Chapter 49 Why bring it out? I'm planning to keep...
Fang Xin abandoned Zhou Xiaoyou and strode towards Jing Yitong, his face showing obvious joy and surprise: "Why did you come back again?"
Jing Yitong opened the passenger door for him: "I went back to the studio to sign a contract. I hadn't heard from you, so I figured you were still rehearsing here and came straight over."
“That’s perfect, I’ll just go with you, so Xiaoyou won’t have to see me off,” Fang Xingu said, waving to Zhou Xiaoyou from the doorway. “Xiaoyou, you can go back and rest, you don’t need to see me off.”
Zhou Xiaoyou, who had been ignored for half a day, wore a stiff smile. He secretly observed the two of them and felt that something was wrong. Fang Xingu and Jing Yi had not been interacting like this when they were in Antarctica.
As an assistant, Zhou Xiaoyou knew Fang Xingu's personality well and had witnessed the familiarity between the two off-camera on the Affogato, but it was far from the clingy relationship they had now—it was already past midnight, and Jing Yitong was still personally picking Fang Xingu up and dropping her off at get off work.
Regardless, with Jing Yitong coming, Zhou Xiaoyou did lose a driver's job. Which working person could resist such a temptation? Therefore, Zhou Xiaoyou waved goodbye without hesitation: "Be careful on the road, you and Teacher Jing. Qi Ge and I will pick you up at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon for the rehearsal."
After saying that, he simply abandoned Fang Xin Gu and drove away quickly under the watchful eyes of the two men.
Fang Xingu watched the car disappear into the distance and began to reflect on himself: "I don't usually enslave it, so why did it leave so quickly?"
“It’s certainly nice to leave work early,” Jing Yitong said as he turned to sit in the driver’s seat. “Get in the car,” the other person replied casually.
Fang Xingu nodded and was about to get into the passenger seat when he looked down and noticed a red rose on the seat with a ribbon tied to the stem. It was obviously a gift. The only strange thing was that the outer petals of the rose were a little yellow and didn't look very fresh. But Fang Xingu stopped and asked, "Who gave you a rose?"
“Xu Subo,” Jing Yitong said calmly, but Fang Xingu was stunned. Jing Yitong mischievously enjoyed Fang Xingu’s shock for a while before explaining, “Don’t you think this rose looks familiar? I took it from her bouquet.”
Fang Xingu glanced at him speechlessly before picking up the flower on the seat to examine it. The rosebud was large and fully open, and the thorns on the stem had been trimmed very cleanly, so there was no need to worry about getting pricked while holding it. Fang Xingu asked in confusion, "I didn't see when you picked it up."
As Jing Yitong drove, he explained, "When I was arranging the flowers in the vase, I was a little reluctant to give all these beautiful flowers back to Xu Subo, so I took one out and brought it back to China. I was thinking of giving it to you, and just now when I went to the studio, I saw a very beautiful ribbon, so I thought I'd make the most of it."
Fang Xin poked at the soft, supple petals, feeling a delicate touch between his fingers. This rose came from a bouquet symbolizing perfect love and a happy marriage, but now Jing Yitong had given it to him. Was it simply to let him share in the joy, or was it hinting at something?
Fang Xingu carefully held the flowers and thought for a long time before finally saying, "But flowers always wither eventually, so why don't we make them into dried flowers?"
"Yes, now you are its owner, you can decide."
Fang Xin immediately looked down and started searching for guides. They didn't seem too difficult; most of them said that you just need to hang it upside down in a dark and well-ventilated place.
He had saved a few posts when Jing Yitong asked, "Is there a rehearsal tomorrow?"
Fang Xingu nodded, picked off some of the dried petals from the rose, and casually replied, "Yes, because this gala is being broadcast live, there will be a lot of rehearsals. We'll be going through the whole thing tomorrow, and some audience members will also be attending, but it should end a little earlier than today... By the way, Xiaoyou can pick me up tomorrow, you don't need to come, so you don't get photographed."
Jing Yitong retorted playfully, "Am I that shameful?"
"...Be nicer to your fans, don't scare them to death."
“Okay,” Jing Yitong sighed, “It’s a rare opportunity to spend New Year’s Eve together, but you still have to work.”
Hearing his low and regretful tone, Fang Xingu asked, "Why didn't you take on a job at a New Year's Eve gala?"
"I'm an actor, so I shouldn't get involved," Jing Yitong pondered. "Everyone has their own expertise; wouldn't it be embarrassing to end up singing like a train wreck?"
"That's not necessarily true. I saw on the program that many performers are participating in this gala. Since it's a live broadcast, many of them are using pre-recorded versions to lip-sync."
This kind of thing is very common in the industry, and the two of them were used to it, but Jing Yitong still had a lot of professional ethics: "Then the appearance fee is too easy to make."
Fang Xin Gu: "Don't rush, you'll have your chance to sing in a few days. You'll also have to record the theme song for 'The World Is So Big,' so don't be shy."
Jing Yitong immediately said, "Then I must go with you. Otherwise, I'm not confident going alone. I need you to guide me."
Fang Xingu crossed his arms, his face full of pride: "I won't hold back in this regard. Today, Lu Changning was completely stunned by my criticism."
Upon hearing the name Lu Changning, Jing Yitong's cheerful expression vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed immediately: "You saw Lu Changning?"
“Uh…” Fang Xingu then remembered that Jing Yitong had a bad impression of Lu Changning before, so he added, “He was rehearsing in front of me and asked me to give him some pointers, but we didn’t say much.”
The red light at the intersection came on, and the car slowly came to a stop. Jing Yitong looked intently at Fang Xingu and said, "That would be for the best."
.
Fang Xingu didn't understand Jing Yitong's meaning, but he slept very well that night, which was rare for him.
Recently, he flew to four continents, and the time difference of more than ten hours completely disrupted his biological clock. Most of the time, he could only catch up on sleep on the plane. Even in first class, sleeping was not as comfortable as sleeping in his bed at home.
...Although Fang Xin was not sleeping in his own bed.
But he slept soundly and comfortably that night. The soft bed and comfortable pillows, along with the blackout curtains, made it impossible to distinguish between day and night. Fang Xin slept from 2 a.m. to 3 p.m.
When Fang Xingu woke up and saw the time, he almost thought he had misread it. He had actually slept for a full thirteen hours. He felt that he could have continued to sleep if the alarm clock hadn't woken him up.
He slowly got out of bed, only to find the house quiet; Jing Yitong had already gone out to his studio.
Fang Xin first went to check his dried roses, then heated up some of the food Jing Yitong had left for him to fill his stomach. Only when he turned on his phone did he find several missed calls from Qi Qiu.
He silently turned off Do Not Disturb mode and called Qi Qiu back. He quickly heard Qi Qiu's voice on the other end of the phone: "You still haven't told me where I should pick you up."
Fang Xingu then remembered that he was still at Jing Yitong's house, so his dear agent and assistant would have to come to Jing Yitong's house to pick him up later.
Fang Xingu, somewhat embarrassed, told Qi Qiu Jing Yitong's address.
Qi Qiu drove along the address he was given, and the more he thought about it, the more familiar the address and the name of the neighborhood seemed. When he stopped downstairs at Jing Yitong's building, he urged Fang Xingu to come downstairs. With a feeling of unease, he scrolled up his chat history with Fang Xingu and quickly saw that at the beginning of the month, before Fang Xingu went to Antarctica to record, he had asked him to help send a package. The recipient's address of this package was exactly the same as the one Fang Xingu had just given him.
Qi Qiu quickly connected the two things: So the package Fang Xingu asked him to send was originally meant for Jing Yitong!
At this moment, Fang Xingu jogged onto the bus. Qi Qiu immediately asked him for confirmation. After receiving an affirmative answer, Qi Qiu pressed further, "What did you send him?"
"It was a birthday present, but who knew he was going to record 'The World Is So Big' too? The birthday present I prepared was completely useless on the day."
Zhou Xiaoyou jokingly revealed: "In the end, Xin Gu secretly made a cake for Teacher Jing without our knowledge."
"You can even bake cakes?" Qi Qiu chuckled speechlessly, then changed the subject, "When are you planning to move out of Jing Yitong's house?"
“…Why move out? I plan to stay at his place,” Fang Xingu said in a weak voice. “I’ll be busy with my album later, so I’ll probably be staying in Beijing for a while. Staying at Jing Yitong’s place will save me some money, and his place is in a very convenient location.”
Qi Qiu's heart skipped a beat for no reason. In his memory, Fang Xin Gu had always been a person with a strong sense of boundaries. In short, he would never do something like staying at someone else's house for several months. How could Jing Yi Tong have such a big influence on him?
Qi Qiu suddenly felt nervous. He had a bad feeling, but he didn't know where it came from. He said angrily, "Does the company need that little bit of money to pay for your rent?!"
"Isn't it good that I'm saving money for Chengfeng and President Zhong?"
Zhou Xiaoyou laughed uncontrollably: "Our Xin Gu is just that considerate; even President Zhong would be moved to tears if he heard that."
Qi Qiu chuckled coldly, but he really couldn't do anything about Fang Xin: "Fine, see when you're free in a few days, remember to come back to the company. President Zhong wants to talk to you about the profit sharing. Also, I've arranged a time for you to record the OST for that ancient costume drama."
Fang Xin nodded listlessly, feeling like he would never finish his work.
Nearly an hour later, Fang Xin finally arrived at the rehearsal site.
The venue was noticeably more lively today than yesterday, as audiences were allowed to enter for rehearsals, resulting in a large crowd gathering around the venue. Qi Qiu drove the car into the garage, and the three of them saw that the area around the drop-off point was densely packed with spectators and fans. Fortunately, it was still quite orderly, with everyone consciously standing behind the barriers.
But someone recognized Fang Xin Gu's private van first and shouted, "Xin Gu is here!"
"It's a really new car."
"Don't push, you guys in the back!"
A group of fans suddenly became excited, which could easily lead to problems. Even if the fans in the front row didn't want to move, if the people behind them pushed forward even slightly, the fans in the front row could easily break through the barriers. With everyone jostling together, the formation looked like it was about to fall apart. Fortunately, bodyguards arrived in time and brought the chaos under control.
Qi Qiu parked the car steadily in the drop-off area. The door opened, and Zhou Xiaoyou jumped out first, skillfully parting the crowd: "Please everyone step back."
The fans were very cooperative, taking photos with their phones and cameras as they stepped back. As a result, Zhou Xiaoyou moved like Moses parting the Red Sea, and the crowd automatically parted to both sides, leaving a clear path for Fang Xin Gu who was following behind.
"Ahhh, both new and old!"
"haven't seen you for a long time!"
"The party went very well."
Fang Xingu nodded to everyone around him and said, "Thank you everyone."
Afterwards, he had to go to the dressing room to try on makeup and costumes, and he had to take the elevator upstairs. While Fang Xin Gu and Zhou Xiao You stood in place waiting for the elevator, the fans obediently followed behind.
Suddenly, a fan shouted from behind, "Xin Gu, after the 'The World Is So Big' program finished filming and returned to China, why didn't you come back with the rest of the group?"
While waiting for the elevator, Fang Xingu figured it wouldn't be a big deal to interact with his fans, so he frankly said, "I went to Los Angeles for some personal business."
To his surprise, someone was already waiting for him there. One fan joked, "Does 'private matter' mean you're in a hurry to eat at a Chinese restaurant?"
"Hey, are the Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles any good?"
Fang Xingu and Jing Yi were indeed secretly photographed while having dinner in Los Angeles, but Fang Xingu had already decided to deny it and was not prepared to answer the question at this moment.
But he didn't say anything, and the group of fans behind him started laughing knowingly. Amidst the teasing laughter, Fang Xin Gu seemed to think of something and couldn't help but laugh along with everyone.
The fans who caught his soft chuckle immediately understood its meaning, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
"So it really is you, Shin-gu-na!"
"So who was you having dinner with? First of all, we can rule out Zhou Xiaoyou! He went back to China with the production crew at the time."
"Oh no, could it really be Jing Yitong, who also didn't return to China with the main group?!"
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