The ground hadn’t accumulated snow yet, but a layer of white covered the wrapped greenery along the roadside.
The teacher handed out a worksheet. Judging by the handwriting, it seemed the teacher had written the questions themselves.
Everyone was quietly working on the problems. Occasionally, there were whispers and some students sneakily using their phones to search for answers. It wasn’t an exam, but they would have to discuss the answers in order later, so everyone was trying to find their answers before their turn.
Qiao Huaiyao wasn’t in a rush. He glanced at the weather forecast for Ningxing. Last night, the forecast had shown clear skies and normal temperatures.
Checking again now, it had changed to heavy snow.
Ningxing was close by, so their weather wouldn’t be much different.
Their own weather forecast had shown snow for some time now.
Calculating the time, Bai Jinyan should still be on the road.
Qiao Huaiyao lightly swiped his phone: [Brother, is it snowing heavily over there?]
Bai Jinyan: [Not too much yet. The press conference has been moved indoors and might end early.]
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and typed: [The roads will be bad in the snow. If it gets too late, rest nearby and come back tomorrow morning.]
Snowy roads are difficult to drive on, especially at night.
Bai Jinyan didn’t respond directly, sending only a head-patting emoji instead.
Just as Qiao Huaiyao was about to continue typing, he heard the teacher, who had returned with hot water, say, “Qiao Huaiyao? Are you done?”
Seeing other students busily writing while Qiao Huaiyao held a still pen, the teacher couldn’t help but ask.
His worksheet didn’t even have his name on it yet. Qiao Huaiyao replied, “Teacher, I…”
“Perfect timing, I brought the wrong worksheet. Come up and write your answers on the board.” The teacher stretched. He hadn’t brought the answer key and didn’t want to solve the problems himself, so he had the top student help out.
The teacher sipped his hot tea and advised, “Just write in order and don’t forget to label the questions.”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t argue and took the blank worksheet up to the board.
He reviewed the questions and began writing his answers.
Qiu Shufeng: “???”
I’ve only done a few problems, and Qiao Huaiyao has finished the whole worksheet?
He’s faster than searching online.
There weren’t many questions on the worksheet, including multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Only a small part of the board was needed for those answers.
The rest of the board was filled with the solutions to the big problems.
As Qiao Huaiyao wrote, aside from flipping the pages, his hand with the chalk never stopped moving.
The teacher leisurely sipped his tea, watching Qiao Huaiyao write on the board.
When Qiao Huaiyao finished the last problem, the teacher turned and asked, “Has everyone finished their worksheets?”
Many students groaned in unison, “No—!”
Having the answers without understanding the process wouldn’t help during the discussion.
They had to buy some time by saying no.
The teacher sighed, “Alright, you have another half an hour. Qiao Huaiyao, you can go back.”
Qiao Huaiyao put down the chalk, “Okay.”
The teacher compared the blank worksheet he held to the answers on the board.
As soon as Qiao Huaiyao sat down, Qiu Shufeng leaned over and whispered, “Study god, can I see your worksheet? There are a few questions I can’t see.”
A tall student in front was blocking the view of some questions.
Being several rows back, it wasn’t easy for Qiu Shufeng to ask the student to move.
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t hand him the worksheet directly. Instead, he asked, “Which questions?”
“There are quite a few.” Qiu Shufeng felt bad about asking Qiao Huaiyao to read out all the answers. When Qiao Huaiyao placed his worksheet on the desk, Qiu Shufeng glanced at it and saw a completely blank sheet, with only the creases showing it had been folded.
Qiu Shufeng: “…?”
Wait, what’s going on? My head is spinning.
Qiu Shufeng was incredulous, “Study god, why is your worksheet blank?”
“I didn’t write anything earlier,” Qiao Huaiyao said, explaining that he had been chatting with Bai Jinyan since he received the worksheet.
“Then the answers on the board…?” Qiu Shufeng asked, already guessing the answer.
“I wrote them up there,” Qiao Huaiyao replied calmly.
Qiu Shufeng and Wang Zhan were both stunned.
It was one thing for Qiao Huaiyao to quickly solve the multiple-choice questions with his level of skill, but how could he write out the answers to the complex problems so effortlessly without any corrections, as if he already knew exactly what to write from the start?
“Study god, next time don’t make it look so easy. It makes me think I can do it too,” Qiu Shufeng remarked.
Wang Zhan didn’t hesitate to burst his bubble, “You can’t even do it in your dreams. Do you think this is elementary school math?”
“You’re such a jerk…” Qiu Shufeng retorted, abandoning his worksheet to wrestle with Wang Zhan under the desk.
Since the worksheets didn’t need to be handed in, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t bother to fill in the answers again. Instead, he resumed messaging Bai Jinyan on his phone.
There were several unread messages.
Bai Jinyan: [I’ve arrived. The roads were bad, so I’m running late. I canceled the makeup and styling.]
[The press conference will be live-streamed. I might not be able to reply to you for a bit.]
…
Bai Jinyan had been sending updates despite knowing Qiao Huaiyao might not be checking his phone.
Qiao Huaiyao: [Okay. I was writing answers on the board. Stay safe, brother.]
Bai Jinyan: [Sure. Are you going to watch the live stream?]
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow, smirked, and replied teasingly: [No, press conferences are boring.]
Bai Jinyan: [Really? Then I won’t send you the schedule.]
Qiao Huaiyao froze for a moment and hurriedly started typing, but before he could send his message, Bai Jinyan had already sent the schedule.
Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t help but smile, suppressing his laughter with a light cough. He pressed and held the image to save the schedule.
Most of the time was allocated for media questions. To manage the event, the crew had placed their own people among the reporters to ensure any potentially troublesome questions could be handled smoothly.
Additionally, there were segments recreating classic scenes from the film.
The release of this movie had been delayed multiple times, not due to issues with the film itself, but due to waiting for an ideal release window. There were always unforeseen events that prevented its timely release.
Finally, the premiere date was set, and a press conference was held promptly.
There would be several press conferences, but the subsequent schedules were yet to be decided.
Qiao Huaiyao sent a few more messages to Bai Jinyan before the teacher began organizing students to discuss the answers. He then put down his phone.
The live stream started early.
The press conference officially began at 1 PM, but the live stream started at noon.
Qiao Huaiyao had just finished two classes in the morning. As soon as the teacher announced the end of class, he entered the live stream on his phone.
He wasn’t sure if it was due to the mobile data or the large number of viewers, but the stream was very laggy.
“Study god—how about I treat you to a meal?” Qiu Shufeng offered, trying to make up for a previous promise since Bai Jinyan hadn’t shown up.
Qiao Huaiyao shook his phone, “I’m watching a live stream.”
Wang Zhan, leaning on Qiu Shufeng’s shoulder, remarked, “I know this one. Is it ‘Returning Home’? They’ve been promoting it for a long time, and the posters have been out for ages. I’ve already pre-booked my tickets.”
Qiao Huaiyao had booked a different movie screening for them. For this one, they could book tickets once the pre-sales were over and the official sale began.
Qiu Shufeng joked, “You guys are so… sigh, I guess this is what being in love is like.”
No matter how busy they were, they always made time to eat together. Bai Jinyan was busy with work, but Qiao Huaiyao still paid close attention to the live stream. They couldn’t stand being apart for even a little while.
Yu Luofan commented coolly, “You, a single person, wouldn’t understand.”
Qiao Huaiyao grabbed his books and stood up, “Let’s go.”
The snow wasn’t as heavy as before, and the ground hadn’t turned to ice yet, making it less slippery.
Still, Qiao Huaiyao chose to go through the building instead of outside, heading directly to the covered pathway that led to the school bus stop.
He put on his Bluetooth earphones and stayed in the live stream. The connection had stabilized and was no longer as laggy.
In the live stream, Bai Jinyan was holding the male lead’s weapon from the movie, glancing at the barrage of comments but not responding.
[“Hey, I didn’t come here to see your cold face. Give us a smile!”]
[“D*mn, if Bai Jinyan’s hand wasn’t moving, I would’ve thought it was just a promotional poster.”]
[“I want to curse, but I can’t bring myself to do it with that face in front of me. So frustrating.”]
…
As usual, Qiao Huaiyao sent gifts and noticed the platform had new special effects. He picked a couple of nice ones and sent them. And then… the live stream froze.
Qiao Huaiyao watched helplessly as the stream turned into a black screen after the third gift. Occasionally, Bai Jinyan’s image would appear, only to disappear again soon after. This happened several times until the special effects finished playing, and the live stream finally returned to normal.
Bai Jinyan furrowed his brows and opened the gift list.
The barrage of comments exploded:
[“Brother Bai said not to send gifts. Who’s being so thoughtless?”]
[“Oh no, is Bai Jinyan angry?”]
[“Not my fault! I can’t afford gifts. Don’t blame me, just an ordinary fan.”]
The comments kept flooding in.
By this time, Bai Jinyan had already opened the gift list.
Seeing the name at the top, Bai Jinyan paused, his expression softening. He leaned back in his chair, smiled, and said, “Thanks to Huaiyao for the fireworks. Thanks, boss.”
After speaking, Bai Jinyan turned to the side and said, “Is the live stream software manager here? Please check the system. How can sending a gift cause such a lag? There must be a software issue.”
The comments were in disbelief:
[“???”]
[“I was ready to scold you, and you suddenly changed your expression?”]
[“Was it Qiao Qiao who sent it? Now I understand.”]
[“Don’t blame Qiao Qiao! The lag was my fault! Qiao Qiao is innocent.”]
[“I sent the gift, not Qiao Qiao!”]
[“D*mn, no wonder you guys are so good at changing expressions. You must’ve learned it from Bai Jinyan!”]
…
Bai Jinyan smiled and asked, “Did class just end?”
Qiao Huaiyao typed, [“Yes.”]
Bai Jinyan nodded and reminded him, “Be careful on your way back to the dorm. The road is covered with snow. Remember to use an umbrella.”
Qiao Huaiyao had brought a folding umbrella with him to class but found it cumbersome since he went straight from the building to the bus.
He thought it would be easier to walk the last few steps to the dorm without an umbrella. Despite this, he replied, [“Okay.”]
With nothing else to do, Qiao Huaiyao sat idly while the other dressing rooms were busy. Compared to the hustle and bustle elsewhere, Bai Jinyan’s room was much more relaxed.
He casually chatted with Qiao Huaiyao, making sure everything was properly arranged for his return to the dorm.
The live stream viewers commented:
[“Without Qiao Qiao, you sit there like a statue. People might think the show made you mute. But when Qiao Qiao arrives, you turn into a chatterbox.”]
[“I knew something was missing from this live stream. Why is no one calling **?”]
[“D*mn! Why can’t I type those two characters?”]
[“‘lao po’ (wife), right? Brother Bai must have set those words as banned. Otherwise, we would’ve flooded the screen by now!”]
[“Wow, Bai Jinyan, are you afraid of playing along?”]
…
Qiao Huaiyao walked back to his dorm in the heavy snow, not watching the live stream, but he could hear what Bai Jinyan was saying through his headphones.
Just as he arrived at his dorm, Bai Jinyan was getting ready to go on stage. The individual live stream screens consolidated into the main broadcast feed.
Qiao Huaiyao brushed off the unmelted snow from his clothes, hung up his coat, and settled on the sofa to watch the live stream.
The main cast involved in the movie stood on stage. The camera focused on the center position. The director didn’t take the spotlight or stand in line with the cast but moved around in front.
The cast wore outfits from the movie. The camera occasionally shifted, but Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes remained on Bai Jinyan. Even in an entertainment industry full of handsome men and beautiful women, Bai Jinyan’s looks stood out.
An entertainment reporter asked, “Bai Jinyan, your next movie is also a mainstream film. Will you consider transitioning to or filming a romance movie in the future?”
Since his debut, Bai Jinyan hadn’t taken any roles in romantic films. It was initially due to his young age, and even now, no news about him doing a romance film had emerged.
The director raised an eyebrow and signaled to the reporter beside him.
Bai Jinyan, noticing this, calmly replied, “No, I will never consider it. If any such rumors arise, they will be directly handled by the company’s legal team.”
The reporter was stunned by this straightforward answer. He had prepared to ask who Bai Jinyan would like to star opposite in a romance film if he ever considered it. But now, with such a firm rejection, he was caught off guard.
“Uh…” the reporter hesitated, “May I ask why?”
Bai Jinyan, still expressionless, replied, “Because I have someone I like, so I can’t act in romantic scenes with anyone else.”
From the start of his career until now, there had only been one reason for not taking romantic roles. It had always been this one reason.
The media present were shocked: “?!?!”