ASFSODS 16

Whether Jiang Siheng had lost his mind, the livestream audience didn’t know. But one thing was clear—they definitely had.

Wen Chi’s livestream chat:

[WTF WTF WTF!!!]

[Is our Xiao Chi baby really a shy little homebody?? This is straight-up a bold little pup!!]

[Is it too late for me to steal Jiang Siheng’s wife??]

[Someone help me—I swear Wen Chi just sniped my heart]

[How is Jiang Siheng holding back?? Just kiss him already!!]

Jiang Ge’s livestream chat:

[I… I need to calm down first]

[Your wife is fine now, but one second later? Mine.]

[I’m losing my mind, this is so attractive!!!]

[I’m dead, absolutely gone, I love this]

[I will always fall for a bold little puppy-type younger guy]

[Family, let’s go steal Wen Chi tonight]

After Wen Chi said that, Jiang Siheng stayed quiet. When they stepped under the roof, he closed the umbrella, still silent.

Wen Chi ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realizing he had been caught in the rain twice since coming on this show.

“Teacher Jiang, did you…”

He was about to ask if Jiang Siheng had gotten soaked, but when he turned his head, what he saw were the man’s completely flushed red ears.

Wen Chi: “…?”

Jiang Siheng noticed Wen Chi staring and asked a bit awkwardly, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” Wen Chi quickly shook his head. “I was just going to say we should go take a hot shower and change clothes.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Yunbai was watching a drama in the living room. When she heard the door open, she looked up and saw Wen Chi rush in, followed by Jiang Siheng.

“You’re back,” she said.

“Good evening, Xiao Bai Jie~” Wen Chi greeted cheerfully, but then noticed something strange about the look she gave them.

Zhou Yunbai, caught under Wen Chi’s suspicious gaze, gave a small yelp and quickly hid her amused expression.

Jiang Siheng gave her a polite nod and nudged Wen Chi toward the stairs. “Go shower.”

“Teacher Jiang, you go first,” Wen Chi offered.

Jiang Siheng touched Wen Chi’s hair that’s still wet and frowned. “Be good.”

“No way. You’re more soaked than me tonight, so you should shower first,” Wen Chi stared at him down. “If you don’t, I’ll cry right here.”

He fully expected Jiang Siheng to give in but the man paused for a second, then replied with a slightly intrigued, “Really going to cry?”

What the hell? Why did that suddenly sound kind of wrong??

“Fake. As if I could cry on command.” Wen Chi deadpanned, turning around and heading to his room.

Jiang Siheng looked after him thoughtfully. Just before the boy disappeared behind the door, he reminded him again to go shower.

Jiang Siheng chuckled. “Got it.”

What Jiang Siheng didn’t know was that the moment Wen Chi shut the door, he squatted down on the floor with face in his hands.

A few seconds later, he let out a muffled little whimper.

Xiao Chi’s livestream chat:

[As bold as he was five seconds ago, now he’s equally shy]

[I’m crying laughing]

[“If you don’t listen to me, I’ll cry for you” — iconic]

[10/10, applied that technique instantly]

[Wait—did anyone else notice how Xiao Bai was looking at them earlier?]

[Clearly you missed this morning’s livestream, girl]

Wen Chi exhaled hard and rubbed his face. Calm. Stay calm.

Jiang Siheng finished showering quickly and came to knock on Wen Chi’s door. Wen Chi grabbed his pajamas and headed out with Jiang Siheng trailing behind him.

Wen Chi walked slowly, stealing glances back now and then—yup, Jiang Siheng was still following him. Nearing the bathroom, he stopped and turned around. “Teacher Jiang, what are you doing?”

Jiang Siheng said with a straight face, “I left something in the bathroom.”

“Oh, okay.” Wen Chi didn’t question it at all. He even stepped aside to let him pass. “You can grab it first, Teacher Jiang.”

How could anyone be this sweet?

Jiang Siheng sighed. “Go shower. I’ll grab it later.”

“Alright.”

This time, Jiang Siheng really wasn’t teasing. He genuinely had left something behind in the bathroom.

“You really like messing with him, huh,” Qin Xiyu’s cool voice came from behind.

Jiang Siheng didn’t respond. Instead, he raised a hand toward the nearest camera. “I need to talk to Qin Xiyu about something off-camera.”

The crew understood immediately and so did the livestream audience.

The two men moved to an area with no cameras.

Qin Xiyu turned off his mic and looked at Jiang Siheng, calm and cold as always. “So, what is it?”

Anyone unfamiliar with Qin Xiyu might’ve thought he was annoyed but Jiang Siheng knew his personality well.

“My dad messaged me. Grandpa Qin is throwing his 70th birthday next month. They want me to attend on their behalf,” Jiang Siheng said.

“The beginning of the month?” Qin Xiyu checked the calendar. “Your parents are abroad?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it.” Then he suddenly remembered something, his eyes turning slightly amused. “Why were you cuddling someone while napping this afternoon?”

Jiang Siheng: “?”

Seeing the look on Jiang Siheng’s face—a clear “what kind of dumb question is that”—Qin Xiyu didn’t get mad. He pulled out his phone, tapped a photo, and held the screen up.

It was a photo of another phone screen showing footage. Jiang Siheng glanced at it for a few seconds, then casually pulled out his own phone. “You’re a CEO. Gossip less. Send it to me.”

Qin Xiyu: “…”

He sighed and sent it over.

…

Wen Chi came out of the shower and walked to Jiang Siheng’s door. He knocked a few times but got no reply, and didn’t find him downstairs either.

Zhou Yunbai was still watching TV and noticed him. “All done?”

“Yup.” Wen Chi responded while looking around.

“Looking for someone?” she asked.

Catching her curious gaze, and remembering how she’d looked at him earlier when they got back, he felt a little awkward. “I’m looking for Teacher Jiang.”

As expected, the moment she heard that, Zhou Yunbai made a long, knowing “ohhh,” and said, “He’s not downstairs.”

So weird. Seriously.

Wen Chi forced a smile. “Okay.”

Main livestream chat:

[Wait, is Zhou Yunbai turning into the #1 CP stan of HengWen?]

[LMAO, imagine being a dating show contestant shipping another couple on the show]

[Has Enen not back yet?]

[He and Sheep are still wilding out at the amusement park]

[Xiao Chi confirmed: bold, clingy puppy-type BF!!]

Wen Chi’s hair was still dripping. He figured he’d go back to his room and blow-dry it. Just before heading upstairs, a staff member knocked and asked him to step outside for a moment.

Wen Chi opened the door and was surprised to see Sang Sang standing there. “What are you doing here?” He looked up at the sky.

Sang Sang had been his assistant for a while and instantly knew what he was thinking. “Xiao Chi Ge, I didn’t get caught in the rain—it stopped before I came out.”

“Oh, good.” Wen Chi turned off his mic. “So, what did you want?”

Sang Sang saw his wet hair and hesitated. “Why don’t you go dry your hair first?”

“It’s fine.” Wen Chi gave it a quick rub with a towel. “You can talk.”

Sang Sang handed him her phone and spoke softly even though his mic was off. “Jin Ge needs to talk to you.”

“Huh? Why didn’t he just call me?”

She shook her head. “Maybe he figured you were filming and couldn’t use your own phone.”

Wen Chi returned the call, smiling. “Good evening, Jin Ge.”

But Jin-ge didn’t sound like his usual laid-back self—his tone was serious. “Xiao Chi, you’re filming right now, yeah?”

Wen Chi’s smile faded slightly. “I am. My mic is off. You can speak freely.”

Sang Sang noticed the shift in his expression and began to worry.

Wen Chi didn’t respond for a long time. His head was filled with what Jin Ge had just told him. After a while, he sighed and said, “Got it. Please tell the boss I’m not agreeing to that. He can keep dreaming.”

Jin Ge wasn’t surprised. He knew Wen Chi too well. In fact, he sounded a little relieved. “Alright, alright. I just passed the message. You focus on the show, don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

Wen Chi laughed. “Thanks, Jin Ge.”

He hung up and turned around, only to see Sang Sang staring at him, eyes full of concern. His heart softened. He reached out and patted her head. “I’m fine. Jin Ge’s fine. Don’t worry. I’m not getting fired.”

Sang Sang let out a huge breath of relief. “You really scared me just now. I literally forgot how to breathe.”

Wen Chi handed back her phone. “You heading out?”

“Yeah.”

“Ground’s wet. Be careful.”

“Got it.”

Xiao Chi’s livestream chat:

[Xiao Chi is such a gentle person, too]

[He and Sang Sang seem really close]

[His assistant is adorable]

[Wait—what happened? Why did Sang Sang look so worried?]

[Yeah, what’s going on? Wen Chi didn’t look too great either…]

[Oh no, did something happen with the show??]

[Noooo, I haven’t had enough HengWen content yet!!]

Wen Chi stayed outside for a while. Zhou Yunbai peeked out every now and then. When he finally came back in, she asked, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, my manager just needed to talk about something,” Wen Chi replied.

Since his expression seemed fine, she didn’t ask further.

Wen Chi grabbed the hairdryer from the bathroom and returned to his room. The hum of the dryer filled the air, but his mind kept going back to Jin Ge’s words.

Partway through, he yanked his hair a little in frustration.

So annoying.

Jiang Siheng came back upstairs and, finding the bathroom empty, he walked straight to Wen Chi’s room. He knocked a few times and received no answer.

Main livestream chat:

[Okay but do they not have the same exact married-couple energy??]

[Right? You really can’t make this up.]

[I wasn’t even shipping them until now. Seeing them move in sync is what finally did it for me.]

[Just get married after the show already, please.]

The room was quiet. Wen Chi had thought he heard knocking and walked over in his slippers to open the door.

“Teacher Jiang?”

“I thought you weren’t in.”

Even after Wen Chi opened the door, Jiang Siheng didn’t step in, he just stood there at the threshold.

“I was blow-drying my hair and didn’t hear,” Wen Chi explained. He didn’t seem like he planned to let Jiang Siheng in. “Did you need something?”

Jiang Siheng wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like Wen Chi was acting like he did in the beginning. Polite and distant, not warm or cold.

“Nothing, I just came to check if you’d finished showering.”

They weren’t standing far apart, and Jiang Siheng caught a faint scent of shampoo.

He instinctively reached out to ruffle Wen Chi’s hair, expecting him to react the way he usually did—calm, obedient.

But this time, Wen Chi tilted his head slightly… and avoided the touch.