The promotional video, as the teaser for the show, aired at noon on the day of recording. Wen Ruqing and Chen Qi watched the whole video together on Liang Yuchen’s phone.
Most of the shots were close-ups of hands and damaged ancient books. The restoration process was clipped into segments, paired with soothing music. From daylight to dusk, the shifting light gave the promo a surprisingly documentary-like feel.
Wen Ruqing and Liang Yuchen’s faces weren’t clearly shown. The footage intercut with bits of interviews—some of their dialogue was included, not jarring at all, but a natural and fitting complement to the content.
“I remember you two are recording the show tonight, right?” Chen Qi asked after watching. “I heard the guest is Si Wen. Can you help me get his autograph? My wife’s been a fan for ten years.”
This kind of social task wasn’t suitable for Wen Ruqing, so he returned to the studio, leaving Liang Yuchen and Chen Qi to chat about the evening plans.
He had already told Bai Xizhou about it—to let him know not to wait for dinner, and to go to bed early instead. Bai Xizhou replied with a simple “Okay”, along with a shiba inu emoji. Wen Ruqing chuckled softly and saved the emoji to his favorites.
The recording was at the Xin City TV station. Wen Ruqing and Liang Yuchen arrived after dinner. Once there, a staff member wearing an ID badge guided them to the backstage area.
The wardrobe staff brought two outfits—what they were supposed to wear for the shoot. Since it was a cultural/history program, the clothing had a traditional Chinese aesthetic. After changing, the director came over to run through the process and took them to preview the set.
There had been fewer cameras when filming the promo, so Wen Ruqing hadn’t felt much. But now, surrounded by machines and lenses all aimed at him in the studio, he was honestly a bit nervous.
There was a short break before the shoot began. Liang Yuchen used this time to go ask Si Wen for the autograph. She came back smiling, saying Si Wen was quite nice—even asked if she wanted a few more signatures. Wen Ruqing nodded in agreement.
After a while, makeup artists arrived. Wen Ruqing initially refused—he thought it unnecessary. But the stylist explained that makeup helps on camera. He couldn’t refuse further nor make trouble, so he let them work.
His phone buzzed. While the stylist was fixing his hair, Wen Ruqing checked it—it was a WeChat message from Bai Xizhou.
[“Superstar, can I come visit the set?”]
[“I have a business trip tomorrow. If I don’t see you, I won’t be able to sleep.”]
Wen Ruqing didn’t know what to reply. He looked up and asked the staff if he could step out for a bit and continue makeup afterward.
The staff glanced at the time and nodded. With half his makeup still on, Wen Ruqing headed to the main hall. Soon, he spotted Bai Xizhou at the entrance.
He ran over and stopped in front of him, eyes full of delight. Bai Xizhou reached out to ruffle his hair like usual but paused midair, noticing the styling clips. Instead, he pinched Wen Ruqing’s earlobe.
“Got makeup on?” Bai Xizhou asked as they headed back upstairs.
“Is it obvious? I told them not to, but they said it’d look better on camera. Is it too much?” He wasn’t used to the sticky feeling of makeup on his face.
“No, it looks great. I noticed because a light mole under your eye was covered.” A few freckles too. Now, his whole face looked smooth and clean. Bai Xizhou found it a bit unfamiliar.
But still very attractive. The stylist had played to his strengths and layered the hairstyle nicely—more refined than his usual slightly messy look.
Wen Ruqing brought Bai Xizhou backstage, introduced him as a friend, the staff gave him a temporary pass so he could move around freely.
The makeup artist continued working on Wen Ruqing. The final step was lipstick—his natural lip color was quite pale, so the artist used a matte lipstick to enhance it.
Bai Xizhou stood nearby watching, occasionally chatting with Liang Yuchen, who had already finished her makeup.
Their part of the show came in the second half—presenting as professionals, sharing knowledge about ancient book restoration. At first, Wen Ruqing was a bit nervous, but once the topic got technical, he was sharp and confident.
“I’ve always wanted to ask both teachers something,” the host said, starting the Q&A session. “Is it true that ancient paintings can be peeled into several layers, and turn into multiple artworks?”
“Generally, no. Ordinary xuan paper only has one layer. Composite xuan paper can be split into two, but even then, the seal and ink details won’t match exactly—it’s almost impossible to get two identical versions,” Liang Yuchen answered. Besides books, she also restored paintings, giving her more authority here. “There may be some masters in the folk scene, but in my experience, most works can’t be split.”
Wen Ruqing had heard of this technique but never seen it firsthand—he figured his exposure wasn’t deep enough yet. After all, real masters often stay hidden.
Bai Xizhou watched backstage, eyes fixed on the monitor. He was happy to see that Wen Ruqing wasn’t stage-shy. At the same time, he noticed Wen Ruqing subtly spinning his ring.
To give the audience a better idea of the restoration process, the team had prepared a page of artificially damaged text and all the necessary tools. Wen Ruqing didn’t need to assess or prepare it—just demonstrate on stage.
He had been told about this during rehearsal and didn’t object. Sitting on stage, he spread the aged page out on the table, just like in his studio, and began to work.
As Liang Yuchen explained beside him, the director called for close-up shots of Wen Ruqing’s hands.
The screen showed long, slender fingers, nails neatly trimmed and clean. On his right ring finger, the ring was unmissable. Bai Xizhou could even see the engraving on it.
“Will the ring stay in the final cut?” Bai Xizhou whispered to a nearby staff member.
“Depends—but likely, yes.”
The staff thought Bai Xizhou was just concerned about visual effects—not knowing he was thinking: If the ring stays, the whole country will know Wen Ruqing has someone.
At the end, the host asked, “What are your hopes for the future of book restoration?”
“I hope more people get to see this craft, and that it keeps getting better,” Wen Ruqing replied first.
“I also hope more people join this industry. There are far more damaged ancient texts waiting for repair than people realize,” said Liang Yuchen. “It’d be great to see more book restorers in the future.”
The host wrapped up with a summary. The clapperboard snapped, and the recording ended.
Si Wen seemed to have something urgent—he left quickly after. Liang Yuchen joked to Wen Ruqing that it was lucky she asked for the autograph beforehand.
She didn’t remove her makeup backstage—too tired and eager to get home. Waving goodbye, she left.
The makeup artist had another program to prep for and couldn’t help Wen Ruqing remove his. She told him to leave the costume on the sofa—someone would collect it later—and handed him a pack of makeup wipes before hurrying off.
Thankfully, his makeup wasn’t heavy. Back in the lounge, only Bai Xizhou was there.
Bai Xizhou told him to sit by the mirror, took a wipe, and began helping him remove the makeup.
“The lipstick color actually looks really nice.” His hand rested lightly on Wen Ruqing’s shoulder as he looked into the mirror. “It really suits you.”
He thought if that little mole were visible, it’d look even better.
Wen Ruqing said nothing. He brushed off Bai Xizhou’s hand, stood up, grabbed him by the collar, and forced him to lower his head—then kissed him, smearing the lipstick all over Bai Xizhou’s lips.
This was a shared dressing room. The door wasn’t locked. They could hear footsteps just outside—yet Wen Ruqing kissed him right there. He was getting bolder.
Bai Xizhou returned the kiss indulgently, letting Wen Ruqing take the lead. His hands only lightly supported the waist. When it ended, Bai Xizhou’s lips and surrounding skin were stained with lipstick, while Wen Ruqing’s mouth was nearly clean.
“You hooligan,” Bai Xizhou was the first to speak. “You got lipstick all over me.”
“Didn’t you say you liked the color? Just wanted you to try it,” Wen Ruqing stuck out his tongue and smirked triumphantly. He sat back down, tore open a fresh wipe, and removed his makeup himself.
The wipe pulled away the thin layer of foundation. His skin tone didn’t change much—just revealed the freckles, and the mole Bai Xizhou loved.
Bai Xizhou wiped the lipstick off his mouth and took Wen Ruqing’s wipe.
“Look up.”
Wen Ruqing obediently tilted his head.
Bai Xizhou’s touch was gentler, carefully reaching every corner. In contrast, Wen Ruqing’s own wiping had left the skin a little red.
“Wash your face properly when we get home,” he said, tossing the last wipe and drying his hands, “Then put on a mask.”
The face masks had been a prize draw from Zhu Yuyan—she gave them to him saying, “Men over 30 need skincare.” He’d driven her out at the time, but now those masks were finally being used.
Wen Ruqing nodded.
Once home, Bai Xizhou practically pushed him into the bathroom to wash, shampoo, and mask up. Meanwhile, he went into the kitchen to make a late-night snack.
By the time Wen Ruqing finished everything, food was already on the table. He hadn’t eaten much at dinner and had been working all night—he was honestly hungry.
He often sighed at Bai Xizhou’s attentiveness. Being with him made it even more obvious. He barely had to worry about life because Bai Xizhou remembered everything.
Maybe this was Bai Xizhou’s way of showing love. But simply enjoying it made Wen Ruqing feel a bit guilty. He knew couples shouldn’t keep score—but still, he wanted to do something for Bai Xizhou.
“How long is the business trip this time?” Wen Ruqing asked while eating.
“About half a month—ten days if things go quickly,” Bai Xizhou estimated, “Call me if you miss me.”
“Mm.” Wen Ruqing nodded and smiled up at him—while quietly planning something else.
Counting the days, Bai Xizhou’s birthday was coming up.
