@fashionPasha:

Dear Mr. Gu Qichi,
Our magazine sincerely invites you and your partner, Mr. Bo Yu, to participate in the February Valentine’s Day couple cover shoot for Fashion Pasha…

The email was too long, and Wen Xi didn’t finish reading all of it. She read it over several times before she finally dared believe that this really was an invitation from Fashion Pasha.

And the price they were offering…

Wen Xi scrolled all the way to the bottom. The payment for the shoot was listed there, and she couldn’t help marveling silently. The editor-in-chief really had gone all out this time.

Gu Qichi had already repaid the favor he owed to Youth, and that magazine’s release date had already been set. On top of that, Fashion Pasha was being so sincere that Wen Xi found herself tempted too. She immediately forwarded the email to Gu Qichi to ask for his opinion.

But she waited and waited and never got a reply from him.

Wen Xi frowned unconsciously. That shouldn’t be right. Logically speaking, Gu Qichi should still have been awake at that hour, washing up with the production crew.

But considering Gu Qichi’s love of sleep, Wen Xi didn’t think too much of it.

She simply went to bed in peace.

Early the next morning, the first episode of I’ll Accompany You to the End finished filming.

But the buzz still didn’t die down.

While nobody was paying attention, a topic suddenly exploded in the Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong supertopic—

#WhereDidGuQichiAndBoYuGo#

The comments underneath were all extremely bold.

[LetEachOtherGo]: “I went to East City Wetland Park this morning to take a look. All the guests and staff had gone home except Bo Yu and Gu Qichi, so let’s guess where they went. [pushes glasses]”

[FishFinSevenTimesOneNight]: “Don’t ask. If you ask, the answer is that the little couple secretly snuck off on a date. [heart]”

[YuQinGuZongForever]: “Be bolder. They went home to do it. [drool][drool]”

[never be alone]: “Chi Chi teased Yuzi hard today, with all the kissing, hugging, and calling him husband. All I can say is, Gu Qichi, if you can’t get out of bed today like a rag doll, you brought it on yourself. [heart][heart]”

[the first time]: “Stop guessing. A fansite admin said that Bo Yu carried little baby Chi away at around 2 a.m. last night. They didn’t spend the night at the wetland park. [husky]”

[BoYuTakeSomeIbuprofen]: “!!!!! Don’t lie to me, I’m not well-read. Why was Bo Yu in such a hurry to take his wife away? I don’t think I need to spell it out.”

[be honest]: “My cousin works at the front desk of a hotel under the Bo Group. She told me Bo Yu took Gu Qichi straight to the hotel last night. [pushes glasses]”

[BoYuTakeSomeIbuprofen]: “Bo Yu, take some ibuprofen. [heart] Don’t be burning up so badly. [heart] Were you really that desperate? [licking screen]”

[slow down]: “If I were Bo Yu and had a wife like that, I’d be feverish every day too. [playful]”

Wen Xi had gone to bed late the night before and still wasn’t awake, but Luo Qianqian was forever charging at the front lines of shipping CPs.

Happily scrolling through the comments in the topic, she also didn’t forget to browse the supertopic for all the sugar fans had dug out.

[you don’t know me]: “Girls, baby Chi is absolutely a top-tier tease-beauty!!! I found a very subtle sugar point.”

[you don’t know me]: “Yesterday they went supermarket shopping, right? Did anyone notice that when baby Chi was putting things away, he deliberately glanced at Bo Yu and then placed all the everyday items up high where he ‘couldn’t reach’ them? [doge]”

[you don’t know me]: “If he can’t reach them, then when it’s time to get them down… ahem, I don’t think I need to say more, right? [pushes glasses]”

Luo Qianqian: “Damn… that’s insane…”

She started replaying yesterday’s livestream to verify it, and sure enough, Gu Qichi had deliberately avoided Bo Yu and stood on tiptoe to place all those bottles and jars up high.

As if to prove the theory, the person who had made the post had even clipped a scene from that same night.

It was when Gu Qichi volunteered to go get the vinegar bottle while eating dumplings, only to fail to reach it no matter how long he stretched.

Bo Yu just happened to appear at that moment, wrapping an arm around his waist and easily taking down the bottle of vinegar, his chin resting against Gu Qichi’s shoulder as he smiled openly.

There was also a subtitle added above it, showing what Bo Yu had said at the time—

“Next time, just call me over to help you.”

The poster kept analyzing, even circling the vinegar bottle itself with a red marker.

It was clearly the same bottle Gu Qichi himself had put there that morning.

Luo Qianqian: “…”

Are you people shipping with microscopes?!!

She admitted defeat wholeheartedly.

…

…

…

The terms offered by Fashion Pasha were extremely appealing. A top-tier photographer and fashion stylist would serve Gu Qichi and Bo Yu for the entire shoot, the concept was fresh, and the creative direction was outstanding.

The formalwear was even haute couture from the current season. The editor-in-chief had borrowed it directly off the runway, and the two of them would be the first in the world to wear it.

Of course, on the matter of borrowing the outfits, the editor-in-chief had ridden a little on Bo Yu’s influence.

Gu Qichi trusted Fashion Pasha’s capabilities quite a lot, and after discussing it with Bo Yu, he agreed. The date was set for Saturday, which happened to be a livestream day.

The production team of I’ll Accompany You to the End and Pasha’s editor-in-chief reached a mutually beneficial agreement.

Pasha would ride the show’s popularity to increase this issue’s exposure and sales, while the program team could livestream the shoot itself and use the wedding-style photos to attract Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong CP fans. A win-win all around.

The day of the second livestream arrived quickly. This time, because they had prepared in advance, nothing particularly awkward happened on Gu Qichi and Bo Yu’s side.

There was only one thing—

When Gu Qichi came out after washing up that morning, he had put on Bo Yu’s clothes by mistake.

Because around eighty percent of their clothes were matching couple outfits, and because Gu Qichi was still groggy, wearing the wrong thing happened often enough. Bo Yu had long since gotten used to it.

But this time, it was a little different.

Gu Qichi had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still wet, and he came out wearing a shirt two sizes too big for him. Even the legs of his pajama bottoms were too long, bunching in layers around his pale ankles, damp from the water.

He lifted his lashes, and droplets still clung to them. Trails of water ran from the ends of his hair down the back of his neck, soaking several parts of the white shirt until the fabric clung slightly to his body.

“Bo Yu, I’m done washing up. You can go in now.”

As Gu Qichi spoke, he yawned and shuffled forward in the overly long pant legs, throwing himself toward the bed.

He completely failed to notice Bo Yu’s darkening gaze.

Before his face could even bury itself in the pillow, he was grabbed by the back of his collar and hauled back up from the bed.

Bo Yu’s hand slipped into his hair, his fingertips finding it wet.

Gu Qichi was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. Bo Yu slid his arms under Gu Qichi’s armpits, lifted him like a child, and sat him against the headboard.

Then he went into the bathroom, fetched a hair dryer, plugged it in, and carefully began drying Gu Qichi’s hair.

Bo Yu: “Why do you keep coming out without drying your hair first?”

The roar of the dryer was loud. Bo Yu’s fingers moved through his hair, and Gu Qichi sat in his lap while his own voice was scattered by the warm airflow. “Didn’t you say we had to leave in a hurry? I was trying to leave you more time.”

He said it as if it were perfectly natural, without the slightest awareness of how tempting his outfit looked.

After all, not many people could make a simple white shirt and black pants look seductive.

But Gu Qichi was different.

Bo Yu’s lashes hung low, and the faint shadow falling into his eyes concealed the dark, unreadable emotion there.

Once Gu Qichi’s hair was dry, Bo Yu stretched out his arms and, with practiced ease, lifted him up again and carried him toward the dressing room.

Suddenly airborne, Gu Qichi gave a start, all his sleepiness scattering.

After that night, he had developed a genuine trauma around this particular way of being carried.

His eyes widened as he warned Bo Yu in a low voice, “Bo Yu, we’re livestreaming right now.”

Gu Qichi: “Put me down.”

Bo Yu said nothing. He set him down on a chair in the dressing room, then went to get a clean towel and started drying his feet.

After showering, Gu Qichi had only wiped himself down hastily before coming out, so both his ankles and the soles of his feet were still wet.

Seeing Bo Yu about to lean closer, Gu Qichi tried to pull his ankle back, now fully awake. “Bo Yu, I can do it myself.”

Bo Yu didn’t let go. Instead, he tugged Gu Qichi closer, pressing his ankle down across his own thigh while speaking carelessly. “It doesn’t matter. They can’t see. I already covered the cameras in the dressing room.”

Gu Qichi suddenly lifted his head and realized that the cameras in the room really had all been thoroughly covered by Bo Yu. Only then did he relax.

Barrage comments:

“So you two do remember you’re livestreaming?!!! Wife, you’re going to tease me to death. [crying][crying]”

“Wife, do you know that dressing like this first thing in the morning is going to make Bo Yu absolutely wreck you? [crying][crying]”

“Forget Bo Yu, I want to absolutely wreck baby Chi too. [drool] Wife is seriously so delicate. [drool]”

“Help, does a great beauty like Gu Qichi really exist in real life? I’m seriously going to die from how beautiful he is.”

“Wife is so delicate. Give him to me!!!”

“Bo Yu picked wife up again. Wuwuwuwu, wife is clearly over 180 cm too, so how does he look like a child in Yuzi’s arms?”

“Who gets it? Their size difference is exactly what hits my kink the hardest. [licking screen][licking screen]”

“Size difference is the absolute best!!!”

“Wuwuwuwu, has nobody noticed? I feel like wife deliberately put on Bo Yu’s clothes wrong. There’s no way he couldn’t tell a shirt that oversized apart. He just wanted Bo Yu to mess him up. Wife, if you keep this up, you’re going to get completely ruined, do you know that?!”

“Where is Bo Yu carrying him off to? Looks like the dressing room.”

“Damn, the dressing room? Why did the screen go black?!”

“Bo Yu, you little— [soybean smile] What is there that we VIP users aren’t allowed to watch? [soybean smile]”

…

Bo Yu dried Gu Qichi’s feet, then even picked out his clothes for the day. Only after everything was taken care of did he stand up and carry him back.

“Remember to dry your hair next time before coming out,” he couldn’t help reminding Gu Qichi.

Gu Qichi sat on the bed wearing a dark green casual suit, which made his skin look even fairer.

The sound of running water came softly from the bathroom. Bo Yu was washing up.

Gu Qichi simply picked up his phone, opened Weibo, and went straight to the official account of I’ll Accompany You to the End.

The tasks last week had been packed too tightly together. Gu Qichi had been busy handling everything the production team assigned and hadn’t had time to check his own livestream room even once. He had only seen some clipped excerpts on Weibo.

Because the whole thing had been too socially mortifying, he had looked at only a tiny bit before putting his phone away.

He had even muted Yu Sheng, who had been going crazy over “Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong,” because at the time he had absolutely no desire for Yu Sheng to help him relive his most embarrassing viral moments.

After entering the official account, Gu Qichi was genuinely startled by his own engagement numbers.

1.56 million likes, 92,000 comments, 670,000 reposts.

He had been pushed straight to the top of the account’s hottest post rankings.

Then he clicked into his own livestream channel.

Viewers online: 9.64 million.

Gu Qichi: “…”

Where did all these people even come from?

As soon as the audience in the livestream saw him appear, they started typing in perfect unison across the public screen.

“Wife is so delicate, let me have him.”

“Wife is so delicate, let me have him.”

…

The speed was so fast it made Gu Qichi dizzy just trying to follow it, and the tips of his ears turned bright red.

He coughed awkwardly. “Cut it out. I’m married.”

The meaning was obvious: what you’re asking for is impossible.

The netizens were indignant and immediately started teasing him in new ways.

“Wife, look at me—then what were you just doing in the dressing room? [flowers]”

“Baby Chi! Confess honestly! Where did you go last Sunday night?”

“Baby, don’t listen to them. Look at me instead. I definitely won’t ask you socially fatal questions like they do. I only want to ask one thing: how many times do you and Bo Yu do it in one night? [heart]”

Gu Qichi: “…”

And this is your idea of not socially killing me???

The bathroom door opened, and damp steam spread quietly out through the gap. Bo Yu came out wearing only a bathrobe, just walking out openly like that. The moment Gu Qichi saw him, he hurriedly exited the livestream and ignored the filthy remarks the netizens kept sending.

…

On the way to Fashion Pasha, it wasn’t just the two of them in the stretch Lincoln. Wen Xi, Luo Qianqian, and the cameraman responsible for the livestream shoot were there too.

Since they were going to shoot a magazine, Wen Xi didn’t feel at ease without staff accompanying them.

More than that, though, she really wanted to observe the two of them in their real, everyday dynamic. She looked them over several times as they sat side by side, and her brain was starting to go fuzzy.

The Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong CP supertopic had way too much magic in it. Over the last two days, Wen Xi had basically been pinned down in a grain warehouse and force-fed fan content until she was almost stuffed to death.

Last night she had even stayed up all night reading a fanfic titled President Bo’s Devotion: The Cold, Delicate Wife Runs Away While Pregnant. It had been way too addictive.

Wen Xi shook her head hard, deeply despising herself.

But very quickly she redirected that condemnation. If anyone was to blame, it had to be YUCHI, that rich woman. She had directly gone out and hired all kinds of major figures in fan-creation circles, paying them to ship the CP. If fanfic writers didn’t update, YUCHI would throw money at them to hurry up.

And not just a little money, either. Huge amounts.

While Wen Xi was cursing in her heart, Luo Qianqian—after having already had her fill of Gu Qichi and Bo Yu’s dog food—quietly opened her own alternate Weibo account while slacking off.

She had just been about to slip into the supertopic and happily eat some fresh new fan content when, after seeing the amount under her tips section, the smile on her face suddenly collapsed.

The number had gone up by several more ten-thousands.

She clicked into the chat history and shut her eyes in despair.

The latest message had come just yesterday.

(Three days ago) [ForTheBathtubTenThousandTimes]: Campus first meeting: Bo Yu x Gu Qichi

(Last night)

[YUCHI]: Still not updating?

[YUCHI]: tipped xx ten-thousand.

[YUCHI]: Still not updating?

[YUCHI]: Please update soon, author.

[YUCHI]: tipped xx ten-thousand.

Help, I’m just writing for love, stop urging me!

Luo Qianqian glanced again at Gu Qichi and Bo Yu in the car and noticed that they were still holding hands. Her shattered heart received the slightest bit of comfort.

She quietly opened the small group chat she shared with other fan writers who shipped Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong.

[ForTheBathtubTenThousandTimes]: So… has YUCHI come to pressure you all too?

[YuQinGuZongMayYouLastAHundredYears]: …To be honest, yes. Last night.

[Chat log: “Your writing is beautiful, delicate in style, smooth in emotion. Hope you update more often.” (tipped xx ten-thousand)]

[DidTheBathtubDoItToday]: I got it too… wuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwu…

[Chat log:
YUCHI: Teacher, may I move into your brain? When will the next update be? (tipped xx ten-thousand)
YUCHI: Teacher, still not updating? (tipped xx ten-thousand)
YUCHI: @might: Forced! More more!]

Luo Qianqian: “…”

The update requests were all copied from comments other readers had left, so for a moment it was hard to tell whether YUCHI was genuinely obsessed with Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong or just killing time.

But judging by the frequency of the requests, “genuine love” wasn’t even enough to describe it anymore.

YUCHI was borderline deranged.

They soon arrived at the Fashion Pasha shoot location, where Editor-in-Chief Cheng personally came out to receive them.

Bo Yu was already accustomed to this kind of treatment, but Gu Qichi found it somewhat surprising.

Editor Cheng glanced at the cameraman carrying the livestream rig, shook hands with Gu Qichi, and said with a graceful smile, “It’s a great honor to invite Teacher Gu and President Bo to this shoot. To be honest, I’m also a Yu-Qin-Gu-Zong CP fan.”

Gu Qichi returned the handshake and gave a somewhat helpless smile. “Thank you for your support.”

Editor Cheng led them inside and handed them over to the wardrobe and styling staff. Naturally, she herself didn’t stay idle either. Sitting nearby, she switched directly into CP-shipping mode.

Seeing the real people in front of her was way more thrilling than a livestream, okay?!!

Editor Cheng held herself back from letting out a full prairie-dog scream.

The styling itself was fairly simple. Both of them belonged to that top-tier class in terms of facial features and bone structure, and since this was a dual romantic cover shoot, there was no need for overly extravagant styling. Simply bringing out the natural strengths of their faces was already more than enough to draw the eye.

Gu Qichi’s hair was styled with a center part, his front bangs lifted into a handsome curve. He wore very little makeup, only a slight deepening of the red shadow under his eyes to accentuate the aegyo-sal. Whenever he tilted his chin up, his whole air became noble and aloof.

There was even less to say about Bo Yu. His features were so superior that he didn’t need contouring to define them. He was only given a light layer of foundation and a bit of brow shaping.

Editor Cheng had spent many years in the entertainment industry and shot countless covers, but even she couldn’t help exclaiming:

“They suit each other too well—absolutely perfectly!!! I’ve never seen a couple with visuals this insane!”

“This is practically a celestial match!!!”

Once hair and makeup were finished, the staff brought over two sets of formalwear.

Editor Cheng gave Gu Qichi an ambiguous blink and said with a smile, “Baby Chi, we put in a huge amount of effort to borrow this couture. You two will be the first in the world to wear it, and this outfit in particular was personally chosen by me. It suits you very well.”

Bo Yu had already been sent to the dressing room. Gu Qichi looked at Editor Cheng in confusion, took the suit, and felt a little curious.

As he neared the dressing room, Editor Cheng was still teasing him: “Baby Chi, don’t get shy later.”

It was only after reaching the dressing room and taking the outfit out of its garment bag that Gu Qichi finally understood what that look in her eyes had meant.

At first glance from the front, the outfit really did look fairly ordinary.

But once he examined it more closely, it became clear what made it so special.

It was a boldly designed tailored suit.

There was no inner layer underneath. At the waist there was a small cutout, but when the eye moved across the back, nearly two-thirds of it was open.

A delicate silver chain also draped down from the shoulder and neck area, connecting to the chain at the waist of the suit trousers, with a hollow gemstone at the center.

Editor Cheng explained attentively from outside the dressing room, “The gemstone is sponsored by Bulgari. Our costume designer thought the back looked too empty, so they added some design there. I thought it would suit you very well.”

Holding the outfit, Gu Qichi felt a little lost.

Because he couldn’t figure out the proper way to put it on.

Editor Cheng had apparently noticed the long silence from inside the dressing room and took the initiative to ask, “Would you like me to send in a staff member to help you?”

The vein at Gu Qichi’s temple twitched. He steadied his breathing and answered outwardly, “No need.”

If Bo Yu found out someone else had helped him get dressed, he would lose his mind again tonight.

The livestream was still on, and when Bo Yu lost control, Gu Qichi truly couldn’t handle it.

Gu Qichi found the buttons, undid his clothes, and struggled into the outfit.

Fortunately, the heating in the studio was high. Otherwise, with so much of his back bare, he would probably have frozen to death.

It had to be said—Editor Cheng’s sense of fashion and eye for styling were excellent. The outfit really did suit Gu Qichi.

So much so that the moment he walked out, the entire shoot set erupted into wave after wave of screams.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Teacher Gu is too beautiful!”

“Teacher Gu is a sexuality-bending weapon in human form!!!”

“He’s a human king of seduction!!!”

Among all those screams, only Bo Yu’s gaze remained heavy, his expression dark and displeased.

Gu Qichi was too dazzling.

The suit was made of a dark red satin fabric that reflected gorgeous shifting highlights under the studio lights.

Gu Qichi was pale, and the color made his skin look almost overexposed with whiteness.

His brows and eyes were strikingly beautiful, the lines of his features sharp.

His peach-blossom eyes tilted upward in a severe, elegant angle, his nose bridge high, his lips full and flushed with a watery red hue.

He looked like a richly painted watercolor portrait splashed down in a moment of passion.

A hint of firm muscle showed faintly at his waist and abdomen. His back was bare, most of his shoulder blades exposed, and when he moved, he looked like a butterfly about to take flight—thin and fragile.

The muscles of his back weren’t exaggerated, but they had a great deal of resilient tension. His spine and the skin on either side formed a straight hollow, touched with faint shadow, winding all the way downward until it stopped at the shallow dip of his lower back.

It looked too slight to hold even a drop of water, and yet deep enough to contain a whole spring pool, stirring ripples in anyone’s heart.

Under the shooting lights, the diamond chains reflected a dazzling glow. Beneath his shoulder blades, the largest gemstone swayed lightly in the very center of the groove of his spine, while the chain below cast a thin shadow over his waist.

He was like a rose blooming in the depths of midnight—crimson petals, thick and full, rich fragrance spreading silently and wildly through the enclosed space.

Gorgeous to the point of decay.

Beautiful in a sharp, dangerous way.

Cold light glinted off him.

Wen Xi: “My god… no wonder it’s Fashion Pasha. The reputation is absolutely deserved…”

Luo Qianqian: “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Teacher Gu’s beauty is killing me on the spot!!! This is literally a god descending to earth! A miracle as perfect as Venus in the golden ratio!!!”

Bo Yu’s expression remained dark. The restless heat radiating off him was almost tangible, forcefully filling every inch of the cramped, narrow space.

Gu Qichi walked to his side, took his hand, and said in a small, intimate voice, “Don’t be mad. It’s for work…”

Bo Yu still didn’t move.

The props teacher approached awkwardly, holding a can of acrylic paint, and said cautiously, “We still need to add a letter onto Teacher Gu’s body…”

Bo Yu lowered his gaze, then held out his hand to the props teacher.

“I’ll do it.”