After returning from Country Y, the variety show recordings for I Will Accompany You to the End involving Gu Qichi and Bo Yu were completely finished.

The other four groups of guests still had to follow the production crew to record one more travel segment before the show officially wrapped up.

Because of this, Gu Qichi felt exceptionally relaxed and comfortable over the past few days since their return.

Most of the time, he stayed at home, petting his cat while reading his script, trying to figure out the character for his upcoming project.

The script Jiang An gave him was highly challenging. It was a genre Gu Qichi had never tackled before, so he kept revising his character biography, feeling a bit uncertain on how to grasp it perfectly.

Jiang An looked like an easygoing little old man, but on set, his demands were exceptionally high and his attitude was extremely strict.

Gu Qichi had already experienced this when they worked together on Strive! Actors!

He, Su Ming, and Yu Sheng were among the better actors in that batch of guests, yet not a single one of them could ever pass Jiang An’s scenes in just one take.

When filming, Jiang An would constantly call cut, nitpicking every detail over and over to strive for absolute perfection.

Furthermore, Jiang An planned to submit this film to international film festivals for awards. To say Gu Qichi wasn’t nervous would be a lie.

So, when his manager Wen Xi came to inform him about recording the final live stream episode, Gu Qichi actually let out a rare sigh of relief.

“This will be your last live stream recording. It won’t be at your own house; they’ll probably pick you up and take you to a studio or somewhere else, gathering all five groups of guests together.”

Wen Xi flipped through the proposal sent by the production crew. It was very vague with no concrete details—likely to maintain a sense of mystery. They were keeping even the guests in the dark.

“Given this production team’s usual style, the final live stream won’t go for some nostalgic route, nor will they make you do that sappy, tear-jerking emotional stuff. It’ll probably be a prank, so prepare yourself mentally.”

“I’m guessing it might be something like Truth or Dare?” Wen Xi guessed tentatively, but didn’t dare to make wild assumptions for fear of misleading Gu Qichi.

Gu Qichi didn’t overthink it. Ever since the last time all five couples played that couple’s flying chess game together, he had completely lost hope in this production team’s bottom line.

No matter how awkward it got, it couldn’t be worse than last time.

On the day of the live stream recording, the PD knocked on the Bo residence’s door right on time. Compared to the restraint of the first recording, everyone was visibly more familiar with each other by this final episode.

The temperature was rising day by day. Early spring was approaching, and the snow was melting. Having shed their heavy down jackets, Gu Qichi and Bo Yu wore matching hoodies in the same color palette, paired with light-colored pants.

The housekeeper had helped open the door. When the accompanying PD led the crew inside, Gu Qichi still had a slice of toast in his mouth and hadn’t completely swallowed his milk.

Not far away, A-Ci the cat was eating her chicken breast. Bo Yu had long since finished his breakfast and was sitting across from Gu Qichi, reading the latest Financial Times.

The entire scene was joyous, exceptionally warm, and harmonious.

The cameras in the house were also on. Even though it was only a little past eight in the morning, the viewer count in Gu Qichi and Bo Yu’s live stream was already staggering, leaving the second-place stream far in the dust with more than double their traffic.

The bullet comments were also incredibly lively. The show hadn’t done a live broadcast in so long that everyone had been surviving on the sparse clips and behind-the-scenes footage released by the TV station. Those videos had practically been worn out by the CP fans rewatching them.

“Wife, wife, wife! Long time no see, I missed you so much! [Crying]”
“Time flies so fast. Thinking that the live streams will be completely over after today makes me so sad.”
“The other day in the exam room, I was about to use my last pen refill (xin), but I ran into the show’s director and he just snatched it away! I broke down crying, ‘My refill! My refill! You stole my refill (heart)!’ The director asked me why this pen refill was so important. I told him my refill (heart) has a name, and it’s Gu Qichi.”
“Wife looks so cute eating [Crying]. The thought that after today, Wife is going to be hidden away by Bo Yu to be looked at all by himself makes my heart ache so much I can’t breathe. [Crying]”
“Having a wife like Gu Qichi is truly a blessing Bo Yu cultivated in his past life.”
“Having a husband like Bo Yu means Gu Qichi’s blessings aren’t shallow either. [Doge]”
“The ID upstairs, please explain why your name is [Bo Yu’s 25cm Thermos] [Husky]. Your intentions are questionable.”
“When it comes to playing around, no one beats you Yu Qin Gu Zong CP fans. [Adjusts glasses]”
“So since it’s the last day, are they really not going to let Wife open his phone and respond to the comments? [Pleading]”

Seeing the synchronized barrage of comments floating by, the production staff were also tempted. They looked at Gu Qichi hesitantly, opening and closing their mouths several times but not daring to speak up.

Instead, Gu Qichi noticed the subtle cues first. He quickly finished his breakfast in a few bites, looked at the camera, and asked softly, “Is there some special scenario I need to act out?”

His skin was pale, and sitting against the light, his fluffy, soft hair was plated with a layer of pale gold. There were still a few crumbs on the corner of his mouth that he hadn’t wiped away. He didn’t look like an actor at all; rather, he looked like a soft sticky rice ball that needed to be taken care of.

Seeing him ask, the staff member smiled sheepishly: “It’s just the live stream. Everyone wants you to pick a few comments and read them.”

Bo Yu lifted his eyelids. His gaze was light, and his upward-slanted eyes seemed devoid of emotion, yet everyone somehow felt he was in a good mood.

And Bo Yu was indeed in a good mood. He took a tissue, carefully wiped Gu Qichi’s mouth clean, and then handed his own phone over, letting him read the comments for fun.

This was actually a game the production team had planned for the live stream today, but they hadn’t expected Gu Qichi’s group to bring it up early. The PD thought about it for a moment and didn’t speak up to stop them.

The comments were scrolling by so quickly in real-time; it shouldn’t affect the upcoming schedule.

But the moment Gu Qichi opened his live stream, the well-behaved comments from just a second ago instantly changed their tune.

“Wife hi! I’m fine! You are mine, let me try!”
“Wife (looks up and down) (raises eyebrows) (whistles) I want to have dinner with you (strokes chin)”
“On my way home after buying oysters, an oyster jumped out of the bag and burrowed into the mud. Turns out it’s called ‘I like you so much’ (mud/like sound similar). [Finger Heart]”
“When is baby Qi joining a new cast to film? [Pleading] It’s been so long since we’ve seen Actor Gu Qichi [Pleading]”
“God damn it, I’m a career fan! So is there still any chance for Xing Tianqing to be released? The male lead is completely ruined after all [Crying]”
“Gu Qichi’s style is so weird. It’s not bossy, it’s not pure-and-sexy, it just makes me go crazy.”

Gu Qichi tentatively read a few aloud. The more he read, the more embarrassed he got. His eyes darted everywhere, not knowing where to look.

Bo Yu, however, had long since put down his newspaper the moment Gu Qichi started reading the comments. The man’s gaze darkened, losing its initial leisure.

He knew it. Gu Qichi’s fans could never behave and post normal comments.

Fortunately, it was about time. The PD glanced at his watch and reminded the two of them to head to today’s recording location. After all, the other guests had already set off; it wouldn’t be good or polite if the two of them arrived too late.

Most domestic dating and marriage variety shows gathered the couples together to shoot as a group.

It saved time and effort. For example, the previous show produced by this crew used a group-recording format. Gu Qichi had looked into it before; that show also produced a massively popular CP, Xie Hanshu and Wen Sui.

In that show, the guests invited by the crew were much closer to each other than the ones in their current season, and their relationships were better.

However, comparing the two, Gu Qichi still preferred it when it was just him and Bo Yu. It saved him from excessive socializing, and the other four couples could choose their preferred travel destinations instead of being restricted by Bo Yu.

The recording location was the observation room where Yu Sheng and the others had previously been invited to watch and comment on the broadcasts.

This time, there were no observation room guests. The host, however, was present—it was Shen Chen, known for her extremely sharp hosting style.

Gu Qichi’s group arrived third, neither early nor late.

Shen Chen was sitting on a high stool, wearing a sleek black suit. Her hair was pulled back into a crisp, high ponytail with no bangs. Paired with exaggerated earrings and flaming red lips, she looked exceptionally striking, perfectly matching her personality.

As soon as Gu Qichi walked in the door, while he was still observing the seating arrangements and figuring out where to sit, Shen Chen had already hopped off her stool and walked over to him.

She was naturally tall, and today she had chosen a pair of black YSL stiletto heels that were a good dozen centimeters high, instantly bringing her eye-level with Gu Qichi.

When Gu Qichi reached out to shake her hand, Shen Chen also extended hers.

“Because of Yu Sheng, I’ve also become a Yu Qin Gu Zong CP fan, so Teacher Qichi, could you give me an autograph later?” Shen Chen smiled, her eyes burning with fervor. “I even brought the official merch issued by the show.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a staff member beside her immediately brought over a poster. Shen Chen thoughtfully handed Gu Qichi a pen, her eyes silently urging him on.

It was the first time Gu Qichi had encountered someone so direct. Just as he finished signing his name, she called Bo Yu over to do the same. Shen Chen stared at their actions, looking highly satisfied.

After getting the poster back, she loosely tucked a stray hair behind her ear and smiled kindly. “Qichi, don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you today.”

Gu Qichi’s heart skipped a beat, a strong sense of foreboding washing over him.

Facts proved that, exactly as he suspected, for the sake of hype and traffic, the game the production team prepared for this final live stream was Truth or Dare.

But this Truth or Dare pushed the boundaries far more than any variety show Gu Qichi had ever seen.

Five groups of guests, eleven people in total, sat around a circular table. Except for Shen Chen, everyone was looking at each other in dismay.

“Don’t be so nervous. We’re live right now, you guys can say hi to everyone.” Shen Chen held a deck of poker cards, lazily shuffling them.

Once the camera director cut to each group of guests so they could introduce themselves, Shen Chen slowly pulled out a single card from the deck.

The Joker card.

She raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips. “Looks like my luck is pretty good. But unfortunately, your luck might not be. After all, I came here today carrying a mission from the fans.”

“Director, where are the turntable and the bitter gourd juice? Hurry up and get them ready.”

The rules of the game were very simple. Holding the script, Shen Chen explained the requirements and rules clearly and thoroughly at a measured pace.

“The contents for our Truths and Dares this time are all inside this deck of cards in my hand, to be drawn by yourselves. The prompts inside were all crowdsourced by the production team from your CP fans in advance. You could say that this deck of cards represents the innermost desires of your fans.”

As she spoke, she winked at the camera. “I’ve looked through this deck, and the contents are quite explosive. The Director had better be careful, or our live stream room might get banned.”

Han Hao scratched his head, let out a couple of awkward laughs, and asked uncertainly, “What if it involves severe personal privacy? We can’t possibly answer that, right?”

Hearing this, Gu Qichi also turned his head, harboring some curiosity.

In response, Shen Chen drew a Dare card from the deck. She showed it to Han Hao and made sure it was fully exposed to the camera.

[Write your name on your partner’s abs.]

“Relax, Teacher Han. It’s definitely content that can pass censorship. After all, Director Yang and the others still want to make money. If the stream really got banned, they’d cry themselves to death.”

The turntable first landed on the Best Actor Han Hao and his wife. Han Li’s face flushed slightly, and she pursed her lips. “We’ll choose Truth.”

Shen Chen went “Hmm,” sandwiching the previous card between her fingers. “Are you sure you don’t want this card, Sister Han Li? I think this one is really good, it’d even let us see Best Actor Han’s abs.”

Han Li politely declined.

Fortunately, her luck was good. The content of the Truth card wasn’t too outrageous.

[When was your last kiss?]

Han Li didn’t speak; Han Hao answered instead: “This morning.”

The comment section went absolutely crazy.

“When did the Math Function CP (Han/Su) kiss?!! How come we didn’t see it?!!”
“I know where! When Sister Han Li was making breakfast, Best Actor Han kept rubbing up against her and even pulled her into the pantry. They definitely kissed secretly then. [Doge]”
“Ahhhh, the Function CP’s steady, slow-flowing romance is really so sweet to ship.”
“The production team sure knows how to play, but I’d rather see Sister Han Li write her name on Best Actor Han’s abs.”
“Awoooo not to be off-topic, but it really reminded me of that ‘Yu’ character written on Gu Qichi’s back last time. It was so hot it killed me.”
“Quick, give that card to our Yu Qin Gu Zong! [Angry] I’m not joking [Drool] [Drool]”

Several rounds passed, and almost everyone had been picked once.

Only Gu Qichi and Bo Yu hadn’t had a turn yet.

Shen Chen couldn’t help but look over, joking, “Teacher Qichi’s luck is pretty good this time. As a Yu Qin Gu Zong CP fan, even I feel it’s a bit of a pity.”
“I was originally really looking forward to you guys demonstrating that first card.”

Gu Qichi smiled awkwardly. “That’s a bit too much. I hope my punishment later will be a bit easier.”

Shen Chen, acting on behalf of the thirsty fans, expressed her dissatisfaction.

The wheel spun another round, and the pointer landed on Han Hao and Han Li again. This time, Han Li didn’t choose anything else and accepted the punishment from the very first Dare card.

Anyway, Han Hao was the one showing his abs, not her.

An ambiguous atmosphere quietly climbed within the live stream room. Gu Qichi glanced at Han Li’s ears—they were completely red. Best Actor Han Hao didn’t look too comfortable either.

The ‘pen’ the crew provided was a tube of red lip glaze. Drawing on the skin with it was incredibly eye-catching.

Gu Qichi exhaled, rubbing his own ear. Just as he was sighing in relief that he wasn’t as horribly unlucky as last time, the very next second, Han Li’s punishment ended, the wheel of fate spun and tilted once more, and the pointer aimed straight at Bo Yu.

Gu Qichi: “…”

Sure enough, one shouldn’t speak too soon.
He really was cursed with terrible luck.

Without thinking for more than a moment, Gu Qichi chose Truth.

Shen Chen handed him a card, the expression on her face looking even more nervous than his. Gu Qichi suddenly found it funny and felt a lot less anxious.

[What was the situation during your worst fight with your partner? And why did it happen?]

The moment she saw the prompt, Shen Chen curled her lips in displeasure. This question was completely useless on Gu Qichi and Bo Yu!

Gu Qichi answered truthfully: “We’ve never had a fight.”

Whether it was a major argument or a minor disagreement, they rarely occurred between him and Bo Yu.

They had been married for almost a year now, and thinking about it carefully, Gu Qichi really had never fought with Bo Yu. The other man had always accommodated him.

But all the guests present showed doubtful expressions. Shen Chen even voiced her skepticism directly: “I don’t believe it. Have you guys really never fought since being together?”

Bo Yu lowered his eyes, glanced at the text on the card, and sat in a relaxed posture. “We really haven’t fought. We rarely disagree on things, and even if something comes up, we always calmly discuss and negotiate it.”

Shen Chen was highly disappointed.
And so was the audience in the live stream.

“If Bo Yu had a tail, it’d be sticking straight up into the sky right now.”
“Bo Yu: Heh, a man who has never fought with his wife is a true man.”
“Bo Yu’s inner thoughts: No way, no way, there are actually people who fight with their wives?”
“Can we give Qichi and Bo Yu a bit more screen time? I’d rather the show be rigged. Why haven’t the spicy questions landed on them yet? [Crying]”

Whether the fans’ begging worked, or the God of Bad Luck hovering over Gu Qichi’s head exerted its power, no one knew.

As soon as that question was answered, the wheel spun again. The pointer went around a few times, moved slowly, hesitated between Gu Qichi and another couple for a moment, and then resolutely chose Gu Qichi.

Double kill.

Shen Chen’s face finally showed the delighted expression she had been hoping for. She waved the cards in her hand and slowly added, “According to the game rules, Qichi, you can’t choose Truth this time. So you have to draw from the Dare cards.”

Gu Qichi thought about his own terrible luck. He didn’t move his hand, but instead turned to Bo Yu, tilted his head, and said, “You draw.”

Bo Yu didn’t object. He stood up, leaned closer to Shen Chen, and casually drew a card from her fanned-out deck.

The card flipped over, revealing the clear text written on it.

[Please act out a spectacular scene from a piece of fanfiction together with your partner.]

At the bottom of the card was a pair of chibi characters. Bo Yu recognized them at a glance—it was Gu Qichi and himself.

Not for any other reason, but because Bo Yu had personally commissioned this artwork from an artist. He had just authorized its use for the Yu Qin Gu Zong super topic later on, but he never expected it to be printed on this.

The veins on his temple throbbed a few times.

Upon seeing the text on the card, Shen Chen’s eyes lit up. She couldn’t hold back her praise: “Perfect!”

Even though she had only recently learned the whole story about Bo Yu dropping his [yuchi] alt-account cover and had passionately discussed it with other CP fans, out of professional duty—and partly just wanting to watch the world burn—Shen Chen smiled sweetly and asked Bo Yu: “Teacher Bo might not be too familiar with what fanfiction is. Fanfiction is a literary genre involving secondary creation using you and Qichi’s character settings, living environments, personalities, experiences, and a series of other elements.”

She turned to face the camera, unable to hide the mischievous gleam in her eyes. “If I remember correctly, the prompt on this card was suggested by a Yu Qin Gu Zong CP fan. I didn’t expect you guys to actually draw it. What destiny.”

Bullet comments:
“Such destiny, Bo Yu, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA finally getting to see this man trip up.”
“Save me, I just remembered him getting mocked by all the casual fans last time [Crying Laughing]”
“Bo Yu: Heh, explaining the definition of fanfic to me? Don’t you know I’m the biggest fanfic boss? [Doge]”
“Bo Yu, don’t look so grim. Look on the bright side, maybe the one you’ll have to act out is one you commissioned an author to write. [Doge]”
“Checking the trending searches right now. I bet today’s hashtag is going to blow up again.”
“The most famous Yu Qin Gu Zong fics: [Runaway Wealthy Young Madam 99 Times], [Taboo Love: Warlord’s Stepmother], [Puppy Alpha Heir x Kitten Omega Childhood Sweetheart], [Regent’s Canary], plus those famous ‘play’ fics. Whichever one it is, it’ll blow up the trending list. [Husky]”
“Fanfiction: Never in my life did I expect to be personally acted out by the real people.”
“What do you mean fanfiction? This is documentary literature [Eating Melon]”

Bo Yu seemed to have thought of something as well. He raised his eyes with a smile that didn’t reach them. His gaze was dark, making it impossible to read his emotions as he said with a half-smile, “Oh, is that so?”

Gu Qichi also had a bit of a headache.

He originally knew absolutely nothing about things like fanfiction. But blame Ji Zhaozhao for accidentally switching to Bo Yu’s Weibo alt account last time and exposing ‘yuchi’. Gu Qichi had merely teased him about it a few times, but when they got home after the New Year, Bo Yu pinned him to the bed and made him act out the top dozen most popular fanfics from the Yu Qin Gu Zong super topic, one by one.

Over those five days, Gu Qichi didn’t even know how many messed-up scenarios they had tried. Even thinking about it now made him feel a sense of utter debauchery.

His hand, hidden in his sleeve, curled up involuntarily as unpleasant thoughts jumped into his mind.

Please don’t let it be one of the fics Bo Yu made me ‘act’ out, Gu Qichi took a deep breath, fragmentary memories flashing continuously through his mind.

He had knelt on the stairs. Even though there was a soft carpet beneath his knees, he still ended up with quite a few bruises…
A-Ci had been locked out of the room. The AC was blasting inside, and the cat’s meows couldn’t penetrate the door, yet Gu Qichi could hear the sound of his own blood boiling…
…

The production staff brought up a few trays. Inside were five pieces of paper. They gestured for Gu Qichi and Bo Yu to pick one.

Gu Qichi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He stared at the trays, not daring to let Bo Yu use his hands again.

His own luck had been pretty good today, while Bo Yu’s had been completely average, drawing such an embarrassing punishment.

Maybe it was his turn to get lucky today?

Gu Qichi hesitated, afraid that whatever Bo Yu casually picked would be something they had already acted out.

While thinking, he approached the staff, covertly bumping into Bo Yu during the process to express his dissatisfaction.

But this little action was quickly captured by the cameras. The fans gathered in front of their phones and screens saw it too and began teasing.

“Baby Qi is shy! His ears are red again, so cute.”
“He totally thinks no one saw him bumping Bo Yu, but we saw everything.”
“Am I the only one curious about which fics the crew picked? [Pleading] I’m seriously so curious.”
“Don’t even think about it, the most famous ones are private commissions bought by ‘yuchi’. The crew can’t get authorization from him. And given Bo Yu’s clueless expression, the crew definitely didn’t buy the scripts he holds either. The ones they picked probably aren’t very well known.”
“Are they sore losers? [Going Crazy] They’re doing fanfics, but won’t do anything spicy? Director Yang, can you even do it???”
“Director Yang: I just want to make money, not lose my job. Does no one remember that the show’s biggest sugar daddy sponsor is Bo Yu? [Doge]”
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten! I Will Accompany You to the End‘s biggest sponsor is Bo Yu. And he still dared to include a segment like this? He really has a death wish.”
“Director Yang, the number one person dancing on the edge of Bo Yu’s bottom line. [Husky]”

Outside the screen, all the viewers were incredibly excited, sending a synchronized barrage of comments. But Luo Qianqian was even more nervous. She stared intently at the five trays prepared by the crew, not knowing which one was hers.

As Yu Qin Gu Zong‘s biggest fanfic author, Luo Qianqian had joined the fandom the earliest. Because of this, many of her works were free, publicly available fics that weren’t subject to too many restrictions.

Therefore, the production team had approached her early on.

Luo Qianqian initially flat-out refused, but seeing that a suggestion from a CP fan had been adopted, she gradually began to waver.

After all, no one knew she was that fanfic author, and it was even more impossible for Bo Yu to guess that she was [A Million Times For Yuchi].

And she really, really wanted the chance to see the fanfiction she wrote turn into reality…

After struggling over and over, hesitating and deciding, Luo Qianqian firmly emphasized to the production team that her personal information could not be exposed before finally agreeing to this copyright purchase.

Her phone buzzed again, popping up several notifications. Luo Qianqian clicked on them; it was the other fanfic authors whose copyrights had been bought along with hers for this.

[Polaris]: I’m so nervous. Who do you guys think Qichi will draw?
[Green Wood]: I literally never thought they’d actually draw this punishment card. Fuck, I’m suddenly so nervous. I originally just wanted to join the fun. [Cracked]
[Thousands and Millions]: I’m so nervous too… Why do I simultaneously hope Qichi draws mine and hope he doesn’t? [Crying]

Below that followed a whole row of “Me too, me too.”

Seeing Gu Qichi hesitating among the five scripts, everyone’s hearts silently leaped into their throats.

Shen Chen tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her tone incredibly excited: “These articles only had excerpts taken from them. There won’t be any huge challenges in difficulty; they’re very easy to act out!”

“Teacher Gu, hurry up and draw!”

Prompted by Shen Chen’s urging, the other guests also couldn’t help but look over, craning their necks in intense curiosity.

Seeing him hesitating, Bo Yu just wanted to reach out and choose for him, but Gu Qichi took a step forward.

Bo Yu’s luck was simply too terrible; it was better if he did it himself. Gu Qichi braced himself, his gaze sweeping over the five trays, before reaching out and picking one.

He chose the one right in the middle.

The tray was covered with a layer of red velvet cloth, reflecting a soft glow under the brilliant stage lights. The small script placed on top was obscured, the text illegible, with absolutely no way to figure out its contents.

Gu Qichi took the small script out. Everyone craned their necks, waiting in eager anticipation.

Shen Chen even hopped right off her high stool, losing all trace of her composure as she hurriedly leaned in, curiosity swirling in her eyes.

“Which one did you draw?!”

These articles were personally selected by her and Yu Sheng, and they had gone through incredible lengths to find the authors’ contact info and recommend them to the crew.

It was just that Yu Sheng wanted to see [Runaway Wealthy Young Madam], while she wanted to see [Overbearing Regent].

A corner of the script in Gu Qichi’s hand was revealed, exposing the text—

ABO Fanfiction.
Puppy-type Alpha Heir x Kitten-type Omega Childhood Sweetheart.
Written by: Qianqian Wanwan.

The hand Gu Qichi was using to grip the edge of the paper suddenly tightened.

Good news: He and Bo Yu hadn’t acted this one out during those five days.
Bad news: Gu Qichi had read this fic before.