APCF – Chapter 87 Exception

Watching the audience cheer below, Qi Xingchen felt nothing.

Because of his good looks and physique, back when he was in the acrobat troupe, the troupe leader had him perform countless aerial silk routines. The only difference was that the lighting back then wasn’t as glamorous as it was here. Other than that, there was no real distinction.

What made him the happiest was that he and his team had scored 906 points. He never expected to get so close to the first group’s score.

For him, this was probably the closest he had ever been to Bo Ye.

Qi Xingchen tried his best to remain calm as he finished his interview with Zheng Yuyang, who teased him a bit. Then, he led his team off the stage.

As soon as they entered the corridor—before even reaching the backstage area—Xie Yuan suddenly threw his arms around him.

“Teacher Qi! I love you to death!”

As he spoke, he hugged even tighter, shaking Qi Xingchen twice as if he hadn’t hugged enough.

“…It was your own effort,” Qi Xingchen, slightly out of breath from the grip, said. “Xie Yuan, let go of me.”

“No way, no way! You’re the best!”

Meng Meng chimed in from the side, “Teacher Qi, Xie Yuan is right. We know in our hearts that our performance wasn’t any different from Group Three’s. In fact, because we didn’t have a strong vocal, we were just a tiny bit weaker than them. But you helped us make up for that weakness. Out of those 906 points, at least half of them came from you. We’re really grateful to you.”

Yang Leyin added, “That’s right!”

Since his students were so earnest, Qi Xingchen no longer declined their gratitude and said helplessly, “Alright, I accept your thanks. Comrade Xie Yuan—”

Cough cough—

Just as he was about to ask Xie Yuan to release him again, two soft coughs sounded behind them.

Peeking past the two figures locked in an embrace, Lu Zenan looked toward the source of the voice and was surprised. “Teacher Bo?”

“Mm, you all did well.”

Bo Ye’s words were full of praise, but his gaze was utterly uninterested as he looked at Qi Xingchen’s back. Then he ordered, “Xie Yuan, let go.”

Xie Yuan: “…”

He silently released his grip.

For some reason, he felt that Bo Ye’s tone wasn’t all that happy.

Finally free, Qi Xingchen took in a few deep breaths of fresh air.

Then Bo Ye crooked his finger at him, signaling for him to come over. Without hesitation, Qi Xingchen left his dear teammates behind.

“Um… You guys go rest in the backstage area. I’ll discuss something with Teacher Bo and come back soon, alright?”

“Okay, go ahead, Teacher Qi.”

For some reason, Qi Xingchen felt that Bo Ye wasn’t in a good mood. So even if his teammates had stopped him, he would have still gone.

He quickly tidied the tassels on his embroidered top, which Xie Yuan had messed up, and followed Bo Ye.

Bo Ye led the way into the farthest restroom stall, and Qi Xingchen followed him inside.

Clack!

Bo Ye locked the door.

Qi Xingchen’s body stiffened instantly, feeling like something bad was about to happen.

“…Ye-ge,” he asked timidly, “What’s wrong?”

Bo Ye crossed his arms and looked at him coolly without speaking.

“Did someone make you mad?”

Bo Ye let out a low mm.

“Who?” Qi Xingchen rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll teach them a lesson!”

Still have the nerve to ask who?

Bo Ye let out a short laugh before giving him the answer directly.

“You.”

You… you… you…

Qi Xingchen was confused. He hadn’t done anything to upset Bo Ye, had he?

“Was it about Xie Yuan?” Qi Xingchen guessed. “The kid was excited about our high score and got carried away. If you don’t like it, I won’t let people hug me next time.”

…How did his little fanboy even come up with that?

Hearing his cautious tone, Bo Ye couldn’t bear to keep a cold face anymore. He patiently said, “That’s not it.”

“Then what is it…?”

“You performed such a dangerous act,” Bo Ye said seriously. “Why didn’t you wear a safety wire? Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

Qi Xingchen explained, “If I used a safety wire, the aerial silk routine wouldn’t have the same thrilling and graceful effect.”

As for why he didn’t tell Bo Ye…

Qi Xingchen knew that if he had said anything, Bo Ye would have definitely forbidden him from performing. So, he deliberately kept it from him.

But he also understood that Bo Ye was only angry because he was worried about him. Despite being a little scared, he couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness—the kind of happiness that made it feel like bubbles would float out of his mouth if he opened it.

After thinking for a moment, he reached out and tugged at Bo Ye’s sleeve. He had already called him twice before, and the third time, it came out effortlessly.

“Gege, I was wrong.”

Bo Ye: “……”

“I promise I’ll tell you in advance next time. Don’t be mad, okay?”

Who on earth taught him to say things like this?

Watching his little fan’s lips open and close, Bo Ye’s anger completely dissipated, leaving only helplessness, heartache…

And an impulse.

He really wanted to kiss him.

But Bo Ye would never let someone who made a mistake off so easily. Keeping his expression indifferent, he said, “Do you think just apologizing is enough?”

Qi Xingchen countered, “…Then what would be enough?”

Bo Ye raised his left eyebrow slightly.

Oh! Got it!

As if he had read Bo Ye’s thoughts, Qi Xingchen kept one hand grasping his sleeve while the other pressed against Bo Ye’s chest. He stood on tiptoe, tilted his head, and gently pressed his lips against Bo Ye’s.

His warm hand, still hot from the performance, rested against Bo Ye’s chest, transmitting a heat that made Bo Ye lose control.

He wrapped an arm around Qi Xingchen’s waist and lifted him slightly. In an instant, only the tips of Qi Xingchen’s toes touched the ground, making his heart race in panic as he instinctively clung to Bo Ye’s shoulders.

In reality, they were only half a head apart in height—not such a big difference. The problem was that for the performance, Bo Ye had worn thick-soled combat boots, while Qi Xingchen had on thin, soft-soled shoes.

As a result, he had no choice but to press even closer to Bo Ye—closer, and then closer still—to avoid slipping down.

By the end, he was practically hanging off Bo Ye.

With the intention of “punishing” his little fan, Bo Ye’s kiss was anything but gentle. He deepened the kiss, rubbing their lips together, and soon, the corners of Qi Xingchen’s mouth turned red.

“Mm…”

Perhaps from the slight pain, Qi Xingchen let out a soft whimper.

Bo Ye lowered his gaze and saw his little fan’s misty eyes and flushed, tear-brimmed eyelids.

His heart skipped a beat, his breath instantly growing erratic. His hand instinctively slid beneath the hem of Qi Xingchen’s tasseled shirt.

But the moment his fingers touched the boy’s slender waist, Bo Ye snapped back to reality and quickly withdrew his hand.

That brief touch sent Qi Xingchen into a daze. It wasn’t until they separated that he fully processed what had happened. His entire body felt as if it had been set on fire, turning red from head to toe.

“…Sorry,” Bo Ye gently set him down, his face full of apology. “I lost control just now.”

Qi Xingchen didn’t dare look at him. He kept his head down, staring at the tiled floor.

But all he could think about was the feeling of Bo Ye’s touch.

He couldn’t even describe what that feeling was.

But… it felt good. He liked it.

Taking a small step back, he leaned against the door, scuffing his shoe against the floor. In a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, he mumbled,

“Actually… you don’t have to hold back.”

Bo Ye: “…?”

“I-I’m your boyfriend,” Qi Xingchen struggled to say. “If you want to… touch me, then just do it. Don’t hold back.”

They were both men. Doing things in the heat of the moment was completely normal.

Even though he didn’t know exactly what was supposed to happen, or how to do it, he didn’t want Bo Ye restraining himself on his account.

He would go along with whatever Bo Ye wanted.

Hearing this, Bo Ye suddenly had no more impure thoughts. He sighed softly.

He knew that with how shy and thin-skinned his little fan was, it must have taken an immense amount of courage and effort to say those words.

His little fan must really, really like him.

Bo Ye’s gaze softened instantly. He leaned in and cupped Qi Xingchen’s chin, his thumb stroking his cheek with tender affection. His voice was gentle as he said,

“Remember, you’re my boyfriend. Your responsibility is to be loved by me, to be taken care of by me, to be cherished and protected—not to please me or become a tool for me to vent certain desires.”

Qi Xingchen was momentarily stunned.

Bo Ye: “Do you understand?”

After a long silence, Qi Xingchen gave a quiet “Mm.”

Seeing his red nose and watery eyes, Bo Ye pulled him into his arms.

“And one more thing—I won’t interfere with your normal social interactions. About Xie Yuan hugging you today… Yes, I was a little unhappy. But you don’t have to take it to heart. That’s just my possessiveness acting up. It has nothing to do with you.”

“How could it be unrelated?” Qi Xingchen said anxiously. “If you’re unhappy, then it’s my fault!”

What kind of twisted logic was that…? Bo Ye was speechless for a moment, then pinched his nose as a form of punishment.

Due to his upbringing, Bo Ye had met many wealthy young heirs since childhood, and almost all of them were ridiculously self-important. He really couldn’t understand why, despite being from a similar background, his little fan always lacked confidence and kept lowering himself.

But personality isn’t something that changes overnight, nor is it something that can be fixed in just a couple of conversations. Bo Ye decided he would help build up Qi Xingchen’s confidence in the future.

He was a star—how could he be covered in dust?

Looking at the young man in front of him, Bo Ye spoke slowly and firmly: “You’re amazing. Really amazing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have fallen for you.”

…Really?

Qi Xingchen sniffled, not quite able to believe it.

A week before the Debut Celebration Night, the mentor-collaboration segment was officially aired.

As My Era neared its finale, both its popularity and public engagement had reached new heights. Judging by the sheer scale of online voting, this was undoubtedly the hottest variety show of the year. And the Rookie of the Year was most likely going to emerge from this very program.

A week later, the final performance would have nothing to do with the mentors, and there was no need for them to guide the trainees anymore. Zheng Yuyang and the others had either left for their schedules or gone home to rest.

Even Wei Qin, who had noticeably lost weight since the mentor segment, had been actively avoiding Qi Xingchen and Bo Ye, not saying a single word to either of them since.

Qi Xingchen actually admired him a little—realizing he couldn’t compete and withdrawing gracefully was at least a dignified move for a proud man.

Meanwhile, Bo Ye and Qi Xingchen both chose to stay with the production team. Not for any particular reason—just because they both knew that once My Era ended, Qi Xingchen would be heading straight into a web drama shoot, and Bo Ye had a mountain of work waiting for him.

Once that happened, they’d be apart—one in the south, one in the north, with no idea when they’d get to see each other again.

So, they wanted to spend as much time together as possible.

At 8 p.m., Qi Xingchen ordered a pearl milk tea, opened the Dongcheng app in advance, and curled up on the couch, staring at the screen—just in case it lagged again like it had the last few times.

But when the first scene appeared, he nearly spat out his pearls!

In the mentor blind-selection room, Xie Yuan held a nameplate and muttered, “Which one is Teacher Bo…?”

Then Meng Meng walked in, flipping through the nameplates. “Which song belongs to Teacher Bo…?”

Next, Lu Zenan came in. “Teacher Bo probably likes something like Somebody’s style. I’ll choose Group Four.”

Qi Xingchen’s face slowly darkened—Ha! Why were these little brats all so obsessed with his boyfriend?!

After the blind selection, the scene transitioned to a part Qi Xingchen had already seen. When the trainees realized their mentor was him, a flicker of reluctance crossed their faces.

Bullet Comments:

[2333 Xie Yuan is such a kid, he doesn’t even try to hide his emotions]

[Meng Meng must be so disappointed he didn’t get Ye-ge]

[Tbh, I don’t think they’re upset because they didn’t get Bo Ye, but because they ended up with the Starlight Observer. I’m outta here.]

[LMAO good thing you said it first, otherwise certain fans would get all cocky and start attacking you~]

Seeing that passive-aggressive “~”, Qi Xingchen thought to himself: I don’t even have that many fans, no way they’re as crazy as the comments say.

Then, he opened Weibo for a quick glance.

…Oh my god! He had over 6 million followers!

Last time he checked, it was 5 million. When did he gain another million?!

Surprised, he quickly closed Weibo and went back to watching the show. On screen, he was leading the trainees to the practice room, flipping through his notebook. Within just a couple of sentences, he had already decided on the arrangement for Somebody.

Bullet Comments:

[I’ve seen Qi Xingchen’s notebook a few times before. I never knew what it was for, but now I realize it contains detailed info on all the contestants.]

[U1S1*, he filled up an entire notebook. Qi Xingchen is really dedicated and hardworking.] (“U1S1” = “To be honest” in Chinese internet slang)

[Damn, seeing how decisive and efficient Qi Xingchen is, I think I’m starting to like him… But I was here to vote for my son, what do I do now?!]

[Hhh just stan him already! He’s handsome and hardworking—you won’t regret it. Isn’t stanning idols all about jumping from one bias to another anyway? 😂]

Qi Xingchen’s gaze drifted toward the notebook still sitting by his bedside. He hadn’t written all that information for praise; he had simply wanted to judge the trainees fairly. That was his duty as a mentor, nothing praiseworthy.

Then the episode progressed to the day he got annoyed and declared he would eat lunch with his team.

Bullet Comments:

[Ye-ge? Offering to buy lunch? Excuse me? Is this the same “Don’t bother me outside of work” Ye-ge I know?!]

[Not only is he good to Qi Xingchen, but now he’s being nice to his whole team? Omg, this is the sweetest thing ever! 😭😭😭]

[Stop deluding yourselves, okay? Ever heard of a script?]

[If it was scripted, Bo Ye would’ve bought food for the entire cast, not just one team. Doing this out of personal affection is totally normal. Even Night Sky (Bo Ye’s fanbase) isn’t complaining—why are YOU, a random fan, making a fuss?]

Night Sky: “……”

Did we really say nothing? No—we just didn’t dare to say anything.

Ye-ge isn’t the type to invite trainees out for meals. If we try to clarify, it’ll only fuel the fantasies of CP fans. [Goodbye]

Wuwuwu.

Being a Night Sky fan is so hard.

On the way to the parking lot, Bo Ye casually rested his elbow on Qi Xingchen’s shoulder.

[Damn! This single shot is enough for me to write an entire campus romance novel. They are too shippable!]

[I’ve been a Last Night’s Starlight fan for so long, and I finally get to see them have physical contact! More! More!]

[I. Have. Cavities. From. This. Sugar.]

[My mom asked me why I’m kneeling on the floor crying—because my ship is too sweet! (manually inserting a dog-head emoji)]

Inside the BBQ restaurant, everyone took their seats. Bo Ye picked up the first piece of grilled meat and placed it on Qi Xingchen’s plate.

[It’s over. It’s all over. Ye-ge’s cold and aloof persona is completely shattered! Damn it!]

[Ye-ge is just taking care of his little brother… yeah, right! He has so many “little brothers,” but I’ve never seen him take care of anyone except Xingxing!]

[Ye-ge used the chopsticks he already ate with to pick up meat for Xiao Qi, and Qi Xingchen ate it. Doesn’t that count as an indirect kiss?]

…Indirect? They had already directly kissed so many times! Qi Xingchen thought to himself. Compared to that, an indirect kiss was nothing—barely even a drizzle.

Then Bo Ye pulled him over to a smaller table.

[I can’t believe I’m witnessing Bo Ye personally grilling meat. This is unreal.]

[Young Master Bo has stepped back from the limelight—now, he’s just a devoted man, grilling meat for his beloved.]

[This suddenly gives me that “washing hands to make soup for you” vibe. Given Bo Ye’s personality, how did he even get to this point?]

Qi Xingchen pondered for a moment, then took a screenshot of that comment and sent it to Bo Ye.

Xingxing: [[Image] A fan is asking—given your personality, how did you even get to this point? 🤔🤔]

The message sent successfully, but there was no response—Bo Ye was probably in the shower. Qi Xingchen locked his phone and continued watching.

Then came the highlight: the performance segment.

[Ye-ge is Ye-ge. Always legendary. Every live performance is a treat—I will love him forever!!!]

[Zheng Yuyang, your voice just got me pregnant!]

[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Wei Qin’s performance is way too hot—I can’t stop my nosebleed! Holy shit!!!]

The first three performances were met with an absolute flood of comments. Qi Xingchen had to squint through the gaps between the scrolling text just to watch.

But when his own performance came on, there wasn’t even a gap to look through.

An overwhelming wall of bullet comments—some praising, some mocking—completely covered the screen.

[Huh? The Starlight Observer actually didn’t take the center position? Interesting.]

[It’s just for show. He doesn’t have the skills to force his way into the center, so instead, he plays it safe by staying in the back. That way, clueless people like you will still praise him. 2333]

[To the yellow-text comment above: Which fanbase are you from, huh? Get lost.]

[Yellow-text reply: I’m from nowhere. But if you can prove that your precious Starlight Observer actually has the skills to be in the center, I’ll delete my comment and personally apologize. 2333]

The endless fan arguments weren’t just ruining the show for Qi Xingchen—they were ruining his mood, too.

He really wanted to analyze his own performance, find his weaknesses, and work on improving.

So that he could get even closer to Bo Ye.

He turned off the bullet comments—out of sight, out of mind. As Jiang Yan’s rap played, Qi Xingchen watched the moment where he stepped forward on stage.

But little did he know—the bullet comments had already exploded.

[Holy crap, this look! I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love!]

[I knew Xiao Qi was good-looking, but I didn’t know he was this good-looking. This shot is definitely making it onto Douban tomorrow, right?]

[AH! AHHHH! AHHHHH! HE’S FLYING! HE’S FLYING!! AHHHHH I’M A GROUNDHOG! AHHHHH!]

[Like drifting clouds veiling the moon, like swirling snow carried by the wind… The moment I saw this, that was the first thing that flashed through my mind. He… is really a celestial being descended to earth, isn’t he?]

[Sister, that was poetic! Respect!]

[Sister, that was poetic! Respect! (Everyone below, keep the formation!)]

The audience had their fun playing with the comment formation before someone suddenly remembered:

[Hey, where’s that yellow-text commenter? Weren’t they supposed to remove their color and apologize? Did they get scared off after witnessing my Xingxing’s god-tier skills?]

[…I’m here. I didn’t run. I removed my yellow text. Sorry, StarLight sisters, and sorry to Teacher Qi. Teacher Qi does have the skills.]

Alright, since the yellow-text commenter seemed sincere, everyone let them off the hook and continued chatting:

[After witnessing this celestial performance, I’ve officially converted into a fan. StarLight fandom, please accept me!]

[Me too! Please accept me as well!]

[Hahaha, even my little sister just became a fan—she’s only eight years old!]

[Uh… does anyone else feel like something’s off? People usually watch survival shows to pick their favorite contestants, right? But we… we ended up picking a mentor?]

That… actually made a lot of sense. Across the internet, countless viewers sat there, dumbfounded.

Why was everyone else watching the show to support their favorite trainees, while they went against the grain and started stanning a mentor instead?

They thought about it, then thought some more—only to come up with no logical explanation. In the end, the newly converted StarLights simply shrugged it off:

[Whatever, whatever! It’s not our fault Xiao Qi is so handsome, so charismatic, and so insanely talented. It’s all his fault for being too damn attractive!]

[Agreed! Let’s all happily pick a mentor instead! Someone write a petition to Dongcheng Entertainment to open a voting channel for mentors!]

[Two people signing in blood!]

[Three people signing in blood!]

[……]

No one could have expected things to go so wildly off track.

After the show aired, everything remained peaceful among the trainees. Meanwhile, the hashtag #TenThousandPeopleBeggingForAMentorVotingChannel# got forcefully pushed onto the real-time trending list—entirely by the viewers.

Qi Xingchen scrolled through his phone, looking even more bewildered than the new StarLight fans.

Then, two minutes later, he saw a post from a special followed account.

—Bo Ye: There are exceptions to everything.

Before he could even ask what Bo Ye meant, his phone buzzed.

A pinned chat.

A short, five-word message from Bo Ye.

Bo: [The exception is you.]