Chapter 25

Sleep for a while

The day of the shoot arrived in the blink of an eye. Lin Qianyou received a WeChat message from Qi Shanglan early in the morning: Let me know when you’re ready.

Oh, so he’s planning to teleport over to her again.

Lin Qianyou put down her phone, brushed her teeth, and glanced at herself in the mirror.

The hickeys on her neck were from the night before last, and the ones on her collarbone were from last night.

She touched the two red marks, first blushing, then cursing him silently in her mind.

This Qi Shanglan… He had always pretended so well before, she never would have guessed his desires were this intense.

She still wasn’t sure whether his teleportation superpower was a good thing or a bad thing for her, but for him, Qi Shanglan, it was definitely a big advantage.

The past two days, whenever he had free time, he would ask her to call his name, and the next second, he would appear and hold her head to kiss her fiercely.

Although his kissing technique was pretty good, he couldn’t be so crazy, right? Her lips were almost sore from all the kissing.

Lin Qianyou sighed in frustration, picked up the concealer beside her, and applied several thick layers over the red marks.

Once she was done getting ready, she called out Qi Shanglan’s name like she had before.

“Ready?” Qi Shanglan asked.

Lin Qianyou nodded. “Ready, let’s go.”

Today’s filming location was at the Earth Temple in the eastern part of the city, mainly to go through the filming process and then shoot for real.

“Taxi or teleport?” Lin Qianyou asked.

“We’ll go later, it’s still early.” Qi Shanglan said as he walked up to her. Lin Qianyou knew exactly what he was planning, so she quickly took a few steps back to refuse him: “No! I just put on lipstick!”

“Just kiss me and put it on again.” Qi Shanglan replied casually, stepping forward to hold her head and pull her into his embrace.

“No way! That’s too much lipstick wasted!” Lin Qianyou raised both hands to block him. “Qi Shanglan, are you addicted to kissing?”

Qi Shanglan gave a faint “Mm,” then continued approaching her as if nothing was wrong.

“Qi Shanglan!” Lin Qianyou was really annoyed now. “Is it that when you’re dating me, all you want to do is kiss me?” she asked him.

Qi Shanglan raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she suddenly asked him that.

“When other people are in relationships, they want to sleep with their girlfriends. Why is it that with you, all you want to do is kiss me?” Lin Qianyou asked in dissatisfaction.

Hearing this, Qi Shanglan smiled helplessly. “Who said I only want to kiss you? Look down.”

Lin Qianyou instinctively lowered her head and glanced down—sure enough.

“Ah—!” She pushed him away abruptly. “Qi Shanglan!”

Qi Shanglan swayed slightly as he laughed, only to hear her complain angrily, “You’re completely different from before. You’ve changed, Qi Shanglan.”

“What was I like before?” He leaned in again, his large hand ruffling her hair before lowering his head to plant a light kiss on her lips. “And what about now? How have I changed?”

Lin Qianyou frowned. “You used to be well-behaved. Now you’re not at all. You’ve revealed your true nature.”

Qi Shanglan didn’t seem to care whether he was listening seriously or not. He lingered on her lips for a while before slowly pulling away and murmuring, “Not completely revealed yet.”

She didn’t quite understand what he meant, but she enjoyed his kisses so much that she simply wrapped her arms around his shoulders and melted into him.

They kissed passionately until Lin Qianyou, breathless and dazed, gazed up at him and murmured, “Qi Shanglan, let’s stop kissing… Let’s… sleep together.”

Qi Shanglan’s hand, which had been wiping away her smudged lipstick, suddenly paused. He watched her unsteady breathing for a long moment before asking, “Are you sure?”

Her body softened inexplicably as she collapsed into his embrace, pressing tightly against that sharp-edged presence. “Mm, I’m sure.”

Every time they kissed, she would end up completely weak, utterly undone by him. In truth, it wasn’t just Qi Shanglan who was addicted—she was too, always craving more. But Qi Shanglan was truly wicked. Just when she was lost in him, unable to stop, he would turn and walk away without a second glance.

Every time Qi Shanglan left, Lin Qianyou felt like a lustful widow, her desires left unfulfilled.

“Just for tonight—if we don’t do it, I’m a puppy.” She tightened her arms around his neck, deliberately pressing closer. “Do you not desire me? Is my body not attractive?” She rubbed against him teasingly.

Qi Shanglan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he suppressed his desire, his voice low and restrained. “Lin Qianyou, haven’t you already seen whether I want you or not? I just didn’t do anything because I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Every time their kisses spiraled out of control, his “sword” urgently needed relief. But what could he do? If he brought it up too suddenly, she’d probably be scared out of her wits. After all, they had only just confirmed their relationship.

“What’s there to be afraid of? We’re both twenty-three. Haven’t you done it with anyone before? Can you really hold back?” Lin Qianyou looked up at him.

“What are you thinking? This is my first relationship—who would I have done it with?” Qi Shanglan frowned.

“Wow! Really? You’ve never been in a relationship before?” Lin Qianyou was surprised and a little delighted. “So I’m your first love?” she asked with a bright smile.

“Mm, my first love.”

Lin Qianyou laughed even more joyfully, standing on tiptoe to kiss his lips. “Then it’s completely fair. You’re a first-timer, and so am I.”

She buried herself in his embrace, giggling mischievously. “I can’t believe you’ve never done it with anyone. How did you even get through these twenty-three years, hmm?” She deliberately lifted her knee and brushed against it.

Qi Shanglan immediately pressed down on her knee, his tone serious. “Lin Qianyou!”

“Alright, alright, I won’t touch it now, okay? I’ll touch it tonight, hehe.” She curled up in his arms like a little cat in heat.

“Are you serious?” Qi Shanglan wanted to confirm again—he didn’t want her to regret it just because of a momentary impulse.

“Of course, I’m serious!” Lin Qianyou lifted her head again. “Sleeping with you isn’t a loss for me. Let’s see how good your skills are—if they’re bad, I’m leaving a bad review!” she said with a cheeky grin.

Qi Shanglan: “…”

Lin Qianyou quickly touched up her lipstick, and then she and Qi Shanglan teleported to the convenience store next to the Chengdong Earth God Temple. In order to avoid drawing attention, they deliberately entered the temple separately, one after the other.

They had arrived early—inside the temple, the cameras had just been set up. Director Sun handed each of them a script, telling them to memorize their lines first. The staff would guide them through a rough rehearsal before the actual filming.

The first scene had relatively few lines, but the ones with the least to say were the twin siblings and Qi Shanglan. The two kids only needed to ask a few questions, and Qi Shanglan just had to record a few short legal reminders before becoming nothing more than a background character—about as easy as it could get.

The main focus was on Lin Qianyou and Zhou Ziqing. Not only did they have interactions with each other, but they also had to engage with the twins, as well as the science and archaeology experts. Fortunately, all the lines were prepared in advance—all they had to do was memorize them.

Since Qi Shanglan’s segment only required solo recording, and he memorized his lines quickly, the crew decided to film his part first. Once he was done, he quietly stood to the side, waiting for the others to finish their rehearsals so the official shoot could begin. However, his gaze remained locked on a certain someone, faintly exuding dissatisfaction.

Lin Qianyou’s chatterbox tendencies had kicked in again. Was one script not enough for her to memorize? Now she was babbling away with Zhou Ziqing about who knows what, and the two of them seemed to be having a great time—laughing and joking around, even more cheerfully than when she had been in his arms earlier.

Qi Shanglan, clearly annoyed, clenched his jaw and furrowed his brows even tighter. His entire demeanor grew increasingly stern and cold.

“Qi Shanglan? Have you finished recording?” Wang Xinyu walked over and asked him.

Still staring intently at Lin Qianyou, he didn’t even glance at Wang Xinyu as he replied indifferently, “Mm, just finished.”

Sensing his cold attitude, Wang Xinyu didn’t ask further. Instead, she followed his line of sight to where Lin Qianyou and Zhou Ziqing were still rehearsing their lines.

At first, the two were going through the script seriously, but then someone cracked a joke, and suddenly, they both burst into laughter.

Qi Shanglan noticed that Lin Qianyou had a little habit—when she laughed, she liked to have physical contact with people. Like right now, she was laughing while patting Zhou Ziqing on the shoulder.

His gaze was cold and indifferent as he stood there with his hands in his pockets, watching them flirt with a frosty expression.

The two laughing people suddenly felt a chilling glare land on them at the same time. Zhou Ziqing was confused, while Lin Qianyou instinctively turned to look in Qi Shanglan’s direction.

Sure enough, his expression was far from friendly.

Lin Qianyou’s smile froze on her face. She quietly withdrew her hand from Zhou Ziqing’s shoulder, then stiffly turned back around, suddenly looking serious as she focused on rehearsing her lines.

Noticing her abrupt change in attitude, Zhou Ziqing asked curiously, “Sister Qianyou, why are you suddenly so serious?”

Lin Qianyou let out an awkward smile, barely enough to count as one, and said, “It’s work time, so let’s focus on work. Let’s go through our lines properly.”

“Huh?” Zhou Ziqing was a bit surprised but went along with her and started reciting the script seriously.

Wang Xinyu was busy coaxing the two child actors into memorizing their lines, so she didn’t linger near Qi Shanglan for long. Once she left, Ah Fu peeked its head out from the small temple hall.

“Come here,” Qi Shanglan ordered in a low voice.

The man didn’t look like he was in a good mood. Ah Fu obediently walked over to him, nervously asking, “Divine Messenger, do you need something from Ah Fu?”

“They can’t see or hear you, right?”

“Yes, Divine Messenger.” Ah Fu fidgeted anxiously with its small hands.

“Then go tell Lin Qianyou—every time she smiles at Zhou Ziqing, I’ll kiss her that many times tonight. Every time she touches Zhou Ziqing, I’ll touch her that many times tonight.” Qi Shanglan lowered his gaze and shot Ah Fu a cold look. “Make sure to repeat it to her exactly—don’t miss a single word.”

“Yes, Divine Messenger!” Ah Fu obediently took the order and ran over with its little legs. Hugging Lin Qianyou’s leg, it relayed Qi Shanglan’s words to her word for word.

Lin Qianyou’s eyes widened in shock as she turned her head abruptly to look at him.

Qi Shanglan raised an eyebrow at her, looking utterly shameless—his expression carried a hint of mischief and a clear sense of challenge.

Once all the cameras were set up, the official filming began. Throughout the shoot, Lin Qianyou felt incredibly guilty, stealing glances at Qi Shanglan from time to time. But he merely looked at her with an indifferent expression, making it impossible to tell whether he was pleased or displeased.

After finishing the filming in front of the temple, the crew prepared to enter the tunnel to continue shooting.

This tunnel was the same one Qi Shanglan had discovered earlier. Cameras had already been set up inside, and they needed to film a sequence of them descending into it.

Zhou Ziqing and Qi Shanglan jumped down first, then helped the twin children down. But when it was Lin Qianyou’s turn, things got tricky.

Everyone knew that this variety show was meant to pair Lin Qianyou and Zhou Ziqing as a CP (couple pairing). Logically, Zhou Ziqing should be the one helping her down. However, at the same time, Qi Shanglan also extended his hand toward her.

For a moment, Lin Qianyou didn’t know whose hand to take.

On one side was her assigned CP, and on the other was her seemingly still-annoyed boyfriend. Remembering Ah Fu’s warning, she decisively chose to jump down by herself.

“Ah—” She lost her balance mid-air and nearly fell. Qi Shanglan reacted quickly, catching her and whispering, “Be careful.” She forced an awkward smile and muttered, “Thanks.”

Because of Qi Shanglan’s earlier warning, Lin Qianyou kept a serious expression the entire time while going through lines with Zhou Ziqing and the archaeology expert. However, this drew the director’s dissatisfaction.

“Uh, Qianyou, this isn’t a suspense show. Why do you look so serious? Smile a bit, don’t be so stiff,” Director Sun told her.

Lin Qianyou laughed and agreed, but as she smiled, she silently counted how many times she had done so.

By the time filming wrapped up that night, she had smiled at Zhou Ziqing twelve times and had physical contact with him eight times.

Kissing her twelve times was still acceptable, but doing it eight times in one night seemed a bit impossible. Ke Siyu had once explained to her that for a normal man, two or three times a night was already the limit. Thinking about this, Lin Qianyou gradually felt relieved.

Director Sun announced that the next filming session would be in a week. The reason was that they wanted to air the episodes while filming to gauge audience reactions. No one objected, and everyone agreed. After dinner, they each went their separate ways.

Lin Qianyou and Qi Shanglan, as usual, walked one after the other to a secluded spot outside the convenience store. She adjusted her mask, ready to ask Qi Shanglan to teleport her home, but he spoke first.

“We’re going to the supermarket first.”

“Huh?” Lin Qianyou looked at him in confusion. Qi Shanglan gently pulled her hair out from where it had tangled around her mask strap and explained, “We haven’t bought condoms yet.”

“Huh?!” Lin Qianyou froze on the spot, her face instantly heating up. A few seconds later, she chuckled and replied, “Oh, right. We should buy some.”

“Teleport?” he reminded her.

Lin Qianyou still had a stunned look on her face. After a brief pause, she said, “Oh, yeah. Let’s teleport.”

“Forget it. Let’s walk—it can be a little stroll,” Qi Shanglan said with a smile, the corners of his eyes lifting in amusement. Then, he took her hand and led her forward.

Lin Qianyou followed behind in silence, like a little cat that had been caught misbehaving and was now being teased by its owner.