ASFSODS 7

Actually, as soon as Jiang Siheng left the room, Wen Chi got up to turn off the camera and mic in his room.

After all, there was no way he was going to let a third person find out about this kind of thing. What he didn’t expect was that Jiang Siheng would suddenly go back.

Everything happened so fast that Wen Chi’s brain was still lagging. Jiang Siheng quickly turned his head away, keeping his expression cold, but the panic in his eyes and the faint flush on his ears gave him away.

“You…” The man stumbled a bit over his words. “Cover yourself with the blanket first.”

Wen Chi: “…”

With a swish, Wen Chi pulled the blanket up and wrapped himself tightly.

Outside, Tian Yang saw Jiang Siheng standing stiffly in front of the door and curiously poked his head over. “Jiang Ge, what’s going on?” Before he could lean in, Jiang Siheng grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him in the opposite direction.

Bang.

Tian Yang stared as Jiang Siheng shut the door in his face. “??”

What just happened??? What gossip was going on that he wasn’t allowed to hear?

Main livestream chat:

[Ahhhh what happened what happened?]

[What’s going on??]

[Why did Wen Chi’s stream go black?]

[Why did he shut Tian Yang out?]

[AHHHHH I’m climbing the walls from curiosity!]

Jiang Siheng heard rustling from inside. Still facing the door, he waited until Wen Chi finally said in a quiet voice, “Teacher Jiang…”

Jiang Siheng felt his heart skip a beat. Without turning around, he gave a soft “Mm” in reply.

Wen Chi noticed Jiang Siheng had been facing the door the entire time. Even though he himself felt a bit awkward and embarrassed, he suddenly thought—he was the one whose butt got seen, so he should be embarrassed… Oh, no. Jiang Siheng should be the embarrassed one.

Wait, no again.

They’re both guys. Why be embarrassed?

Wen Chi suddenly figured it out. He sat up on the bed in a way that didn’t touch his sore butt and asked, “Teacher Jiang, did you need something?”

“I…” Jiang Siheng instinctively turned to look at him. Wen Chi was sitting slightly tilted on the edge of the bed, his posture a little odd, but understandable given the situation.

Wen Chi tilted his head like a kitten. “What?”

“…Sorry. I was worried you might’ve forgotten to turn off the camera and mic, so I came back without knocking.”

Wen Chi hadn’t expected that. He blinked, then burst out laughing. “Oh, so that’s it. I turned them off already.”

Jiang Siheng responded with a quiet “Mm.”

The room fell into silence. Jiang Siheng didn’t speak, and Wen Chi, unsure what to say, pretended not to feel awkward by adjusting the already messed-up blanket. Lifted it. Put it back down.

Tian Yang and Tong Xian’en voices drifted in from outside.

Wen Chi held back for a few seconds, about to ask if Jiang Siheng wasn’t going to leave, when the latter spoke first. “Did you put on the ointment?”

Wen Chi paused. “Not yet. I was just about to.”

Jiang Siheng thought back to the awkward but oddly funny sight he’d seen when he walked in, and almost smiled—but when Wen Chi glanced at him with confused eyes, he coughed and said, “Want me to help?”

Wen Chi: “?!”

Jiang Siheng realized right after he said it that it sounded kind of indecent. He thought for a second. “Better if you do it yourself.”

Before Wen Chi could reply, Jiang Siheng turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. Somehow, the whole scene felt familiar to Wen Chi.

This time, Jiang Siheng didn’t wait by the door. He knocked and said, “I’m heading downstairs.”

Inside the room, Wen Chi wondered why Jiang Siheng was announcing this. Then he realized—maybe Jiang Siheng wanted to reassure him that he wouldn’t suddenly barge in again while he was applying the ointment.

Only after hearing Wen Chi’s response did Jiang Siheng head downstairs. Everyone else had finished their midday rest and gathered in the living room. With nothing else to do, Tian Yang and Zhou Yunbai were gaming, Tong Xian’en was reading, and Qin Xiyu was nowhere to be seen.

Earlier in the morning, Tong Xian’en had clung to Jiang Siheng the moment he saw him. Now, he only gave Jiang Siheng a small polite smile and went back to reading.

Main livestream chat:

[Wait, why did Tong Xian’en’s attitude change?]

[He’s not clinging to Jiang Siheng anymore. Did something happen?]

[You people are too much—when he clings, you complain. When he doesn’t, you still complain #eyeroll]

[Just curious, no need to bite my head off #eyeroll]

[AHHHHH my husband is so handsome!]

[Wifey Xiaobai mwah mwah]

[En’en baby mwah mwah mwah]

[Bro SHEEP is literally still gaming on the show lol]

[Where’s Qin Ge? I don’t see my CEO anywhere]

[My poor Wen Chi is missing too QAQ]

Wen Chi changed into a comfy pair of pants. Whether it was the ointment or the fabric, it hurt a lot less to walk now.

As he slowly made his way downstairs, he ran into Qin Xiyu in the hallway. The latter gave him a brief look and suddenly asked, “Feeling better?”

“What?”

Wen Chi didn’t immediately understand what Qin Xiyu was referring to, but when their eyes met, he caught on.

Feeling better??!!

How did Qin Xiyu know he’d fallen on his butt?!

Qin Xiyu looked thoughtfully at Wen Chi’s increasingly red face and decided not to mention that he’d overheard the phrase “my butt’s about to split in two.”

Wen Chi was beyond embarrassed, his face and ears burning. He mumbled, “It’s fine now…”

Qin Xiyu nodded and walked past him down the stairs, as if his earlier question had just been a casual check-in between fellow cast members.

Wen Chi scratched his head, confused. That last look Qin Xiyu gave him felt… complicated.

He stood there for a bit before continuing down the stairs. He hadn’t even reached the landing when he bumped into Jiang Siheng.

Jiang Siheng seemed briefly surprised to see him, then quickly stepped forward and naturally supported Wen Chi by the arm. “I was just about to come get you.”

“Huh?” Wen Chi glanced at the arm being held. “Teacher Jiang, I can walk by myself.”

Jiang Siheng: “Oh.”

Wen Chi: “…”

Jiang Siheng insisted on helping anyway, and by the time the two of them entered the living room, everyone turned to look.

Wen Chi froze.

Crap. I want to run away.

Jiang Siheng remained calm, guided Wen Chi to the sofa, and then headed into the kitchen.

Tian Yang asked with concern, “Wen Chi, what happened?”

Wen Chi gave an embarrassed smile. “I fell.”

Jiang Siheng returned with a glass of water and placed it in front of Wen Chi, then sat down beside him.

Wen Chi looked at the glass, then at Jiang Siheng, and cautiously picked it up.

Before he could take a sip, Jiang Siheng—who had been looking at his phone—suddenly raised his eyes.

Wen Chi froze, lashes fluttering slightly as he sneaked a glance back.

Jiang Siheng’s lips curved up. He reached over and ruffled Wen Chi’s hair. “It’s for you.”

Main livestream chat:

[AHHHHHHHHHHH]

[If these two aren’t a CP, I’m flying over to beat the crap out of the producers!!!]

[Director: Good thing I locked in that pairing.]

[Teacher Jiang is so gentle QAQ]

[Quick plug: go watch Emperor Jiang’s films, worth every second!]

[Should we… you know… ship it?]

[Girl with Wen Chi badge above me—calm down!]

[QAQ]

Wen Chi froze for a few seconds from the unexpected head pat. His face flushed red. “O-okay.”

Zhou Yunbai witnessed all this. As a fellow CP fan, she wanted to claw at the walls in excitement.

Other people’s CPs really are the best.

At 3:30 p.m., the show gave each CP a secret mission and told them not to let their partner find out.

Wen Chi was curled up in a beanbag chair, the perfect spot to hide his screen.

[Production: Mr. Wen, before your date tomorrow night, please prepare a surprise gift for Mr. Jiang.]

Reading those formal titles gave Wen Chi a strange feeling of shame.

He replied [Got it], and began thinking about what gift to get.

First of all, he didn’t really know Jiang Siheng—he hadn’t even read that profile properly.

Second, they hadn’t even spent 24 hours together. Trying to figure out what the man liked in that short time was nearly impossible.

Wen Chi furrowed his brows in distress, glanced at Jiang Siheng, then quickly looked back at his phone and started typing.

On Taobao, he searched: “gift ideas for friends.”

Gift 1: a nightlight hamster that repels mosquitoes

Gift 2: ultraman-themed building blocks

Gift 3: a lying-flat duck neck fan, perfect for girls

Wen Chi frowned. Hmm, that duck fan is kinda cute. This phone stand is cool too. OMG, that little frog plushie—so adorable!

He added everything to his cart. Checked out. Paid.

Wen Chi was so pleased he wiggled in his seat.

Jiang Siheng also received his secret mission from the show. He didn’t react outwardly, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to the side—where he saw Wen Chi gleefully bouncing in place.

He reached over and lightly patted the boy’s head.

Wen Chi immediately froze, like someone had hit the power button. Stunned.

Jiang chuckled. “What made you so happy?”

Wen Chi blinked. The moment he met Jiang’s deep brown eyes, he suddenly remembered—he’d gone on Taobao to get inspiration for a gift, and somehow ended up shopping for himself.

Wen Chi pressed his lips together, forced down the grin, and said solemnly, “Nothing. I was thinking about something very serious.”

Jiang played along with a nod, as if he hadn’t seen the delighted expression earlier. “What a coincidence. I was thinking about something very serious too.”

Wen Chi almost immediately suspected Jiang was referring to the secret mission. But then he remembered—an actor like Jiang probably wouldn’t take something like this “game” seriously.

I’m overthinking it. Definitely overthinking it.