Chapter 5: My Little One
"Am I walking too fast?" Meng Chao asked.
Lin Qin didn't understand why Meng Chao suddenly asked this and quickly shook his head. "No."
Meng Chao was even more puzzled. "Then why aren't you walking with me?"
"I…" Lin Qin stammered for a moment, unable to come up with a reasonable excuse, so he obediently moved a few steps forward to stand next to Meng Chao.
He really wanted to keep walking alongside his senior… He… he was just feeling shy.
Meng Chao smiled faintly. "Now, that's better."
The rest of the way, Lin Qin and Meng Chao walked side by side, leaving two sets of parallel footprints behind them.
The night deepened further.
Fortunately, the production team didn't cruelly leave them with empty rooms. The bedrooms on the second floor had been renovated, with windows opening to balconies. The balconies faced the sea, and moonlight spilled in, faint and soft.
Lin Qin sat on the rocking chair on the balcony. The balcony to the left belonged to Meng Chao's room, where the light was still on, but the curtains were already drawn.
Thinking about all the events of the day, Lin Qin's expression alternated between frustration and silly grins. In the end, he poured all his complex feelings into his diary.
At the end of the diary, Lin Qin wrote—
Meeting you, being near you, has been the bravest and luckiest thing I've ever done in my life.
Good night, Meng Chao.
The next day, Lin Qin woke up early.
The first floor had to be fully renovated before nightfall, so today was bound to be another busy and fulfilling day. Of course, it also promised to be an exciting one.
Since the kitchen wasn't finished yet, after a morning jog, Lin Qin returned carrying breakfast in his hands. There were several portions of breakfast, which he placed in a conspicuous spot, making it convenient for the staff of the production team to grab some once they woke up.
When Lin Qin went upstairs, Meng Chao was coming down, and the two ran into each other on the stairs.
"Good morning." Meng Chao adjusted his glasses, still a bit groggy, and greeted Lin Qin.
Lin Qin: "Good morning, Senior."
Meng Chao shifted slightly to let Lin Qin pass. "Went for a jog?"
Lin Qin carefully stepped around Meng Chao and nodded, "Mm-hmm."
Meng Chao: "If you're jogging again tomorrow, remember to call me."
"Okay." After obediently answering, Lin Qin dashed upstairs with a quick jog, his retreating figure resembling a bouncing little bunny.
Meng Chao watched Lin Qin's back and couldn't help but smile.
Upon reaching the living room, Meng Chao immediately spotted the breakfast on the table. He certainly wouldn't naively assume it was prepared by the production team.
He turned to ask his personal filming director, "Was it Lin Qin who brought this?"
The director nodded. Having filmed numerous variety shows, Lin Qin was the first celebrity he'd seen prepare breakfast for the staff. When he saw Lin Qin return with an armful of breakfast that morning, he couldn't help being amazed.
Meng Chao glanced upstairs, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly behind his glasses. He took out his phone, snapped a picture of the breakfast, and then, unusually, posted a tweet.
Meng Chao v: My little one is such a good kid. You're not allowed to bully him. [Picture]
Meng Chao had actually meant to tag Lin Qin, but just as he was typing the mention, he realized he didn't know Lin Qin's Twitter account, so he simply posted it directly.
Although Meng Chao rarely tweeted, a large number of fans still regularly camped out in his comment section. As soon as the tweet was posted, his fans erupted.
[Waaahhhh, Daddy Meng, you finally remembered your Twitter password!!! Hurry up and hand over your selfies!!]
[Ahhhhh, having the same breakfast as Daddy Meng is basically like having breakfast with him.]
[Good morning, hubby. It's another day of missing you.]
After hundreds of comments like these poured in, someone finally brought the topic back to the content of Meng Chao's tweet.
[Am I the only one who thinks the kid Daddy Meng is talking about is Lin Qin, the one who was trending with him yesterday? Since Daddy Meng has spoken, we won't bully him.]
[Is this Daddy Meng's way of addressing yesterday's trending topic? All right, we won't bully him. *Obedient.JPEG*]
[We'll listen to Daddy Meng. Lin Qin is definitely a good kid.]
[Okay, we know we wrongly accused the good kid. Time to go apologize to him.]
[Can anyone tell me what the good kid's Twitter handle is? I've always known Lin Qin is low-key, but being so low-key that he doesn't even have Twitter—is that even possible?]
Meng Chao had never publicly defended anyone on Twitter before, not even fellow artists from his company. This was his first time standing up for Lin Qin. With Meng Chao's current status, he didn't need to accommodate anyone or give anyone face.
Most of Meng Chao's fans were rational, and from this tweet alone, they deduced that yesterday's video was likely selectively edited by clickbait accounts. After all, an actor low-key enough to skip personally attending the Cannes Film Festival to receive his Best Actor award couldn't possibly be using controversies or hype for self-promotion.
With this seemingly casual yet stronger-than-direct-response tweet from Meng Chao, the mudslinging aimed at Lin Qin from yesterday finally subsided.
Of course, there were still a few haters jumping around, but it didn't make much of a difference.
In fact, with this new wave of trending attention, Lin Qin was starting to transition from behind the scenes to the public stage. People began digging up his film performances, his stellar acting, his striking looks, and his understated personality. All of this quickly attracted a wave of fans.
Among them, a small cult-like subset of fans emerged:
[Am I the only one who noticed Daddy Meng used the phrase "my little one"? Such a doting tone! Ahhhhh, I suddenly ship this real-life CP. Anyone joining me?]
[Absolutely!!! Graceful, reserved Best Actor Meng x soft, low-key, obedient Lin Qin—this CP is irresistible!!!]
Meanwhile, Lin Qin had changed his clothes and noticed a notification on his phone. It was a special alert from Twitter.
He only followed one person on Twitter, and that person was Meng Chao.
He immediately opened the app, and upon seeing the tweet, Lin Qin froze on the spot.
Pressing his phone to his chest, his heart raced wildly, brimming with the sweetest nectar, leaving him feeling giddy and utterly awash in happiness.
My little one.
Ahhhhh, this is so embarrassing!
When Lin Qin went downstairs, his face still carried a faint blush of excitement. The phrase "my little one" felt like an enchanting spell, continuously twinkling inside Lin Qin's mind and brewing the most fragrant blossoms.
As he reached the living room, he looked up and saw Meng Chao slightly reclined on the sofa, gazing at him.
Because today's plan involved renovations, Meng Chao dressed more casually: khaki casual trousers that, despite their loose style, couldn't hide the pair of straight, long legs crossed beneath them; a white T-shirt—also loose-fitting—which under the incoming sunlight appeared faintly translucent, revealing a glimpse of his lean waist.
Today, he wasn't wearing glasses, his deep-set eyes entirely exposed, exuding less scholarly restraint and more uninhibited charm.
The sunlight caught perfectly, casting a divine halo on Meng Chao, who somehow seemed even more dazzling than the sun itself.
"What's wrong?" Meng Chao noticed Lin Qin staring blankly at him. Stepping forward with his long legs, he approached Lin Qin. "Am I too handsome for you?"
Meng Chao was anything but modest, fixing his gaze firmly on Lin Qin, his eyes crinkled with amusement as his bold gaze traced across Lin Qin's flushing face.