APCF – Chapter 93 Response

Early winter in the north was dry and cold, with the biting wind swirling around and slamming into people. Having successfully lost weight, Qi Xingchen wrapped his coat tightly around himself, took one last look at his family members who had come to see him off, and then walked toward the security checkpoint, turning back three times before finally stepping inside.

He still vividly remembered the day he left to film Let’s Budget Travel—his family had also come to send him off in a grand manner, just like today. But back then, he had only just transmigrated into this world. No matter how well his family treated him, he always felt that they belonged to the original owner of this body, not to him.

Now, things were different. After spending day after day with them, he had grown to love these dramatic, sometimes overly sentimental but ultimately kind, sincere, and warm-hearted family members.

Leaving home no longer felt as easy and decisive as before. How did that saying go? Having armor also means having a weakness.

But fortunately, he would be able to return after finishing filming. Once his family’s figures disappeared from sight, he composed himself and sent Bo Ye a message to let him know he was safe.

Xingxing: [I’m through security.]

Moon: [Okay. Were there a lot of fans at the airport?]

Xingxing: [I took the VIP express lane, so I didn’t see any fans. But Sister An Ran didn’t inform the fan club in advance, so they probably didn’t organize anything.]

Moon: [Alright, make sure to update me when you board and when you land.]

Xingxing: [Got it! I will report to you, sir!]

Moon: [I’m asking you to update me not because I want to track your movements, but because I’m worried about your safety.]

Xingxing: [Understood! I will report to you, sir!]

Moon: […]

Even through the screen, Qi Xingchen could imagine Bo Ye’s helpless expression, and his mood lifted instantly.

Just then, An Ran walked over with a few cups of coffee, handing one to him. “Jiang Jiang and Old Qin will be here soon. Let’s go wait for them at the front.”

Qi Xingchen glanced at his cup and hesitated. “Um… Sister An Ran, why is mine an Americano? I wanted a latte!”

“Too much sugar in a latte,” An Ran said mercilessly. “You don’t deserve it right now.”

Qi Xingchen felt like crying.

But before he could, he quickly sent his boyfriend a few cute stickers to cheer him up. After receiving Bo Ye’s exasperated reply, he suddenly realized that he had been getting bolder in their interactions lately.

Before, he would never have dared to joke around with Bo Ye like this.

It must be because Bo Ye had been too gentle and indulgent lately, making him feel like he could act recklessly.

Qi Xingchen lowered his eyes, deep in thought about how he could salvage his image in Bo Ye’s heart.

As they sat in the waiting area, An Ran suddenly remembered something. “By the way, Xingxing, how do you plan to celebrate your birthday? Do you want to hold a fan meeting?”

Qi Xingchen was momentarily stunned before it hit him—the original owner’s birthday was on December 28th.

Today was December 3rd, meaning there were only 25 days left until the original owner’s birthday. It wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t too short either—if he wanted to hold a fan meeting, now was the time to start planning.

Coincidentally, Qi Xingchen had been abandoned at the entrance of an orphanage not long after birth. When the orphanage director found him, there was a slip of paper tucked in his swaddle, stating his birthdate.

It was the same as the original owner’s—December 28th, the very end of the year.

However, there were too many children in the orphanage. Some knew their actual birthdays, while others didn’t. In the end, the director decided to celebrate all the children’s birthdays based on their admission date.

Because of that, birthdays never held much significance for Qi Xingchen. Celebrating or not celebrating made no difference to him. In fact, if An Ran hadn’t mentioned it just now, he might have completely forgotten about it.

“I’ll probably have filming on the 28th,” Qi Xingchen thought for a moment. “I can’t delay the production just to hold a birthday event, so let’s skip it this year.”

“Okay,” An Ran had already expected this answer.

“Also, inform the fan club, the fan group, and individual fan sites not to organize any fundraising or support events. No gifts either,” Qi Xingchen added. “If they really want to send me something, let them write letters instead. Give them the company’s mailing address.”

“Alright, got it.”

After chatting with An Ran for a while, Jiang Jiang and Old Qin finally arrived—quite late. Jiang Jiang was lugging three massive makeup cases, and that was after checking in all her skincare products over 100ml.

Qi Xingchen quickly helped her carry two of them, lest his personal stylist injure her arms—if she couldn’t do makeup, that would be a problem.

A few hours later, the plane landed. The four of them had traveled from one part of the north to another, arriving in J City. An Ran called the crew’s designated pickup person, and soon, they spotted the director’s assistant outside Exit 6P, holding a sign with the name Grey Trajectory on it.

Grey Trajectory was the name of the web drama Qi Xingchen was about to star in.

The assistant director looked to be around thirty. Upon seeing them, he quickly ran up, shaking hands with each of them in turn and introducing himself, “Hello, Teacher Qi. My name is Li Zhuang. If you don’t mind, just call me Da Zhuang. The car is in the parking lot. I’ll have to trouble you all to walk with me for a bit—I’ll take you to the hotel.”

“Lead the way,” Qi Xingchen said as he followed him towards the parking lot. “Da Zhuang, where’s Director Zhou right now?”

“Director Zhou is at the set, checking the scene setup and shooting some empty shots.”

“Then let’s skip the hotel,” Qi Xingchen thought for a moment. “Could you take me straight to the set?”

Typically, when lead actors join a production, they first check into the hotel, then meet with the director, producers, and other key figures in the evening. The director would then personally take them to the set the next day.

Simply put, it was a matter of hierarchy and status—lead actors should have a certain presence. When he was filming Heart of the Ocean, Qi Xingchen had been just a small actor, running off to the set on his own to find the director.

Da Zhuang didn’t know why he was making this choice, but he didn’t object. Instead, he led them to a car marked with an M1 sticker.

M stood for “male,” and 1 indicated the first position—M1 meant “Male Lead.”

This car was exclusively for Qi Xingchen’s use—no one else could ride in it, nor did they have the qualifications to.

Experiencing special treatment for the first time, Qi Xingchen felt a surge of excitement. Before Da Zhuang could even open the car door for him, he had already jumped inside.

Da Zhuang: “…”

An Ran looked at him with the exasperation of a landowner watching his foolish son and let out a long sigh.

Once everyone was seated, Da Zhuang drove straight to the set. He was familiar with the roads, so he drove today, but starting tomorrow, Old Qin would take over the vehicle.

As they exited the underground parking lot, Qi Xingchen glanced outside and noticed that, unlike H City, J City’s sky was already sprinkled with tiny snowflakes.

“Da Zhuang, when did it start snowing here?” Qi Xingchen asked, a breath of mist escaping his lips.

“A few days ago when the temperature dropped,” Da Zhuang replied. “That’s why I messaged you yesterday, reminding you to bring warm clothes. It’s currently minus nine degrees outside. Once this snowfall is over, it might drop to minus ten or even lower.”

Hearing this, Qi Xingchen immediately thought of Bo Ye.

With the year coming to an end, Bo Ye was constantly flying between events—New Year’s Eve concerts, various award ceremonies, pre-recorded and live performances, and end-of-year wrap-ups hosted by different platforms. His schedule was packed, and he was always in the air.

Sometimes, he’d go from freezing climates to tropical ones, and the drastic temperature changes made it easy to catch a cold.

Qi Xingchen stopped chatting and pulled up Allen’s WeChat.

[Xingxing]: Allen, send me your hotel’s address.

Allen, apparently free, responded quickly:

[Allen]: X Street, KX Number. Xingxing, why do you need the address?

[Xingxing]: Gonna buy something for your boss.

Nowadays, most delivery apps have shopping and courier services. After sending the message, Qi Xingchen opened his navigation app, searched for a large supermarket nearby, and carefully picked out hand warmers, heating patches, a thermos, cold medicine, fever patches, and other winter essentials.

Just before placing the order, he suddenly remembered that Bo Ye had once mentioned wanting to wear matching couple outfits with him.

Back then, he had considered buying clothes for Bo Ye, but Bo Ye was quite particular about his fashion choices, and without knowing his exact size, Qi Xingchen had hesitated and never bought anything.

But now seemed like the perfect opportunity.

His gaze landed on a well-known chain store. He finally gave in to temptation and ordered a plush pajama set.

J City had the same chain store, so he ordered another set for himself—same style, different patterns.

Once everything was settled, he messaged Allen again:

[Xingxing]: It should arrive in the evening. I listed your number as the contact—please help pick it up. I’ll treat you to a big meal when we meet!

[Xingxing]: Also, don’t tell your boss yet. Let’s make it a little surprise, hehe.

Allen replied with an “OK” emoji.

Then, he immediately betrayed the person who promised to treat him to dinner.

Turning to Bo Ye, he said, “Xingxing just contacted me.”

Bo Ye, waiting in the lounge for his recording session, raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What did he want?”

“He bought something for you and asked me to pick it up.”

“What is it?”

“I really don’t know. Probably some delivery or same-city express.”

Although Bo Ye had been dating his little fanboy for a while, their work schedules and family situations meant that two people who were both ridiculously rich and lacked nothing had never really exchanged gifts.

Now, he was genuinely curious. “Let me know when it arrives. I’ll go pick it up myself.”

Allen panicked: “Boss, the paparazzi—”

“It’s fine,” Bo Ye interrupted. “Ignore them.”

After a pause, he added, “Send me this month’s schedule tonight.”

“A schedule? Boss, do you have something planned?”

Bo Ye shot him a look that said, You’re talking too much, and didn’t answer.

The narrow alleys, a few dilapidated old buildings, piles of garbage on both sides, and sewage pits emitting a faint stench—all of these made up the main setting of Grey Trajectory.

This was an urban village in J City. On an early winter afternoon at 2 PM, the filthy streets were nearly empty.

Every now and then, a woman in low-quality faux fur and cotton slippers would come out to dump trash, cursing under her breath as she passed by. On the second floor to the left, a young couple was arguing, their shouts mixing with the barking of dogs, scratching at everyone’s ears.

Da Zhuang looked apologetic. “The environment here isn’t great. Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Qi.”

“Da Zhuang, just call me Xingxing. ‘Teacher’ sounds too awkward,” Qi Xingchen said nonchalantly as he surveyed the surroundings, praising, “Director Zhou picked a really authentic location.”

Grey Trajectory followed protagonist Liang Xiaolong, who was separated from his family as a child and kidnapped by human traffickers. Sold to a rural family, he suffered from illness, lost his memories, and had slight cognitive impairments.

As an adult, he failed his college entrance exams and couldn’t afford to retake them. Forced to work while studying on his own, he lived in an urban village.

A policewoman, mistaking him for an underage worker, took him to the station, only to discover he was a long-missing victim of a trafficking case from over a decade ago.

This case had spanned two generations of detectives, exhausting their efforts. Seeing a breakthrough, the policewoman helped him search for his birth parents, launching them both into a relentless fight against human trafficking.

Later that evening, after a long day on set, Qi Xingchen returned to the hotel, exhausted.

His phone was nearly dead, so he quickly sent messages to his family and Bo Ye. Once it was charged, he checked his unread messages.

Three bright notifications from his pinned chat:

[Moon]: [?]

[Moon]: [?]

[Moon]: [?]

Qi Xingchen quickly tapped to open them.

Qi Xingchen was baffled to see three identical messages in a row and replied with a head full of question marks:

[Xingxing]: Did your phone freeze?

[Moon]: No.

[Moon]: Did the welcome dinner end?

[Xingxing]: Just finished.

[Xingxing]: Why did you send so many question marks?

And he still had the nerve to ask?

With a helpless sigh, Bo Ye typed:

[Bo Ye]: I received your package. I really like the hand warmers, the water bottle, and everything else. But… what’s with the pajamas?

[Xingxing]: You don’t like them?

Bo Ye glanced at the coral fleece pajamas spread out on his bed—white with black patches, but not just any white-and-black pattern.

It was a cow print.

That’s right—Qi Xingchen had picked out an adorably kawaii cow-print pajama set, complete with a tail on the back.

In all his years of living, Bo Ye had never worn such childish sleepwear.

After some thought, he carefully crafted a reply that wouldn’t hurt his little fan’s feelings:

[Bo Ye]: The pajamas are nice, but they don’t really suit me.

[Xingxing]: Is it the size or the material?

Bo Ye thought: It doesn’t suit my age group.

But instead, he tactfully wrote:

[Moon]: The size is perfect, it’s just… the pattern.

Yet, before he could elaborate, the other side suddenly went silent.

Bo Ye waited ten minutes, growing more and more uneasy.

Had he accidentally hurt his little fan’s feelings?

Thinking back, he remembered that Qi Xingchen had once worn zebra-print pajamas, which meant he probably had a thing for black-and-white animal prints. His words might have come across as a criticism of Qi Xingchen’s taste.

The more he thought about it, the more regretful he felt. He quickly grabbed his phone, intending to make amends.

But before he could send a video call request, a video call request popped up from the other side instead.

Two seconds later, the culprit himself—his little fan—appeared on the screen.

His nose and lips were slightly red, his chest rising and falling, as if he had just hurriedly finished something. He was breathing lightly, slightly out of breath.

His hair was a little messy, though it looked like he had dampened and smoothed it down. His slender, fair neck was visible… and below that—

A matching black-and-white cow-print pajama set.

Like a salesman pitching a product, Qi Xingchen earnestly defended his choice:

“These pajamas are great! They’re warm, soft, and delicate. I just tested them—very breathable even when you sweat. The quality is top-notch. And… they’re pretty cute too!”

Bo Ye hummed in response. “Yeah, they’re cute. So, you bought a pair too?”

“I bought both at the same time,” Qi Xingchen’s voice lowered slightly. “Didn’t you say you wanted to wear matching outfits with me?”

Bo Ye froze.

“I didn’t know your exact size and didn’t want to get it wrong. Since pajamas are stretchy, I figured matching sleepwear would be a safe choice.”

Bo Ye’s gaze softened. “Alright,” he said gently. “I understand. Wait for me.”

He got up and disappeared from the camera.

Moments later, he returned—now wearing the very same cow-print pajamas he had been so reluctant about.

“Thank you for the couple’s pajamas,” Bo Ye said with a smile. “I really like them. I mean it—I really do.”

Love is all about reciprocation.

The hardest thing in a relationship is ensuring that every feeling, every gesture, gets a response. But that’s also what makes love feel the safest.

You said you wanted to video call every day, so no matter how busy I am, I make time for you.

I said I wanted us to wear matching outfits, so you carefully picked something out and sent it to me.

Maybe we don’t see each other often. Maybe on busy days, we can only exchange a few messages.

But I never feel like you’re far away.

Because every moment, you’re in my dreams. You’re in my heart.