APCF – Chapter 92 Couple Outfits

Qi Xingchen felt a sour ache in his heart from Bo Ye’s words, unable to say anything.

Bo Ye wasn’t fully awake yet, his drowsy eyes half-lidded. His chin was tucked under the blanket, a few strands of hair falling over his brows. Yet, he stubbornly refused to go back to sleep, keeping his gaze fixed on Qi Xingchen, his eyes curving into a soft arc.

He looked completely different from his usual self. Whether in daily life or on stage, Bo Ye was always strong, proud, and dominant—someone meant to be obeyed, always in control.

But at this moment, he was like a big puppy waiting to be fed by its owner, his expression peaceful and gentle. Qi Xingchen couldn’t help but feel his face heat up under that gaze.

“You keep staring at me… What for?”

“Nothing.” Bo Ye leaned closer to the camera. “You drooled in your sleep last night.”

Qi Xingchen: “…”

Qi Xingchen: “???”

Drooled? Ahhh, kill me now!

He hurriedly raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth but found nothing suspicious. He turned to check his pillow—it was perfectly dry, just as it had been before he went to bed.

And then, he suddenly realized—Bo Ye had tricked him!

Just like how he tricked him last night… about having gotten dressed!

Too much!

Qi Xingchen dropped his hand, narrowed his eyes, and confronted Bo Ye. “You tricked me again!”

“Mhm.” Bo Ye couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “My bad.”

His easy admission of guilt instantly deflated Qi Xingchen’s momentum. Bo Ye then added, “You sleep very still, barely moving for one or two hours at a time.”

Qi Xingchen: “Really?”

Bo Ye: “Really. This time, I’m not lying.”

That’s good then. Qi Xingchen sighed in relief—only to suddenly realize something.

Wait… How did Bo Ye know he didn’t move for hours while sleeping?

Unless…

Qi Xingchen frowned. “What time did you sleep last night?”

“Can’t remember.”

Seeing Bo Ye’s current sleepy state, Qi Xingchen made a bold guess. “You didn’t… stay up all night, did you?”

“Not at first, but I eventually slept.”

“We have work today.” Qi Xingchen muttered softly, “Why didn’t you sleep properly?”

Why didn’t he sleep properly?

Obviously, because you’re too cute.

Bo Ye’s mind replayed the image of his little fan sleeping quietly, his small nose twitching slightly.

He wasn’t great at sweet talk, so he decided to brush past the topic lightly. Tapping his fingers on the screen, he teased, “What kind of boyfriend are you? Only asking questions but not even giving me a good morning kiss?”

The moment he finished speaking, he saw the person on the other side of the screen freeze. The conversation halted instantly—entering its second wave of awkwardness for the day.

Bo Ye was very satisfied with his little fan’s reaction. He knew all too well that, given how thin-skinned Qi Xingchen was, the fact that he hadn’t hung up the call in embarrassment was already impressive. He wouldn’t press any further about the sleep issue.

But just as Bo Ye thought he had won, the person on the screen suddenly puckered his lips slightly and made a quick, light kissing motion. It was so fast that if Bo Ye hadn’t been staring closely, he might not have even caught it.

Even after such an over-the-top demand, the little fan still went along with it—making Bo Ye want to tease him even more. To push him just a little further.

To better fit the role he would be playing in an upcoming web drama, Qi Xingchen was ordered by An Ran to lose weight. He reluctantly set down his bowl of rice and began his strict low-carb, low-fat diet.

At the start, the weight loss plan wasn’t too aggressive. The nutritionist had set a goal of losing eight pounds in ten days. However, since Qi Xingchen’s starting weight was already quite low, it was much harder than expected. To make things worse, An Ran also hired a fitness trainer for him—not only could he not eat much, but he also had to spend all day in the gym.

Fortunately, their company had its own gym. As the young boss of Noah Entertainment, Chen Noah even set aside a private workout room just for him.

After changing into workout clothes, Qi Xingchen walked up to the elliptical machine and did what every first-timer in the gym does—took a selfie and posted it on Weibo and his friend circle.

Surprisingly, his friend circle reacted even faster than Weibo. Within three seconds of posting, he had already received thirteen likes and four or five comments.

After the Rain Clears: [Xingxing, does your personal trainer have a certification? Has he won any awards? Is he male or female? He’s not gay, right…? Wait, even if it’s a woman, it’s still not okay! No one is allowed to touch any part of your body ahhh!]

Wu Qianqian: [Yo, is our little Qi teacher going for the macho route now?]

Xiao Qing: [Isn’t that the gym at the end of the hallway? Did I guess right? I totally guessed right!]

King: [Bro, you’re already handsome enough, please stop radiating charm 😜]

Qi Xingchen hadn’t expected them to reply so quickly. He first reassured his sister, telling her not to worry—his trainer looked like the epitome of a straight man and wouldn’t harass him.

Then, he chatted with Wu Qianqian for a bit. Though Wu Qianqian was eliminated early from My Era, his laid-back, cheerful personality had won him a fanbase. His company had also taken advantage of the show’s popularity, grouping the eliminated trainees into a boy band. Lately, they had been doing small commercial performances and were preparing to release their first digital single.

After that, Qi Xingchen opened Han Qing’s chat window.

Xingxing: [You guessed right. It’s that gym.]

Xiao Qing: [I knew it! We trained there together before, remember? By the way, are you working on something new? Is that why you’re hitting the gym now?]

Xingxing: [Yeah, I have a web drama to shoot early next month.]

Xiao Qing: [Oh, so it’s a web drama! I thought, with so many people picking you online, you’d take advantage of the hype and release a single instead, hahaha.]

Qi Xingchen chuckled at that.

Xingxing: [I’m an actor at heart. I can’t rely on variety shows—I’ll have to focus on acting in the long run.]

Xiao Qing: [Ah, then I misunderstood. When you came back from your long break at the start of the year, you suddenly started training in singing and dancing like crazy. I thought you were changing career paths.]

After typing that, Han Qing couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

Xiao Qing: [If you’re serious about acting, then why did you push yourself so hard to train in singing and dancing back then? 🤨]

The intensity of that training was still fresh in his memory—it wasn’t any easier than the brutal month of preparation before My Era. At the time, he couldn’t understand why Qi Xingchen was working so hard on singing and dancing if he wasn’t planning to become an idol singer.

Seeing Han Qing’s question, Qi Xingchen suddenly froze.

When he first transmigrated into this novel, his mind had been a mess. He joined Noah Entertainment to gather information about the original host and to confront Zhou Yu—the scumbag who had deceived his sister and led to the original host’s death.

Then, almost on instinct, he went to the practice room. His initial thought was to improve his skills and get closer to the male and female leads.

Since the female lead was solely focused on acting, that meant… his main goal had been to get closer to the male lead—Bo Ye.

That night, he had trained relentlessly, practicing until every other trainee had left, leaving only him in the studio.

And then, as if by fate, Bo Ye had walked into his practice room.

He had taught him how to generate power through dance movements, patiently guiding him and helping him learn so much.

If… if he hadn’t gone to that practice room back then, if he hadn’t decided to train in singing and dancing, he might not have met Bo Ye so soon.

And he certainly wouldn’t have ended up on My Era, spending day and night with Bo Ye.

And in the end… they wouldn’t have gotten together.

How mysterious.

Qi Xingchen scratched the back of his neck. Was this the so-called “guidance of fate”? Or was there some other reason behind it all?

He thought about it for a long time but still couldn’t figure it out. In the end, he simply replied to Han Qing:

Xingxing: [Your boss is working hard, and you’re still slacking off on your phone? Get back to practice.]

Xiao Qing: […Damn!]

After dealing with Han Qing, Qi Xingchen decided it was time to properly discipline that little brat, Qi Jiaze.

It was already October, and there were only a little over six months left until next June’s college entrance exams. Yet this kid was still glued to his phone, instantly liking posts and replying to WeChat Moments in seconds.

There wasn’t even a hint of pre-exam urgency.

Qi Xingchen (😡): [Jiaze!]

King: [Here! Sir! Your one and only little brother is always at your service!]

Qi Xingchen was speechless.

Was the little brat still holding a grudge just because he had spoken up for Tao Xuan yesterday? He was still harping on it even now?

Feeling slightly guilty, Qi Xingchen softened his tone a bit.

Qi Xingchen: [No using your phone during class. Pay attention and study properly.]

King: [I thought you messaged me because you missed me, but it turns out you’re just nagging me to study? 😭]

King: [But bro, did you forget? Today is Sunday. I don’t have class right now. I’m actually helping your non-biological little brother review notes. 😭]

Oh… right, today was Sunday. Qi Xingchen’s imposing aura instantly deflated.

He quickly tried to make it up to his crying little brother.

Qi Xingchen: [What do you guys want for dinner? I’ll bring it over.]

King: [Take out the “guys,” thanks. Tao Xuan eats whatever I eat.]

King: [What do you want to eat?]

Xingxing: [I’m on a diet. Can’t eat.]

At the mention of dieting, Qi Jiaze’s rant mode instantly activated. He started cursing out the production team, questioning why they would make an already-thin person like his brother lose weight. It was inhumane, outrageous, utterly ridiculous—so on and so forth.

Qi Xingchen expressionlessly listened to his ramblings, then finally asked what he wanted to eat. Only after getting an answer did he finally close WeChat and switch to Weibo.

By now, the comments on his post had already surpassed two thousand.

[Ahhh! Gege’s bare-faced skin is amazing! So good-looking! I’m in love!]

[Hubby, don’t go to the gym! Come back and spend time with me!]

[Baby, you haven’t livestreamed in so long! Please do one for us!]

Seeing that last comment, Qi Xingchen suddenly recalled the trauma of his previous livestream disasters. His whole body stiffened.

Absolutely not. No way was he doing another livestream anytime soon.

But since the fans were asking for it—and he had been neglecting them for a while—he had a sudden idea. He filmed a short, funny video of himself weaving through the gym equipment in an exaggerated, dramatic fashion.

For the background music, he selfishly chose the title track from Bo Ye’s new album.

As soon as the video was posted, the fans went wild.

[Xingxing is totally lurking! He must be! We ask for a livestream, and he gives us a video? I feel so blessed! QAQ]

[I never knew a plain white T-shirt and black workout pants could look this good. Muah muah muah!]

[I need a link to those sweatpants. Sisters, help me out!]

[[Image attached] Here! It’s this Adidas pair. You can find it everywhere, hahaha.]

Seeing the fans enjoying the video so much, Qi Xingchen felt satisfied and finally headed off to meet his steel-straight-male personal trainer for his first day of dieting.

As it turned out, the saying “Only the toughest people can stick to a diet” was absolutely true.

By 6 PM, the trainer finally let him go home—probably because he had a date. Meanwhile, Qi Xingchen was left dragging his sore legs and shattered soul as he went to a Hong Kong-style restaurant to pick up some crab roe porridge and braised dishes.

The delicious aroma only made his already starving stomach suffer more.

But he reminded himself: the role came first. He had mentally prepared himself for this the moment he accepted the drama.

He placed the food in the back seat, far away from his nose, and drove to the hospital.

He arrived just in time to catch Liang Jing doing his rounds.

With the season changing, the immunology ward was getting busier, and Liang Jing’s reputation meant even more patients were requesting consultations with him.

Qi Xingchen greeted him and asked, “Want to grab some porridge together?”

Liang Jing was swamped. Even though he would’ve loved to have dinner with Xingxing, he had no choice but to decline.

After seeing Liang Jing off, Qi Xingchen sat down with Tao Xuan and opened the takeout boxes. Meanwhile, the other Qi family young master—who was absolutely useless in the kitchen—helped assemble chopsticks and disposable wooden spoons.

Once everything was ready, Qi Xingchen sat on the side, watching his two younger brothers eat heartily, and wiped away an imaginary tear of suffering.

Because of his health condition, Tao Xuan had a smaller appetite than most boys. After drinking half a bowl of porridge, he couldn’t eat any more. Holding the bowl, he suddenly asked:

“Xingxing-ge, do you know Professor Liang?”

“I do,” Qi Xingchen said with a smile. “We’re very, very good friends.”

Very, very good friends.

When Tao Xuan was in third grade, he was unfortunately diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. Once the disease entered its active phase, it caused unsightly rashes.

Struggling with both self-esteem and insecurity, Tao Xuan didn’t want his classmates to see those ugly rashes. So from childhood to now, he had always been alone, with very few friends. He found it hard to grasp what “very, very good” truly meant.

“How good is very good?” he asked.

Before Qi Xingchen could answer, Qi Jiaze beat him to it. “Like you and me,” he said casually.

His tone was completely natural—there was no hint of pity or forced kindness.

Tao Xuan stared at Qi Jiaze for a moment, then lowered his head and continued drinking his porridge in silence.

He didn’t say anything, nor did he show any obvious emotions on his face. But Qi Xingchen could feel his joy and gratitude.

Seventeen years of struggling under the shadow of illness, barely holding on at the edge of life—how lucky it was to gain a very, very good friend along the way.

Too bad Qi Jiaze didn’t grasp the weight of that moment. Stuffing his mouth with crispy roast goose, he asked carelessly, “Why are you even asking?”

“It’s nothing,” Tao Xuan replied. “Since he’s Xingxing-ge’s friend, I’ll try my best not to trouble him too much during my routine check-ups in the future.”

After finishing their meal, it was getting late. Tao Xuan’s condition made staying up late a bad idea, so Qi Xingchen drove his little brother home first before heading back to his own place.

When he opened the door, most of his family was still awake.

He distributed the pineapple buns and other Hong Kong-style pastries he had packed from the restaurant, giving them to his father, brother, and sister. He sat with his father for a cup of tea before returning to his room.

In the past, he never understood why circus troupe members would always bring back bags of things for their families.

But now, he completely understood—watching his family enjoy the food he brought home was such a satisfying feeling.

Humming a tune, he took a shower, changed into his pajamas, and flopped onto his bed with a thud, opening his phone.

The long-dormant fan app on his phone suddenly sent two notifications in quick succession!

First: [Your idol, Bo Ye, is online!]

Second: [Your idol, Bo Ye, just posted on Weibo—go check it out!]

Bo Ye posted on Weibo?

It was probably just an advertisement for a brand deal, Qi Xingchen guessed as he opened the app.

But to his surprise, Bo Ye had also posted a short video.

Before he could even click on it, one particular fan comment caught his eye—

[Ahhh! I never knew a plain white T-shirt and black workout pants could look this good!!]

Qi Xingchen sniffed. That comment sounded really familiar—he was pretty sure he had seen it in his own comment section before.

Could it be that a confused Starlight fan accidentally mixed up their comment and posted it under Bo Ye’s video instead?

Five seconds later, the moment he opened the video and saw Bo Ye, he realized he had completely misunderstood that fan.

There was no Starlight mixing things up or posting in the wrong place…

Bo Ye was actually wearing the exact same white T-shirt and black athletic pants as him.

Even the brand was identical—the Adidas gear Qi Xingchen had randomly pulled out of his closet!

He hurriedly opened the comment section. Since Bo Ye’s video was just him sitting backstage waiting for makeup—nothing particularly interesting—the comments weren’t discussing the content much. Instead, they were filled with a chorus of groundhog-like screeches:

[AAAAAAHHH SO HANDSOME AHHHHH!!!]

[Because of you, the world is so much more beautiful AAAAAH!!!]

[Finally, an idol outfit that us poor girls can actually afford—I just placed an order! I’m gonna wear it as a couple’s outfit and come find you!!]

[Hahaha, sis, you made the right choice! Little Qi from next door is also wearing this exact outfit. You just landed yourself two insanely hot boyfriends in one go… Damn it, I want to buy it too!]

After this comment, Bo Ye’s fans—who had been busy screaming—suddenly seemed to realize something major.

They started swarming over to Qi Xingchen’s profile.

Before long, the entire vibe of Bo Ye’s comment section changed.

[Holy shit, Little Qi is wearing the exact same outfit as Ye-ge… Did they plan this?!]

[Maybe it’s just an outfit coincidence?]

[Outfit coincidences aren’t scary—what’s scary is when one person looks bad in it. But these two? Qi Xingxing is fresh and youthful, and Ye-ge is sleek and effortlessly cool. Both of them look amazing! 2333]

[What if… Star Baby gifted it to Ye-ge? Or maybe Ye-ge gave it to Star Baby? Hehehe~]

The way Bo Ye’s fans (Night Sky), Qi Xingchen’s fans (Starlight), and their CP fans (Last Night’s Stardust) spoke was actually easy to tell apart.

Night Sky fans called Bo Ye “Ye-ge” and usually referred to Qi Xingchen as “Little Qi.”

Starlight fans called Qi Xingchen “Xingxing” and didn’t like bringing up Bo Ye much. Their current goal was to shake off the label of “bloodsucking leeches.”

Last Night’s Stardust CP fans used the most affectionate nicknames for Qi Xingchen—“Star Baby,” “Baby,” or “Little Qi”—while still calling Bo Ye “Ye-ge.” Bo Ye’s personality was too cold to inspire many playful nicknames.

So when that last comment about gifting clothes appeared, Night Sky and Starlight immediately teamed up to shut it down, dragging out the usual “they’re just friends, Ye-ge is just looking out for Xingxing” argument.

Qi Xingchen wasn’t in the mood to watch their war. Instead, he tapped open his pinned WeChat chat.

Xingxing: [We wore the same clothes in our videos—what a crazy coincidence!]

He wanted to say “great minds think alike,” but that sounded a little too cheesy, so he held back from sending it.

Bo Ye’s reply, however, was completely unexpected.

Bo Ye: [It’s not a coincidence.]

Qi Xingchen blinked, confused.

Xingxing: [What do you mean…? Did you do it on purpose?]

Moon: [Mm.]

Moon: [I wanted to wear a couple’s outfit with you.]