"Aren't you going to eat?" Professor Ye frowned, looking at Big Star Xie who was playing with his phone, head bowed.
She had clearly heard his stomach growl earlier, obviously he hadn't eaten breakfast before coming, which was why she specifically brought two forks for them to share.
Now, after taking one bite, Xie Xi had lowered his head to play with his phone again.
This behavior was all too familiar to her. Back during tutoring sessions, Xie Xi would always slack off the moment she wasn't looking, preferring to play with his own fingers rather than pick up a pen. Back then, he'd get dizzy looking at words, and she could barely pretend not to notice.
Why was it the same with eating now? He seemed to enjoy being distracted, like a child.
Xie Xi turned off his phone screen and looked up, his gaze evasive. "I'm eating."
He had just secretly registered a Weibo side account using another one of his phone numbers. His first Weibo post was a repost of a Xie-Ye fan video edited by a creator he really liked.
Taking a bite of the pastry, he ate for a bit before lowering his head again, looking at his phone under the table, searching for videos of himself and Ye Qiusuo, reposting any Weibo that even remotely mentioned them.
"Don't play with your phone while eating." Professor Ye endured it for a while but finally reminded him.
"Oh." Xie Xi agreed verbally, but his hands were still busy posting on Weibo.
He posted a photo of the stainless steel fork he had just taken: [This is a fork from her home. It's beautiful.]
Perhaps because he had reposted so many Xie-Ye CP videos, a fan searching for keywords discovered his Weibo. Just as they clicked in, they saw this blogger named 'My Professor Ye' post his first original Weibo.
[Utterly bewildering. Isn't this just the kind of fork you get three for ten yuan? What's beautiful about it?]
But by now, Xie Xi had completely put down his phone, eating his pastry quietly and a bit guiltily.
It wasn't until he returned home, took out his phone, and prepared to continue his grand mission of reposting Xie-Ye CP videos and short fanfics that Xie Xi saw a comment from someone named 'Zaizai is the Most Handsome' under his Weibo post.
Big Star Xie replied with great patience: [Its beauty lies in it being my beloved's fork.]
...
About a week later, the date for the Tianqiu Tech product launch was finalized. Ye Qiusuo contacted Xie Xi and told him about it.
Xie Xi immediately posted the news on Weibo, saying he would attend Tianqiu Tech's launch event that day.
To make the post look more like an advertisement, Xie Xi specifically tagged Tianqiu Tech's official Weibo and various service accounts, a bunch of blue text following the black font, making it look exactly like a promotional post.
When his manager, Wei Qi, came across this Weibo post: "?"
How did she not know Xie Xi had taken on an advertisement?
Fans initially filled the comments with various praises and declarations of love, but eventually, CP fans began to sniff out a different scent.
[Tianqiu Tech launch event? Will Professor Ye be there?!]
[Awooo, will my god and goddess appear together?!]
[I'll definitely watch the livestream!!!]
Most CP fans immediately started howling with excitement from their own imaginations, vowing to watch the livestream that day.
On the day of the launch, Xie Xi specifically got up early to get styled, all to present his best side.
"Brother Xi, which watch should you wear?" Zhang Dong came over to ask.
"This one." Xie Xi picked out the Tianqiu smart medical watch he had bought when recording the show.
Zhang Dong: "Won't it clash with your outfit?"
Today, Xie Xi exuded luxury from head to toe, complete with a pair of cat's eye gemstone cufflinks. All he was missing was a luxurious watch, yet he wanted to pair it with that Tianqiu watch.
"I think it matches." As Xie Xi spoke, he put the watch on his wrist. After the makeup artist finished, he also picked up the glasses nearby and put them on.
Today's launch event was conducted via livestream, with both online and offline interaction.
Xie Xi only needed to appear during the segment for the glasses project. The focus of the entire launch wasn't on this project, after all, the original collaboration with Xie Xi was with Ye Qiusuo personally, not with Tianqiu.
When he arrived backstage at the launch venue, Ye Qiusuo was talking with others and didn't even notice Xie Xi had arrived.
It was Zhao Guiying who first noticed Xie Xi's arrival and proactively welcomed him in.
"Please wait here for a moment." Zhao Guiying led Xie Xi to a room. "President Ye will be here shortly."
...
After Ye Qiusuo finished speaking with several people from the company, her assistant came over and said Xie Xi had arrived.
"Where is he?"
Zhao Guiying pointed to the room assigned to Ye Qiusuo: "He's waiting for you inside."
Ye Qiusuo pushed the door open and was momentarily taken aback upon seeing Xie Xi sitting in the chair.
A quiet Xie Xi was somewhat different from usual.
"Professor, will we be going on stage together later?" Xie Xi asked, looking up at the sound of the door opening.
The scene of sharing the stage had been lingering in his mind ever since he received Ye Qiusuo's invitation, and today it was even a livestream!
"Probably not." Ye Qiusuo recalled the launch schedule. "You'll go on stage during the middle segment. I'll be introducing the product at the very end."
The last product was the most representative of all the products presented today. As the company's representative figure, she needed to go on stage.
Xie Xi: "..."
Even his dream of sharing the stage was shattered.
"Let's go take our seats first. Many others will be arriving soon." Ye Qiusuo had come in mainly to call him to go to the front of the launch venue together.
Although disappointed, Xie Xi perked up. Today, they were both wearing glasses.
Big Star Xie had even already imagined the material the Xie-Ye CP fans would have for editing.
Most of the people in the first row were from Tianqiu Tech. Xie Xi was also in the first row, but separated from Ye Qiusuo by one seat.
The person sitting between them was Song Jiren.
When Song Jiren saw Xie Xi, he greeted him with a smile: "I'm considered half a part of the entertainment circle too. We could add each other on WeChat."
Xie Xi, eyeing the seat he was sitting on, was very agreeable about exchanging WeChats. Then he spoke up: "Could we switch seats?"
Song Jiren was taken aback. He looked at his own seat but didn't see any difference between the two seats; they were both in the middle of the first row.
However, Xie Xi was a guest after all. Song Jiren nodded in agreement: "Of course we can."
They finally switched seats. Xie Xi successfully sat down next to Ye Qiusuo. To avoid raising Song Jiren's suspicions, after switching seats, the two of them even chatted for a little while.
The launch had invited many people. As the event time approached, more and more people entered. Lu Minglang was one of them.
Holding a first-row invitation, he directly sat down on the other side of Ye Qiusuo.
Ye Qiusuo was looking down at her tablet and didn't notice Lu Minglang.
"President Ye, even working during the launch event time. No wonder Tianqiu is developing so fast." Lu Minglang waited for a while, but Ye Qiusuo was still looking at her tablet, so he finally spoke up.
Only then did Ye Qiusuo turn her head to look, realizing Lu Minglang was sitting beside her. Her gaze shifted to the name tag on the back of the chair; the name on it belonged to a partner from another company.
Lu Minglang followed her gaze and chuckled lightly: "President Li had something come up today, so he asked me to attend in his place. You... aren't welcoming me?"
With the Lu family's influence, obtaining an entry ticket wasn't difficult.
Ye Qiusuo withdrew her gaze, looking straight ahead at the stage: "Tianqiu has always welcomed anyone to visit reasonably."
As soon as Xie Xi finished exchanging pleasantries with Song Jiren, he turned his head and noticed Professor Ye speaking with Lu Minglang. His ears immediately perked up to listen.
However, everyone present soon quieted down. The host had taken the stage, all cameras were ready, and the online livestream had begun.
The livestream camera first focused on the stage, then cut to the first row before panning across the audience behind.
[Finally got in! Where's Xi Xi?]
[I want to see Professor Ye, sigh. She hasn't appeared at all since the show ended.]
[Professor Ye isn't part of the entertainment circle after all; she has her own work.]
[Oh my god, oh my god! That quick shot that just flashed by—bring it back!]
[I saw Xi Xi and Professor Ye sitting together! Ahhh, the camera cut away too fast; I didn't even have time to screenshot.]
[Am I the only one who thinks the man on the other side of Professor Ye is also super handsome? Is he some invited celebrity? I've never seen that face before.]
The camera finally settled on the stage, where a technician from Tianqiu Tech took the stage to explain the company's newly released product.
As he continued his presentation, the camera occasionally cut to the audience below, sometimes close, sometimes far. But whenever it panned to the first row, Ye Qiusuo and the few people around her inevitably drew attention.
[What kind of celestial-level beauty are these three people in the middle? I'm in love.]
[To be honest, I think these three's looks put everyone else in the industry to shame.]
[Everyone has their own unique beauty, no need to put others down. But seriously, who is that guy next to her? He's really good-looking.]
[Seems like he's the young heir who took over the Lu family conglomerate in the last couple of years. Insanely rich and insanely handsome. He should have collaborated with Ye Qiusuo on a project before.]
"This blood pressure monitor seems a bit off; I don't know how to set it up." After watching the presentation for a while, Xie Xi seized the moment when the speaker went to fetch a product to deliberately complain that the smart health watch he was wearing wasn't working.
Ye Qiusuo turned to look, surprised to see him wearing this particular model.
Normally, this health watch might look somewhat stylish, but today, with Xie Xi dressed in such a formal suit, the watch gave off a distinctly plastic feel.
However, personal taste was personal taste, and Ye Qiusuo wouldn't interfere with others' choices.
"Let me take a look for you," Ye Qiusuo said.
Xie Xi intentionally didn't take the watch off, instead directly offering his wrist to her.
"Go into the settings. There's an item here; click on it and you'll find the option." Ye Qiusuo checked the set parameters and found nothing unusual. "Were you sitting still when you took the measurement?"
Xie Xi didn't hear a single word, his attention fully on the close distance between them.
Not hearing a reply, Ye Qiusuo looked up and asked again.
"Yes," Xie Xi finally snapped back to reality.
Ye Qiusuo frowned. "There might be an issue somewhere."
As she spoke, she tried to take the watch off Xie Xi's wrist, her fingertips accidentally brushing against the inside of his wrist.
It was just a warm, slight touch, but Xie Xi felt as if he'd been scalded. From the inside of his wrist to his forearm, his cool, pale skin rapidly flushed red.
Ye Qiusuo didn't notice. She had already taken the watch off, examining the battery and detachable parts, but found nothing wrong. She then put it on her own wrist to test it, feeling the readings were normal.
"Maybe there was an issue with your measurement method, or you were nervous before testing." Ye Qiusuo handed the watch back to Xie Xi.
Lu Minglang on the other side had been observing them the whole time and couldn't help but laugh. "So buying a Tianqiu Tech watch gets you a personal inspection from President Ye. I'll have to go buy one to wear after this."
Before Ye Qiusuo could respond, Xie Xi spoke up first. "If you were Tianqiu Tech's spokesperson, maybe you could get the professor to check it for you."
Others might need to consider the Lu family's standing, but Xie Xi couldn't care less.
Many CP fans watching the livestream had no idea what was being presented at the press conference. They spent the whole time eagerly staring at the screen, hoping to catch some sweet interactions to indulge in. The cameras faithfully captured the three of them talking and transmitted the scene to the livestream.
