domestic and international fields, and his reputation abroad is also quite high.
Additionally, since he rarely appears abroad, people are eager to see him, regardless of the time, if they have tickets.
As soon as Qiao Huaiyao sat down, the curtain on stage was drawn back.
Bai Jinyan glanced down at Qiao Huaiyao, slightly lifting his hand resting on his lap. After a gentle wave, he put it back down, as if to greet him.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and gave a small wave in return.
The host, not noticing the interaction between the guests, was reviewing their cue cards.
Once the backstage staff gave the signal that it was time to start, the host took a deep breath and flashed a professional smile.
After a brief greeting and pleasantries, the host smoothly transitioned into the prepared questions.
In the overall recording environment, it didn’t feel out of place at all.
Bai Jinyan spoke English fluently; he had lived abroad as a child and used English in daily life.
Qiao Huaiyao sat elegantly with his hands folded on his lap, his gaze fixed steadily on Bai Jinyan.
To highlight the stage lighting, all the lights in the venue were turned off.
The first row was too close, and the stage lights outlined Qiao Huaiyao’s facial features. His eyes, bright and beautiful, were full of Bai Jinyan’s image.
Bai Jinyan initially maintained a serious expression and answered the questions with a calm demeanor.
However, he found it hard to ignore the gazes from the audience. He struggled to suppress the slight smile at the corners of his mouth, and his lowered eyes were filled with gentle affection.
When the host was halfway through a question, she seemed to notice something, glancing at Bai Jinyan and then at her cue cards.
Did I… say something wrong?
Why does it suddenly seem so cheerful?
The host was puzzled. Did I mispronounce a word?
Did I make a mistake?
But the audience below seemed to have no reaction.
The host blinked, paused, and with her high level of professionalism, kept her doubts to herself.
She smoothly redirected the question, continuing as if nothing had happened.
Bai Jinyan cleared his throat, leaned back, and rested his crossed fingers against his lips.
He subtly hid the smile at the corner of his mouth and answered the question in fluent English.
By the time the recording was complete, it was already late at night.
When Bai Jinyan returned backstage, Qiao Huaiyao got up to bring him his jacket.
The backstage area was still quite busy, but among the crowd, Qiao Huaiyao spotted Bai Jinyan at a glance.
“Brother.” Qiao Huaiyao handed him a cup of warm lemon water. “Have a drink.”
Bai Jinyan took the cup, unwrapped it, and offered it to Qiao Huaiyao first, casually asking, “When did you buy this?”
Earlier, from the stage, Qiao Huaiyao had been sitting in the audience, still there even after the curtain fell.
When did he go to buy the lemon water?
“Drink up, there’s another cup here.” Qiao Huaiyao shook the bag in his hand and said, “It’s takeout.”
Watching the interview live and then watching the edited version online would definitely feel different.
There was water on the table, but Bai Jinyan hadn’t had a sip during the recording.
So Qiao Huaiyao ordered takeout, which took a little while to arrive.
It might be that the beverage shops are busy at night, and since this drink was custom-made and freshly brewed lemon water, it took some extra time.
Fortunately, it arrived before the recording ended.
It was just in time, not too late.
Bai Jinyan nodded, took the unopened cup, and handed the opened one to Qiao Huaiyao.
Thinking about what he saw on stage earlier, he couldn’t help but smile slightly. It was a pity he couldn’t take photos during the recording.
Looking at Qiao Huaiyao, who was so close, Bai Jinyan raised his hand, intending to pinch his cheek. However, Qiao Huaiyao’s skin was so fair that it would easily leave marks.
After a moment’s thought, he settled for gently rubbing his cheek with his fingertips instead. “After sitting there for so long, are you tired?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head, his attention fully on the recording, so he didn’t feel particularly tired.
Sipping the lemon water, which was warm with a strong lemony tang, he tasted a subtle sweetness and a hint of bitterness in the aftertaste.
Qiao Huaiyao adjusted the collar of Bai Jinyan’s down jacket and asked, “Have you finalized tomorrow’s schedule?”
“Yes,” Bai Jinyan looked at Lu Lu.
Lu Lu quickly said, “The electronic version is ready. I’ll send the schedule to the young master after adjusting the times to the minute.”
Usually, when preparing schedules, even the agent doesn’t get the priority; the schedule is first given to Qiao Huaiyao before anyone else.
Lu Lu thought happily about how his year-end bonus was secured.
The order of sending the schedule was carefully arranged. Even though the differences between sending to each person were just a few seconds, he didn’t use group messaging but sent it in order.
Qiao Huaiyao replied with a “Hmm” and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
Lu Lu chuckled, “You’re welcome.”
Bai Jinyan checked the time. The audience outside should be about gone, so he said, “Let’s go, back to the hotel.”
Winter nights seemed colder than the days.
As soon as Qiao Huaiyao stepped outside, the cold wind hit him, making him feel the bone-chilling cold despite wearing his down jacket with the hood up.
Qiao Huaiyao pulled his jacket tighter and said, “The temperature back home seems even lower than here.”
He often spent time at Tsinghua University, so his phone’s weather forecast was set to that city by default. Now that he was in New York, he added both cities to his weather app. Compared to New York, where there was little snowfall, the temperature back home remained below freezing.
Bai Jinyan said, “After the exams and when the holiday starts, you can go home and rest.”
The colder it got, the less one wanted to go outside. After the exams, there wouldn’t be much work, and his experiments would temporarily be on hold. He could stay at home with the heating on.
Qiao Huaiyao chuckled but didn’t respond. Staying home alone wasn’t very appealing to him.
Bai Jinyan’s work never adhered to the seasons, nor did he pay much attention to holidays. Sometimes, he would be filming in the dead of winter and rush back home on the day of the New Year.
Qiao Huaiyao had visited the film set before, wanting to spend New Year’s with him there or even at a hotel. However, Bai Jinyan had a particular insistence on celebrating at home.
This year… it seemed like Bai Jinyan had everything planned out.
Qiao Huaiyao pondered for a moment and asked, “When is your holiday?”
Bai Jinyan’s breaks didn’t align with statutory holidays; he simply tried to clear his schedule around the New Year. By managing his time carefully, he could make room for the holiday, but it made the period before and after very busy.
“It might be a bit earlier,” Bai Jinyan replied, raising a hand to adjust Qiao Huaiyao’s hat to keep it from blowing off. “This year’s schedule is lighter, so the end of the year shouldn’t be too hectic.”
Due to his relationship with Meng Zheng, Bai Jinyan had declined many entangling projects, making his workload lighter than in previous years.
Around New Year, he would probably just attend the company’s annual meeting and not have much else to do.
Qiao Huaiyao nodded slightly. Bundled in his hat, his nod wasn’t very noticeable, so he just said, “Okay.”
…
Lu Lu sent the itinerary in the early hours of the morning.
Qiao Huaiyao was still asleep at that time and didn’t see the message until the next morning.
Bai Jinyan had already left, and on the table was breakfast still warm under the thermal cover.
Qiao Huaiyao looked at the itinerary. Bai Jinyan’s schedule was packed; no wonder Lu Lu had marked the times before sending it.
Looking at the densely packed schedule, anyone would doubt if it was possible to manage all these places in a single day. But with the timeline in mind, it seemed feasible, though extremely busy.
Qiao Huaiyao’s own schedule was tight as well. The Xd-bcz3 solution decomposition experiment needed to be done as soon as possible.
This experiment was very simple for him. He had performed hundreds, if not thousands, of similar experiments and had a clear understanding of the solution’s properties.
Once he started the experiment, he could achieve near-zero error. The only variable was the time required.
In the morning, Qiao Huaiyao had no appetite, so he changed clothes and planned to head out. At that moment, his phone vibrated twice.
Bai Jinyan: [Remember to have breakfast. It’s getting colder today, and the temperature during the day will be similar to last night’s. Don’t wear just a regular coat; I’ve picked out a down jacket for you and left it on the chair.]
Qiao Huaiyao paused his action of unlocking his phone. The timing of the message was too coincidental; if the phone hadn’t shown no ongoing call, he might have suspected a video call with Bai Jinyan.
But… since his brother had mentioned it.
Qiao Huaiyao turned around to change into the jacket and grabbed a piece of bread and a carton of milk, taking a photo of the items before leaving.
Qiao Huaiyao: [The cat is being good.jpg]
Bai Jinyan: [Head pat.]