Morning Grumpiness

Fang Yu had even stopped streaming on his own channel. At the ripe old age of twenty-nine, he led a crowd of fans in watching the drama unfold online, chatting with them so enthusiastically that his popularity remained sky-high.

Jiang Ye's stream, on the other hand, was much quieter.

According to the production team's rules, every guest had to stream for at least two hours before going to bed.

So the well-behaved Jiang Ye diligently sat in his room and played games for two straight hours without saying a single word.

If not for the decisive, thrilling gameplay and those fingers dancing across the keyboard being such a feast for the eyes, Jiang Ye's stream would probably have been completely empty.

The camera in Shen Ranxin and Lu Zhi's room was soon covered by Lu Zhi again, plunging the screen into darkness.

But this time, he probably knew that the camera recorded sound, so he did not pull any tricks. After exchanging a few words with Shen Ranxin, he turned out the lights and went to sleep.

Everyone else was streaming to attract viewers, while these two simply lay down and went to sleep.

The viewers who had been eagerly waiting in their stream for some sweet moments were instantly filled with righteous indignation.

[Fuck, I worked all day and sacrificed my sleep to watch you two be sweet, and you just went straight to bed?]

[Everyone else is working so hard to build popularity, but you two refuse to suffer even a little?]

[Other CPs are pretty popular, but this pair is just irritating. Might as well call them the Irritating CP.]

[Are you trying to get yourself killed with names like that?]

[They were probably scared straight. If they get banned two more times, the whole show probably won't survive!]

[Director Chen's inner thoughts: Lu Zhi says the suggestive stuff, the viewers make the dirty jokes, so why am I the one getting hurt in the end?!]

Elsewhere.

Gu Yifei's stream was packed with people showering him with praise. They praised him so much in the middle of the night that his tail was practically sticking up. He somehow dragged out an electric guitar and insisted on letting his fans experience the beauty of music.

The victim, Cheng Cheng, was putting on a face mask. When he heard that sound like a saw cutting through table legs, even his mask cracked from fright.

He turned his head, a faintly "kind" smile curling at his lips. "Teacher Gu, I know your love for music is as boundless as a surging river, but isn't this hour a little inappropriate?"

Gu Yifei raised an eyebrow. "What's inappropriate about it? The piece I'm playing is Chopin's Twelfth Night. It's perfect for a quiet night like this!"

Cheng Cheng had always cultivated the image of a gentle, approachable little brother in the entertainment industry. Even though he had already chopped Gu Yifei into a thousand pieces in his mind, he still smiled as he cruelly informed him.

"Chopin was a pianist, not an electric guitarist... and he never played Twelfth Night, either."

Gu Yifei remained unmoved. "Who says he never played it? He's playing it right now."

The smile on Cheng Cheng's face began to crack. "You're not about to say you're Chopin, are you?"

"Though unworthy, I am indeed the rising star of the music world, known to all as Little Chopin, the genius."

"..." Cheng Cheng thought for a moment before saying, "I suggest you don't."

"No one can stop my pursuit of art!" Gu Yifei suddenly threw back his head and began belting into the electric guitar. "Come on, sing with me! Love You Till Death—without holding anything back! Without regret!"

[High-energy moment ahead. Watch your volume.]

[Thanks for the warning. Emergency speaker shutdown complete.]

[Feels like Cheng Cheng is about to shatter.]

[Trust me, Cheng Cheng isn't the only one shattering.]

The villa's soundproofing was actually pretty good, but Gu Yifei's singing was not something ordinary physical defense could withstand.

It was a magical attack, with absurdly high armor penetration and defense-breaking power. In one fell swoop, it shouted every light in the villa awake.

In the silent night, Shen Ranxin's door flew open. A figure rushed out like a whirlwind and kicked open Gu Yifei's door.

The solid door crashed to the floor.

Gu Yifei, who had been singing, stared blankly at the dark figure in the doorway. It felt as though something had seized him by the throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Cheng Cheng silently put on his little slippers, swiftly found two earplugs in a nearby bag, and stuffed them into his ears.

"Who... told you... to disturb my sleep?" Shen Ranxin exhaled slowly and fixed Gu Yifei with a stare.

[Shen Ranxin needs a red-eye effect added here.]

[Gu Yifei's behavior was definitely rude, but isn't Shen Ranxin going too far? Will he pay for the broken door?]

Gu Yifei swallowed and forced himself to speak. "I'm practicing songs in my own room, so how—"

Before he could finish, another figure appeared in the doorway. Silver hair floated into view, and Lu Zhi, who also had earplugs in, handed Shen Ranxin a stainless steel basin and a spatula.

"Teacher Shen, I went down to the kitchen to find these for you."

Shen Ranxin grabbed the stainless steel basin and struck it hard with the spatula right beside Gu Yifei's ear!

Gu Yifei felt his eardrums tremble. His vision went black, and he nearly lost his footing.

"You want to practice singing at midnight, huh? Fine, I'll practice with you." Shen Ranxin chased Gu Yifei while banging the metal basin. "Then I'll give you a rendition of Jia Baoyu's Snowstorm at the Mountain Temple! Lin Daiyu Reverses Lu Zhishen!"

Gu Yifei fled with his head covered, tears instantly streaming down his face.

"Shen Ranxin, are you insane?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Shen Ranxin said, "What is it, Teacher Gu? Do you have any critiques of my music?!"

Gu Yifei was dizzy and disoriented, feeling as if his eardrums were about to burst. He hurriedly begged for mercy. "No, no! I won't play anymore! I won't play anymore, okay?! Stop hitting it!"

"Swear it!" Shen Ranxin said. "Quit the music industry from this day forward!"

Gu Yifei's eyes widened as he said tearfully, "Shen Ranxin, don't push people too far!"

Just as Shen Ranxin was about to continue chasing Gu Yifei and banging the basin, Lu Zhi finally stepped forward and pulled Shen Ranxin into his arms.

He was tall enough to envelop Shen Ranxin, an Alpha, in a single embrace. His fingers rubbed Shen Ranxin's temples as he said softly, "Alright, alright, that's enough. If you give him a concussion, we'll have to pay compensation."

At the mention of paying money, Shen Ranxin finally calmed down a little. But he still glared at Gu Yifei with bloodshot eyes before Lu Zhi half-coaxed, half-carried him back and slammed the door shut.

Gu Yifei's face was smeared with tears and snot. He hugged himself and trembled slightly as he stared at the fallen door panel.

Shen Ranxin was truly terrifying!

Cheng Cheng walked over and handed him a tissue. "I warned you a long time ago."

"Does he have some kind of mental illness?" Gu Yifei cried miserably. "He was so scary just now, boohoohoo..."

Cheng Cheng stretched lazily. Without offering the fragile omega even a shred of comfort, he walked over to fix the door and said, "Shen Ranxin has extremely severe morning grumpiness. The consequences of disturbing his sleep are serious."

After crying for a while, Gu Yifei said, "Then isn't Lu Zhi way too dangerous?"

Cheng Cheng's face darkened for a moment. He turned away and said nothing more.

After that little "incident," Gu Yifei no longer dared to sing Love You Till Death. He obediently washed up and went to bed.

The next morning, when he opened his door, he came face-to-face with Shen Ranxin, who lived across the hall.

Gu Yifei instinctively shrank back, terrified that Shen Ranxin would come over and smack him with something.

But Shen Ranxin seemed to have completely forgotten last night's fiasco. Beaming brightly, he wished Gu Yifei good morning and even asked what he wanted for breakfast.