Feeding play

The two of them paid without a hitch and took a taxi back to the villa.

The market wasn't far from the country villa, roughly half an hour's drive away.

When they pushed open the courtyard gate, they could already see two women in the kitchen.

Song Yunxing stepped inside and heard a familiar male voice. "Heat the pan, add oil, then stir-fry..."

"Yunxing, wait, Song Yunxing, you're back!" Lu Ran bit her tongue and hurriedly paused the video on her phone.

"Mm." Song Yunxing set the large shopping bags on the table. "How did you get back so early?"

"Everyone headed over to your side, so we ran off as soon as we sold everything. We got lucky! We happened to find a supermarket where everything was super cheap..." Lu Ran's gaze wandered as she swiftly changed the subject. "What about you two? Why did you buy so much?"

Song Yunxing looked at the two bulging bags of ingredients on the table, feeling a little guilty. "Ahem, maybe we went to the same supermarket?"

"Ahaha! Is that so?" Lu Ran avoided his gaze and scratched her head awkwardly.

[Hahaha, even their stories match! These lies are full of holes!]

[They're both so guilty. One secretly pocketed the money, and the other never handed it over! Sneaky idols.]

[Why do I suddenly think these two are shippable too?]

[You're throwing every possible ship into the pot!]

[These guests are all sneakier than the last. Shi Jinyan's group handed theirs over first and only got fifty yuan. They just gave up and bought a stack of paper, then started selling photos together and autographs for ten yuan each! (Jealous.) You people in Yu City are so lucky!]

[Aaah! I'm twisting myself out of shape with jealousy! Why don't I get a chance like that?]

After chatting for a while, everyone began preparing dinner.

Shen Yanci rolled up his sleeves and deftly deveined the shrimp.

Song Yunxing washed lettuce, fruit, and vegetables at the sink. Although they stood right next to each other, neither spoke the whole time.

In contrast to the silent pair, Lu Ran and Gu Nianzhi were especially noisy.

Beside them, Gu Nianzhi wore a grave expression as he held a kitchen scale and added various seasonings according to the recipe on his phone.

"Are you running an experiment in a lab?!" Unable to watch any longer, Lu Ran snatched the salt container from his hand and dumped in a spoonful.

Gu Nianzhi stared at the extra half gram, looking as though he wanted to say something. Eventually, he forced out two words. "Too much."

When Lu Ran saw him trying to scoop it back out with a spoon, she nearly lost her mind. "Aaah! It's only half a gram too much! When are you going to get over this damned obsessive streak?!"

Just then, the villa's front door opened, and the remaining four guests returned together.

"Oh, finally back! I'm exhausted!" Carrying shopping bags, Yu Wan flopped onto the sofa without a shred of concern for appearances.

Shi Jinyan flopped down too. Whether he was too heavy or the sofa was too springy, the impact jolted Yu Wan at the edge and sent her flying straight off it.

Luckily, there was a rug on the floor, so Yu Wan wasn't hurt. She simply lay there in a daze for two seconds before getting up in fury. "Shi Jinyan!"

Shi Jinyan shuddered and immediately pulled her up.

The burly, six-foot-tall man had to endure several kicks, leaving his sweatpants covered in footprints.

Looking thoroughly bedraggled, he carried all the shopping bags into the kitchen.

[Hahaha, I'm dying! Every couple has such hilarious reasons for fighting.]

[One's obsessive, and the other's oblivious.]

[Is this what they mean by every family having its own troubles?]

[Looking at it this way, the Mutual-Dislike CP is actually still within the bounds of normal couple arguments.]

The kitchen was especially crowded that day. Song Yunxing gathered his ingredients and knife and sat at the dining table to work on his salad alone.

Luo An had returned with Lu Yiyi and Yu Wan and was washing ingredients at the sink.

Lu Yiyi stood beside Luo An, hovering around him and passing him carrots and scallions.

She had never set foot in a kitchen herself, let alone cooked.

Bored out of her mind as she watched Luo An chop carrots, her gaze drifted toward Shen Yanci, who was pouring oil into a pan.

His profile was sharply defined, and the dark apron softened his cold, intimidating air. He handled the spatula with practiced ease as an enticing aroma gradually filled the kitchen.

The sunset outside the window fell across him. A faint smile rested on his lips, and steam rose from the pan, lending the scene a warmth full of everyday life.

Why wasn't an Alpha Male like this hers? Shen Yanci was practically her tailor-made boyfriend!

Lu Yiyi bit her lip. The sight of Song Yunxing fiddling with lettuce at the dining table infuriated her!

She had already conspired with a junior at her agency to spread rumors about him. Shen Yanci had always disliked celebrities embroiled in complicated industry relationships who kicked others when they were down. She had thought that after the incident, he would never agree to appear on the show again, yet he had!

Song Yunxing had to have powerful backing! Otherwise, Shen Yanci wouldn't stoop to going on a show with him!

She simply couldn't understand how those shippers could ship Song Yunxing and Shen Yanci! They weren't even willing to stand together while cooking.

She had to make the audience see that they weren't a real couple and get them off the show as soon as possible!

Lu Yiyi curved her lips into a gentle smile. "Yunxing, why are you preparing lettuce here all by yourself? Aren't you going to help Best Actor Shen?"

"Oh, he's making his food, and I'm making mine," Song Yunxing replied casually.

"But you're a couple! You're not even making one meal together? Why?" Lu Yiyi asked, feigning curiosity.

"What other reason would there be? I want salad..." Song Yunxing's nose twitched as he caught a familiar scent.

He turned to look at the clay pot in front of Shen Yanci, only for Lu Yiyi to step to the right and block his view.

"Yunxing, have you never tried Shen Yanci's cooking? When I was on set, I often ate Luo An's home cooking." Looking blissful, Lu Yiyi wrapped her arms around Luo An, who was slicing pork belly.

Luo An's hand shook, and he nearly cut himself.

This woman! When had he ever cooked for her? Stop making things up!!!

Luo An was inwardly losing his mind, but he had to keep his expression calm. He couldn't contradict her, nor did he dare agree.

Everything Lu Yiyi said hinted that Shen Yanci and Song Yunxing had a poor relationship while subtly elevating her own, but Song Yunxing failed to pick up on any of it.

"Oh, you two must be really close, then." Song Yunxing nodded earnestly, unwittingly stabbing them both where it hurt.

Lu Yiyi froze for a moment, her face flushing red.

She had brought this misery on herself and couldn't even complain!

Who was close to a Beta like Luo An? They would split up the moment they left this show!

[Who still dares say our Yi-An CP is fake? Luo An personally cooks for Yiyi!]

[Exactly! Shen Yanci has never cooked for Song Yunxing. They're definitely fake!]

[Not necessarily. Luo An didn't say anything just now.]

[Not cooking for someone means they aren't a real couple? Are you underestimating a top star's killer schedule?]

Song Yunxing got up and walked over to Shen Yanci. Staring at the red shrimp being tossed in the pan, he couldn't help swallowing.

"...Not bad. I underestimated you," Song Yunxing said quietly.

Shen Yanci chuckled and, with perfect ease, picked up a shrimp with his chopsticks, blew on it, and held it to his lips. "Have a taste."

Song Yunxing froze, meeting Shen Yanci's deep gaze.

Shen Yanci raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hurry up. You're just checking the flavor. If they overcook, even I can't save them."

Fresh from the pan, the typhoon-shelter-style fried shrimp at his lips looked, smelled, and promised to taste delicious. Song Yunxing stared at the large, glossy shrimp coated in fried garlic, torn.

"Never mind. This is the biggest shrimp in there, too!"

Seeing Shen Yanci about to withdraw his hand, the young man immediately opened his mouth and caught the shrimp with a chomp.

"Once you give it to me, it's mine!" he said, his voice muffled as he ate.

The livestream chat: !!!

[What happened to refusing to eat it? Xingxing, where are your principles?!]

[Shen Yanci, did your germophobia just die?!]

[So I was part of your play all along. Feeding play is now live!]

[Career fan turned shipper! Shen Yanci is so flirty with him! Does anyone get it?! What kind of sworn enemy feeds his rival shrimp?!]