As the saying goes, “you can run but you can’t hide.”

After Rong Xu uttered the phrase, “What’s your explanation?”, Qin Cheng, without a word, calmly pulled out his wallet and handed it to his young lover. With a righteous expression on his handsome face, Qin Cheng lowered his gaze and said solemnly, “To dedicate my life to charity is my lifelong pursuit.”

His change of expression was astonishingly fast; even Rong Xu hadn’t reacted before he adopted this selfless “If I don’t dedicate, who will?” look.

Holding the wallet in his hand, Rong Xu wrapped himself in the thin blanket and sat up in bed. He thoughtfully examined the wallet, occasionally looking up at the man in front of him. A moment later, his lips curled: “Are you planning to start a charity foundation with me?”

Qin Cheng sighed softly, reaching out to embrace his young lover. He held the person wrapped in the blanket, his voice deep: “Xiao Xu, I originally had this plan. I’ve been in the industry for many years, and it’s time I did something for society.”

Rong Xu lay in the warm embrace, smiling with raised eyebrows: “Continue.”

Qin Cheng’s smile stiffened, then he quickly continued: “With great power comes great responsibility, Xiao Xu. Let’s establish a charity foundation.” 

No sooner had he spoken than his breath hitched: because Rong Xu suddenly reached out and directly pinched his nose.

Qin Cheng: “…”

Rong Xu chuckled softly: “We’ll talk about future matters later. You haven’t explained, my rich and beautiful Orange Goddess, what about your wasteful spending?”

Qin Cheng: “…The past is like clouds. Xiao Xu, I think the charity foundation should…”

Rong Xu coughed softly, and the man immediately fell silent, dutifully holding his lover, his expression unchanged, his heart unruffled. He always maintained this calm and composed demeanor, yet no one knew what kind of emotions were hidden beneath that serene facade.

Rong Xu said nothing, and Qin Cheng remained silent too. Rong Xu scrutinized him for a long time, only to see that Qin Cheng showed no emotion, remaining utterly calm, giving nothing away. After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh and said, “Sometimes I have no idea what you’re thinking.”

Qin Cheng frowned slightly, opening his mouth to explain: “Xiao Xu…”

“However, when I saw your… performance online earlier tonight, I was indeed quite surprised.” Thinking of this, Rong Xu looked up and asked, “Does Auntie Qin know that the real you is like this?”

His ears gradually reddened, but his expression remained outwardly calm and composed. Qin Cheng answered steadily, “No.”

Rong Xu smiled: “So only I know?”

This kind of “multiple personality” behavior online was quite embarrassing. Qin Cheng used his excellent acting skills to mask his current awkwardness and nodded. 

However, he never expected that the moment his head nodded, his lips would suddenly feel warm. His eyes widened abruptly. When he saw the scene before him, the handsome and beautiful young man’s eyes were curved in a smile, and he said earnestly, “That’s good. You belong only to me.”

All the shyness that had been suppressed beneath his calm facade erupted at this moment, even his cheeks turned red. Qin Cheng quickly turned his face away, and after a long while, he replied in a low voice: “…Mm.”

“Pffft.”

Suddenly hearing this sound, the man instinctively turned his head. 

However, the next second, the young man’s delicate face suddenly moved closer, foreheads touching, his breath softly spraying onto the other’s face. 

Qin Cheng’s eyes widened slightly, but Rong Xu’s smile gradually faded.

At a distance so close it couldn’t get any closer, his clear and bright eyes reflected a stunned version of himself. He heard a faint sigh by his ear, mixed with a hint of helplessness and indulgence. Rong Xu softly said, “Aren’t you silly?”

Boom!

His entire ear tips burned.

Qin Cheng pursed his lips and reached out to pull away the young man who was pressing close. 

Rong Xu, however, smiled even more softly. He lowered his gaze, shaking his head helplessly: “Actually, I know that to you, that money is just pocket change, and I didn’t intend to stop you from spending so much. It’s just… Mr. Qin, do you feel happy when you spend that money?”

At this moment, the man’s entire ears were blushing. His lips were slightly pursed: “Mm.”

Rong Xu smiled faintly: “Good, then I won’t stop you.”

“What?”

Rong Xu turned his head: “I said, I won’t stop you. Everyone has their own preferences. Since you feel happy doing that, then there’s no point in me stopping you.”

Rong Xu was not an extremely frugal person. If spending that money brought happiness, then why not? Moreover, he knew that this man was not deliberately squandering money, for example, intentionally comparing. 

He bought his own albums and DVDs because he liked them and wanted to contribute to him, and the method was entirely up to the other party.

What’s more, two days ago, Rong Xu quietly calculated the monetary value of everything the “Lotus Paste Orange Filling” account had posted online, and it only added up to three to four million. Three to four million would be an outrageous amount of wasteful spending for a normal person, but this shameless man could earn over nine figures from a single film. In comparison, it was like someone with a monthly salary of over ten thousand spending three to four hundred on… well, on idol chasing. When put into perspective like that, it wasn’t a big deal at all; it was perfectly reasonable.

Moreover, this person was very happy. And spoiling this person also made him very happy.

Thinking this way, Rong Xu understood. Before truly laying everything bare, he had considered that he might not be able to resist reprimanding Qin Cheng for squandering money. However, when he actually faced him, even the hardest heart softened. Perhaps it was because he loved this person that he indulged him so much.

The changes in the young man’s expression were all seen by Qin Cheng. He watched his young lover’s face go from initial hesitation to current firmness and peace, those eyes illuminated by the sunlight containing starlike glints, telling him in an embracing tone—

“As long as you’re happy.”

How fortunate he was to have such a gentle person as his lover.

After closing his eyes for a moment, Qin Cheng curved his thin lips and gently embraced his lover. They had to meet Old Liu and the others for the premiere of “Zhuang Hua Luo” at the Berlin Film Festival at noon, so the two quickly got up.

Last night seemed to have been a bit too intense. Even though they had been together for so long, when Rong Xu got out of bed, his legs still softened, and he almost collapsed. His walking posture was also slightly awkward, though he could disguise it with conscious effort.

Qin Cheng lowered his gaze to tie Rong Xu’s tie, and Rong Xu raised his head to tie Qin Cheng’s. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and time was quiet and beautiful.

Just before they were about to leave, Rong Xu casually said, “Tonight, let’s talk more carefully about how the charity foundation will operate.” 

As he spoke, Rong Xu intended to open the door, but a strong, lean arm wrapped around his waist. Warm breath gently brushed against the young man’s ear. Then, a magnetic voice slowly sounded: “Xiao Xu, I just lied to you…”

The motion to open the door abruptly stopped. Rong Xu turned around, smiling meaningfully: “Oh?”

Qin Cheng honestly confessed: “I felt it was appropriate to show weakness to the ‘enemy’ at that moment, so I acted a little.”

To this, Rong Xu immediately delivered a gentle slap. His fingers lightly brushed the man’s face. In Qin Cheng’s stunned gaze, the young man righteously demanded: “Don’t say it out loud next time, got it? If you don’t say it, it’s called ‘flirtation,’ but if you say it out loud…” 

The smile on his lips grew brighter, “Mr. Qin, you’re kneeling on durian tonight.”

The “Mr. Qin” who didn’t understand flirtation immediately understood and was overjoyed: “Good!”

Rong Xu chuckled helplessly: “Why are you so happy about kneeling on durian?”

Qin Cheng calmly lowered his gaze. Before opening the door, he embraced his young lover, seizing the opportunity to take advantage of him again. Kneeling on durian shouldn’t be happy, but with such a cute and gentle lover, he certainly had to be happy.

Old Liu and Huang Lei were a little surprised when they saw Qin Cheng emerge from Rong Xu’s room. 

But as mentioned before, neither found it particularly unusual. It was perfectly normal for friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time to chat or even share a room.

Although same-sex marriage laws had already passed in this world, people hadn’t truly connected same-sex affection with romantic love yet. 

If it had been Huang Lei and Rong Xu sleeping together this time, it would definitely have been huge news, and Old Liu would surely have exclaimed in shock, “When did you two get together?!” 

But if it were two male stars or two female stars, most people wouldn’t immediately associate it with “these two are dating”; instead, they would think, “Their relationship is really good.”

Old Liu completely didn’t suspect anything, though Huang Lei did take several extra glances at Rong Xu and Qin Cheng. Even though a certain part of his body still felt a bit uncomfortable, Rong Xu’s superb acting skills ensured he didn’t betray any hint of it, so Huang Lei just looked and then averted her gaze.

After lunch that day, the afternoon was dedicated to the premiere of “Zhuang Hua Luo” at the Berlin Film Festival. 

The cast and crew gathered at the theater to interact with the audience face-to-face, followed by a rare period of rest. 

The Golden Bear Awards were still three days away, so Old Liu gave everyone a break, allowing them to explore Berlin freely. Huang Lei smiled and asked, “Only in Berlin? Can’t we go anywhere else?”

Old Liu thought for a moment: “Just remember to be back for the Golden Bear Awards, and don’t cause any scandals. This is an important time.” This effectively meant: go wherever you want, just remember to behave yourselves!

Thus, on the second day of the Berlin Film Festival, Rong Xu and Qin Cheng went to the Waldbühne forest amphitheater and attended the famous Berlin Forest Concert among over twenty thousand people. Even though they were fully disguised, they were still recognized and had to sign autographs. 

The entire concert venue was filled with a fervent atmosphere. Rong Xu, being an orphan, hadn’t listened to much classical music, so Qin Cheng kept softly explaining things about classical music to him.

After the Forest Concert, the two also visited a few countries near Germany. By this time, some photos from the Forest Concert had already been uploaded by netizens to Twitter and Weibo. Naturally, some netizens reported seeing Qin Cheng and Rong Xu at the concert, and on the second day after the concert, both were trending topics.

[God Qin and Rong Rong seem to have a really good relationship OVO]

[Ah, my two male gods are good friends~~(≧▽≦)/~lalala, so happy~]

[Good friends, good buddies 233333. I think Rong Rong and God Qin are probably together because of the Berlin Film Festival. The ‘Zhuang Hua Luo’ crew all went to the film festival, so they might have met up there.]

[Awww awww awww, Cheng-Rong’s relationship is strong, Cheng-Rong is so sweet~~~ So much sugar, come and get it~!!!]

On Chinese social media and indeed across the global internet, many fans and film enthusiasts were hotly discussing Rong Xu and Qin Cheng. Passersby often photographed their whereabouts—sometimes in Paris, sometimes in Rome. 

The two simply traveled, and if recognized by fans, they would sign autographs. Luo Zhentao and Luo Xi always believed Rong Xu and Qin Cheng were good friends, so upon learning of the situation, they didn’t say much, only reminding Rong Xu to be careful and safe.

However, when Xu Jin saw this situation, he immediately called Qin Cheng and, upon answering, asked: “…It’s really on?”

The two had been dating for a long time. Qin Cheng had never deliberately told his manager about it, but he hadn’t intentionally hidden it either, so Xu Jin had already noticed some signs.

When he called, Rong Xu and Qin Cheng were visiting an old castle. This castle was open to the public, but there were relatively few tourists. Not far away, a handsome and elegant young man looked up, carefully observing a lion statue. Upon hearing Qin Cheng’s voice talking to Xu Jin, he turned his head and smiled, waving.

The sunlight was warm, and the breeze was gentle; this scene could be framed as a painting.

Qin Cheng watched for a long time, then softly replied to his manager: “Mm, it’s on.”

Xu Jin was speechless: “…Young Master Qin, aren’t you being a bit too high-profile? Going traveling, are you trying to go public?”

Qin Cheng said faintly: “Don’t they think he and I are good friends?”

Xu Jin: “…Huh?”

Qin Cheng calmly and unhurriedly said: “The most dangerous place is the safest place. If we deliberately try to avoid them, they’ll find it suspicious. Isn’t this good as it is?”

After hearing this, Xu Jin really wanted to argue, but he opened his mouth and found that what the man said was actually true. Their high-profile European tour this time was already a hot topic on Chinese social media. However, no one thought it was a honeymoon between lovers. Even the CP (couple) fans were just excitedly consuming the “sugar.” 

If truly asked, some might even voice their true thoughts: “Maybe it’s for marketing? ‘Zhuang Hua Luo’ is about to win awards, right? It’s great that God Qin and Rong Rong have a good relationship, so they can travel and promote the movie at the same time.”

This was the essence of “hiding in plain sight.”

Three days later, the two ended their trip and returned to Berlin. Even Old Liu thought they were helping to promote the film and praised them profusely. The Golden Bear Awards arrived as scheduled. It wasn’t Rong Xu’s first time attending a “Big Three” award ceremony, but he didn’t receive any nominations this time.

In the end, besides technical awards, “Zhuang Hua Luo” also won Best Director and Best Actor.

When Qin Cheng stood on stage to deliver his acceptance speech, Rong Xu sat below, smiling and applauding him. The world’s attention was focused on this man. After finishing his acceptance speech, Qin Cheng held the trophy, his thin lips slightly curved, and looked at the young man.

The whole world looks at me, but I look at you.

The award season for “Zhuang Hua Luo” had arrived. Qin Cheng had filmed many movies in the past two years, but only “Zhuang Hua Luo” and the currently filming “Limit” were not traditional commercial films, which could help him win awards. Therefore, for him, the coming year was another year of chasing awards, and for Rong Xu, it was a year of moving towards the world stage.

On July 28, 2045, Rong Xu flew to the United States, while Qin Cheng flew to Canada to return to the “Limit” crew and continue filming. On July 29, “3200 Miles” officially premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood!

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