If that's the case, it's better not to get married.
Chu Qing glanced at it at first, but then focused all her energy on tidying up the house, using the sound of the TV as background music.
Xiaxia had been coaxed to sleep, and while asleep, he was still holding the little rabbit that his grandmother had given him, which had replaced his favorite kitten.
Just before midnight, Chu Qing suddenly heard a knock on the door. He had already taken a shower and was getting ready for bed when he happened to hear it as he came to the living room to turn off the lights.
I walked to the door and looked out through the peephole. I saw a tall man dressed in black standing outside.
He instinctively reached in from the inside and locked the door, then turned and walked into the bedroom.
Just as he was about to make the emergency call before it went through, a new message appeared on the screen.
Are you home? I just arrived at your door.
The person who sent the message was Wei Yutang, whom I added as a friend last time as required by the program team for an activity.
This message reminded Chu Qing of the scene she had just seen through the peephole, which did indeed resemble Wei Yutang.
I put my phone down, walked over and opened the door. Wei Yutang was standing there wearing a long black trench coat. The night wind was a bit strong, and it carried a faint smell of smoke from Wei Yutang.
"It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"
After asking the question, Wei Yutang realized it was unnecessary, cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment, and his ears were already burning.
He had been thinking about it for only a short time since they parted ways. He ran here and accidentally lost his wallet. He couldn't contact his assistant by phone either. All he had left was a pack of cigarettes and his phone in his pocket.
He hadn't even finished smoking one cigarette downstairs when he realized Chu Qing might not like the smell, so he quickly threw it all into the trash can.
"Um, what brings you here?"
Chu Qing went to the kitchen, poured him a glass of water, and placed it in front of Wei Yutang.
"It's for work, and I just happened to be there... dropping by to see you."
The job was a pretense; Wei Yutang had deliberately turned down the work arranged by his agent to come here, just to see Chu Qing.
About a week later, he was going abroad to participate in the filming of a movie. It was a job that had been arranged a long time ago. He had worked with the director many times before and they had a close personal relationship.
The thought of leaving for several months made Wei Yutang unable to suppress the urge to come back.
"It's so late, have you eaten yet?"
"without."
Wei Yutang originally wanted to find any store, but he was afraid of causing trouble. If he was recognized by fans, it would be an unnecessary workload to get away at the time or deal with the public opinion afterwards.
"There are still leftovers from dinner in the fridge, you know..."
"No problem, it's my pleasure."
Before Chu Qing could finish speaking, Wei Yutang eagerly chimed in, as if afraid that Chu Qing wouldn't notice his eagerness.
Before, when I was alone downstairs, I didn't feel anything, but now that I'm upstairs and see Chu Qing busy under the lights, my numb stomach is filled with waves of hunger.
Chu Qing took the dish out of the refrigerator and heated it up briefly.
There were no leftovers for dinner, so he cooked a bowl of egg noodles and served it on the table.
The aroma of food wafted through the small room, and a brief, rich, and warm feeling filled Wei Yutang's chest.
He traveled so far and wasted so much energy and time, as if he only wanted to get here to eat a leftover meal.
Chu Qing sat opposite him, glancing at her phone every now and then. She didn't speak until he was almost finished eating.
Have you found a hotel for tonight?
"I've contacted my assistant, and he'll be picking me up in a bit. I have a work assignment that requires me to go abroad, which will take about two months."
Chu Qing only asked him about his plans for the evening, but Wei Yutang immediately wanted to tell her everything at once.
"I might be a bit busy, so I thought I'd come and see you and Xiaxia first."
Are you leaving tonight?
"Um."
After finishing his meal, Wei Yutang consciously washed the dishes. According to Xiaxia, a father who doesn't know how to do housework isn't a good father. He secretly learned from her and did it quite well.
"Xiaxia is in the bedroom, already asleep."
It was so late, Wei Yutang had already guessed that he was asleep. He went in to take a look at the little boy wrapped in the blanket, bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek.
As he reached the door to leave, he suddenly turned around and stared at Chu Qing, making Chu Qing feel slightly uncomfortable.
"What's wrong? Is there something else?"
"I'm wondering, if I ask you for a goodbye kiss, will I get kicked out?"
Wei Yutang's serious attitude made it hard to doubt the truthfulness of his words. Chu Qing stepped forward and stood in front of him, standing on tiptoe to straighten his wrinkled clothes.
This action gave Wei Yutang a glimmer of hope, and his breathing became somewhat disordered. The look in his eyes as he looked at Chu Qing was no longer the feigned calm he had at the beginning, until Chu Qing's voice rang in his ears.
"Yes, right now."
Although he received a negative answer, Wei Yutang did not give up and continued to press for answers:
"What if I come back next time?"
I'll tell you next time we meet.
After Chu Qing finished speaking, she closed the door, leaving Wei Yutang alone in the empty corridor, where only the sound of his strong heartbeat could be heard.
His assistant had already had the driver waiting by the roadside downstairs. When Wei Yutang went up, he heard the assistant apologizing to him.
They said it was because he forgot his charger that they couldn't reach him.
"fine."
Wei Yutang looked down and opened his phone. He originally wanted to say hello to his agent, but he saw a message that Chu Qing had sent a minute earlier.
It's just four simple characters: 钰洒 (Yu Sa). Be careful.
...
Xiaxia is not old enough to attend kindergarten yet, and even when she does, she will definitely need someone by her side.
The payment from that variety show last time was more than enough for Chu Qing to hire a nanny to help with Xia Xia's daily pick-up and drop-off.
However, if the situation didn't absolutely prevent it, Chu Qing would still prefer to take Xia Xia with her.
This little guy is so small and so dependent on him, Chu Qing wouldn't feel at ease leaving him with someone else.
After spending a few days at home with Xiaxia, the little guy seemed to have figured out his father's thoughts and very proactively started talking to his father about it.
"Dad, you go and make money. I'll behave myself."
Xiaxia had long known how expensive it was to support herself, and understanding how hard her father worked in his daily life, she was very willing to dedicate more of her time to his work.
Raising him already costs a lot of money, so we can't afford to not have enough time for his father.
Xiaxia doesn't really want to pick up trash if conditions allow, although he thinks it's not impossible if he's with his dad.
"I'm thinking about which company I should sign with."
Companies have been extending offers to her, and Chu Qing can tell that they are still interested in her popularity.
However, he currently lacks any background and doesn't understand many things, so he is unaware of how many pitfalls are hidden behind those seemingly lucrative contracts.
I wanted to be careful and finalize things, which is why it took so long. I never expected it to be seen this way by Xiaxia.
"Ask that uncle."
The little guy, who was drinking water from a straw cup, gave advice almost without hesitation when he heard about his father's current worries.
“I’m just friends with that uncle, it’s not right to keep bothering him.”
"Dad, friends can help each other too."
Xia Xia's words awakened Chu Qing, and it was only then that he realized that he had become like this because he was worried about their relationship and couldn't let go.
"Let me ask first."
Chu Qing called Wei Yutang that very day, asking him to take a look at the contracts currently in front of her.
There is a time difference between the two countries, so Chu Qing deliberately got up at around 4 a.m., which was the time when they were resting at night.
The call was answered shortly after dialing, and Wei Yutang's familiar voice came through.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Based on his understanding of Chu Qing, he wouldn't call at this time unless there was something absolutely necessary that required his help.
"At this time, have you not slept all night or just woken up?"
"I set an alarm."
Chu Qing had originally planned to stay up until this hour, but just as he closed his eyes to rest, a sleepy little guy in pajamas came over with his blanket and covered him up.
Seeing that Xia Xia was still taking care of himself even when he was half asleep, Chu Qing felt a little soft-hearted. He carried him back to the bedroom and set several alarms to wake himself up from that time.
Is something the matter?
"Well, several companies have said they're willing to sign me, but I'm not sure if there will be any problems with the contracts."
Chu Qing couldn't understand some of the industry jargon, but he didn't find any problems with the contract itself.
"Take a picture and send it to me, I'll take a look."
Wei Yutang said this on the surface, but in reality he felt somewhat helpless because of Chu Qing's excessive caution.
In this situation, it's definitely not appropriate to say anything to him directly.
In fact, all the contracts that were delivered to Chu Qing were ready to be signed. Wei Yutang had specifically asked some of his friends in the entertainment industry to prepare these contracts for Chu Qing.
There were no pitfalls in the contract, and the terms were very favorable.
Since Chu Qing is willing to continue in the entertainment industry, Wei Yutang is willing to pave the way for him and make his path smoother.
Wei Yutang only dared to do this behind the scenes, because he knew very well that once Chu Qing found out, he would never accept his self-righteous good intentions.
"Okay, thank you for your help."
"It's too formal for the two of us to say such things. A simple 'I love you' would be much better than 'thank you'."
After Wei Yutang finished speaking, he looked down at the photos Chu Qing had sent him. He had already reviewed the contract several times beforehand and couldn't find any fault with it.
"T Entertainment is a good company; there are no problems with the contract."