AAUMOBIP C30

Chapter 30

News of Yun Jingqiu winning the “Golden Taro Ball” shot straight onto the trending list, along with a video of him holding the trophy and delivering his acceptance speech to the camera, complete with Chinese subtitles.

[Even though we all knew Cloud Bro is a lovestruck fool, I still underestimated the extent of his lovestruck-ness]

[Congratulations to Cloud Bro on the Golden Taro Ball!]

[Is Cloud Sis watching the livestream?]

[Cloud Bro loves him SO much!!]

[I’m just curious—what exactly was the moment of crisis Cloud Bro mentioned? I’m an old fan—I followed him since his debut, I’ve seen all his works and kept up with his news, and as far as I remember, he’s had smooth sailing. He didn’t hit any trouble, did he?]

And so, once again, it was a day when people still didn’t know what difficulty Yun Jingqiu had once encountered.

As agreed, while Yun Jingqiu was busy socializing at the gala, Liu He called him to extract him from the crowd.

Yun Jingqiu made it back to the hotel without a hitch and immediately dialed a video call to Liu He.

“It always feels like their eyes are ready to eat me alive,” Yun Jingqiu grumbled. He undid the button on his suit, hung the jacket aside, and stood there in only a white dress shirt.

In the suit, he hadn’t looked like anything in particular—just slender and tall.

But once the suit came off, his figure was surprisingly striking.

Liu He let his gaze skim across the man’s chest through the thin shirt, then forced himself to look away. He asked, “When are you coming back?”

“Tomorrow. I have to get back to filming,” Yun Jingqiu said. He’d come to attend the film festival and squeezed out a few days for Country C by coordinating schedules with the director. Now that the festival was over, he needed to return to accelerate the shoot.

He was very busy.

“Pity the film had to accompany the winners’ circle,” Yun Jingqiu said.

The First World hadn’t won Best Picture, but being nominated already proved it was a terrific work.

Liu He smiled. He only cared about Yun Jingqiu; he wasn’t all that invested in anything else.

“You—”

Knock, knock, knock—

Liu He had just uttered a single word when there came a knock from Yun Jingqiu’s side.

A hint of puzzlement crossed Yun Jingqiu’s face as well.

At this hour, everyone else should be at the banquet, and he hadn’t received any notice that someone wanted to visit.

Should he even open the door?

“Hello, Teacher Yun, I’d like to recommend my work to you,” said the person outside.

It was a man’s voice.

Liu He heard it too. He paused and asked, “Someone looking to cast you?”

“I doubt that’s all,” Yun Jingqiu said, a touch wary.

Why insist on talking at night and in a hotel? That didn’t sound like a proper business approach.

“I know you’re very busy, and I didn’t get a chance to talk at the banquet, so I took the opportunity to catch you after you stepped out,” the visitor said, clearly aware of Yun’s suspicion. “I’m preparing a new drama, the team is assembled, and we’re short one lead. You’re perfect. I want to speak with you and try to secure a chance to cooperate.”

Yun Jingqiu walked to the door, opened the peephole cover, and looked out through it.

A young-looking man stood outside in a dark-red suit. He was fair-skinned, meticulously groomed, and exuded a heavy cosmetic scent.

It was the film festival, after all—everyone who came dressed their best.

Yun Jingqiu declined politely: “Please contact my company for cooperation matters. I don’t personally accept projects.”

“If you have full confidence in your show, send the materials to StarGlory Entertainment.” He had no intention of opening the door.

“Teacher Yun, please reconsider.” The man lowered his eyes and squeezed out a few tears—quite the picture of a beauty in sorrow.

It didn’t move Yun Jingqiu one bit.

“After receiving such an honor, you must have many directors eager to work with you. I apologize for choosing such a presumptuous way to self-recommend, but I really want you to take a look at this drama.” He blinked, as if casually glancing toward the peephole, waiting for the person inside to respond.

Meeting his gaze through the peephole, Yun Jingqiu hardened his tone: “Please contact the company for cooperation.”

“If you’re interested after you read it, you could put in a word directly with StarGlory Entertainment and we could finalize things quickly,” the man persisted. “If we go through the standard process, it might take too long—you could miss a great project.”

At this point, Yun Jingqiu was certain: the man had come to self-recommend. Whether he was recommending himself or the project—well, that was another question.

“Or perhaps you’d consider me?” The man carefully tested his real objective.

Startled, Yun Jingqiu backed away a few steps, gripping his phone tightly and withdrawing from the peephole.

This man was still pestering him! Infuriating.

“I have a partner. Show some respect,” Yun Jingqiu snapped. “If you don’t leave, I’m calling security.”

The hotel he was in was a luxury property; the security there was no joke.

“You said in your acceptance speech that you like men. I’m not exactly lacking either—I’m in the industry, too. Compared to your partner, who hides away and won’t show his face, am I not a better choice?”

The words made Yun Jingqiu’s stomach churn.

He glanced at his phone—worried Liu He might overthink—and rushed to say, “Baby, he’s talking nonsense. I absolutely—”

“I’ll call security right now and have him thrown out.”

Hearing that, the man outside stiffened, then said resentfully: “Teacher Yun, just to drive me away, you would—”

“I have my pride too. I’ll leave today, since you’ve said your piece.”

When Yun Jingqiu could no longer see him through the peephole, he exhaled and shut the peephole again.

“Creepy,” he muttered, goosebumps rising.

He’d encountered wealthy patrons who wanted to keep him before, but never someone who offered himself up for the pillow to be kept, though there were certainly those who wanted to hype a fake CP.

Compared with Xiao He’s fresh and clean aura, this man’s heavy cosmetic vibe felt twisted and off.

“Hm?” Liu He had listened to the entire exchange and felt like laughing.

He didn’t feel any crisis of someone trying to steal his man. Everyone said Yun Jingqiu was a lovestruck fool—he chose to believe in this lovestruck fool.

“So this is what the entertainment circle is like,” he mused.

“There are filthier things,” Yun Jingqiu said quickly. “Some stars like to play sports with others, and some even take drugs while playing.”

A shiver ran through Liu He. Thankfully, Yun‑ge was clean and only wanted to focus on his craft.

Feeling faintly relieved, Liu He put the episode out of mind.

Yun Jingqiu, however, didn’t feel entirely at ease. Overseas security is notoriously lax, so he locked the door and windows, checked several times to ensure there were no spy cameras in the room, and only then relaxed a little.

He posted a giveaway on Weibo and sent out a big red envelope to celebrate his achievement, then continued chatting with Liu He.

Liu He grabbed a red envelope and, seeing the amount, felt a little deflated: “Why did I only get eight mao?”

Yun Jingqiu immediately sent him a transfer of 8,888.

Liu He didn’t accept it. “The fun is in grabbing the red envelope.”

“You’ve already given me money I haven’t used up. I’m sitting on several million.”

Yun Jingqiu was extremely generous and sent Liu He a large amount of living expenses each month.

At first Liu He tried to return the money, but Yun always found ways to stuff the living expenses into his hands, and in time he accepted the monthly support.

But habits don’t change overnight. While Liu He now lived more comfortably than before, he wasn’t extravagant.

Where once he’d agonize over a ten-yuan takeout, now he could order a fifteen-yuan takeout without stress.

Most of the money Yun gave him, he deposited into the bank.

“That’s living expenses. This is a consolation prize for Xiao He not grabbing a big red envelope. Take it,” Yun urged.

Liu He accepted the transfer.

Immediately after, he received another alert on Weibo about a new post from a specially-followed account.

Yun Jingqiu had sent out another red envelope.

[Yun Jingqiu: Baby told me he only grabbed eight mao, so we’re upping the ante on the red envelope!]

Baffled, Liu He claimed it—and fell silent.

Yun’s voice came through: “I just sent out another red envelope, go grab it.”

“There’s no need to send red envelopes just for me to grab one,” Liu He said. “Maybe I’m just fated to be unlucky on Weibo.”

“How much did you get?”

“Three mao.”

Silence from Yun as well. Then, tentatively: “Should I send another?”

Liu He hurried to stop him. If he kept failing to grab a big one, would Yun Jingqiu just keep sending them?

Judging from these two attempts, Liu He was now convinced he simply couldn’t grab a big red envelope on Weibo.

“Didn’t you just transfer me 8,888? No squandering.”

Yun Jingqiu laughed and agreed, “Okay.”

Then promptly sent another 8,888 transfer to Liu He, saying, “Consolation money. Please accept.”

Perhaps Yun‑ge had a peculiar quirk—he felt unwell if he didn’t spend money?

Liu He called him a spendthrift with his mouth, but his hands nonetheless accepted the 8,888 transfer.

Yun Jingqiu’s Weibo was abuzz—two hefty red envelopes in a row and a giveaway for signed posters of The First World.

[Cloud Sis’s luck is tragically bad]

[How much did Sis get from the first one?]

[Yun Jingqiu replied: three mao]

[Hahahaha Cloud Sis’s luck is too terrible. Cloud Bro sent out a total of two million, and Cloud Sis’s two red envelopes together didn’t break one yuan]

Even if Liu He’s luck was bad, Yun Jingqiu could always make sure he received the biggest transfer.

Yun Jingqiu returned to the country with the Golden Taro Ball trophy and placed it in the display cabinet.

He had people clean out the villa in the suburbs, brought in some furniture, set things up, and then officially moved in with Cream.

His place downtown was a large flat; the one in the suburbs was a villa.

By the end of June, Liu He had also officially moved into this villa.

He had already stayed in City A for a time; Yun’s home in City A had his clothes and daily essentials, so he could go there without bringing anything and settle in immediately.

When he arrived at the villa, Yun Jingqiu was still filming and wasn’t home to welcome him.

His greeter was Cream, who came bouncing and hopping around the house.

Cream had a new environment now. This home was bigger, with more to explore, and the bunny was happier than ever.

Liu He had only brought a small bag, with his IDs and his advisor’s recommendation letter inside.

As soon as he opened the villa door, Cream leapt toward him, pushed off with its hind legs, and sprang straight into his arms.

Cream had grown a lot; its jumping ability was far stronger than when it was little. Heights it couldn’t manage before, it could now clear with ease.

Liu He held Cream with practiced ease, stroking its soft fur.

Once inside, he closed the door, lest the bunny bolt outside.

“Did you miss me?” Liu He asked gently, looking tenderly at the rabbit in his arms.

The bunny nudged him with its head.

A rabbit being coy and affectionate—Liu He’s heart just about melted.

He put the rabbit down to let Cream play on its own, and then headed into the kitchen.

—