Chapter 25 – Video
Bai Jinyan’s hand, which was wiping his hair, suddenly stopped, and there was a hint of surprise on his face.
Qiao Huaiyao realized what he had said, and immediately cleared his throat, trying to explain somewhat awkwardly, “I mean, um… the shop, the shop maybe…”
Having lived together for a while, Bai Jinyan blurted out the suggestion to go to a shop without thinking.
Seeing Qiao Huaiyao’s reaction, he chuckled and rubbed his head, saying, “If you’re not coming back after the military training at night, what am I going to do in the dorm?”
Qiao Huaiyao blinked lightly and agreed, “True.”
During the military training, they might be assigned to different dormitories. Although it wasn’t mandatory to stay in the dorms, going back and forth between two areas would be troublesome. If Qiao Huaiyao didn’t return at night during the training, it would be Bai Jinyan alone in the dorm.
Bai Jinyan turned around and hung up the towel, saying, “The shop is quite close to the place where the military training is held. When there’s no training at night, we can go to the shop together.”
Qiao Huaiyao smiled, agreeing, “Okay.”
…
The military training buses were lined up at the school gate. Inside the front windshield of each bus, there were class numbers written in the bottom right corner. When Qiao Huaiyao got on the bus, there were already many people inside.
Qiu Shufeng, seeing him coming, straightened up and waved, “Come sit here! There’s a seat.”
Qiao Huaiyao placed his luggage in the front vertical compartment and asked, “Why did you all come so early?”
“In a little while, this bus will leave with a group of people. I thought coming early might help me find a roommate,” Qiu Shufeng smirked. Then, he lowered his voice and glanced outside, “Didn’t your brother come with you?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head, “He had something to do.”
This project wasn’t a big production, and Bai Jinyan only accepted it because he liked the script. Plus, there weren’t many scenes. Since the production didn’t find any investors, Bai Jinyan decided to invest in it himself. So, many of the pre-production matters that would normally be handled by the director were consulted with Bai Jinyan. After having a light lunch, Bai Jinyan received a call and went to the film set.
Qiu Shufeng understood, “Being a star, especially one at his level, is indeed busy.”
Even as someone who didn’t pay much attention to the entertainment industry, Qiu Shufeng knew Bai Jinyan’s name. He rubbed his hands and couldn’t help but ask, “Um… Brother Qiao.”
Qiao Huaiyao: “Yes?”
“Uh, heh heh, can you help me get an autograph?” Qiu Shufeng asked with a big smile. As he spoke, the bus suddenly started, and he swayed a bit, quickly holding onto the seat in front.
Qiu Shufeng explained with a smile, “It’s not for myself. I have a friend who really likes Bai Jinyan, and she even started a fan support group. She’s a hardcore fan, you know?”
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow, as far as he knew, unofficial fan support groups didn’t usually get many benefits.
Official fan support groups might receive news from the management company and even be allowed to greet their idol at the airport.
But Bai Jinyan’s unofficial fan group had a hard time getting in touch with him since he seldom disclosed his schedule.
Besides, Bai Jinyan was known for his temper in the entertainment industry.
Even online fans might hesitate to approach him in person.
After a moment’s thought, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t refuse, “Okay, I’ll ask him later.”
Qiu Shufeng immediately clasped his hands together, “Thank you, Brother Qiao!”
“Don’t bow,” Qiao Huaiyao replied, holding his forehead. “Just call me by my name.”
Qiu Shufeng had no problem calling him by his name and happily said, “Okay.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s phone buzzed twice. He opened it to see a message from Bai Jinyan.
Bai Jinyan sent him three pictures in a row, probably the locations the crew had selected for shooting. They were deserted places with a lot of mess and no one cleaning them up.
The pictures Bai Jinyan took had a suspenseful and creepy vibe, given the poor lighting.
Qiao Huaiyao typed and asked, “Has the location for shooting been finalized?”
Bai Jinyan replied, “Yes, it’s settled.”
The thriller film was initially planned, but they had struggled to find investors. The shooting location required money, whether it was to rent or set it up temporarily.
Bai Jinyan wanted to choose the Nineteenth Middle School as the location after investing, but he hadn’t finalized it yet as he was still in touch with the responsible person there. He hadn’t informed Qiao Huaiyao in advance.
Qiao Huaiyao, sitting near the window, looked outside and didn’t see any street signs or anything. The bus was moving at a moderate speed, and they couldn’t see anything else.
He guessed, “We should be close.”
The military training site was in the Dayuan New District, which was right behind them, and they were going directly to the student dormitories through the back gate. Dayuan would not do some ‘power play’ by blocking the way. The main point of military training was to exercise the students, so it was more convenient to drive the bus directly into the area, allowing students to easily take their luggage.
Qiao Huaiyao messaged Bai Jinyan and said he would go straight to the location.
Qiu Shufeng followed him, saying, “One of our classmates isn’t participating in the military training due to an experimental course, so how about the four of us sharing a dorm? We’ll have four people together.”
“Sure,” Qiao Huaiyao agreed. He had been in the same dorm with them during military training in his previous life, so he was quite familiar with them.
Qiu Shufeng pointed to a guy slightly taller, dressed in black, and said, “You should know Yao Zhifan; we saw him at the gathering the other day. The one next to him is Wang Zhan, who just transferred to our dorm yesterday.”
“This is Qiao Huaiyao, the ‘academic god’ I mentioned before,” Qiu Shufeng chuckled, “No, I shouldn’t say ‘academic god,’ it should be ‘academic deity.'”
Wang Zhan stepped forward and greeted, “Hello, Qiao Huaiyao. We’ve heard a lot about you in our dorm.”
Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback and greeted, “Hello.”
But he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. What did they mean they had heard a lot about him? What was there to hear?
Wang Zhan continued, “Our class leader brought out some notes in the dorm and showed them off. When I moved in, he even boasted about it in our circle of friends. I suspect that the previous guy who moved out was driven away by him.”
“Hey, kid,” Qiu Shufeng clamped him by the neck, “Stop making things up. He transferred to another major.”
Wang Zhan escaped from his grip but continued digging into Qiu Shufeng’s shortcoming, “Qiao Huaiyao said that our class leader is amazing. Although he boasted about it, he didn’t let us see a single page. He just flaunted it in front of us.”
Qiu Shufeng justified himself, “Those were borrowed items. The original owner didn’t say anything, can I show them to anyone at will?”
Wang Zhan seized the opportunity to slip out from under his arm, “Cough, Qiao Huaiyao, can I, uh, borrow your notes? Some of my classes got delayed, and I didn’t have time to catch up. Can I…”
Qiao Huaiyao casually replied, “Sure, I can make a copy of the notes for you.”
“Really?!” Wang Zhan was surprised that Qiao Huaiyao was so easy to talk to.
He immediately said, “You’re righteous! I’ll treat you to lunch today. No, I’ll treat you to lunch for the whole semester, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, three meals a day, I…”
“Get lost, are you begging for work? Go carry your luggage upstairs,” Qiu Shufeng scolded and waved him away. “Go go go.”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t have many things in his suitcase and picked it up. “Aren’t the other students coming soon? Shouldn’t we go upstairs?”
“Upstairs, upstairs,” Qiu Shufeng grabbed his suitcase and hurried to catch up.
During military training, the dormitory had beds above and desks below. The bedsheets and quilts were all dark green, prepared by the school. Qiao Huaiyao hung up the necessary items and placed others on the table. He finished quickly and sat at the desk, chatting with Bai Jinyan.
Qiao Huaiyao: [Brother! (Cat poking head.jpg)]
Bai Jinyan: [Here. (Patting head.jpg)]
Qiao Huaiyao happily typed: [I’ve finished packing. Where are you now? Should I come find you?]
Bai Jinyan: [I asked the driver to pick you up.]
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t want to trouble him and replied: [No need, I’ll just head over directly.]