Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 189: You Haven’t Hugged Me Yet Today

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: You Haven’t Hugged Me Yet Today

The hotel was already plunged into silence by the time the call ended.

Xie Qingci rotated his wrist, making a slight noise.

He put down the phone and looked at the takeout box on the table. The soup inside had gone cold, and there was a layer of oil floating on top, making just another glance at it nauseating.

Clearly, it was inedible now, and the room wasn’t stocked with alternatives. At this hour, he didn’t want to bother anyone, so he could only bear the hunger.

But he didn’t really mind. He relaxed his brow, smiled slightly at the air, then fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling for a good while.

After lying there for a while, he started rubbing one of his temples and reached for his phone again, searching for guides on how to participate in the hometown’s Ice Breaking Festival.

What to prepare for bringing a girl to the Ice Breaking Festival.

Which mountain is the safest to climb with a girlfriend at the Ice Breaking Festival.

Where is the most worthwhile street to visit during the Ice Breaking Festival.

Would a girlfriend enjoy the Ice Breaking Festival?

He searched for a lot, bookmarked a ton, and his eyes were so tired that he started misreading lines on the screen before he finally stopped.

...

Yu Xia noticed that after planning an outing, Xie Qingci seemed to be in a good mood.

It wasn’t something he showed in his words, nor was there an exaggerated smile on his face.

But the slight lift of his lips when speaking to others, the frequent "you’re so kind" messages he sent when waking up in the morning, and even his demeanor during filming all made it clear he was in a good mood.

This made Yu Xia reluctant to delay the discussion, seeing him like this made her hesitant to speak up.

After all, this wasn’t just a simple outing. There was an eighty to ninety percent chance they’d be photographed. Within the crew, they just found out Xie Qingci had feelings for her. If they were caught "returning home to meet parents," with no cushion, it would cause an uproar online.

But after much consideration, she couldn’t bear to refuse Xie Qingci and began to make plans for her time.

She subtly asked Mei, "What’s my schedule for the next few months?"

Mei immediately opened her notebook and told her one by one, "It’s almost the Spring Festival. The next event is a pre-festival interview for the release of your previous drama. You’re not performing at the Spring Festival Gala so no need for rehearsals, and you’re free until the festival. And then—"

"After the festival, there are quite a lot of events, but before the drama wraps, there’s only a brand New Year’s show. After wrapping up in late February or early March, there’s a magazine cover shoot, a new endorsement shoot, and a luxury domestic ambassador shoot. Beyond that, He said to keep time open for that Variety Show."

After rattling off the activities, Yu Xia pressed her lips and said, "So after wrapping, there are three shoots. It’s hard to make time, isn’t it?"

Mei nodded, "Do you have something going on?"

She paused, nodded, and said, "There’s something, I need about two or three days."

"That timing is definitely tough. Those shoots can reschedule at any time."

Yu Xia sighed inwardly.

Mei added, "Plus, you might need to review scripts for the next drama. Uh, are you planning to go out with Xie Qingci?"

Her voice dropped and her eyes widened in curiosity.

Yu Xia leaned back, avoiding her gaze, and vaguely said, "It has something to do with him."

"Are you two starting something?" She asked curiously, "The whole crew knows he likes you now, so it wouldn’t be surprising if anything develops."

"Emmm, I don’t know."

Yu Xia genuinely didn’t know, as if she wasn’t fully prepared, only willing to follow the path Xie Qingci set out before her.

Carried along blindly yet with conviction.

This feeling was hard to articulate, she leaned back into the lounge chair, took a deep breath looking at the sky beyond the eaves.

Just then, Xie Qingci came in from outside.

He didn’t walk directly to her side this time because his lounge chair had moved; he sat opposite, next to the middle-aged actress who had joked with him before.

Yet his demeanor wasn’t much different from before.

That short detour to the lounge chair, he couldn’t help glancing at her, and even after sitting, he kept watching her from the corner of his eye, distracted while talking with his assistant.

Any subtle change in Yu Xia, like the lounge chair’s back tipping slightly more when she reclined, would have him gripping his own chair’s armrests tightly, rising slightly to watch her with concern.

The crew, keenly aware of gossip, easily noticed these "signs."

They all exchanged winks and nods, their gaze flitting constantly between the two. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

But Yu Xia’s reaction was less obvious. Her response to teasing glances was just to smile and keep her head buried in the script, preventing downtime.

The attention from across got obvious, any break would make her involuntarily look over, which would surely reveal her guilty conscience.

Despite having promised him yesterday, realizing she might not be free during that time was a bit awkward.

Probably sensing her anxiety, by afternoon, Xie Qingci didn’t stare at her so openly, spending more time resting with his eyes closed on the lounge chair, his pretty lips drawn to a thin line.

After the shoot, as soon as she returned to the hotel, Yu Xia received his call.

"What’s up?" she asked quietly, mindful of Mei still in the room.

She thought he might question her or directly ask if her promise still held.

But Xie Qingci’s voice remained as gentle as it was yesterday, speaking tender words that softened her heart: "I miss you so much, you didn’t look at me all day, and you even hugged the male lead. You haven’t hugged me even once today."

The explanation she had prepared evaporated, replaced with something else on her lips.

"Should I come over and hug you? Maybe not, will a virtual hug do?"

"No, it doesn’t count. Let’s add it up and settle later," he laughed lazily, "When I wrap up, everyone else can give flowers, and you just give a simple, modest hug, how about that?"

Yu Xia chuckled, "That’s really simple and modest."

Pausing, she smiled and asked, "What will you do after wrapping up?"

"Read the next script, attend acting classes, there’s an event as an ecological ambassador, and some team performances... I’ll try to keep two or three days open, whenever you’re free."

He proceeded to ask about her schedule, and the words "I might not be able to arrange a few consecutive days; maybe we should forget it" were on the tip of her tongue, but before she could speak them, Xie Qingci jubilantly said:

"I’ve already picked the mountain with the best view; you can overlook the whole city from the top. And I’ve bought tents, got rain boots too, two pairs. I’m not sure if you’d like them. Will you like pink ones?"

Yu Xia slowly pressed her lips together, unable to say those in-between words.

With Xie Qingci’s questioning, she could only stutter out that she didn’t like pink.

"Don’t like it? It’s okay. The other pair is light green. If you don’t like those either, I’ll buy another pair in your favorite color."

She nodded slowly.

Though the call continued, Xie Qingci’s smile slowly faded, his eyes sunk in staring at the ground.