IDEI CH60

Transnational journeys always carried a lingering exhaustion; even though Alaric had booked Qi Yanning a business-class ticket, it could not be entirely avoided.

Moreover, Qi Yanning suffered from mild airsickness. His acute five senses, which ordinarily served as the foundation for his mastery as a stylist, now made him far more sensitive than others to the physical discomfort of flying.

After spending fourteen groggy hours aboard the plane, Qi Yanning finally stepped onto foreign soil.

He had boarded in the dead of night, yet he disembarked into the twilight of Country F.

Pinkish-purple evening clouds drifted gracefully across the horizon. Drawing back his gaze, Qi Yanning checked his ticket details and walked toward the exit.

He needed to retrieve his luggage.

To Qi Yanning’s surprise, his suitcase had already fallen into someone else’s hands.

The twenty-four-inch luggage rested beside a man’s feet, looking surprisingly petite against that pair of long legs. The man was looking down at his phone, seemingly typing out a message.

With the setting sun spilling from behind him, his face fell into shadow. Wearing his hair slicked back and clad in a finely tailored, luxurious black suit, simply standing there was enough to draw countless admiring glances.

Yet his face remained completely devoid of expression, his handsome brows knitted slightly, radiating an aura that warned strangers away. Thus, no matter how bold and passionate the roses of Country F were, no one dared approach him.

The lingering irritability clinging to Qi Yanning melted away instantly.

Halting his steps, he pulled out his phone and opened Feixin.

[yanN]: Look up.

The phone in the hand of the man holding his suitcase gave a soft chime.

Startled, the man looked up, locking eyes directly with Qi Yanning.

“A-Ning!” His furrowed brows smoothed out at once, his previously fierce eyes crinkling into a brilliant smile. Lifting the suitcase, Ling Cangzhou strode briskly toward Qi Yanning.

He kept his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Qi Yanning, brimming with greedy longing, walking eagerly toward him against the backdrop of the setting sun.

“A-Ning, long time no see!” Setting the luggage down, Ling Cangzhou could no longer contain his surging excitement, pulling Qi Yanning abruptly into his embrace.

A familiar woody fragrance rushed into Qi Yanning’s senses; that warm, enveloping embrace grounded Qi Yanning’s heart, which had felt somewhat adrift alone in a foreign land.

Yet… the embrace seemed intended to be a fleeting touch before pulling away.

Qi Yanning raised his hands, resting them against Ling Cangzhou’s back. Beneath his palms, he felt the man’s muscles tense up noticeably.

“Why are you here?” Qi Yanning’s voice was slightly raspy, carrying a languid softness Ling Cangzhou had scarcely ever heard. The tail end of his words tilted upward lightly, like a tiny hook burrowing straight into Ling Cangzhou’s ears.

It tickled.

“Ahem, I came to pick you up,” Ling Cangzhou replied in a fluster. The tip of his nose rested right beside Qi Yanning’s ear, catching the crisp, clean scent of his hair.

Because Qi Yanning had returned the embrace, his entire body went stiff, thoroughly flattered and overwhelmed. Still, he couldn’t resist brushing the tip of his nose against Qi Yanning’s hair and taking a soft, deep breath.

Qi Yanning stepped back out of Ling Cangzhou’s arms. The hug had lasted quite a while already.

“Were you born in the Year of the Dog?” Qi Yanning glanced at Ling Cangzhou, who was staring straight at him with sparkling eyes. Holding back for a second, he voiced the question anyway.

Qi Yanning’s senses were extraordinarily sharp, so…

Every subtle nuzzle and sniff Ling Cangzhou had just indulged in had been caught completely.

Just like a puppy.

“A-Ning, you didn’t even tell me you were coming to Country F,” Ling Cangzhou rubbed his nose, looking slightly sheepish under Qi Yanning’s teasing gaze.

“I knew you were busy,” Qi Yanning said, turning toward the exit.

“No matter how busy I am, I always have time to pick you up,” Ling Cangzhou extended the handle of the suitcase, rolling it along as he caught up to Qi Yanning’s stride.

Right at that moment, a stranger intercepted the pair—a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. “Hey, is this Qi?”

Speaking in curiously intonated Chinese, she introduced herself: “I’m Tess. Alaric sent me to pick you up.”

“Oh, Qi, forgive my forwardness, but have you and your friend ever considered modeling?” Tess exclaimed in admiration.

She had noticed Ling Cangzhou from the very beginning; though this gentleman was a foreigner, true beauty transcended cultural aesthetics. Then, when Qi Yanning appeared and the two embraced…

Oh, God—without exaggeration, she felt as though the entire airport had been illuminated by their radiance!

“My apologies, we are both quite satisfied with our current careers,” Qi Yanning shook his head, steering the conversation away. “Does Mr. Alaric have anything scheduled for today?”

“No,” the girl shook her head. “Mr. Alaric instructed me to take you to rest first. Tomorrow morning, I will pick you up from the hotel and escort you to the studio.”

“Alright,” Qi Yanning replied. “My friend…”

“He is welcome to join,” Tess shrugged, wearing a subtle, knowing smile. “That hotel has nothing remarkable about it, except that the beds are extraordinarily large and soft.”

Ling Cangzhou cleared his throat softly, turning his head to steal a guilty glance at Qi Yanning.

Yet Qi Yanning acted as though he hadn’t caught the implication at all, smiling politely. “Then let us be off, Miss Tess.”

At Ling Cangzhou’s insistence, the three boarded Ling Cangzhou’s car. Tess wasn’t surprised by Ling Cangzhou’s wealth; judging from his attire and bearing alone, he clearly belonged to the understated elite.

She took the front passenger seat of her own accord, casting sly, ambiguous glances through the rearview mirror at the two seated in the back.

The drive from the airport to the hotel was rather long, taking roughly an hour.

Settling into the car, the comfortable interior and the familiar scent enveloping Ling Cangzhou caused Qi Yanning’s accumulated fatigue to crash over him all at once. Frowning slightly, he rubbed his temples.

“Sleep for a little while. I’ll wake you when we arrive, alright?” Ling Cangzhou murmured with gentle, cautious tenderness.

From somewhere inside the cabin, he produced a lavender-scented sleep mask alongside a plush blanket.

He glanced toward Tess, who tactfully chimed in, “Mr. Qi, please feel free to rest for a bit. It’s a long drive.”

Qi Yanning’s gaze swept across Ling Cangzhou. He had initially intended to decline, yet caught sight of the tender concern tucked within the man’s eyes—sincere, slightly aggrieved, and earnestly hopeful.

Pausing briefly, he draped the blanket across his knees, accepted the sleep mask, and slipped it on.

Before long, Ling Cangzhou heard the soft, steady rhythm of even breathing.

He gazed at the lower half of Qi Yanning’s face visible beneath the sleep mask. The mask was oversized, making his face appear all the more delicate.

A-Ning has lost a bit of weight; he must have been exhausted, Ling Cangzhou thought.

He gently adjusted Qi Yanning into a more comfortable posture and pulled the blanket higher over his shoulders. Afterward, he took out his phone to catch up on corporate affairs.

Seeing that he didn’t let Qi Yanning rest his head against his shoulder as she had eagerly anticipated, Tess let out a disappointed sigh and turned to gaze out the window.

Ling Cangzhou glanced up at Tess without saying a word. In a car like this, how could leaning on a shoulder possibly be more comfortable than reclining against the cushioned headrest?

The car drove from gathering dusk into deep night. By the time they pulled up to the hotel, darkness had completely settled over the city.

After completing check-in, Ling Cangzhou finally woke Qi Yanning. Perhaps because the exhaustion of recent weeks had hit all at once, Qi Yanning remained somewhat groggy upon waking.

He followed Ling Cangzhou into the elevator in a mild daze, watching him swipe the keycard and push open a door.

Only then did he come fully awake.

“A suite?” Qi Yanning’s voice was husky, still slightly slurred. “You upgraded it?”

No matter how generous Alaric was, he wouldn’t reasonably book a two-bedroom suite for a single guest. No wonder he had vaguely sensed something peculiar in Tess’s gaze downstairs.

“Yes. A suite has a living room; it’s more comfortable,” Ling Cangzhou said.

“The other bedroom can just sit empty,” Ling Cangzhou’s voice dropped slightly. “Your comfort matters more.”

Qi Yanning cast him a sidelong glance. Pausing for a beat, he decided to call out his subtle scheming anyway: “If the room is sitting empty, are you moving in?”

“Yes!” Ling Cangzhou’s eyes lit up at once, a radiant grin spreading across his face. “I can move in and stay with A-Ning?”

Qi Yanning ignored the rhetorical question; right now, all he wanted was sleep.

“A-Ning, want to eat a little something before sleeping? Airplane food is never very good,” Ling Cangzhou asked.

Hearing the suggestion, Qi Yanning finally noticed the hollow ache rising from his stomach. He had barely eaten anything during the flight.

“You decide. I’m going to wash up.” Leaving those words behind, he wheeled his suitcase toward one of the bedrooms. “I’ll take this room.”

When Qi Yanning emerged refreshed and relaxed, a steaming bowl of plain scallion noodles was already waiting on the dining table.

“Give it a try,” Ling Cangzhou said. “I wasn’t sure if A-Ning would be used to the local cuisine, so it’s better to have familiar flavors for your first meal.”

Qi Yanning paused momentarily before taking a seat at the table.

Lifting a strand of noodles to his lips, he found the flavor surprisingly decent. After finishing more than half the bowl at a leisurely pace, he lifted his gaze—and locked directly onto Ling Cangzhou’s eyes across the table.

Admiration, tenderness, quiet heartache, contentment, laced with a sliver of raw possessiveness that he almost never allowed to surface before Qi Yanning—the emotions swirling within were complex and deeply intense.

Caught off guard by the sudden eye contact, both froze simultaneously.

“Yuchuan?” Qi Yanning tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

“Mm?” Ling Cangzhou closed his eyes briefly to rein in his scattered emotions before replacing them with the gentle smile Qi Yanning knew well. “Finished eating, A-Ning? Go get some rest.”

Qi Yanning stood up, started walking past Ling Cangzhou, then halted.

Turning his head with a smile lingering in his eyes, he ruffled Ling Cangzhou’s hair before lightly pinching his cheek.

“I’m very happy you came to pick me up,” Qi Yanning said.

“Yuchuan, you don’t need to hold back your feelings so tightly.” Leaning down slightly, Qi Yanning trailed his fingertips lightly across the man’s eyelids; a subtle, electric tickle seemed to rise straight from Ling Cangzhou’s marrow, forcing him to blink helplessly.

Heat surged across Ling Cangzhou’s entire body, his gaze following every movement of Qi Yanning’s hand, riveted firmly onto his face.

Unrestrained, burning intensity spilled from his eyes. His body seemed nailed to the chair, utterly immobile, yet his gaze looked ready to wrap Qi Yanning layer by layer and drag him into a dense, inescapable abyss. His ears burned crimson as he pleaded in a hoarse whisper, “A-Ning…”

“That’s the exact look,” Qi Yanning leaned in closer, holding Ling Cangzhou’s gaze with a half-smile. “Clearly a wolf, yet pretending to be a puppy, hm?”

“Going to sleep now. See you tomorrow morning.” Qi Yanning withdrew abruptly, the lingering fragrance clinging to him dissipating from Ling Cangzhou’s senses.

A wave of immense disappointment washed over Ling Cangzhou. Lowering his eyelids, he sat motionless in the chair for a long while before finally suppressing the ache and the inexplicable heat in his chest.

Casting one deep look at Qi Yanning’s bedroom door, he let out a quiet sigh and retreated to his own room.

When Qi Yanning woke the next morning, Ling Cangzhou had already left.

Resting on the dining table was a handwritten note bearing his bold, sweeping calligraphy:

[A-Ning, breakfast has already been ordered. Press button 1 on the intercom by the door, and room service will bring it right up. I’ve headed out for work first. Wishing A-Ning a wonderful day~]

A smile curved Qi Yanning’s lips. Tucking the note beneath the table’s flower vase, he called up breakfast just as instructed.

Shortly after, Tess picked him up and escorted him to Alaric’s studio.

Stepping inside the vast atelier, gazes of every sort converged upon him—curiosity, awe, skepticism, bewilderment…

Completely unmasked. They even murmured among themselves in a language Qi Yanning couldn’t understand, clearly discussing him.

It appeared the studio’s attitude toward him was rather delicate.

Qi Yanning, however, paid it no mind.

He strolled calmly and naturally through the studio, meeting the gaze of everyone who looked his way with a polite, composed smile.

Seeing his utter nonchalance, the onlookers reined in their stares somewhat.

Halting in the center of the main hall, Alaric—having received word of his arrival—stepped away from his work to greet him. “Long time no see, Qi! You remain as captivating as ever!”

Pausing briefly, he added with theatrical grievance, “I waited for you for ages, yet you refused to come… I nearly began doubting Aphrodite’s standing in the fashion world.”

“My apologies, Mr. Alaric, work kept me rather tied up,” Qi Yanning replied with sincere courtesy.

“Okay, okay, everything in the past is forgiven,” Alaric surrendered rapidly before that exquisite face. “By God, however, until the runway show begins, your time belongs entirely to me and to Aphrodite!”

Qi Yanning chuckled softly and nodded.

Alaric gestured happily for Qi Yanning to walk ahead, then swept an authoritative glare across the crowd in the hall.

He barked a sharp command in a stern tone, and the staff scattered immediately back to their stations.

Qi Yanning followed Alaric into his private workroom, which was piled high with fabric swatches, design sketches strewn across every reachable surface, and mannequins draped in chaotic bolts of cloth whose final forms were anyone’s guess.

“Qi!” Alaric looked somewhat troubled, speaking in clumsy Chinese. “The makeup concepts you sent me earlier were already magnificent—everyone who saw the sketches loved them. However, I keep feeling they are missing a tiny spark, though I can’t quite put it into words. Do you understand? That specific feeling…”

Qi Yanning knitted his brows slightly. “Do the looks lack a soul capable of resonating with the garments?”

“Yes, precisely that!” Alaric’s eyes lit up, giving a shrug. “They lack chemistry with the clothes.”

“I understand, sir,” Qi Yanning rose to his feet. “Mr. Alaric, would you mind showing me the finished garments?”

“Of course!” Alaric gestured. “This way—all of this season’s pieces are stored right here!”

Alaric led Qi Yanning into a dedicated archive room housing the entire haute couture and ready-to-wear collection for the upcoming runway.

Qi Yanning already knew that Aphrodite’s theme this season was “Verdant Life.”

Garments inspired by botanical forms filled the racks, crisp and lush; though surrounded by racks of clothing, it felt as though one had stepped into a vibrant botanical conservatory.

Alaric seemed to have unlocked the alchemy of fusing minimalism with maximalism, blending both harmoniously into each garment to produce pieces brimming with raw beauty and untamed organic growth.

The moment Qi Yanning laid eyes on the actual garments, he pinpointed the exact flaw in his earlier makeup designs.

They were too well-behaved—delicate and refined like a manicured spring garden, whereas the clothing was a perilous, untamed tropical rainforest. Both were gorgeous, yet they couldn’t inhabit the same frame.

Viewing designs across a digital screen truly differed from encountering them in person. In reality, these garments were fiercely wild, eccentric, and avant-garde, while his earlier looks lacked the theatrical edge required to echo them.

Seeing the physical pieces in person made all the difference!

“I know what needs to be done,” Qi Yanning stated. “Mr. Alaric, I will draft a brand-new set of makeup designs today.”

Alaric raised an eyebrow with theatrical surprise. “Oh, Qi, truly?”

“Yes,” Qi Yanning confirmed. “I may need to borrow a corner of your workspace.”

“Make yourself at home,” Alaric said. “Are you sure you don’t want to mull it over a bit longer?”

“No need,” Qi Yanning’s tone carried quiet, unshakable certainty.

Alaric cleared a small nook amidst the creative chaos of his studio, and Qi Yanning spent the entire morning seated there. Sketching and refining rapidly on his tablet, his stylus never paused for a second.

Even Alaric grew curious: How is Qi’s focus this extraordinary?

Around noon, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Alaric navigated carefully through the clutter toward Qi Yanning—and his eyes flared wide at once.

Staring unblinkingly at the sketch on the tablet, he murmured under his breath, “Good Lord, this is the exact thing I was looking for!”

Completely unfazed by Alaric’s presence, Qi Yanning followed his own creative vision through to completion.

The moment he lifted his stylus, Alaric snatched the tablet right out of his hands, examining the screen with intense scrutiny.

Displayed on the tablet was a makeup concept sketch: the model wore a gradient eyeshadow transitioning from chartreuse to deep moss green, evoking summer foliage, paired with bare-rose lips stained with subtle hints of green.

That formed merely the foundation; had it stopped there, it wouldn’t have been enough to stun someone standing at the pinnacle of fashion like Alaric.

What electrified Alaric was the soul Qi Yanning had breathed into it: irregular patches of moss sketched around the model’s eyes, accompanied by a margin note specifying the application of real preserved moss.

It extended even across the cheeks, with tendrils of moss creeping slowly up from the jawline toward the bridge of the nose in erratic, winding green lines.

Through this treatment, the model’s face became a shadowed stone wall—rigid and devoid of warmth—until living moss crept steadily across its surface, breathing vibrant life into the cold stone.

The resulting look possessed an eerie beauty where shadow and life coexisted, harmonizing seamlessly with Aphrodite’s collection.

Their shared interpretation of life fused makeup and wardrobe into one, while the somber stillness of the face created subtle friction against the untamed vitality of the garments…

Harmony bred cohesion, while collision birthed high fashion—an immutable law.

“Magnificent!” Alaric exclaimed in rapture. “Even if the palette clashes slightly with a few pieces, no matter—I can balance it with accessories, or alter the garments directly…”

“Hold on, Mr. Alaric, swipe forward—there’s more than just this single look,” Qi Yanning interrupted with an amused smile.

If he didn’t stop him now, Alaric would start tearing apart garments to match the makeup! With only days remaining before the runway show, letting Alaric indulge in last-minute alterations would trigger enough collective resentment from the atelier staff to drown them both.

“My God, there’s more!” Alaric gasped, his eyes shining brighter with every swipe.

After inspecting every concept meticulously and reluctantly reaching the final page, he handed the tablet back to Qi Yanning, speaking in a breathless rush: “Qi, wait right there—inspiration just struck me!”

Snatching a sheet of paper, he began sketching furiously. “This is going to be a monumental creation! My dear stylist friend, you’ve handed me fresh inspiration!”

Qi Yanning shook his head with a faint smile. Seeing Alaric completely swallowed by his design frenzy with zero attention to spare, Qi Yanning pulled out his phone to check his messages.

On the screen sat texts from Ling Cangzhou:

[Red-Eared-Puppy]: A-Ning, lunch together? I booked a renowned local restaurant.

[Red-Eared-Puppy]: How much longer will you be? Shall I come pick you up?

Reading the messages, Qi Yanning arched an eyebrow.

His mind drifted back to Ling Cangzhou from the night before.

Teased to his limit last night, Ling Cangzhou had resembled a powerful wolfhound tethered by its master—possessing fangs and claws sharp enough to shred the leash, yet holding back completely, bound fast by a single thin cord.

Flushed crimson across his face and neck, veins pulsing beneath his skin, eyes brimming with restraint, yearning, loyalty, and pitiful longing—accompanied by rough, ragged breaths…

A glint flickered in Qi Yanning’s eyes as a deep, knowing smile surfaced on his lips.

It seemed the man had figured a few things out overnight; today’s messages lacked his previous cautious tiptoeing, letting threads of his true nature peek through. Clearly, last night’s provocation had packed quite a punch…

Qi Yanning also recalled a certain fleeting glimpse he had accidentally caught the night before.

Rather impressive in size, too.

Qi Yanning mused with an inscrutable, amused smile.