Let Me Be Spoiled - Chapter 42

After leaving the company, Xie Yan confirmed his schedule for the next few days with Zhang Xiaofeng, then took the bus to Old Street.

He had been busy the entire day. He had a meeting at the company in the morning, picked up the variety show’s rundown script, and was originally supposed to head home and read it. But when Fu Qing called and asked if he wanted to come over for dinner, Xie Yan didn’t think twice. He pushed the script reading to later that night and made his way to the old neighborhood.

It was now early June. The two locust trees planted in front of the Fu household were lush with leaves, casting wide swaths of shade. Fu Qing was waiting for him under the trees.

Xie Yan wore a mask, pulled it halfway down, and gave Fu Qing a smile. He pushed the door open and stepped inside—Grandpa Fu wasn’t home. He had gone to a neighbor’s banquet.

Xie Yan had arrived early. Fu Qing hadn’t started cooking yet and asked, “What does Xiao Xie feel like eating?”

The Fu household was an old residence, and the kitchen didn’t have air conditioning. It was scorching hot. Looking at the sweat on Fu Qing’s forehead, Xie Yan thought for a moment before saying, “Cold noodles and chilled dishes.”

Cold noodles needed beef broth. Fu Qing put a pot of beef on to stew, and Xie Yan didn’t leave. He stood by the kitchen door sipping an iced soda, watching him.

Fu Qing chopped the ingredients with practiced ease and asked, “Busy lately?”

Xie Yan thought about his schedule. “Not too busy. There’s a variety show coming up—Star Entertainment’s Where Are We Going Today?”

Fu Qing smiled at him. “You’ve really made it, huh? Even that show invited you.”

Xie Yan looked puzzled. “You watch variety shows too, Fu Ge?”

Fu Qing had never been interested in variety shows and didn’t even know which ones were popular. But Xie Yan’s fans had been hoping he would join Where Are We Going Today? The show was famous for being tough—every episode featured regular and guest cast members surviving in the wild for a full week, with almost no external help, no script, just self-reliance. It was raw and real, and always stirred up buzz. Two of its regulars had once been unknown D-listers, but after the show, their popularity soared.

Qin Haocheng had passed on Into the Sheath to do Where Are We Going Today?, but with the cameras rolling nonstop for seven days, he lost his temper, broke character, and not only failed to gain attention but drew a storm of ridicule instead.

Fu Qing nodded. “I don’t watch others, but if you’re in it, I’ll watch.”

He paused, then added, “When I went to buy braised meat last time, someone asked if that guy on TV was you.”

Xie Yan paused, gripping the soda bottle tighter.

Fu Qing added the ingredients to the pot. “I told her, ‘That’s our Xiao Xie.’ She said that next time you come, she has to give you a few pounds of braised beef for free. She said your performance was so heartbreaking, she cried.”

Xie Yan took another sip of soda, unsure of what to say.

People online praised his acting too, but through a screen, even the most flattering compliments felt distant. When it came from someone he actually knew, though, it made him a little awkward.

Fu Qing added water to the pot and covered it with the lid. His tone was half-joking, half-serious. “Later, you take her words and ask the lady for more cold dishes—you won’t even have to pay.”

Xie Yan was prideful. He couldn’t bring himself to mooch a free meal like that. Even knowing Fu Qing was teasing, he didn’t play along. He lifted his chin slightly and wouldn’t look at him. “You go buy it, Fu Ge. I’m not going.”

Fu Qing smiled at him. “Why not?”

Xie Yan knew Fu Qing was just messing with him. If it were anyone else, he would have ignored it. But this was Fu Ge—he had no way to push back. He pressed his lips together, then grabbed Fu Qing’s wrist. “I’m not going. For six months after Into the Sheath airs, I’m not buying braised meat from there.”

His fingers were still cold from the iced soda, the pads soft, and as he tugged on Fu Qing, their bodies drew closer. Fu Qing could smell the sweet, refreshing scent of soda clinging to him.

The stove was still on, heat waves rolling out and conveniently masking Fu Qing’s rising body temperature. He said, “Alright, I’ll go buy it from now on.” 

An hour later, they finished their cold noodles. After clearing the dishes, Fu Qing walked into the living room. Xie Yan was sitting on the couch, peeling the wrapper off a coconut-flavored candy and popping it into his mouth.

He didn’t care much for sweets and rarely touched candy. This coconut-flavored one was the only exception he’d eat more of.

Growing up in the orphanage, Xie Yan hadn’t had many snacks or fruit—just being able to eat was already lucky. Later, as an adult, he didn’t pursue food either—instant noodles, frozen dumplings, microwave meals. Ordering takeout was already considered a treat, and snacks weren’t even on his radar.

Ever since he started coming over to the Fu household, Fu Qing would prepare a tray full of assorted snacks for him to nibble on while hanging out. After Xie Yan left, Fu Qing would take note of which ones he ate more of. The next time, he would include those again and sometimes, he would even buy whole bags of them for Xie Yan to take home.

Xie Yan always assumed they were bought from the old street’s corner shop and that he had paid for them himself, so he didn’t feel the need to refuse.

But in truth, they weren’t. Fu Qing had people source them from outside.

That, however, was something Xie Yan didn’t need to know. Fu Qing simply felt that the boy had grown up hard, and even if he was grown now, he couldn’t help but want to give Xiao Xie a little of what he liked, just to make him a bit happier.

Fu Qing sat down next to him, turned on the TV, and flipped to Star Entertainment—Into the Sheath was replaying.

Yesterday’s episode had scenes with the younger Yan Chuzhi, but they hadn’t aired yet. Xie Yan was fine watching other people act, but when it looked like his own scenes were coming up, he instinctively wanted to change the channel.

Fu Qing pinned the remote under his palm. “They’re about to show Yan Chuzhi’s flashbacks. Don’t switch yet.”

Xie Yan froze, glanced at the screen, and muttered dryly, “Honestly, I didn’t do that part very well. Fu Ge, maybe don’t watch.”

He’d been fully immersed while filming, but watching Fu Qing watch him act—it made him feel antsy.

It didn’t feel like something a ‘cool guy’ would do. Xie Yan thought he was being kind of lame.

Fu Qing glanced at him and pushed back, “I watched it yesterday. I thought you did a great job. I’m one of your fans too.”

The tips of Xie Yan’s ears turned red. He turned his head away, avoiding both the TV and Fu Qing, peeling another candy. The crisp crinkling of the wrapper was so loud it nearly drowned out the actors’ dialogue on-screen.

Seeing that he was genuinely embarrassed, Fu Qing didn’t press him. He stood up and said, “Alright, we won’t watch it now. I’ll go wash some cherries.”

Once Fu Qing walked away, Xie Yan saw no need to change the channel anymore.

The coconut candy was sweet, but it had a much heavier taste than cherries.

He stopped eating the candy, stood up to grab a bottle of water from the counter and noticed two magazines lying on the table.

One was the latest June issue, featuring Xiao Xiao, the actor who played Ning Zaiyuan, on the cover. Xie Yan had done an editorial inside. It was the first magazine shoot of his acting career.

The other was old and yellowed at the edges. Curious, Xie Yan flipped through it and inside was a photo of him from over a year ago, taken when he was still modeling.

It was just some third-rate magazine, mostly ads, with a small circulation.

Xie Yan had no idea where Fu Qing had managed to buy it.

Fu Qing walked back in with a bowl of freshly washed cherries. When he saw the magazine in Xie Yan’s hands, he froze.

Hearing the movement behind him, Xie Yan turned around, hesitated, then asked, “…Fu Ge, did you buy this?”

Fu Qing paused for a moment, then nodded.

After Into the Sheath aired, Xie Yan’s popularity soared, and old photos of him were being dug up everywhere. Not just the ones of him lying in a pile of “corpses” from the shoot—there were even older ones, from his modeling days. But prices had skyrocketed, and demand far outpaced supply.

But Fu Qing, after all, was someone who had once spent seventy million chasing a star and would spend even more in the future. No one else could outbid him.

He took the old magazine and flipped to the page with Xie Yan’s photo.

Xie Yan was only nineteen then, just barely an adult, full of youthful sharpness. Though likely a directive from the photographer, his brows were furrowed tightly, and his features were sharp and cold—he looked like he had an even worse temper back then.

It was because of this magazine that Fu Qing first saw this version of Xie Yan he had never met.

Noticing Fu Qing’s gaze lingering on the photo, Xie Yan said after a moment, “I’m right here, Fu Ge. Do you still need a magazine to look at me?”

It almost sounded like a complaint.

Fu Qing set the magazine down, eyes lowered slightly. His amber eyes were filled with warmth as he smiled and said, “I’m your fan, Xiao Xie. Of course I have to collect every magazine you’ve ever shot for.”

Xie Yan hadn’t expected him to say that. It sounded like a joke, but the way Fu Qing said it—seriously, twice over—meant it wasn’t.

He spoke softly, almost a whisper, “I thought Fu-ge was just joking.”

Fu Qing kept his eyes down, the warmth in his gaze unwavering. “Xiao Xie shines right in front of me, and I can see that. But the light captured on camera—that’s a different kind of light.”

He paused for a second before continuing, “And I want to see that too.”

Xie Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

He thought, Fu Ge really knows how to say things.

His heart had always been hard—too hard to be hurt by anyone’s harsh words. But in front of Fu Qing, it always seemed to go soft.

He didn’t know what to say, so he simply nodded and sat back down on the sofa to eat cherries.

Fu Qing kept his eyes on the television, but the corner of his gaze never left Xie Yan.

Xie Yan ate the cherries one bite at a time, carefully leaving only the clean pits behind. Each one had just a bit of flesh clinging to the stem before he set it aside. It was a very cute way to eat.

But in truth, Xie Yan was thinking about something else.

After finishing most of the plate, he finally figured it out.

He said to Fu Qing, “Fu Ge, you don’t need to buy magazines anymore. I get sample copies—I’ll have Zhang Xiaofeng bring them to me. They come out faster than what’s sold outside. I can also ask the production studio for stills, and I can get other merchandise too.”

Fu Qing didn’t quite react right away.

As he kept talking, Xie Yan relaxed completely. He realized there was no point struggling over this, and smiled at Fu Qing. “If you’re free, Fu Ge, you can also come visit the set. When I’m shooting magazines, movies, or anything else—I’ll let the director know in advance.”

He had made up his mind. If the fan in that story had been made so happy by Sun Huaijun’s three gifts, then this should be enough to make Fu Ge happy too.

Xie Yan licked his lips and asked, “Would this gift make Fu Ge happy?”

Fu Qing thought that maybe it was because Xie Yan’s lips still had traces of sweet cherry juice, that everything he said right now felt this sweet.

Only, where others had to spend seventy million to get such gifts, for Fu Qing… all it took was one word.

At that thought, for a brief moment, Fu Qing felt he might not be able to hold back anymore—he wanted to kiss this overly sweet boy right in front of him.