Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 153: I Want to Live Together for Half a Month
Mei’s imagination is rich, sometimes even Yu Xia can’t figure it out.
"He won’t find out. Besides, it was just a touch, the angle made it look like a tongue kiss."
Xie Qingci shouldn’t go crazy over this... right.
Mei sighed, giving her an odd look, her tone peculiarly reminiscent of a caring grandmother:
"You’re underestimating men’s possessiveness. I researched a ton of romance stories like yours and concluded that younger boyfriends often show unusual possessiveness. Plus, kissing scenes are usually key moments where the leads’ feelings escalate!"
"...What do you mean?"
She got excited and shared all her recent insights.
"You film a kissing scene, kiss someone else, he finds out somehow, thinking it was a deep kiss, he gets angry and comes to you. You two argue and then... cough, cough, eventually you cry, and then he awkwardly tells you why. Then you explain, finally you laugh through tears, and your relationship reaches new heights!"
Yu Xia looked her up and down, closed the cup lid, and marveled: "You’ve really figured out the cliched TV drama plots."
Mei showed off her dark circles: "I’ve binge-watched more than ten dramas recently."
That’s why she believed her analysis was spot-on and full of foresight.
"So what do you think I should do?"
Mei slapped her thigh: "Inform him proactively and stay alert for him sneaking over!"
...She actually has a plan.
Yu Xia couldn’t help but laugh, nodding in agreement with her advice.
Then, when she spoke to Xie Qingci on the phone that evening, she brought up the matter.
Recently, Xie Qingci has been in a martial arts training class, allegedly because Changhui has found a few scripts, mostly action-oriented.
So even though he doesn’t attend variety shows as often as Song Xi, he’s actually quite busy, with little free time.
"My assistant told me a story today, would you like to hear it?"
Xie Qingci’s voice was devoid of fatigue, smiling: "I’ll listen to whatever you say."
So she recounted it to him and said:
"Isn’t she adorable? She’s more concerned than either of us."
Xie Qingci stopped her laughter with calm words: "You filmed a kissing scene."
"...Seriously, you’re actually focusing on that?"
She paused her hair drying and explained seriously: "Just a touch, as an actor, refusing kissing scenes isn’t very appropriate. But I’ll try to discuss using angles with the other party in the future. What, do you really mind a lot?"
Xie Qingci let out a deep breath: "No, it’s your career, perhaps I’ll face similar challenges in the future. I just, miss you a bit."
He’d probably want to kiss her back tenfold.
Yu Xia smiled gently, whispering: "I miss you too."
"Can I come to see you then?"
"Certainly not," she anticipated his suggestion, soothingly, "Coming to the set would draw too much attention, it’s surrounded by paparazzi. This shoot will be wrapped up soon, after that, there’s some time to spend with you."
Xie Qingci had no choice but to comply, but compliance didn’t mean utter submission. Noticing her guilt and hesitation, he seized the moment to make a demand.
"How much rest time after the wrap?"
"Half a month, I guess."
"Good," like a greedy boss exploiting workers, he said, "I want to live with you during that half-month."
"..." Yu Xia was stunned by his demand, "Are you serious? Moving in for half a month will get us noticed instantly, Changhui won’t miss where you’ve gone."
Couples naturally find delight in reunion after time apart, understandable, but a few dates would suffice instead of cohabiting for half a month, as if afraid they won’t be spotted entering and leaving together?
Xie Qingci seemed confident, not finding the demand too excessive at all.
"The agent found a place for me, right in your neighborhood."
"...Huh?"
Changhui’s sending the sheep into the lion’s den... oh no, it’s more like sending the tiger into the sheep’s house. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Though that neighborhood is prime real estate, home to many celebrities, she didn’t expect his agent to pick the most perfect spot for him to frolic.
Well, what excuse can stop him now? He knows where she lives, going in wouldn’t take a moment?
She "reluctantly" agreed to the excessive demand.
"Alright, I guess. But you know, living together has downsides too. If your agent needs you or mine needs me... right?"
Xie Qingci drew out an "ah" sound.
"Don’t worry, work issues would be discussed over the phone beforehand, sudden knocks won’t happen. Sis, you seem pretty reluctant, don’t want to live with me? Plan on keeping me as a phone boyfriend?"
She asserted boldly: "Of course not! Do you think I’m like that?"
"Of course not," he said in a tone like discussing a perfectly serious matter, "You really want to live with me, you love me, you can’t wait to see me. Right?"
"...Right."
How did she end up in this hole?
She frowned, contemplating seriously how this phone call led to agreeing on half a month of cohabitation? She only wanted to chat and get a goodnight’s sleep.
"Xie Qingci, you’re cunning, crafty love isn’t genuine love."
Xie Qingci: "No worries, I quite like crafty love. If you want, you can outsmart me too, I’ll lie in bed to be outsmarted by you."
"...No shame," she said firmly, "It’s late, time to sleep."
"Uh-huh, sis, goodnight, may I be in your dreams."
She responded dryly with "Goodnight," only for him to draw out her error slowly: "Not correct, we discussed this not too long ago, don’t remember?"
Yu Xia felt a bit embarrassed, provoked by his prompting, she retorted angrily: "Love you love you love you to death old honey! Goodnight!"
Xie Qingci let out a muffled laugh.
Hanging up, she grabbed the hairdryer, after a while, amid the machine’s soft whirring, she couldn’t help but collapse onto the pillow laughing.
...
In mid-October, "Different Paths" had only a few scenes left, Yu Zhi had already wrapped.
He had other work, leaving the set immediately after, disappointing the paparazzi waiting for a "Double Fish CP" rekindling.
Yu Xia was quite content, immersing herself in the feeling of nearing graduation, meticulously shooting the last few scenes of her lead role’s emotional explosion.
He Ci showed up at the set around that time, bringing two pieces of news.
First, the script for the next period web drama had been revised to include a supporting male role funded to join.
By coincidence, it was Xie Qingci, Changhui added investment for a good start, leading to the script revision.
Second, he had his eye on a future variety show, wanting her to join after shooting the web drama.
