APCF – Chapter 118 Home

After wrapping up some work on the equity distribution, The Grey Trajectory also finished filming the final scene of its male lead, Liang Xiaolong.

When filming Heart of the Ocean, Qi Xingchen had only been the third male lead—not important enough for a wrap party. But this time, as the main lead, Director Zhou went all out, booking an entire floor of a revolving restaurant and inviting back all the major supporting actors who had already finished filming. Everyone ate, drank, and partied all night long.

Last time, Bo Ye had been there, and the infamous lake cake incident had failed. This time, with no one to help him, Qi Xingchen ended up a complete mess—his clothes were dirty, his face smudged, and even his hair was full of cream. Holding several large bouquets of flowers, he was wedged between Yan Ruonan and Director Zhou, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless in a few photos.

When posting on Weibo, Director Zhou didn’t forget to tag Bo Ye with a taunt:

vicky chou: Bo Ye, tides turn in thirty years. Back then, you threw me into the lake. Now, I’ve avenged myself through little Qi. 🖼️🖼️

Bo Ye, seeing the photos, was both amused and helpless. He immediately stepped aside to call Qi Xingchen.

“Were you bullied?”

As if!

With Qi Xingchen’s competitive nature, there was no way he’d accept being seen as a loser. He quickly defended himself:

“I just got caught off guard, that’s all.”

“Alright, alright… I should’ve been there. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fallen into their trap.”

“It’s fine, let them have their fun for now,” Qi Xingchen huffed. “I’ll definitely get my revenge later!”

Bo Ye couldn’t help but reflect. His little fan wasn’t just competitive and prideful—he even held grudges. Had Bo Ye ever unknowingly wronged him?

The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. Turns out, he’d never stopped teasing him.

Since they were already on the phone, Qi Xingchen wanted to chat a bit longer. Moving to a quieter spot, he lowered his voice and asked, “Have you decided on the location for your fan meeting?”

Bo Ye was momentarily stunned. “How do you know I’m having a fan meeting?”

How did he know?

Obviously, because he was lurking in Bo Ye’s fan club every day.

April 3rd was Bo Ye’s eighth debut anniversary. This year, due to publicly announcing his relationship and preparing his new studio, he hadn’t gone on tour. Instead, he planned a small-scale fan meeting, though the location hadn’t been announced yet.

Qi Xingchen had been waiting anxiously for any news, checking again and again. In the end, he couldn’t hold back and asked the man himself.

Seeing that Bo Ye wasn’t answering, Qi Xingchen remained quiet. Bo Ye thought for a moment, then chuckled and named a city. His tone was mysterious.

“Do you know why I chose this place?”

Qi Xingchen: “Why?”

Bo Ye: “Not telling.”

Qi Xingchen:

…God, his boyfriend’s childish streak was acting up again.

Fueled by a slight buzz from the alcohol, Qi Xingchen finally dared to complain. “You’re not a kid anymore, why are you still playing games like this?”

“You don’t like it?” Bo Ye asked seriously.

Of course he liked it. There wasn’t a single thing about this man that he didn’t love. Accepting his fate, Qi Xingchen muttered, “…I like it.”

Bo Ye pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile. He lowered his head and coughed lightly.

Xiaoman, who happened to walk by, nearly had a heart attack.

Oh my god, why is the boss smiling like that? So creepy! So scary!

Bo Ye shot her a glance, quickly masking his amusement. Speaking into the phone, he explained, “I’ll tell you the reason, but not right now.”

Qi Xingchen was dying of curiosity but knew he wouldn’t get an answer, so after chatting a little longer, he reluctantly hung up.

The days following the wrap were insanely busy—Qi Xingchen wished he could split into eight clones:

• One to shoot a magazine cover,
• One to film a luxury brand commercial,
• One to work on a skincare ad,
• And one to negotiate with the Red Sun production team.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel. No matter how much he wanted to, he had to handle everything himself, running around from one set to another.

Back when he was just a fan, he knew Bo Ye worked hard, but he had no idea just how exhausting it was.

After a week of relentless work, he finally finished the first three tasks and flew to a nearby city to discuss the script with the Red Sun production team.

As An Ran had said, he needed to take on a positive role to change the public’s perception of him. Fortunately, the anti-Japanese war drama had a righteous image, and Red Sun had both popularity and prestige, meeting all the necessary criteria.

More importantly, unlike the many over-the-top war dramas of recent years, Red Sun genuinely explored national grief and personal vendettas, youthful passion and sacrifice, the helplessness and determination shaped by a turbulent era, and a love story as pure and unwavering as diamonds, despite a lifetime of displacement.

In the end, Qi Xingchen decided to take on the role.

Filming would begin on April 15, leaving him just over ten days to prepare.

With the decision made, and in adherence to his no-schedule-clashing principle, he had to regretfully decline offers from a crime drama and a film. He actually really liked the movie script about an acrobat, so to express his apologies, he personally sent a message to the director, thanking them for their consideration but explaining that his schedule was already full.

The director, probably used to rejections, responded calmly:

[Thank you for taking the time to let me know. No worries, I hope we have a chance to collaborate in the future.]

Qi Xingchen felt a pang of guilt just seeing the “thank you.”

It was easy to imagine how other investors and actors must have treated him—probably ignored him completely or simply tossed the script aside without a second glance.

For a director to be so accustomed to rejection that he would thank someone for turning him down… it said a lot.

April 3, 7:00 PM

Qi Xingchen landed in G City—the location of Bo Ye’s eighth debut anniversary fan meeting.

G City was a beautiful coastal city: clean environment, pleasant climate, and low population density—perfect for living.

Qi Xingchen had never been to the southern region before. He looked around curiously, finding everything fresh and fascinating. Allen, the assistant who came to pick him up, noticed his interest and eagerly played tour guide, talking nonstop about the city.

Qi Xingchen listened for a while before casually probing, “Why did Brother Ye choose G City? His past fan meetings were always in big cities.”

Allen dodged the question, saying, “I think G City is pretty big.”

“But it’s not even a provincial capital. Wouldn’t it be better to pick one? That way, more out-of-town fans could come, and there’d be fewer empty seats—less awkward for filming.”

Allen shook his head proudly. “No way it’d be awkward!”

“This year’s fan meeting has only 500 seats, and tons of local fans didn’t even get tickets. As for out-of-town fans? They couldn’t even think about getting one.”

Qi Xingchen:

… Okay, he had clearly underestimated his idol’s popularity.

The airport was not far from the venue. By 7:40 PM, Qi Xingchen sneaked into the backstage area under Allen’s guidance, where Xiaoman gave him a quick touch-up with makeup.

By 8:20 PM, Qi Xingchen finally struggled into his costume, standing behind the stage curtain, his heart pounding furiously.

On stage, the host’s voice rang out energetically:

“We’re so happy to be celebrating this special day together! And tonight, we have a very special fan here with us. Brother Ye, do you want to see who it is?”

Bo Ye raised an eyebrow. “A special fan?”

“Yes! Let’s welcome them to the stage!”

As soon as the host finished speaking, the lights dimmed. Then—a sudden flash of golden light.

From behind the curtain, a round, chubby Pikachu bounced onto the stage!

It trotted to the front, spun around once to show off, then flicked its tail. As colorful stage lights flashed and cheerful cartoon music played, it began to wobble and dance.

“AAAAAHH, SO CUTE! 😭😭”

“OH MY GOD, LOOK AT ITS LITTLE LEGS! SO AGILE, I’M MELTING!”

“WHOEVER FIGHTS ME FOR IT AFTER THE EVENT, YOU’RE DEAD. I’M TAKING THIS PIKACHU HOME!”

“Wait… doesn’t this feel off? This isn’t Brother Ye’s style. I bet someone he knows is inside that costume!”

The entire crowd was going wild, their excited screams growing louder and louder. Discussions and guesses spread like wildfire.

Soon, the music ended, and Pikachu stopped dancing. Very politely, it held onto its own tail and bowed deeply to the audience.

The host, grinning, waved at the costume. “Thank you for your adorable performance, Pikachu! Come here.”

Pikachu waddled over and stood to the left of the host.

The host asked, “Did you come here especially to celebrate Brother Ye?”

Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.

“And what do you want to say to him?”

Pikachu leaned towards the microphone, a muffled voice coming through the costume:

“Happy eighth debut anniversary, Brother Ye. I hope next year, at this time, we can still be here to celebrate with you.”

The voice was slightly distorted by the thick costume padding, but Bo Ye recognized it instantly.

His eyes widened.

Without hesitation, he rushed forward and pulled off the mascot head.

A bright, youthful face emerged.

The costume was stiflingly hot, and after jumping around for several minutes, the boy’s forehead was damp with sweat, soft bangs sticking to his skin. His slightly parted red lips drew in shaky breaths.

Under the stage lights, sweat glistened transparently on his slender, pale neck, sliding slowly down towards his collar.

The Night Sky fans paused for a few seconds to process what had just happened—then erupted into deafening screams!

In the middle of the overwhelming noise, Bo Ye took Pikachu’s hand and gently pulled him closer.

“Are you feeling hot in there?” he asked.

Qi Xingchen grinned. “Not at all.”

Not hot? Then why was he covered in sweat? Bo Ye’s heart ached as he leaned in and kissed the corner of Qi Xingchen’s lips. “Go backstage and change out of the costume,” he said softly. “I’ll be done soon. Wait for me.”

The fans who had just witnessed a kiss, live:

“WTF?! We spent three days fighting for a ticket to this fan meeting, only to be force-fed dog food like this?! DO WE DESERVE THIS PAIN?! QAQ!!!”

Qi Xingchen had always listened to Bo Ye without question. After leaving the stage, he changed into regular clothes and obediently waited for Bo Ye in the dressing room.

A little after 9 PM, the fan meeting ended.

Bo Ye returned backstage, pressed a short kiss to Qi Xingchen’s lips without saying a word, then draped his coat over him and motioned for him to follow him out.

Somehow, there was an unspoken understanding between them. Bo Ye didn’t explain, and Qi Xingchen didn’t ask—because he knew that Bo Ye would never take him somewhere unsafe.

Not until they arrived at a seaside villa did Qi Xingchen finally tug on Bo Ye’s sleeve in confusion.

“This place is…?”

Bo Ye unlocked the door and said casually, “Didn’t you agree to move in with me? This is our home now.”

“Come in and see if you like it.”

Home.

For the first twenty years of his life, Qi Xingchen had never had anything he could truly call “home.”

After arriving in this book, thanks to the original owner, he had his first home—but it wasn’t really his.

And now, Bo Ye was giving him another home.

A home that belonged completely to him.

Qi Xingchen silently repeated the word in his mind, again and again, until his throat ached with emotion.

Bo Ye noticed his reddening eyes, frowned slightly, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he led him inside, introducing the place along the way.

“The living room is right across from the entrance. To the left, we have the kitchen and dining area. To the right is the nanny’s room. That glass door over there—see it? It leads to the yard. There’s a small garden, and if you go past the gate, you’ll be right at the beach.”

“The bedroom and study are upstairs. Since we won’t have too many guests over, I converted the guest rooms into a music room and a dance studio, so we can play music and dance together whenever we want.”

“I wasn’t sure if you preferred a big bathtub or a small one, so I took the liberty of installing a large massage tub. If you don’t like it, we can switch it out. Also, I haven’t bought toiletries yet—just use mine for tonight, and tomorrow we’ll go to a supermarket with fewer people and pick some out together.”

“As for the closet space…” Bo Ye glanced at him. “Since I have more stuff, I’ll take 60%, and you’ll get 40%. You’re not allowed to argue about this. But if you accept it obediently, you can wear any of my clothes and accessories whenever you want.”

“One last thing—the bath schedule. You have to bathe first so you can warm up the bed for me. The reward is that I’ll personally cook breakfast for you—you already tried my cooking last time, and it was pretty good, right?”

As Bo Ye kept talking, Qi Xingchen’s lingering sadness gradually faded. Eventually, he burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Bo Ye pinched his cheek. “You don’t want to warm up my bed?”

Qi Xingchen knew that G City’s weather didn’t require bed-warming, and that Bo Ye was just finding an excuse to reward him. He shook his head.

“Then what’s wrong?” Bo Ye asked.

“Have we stocked the kitchen?” Qi Xingchen asked. “Let’s cook something together.”

Bo Ye seemed momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t understood at first.

Qi Xingchen wrapped his arms around him, resting his head against Bo Ye’s chest. Then, in a soft and sincere voice, he repeated:

“Brother Ye, let’s cook together. To celebrate your eighth debut anniversary. To celebrate our home.”

The earnestness in his voice made Bo Ye’s eyes darken.

He could no longer hold back.

He lowered his head and bit down on Qi Xingchen’s lips.

_{What a simple yet nostalgic word – Home. I hope everyone has a home, not just a house to live in.}