Ch50 - Autograph

By the time Gu Qingchi returned backstage and changed his clothes, it was already midnight.

He and Xiao Ke returned to the hotel together. Xiao Ke was always full of energy, but even she seemed a little lethargic by now. 

Still, Xiao Ke didn’t forget about her job. She looked up at Gu Qingchi as she suppressed a yawn.

“Gu ge, are you hungry? I’ll order some food.”

“No, it’s late.”

“Then, do you want to—” 

Gu Qingchi interrupted her.

“Head back and go to sleep. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Thus, Xiao Ke swayed back to her room with two dark circles hanging from her eyes. Gu Qingchi’s room was right next to hers.

Perhaps it was simply too late into the night. Gu Qingchi laid down in bed after washing up, but sleep would not come to him.

Moonlight poured in through the windows. Gu Qingchi sat up, poured himself a cup of hot water, and set it on the bedside table. Then, he just sat there on the edge of his bed for a long time.

When he looked down to check if his water cooled down, he caught a glimpse of his phone.

Gu Qingchi hesitated for a while, but he still reached out and picked it up.

After unlocking it, he could see that there were thirty-four new messages on WeChat. 

Gu Qingchi often received WeChat notifications from time to time. He had messed around with his account before and followed a bunch of random public accounts. Every once in a while, they’d send him a couple of notifications.

However, there was never anyone who texted him.

Back when he worked at the restaurant, his colleagues would occasionally send him information about his shifts, but it had been a while since he resigned.

The chat record was still there, but the messages they exchanged slowly dwindled. 

Connections between people could only be deepened if both sides put in the effort, but Gu Qingchi didn’t have this awareness. He was very passive. He didn’t like to reciprocate. He was like a cat that had gotten used to being on its own. This was all he knew.

If you tried to get close, all you would get is a vigilant glance. Even if you brought delicious canned fish, you still wouldn’t get a response.

If you wanted to get close to it, if you wanted to get to know it, you would have to keep paying out, keep chasing after it time and time again. You would have to give it delicious canned fish and a soft blanket.

The process would be long and difficult, and your efforts would seem to be in vain. Everything you did would seem to go unrewarded. 

Ye Li and Xiao Ke mainly communicated with Gu Qingchi through phone calls. Besides the message that Xie Luyu sent him today, Gu Qingchi hadn’t received notifications from anyone other than those random accounts he had followed.

Now, Gu Qingchi started going through the notifications. It wasn’t just a curious coincidence. He was actually starting to look forward to what other notifications he had received.

There were a total of thirty-four messages, eight of which were spam notifications from the accounts he had followed. One was a friend request. The rest had been sent by Xie Luyu throughout the day.

Gu Qingchi ignored the friend request. 

He tapped on the chat with Xie Luyu and looked through the messages one by one.

[It looks like it’s going to be a little cold over there. Don’t forget to wear a coat.]

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.

[Have I told you that there’s going to be an event at Disneyland in a few days?]

[I learned how to cook ribbonfish. It’s pretty good. I’ll make some for you once you get back.] 

…

[I’m free tomorrow at noon. I will go pick you up.]

Xe Hlcumtl ibbxfv atgbeut atf wfrrjufr nfgs ribkis. Coafg gfjvlcu atgbeut atfw jii, tf qjerfv lc atf mtja obg j ibcu alwf. Pc atf fcv, tf vlvc’a rfcv bea j rlcuif gfqis.

Lf ecobiibkfv jii bo atf gjcvbw jmmbecar tf tjv obiibkfv bcf ys bcf, Llr mbcajmar ilra lwwfvljafis yfmjwf j iba mifjcfg. Ktfgf kfgf bcis j mbeqif bo mbcajmar ifoa. 

His water had already gone cold, and Gu Qingchi didn’t make any move to drink it. He put his phone away and crawled into the covers. After a short while, he soon fell asleep.

The next day, Xie Luyu arrived at the airport early and held up a sign. Gu Qingchi had a bit of fame now. It would be too conspicuous to write his name, so he simply slapped a small black cat on the sign.

The little black cat had golden eyes and a slender body. It seemed somewhat similar to Gu Qingchi.

This drawing had been made by that well-known artist a while back. It had now become somewhat of a mascot among Gu Qingchi’s fan base. Although, the fan base was still rather small, so most people didn’t know about it yet. 

Only a veteran fan like Xie Luyu would be able to dig up something like this.

Gu Qingchi himself probably didn’t even know about it.

Xie Luyu had drawn the sign himself. He arrived a little too early and felt a little bored waiting around. He didn’t have anything better to do, so he drew a few fish beside the cat. All of the fish were big and plump. He wanted the best for his little black cat.

After drawing it, he proudly took a photo of it and sent it to Gu Qingchi. 

[I’ll be holding this up. Just walk over when you see it.]

He didn’t forget to tattle on the cat as well.

[I weighed the cat this morning. It gained another couple pounds. The vet said that it’s a little overweight.]

Even if Gu Qingchi never responded, Xie Luyu was still very enthusiastic. 

While Xie Luyu was waiting, a group of about a dozen people rushed over beside him. They were all holding up light-up signs, notebooks, and posters.

Xie Luyu instantly knew that this was an airport pickup event. He gave them a glance and pulled up his mask. He thought about moving somewhere else. It was sure to get crowded later.

Xie Luyu picked up his sign and prepared to move.

As soon as he stood up, one of the girls next to him glanced at his sign. 

“Are you here to pick up Chi Chi too?”

Xie Luyu suddenly realized that these dozen or so people were here to pick up Gu Qingchi. It might seem as though Gu Qingchi had a lot of fans, but most of them were just fans of his face. These types of fans tend to switch between idols frequently.

Ye Li had been cleaning up Gu Qingchi’s fans for a while now. He wanted to organize a group of die-hard fans, but Gu Qingchi didn’t have very many works to represent himself at the moment. There wasn’t a lot to work with, so he still didn’t have an official fan club or anything.

Even under these circumstances, there were still fans who came all this way for him. It was rather incredible. 

If Xie Luyu’s itinerary were to be leaked, it wouldn’t just be fans coming to see him. The entire airport would be joining in on the fun. People would be pointing their phones towards him Xie Luyu from all directions. He would have to be escorted out of the airport by both his bodyguards and airport security.

He couldn’t stop at all. If he stopped, people would rush up. It made it too easy for accidents to happen.

However, he also remembered a time when he had just gotten popular. A group of people had come to pick him up at the airport. There weren’t too many or too little. Even though he was tired, he was happy to stop and sign an autograph for them, and he earnestly read through every letter they gave him.

Xie Luyu was silent for a long time. 

The girl standing next to him puffed out her chest.

“Our Chi Chi also has a lot of fanboys. It’s just that they don’t know a lot about fan culture. They don’t even know all the slang. You’re not bad. At least you brought a sign.”

Xie Luyu huffed, a little unwilling to admit defeat. He was in four fan groups dedicated to Gu Qingchi. He was even a moderator in one of them. He was also a host on Gu Qingchi’s super topic. He signed into it every day.

Xie Luyu rolled up his sleeves. Since they were here to pick up Gu Qingchi, he decided not to leave. Instead, he pulled up his mask again and mixed into the group with his sign. 

A moment passed.

Xie Luyu stood among about a dozen people, firmly in the center.

Speaking of airport pick-ups and fan support, Xie Luyu had never chased after celebrities, but he had been chased by fans before.

He might not have done it himself before, but he knew the basics. After watching others do it for so long, he pretty much learned all he needed to know. He was willing to bet that all the fans here were noobs compared to him. 

“I trust that everyone here genuinely likes Chi Chi. Idols are responsible for their fans’ behavior. We represent Chi Chi when we come out and participate in activities. We absolutely cannot drag him down. Make sure not to affect the other people in the airport. Let’s all be civilized.”

A dozen or so people nodded in unison. Xie Luyu looked like a parent next to everyone else. However, although he seemed dignified and serious, he was actually personally invested in this as well.

“There’s something else I want to mention. Chi Chi will definitely be tired after traveling for so long. Please be considerate when asking for autographs. Just get an autograph and move along. Don’t try to get autographs for your entire family. Let him go home and rest sooner rather than later”

A dozen or so people nodded in unison once more. 

Xie Luyu coughed.

“In that case, let’s get the gifts and letters prepared right now. We’ll give Chi Chi a surprise later.”

At first, Xie Luyu had felt a little awkward calling him Chi Chi, but now he was starting to find the nickname rather cute.

Gu Qingchi went to push the luggage cart as usual. Xiao Ke walked beside him. 

He glanced at his phone as he walked.

Xie Luyu sent him a couple photos of his surroundings.

[I’m here by the exit. You’ll see me as soon as you get here.]

After reading his messages, Gu Qingchi put the phone in his pocket and focused on pushing the cart. 

They had just gotten their luggage.

Once he reached the exit, Gu Qingchi raised his head and looked around. He didn’t have a good sense of direction. Even if he followed the crowd, it was still very easy for him to get lost. Then, he heard someone shouting in the distance.

“Chi Chi! Chi Chi! Look over here!”

Gu Qingchi didn’t react. He wasn’t very used to the nickname Chi Chi. 

That was until someone called out to him.

“Gu Qingchi, look behind you! Over here!”

Gu Qingchi stopped and turned to see who it was. He still hadn’t grasped the situation. He thought it was someone from the company that was here for him.

He held the handle of the cart in his hand. The position of the cart was a little sideways. It seemed as though he was going to turn around, but he wasn’t moving from his spot. He was still a little hesitant. 

That was until someone called out to him again.

“Over here! Chi Chi! Don’t block other people’s way!”

Gu Qingchi was standing right before the exit. There actually wasn’t a lot of space. It was very likely for the cart to block the path.

Upon hearing this, he immediately turned his head and gave way to the person behind him. At the same time, he bent over apologetically before pushing the cart over to the side. 

Most of the people passing by gave him a curious glance, but they didn’t rush up to him.

Gu Qingchi walked over, and the small group of fans began waving their signs even more enthusiastically. Gu Qingchi still wasn’t quite sure of himself. He kept looking behind him to see if there were any other stars.

He kept raising his head to look at the signs they were holding.

The light-up signs all had nicknames. They were still waving around, so he couldn’t read them very clearly. 

However, there was one sign mingled in among the rest. It had a cat drawn on it along with several fat fish. Gu Qingchi recognized it as Xie Luyu’s. He gave Xie Luyu a surprised look, and Xie Luyu winked at him.

It was then that Gu Qingchi finally looked away. As he approached them, he pointed at himself, a little hesitantly.

One of the girls laughed. She had a refreshing northeastern accent.

“It’s you! You don’t need to look behind you. There’s no one else!” 

Once Gu Qingchi got closer, they handed him the letters and gifts they had prepared, and they received a hug in return.

Xiao Ke quickly accepted the gifts and spoke.

“Thank you for supporting Chi Chi. The gifts are appreciated. We’ll only accept small gifts. We won’t accept anything too expensive, so we’ll have to ask you to return them. I hope you all understand.”

One of the girls came up to Gu Qingchi with a poster and a pen. 

“Chi Chi, I’ve liked you for a long time. Could I get an autograph?”

Gu Qingchi didn’t say anything. He just took the pen and signed his name stroke by stroke.

Then, Gu Qingchi was surrounded. The group was actually rather orderly. They weren’t noisy or chaotic. They simply lined up patiently.

After they all received autographs, a group of fans happily left in pairs. Xie Luyu placed his open palm over in front of Gu Qingchi. 

His voice carried a hint of a smile.

“Gege, can you give me an autograph?”

Gu Qingchi glanced at him. Then, he bowed his head and signed his signature upon his palm. Just like before, he carefully printed his name stroke by stroke. It was clearly the handwriting of a top student, both free and easy, with a little flick at the end.

Translator’s Note: 

Managed to get all of this week’s chapters done! I’m on a roll!