Qiao Shu is awakened by hunger.
He opens his tired eyes and subconsciously rubs his face against the thing he’s holding in his arms.
No warmth?
Soft?
His tired eyes fully open, and he sees the white pillow he’s holding in his arms.
He blinks and lazily calls out, “Gu Chenyan.”
Qiao Shu: “Mr. Gu.”
No response.
Yawning, Qiao Shu slowly sits up from the bed, his eyelids heavy.
“Hmm?”
The unfamiliar environment confuses Qiao Shu’s mind. He holds the pillow blankly, and after a while, he remembers that he was filming a variety show today.
Filming a variety show?
Qiao Shu suddenly wakes up.
What time is it? He turns and searches, finding his phone on the nearby table. He climbs out of bed, opens his phone, and looks at it; it’s three thirty.
No wonder he’s hungry.
Wait.
Qiao Shu: “!!!”
The director said to wake up at three to prepare for shooting: “…”
Creak
The sound of the wooden door being pushed open.
Qiao Shu turns to look and sees Gu Chenyan coming in with a tray. The room is instantly filled with the aroma of food.
Gu Chenyan: “Awake?”
He places the tray on the nearby table and then walks over to Qiao Shu, naturally slipping the socks Qiao Shu had taken off before sleeping back onto his feet.
Qiao Shu’s nose twitches: “Did you cook noodles? Beef noodles?”
Gu Chenyan: “Hmm.”
After the socks are on, Qiao Shu swallows and softly leans against Gu Chenyan: “How did you know I woke up?”
Qiao Shu: “And that I was hungry?”
He tilts his head back.
Gu Chenyan smiles and boops Qiao Shu’s nose: “Forgot? Our Little Mr. Qiao usually gets hungry at this time.”
Qiao Shu: “Hehe.”
Qiao Shu: “Mr. Gu is really amazing.”
Qiao Shu: “Your memory is really good.”
Qiao Shu: “Little Mr. Qiao likes Mr. Gu the most.”
Gu Chenyan: “Eat first?”
Qiao Shu: “Hmm.”
Qiao Shu steps over to the small table, and his eyes light up another notch when he sees the items on the tray.
Qiao Shu: “Ah! There’s also a small cake!”
He eagerly sits down and reaches out to grab the small cake.
Gu Chenyan stops him: “Eat the noodles first.”
Qiao Shu: “…”
Qiao Shu: “Okay.”
He makes a funny face: “Mr. Gu is so strict.”
Gu Chenyan: “Oh, Little Mr. Qiao is just too obedient.”
Gu Chenyan chuckles.
Though he can’t eat the small cake first, Qiao Shu’s good mood remains intact.
The bowl of noodles is large, and Qiao Shu picks up his chopsticks to eat the boiled egg first. The warm food in his stomach makes his hungry stomach feel warm and comfortable.
Qiao Shu: “Delicious!”
Busy eating noodles, he squeezes out a second to praise the deliciousness of the noodles: “Mr. Gu cooked these noodles.”
Qiao Shu: “Little Mr. Qiao has tasted it.”
He happily stuffs noodles into his mouth.
Gu Chenyan reaches out, gently wiping away the soup splashed on Qiao Shu’s mouth with the pad of his finger. “Slow down a bit.”
Qiao Shu smiles at him: “Mm-hmm.”
After half a bowl of noodles, Qiao Shu is finally not as hungry. His eating pace slows down. He suddenly blinks and taps his forehead: “The variety show!”
Qiao Shu: “Ah, it’s past three!”
Gu Chenyan: “No rush.”
Qiao Shu looks at him.
Gu Chenyan rubs his head: “You can shoot later. I’ve talked to the director.”
Qiao Shu: “Is it okay?”
Gu Chenyan: “It’s okay. Everything will be edited later.”
Qiao Shu nods, but he still speeds up his eating.
The afternoon task is for their group to prepare the items for their evening stall and to go to the nearby market to buy ingredients for their final dinner before they set off.
The director has set a goal for them to prepare a hearty dinner with only a hundred yuan.
Qiao Shu: “…”
Jiang Jiayu: “I know how to bargain. I’ll go buy groceries; a hundred yuan should be enough to buy quite a lot.”
Chu Chisheng: “I’ll help carry things.”
…
Gu Chenyan and Chu Chisheng were responsible for cutting vegetables.
The kitchen was spacious, equipped with all sorts of utensils, and there were three cooking pots. More than enough for Qiao Shu and Jiang Jiayu to work with.
Jiang Jiayu started by washing the pots. He instructed Qiao Shu to cook the rice for the evening. Qiao Shu nodded and took the pot from the rice cooker to fill it with rice.
Gu Chenyan: “I’ll handle this.”
The pot in his hand was taken away.
Qiao Shu paused for a moment, catching up with Gu Chenyan: “I can handle it. You still have vegetables to cut.”
Gu Chenyan: “Yanqing’s vegetables haven’t been washed yet. There’s still time. Let me help you first.”
Qiao Shu couldn’t help but laugh.
He grabbed Gu Chenyan’s clothes and followed behind him like a little follower. He watched as Gu Chenyan measured the rice with a cup from the bag and then rinsed it at the sink.
Qiao Shu joked: “This is President Gu’s cooked rice. Tonight, I must eat a lot.”
Gu Chenyan turned his head, smiling as he pinched Qiao Shu’s nose with his wet hand: “Does Little Mr. Qiao ever eat little?”
Qiao Shu: “Does Little Mr. Qiao eat a lot?” He pouted, pretending to complain: “Mr. Gu, are you starting to think Little Mr. Qiao eats too much?”
Gu Chenyan: “I dare not.”
Gu Chenyan: “Little Mr. Qiao eats too little.”
Qiao Shu: “Hmph!”
Qiao Shu: “Is Little Mr. Qiao eating a lot even considered a lot?”
Qiao Shu rubbed his belly: “Clearly, it’s Zai Zai eating. Little Mr. Qiao used to eat just one and a half bowls of rice. But after Zai Zai came along, it became three bowls.”
Qiao Shu: “Any extras are for Zai Zai to eat.”
Qiao Shu: “It’s none of Little Mr. Qiao’s business.”
It was extremely reasonable and justified, very confidently so.
Gu Chenyan chuckled.
He set the rice pot aside, wiped his hands clean with a smile, and then crouched down. He placed his hands on Qiao Shu’s belly.
Qiao Shu blinked.
Gu Chenyan: “If Zai Zai tries harder, Dad can eat more. Dad is too skinny.”
Qiao Shu: “…”
His face turned red: “Where am I skinny?”
Gu Chenyan looked at him: “You’re so skinny that I could lift you with just one hand.”
Qiao Shu: “No way…”
It was true.
Qiao Shu blushed even more, not knowing what to say. He pursed his lips, took a step back, and pulled Gu Chenyan up: “Hurry up and wash the rice. It takes a long time to cook!”
Gu Chenyan complied readily: “Okay.”
Qiao Shu added, “Make sure it’s clean.”
Gu Chenyan nodded: “Mm.”
“Listening to you.” He bent down and gently pecked Qiao Shu on the cheek.
Qiao Shu: “…”
Mr. Gu is so naughty!
Chu Chisheng, on the side, watched the sweet scene here with fluctuating emotions in his eyes.
He walked over to Jiang Jiayu, who was washing the pot, and said, “Xiao Yu, let me help you.”
Jiang Jiayu glanced at him, smiled shyly, and said, “No, it’s okay. I’ve already washed it.”
He placed the pot on the stove.
Chu Chisheng looked at the spotless pot and sighed inwardly: “…”
He arrived too late.
Just as Gu Chenyan finished cooking the rice, Zhou Yanqing came in carrying some already-washed vegetables. He placed the basket of vegetables on the table and let out a particularly melancholy sigh.
Qiao Shu heard it and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Zhou Yanqing looked up at Qiao Shu, his expression particularly aggrieved: “Sister-in-law, you don’t know…”
He stopped himself from saying more, realizing they were still wearing earpieces.
But Qiao Shu understood.
He glanced outside.
Zhou Yanqing blinked.
He truly regretted his past decisions. He joined this program just to have fun with his brother. But now, things were getting tough.
Xiao Bai was too clingy.
And extremely talkative, too. He could chatter endlessly even while washing vegetables, always adding “brother” at the beginning of each sentence.
Zhou Yanqing felt like he was starting to fear the title of “brother”.
Qiao Shu comfortingly patted Zhou Yanqing’s shoulder, “Keep it up. All your efforts now are for the springtime of your good brother.” To ensure that Jiang Jiayu and Chu Chisheng’s romance wouldn’t be disturbed.
Zhou Yanqing: “???”
Qiao Shu: “Go on!”
Zhou Yanqing: “…”
“Alright. There are still vegetables outside that haven’t been washed. I’ll go out first.” Although he didn’t want to stay with Xiao Bai, he also didn’t want to leave him alone to work.
With a sigh, Zhou Yanqing walked away.
Gu Chenyan asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
Jiang Jiayu and Chu Chisheng beside him were also puzzled.
Qiao Shu smiled, covering the earpiece on his ear with his hand, and whispered softly, “Brother~”
Gu Chenyan, Jiang Jiayu, and Chu Chisheng: “…”
The three suddenly realized, then chuckled lightly.
A hundred yuan wasn’t much, but now not only were vegetables expensive, but meat was too. In order to have more dishes on the table in the evening, Jiang Jiayu only bought a small piece of meat, and the fish were the cheapest, such as hairtail and belt fish, while the rest were various vegetables.
Just as the belt fish in Qiao Shu’s pot was ready, Gu Chenyan and Chu Chisheng had already swiftly chopped all the vegetables and meat.
Gu Chenyan came over to Qiao Shu and took over what he was doing: “I’ll do it.”
Gu Chenyan: “The fumes are strong. Go rest on the side. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Qiao Shu stepped back, watching the man’s busy profile, pouting, “You’re stealing my job again.”
Gu Chenyan: “Be good.”
Gu Chenyan: “Don’t overwork yourself.”
Qiao Shu felt helpless.
He looked around and then hurriedly ran to the side, fetched a stool, and sat down nearby: “Then I’ll watch you cook here.”
Qiao Shu: “Like this, you’re not allowed to chase me away.”
Qiao Shu: “I’m not afraid of the fumes anyway.”
Gu Chenyan chuckled, “Alright.”
Qiao Shu sat on the stool, sweetly complaining as he held onto Gu Chenyan’s clothes: “If you keep spoiling me like this, I’ll become lazy.”
Qiao Shu: “What will we do if I become too lazy to even walk in the future? Mr. Gu will have to carry the spoiled little lazy bum everywhere, becoming a human pendant. You have to carry me wherever we go.”
He couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of that scene, so Qiao Shu pulled Gu Chenyan’s clothes and said, “Mr. Gu, you have to take responsibility for the little lazy bum.”
Gu Chenyan, who was frying vegetables, turned around and replied seriously, “Yes, Mr. Gu will definitely take responsibility.”
Qiao Shu chuckled.
Chu Chisheng beside them felt a pang in his heart. So he also said to Jiang Jiayu, who was cooking, “Xiao Yu, let me help you cook.”
Jiang Jiayu looked at him.
Chu Chisheng: “???”
Jiang Jiayu blushed shyly but still whispered, “Brother Sheng, maybe you should let everyone off the hook.”
Chu Chisheng: “…”
He forgot he was the kitchen disaster contestant. Still, he remained calm, “Then I’ll help you wash the pots later.”
Jiang Jiayu blushed, “Okay.”
After cooking, everyone gathered at the table in the courtyard to eat. The moon was nice that evening, and Zhou Yanqing even ran out to buy two bottles of the cheapest beer.
They laughed and toasted each other.
Qiao Shu didn’t drink alcohol; his cup was filled with plain water. He pouted, “I really want to drink too.”
The next moment: “Forget it, I won’t drink. It doesn’t matter if I drink later.”
Gu Chenyan gently rubbed Qiao Shu’s head, then swapped his own beer with a cup of plain water like Qiao Shu’s.
Qiao Shu: “…”
Qiao Shu: “Mr. Gu—”
Gu Chenyan tapped his cup of water against Qiao Shu’s cup, “Cheers.”
Qiao Shu smiled.
Qiao Shu: “Cheers.”
After finishing their meal, they all helped to tidy up the table and the sisters went to wash the dishes. After they finished, everyone gathered together to count the money they earned today.
After a day of selling goods, each group made nearly five hundred yuan. With the basic funds provided by the production team, they had a total of about a thousand.
Zhou Yanqing: “What can we do with a thousand yuan? Is it enough for a trip? Isn’t it still not enough for the fare? Oh right, where are we going for the trip?”
Xiao Bai immediately chimed in, “Brother, the director said this morning that we’re going to the ancient city next door for a tour. It’s not far, and the director said the transportation cost isn’t expensive.”
Zhou Yanqing: “…”
Zhou Yanqing: “Okay.”
Xiao Bai sweetly smiled at him.
Zhou Yanqing turned his head uncomfortably.
Qiao Shu: “Ancient city?”
He took out his phone and checked, “If we take the train to the ancient city from here, it’s only a hundred yuan. The price is reasonable.”
Lu Jian added, “We’ll take the train to the ancient city? Aren’t we flying?”
Lu Yiyi: “No. The ancient city is too close, and there’s no airport there. So we can only take the train.”
Jiang Jiayu suggested, “Let’s discuss where to visit in the ancient city tomorrow. We’ve been tired all day today, and tomorrow we can finally go sightseeing. We must have a good time.”
Everyone could relate to that feeling.
Although everyone was familiar with the ancient city, most of their time there was spent filming, so they didn’t really have the chance to explore and have fun. Therefore, discussing it now brought quite a bit of excitement.
When everyone dispersed, it was already past eight o’clock.
Gu Chenyan returned to his room to deal with some work. At one point, he even had his assistant bring over some snacks that Qiao Shu liked, giving Qiao Shu an extra meal. Qiao Shu ate contentedly.
With his hunger satisfied, Qiao Shu sat on the side, playing with his phone and occasionally looking up at Gu Chenyan working, feeling sweet inside. When it was almost time, he stretched lazily. He took out the pajamas he had changed out of in the afternoon from the wardrobe and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Gu Chenyan looked up, “Be careful.”
Gu Chenyan: “If you need anything, just call me.”
Qiao Shu smiled, “Okay.”
The bathroom here didn’t have a bathtub, only a shower, so Qiao Shu washed quickly. When he finished, Gu Chenyan had also temporarily finished his work. Gu Chenyan stood up, kissed Qiao Shu on the forehead, then took the pajamas and went to shower.
Qiao Shu sat on the side, drying his hair. Before long, Gu Chenyan finished his shower and came out, holding a plastic basin filled with water.
Qiao Shu blinked, “What’s this?”
Gu Chenyan bent down to place the basin near Qiao Shu’s feet, then squatted down and took Qiao Shu’s feet in his hands.
Qiao Shu pursed his lips.
He watched as Gu Chenyan gently placed his feet into the warm water in the basin, which was just the right temperature, not too hot to scald the skin. As his feet were immersed in the warm water, he felt instantly enveloped by its comforting warmth.
So comfortable.
Gu Chenyan: “There’s no bathtub here, so you could only soak your feet tonight. It’ll help you sleep better.”
Gu Chenyan: “Is that okay?”
Qiao Shu was used to taking baths at home and enjoyed it very much. He liked to take a bath every day.
With a gradually spreading smile in his eyes, Qiao Shu said, “Mr. Gu.”
Gu Chenyan: “Hmm?”
Qiao Shu: “Look up.”
Gu Chenyan raised his head.
Qiao Shu leaned down, cupping Gu Chenyan’s face, and kissed him.
He gently nibbled on Gu Chenyan’s soft lips, his tongue licking over them bit by bit, a smile spreading from his lips, “Mr. Gu—”
Qiao Shu: “Why are you so sweet?”
Gu Chenyan: “Am I?”
He thought for a moment, “Probably because my Little Mr. Qiao here loves sweets too much.”
Qiao Shu: “…”
So he’s becoming sweeter?
Ba-dump
Qiao Shu hugged Gu Chenyan’s neck, his smile wide on his face.
After a while, he straightened up and said, “You help me wash my feet and I’ll blow dry your hair for you.”
His gaze fell on Gu Chenyan’s still slightly damp hair.
Gu Chenyan smiled, “Okay.”
One sitting, one crouching. One massaging the other’s feet, and one blow-drying the other’s hair.
Both of their faces bore faint smiles.
The room was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.
When it was time to turn off the lights and sleep, Qiao Shu automatically snuggled into Gu Chenyan’s embrace. He reached out and rubbed Gu Chenyan’s chest, “Mr. Gu, are you tired today?”
Gu Chenyan: “Not tired.”
Qiao Shu reached up and wrapped his arm around Gu Chenyan’s neck, “Let’s have an interview. How does Mr. Gu feel about recording a variety show for the first time?”
Gu Chenyan: “Hmm…”
Gu Chenyan thought for a moment, “It’s not bad.”
Qiao Shu: “What’s not bad about it?”
Gu Chenyan: “Getting closer to Little Mr. Qiao feels good.”
Qiao Shu was taken aback.
Then, in the darkness, he revealed a sweet smile. He leaned into Gu Chenyan’s embrace and gently bit Gu Chenyan’s shoulder, “Mr. Gu…”
Qiao Shu: “You’re breaking the rules.”
Qiao Shu: “You’re tempting me again.”
Gu Chenyan chuckled softly.
Qiao Shu, nestled in Gu Chenyan’s arms, felt the vibration of Gu Chenyan’s chest and felt a bit restless.
With his hands propped up on Gu Chenyan’s body, he looked up at Gu Chenyan in the darkness, “Husband~”
Gu Chenyan: “Hmm?”
Qiao Shu: “Do you want it?”
“No.” Qiao Shu bit Gu Chenyan’s lip. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn’t suppress the sudden urge that came over him, “Brother, can you promise me something?”
Gu Chenyan: “Hmm?”
Ahem Qiao Shu felt a bit guilty. He leaned close to Gu Chenyan’s ear and made his bold request, “Today, I called Mr. Gu ‘dad’ so many times…”
“Mr. Gu, can you also call Little Mr. Qiao ‘dad’?”
“Little Mr. Qiao wants to hear it.”
Author’s Note:
Every man wants to be a dad. Especially in bed.
