Chapter 64

Chapter 64

From a distance, Sheng Nianzhi saw the two of them standing beneath a tree, with Ning Yuyi looking utterly defeated.

"Hold on," she halted her assistant mid-sentence, stepping out from under her shade umbrella to intervene.

"What's going on?" Sheng Nianzhi feigned curiosity, "Oh right, Xiaoning, where did you buy that breakfast? It was pretty good. I might have my assistant get mine there tomorrow."

Ji Xiaoning looked up in disbelief.

"You ate the breakfast?"

Ning Yuyi explained in a low voice, "I had already eaten, so I gave it to Miss Sheng."

Ji Xiaoning clenched her fists at her side, gave Sheng Nianzhi a sharp look, and then turned to leave.

Ning Yuyi sighed in relief, "Thanks, Miss Sheng."

"Now you're thanking me," Sheng Nianzhi, having sorted things out, started walking away, waving, "Buy me breakfast for three days."

"My breakfast is just a vegetable salad. Will you eat that?" Ning Yuyi asked uncertainly.

Sheng Nianzhi halted, gritted her teeth, and responded, "Never mind."

Ning Yuyi chuckled sheepishly, recalling the brand on the breakfast bag and deciding to inform Zhou Tuesday about it.

He too moved away from the tree, thinking the matter was behind him.

Days on the set flew by, and as the filming content increased, winter drew closer until it fully set in.

"It's actually below freezing today." Wearing a white down jacket, Ning Yuyi warmed his hands with his breath, "Ready yet, Zhou?"

"Coming, coming." Zhou Tuesday, wearing a matching black down jacket like Ning's, approached with a suitcase in tow.

He set his suitcase aside, fumbled in his pocket for a while before extracting his car keys, and then popped the trunk to stow the luggage.

Ning Yuyi opened the passenger door and climbed in, buckling up just as Zhou Tuesday settled into the driver's seat, turning on the car's heater.

"It's frigid." Zhou Tuesday removed his gloves, "Has the greenhouse effect improved these past years? It's colder in Hai City this year than before. Previously, it wouldn’t get this cold until New Year’s Day."

"Autumn did arrive a bit earlier this year," Ning Yuyi noted, glancing at the dark underground parking lot outside, "Let's head back now that we've wrapped up this scene."

"Where's your elder brother?"

"He has a few more scenes to finish. He'll be back the day after tomorrow." Xie Yezhou, being the lead actor, had more scenes than Ning Yuyi.

"Do you have enough hand warmers left? If not, I can buy some more and send them to the set." Yao Yao, having gotten married during the National Day holiday and taken a three-month honeymoon leave, left Zhou Tuesday in charge of the duo.

"There's an unopened box left. That should suffice."

"Alright, then I'll drop you off first." Once Zhou Tuesday felt sufficiently warm, he started the car.

Upon leaving the basement, they were greeted by a world blanketed in white.

Hai City had experienced continuous snowfall for several days. In places where the snow hadn't been cleared, it was already more than ten centimeters deep.

Zhou Tuesday wisely chose a snow-free time for the return trip. As the car's interior gradually warmed, Ning Yuyi's hands did too.

Watching the swiftly receding snowy landscape outside, Ning Yuyi contemplated having hot pot for dinner.

"Zhou, why don't you stay at Qing'an tonight?" Ning Yuyi estimated the time, "I'll make hot pot to warm us up."

"Tempting as it is," Zhou Tuesday replied, "I rarely get a night off. I must spend it with my boyfriend."

“……”

Ning Yuyi, feeling a bit overshadowed, dialed Fan Zhongchuan to inquire about his evening plans.

"I'm working from home today. Come over directly. Your room will be cold since no one's been there."

"Aren't you working today?" Ning Yuyi fiddled with the little duck on his phone case, "Isn't the New Year holiday still a few days away?"

"Well, my boss," Fan Zhongchuan paused, "has a habit of skipping work whenever he pleases."

"Oh, the evils of capitalism."

Zhou Tuesday, currently driving, couldn’t help but shed a silent tear for himself upon hearing their conversation, feeling the struggles of being a corporate drone.

The journey felt lengthy, so to pass the time, Ning Yuyi began scrolling through his Weibo feed, occasionally reading aloud interesting news snippets for Zhou Tuesday to hear.

"I noticed that 'Sword Path' started airing on HotOne." Ning Yuyi was surprised at how quickly 'Sword Path' was broadcast.

"It's about that time. With New Year's just a week away, this is when viewer traffic peaks. The cold weather also means more people watching TV," Zhou Tuesday said as he turned the steering wheel, "But didn't the director inform us before airing it?"

"He did; I just missed the notification," Ning Yuyi said, noticing the buried message in WeChat, "It's been so cold lately, I've hardly felt like using my phone."

As they paused at a traffic light after a turn, Zhou Tuesday quickly unlocked his phone using fingerprint recognition and found the message from Assistant Zhang Xueyong in a similar buried position.

Zhou Tuesday: "..."

Seems they were equally neglectful.

The show must've been promoted by the producers on HotOne. When Ning Yuyi first clicked on it, there were only a few hundred comments. After watching and refreshing, the number grew. Many were fans of him, Xie Yezhou, and Sheng Nianzhi. A few were book fans, and there were fewer general viewers commenting.

[Rong Xiaoxi is so stunning! Such ethereal beauty! This show is a visual feast, be it the lead male, lead female, or the third male. Just that the second male lead is a bit lacking in looks.]

[It seems Zhang Yang's scenes have been reduced a lot, compared to the original, where the second male lead had significant screen time.]

[Considering his recent controversy, it's expected. Hats off to the editors for handling it. They must've worked overtime.]

[The sets and effects are spectacular! With such a budget, no wonder it's this grand. Just when I thought there were no standout series this year, here it is.]

……

After skimming a few comments, Ning Yuyi logged into his main account and shared the promotional post from the official page.

Upon reaching Qing'an, Ning Yuyi stepped out of the car and was immediately enveloped in a warm embrace.

"Mm, the luggage. Get the luggage," Ning Yuyi struggled a bit, trying to break free.

"I'll get it," Fan Zhongchuan removed his scarf and wrapped it around Ning Yuyi before retrieving the suitcase from the trunk.

Zhou Tuesday made a swift exit.

Once inside Fan Zhongchuan's home, Ning Yuyi felt a wave of warmth.

He removed his scarf, unzipped his down jacket to breathe a bit easier.

"Let's have hot pot tonight!" Ning Yuyi announced cheerfully as he hopped towards the kitchen.

"There's no rush," Fan Zhongchuan held him back, "You just got back. Relax. If you fancy hot pot, I'll have it delivered later."

Pondering a moment, Ning Yuyi nodded in agreement.

Since dinner was taken care of, Ning Yuyi suddenly found himself with free time.

After their playful bout earlier, Ning Yuyi felt a bit sweaty. He removed his down jacket, tossed it onto the couch, and playfully flirted with Fan Zhongchuan. Their antics eventually led them to the bedroom.

Nestled against Fan Zhongchuan's chest, Ning Yuyi browsed Weibo on his phone and noticed a particularly interesting trending topic.

"The first snow is a time for making wishes."

Ning Yuyi recalled the first snowfall in Haishi, when the film crew went wild with excitement, and the director granted an hour's break.

"Mm, did Ning Ning make a wish?" Fan Zhongchuan rested his chin on the top of Ning Yuyi's head, peering at the content displayed on her phone.

"I did make a wish that day." Ning Yuyi turned in his embrace to face Fan Zhongchuan.

"My wish was for us to always be together with you."