Ji Zhaozhao didn’t often come to the Bo family home because her uncle was too fierce and didn’t like children. So every time she visited, she would look at Bo Yu eagerly, pouting, but daring not ask him for a hug.

The last time she visited, Ji Zhaozhao had actually wanted to find Gu Qichi. She wanted to see if her “Papa Qichi” had forgotten her. But she didn’t get to see him because Gu Qichi was busy filming in Lin Shuangyi’s crew.

The little radish head had no choice but to leave Bo Yu’s house clutching her treasured lollipops. But before leaving, she didn’t forget to remind Bo Yu: “Uncle (Jiu-jiu), you must give the candy to Qichi to eat, okay~”

Bo Yu had agreed readily at the time, but he had long since forgotten about it.

The bundle of lollipops Ji Zhaozhao brought was placed in the snack cabinet in the kitchen.

But tonight, for some reason, the cabinet door was knocked open by A-Ci, and the bag of lollipops happened to fall to the floor.

A-Ci extended a paw to investigate. The puffy candy wrappers made a crinkling sound when shaken. A-Ci pinned it down with her paw, her pink pads pressing against the wrapper, and her sharp teeth tore it open.

The two litter scoopers in the house were busy doing who-knows-what and had no time to mind her.

Dragging a lollipop, A-Ci walked with an elegant cat stride, slowly climbing up to the master bedroom on the second floor.

The master bedroom door wasn’t locked as usual, so she broke in easily. But there was no one on the bed.

A-Ci let go of the lollipop and meowed once. Only then did she notice faint sounds coming from the bathroom—it was Gu Qichi and Bo Yu.

This door, however, was locked from the inside. A-Ci tried several times but couldn’t open it, so she simply lay on the floor to wait for them to come out.

Inside the bathroom, steam permeated the air, turning everything white. Gu Qichi’s fingertips tightly gripped the sink, every muscle in his body tense, the muscles of his waist and abdomen forming a beautiful curve.

His skin was fair, and steamed by the heat, his entire body was dyed a pale pink.

A pink-white flower bloomed in the depths of the fog.

“Bo Yu—”

Just as he cried out, A-Ci made rustling noises outside the door.

Gu Qichi was forced to distract himself to listen to what A-Ci was doing.

A-Ci was playing with the lollipop. She had never seen this kind of candy before. Tentatively, she extended her cat tongue and licked along the small stick at the bottom—no taste. She turned her head and licked the candy itself. A honey-like sweetness melted in her mouth. A-Ci’s tail twitched, her cat eyes went round, and she meowed again.

Ji Zhaozhao’s parents didn’t like her eating candy; too much sugar gave children cavities. But unable to resist the little radish head’s whining, they limited her candy intake and bought handmade ones, which were healthier than those with chemical additives outside.

But A-Ci didn’t understand. She had grabbed one at random and couldn’t distinguish the flavor.

However, if Bo Yu were to look, he would see a strawberry-flavored lollipop in her mouth.

Holding the lollipop with her paws, her barbed tongue rasped over the candy’s surface before she took it into her mouth, coating it with a layer of glistening saliva.

It was A-Ci’s first time eating candy, so it was inevitably novel. The silver shaded British Shorthair lay down happily. Her sharp teeth accidentally chipped the candy, startling her. She hurriedly retracted her fangs and licked slowly with her tongue.

In the bathroom, Gu Qichi’s hands were tied by the ribbon Bo Yu had brought in, preventing him from touching the person in front of him. His consciousness was excessively scattered, his nerves like intersecting fuses ignited by someone, crackling and exploding into brilliant fireworks in the air.

The scalding steam in the bathroom seemed to penetrate his skin into his flesh and blood, setting off a prairie fire that burned him clean through to his limbs and bones, making him shrink back and tremble uncontrollably.

Bo Yu’s nose bridge was high, the line of his nose smooth and always good-looking.

Gu Qichi’s vision was blurred by the steam. Pitiful teardrops hung on his eyelashes, the area around his eyes damp and blushing crimson.

At first, Bo Yu’s nose bridge rubbed against his Adam’s apple, then sharp teeth landed on his collarbone, and then…

“Meow~”

A-Ci was having fun, as if discovering such an amusing thing for the first time—something she could play with and eat.

The strawberry flavor spread on the tip of her tongue. A-Ci held the lollipop in her mouth, her tongue pushing it up to prevent it from falling out. She found her cat bed and lay down leisurely to enjoy her treat.

Her head drooped, finding a comfortable position in the cat bed.

But she forgot she was a bit fat now. The cat bed was pushed into messy folds. The small pillow Gu Qichi had prepared for her tilted up as the bed collapsed on one side, suddenly lifting A-Ci’s head too high. The lollipop in her mouth poked into her throat, making her uncomfortable.

The silver shaded cat whined and pulled the candy out. She was dissatisfied but wanted to taste the sweetness again. After pondering for a while, she ultimately didn’t spit it out.

The lollipop had melted considerably; under A-Ci’s repeated licking and biting, more than half was gone.

Suddenly, the silver shaded cat discovered something inside the lollipop. Intrigued, she sucked hard at the center. The thinnest wall of candy melted away, and the strawberry jam inside burst into her mouth.

This lollipop was made by a master craftsman. The jam inside was freshly boiled using the purest fruit pulp. Stored properly, it wouldn’t spoil for half a month, so it was fine even for a cat to eat.

Inside the bathroom, Gu Qichi’s face was flushed beyond recognition by the heat, red as if he were having an allergic reaction.

His peach blossom eyes shimmered under the light, containing a pool of spring water that rippled gently.

His clear pupils, originally like golden amber, now looked like melted resin.

Under the moonlight, the perennial snow melted, turning into a puddle of water in Bo Yu’s arms.

Gu Qichi’s fingers dug into Bo Yu’s black hair. His wrists were stiff and numb, his legs soft, held up by Bo Yu’s arm around his waist.

Gu Qichi lowered his eyes, his chin resting in the hollow of Bo Yu’s neck. Fine sweat beaded on the back of his neck, his protruding neck bone pressing against Bo Yu’s palm, the damp moisture wiped away by Bo Yu’s thumb.

The light was dim. He could clearly perceive Bo Yu’s rolling desire. The lingering tide of passion permeated the steam. Bo Yu’s eyes were frighteningly dark as he leaned in to kiss the red corners of Gu Qichi’s eyes.

“Wife, did I perform well?”

Bo Yu gripped the back of his neck and lifted his entire body into the air, placing him on the vanity counter.

Gu Qichi’s calves couldn’t stop cramping. He turned his head away, daring not look at Bo Yu.

But the other wouldn’t let him go. Bo Yu turned his face back, branding a scorching kiss on the corner of his lips, his large hand imprisoning his waist.

Bo Yu sucked on his lips. Amidst rapid breathing, he asked again: “Not satisfied?”

“If you’re not satisfied, we can continue.”

The blunt emotion was undisguised, laid bare nakedly before Gu Qichi’s eyes.

Gu Qichi’s hands were bound, his shoulders trembling, his spine pulled into a straight line. His vision was hazy. The bathroom light was dim and glaring. He could only see a damp ribbon lying on the floor…

It was a bit dirty.

Gu Qichi shook his head. His voice was hoarse from kissing, and he couldn’t stop shivering: “No more, Bo Yu. Enough.”

Afraid he wouldn’t believe it, Gu Qichi closed his eyes, tears sliding from the corners, and emphasized again: “Really, enough, Bo Yu. I’m very satisfied. I have to record a variety show tomorrow and film action scenes.”

Bo Yu lowered his eyes and laughed very lightly.

His tone was ambiguous, his five fingers on the back of Gu Qichi’s neck tightening slightly. His voice was low, husky, and magnetic, wrapped in heavy desire. Bo Yu asked him: “Then did I perform well?”

Bo Yu’s brows were deep. When the light hit from above, it formed scattered shadows. When his eyelashes lowered, they cast a small fan-like arc on his lower eyelids.

But at this moment, the surging darkness in his eyes was somewhat terrifying, like a starving lion who had painstakingly found prey. His greedy gaze swept over the prey inch by inch, watching its fearful and panicked expression. Instead of feeling guilt, he found it interesting and wanted to deepen the look on its face.

Chewing its flesh and swallowing it into his belly would surely have a unique flavor.

Gu Qichi felt that Bo Yu tonight was truly a bit perverted and instinctively sensed danger.

He lifted his eyes, his lips sucked water-red by Bo Yu, and braced himself to answer: “You performed very well. Bo Yu, let me go.”

Holding his hand, Bo Yu suddenly laughed. While picking him up to hang on his body, he said: “Then it’s settled. Next time won’t be just this much. I want a reward.”

A-Ci, lying in the cat bed, was startled by the suddenly emerging figure. Being a silver shaded cat with lots of fur, she fluffed up into a huge ball, looking like a small gas canister.

Bo Yu glanced at her, withdrew his gaze indifferently, and turned back to deal with the person on the bed.

Gu Qichi cried miserably that night.

Although they didn’t go all the way, they did just about everything else.

Waking up in Bo Yu’s arms early the next morning, Gu Qichi was still a bit dazed.

The experiences of last night were vivid in his mind. Bo Yu had played with him in various ways. Gu Qichi had been like a dying fish held in someone’s hand, unable to move an inch.

In the morning, Bo Yu carried him through the entire washing up process. Gu Qichi was like a doll, manipulated this way and that. He hadn’t recovered his senses even when Luo Qianqian picked him up and arrived at the recording studio.

“Teacher Gu, are you feeling unwell today?”

Luo Qianqian saw his state wasn’t quite right and asked worriedly.

Gu Qichi snapped back to reality, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He felt his palms burning hot. He averted his gaze to avoid looking at Luo Qianqian and said faintly: “It’s nothing, just thinking about some things. I hope today’s recording goes smoothly.”

Only then did Luo Qianqian relax.

After this variety show recording ended, Gu Qichi could rest for a few days before returning to Hengdian to film the side story Lin Shuangyi mentioned.

But Gu Qichi felt a bit guilty. Looking at the nearby recording studio, he swallowed and turned to ask Luo Qianqian: “Qianqian, are there any flight tickets to Hengdian recently?”

Luo Qianqian was caught off guard by his question. After checking her phone, she found the tickets were long sold out. She said apologetically: “Teacher Gu, there are none available recently. I originally planned to book the flight for you six days from now. Do you want to go early?”

Gu Qichi didn’t dare say he just wanted to avoid someone, so he dismissed the idea: “It’s fine, I was just thinking about it. If there are no tickets, just follow the original plan.”

It was just a whim anyway. But thinking about the many conditions he was forced to agree to with Bo Yu last night gave Gu Qichi a headache.

Today’s filming went very smoothly. Lou Shao had probably crammed lines and acting for two days; he had heavy dark circles and looked haggard, but at least he didn’t delay progress.

Xiao Meng, however, wasn’t as satisfactory. Her acting was average to begin with, and having slacked off for the past two days, her performance was naturally unsatisfactory. Yi Zhiyin walked her through the scenes many times without passing, causing the entire set to fall silent and awkward.

Gu Yuning was assigned to Best Actor Han Hao’s group next door, playing a “beautiful, strong, and miserable” character whose family was ruined. Honestly, the character positioning was somewhat similar to Gu Qichi’s “Drunken Immortal.”

Gu Yuning couldn’t help but worry. While Gu Qichi’s group was filming, he used the excuse of distributing milk tea to staff to sneak a few peeks at Best Actress Yi Zhiyin’s group. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

He and Gu Qichi were simply too far apart.

The other was practically a crushing existence.

Gu Qichi’s costume this time was a moon-white brocade robe. Unlike ordinary wandering swordsmen, the Drunken Immortal he played was a sloppy drunkard.

Because he had provoked too many enemies in his youth without restraint, his parents were killed and his lover murdered. In this vast world, he was left alone and muddled, naturally losing the will to live.

So he drank daily to drown his sorrows, torturing himself into a madman who was neither human nor ghost.

But Gu Qichi’s face was beautiful.

That scruffy brocade robe looked expensive on him, like fine material. Gu Qichi didn’t look like a sloppy drunkard at all; instead, he looked like a desolate noble son.

When he played Shen Qingye, he had many action scenes and trained with the martial arts teacher for three months, making great progress. So he was at ease filming these scenes. When flying in the air on wires, his movements were crisp and his posture upright.

He truly lived up to the word “Immortal” in Drunken Immortal.

It made his groupmate Lou Shao look like a sprawling, silly goose.

Watching this, Gu Yuning burned with rage. He secretly called his manager: “Brother Wang, don’t you have a batch of marketing accounts? Before the program airs, you must ruin Gu Qichi’s reputation for me.”

Brother Wang was busy picking up girls—kissing one on the left, hugging one on the right, with another feeding him grapes mouth-to-mouth on his lap. He was having a blast and was very unhappy about being interrupted.

But he agreed perfunctorily.

After hanging up, Brother Wang was puzzled. What grudge did Gu Qichi have with Gu Yuning to make this young master target him constantly, as if they had a blood feud?

But he was just a high-level employee. Since Gu Yuan’an gave him so much money, his only task was to help Gu Yuning debut. He didn’t need to know so much.

…

The short films recorded by the four groups were edited two days later. First, the program mentors would score them (accounting for 40%), followed by netizen voting (accounting for 60%).

The film from Gu Qichi’s group wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t bad either. Mainly, Gu Qichi and Wen Che carried most of the scenes, successfully contributing some highlights.

The best performance came from Teacher Bu Huiyang’s group. As a Hong Kong star, Bu Huiyang debuted as an action star in his early years. He later exploded in popularity on the mainland for playing a wuxia male lead in a Gu Long adaptation, becoming the “housewife killer” of a generation.

The classic drama remade by Bu Huiyang’s group this time was the very wuxia film that made him famous in his youth. He personally played the role of his own former master.

Gu Qichi watched this remake very seriously. He had to admit, the adaptation was brilliant.

Small adjustments were made to the characters to perfect the personas and flesh out the plot. The lead actors also worked well together.

Gu Qichi’s gaze involuntarily shifted to the film’s protagonist, only to find the other person looking back at him.

The protagonist was named Su Ming. Unfortunately, he was the biggest dark horse in Strive! Actor!—the poor soul who was cyberbullied by Gu Yuning into quitting the show, narrowly missing the championship.

Thinking of this, Gu Qichi felt pity. He smiled at the other person, then devoted himself to watching the next group’s playback.

To everyone’s surprise, this time, Jiang An gave Gu Qichi an S card—the only S card he gave out in this round.

Gu Qichi was flattered. When Jiang An called his name to stand up, he hadn’t had time to hide the surprise on his face.

Seeing this, Jiang An smiled very slightly, then said seriously: “Gu Qichi, your performance surprised me.”

Gu Qichi bowed. “Thank you for your affirmation.”

Jiang An shook his head, the S card in his hand glittering under the stage lights. “It is not my affirmation; it is what you deserve. You proved to me with your strength that you are a vase with substance—at the very least, a fine piece of Jingdezhen porcelain.”

For Jiang An to say this was already the greatest affirmation and praise.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Gu Qichi—some with surprise, some with envy.

But there were a few gazes that didn’t fit in, coming from Lou Shao and Gu Yuning.

One was jealousy, the other hatred.

In short, neither was a good sort, but they masked it well on the surface. Lou Shao even turned sideways and said to Gu Qichi: “Congratulations, Senior Brother.”

Showing off their earth-shattering, deep “brotherly” friendship, which disgusted Wen Che thoroughly.

…

After that day, a video suddenly began circulating on Douban (X-ban).

It was cut at the beginning and end, but Gu Qichi could be clearly heard saying:

“Lou Shao, as a company junior, is it appropriate to talk to me like this?”

And Wen Che chiming in from the side, his voice loud enough to make ears ring:

“What’s the deal? Did you fail to reincarnate today too, so you’re slowly drifting back from the underworld?”

Just looking at these sentences, the words were ugly. You could vaguely see a female actress in the same group defending Lou Shao, only to seem blocked by Wen Che’s bad temper.

Lou Shao, who was being scolded, said nothing. He just endured silently, lowering his head, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.

The video title was also quite provocative—

[No way, in this day and age, there are still people playing the ‘senior’ card to bully newcomers?]

Once the video was released, it immediately caused a small commotion in the Douban group.

1L: Who are the people in the video? So arrogant, keep saying “senior” this and that. Why does he reek of “daddy” energy?

2L: Don’t know, but the one being scolded seems to be Supreme Entertainment’s Lou Shao. I remember he acted in a BL adaptation; it was pretty good.

3L: Lou Shao, yeah, he’s good-looking. But the one scolding him seems even better-looking.

4L: Took a look. The “senior” scolding people is the entertainment circle’s famous “2.08 million” fake person. Didn’t expect him to be lawless to this extent now. No wonder he has no scenes to film. Disgusting.

5L: As for the one helping him scold, he’s too obscure, don’t know him.

6L: 2.08 million? Someone decode this, I haven’t heard of it.

7L: Isn’t that the famous fake person, Gu Qichi?

8L: Gu Qichi? The one on the hot search for the magazine a while ago? He is indeed good-looking… but why is his mouth so dirty…

9L: Sincerely advise the sister upstairs, his face is fake, filled with silicone. Don’t be bewildered by Photoshop. This person has always been dirty. See thread 369469194 for details.

10L: Fuck, who is this? How is he related to GYN (Gu Yuning)?

11L: Hugging away my poor baby Ning. Don’t want him associated with a maggot like GQC (Gu Qichi). Hope he goes to hell [Heart][Heart].

12L: So what did Lou Shao do wrong to be scolded like this? Such a cheap mouth. Instantly saw my company’s “senior.” Speechless.

13L: What era is this? Still engaging in workplace discrimination? Wish him to be obscure to the center of the earth forever, haha.

14L: By the way, what show is this? No one said a word for Lou Shao? He was crying…

15L: Seems to be the Toilet Station’s (Mango TV) new variety show, Strive! Actor!. After it airs, this old lady wants to see what kind of trash this Gu Qichi is.

…

The thread built up over three hundred layers and showed no sign of stopping by nightfall; instead, it climbed rapidly.

Because no full names were involved at first, and Luo Qianqian was busy with Gu Qichi’s flight tickets and year-end schedules, she hadn’t had time to check Douban, so she knew nothing about this.

By the next morning, the official account of Strive! Actor! tagged several guests and released content for the first episode.

@Strive! Actor! Official Weibo: #Strive! Actor! Premiere# Surprise drop ahead! Little Strive is here with enterprising actors! @Gu Yuning @Gu Qichi @Lou Shao @Su Ming @Wen Che @(Sorted alphabetically by name, in no particular order) They fear no journey, fear no future. They strive and struggle. Welcome to enter the actor’s world of interpretation with me! Hope they can bring us different surprises in front of the camera! Episode 1 is coming today at 12:00, broadcasting simultaneously on Polar Bear Video, Pitaya Video, and Jacket Video.

Once this official announcement came out, to prevent a repeat of the last disaster, Wen Xi quickly retweeted the post for Gu Qichi before handing Weibo management back to him.

After half a month, the enthusiasm of Gu Qichi’s fans hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

Just as Gu Qichi was about to reply to fans, Wen Xi’s message popped up at the top:

[Sister Wen]: Don’t forget, today is also the official release day for Youth. Buy two copies yourself. I bought twenty for you.
[Sister Wen]: How about it, loyal enough right?

Gu Qichi smiled and replied:

[Little Chi Baby]: Thank you, Sister Wen.

However, no one expected that in the first episode of Strive! Actor!, not only did Gu Qichi have very few shots, but his persona was also edited into shreds.

As soon as 12:00 hit, the Weibo hot search exploded once again.

---

Author’s Note:
A-Ci: Lollipops are so delicious.
Bo Yu: Wife is even more delicious.
Little Chi: Shameless dog thing.
Bo Yu: I can be even more shameless.