Dating the Heartthrob Superstar-Chapter 31: Would You Be Willing?

Chapter 31: Will You Say Yes?

Zheng Huibin was the quintessential night owl, perpetually lurking on Weibo and all kinds of forums. Her job was to draw comics, and to boost her popularity, she usually followed trending CPs (couple pairings) and created fan art to attract fans of those CPs.

However, everyone who followed Zheng Huibin’s account knew one thing: she had a principle — no shipping real people. But recently, this principle had started to waver. The culprit? The "Chao Cai" (Stir-fried Veggies) CP.

Unlike most others who were fans of Meng Chao, Zheng Huibin was a fan of Lin Qin. She had been a loyal fan ever since Lin Qin won Best Newcomer at a domestic film festival.

The problem was, Lin Qin was so low-key. As the saying goes, "fans mirror their idols," so Zheng Huibin was also low-key — so low-key that, even as someone with three million Weibo followers, not a single one of them knew she was a Lin Qin fan.

She first noticed Meng Chao through Lin Qin. After binge-watching several of Meng Chao’s films overnight, she ended up being charmed by him too.

Still, at that point, she wasn’t into shipping real people.

But then, earlier today, the production crew of *We Are Together* uploaded a photo of Lin Qin and Meng Chao watching a meteor shower. It hit her like an arrow to the heart — these two were way too perfect together.

In that moment, she couldn’t hold back her creative impulse. With an uncontrollable burst of energy, she started drawing a piece of real-person CP fan art. She enhanced that photo of them watching the meteor shower, turning it into a beautifully illustrated comic-style piece.

Zheng Huibin adored that photo, and she poured her heart into the drawing. While she was carefully coloring, her bestie sent a chat window shake to grab her attention.

She opened Penguin (a messaging app) and was greeted by a flood of "AHHHHHHHH" from her bestie. She casually replied with a few question marks, and her bestie sent her a screenshot from Weibo.

Bestie: The Chao Cai CP just dropped candy in the middle of the night! Are they trying to keep us awake?! AHHHHHHHH!!!

Bestie: Lin Xiaotu posted about being so excited that someone confessed to him tonight that he couldn’t fall asleep. And then, moments later, Meng liked his post! Isn’t this basically Meng admitting he’s the one who confessed?!

Bestie: If Lin Xiaotu can’t sleep, I can’t sleep either! AHHHHH! Why do I have this gut feeling that the Chao Cai CP is becoming real?!

Her bestie was a hardcore fan of Meng and one of the OG Chao Cai shippers. Before Lin Qin appeared, her bestie had been a "wife fan" of Meng, always calling him her husband. But after Lin Qin entered the picture, her bestie voluntarily handed the "main house" position to Lin Qin and demoted herself to "mistress fan," eventually evolving into a CP shipper.

Normally, when her bestie would send these real-person CP updates, Zheng Huibin would respond coldly with a simple "Got it," leaving her bestie to fangirl on her own.

But tonight was different. Having just transitioned from a career-first fan to a CP shipper herself, Zheng Huibin was already emotionally hyped up. Now, seeing the CP drop candy, she couldn’t contain herself anymore and joined her bestie in fangirling.

After spamming "AHHHHHHH" back and forth several times, her bestie suddenly came to her senses and asked, "Didn’t you say you’d never ship real people even if they dragged your lifeless body???"

Zheng Huibin felt zero shame and replied with a "Sweet, Sweet Betrayal" meme, earning endless laughter and teasing from her bestie.

In retaliation, she shot back, "Weren’t you the one who claimed you’d forever be Meng’s wife fan? Said no one but you deserved to be with him?"

Her bestie countered with the same meme.

Zheng Huibin and her bestie’s emotional rollercoaster was just a microcosm of the countless Chao Cai shippers out there.

Finally finishing the coloring, Zheng Huibin uploaded her art to Weibo.

[Username: No-Real-CPs-Allowed MV]: I need to pay for premium and change my username. [Image]

The comment section exploded with laughter, as everyone roasted her for her blatant "Sweet Betrayal" moment. Yet amidst the teasing, her artwork was so stunningly good that download numbers hit record highs.

She wasn’t the only fan artist who produced "content" that night. In fact, several seemingly unrelated creators also binge-worked through the night after seeing Lin Qin’s now-deleted Weibo post, leading to a cascade of "Sweet Betrayal" moments for other fan creators as well. freeweɓnovel.cøm

That night famously became a milestone in the ever-growing Chao Cai fandom. It was the sheer passion of the fan creators that drew more and more people into the CP shipper community.

Of course, these were stories for another time. At this moment, Lin Qin and Meng Chao had no idea their fans were rapidly growing into what could only be described as a fervent cult.

As the night faded and the sun rose above the horizon, the clock ticked past seven, but the villa remained quiet due to last night’s late bedtime. It wasn’t until a little after eight that a door upstairs creaked open, and Lin Qin stumbled out with a yawn.

He went downstairs, greeted the staff with a sleepy "Good morning," then slipped into the kitchen to open the fridge and start preparing breakfast.

About ten minutes later, Dai Hong and his wife, along with Meng Chao, woke up one after the other, just in time to see breakfast neatly laid out on the dining table.

When Lin Qin walked over with a cup of milk, Meng’s gaze was fixed intently on him. Lin Qin quickly looked away, his ears betraying him by turning unmistakably red.

The small, cute exchange didn’t escape the watchful eyes of Dai Hong and his wife, who exchanged knowing smiles but refrained from commenting.

To them, the "relationship gap" between Lin Qin and Meng Chao was as thin as a sheet of paper — it would only take the smallest nudge for it to break.

After breakfast, Dai Hong and his wife packed their belongings and got ready to head out. They both had work to return to, and being able to make time for this visit was already a luxury.

Lin Qin and Meng Chao personally walked them to the road. Before leaving, Zhu Ling pulled Meng aside and whispered with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Xiao Lin is a good kid. You better cherish him. He’s shy, so you’ll need to take the initiative. Don’t wait for him to speak up."

In just a single day, Lin Qin had earned Zhu Ling and Dai Hong’s affection to the point where they affectionately called him "Xiao Lin." At first, they’d assumed he was aloof and arrogant, but those misconceptions had quickly faded.

Seriously, Lin Qin’s charm was impossible to miss unless you were blind.

Meng felt a swell of pride for Lin Qin, though he kept his face neutral. He answered Zhu Ling’s instructions earnestly, "Don’t worry, Teacher Zhu. I will."

Zhu Ling made a dramatic gesture. "Good! Next time we meet, I expect your relationship status to be... upgraded."

Meng grinned. "Absolutely, absolutely." His tone was full of unstoppable determination.

Watching Dai Hong and Zhu Ling’s car disappear into the distance, Lin Qin and Meng Chao turned back toward the villa, walking side by side.

Without hesitation, Meng reached over and took Lin Qin’s hand in his. This time, he wasn’t testing the waters — he interlocked their fingers, assertively and firmly.

Lin Qin shifted his fingers slightly. It felt less like resisting and more like adjusting for comfort. Meng gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and Lin Qin went quiet, letting it happen.

Meng spoke casually, "Yesterday, I mentioned I only wanted to try the ’couple lifestyle’ with one person. Do you know who that person is?"

He acted like it was an offhand question, but the tension in his upright posture betrayed his nerves. Before Lin Qin could answer, Meng answered the question himself: "Lin Qin, I want to try it with you, starting from being a couple. Will you say yes?"

After finishing, he stepped closer, locking his gaze on Lin Qin. His eyes radiated both deep affection and quiet vulnerability.