The private rooms at Qianhe Pavilion offer excellent privacy; the waiters did not enter the rooms again after serving the dishes.
The private room was set up like a tatami room. At first, Gu Qingqiu and Xiao Yiming were sitting facing each other properly. Later, they sat on the same side and leaned against each other. Then... Gu Qingqiu sat in Xiao Yiming's lap and was fed by him while he held her. It gave off a vibe of a big boss and his little wife.
Xiao Yiming had never been in a relationship before and didn't know if normal couples interacted like this, but Gu Qingqiu tacitly avoided mentioning their relationship.
My prejudice against her was indeed very deep. How could I have believed that Gu Qingqiu was a female celebrity who would curry favor with powerful figures for resources and benefits? She had already gotten involved with me, but she hadn't asked me for anything.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yiming lowered his head and kissed Gu Qingqiu on the cheek.
Gu Qingqiu laughed. Wasn't the great movie star Xiao supposed to hate close contact with others? Why has he become so clingy now?
"Where are we going tonight?" Xiao Yiming asked.
Gu Qingqiu pretended not to understand his hint, "Go back to the hotel where the film crew is staying. You can have Xiao Yang take me."
Xiao Yiming looked somewhat displeased, but he opened his mouth without saying a word of refusal, "...Okay."
Gu Qingqiu teased, "What? You want me to stay and keep you company?"
"No." Xiao Yiming's lips pressed into a straight line. "If you want to go back, then go back. Filming is more important."
"Oh dear." Gu Qingqiu's hand climbed onto Xiao Yiming's chest. "I thought you'd ask me to stay, but since you don't want to, then forget it. Please, Xiao Yang, take me home..."
Xiao Yiming interrupted, "Wait!" Then, after hesitating for a few seconds, he said, "Stay."
Gu Qingqiu chuckled. "Changed your mind?"
"Okay." Xiao Yiming said seriously, "Stay."
"Okay," Gu Qingqiu replied.
Gu Qingqiu and Xiao Yiming returned to the hotel, and then lay down in bed together, embracing each other as they fell asleep.
The next day, Xiao Yiming personally drove her back to the film set, just like a boyfriend taking his girlfriend to work.
"Not wearing sunglasses anymore?" Gu Qingqiu asked him, "Aren't you afraid of being photographed?"
Xiao Yiming didn't care about these things. "So what if they took the photos? It's the truth anyway."
"The truth?" Gu Qingqiu laughed. "It is indeed the truth, but how are you going to explain it? Say you were just giving a former colleague a ride to work? When did the great actor Xiao become so kind?"
Xiao Yiming frowned. "Former colleagues? Is that how you describe our relationship?"
Gu Qingqiu said, half-jokingly, "After all, that's what your fans say, and it seems like Brother Ming doesn't want to refute it. He probably agrees with this view."
"You still care what my fans say?" Xiao Yiming was a little surprised. "I thought you didn't care about online comments?" After all, Gu Qingqiu's reputation had always been bad. If she cared about online comments, she probably would have made changes long ago instead of continuing to work on low-budget web dramas.
“Ming-ge is in such a high position now, it seems he doesn’t care about the fans’ opinions at all.” Gu Qingqiu looked a little aggrieved. “I’m almost being cursed to death by your fans, but they’re not wrong. After all, Ming-ge doesn’t admit that there’s any relationship between us. Didn’t Ming-ge’s studio previously deny that we were just colleagues? In their eyes, I am indeed an ungrateful and annoying former colleague.”
Xiao Yiming fell silent, seemingly considering how to respond to Gu Qingqiu's words.
Fortunately, they arrived near the film set. Gu Qingqiu acted as if she wasn't in a hurry to wait for Xiao Yiming's answer. She greeted him naturally and got out of the car, leaving Xiao Yiming alone in the car, lost in thought.
He really should think about their relationship. It's hard to say who took the initiative, but Xiao Yiming felt that he was enjoying his relationship with Gu Qingqiu. As a responsible man, he couldn't just enjoy the process without taking responsibility for the consequences.
That same day, Xiao Yiming gave Gu Qingqiu his answer. He took the initiative to send her a message: "I've thought it over carefully, and what I'm about to say comes from the bottom of my heart. Can we officially start dating?"
Gu Qingqiu replied, "Brother Ming, I really enjoy the time we spend together, but I need to think carefully about starting a relationship. I'll give you an answer as soon as possible."
This answer made Xiao Yiming feel an unbearable itch, like being scratched by a kitten. He felt that Gu Qingqiu was intentionally keeping him hanging, but he was actually quite happy about it and even liked her little tricks.
People in the ambiguous stage are always in the sweetest state. Gu Qingqiu's filming is coming to an end, and she often has to film until late at night. She doesn't have time to see Xiao Yiming often anymore, so the two can only become "long-distance" partners.
Xiao Yiming would proactively send messages and make video calls to Gu Qingqiu every day, although Gu Qingqiu was very busy and often took a long time to reply or didn't answer the video calls.
So later, Xiao Yiming would order takeout and afternoon tea for Gu Qingqiu on set, and Gu Qingqiu would happily accept them every time and send messages to thank Xiao Yiming.
Rumors of Gu Qingqiu being in a relationship began to circulate within the film crew, even attracting the attention of Sister Ling, who came to the set to investigate.
Sister Ling carefully examined Gu Qingqiu's hotel room with a look of surprise and doubt. There were indeed only signs of one person living there. Where did the rumors from the film crew come from?
Sister Ling was preparing to subtly inquire with Gu Qingqiu whether anyone in the film crew was pursuing her.
Unexpectedly, Gu Qingqiu laughed quite calmly and said, "No, Sister Ling, what are you thinking?"
Sister Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness you're not. If you're dating, you have to report it to the company in advance! We need to prepare a public relations template for you beforehand. This is not something to be taken lightly! It's a clause in the company contract!"
It was just a casual remark, but to everyone's surprise, Gu Qingqiu immediately put down her milk tea and said, "In that case, the company should make preparations in advance. I might be starting to date soon."
Sister Ling retorted angrily, "Didn't you just say that no one in the crew was pursuing you? Now you've even kept it from me?"
"No, no! Sis, calm down!" Gu Qingqiu said with a smile, "Because he's not part of this production team! Besides, our relationship hasn't been officially confirmed yet, so it's not appropriate to tell you."
Sister Ling calmed down a bit, adopting the expression of an old mother about to marry off her daughter, and asked, "Tell me, who is the other party? How long have you been doing this?"
"It hasn't been long, has it?" Gu Qingqiu looked up at the sky and recalled, "It's only been a month or two."
"One or two months?" Sister Ling said unhappily, "I've only been away from the set for one or two months, and you've already caused me so much trouble? If you're not from this crew, are you from the previous one?"
That guess was spot on.
Gu Qingqiu suppressed a laugh: "Yes, he is indeed a former colleague."
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