TL: Hua
Chapter 1
This was the ninth time Qin Guanyu sat in his car, quietly gazing at that face so strikingly similar to Shu Yi’s.
As the other party shook the milk tea, his fingertips flushed a faint pink with the movement. His fair neck looked like a breathtaking piece of warm jade. He…
Suddenly, the person next to him delivered a sharp elbow right into his ribs.
“Holy crap! Look quick, the male lead is going for the neck strangle again!”
Qin Guanyu’s mind full of romance was instantly shattered by that elbow. Irritated, he reached out and choked the perpetrator. “Are you out of your mind?!”
Sun Guanqing was hoisted up like a helpless little chick, yet he still stubbornly held onto his binoculars.
Qin Guanyu was annoyed to death by him. “Can you stop acting like a total creep?”
Without even turning his head, Sun Guanqing muttered, “You should’ve parked the car here a long time ago. That short-drama crew up ahead has been shooting for half an hour. I’ve basically watched fifteen episodes for free! Back when you parked near Shu Yi’s set, we couldn’t see a damn thing. I couldn’t even manage to be a decent paparazzi.”
“Tsk!” Qin Guanyu snatched the binoculars away. “I brought you along to help solve my problems, not to watch free short dramas!”
Sun Guanqing rolled his eyes, adjusting his posture. “Look, Old Qin, if you’re really that unsatisfied, just go confess to Shu Yi. Stop coming to Hengcheng every weekend to brood. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you got cheated on.”
“Didn’t you see he already has a boyfriend? I don’t want to be a third person in their relationship.” Qin Guanyu possessed a strong sense of moral pride.
“How many freaking times do I have to tell you?” Sun Guanqing nearly jumped out of his seat to hit him. “That is clearly a sugar daddy! A sugar daddy, get it? You think everyone is like you? Foolishly ‘admiring the moon’ for three years, passing down resources through seven or eight middlemen, and in the end, you haven’t even said a proper ‘Hi’ to his face!”
With an expression that screamed I’m not wrong, Qin Guanyu snapped back, “What do you know? Shu Yi and I share a pure relationship between a devoted admirer and his bright moonlight. Besides, the guy entering his trailer isn’t a sugar daddy! Shu Yi is such a pure person; how could he possibly sell out for a sugar daddy?”
“You are genuinely sick in the head; I’m wasting my breath.” Sun Guanqing snatched his binoculars back. “Don’t ruin my view of the female lead slapping the villain.”
Qin Guanyu ignored him, turning his gaze back out the car window toward the slender figure shaking milk tea.
After an indefinite amount of time, Sun Guanqing leaned over stealthily, drawling, “According to the tropes of cheesy short dramas, this is the part where you present that milk tea boy with a ‘Substitute Agreement.’ He’s shaking milk tea for a living, so he must be desperate for cash.”
Qin Guanyu’s handsome face twisted into a frown. “Can your brain think about something normal for once?”
Sun Guanqing spoke with deep earnestness. “You already missed out on the sugar daddy script, so you might as well grab the substitute script, right? President Qin, think about it.”
He rubbed his chin. “That milk tea boy is gorgeous. You say he looks like Shu Yi, but he clearly has an all-natural face, and he’s way more exquisite than Shu Yi. Getting him as a substitute is honestly a steal for you.”
Qin Guanyu glared. “Who are you implying had plastic surgery?!”
Sun Guanqing rolled his eyes. “Only a dead-straight guy like you wouldn’t notice Shu Yi’s plastic face.”
In the end, Qin Guanyu didn’t get to finish his brooding, but his terrible friend did manage to watch a full day of free short dramas. Feeling utterly shortchanged, he drove back home while cursing under his breath.
–
In the physical store of “Qing Nong” in Hengcheng, Shen Qianci silently watched the Bentley leave.
His close friend, Li Dapeng, poked his head over and complained, “Young Master Qin is finally gone. I heard he used to hang around Shu Yi’s set, but lately, he’s gone totally nuts. This is already his ninth time inspecting our shop. And he doesn’t even leave after inspecting; he just sits in his car holding a cup of milk tea. Who knows what the hell he’s so depressed about.”
Shen Qianci arched an eyebrow. “Maybe he’s depressed because he has too much money and doesn’t know how to spend it.”
“Shut your mouth.” Li Dapeng clutched his chest, looking deeply wounded. “You have a jobless director standing right in front of you who’s practically living in poverty.”
With the industry slump over the past few years, Li Dapeng, who had graduated with a degree in directing, had resorted to shooting commercial gigs at tourist spots, doing wedding photography, roasting sausages at night markets, and now shaking milk tea in Hengcheng.
“Next month, I’m going to set up a fried noodle stall right outside our university gates. I’ll put up a sign next to it: Majoring in Directing is a Dead End.”
“You still have a shortcut,” Shen Qianci teased. “Find yourself a rich older woman.”
“I wish!” Li Dapeng let out a bitter laugh. “Haven’t you noticed how I try to flirt and pose every time I shake milk tea? But in a place as huge as Hengcheng, the competition is just too fierce and too strong.”
Saying this, Li Dapeng suddenly scrutinized Shen Qianci from head to toe, his expression turning serious. “Just listen to this advice: other people can handle those shady, transactional relationships, but you can’t. The sugar daddies these days are getting worse in both looks and physique every year. Your specs are too high; I feel like you’d be getting the short end of the stick no matter what.”
Shen Qianci’s mind instantly flashed to Qin Guanyu’s face.
Actually… there were scenarios where he wouldn’t be getting the short end of the stick at all.
–
In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived again. As soon as Shen Qianci finished his classes, he took the high-speed rail straight to Hengcheng. He and that Bentley arrived at the “Qing Nong” store at almost exactly the same time.
Li Dapeng, who was currently striking a pose while shaking milk tea, found a brief moment to hand him an apron. “Say, how is your luck so bad? Every single time you come in, you run right into Young Master Qin’s inspection.”
Shen Qianci glanced over at the Bentley and noticed that Young Master Qin had come alone today, without that friend who always carried binoculars.
Truth be told, the first time Shen Qianci had come by, it was just a casual visit to see Li Dapeng. He hadn’t expected to run into Young Master Qin inspecting the store that day.
He remembered that Qin Guanyu had looked completely dejected, walking into the shop with a tense expression, only to lock eyes with Shen Qianci as he was walking out.
Qin Guanyu had been visibly stunned, blurting out an order for a milk tea on the spot, likely mistaking him for a staff member.
And so, Shen Qianci shook his very first cup of milk tea of his life.
All for the sake of a handsome face.
Qin Guanyu’s looks and physique suited his tastes entirely too well. A sudden urge to learn struck him; he wanted to study the Art of Hooking. Thus, he forced his way into the ranks of the milk-tea shakers.
“Qing Nong” wasn’t short on staff, but fortunately, his parents had blessed him with a face capable of becoming a top salesman. He managed to convince the store manager to carve out a weekend part-time position just for him.
Later on, he noticed that Qin Guanyu started frequenting the shop, and by absolute coincidence, it always lined up perfectly with his shifts.
Shen Qianci wasn’t dense. He could feel that the fish was about to bite the hook!
—
A few customers walked into the shop. Li Dapeng and the other coworkers lowered their heads to get to work. Shen Qianci still had twenty minutes before his shift officially started. He slipped on the apron and leisurely began to tie the straps behind his back.
However, the straps today were incredibly uncooperative, twisting themselves into a stubborn dead knot.
Shen Qianci tugged at the knot behind him, looking around somewhat helplessly, but his coworkers were all slammed with orders, and no one could help him.
“Let me help you.”
A warm breath carrying the scent of cologne drifted over from behind him.
Qin Guanyu’s hands were very light and slow as he untied the dead knot, but his knuckles inevitably brushed against the curve of Shen Qianci’s waist, sending a numbing shiver through him.
Once the dead knot was undone, Qin Guanyu smoothly tied it back into a neat, easily adjustable bow.
“Thank you.”
The glow of the setting sun happened to spill into the shop. Shen Qianci intentionally adjusted his angle, letting the warm, natural light hit his face as he turned around, his eyes curving into a bright smile.
Qin Guanyu was much taller than him. When Shen Qianci turned his head, the sunlight caught the depth of his eyes, reflecting a beautiful amber hue.
The young CEO’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He quickly averted his gaze. “Um… can you come over here with me for a moment?”
Shen Qianci raised an eyebrow slightly, following him to the most secluded corner of the shop to sit down.
As they sat face-to-face, Qin Guanyu clasped his hands together, his thumbs rubbing against each other anxiously.
After a long pause, Shen Qianci finally heard the other man squeeze out a sentence: “You look a lot like someone I know.”
“…” Shen Qianci’s smile froze.
Right now, he wanted to throw the fish onto the dry land and let it suffocate!
As expected, a “fisherman” always meets a dead end.
“I’m an only child.” Shen Qianci didn’t bother maintaining his reserved posture anymore. He crossed his legs and leaned back against the chair. “No siblings.”
Qin Guanyu cleared his throat, casting a guilty glance around the room. Then, as if finally making up his mind, he spoke rapidly: “I know working here is very exhausting. Do you want to come with me?”
—
When Qin Guanyu handed over the digital draft of a “Substitute Agreement,” Shen Qianci was so amused he nearly laughed out of sheer annoyance.
And it was a freaking substitute for Shu Yi.
He hadn’t spent a month shaking milk tea just to look at this!
“President Qin,” Shen Qianci pushed the tablet back. “Since you’re already in Hengcheng, you should know that the sugar daddy industry is highly competitive.”
A loading icon practically popped up over Qin Guanyu’s forehead.
Shen Qianci tapped his finger on the tabletop. “The moment you had this idea, it meant plenty of other sugar daddies had similar demands.”
Qin Guanyu: “?”
Shen Qianci: “Compared to other sugar daddies, what do you think your advantages are?”
Qin Guanyu blurted out instinctively, “I’m rich, young, handsome, 187 cm tall, and I have a six-pack.”
It wasn’t just the young CEO boasting; he truly had the assets to back it up. His parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents were all tall, stunningly attractive people. He resided in the absolute safety zone of genetic inheritance, with no sudden ugly gene assassins popping up from either side to drag down his appearance.
Shen Qianci looked him up and down, displaying a reasonably satisfied expression. “Hmm. Aside from the six-pack, everything else seems genuine.”
“I really have a six-pack!”
Shen Qianci gave a faint nod, leaving it ambiguous whether he believed him or not.
Qin Guanyu couldn’t exactly show him the goods right then and there, so he could only continue polishing his resume. “Graduated from an Ivy League university, don’t smoke, don’t drink heavily, don’t gamble. My biggest hobby is baking cookies!”
Shen Qianci couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
When he smiled, there was a vivid, bright warmth to it, like the first melting of spring snow. Qin Guanyu dazed out, his Adam’s apple bobbing once more.
Qin Guanyu had no idea what was wrong with him. Why was his Adam’s apple always so busy around this guy when it never acted like this when he looked at Shu Yi??
Shen Qianci pulled up his WeChat QR code and presented it to him. “Scan me.”
Qin Guanyu barely registered what he said, scanning the code automatically, following the instruction.
By the time he snapped out of it, the friend request page had already popped up on his screen. The other person’s ID was a simple [sqc], but the plain ID was paired with a profile picture of a white cat.
Shen Qianci received the friend request and accepted it instantly. He noticed Qin Guanyu’s profile picture was a slumped, salted fish.
Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Shen Qianci looked at the profile picture and ID, smiling as he walked back toward the counter.
“Hey!” The moment Qin Guanyu spoke up, everyone in the shop turned to look at him.
He quickly lowered his head to type.
[The Fish[mfn]The nickname “fish” 鱼 [yu] is a wordplay on QGY’s name btw. The “Yu” in his name is this character 臾.[/mfn] Famous Throughout the Ocean Floor 187]: What do you mean now?
[sqc]: Go back and wait for further notice.
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