Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 164: Red Date and Tremella Soup

Yu Xia was drinking hot water by herself, but Mei’s eyes lit up when she saw him coming.

She sneaked a couple of glances at them, the feeling of "only I know this secret and you guys don’t" made her feel a bit thrilled.

Xie Qingci’s assistant greeted them and then ran out, leaving Xie Qingci alone sitting on the lounge chair.

He pushed a chubby thermal cup from the small cabinet over and said in a low voice:

"Have a bit, it’s red jujube and white fungus soup."

Mei immediately felt like she shouldn’t be standing there, but in order not to let others think there was something going on between the two, she had to awkwardly stay put.

Yu Xia glanced at Mei standing like a lamppost, then calmly took the cup.

She twisted it open and took a sip. It was indeed thick and sweet, a comforting gulp down the throat.

"When did you make this?"

"Yesterday. Still feeling cold?"

"Not anymore." She pushed the cup back. "You should have some too, didn’t bring a hand warmer?"

Xie Qingci didn’t move: "Didn’t bring it."

"Have a bit."

"I don’t like sweet things, you know that." He said softly.

That made her stifle a laugh, and she took the cup back and drank two more sips.

"How’s your face, it doesn’t really hurt?"

Xie Qingci lowered his eyes and touched the side of his face: "A bit."

He sounded pitiful.

Yu Xia scanned around and said: "How about you try a sip of something sweet to ease it?"

"..."

Mei almost wanted to hold her head down and teach her how to date.

Dating like this would lead to a breakup, right? Huh? It would, right?!

Just as she looked frustrated, He Ci circled around and gave her a particular look.

"Why are you standing there like a Door God?"

Mei: "..."

He Ci didn’t say much, greeted Xie Qingci, and then pulled a small stool to sit on the other side of Yu Xia.

"There’s a problem with the Variety Show."

Yu Xia slowly sipped the red jujube and white fungus soup, asking: "What’s the problem?"

"The participants include couples, siblings, professional partners, and those coming on for promotional tasks. You don’t have any of those, which makes it a difficult competition."

"What do you mean, I have to bring someone along? Why don’t you sacrifice a bit and join me? You’re like a partner too."

He Ci directly rejected: "I prefer to be low-key in real life and high-key in work. I don’t want to lower the show’s appeal."

She pondered over her cup: "Is it really such a strict requirement? Isn’t there an option for two solo participants to team up randomly? If it’s all pre-arranged teams, it wouldn’t be as fun."

"You’re missing my point," He Ci said, "I suspect there’s definitely a couple involved, having partners seems reliable, and the focus is on siblings, I’m afraid the producers want a traffic team."

He signaled in Xie Qingci’s direction.

Yu Xia was genuinely stunned now.

"A boy band grabbing two people... If that’s the case, Xie Qingci is definitely one of the most likely candidates."

She widened her eyes and asked softly: "Do you think Changhui is waiting for this Variety Show to give Xie Qingci a second wave of exposure?"

He Ci nodded.

Isn’t that a bit too coincidental? If she could really join this Variety Show, they’d meet on the movie set, meet on the show — a perfect three times of collaboration, it could easily attract paparazzi attention.

It feels a bit too coincidental, so coincidental that it seems deliberate. If she didn’t know that Xie Qingci just debuted and didn’t have that kind of influence, she would suspect it’s his doing.

"So should we still fight for this Variety Show? If they’ve set their eyes on two members from the boy band, then I really have no spot."

He Ci was adamant: "Of course, you should fight for it! The Variety Show could be your ticket to the A-list, and you have two dramas waiting to air, which could maintain your popularity. It’s an opportunity not to be missed!"

She clicked her tongue.

"Then let’s do our best to fight for it. If it doesn’t work, we’ll reach out to potential people early to form a team. We’re not the only ones interested in participating. Besides, it might just be that Changhui sees the show as promising; their group might not necessarily want another member on it."

This entailed the possibility of her teaming up with Xie Qingci.

"That works too, as long as you guys find it workable. We’re quite experienced with handling rumors, as long as it’s not real, we can explain everything confidently." He Ci was very optimistic about the Variety Show, everything else was secondary.

Yu Xia: ...What if it is real?

He Ci came and went in a hurry, back to the car to continue haggling on the phone without lingering.

After he left, Xie Qingci turned and asked her: "What were you talking about? Joining a show?"

Yu Xia didn’t answer right away, instead asked him: "Is your manager planning for you to join a major Variety Show? That’s why Ning Yunchao and the others are doing shows all over, but you’re not."

Xie Qingci nodded: "Next year. They said we could confirm it soon, just in time after finishing this movie to have a break before going on."

After he finished, he quickly understood: "Are you also joining that show?"

"Possibly, not sure if I can get the spot."

Xie Qingci held back a faint smile, looking thoughtful.

After finishing the shoot for the day, they wrapped up at eight, and the crew meal boxes arrived right on time.

The crew distributed the meal boxes to everyone. Some actors, unwilling to compromise their taste buds, ordered additional dishes.

Yu Xia didn’t order extra. In fact, Mei was still screening nearby deliveries for her, not daring to order anything with negative reviews.

She held her meal box, sitting on a small stool, skillfully tearing open the chopsticks and opening the soup container.

Next door, it was Xie Qingci’s first time experiencing such a basic meal routine. He found a stool, held the meal box, and imitated her by sitting, frowning as he opened it.

Two meat dishes and two veg dishes, in ample portions, but they were already a bit cold, and the sauce on the braised ribs was nearly congealed.

Looking up to see Yu Xia’s meal box, the dishes weren’t completely the same, and they didn’t show signs of cooling.

The tightness in his brows relaxed slightly.

Yu Xia had taken two bites, seeing him unmoving, she paused her chopsticks: "What’s wrong, not to your taste? The conditions are like this, don’t be picky, you can have your assistant order takeout separately tomorrow."

"What about you? Won’t you order separately?"

"I’m used to it, but yes, every other day I’ll order separately."

He didn’t say more, sitting face to face with her eating, using the small cabinet as a makeshift table.

The braised ribs had cooled, he had eaten half when Yu Xia stopped his chopsticks.

"Why eat what’s already cold," knowing he had a big appetite, she pushed some of her food over, "eat mine, I won’t finish it anyway."

"These little portions and you can’t finish them?" He frowned again.

Yu Xia didn’t make much of it, still taking small bites of cauliflower.

"No matter how the crew’s meals are, I can’t risk gaining weight during filming, it’d be a disaster."

Xie Qingci looked at her for a long while, then turned his head and let out a long sigh.

After meals, everyone headed to the hotel outside the film city. The hotel environment wasn’t great, but they all looked the same, so there was no choice really.

Xie Qingci’s room was right next to Yu Xia’s, and her room was at the end of the hallway, where others coming and going wouldn’t disturb her – that was something Xie Qingci specifically requested.