ASFSODS 49

The others didn’t mind when they found out Wen Chi and Jiang Siheng wouldn’t be on the same flight as them. They had already packed up their things, said goodbye to the two and the hosts, and left for the airport.

The production crew left with them, signaling that the live recording of the second episode of Heart’s Confession 2 had officially ended.

All the cameras in the guesthouse had been removed, and Wen Chi no longer needed to wear his mic. He could finally play on his phone and game as much as he wanted without hiding it. When Jiang Siheng stepped into Wen Chi’s room, he saw the boy sprawled out on the bed, with legs spread and one knee bent, exposing a pale calf.

“The host asked if we want to order breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next few days,” Jiang Siheng said, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting the back of Wen Chi’s head.

Wen Chi was gaming, but when he heard that, he turned his head with a bright expression. “We don’t have to cook ourselves?”

Jiang Siheng was amused by his reaction and said, “Mm-hmm, no need.”

Now that he could go back to his pre-show couch potato lifestyle, Wen Chi couldn’t be happier. He flopped over with glee and said, “Then message me when it’s time to eat, I’m off to game.”

There was such confidence in everything the boy said that Jiang Siheng didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Seeing that Wen Chi looked pretty energetic aside from the occasional sneeze, he reminded him, “Don’t play on your phone for too long.”

Wen Chi muttered, “Mhm, okay, I got it,” but his eyes never left the screen.

Jiang Siheng headed downstairs. The elderly lady was preparing lunch. When she came out to grab something and saw him, she asked how Wen Chi was doing.

“Much better.” Jiang Siheng walked over to help. “Let me give you a hand.”

The old lady looked surprised. “You know how to cook?”

Jiang Siheng paused slightly while holding the vegetables. It only took that split second of hesitation for the old lady to understand.

Seeing her smile, Jiang Siheng said helplessly, “I’ll help prepare the ingredients.”

The foreign grandma nodded with a chuckle. “Alright.”

…

Wen Chi played a few rounds before getting bored. Solo queuing just wasn’t fun. Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi were both busy, and he couldn’t find anyone else to play with for the moment.

As he walked downstairs, he heard the grandma’s hearty laughter coming from the kitchen. The grandpa smiled and greeted him, then pointed toward the kitchen.

Wearing slippers, Wen Chi walked to the kitchen doorway and saw Jiang Siheng being directed around by the grandma. His always-composed face now looked a little flustered.

Wen Chi watched with curiosity. He didn’t speak or step closer, he just stood quietly at the door. It wasn’t until Jiang Siheng sensed something and turned around that he noticed Wen Chi standing there.

Seeing he had been caught, Wen Chi grinned and walked in to stand beside the man. Jiang Siheng instinctively reached out to ruffle Wen Chi’s hair, but remembered his hands were wet and stopped.

“What are you making? Let me help.” Wen Chi looked around to see if there was anything he could do.

“No need, it’s almost done.” Jiang Siheng casually picked up an extra piece of pasta and held it up to Wen Chi’s mouth.

Wen Chi opened his mouth and bit down. The pasta had a slight sweetness to it. After chewing, he asked, “Can I have another piece?”

Jiang Siheng simply handed him the small bowl, which was full of pasta strips.

The grandma paused her work to watch the two boys interact, her face full of warm and gentle affection.

While cooking, both Wen Chi and Jiang Siheng were eventually shooed out of the kitchen. Grandpa told them to watch the house while he slowly wandered into the kitchen to help.

Wen Chi felt it wasn’t right to just lie around waiting to be fed, so he dragged Jiang Siheng to wipe down the table and straighten the chairs.

Jiang Siheng let Wen Chi pull him around to do chores. Eventually, seeing Wen Chi standing in the middle of the living room zoning out, he waited a bit before asking, “Anything else you want to do?” 

Wen Chi shook his head and sighed, “Nope.”

“If there’s nothing to do, then sit down and rest properly.” Jiang Siheng had already noticed earlier that Wen Chi kept sniffing. Clearly, he hadn’t fully recovered from his cold.

“Okay.” Wen Chi sat cross-legged on the sofa, still in socks, with phone in hand as he messaged someone. After a while, he looked up at Jiang Siheng and said, “The others just got on the plane.”

Jiang Siheng glanced at him. “How do you know?”

“Xiao Yao texted me, said they have boarded.” Wen Chi waved his phone.

Jiang Siheng made a noncommittal sound. “You two are pretty close.”

Wen Chi looked up. “……”

Jiang Siheng was still staring at him.

Wen Chi cleared his throat and glanced at the man, quickly averting his gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jiang Siheng turned away, his voice a bit muffled. “No reason.”

Huh. Wen Chi leaned forward, trying to catch a look at Jiang Siheng’s face. The latter glanced at him, then reached out to push his head back.

.

The return itinerary for the Heart’s Confession 2 cast was leaked, and fans from each camp looked up flights from Country Y to Haining in the morning. Many fan site masters and supporters showed up early at the airport to welcome them.

The plane landed just as it was dawn in China. Even though it was still early, the airport was already quite crowded, not to mention the growing group of girls gathering at the arrival area.

Most passengers didn’t find it strange anymore. Haining had become a common location for variety shows and filming, so while it might’ve been surprising at first, people had grown used to it. At most, they’d look over curiously to see which celeb it was.

After more than half an hour of waiting, fans finally saw their idols. Cameras and phones were raised all at once and it was hard to tell which fan belonged to which star, but fortunately everyone stayed orderly and didn’t cause too much disruption.

However, within that large group of girls, a few fans quietly stepped away, exchanging confused glances.

Where’s my Xiao Chi/Jiang Ge?? Where’s my big, bright Xiao Chi/Jiang Ge???

The two sets of fans looked at each other, not recognizing one another but the identical confusion on their faces made it instantly clear they were from different camps.

What a coincidence. You can’t find your idol either?

One fan hesitated for a second, then took the initiative. “Hi, are you… Wen Chi fans?”

The ChiTang fans glanced at each other, and then they all pushed forward a girl wearing a white hoodie and gray pleated skirt.

“What the heck?” The girl in the pleated skirt stared in disbelief, then looked back at her group.

The others: look away.gif

There was no choice now. Forced into the role of “diplomat,” the pleated skirt girl sighed in resignation. “Yeah, we’re Wen Chi’s fans.”

The other fan girl happily grabbed her hand. “Nice to meet you! We’re Jiang Siheng’s fans. But don’t worry, we’re not toxic solo stans.”

She looked at the girl like she had found a long-lost relative. The pleated skirt girl thought for a moment. Right now, their two fan camps were the only ones who hadn’t found their idols. So… being relatives kinda made sense.

Ten minutes later, fans confirmed they weren’t going to see their idols today and decided not to linger at the airport to avoid causing a scene.

Soon, fans who couldn’t make it to the airport saw messages in their group chats saying the airport squad hadn’t spotted Wen Chi or Jiang Siheng.

[What?? Did Xiao Chi not take that flight?]

[Maybe he didn’t fly back to Haining?]

[WTF, I saw fans of Jiang Siheng saying he didn’t show up either.]

[??? Are you saying Xiao Chi and Teacher Jiang went off to elope?]

[Not saying it…(pointing fingers.jpeg)]

[Hahahahahahahahahaha]

[Good thing everyone in the group is a mom fan of Xiao Chi.]

[Not me! I’m his older-sister fan(pointing fingers.jpeg)]

[You stole my emoji again.]

[I’m not a mom fan either.]

Just before getting into his business car, Zhou Yunbai glanced back at the fans who’d come to the airport. He had already noticed earlier that two groups had quietly left. After thinking about it, he sent a message to Wen Chi, still in Country Y.

…

When Zhou Yunbai sent the message, it was still the middle of the night in Country Y. When the alarm finally rang on the phone by the bedside table, Wen Chi instinctively turned it off.

He had no idea how much time passed, but still half-asleep, Wen Chi suddenly sat up in alarm, thinking he had overslept. He grabbed his phone to check and fortunately, it was still before the next snooze.

Just as he was about to lie back down and keep sleeping, there was a knock on the door. The person outside waited a while without getting a response, then pushed the door open, only to see a lump under the covers on the bed.

The thick blackout curtains kept all the sunlight out. When Jiang Siheng drew them open, the whole room instantly lit up, and the beautiful weather outside seemed to brighten the entire mood for the day.

Except for Wen Chi.

The boy had been sleeping facing the window, and as soon as the curtains opened, the harsh light made him instinctively frown.

“Time to get up.” Jiang Siheng walked over to the bed and patted the lump under the blanket. Who knew what part of him he hit, but Wen Chi responded by kicking him with his foot.

Wen Chi pulled the blanket over his head, mumbling with his eyes still closed, “It’s not time for the alarm yet.”

Jiang Siheng looked down at the phone Wen Chi shoved into his hand. The screen lit up after recognizing his face, showing the countdown to the next alarm reminder and several unread WeChat messages.

3 minutes and 31 seconds…

Jiang Siheng couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the countdown. It was still early anyway, and letting Wen Chi sleep another three and a half minutes wouldn’t hurt. He put the phone back by Wen Chi’s pillow and pulled up a nearby chair to sit down.

Three and a half minutes wasn’t long, but for a half-asleep Wen Chi, it felt like three seconds. As soon as he shut his eyes, the alarm rang again.

He had no choice but to get up. Grudgingly, he opened his eyes and grudgingly sat up. Normally, the next step would be sitting there wrapped in his blanket pouting for a full minute, but then he saw Jiang Siheng sitting by the bed.

Wen Chi: “……”

All that grumpiness instantly vanished. “Teacher Jiang, what are you doing here?”

“I came to wake you up.”

Wen Chi quickly glanced at the time on his phone, then said with a bit of pride, “I’m not late, see?”

“Mm, good job,” Jiang Siheng praised, then got up and walked to the open suitcase on the floor. He crouched down and looked back at Wen Chi. “What do you want to wear?”

“I already picked it out, it’s the set on top.” Wen Chi, sitting obediently on the bed wrapped in his blanket, looked especially cute.

Jiang Siheng took the clothes and handed them over. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

“Okay.”

After changing, Wen Chi picked up his phone and saw that Zhou Yunbai had sent him a WeChat message a few hours ago.

【Zhou Yunbai: Xiao Chi, we just landed. There were a lot of fans at the airport, and I even saw some of yours.】

【Zhou Yunbai: [photo]】

The photo was taken from inside a car looking out. It was a bit blurry and unclear, but Wen Chi still recognized someone in it.

A girl who had been his fan since shortly after he debuted. He had seen her show up at filming sets, airports, and other cities wherever he worked.

Wen Chi replied to Zhou Yunbai and saved the photo. He and Jiang Siheng were planning to return to China today.

After packing everything, Wen Chi stood in the middle of the room and looked around one last time to make sure nothing was left behind. Then he dragged his suitcase downstairs.

Jiang Siheng’s suitcase was already by the door. Wen Chi pushed his next to it so they were side by side.

The elderly couple had heard they were leaving today, so breakfast was especially hearty. It was light, non-greasy, but filling. After breakfast, the couple’s two sons drove them to the airport.

They said goodbye to the warm and hospitable hosts at the guesthouse, and then goodbye to the two sons at the airport.

Jiang Siheng got both his and Wen Chi’s suitcases out of the car. When he turned around, he saw the younger son, the same one who had complimented Wen Chi’s cuteness. He stood smiling at Wen Chi, arms slightly open, clearly asking for a hug.

Wen Chi gave him a polite hug, and then they said goodbye.

When they reached the departure lounge, Wen Chi noticed that Jiang Siheng, who had been deep in thought for a while, suddenly turned to him and opened his arms.

Wen Chi: “?”

The man said with a straight face, “Hug me.”