Mu Qiu was practically stunned by his words "I did my best."
Back home, she lay on the sofa, still feeling flushed and heart racing. The proposal bit hadn’t even passed, and he directly talked about participating in a parent-child variety show with kids...
He’s getting bolder.
The phone was still tuned into the live stream, but this time it was just tossed aside, the sound was still on, and the name "Cheng Zhirang" echoed throughout the living room.
She lay there for a while, then suddenly got up and went upstairs, rummaging through a box on the bookshelf in the room.
Inside, there was a bracelet.
The live stream continued for over two hours, and then Cheng Zhirang drove back to the small villa, calling out "Qiuqiu" as soon as he entered.
The outside was bustling with excitement because of him, yet he returned alone to his tranquil little home.
Mu Qiu responded with a "Hmm," putting the mousse cake into the fridge to cool, while her hands worked on removing the white membranes from the leftover orange pulp.
"Back so soon?"
"Yeah," he approached, "is there cake tonight?"
As he spoke, he was already leaning against Mu Qiu’s back.
Mu Qiu gave him a playful glance: "Didn’t you just have cake with the fans?"
"They knew I’d eat again once home, so they reminded me to eat a little less." Cheng Zhirang tilted his head to kiss her.
Mu Qiu tilted her head away, scanning him up and down: "Though you look extraordinarily good today, that’s no reason to misbehave now."
Cheng Zhirang straightened up, his eyebrows raised: "Really good looking?"
"There’s a vibe of the campus heartthrob from the sports academy days, one who excels at basketball, badminton, and baseball."
She imagined for a moment, then fed him the freshly peeled orange segment.
"Is it sweet?"
Cheng Zhirang licked off a bit of juice from the corner of his mouth and nodded, "Very sweet."
"Is this sweet, or am I sweet?"
Cheng Zhirang was at a loss for words, his Adam’s apple rolling, as he followed up with an uncharacteristic sweet line: "You’re sweeter."
Forcing someone into sweet words feels surprisingly delightful.
Mu Qiu laughed till she was practically swaying, put down the orange, turned around, leaned against the kitchen counter, encircled in his arms. Then she took out a box from behind her back and held it in front of him.
"Another little surprise for you."
Cheng Zhirang glanced at her first, then accepted the box with one hand, opening it to reveal a bracelet inside.
Wrapped in irregular grey-black leather, with strange silver patterns drawn on it. The brightest part of the bracelet was a small orange dangling at the end, bright yellow, and very cute.
Mu Qiu picked up the bracelet, had him extend his left hand, and explained the gift’s origin as she put it on:
"I think your arm veins look really nice, not having a bracelet is a waste. The leather is top-notch material, won’t chafe the skin, and the silver patterns are the word ’peace’ in three languages. As for the little orange, it symbolizes ’perfect satisfaction’."
Once the bracelet was on, she gave his hand a satisfied pat: "Wishing Cheng Zhirang safety and satisfaction."
Cheng Zhirang hugged her, dropping a kiss on top of her head, his voice sexy and low: "Thank you."
This gift seemed to really please him; throughout the casual talk live stream that night, he kept wearing it, quickly noticed by fans.
Not sure what Cheng Zhi asked, but he was heard saying: "Yeah, she gave it, really like it."
Without naming names or spouting more sugary words, just a simple sentence made Mu Qiu, while handling the cake, unable to stop her lips from curling up.
The third "orange gift" sent today was the orange mousse cake she made herself, small enough for two to have post-dinner without wasting it.
Plus, there was his request for a second bowl of longevity noodles.
With birthday candles on the cake, she waved from behind the live stream phone, quietly asking him:
"Should I give it to you now?"
He glanced, didn’t lower his volume, directly stood up and walked over: "I’ll carry it."
Then suddenly, in the live stream appeared an orange cake and a familiar bowl of noodles.
Alongside, a black streak fleeted and vanished.
"Aren’t you eating with me?" he called out to stop her.
Mu Qiu turned to look at him, mouthing the words: You’re streaming.
"It’s alright."
He led her into the shot, setting her bowl of noodles on the table as well.
Face-to-face with the screen version of herself, Mu Qiu felt a bit uneasy, waved a greeting.
"Hello, everyone."
On screen, Cheng Zhi fans flooded with comments.
[Hello Qiuqiu~]
[Hi Sis!~]
[Did Mu Qiu make the orange cake too? Amazing!]
[Brother Cheng truly loves this noodle, haha, even having it again at night]
[Today’s Mu Qiu is very beautiful as well~]
[Don’t be nervous, just showing you eating cake then little snippets of your night life... ah oops]
[Are you two in couple outfits today? Planning a date night out?]
[Ah they’ve already said it’s a date night at home]
[Qiuqiu, that orange bracelet you gave looks so good!]
[Brother Cheng’s eyes keep following Mu Qiu haha]
[Wasn’t expecting you to be on camera? Hair’s still not properly tied... but it seems Brother Cheng likes this style]
[Qiuqiu, who knew you had such skills, well done]
[Wow the orange mousse cake is so well made! Would love to taste it!]
The comments seemed all kind, Mu Qiu exhaled lightly, sat beside Cheng Zhirang, and was about to light the candles.
The lighter was taken by Cheng Zhirang: "I’ll do it."
"Oh... Right! I forgot something!"
She stood up again, hurriedly rummaging through the table, eventually finding a birthday hat.
"How could it lack this?"
Ignoring his hesitant expression, she put it on his head, then gave it a meticulous look.
"Looks good. Go ahead, make a wish."
The process she hosted was thorough, just a bit time-consuming. He had to earnestly make a wish for three minutes before blowing out the candles, then had to eat two orange segments, only then could remove the birthday hat and then eat the longevity noodles.
Every step he asked, "Is it okay now?"
After receiving affirmation, he’d proceed to the next step.
So well-behaved that the screen was flooded with comments like "mama’s darling" and "good boy."
He had controlled his eating in the afternoon, so by this point he was indeed hungry, and quickly finished a large bowl of noodles.
Mu Qiu was still slowly picking at her noodles when he was already preparing to cut the cake. The first piece was given to her, placed beside her saying: "For your dessert, tonight you can eat more."
The audience’s LSP returned.
[Why can she eat more tonight~]
[Because tonight there’s night life, silly~]
[Mu Qiu looks like she’s filled up and ready to hit the road]
[Brother Cheng, save some for midnight]
[What are you all saying, don’t tease my Cheng Hui!]
[Seems the night life is quite fulfilling, his smile hasn’t faded all day]
[Brother Cheng: Full and ready to unwrap the biggest gift]
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How come it feels like Qiuqiu is the main character, such a flirt...