Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 371: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

After staying up all night for the damn birthday, on the last day of April, He Ci sent a message, informing Yu Xia that the premiere of "Different Paths" had been moved up again, starting at 7 PM.

However, it was Xie Qingci who saw the message. Yu Xia lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, and fell asleep again as her eyelids grew heavy, completely forgetting about He Ci’s message.

Xie Qingci, on the other hand, was brimming with energy, as if he’d consumed five pounds of ginseng. He got up, cleaned the house, cooked, and even squeezed in half an hour to study.

He moved quietly, and Yu Xia slept deeply, undisturbed by the noise.

After an uncertain amount of time, she opened her bleary eyes to find Xie Qingci holding her, lying quietly.

His handsome face was clean and delicate, with his messy hair draping over his eyebrows, exuding a spirited and flamboyant vibe even while asleep.

She unceremoniously patted his cheek.

"Xie Qingci, I’m starving!"

Her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and Xie Qingci slowly opened his eyes, first nuzzling into her neck.

"The food’s been ready for ages. Can I get a little reward?"

"I’ll reward you with a slap," she quickly pushed him away. "The birthday special is over, don’t push your luck."

Xie Qingci sighed regretfully, got out of bed, and extended his hand to her.

"I’ll carry you."

Yu Xia wanted to kick him, but in her current state, she couldn’t make the move, so she just pointed to the closet and said, "Get me some clothes!"

"No, I’ll carry you like this." He picked her up directly, happily heading toward the bathroom.

"I like it better this way. Need any help?"

"No!"

"I can offer free services, like last night’s extended service, how about that?"

"Free stuff is never good! Get out!"

The bathroom door slammed shut, and outside, Xie Qingci touched his nose, clicking his tongue softly.

After tidying up and finally eating, Yu Xia realized what time it was – it was already afternoon.

Xie Qingci leisurely peeled an egg for her while telling her about He Ci’s message.

"Your manager said ’Different Paths’ starts airing at 7 PM tonight, so make sure you watch for at least half an hour and post something on Weibo."

Yu Xia unlocked her phone and glanced at it. Apart from He Ci’s message, her social media was clean without a single red dot notification.

"Almost two days and no messages. Did you read all my messages?" she asked suspiciously.

"That message popped up on the screen, and I saw it. I don’t know your password." He started to doubt himself a bit at the end, squinting at her.

"Why are you so nervous? Do you have messages I shouldn’t see? Got secrets?"

Those words sounded just like a soap opera scene where the female lead finds out the male lead is cheating.

Yu Xia instinctively grew tense, quickly contemplating if there were really any secrets on her phone she couldn’t let him see.

Seeing her lost in thought, Xie Qingci expressionlessly split the peeled egg in half and put it all in his own bowl.

"Is it that hard to answer?"

Yu Xia straightened her back and answered firmly, "It’s not hard. There’s nothing to hide, I was just thinking about contracts or something, don’t overthink it."

Besides, would any other guy around her not be clearly known? He’s guarding like a caged bird, how could there be any secrets?

In the beginning, he reported every detail of his whereabouts. She thought it was just being considerate, but it turned out he was using it as leverage, later demanding she reciprocates by reporting to him.

His mind is more meticulous than a lotus root.

She sipped her porridge and sighed as well.

In her current state, how is she any different from a henpecked husband? Oh, there’s a difference; unlike husbands, she doesn’t need to ask this ’little wife’ for allowance, so she still retains some human rights.

Xie Qingci seemed to be assessing the truth in her words, but kindly shared half of the boiled egg with her, saying:

"I’ve only dated you twice, no experience whatsoever, but I heard from classmates that if there’s mutual trust, couples can share phone passwords..."

Yu Xia handed her phone to him before his rhetoric could end.

"Here, here, take a look!"

How did a good man become so adept at playing the pitiful card?

She lowered her head to drink soup, and upon raising it again, a black phone was handed to her.

Xie Qingci held it loosely, nudging it toward her.

"You can check mine anytime too, for balance."

Yu Xia looked at him, then at the phone, finally taking it slowly.

Well, honestly...she was quite curious about his social circle and life.

Thus, the latter half of the mealtime turned into mutual phone-checking.

Xie Qingci’s social apps revealed very few recent conversations, seemingly not having many close friends. He wasn’t keen on posting moments either; his profile picture, name, and background were all simple.

After quickly browsing a couple of apps, she decided not to delve further. While couples can share secrets, personal privacy must still be respected.

Just as she intended to return it, a notification popped on the phone displaying logistics info, and her accidental touch switched the screen.

Then she saw the item image linked to the logistics information.

"...Xie Qingci! Why are you buying these things?!"

Xie Qingci looked up, "Didn’t you say yesterday you’d grant me three wishes? This is one of them. You’d look good in it." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Yu Xia’s face burned as she gritted her teeth, "That was when I wasn’t thinking straight, coaxed by you! I won’t wear it!"

Xie Qingci showed a disappointed expression, lowered his eyes, and handed back her phone, "Alright, I coaxed you, it wasn’t a willing promise."

"...Hey, stop acting, I’m done with your pity act."

He neither raised his head nor responded, slowly eating a piece of yam.

Three minutes later, Yu Xia took a deep breath, gritting her teeth as she mumbled, "Fine, I’ll wear it!"

Why does she keep falling for it?!

Xie Qingci grinned, offering her another piece of yam.

"You’ll look amazing, baby."

What else could Yu Xia say? The word ’baby’ made her soul drift away.

It was at that moment she realized, neither she nor her brother fell far from the same tree. Both equally un-availing.

PM.

The two cozied up on the couch to watch the premiere of "Different Paths."

Xie Qingci, always wanting to hold her, squeezed beside her on an otherwise spacious couch. Despite his disinterest in Yu Zhi’s frequent appearances in the show, he still wanted to watch it with her.

Only causing himself unnecessary torment.

Yu Xia skillfully nestled into a comfortable position in his arms, with the show projected on the wall, the distance easing her tired eyes.

During filming, the scene order didn’t follow the storyline, so she’d almost forgotten what the first scene would be.

Upon watching, she realized the first scene was a sweet, youthful memory between her and Yu Zhi’s character.