Chapter 590: Chapter 590: Take a Look at Your Debut Show

When the dishes were placed on the table, fireworks were already going off outside.

Yu Xia helped with serving a dish, while Xie Qingci followed from the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks, sticking close from behind.

Even with his hands full, he could still nudge her with his shoulder, like he was pushing her forward or trying to hang on to her, sticking like glue.

Yu Xia shrugged her shoulders back, pushing him away, and hurriedly walked forward.

"Hey, don’t latch on to me, I’m still holding a dish, careful it might spill."

His long legs caught up with her easily, and with his parents sitting in the living room, he didn’t shy away, pressing up against her, his chest touching her shoulder, and whispered, "What were you just talking to my mom about?"

"I said you’re mature, steady, and sensible, good-looking and a great cook, a rare gem." Her attention was still on the dish in her hand, she said casually.

Xie Qingci’s eyebrows raised, the joy in his heart reflected on his face.

"Really? Then you better cherish me."

She rolled her eyes, couldn’t help but laugh, then sped up her pace, leaving him behind, and placed the dish on the table.

With everyone and everything in place, fireworks outside burst into brilliant colors in the sky.

Xie Qingci lazily followed her, and after sitting down, insisted on whispering something in her ear, making her hastily glance at the two elders across the table, then glared and pushed him away.

The reunion dinner was very good, Xu Yan and Xie Yin were quite pleased, and when they clinked their drink glasses, the clear glass reflected their genuine smiles.

Xie Qingci still hadn’t put on a jacket, just wearing a medium-weight knitted sweater that accentuated his tall frame. Even when he made those slightly slumped, boneless movements, anyone could easily discern the vigorous muscles under his clothes.

Like a napping leopard, just judging by appearance and presence, it wasn’t easy to tell he was younger than her.

He casually held a glass in one hand, and with the other, picked up some distant dish for Yu Xia, and leaned down to ask:

"Don’t be shy, anything else you want to eat?"

Yu Xia shook her head and, with her left hand, lightly climbed onto his right arm as they sat closely together, asking with her mouth:

"Aren’t you cold?"

Yet her hand followed her thoughts, slithering up like a snake, pinching his arm muscles.

Xie Qingci’s hand holding chopsticks tensed slightly.

"Was feeling a bit cold, but now—" He chuckled softly and leaned closer to say, "Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Don’t wrongly accuse good people, just eat your meal." She withdrew her hand nonchalantly, and seamlessly joined in Xu Yan’s conversation across the table, exchanging a few words.

He smiled helplessly and continued helping her with food.

The TV was turned on, playing the Spring Festival Gala, and it was noisy outside, so conversations around the table were quiet, making it hard for anyone to hear clearly.

Xu Yan kept talking to Yu Xia about the taste of a few dishes, full of praise but never directly addressing Xie Qingci, instead asking Yu Xia some related small questions.

For example—

"He’s good at cold dishes, and I’ve heard you actors need to maintain a very slim figure. Do you usually eat such plain boiled vegetables with dips?"

Yu Xia nodded, catching the hint, and revealed many of Xie Qingci’s daily habits.

"When dieting for a role, he would. Even the meat is boiled with plain water, and it tastes so bland. But he always says he’s still growing, eating like that doesn’t make him gain weight, so his manager isn’t that strict, and he eats anything."

Xu Yan listened intently and tried the cold bean salad.

"Try this, Auntie," Yu Xia used communal chopsticks to serve her a piece of fish, "This is his speciality. Fish doesn’t have as much fat, so it’s the meat he eats most often. But he didn’t used to like eating fish, and thought it tasted bad outside, so he learned to make it himself."

Xu Yan finally found a familiar point in her memory and showed a gentle smile.

"Yes, he didn’t like fish much. When he was young, we went to a restaurant that served fish which wasn’t fresh and wasn’t prepared well, it tasted fishy and he threw up after we got home. After that, he rarely ate fish, and during such festive occasions, he’d only eat a little. If someone joked and asked him to eat more, he’d simply walk away."

Yu Xia curiously followed up: "Was he this temperamental as a child?"

"Yes, very much so. From age five, he didn’t like playing with kids his age, didn’t like being touched or hugged by others. His face always showed disdain. If he didn’t want to eat something, nothing could make him, and if he didn’t like someone, no amount of flattery worked. Once, his dad took a picture of him in red clothes, and he sulked for two days, ignoring him."

As they talked, Xu Yan became deeply engrossed in memories, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Yu Xia laughed along: "Seems like he had an idol persona from a young age. I wonder if you and Uncle ever saw the show where he debuted. He was the best-looking among a hundred and one guys, but just never smiled, and only spoke to people in a lukewarm way. I thought he seemed really cool back then."

To be precise, she thought "this guy acts cool even with strangers," which made her glance a few more times.

Xu Yan shook her head: "Haven’t seen it yet. Our work doesn’t allow us much time on the internet. You..."

She hesitated, leaving her sentence unfinished, but Yu Xia quickly guessed what she meant and offered:

"Want to watch it now?"

"Is that possible?"

"It is, you can find it on the TV."

In fact, these family-viewing moments of their shows usually happen in the first year of their debut, and what star hasn’t faced such public embarrassing moments?

When she first debuted, her somewhat raw first drama was repeatedly played at home by her brother.

Every time she saw it, she couldn’t help but cover her face and run away.

The more she thought about it, the more excited she got, and she directly grabbed the remote to play it.

Xie Yin and Xie Qingci were still engrossed in conversation, eating some food and sipping wine occasionally. It seemed heavy; they were fully absorbed in each other and hadn’t heard the women’s conversation.

Seeing her looking for something, Xie Yin asked: "Xiaxia, what are you looking for?"

"The remote, Uncle. Auntie mentioned you haven’t seen the show where Xie Qingci debuted, so why not watch it now?"

Xie Qingci’s eyelid twitched, putting down his glass to hold her hand.

"Isn’t the Gala nice to watch? That show really isn’t much to see."

"Don’t be shy," she smiled, "Uncle and Auntie haven’t seen it, it’s a pity not to know how you debuted. I think it’s worth watching, you performed very well on the show."

As she spoke, Xu Yan had already handed her the remote.

Unable to stop them, Xie Qingci could only close his eyes and inwardly sigh.

Yu Xia quickly searched for "Limited Youth," eagerly starting the playback, with Xu Yan and Xie Yin turning to watch the show.

The enlarged image of Xie Qingci’s face was in the first episode’s trailer, looking cool and aloof, no smile in sight.

Perhaps due to the special audience, Xie Qingci found it difficult to look at himself on the screen.