With Fu Yanchuan’s strong financial support, the animation was finally composited and edited the following summer. The entire film maintained a high standard of quality.
On the day the film was finished, Cheng Shu gathered everyone in the studio’s screening room for the real “premiere.” When the two-hour film ended, the screening room was quiet for half a minute. Then, applause erupted as if from hundreds of people. Someone couldn’t help but praise themselves.
“Holy shit! I think we’re insanely awesome! How did we make something this damn awesome?”
“Teacher Qi Xi’s art style is just god-tier! No matter how many times I watch it, the only word I have is ‘awesome’!”
“Yeah, this kind of cool, shocking style is absolutely one of a kind right now. I’m sure that, at the very least, the art style will be praised!”
Qi Xi didn’t expect the praise to land on him so suddenly. Feeling embarrassed, he glanced around. “I’m not that amazing. If you keep praising me, I’ll get a big head!”
“Be arrogant! Praising you is exactly what will make you arrogant! All right, Director Cheng!”
“I say you guys should praise Director Cheng, too. Look, he’s about to cry!”
Cheng Shu was really touched. When he found Qi Xi, he had only wanted to give it a try. He never expected to have picked up such a treasure. Qi Xi’s talent wasn’t limited to drawing; his ability to express himself through animation far exceeded Cheng Shu’s expectations. What surprised him the most was Qi Xi’s pure craftsmanship. When he picked up the brush, he cast everything else aside and focused solely on creating the best possible artwork.
Besides Qi Xi himself, there was also Fu Yanchuan. Although he often talked about dreams and pursuits, in reality, one had to make a living. Ultimately, the ability to ignore costs and execute everything perfectly according to the original vision, without catering to anyone, was possible because of Fu Yanchuan’s investment, which did not pressure them to generate returns.
This was also thanks to Qi Xi. Fu Yanchuan’s investment was simply to allow Qi Xi to freely draw whatever he wanted and to display his art in the best possible way.
The result was exactly as Fu Yanchuan had hoped. Cheng Shu was certain that, once the film was released, Qi Xi would become famous overnight.
With this in mind, Cheng Shu stood in front of Qi Xi and said, “Qi Xi, thank you for giving me the opportunity to complete a project in such a pure way.”
Qi Xi still didn’t know that Fu Yanchuan had invested in them. Seeing Cheng Shu become so formal, Qi Xi nervously stood up as well. “Director Cheng, I just did my job. You taught me a lot. I should be the one thanking you for giving me this opportunity.”
Cheng Shu chuckled softly. “Since that’s the case, if you’re satisfied with this collaboration, how about we set up the next one?”
“Of course, no problem!”
Qi Xi agreed immediately. Afraid he might change his mind, Cheng Shu grabbed his hand right away. “Then it’s settled. You won’t be able to refuse me when the time comes.”
“Mm, I keep my word.”
Qi Xi didn’t know Cheng Shu’s half-calculation referred to Fu Yanchuan’s investment. He patted his chest and promised.
Cheng Shu wouldn’t say it out loud anyway. He already understood that as long as he secured Qi Xi, it was the same as securing Fu Yanchuan.
Now that the animation was finished, all that was left was the review process. Once it passed, they could start promoting it and set a release date.
It was Qi Xi’s first time experiencing this step, so he asked Cheng Shu expectantly, “Director Cheng, when can it be released? I want to watch it!”
Cheng Shu sighed. “That depends on the review time. If there are no problems, we should be able to catch the National Day slot. Otherwise, it can only be Spring Festival.”
“So long? What do they review? Why would there be problems?”
Cheng Shu found it difficult to explain all the rules and unspoken rules involved, so he said, “Some films go through the review process for years and still aren’t allowed to be released. Often, they fail in ways you can’t anticipate. In short, it’s very hard to say for sure, especially for animations aimed at children and minors.”
Qi Xi nodded as if he half understood. Seeing him look disappointed, Cheng Shu tried to comfort him. “Don’t worry. With such positive, uplifting work, we’ll definitely pass the review quickly!”
“Don’t think about that for now!”
Huang Shilin suddenly cut in. “On such a happy day, think about good things! I’ve already booked the place. Since there’s nothing else, let’s go now!”
After finishing the animation, Cheng Shu treated everyone to a meal. Qi Xi quickly said, “You guys go first. I’ll go pick up Fu Yanchuan.”
The studio staff were used to treating Fu Yanchuan as one of their own even though he had never joined their gatherings before. Huang Shilin asked, “Does President Fu have time to come?”
“Yes, he said he’d go with me this morning, but he wants me to pick him up!”
As he spoke, Qi Xi ran out, tossing his remaining words along the way. “You guys go first; we’ll be there soon!”
Ever since the studio moved here, Fu Yanchuan had often come over, and Qi Xi would run to his office whenever he had time. It was only a few hundred meters away, so he always walked. The lobby receptionist already knew him and let him go upstairs directly.
He went straight to Fu Yanchuan’s office, the same one he had visited before. As soon as he entered, he greeted the people in the office.
“Is President Fu inside?”
The person closest to him beckoned him over. He leaned in, and the other person whispered, “President Fu just lost his temper. Please save us.”
He made an “OK” gesture and rushed into Fu Yanchuan’s office.
Fu Yanchuan had brought Qi Xi to his inauguration banquet, which was basically a public coming out. Recently, Qi Xi had also been coming by often, so everyone in the company already knew about their relationship—it had become an open secret.
Fu Yanchuan was not satisfied with the project vice president’s report and was coldly facing him. When the vice president saw Qi Xi come in suddenly, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, Fu Yanchuan said, “You can go.”
The project vice president hurriedly shot Qi Xi a grateful look and slipped away, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Fu Yanchuan took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Qi Xi moved to his side, lay mischievously on the desk, pushed his laptop aside, looked at him, and asked, “Are you angry?”
He put his glasses back on, reached out, and pulled Qi Xi in. Qi Xi fell into his arms. Holding him, he asked, “Finished watching the animation? Was it good?”
“It was good!”
Qi Xi excitedly described it. “I think it’s really amazing, especially the last part. It looks even better animated! How am I so good at drawing?”
In his heart, Fu Yanchuan silently compared Qi Xi’s changes. The current Qi Xi could calmly accept praise from others and sincerely acknowledge his own excellence. He had truly become confident.
He turned Qi Xi around to face him and said, “Of course, my Xi Xi is amazing.”
“Then, when it’s released, let’s go watch it together, okay?”
Qi Xi looked at Fu Yanchuan expectantly after asking because Fu Yanchuan had never really been interested in films or TV shows. When they watched TV together, it was often just background noise, and Fu Yanchuan would end up watching Qi Xi instead.
Fu Yanchuan stared at him for a long time, then suddenly leaned over and kissed him. “Say ‘I love you,’ and I’ll go watch it.”
Qi Xi still felt that “I love you” was precious, but Fu Yanchuan always found ways to make him say it. Not falling for it, Qi Xi replied, “It hasn’t been released yet. When it’s released, I’ll say it then.”
When Fu Yanchuan didn’t get the confession he wanted, he kissed Qi Xi instead and said, “I love you, Xi Xi.”
Qi Xi hurriedly covered his mouth. “Don’t say that in the office.”
“Then where should I say it?”
“Anyway, not here.”
Fu Yanchuan didn’t really understand where Qi Xi wanted things to go. He took his hand off his mouth and asked, “Now that the animation is finished, what do you want to do in the future?” Keep doing animation? Or go back to painting?”
Qi Xi hadn’t thought about this before. After some thought, he replied, “I want to continue doing animation. In the future, I want to be a director like Director Cheng. I want to tell my own stories and become an animation master so that the whole world knows me.”
“Mm. If you like it, then go do it.”
As he spoke, Fu Yanchuan tightened his hold on Qi Xi, found his lips, and kissed him. He knew that one day, Qi Xi would become the person he wanted to be and would no longer need his help or protection.
He wanted to hold on to Qi Xi in this moment. He held him so tightly that Qi Xi cried out in pain. But he kissed him harder and deeper and said, “Xi Xi, don’t go too far away. Rely on me a little more.”
Qi Xi didn’t understand what Fu Yanchuan meant. He lightly scraped his teeth over his swollen lips. He wanted to get angry, but when he saw Fu Yanchuan’s handsome face, he immediately forgave Fu Yanchuan for bullying him. He answered seriously, “I don’t want to. I want to become someone as amazing as you!”
Fu Yanchuan laughed. He knew Qi Xi would say that. His hand moved down restlessly to tease him. “First, you need to train your stamina. Don’t say you’re tired every time.”
Qi Xi slapped his face with both hands and rubbed it vigorously a couple of times. He said angrily, “You big pervert! That’s not what I meant!”
“But I’m really good at this. If you want to be as good as me, at least don’t complain about being tired halfway through.”
“I’m not talking to you! Obviously, you’re the one who takes too long!”
Qi Xi pushed Fu Yanchuan away and got down from his lap. “How long until you get off work? They’ve already gone ahead!”
There was a chair specially prepared for Qi Xi beside Fu Yanchuan. He pulled it over, pressed Qi Xi down, and said, “In a bit. Wait for me.”
“Then hurry up.”
Qi Xi was like an elementary school student doing homework in the parents’ office. Fu Yanchuan turned back to work, and Qi Xi started touching everything.
In the corner of the desk were photos of him and Fu Yanchuan. They weren’t a joint photo but rather two separate frames. At first, there was only his, but he felt it was too lonely, so he added a photo of Fu Yanchuan. It was taken when Fu Yanchuan was watching swans.
Now, Qi Xi took the two photos, played with them like shadow puppets for a while, and then suddenly took his sketchbook out of the drawer. He drew a little story that had just come to his mind.
Fu Yanchuan didn’t know what Qi Xi was drawing. All he saw was Qi Xi smiling as he drew. Eventually, Qi Xi must have finished because he took a photo with his phone and posted it online.
Fu Yanchuan didn’t use social media often. The only account he had was one he had registered specifically to follow Qi Xi. When he opened the account, he saw the comic Qi Xi had just posted.
Qi Xi already had over a hundred thousand followers, and comments appeared as soon as he posted.
[The master keeps drawing this handsome guy. Is it someone he knows in real life?]
Qi Xi didn’t think the person was just asking casually. He thought they had figured out that the person he was drawing was Fu Yanchuan. After all, these comics were based on small moments he and Fu Yanchuan shared, exaggerated and adapted according to his imagination. But he didn’t want to admit it.
[It’s a secret. Don’t ask.]
[So, is there really someone?]
Seeing Qi Xi’s reply, Fu Yanchuan lightly curled his lips and replied.
[That’s right, it’s me.]
Then, Qi Xi denied it.
[Who are you? Don’t randomly claim things. I don’t know you.]
He turned around and asked Qi Xi directly, “You don’t know me?”
Qi Xi leaned over to his computer and saw the reply. Only then did he understand. “Is this account yours?”
He nodded. Qi Xi stared at him thoughtfully for two seconds, not knowing what he was thinking. Qi Xi deleted his previous reply saying that he didn’t know him, then followed his account.
The onlooking netizens immediately noticed something was fishy. They all knew that Qi Xi wasn’t good at lying. When he said he didn’t know him, he definitely didn’t know him. But deleting the message so quickly and following the other person must mean he had confirmed it in real life.
So, was this account really the prototype of the comic?
Netizens clicked on Fu Yanchuan’s account and found that it was an inactive account with only one follower, Qi Xi. There were no posts except for likes on Qi Xi’s drawings.
The comic content was silly and funny, and the two main characters were ambiguous and sweet. Netizens started guessing whether Master Qixi had a good brother or maybe a boyfriend in real life.
This was just a small interlude. Whether or not Qi Xi had a boyfriend wasn’t really news, and only a few fans discussed it.
However, Fu Yanchuan was satisfied that Qi Xi hadn’t tried to hide him. He turned off the computer and pulled Qi Xi up.
“Can we go now?”
Qi Xi immediately slung himself diagonally over Fu Yanchuan’s shoulder like a bag. Fu Yanchuan wrapped an arm around him and lifted him up with one hand.
Fu Yanchuan asked, “Going out like this?”
“Who’s afraid? Let’s go!”
Qi Xi said boldly. Fu Yanchuan really did carry him out on one shoulder. However, when he opened the door, Qi Xi regretted it. “Put me down! Fu Yanchuan!”
“Too late.”
“Not too late, Brother Yanyan! Put me down!”
Those near the office door only caught a glimpse of Fu Yanchuan putting Qi Xi down from his shoulder. He was smiling with a kind of satisfaction they wouldn’t dare imagine.
You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨
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Yani On ABLO Chapter 35