Chapter 34 – Variety Show
Qiao Huaiyao discreetly adjusted the collar of his Western-style suit, trying to hide his excited heart, but he couldn’t suppress the faint smile on his lips. “I’ll put away this outfit when I get back.”
Bai Jinyan stepped forward, picking up the guitar case and casually taking his book, saying, “I’ve ordered lunch. The French restaurant we went to last time was pretty good.” Qiao Huaiyao held the bouquet of roses and suddenly remembered that he forgot to tell Qiu Shufeng and the others about leaving early.
In a rush, Qiao Huaiyao said, “Brother, wait a moment. I’ll send a message to Qiu Shufeng.” He was worried that Qiu Shufeng and the others wouldn’t be able to find him when they returned.
“No need to bother,” Bai Jinyan said, holding the hand that was reaching for his phone. He calmly said, “I already told our class leader.”
Qiao Huaiyao paused for a moment, then nodded in realization. He had almost forgotten that his brother had Qiu Shufeng’s contact information.
Bai Jinyan held the guitar case with one hand and took Qiao Huaiyao’s hand with the other. “Let’s go.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s fingertips curled slightly, unconsciously brushing against the back of Bai Jinyan’s hand. Bai Jinyan’s expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t noticed.
However, Qiao Huaiyao himself felt a warmth in his palm. He cleared his throat and responded, “Alright.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s schedule was tight. Immediately after finishing military training, he started recording variety shows. After the director finished taking promotional photos, he left behind live streaming equipment and a photographer before leaving in a hurry.
He went to the recording location early to prepare and set up the tasks. During this time, he was busy with various matters and was also preparing for his upcoming performances. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for several days. After finally finishing the last day of military training, Qiao Huaiyao stayed up almost until dawn.
Bai Jinyan returned from his morning run and seeing Qiao Huaiyao still in bed, he didn’t wake him up, wanting him to rest properly.
The live streaming equipment was already set up. Bai Jinyan didn’t even glance at it as he walked into the bedroom and began packing his things. The director had instructed them to pack their luggage for the live broadcast.
The barrage comments began: [“Finally, the live stream is back. Do you know how I survived without it?”]
[“I saw the live room was open and full of life, but when I didn’t see my wife and saw Bai Jinyan, I exited with frustration.”]
[“Exactly, the neighbor started singing folk songs just to please me. Bai Jinyan, you should roll up too.”]
[“He doesn’t even read the barrage. What’s with the attitude!”]
The barrage comments were full of complaints, but the popularity remained high. Despite the complaints, no one was leaving.
Bai Jinyan neatly folded the thick clothes and placed them in dustproof bags before stacking them in the suitcase. Some of the clothes were brought over from home, including some of Qiao Huaiyao’s thicker clothes.
The temperature had dropped recently, and the location for recording the variety show had significant temperature differences between day and night, so they needed a variety of warm clothes.
After packing one box, he went outside and brought in another empty suitcase. After preparing the things he brought for Qiao Huaiyao, he started packing his own things. Unlike the meticulousness of before, he packed more casually.
The morning live stream was in a very quiet environment, and Bai Jinyan didn’t play any background music. Without a host to lead the show and no one else on camera, the live stream was just Bai Jinyan packing his luggage.
At the beginning, the director said the live stream was about “packing luggage,” and now the live broadcast literally showed him packing luggage.
The barrage comments were confused.
[“I’m so tired. I’m going to sleep for a while. Remember to poke me when my wife comes out.”]
[“Brother Bai, do we need to be this honest?”]
[“Is it possible that the director meant that they would show us something interesting while packing? Anything would do, I’m here for entertainment, not to learn how to pack clothes!”]
[“Wait… isn’t that shirt a bit small? Can Bai Jinyan even fit in it?”]
[“Baiyan’s intentions are pretty clear, I ship it.”]
The luggage box, pushed aside, rolled forward due to inertia, heading straight for the nearby wall. Bai Jinyan grabbed the handle and brought the suitcase back.
To prevent the suitcase wheels from making noise when they rolled on the floor, he lifted the handle and placed the suitcase down gently. After making sure it wouldn’t make noise, he turned back to continue packing.
Qiao Huaiyao hadn’t set an alarm the night before, thinking that if there was a live broadcast the next day, his brother would wake him up. But when he woke up, it was already past nine in the morning.
He furrowed his brows, looked at the time on his phone, thinking he might have seen it wrong. He sneezed and decided not to go back to sleep.
After washing his face with cold water, he felt more awake. Seeing that there was no one in the living room, Qiao Huaiyao walked to the bedroom in the back.
Since the door was slightly ajar, he immediately spotted Bai Jinyan in front of the wardrobe.
“Brother.” Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes curved as he peeked out from behind the door. “Good morning.”
Bai Jinyan turned to look, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Morning.”
Qiao Huaiyao walked over, taking the coat from him. “Are all the boxes over there packed?”
“Done,” Bai Jinyan replied, placing the last item inside. He stood up and asked, “Why are you up so early?”
He wanted Qiao Huaiyao to get more sleep.
Qiao Huaiyao chuckled and said, “When I’m well-rested, I get up.”
After all, they still had the live broadcast, so he couldn’t afford to wake up too late.
“Let’s eat,” Bai Jinyan said. He had already had breakfast and brought over a warm breakfast that he had prepared earlier. “Be careful, the milk might be hot. Let it cool down before drinking.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and didn’t touch the glass of milk. “Has the live broadcast started?”
“Yes,” Bai Jinyan replied, ruffling his hair. His hand slid down Qiao Huaiyao’s shoulder as he spoke in a gentle tone. “Don’t worry about the live broadcast. Focus on eating.”
The barrage comments were amusing.
[“??? I’m listening, Bai Jinyan, watch your words.”]
[“What are they doing? What are their hands doing?!”]
[“Wait a second, folks! I’ve watched every episode of the live broadcast, but now it feels like I can’t catch up with the plot anymore.”]
[“Is it just my imagination, or do these two… seem like a sweet couple?”]
[“Wait! What did they do behind our backs when they weren’t live?!”]
Qiao Huaiyao laughed softly, not bothering to check the barrage comments on the production team’s phone. Instead, he waved toward the direction of the camera, saying hello to the audience in the live room.
Bai Jinyan packed three suitcases. Most of the items were clothes and daily necessities, and the lightest one was filled with snacks. Many of the snacks were ones that Qiao Huaiyao liked; he had picked them up while packing. Feeling it was still not enough, Bai Jinyan grabbed another empty suitcase and filled it up as well.
The production team’s car was already waiting downstairs. Bai Jinyan handed the suitcases to the staff and held two bags in his hands. The first episode was filmed in a small village in Hetong Town.