Xiao Shulang is very good-looking, and his temperament suits his taste. He is also very capable and has a good attitude. Despite his family being on the verge of bankruptcy and having a lot of negative press, he still faces everything with pride and is not defeated by the storm.
He's a great cook, and maybe he even has a talent for acting. Qin Shuang racked her brains but couldn't think of any flaws in Xiao Shulang.
No one is perfect; everyone has flaws. But Qin Shuang couldn't see his flaws. What does that mean?
No, Qin Shuang said firmly and rationally, "No matter what, it's not like I'd fall in love with someone so quickly."
But he said he likes you.
He likes you.
After drinking, he spoke the truth. Xiao Shulang told him that he liked him, but it wasn't a confession between fans; it was a confession from a lover.
Qin Shuang: "..."
Qin Shuang silently turned her head and looked at Xiao Shulang, who had already closed his eyes and was leaning against the window.
The lights outside the car reflected on his quiet and beautiful face, as if the warmth of everyday life had melted into that moment.
Qin Shuang's heart stirred, but she silently looked away.
Xiao Shulang might not remember what he said after he sobers up, but Qin Shuang has already heard it. So how should he deal with this person who he will be spending more time with and who... wants to date him?
When Xiao Wu was waiting at a traffic light, he glanced at the rearview mirror and saw his boss frowning and deep in thought, looking like he was contemplating some important life decision.
His gaze was deep and somewhat frightening.
Qin Shuang is really good to his subordinates. Everyone who follows him knows that he is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Even so, Xiao Wu was still startled by his natural aura and quickly went through his mind to see if he had done anything wrong recently.
After receiving a negative answer, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Sigh, as long as it's not aimed at him, it doesn't matter who Qin Shuang wants to make Tian Liang Wang Po.
It's been a long time since we've seen Qin Shuang with this expression. Has something really happened?
We don't know, and we dare not ask.
The car drove all the way to a well-known villa area. Xiao Jiang knew about this place from TV or the news. After all, the house prices here were astronomical for him, and as far as he knew, it wasn't necessarily possible to buy a house just because you had money.
Qin Shuang's rise to fame has only been a recent phenomenon, lasting just over a year. Other artists of similar status don't earn as much, do they?
The house here wasn't actually bought by Qin Shuang himself; it was given to him by his elder brother after the Qin family recognized him as a member of their family.
It is said that someone was in a hurry to sell it some time ago, and his older brother immediately bought it and gave it to him. The decoration and furnishings in the house are in the style that Qin Shuang likes, so he moved in with just his bags and did not make any changes to the decoration.
Aunt Zhang, who was in charge of taking care of his daily needs, had also come from the Qin family. She hadn't rested yet, and seeing Qin Shuang return with people, she stood up and stepped forward: "Young Master is back. Have you had friends over? And this gentleman is... drunk?"
Xiao Shulang closed his eyes as Qin Shuang led him, leaning on his shoulder. Qin Shuang nodded: "Aunt Zhang, please prepare another guest room. He... my friend's assistant also needs to stay."
Qin Shuang's assistant, Xiao Wu, doesn't stay overnight; she'll come back tomorrow morning. Usually, there's only one guest room that's available anytime. The other guest rooms don't have new bedding, so they need to be tidied up a bit.
Xiao Jiang said shyly, "Auntie, please take me to the room. I can do it myself."
Aunt Zhang laughed, "How can we let the guests do it themselves? Come with me."
Aunt Zhang led the way for Xiao Jiang, while Qin Shuang took Xiao Shulang to a guest room where they could stay directly. Xiao Shulang woke up again for some reason, but fortunately he didn't say anything shocking in front of others.
It's good to be awake. When told to take off his shoes and socks, Xiao Shulang took them off himself. Qin Shuang looked for hangover medicine in the first-aid kit in the guest room. After she finished, she turned around and saw Xiao Shulang lying on his back with his hands flat on the ground, looking quite devout.
"Take your medicine and go to sleep."
Qin Shuang helped him up and tried to hand him water and medicine, but Xiao Shulang stared at the water glass and didn't move for a long time.
Qin Shuang: ?
He had always been a reserved person. Although he grew up among children in an orphanage, he felt that he was not good at comforting people. Seeing that Xiao Shulang was not moving, he had no choice but to hand the water and medicine to him again.
"Take your medicine." Qin Shuang thought carefully about what to say to coax someone, and finally managed to squeeze out a single word, "Be good."
He never thought he would be able to say that to an adult one day, but since Xiao Shulang was drunk, he wasn't embarrassed and it was fine.
Xiao Shulang finally made a move, but it was completely different from what Qin Shuang had imagined.
Qin Shuang thought that Xiao Shulang should have taken the medicine and water himself.
But the reality was that Xiao Shulang simply bent down and snatched the medicine from his hand.
Soft, slightly cool lips touched his palm, and Qin Shuang subconsciously withdrew her hand, her pupils shrinking sharply!
The instigator, however, looked up at him with a puzzled expression, looking utterly innocent.
Qin Shuang tightened his grip. Since he had already fed him, he decided to go all the way and resigned himself to holding the water glass to Xiao Shulang's lips so he could drink.
Xiao Shulang obediently opened his mouth, his lips wet with water. Qin Shuang didn't mean to look at his lips, but—just now, those lips had been pressed against her palm.
Like a dragonfly skimming the water, it left behind an indelible mark.
After Qin Shuang finished feeding him the medicine and made him lie down, she quickened her pace and left the room. Xiao Jiang had already made his own bed and wanted to come and check on him because he was worried.
"Teacher Qin, how is Brother Xiao?"
"I took some hangover medicine and went to bed."
"Oh, thank you so much, Teacher Qin, for today!"
Qin Shuang lowered her eyes: "It's nothing."
He walked past Xiao Jiang and left, but Xiao Jiang still went to the guest room to check on Xiao Shulang and only returned to his room after confirming that Xiao Shulang was alright.
Qin Shuang took the water glass that Xiao Shulang had used to the kitchen to wash it. Aunt Zhang heard the sound of water and came over: "Young Master, I can do it."
Qin Shuang shook her head: "It's just a cup."
He washed the cup and his hands at the same time, but it seemed that no matter how much cold water he poured, his palms, which had been touched by Xiao Shulang, were still very hot and the temperature could not be lowered.
Aunt Zhang was cutting some fruit in the kitchen. After a long silence, she finally couldn't help but speak up: "Young master, what was in that cup just now? It's been so long since you washed it."
Qin Shuang: "..."
He silently turned off the tap, dried the cup, and put it down, saying, "It's clean now."
Aunt Zhang: "Oh."
The second young master is acting a bit strange today.
——
Xiao Shulang was woken up by an alarm clock.
He didn't remember setting such an alarm, so when he opened his eyes his mind was still foggy. He groggily reached out and turned off the alarm, then slumped back down.
Hmm... I'm still a little sleepy.
Wait, when did I fall asleep? What time is it now?
One question after another flooded his sluggish mind, and Xiao Shulang finally came to his senses. He suddenly stood up and realized that his memory had been blanked out at the dinner party last night, and he couldn't remember when he got back.
Wait a minute, this doesn't seem to be my room... no, it still looks a bit familiar.
Xiao Shulang looked around and finally understood why the room felt both familiar and strange. The image in his mind flashed: This is the villa that the original owner sold! The guest room furnishings are exactly the same, nothing has changed!
How did he end up waking up in a house that had already been sold?
And who set that alarm clock by the bedside? Getting up at this hour gives me plenty of time to prepare and make sure I'm not late for the day's filming.
Xiao Shulang had just gotten out of bed when he heard a knock on the door: "Xiao Shulang, are you awake?"
It's Qin Shuang.
Xiao Shulang breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Qin Shuang had taken him in. But what a coincidence! The villa the original owner had sold to raise money had become Qin Shuang's current residence.
Xiao Shulang hurriedly got up to open the door: "I'm up."
Qin Shuang stood at the door, already dressed and smelling faintly of pine. Xiao Shulang was still wearing yesterday's clothes, and the smell of alcohol lingered. He was too embarrassed to get too close, afraid of bothering her.
Qin Shuang didn't seem to mind: "How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable?"
"No, thank you. Is this your home? Thank you for your help last night."
Aside from being a little sleepy, he felt perfectly fine. No wonder Ji Mingming dared to challenge him to a drinking contest; his alcohol tolerance was pretty good, though not quite as high as Xiao Shulang's.
Xiao Jiang had also gotten up early and hurried over: "Brother Xiao, we're going to the set today. Have you packed your luggage? Where's your room key? I should be able to get it in time."
Xiao Shulang waved and took out his phone: "I'll send you the electronic card for the door lock. I've packed my luggage, it's right by the door. I'll trouble you to make a trip there."
"No trouble at all."
Xiao Jiang accepted the electronic access card and left quickly. Xiao Shulang felt he should take a shower first, but what about changing clothes...? Should he wait for Xiao Jiang to come over?
Just as he was thinking this, Qin Shuang said, "Breakfast is ready. Go downstairs and eat after you've washed up."
After he finished speaking, he walked away. Aunt Zhang, who was behind him, stepped forward with the clothes in her hands: "These are the new clothes that the young master chose. He hasn't worn them yet. Please change into them first."
How thoughtful! But you're causing too much trouble for others.
Faced with the choice between avoiding trouble but smelling of alcohol and immediately becoming clean and fresh, Xiao Shulang ultimately chose the latter and accepted the clothes, saying, "Thank you, Auntie."
Aunt Zhang smiled kindly: "No need to thank me, it was all the young master's order."
Xiao Shulang then took a comfortable bath, changed into clean clothes, and finally felt completely refreshed and invigorated.
Qin Shuang is slightly taller than him and has a different build, so the clothes don't fit him perfectly. However, Qin Shuang chose a loose-fitting casual outfit that suits all body types, so Xiao Shulang still looks good in it and doesn't look like he bought the wrong size clothes.
Although she hadn't worn the clothes yet, they were still her own. Qin Shuang watched as Xiao Shulang appeared wearing her clothes, and the knife and fork in her hand made a loud scraping sound on the bottom of the plate.
Xiao Shulang sat down at the table and first apologized honestly: "I'm sorry, I underestimated his alcohol tolerance... He hasn't been drunk for a long time. Did he cause any trouble yesterday?"
Qin Shuang shook her head. She wasn't drunk and acting crazy; she just said a bunch of things she wouldn't say when she was sober.
Xiao Shulang: "That's good."
Seeing his expression, Qin Shuang was certain that Xiao Shulang didn't remember what she had said, so she didn't bring up yesterday's events again. The two ate breakfast, occasionally chatting about other things, and that was how the matter was left unresolved.
After Xiao Jiang retrieved his luggage, Xiao Wu arrived in his car. Qin Shuang and Xiao Shulang got into their respective cars and set off for the Heartbeat Encounter program.
After Xiao Shulang got into the car, he silently watched Qin Shuang's car drive away first, and then suddenly asked a question from the back seat.
"Xiao Jiang, I really didn't do anything strange last night, nor did I say anything nonsensical?"
When Xiao Jiang saw Xiao Shulang last night, he was either sluggish and barely spoke, or he looked like he was about to fall asleep at any moment. In short, he was very quiet and not troublesome at all.
"Probably not?" Xiao Jiang still chose his words carefully. "I only haven't been with you for a short period of time. When you're drunk, you just don't like to talk, you're not the type to do anything reckless."
Xiao Shulang: "Oh, okay."
Why did he feel that Qin Shuang's gaze towards him this morning was subtly ambiguous? Could it be just his imagination?
A note from the author:
Here it is! I'm updating early today, but tomorrow's update will be a little later, possibly after midnight. Those who go to bed early don't need to wait tomorrow night; you can check it when you wake up during the day.