Little Pink Starfish

“Hahaha, what’s this about ‘The Male Celebrity Fans Most Want to Hug’? Isn’t it obviously talking about me!” Qi Xi lounged lazily on the couch, scrolling Weibo and indulging in his daily narcissism.

The makeup artist nearby couldn’t help but laugh softly. Qi Xi noticed and raised an eyebrow. “Did I say something wrong?”

That glance was especially seductive. Qi Xi’s face had always been stunning in a devilishly charming way—without a trace of femininity. The makeup artist’s heart pounded wildly, and her cheeks flushed red. “Q-Qi-laoshi, it’s time for your makeup.”

Qi Xi gave a small chuckle and said softly, “So cute.”

The makeup artist’s face turned even redder. She’d worked on plenty of male and female celebrities, but none had ever made her feel this way—like she wasn’t even herself anymore.

When Qi Zhirong pushed the door open, what he saw was Qi Xi looking flirtatiously smug while the makeup artist blushed furiously.

“Am I interrupting?” Qi Zhirong’s voice was as cold as ever, but Qi Xi, still riding high on his self-admiration, didn’t notice. Seeing who it was, his expression lit up and he stood up excitedly, “Xiao—”

“I need to speak to Mr. Qi,” Qi Zhirong cut in, glancing at the makeup artist. She quickly understood and left, though she didn’t know who the man was. Still, judging from how Qi Xi treated him, she knew this man wasn’t ordinary. Handsome, elegant, and absolutely not from the entertainment industry—more like an investor. But this kind of top-quality investor was a first for her. If all sugar daddies looked like this, it’d be hard not to fall for one…

She suddenly froze—Could this be Qi Xi’s sugar daddy?

Everyone knew Qi Xi’s rise to fame had been shockingly fast in recent years. In just a few years, he went from a popular TV star to winning Best Actor for a literary film, then landed endorsement deals with major brands. His rise was rocket-level. No one in the entertainment circle believed he did it without connections.

As she closed the door, she snuck a glance. The notoriously aloof Qi Xi was now smiling sweetly beside this tall man, who still exuded icy indifference even from the back. She was pretty sure she’d figured out the secret behind Qi Xi’s meteoric rise: Turns out this dream husband of millions of women already had a husband of his own.

“Does my makeup look good today?” Qi Xi playfully leaned on Qi Zhirong, trying to tease him into reacting. Qi Xi loved seeing his cold-faced little Rong-Rong flustered. Qi Zhirong gave him a glance and said flatly, “You look hideous.”

Qi Xi looked like he was about to explode. “No way! With this face of mine, I could look good with anything.”

Qi Zhirong didn’t want to argue. He asked coldly, “Are you coming home tonight?”

“I promised the crew dinner after filming,” Qi Xi checked the time. “It’ll be late. You should head home early and get some rest. Your baby has to earn money to support you.”

Qi Zhirong raised an eyebrow, his aura turning cold. “Support me?”

“Of course! Men are supposed to support their families, after all…” Qi Xi was all in on his self-appointed noble mission. Then he coaxed his Rong-Rong, “Be good. Go home and sleep early—it’s good for your skin. I’m off to play an extra tomorrow, won’t be back.”

Qi Zhirong didn’t say much, just gave him a long look and turned to leave with a quiet “mm.”

That night, during the show’s recording, everyone was laughing and enjoying the games. Then Qi Xi suddenly froze.

The host asked, “Xi Xi, what’s wrong?”

“…Is my wife mad at me?”

The room fell silent.

He’d said it instinctively, not even thinking. Just a second ago everyone was laughing—now you could hear a pin drop. The show’s producer was about to jump up and grab him by the ear.

Fortunately, the lead host reacted quickly—this kind of hot gossip was gold. A top celebrity saying he had a wife on their show? Ratings would explode!

“When did you get a wife, Xi Xi?”

“I—”

“Excuse me, Mr. Qi’s not feeling well. Let’s pause here.” The producer finally couldn’t hold back and rushed onstage to drag Qi Xi away. The host knew Qi Xi wouldn’t say anything else now. He was red-hot and they didn’t want to get into a fight with his team. This wasn’t a gossip tabloid.

Qi Xi laughed it off backstage, saying he meant his “wife” was his fans. But in his heart, he thought smugly: Xiao Rong-Rong is my number one fan!

Because the producer had forcefully interrupted things, he had to stay for dinner with the crew afterward. Qi Xi had originally planned to sneak home to spend a few hours with Rong-Rong, but now he couldn’t. After dinner, it was already almost 4am. He dozed in the car but was quickly dragged onto a plane by the producer.

In between, he managed to text his little Rong-Rong with a flirty message and a selfie.

Wifey, love you. Mwah~

Qi Zhirong looked at the message and smiled faintly. The driver nearly broke the steering wheel from the shock of seeing his usually cold boss smile.

“How long till we get there?”

“Mr. Qi—”

Qi Zhirong didn’t say anything else, just flipped through the document in his hands. But inside was actually—

He hadn’t slept at all, looking visibly grumpy, hair a mess. Outside the airport, fans screamed. A new assistant tried suggesting he touch up, but gave up—Qi Xi’s fans were used to his rough looks.

“So scruffy, so sad, so handsome!”

“Hubby! Love you! Heart gesture!”

The producer and assistants exchanged glances. Yep. Still half-asleep.

Qi Xi yawned, waved half-heartedly at the screaming crowd, and they screamed louder. The producer said, “Let’s go, ancestor.”

“It’s early. Don’t you all have stuff to do? Why’re you yelling here?” Qi Xi said lazily.

The crowd immediately went quiet, all behaving like little kittens. Qi Xi nodded, satisfied. “Good behavior. Don’t chase the car. See you next time.”

Qi Xi’s popularity was sky-high now. Great acting, great looks—Best Actor. He was headed to a big-name director’s set to film as an extra. The male supporting role had been offered to him before, but he’d been busy running around with Zhang Qiu and the others and turned it down. The producer had been furious, but now tried to smooth things over, offering him a cameo. Qi Xi agreed.

“We’ll head to the hotel first. Nap, then the shoot this afternoon,” the producer said, seeing how exhausted Qi Xi was.

Qi Xi grumbled, “Why wake me up this early if I’m only seeing the director this afternoon? I could’ve gone home! My wife is waiting for me to warm the bed.”

Producer: ……

She regretted feeling sorry for him earlier.

“Who even is your wife?”

“Why do you care about my wife?!” Qi Xi looked alert. “I’m telling you, my wife’s not someone an ugly troll like you can even dream of.”

The producer gave up trying to know who this “wife” was and beat him up a bit.

Back at the hotel, Qi Xi tried to video call Rong-Rong, but it went unanswered. He scrolled through Rong-Rong’s WeChat Moments instead. Just one blurry photo—but it made Qi Xi beam with joy. Heeheehee, it’s him!

The lighting was bad—it had been when they were on that snowy mountain and he was drugged. Rong-Rong had helped him. His phone had nearly frozen, but Qi Xi had warmed it with his body and finally managed to take this one picture.

He didn’t dare photograph Rong-Rong directly, so he’d sneakily snapped himself with a hand resting on Rong-Rong’s. Later, when they got together, he secretly posted it on both WeChat and Weibo.

Secret PDA, feeling smug.

He fell asleep grinning at that one photo.

In the afternoon, he was dragged to the set. His role was tiny—basically a doomed emperor who drinks poison and dies in one scene. Qi Xi wanted to finish ASAP. No Rong-Rong at home. Who’s going to warm his bed?!

He was surprisingly focused, rolling up his sleeves, determined to die quickly and get home. The director had been annoyed when he declined the bigger role, thinking Qi Xi was just another cocky young star. But seeing how seriously he was treating even this small role, all annoyance vanished.

After the first take, the director called cut. Qi Xi blinked. “Did I do something wrong?” He was ready to fix it—just wanted to wrap up and go home.

Actually, the director was stunned. The performance had a rawness to it, but it had soul. That kind of spark was rare.

“Let’s do it again. I think you can do even better.”

Qi Xi groaned internally. What was supposed to be a one-minute job is turning into a marathon. But he nodded. Just then, commotion erupted outside. The director frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Director Wang, it’s the investor you’ve been trying to reach!”

Director Wang was shocked. He’d been holding onto a script for years—an artsy film with a huge budget. Nobody wanted to invest. Now suddenly, a VIP had shown up.

“Bring them in immediately!”

Qi Xi was annoyed. Great, more delays. Now I can’t even go home to my Rong-Rong.

Then his nose twitched. His eyes lit up. Rong-Rong!

Qi Zhirong walked in from afar, practically glowing against the backlight. Qi Xi looked smitten. My Rong-Rong really is something else.

“Heeheehee, Rong-Rong, did you miss me soooo much?” Qi Xi grinned proudly. I bet he can’t stand a day without me!

Qi Zhirong shot him a cold look and said nothing. Qi Xi wasn’t fazed—he’d be more scared if Rong-Rong smiled. He leaned in, kissed him, wrapped his arms around his waist, and whispered, “Give me half an hour, then we can go.”

He added quickly, “Don’t talk to the director yet. Let them finish shooting first.”

“Alright.”

Once outside, Qi Zhirong went to the director. “I’ll invest in your next film—on one condition. Qi Xi plays the male lead.”

Qi Xi wasn’t around to hear that or he would’ve exploded. He had zero motivation right now—just wanted to stay home and cling to Rong-Rong.

Director Wang and his assistant were shocked, but quickly agreed. They knew Qi Zhirong’s relationship with Qi Xi wasn’t simple, and since he’d come in person, there was no need to delay. They sped up the shoot, let Qi Xi leave early. He changed, half-wiped off his makeup, and got in Qi Zhirong’s car.

Once the car left, the gossip exploded.

Someone even started a post on Tianya: “Rising male celeb backed by powerful sugar daddy.” Though they didn’t name names, it was clearly about Qi Xi. No one dared name Qi Zhirong directly. The post was full of vague innuendo, stirring imagination.

Qi Xi’s fans were fierce—but jealousy always fuels haters. Everyone piled on.

Back at the hotel, Qi Xi showered and, still wet, flopped onto Qi Zhirong’s lap, soaking his clothes.

“Wife, don’t you want to do something?”

“You want it?”

“Duh!” Qi Xi pointed to his little buddy. “He misses you—don’t you miss him?”

Qi Zhirong calmly put down his report. “I miss your back.”

“You’re so naughty,” Qi Xi giggled.

They quickly rolled into bed again. Then the producer called.

“Damn it! It’s already trending #1! They’re saying you got rich and famous by selling your ass! I’m gonna kill them!”

Qi Xi, satisfied and sprawled on the bed, paused.

The producer panicked—What if this idiot does something rash?

But Qi Xi said cheekily, “Me and Rong-Rong are pure! How dare they say that? These people just don’t understand love. So dirty—”

“SHUT UP!” the producer screamed. “You’re the last person I should be talking to. Don’t you dare post anything else! Leave the rest to me—I’m going to destroy them!”

Qi Xi hung up, confused. “She told me not to get involved, so why call me?”

Qi Zhirong didn’t want to engage. He pinched Qi Xi’s waist. Qi Xi knew what that meant. My tsundere husband is obsessed with me!

Soon, they were tangled up again.

That night, Qi Xi was too sore to move. “I can’t. My waist is killing me…”

Qi Zhirong pinched his jaw coldly. “Still dare to flirt with other women?!”

“What flirting?!” Qi Xi was baffled. Then he remembered: Oh… the makeup artist earlier. Realizing this was about jealousy, he was delighted. He leaned in, all flirty. “You loooove me, huh? Only me, right? Hehehe come here, hubby, gimme a kiss~”

He kept pushing. Qi Zhirong could only “punish” him again.

On Weibo, that old blurry photo with just a hand had gone viral. Comments passed 200k. Shares over a million. Fans demanded a statement. Haters screamed abuse.

Qi Xi, dazed from exhaustion, groggily grabbed his phone, kissed Qi Zhirong on the head, and posted:

My wife who loves me to death
@QiZhirong (he didn’t have a Weibo, so just tagged the name)

Then he shut his phone off and went to sleep.

The producer had just managed to slow the trending wave—but this post reignited the flames.

OMG our idol came out! Wait… do I care? Not really.

Xi Xi coming out is still so cool and sassy.

Wait… why is HE the top?!

The next morning, “Qi Xi is the Top?! Unbelievable” hit trending.

Qi Xi: …………

Fine, maybe I’m on the bottom in bed—but in my heart, I’m on top, because I love my Rong-Rong the most! I don’t care!

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Pinky says: And what we’ve learned from this is that all zombies and super old people are gay.