Qi Cheng went on Weibo and saw that under the "Sunshine Road" account, his giveaway post had been shared.
Sunshine Road: "Doesn't count."
—???
—Chickening out already?
—You let them walk all over you.
—Enjoyed that trending topic about being a rich second-gen, huh? Where's that bravado now?
—Disgusting.
Qi Cheng frowned at the comments and called Lu Yang. "Don't get involved in the online giveaway. You did well on your exams—that should be a happy thing. Don't let my miscalculation ruin it for you."
"No need. Those people online are just running their mouths. I'm not giving them free money." Lu Yang was equally annoyed and stubborn.
Qi Cheng: "I have an idea. By the way, how's school? And your major?"
"That was a really awkward change of subject." Lu Yang called him out without mercy.
Qi Cheng: …
Little brat!
Then he logged into his own Weibo.
Sweet Orange from Da Bai's Family: "I miscalculated. It was supposed to be 100,000. But I said what I said, and since I've been a lazy salted fish for too long and was just so happy that Xiao Lu did so well, it still counts. The giveaway will be posted from Xiao Lu's account. The rule is: leave a comment with a wish for Xiao Lu—'Xiao Lu is the best,' 'Xiao Lu has a bright future,' 'success in his career,' 'happiness in life'…"
—???
—Hahahaha the boss is so soft, I'm in!
—Boss, I'm going right now.
Qi Cheng went on Sunshine Road's Weibo, set up the giveaway rules and activity, transferred the money, and set the drawing date for August 8th—the day of the thank-you banquet for the teacher. Once everything was done, he collapsed like a dog, whimpering.
Yeah, being a salted fish for too long caused this mess.
But then he opened his banking app and looked at his balance: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions, ten-millions, hundreds-millions…
So many zeros. Never mind then.
That was last year's dividend from Jiang Group shares, all under his name. Plus the money from selling his shares—Qi Cheng hadn't bought a house, just left it in the bank untouched. The monthly interest alone—
And then he thought about that careless 1 million he gave away.
Never mind, never mind.
The little salted fish perked up immediately and pattered off to go play with his little goose.
Lu Yang called, and all he heard was Qi Cheng whispering that it was just a fraction of his interest, followed by a string of giggles.
…Okay, never mind.
But because of their back-and-forth, the online comments turned nasty. Trolls mocked them outside their usual circles—saying they were pretending to be rich, that this was the first time they'd seen someone back out of a giveaway, that they were scraping together money now, stuff like that.
Lu Yang even ended up on the trending list.
#SunshineRoadGiveawayBacktracking
???
Screenshots of Qi Cheng's earlier statements and Sunshine Road's "Doesn't count" post were circulated for mockery. What started as infighting among fans and trolls hit the trending list and brought in regular netizens. They clicked in one by one and saw—
Wait, isn't this giveaway already registered?
They're actually giving 1,000 yuan to 1,000 people?!
Good stuff, let's go.
Real netizens didn't care what the blogger said earlier or backtracked on. All they cared about was that real money was being given away now. They happily joined in to lower the odds of winning.
So the giveaway post on Lu Yang's Weibo quickly blew up with comments—all flattery and blessings.
Things like "Hope the pretty boy stays pretty forever."
"Study hard, succeed in your career, find love soon."
All kinds of random stuff. Qi Cheng even saw one that said "Hope Xiao Lu has a child soon" and laughed his head off, sending it to the group chat. "Xiao Lu, look! Someone's sending you blessings."
Lu Yang: "I'm not getting married."
So cold.
Lu Yang didn't want to marry or start a family, mostly because of his original family's influence. Qi Cheng was just joking and quickly changed the subject. Everyone in the group went to enter the giveaway.
---
Bai Zongyin left at the end of July, so he should be back around August 6th or 7th.
Qi Cheng counted the days every single day. During the day, he acted normal—playing with Fanfan, eating well, resting well, and taking Fanfan out for walks and shopping in the evening. But at night, after showering alone and crawling into bed, he felt lonely and really missed his husband.
That's when he'd text his husband.
His husband always replied and would even video call him. Over there it was morning, and sometimes he could see the office—lots of foreigners in suits bustling about.
"Chengcheng, what's wrong? Can't sleep?"
Qi Cheng lay in bed, wrapped up like a silkworm, and whispered, "Am I interrupting your work? I miss you a little, husband."
"I happen to be on a break." Bai Zongyin laughed. "I miss Chengcheng too."
"Be good. Close your eyes."
Qi Cheng looked at his husband, closed his eyes, and knowing his husband had work to do, quickly said, "Okay, I've closed my eyes. I'll fall asleep soon. You go ahead, husband."
"If you don't mind the noise, I have a meeting on my side—you can listen in." Bai Zongyin said.
Qi Cheng's eyes flew open and he shook his head like a rattle.
His husband seemed to turn the volume down a lot. Qi Cheng couldn't really make out what the others were saying in English, but he could hear his husband speaking it.
So dreamy.
Uncle Quan had said his husband was a top student, but Qi Cheng never really felt it until now. Hearing his husband in a meeting, he didn't fully understand it, but it sounded impressive—mostly because his voice was amazing.
Next time, he'd ask his husband to read him a bedtime story in English.
Decision made. His excuse: he wasn't going to be a salted fish anymore—he was going to study English seriously.
Hehe.
Bai Zongyin was indeed busy, but no matter how busy, he sent messages or video-called every night to put his little one to sleep. Qi Cheng would fall asleep listening to his husband's voice and wake up the next day with his phone sometimes dead—but he was happy.
The first few days felt long, but soon a week passed.
Husband is almost back!
He said he'd be back on the 7th. On the 6th, Qi Cheng cleaned the master bedroom, prepared several new "outfits," changed the flowers in the room, sprayed perfume, and even got several scents of the aromatherapy he'd bought.
Just waiting for husband to come home.
Around 10 p.m., he lay in bed and texted his husband to ask if he was busy—but got no reply for a while. Lately, if his husband didn't reply, it meant he was busy. He'd call back when he saw it.
Qi Cheng lay in bed holding his phone.
Maybe he'd done too much exercise today—cleaning himself, and excitedly trying on "outfits"—so he dozed off in bed.
In the middle of the night, half-asleep, he felt someone touch his arm.
Qi Cheng stirred. Then a familiar scent hit him. He mumbled drowsily, "Husband~" without even opening his eyes.
Then his lips felt warm.
That was his husband's scent, wait—
"Mmm, my husband's not home." Qi Cheng snapped awake. The moment he opened his eyes, he met a familiar pair of light-colored eyes looking at him with a smile.
Qi Cheng: !!!
"Husband husband husband!"
Like an excited, happy puppy, Qi Cheng wrapped both arms around his husband's neck and hung onto him. Bai Zongyin almost couldn't brace himself from the enthusiasm and nearly collapsed onto the boy.
"Careful, I'll crush you." But his voice was full of deep, unspoken love. Bai Zongyin wrapped an arm around the boy's waist, lifted him back onto the bed, and hovered above him.
The past six days of nonstop work and the exhaustion from the long flight all melted away the moment he saw the boy in bed. Bai Zongyin kissed the boy with sparkling eyes and said, "That happy, huh?"
"Husband, I missed you so much." Qi Cheng wasn't shy. He held his husband's neck and leaned in for a kiss.
They deepened the kiss.
When they pulled apart, Qi Cheng's face was flushed red.
"I'm going to shower."
"I'm coming too!" Qi Cheng jumped out of bed. "I'll draw the bath for you, husband."
He was like an excited, brainless, enthusiastic puppy.
Bai Zongyin said okay. He loosened his tie and started undressing.
The couple soaked in the hot bath together. Qi Cheng was a total cling-on, sticking to his husband's chest like he couldn't get enough, skin to skin. "Husband, why are you back early? Good thing I cleaned today and bought stuff."
In his excitement, he blurted everything out without thinking.
Bai Zongyin said with interest, "So Chengcheng made all these preparations for tomorrow, huh?"
"Seven whole days! Seven days without doing it!" Qi Cheng counted on his fingers. "I regret sleeping with Fanfan that night."
Bai Zongyin laughed, stroked his wet golden curls, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I missed Chengcheng too."
"Husband, are you tired? Maybe we should rest tonight. You need to adjust to the time difference anyway. We don't have to—" Qi Cheng was shy now and couldn't finish the sentence, but his eyes were full of concern. His husband must be exhausted after the long flight.
Bai Zongyin held the boy. "What do you think, Chengcheng?"
The dog's face turned bright red.
Well… okay then.
---
That night, Qi Cheng slept wonderfully, holding his husband tight. When he woke up and opened his eyes to see his husband holding him, his eyes lit up—it wasn't a dream!
Husband really came back last night.
He's really back!
Hehehe.
Qi Cheng was so happy he could fly. His eyes sparkled, just like when he saw something fun or tasty—or Fanfan. He glanced at the clock—past 10 a.m. Rubbing his sore back, he lay on his husband's chest, sneaked a kiss on his cheek, and whispered, "So happy. Good morning, husband."
"Good morning, Chengcheng." Bai Zongyin opened his eyes and said with a smile.
Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Qi Cheng was extra clingy now—he had to see his husband even when brushing his teeth in the morning, called out to him even when there was nothing to say—total clinger. Bai Zongyin, who usually didn't show much emotion, couldn't take his eyes off the young man during breakfast this time.
Uncle Quan couldn't bear to watch and took Fanfan to the living room.
These two kids—
Uncle Quan was happy.
"Oh right, husband, did everything go smoothly?" Qi Cheng asked while munching on a pancake.
Bai Zongyin handed him a glass of milk, afraid the young man might choke, and said, "I finished a day early—what do you think?"
"So it went great!" Qi Cheng drank his milk and swung his legs happily.
His slippered foot accidentally kicked his husband's calf. He snuck a glance at his husband—he didn't seem to notice. Qi Cheng carefully slipped off his slippers and slowly stretched his foot under the table to rub against his husband.
Bai Zongyin's hand paused on his cup. He looked over.
The young man smiled back all cute and innocent.
"Chengcheng, you mentioned yesterday that you bought new clothes—"
Before Bai Zongyin could finish, Qi Cheng already understood and nodded eagerly. "Husband, I'll put them on for you, okay?!" Then he pretended to be serious and said loudly, "Ah! I'm full. I want to go rest—I mean, I have something to do upstairs. Husband, you handle it."
Really now…
Bai Zongyin shook his head with a helpless smile.
Such a terrible actor.
That's my silly Chengcheng.
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