Ch26.1 - The Peak of Competition Between Beauty and Acting Skills (26)

It might or might not have been because of Lin Ran’s aura, but the young ladies around them slowly began to back away without complaint, keeping a safe distance from Xu Qichen.

But even afterwards Lin Ran did not put his hand down. 

“You must be hungry, what should we eat?”

Xu Qichen: “I’m not hungry.”

Lin Ran brought him to a teahouse. “Let’s eat this, it’s mild.”

In other words, you can’t eat spicy food for now. 

Xu Qichen, who quickly understood the meaning behind his words, hummed in agreement. As it is, he did not want to spend too much on food. Aside from the first mission, all their success had been the result of Lin Ran’s efforts. Xu Qichen thought he would eat a bowl of wonton noodles, at most, but Lin Ran ordered a feast of vermicelli rolls, beef chow fun, wontons, and pineapple bun.

Xu Qichen could not help but stop him. “Don’t buy so much, we have to save up.”

“It’s not real money, and we’ll have more chances to earn them back later.” Lin Ran scooped up a few wontons and put them in a bowl to cool, then pushed the pineapple bun to Xu Qichen, “Eat.”

In a quieter voice, he added, “I didn’t bring any candy today.”

Xu Qichen was stunned.

Words like these that only the two of them would understand were like a signal to his heart to create strange chemical reactions. Xu Qichen ducked his head, while his lips turned up unconsciously.

With tacit understanding, neither of them spoke. Xu Qichen took a bite of the pineapple bun. Its skin was crisp and sweet, the bread was soft, and the butter melted slowly in his mouth.

It was only after taking the first bite that he realised how hungry he was. 

The cameraman had followed them the entire day. Xu Qichen asked him, “Brother cameraman, are you hungry? You should eat some too.”

The cameraman just shook his head in response. When Xu Qichen looked down, he found that the bowl of cooled wonton had been placed in front of him.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

He looked at Lin Ran to find him with his head buried, duelling with a vermicelli roll that refused to be picked up, and with an innocent expression that said ‘Wonton? What wonton? It wasn’t me.’

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They barely had any money left after paying for the meal. Although the boss lady repeatedly refused to accept their money, Xu Qichen very seriously explained, “If you don’t accept the money, we’ll be breaking the rules. Please take it.” 

When they left the street, it was much more crowded than before. A large group of young ladies appeared in front of them, full of excitement.

“Aaaah! RuanMeng CP!”

“Mengze! Mengze! You’re so handsome today!”

“Lin Ran! Master Lin!” 

“Lin Ran you shouldn’t look so good in purple!”

“Mengze, how are your eyes? Are they better yet?”

In the time it had taken them to have a meal, the number of people outside had multiplied and the crowd was now uncontrollable. Even walking was impossible. Lin Ran made Xu Qichen stand in front of him, wrapped an arm around him and put his hand over his eyes without touching them.

This action immediately triggered a wave of excited screams. 

To be honest, actions like these could easily become material that could be used against Lin Ran, but at this moment he could not bring himself to care, as long as he could prevent Xu Qichen from recalling those memories that made him afraid.

Lin Ran rested his other arm on Xu Qichen’s shoulder, lightly pushing him through the crowd. With a smile, he apologised to the fans, speaking gently but firmly.

The crowd was noisy and squeezy, but Xu Qichen could neither see nor hear them. He only felt the warmth of a palm.

The recording continued till late at night. For the second half of the show, all the tasks were basically completed by Lin Ran. Despite being an actor, he had a surprising amount of talent in sports. 

Xu Qichen could no longer remember if this was part of the setting he had written.

Although they had done their best, the main MC pair won in the end. Xu Qichen muttered under his breath that it was all his fault for eating up all the money.

Lin Ran roughly rubbed Xu Qichen’s windblown hair while smiling at the camera and said, “Yes, it’s all your fault.”

Xu Qichen could not help asking in his mind, “0901, is Lin Ran no longer angry with me?” 

0901: “Mr. Xu, firstly, I would like to answer your first question. I do not think that Lin Ran is angry. Secondly, relevant social science data show that when conflicts occur, communication is the key to resolving them.”

Xu Qichen knew that he was right. “But, I’m the worst at communication, plus our professions are too special, there’s basically no way to meet in private.”

0901 was silent for a moment before he asked, “Mr. Xu, why are you afraid that Lin Ran is angry?”

“=You are rather indifferent towards most people, so why are you only concerned about his attitude towards you?” 

Xu Qichen was speechless.

But there seemed to be a voice in the back of his mind that wanted to break out.

By the time the recording ended, it was really very late. The MCs and guests ate together. Afterwards, Xu Qichen and Lin Ran left together, meeting Zhang Xiaoxiao who had been waiting for Xu Qichen outside.

“Mengze-ge, our car is over there.” 

Xu Qichen nodded. Right now he was actually feeling how Cinderella must have felt having to leave the ball at midnight.

It is really too strange.

But he could not deny this feeling of unwillingness.

While Lin Ran was chatting with Yang Cheng, his handphone’s notification sounded. 

[Thank you for today.]

After a few seconds, another message came in.

[I had fun today. Really, don’t doubt it.]

Xu Qichen put his phone back into his pocket and prepared to leave. Just as he stepped out, Lin Ran called him. 

“Hang on.”

Xu Qichen and Zhang Xiaoxiao turned back.

Lin Ran: “Xiaoxiao, it’s been a long time since we all met up so we just agreed to go for karaoke. Please let Li-jie know.”

“But we have to reapply Mengze-ge’s medicine…” 

Lin Ran smiled at her, “Hand me the medicine, I’ll let my assistant do it. Does he have anything on tomorrow?”

Zhang Xiaoxiao shook her head, “All his activities these few days have been cancelled, with the exception of today’s show.”

“That’s great! If you’re worried, I’ll speak to Li-jie personally, okay?”

Only then did Zhang Xiaoxiao relax. “I’ll get you the medicine.” 

TN:

Hi  So this update was one-week-and-then-some late, and it’s not even a full chapter… Sorry! Work caught up with me ^^;

This week some real life stuff happened on our beloved editor’s side. Sarcasm sends their apology for their part in the delay. (The one week delay and it being only half a chapter are both my fault though :P)