After Breaking Up, I Married A Top Alpha Movie Star And Fell In Love - Chapter 21

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the pale gold sand stretched out toward the misty blue sea, where snowy white waves crashed against the reefs one after another.

Looking at the scenery before him, Lu Mingchuan felt that the name “Fengqi Chaoming Mansion” had been well-chosen.

“I’ve collected your personal information and organized it into categories based on questions that might be asked on similar programs.”

Ji Bing, sporting dark circles under her eyes, let out a long yawn as she handed two booklets to Lu Mingchuan and Qiu Ye.

“Take advantage of the fact that filming hasn’t started yet to familiarize yourselves with these. Don’t let the cat out of the bag when the time comes.”

Qiu Ye took the booklet and nodded.

“We are newlywed; it’s normal not to be familiar with many things. There’s no need to overthink it.”

After Lu Mingchuan spoke, he looked up at Qiu Ye, seemingly signaling him not to take the black-and-white text too seriously.

“As the saying goes: sharpening your spear right before the battle makes it shine, even if it isn’t sharp,” Ji Bing said, hands on her hips. “Zhou You and Liang Yongning have been married for over twenty years, so that goes without saying. An Yilun and Xin Ye have also been dating for several years. Only you two are in a unique situation—how can I not worry?”

Years of professional experience allowed Qiu Ye to empathize with Ji Bing’s anxiety.

He flipped through the booklet and said warmly, “You’ve organized this very thoroughly. We will look through it carefully.”

Ji Bing sat down next to Qiu Ye. “Mr. Qiu, you must help me keep an eye on Lu Mingchuan.”

Qiu Ye smiled and hummed in agreement.

After Ji Bing left, Qiu Ye began to read the compiled content seriously.

Watching Qiu Ye’s focused expression, Lu Mingchuan felt a very subtle sensation in his heart. Clearly, he—the living person—was right in front of Qiu Ye, yet the other man had to rely on the rules and frameworks of a booklet to understand him.

“Ji Bing is meticulous. We truly don’t know much about each other,” Qiu Ye remarked.

Lu Mingchuan turned his back and muttered under his breath, “Who says I don’t know much about you?”

Qiu Ye’s hand paused while turning a page. He looked up at Lu Mingchuan and asked softly, “What did you say?”

Lu Mingchuan turned back around. “Nothing. I’ll read it properly.”

The two sat opposite each other, flipping through the books that recorded one another’s lives.

Lu Mingchuan skimmed the content Ji Bing had gathered; most of it he already knew, while some parts were things Qiu Ye himself probably didn’t care much about.

Noticing the speed at which Lu Mingchuan was flipping through, Qiu Ye couldn’t help but ask, “You’re reading so fast—have you remembered it all?”

“I have special abilities. Do you believe me?”

Qiu Ye blinked, clearly skeptical that the other could memorize all that information in such a short time.

“You don’t believe me?”

“Then why don’t you test me?” Lu Mingchuan said, pressing his hand down on the page Qiu Ye was turning.

Their gazes collided in the air without warning. For a few seconds, time seemed to stretch indefinitely.

Qiu Ye took the booklet from Lu Mingchuan’s lap, randomly picked a page, and asked: “Favorite fruit?”

“Strawberry.” Lu Mingchuan answered instantly, without a hint of hesitation.

Qiu Ye thought he might have just seen that answer, so he asked another: “Favorite color?”

“Silver.”

This question also seemed too simple.

After speaking, Lu Mingchuan stretched his neck, the confident expression on his face practically saying, I’m pretty amazing.

Qiu Ye, acting as the “Chief Examiner,” nodded and added, “Actually, I like white very much as well.”

Even after three correct answers, Qiu Ye still didn’t believe Lu Mingchuan could remember everything just by flipping through. He suddenly felt a bit mischievous and intentionally asked a difficult one: “Favorite author?”

Lu Mingchuan thought for a moment. He knew this Russian female poet; her full name was exceptionally long.

“Marina… Ivanovna… Tsvetaeva…”

For a moment, Qiu Ye was stunned.

He thought it would be impressive enough if Lu Mingchuan remembered “Tsvetaeva,” but he hadn’t expected the man to recite the full name.

“Do you really have special abilities?”

Lu Mingchuan smiled and raised his eyebrows with a touch of pride. “Take a guess.”

“If that’s really the case, I understand now why your grades were so good back in school.”

Lu Mingchuan didn’t answer. He took the booklet containing his own information from Qiu Ye’s hand.

Thinking he was about to be tested, Qiu Ye became nervous and explained, “I’ve only just started the first read-through. I don’t have a memory as good as yours.”

Lu Mingchuan flipped through a couple of pages, then suddenly looked up. “You only need to know who my favorite person is.”

Favorite person?

Qiu Ye frowned, trying to recall all the questions in the booklet; there didn’t seem to be an entry for that.

“There isn’t a question for that in the booklet, is there?”

Lu Mingchuan suddenly leaned forward, bracing both hands at Qiu Ye’s sides, and asked in a deep voice, “Then, do you want to know?”

“I… I suppose so.” Qiu Ye’s voice was very soft. He hadn’t expected his inner thoughts to slip out so easily.

Lu Mingchuan’s gaze was intense and direct, as if it could melt any ice.

Being stared at like that made Qiu Ye feel as if he were drifting in the ocean—unable to reach the surface, unable to touch the bottom—a light, floating sensation.

“You will find out in the future.”

In the Open Kitchen

Qiu Ye took the Rhodiola out of a bag and dropped it into a small pot.

The first stop of Travel Diary of Love was chosen to be the Lagu Grasslands, with an average altitude of 4,000 meters. If they went near the Gongsa Snow Mountain, it would be even higher. To alleviate altitude sickness, Qiu Ye had been boiling Rhodiola water for the past few days.

He stared at the bubbles that continuously broke and reformed, his thoughts drifting back to what Lu Mingchuan had said half an hour ago.

Who could the favorite person be?

From childhood to adulthood, the people pursuing Lu Mingchuan were like crucian carp crossing a river—departmental heartthrobs, school beauties, wealthy heirs, celebrities, and models. He had his pick of anyone.

Could it be one of those people?

The water in the small pot boiled vigorously, steam swirling upward and blurring the lenses of the glasses on the bridge of Qiu Ye’s nose.

“What does ‘you will find out in the future’ mean?”

Did Lu Mingchuan plan to wait until after their divorce to be with the person he truly loved?

Within the rising steam, a faint, inexplicable bitterness drifted.

It wasn’t until the scalding water overflowed the pot with a sharp hiss that he snapped back to his senses and turned down the heat.

Qiu Ye walked back to the room, where only two ambient lamps were lit. He opened his laptop, wanting to find something to watch. He curled up on the small sofa, chin resting on his knees, his gaze falling somewhat absently on the screen.

It was a well-reviewed romance movie. Lu Mingchuan played a struggling young painter, currently in a confrontation with the female lead in the drizzling rain.

“By what right do you just drop from the sky? By what right do you disrupt my original life?”

Hearing this line seemed to strike a chord with Qiu Ye; he pressed the rewind button twice.

The male lead played by Lu Mingchuan wore an old shirt stained with paint. His hair was soaked, and the look in his eyes as he watched the female lead was as thick as ink that wouldn’t dissolve—filled with pain, struggle, and unmistakable love.

That gaze was so piercing it felt as if it could penetrate the screen and sear itself into the depths of the viewer’s heart.

Qiu Ye unconsciously hugged his knees tighter, feeling worried for the fate of the two protagonists.

When an Alpha stares intently at someone, those deep eyes naturally flow with an astonishing depth of feeling.

So… those glances that had landed on him, the ones that made his heart skip a beat—could they just be a part of Lu Mingchuan’s acting?

Qiu Ye didn’t know. Even after finishing the movie, he didn’t find an answer. He thought he believed in love; he just didn’t believe such a thing would happen to him.

The coldest days in Xiangdao had passed. The temperature was gradually rising, and sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting patches of light on the wooden floor.

Qiu Ye finished packing his luggage according to the checklist provided by the production team.

The tin that had held butter cookies now contained only baking paper. There was no label on the tin, and Qiu Ye hadn’t been able to find this specific brand via image search.

Inhaling the residual scent of butter, he thought about buying some before they departed. He sent a message to his assistant, Xiao Bei.

Xiao Bei replied quickly.

Qiu Ye clicked on the short voice message. The background noise was a bit chaotic; he was likely outside.

“Ah… Brother Qiu, those cookies… I’m afraid they… they can’t be bought.”

“Can’t be bought?” Qiu Ye was slightly stunned, finding it strange.

Qiu Ye typed back, asking if they were brought from abroad or from some private shop that wasn’t open to the public.

Xiao Bei seemed busy and sent another voice message, his tone a bit vague.

“Neither… it’s just… well… Sister Ji seems to have something she needs me for.”

As Qiu Ye was pondering this, he heard the sound of the door opening at the entrance.

Lu Mingchuan was back. He took off his coat, his gaze sweeping over the cookie tin on the coffee table. He walked over naturally and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qiu Ye looked up, pointed at the tin, and said, “These butter cookies are delicious. I wanted to ask Xiao Bei where to buy them so I could take some as snacks for the recording on the plateau. But he told me they can’t be bought. Is there no sales channel in the country? Or do they require a special reservation?”

“If it’s too much trouble, then never mind.”

Lu Mingchuan listened quietly without any particular expression. He reached out, shook the tin, and asked, “It’s not a hassle, but they aren’t convenient to bring along.”

“Why?”

“These cookies don’t have preservatives. The butter and flour used also have a short shelf life. In normal weather, they’ll spoil in less than three days, and the texture will change.”

A trace of undetectable regret flashed in Qiu Ye’s eyes. He nodded. “So that’s how it is.”

Lu Mingchuan picked up the empty tin, his gaze calm as if he were stating the most ordinary fact: “However, if you want to eat them now, I can make them.”

Qiu Ye looked up, his movements and words freezing instantly. He seemed shocked by the information contained in that sentence, his pupils dilating slightly as he confirmed, “You made these?”

“Mm,” Lu Mingchuan hummed in response. He began rolling up his shirt sleeves on his own, revealing the smooth lines of his forearms. “The ingredients should all be in the kitchen. It won’t take long.”

Qiu Ye froze again.

Lu Mingchuan admired his stunned expression, one eyebrow arching slightly. “What? Afraid I’ll poison you?”

Qiu Ye’s ears flushed hot. He waved his hands. “No…”

Lu Mingchuan gave a low laugh and stopped teasing him, turning to head into the kitchen.

After a while, Lu Mingchuan’s phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated, the name of his manager, Ji Bing, jumping on the screen.

Qiu Ye took the phone into the kitchen. He saw Lu Mingchuan wearing transparent gloves, kneading the butter dough into shape.

Hearing the footsteps, Lu Mingchuan didn’t turn around, simply asking in a low voice, “Who is it?”

“Ji Bing.”

Qiu Ye walked straight to his side and reached out to press the still-vibrating phone screen against the side of Lu Mingchuan’s face.

Lu Mingchuan listened for a few sentences, his expression darkening slightly. “I understand,” he said quietly.

“What happened?” Qiu Ye sensed something was wrong and asked softly.

Lu Mingchuan replied, “There’s a situation with the production team. The specifics aren’t clear yet, but it looks like the recording for the first stop will have to be postponed.”