Xia Weiliang felt she could wake up smiling from dreams, as Sun Xiaomei's matter was resolved so quickly and with such a perfect outcome.
Tomorrow she was returning, and Ji Huan and Director Du were bombarding her with calls, urging her to come back quickly.
In the afternoon, she rested her arms on the windowsill, where she could see the winding mountain path. People carrying baskets occasionally descended the slope.
"Teacher Xiao, have you thought about going back?"
The man, who was sitting beside her reading a script, started. He looked up at her, slowly closed his script, stood up, and came behind her. His hands naturally rested on either side of the windowsill, enclosing her between his chest and the window. "You came here for this, didn't you?"
Xia Weiliang lowered her gaze. "Perhaps."
"Is it... for me?"
She buried her head even lower. "Maybe."
"So, the 'me' in this world didn't truly win your favor?"
"I..."
Seeing her hesitate, Xiao Yi stopped teasing her.
He had already come to terms with this issue and wouldn't dwell on it. No matter which version of him it was, she must like him, otherwise, she wouldn't be so conflicted.
He lowered his head, resting his chin on her head as he gazed into the distance. "I told you I would resolve the issue with Zhou, so you don't have to worry about it anymore."
As he spoke, he reached out and pinched her cheek. "You weren't very smart to begin with, don't let your brain get any duller over this."
Xia Weiliang raised her eyebrows, turning her head to glare at him. "Teacher Xiao, you don't have to kill the heart to make a point! Besides, you have no idea how smart I am. Last time, I played riddles with Nuomi, and she could only answer up to six-year-old level. I had no problem with the eight-year-old ones!"
The man chuckled. "My apologies, Miss Eight Years Old."
Xia Weiliang glared at him, saying very seriously, "Don't underestimate me. I'm telling you, those questions were really difficult!"
"Oh?"
"Hey! You don't believe me, do you?"
Xia Weiliang's spirits lifted, and she immediately searched on her phone. "If you can answer them all, I'll call you Grandpa!!"
The man, who had been unenthusiastic, raised one eyebrow slightly. "Really?"
"I never go back on my word!"
"Alright."
Xiao Yi took her phone and began answering from the first question.
Outside the door, Yan Zhi and Liu Yaozong were helping Shen Chunhua shell corn.
Da Yang had just finished herding the sheep back to the pen. He walked over and asked, "What are Brother Yi and Niangniang doing? So serious?"
Yan Zhi didn't look up. "Studying."
"Studying what?"
"Riddles."
Liu Yaozong added, "The eight-year-old level."
Da Yang said "Oh," and sat down to shell corn with them. He thought for a moment and said, "I only managed to do the four-year-old level last time, and then I stopped. That stuff is too difficult. I wonder who came up with it."
Yan Zhi paused in his work, looked up at him helplessly, and said, "Yang, in the future, do more and talk less when you're out."
Da Yang was confused. "What's wrong?"
Liu Yaozong still didn't look up. "It's easy to give yourself away."
Inside the house, the pair playing the eight-year-old level riddles finally finished all the questions.
Xia Weiliang tugged at the hem of her clothes, her lips pressed together, looking disgruntled.
Xiao Yi straightened up and stretched. "Is that all? Not much of a challenge~"
Opposite him, a resentful gaze met his. "Teacher Xiao, that's enough. Don't make it difficult for us ordinary humans."
"Hehe, my apologies. I got a little carried away."
He struck a pose, looking at her with a smile, saying nothing but gesturing for her to "please."
Xia Weiliang bit her lip, thinking to herself that this guy was a pervert, he could do even those difficult questions!
Just as she resigned herself to it and was about to speak, Xiao Yi smiled and said, "You don't have to call me Grandpa. We can choose a different title that's more acceptable to both of us."
"Really? What is it?" Xia Weiliang's eyes immediately lit up.
Gazing at her beautiful eyes and pink lips, Xiao Yi's gaze turned dark, and his voice grew a little hoarse. "Call me 'Husband'."
Xia Weiliang's expression vanished, and she blurted out, "Grandpa!"
He's trying to take advantage of me, isn't he?
Grandpa it is!
Did she not know what kind of person Xiao Yi was? Was he someone who would stop after getting away with something once?
Who knew when no one was around, he might coax her into calling him husband. If his fans heard that, they'd scold her back to the prehistoric era, or she'd write her name, Xia Weiliang, backward!
Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow, his expression showing a hint of disappointment. "Alas, fine, Grandpa it is."
He said this, raised his hand, gently stroked her head, and smiled, "Good girl."
"..."
This was the humiliation of being intellectually crushed!
Xia Weiliang, puffing with anger, went outside, pulled over a small stool, and sat down, shelling corn with the other three.
In the heavy atmosphere, Yan Zhi slowly looked up. "Um... Niangniang, it's like this, Brother Yi and I are like brothers."
Xia Weiliang looked up, her brows furrowed in confusion. "So?"
"By seniority, if you call Brother Yi Grandpa, then you have to... call me Uncle, right?"
"..."
Outside the house, Yan Zhi ran around the yard. "Niangniang, why are you still angry? I'm just telling the truth..."
The other two were laughing uncontrollably. Da Yang blurted out, "Niangniang, Brother Zhi and I are of the same generation..."
"Are you looking for a beating too?"
Xia Weiliang completely lost her temper. "Yaozong! Get the tools!"
"Yes!"
The two grabbed two ears of corn and went for it. Yan Zhi and Da Yang ran, laughing. "My mistake, my mistake, can't it be wrong?"
Xia Weiliang: "Too late!"
Liu Yaozong: "Right, too late~"
Inside the house, Xiao Yi watched with a smile, twirling his phone in his hand. He picked it up and aimed the camera at the girl bathed in sunlight.
*Click—*
Weibo's trending topics featured a familiar name again and again.
Film Emperor rarely posted on Moments.
A photo.
A girl holding two ears of corn in the sunlight, with a puffed-out expression, a few strands of hair playfully sticking up.
The Film Emperor captioned it with two words: "Beautiful."
Damn, the comments section was full of sourness.
[Hey, is this Yaoyao Ling? Someone's showing off their affection here... that's right, the utterly shameless kind!]
[Brother Yi, are you still the aloof male god I know? As expected, men become disappointing once they have a girlfriend!]
[Front row, they're just properly dating, who are they disappointing? You? May I ask who you are?]
[Wow, I'm so envious of Niangniang~ But what's with this photo? Didn't they edit it? If it weren't for Niangniang's strong visuals, this would definitely be a social death photo from a straight-man perspective!]
[Hahahaha... Liang fans are here to claim her... Hahahaha] Su Dan Novel Network
Amidst this unrestrained "Hahahaha," Liang fans came to wrap things up.
Not only fans but many friends in the industry left comments teasing them.
Brother Cheng: [Now to date, do you need to provide such detailed explanations?]
Sister Hua: [@Brother Cheng, others generally don't.]
Rui Rui: [@Brother Cheng @Sister Hua hahaha, I get it!]
Chu Qiao: [OMG, I can't watch!]
Lin Zhuo Nan: [Heh, as expected of the Film Emperor, even showing affection is so fresh and refined~]