I'm Rich - 54
The rest of the items on the small coffee table had been cleared away by Mao Mao. Guan Zhiyi sat on the sofa, her eyes darting back and forth.
What were they doing in there...
How had a kiss like that happened so suddenly?
Guan Zhiyi touched her lips, unable to shake the lingering sensation from a moment ago.
"When are you heading to the set?"
The bedroom door opened. Guan Zhiyi instantly snapped her back straight. "I don't know! I mean, in half an hour."
Qi Chengyan looked at the panicked girl, let out a soft laugh, and walked over to sit beside her.
Guan Zhiyi remained entirely tense, not daring to look at him.
"Turn around."
"..."
"Turn around." Qi Chengyan reached out, pressing a hand to her shoulder to gently turn her toward him.
Guan Zhiyi muttered, "What..."
Qi Chengyan reached over to straighten her clothes. "Holding you like that just now crumpled your outfit."
A wave of heat flooded Guan Zhiyi's face, making it burn even hotter. She quickly lowered her head to hide the panic in her eyes, reaching down to smooth the creases along her hem. "It's fine. Once I get to the set, I'll just have the costume team fix it."
"Mm."
After smoothing her clothes, Guan Zhiyi stole a quick glance at him. "So... aren't you leaving yet?"
Qi Chengyan raised an eyebrow slightly. "One second you're chasing your brother away, and now you're chasing me?"
"I was just asking..."
"I'm not heading back until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Mm. So I can still keep you company tonight."
Guan Zhiyi was tense all over, yet hearing that he was staying to keep her company sent a quiet burst of sweetness sprouting through her heart.
"What did you and your brother eat earlier?" Qi Chengyan asked.
"Just hotel lunch... and some snacks he bought me." Thinking of that, Guan Zhiyi suddenly remembered. "Ah, have you had lunch yet? He brought a lot of pastries. I'll go get—"
"Forget it." Qi Chengyan caught her hand to stop her. "I don't care for sweets."
"Then what will you do..."
As they spoke, the room door swiped open again.
"Zhiyi-jie, it's time to head out—" The words were barely out before the speaker froze, startled by Qi Chengyan sitting in the living room. "President Qi?"
Qi Chengyan nodded in greeting.
Mao Mao asked, "What brings you here?"
"Visiting the set."
Mao Mao was surprised. "Zhiyi-jie's brother was just here earlier too. How come you two didn't come together?"
Qi Chengyan glanced at Guan Zhiyi and offered a mild smile. "I didn't know he was coming. Just missed each other."
"Oh, well Zhiyi-jie needs to head to the set with me now. You..."
"It's fine. Go ahead and get to work."
"Ah, alright."
Guan Zhiyi got up to follow Mao Mao out, but after taking a few steps, she felt uneasy and turned back to instruct him, "Why don't you stay in the room for now, and I'll have someone order a meal sent up for you? If you're tired, you can rest in the room for a bit too."
Qi Chengyan watched her go, thoroughly compliant. "Alright."
"I'm leaving then?"
"Mm."
Once she stepped out of the room with Mao Mao, Guan Zhiyi finally let out a full sigh of relief, though the heat on her face refused to cool down so quickly. Mao Mao snickered quietly. "President Qi is really pursuing you hard. How long have we even been here?"
Guan Zhiyi touched her nose, slightly embarrassed. "...Don't gossip."
Mao Mao giggled. "Zhiyi-jie, do you like him too?"
Guan Zhiyi shot her a look, wanting to deny it with some force, but as the words rolled around the tip of her tongue, she found herself unable to say them. In the end, she could only deflate. "Is it that obvious..."
Mao Mao said seriously, "Yeah! Whenever President Qi is around, you can't tear your eyes off him."
"...Oh."
"Though I think President Qi is completely crazy about you too."
Guan Zhiyi turned to Mao Mao, an anticipation she hadn't even noticed herself gleaming in her eyes. "How can you tell?"
"It's pretty obvious. You can tell in a single glance! President Qi treats you so well, and he keeps secretly dropping by to visit the set." Mao Mao thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered, "Oh, right! Remember that time we went to France to shoot that commercial? Yun-jie said President Qi definitely just wanted to see you. Whatever work he claimed to have was just an excuse."
Guan Zhiyi had never considered that he had made that trip to France specifically for her. After all, it was so far, and his schedule was always so packed...
"Aiya, look at the time! Let me hurry and get in the car so we aren't late," Mao Mao said.
A faint smile gathered in the depths of Guan Zhiyi's eyes because of that man. "Alright..."
Guan Zhiyi had a heavy filming schedule today, and once she reached the set, she was thrown into shooting without a single moment's rest. It was not until dinner time that she finally found a spare moment to pick up her phone and check in on Qi Chengyan's situation.
"Zhiyi, thanks!" Just then, an actor walking toward her waved the coffee and pastry in her hand.
Guan Zhiyi was confused. "Hmm?"
"These pastries you bought are amazing!"
Guan Zhiyi looked at the items in her hand with confusion. "?"
"Thanks, Teacher Guan~" Another actor passed by.
"Good coffee, Teacher Guan." A crew member walked past her.
"Zhiyi, this is delicious!"
"Thanks, Teacher Guan!"
...
All along the way, staff and actors alike were thanking her.
Guan Zhiyi was completely bewildered. Later, as she walked outside, she spotted a pastry cart and a coffee cart parked there. The logos of a branded shop were printed on the vehicles; clearly, the shop had driven directly to the venue to prepare and distribute everything fresh on site.
"...I didn't buy these," Guan Zhiyi murmured.
Just then, Mao Mao came over and handed her a cup of coffee. "Jie, here you go."
Guan Zhiyi asked, "Did you arrange all this?"
"If I had arranged it, how could I not have told you beforehand?" Mao Mao leaned in to whisper in her ear, "President Qi ordered them, but he bought them for the cast and crew under your name."
"Then where is he..."
"He only called to ask me to meet the people from the two shops. As for where he is, I have no idea." Mao Mao said happily, "Today's scene is a massive one with so many extras, yet every single person got a share. President Qi is way too thoughtful..."
Mao Mao's praise echoed in her ears, but Guan Zhiyi barely registered it. She grabbed her phone, found a quiet spot to sit down, and dialed Qi Chengyan's number.
"Xiao Wu." The call connected quickly, and his voice carried over the line, possessing a magnetic pull that made half her heart quiver.
Guan Zhiyi asked, "Did you order the coffee and pastries?"
"Are they good?"
She actually hadn't eaten any yet, but she still said, "They're good. But why do it under my name? Why didn't you come over yourself?"
"Me?" Qi Chengyan let out a low laugh. "I didn't dare to."
Guan Zhiyi froze for a moment. "Why?"
"This time, there aren't any acquaintances in the crew to give me an excuse to visit the set."
Guan Zhiyi was momentarily confused, thinking that she was right there, when she heard Qi Chengyan say unhurriedly, "I haven't been granted the official standing to visit you yet."
"Huh?"
"Or rather, why don't you give me a proper standing?"
The standing to visit her on set...
Even though there were so many ties between them, he said he hadn't been granted that title yet.
What kind of standing he was waiting for went without saying.
Guan Zhiyi tightened her grip on her phone, her heart feeling as though it had just been met by a timely rain.
Why don't you give me a proper standing?
Once upon a time, she had longed so desperately to grant him that standing, and had wanted just as desperately to receive it from him in return. But later, misunderstandings and fear had made her pull back. And now, he was the one coming toward her, reaching out his hand to pull her out of the shell she had retreated into...
Guan Zhiyi pressed her lips together, her breath turning chaotic. She swallowed several times, her throat dry, before she finally spoke in a slow, soft voice, "Do you really, really like me?"
Qi Chengyan had been waiting for her to speak, and upon hearing her question, he paused slightly. "Mm. I like you very much. Exceptionally so."
"Then, in the future, will you never say I'm just a kid again, or that you don't have any other feelings for me?"
Qi Chengyan let out a quiet sigh, knowing that the shadow he had cast over her back then ran deep.
He softened his tone, coaxing her gently, "Xiao Wu, what did I do to you today? Tell me, was that treating you like a child?"
Guan Zhiyi's eyes welled with red, the figures and scenery before her blurring together. She could only hear the voice beside her ear, sounding so distant yet so close at hand.
He said, "My feeling for you isn't the affection one has for a child. It's the kind of love where I want you to be my girlfriend. So... will you give me a chance?"
It was an uncontrollable fluttering of the heart.
Her childhood admiration and reliance, her mature affection and deep devotion—every feeling she had cultivated from youth to adulthood had flooded toward this single person.
However uneasy and heartbroken she had been in the past, she was now equally grounded and overjoyed.
This was Qi Chengyan, the man who had protected her as she grew up, pampering her until no one else could ever hold her gaze again. He was also the man she had waited for through endless time, waiting until he finally said he liked her.
Guan Zhiyi let out a choked breath, not daring to let him notice.
She bent her head down, resting it on her knees. Her voice was muffled and small, but she finally spoke to the person on the other end of the phone:
"Okay."
It was a light, fragile word, as light as the warm steam rising from a cup of coffee, yet as heavy as all the accumulated years they had shared.
It was just an ordinary evening on an ordinary day of the year. People were still coming and going before her eyes, modern clothes and ancient costumes intermingling, the entire area filled with clamorous noise. Yet she could hear none of it. She felt only a light dizziness, as though she had tumbled into a wine cellar despite not having touched a single drop.
It was like a dream she never wanted to wake from.
The night shoot schedule for the production team was packed today as well. Staff bustled around the set, directing the extras' positioning one moment and coordinating lighting details with the technicians the next.
By the time the night scene completely wrapped up, it was already past midnight.
After coming down from the roof, Guan Zhiyi removed her wire harness, her feet feeling somewhat weightless. But she couldn't wait any longer. Without even taking off her makeup, she threw on her clothes and called Mao Mao over.
They had gotten together earlier that evening. The last words he had spoken before hanging up were that he would pick her up tonight.
She hadn't anticipated that tonight's shooting would run so late. She didn't know if he was still there, or if he had been waiting for a long time.
"Zhiyi-jie," Mao Mao walked over.
Guan Zhiyi took her phone from her hand. "Did anyone call earlier?"
"No."
Guan Zhiyi knit her brows. Just as she was about to unlock the screen, she heard Mao Mao say with a giggle, "Though someone did call at nine o'clock! It was President Qi."
Guan Zhiyi paused. "Nine o'clock?"
"Yeah. President Qi said he was waiting for you at the parking lot by the west gate."
"Is he still there now?"
Mao Mao replied, "I wouldn't know about that, but he should still be there..."
Before Mao Mao could finish her sentence, she saw Guan Zhiyi already rushing toward the west gate.
In the dead of night, there were very few cars left in the set's parking lot, with only a scattered few belonging to night-shooting crews.
Guan Zhiyi pulled her hat low and trotted all the way to the parking lot. From afar, she spotted someone standing by the driver's side of a vehicle parked in the deepest corner.
The car door was open. One of his hands rested on it while the other held a phone to his ear, making a call.
Guan Zhiyi stepped forward.
As her footsteps drew closer, the man spotted her as well. He smiled at her—a faint smile, yet one that seemed to illuminate the dark night.
Guan Zhiyi took a deep breath and continued toward him, stopping right in front of him.
He reached out and lightly tapped her hat, speaking to the person on the phone, "Mm, I'll handle it when I get back tomorrow. Yes, you can decide the other matters yourself... I know... Alright, I'm hanging up now. I have something important to attend to."
The person on the other end teasingly asked what important matter it was. The man's lips curved up slightly as he said, "Something very important. Far more important than life itself."
Guan Zhiyi froze, suddenly feeling a bit shy. She pointed toward the passenger seat, indicating that she was going to get in. But before she could walk around, he caught her hand.
Qi Chengyan hung up the call.
Guan Zhiyi's face flushed slightly. She didn't look at him, speaking dryly instead, "...Aren't we driving?"
When no answer came from Qi Chengyan for a long while, she had no choice but to lift her head to look at him. "What's wrong?"
The night was deep and heavy. When she raised her head, she saw the man before her looking down at her, and for a fleeting moment, she felt as if a brilliant galaxy of stars was glittering in his eyes.
"Gege?"
"Don't call me Gege for now."
"..."
His smile narrowed slightly as he spoke, "First time meeting your boyfriend, aren't you going to give him a hug first?"
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