ASFSODS 34

After using the eye drops, it felt much better. His eyes didn’t look as red as before. The others were probably still on the plane, so all their fans came over to hang around Wen Chi’s stream.

Wen Chi’s livestream:

[Xiao Bai is still on the plane]

[Sheep too]

[Same with En’en]

[Our President Qin is different from yours, he’s at work and can’t make it today]

[LOL, can’t believe a CEO is working two jobs in one day]

[Kinda curious who the new guest is]

[Drama incoming! Drama incoming!]

[Breaking news: Movie Emperor Jiang has landed and is on the way to the guesthouse]

An elderly foreign lady brought over a plate of snacks and two cups of hot milk for Wen Chi and Sang Sang.

Sang Sang had already hidden behind the camera, holding the milk in one hand and a snack in the other, happily eating and drinking.

Wen Chi was sipping milk when he accidentally choked and started coughing violently. It took a while for him to calm down, then he let out a burp.

A milk burp, to be exact.

Not only did the comment section go silent, even Wen Chi himself went quiet. Sang Sang nearly choked from laughing.

After finishing the milk, Wen Chi calmly set the cup down, turned to the staff and asked, “Can I go to my room to nap and get over the jet lag?”

The staff glanced at the time. The other guests probably wouldn’t arrive that soon, so it didn’t seem fair to make Wen Chi wait in the living room the whole time. “Yes, Teacher Wen, go ahead and rest.”

After all, the whole guesthouse had been fitted with cameras so there’s no need for the camera guy to follow.

Wen Chi took some medicine afterward, and the drowsiness kicked in. Combined with jet lag, he was out cold as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Wen Chi’s livestream:

[Uh, should we tell our little bro he forgot to turn off the camera before falling asleep?]

[So this is how a celebrity sleeps]

[?? The comment above just shocked me. How else do you think they sleep?]

[Not gonna lie, I like sleeping in that position too]

[Xiao Chi is really sleeping soundly]

[He’s honestly so adorable]

The viewers had turned the livestream into a chatroom. The topic had just been “What to eat tonight,” and now it had jumped to “Ugh, work again tomorrow, I’m so done.”

Jiang Siheng arrived at the guesthouse over an hour later. A staff member who had pulled up a small stool and was sitting at the door stood up when he saw Jiang Siheng. “Welcome to Y Country, known for its romantic charm.”

Jiang Siheng looked at him and asked, “Where’s Wen Chi?”

 “……”

The staff pointed inside. “He’s sleeping.”

Main livestream:

[Hahahahahaha Teacher Jiang shows up and the first thing he asks is where his wife is—so in love]

[Staff, please refrain from being cute]

[OMG, Sheep and Tong Xian’en were on the same flight and didn’t even know until they landed, LOL]

[Xiao Bai should be arriving soon too]

[What about President Qin? When’s he coming?]

[President Qin: Don’t mention me, I’m in a meeting]

Knowing that Wen Chi was resting eased Jiang Siheng’s earlier worry. He spotted the elderly couple who owned the guesthouse.

The foreign couple seemed to know him and greeted him like they were old friends.

“Are you friends with that cute boy?” the old lady asked.

“Yes.”

She turned to glance at the stairs, her eyes filled with concern, then turned back. “Please tell him that he must take good care of his eyes. His eyes are very beautiful.”

“I think so. I’ll make sure he knows.” Jiang Siheng’s expression was serious, without a trace of casualness.

The old man wore reading glasses. Though he was quite old, he was very skilled at handling computers and tech. He handed Jiang Siheng a key and smiled. “For you.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Siheng replied, then thought of something and asked, “Is this key for the room next to the boy’s?”

The old man paused. “No.”

The old lady asked, “Do you want to live next door to the boy?”

The old man immediately caught on, chuckled, and switched the room for Jiang Siheng. “Your relationship is really good.”

The man successfully moved into the room next to Wen Chi.

Main livestream:
[I’ve never hated my English skills more than I do right now]

[Help!!! What did Jiang Ge just say???]

[Any kind soul out there willing to translate?]

[As an international student, I’ll translate: Jiang Ge basically said, ‘Hi, I want to live next to my wife.’]

[LMAO……]

[Perfect, absolutely perfect]

After putting away his luggage, Jiang Siheng walked over to Wen Chi’s room and knocked. No response. He tried turning the doorknob and it wasn’t locked.

“I’m coming in,” Jiang Siheng said softly, like he didn’t want to wake the person inside.

He stepped in quietly. Seeing the suitcase tossed casually to the side, his gaze landed on the bed.

The boy was bundled up under the covers, fast asleep. Jiang Siheng walked over and gently placed a hand on his forehead, confirming there was no fever. Seeing that the boy looked peaceful even in sleep, he finally relaxed.

…

Wen Chi woke up feeling much better. He had a habit of checking his phone after waking to see if anyone had messaged him. That’s when he realized he’d been added to a WeChat group with dozens of unread messages.

Skimming the chat, he saw that they were all added by Zhou Yunbai. The group’s name was simply a period.

【Zhou Yunbai: I finally got off the plane】
【Zhou Yunbai: [photo]】
【Tian Yang: Xian’en and I just got to the guesthouse】
【Zhou Yunbai: Has anyone else arrived yet?】
【Tian Yang: No idea, didn’t see anyone else when we got here】
【Zhou Yunbai: Oh oh】
【Tian Yang: Xiao Chi’s here, but his eyes aren’t feeling well, so he went to rest】

…

The conversation went on with scattered messages. Wen Chi sent a sticker in reply, washed his face, and headed downstairs.

Just as he reached the bottom, he ran into Zhou Yunbai dragging his suitcase through the door. Zhou Yunbai waved. “Xiao Chi, good morning.”

Wen Chi took a few seconds to respond. “Good morning, Xiao Bai Jie.”

“I say good morning, but it’s already evening back home,” Zhou Yunbai chuckled. “I’m gonna drop off my luggage. Let’s talk later?”

“Okay.”

The old lady was sitting on a wicker rocking chair. When she saw Wen Chi, she smiled kindly and said, “Ni hao~”

Wen Chi blinked, then tried mimicking her tone cautiously. “Ni hao.”

The old lady lit up like a child. “Your friend just taught me a few words of Chinese, which I found particularly interesting.”

Wen Chi: “……”

To his ears, it sounded like: ……%……&%@#……&*%Chinese……&￥#@^%interesting.

“She said your friend just taught her a few phrases in Chinese and she found them very fun,” Jiang Siheng’s voice came from behind.

Wen Chi turned around in surprise. “Teacher Jiang? When did you get here?”

“I came in right after you.” Jiang Siheng put down what he was carrying and walked over, cupping Wen Chi’s face in both hands and examining him closely. “Let me see your eyes.”

Wen Chi blinked.

There was still a hint of redness in his eyes. Jiang Siheng relaxed, though a bit helplessly. “What did I tell you before I left? You’re not taking care of yourself properly.”

Wen Chi looked a little guilty. Then he straightened his back and said, “It was just an accident.”

Jiang Siheng: “Oh.”

Jiang Siheng’s livestream:

[So sweet I’m screaming, so sweet I’m screaming]

[Jiang Ge, I don’t mind you dating, but maybe tone it down just a little…]

[Someone in the main stream translated Jiang Ge’s convo with the grandma earlier—I’m dying]

[Wasn’t it basically “I want to live next to my wife”? Cracked me up]

[Also, Jiang Ge’s “What did I tell you before I left?” really deserves a closer look]

[Maybe it was from when they were spotted at the hospital together?]

Wen Chi pouted and looked around. “Where are Yang Ge and Xian’en? Didn’t they already arrive?”

Jiang Siheng looked down at him. “How do you know they’re here?”

Wen Chi was surprised and didn’t answer. He pulled out his phone, opened WeChat, and, after confirming Jiang Siheng was in the group, said, “Yang Ge mentioned it in the group chat.”

The director, unaware his guests had secretly made a “side group chat”: ……

Honestly, they were all supposed to use the phones provided by the show, but now they were not only using their own—they even started a secret group chat?!

Wen Chi shoved his phone screen in front of Jiang Siheng. As Jiang Siheng glanced at the messages, a new notification popped up.

【Er Qiao: Chi Chi!!!】

Jiang Siheng paused for two seconds at the nickname and the contact name, then turned and said, “Someone messaged you.”

“Hm?” Wen Chi looked and saw it was from Qiao Congnan. A smile immediately spread across his face.

Jiang Siheng silently watched as Wen Chi happily sat cross-legged on the couch and started chatting intently.

Voices could be heard upstairs. Tian Yang was chatting with Tong Xian’en, who didn’t seem all that interested and looked rather bored.

By the afternoon, aside from the working President Qin, the five guests had finally gathered. “We’re guessing everyone’s probably hungry, so the show has prepared a big lunch but before that, we have two announcements: First, two new guests will be joining for Episode 2. Second, today is also the first time you’ll choose whether or not to change your ‘love interest.’ As for the letters you wrote at the end of Episode 1, you’ll get them back after lunch…”

The director rambled on, but the key points were: new guests, and the option to switch your love interest.

Qin Xiyu wasn’t here, and judging by Zhou Yunbai’s reaction, she didn’t seem worried that he would choose to switch.

As for Wen Chi…

He wasn’t worried either. He didn’t really care who he was “paired with,” though not switching would be preferable because he wasn’t great with new people. What he was really thinking about now was what he even wrote in that letter two weeks ago. He didn’t remember a single punctuation mark.

The director sat on a little stool and turned toward the door. “Let’s welcome our new guests.”

As he finished speaking, two young men walked in. From their looks and outfits, it was easy to guess their personalities.

To put it simply: the one on the left had a warm, gentle, boy-next-door vibe. His name was Xu Yuqing, an actor. The slightly shorter one on the right had a sweet-and-salty cat-like charm. His name was Zhou Ruoyao, also an actor.

Main livestream:
[LOL I finally get why Zhou Yunbai isn’t worried about Qin Xiyu picking someone else]

[Honestly, I don’t think the guest lineup this season is great — only one straight pairing]

[If the new guests are one guy and one girl, no combo will make sense]

[This season is full of masculine energy]

[Ehhh, I still prefer shows with more girls]

[I remember seeing a post online saying Old Ma planned this season to focus on male-male CPs]

[Is that true or what?]

After the new guests introduced themselves, Wen Chi and the others introduced themselves too.

When Zhou Ruoyao smiled, he showed two little tiger teeth. “I know you guys—I watched your livestreams.”

After the formalities, the director cued the next part and sent the guests off to eat.

A long dining table was filled with Western dishes.

Everyone naturally sat the way they had in Episode 1. Tian Yang, like usual, pulled out the chair on his right for Tong Xian’en, only to see him sit down next to Xu Yuqing instead—right across from him.

Tian Yang froze, still holding the top of the chair.

Tong Xian’en noticed his gaze but kept a neutral expression. “What?”

Tian Yang mumbled, “Oh, I just thought you’d sit next to me like before.”

Tong Xian’en smiled faintly. “Sitting across from you is the same.”

Tian Yang thought about it and figured… yeah, kind of.

Zhou Ruoyao pointed to the seat next to Tian Yang. “Then I’ll take this one, okay?”

Tian Yang quickly pulled his hand back. “Sure, go ahead.”

The person to Wen Chi’s left was now Zhou Ruoyao, who kept chatting non-stop. The topics he brought up were all ones Wen Chi found interesting.

It was like… Zhou Ruoyao knew all of Wen Chi’s interests and hobbies.