Extra I: Chapter 132 – Routine

After the public disclosure of the relationship between Qin Chen and Xu Jian, their popularity soared, especially due to the incident involving He Jia, which only increased their fanbase. The number of fans unfollowing them was far fewer than those who newly joined their fanbase.

Regarding this outcome, Pan Min was happier than the individuals involved, stating that this incident had successfully filtered out the troublemakers and those with uncontrollable behavior among the individual fans,^[1]Fans who only like one person among the group. which she considered a positive development.

Due to their public coming-out method, even Xu Jian’s uncle and the others learned about it that same night. He also discovered that despite Xu Jian’s portrayal of a prosperous life during their phone conversations over the years in the entertainment industry, things were not as great as they seemed.

When he called Xu Jian, Liu Dingxiang’s tone was unusually stern, questioning why they had kept such a significant event like the car accident a secret from the family.

Xu Jian’s aunt, Yang Yan, whispered beside him, “Aiya, why are you so harsh on the child? Xiao Jian doesn’t want us to worry.”

“After facing so many hardships outside, you, as an uncle, not only fail to comfort but also scold him. Is this how an uncle should behave?”

So, before Xu Jian could explain, Liu Dingxiang was silenced by Yang Yan’s complaints. Even the confidence to talk about him and Qin Chen afterwards disappeared. Yang Yan insisted that this year, Xu Jian must bring Qin Chen home for everyone to see.

For the time being, the situation with the uncle was settled. After anxiously waiting for the afternoon and preparing for a possible confrontation with his uncle, Xu Jian hung up the phone.

He stared blankly at Qin Chen beside him, and in his mind, two currently popular online phrases floated—

That’s it?

He hadn’t uttered a few words yet.

Qin Chen was massaging his lower back, a bit strained due to the lack of experience in the first-time sofa play. After lowering his head and meeting Xu Jian’s gaze, he discerned what was on Xu Jian’s mind and asked, “Surprised you didn’t get scolded?”

Xu Jian nodded honestly, “A bit.”

He had mentally prepared himself for his uncle to rush straight to Nanfeng City.

Qin Chen chuckled, “You worry too much.”

Xu Jian looked at him disapprovingly, “I call this being prepared.”

Giving his waist a gentle pat, Qin Chen spoke, “The fact proves you’re worrying for nothing.”

Qin Chen’s force wasn’t heavy, but Xu Jian furrowed his brows, pretending to be hurt. He let out a cry and, when he reached back to touch his waist, he glanced at Qin Chen, “Hurts.”

His hand movement paused, and Qin Chen lifted his hand, moving Xu Jian’s hand away. He looked at him unsympathetically, “Be honest, stop provoking me.”

Sensing the restraint in Qin Chen’s voice, Xu Jian wisely chose to shut up.

For the sake of both parties’ well-being, sometimes it’s better not to provoke.

…………

Today, Xu Jian went to shoot a special advertisement. The product featured in the advertisement was the latest offering from a popular beverage brand. The reason it was considered special was that his partner in the advertisement was not a human.

This isn’t an insult; his partner was genuinely not human. It was a virtual animated character, and the advertisement was shot using holographic projection.

It was Xu Jian’s first time collaborating with a virtual character, and it was quite fascinating. The partner was a program code that had been imported well in advance, ensuring there were no glitches or restarts during the shoot. The filming went exceptionally smoothly.

After finishing the shoot, Xu Jian asked Zhu Liang to take a photo of him and his virtual partner. Excitedly, he sent it to Qin Chen: [Look!]

In the photo, Xu Jian’s hand gently rested on the shoulder of his virtual partner, smiling brightly at the camera, revealing the dimples on the corners of his mouth.

Half an hour later, Qin Chen, who was filming in another city, responded:

[You guys are too close.]

[Is she taller than you?]

Little Ancestor: […]

Xi Jian ignored Qin Chen’s virtual jealousy. When he opened the photo, he saw a strand of silly-looking hair standing tall on top of his partner’s head. Also, since he had intentionally bent down for the photo, the length of their hair made it seem like his partner was indeed two or three centimeters taller.

Little Ancestor: [I’ll scratch^[2]Or washyou.jpg]

Little Ancestor: [I bent my knees to accommodate her height!]

Little Ancestor: [And besides, does hair count as height now?]

Looking at Xu Jian’s messages, Qin Chen’s mouth curled up slightly, and he replied: [Aren’t you quite skilled in using your own emojis.]

It had been over a year since Milk’s set of emoticons were created before officially going online. Initially, Qin Chen using Xu Jian’s expressions felt a bit awkward, but then it became genuinely enjoyable.

Xu Jian now enjoyed sending Milk’s expression package.

Xiao Nan, who brought water over, noticed the smile on Qin Chen’s face and casually asked, “Brother Chen, are you chatting with Brother Xu again?”

Qin Chen nodded with an “en”, his eyes never leaving the phone screen. His fingers were typing swiftly, immersed in the chat, resembling someone addicted to the internet.

Seeing him like this, Xiao Nan wasn’t surprised. She was accustomed to it and, leaving the water cup, took out her own phone to browse Weibo.

The daily routine with the crew was so leisurely that Xiao Nan even considered serializing their Doujin texts in the ‘QingJian CP’ super talk.

However, Xiao Nan thought twice. Her understanding of the QingJian CP differed from the public’s perception. If she wrote a realistic storyline, fans would likely accuse her of serious OOC (Out Of Character), and she could already anticipate the comments:

—Brother Chen/Xiao Jian wouldn’t be so clingy, this portrayal is too far from their characters!

—Brother Chen wouldn’t be this childish. Blogger YY needs to maintain a certain level of realism, right?

Among the most popular fanfictions Xiao Nan had read, the hottest ones portrayed Qin Chen as cold, domineering, and rarely smiling. In contrast, Xu Jian was depicted as universally loved, sweet, and not naive. This pairing was what fans loved the most, even though in reality…

Xiao Nan glanced at Qin Chen, who was holding his phone and chatting with Xu Jian, laughing almost as much as the foolish son of a wealthy landlord. She lamented inwardly that knowing too much prevented her from becoming a prominent figure in the industry, which was truly regrettable.

A few days later, the advertisements featuring Xu Jian and the virtual character were released on various platforms. Following the request of the GG advertiser’s father, Xu Jian forwarded the official promotion post on his Weibo.

In the comments section, amid a flood of “The dimensional barrier is broken” comments, Qin Chen’s comment stood out prominently:

[She really looks taller than you [screenshot].]

Xu Jian replied to @Qin Chen: [I’ve already said hair doesn’t count towards height!]

Qin Chen replied to @Xu Jian: [Hair is also part of the body. Did you ask for its opinion before excluding it?]

Xu Jian replied to @Qin Chen: [… Come on, brother, focus on filming your scenes.]

Qin Chen replied to @Xu Jian: [Alright, wait for me to come back.]

The fans and bystanders who witnessed the ‘playful banter’ between the two—

We’re already full, thanks for the entertainment.

…………

After Qin Chen and Xu Jian went public, the number of their girlfriend fans decreased significantly. After all, both of them were officially taken. However, there were still fans deeply in love, stubbornly considering themselves as the girlfriends and attempting to encroach on Qin Chen’s corner.

When Xu Jian entered the set of his new drama, quite a few fans came to see him off at the airport. Before going through security, he turned around, waved, and smiled at the fan group, reminding them to be safe on their way back and such.

However, right after he finished speaking, an enthusiastic fan holding his placard shouted excitedly, “Xu Jian, look at me! I’m your girlfriend fan, and I want to compete with Qin Chen for you!”

The girl’s voice was full of vigor, and amid the commotion, Xu Jian heard her words loud and clear. The volume of her voice made him momentarily question if she had a portable speaker with her.

In these few seconds of Xu Jian’s bewilderment, laughter erupted all around. Fans joined in with comments like “I also want to compete with Qin Chen”, “Jian Cub is mine,” and so on, creating an atmosphere of pure joy.

Once Xu Jian snapped out of it, facing the excited fan group, he looked sincerely serious, with a hint of earnest advice in his tone, “Give it up. You can’t compete with him.”

The girl laughed and teased, “As long as the hoe is wielded well, no corner is safe!”

Xu Jian also chuckled, “Mr. Qin won’t give you the chance to wield a hoe.”

Xu Jian understood Qin Chen well. If someone tried to encroach on his corner, that person wouldn’t just throw away the hoe used to dig at the wall; they might also end up with a broken leg.

That night, the video of Xu Jian’s conversation with the fan at the airport made it to the trending topics. The trending term was —”Qin Chen, people wants to dig at your wall!”

Anything related to Xu Jian usually prompted a response from Qin Chen. Fans were eagerly anticipating how Qin Chen would respond this time.

Sure enough, not even half an hour after the topic trended, everyone awaited Qin Chen’s response, and he delivered with a new post.

Qin ChenV: Mr. Xu says it’s impossible. [Picture]

The attached image was a screenshot of his conversation with Xu Jian, with the following content:

Qin Chen: [I heard someone wants to encroach on my corner?]

Qin Chen: [Hot Search’s Screenshot]

Little Ancestor: [The fans were just joking, and you took it seriously?]

Qin Chen: [It’s all on the hot search.]

Little Ancestor: 【Even if it’s trending, it’s impossible.】

Everyone who read their conversation: …

Shen Xi commented: Tsk, that’s too impressive. Can’t bear to look, can’t bear to look.

…………

In a flash, summer approached. After nearly two months of not posting on Weibo, Qin Chen finally shared a new update:

Qin ChenV: When you finally send a selfie to your significant other after spending a long time choosing [Goodbye] [Image].

The accompanying image, as usual, was a screenshot of his conversation with Xu Jian:

Qin Chen: [Picture x2]

Little Ancestor: [Aren’t the filming locations for your current drama in the deep mountains? Aren’t you afraid of mosquito bites with such light clothing?]

Little Ancestor: [Wear more, sleep early.]

Qin Chen: […]

Qin Chen: [I hate that you’re a blockhead.jpg]

Comment section:

—Although, I really want to laugh hahaha.

— Xu Jian, a STRAIGH GUY in upper case and bolded letter, so unromantic!

—Am I the only one curious about what kind of selfie Brother Chen posted? Why censor it? Could it be… hehe [Dog head].

— Feeling sorry for Brother Chen for two seconds. Xu Jian is really too ‘straight’.

—Brother Chen: Am I making you worry about mosquitoes? I’m actually trying to seduce you, hoping you’ll compliment my good figure!

—Humble request for a selfie, Brother Chen, it’s been so long since you posted one wuwuwu.

—I’m full again, the dog food smells so good.

—I can see it now, openly complaining while secretly showing off how much Jian Cub cares about him, tsk tsk.

—The QingJian CP is the sweetest thing I’ve ever knocked!

After reading Qin Chen’s Weibo, Xu Jian: …

Xu Jian commented on Qin Chen:

[This two-year-old classmate Qin, next time if you want to be praised, just say it directly.]

---

The author has something to say:

Jian Cat: Can’t we be more sincere and a little less routine?

The next side story, unsurprisingly, will be about the love letter. I have never written a love letter before, so I have to carefully think this through.