ASFSODS 41

Wen Chi, wrapped in a bath towel, sat on the toilet lid “running his shop”—aka playing a management game. He had been stuck on level 716 and couldn’t pass no matter what. The hot shower had put him in a great mood, but now he was so frustrated that the good mood was gone.

“Ahhhh!” Wen Chi used his last 100 diamonds to buy a power-up. “It’s either I beat this level today or I delete the whole game!”

Jiang Siheng had just entered Wen Chi’s room when he heard the boy shouting angrily from the bathroom.

Fans camping in Wen Chi’s livestream hadn’t left:

[Why did Teacher Jiang go into the kid’s room?]

[Hmm hmm hmm? Something’s fishy.]

[What was Xiao Chi yelling about just now? Did anyone catch it?]

[Couldn’t hear.]

[Maybe he’s having a solo concert in the bathroom.]

[LOL. Doing karaoke in the shower is too real.]

[Wait, why is Teacher Jiang opening the wardrobe?!]

[??? And he just took out a full outfit?!]

Jiang Siheng brought the clothes the little young master had requested and knocked on the bathroom door. “Xiao Chi.”

The game sounds stopped immediately. A moment later, the bathroom door cracked open, and the rich scent of shower gel came spilling out. Then a head peeked through.

The boy’s skin was almost dazzlingly pale, his damp hair tousled, cheeks tinged with pink, the whole of him radiating the warm, fuzzy aura of a freshly bathed little animal.

“Thanks, Teacher Jiang.” Wen Chi reached out his pale, slender arm to take the clothes.

Only… he couldn’t hold them??

Wen Chi looked up in confusion at the man.

Jiang Siheng’s gaze lingered on Wen Chi’s smooth, defined collarbone, trailed up his long neck, then quickly turned away.

He let go like it was nothing, letting Wen Chi take the clothes.

“Hurry and get dressed before you catch a cold.”

“Got it.”

Wen Chi clutched his bathrobe with one hand and held his phone with the other. Faced with the neatly folded outfit Jiang Siheng had prepared, he suddenly didn’t know what to do. He was totally flustered.

He turned in a little circle, trying to grab the clothes one-handed while still holding his phone. He lost his grip and just as the clothes started to slip, he instinctively let go of his towel to catch them—

Well, you can imagine what happened next.

Though Jiang Siheng swore up and down that he had closed his eyes instantly and didn’t see a thing, the way Wen Chi curled under the blanket and refused to come out for nearly ten minutes left him helpless and amused.

Jiang Siheng sat at the edge of the bed and poked at the lump under the blanket. After a moment, he said, “Want me to act out a live demonstration of memory loss?”

A few seconds later, the blanket lifted to reveal Wen Chi’s flushed face—either from embarrassment or from being under the covers too long. His bright and misty eyes stared at Jiang Siheng.

Jiang Siheng was close enough to smell the lingering shower gel scent clinging to the boy. Seeing the little turtle finally poke out of his “shell,” he chuckled. “Decided to come out at last?”

Half his face was still buried in the blanket. Wen Chi mumbled, “You didn’t see anything just now!”

Pretty fierce tone, too.

Jiang Siheng answered seriously and sincerely, “I didn’t see anything at all. You just moved way too fast.”

Wen Chi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He seized on the key point. “So if I’d moved slower, you would’ve seen everything?”

Jiang Siheng: “……”

Wen Chi punched Jiang Siheng’s thigh in frustration.

Wen Chi Livestream:

[What what what???]

[Aaaa what happened just now?!]

[Xiao Chi unplugged his mic to shower, so we can only hear Teacher Jiang now…]

[Why does this feel a little… spicy #shy]

[Old married couple vibes. Totally.]

Jiang Siheng cleared his throat, trying not to laugh. “Alright, let’s go downstairs. Zhou Yunbai was calling us in the group chat to come have ginger tea.”

“Ginger tea?” Wen Chi looked puzzled. “Why suddenly ginger tea?”

“Tong Xian’en caught a cold. I guess he wants everyone to warm up and avoid getting sick.”

“Oh, okay.”

Wen Chi sat up. Jiang Siheng picked up the mic from the nightstand. “Want to wear this?”

“Yeah.”

Jiang Siheng came closer. Wen Chi lifted his arms slightly and everything flowed naturally.

They went downstairs, with Jiang Siheng following a step behind. His gaze drifted to the back of Wen Chi’s round head, cute enough just to look at.

In truth, he had seen everything earlier. Even though the boy had covered up lightning fast, everything he shouldn’t have seen—he’d seen.

But to spare Wen Chi the embarrassment (or rage), Jiang Siheng wisely decided not to bring it up.

Still, the image wouldn’t leave his mind. Jiang Siheng hadn’t expected that even that part of a guy could look so… aesthetically pleasing.

He silently reassured himself that this doesn’t mean he’s a pervert.

Suddenly, Wen Chi turned around—startling him.

Jiang Siheng quickly averted his gaze, then realized he looked guilty, so he turned his head back again.

Wen Chi blinked. “Teacher Jiang, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Wen Chi, who normally trusted Jiang Siheng 100%, now trusted him only 95% thanks to that little “incident.”

“Oh,” he said.

Main Livestream:

[Is it just me or is the vibe between them a little weird?]

[What the heck just happened upstairs?]

[Why does Jiang Siheng keep avoiding Wen Chi’s gaze?]

[Oh no… after SheepEn BE, is HengWen about to BE too?]

[You BE. Your whole family BE, except your parents and grandparents.]

[…Wow, that’s actually kind of gentle for an insult.]

[No but really—it’s suspicious. Every time Xiao Chi looks at Movie Emperor Jiang, he looks away.]

Compared to the sharp-eyed viewers, Wen Chi didn’t think Jiang Siheng was acting odd at all because the man hid it perfectly. It looked so natural when he looked away, not at all like he was avoiding anything.

“We’re heading to a small town nearby tomorrow?” Zhou Ruoyao looked at Xu Yuqing like he had lost his mind. “You sure it’s a good idea to go sightseeing when it’s snowing?”

“That town’s still lively even when it snows,” Xu Yuqing replied, seemingly unfazed by Zhou Ruoyao’s tone. “Since Xiao Chi’s never been abroad and he’s from the south, he probably hasn’t seen snow. It’ll be a new experience.”

Wen Chi, randomly brought into the conversation, blinked. “Uh, yeah, I’m from the south, but it’s not—”

“Exactly. So let’s explore a little. We came all the way here and it would be a waste not to go out. I checked the weather. It’ll be warmer tomorrow, not as cold as today,” Xu Yuqing said with a smile.

Wen Chi hadn’t even finished his sentence. He was going to say, “I’m from the south, but it’s not like I’ve never seen snow.”

He sighed, rested his chin on his hand, and turned to Jiang Siheng.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Siheng asked softly.

Wen Chi shook his head. “Nothing.”

Jiang Siheng gave him a head pat, then turned a cold glance toward Xu Yuqing.

Xu Yuqing noticed and met Jiang Siheng’s eyes without flinching. He even smiled back.

Jiang Siheng wasn’t interested in playing polite so he looked away.

As for the outing suggestion, Zhou Yunbai said, “I’m fine with whatever. You guys decide.”

Tong Xian’en added with a soft smile, “Same.”

Seeing no objections, Xu Yuqing finalized the plan for the next morning.

Main Livestream:

[Hello? What is this guy’s problem???]

[Am I the only one who feels like Xu Yuqing is totally looking down on Wen Chi?]

[At first it sounds fine, but then you realize he’s basically calling him a bumpkin who’s never left the country.]

[Y’all need to chill. Xu Ge didn’t mean it like that.]

[Seriously. He just wants everyone to have fun. We’ve been cooped up in the house too long.]

[No one’s gonna say anything about Zhou Ruoyao? That guy’s got issues too. #wiping sweat#]

Zhou Ruoyao didn’t quite believe that the weather would improve, so he checked the forecast on his phone. …A one-degree rise still counts, right?

He scooted over to Wen Chi, startling the latter.

“Huh?” Wen Chi blinked.

“Xiao Chi Ge.” Zhou Ruoyao looked serious. His tone made Wen Chi shift from lazy couch-potato mode into a more proper sitting posture.

With equal seriousness, Wen Chi replied, “I’m listening.”

“It’s gonna warm up by one degree tomorrow,” Zhou Ruoyao said. “So I think you should still wear the hoodie with ears—the one you had on today.”

By the end of his sentence, his face inexplicably turned red.

Wen Chi watched Young Master Zhou’s face slowly go red and asked in surprise, “Are you hot?”

“Nooo,” Zhou Ruoyao said quickly. “I just suddenly thought of how cute you looked in that hoodie.”

That comment earned a nod of agreement from Tian Yang. “Xiao Chi is pretty cute.”

Surprisingly, Jiang Siheng didn’t react at all, even with Zhou Ruoyao leaning in so close.

“Ear hoodie?” Zhou Yunbai, still suffering through a weird-tasting ginger tea, thanks to Xu Yuqing forgetting to add brown sugar, perked up. “Is there a picture?”

Of course there was. Wen Chi and Jiang Siheng took a bunch of photos today.

Zhou Yunbai blinked expectantly. “Hmm?”

Wen Chi nudged Jiang Siheng’s arm. “Ask him, Xiao Bai jie.”

Zhou Yunbai: “…” Oh boy.

Jiang Siheng caught Wen Chi’s hand and pulled out his phone, unlocking it and opening the album. He handed it to Zhou Yunbai without letting go of Wen Chi’s hand.

It was the phone the show had provided. Zhou Yunbai flipped through the pictures and felt like she was force-feeding herself pure sugar.

Afterward, she looked over at the two of them—currently goofing off like grade-schoolers. More accurately, Wen Chi was goofing off and Jiang Siheng was indulging him.

It was getting late, and they’d have to get up at eight tomorrow, so everyone was starting to wind down.

As Tong Xian’en walked toward the stairs, removing his mic, he glanced at Xu Yuqing beside him. That guy always had a faint, polite smile on his face.

Tong Xian’en frowned slightly and said coldly, “Don’t push it.”

“Hm?” Xu Yuqing turned. “What’s wrong, En’en?”

Tong Xian’en took advantage of them both being mic-less and said, voice even colder, “Wen Chi is Jiang Siheng’s on-show partner, and it really looks like Jiang Siheng likes him. If you don’t want trouble, leave him alone.”

He’d thought Xu Yuqing would take the hint and back off, but instead, Xu Yuqing gave him a mocking smile—a jarring contrast to his usual warm, scholarly act.

Then he said, “You being scared of Jiang Siheng… what’s that got to do with me?”