Chapter 50: Quickdraw Yang (Please Vote for Recommendations)

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Yangcheng TV Station.

Qin Xue sipped her coffee, then shot Fang Du a rather peculiar look.

“What did you put in this?”

“Heh… Sprite! Well? Isn’t it good?”

Fang Du raised his cup and took a big gulp, smacking his lips with satisfaction and grinning proudly. “This is my new invention, you know. Aside from me, you’re the very first to try it, Chief.”

Qin Xue stared at him in speechless silence for a long moment, then set her cup down. “You truly are a genius in the world of coffee. Roll the footage.”

“Rolling!” Fang Du choked on the words, but quickly recovered, clearing his throat. “Coming right up.”

Moments later, the edited segment by Yang Qing began to play. Qin Xue and Fang Du, a mix of anticipation, nerves, and curiosity in their eyes, focused intently on the unfolding images.

A sharp flicker—the screen came alive, and Qin Xue’s face filled with astonishment. She turned to Fang Du, bewildered. “What is this?”

“Gen… General’s Mountain…”

As Fang Du watched the footage, he felt himself about to split apart.

Qin Xue: “…I know it’s General’s Mountain! What I want to know is why it’s in our food show!”

Fang Du looked about to cry, weakly saying, “I… I don’t know either. Maybe… maybe you should ask Brother Yang.”

Qin Xue: …

She was speechless, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Maybe he really only knew a little about editing.

Wait… hold on…

This didn’t seem to be a matter of editing, but something affecting the entire structure of the film.

Yes! The structure! So…

Her thoughts clouded with confusion, Qin Xue’s gaze deepened. She leaned forward, once again watching with utmost seriousness.

General’s Mountain, a temple, tourists, streets, vendors, diners, smiling faces—all these scenes flowed seamlessly together, presented in a coherent sequence.

Then, the camera shifted—sunset, neon lights flickering above endless streams of cars and people, all sped up in just a few seconds.

After the clamor, tranquility; after night, dawn. Bathed in the rosy glow of morning, a small shop on a street corner revealed its sign: “Four Seasons Delicacies.”

“Snap!”

At this, Qin Xue’s finger shot out like lightning to pause the video. She took a deep breath and turned to Fang Du, her gaze instantly turning cold.

“Fang Du! What exactly are you doing!”

Startled by her sharp tone, Fang Du lowered his hands from his face and shrank back fearfully. “I… I’m reflecting.”

“Reflecting! What exactly are you reflecting on?”

“I… I’m reflecting on… on how Brother Yang could mess up this time…”

Qin Xue: “!!! Is that what you call reflecting?”

Sensing her anger, Fang Du covered his face in resignation. “Chief, it’s not my fault! My mind’s a complete mess right now. It was Brother Yang who…”

“Enough!”

Qin Xue cut him off, her patience thinning. “Play it again from the start. This time, watch carefully! Think carefully! Learn carefully!”

“Ah?!”

Fang Du was stunned. Did that mean… the segment actually worked?

In disbelief, he clicked play, starting from the beginning. As he watched, his mouth slowly formed an O.

How… how is this possible!

Did I really just shoot this at random while strolling with Brother Yang?

Impossible! It can’t be this beautiful!

Most importantly, he’d filmed the entire way through, and in the most haphazard, chaotic way imaginable!

Yet with all this randomness and confusion, it could still be pieced together?

And not just that—it now conveyed a sense of scenery, culture, and the flowing beauty of time!

It felt almost supernatural.

He took a deep breath, his gaze trembling as he looked at Qin Xue, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Qin Xue glanced at him calmly. “Do you have something to say?”

Fang Du: “Brother Yang… he might not be human—he’s… he’s a demon!”

“Get out!”

Qin Xue burst out laughing, exasperated. “What on earth goes through your head all day? I’m asking what you learned from the opening part of the segment, and you tell me Qingzi’s a demon!”

“Ahem…” Fang Du coughed awkwardly. “Learned… something…”

Qin Xue: …

Utterly speechless. Right now, she was beginning to doubt whether she’d been right to keep Fang Du on the team.

“Sigh…”

After a long silence, seeing the confusion in Fang Du’s eyes, she sighed helplessly.

“Lead-in! The opening sequence here is like the prologue of a book. Placed at the start, it acts as a lead-in—to introduce the ‘Four Seasons Delicacies’ shop at the street corner, instead of starting bluntly with the shop’s name like we used to. That was stiff and lifeless.”

“And I also feel that Qingzi’s editing has some deeper meaning…”

Her brows knitted as she looked at the dumbfounded Fang Du. “Did Qingzi say anything while editing?”

“Hehe… well… if I told you I fell asleep while Brother Yang was editing, would you… would you believe me, Chief?” Fang Du gave an embarrassed grin.

“I…”

At this point, Qin Xue truly didn’t know how to feel. With a teammate this hopeless, what was she supposed to do?

Seeing Qin Xue fall silent, Fang Du hung his head in shame. He knew he’d gone too far this time, but he really couldn’t help it.

Shopping was never a man’s strong suit, especially not with another man. He was lucky not to have dropped dead from exhaustion!

He’d just wanted to take a quick nap after they got back, but who could’ve guessed that by the time he woke up, Yang Qing had already finished editing!

Who could have anticipated that? Who knew Brother Yang was so fast?

“Chief, I’m sorry, I…”

“It’s fine. Just be more careful from now on. I’ll call him.”

“Yeah… but I wonder if Brother Yang’s phone is on silent. Or… or should I fetch him?”

Qin Xue shook her head. “No need. He’s had a long day too. I’ll call first. By the way, why didn’t you answer your phone? And where did you two go without sending me a message?”

Fang Du spread his hands helplessly. “It was Brother Yang’s idea. He said no texting or calling you, so I…”

“Wait!”

He was interrupted by Qin Xue.

“You said… he… what did he call me?” Qin Xue asked, her eyes quivering with tension.

Fang Du blinked. “He called you… Xiao… Xiaoxue.”

“Xiaoxue…”

Qin Xue whispered the name, and in that instant, her beautiful face bloomed like a rose in full glory.

It was just a name, but her heart felt as sweet as if steeped in honey.

Before, he’d always called her Miss Qin. Now he finally called her Xiaoxue. Such a change of address marked a change in the distance between their hearts—a sign of acceptance and recognition.

Her joy radiated, her beauty outshone the flowers. Fang Du, for a moment, foolishly compared her to the Jiner in his heart, then grinned silly, already thinking…

The day after tomorrow was Children’s Day. What gift should he get for little Xier?

Both lost in their own thoughts, yet both hearts overflowing with sweetness.

Moments later, Qin Xue picked up her phone and, looking at the contact named “Qing,” dialed.

Inside the small shop, Yang Qing was chatting with customers while swiftly making jianbing rolls.

Little chef Jin’er had slipped into the kitchen again, practicing her soup dumplings—busy as a little bee, kind, beautiful, and capable.

Upstairs, three little children sat on the sofa in the small living room, watching cartoons.

Their tiny legs dangled in the air, swinging in unison. Though each face was different, they were all equally adorable, all smiles.

One little one even clapped her hands in glee, showing a toothy grin with a missing front tooth.

But suddenly…

A small hand reached from behind her neck, and with a “plop,” something tiny was popped into her mouth.

“Mm—Dong’er, what did you feed me? Was it a bear cookie?”

Little Xier twisted around to look at Dong’er, who was crawling behind her, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “But why is it a little… damp?”

“Ha! Silly girl, that’s because Dong’er already tasted it! Hahaha… I’m dying!”

Little Bai burst out laughing at the dazed Xier.

“Hee hee… it’s got Dong’er’s drool on it,” giggled Xiao Qiu.

“Ha ha ha… Dong’er, you’re so naughty, but big sister likes you all the same, ha ha ha…”

Little Xier laughed too—she didn’t care about a bit of drool. What mattered was that Dong’er had fed her.

“Big sister—eat up—”

Xier smiled, Dong’er grinned, and with another rummage in her pocket, produced a whole bear cookie, handing it to Xier.

“Ha ha ha… so yummy,” Xier said, munching happily, while Xiao Qiu stared wide-eyed at Dong’er.

“Dong’er! Why do you keep your bear cookies in your pockets! You’ll get your clothes dirty—take them all out, quick!”

“Mm—big sister—no—”