APCF – Chapter 36 Fans Follow Idols

It was too close.

Qi Xingchen could even clearly feel the breath from Bo Ye’s nose hitting his eardrum.

He suddenly leaned back, and behind him was the car window. Bo Ye, worried that he might bump into it, quickly reached out to cushion the back of his head—

Bang!

Qi Xingchen’s head hit Bo Ye’s hand with a dull sound.

Bo Ye furrowed his brows. “Does it hurt?”

“Shampoo!” Qi Xingchen inexplicably said.

After saying it, he realized his words were unclear and quickly added, “The shampoo I use smells really good!”

“Mm,” Bo Ye smiled and withdrew his hand. “Got it.”

Qi Xingchen, seeing that the situation had passed, secretly sighed in relief.

At that moment, the driver, who had been watching the show, finally spoke up. “Boss, where should I go?”

Qi Xingchen immediately named a restaurant and turned to Bo Ye. “I’m treating, don’t decline.”

Bo Ye paused for a moment, then said, “Alright, I’ll go with your plan.”

Once the boss spoke, the driver followed his orders and drove to the restaurant. Qi Xingchen, noticing the many people in the car, tentatively said, “How about we all go together?”

Xiao Man made a face that seemed to say, “I have good judgment,” and replied, “No thanks, I’d rather go home and sleep in beauty sleep.”

“I need to go back to feed my cat,” Allen said.

The others also expressed they had things to do, and Qi Xingchen pretended to regret it. “What a shame, I’ll invite you next time.”

Xiao Man & Allen & others: “……”

Can you at least try convincing us a bit more? This is so fake!

Bo Ye couldn’t help but raise the corner of his lips.

When they arrived near the restaurant, Qi Xingchen called the restaurant owner to have the back door opened. With Bo Ye’s current fame, entering through the front door would likely cause chaos at the restaurant.

The owner said, “Just come in through the position I mentioned yesterday. We have other guests who need privacy, and the back door has been open since this morning.”

Could it be that another big celebrity is coming? Qi Xingchen thanked him.

Following Qi Xingchen’s instructions, the van stopped. Qi Xingchen put his mask back on. “Ye-ge, don’t move. Let me go check first.”

Bo Ye was clearly arranged by the fan, so he nodded and stayed still.

Two minutes later, Qi Xingchen confirmed there was no danger, and Bo Ye followed him out. As they reached the door, the restaurant owner, who had been waiting to greet the VIP, saw them and widened his eyes. “So, you two are together?!”

Qi Xingchen: “……What do you mean?”

The restaurant owner, who knew Bo Ye, looked at him, unsure whether to speak.

Bo Ye stiffened his lips and answered for him. “Actually, I also booked this restaurant yesterday.”

Qi Xingchen: “Huh??”

Seeing Qi Xingchen’s confused expression, the owner quickly realized. “Oh, so you two booked separately but both ended up here! You two are… what’s the phrase…?”

“Right, heart-to-heart!” the owner finished.

… Heart-to-heart?

How can you describe it like that?! Qi Xingchen’s face turned red for the fourth time today!

Not sure how Bo Ye reacted, he couldn’t help but glance sideways at him under the brim of his cap.

Then he noticed Bo Ye was also looking at him, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe… it’s just that fan follows the idol?”

This odd dinner turned out well.

Bo Ye asked about the Du Lanxin incident, and Qi Xingchen hesitated for a moment before he stopped asking and shifted the conversation to stories from Let’s Budget Travel and future plans.

When it was time to pay, Qi Xingchen rushed to pay the bill. Unfortunately, the owner handed the bill directly to Bo Ye. As Bo Ye signed, he said, “Let me pay this time. Next time, it’ll be your turn.”

Upon hearing “next time,” Qi Xingchen, for some reason, withdrew his hand.

For the next few days, Qi Xingchen spent his time reading as fast as he could. Although he had fallen out with Du Lanxin, the contract for Heart of the Ocean was still there, and he didn’t want to cause any scandal or contract termination. The day before the filming started, he obediently went to the set with his suitcase.

The director, Shang Yuliang, just turned fifty and was sitting in the audience section of the White Whale Hall, discussing the storyboard with the assistant director.

When he saw Qi Xingchen coming over, Shang Yuliang raised an eyebrow. “Why hasn’t our third male lead gone to the hotel yet?”

Qi Xingchen had caused a stir a few days ago, indirectly promoting Heart of the Ocean, so the director’s attitude towards him was relatively good.

“I bought afternoon tea. I’ll bring it to you before going to the hotel,” Qi Xingchen said, handing out tea and snacks to everyone on set, including An Ran and Qin Ge.

Such things were usually handled by his agent, but considering Qi Xingchen’s situation, everyone from the director to the crew knew. No one made an issue of it and all smiled and said, “Thank you, Teacher Qi.”

“Don’t call me teacher,” Qi Xingchen quickly waved his hand. “I’m the youngest here. If anyone should be called a teacher, it should not be me. If you keep calling me that, I’ll start being cheeky.”

The assistant director teased him, “How cheeky?”

Qi Xingchen: “I’ll post your recordings on Weibo!”

Everyone could tell he was joking and laughed heartily.

The assistant director chuckled and whispered to Shang Yuliang, “This kid is interesting.”

“I hope he’s this clever during filming,” Shang Yuliang said indifferently. “I prefer actors who focus on their performances.”

After successfully breaking the ice, Qi Xingchen greeted Director Shang and returned to the hotel.

“Tomorrow, we have a script reading at 6 a.m., and the opening ceremony is at 9:30 a.m.,” Shang Yuliang reminded him.

“Thank you, Director Shang. I got it,” Qi Xingchen noted.

To make shooting more convenient, the crew had already booked a hotel near the White Sand Harbor Ocean World, just a five-minute drive away.

As soon as Qi Xingchen got out of his Buick business car, he saw another van, a Mercedes-Benz, parked next to him. The doors opened, and two bodyguards in suits got out first—one holding an umbrella, the other crossing his arms neatly in front of his stomach.

“Which big celebrity is it, with such a grand entrance?” An Ran leaned in close to Qi Xingchen. “Feng Qingyuan?”

Feng Qingyuan had a good reputation in the industry, working for over ten years without any scandals, not hyping or creating trouble. He was a rare academic actor. Qi Xingchen shook his head, “Not likely. Let’s wait and go up together.”

Since they’d be working together for a month, it would be rude not to greet him.

An Ran obediently stood behind Qi Xingchen, and one minute later, they finally saw the celebrity.

The big star wore a casual suit, his ankles exposed, and polished Valentino shoes shining brightly.

His hair was styled with a popular Korean-style side part, with high cheekbones and a sharp chin. Sunglasses covered most of his face.

An Ran whispered, “So it’s him.”

Qi Xingchen: “Who?”

“Xu Sheng, 26 years old this year, from a coal tycoon family. He used his dad’s wealth to fund a few online dramas, and now he’s lingering around second and third-tier roles,” An Ran paused, “Xing Xing, don’t get too close to him in the future.”

Qi Xingchen: “Why?”

“When he was shooting online dramas, he acted all high and mighty, looking down on the working class—‘working class’ was his term, by the way. To him, newcomers without connections and stagehands were all the same. Now that he’s in a primetime drama, he’s acting all high and mighty, just watch.”

An Ran imitated an exaggerated voice, and Qi Xingchen couldn’t help but laugh.

At that moment, Xu Sheng noticed them, and Qi Xingchen smiled and stepped forward to shake hands. “Brother Sheng, what a coincidence.”

But Xu Sheng didn’t shake his hand, nor did he take off his sunglasses. He just glanced at him, “Do I know you?”

So arrogant. Qi Xingchen had caused quite a stir with his company recently, and everyone on the set knew him—how could Xu Sheng not know him?

Clearly, he just considered him part of the “working class.”

Qi Xingchen calmly withdrew his hand. “Looks like Brother Sheng didn’t do his homework before joining the crew. I’m Qi Xingchen, playing Lin Xiao.”

“Ah,” Xu Sheng’s face immediately fell. To avoid being seen by paparazzi, he reluctantly said, “I watched it the other day, but I forgot.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the hotel. Qi Xingchen had learned what kind of person he was and didn’t want to talk further, following behind him.

After checking in, they took the elevator together. Xu Sheng’s bodyguards pressed the button for the 34th floor.

The hotel’s prices increased the higher the floor. Director Shang Yuliang had booked the 2nd, 32nd, 34th floors, and the top floor.

The 2nd floor was for crew members, the 32nd for supporting actors, the 34th for the leads, and the top floor had three poolside ocean-view rooms for Director Shang and the executive producer.

Xu Sheng could afford the 34th floor with his own money. He had wanted to book one of the ocean-view rooms on the top floor, but the front desk told him those were reserved for hotel shareholders and not available for booking, which infuriated him.

Remembering how he had been sarcastically told he hadn’t “done his homework,” Xu Sheng was fuming. He scolded the bodyguard in front of him: “How rude! You saw Xiao Qi coming in and didn’t help him press the button for his floor?”

The bodyguard quickly turned to Qi Xingchen, asking, “Mr. Qi, what floor are you going to?”

Xu Sheng thought he was being clever. As an actor, he knew the supporting cast would be on the 32nd floor, so he didn’t mention it directly but made the bodyguard ask.

Confused, the bodyguard turned to Qi Xingchen, who replied “32,” and comparing it to Xu Sheng’s “34,” the wealth gap was immediately clear.

Xu Sheng, delighted, kept shaking his legs, waiting for Qi Xingchen to “humiliate himself.” But to his surprise, Qi Xingchen replied, “No need, it’s already been pressed. Thank you.”

Already pressed? To the 34th floor?

Hotel prices near tourist spots were higher than usual, especially for an international five-star resort. A suite on the 34th floor cost 4,500 a day, or 135,000 for a month. The top-floor ocean-view rooms were even more expensive at 7,000 a day, over 200,000 a month.

Xu Sheng, seeing Qi Xingchen dressed plainly and not looking like someone who could afford a suite, raised an eyebrow. “…Are you going up to see Tao Tao?”

“Yeah, we meet so soon again. I’m just catching up with her,” Qi Xingchen replied honestly.

Xu Sheng didn’t say anything. He thought, “I didn’t get to slap his face this time, but there’ll be plenty of opportunities.”

“Ding~” The elevator reached the 34th floor, and Qi Xingchen, with his few belongings and a single suitcase, gestured for the others to go ahead.

As he stepped out, Tao Tao was laughing and chatting with a middle-aged man, walking in their direction. Qi Xingchen greeted her, “Sister Tao Tao!”

“Ah, Xing Xing!” Tao Tao smiled with her eyes squinted. “You’re early. Let me introduce you.”

Walking over, Tao Tao pointed to the middle-aged man, “This is Teacher Feng Qingyuan, the male lead, my partner.”

Qi Xingchen: “Hello, Teacher Feng.”

“Ah, you’re Lin Xiao!” Feng Qingyuan extended his hand and shook Qi Xingchen’s. “The young man looks good, very fitting for the role in the script.”

“Thank you, Teacher Feng,” Qi Xingchen bowed and shook his hand back.

At that moment, Xu Sheng was descending the elevator behind Qi Xingchen and, seeing the socializing, wasn’t about to miss out. He quickly squeezed in and greeted them.

After a brief exchange with Xu Sheng, Feng Qingyuan continued, “Xiao Qi, what I said is true. As the saying goes, beauty is in the bone, not the skin. You have a good bone structure, just like Tao Tao, a natural beauty.”

In the original text, this line was meant to praise the female lead’s beauty, with all the men admiring her. Qi Xingchen, basking in the compliment, didn’t take it to heart but thanked him modestly.

Seeing Feng Qingyuan complimenting Qi Xingchen but not him, Xu Sheng furrowed his brows and removed his sunglasses.

Unfortunately, the moment for this topic had passed, and Feng Qingyuan didn’t bring it up again.

The four of them chatted for a few more minutes, but Tao Tao glanced at the time. “Xing Xing, Xiao Sheng, I’ll go with Brother Feng. Director Shang is looking for us.”

Qi Xingchen: “Okay, be careful. See you tomorrow morning.”

“By the way, Xing Xing,” Tao Tao said, “What room are you in? I’ll come visit you when I have time.”

“I’m in—”

“Xiao Qi should be in the same one as me!” Before Qi Xingchen could finish, Xu Sheng interrupted. “We were originally both on the 32nd floor, but I booked a suite on this floor. You tell me where you’re staying, Xing Xing, and I’ll come visit you.”

He rattled on, looking sideways at Qi Xingchen, his smugness obvious.

Qi Xingchen didn’t bother to engage with him. He waved his keycard. “I’m in the top-floor room 1. Feel free to come find me anytime. My scenes are few, so I have a lot of time to hang out with you.”

Top-floor room 1…

That room reserved for shareholders? And they let him stay there!

“Snap—”

Xu Sheng’s plastic keycard cracked in his hand.