IBKAWB Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Sentimental**

Re-translated by: Namizaki

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Chi Zhongqiao numbly saw Fu Jingshen and Li Xi off, barely registering what he said.

He might have been a little drunk.

His cheeks burned like fire, yet his fingertips were icy cold in his pockets. Standing there, he calmly thought: It’s about time. Maybe even a little late.

Many plot points had already been accelerated. Li Xi should have appeared sooner.

Chi Zhongqiao gently pressed his temples, feeling a throbbing ache in his head.

Lu Yuzhou pulled Chi Zhongqiao’s hat down, his fingers brushing against the ends of his hair. “Cold?”

The alcohol was just a false warmth. With the Cantonese restaurant’s air conditioning and the wind outside, he might catch a cold.

Lu Yuzhou tugged Chi Zhongqiao’s collar up. “Let’s get in the car.”

Chi Zhongqiao was bundled into the car by Lu Yuzhou, his forehead pressed against the icy window, eyes closed.

Seeing Li Xi so suddenly felt like having a bucket of ice water dumped over his head in the dead of winter, instantly jolting him awake. He finally realized with stark clarity: he had transmigrated into a “yaoi” novel. That refined and elegant Li Xi was the love of Lu Yuzhou’s life.

It wasn’t that Chi Zhongqiao harbored any romantic feelings for Lu Yuzhou. When he arrived in this world, his emotional slate was completely blank. Whether it was his parents, Old Master Lu, or even the old friends he occasionally contacted, their affection and familial or platonic devotion had all been directed toward the original Chi Zhongqiao, not him.

Only Lu Yuzhou, with whom the original Chi Zhongqiao had little interaction, offered a genuine connection. The emotions Lu Yuzhou showed felt real, truly meant for the current Chi Zhongqiao.

Chi Zhongqiao’s mindset was like that of a person who had suddenly fallen into the water, with no shore in sight. After drifting for days, he had finally grabbed onto a piece of driftwood, treating it as his only possession. Though he wouldn’t claim it as his own, the thought of suddenly giving it away… he couldn’t quite wrap his head around that emotional shift.

But it was wrong. Chi Zhongqiao considered himself Lu Yuzhou’s half-brother and knew he couldn’t interfere with Lu Yuzhou’s destined fate.

Just bored…

Chi Zhongqiao opened his eyes and stared at the streetlights flashing past the window. Maybe I should get a dog, he thought. A particularly dim-witted one, preferably, to keep me busy.

“Yuzhou,” Chi Zhongqiao turned to look at Lu Yuzhou, “what do you think about me getting a dog after the new year?” He liked both cats and dogs, but canine types tended to be more clingy.

Lu Yuzhou naturally assumed Chi Zhongqiao meant he wanted to get a dog for their current place. “Brother Qiao, do you prefer large or small breeds?”

Chi Zhongqiao replied, “I like large dogs better… but they take up so much space… I’ll think about it.”

I’ll move out when ever I get a dog, he thought with a faint sigh.

Burdened by unspoken worries, Chi Zhongqiao unconsciously furrowed his brow. As soon as he finished speaking, his lashes lowered. Perhaps due to the alcohol, his usually impeccable composure faltered, his emotions surfacing on his face, making him appear troubled.

Lu Yuzhou noticed his unusual demeanor. “Brother Qiao, what’s wrong? Did you catch a chill from the wind? Are you dizzy?” He reached out to touch Chi Zhongqiao’s forehead, but Chi Zhongqiao gently took his hand.

“Brother Qiao?” Lu Yuzhou asked.

Chi Zhongqiao patted Lu Yuzhou’s hand lightly. “It’s nothing, just a bit dizzy.”

He was indeed slightly drunk, his cheeks flushed with wine, yet his lips had lost some color. Combined with his low spirits, he looked somewhat pitiful and aggrieved.

Lu Yuzhou stared at Chi Zhongqiao for a moment, then murmured, “Okay.”

He withdrew his hand, the one Chi Zhongqiao had patted, and gently rubbed it against his jaw.

**********

Friday.

Chi Zhongqiao sat on the sofa, waiting for the show to air. He had returned home early today, and Lu Yuzhou hadn’t arrived yet, leaving him alone in the empty living room.

After sitting for a while, he felt a bit hungry and reached under the coffee table. After searching for a few minutes, he found nothing but tissues and Lu Yuzhou’s glasses case.

“The cookies were finished a couple of days ago,” Lu Yuzhou’s deep voice suddenly sounded in his ear. A hand placed a small box of pastries beside Chi Zhongqiao. “Freshly baked cookies.”

Chi Zhongqiao startled, his reaction delayed. “How did I not hear the door open?” he asked, tearing open the cookie packaging with practiced ease. With his naturally lean physique and regular exercise, he didn’t need to restrict his diet as strictly as other celebrities did for their figures, occasionally indulging in snacks.

Lu Yuzhou hung up his coat. “Brother Qiao was lost in thought.”

Ever since meeting Li Xi that day, Chi Zhongqiao had been constantly thinking about moving out. It wasn’t just at home; he even found himself drifting off during classes, preoccupied with the idea. After two days of pondering, he still hadn’t figured out how to bring it up with Lu Yuzhou.

However, Yuzhou and Li Xi’s relationship development was still some time away, so Chi Zhongqiao didn’t need to rush his move. He just needed to leave before they became a couple.

Chi Zhongqiao waved Lu Yuzhou over. “Come here.”

Lu Yuzhou sat beside Chi Zhongqiao, who tilted his head and studied him intently for a moment before gesturing with his hand. “You seem to have grown taller again.”

In less than a year, Lu Yuzhou had shed his youthful awkwardness. His features had grown more defined, yet his expression remained aloof, even colder than when they first met. Despite this, his posture relaxed as he sat beside Chi Zhongqiao. He had also grown considerably, now nearly as tall as Chi Zhongqiao himself. In another two or three years, he would likely surpass him.

At this age, he should be thinking about dating, Chi Zhongqiao thought wistfully. Lu Yuzhou would eventually find his place, but Chi Zhongqiao had been a bachelor in his previous life and remained unattached in this one, still clinging to his first love.

Lost in thought, Chi Zhongqiao didn’t notice Lu Yuzhou’s discomfort under his intense gaze. Lu Yuzhou lowered his head to avoid his eyes. “Brother Qiao?”

Chi Zhongqiao snapped out of his reverie and smiled. “It’s nothing.”

He really needed to find something living to pour his emotions into, otherwise, his reaction to Lu Yuzhou would become too problematic.

Just then, the commercials ended, and the opening theme song for <Meeting You> began to play.

The first half of <Meeting You> focused on Yan Qingbo, leaving Lu Yuzhou uninterested. He picked up a book and began flipping through it slowly.

Chi Zhongqiao had already scolded himself and managed to regain his composure. He watched the show with genuine enjoyment, crunching through a bag of cookies.

Lu Yuzhou’s hand gradually stopped turning the pages. After quietly observing Chi Zhongqiao for a moment, he asked, “Brother Qiao, do you really like Yan Qingbo that much?”

He remembered Chi Zhongqiao had once asked him to buy Yan Qingbo’s photobook.

“Hmm?” Chi Zhongqiao paused, then shook his head. “I wouldn’t say I “like” her that much. Teacher Yan is a senior with both virtue and talent—I admire her.”

Chi Zhongqiao slowly sank deeper into the sofa. With only Lu Yuzhou present, he didn’t need to maintain his usual impeccable posture.

Gazing at the radiant Film Empress Yan on the screen, he murmured, “To reach this level in the industry… that’s truly fulfilling.”

Lu Yuzhou asked, “When Brother Qiao reach that level, what do you want to do?”

Chi Zhongqiao pondered for a moment. “I’d only film one project a year. After finishing, I’d travel everywhere I could. If I met someone I liked, I’d stay with them forever.”

Lu Yuzhou’s brow furrowed briefly, as if struck by a sudden thought.

Chi Zhongqiao, feeling rather romantic, grabbed a cushion and hugged it to his chest as he continued watching the show. Little did he know, Lu Yuzhou’s gaze beside him had grown dark and inscrutable.

By this point, the show was in its second half, and the cast of <Empress of the World> had taken the stage. Lu Yuzhou finally put down his book and joined Chi Zhongqiao in watching.

When they saw Chi Zhongqiao retrieving his fan sign, the corners of Lu Yuzhou’s lips curved into a subtle smile. “Do you still have that fan sign, Brother Qiao?”

Chi Zhongqiao grinned. “Of course! It’s right in my bedside table.” He turned excitedly to face Lu Yuzhou, gesturing wildly. “You know what? I saw a fan-made sign on Super Topic the other day—it was two meters long and needed two people to hold it up! The lights were bright red, it was so eye-catching!”

Lu Yuzhou: “…That must have looked impressive.”

A few minutes into the second half of the show, Chi Zhongqiao was surprised to find that he was getting quite a bit of screen time. In several scenes, the editors had even added extra footage of him, despite his silence. For example, during the second activity of the half, the post-production team went wild, giving him an absurd amount of screen time.

The theme of the second activity was popularizing ancient knowledge, this time focusing on the ornaments worn by women in ancient times. For this segment, the production team had specially commissioned a set of toumian—a traditional Chinese headdress.

The toumian was so exquisite that even Film Empress Yan, the renowned actress, couldn’t help but let out a small gasp when she first laid eyes on it.

While Chi Zhongqiao’s taste in light-up signs was notoriously questionable, his aesthetic sense was otherwise quite normal. So when the group crowded around the toumian to admire it, he was eager to get a closer look too. However, he had been standing quite far back during the previous segment, leaving him squeezed into the outermost layer of the crowd. Fortunately, his height allowed him to see the headdress on the table even from the second row.

But…

Er Lu, who was standing in front of him, was indeed shorter than Chi Zhongqiao, but not by much. Moreover, Er Lu’s two tufts of hair stuck up at awkward angles, partially obstructing Chi Zhongqiao’s view.

Chi Zhongqiao had no choice but to secretly pinch Er Lu’s hair with two fingers and tug it down slightly, finally getting a satisfactory view of the entire headdress.

In post-production, the editors first added a “Baby wants to see!” emoji to Chi Zhongqiao’s blurred view of the headdress. Then, when Chi Zhongqiao surreptitiously reached out to tug Er Lu’s hair, they drew a massive red circle around his slender, pale fingers.

Chi Zhongqiao never imagined the editors’ eyes could be so sharp, catching even such a subtle movement.

Holding the last small cookie, he found the taste had lost its appeal. “They even added a close-up of my hand! Now Er Lu knows I pinched his hair. Not just him, but half the internet’s viewers know too.”

Lu Yuzhou stared at his face and murmured, “But it’s so cute.”

“Hmm?”

With half a cookie in his mouth, Chi Zhongqiao couldn’t speak properly. He pointed at himself, his eyes conveying the question: Me? Cute?

Lu Yuzhou nodded. “Brother Qiao is really cute.”

Chi Zhongqiao swallowed the cookie, took a sip of water, and suddenly gave Lu Yuzhou a gentle shove. “I’m shy now.”

Lu Yuzhou laughed, goosebumps rising on his arms.

The talent show segment had begun. Chi Zhongqiao unfurled a sheet of Xuan paper, picked up a brush, and focused his mind.

His posture betrayed no amateurishness. His confident demeanor held the entire studio spellbound. After a few seconds of contemplation, Chi Zhongqiao swept the brush across the paper, leaving three bold, vigorous characters on the high-quality Xuan paper¹Xuan paper, Shuen paper, or rice paper, is a kind of paper originating in ancient China used for writing and painting. Xuan paper is renowned for being soft and fine-textured, suitable for conveying the artistic expression of both Chinese calligraphy and painting.: 红 豆 奶 (Red Bean Milk).

Huo Ting and Er Lu, both easily amused, burst into laughter on the spot.

Lu Yuzhou: “…Why did you write those three characters?”

Chi Zhongqiao: “Because I drank red bean milk tea before filming the show.”

Meanwhile, Er Lu, still squatting on the floor and laughing, exclaimed, “I was going to ask for this to frame and take home, but if I actually took this back, it would be a constant reminder to drink Red Bean Milk Tea!”

After the ink dried, Chi Zhongqiao held up the paper to admire it. “I think it’s pretty good,” he said. “Red bean milk tea is so delicious.”

“I wrote those three characters perfectly,” Chi Zhongqiao said.

Setting aside the meaning of the characters, the calligraphy itself was indeed flawless.

“En, they look good,” Lu Yuzhou agreed.

Chi Zhongqiao’s enthusiasm surged. “Then can I hang them in the study later?”

Lu Yuzhou paused for a few seconds before gently suggesting, “I think Brother Qiao could write a new piece specifically for the study.”

Chi Zhongqiao considered this and realized it made perfect sense.

Just as he turned back to resume watching the show, Lu Yuzhou suddenly asked, “Brother Qiao, have you ever thought about what kind of partner you’d want?”

Chi Zhongqiao hadn’t really thought about it. He’d always been an outsider looking in on romance, having considered dating and even marriage, but never specifically what kind of person he’d want. Or rather, Chi Zhongqiao himself didn’t know what type he liked. He wasn’t even entirely sure if he was attracted to men or women.

After a moment of stunned silence, he shook his head. “Never thought about it. What about you, Yuzhou?” As soon as he asked, he felt foolish—Yu Zhou obviously liked someone like Li Xi.

Lu Yuzhou shifted his gaze to the television, speaking slowly, “Not really sure. But preferably someone taller, not too thin, talkative but definitely cute, like…”

He seemed startled by the half-formed words that had almost slipped out, his tongue darting back to retract the two syllables that had already reached his lips.

Lu Yuzhou barely managed to bite back the words, his mind reeling. How could I have such thoughts? Am I actually hoping my future partner will have a personality like Brother Qiao’s?

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  Xuan paper, Shuen paper, or rice paper, is a kind of paper originating in ancient China used for writing and painting. Xuan paper is renowned for being soft and fine-textured, suitable for conveying the artistic expression of both Chinese calligraphy and painting.