So Good at Pretending?

A Forced Kiss at the Bar? That Happened?

No wonder Meng Qiongqi had gone at him like a rabid dog that time. The moment Huo Renjie said he'd blacked out and couldn't remember, Meng Qiongqi had rushed over and punched him.

Huo Renjie ran out of the villa. It took him a long while to sort through his thoughts, and then he grabbed at his hair in regret. Fuck, of all people, why did I have to mess with him?!

Meng Qiongqi's crowd was just like his father—straight-up old cadres. Whoever ran into them had to stand at attention and salute. They weren't people you could casually fool around with. It would have been fine if this layer of window paper had remained unpierced, but now it was about to become common knowledge. How was this supposed to end? Maybe he should pretend he'd never heard this gossip?

As Huo Renjie wavered, the cameraman quietly appeared behind him, aiming the lens at his pacing back.

The livestream viewers couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

He'd just been obediently waiting for food in the dining room, then suddenly bolted without a word and looked so troubled and restless. Was he thinking about how to confess to a guest he liked?

Honestly, I've always felt that Huo Renjie didn't see Song Yichuan that way, because eyes can't lie.

When he looked at Song Yichuan, there was no desire in his eyes—only a thirst for knowledge. Right?

Exactly, exactly. It was thirst for knowledge, like he was desperately trying to acquire knowledge.

Adding on to the comment above: he had less CP chemistry with Su Yunchuan than with Meng Qiongqi.

I noticed during the competition this morning that those two were clinging to each other like melted sugar. Why do you think they came in last?

Hey, they hugged for too long and delayed the competition, obviously.

When Lu Chen came downstairs, he noticed that something was off about the atmosphere in the dining room. Smiling at Song Yichuan, he asked, "Did I miss something?"

Song Yichuan shrugged, his tone perfunctory. "Sigh, who knows? It was quiet before you came."

Fu Zhouchi gave a cold snort through his nose. "Quiet? Hmph!"

If they ignored your nonstop chattering inner monologue, then maybe it could barely count as quiet.

Hearing that, Song Yichuan narrowed his eyes at him. "Who are you being sarcastic with?"

Didn't he know that ancient male leads only had dog medicine?

"Hmph!"

A laugh that seemed impossible to suppress broke the awkwardness in the dining room.

Fu Zhouchi's expression immediately darkened. He turned and asked, "Brother Yu, was that funny?"

What do you think?

Yan Jinyu lifted his chin slightly. As a cannon-fodder male supporting character, nothing pleased him more than seeing the male lead get humiliated.

So what if he was heaven's chosen one?

So what if he was the author's precious son?

He was going to snatch away the halo of destiny!

Fu Zhouchi's provocative gaze stiffened slightly.

As far as he remembered, he had never had a direct conflict with Yan Jinyu. Whenever they met, they had always been polite. Why did things suddenly smell so strongly of gunpowder today?

Could it be because of Song Yichuan?

Yan Jinyu liked Song Yichuan, and because Song Yichuan had chosen him twice, he had become a hypothetical enemy.

Fu Zhouchi's mind went through countless turns, but he said nothing more.

The dining room fell silent again. Only the two gossiping sisters exchanged looks, interacting wildly beneath the table.

Mm, please call me Tian Jiajia.

Gotta say, Meng Qiongqi and Huo Renjie were a great match looks-wise. A seductive demon like Huo Renjie needed an old cadre to keep him in line.

Sister Wei has arrived. Mm?

Right, right, right! Isn't the image coming together now? You really do have experience shipping couples.

Why were Yan Jinyu and Fu Zhouchi staring each other down?

Mm?

They both liked Song Yichuan.

Mm, Yan Jinyu definitely did, but Fu Zhouchi was hard to say. He might be wavering between Lu Chen and Song Yichuan.

Wasn't this a shura field already? Who needed romance? This lunch was a feast of hidden agendas for the CP shippers.

It wasn't until the staff brought the meat and vegetables for that evening's barbecue to the table that the atmosphere finally livened up.

"Guests, work for your food!"

"How many skewers you can make depends on your own ability!"

Song Yichuan straightened up despite the pain. "I can do it! I'm good!"

"Can we eat however many skewers we make?"

"Where are you all putting yours?"

"Let me do it!"

The second-generation tycoons: Hehe, what bad intentions could a foodie possibly have?

He just wanted to keep it all for himself.

Everyone quickly got moving. Some cut the meat, some washed the bamboo skewers, some prepared the charcoal, and some drooled while going "hiss, ha." Their division of labor was remarkably coordinated.

The advantage was that everything was peaceful.

The disadvantage was that there was no drama.

The director pondered for two seconds, then raised his chin.

"Mm, give the outdoor grilling segment to Song Yichuan and Lu Chen."

The assistant was a little confused.

"Director, why?"

"Shouldn't this kind of task be assigned to a couple?"

"They obviously aren't a pair. Who wants to watch them fight over a romance show?"

The director shot him a disdainful look. "Didn't you notice?"

"Whenever the voting results come out, Lu Chen is pretty dissatisfied. If he's alone with Song Yichuan and doesn't stir up trouble, I'll chop off my head and give it to you."

"Hey, no, no, no, no, no! That's not necessary! Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn't dare take it!"

Thus, under the deliberate scripting of the production team, Song Yichuan carried the skewered meat over to the barbecue grill.

"Let me help you."

Lu Chen's gentle voice sounded from behind him.

"I heard from Papa Song that you've never done this kind of housework before?"

Song Yichuan turned around, his tone rather fierce. "What, are you trying to steal my meat?"

"Let's make this clear first—I grill it, I eat it."

Isn't this Song Yichuan?

What kind of thought process was that? He was deliberately picking a fight, wasn't he? Couldn't he see that Lu Chen was being kind? So what if he was a rich second-generation heir?

Are you just jealous of the rich? How could he have that many ulterior motives?

Hey, I think it's pretty cute anyway. I really like the foodie persona.

Lu Chen froze for a moment, then smiled. "Mm, don't worry. I don't have such a strong appetite."

"That's hard to say."

Song Yichuan glanced at Lu Chen's mouth. "I think you can eat quite a lot."

Lu Chen was left speechless. Holy shit, holy shit, why did I feel like Song Yichuan was making a dirty joke?

Ew, same here, same here. I'm going to face the wall and reflect for not bringing Haitang into this.

"Production team, we're supposed to work together. If you're this uncooperative, how are we supposed to finish the task?"

Lu Chen couldn't figure out Song Yichuan's game, and his expression darkened.

He stepped forward and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Trying to steal Fu Zhouchi?"

"Let me tell you, you don't stand a chance."

Before his words had even faded, Lu Chen stepped back to a normal distance and said, "If you really dislike me that much, I can suggest that the production team replace me."

That was too much! He was clearly making things difficult for him!

Support Chenchen! Be good, we don't have to take this humiliation!

The director pointed at the livestream comments.

"See that?"

"Learn from it."

The assistant gave him a thumbs-up.

"Director, you're a genius!"

The director smiled smugly. "Hehe, I guessed that Song Yichuan would probably choose to tolerate him in order to preserve his reputation."

Before he could finish speaking, a line suddenly appeared on the monitor: "Lu Chen, when you worked as a housekeeper at home, what brand of garbage bags did you use?"

As Song Yichuan placed the meat on the grill, he asked lazily, "You're that good at pretending?"