ASFSODS 36

Dinner included the foreign elderly couple and their family. Thankfully, the table was large enough to fit four more people. After eating, the guests left and everyone gathered in the living room with the TV on.

Zhou Ruoyao had taken over the spot next to Wen Chi. “Xiao Chi Ge, what are you doing?”

“Running a business. Wanna play? It’s co-op,” Wen Chi said, showing him the screen. “It’s that kind of game where customers place orders, and we cook the food and serve it.”

Zhou Ruoyao looked intrigued. “Eh? Sounds fun. I’m gonna download it.”

“Come on, come on, finally someone to play co-op with!” Wen Chi was delighted.

Jiang Siheng walked over with a cup of warm water and sat on Wen Chi’s other side. After setting the cup down on the coffee table, he asked, “Xiao Chi, where’s your medicine?”

“In the room,” Wen Chi looked up at him.

Jiang Siheng gave a quiet “Mm,” then stood and headed upstairs.

Wen Chi paused as he watched him walk off, suddenly realizing what he was going to do. He turned off his phone and hurried after him. “Teacher Jiang, wait for me!”

“Xiao—Xiao Chi Ge?!” Zhou Ruoyao had just finished downloading the game when he saw Wen Chi chasing after Jiang Siheng. His mouth twitched. “He just ran off with him like that…”

Jiang Siheng heard Wen Chi behind him and turned around to see the boy jogging to catch up. He chuckled, “Why are you running?”

“I thought you wouldn’t know where I put the medicine.” As Wen Chi spoke, he realized it sounded like he took it for granted that Jiang Siheng would get it for him and that he was okay with letting him into his room alone.

While they were talking, they reached Wen Chi’s room. Jiang Siheng stepped aside and let the actual room owner enter first.

Wen Chi’s medicine was on the desk, along with the eye drops.

“Let me see your eyes.”

The moment he heard that, Wen Chi stood still like he was obeying a command, letting Jiang Siheng check them.

“Is it still red? I feel like they’re much better.” Wen Chi tilted his head back slightly, holding his eyes open. He could clearly see his reflection in the man’s pupils.

“They are better,” Jiang Siheng said, giving Wen Chi’s forehead a light tap—so soft it barely counted. “But if I stop keeping an eye on you, you’ll probably be back to square one by tomorrow.”

“No way!” Wen Chi widened his eyes. “Today was just an accident!”

Main Livestream:

[I’m obsessed with the HengWen CP!]

[Xiao Chi is seriously too cute — I wanna steal him away]

[Aaaa President Qin is calling Xiao Bai]

[Wait what? It’s 3 a.m. back home??]

[CEOs don’t need sleep]

[Help, am I really the only one worried that Sheep and Tong Xian’en might BE?]

[It’s not that I’m not worried — I just think they have BE’d already…]

[Nooooo T_T]

Jiang Siheng picked up the medicine and eye drops. “Let’s go.”

Wen Chi blinked. “Oh, okay.”

He followed Jiang Siheng out of the room like a happy little duck but after a few steps, Jiang Siheng stopped abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Chi stopped too, confused.

Jiang Siheng turned to look at him and stared for a few seconds. Before Wen Chi could panic and think he’d done something wrong, Jiang Siheng asked, “What do you think of me?”

A completely out-of-nowhere question.

Wen Chi was caught off guard. “W-what do I think?”

Jiang Siheng thought for a second, then clarified, “What’s your opinion of me as a person?”

“Oh. I think you’re nice.”

Jiang Siheng: “……”

I shouldn’t have asked. That’s just a straight-up “nice guy” card.

Jiang Siheng Livestream:

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

[I’m actually losing it]

[Thank you, Teacher Wen, for showing us this side of Jiang Ge]

[Honestly yeah, Jiang-ge, you are a nice guy]

[Beep You have received a Nice Guy Card]

Wen Chi looked at him blankly, not understanding why Jiang Siheng was giving him such a long-suffering look.

Finally, Jiang Siheng got straight to the point. “You’re not planning to switch me out, are you?”

Wen Chi was puzzled. “Huh?” Then he realized what he meant and immediately said, firm and loud, “No way.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Wen Chi nodded. “As long as you don’t want to switch me out, I won’t switch either.”

Jiang Siheng felt like Wen Chi could be even more straightforward and passionate than he was at times.

He was clearly satisfied with that answer. He smiled and said, “Good.”

As they were heading back downstairs, Wen Chi suddenly remembered the cat. “Teacher Jiang, did your cat come home?”

Jiang Siheng didn’t stop walking. “I think so.”

“Really? That’s great!”

Jiang Siheng glanced at the still-clueless boy and smiled without saying a word.

…

The production team had the guests return to their rooms and dig out their long-forgotten show-issued phones.

Wen Chi and the others hadn’t used those phones since filming began—except for Jiang Siheng. The rest looked a little sheepish but honestly, it felt kind of fun to rebel a little now and then.

Main Livestream:

[Omg it’s time to pick their love interests]

[Praying in real-time: don’t switch, don’t switch, nobody switch]

[Not worried about HengWen CP at all (crosses legs)]

[Same. First time I’ve seen a couple sneak around behind the show’s back like this]

[Girl, “sneaking behind the scenes”—that wording was chef’s kiss]

[Honestly the ones to worry about now are Sheep and Tong Xian’en]

[Not necessarily…]

The production team had prepared a little interactive feature. It was a virtual “carrier pigeon” scene where each guest wrote their pick’s name on “stationery” and sent it off via pigeon animation.

Wen Chi didn’t hesitate at all. He wrote a few words, then even patted the pigeon like it was real. “Go on, Pika-Pigeon.”

Once everyone finished, the show didn’t try to build suspense. The results came in fast.

Wen Chi’s phone lit up again, displaying the app’s pink background. His and Jiang Siheng’s names appeared side-by-side in the center with a little animated heart between them.

Then fireworks exploded across the screen, and a line of jelly-font text popped up:
[Congratulations! You’ve successfully matched!]

Wen Chi: “……”

Wen Chi Livestream:

[Not gonna lie… this is so tacky]

[LMAOOOO who made this cursed app?]

[It’s like those old Flash love testers from 10+ years ago]

[Exactly]

[Help this is so cringe I’m laughing]

[Did the show’s director even approve this?]

[Probably not]

[Tech team: we rebel for a living]

The director, watching from backstage, saw the glittery, dated interface and twitched at the corner of his mouth. He never should’ve trusted those guys to design it.

Whatever—it’s not like they had to use it forever. Wen Chi took a screenshot and sent it to Jiang Siheng.

【Wen Chi: Yay】

【Wen Chi: [screenshot]】

【Jiang Siheng: [two bunnies cuddling.jpg]】

【Wen Chi: Huh?】

【Jiang Siheng: Didn’t you say you wanted cuddles?】

Wen Chi froze for a few seconds, then remembered what he had written on the stationery: “Teacher Jiang, cuddles please.”

His face burned.

【Wen Chi: [two bunnies cuddling.jpg]】

Jiang Siheng chuckled softly at receiving the exact same sticker back.

Just then, a call came in. He looked at the name and raised his brows. “You’re overseas too?”

“What overseas, I just got off work,” Director Xu yawned. “Are you filming that variety show right now?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Siheng muted his mic. “What’s up?”

Hearing that, Director Xu knew he could talk. “It’s about that Xu Zhouwei guy Min Zhi mentioned. He came to audition for Zhou Mian yesterday. I think he’s okay. He’s a bit stiff, but he’s honestly better than most of the others.”

Jiang Siheng thought for a while before he even remembered the casting issue. He didn’t care much who played Zhou Mian—as long as Director Xu thought it was a good fit, that was fine by him.

“Got it.”

“When does your shoot end? I checked the schedule and we will start filming on the 27th next month. Think you can make it back in time?”

“No idea. I’ll ask for leave if I have to.”

“Oh wow, ask for leave? What, can’t bear to be away from your precious baby?”

Jiang Siheng didn’t react, but he thought of the sticker Wen Chi had just sent: Teacher Jiang, cuddles please.

He replied calmly, “Yeah. I can’t bear to leave him.”

Director Xu: “……”

Director Xu hung up on the spot.

Jiang Siheng looked at the screen as it returned to the call log, then set his phone aside and grabbed some clothes to shower.

The foreign couple was clearly well-off. The guesthouse had private bathrooms in every room, so there was no need to queue for showers.

After showering, Jiang Siheng normally wouldn’t wear the mic again unless something came up. He grabbed his phone and stepped out, planning to find Wen Chi—only to see Zhou Ruoyao coming down from the third floor in slippers, heading straight to Wen Chi’s room.

He knocked twice. The door opened quickly. Zhou Ruoyao said something with a smile and walked in. The door closed behind him.

Jiang Siheng stood there frozen like an ice sculpture.

Jiang Siheng Livestream:

[Poor Jiang Ge… but this is too funny to watch]

[Jiang Ge, don’t worry — Zhou Ruoyao just went in to play games with him]

[Yeah I just came from Wen Chi’s stream. They’re literally sitting on the couch gaming]

[Pure and innocent. Your wife is still your wife]

[HAHAHAHA I’m dying]

Meanwhile, the two in question were running their little in-game restaurant. The tiny two-seater couch was barely enough to fit them both. Zhou Ruoyao had gotten the hang of the game and was multitasking as he said, “Did you see the comments just now?”

Wen Chi hummed. “What comments?”

“I peeked at everyone’s comments before I came over. Tong Xian’en and Xu Yuqing are apparently a thing now.”

“What?” Wen Chi nearly burnt a dish. “No way.”

“So I’m defaulting to Tian Yang now,” Zhou Ruoyao said.

Wen Chi asked, “Who was your original pick?”

“You, obviously,” Zhou Ruoyao said bluntly. “You’re my favorite person here.”

Wen Chi: “……”

He forced an awkward smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Good thing neither of them was wearing a mic. The audience could only see them whispering, not hear a word.

Wen Chi Livestream:

[Bro… be careful out there…]

[Xiao Chi, open Teacher Jiang’s stream. There’s a surprise waiting for you]

[Actually… Zhou Ruoyao and Xiao Chi are kinda shippable too?]

[To the person who said there’s a surprise — quit stealing all the bamboo shoots from the mountain]

[You who said Zhou Ruoyao and Xiao Chi are shippable — get outta here with that nonsense]

[Xiao Chi belongs to Teacher Jiang (BOOMING VOICE €€€€)]

They finally cleared the level that had been stuck for ages, and Wen Chi unlocked a skin that couldn’t be bought with real money. He immediately equipped it, grinning ear to ear.

Zhou Ruoyao saw how happy he looked and couldn’t help showing his little tiger teeth.

Zhou Ruoyao Livestream:

[Young master, please stop simping (exhausted sigh)]

[Ughhhh two adorable boys]

[Young master, calm down. Don’t let people figure out your true identity!]

[Girl ahead of me, you’re being dramatic]

[Huh? What true identity?]

[Not gonna lie, those two… have no ending anyway (wipes tears)]

Zhou Ruoyao had no idea what his stream chat was saying. Not that he cared.

.

The next day, Wen Chi wore a beige hoodie and fleece-lined sweatpants. Unsure if they’d be heading out, he brought his sherpa coat just in case.

When he got to the first floor, he saw the foreign couple behind the front desk. After greeting them, he noticed Tian Yang and Zhou Ruoyao on the sofa.

Zhou Ruoyao was resting his chin on his hand, looking at Tian Yang with a conflicted expression like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

“Morning,” Wen Chi walked over and sat on Tian Yang’s other side.

Zhou Ruoyao lit up when he saw him. “Good morning, Xiao Chi Ge.”

Wen Chi noticed Tian Yang looked a little down. Thinking of what Zhou Ruoyao had told him last night, he didn’t need to ask the reason.

He scratched his cheek and chose to stay silent with Zhou Ruoyao.

Soon after, Jiang Siheng came downstairs. Wen Chi spotted him and visibly relaxed. He hopped up and trotted over. “Good morning, Teacher Jiang.”

“Morning,” Jiang Siheng glanced at Tian Yang and, for once, asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

Wen Chi whispered, “He and Xian’en BE’d.”

Jiang Siheng gave a quiet “Oh,” then headed for the kitchen. Wen Chi followed immediately.

Jiang Siheng opened the fridge, scanning its contents, eyes still a little sleepy.

“As long as we don’t BE,” he muttered.