The President Comes Knocking -

As expected, Chu Qianqian’s ominous hunch proved to be manifestly accurate. The moment she placed that gray, chubby cat in front of Chu Ziyu, her expression was icy cold. It was as if even the air around them bore the words “Not a chance.”

“This… I think it’s called Totoro or something. Don’t be fooled by its chubbiness-it’s actually quite cute,” she said, stubbornly ignoring Chu Ziyu’s clear look of rejection. Forcing herself to maintain a serious face, she continued, “Plus, it’s all fluffy, and there are little pockets on the sides where you can slip your hands in. It’s super warm. Why don’t you give it a try?”

Chu Ziyu didn’t so much as acknowledge her words, his face a wall of adamant refusal. There was simply no way he could reconcile this plush, girly contraption with himself. Just imagining how ridiculous he’d look holding the thing was enough to picture Qingyi laughing at him without restraint.

“I don’t need it.”

His firm, decisive response shattered the veneer of seriousness Chu Qianqian had worked so hard to maintain. She sat down heavily, her expression crumbling into a mix of defeat and pleading. Half-begging and half-reasoning, she explained, “I was originally planning on buying you a hot water bag shaped like a cat, but the store sold out. I didn’t have enough time to go to another shop, so I had to settle on this one in a hurry.”

The “not enough time,” of course, was thanks to the sudden phone call from Mu Han. But Chu Qianqian wasn’t about to bring that up to Chu Ziyu. She didn’t know exactly why, but some instinct told her that mentioning Mu Han in her explanation would only make Chu Ziyu even more upset.

Chu Qianqian wasn’t great at acting coquettish. And even if she was, she definitely wouldn’t pull that card with Chu Ziyu. Yet, even without saying anything, all she had to do was fix him with those big, imploring eyes for a moment, and Chu Ziyu’s defenses would crumble and he’d be forced to give in.

This time was no different. Despite repeatedly telling himself in his mind, “Don’t let her sway you again. Don’t let her sway you again,” Chu Ziyu still fell victim to Chu Qianqian’s gaze.

“Fine.”

It was just one word, but Chu Ziyu managed to imbue it with an overwhelming sense of reluctance and resignation. Too bad this last-ditch resistance didn’t even register in Chu Qianqian’s mind. In her eyes, he was the textbook definition of a tsundere-liking something but refusing to admit it.

Handing the gray Totoro-shaped hot water bag to Chu Ziyu, Chu Qianqian stood up and moved closer. As she leaned toward him, the ends of her hair slid off her shoulder and brushed against his hand. For a moment, Chu Ziyu caught a faint whiff of jasmine in the air.

After all these years, he still had a soft spot for that delicate jasmine scent…

Noticing Chu Ziyu’s momentary daze, Chu Qianqian waved her hand impatiently, signaling for him to snap out of it. “Hey, there are openings on both sides. You can slide your hands in,” she said.

The Totoro-shaped hot water bag was three-dimensional, designed to look like a standing Totoro. On either side, where its hands were, there were two inward openings-more like recessed pockets-that could easily go unnoticed if one wasn’t paying close attention.

Without saying a word, Chu Ziyu silently followed her gesture and slipped his hands into the pockets. Just as Chu Qianqian described, the insides were soft and plush, and through the thick layers of velvety fabric, he could distinctly feel the solid warmth of the hot water bag nestled snugly inside Totoro’s round belly.

A gentle, soothing warmth seeped into his fingertips, slowly yet steadily spreading through his chest. For a fleeting moment, his eyes grew hot, and he felt an inexplicable sense of comfort washing over him-almost as if it were less about the chubby Totoro in his arms and more about the person standing in front of him with a look of quiet affection in her eyes.

By the time Qingyi returned from Lingxuan, Chu Ziyu was holding onto Totoro and showing no signs of letting go. The sweetened water Chu Qianqian had poured for him earlier was long gone, but he hadn’t asked for a second cup. Instead, he had carefully placed the empty cup farther away from himself, ensuring it wouldn’t accidentally spill onto Totoro.

“Wow, wow…” Qingyi circled around Chu Ziyu twice, then glanced over at Chu Qianqian with admiration evident in his eyes. “As expected of Qianqian. You managed to get Ziyu to accept the hot water bag so quickly-and look at him now. He’s practically treating it like a treasure.”

Qingyi had deliberately adjusted his tone so that the volume wasn’t too loud for others to overhear, but it was just loud enough to ensure every word made its way into Chu Ziyu’s ears.

Sure enough, after hearing Qingyi’s sly remark, Chu Ziyu immediately looked up, casting a brief glance at Chu Qianqian. His face remained expressionless, though before she could say anything, he shifted his gaze to Qingyi. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly upward, and an unreadable look flashed through his eyes. Whatever it was, it made Qingyi feel uneasy enough to avert his eyes and clam up entirely.

After their break, the group resumed filming.

Perhaps the rest had been surprisingly effective, as the subsequent scenes unfolded relatively smoothly. While there were some occasional NGs, they were all minor hiccups. After a few shots, Zhang Dong finally declared that they were good to go.

By the time they wrapped for the day, Zhang Dong’s face was still lit up with a smile. He couldn’t remember the last time a shoot had felt so effortless. The camaraderie among the lead actors was excellent, and their performances had improved significantly as the production progressed. To Zhang Dong, all these signs felt like an auspicious omen for the project’s success.

As Zhang Dong gave the final wrap-up command, the actors on set began stepping down and heading toward the nearby vehicles to change out of their costumes.

Chu Qianqian gathered her belongings. Just as she was about to toss some trash into a temporary garbage bag nearby, she overheard bits of Zhang Dong’s conversation with Assistant Zhang.

“This time of year, the sky gets dark too fast. It’s not ideal for outdoor shooting,” Assistant Zhang remarked.

“Hmm.” That was Zhang Dong’s muffled reply. He sounded as though he had a cigarette between his lips; his voice was slightly hoarse. “The equipment is almost fixed. Plus, Tang Qi is ready to join the film crew. Let’s give it two more days, then notify everyone to move to the indoor set for filming.”

Chu Qianqian shook her head to herself. That was enough to hear for now; any further details might involve private matters. She hadn’t intentionally eavesdropped-she just happened to catch that part of the conversation by chance-and staying to listen longer would be inappropriate.

Rising onto her tiptoes, she did her best to minimize any noise as she quietly slipped away.

By the time she left the film crew, the sky had gone completely dark. Once in the car, Chu Qianqian told Qingyi and Chu Ziyu to go ahead and get some rest. Meanwhile, she busied herself organizing the day’s work.

Non-working downtime always seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. On top of that, traffic wasn’t bad today. By the time the van pulled into the neighborhood, Chu Qianqian hadn’t even realized how fast the drive went. She glanced at the clock and noticed it was still fairly early-just after 7 p.m.

Qingyi’s home was located in a villa district where the houses were spaced out just enough to afford some privacy, but they weren’t far from one another. From a distance, the warm, golden lights streaming out of the villas resembled a scattering of fireflies on a summer evening. The color wasn’t quite the same, but the effect was. The lights flickered intermittently, creating a surprisingly serene and picturesque view.

Qingyi had woken up fairly early today, even before they reached their destination. He had been quietly playing on his phone the whole time, mindful of the fact that Chu Ziyu was still asleep and not wanting to make any noise.

As the van neared their destination, Qingyi finally put his phone aside. With a sigh of relief that seemed to signify the end of his patience, he leaned over and lightly patted Chu Qianqian on the shoulder. Opening his mouth as if to say something, he paused, then asked softly, “Qianqian, do you think Mu Han will come here tonight?”