Ye Qiusuo's residence had been quite lively lately, because Rong Shiyun had returned to the country. Her job interview application had passed and was currently under review, so she was staying here temporarily.
"Why is your fridge so empty?" Rong Shiyun was utterly shocked.
The two hadn't been roommates back in their domestic university days. Later, when they went abroad, although they became roommates, Rong Shiyun was usually the one who cooked, and the fridge was mostly stocked by her. This was her first real glimpse into Ye Qiusuo's solo living habits.
"The supermarket is nearby, you can go buy things. There's a larger supermarket a bit farther away."
When Ye Qiusuo returned in the evening, she found her fridge and kitchen fully stocked with all sorts of food.
"Are you living an ascetic life?" Rong Shiyun kept shaking her head. "This morning I thought the fridge was just temporarily empty, but then I checked your kitchen and found a layer of dust. Turns out the fridge is always empty."
Ye Qiusuo sat down to eat. The dishes in front of her were all prepared by Rong Shiyun. Not being picky didn't mean she didn't enjoy good food; she was just usually too busy and couldn't be bothered to spend time on it.
"What do you usually eat at home?" Rong Shiyun asked as she also sat down and picked up her bowl and chopsticks.
"Eggs, milk, bread."
Rong Shiyun: "...You've been eating like that all these years since you came back?"
Ye Qiusuo denied it: "I often eat at the cafeteria."
"You're something else, truly Professor Ye." Rong Shiyun was impressed. She picked up some food with her chopsticks and said, "These days, I'll let you taste if my cooking skills have improved."
Back abroad, she had all these culinary skills but couldn't use them fully because many ingredients were hard to find in Chinatown.
After dinner, Rong Shiyun sprawled on the living room sofa, turning into a couch potato, and started fangirling on her phone.
"Qiusuo, do you know Zai Zai recently went to France?" Rong Shiyun was quite excited. "Zai Zai finally decided to be active! There's a fancam today."
She switched back and forth between the super topic and several fan group chats, finally getting the first-hand news.
At exactly 3:00 PM French time that day, the brand event officially began. Countless top global celebrities walked the red carpet. Of course, the brand ambassadors from several regions received the most attention from the organizers.
Xie Xi was one of them. He stepped out of the car accompanied by the brand's design director.
"Wow wow wow! Design Director Luli is actually walking the red carpet with Zai Zai!" Rong Shiyun exclaimed excitedly, doing a kip-up from the sofa and standing up. She turned her phone screen towards Ye Qiusuo.
Ye Qiusuo glanced at it, not getting the point. "So?"
Rong Shiyun simply jumped off the sofa, ran over to Ye Qiusuo, and explained: "Although Luli has a long history, it almost went bankrupt once and was saved by its design director. He's the soul of the brand! He has never walked the red carpet with anyone before, so the director must really like Zai Zai!"
Ye Qiusuo looked at the video where the gray-haired French man was chatting and laughing with Xie Xi; they did seem close.
"Wuwuwu, Zai Zai's outfit is absolutely stunning!" Rong Shiyun's eyes welled up with tears.
Xie Xi on the red carpet was indeed eye-catching. Even among the generally tall and burly foreign male stars, he didn't lose out at all. He wore a smoky gray suit with a white shirt underneath and a tie with intricate patterns. The video wasn't very clear, but overall, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs were all perfectly proportioned. The silver-rimmed glasses with a chain added a touch of aloofness to his face.
Rong Shiyun stared intently for a moment, then suddenly glanced at Ye Qiusuo with a strange look before shaking her head: she must have been shipping too many couples, otherwise why would she think Qiusuo and Zai Zai looked somewhat alike as a couple?
The video was only a little over 4 minutes long, following Xie Xi until he finished the red carpet.
Rong Shiyun sighed with regret. "It's over." She could only wait for photos from inside the event.
"Can I go now?" Ye Qiusuo had been forced to stand there and watch the entire red carpet walk. She looked down at the hand on her arm, signaling Rong Shiyun to let go.
"Please, go ahead." Rong Shiyun immediately released her hand.
As Ye Qiusuo turned and walked halfway, Rong Shiyun suddenly asked from behind, "Qiusuo, don't you think Zai Zai is very handsome?"
Ye Qiusuo didn't respond, but inwardly, she didn't disagree.
Just as excited as Rong Shiyun were thousands of fans, who were also frantically scrolling through the super topic, screaming in various posts. Due to the high traffic, it directly trended on the hot search.
Some fans couldn't wait and used VPNs to check platforms in other countries for photos from the event. They actually found a short video and some photos. Judging by the background, they were likely taken by people inside, as they were standing in small groups chatting, holding champagne glasses.
In the video, Xie Xi stood opposite the Luli design director, holding a champagne glass. After clinking glasses with the director, he took a small sip and then didn't drink more. Instead, he absentmindedly twirled the champagne flute. His slender, fair fingers contrasted with the pale yellow champagne. The light shone on the glass, making it exceptionally crystal clear.
This video had gone viral on foreign platforms, with everyone asking who this man was.
["Isn't this the vampire prince of my dreams?"]
["Oh, I adore this man. Please give me all his information."]
Fans who used VPNs naturally reposted the video back home, also translating the series of comments from the international netizens eagerly searching for Xie Xi's information.
Marketing accounts looking to boost their engagement also uniformly found a few pictures to post on their blogs. Back and forth, it became impossible for Xie Xi not to trend.
#InternationalNetizensAskWhoXieXiIs#
["I'm dying of laughter. A classmate I knew while studying abroad, who I haven't contacted in years, suddenly sent me a photo of Xie Xi today, asking if I knew him. Apparently, she's asked every Asian classmate she knows. Hahahaha, I know him all too well!"]
["Actually, a significant number of people abroad do know who Xie Xi is. My roommate listens to his songs all the time. There's even a Xie Xi fan club in our building, full of foreigners."]
["Xie Xi should participate in more of these international events. Once he does, the international netizens will get to know him."]
["By the way, why has Xie Xi been wearing glasses so often lately?"]
["I noticed that too. He's been wearing them in every appearance."]
["Has Xie Xi become nearsighted?"]
Tonight was almost a carnival night for Xie Xi's fans, with constant discussions.
His manager in faraway France had been monitoring the situation. Seeing the buzz grow ever higher, Wei Qi contacted his domestic studio to immediately release a set of professional photos from the event.
Professional photographers were on a completely different level compared to random shots by passersby. The release of this photo set directly pushed Xie Xi's popularity beyond his usual fan circle, which in turn fed back to international platforms.
When the day's events were mostly over, Wei Qi found Xie Xi and asked him, "Do you want to explain about the glasses?"
Given his current momentum, it seemed he wanted to keep wearing them.
The stylist from last time had discriminated against Asians and didn't want to put in the effort. Xie Xi retorted, and although the styling was eventually completed, the stylist secretly spoke ill of him to others. Wei Qi overheard and reported it directly to the person in charge at Luli. Later the design director intervened, and Xie Xi's entire look today was created by the design director's team.
"What should I explain?"
Wei Qi took out her phone and showed him a trending topic on Weibo: #Xie Xi Nearsighted#
Xie Xi thought for a moment: "Let me explain." He also planned to show off that the glasses were designed for him by Professor Ye.
Wei Qi was busy contacting other people and didn't notice what Xie Xi posted. After this brand event, even during the event, many people expressed hope to collaborate with Xie Xi.
Back in China, many fans were still browsing Weibo when suddenly Xie Xi posted an update: ["Not nearsighted. These are corrective glasses from Professor Ye's project, specifically designed for people with dyslexia."]
This post contained a lot of information, and some fans took a while to process it.
["What are corrective glasses? Correcting what? What's wrong with Zai Zai?"]
["Xi Xi, you're wearing glasses for people with dyslexia... does that mean you have dyslexia?"]
Once one fan figured it out, others who saw the post began to understand, and past clues gradually became apparent.
["So that's why Xi Xi wrote so many wrong characters? And why he didn't finish junior high? Was it because of this?"]
A quick explainer: Dyslexia can range from mild to severe, but its prevalence is actually quite high—around twenty percent. Many people who tend to skip lines or miss words when reading might actually have this condition without even knowing it. Someone like Xie Xi, who mostly writes characters incorrectly, shows that his symptoms are quite severe and have already affected his daily life.
["I suddenly feel so heartbroken for our Zai Zai, wuwu, we never knew about this."]
["Didn't you guys notice the middle part? This project was developed by Professor Ye. Is Professor Ye the one I'm thinking of?"]
["For real, g. Professor Ye and Xi Xi are still in contact privately?! I'll start shipping them right now."]
["Where can I buy these glasses? I want a pair too. When I was little, my parents always scolded me for poor grades. It wasn't until later that I found out I had dyslexia."]
["This kind of thing is really overlooked by many people. If it's mild, it's okay, you just get labeled as careless, but if it's severe, it affects your life."]
...
After returning to the hotel, Xie Xi casually scrolled through the comments, then began practicing his characters seriously. After finishing, he had a legitimate reason to message Professor Ye.
["Teacher, I've finished practicing today's characters. image.jpg"]
It was already late at night in China. Ye Qiusuo was about to go to sleep when she saw the message and replied: ["You had time to practice characters while attending an event today?"]
Xie Xi felt a bit happy. She actually knew he had an event today. Did that mean she paid a little attention to him?
Xie Xi: ["The event is already over, teacher. Some people are asking where to buy the glasses."]
Ye Qiusuo thought for a moment and replied: ["They'll be available after the Lunar New Year. Right now, based on the usage data coming in from the trial participants, we're still making adjustments."]
Unlike the glasses designed for other trial participants based on big data calculations, Xie Xi's glasses were made using his own personal data, so they were already in the best possible state without needing adjustments.
Xie Xi: ["Then I'll let the fans know."]
Professor Ye hesitated for a second before asking him: ["Are you advertising?"]
Looking at the line of text on his phone, Xie Xi sent a voice message directly: "I'm a project partner. I'll advertise without an endorsement fee."
Professor Ye thought that made some sense.
Soon, Xie Xi replied to the fan who wanted to buy the glasses, saying they would be available after the New Year.
He also casually gave himself a title: Spokesperson for Professor Ye's Glasses Project.
After finishing her various contacts, Wei Qi returned to the hotel, opened her phone, and discovered that Xie Xi had not only posted on Weibo but had also replied to several people in the comments. It was a headache.
She knew about the project and the loan, but when did Xie Xi and Professor Ye get so close?
