Chapter 23

There was about three seconds of silence in the hallway.

Sheng Qingli instinctively caught the trophy, which seemed almost alive, as it nestled in her arms, looking around and meowing.

“…”

“It…” Xu Xingyue knew that Pei Qingci had brought a cat to the crew, but he didn’t realize that this cat was so close to Sheng Qingli.

He hadn’t seen them together when they were exchanging the cat.

Now, seeing it, he opened his mouth in shock, “It’s very beautiful.”

Xu Xingyue suppressed a thousand curses and complimented the cat.

Hearing this, Pei Qingci responded without any modesty, “It is beautiful.”

As he said this, his gaze fell on Sheng Qingli.

Unaware, Sheng Qingli looked up just as Lin Lin, who had regained her composure, was eager to facepalm. She coughed softly into her hand, “Li Li.”

Sheng Qingli looked up.

The sociable manager felt a bit awkward at that moment, “I’m a bit tired; I’ll go rest in your room for a bit.”

Sheng Qingli nodded, “Okay.”

She understood what Lin Lin meant and turned to the two beside her, “Then Brother Xu Mr. Pei, we can chat later.”

Xu Xingyue was perceptive, “Sister Lin, take a good rest. Are we having dinner together tonight?”

Lin Lin thought for a few seconds, “Sure, let’s have a meal together.”

She asked Pei Qingci, “Is Brother Rong still around?”

Pei Qingci nodded, “He is.”

After saying this, he asked, “What do you want to eat? I’ll book a restaurant.”

The others understood that he intended to be the host.

Xu Xingyue replied, “I’m fine with anything.”

He raised his phone, signaling, “Just let me know when you’ve decided. I’ll head back to my room now.”

Sheng Qingli nodded, “Okay.”

After Xu Xingyue left, Pei Qingci looked at Sheng Qingli.

Sheng Qingli met his gaze expressionlessly, “I’ll check out some local specialty restaurants later.”

Pei Qingci replied, “Alright.”

He raised his hand and patted the obedient trophy resting in Sheng Qingli’s arms, saying softly, “I need to accompany Ying Zheng out for a bit. Can you watch trophy?”

As he spoke, he handed the room card to Sheng Qingli.

Lin Lin, who had been watching the whole time, thought: “…………”

At that moment, she really wished she were blind.

Sheng Qingli was also taken aback. Pei Qingci had given her a room card before, but the last time he had just slipped it at her door, and she hadn’t even brought it inside, let alone actually used it to enter his room.

Looking at the room card in her hand, Sheng Qingli suddenly felt it was a bit troublesome, almost hot to the touch.

Before she could decide whether to accept it, the trophy meowed again.

With no choice, Sheng Qingli looked down and said, “I might also go out later.”

“It’s fine,” Pei Qingci said casually, “Just put it back in your room before you leave.”

“And the room card…”

Knowing what she was about to say, Pei Qingci responded, “Aren’t we having dinner together tonight?”

Sheng Qingli understood; he wouldn’t return to the hotel before dinner, so she could give him the card after they ate.

Left with no choice, Sheng Qingli agreed, “Only this once.”

Pei Qingci subtly smiled, “Then I’ll thank Teacher Sheng in advance.”

His voice was deep and restrained, with a gravelly texture that was somewhat enticing.

Sheng Qingli pretended to remain calm and ignored his teasing as she hugged the trophy back into her room.

Once the door closed, Pei Qingci chuckled softly before turning to leave.

—

Inside the room, Sheng Qingli met Lin Lin’s probing gaze.

Sheng Qingli quickly set the trophy down and casually placed the room card on the table. “I haven’t been to his room.”

Lin Lin shot her a glance, then looked down at the cat that had come to her feet and was starting to circle around. With a hint of helplessness, she said, “I think you…”

“Meow…” Before she could finish her sentence, the cat raised its head and called out to her.

Sheng Qingli asked, “What?”

Lin Lin lowered her gaze and blinked, choosing to crouch down and pet the little cat’s head. “Nothing, it really is beautiful.”

Sheng Qingli: “…”

Looking at the one person and one cat sitting on the carpet, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Don’t let a cat control you.”

“I’m giving that advice to you,” Lin Lin replied.

Sheng Qingli fell silent, opening her mouth to say something, “I’m not that spineless.”

Hearing this, Lin Lin raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment further.

The trophy, raised by Pei Qingci, was as clever as he was. It seemed to know whom to charm, whom to flatter, and whom to make happy.

Sheng Qingli had only stepped out to wash her hands, and by the time she returned, the trophy had already settled beside Lin Lin, watching TV with her.

Sheng Qingli asked, “How did I never notice you liked cats?”

“I don’t like cats,” Lin Lin replied honestly. “I like everything pretty and cute.”

Coincidentally, the trophy was pretty enough, charming enough.

Sheng Qingli was speechless. She moved closer to the pair, taking a spot next to them. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

“If I don’t say that, can Xu Xingyue leave?” Lin Lin shot her a sideways glance. “To be honest, if I weren’t your manager, I’d want to stay and watch the fun.”

Sheng Qingli felt a lump in her throat and took a sip of water from the cup on the table. “Watch what fun?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Lin Lin eyed her. “I can’t tell if Xu Xingyue is interested in you, but I can see that Pei Qingci has a lot of hostility toward him.”

Sheng Qingli was at a loss for words, and after a moment of silence, she said, “Xu Xingyue doesn’t like me.”

“How do you know?” Lin Lin asked. “I feel like he has some interest in you.”

Sheng Qingli was silent for a while, then softly replied, “Maybe there was a bit before.”

“Now there isn’t?” Lin Lin asked curiously. “Was it smothered in the cradle by Pei Qingci?”

“…” Sheng Qingli was taken aback by Lin Lin’s words and slightly at a loss. “Honestly, I think he’s nice to me mostly because we’re going to work together.”

Given their statuses, Sheng Qingli was the bigger star.

In terms of acting skills, Sheng Qingli was also better than Xu Xingyue. She had more buzz surrounding her too.

Being nice to Sheng Qingli was beneficial for Xu Xingyue without any downsides.

Of course, Sheng Qingli could also sense that Xu Xingyue liked her a little, but in the entertainment industry, even a tiny bit of liking didn’t mean much.

It was more like appreciation than anything.

“You see through it better than I do.” After listening to Sheng Qingli’s analysis, Lin Lin commented sharply.

Sheng Qingli shot her a resentful look, slumping back on the sofa. “I’m not an idiot.”

Lin Lin chuckled. “Then tell me about Pei—”

Before she could finish, Sheng Qingli interrupted, “What are we having for lunch? I don’t want to move; how about we order room service?”

Noticing her avoidance, Lin Lin didn’t press further. “Sure.”

She added, “After lunch, you should take a nap.”

That was also Sheng Qingli’s plan.

She messaged Tong Tong, inviting her up for lunch.

A moment later, the hotel staff brought in the meal.

Considering they would be eating out in the evening, Sheng Qingli moderated her lunch a bit, saving some appetite for dinner.

After eating, Lin Lin and Tong Tong left the room together.

Once they were gone, the room fell silent.

Sheng Qingli watched the trophy follow her around, unable to resist smiling, “Are you here to sleep with me, or just to sleep with me?”

The trophy meowed and lifted its fluffy tail.

Sheng Qingli bent down and picked it up, “How about you sleep with me?”

The trophy snuggled against her chest in agreement.

Watching this scene, Sheng Qingli’s heart softened.

“…”

—

Meanwhile, Ying Zheng mentioned wanting to check out the crew.

Pei Qingci had no choice but to accompany him, but he called Xiang Rong to be the driver and casually brought up dinner plans for later.

“Sister Lin is coming?” Xiang Rong just learned of this and suddenly remembered something, glancing at the man in the passenger seat. “Then how are you still alive?”

Pei Qingci: “…”

Ying Zheng laughed heartily from the backseat. “Brother Rong, I wanted to say that yesterday, but I didn’t dare.”

Xiang Rong said, “What’s there to be afraid of? We’re just speaking the truth. Besides, he wouldn’t dare silence us.”

Pei Qingci ignored their teasing, focusing on looking for a restaurant. Unfortunately, in Taolin County, good restaurants with high privacy and quality were few and far between.

“What are you looking at?” Ying Zheng leaned in to see what Pei Qingci was focused on and clicked his tongue. “If it doesn’t work out, we can just eat at the hotel; I don’t mind.”

Xiang Rong chimed in, “You don’t mind, but someone’s picky.”

Ying Zheng sighed, “In the end, brothers aren’t as important as women.”

“Managers aren’t as important either,” Xiang Rong said sourly. “I can already foresee that my life won’t be easy for the next six months.”

“Then I should be fine?” Ying Zheng pondered.

Hearing this, Xiang Rong shot him a resentful look.

The two bantered back and forth while Pei Qingci didn’t join in.

After a while, Pei Qingci found a decent restaurant and sent a message: “How about this place?”

There was no reply from the other side.

By the time Pei Qingci’s message came in, Sheng Qingli had already fallen asleep.

When she woke up, it was two hours later.

Seeing Pei Qingci’s message, Sheng Qingli replied: “Anything is fine, Mr. Pei can decide.”

Pei Qingci: “Just woke up?”

Sheng Qingli paused with her phone in hand, resisting the urge to ask how he knew something so obvious.

He knew she hadn’t slept well the previous night and had no work scheduled for the afternoon, so taking a nap was perfectly normal.

Thinking this, Sheng Qingli replied: “Yes.”

Pei Qingci: “How’s the trophy? Did it bother you?”

Sheng Qingli: “No, it’s well-behaved.”

The trophy in front of Sheng Qingli was unexpectedly well-behaved.

Pei Qingci: “Good.”

Sheng Qingli didn’t reply to this message. She figured if she did, she wouldn’t know how long they would continue chatting back and forth.

After lingering in bed for a while, Sheng Qingli got up to wash and apply some makeup.

It was still early for dinner, so after finishing her makeup, she didn’t laze around. Instead, she started flipping through the script she had already read several times.

The atmosphere at dinner that evening was even better than the previous day.

This time, everyone was truly familiar with each other.

Sitting at the dinner table, Sheng Qingli couldn’t help but smile as she listened to Xiang Rong and Ying Zheng bantering to lighten the mood.

As she smiled, her eyes met a pair of deep, dark eyes diagonally across from her.

Sheng Qingli’s breath hitched, and she pretended to remain calm, lowering her eyes to sip water.

In the bright light of the private room, her blushing earlobes were clearly visible to the person watching her.

–

Lin Lin and Ying Zheng only stayed in Taolin County for one night before leaving.

Xiang Rong left with them.

He had wanted to leave earlier, but since Pei Qingci had to go to the city to shoot some material, Xiang Rong stayed an extra two days, worried there would be no one to look after the trophy.

Once they left, the crew suddenly quieted down.

The daily lives of Sheng Qingli, Pei Qingci, and Xu Xingyue didn’t change much.

Fortunately, as time passed, Sheng Qingli and Xu Xingyue became more proficient with the sword.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

That morning, Sheng Qingli woke up to a message from Lin Lin, informing her that the endorsement she and Pei Qingci were doing would be officially announced today, and reminding her to share the post.

Sheng Qingli managed her own Weibo account and didn’t like having her studio or assistant post on her behalf.

After replying “Okay” to Lin Lin, Sheng Qingli checked Weibo during her morning routine.

Apparently, the announcement time had been decided, and some news had already been leaked online.

As soon as she logged in, she saw a familiar marketing account on the trending page, revealing that today would be a big day for a certain CP fanbase.

Someone commented below: “Which one? It can’t be them, right?”

“Is it unspeakable or speakable?”

“Eating Pear? Is this for real?”

“It’s Eating Pear, I’ve already seen several accounts warming up for it, saying the two are really endorsing AR’s sports line.”

“Ahhh, is it going to be announced today? That’s so fast.”

“If this is true, I’ll be over the moon.”

Besides this marketing account, Sheng Qingli scrolled down and saw that someone had specifically mentioned the close-up photos she and Pei Qingci had taken together.

It was said that the two had prepared special perks for fans of The Love Vow.

Staring at this message for a few seconds, Sheng Qingli couldn’t resist taking a screenshot and sending it to Lin Lin: “Is this person an insider?”

Lin Lin: “It’s not impossible.”

Many marketing accounts are either insiders or managed by certain companies, so it’s not unusual for them to know things before the public.

Sheng Qingli: “Their information is more accurate than most marketing accounts.”

Lin Lin: “Since the announcement is today, we did a pretty good job of keeping things under wraps.”

Sheng Qingli: “Yeah, let’s not talk about this for now. I’m heading to the training base.”

Lin Lin: “Alright, I’ll have Tongtong remind you to share the post later.”

Sheng Qingli: “Okay.”

After finishing her conversation with Lin Lin, Sheng Qingli left for the set.

By the time she arrived, Pei Qingci was already there.

They exchanged glances, and just as Sheng Qingli was about to head over to the martial arts instructor, Pei Qingci approached her first. “Did Sister Lin mention it to you?”

Sheng Qingli nodded, “About sharing the Weibo post?”

Pei Qingci nodded.

“Yes, she did.” Sheng Qingli glanced at him. “What time are we posting?”

Pei Qingci: “It should be at 10 o’clock.”

“……”

Sheng Qingli was taken aback. “10 o’clock?”

She had thought it would be at 11.

Pei Qingci lowered his eyes. “Why?”

“I thought…” She bit her lip, not mentioning that she had assumed Ying Zheng would choose to announce it at 11. Some endorsements are customarily announced at a time that reflects the spokesperson’s birthday, as a sign of respect and importance from the brand.

Sheng Qingli’s birthday is in February, so it would be impossible for the brand to post at midnight.

And Pei Qingci’s birthday is in November, so normally, the brand would choose to post it around his birthday.

“What did you think?” Pei Qingci looked at her intently.

Sheng Qingli found it hard to withstand his gaze. She bit her lip and said, “Nothing, why did they choose 10 o’clock?”

Pei Qingci: “……”

Sensing a shift in Pei Qingci’s mood, Sheng Qingli was puzzled. “Are you—”

Halfway through her sentence, something suddenly clicked in her mind.

“…Ying Zheng really put some thought into this.”

10 o’clock corresponds to October.

A few years ago, on October 1st, The Love Vow officially premiered.

After that day, Pei Qingci and Sheng Qingli’s names became known to more and more people.

“Sorry,” Sheng Qingli said softly, knowing she was in the wrong. “I just didn’t think of it that way earlier.”

Pei Qingci lowered his gaze slightly, his tone somber, “It’s fine.”

He shifted his eyes away from her, worried he might say something unpleasant, and said in a low voice, “Go train. I’ll go check over there.”

Watching Pei Qingci’s retreating figure, Sheng Qingli lightly tapped her forehead in a moment of regret.

How had she not thought of this key point right away?

After a moment of silence, Sheng Qingli sighed softly, temporarily pushing her worries aside as she waited for 10 o’clock to arrive.

Fans, who had received the news early, were also eagerly anticipating 10 o’clock.

Some netizens were curious to see if the marketing accounts were exaggerating again, while fans, filled with both hope and hesitation, weren’t sure how they felt about the two collaborating again.

Only the CP (couple) fans were happily spamming the brand’s Weibo page, ready to be the first to comment.

10:01 AM.

The official announcement came from AR Sports, revealing their new brand ambassadors: @ActorShengQingli and @ActorPeiQingci. “Welcome the two of them to AR, working together to create a healthier, better life.”

As soon as the official announcement was made, Sheng Qingli and Pei Qingci instantly trended on social media.

After all, the two hadn’t collaborated in years, and even official public appearances together were extremely rare. CP fans had been waiting for years, wishing on stars and moons, and finally, they got their wish: a collaboration between the two.

Not only did they collaborate, but the brand also launched a promotional event, giving away postcards and posters featuring both Sheng Qingli and Pei Qingci.

In an instant, individual fans were speechless, while CP fans were overjoyed.

Even bystanders who loved watching the excitement joined in.

“Oh my god! A once-in-a-lifetime moment.”

“Ahhh! Grandma, your OTP is back!”

“They’ve reconciled, they’ve reconciled! I declare today the day of Sheng and Pei’s reunion!”

“Am I dreaming? Is this real? In my lifetime, I actually get to witness them feeding us sugar together?”

“Ahhh, look at the brand’s announcement time—it’s October 1st! Fans of ‘Love Vow’ are celebrating the new year early!”

When Sheng Qingli logged onto Weibo to share the post, she glanced at the comments under the official announcement and fell into thought.

Suddenly, a clear, familiar male voice came from beside her. “What are you daydreaming about? Aren’t you going to share the post?”

Sheng Qingli looked up. “… I don’t know what to say.”

She glanced at the phone in his hand and asked vaguely, “Did you share it?”

“No,” Pei Qingci replied. “I’m waiting.”

“?”

Sheng Qingli didn’t quite understand. “Waiting for what?”

“Waiting for Teacher Sheng to share it,” Pei Qingci said frankly.

Facing his gaze, Sheng Qingli’s heart skipped a beat.

Perhaps it was because she knew Pei Qingci so well in the past, or perhaps… Pei Qingci’s intentions were just too obvious. In that instant, Sheng Qingli understood exactly what he meant.

“I suggest you be cautious,” Sheng Qingli said.

Pei Qingci: “Hmm?”

Sheng Qingli looked down and began typing her Weibo post, her voice soft. “Your fans will go crazy.”

Pei Qingci paused briefly and asked, “That extreme?”

Sheng Qingli: “Yes.”

As they spoke, she shared the brand’s Weibo post, expressing her gratitude.

She was happy to join AR.

Within a minute of Sheng Qingli’s post, Pei Qingci also posted.

He hadn’t taken Sheng Qingli’s advice—he still shared her repost of the official announcement.