Chapter 42 Our relationship is just 'okay'...
Fang Xin looked at the bowl that Jing Yitong had handed him. Inside was a not-so-round egg, with a thin ring of egg white that had been overcooked and some white fluff floating in the soup. It wasn't very well cooked, but it still smelled delicious. It was the poached egg that his family ate every winter solstice.
A warm feeling welled up in Fang Xingu's heart. No matter what, there was no doubt that Jing Yitong was good to him: "Thank you, brother."
Jing Yitong couldn't resist pinching his cheek twice: "Don't be so polite with me."
Fang Xingu looked down at the bowl in his hand, feeling a little nostalgic: "It's already the winter solstice, and we haven't celebrated the festival together in a long time."
It's not just during holidays. Since they became adults, they have been separated by distance. Coupled with increasingly busy work schedules, they can only meet briefly occasionally. The last time they spent more than ten days together like this was probably eight or nine years ago.
Jing Yitong handed him the spoon: "I haven't cooked in a long time either. I almost broke the eggs just now. Try it and see how it tastes."
Fang Xingu took a bite, and a faint salty and savory flavor danced on his taste buds. But more importantly, he felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction. He exclaimed, "Delicious! Why don't you eat some yourself?"
"...I just failed to cook one, but I've already digested it myself."
"This isn't up to Chef Jing's standards," Fang Xingu asked curiously. "Where did you make this?"
Jing Yitong gestured: "We borrowed the restaurant's kitchen, but I didn't expect their firepower to be so strong, the seasonings were different from what we usually use, and the ingredients were even more difficult to use... Oh well, we just barely managed to make a table of dishes."
Fang Xingu laughed. They had had a similar experience when they traveled abroad before. He couldn't get used to Western food, so Jing Yitong volunteered to cook. However, because some of the ingredients abroad tasted too strange, Jing Yitong, who was quite good at cooking, made a series of mistakes. At that time, the two of them were silent for a long time in front of that table of strangely smelling food. Even Fang Xingu lost trust in Jing Yitong and hesitated to take a bite.
Finally, the two exchanged a glance and reached a tacit understanding, decisively choosing to throw away the failed meal and go to a Chinese restaurant to eat.
However, Jing Yitong's skills and experience have obviously improved a lot this time. Although he complained, the dishes on the table were delicious and of good quality, and they were all Fang Xingu's favorites. It was clear that he had put a lot of thought into it.
Fang Xingu propped his chin on his hand and looked at the table of dishes: "Boiling an egg is enough, why did you think of making so many dishes?"
Jing Yi agreed, implying, "It's because someone's been secretly sulking lately, so I have to do everything I can to please him."
Fang Xin refused to admit it: "Who's angry?"
"Not angry?" Jing Yitong raised an eyebrow. "Then I don't need to apologize. I'll take this table of dishes back."
Fang Xingu smiled and grabbed Jing Yitong's arm: "Stay, stay!"
Jing Yitong teased, "So you admit it?"
Fang Xingu said matter-of-factly, "I'm not going to mess with my own stomach."
Jing Yitong chuckled and urged, "Then hurry up and eat, stop staring at me like an idiot."
"No rush," Fang Xingu took out his phone and snapped a few photos. "Let me first record this beautiful moment of life."
"I took the picture but didn't post it."
Fang Xingu muttered, "Why don't you post it? Can't I post it on my alternate account?"
"You have a secondary account?"
Fang Xingu looked at him, puzzled: "Of course, do you use your main account all the time online? Wouldn't it be like everyone knows the moment you like something?"
“That’s true,” Jing Yitong leaned forward and glanced at him, “Then let me also check out your alternate account.”
Fang Xingu quickly put the phone away and hid it: "This is my secret!"
Jing Yitong sat back down dejectedly: "Tch, so stingy. I cooked a whole table of food for you, and you didn't even let me know your secret number."
Fang Xingu guiltily looked away and silently opened his secondary social media account.
Actually, this isn't really his alternate account. His current verified artist account was opened after participating in "Star Journey," while this "alternate account" is his personal account that he's used for over ten years. It contains all sorts of random things, including photos of Jing Quan Quan, snippets of his songwriting, and various meaningless ramblings—of course, there's also a lot of content related to Jing Yi Tong, and even a lot of his heartbreaking daily life of unrequited love.
Although he didn't explicitly name Jing Yitong, anyone who knows their relationship can guess from the content of his Weibo posts that the person he likes is Jing Yitong.
Fang Xingu not only dared not let Jing Yitong know about his account, he dared not let anyone know that he had such an account.
Although Jing Yitong didn't dwell on the issue, Fang Xingu felt a little guilty for rejecting Jing Yitong. He tentatively suggested, "How about I cook a meal for you during the New Year?"
Jing Yitong looked up in shock: "What did I miss? You can cook now?"
“…No,” Fang Xingu said somewhat awkwardly, “but I can learn!”
Jing Yitong leaned back in his chair, his gaze somewhat distrustful, but he still said approvingly, "Okay, then I'll go and test the poison for you later."
Fang Xin joked, "If you eat it, then I won't eat it, so that if we both get poisoned, no one will call 120."
They both laughed and chatted as they ate.
Jing Yitong's cooking skills are indeed excellent. Fang Xin felt that his stomach, which had been tormented for half a month, had finally come back to life. The only drawback was the lack of staple food.
Fang Xingu sighed, "I really should have cooked the little bit of rice I brought."
Jing Yitong shook his head: "Just let go of that little bit of rice. Bear with it for a few more days, then go home and eat properly."
As they were talking, Fang Xingu's phone buzzed. He glanced at it and saw it was a WeChat notification. He didn't intend to pay attention to it at first, but then it rang several more times. Fang Xingu finally picked up his phone and saw that Qi Qiu had sent him the demo of the ancient costume drama OST. He listened to it several times while eating, and his brows gradually furrowed.
Seeing his serious expression, Jing Yitong asked, "Do you have work?"
Fang Xingu explained, "It's not urgent. I just took on a job a couple of days ago, singing the theme song for a TV series produced by Zhiyu. My manager just sent me the song."
Jing Yitong: "Then why do you have that expression? Is the song not well written?"
"...It's not bad."
Fang Xin Gu glanced at the lyricist and composer, a creator named "Feng He" whose name he had never heard of before. Fang Xin Gu searched online but couldn't find any information about him. It seemed that this Feng He was either a newcomer or using an alias.
He pondered for a moment and said, "It is written too well. It is a very mature and outstanding work."
Jing Yitong was puzzled: "Isn't this better?"
Fang Xingu scratched his head. If it were any other company that sent him a song like this, he wouldn't have thought much of it. But the production company of this song was Zhiyu, and Fang Xingu didn't have a good impression of Zhiyu. In addition, he had been taken advantage of before, so he naturally became more cautious.
However, there were many things involved, and Fang Xin found it difficult to explain the specific reasons to Jing Yitong. He could only say simply, "Actually, it's nothing. I've never heard of this creator before. I'll have my agent inquire about it."
Fang Xingu sent Qi Qiu a message, asking him to find out Feng He's identity. But the man's background was very simple. Qi Qiu said that he was a student at the music academy and had not signed with any studio. He was indeed a complete newcomer who had just sold his songs to Zhiyu.
Fang Xingu breathed a sigh of relief. If that were the case, that would be great. He even became somewhat interested in this Feng He and planned to meet him again when he returned to China. Maybe he could even recruit some talent for his new studio.
After dinner, the two cleaned up the plates together. Jing Yitong had told the staff when she borrowed the kitchen that she would return the plates herself.
So they carried their trays toward the restaurant. Jing Yitong thought about Fang Xingu's expression when he listened to the OST earlier, and then, recalling his cold attitude toward Tan Zhi, asked, "What happened between you and Zhiyu?"
Fang Xingu knew that his attitude towards Tan Zhi was obviously very bad, but he was too lazy to pretend, so he bluntly said, "At the previous Nebula disbandment concert, there was a very serious sound accident. After our investigation, we found that Zhiyu may have been behind it."
Jing Yitong was also at the concert and knew what had happened. After listening, he suddenly realized and patted Fang Xingu's head: "No wonder you had such a bad attitude towards Tan Zhi before."
Fang Xin was holding the plate in both hands, completely unable to escape Jing Yitong's clutches, and could only let him mess up his hair.
Fang Xingu looked up helplessly: "There are some other messy things... In short, I don't have a good impression of them."
Upon hearing this, Jing Yitong sensed something was amiss. He intuitively felt that the problem between Fang Xingu and Zhiyu might not be just about a sound system malfunction. Just as he was about to ask further, he saw Fang Xingu suddenly stop and stare at the person opposite him in astonishment.
Jing Yitong also braked abruptly, asking, "What's wrong?"
He followed Fang Xingu's gaze and saw two familiar faces standing on the other side of the corridor—Wang Peiyang and Luo Da.
They must have just returned from the store. The two of them were staring at them blankly, and even Wang Peiyang dropped the shopping bag in his hand. Their mouths were so wide open that they could swallow an egg.
Fang Xingu: "...How much did you see?"
Wang Peiyang answered Fang Xingu's question with an exaggerated expression. His eyes were wide open, his face full of disbelief, and his gaze was fixed blankly on Jing Yitong's hand that was still stroking Fang Xingu's head. He pointed at the two of them and said, "You, you... what are you doing?"
Fang Xin and Jing Yi exchanged a helpless glance. How did they manage to expose themselves again?
He coughed lightly, trying to explain, "I've said it before, my relationship with Teacher Jing is alright."
Wang Peiyang felt that his worldview had been shaken. Fang Xingu had indeed said this to him before, but at the time he thought it was just Fang Xingu's way of dispelling his doubts!
Who knew such an absurd thing would actually be true? Weren't these two just being sarcastic and making each other uncomfortable? How come they're now laughing and chatting as they walk out of their room with a bunch of plates late at night?
More importantly, Jing Yitong just started rubbing Fang Xingu's head, and Fang Xingu didn't even flinch!
Wang Peiyang's young mind was deceived, and he was shocked: "It's just 'okay'?!"
Jing Yitong then withdrew his hand, looked at Fang Xingu probingly, and asked with a hurt expression: "Our relationship is just 'okay'?"
Under Jing Yitong's pressure, Fang Xingu closed his eyes and resignedly changed his words: "...Teacher Jing and I actually have a very good relationship."
Hearing these words come out of Fang Xingu's mouth with his own ears, Wang Peiyang felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Luo Da was slightly better than Wang Peiyang. He had sensed that the atmosphere between the two was not quite right before, and recently he had seen several posts online digging into their relationship, which gave him some guesses about the truth.
But there's always a difference between what you think and what you see with your own eyes. Luo Da stared in disbelief at Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong's intimate behavior and asked in a low voice, "What exactly is your relationship?"
Jing Yitong shrugged: "Our two families have been friends for generations."
Luo Da and Wang Peiyang stared at them with wide eyes, and after a long pause, they finally gave them a thumbs up.
"You two have fooled us all so easily."
Fang Xin Gu: "...Should I thank you for acknowledging my acting skills?"
"Heh," Rhoda sneered, then noticed they had a pile of plates and asked, "What are you going to do with all these plates?"
Jing Yitong frankly admitted, "I didn't eat enough for dinner, so I had an extra meal."
Luo Da had no idea that Jing Yitong had personally prepared the dishes; she assumed they had just had a late-night snack. She was just a little puzzled as to why he had to personally return the plates.
Wang Peiyang remained silent for a long time. He recalled what he had done and said during the recording of the show in an attempt to ease the relationship between Fang Xin Gu and Jing Yitong. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into a hole: Brother Jing and Brother Xin Gu must think I was really stupid!
Looking at the angry and aggrieved expressions of the two, Fang Xin Gu felt a headache coming on. He nudged Jing Yi Tong's waist, urging him to say something.
Jing Yitong received his signal and smiled, "Xin Gu and I are sorry for this. We know that everyone has been very worried about us during this time. We will treat everyone to a meal when we return to China."
“Of course,” Rhoda readily agreed, “Honestly, I thought the production team had given you guys a script about discord!”
Wang Peiyang was still shaking his head in despair: "I should never have come. I can't even imagine how many shameful things I've done lately."
"Hmm?" Rhoda keenly caught a word. "Xiao Pei, did you just say something you shouldn't have?"
"What?"
Luo Da narrowed her eyes and looked at Wang Peiyang dangerously: "You said 'I shouldn't have come if I had known,' which violates our travel motto!"
Only then did Wang Peiyang belatedly realize what he had said. He carefully looked around and asked, "But we're chatting privately right now, and there aren't any cameras around. It's okay if we say it, right?"
Under other circumstances, it would have been fine, but it was Luo Da who caught Wang Peiyang's weakness. You have to know that it was Wang Peiyang who reported Luo Da for violating the declaration. How could Luo Da possibly let Wang Peiyang go?
Luo Da pointed to himself, then to Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong, and said, "But six eyes saw it."
Fang Xin and Jing Yitong nodded in agreement.
Wang Peiyang's attempts to renege on his promises failed, and he was ultimately forced to join the punishment of filming a low-fat video to break his travel declaration. Wang Peiyang looked like a wilted vegetable, completely deflated.
Rhoda perked up: "So we were the first to know about your relationship?"
Jing Yitong smiled and said, "No."
Rhoda slapped his thigh: "What! Who got the inside information?"
Fang Xingu replied calmly, "Wenyu and Jiyan already knew."
Upon receiving this message, Luo Da grabbed Wang Peiyang and said, "Alright, now we're going to go and condemn these two people who don't know how to share. We won't disturb your time together."
After saying that, the two ran off like the wind. Fang Xingu muttered, "What kind of romantic time is this..."
Jing Yitong put his arm around his back and pushed him along, saying, "We've both pretty much taken off our layers of clothing."
Fang Xin Gu didn't know whether he was helpless or indifferent: "Anyway, the show is going to be recorded soon, so whatever."
Meanwhile, back in his room, Luo Da immediately pulled Wang Peiyang, Liang Jiyan, and Li Wenyu into the group chat and launched a barrage of attacks.
Luo Da: A message! Did you already know about Yi Tong and Xin Gu's relationship?
Liang's message: ?
Li Wenyu: Uh, you guys found out?
Wang Peiyang described what happened: Da Ge and I ran into the two of them on our way back to the room from the store... It's hard to describe in detail, but their behavior was obviously suspicious, and when we asked them, they admitted it.
Luo Da: And she even said, 'Teacher Jing and I are actually very close,' hahaha, that's too much!
After holding it in for several days, Li Wenyu finally managed to yell: Ahhh, you guys finally found out! Who understands how I felt like I was going crazy keeping this secret inside!
Rhoda: Don't get agitated. How can you explain keeping this from us? [smile]
Wang Peiyang: Exactly! We agreed to work together to ease the tension between Jing Ge and Xin Gu Ge, but you found out the truth and didn't even tell me!
Li Wenyu looked completely innocent: Xiao Pei, I clearly hinted at it to you many times back then [splitting face]
Upon reflection, Wang Peiyang realized it was true. Li Wenyu had repeatedly advised him to stop interfering in Jing Yitong and Fang Xin's affairs, but he hadn't grasped the underlying meaning.
Luo Da laughed as she typed: And just now, Xiao Pei broke her travel vows and I caught her!
Wang Peiyang: [Tears]
Li Wenyu typed a series of "hahaha" in the group chat with schadenfreude.
At this moment, Liang Jiyan asked: Should we tell Sister Hui about this now?
Wang Peiyang: Oh right, so now only Sister Hui doesn't know about their affairs?
Luo Da: Let's not talk about other people's privacy. Let Sister Hui find out for herself.
Li Wenyu: Wow, Da Ge, you're so hypocritical! Now is not the time for you to question why I and Sister Jiyan didn't tell you the truth?
Rhoda: [Smirking emoji]
.
The following day, the Affogato embarked on its return journey, about to cross the Drake Passage once again to return to Ushuaia.
Fortunately, the weather was much better than when we arrived, and the boat wasn't rocking as much. But having learned from the previous experience, the production team still gave everyone a day off to adjust on their own, and many people chose to sleep in bed.
Jing Yitong knew that Fang Xingu definitely wouldn't get seasick. That noon, he wanted to invite Fang Xingu to lunch, but no one answered when he knocked on the door. He then called Fang Xingu, but she declined, saying that she had to rush to finish writing the theme song for "The World Is So Big".
Jing Yitong didn't see Fang Xingu all day, which he found very strange.
It was almost 11 p.m. when Jing Yitong's assistant, Yang Qing, said he was feeling a bit seasick, so he prepared to go out and bring him some seasickness medicine. As soon as he went out, he ran into Fang Xingu, who had just returned from somewhere.
The two bumped into each other at the door. Jing Yitong sniffed, catching the sweet scent emanating from Fang Xingu. He asked in confusion, "Just got back?"
Fang Xingu nodded: "I was a little hungry, so I went to get something to eat."
Jing Yitong asked in surprise, "What did you go out to do today...?"
Fang Xin suddenly raised his voice: "Brother, happy birthday in advance!"
Before Jing Yitong could finish his sentence, Fang Xingu interrupted him. He hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the blessing: "Thank you. This is the first birthday blessing I have received this year."
Fang Xingu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had diverted Jing Yitong's attention. He had secretly gone to prepare a birthday party for Jing Yitong, not wanting to arouse Jing Yitong's suspicion.
But then Jing Yitong reached out his hand to him: "You can't just say it, where's my birthday present?"
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