Kitchen play

At the open-air restaurant, the six guests and the production team had almost finished their meal.

Seeing that the two really hadn't come to eat, while Director Guo was still blithely enjoying dessert, Lu Ran couldn't hold back. "Director, isn't this punishment going too far? How can you stop people from eating?"

"One meal would be bad enough, but no food for an entire day? If starving them damages their health, can you take responsibility?"

The other guests also thought the punishment was excessive. This was a dating show, not a survival show.

They might look like they were here on vacation, but in reality, the tasks never stopped. Filming required concentration and burned plenty of calories every day. They really couldn't keep going without eating.

"Those are two superstars, you know, Little Red Pants. You'd better think carefully about whether you can withstand all that backlash. Otherwise, one spit from each fan would be enough to drown you." Yu Wan dabbed elegantly at her mouth.

Lu Yiyi scoffed and said as though it were only natural, "If they didn't complete the task, they have to accept the punishment. Being a superstar makes it all the more important for him to set an example. Otherwise, what's the point of watching this show?"

"It's bad enough that a fake couple came on the show for publicity, but they even slandered me. They deserve it."

Yu Wan glanced at her chest and sneered. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Lu Yiyi, did your chest shrink a whole size after just one activity?"

"You!" Lu Yiyi's face flushed red, and for a moment, she couldn't think of a comeback.

"Don't you know your own limits? You keep throwing yourself at other people without even caring what happens to your own partner. You really are something." Yu Wan leaned against the back of her chair, showing her no mercy.

"The show specifically invites rumored couples to take part. What does it matter to you whether someone else's relationship is real? I suggest you behave yourself until this episode is finished, so everyone can part on good terms."

Yu Wan's eyes darkened slightly, a warning creeping into her voice.

Although none of the cameras around them were recording, the staff were all nearby, and a suffocating atmosphere settled over the area.

The guests seated there were all sharp enough to understand. Yu Wan's words had all but spelled out that Luo An and Lu Yiyi's relationship was purely business.

Yu Wan was considered an easygoing senior in the industry. For her to speak so bluntly, Lu Yiyi had clearly angered her.

With the cameras off, Luo An sat nearby with a cold expression, never saying a single word in Lu Yiyi's defense.

Sensing that the mood had turned sour, Director Guo immediately stepped in to smooth things over. "Don't worry. We're just not providing meals directly. Mr. Shen and his partner have money and cooking skills. They won't starve."

"All right, all right. Assistants, come touch up their makeup. Camera crews, get ready to go live."

The staff around them got busy again. The members of Shen Yanci and Song Yunxing's livestream crew were at a loss. Their guests had run off. What were they supposed to stream?

"Assistant director, take a livestream crew and check places like the restaurant kitchens or convenience stores. They should be nearby," Director Guo said.

"Okay." The assistant director left with the crew, and the livestream went live on schedule.

By then, plenty of netizens and casual viewers had seen the latest trending search. The haters following the stream flooded in right on time.

[See? See? They really didn't finish the task, and now they've found somewhere to hide.]

[It's just one kiss. What's so hard about showing it?]

[A PR couple. They're both superstars. How could people that proud kiss just for a contract?]

[I bet they're arguing in some corner. Going so far as to act just to keep up the PR relationship-what hard work.]

Still, some levelheaded fans spoke up.

[Shen has been making movies for years without ever having his first onscreen kiss. What are you expecting?]

[What PR couple goes this far to avoid looking close on camera? They aren't even in the same frame in seven out of ten shots, and you actually believe that?]

[Honestly, with Shen Yanci's personality, I'd find it strange if he really did kiss him.]

[They're both pretty awkward. They probably only let loose in private.]

But the genuine fans' comments were buried beneath posts from paid trolls and haters. For a while, the haters completely controlled the chat.

The assistant director went to a nearby restaurant and, with directions from a helpful person, found the silver kitchen door.

The assistant director carefully eased the kitchen door open, and the microphone and camera squeezed through the gap after him.

The haters in the livestream were already poised to take screenshots, determined to preserve proof that the two were at odds and only pretending to be a couple, then send it straight to the top of the trending search rankings.

Inside the spacious kitchen, the two were almost pressed together.

"Enough, stop licking!" The young man's voice sounded slightly frantic.

"Have a taste." The young man tilted his head up a little, seemingly waiting for the man to claim him.

On camera, their silhouettes overlapped, with virtually no space between them.

The man lowered his head of his own accord, turning it to "kiss" something.

The young man seemed to be pushed backward by the force of it, the pale pink at the base of his ears especially noticeable beneath the lights.

In the quiet kitchen, every breath and swallow was amplified.

In an instant, desire simmered in the enclosed room, filling it with charged intimacy.

The man held his waist with one hand, veins standing out slightly along his strong arm.

"...Does it taste good?" After a long moment, the young man's voice came out soft and breathy, as though the "kiss" had left him weak.

The man chuckled, his voice impossibly tender. "...It's sweet."

Standing in the doorway, the assistant director bit his finger in excitement to keep himself from letting out a squeal like a shrieking rubber chicken.

Behind the camera, the livestream director's eyes widened. The "truth" he had been told began to crumble.

The couple's shippers in the livestream went completely wild.

[Aaah! Who still dares to say my ship is just a PR couple?]

[Oh my god! Those wet sounds! With how intense this is, they must be using tongue!]

[You two! So this is how adults kiss!]

[Holy shit! Xingxing, are you really this forward? Are you a seductive... bottom?]

The man raised his head, seemingly noticing someone at the door, and the amusement gradually faded from his dark eyes.

On camera, the cold-faced man's thin lips glistened, flushed and enticing.

The untouchable beauty had been tainted by desire, the languid lust in his eyes not yet gone, leaving a trace of unsated hunger.

[Aaah! You're doing this for real!]

[That unsatisfied look!! I don't even dare imagine what happens next!]

[Kitchen play!]

[Don't chicken out! Director, hold your ground!]

The assistant director was the first to buckle under the man's piercing gaze, pushing the livestream director out the door.

"What are you doing?" Clearly unwilling to let this opportunity slip away, the livestream director frowned.

Beside him, the assistant director mouthed silently, "We can't keep filming. Our sponsor!"

But the two of them had forgotten the sound director in the kitchen.

The sound director turned around in a panic, at a loss, and could only stand obediently by the door to record the audio.

"This stuff's stuck all over me." Song Yunxing pulled away the sugar strands clinging to him.

"I told you not to move around, but you wouldn't listen." Shen Yanci lowered his head to help him remove the remaining strands.

"It was clearly because you were too impatient that it got all over me!" Song Yunxing protested indignantly.

Looking at the sugar strands covering the stove, Song Yunxing said helplessly, "How are we supposed to clean this up?"

"...I'll clean up. Go eat something first."

The livestream viewers, who had no idea what was really happening: !!!

[Aaah!]

[Sorry, my brain's full of filthy thoughts! Hehehe!]

[Does that mean what I think it means? Aaah!]

[Key words detected! Sticky! All over Xingxing! Plus, they haven't eaten for so long...]

[I don't care! This is the full kitchen play experience! Complete with an after-sex kiss!]