APCF – Chapter 103 Found

Bo Ye gently kissed Qi Xingchen’s forehead and the tip of his nose, then helped him get dressed before heading to the bathroom to wash his hands.

Qi Xingchen sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost all will to live.

Just before Bo Ye helped him with that, he had glanced at the time by chance.

Now, it had been… not even twenty minutes.

That included all the unnecessary chatter, the aftermath, and everything in between.

So, to be exact, his actual endurance time… was only about ten minutes.

Oh my god.

Would Bo Ye really not laugh at him for this??

The more Qi Xingchen thought about it, the more depressed he became. He turned his head and spotted the towel rolls—the culprits behind all this—and angrily punched them twice.

But the result? Not only did he fail to vent his frustration, but his hands got sore from hitting them. Huffing, he picked up the towel rolls and got up, intending to throw them away.

However, when he reached the trash bin, he hesitated.

His sister had brought these for him specifically. If he threw them away now, it would be a waste of her thoughtfulness.

Besides, who knew… he might need them again in the future.

Retracting his hand, he stealthily turned around and hid them back in the cabinet like a guilty thief.

Just then, Bo Ye came out from the bathroom, noticed his sneaky behavior, and asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Qi Xingchen quickly shut the cabinet. “Just looking for something.”

Bo Ye glanced at the bed and, seeing that it was empty, instantly understood. Changing the subject, he asked, “There are spare blankets in the other room, right?”

“Yes! Hold on, I’ll go set them up for you.”

Qi Xingchen dashed into the guest room, feeling around for pillows and sheets. Everything was clean and fresh, so he contentedly shook out a blanket and spread it over the bed.

Since the guest room had never been occupied, it wasn’t as warm as the master bedroom. He took a hot water bottle, filled it up, and placed it inside the bed to warm it up before calling Bo Ye over. “Alright, you can sleep now.”

By then, Bo Ye had already changed into his pajamas—matching cow-patterned ones just like Qi Xingchen’s. He knew Qi Xingchen must be feeling extremely awkward, so he didn’t say anything. After bidding him goodnight, he headed to the guest room to sleep.

Hearing the door close, Qi Xingchen let out a sigh of relief and returned to his own room. He burrowed into his blankets and kicked them around for a while before feeling slightly less mortified.

But no matter how much he tossed and turned, trying different sleeping positions, he couldn’t fall asleep—his mind was a chaotic mess.

Bo Ye was right next door, separated by just a single wall. They were so close… How was he supposed to sleep soundly?!

The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had done something wrong. Earlier, Bo Ye had helped him out, and not only had he made a mess of Bo Ye’s hands and clothes, but afterward, he had also treated him like a hired service and hurriedly kicked him out to the guest room.

That was too much. Way too much.

Feeling guilty, he sat up abruptly, pressed his ear against the wall, and tried to hear what was going on in the next room.

Unfortunately, the hotel’s soundproofing was too good—he couldn’t hear a thing.

His eyes darted around as an idea popped into his head. He lightly knocked on the wall.

Knock, knock, knock.

A moment later, a knocking sound came from the other side as well.

Great! Bo Ye was still awake!

Qi Xingchen immediately jumped out of bed and groped his way to the other room in the dark. Just as he reached the door, the other side opened, revealing Bo Ye standing in the doorway.

“Can’t sleep?” Bo Ye asked.

Bo Ye stepped forward and pulled him in. “I’ll help you fall asleep.”

“I’m not a kid,” Qi Xingchen muttered under his breath, but he couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his face.

They met in the hallway, and Bo Ye took his hand. The guest room’s bed wasn’t as big as the master bedroom’s, so Bo Ye had him sleep on the side closer to the wall while he lay on the outer edge.

“Why aren’t you asleep either?” Qi Xingchen asked.

“I kept hearing noises from your side. I wanted to wait until you fell asleep first.”

Noises… It was probably the sound of him kicking the blankets. Embarrassed, Qi Xingchen quickly apologized, “Sorry for disturbing your sleep.”

“Why do you love apologizing so much?” Bo Ye playfully tapped the tip of Qi Xingchen’s nose. “I’m your boyfriend. These are things I should do. From now on, I don’t want to hear words like ‘sorry’ or ‘excuse me’ anymore. Don’t say them again.”

Qi Xingchen hummed softly, “Okay, I’ll try.”

After a brief pause, he remembered the reason he had come to find Bo Ye and moved a little closer. “Thank you for helping me just now. I’ll wash your clothes for you tomorrow.”

“No need. It’s my rare day off, you should rest. I’ll have Allen bring me a new set of clothes.”

“No way. My own… stuff, I should wash it myself.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like my hands didn’t get dirty too.”

At that moment, Qi Xingchen couldn’t help but recall what had happened earlier. He quickly pushed the memory away, shrinking under the covers. “Let’s just go to sleep.”

“Good night.”

This wasn’t their first time sleeping in the same bed. However, last time, they were practically strangers, with an invisible barrier between them.

This time, though they started with a bit of distance between them, Qi Xingchen woke up in Bo Ye’s arms.

Rubbing his eyes, Qi Xingchen felt confused—he was usually a well-behaved sleeper. Bo Ye himself had even confirmed that during one of their late-night video calls.

Then why did he end up rolling into Bo Ye’s embrace this time?

He glanced at Bo Ye, who still had his eyes closed, and tried to sneak away. But the moment he moved down even a little—

Bo Ye’s arm tightened around him, trapping him in place. His voice was low and husky, “It’s still early. Don’t move. Sleep a little longer.”

And just like that, Qi Xingchen understood how he had ended up in Bo Ye’s arms. Left with no choice, he obediently stayed still… and actually managed to fall back asleep.

This time, his escape attempt was successful. Qi Xingchen tiptoed out of bed, drank some water to soothe his throat—strained from all the singing and whimpering last night—and slowly shuffled to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

As he bent down to spit out the foam, he was suddenly grabbed around the waist from behind.

Startled, Qi Xingchen’s hand trembled, nearly flinging his toothbrush across the room! He quickly straightened up and blinked, catching a glimpse of the person behind him in the mirror.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he continued rinsing his mouth, mumbling, “You scared me… Did I wake you up?”

To his surprise, Qi Xingchen realized that Bo Ye had quite a few quirks—he was lazy in the morning, liked hugging things in his sleep, and acted like an affectionate big cat after waking up.

Male lead, oh male lead, your cool and aloof persona is falling apart, do you realize that?

But… this side of him was so cute.

Qi Xingchen had completely thrown away the image of “Bo Ye from the novel”—that guy wasn’t nearly as good as his Bo Ye.

Feeling happy, he rinsed his mouth and smiled. “Hey, I’m done brushing.”

“Mm.”

“Your turn.”

Bo Ye mumbled lazily, “Don’t wanna move.”

“It’s almost noon. Hurry up and freshen up, then we can eat.”

“Then help me brush my teeth,” Bo Ye drawled. “You stole a kiss and ran away, that’s not fair. I need to collect interest.”

Helpless, Qi Xingchen opened the cabinet, grabbed a new toothbrush, and turned to Bo Ye. “Ah—”

Bo Ye cooperated, opening his mouth. “Ahhh—”

The next second, both of them realized how ridiculous they were being and burst into laughter.

Bo Ye never actually intended to make Qi Xingchen brush his teeth for him. After laughing, he took the toothbrush himself while Qi Xingchen washed his face.

As Qi Xingchen was drying his face, Bo Ye finished brushing and curiously asked, “What’s the flavor of this toothpaste?”

“Cherry,” Qi Xingchen replied.

“Oh.” Bo Ye hugged him again.

Then, they shared a soft, cherry-blossom-flavored kiss.

Allen was impressively efficient. Just as Bo Ye and Qi Xingchen were discussing which channel to watch on TV, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Qi Xingchen said, since he was closest to the door. He quickly ran over and opened it.

The moment Allen saw him, his expression stiffened. He stood frozen for a few seconds before awkwardly greeting, “Xingxing… long time no see. These are the boss’s clothes and some food.”

“Long time no see! You look like you’ve gained some weight,” Qi Xingchen greeted cheerfully. “Have you eaten? Come in and eat with us.”

Before he even finished his sentence, Allen—looking as if he were fleeing for his life—shoved the bag into Qi Xingchen’s arms and bolted.

Qi Xingchen frowned. That was… odd.

As he returned to the coffee table and started taking out the food, he asked Bo Ye, “Why does Allen seem scared of me? Did he hear some bad rumors about me?”

Bo Ye shook his head.

“Then what—”

Before Qi Xingchen could finish, a familiar scene unfolded.

From Bo Ye’s bag of clothes, a few boxes and bottles tumbled out.

Qi Xingchen and Bo Ye: “…”

The air suddenly felt painfully silent.

After a long pause, Qi Xingchen finally managed to say with difficulty, “So… Allen knows about us?”

“Yes.” Bo Ye nodded. “There was a time during a video call when he overheard.”

“It’s my fault. I was too careless.”

“What does this have to do with you?” Bo Ye bent down to pick up the condoms and lube, hiding them behind his back. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s me for not wearing headphones. Besides, he’s with me every day—it was only a matter of time before he found out.”

Qi Xingchen thought it over. Artists and assistants spend so much time together that it’s impossible to keep secrets forever. It made sense.

But he was still worried. “Is Allen cautious? Would he accidentally spill the secret?”

“If he does, he does. I never intended to hide it anyway,” Bo Ye said nonchalantly. “If it weren’t for your unstable career foundation, we wouldn’t have to be sneaking around.”

Qi Xingchen’s fan base was still small, with only a handful of die-hard supporters. If his relationship with Bo Ye were to be exposed, even if Bo Ye controlled his fans, there would still be a huge number of ‘Night Sky’ fans who would come after him.

“That won’t do.” Qi Xingchen immediately rejected the idea. “If the news gets out, it will hurt your popularity.”

Bo Ye glanced at Qi Xingchen, seeing the deep concern on his face. He reached out and ruffled Qi Xingchen’s hair. “When I debuted, I made a promise to the ‘Night Sky’ that I wouldn’t date within the first five years. Now that those five years are up, technically, I’m free to date. But I don’t want to keep hiding it from them.”

“Some of the ‘Night Sky’ fans have followed me for seven years. The relationship we have is like old friends. I want to openly receive their blessings, and I believe most of them will support you and respect my choice.”

He paused for a few seconds before continuing, “Of course, I respect your opinion. If you don’t want to go public, we can wait. I’m in the process of transitioning my career. Once that’s successful and when we get married, my fans should be more accepting.”

Ever since his debut, Bo Ye had continuously refined his skills in music and acting. His improvement was evident. From the year before last, every one of his albums had included songs he wrote himself, and the one he released in August had half the tracks composed by him.

He was working hard not only for himself but also to give his fans a proper answer.

Qi Xingchen hadn’t expected that, after only being together for a short while, Bo Ye was already thinking about marriage. He didn’t know how to respond and simply said, “I’m not pursuing a career based on popularity, and I’m not afraid of being criticized for dating you. I’m willing to take the risk for you.”

Because of the way he was raised, he wasn’t good at expressing himself. But now, he had said three consecutive “I” statements, showing how serious his commitment was.

Bo Ye wasn’t aware of the deeper reasons behind this but could sense his sincerity. He picked up a piece of pork rib for Qi Xingchen and said, “No rush. Let’s eat first.”

Standing by the window, Qi Xingchen watched as the car carrying Bo Ye drove further away. His eyes grew hotter and more stinging with each passing second.

When the car finally disappeared from view, he sniffled, climbed back onto the bed, and pulled out his phone to find something interesting to distract himself.

Upon opening Weibo, the usual flood of messages popped up. As he scrolled, he noticed something unusual—one of his new followers seemed different.

Thinking he might have seen it wrong, he tapped into the profile to confirm.

No mistake—Yan Ruonan had followed him.

Yan Ruonan! Followed!! Him!!!

Getting Yan Ruonan’s recognition was no small feat. Qi Xingchen scrolled down and saw her latest Weibo post.

It was a photo of him with a face full of cake, looking utterly confused. The caption read:
[A hardworking and outstanding new-generation actor. Happy Birthday! 💖]

Qi Xingchen hadn’t expected Yan Ruonan to think so highly of him. Surprised and delighted, he rolled around on his bed in excitement!

Then he remembered that when she hadn’t followed him before, fans from both sides had argued fiercely. Curious about how fans were reacting now, he opened the comment section.

[Yan Ruonan: “I, Yan Ruonan, would rather play multiple roles myself and complete an entire show alone than follow some pretty-boy actor!” —Well, this aged poorly. 😂]

[Thank you, Sister Ruonan, for praising Qi Xingchen! Looking forward to Grey Trajectory! Wishing you a great collaboration! 💖]

[I love how bold and direct you are, sister! We’re so proud of you. Also, I followed Qi Xingchen too—he’s such a hidden gem! So adorable!!]

The comments were overwhelmingly positive, either joking with Yan Ruonan or praising Qi Xingchen. Relieved, he continued scrolling.

[Wait, is that Bo Ye’s leg and shoes in the background of the photo?]

[OMG, now that you mention it, they do look familiar! He wore the exact same outfit in his backstage interview yesterday!!]

[Could it be that Bo Ye came to celebrate Xingxing’s birthday?! Ahhh, he’s spoiling him so much!! More sugar for us!! 🥰🥰]

[Why are you all freaking out? Isn’t it normal for friends to celebrate birthdays together? If you keep overreacting, I’ll personally book an appointment for your eyes. 😂]

[Look at where Xingbao is facing—it’s clearly towards Bo Ye. I’m betting the cake was from him too!]

[OMG, what if after smearing cake on him, Bo Ye dragged him into a corner and licked it off bit by bit… devoured him completely… 😳😳😳 ANY WRITERS OUT THERE, PLEASE MAKE THIS A FANFIC!!!]

Qi Xingchen was utterly stunned.

He glanced around the room in shock. Were the ‘Night Xingchen’ CP fans spying on him? How did they come up with such a wildly accurate scenario?!

With a head full of question marks, Qi Xingchen decided to go to sleep. But he also made a mental note to log into his secret account soon to secretly search if anyone had actually written that fanfiction.

The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, he got up to head to the set for work. Thanks to his thorough preparation, the morning’s filming went exceptionally well.

After lunch, his phone rang.

A private investigator’s voice came from the other end: “Mr. Qi, we’ve found what you were looking for.”