Font Size:
The live stream took a one-hour break.
Chi Yizhen changed his clothes, blew his hair hastily, not yet fully dry, and collapsed on the sofa as if exhausted.
They hadn’t had a chance to discuss this matter privately before.
Because the live stream cameras were everywhere, discussing such matters privately at night would easily lead to unnecessary ambiguity, potentially causing the atmosphere to deteriorate like igniting a wildfire in such an environment.
Chi Yizhen didn’t want that, and He Tiao didn’t want to act hastily either.
Now was the perfect time, in the afternoon, and the makeshift rest area looked a bit messy.
But that didn’t hinder the bright lighting here. Even with the windows tightly closed and the curtains drawn, Chi Yizhen felt confident that they wouldn’t create an atmosphere of late-night whispers.
He made a sound of acknowledgment.
His voice carried a hint of exhaustion, probably from the heightened tension: “Maybe.”
“At that time, I thought it was a trap set by Yuxing. He’s disliked me for many years, probably wanted to create a scandal of me leaving a man’s room in the early morning.”
Chi Yizhen chuckled: “A late-night rendezvous with a man, rumored to have left hastily in the morning.”
“After all, I’ve never publicly been in love, nor had any serious relationships before.”
He leaned back on the sofa, changed into a new sweatshirt. Perhaps thinking that they hadn’t started recording yet and he didn’t plan to tidy up, Chi Yizhen seemed asymmetrical to He Tiao, and, having lived together for several days, he instinctively reached out to adjust Chi Yizhen’s sweatshirt drawstring.
Chi Yizhen’s hair was a bit long, but his face had nothing feminine about it. At a glance, he gave off a refreshing, almost pure and innocent vibe.
As He Tiao lowered his head to adjust Chi Yizhen’s clothes, Chi Yizhen didn’t react at first. He was accustomed to their previous way of getting along.
He lowered his eyes, and the long lashes were distinctly visible under the overhead daylight.
A few seconds later, he caught He Tiao’s hand: “Mr. He, we’re not recording the program.”
He Tiao’s wrist was caught by Chi Yizhen, but it didn’t stop him from tidying up Chi Yizhen’s clothes. He playfully asked, “So what?”
Chi Yizhen released his hand after a moment of hesitation. He considered whether to be straightforward, but they still had ten days of recording ahead, and he was afraid that revealing everything upfront might not have the desired effect.
He Tiao said, “Didn’t we discuss it this morning?”
He sat back down, but they were very close. If someone opened the door to the rest area at this moment, they would definitely mistake them for an affectionate couple.
“You do your recording, I’ll do mine.”
His tone carried an unmistakable forcefulness that hadn’t been revealed before.
“You said I didn’t interfere with you.”
“But…”
Chi Yizhen paused, then sighed.
He Tiao asked again, “Has Sheng Xin ever hit you before?”
This topic abruptly changed, and Chi Yizhen exclaimed and shook his head.
He Tiao continued, “But you seem afraid of him.”
After all, they had entered the program, and Chi Yizhen didn’t know if this counted as force majeure. He sneered and said, “My family is ruined and my loved ones are gone. Who wouldn’t be afraid?”
He glanced at He Tiao, then quickly lowered his head, pinching the embossed preserved fish on his phone case.
“My brother was killed by him, but I have no evidence.”
In the next second, Chi Yizhen suddenly looked up. “So, what I said is the truth.”
“Fortunately, I met you.”
He Tiao’s brow furrowed slightly. He understood that Chi Yizhen considered it fortunate that day as long as he didn’t go to the room he was supposed to. This dissatisfaction seemed to have taken root, scratching at He Tiao’s heart, making him want—want to completely possess the person in front of him.
He Tiao said, “He still wants to get you.”
He said it with certainty, and Chi Yizhen didn’t refute. From today’s situation, it was evident that Sheng Xin’s madness was beyond doubt.
He Tiao said, “He doesn’t even give Yuxing any face, firmly establishing the rumors that he deliberately didn’t record the show.”
Chi Yizhen nodded. “Because he’s never gotten me.”
He scoffed again, “Really disgusting.”
He Tiao asked, “Did you two know each other when you were in school?”
Chi Yizhen nodded. “Not very familiar. Her mother knew my grandmother.”
But these memories were very vague. Chi Yizhen shook his head. “It’s all in the past. If I could choose, I wouldn’t want to know him either.”
He Tiao asked, “If…”
He began a sentence, but couldn’t bring himself to say the latter part, “If I had known you in school…”
He could even guess Chi Yizhen’s reaction, which would surely be half-covered and turned into a joking chat.
This person in front of him, the one he liked, still had a core that rooted deep within him, something he didn’t want anyone to pry into.
He Tiao changed the subject, “If you want to make a movie next, do you?”
Chi Yizhen replied, “I do want to, but there’s no opportunity yet. Let’s focus on boosting the popularity first before discussing these things.”
He smiled brightly, “First of all, we need to bring this variety show to a perfect conclusion.”
He extended his hand, making a gesture as if to give He Tiao a high-five, “Please, Brother He, teach me a lot.”
It was entirely professional, despite them talking about that day just a few hours ago, having embraced each other passionately.
He Tiao didn’t high-five. Instead, he shook hands with Chi Yizhen.
For a moment, it was very tight, then they let go. He Tiao stood up and said, “I’ll see you in a bit. I need to make a phone call.”
Today’s trending topic was too overwhelming, even people who were used to “My Days in the apartment Building” dominating the entertainment charts felt it was a bit exaggerated.
Especially when they clicked in, it wasn’t the usual down-to-earth daily life, but rather a rare outdoor setting—what’s going on? Flame Mountain? Is this reality show turning into a script for “Journey to the West”?
[Damn it, I didn’t finish watching “Tonight’s Moonlight” yesterday, and “My Days in the apartment Building” has already included the guests? Why are the regulars from that show appearing here? Isn’t this Yu Xing, the bossy CEO’s husband? —@Yuxing@Yuxing@Yuxing;]
[The sound effects are too much like a horror movie, especially that “Ah Zhen.” I was just Ah Qiang; what’s Yu Xing’s mood now? I’m just a passerby, just curious—@Yuxing@Yuxing@Yuxing]
[Chi Yizhen, this wet rescue… he really has a kind of charm that makes people want to… feel pity for him. But within that pity, there’s also a kind of ruthlessness. I’ve followed along all the way, and I really feel that he’s mysterious.]
[That waterproof cloth looks quite heavy; even Sheng Xin retreated. A real fight!? Did I see it right? They’re really fighting? Haven’t seen such a thrilling variety show in 800 years.]
[The brother who hit people is so handsome! I need to know his name, phone number, home address in two seconds…]
[That’s the CEO of Star Trails Games!]
[Ah? I saw his live stream cut on the subtitle station yesterday! He looked very aloof without showing his face…]
[[Link] I’m dying laughing; why did someone indecently edit a campus youth story with a non-mainstream theme? I surprisingly don’t feel any sense of dissonance.]
[I’m going to subscribe for the full version… Before watching: It’s all scripted. After watching: Even scripts need more drama…]
[Who understands? Since following this variety show, I haven’t stopped laughing. I’m still giggling all day, and my mom thinks I’ve been infected.]
…
Even GIFs are spreading widely. The romantic aspect includes details from Chi Yizhen and He Tiao’s interviews, the kissing scene by the lake, and the eye contact while entering the horror house.
The high-energy part is entirely the 30-second GIF of the fight, and people have made up various stories. Like what Chi Yizhen was thinking during the 30 seconds when Sheng Xin was beaten, what Yu Xing must be feeling, and whether E-god has a sense of resentment for being stolen away, etc.
Originally, it was just a marketing account affiliated with the Xianggua family retweeting, but later, due to the high popularity, even those unrelated had to join the fray.
Yuxing couldn’t avoid seeing it, especially since he already knew that Sheng Xin went to ambush Chi Yizhen in the middle of the night.
But now he was far away in H City, and the program wasn’t finished recording. The substitute guest was a senior colleague from the same company, and although the attitude was good, the staff were mostly discussing the reasons for Sheng Xin’s departure.
“It feels like he still likes Chi Yizhen. After all, it was said that he had been pursuing him for many years.”
“But it’s scary. If you can’t get the person you like, why mess up their family and life like that? Who would want to be with him?”
“Well, there’s still something. Young Sheng has a background at least. Otherwise, why would Brother You Yuxing be willing to invest…?”
“If it were me, I’d feel uncomfortable too. After all, something cultivated is different from something innate…”
These discussions came to a sudden halt when Yuxing walked by with an umbrella. Once he moved away, they immediately gathered again.
Yuxing was furious about this. While scrolling through Weibo, he accidentally liked a satirical post about Chi Yizhen’s ambiguous Weibo content.
Although he unliked it instantly, someone still managed to screenshot it.
Unable to resist, he called Sheng Xin. However, nobody answered. He had his assistant continue calling while absentmindedly recording.
In the evening, Sheng Xin finally answered, sounding a bit impatient. “What do you want?”
Yuxing bit his lip and called him “Brother Sheng.”
Sheng Xin replied, “If there’s nothing, stop bothering me.”
Yuxing insisted, “Sheng Xin! We’re married! How can you talk about divorce? Have you forgotten your promise to me?”
Sheng Xin initially planned to stay longer at the theme park. After all, he didn’t believe that Chi Yizhen cared so little about the heirloom of Chi Yiming. However, things escalated too much today. Even though the Sheng family kept suppressing the hot searches, there were still many people making a fuss. Sheng’s grandfather personally called the Zhang family, which finally hid the topic.
Now, the family doctor had just finished bandaging the injuries on Sheng Xin’s face. Grandfather Sheng, holding a cane, coughed heavily.
Sheng Xin said, “We’ll talk later. I’m with Grandpa.”
Yuxing immediately shut up. Unwillingly, he said, “You promised me that after this variety show, you’d let me join the cast of ‘Wind Continues to Blow.'”
Sheng Xin was already annoyed, and with Grandfather Sheng staring at him, he simply made a perfunctory “uh-huh” sound and quickly hung up.
Sheng Yue, seventy this year, had Sheng Liquan late in life. Unfortunately, his son had no interest in this matter. He stubbornly refused to go along with the arranged marriage and found a woman with a modeling background. He was hardly ever at home.
Back then, Sheng Yue agreed to bring Wen Chanjuan into the family to ensure that the children of the couple would be in his care. So, Sheng Xin grew up under his watch, and their relationship was naturally different.
Even though people said Sheng Xin lacked intellectual talents and had no innate business acumen, Sheng Yue didn’t mind. He believed that he could pave the way for his grandson, as long as Sheng Xin followed his instructions.
Unfortunately, his grandson turned out to be as stubborn as his son when it came to choosing a partner. Falling for a man, he disregarded everything and obtained a marriage certificate with a little-known star from a rural background, subjecting Sheng Yue to ridicule from his friends.
Now, he was getting a divorce, making a mockery of the whole marriage.
Sheng Yue asked, “What happened to the promise you made to me?”
Seated on another sofa, Sheng Xin glanced at his phone’s new messages and replied, “We got the certificate, so we’ll live a good life.”
Sheng Yue retorted, “Is this your idea of living a good life?”
Sheng Xin said, “I can live a good life with someone else.”
He looked up at Sheng Yue and shouted, “Grandpa, I was wrong. I was confused back then.”
A smile appeared on his face, bearing a resemblance to Sheng Yue’s younger days.
Although Sheng Yue had a son, he mostly took after his wife. Finally having a grandson who looked like him made Sheng Yue extremely fond of him. Seeing the injuries on Sheng Xin’s face now made his heart ache.
Sheng Yue scolded, “No matter what, you shouldn’t fight on a TV show. What’s the name of that boy? Call him over to personally apologize to you.”
Sheng Xin chuckled, “No need to bother. I’ll handle it myself.”
After saying this, he asked Sheng Yue, “Grandpa, do you know that Mom is also participating in this show?”
Sheng Yue shook his head.
Sheng Xin stood up, saying, “I haven’t had dinner with Mom for a long time. I miss her.”
Sheng Yue never liked his daughter-in-law much, but he didn’t say anything. After walking a few steps away, Sheng Xin turned back and said to Sheng Yue, “I’m sorry, Grandpa. I acted impulsively this time. I’ll work hard on the company matters.”
Sheng Yue, whose eyesight was failing due to old age, couldn’t catch all the nuances of Sheng Xin’s expressions, but the nanny standing beside him saw it clearly. Sheng Xin quickly changed his expression.
“Did you mean it when you said you’d hand over the company to me after my wedding?”
The hot search for #Sheng Xin’s fight# quickly disappeared.
For once, He Qiao received a scolding from his stepmother.
Zhang Cuijia commented, “I underestimated you. You never fought when you were a kid. How did you end up fighting on a TV show?”
After letting her finish scolding, He Qiao hesitated for a moment and called out, “Mom.” After a pause, he asked Zhang Cuijia, “What if you find your biological son, but his conduct isn’t very good?”
Zhang Cuijia questioned, “Not very good? Have you found him?”
He Qiao instinctively said no, then mumbled a few more words before hanging up.
Just as Du Binbai called, he wasn’t as dramatic since He Qiao treated him as an assistant.
At this moment, Du Binbai was quite distressed due to He Qiao’s orders.
“I say, big brother, are you serious? Find a villa that meets your requirements in a bustling area within ten days. Are you out of your mind?”
“I checked. Even if you’re not short of money right now, it’s not that easy to buy.”
He Qiao asked, “Not enough?”
Du Binbai replied, “It’s enough! Thanks to you not spending money all these years.”
He still wondered how He Qiao turned into a wildfire in just over a week.
“Seriously? You’re bringing out the ‘wife standard’?”
He Qiao just made a sound of agreement.
“He said it has to have a garden and a swimming pool.”
It was obvious that Du Binbai was joking.
Without elaborating further, He Qiao just made an affirmative sound.