By the time they had gone through the remaining attractions in the amusement park, it was already dark.
Every evening, the parade floats and fireworks are punctual and identical, with the same procedures and patterns. Some minor details might vary, but there aren’t any unique attractions worth staying another night for.
After the last attraction, they left the amusement park.
They didn’t forget the balloons and headbands.
Each of them wore a headband.
Qiao Huaiyao took off his wristband, and the balloon ended up in Bai Jinyan’s hand.
Since the balloon was too large to safely place in the back seat and it took up too much space, they deflated it, folded it, and put it in the trunk.
When they got in the car, Lu Lu noticed the ears on Bai Jinyan’s headband. He paused, forcing himself to look straight ahead without expression.
Lu Lu stared directly at the windshield.
Everything seemed calm, but inside, he was screaming: ‘Brother Bai really wore the plush ear headband!’
He also checked Weibo, and as an assistant, he sometimes had to log in to Bai Jinyan’s account to repost promotions.
Most other artists’ Weibo accounts were managed by the company, with dedicated personnel to ensure no inappropriate posts. The company closely monitored this.
Bai Jinyan let the company manage his account simply because he didn’t have the time or interest.
Occasionally, when he logged in to banter with fans, it was obvious it was him, as his tone was markedly different. Many fans could tell whether it was the studio or Bai Jinyan himself.
So when Lu Lu logged in yesterday, he saw that photo.
Lu Lu couldn’t believe it. Who was Bai Jinyan? The youngest double-award-winning actor! Even in private, and certainly not in a movie script, would he ever wear something like this. No way!
But seeing it now, Lu Lu was stunned.
Can love really change someone’s personality this much?
Hmm… on second thought, maybe it wasn’t that strange. Even before they were dating, Bai Jinyan was always very accommodating to Qiao Huaiyao.
If Qiao Huaiyao had asked Bai Jinyan to wear a headband back then, he probably wouldn’t have refused.
But—wasn’t this still love?
“Lu Lu?”
“Yes, Brother Bai,” Lu Lu snapped out of his thoughts, turning to ask, “What is it, Brother Bai?”
“Give me the project plan for Director Qian’s film,” Bai Jinyan said calmly.
“Got it!” Lu Lu responded quickly, and within seconds, he found the document among a pile of papers and handed it over. “Here you go, Brother Bai.”
Though the documents looked messy, Lu Lu had his own system for organizing them.
While playing with Qiao Huaiyao, Bai Jinyan hadn’t dealt with any work matters.
With a long drive ahead, he took the opportunity to go through a few pages.
After sitting for a while, Qiao Huaiyao’s back started to ache. He adjusted himself discreetly, but it didn’t help much.
Bai Jinyan put down the document and patted his own leg. “Lie here.”
Qiao Huaiyao hesitated, “No, I…”
“Come here,” Bai Jinyan insisted, not giving him a chance to refuse.
A cushion behind his back wasn’t helping much; lying down would be more comfortable.
Mindful of the people in front, Bai Jinyan lowered the partition, gently placed his hand around Qiao Huaiyao’s waist, and said again, “Come on.”
Lu Lu had arranged for a modified business car, with single seats on the left and a low table level with the seats on the right, rather than the usual layout of front driver seats and rear two- or three-seaters.
This setup provided enough space to lie down on one side.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and then slowly lay down, resting his head on Bai Jinyan’s leg.
Bai Jinyan’s hand on Qiao Huaiyao’s waist massaged gently and steadily, helping to ease his discomfort.
Qiao Huaiyao’s phone was on the table. To keep him entertained, Bai Jinyan handed it to him.
The sports meet was still ongoing, and today was the final day.
Qiu Shufeng and their group’s second-round events were all scheduled for today.
The group chat was much quieter than usual.
Wang Zhan occasionally posted updates about who from their class had won a medal.
Everyone was watching the events in person, so these updates were mainly for Qiao Huaiyao.
Wang Zhan: [So far, including the study god’ gold medal, our class has won seven medals in total!]
There were many events, and even the small ones had medals.
Some schools’ fall sports meets only included standard events and major ones.
The number of medals their class had won nearly exceeded the number of events in some schools’ fall sports meets.
Qiao Huaiyao: [Very impressive.]
Their class likely had the most gold medals. Even if all the remaining gold medals were combined into one class, it wouldn’t surpass theirs.
Qiu Shufeng: [Now it’s the eighth medal! study god, I got one too!]
This message came late, likely just after the award ceremony. Seeing Wang Zhan’s messages in the chat, Qiu Shufeng quickly started posting too.
Qiao Huaiyao replied with a clapping emoji.
Qiu Shufeng: [I’m exhausted. I ran the 400 meters, starting with a sprint like you do. I nearly collapsed halfway.]
As class president, during the sports meet, if a student couldn’t participate in an event, Qiu Shufeng had to step in himself.
He had run multiple events just today alone.
He wanted to push himself for this last event and managed to get the gold medal, but it was tough. By the end, his head was buzzing.
Qiao Huaiyao chuckled softly, about to type a response, but paused mid-gesture.
He slowly looked up, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Bai Jinyan.
“…”
For a moment, they gazed at each other in silence. Then Bai Jinyan leaned down and kissed Qiao Huaiyao’s cheek. His hand, which had been massaging lower, moved back to Qiao Huaiyao’s waist to gently rub it.
Bai Jinyan flipped the pages of the document on the table, looking serious. “You keep playing.”
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and couldn’t help but reach up to pinch Bai Jinyan’s cheek. But the next moment, Bai Jinyan grabbed his hand and kissed it.
His phone buzzed continuously in his hand.
Qiao Huaiyao turned over, retrieving his hand in the process, and began typing responses to messages with both hands.
A few messages were from Director Zhao Jiamei.
To capitalize on the current hype, the variety show was launching earlier than planned. The first season’s content, initially scheduled to be released gradually over several months, was now airing sooner.
With the first season’s broadcast moved up, the recording of the second season would also be expedited.
The show had three seasons in total, each season divided into five short segments to be edited and broadcasted.
Since many guests were involved and it was a family variety show, they had to consider various factors. The focus couldn’t just be on the most popular group.
To make the whole show complete, even if some guests didn’t get much screen time, they still needed to be visible.
Thus, the three-season format was established from the start. The term “season” here didn’t differ much from other shows’ “episodes.”
Only after completing all three seasons would the show possibly invite five new groups of guests for further filming.
So now, during the second season, Director Zhao Jiamei was already starting to coordinate schedules.
Recently, Qiao Huaiyao had a tight schedule. The lab he applied for was approved quickly, and he naturally had to prepare for his first experiment.
If everything went smoothly, he might have results before the end of the year.
Opening the lab was just about repeating an experiment he had done before. If there were no surprises, the results could come even sooner.
Zhao Jiamei: [The second episode is ready to air. As long as you can find time before the fifth episode airs, it’s fine.]
Even if they started filming during the airing of the fifth episode, it would still be in time for the second season.
Qiao Huaiyao thought about it: [Before the end of the year, it’s not possible. We’ll have to see after the New Year.]
Starting before the end of the year, he would be busy, spending weekends in the lab, with no time for variety show recordings.
He wanted to spend the New Year with his brother, without any work distractions.
Although the variety show was relatively relaxed, it was still work, and he preferred to keep the New Year stress-free.
Seeing this message, Zhao Jiamei almost cried out loud.
This meant they couldn’t air the second season immediately after the first. Delaying it even for a month wasn’t ideal.
Furthermore, considering that they might only start filming after the New Year, Zhao Jiamei understood that Qiao Huaiyao’s academic commitments were more important than the show.
Zhao Jiamei: [Okay, I’ll see what I can arrange. Let me know when you have time.]
Qiao Huaiyao: [Alright.]
Zhao Jiamei, still worried, sent another message: [Don’t tell your brother I contacted you. Let’s just discuss the schedule between us.]
[If he finds out, he’ll definitely be mad at me.]
It seemed Zhao Jiamei had approached him without informing Bai Jinyan.
Qiao Huaiyao hesitated, then looked up to see Bai Jinyan wasn’t reading the document but…
Bai Jinyan reached over and tapped on Zhao Jiamei’s chat, starting a video call.
Zhao Jiamei answered quickly, “What’s up? Did you suddenly find some free time—”
His excited words trailed off when he saw the two on the screen.
Zhao Jiamei: “???”
Not again! Is this happening again?!
This is déjà vu, people.
Why recreate this classic moment?
Zhao Jiamei was stunned, unsure how to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere.
Bai Jinyan looked at him calmly, “Not telling me?”
Zhao Jiamei started coughing violently. Being caught badmouthing someone was one thing, but having them directly respond to every message? That was too much!
Composing himself, Zhao Jiamei greeted, “Good evening, Jinyan. You look even more handsome than a few days ago. You’re so kind and gentle; surely you won’t hold this against me. It’s late, so I’ll head to bed now. Good night.”
Forcing a “good night” at exactly five in the afternoon, with the sun still up, he quickly hung up the call.
Clearly, Bai Jinyan’s sudden appearance had rattled him.
Qiao Huaiyao blinked. Without him saying a word, the brief conversation ended.
Bai Jinyan said calmly, “Don’t mind him.”
Knowing he couldn’t persuade Bai Jinyan and didn’t dare to try, Zhao Jiamei had been trying to get Qiao Huaiyao to help instead.
Bai Jinyan sent a message to Zhao Jiamei from his own phone.
Bai Jinyan: [Inform me of any variety show recording schedules in advance. If you contact Qiao Huaiyao without my knowledge and I find out, I’ll terminate the contract and transfer the penalty fee to your account.]
With Qiao Huaiyao’s contract, there wasn’t any penalty for breach.
But Bai Jinyan had a standard contract, and paying a penalty was just a minor inconvenience for him.
Although Zhao Jiamei had ended the call, he clearly hadn’t put down his phone. He replied instantly: [!!! Please, let’s discuss this. I promise I’ll ask you first next time. Consider this a favor for keeping things from Meng Zeng. Just one more chance, I swear!]