Chapter 20

Bai Siyi looked at Piupiustar and thought, This guy is tall and pretty good-looking, but his brain doesn’t work too well. Plus, he’s such a greasy straight man—what a waste.

Meanwhile, Huo Xingming was thinking, Macho Man has a great figure and a beautiful face, but it’s a shame his circumstances are so bad. He owes so much money, finally got a chance to be on a variety show, and the production team paired him with me? What a waste.

With their own thoughts in mind and both feeling guilty about something, they ended up acting overly polite toward each other.

Bai Siyi gestured toward the entrance. “Sorry, I’m too poor. I can only treat you to fast food.”

Huo Xingming quickly bent down and nodded. “No problem, no problem! This meal is way better than just eating steamed buns.”

They exchanged polite smiles. Then Bai Siyi said, “Shall we go in?”

Huo Xingming smiled back. “Of course, of course. Ladies first.”

Bai Siyi paused for half a second after hearing that. He even glanced at the female staff member beside him. When their confused gazes met, he finally realized—

The “lady” in “ladies first” was referring to him.

Bai Siyi: “…”

His smile froze for two seconds before he turned and walked into the restaurant.

So embarrassing!

It wouldn’t have been this awkward, but now that he knew Huo Xingming was his fan—and had even gone into debt tipping him—the awkwardness was unbearable.

The live stream viewers were in shock:

【Wow, these two were being so passive-aggressive when chatting online, but now that they’ve met, their entire dynamic changed?】

【So bold online, so timid in person. laughing while crying emoji】

【Not gonna lie, could it be that they started liking each other after their face reveals? Bai Siyi’s attitude did change right after that segment…】

【Ehhhh, I don’t ship this pairing at all, and I don’t want Bai Siyi to turn into a love-struck fool. But I have to admit, they both have insane visuals. Standing together, they actually look perfect. cat sighing emoji】

【AAAAAH! You guys might forget that Piupiustar is greasy, but don’t forget—he’s a hopeless straight dude! Straight men are a disaster! Bai Siyi’s future is doomed!】

—

The netizens were practically pulling their hair out over this unreliable duo.

Out of the four guest pairings, they were the only ones without any couple fans. Everyone was waiting for them to crash and burn upon meeting.

But instead of passive-aggressive jabs, instead of a public fallout and blocking each other—they were now walking into the restaurant, shoulder to shoulder, being all polite?

【This is beyond ridiculous.】

【Ugh, I’m seriously worried about Bai Siyi! How could the production team cast a male guest like this?!】

【I swear, I’m camping in this live stream until the day they inevitably crash and burn!】

Bai Siyi’s live stream was skyrocketing in popularity, even surpassing Qiu Bo’s and reaching the number one spot on the rankings.

But he was completely unaware of this. He stepped into the restaurant first, with Huo Xingming following behind. By now, it was around 1 o’clock—peak lunch hour.

Fortunately, since this was a fast-food restaurant, the turnover rate was high. Even though it was crowded, they still managed to find an empty table.

Bai Siyi spotted a four-person table in the corner. The two staff members handling the live stream sat with them, while the other two took the table next to them.

After putting his hat and mask on the chair to claim his seat, Bai Siyi turned to Huo Xingming and said, “Let’s go.”

Huo Xingming, who had just sat down: “???””

Completely confused, Huo Xingming asked, “Aren’t we eating? Where are we going now? Also, why is there no menu anywhere?”

Despite his confusion, he obediently stood up and followed Bai Siyi.

At the same time, he felt a tiny bit of anticipation—Could Macho Man be planning a surprise for him?

Huo Xingming rubbed his hands together awkwardly.

As they walked side by side, Bai Siyi suddenly realized that this guy was more than half a head taller than him!

Damn it! He’d been stuck at 177 cm for ages, and he’d even spent a whole year forcing himself to drink milk in hopes of growing taller—but not even a centimeter of progress!

All that milk was wasted!

Meanwhile, this mixed-race guy was just born with the advantage of height. Would it be too much to ask for just 3 cm?

It was Huo Xingming’s first time in a fast-food restaurant. To be honest, he found it crowded, the aisles narrow, and the noise level a bit overwhelming.

But considering Macho Man’s financial situation—plus his own persona—he suddenly felt like this place wasn’t so bad after all.

Bai Siyi turned to him and said, “Even though you can’t even—”

He almost blurted out, “Even though you wouldn’t even spare a bun for me.”

But the thought of that million yuan quickly shut him up.

After a brief pause, Bai Siyi continued, “Since you eat steamed buns every day and work so hard doing manual labor, I’ve decided—today, I’m treating you to meat!”

Huo Xingming raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

He was actually treating him to meat?!

Huo Xingming hesitated and asked cautiously, “Isn’t meat expensive? You really don’t have to go all out.”

Bai Siyi was firm. “No way! You eat steamed buns every day and work so hard—how can you go without meat?”

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, Bai Siyi asked, “How long has it been since you last had meat?”

His eyes darted nervously to the tattoos on Huo Xingming’s face and neck, his expression filled with unease.

Huo Xingming: “…”

Huo Xingming scratched his head, feeling just as uneasy as Bai Siyi looked. How was he supposed to answer this?

If he said half a year or a whole year, it would sound too fake.

But saying just a day or two wouldn’t be right either—after all, the food photos he sent Macho Man a couple of days ago only had steamed buns and liquor—no meat at all.

Feeling nervous, Huo Xingming stammered, “H-how long…?”

Bai Siyi frowned. “That’s what I’m asking you!”

After a brief pause, he tried to narrow it down. “One week? Has it been that long?”

Huo Xingming suddenly smacked his forehead. “Right! One week! I haven’t had meat for a whole week!”

Because of his nerves, his voice came out louder than he intended—startling both the restaurant staff and the surrounding diners.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Huo Xingming: “……”

Bai Siyi looked utterly done with life. He grabbed Huo Xingming’s arm and pulled him forward. “Come on, let’s get you some meat!”

Huo Xingming: “……”

Bai Siyi grabbed two trays, handed one to Huo Xingming, and kept the other for himself. Then, pulling him along, he headed straight for the stir-fry section.

There were more than a dozen hot dishes on display, but whether it was meat or vegetables, they were all priced the same.

Lowering his voice, Bai Siyi whispered to Huo Xingming, “Everything is 2.5 yuan per 50 grams, priced by weight. Just focus on picking the meat. If you’re not sure how, just watch what I do. Got it?”

Huo Xingming: “……”

Bai Siyi dragged him forward, and Huo Xingming watched in amazement as Bai Siyi only picked out the meat—whether it was garlic scapes with pork, green pepper pork stir-fry, or potato pork stir-fry—he carefully avoided all the vegetables.

Only after he’d filled his plate with nothing but meat did Bai Siyi finally move on to the greens. But instead of stir-fried vegetables, he grabbed cold marinated cilantro and raw lettuce.

As he finished, he shared his secret tip with Huo Xingming: “Cooked vegetables soak up sauce, which adds weight. But cold salads are much lighter—especially lettuce, which barely weighs anything!”

More vitamins, less cost—Bai Siyi felt like an absolute genius.

Huo Xingming: “……”

At this moment, Huo Xingming was truly shaken to his core.

So this is how poor people eat.

Macho Man is really pitiful… His guilt deepened even further.

Bai Siyi shot him a glare. “What are you spacing out for? Didn’t you say you wanted meat? Hurry up!”

Huo Xingming scratched his head. “Oh, right, right! I’m on it!”

He picked up the tongs and awkwardly copied Bai Siyi’s technique. As they swept through the dishes, the amount of meat visibly decreased!

Feeling embarrassed, Huo Xingming blushed all the way to the tips of his ears. He had never done anything like this before.

Bai Siyi reassured him, “This is your first time at a place like this, right? Don’t worry. Meat and vegetables cost the same here. Just think about it—those cheap vegetables are priced at 2.5 yuan per 50 grams. They’re making a killing!”

Huo Xingming had no concept of food prices. He couldn’t tell what was cheap or expensive, or whether something was a good deal or not.

Right now, he was like a puppet on strings—doing whatever Bai Siyi told him to do.

At the staple food section, Bai Siyi grabbed a bowl of rice. “Rice is 3 yuan, unlimited refills. I can eat three bowls in one go!”

Usually, when he ate here, he wouldn’t take this much food. He’d eat three bowls of rice with just a little bit of side dishes to save money.

But today was different!

The show was covering the bill!

So, he loaded his plate with as much meat as he wanted—he hadn’t indulged like this in ages. He was feeling great.

Just as he was about to pay, Bai Siyi turned his head—only to see Huo Xingming skipping the rice and heading toward the porridge section.

Bai Siyi: “???”

Before Huo Xingming could grab a bowl, Bai Siyi yanked him back. “What are you doing?”

He lowered his voice, staring at Huo Xingming with wide, questioning eyes.

Huo Xingming suddenly felt guilty. “I-I just… wanted some porridge. Is that okay?”

He looked at Bai Siyi hesitantly.

They were already getting meat—surely porridge wouldn’t be off-limits too?

Bai Siyi went silent for two seconds. “You really want porridge?”

Huo Xingming nodded. “Yeah… is that okay?”

Bai Siyi leaned in and whispered, “It’s fine, but if you get porridge, we’ll have to eat separately.”

Huo Xingming lowered his voice too. “Why would we have to eat separately?”

Bai Siyi spoke even softer. “The porridge here costs 6 yuan per bowl, unlimited refills. But the bun shop next door sells the same unlimited porridge for just 3 yuan. If you really want porridge, you should pack your food in a bag, go next door, and eat there. A meat bun is 2 yuan, porridge is 3 yuan—together, that’s only 5 yuan. You’d be saving one whole yuan!”

Huo Xingming: “……”

He stared at Bai Siyi in absolute shock.

There was a loophole like this?!

As he spoke, Bai Siyi had already pulled out a white plastic bag and handed it to Huo Xingming. “Here, use this. Don’t be embarrassed—it’s not like we’re breaking any laws. Why do you look like the sky is falling? The bags are free, you know.”

Huo Xingming: “……”

Seeing that Bai Siyi was actually about to pack his food, Huo Xingming panicked.

“I-I suddenly think… rice is pretty good. Yeah, rice is delicious.”

As he spoke, he snatched a bowl of rice from the counter at lightning speed and placed it firmly on his tray.