Five minutes later, when Rong Xu stepped out of the bathroom, this was the scene he saw.

In the bright and spacious room, a handsome and aloof man was slightly frowning, his expression grave as he stared down at his phone. A powerful and fierce aura gradually radiated from Qin Cheng as he sank deeper into thought, so much so that Rong Xu couldn’t help but glance at him several more times in surprise.

…Did someone owe him money and refuse to pay?

It was rare to see Qin Cheng look so serious. Rong Xu watched him quietly for a while before walking over with a smile. “Go take your shower.”

Qin Cheng: “…Mm.”

Once the man entered the bathroom, Rong Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. He pondered for a long while but still couldn’t figure it out.

Could something serious have happened recently? Was that why Qin Cheng looked so grim?

Hmm, he’d ask after he came out.

Rong Xu casually dried his hair and messaged Luo Zhentao for a bit. Once it was confirmed that he had the upcoming week off at home, he opened Weibo.

An hour earlier, Luo Zhentao had already used Rong Xu’s Weibo account to repost the trailer for Zhuang Hua Luo. Now, it was Rong Xu’s first time actually watching the video. He tapped it open, watched for a bit, and the corners of his lips curved upward. He sent a message to Director Liu: [Just saw the trailer. It’s excellent. Director Liu, I’m even more excited for the film’s release now.]

Not long after, Director Liu replied: [Haha, are you praising yourself? I saw it, Xiao Rong. A lot of fans are complimenting your looks and acting skills under the trailer post.]

Indeed, in those brief five or six seconds of screen time, Rong Xu simply stood beneath the moonlight, lifting a white jade wine cup with a faint smile. He had neither Qin Cheng’s eye-catching action scenes nor Huang Lei’s mournful, lilting songs—just a gentle, calm smile that stole the hearts of countless young girls.

A noble gentleman, like jade polished and carved.

That was how netizens on Weibo described the character Zhu Molang.

From the trailer alone, this truly was a graceful, refined gentleman—worthy of such praise.

Of course, with Director Liu saying that, Rong Xu still had to show some modesty: [You’re making me blush. But Director Liu, I just realized today—Zhuang Hua Luo premieres on my birthday? ^_^]

The next moment, Director Liu replied without hesitation: [Yes! The whole crew’s celebrating your birthday together. Happy? No need to thank me—it’s what we should do, haha.]

Rong Xu: “…”

You’re clearly just trying to ride the birthday hype and yet you dare say it’s to celebrate his birthday?!

Even with two lifetimes of experience, Rong Xu could do nothing when faced with a crafty old fox like Director Liu. After chatting a bit more, he checked the news, then returned to Weibo and began scrolling down. When he stumbled upon a familiar Weibo ID, he froze, eyes widening as he quickly scrolled back up.

[Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling: #ChengRong# So sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet, such a sugar rush! // LoveLifeLoveRong: #ChengRong##QinCheng##RongXu# Made a fanvid for Black Cloud! Even though the film ends in tragedy, the ChengRong ship has a happy ending~ [Video link]]

And further down—

[Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling: #ChengRong# My darling RongRong, mwah =3= // MyRongIsPerfectForHome: #ChengRong# Nine HD, watermark-free photos! 23333 ChengRong is just too perfect together. I’ll stan them forever! [Image][Image][Image]…[Image]]

…

Scrolling on, Rong Xu found seven or eight consecutive reposts, all under the #ChengRong# tag. Most were photos of Qin Cheng and Rong Xu at Black Cloud’s promotional events, some were stills from the film itself, and a few were fan-made videos.

Rong Xu stared at these posts and at Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling’s repost frenzy. His fine eyebrows gradually knit together.

Wait… if Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling really was Qin Cheng, then judging by the timestamps… that ultra-serious expression earlier—like someone owed him five million yuan—was actually just him reposting Weibo?

Rong Xu thought long and hard but still couldn’t figure out why this man would do such a thing. After a moment of hesitation, he logged into his alternate account and quietly liked all the posts, then…

He opened Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling’s profile and sent a private message.

[How to Perfectly Eat an Orange: Hi, I’m a fan of yours. I really like you~ ❤️]

After sending the message, Rong Xu silently followed several major ChengRong fan accounts. Since he was a fan of Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling, it made sense that they’d have common ground—such as liking Rong Xu, or shipping “ChengRong.”

Rong Xu had always known that many of his fans enjoyed making RPF (real person fiction) pairings. Back during Vie for Supremacy, he had CPs with both Ye Qiao and Tang Menglan. Later, after filming Black Cloud, he was paired with Qin Cheng.

Recently, his newly popular CPs were “BaiRong” (with Lost City’s Bai Xiwen) and “RongLin” (with Lin Xuan).

Among all his pairings, the three strongest fanbases were ChengRong, BaiRong, and RongLin.

Without thinking much of it, Rong Xu checked Lotus-Paste Orange-Filling’s “following” list. When he realized Qin Cheng hadn’t followed his own account, he paused, puzzled: He followed Rong Xu, followed many major fans from Rong Xu’s fandom… but hadn’t followed himself?

That was weird. What kind of mindset was that? Why was he so hard to figure out?

As Rong Xu sat there utterly baffled, the bathroom door clicked open. On instinct, he turned off his phone. Sitting on the bed, he smiled and looked up to see Qin Cheng stepping toward him in simple pajamas, hair still slightly damp.

“I remember your flight tomorrow is around seven in the morning?”

Rong Xu nodded lightly. “Yeah. I wanted to go back early, so Sister Xi booked a 7:00 a.m. flight. She booked one for you too. Oh, and I think Lin Xuan also booked the same flight. We can head over together.”

It was already past midnight. With a 7:00 a.m. flight and accounting for travel and airport check-in, they’d have to leave by six at the latest—time was tight.

The cold and elegant man pursed his lips slightly, just about to speak when a loud knock suddenly came from the door.

“Rong Rong, open up! It’s me!”

Both men froze. Rong Xu immediately stood and opened the door. Before he could clearly see who it was, Lin Xuan barged in, laughing heartily.

“We won’t get much sleep anyway—gotta wake by five or six. What’s the point of sleeping? I came to play cards. I already messaged Qin Cheng. Director Xu’s too old to keep up, so this time it’s just the four of us—Qin Cheng, Xiao Zitong, you, and me. You’re okay with that, right? Sleeping for a few more hours is just—”

His voice cut off. The words “just pointless” got stuck in the young star’s throat and never came out.

Lin Xuan stared wide-eyed at Qin Cheng, who stood inside the room in his simple pajamas. Beside him, Xiao Zitong also froze, mouth agape at the sight of Qin Cheng.

Rong Xu, standing by the door: “…”

Qin Cheng, being stared at: “…”

After a long silence, Lin Xuan suddenly looked enlightened. “No wonder you didn’t reply to me! Qin Cheng, you came early! I was wondering why you ignored my messages. I was about to sneak Zitong into Rong Rong’s room, then head upstairs to find you.”

As a female star, if Xiao Zitong were caught entering Rong Xu’s room in the middle of the night, rumors would fly. But if Lin Xuan accompanied her, the story would be easier to explain. Even the most shameless paparazzi wouldn’t dare suggest Rong Xu was doing anything improper with both Lin Xuan and Xiao Zitong, right?

Though it was unlikely there were paparazzi nearby, better safe than sorry. Caution was always wise.

Lin Xuan quickly explained the situation. Rong Xu let out a soft breath and, closing the door, smiled. “Yeah, he just got here.”

Qin Cheng lowered his gaze and swept a glance at Lin Xuan, making the latter shiver. Only then did he give a quiet “Mm.”

Meanwhile, Xiao Zitong’s eyes flicked between Rong Xu and Qin Cheng with visible confusion. Finally, the “Nation’s First Love” scratched her head and sat down at the table with a bewildered expression. The four of them began—

To play cards.

Card games depend on skill—but also on luck.

Lin Xuan had terrible skills but absurdly good luck that night. Rong Xu had average luck, but his skills were exceptional. As fate would have it, they became partners. The result? Qin Cheng and Xiao Zitong lost round after round, their faces gradually covered with white sticky notes.

By 4 a.m., the card game was winding down. Rong Xu smiled and said, “Let’s take a group photo to celebrate our victory.”

Lin Xuan eagerly nodded and grabbed his phone to snap a picture.

At that moment, Qin Cheng quietly stepped to the side—leaving the other three stunned as they looked at him.

“You’re part of the Silent crew, attending the premiere in S City together. My itinerary is supposed to be confidential.”

In truth, Qin Cheng had left one thing unsaid—if he and Rong Xu took a photo with Lin Xuan and Xiao Zitong, the first person netizens would notice in that photo would undoubtedly be him. And if he appeared in a photo with Rong Xu, the first association people would make would be the Zhuang Hua Luo crew, not the Silent crew.

In Zhuang Hua Luo, Rong Xu did play the third male lead. But in Silent, he was the lead actor.

The box office revenue of Zhuang Hua Luo wouldn’t count toward Rong Xu’s personal achievements, but Silent‘s would.

Since the photo would help promote the film either way, it was naturally better to promote Silent—and there was no need for Qin Cheng to step into the spotlight for that.

Lin Xuan and Xiao Zitong looked at Qin Cheng in confusion, assuming he really just didn’t want to reveal his schedule. But Rong Xu, on the other hand, gazed at the man before him with soft eyes. After a long moment, he curved his lips into a smile and directly pulled Qin Cheng over.

“It’s okay, let’s take it together.”

The youth’s gentle and refined smile was like a clear lake, rippling softly under a spring breeze.

Qin Cheng felt a subtle stirring in his chest. Without revealing his emotions, he smiled faintly and stood beside Rong Xu, replying in a low voice, “Alright.”

Lin Xuan didn’t care about any of that—he lifted his selfie stick and snapped a photo, then immediately posted it to Weibo.

[Lin Xuan: Oh snap~ Tonight, @RongXu and I are the big winners. Feel bad for @QinCheng and @XiaoZiTong. This is what real skill looks like, hahahaha~ [photo]]

In less than a minute, the post had over 3,000 shares and comments.

These were just Lin Xuan’s fans. When fans of Qin Cheng, Rong Xu, and Xiao Zitong discovered the photo, they excitedly joined in, sharing, commenting, and liking it like crazy. Soon, all three of them reposted Lin Xuan’s post. By the time Qin Cheng and Rong Xu arrived at the airport, Rong Xu’s repost had reached 100,000 shares—while Qin Cheng’s had soared to 230,000!

At present, Rong Xu had 130 million followers on Weibo, while Qin Cheng had a staggering 320 million.

Eleven full years in the entertainment industry had made Qin Cheng the most-followed celebrity in Huaxia, the undisputed top star. Rong Xu had become wildly popular nationwide this past year, but with only a year since his debut, there was still a wide gap between them.

While sitting in the VIP lounge, Lin Xuan kept talking about what they’d do once they got back to B City, shooting meaningful glances at Rong Xu, hinting that the “Qin Fengfeng Group” should reunite.

Qin Cheng, meanwhile, calmly looked down at his phone, expression unreadable.

After chatting with Lin Xuan for a bit, Rong Xu casually glanced at the man sitting opposite him.

What exactly was Qin Cheng doing?

Three minutes later, when Rong Xu opened his Weibo, he finally found the answer.

[LotusPasteOrangeFilling: #ChengRong# Rongrong is super adorable~ ChengRong is fate, so sweet, highly recommend, everyone come eat my CP food! 💗💗💗 // Rong Xu: I’m the big winner~ ✌️ // Lin Xuan: Oh snap~ tonight…]

Rong Xu: “…”

Clicking on the post, he saw that LotusPasteOrangeFilling was patiently replying to individual fans.

[Replying to @ShallowLonging: Exactly, ChengRong is so sweet, it’s all sugar!]

[Replying to @Muzi: I think so too, ChengRong is the ultimate CP~ Nothing beats them~]

[Replying to @FairyRainRain: Right? Look how close Rongrong and Qin Cheng are standing, they seem really close, and they played cards together~~ (≧▽≦)/~]

Rong Xu, again: “……”

Up until ten minutes before boarding, a certain man sat there with a calm expression, head lowered, typing steadily on his phone. Occasionally, Qin Cheng would look up to say a few words to Rong Xu, but most of the time, it was Lin Xuan doing all the talking. Qin Cheng mostly kept his head down—no one knew what he was typing.

He kept posting replies, and Rong Xu kept refreshing.

One moment, LotusPasteOrangeFilling was saying, “Exactly, Rongrong and Qin Cheng are the perfect match!” The next, they were arguing with a RongXuan CP fan: “But in this photo, Rongrong is standing with Qin Cheng, and Lin Xuan is next to Xiao Zitong~”

Why was Lin Xuan standing next to Xiao Zitong, with half an arm’s length between him and Rong Xu?

Wasn’t it because, after the first photo, a certain man solemnly insisted Lin Xuan’s positioning made him look fatter, which scared Lin Xuan into stepping further away before retaking it?

Rong Xu’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. With a composed expression, he posted a new Weibo update.

[How to Perfectly Eat an Orange: TIP.1 Sneaky Orange? Did I mistake this person for someone else…]

After posting, Rong Xu checked his private messages—he noticed that the message he had sent to LotusPasteOrangeFilling had already been marked as “read” but hadn’t been replied to. Mildly surprised, he looked up at Qin Cheng. Just then, the stewardess was leading them toward the gate.

Sensing Rong Xu’s surprised gaze, Qin Cheng turned and looked at him, lowering his eyes: “What is it?”

Rong Xu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head gently: “Nothing.”

Qin Cheng: “…?”

What Rong Xu didn’t know was that when Qin Cheng had seen that private message, he had merely glanced at it and didn’t bother replying.

A fan confessing their feelings? Saying they really liked him?

Wasn’t that completely normal?

Even though LotusPasteOrangeFilling had never posted a selfie, they had tens of thousands of followers. Qin Cheng received at least 15–20 messages from strangers every day.

A Weibo alt account named “How to Perfectly Eat an Orange”? Was that important?

One blink and he forgot. Too lazy to reply. That’s how aloof he was.

Of course… later, when Qin Cheng spent an hour scrolling through unfiltered messages just to find that one again, the regret in his heart surged like the raging Yangtze River—endless and overwhelming…

At 9 AM that morning, their plane landed smoothly at Capital Airport. Luo Zhentao had originally planned to pick up Rong Xu and Luo Xi, but Qin Cheng’s car was already parked in the airport garage.

Luo Xi tried to contain her excitement as she got into Qin Cheng’s car. This was her first time riding in it. Sitting in the back seat, her eyes darted everywhere, and her fingers cautiously touched the leather seats.

This was Qin Shen’s car. Qin Shen’s car!

“Where do you live?”

A deep, magnetic voice spoke up. Luo Xi froze for a second before answering instinctively, “I live in A Community.”

Qin Cheng tapped on the navigation. The AI immediately began mapping the route.

Seeing this, Luo Xi quickly said, “You don’t need to take me all the way home—just drop me at Line 2’s subway station. It takes me straight home. I can take the subway.”

Before Qin Cheng could reply, the youth in the front passenger seat turned with a soft smile and said, “It’s fine, Sister Xi. Let’s take you home. You’re a girl, and it’s rush hour. Better not squeeze into the subway.”

Hearing that, Luo Xi nodded and didn’t insist further.

In the quiet car, Rong Xu occasionally turned to smile and chat with Qin Cheng, who answered softly in return. Bright sunlight poured through the windshield, lighting up the youth’s light-colored hair with a golden hue—warm and serene.

Slowly, watching the scene unfold, Luo Xi felt something stir in her chest—something she couldn’t quite name.

She wanted to hold onto that feeling, but it was like mist—clouded and intangible.

All she knew was that the scene was just too beautiful. As if time had paused. The youth’s eyes curved in a soft smile, and the man quietly lifted the corners of his lips in response.

Time stretched endlessly in that moment. Beautiful things always made people want to linger.

It wasn’t until Luo Xi got out with her luggage and watched the sleek Bentley circle around and drive slowly out of her neighborhood that she suddenly snapped out of it. Touching her flushed cheeks and thudding heart, she couldn’t understand—why was she suddenly blushing and so flustered?

She had always liked Xiao Xu and had always admired Qin Shen, but she’d never felt this way before.

At lunch, when Luo Xi opened Weibo and saw the #ChengRong tag, her eyes widened—and in that instant, she understood—

“They’re perfect. Truly perfect together!”