So Immoral

Xie Li turned to look at Shen Yan.

"Did Shen Yan guess long ago that we'd have to go hungry while doing the task, which was why he ate so many cookies just now? You're so smart, unlike me. I'm always so dumb."

On the surface, he was praising Shen Yan.

In reality, he was calling Shen Yan cunning and accusing him of wasting food.

There were quite a few broken pieces of cookie on the floor.

No matter how Shen Yan answered that question, he would get scolded.

Xie Li stared at him intently.

Shen Yan carried his suitcase toward the second floor. Hearing this, he turned back and gave Xie Li a resolute look. "I have two secrets to becoming smarter. First, don't drink a single sip of tea. Second, if a dog bites me, I'll puke all over the dog."

After saying that, he sprang three feet into the air, darted upstairs, and vanished from everyone's sight.

Xie Li: ...

Lu Xingchuan: ...

Shen Yan's assigned room was right by the second-floor staircase.

It had its own bathroom, though the room itself was small. There was only a single bed, a double-door wardrobe, and a desk without a chair.

Lying on the single bed, Shen Yan pondered the plot.

He remembered that, in the book, the guest who had originally come on this dating show was someone named Pei Ning.

Pei Ning was the same age as the original host, twenty-three, and was Pei Heng's younger brother.

The original host had been crazily obsessed with Lu Xingchuan, while Pei Ning had been madly in love with Xie Li.

In the original plot, the entire dating show had been one enormous display of public affection.

Lu Xingchuan and Xie Li pushed and pulled each other to the limit, trampling over the original host and Pei Ning, their two devoted suck-ups. In the final episode, Lu Xingchuan and Xie Li successfully held hands.

Meanwhile, the original host suffered massive online harassment and slit his wrists after the show ended.

As for Pei Ning, if Shen Yan remembered correctly, after the original host died, he still couldn't let go of Xie Li. In the end, at Xie Li's instigation, he stole some sort of Pei family trade secret.

At the end of the novel, the Pei family went bankrupt, their family shattered and lives destroyed.

Meanwhile, Lu Xingchuan's family business became Licheng's strongest company in one leap.

Knock, knock, knock~

Just as Shen Yan was mulling over the plot, someone knocked on his door.

Shen Yan decided he hadn't heard it.

He immediately started snoring and fell asleep.

Outside the door.

Xie Li knocked a few times, then let out a pitiful sigh. "Shen Yan really is still angry with me. What should I do? I really want to explain things clearly to him. Xingchuan and I really don't have any kind of relationship. I only see him as an older brother."

With his lips pursed, Xie Li leaned pitifully against Shen Yan's door.

He looked on the verge of tears.

After putting away his luggage, Lu Xingchuan went looking for Xie Li. When he learned that Xie Li was on the second floor, he immediately came up.

The moment he arrived, he saw Xie Li crying outside a room. He hurried over. "What's wrong?"

Xie Li looked miserable as he gazed at Lu Xingchuan. "What should I do, Xingchuan? Shen Yan misunderstands me too deeply. He won't forgive me. What do I do? I'm so anxious right now. I don't want him to misunderstand me."

Lu Xingchuan frowned. "I'll explain it to him. Go get some rest first. We still have a task to do later."

Xie Li bit his lip and nodded.

He went downstairs dejectedly.

Once Xie Li had left, Lu Xingchuan raised his hand and banged on the door. "Shen Yan, open up!"

Shen Yan remained as unmoving as a pine tree.

Snore, snore~

Snore, snore~

"Open the door. I know you're in there. What, you dare do something shameful but don't dare open the door? Open it!"

Shen Yan had liked Lu Xingchuan for three years, and during those three years, he had obeyed Lu Xingchuan's every word.

But now—

He had puked on him and talked back to him.

He had even dared shove his head into a toilet!

Lu Xingchuan was filled with rage, his expression as grim as if he were attending a funeral.

Creak~

Shen Yan's door did not open, but Pei Heng opened the door next to it.

Pei Heng had changed into casual sportswear. Leaning against the doorframe, he yawned. "Could you show a little respect for the other guests? We only have fifteen minutes to rest. I really want to sleep for a while."

Lu Xingchuan's expression stiffened. "Sorry. I just wanted to see Shen Yan."

Pei Heng waved the phone in his hand. "Couldn't you call him? Banging on the door this loudly is really immoral."

[It really is immoral. If someone made that much noise while I was resting, I could seriously kill them!]

[My filter for Lu Xingchuan is starting to crack. What do I do?]

[Isn't it all because of Shen Yan? If Shen Yan opened the door, would Lu Xingchuan have to make such a racket? Bitch!]

[He can get scolded even for not opening the door? I'm actually starting to sincerely sympathize with Shen Yan.]

Lu Xingchuan's expression grew slightly stiff.

He had called, but Shen Yan seemed to have blocked him. He had even deleted him from WeChat, so Lu Xingchuan couldn't reach him at all.

Meeting Pei Heng's displeased gaze, Lu Xingchuan could only say, "May I borrow one minute of President Pei's time? There's a misunderstanding I want to clear up."

As he spoke, Lu Xingchuan walked toward Pei Heng.

Just as Lu Xingchuan was about to reach him, Pei Heng shook his head. "Whatever it is, say it later. I'm really sleepy right now."

After saying that—

He turned and went back inside.

Bang!

With strength enough to uproot mountains and spirit to overshadow the world.

He shut the door.

It nearly smashed Lu Xingchuan's nose.

[Pei Heng is so annoying. He has no manners or upbringing at all, that bastard!]

[Someone is sleeping, and Lu Xingchuan banging on their door is polite? Sure enough, what kind of dog attracts what kind of fans!]

[I hope Lu Xingchuan's fans get someone banging on their door every day while they sleep. Bleh, bleh, bleh.]

Unable to explain things to Pei Heng and unable to see Shen Yan, Lu Xingchuan went downstairs under a heavy, gloomy cloud.

Then he saw Xie Li busy in the kitchen.

A flicker of light appeared in his shadowed eyes, and Lu Xingchuan walked over. "Why aren't you resting?"

Xie Li smiled obediently. "I saw eggs, tomatoes, and dried noodles in the fridge. Since no one has eaten, I thought I'd cook some for everyone."

[Wuwuwuwu, Li Bao really is the best precious baby in the world!]

[But the director just said the next game is looking for ingredients. If the ingredients are in the fridge, wouldn't that be too easy?]

[The production team definitely wouldn't really make the guests go hungry while filming.]

Lu Xingchuan rolled up his sleeves. "I'll do it. Go rest for a while."

Xie Li smiled and shook his head. "I'm not tired, Xingchuan. I remember tomato and egg noodles are your favorite when I make them. I'll cook you a huge bowl later."

Xie Li winked at Lu Xingchuan.

His face was full of innocent charm.

[Li Bao is so adorable, wuwuwuwu! The cutest in the world!]

[Oh my god, this sweetness is killing me!]

[But Xie Li said he has nothing to do with Lu Xingchuan, doge.]

[They're just good friends. Good friends care about each other, that's all.]

[Emotional cheating counts as cheating too, right? As everyone knows, everything Shen Yan posted on Weibo yesterday was true. As everyone knows, Shen Yan said yesterday that he was single again.]

"What are you doing?!"

Just as Lu Xingchuan and Xie Li were making tomato and egg noodles together—

The director rushed over from the side with an exasperated roar.

"There are such huge words pasted on my fridge: Guests, please do not use the ingredients in the refrigerator without permission. Are you blind, or what?!"

As the director roared—

The camera cut to the refrigerator.

The huge double-door refrigerator was covered with those words, filling the entire front doors.