"What are you saying? Say something!"
Kang Xuan urged from the other end, but at this moment, Zhou Huaiyi couldn’t listen to a thing. She stood frozen in front of the elevator doors, staring at the tall man inside.
Why did he come back so soon...?
Xiang Qichen leaned against the handrail in the corner, looking down at his phone. Noticing that no one was coming in for quite a while, he adjusted the brim of his hat, looked up, paused for two seconds, and said, "Not coming in?"
Zhou Huaiyi was startled, her heart involuntarily starting to race again. She covered her mouth, whispered "I’ll talk to you later" into the phone, quickly ended the call, and rushed into the elevator in two steps.
The doors closed again, and silence returned to the elevator. Zhou Huaiyi intended to reach out and press the floor button, but when she glanced up, she saw the indicator for her floor flashing red. Her heart leapt with joy, and she bit her lip to stifle a laugh.
Turns out the idol lives on the same floor as me \(//∇//)\
With no one else around, Zhou Huaiyi unabashedly started to sneak glances at him—
He wore a white T-shirt and black pants, with a black baseball cap. His makeup-free face was elegant and gentle, with no expression, just slightly pursed lips. His calm demeanor was so handsome that Zhou Huaiyi’s legs began to tremble, as if his next smile could light up the entire world.
There truly are people in the world this incredibly good-looking!
He moved his neck a bit, then raised a hand to massage his side neck, probably strained, as it seemed a bit stiff.
Zhou Huaiyi glanced at the elevator display ticking up floor by floor, lost in thought.
This rare, once-in-a-lifetime private moment. She had to seize it to make the idol remember her somehow.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Huaiyi straightened her back, "Um... Xiang, Xiang Xiang..."
"Xiang Qichen." The man beside her suddenly spoke, turning to look at her with those cool, bright eyes, "Is the name hard to say?"
"No..." Zhou Huaiyi’s ears heated up as she swallowed discreetly, bowed her head, and said in a voice almost as quiet as a mosquito’s, "...Xiang Qichen, I have a friend who really likes you. Can you... help me with an autograph?"
Friend?
Xiang Qichen raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment, "Sure."
Zhou Huaiyi immediately unzipped her bag and pulled out a photo of Xiang Qichen and a pen, offering them with both hands.
Every motion was completed smoothly, in less than fifteen seconds.
Xiang Qichen looked at the photo of himself being handed over and smirked, "You even carry a photo around?"
Zhou Huaiyi pursed her lips, so nervous her hands and feet felt stiff.
Oh no, was her idol crush about to be exposed this quickly?
"Before I left... my friend slipped it to me..." Zhou Huaiyi said with a dry laugh, eyes lowered.
Xiang Qichen didn’t ask more, taking the photo and pen, signing his name in a few strokes, and handed them back to her.
"Thank you!"
Ding, the elevator reached the floor. Xiang Qichen frowned and massaged his side neck again, nodding, "You’re welcome," and stepped out first.
Zhou Huaiyi put away the items in her bag, then rushed to follow him. Before he swiped his card to enter his room, she called out loudly, "Wait a minute!"
Xiang Qichen paused his hand on the door, turned to look at her, while continuously massaging his side neck with his other hand, "Anything else?"
Perhaps too exhausted, there was a hint of laziness and impatience in his tone.
Zhou Huaiyi hurriedly reached into her bag and pulled out a small box to hand over.
Xiang Qichen glanced down; it was a box of patches.
"Your neck... seems strained, right?" She pointed to his side neck and waved the patches in her hand, "These work great. Stick one on before you sleep, and you’ll feel much better tomorrow."
Xiang Qichen paused for a moment but did not reach out to take them.
Seeing his delayed response, Zhou Huaiyi quickly explained, "It’s a Japanese brand, very famous, no side effects!"
Xiang Qichen chuckled, "No, I’m just curious if your bag contains everything."
>o<
The idol smiled!
"Not really..." Zhou Huaiyi lowered her head, thoroughly embarrassed, and murmured as if to herself, "Having you would be perfect..."
In the quiet hallway, her voice was not loud, delicate and indistinct, but Xiang Qichen heard it clearly.
He froze, his ears suddenly heating up.
Zhou Huaiyi wished she could bite off her tongue... this habit of making bold and flirtatious remarks, when would she ever change it!
She couldn’t believe she had just... flirted with her idol.
Panicking, Zhou Huaiyi reached out and awkwardly shoved the patches into Xiang Qichen’s arms, "After you stick it on, use a hairdryer to blow on it, heating helps with absorption. That’s it, bye!"
Before she finished speaking, Zhou Huaiyi hurried back to her room at lightning speed, slamming the door with a click.
Xiang Qichen listened to the sound of the door closing, looked down at the patches in his arms, then reached up to rub his neck, raising an eyebrow, and entered his room.