Little moves

"What are you doing here?"

Shi Zhou jumped at the sound of his voice and saw Su Yue standing with one hand in his pocket, his handsome face slightly darkened and his ice-blue eyes fixed on him with a distinctly hostile look.

Of course, Shi Zhou wasn't about to tell him what he'd just done.

He blinked innocently and said, "Nothing."

What a nasty temper. Who set him off this time?

He wasn't afraid of him anymore and ran off with a grin.

Seeing that Shi Zhou was no longer the least bit afraid of him, without any of the caution or obedience he'd shown when they first met, Su Yue felt a fire burning inside him.

So cocky. Did he know I wouldn't touch him?

How could he be so sure?

Su Yue's Adam's apple bobbed. Keeping one hand in his pocket, he let out a breath.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, he spotted someone standing behind the camera operators, grinning at him.

It was Screenwriter Liu, one of the most renowned writer-directors in the interstellar world, his father's old schoolmate and now a close friend.

Su Yue pressed his lips together.

Editor Liu beckoned him over. "Su Yue, let's do a solo interview."

He used that as an excuse to take him to the office and even offered to make him tea.

Since an elder was serving him tea, Su Yue naturally stood to accept it with both hands. Tall and athletic, he stood a full head above Editor Liu, his long, straight, thick lashes lowered naturally. His face truly combined all his parents' best features.

He really won the genetic lottery.

Editor Liu marveled.

"Thank you, Editor Liu."

Editor Liu pulled back the hand holding the tea and huffed.

Su Yue frowned. After a two-second standoff, he changed his form of address and accepted the cup again, nodding. "Thank you, Uncle Liu."

In public, he would never address him that way, much less use the man's position to gain any personal advantage.

Though Editor Liu rather wished he would.

Seeing Su Yue sitting with his shoulders straight and his long legs slightly apart as he drank his tea, Editor Liu drew out his words with a chuckle. "Xiao Yue, have you met anyone you feel good about on the show-?"

Su Yue frowned and put down his cup.

First, that was his childhood nickname, and he no longer allowed anyone to use it.

Second, what century was this? Was he supposed to accept an arranged marriage from his parents?

That morning, his father had even taken time out of his busy schedule to call him and tell him to hurry up and find someone.

Su Yue's father had a booming voice. "Soldiers already have plenty of pent-up energy. You're a strapping young man. How can you sleep at night without someone in your arms?"

"When your mother and I went on that blind date, it was love at first sight..."

It was a worn-out story his father brought up every time he urged him to date.

Besides, he'd grown up with his maternal grandparents in a family of highly educated intellectuals. One crude remark was enough to make him frown and hang up on his Mindnet.

He'd never had such thoughts. If he had a normal physical response, he could take care of it himself or work it off through exercise.

Ever since he'd been reassigned back after the Winter Defense Line Posting Incident, the physical training at his Officers' Station and school had been lighter, but he made up for it himself.

Su Yue firmly believed that was the proper way to deal with it.

Editor Liu coughed and persisted. "You really don't need our help?"

Su Yue stood and nodded, taking his leave. "No. I'll handle it myself."

He knew Uncle Liu was sounding him out because he'd hung up on his father that morning. He'd always known his own mind and didn't need anyone arranging things for him.

Perhaps he had a rebellious streak in his bones, but he truly disliked this approach.

Editor Liu nearly failed to hold back a laugh.

How could he not understand what that meant?

Handle it himself, hahahahaha.

So there was something going on?!

Editor Liu grew a little excited.

"All right. If you need anything, come to me anytime." He brought a hand to his mouth, gave a fake cough, and hurriedly added the offer.

Su Yue left, while he hummed a tune and prepared to hurry off and tell Old Zhang and Old Su the news.

On his way back along the covered walkway, Su Yue glanced outside. The rain was heavy, but his body felt hot.

It wasn't quite the same heat as usual. There was a restless edge to it.

He stood outside the door for a while, waiting for his thoughts to settle before going in.

As he pushed open the door, Lin Yuxi asked with a smile, "You're back?"

Su Yue answered. Seeing eight small drinking glasses neatly arranged on the table, along with the durian skewers Shi Zhou had made, he stared for two seconds, then picked up a glass beside them and tipped his head back to drain it.

Asta smiled and patted his shoulder. "Taking the initiative today?"

He remembered that Su Yue didn't seem particularly fond of drinking. At their last evening gathering, he'd only taken a small sip.

Su Yue turned his head and saw Shi Zhou coming out of the kitchen in a warm yellow sweater. He waited two seconds before saying slowly:

"I was thirsty."

"Time to eat," Shi Zhou called cheerfully, then noticed that Su Yue seemed to be looking at him.

Something about his gaze was fierce and rather frightening.

Shi Zhou shakily told the system, [System, the male lead isn't planning to kill me, is he?]

The system suspected that the way the male lead wanted to finish him off might not be what Shi Zhou had in mind.

It reassured him, [Of course not. You must have seen it wrong.]

Sure enough, Su Yue put down his empty glass and went to talk to Asta.

But with his fair skin, even that small drink went straight to his head, and the flush was very noticeable.

Everyone was raring to play cards. After they casually ate a little at the table, Asta was the first to suggest with a smile:

"Why don't we eat at the little table out back? The view's nice."

At the back was a small Glass Conservatory, where they could watch rain soaking the willow leaves and flower petals outside. The lights there were dimmer than in the living room, making for a better atmosphere.

Everyone readily agreed, and Zheng Yu even cupped a hand around his mouth and let out a few strange whoops.

The production crew didn't mind the extra work either. Comments were pouring in, and the viewer count was incredibly high. After hearing their suggestion, the crew even helped move the stove and other things over.

But when it was time for the guests to go over and sit down, everyone suddenly stopped moving.

Some seemed busy chewing the grilled meat in their mouths, others were chatting, and still others openly swirled their drinks. In any case, nobody moved.

Seeing them all stay put only made the live comments scroll faster.

It felt like the calm before a storm.

The production crew was excited to watch, too!

-Here we go! The first night at the first stop! At such an important moment, how could they just sit anywhere? Hehe.

-For viewers who don't know dating reality shows, here's the deal: sparks might fly right from the start, and then we can raise our CP flag!

-Go, Jiali! Take Zhouzhou home in your arms!

-Manman, Mommy's precious girl, who do you actually like? Is it Bai Shen? Tell Mommy tonight, please, please!

Shi Zhou glanced at everyone and tried to suppress the obvious smile tugging at his lips.

Well, well. I knew it.

These guests were definitely waiting on the sly, trying to avoid missing a seat beside the person they liked.

He understood.

Then let me, the designated plot device, get things off to a good start!

Shi Zhou carefully finished chewing his grilled meat, picked up his plate, and said with a smile:

"It's been a while. The crew should have everything set up by now. Shall we go in?"

Of course, he couldn't make it too obvious. He needed an excuse, so he claimed they'd been waiting for the crew to finish setting up.

He took the initiative to stand. Xie Jiali was right beside him and naturally had no objections.

He rose as well and nodded. "They should be about done. Let's head over."

He not only picked up his own plate but also took two more bottles of alcohol.

I'd better have a proper drink tonight.

As soon as the two of them stood and headed inside, the others seemed to have a sudden "realization," remembering what they were supposed to do, and rose one after another.

Those still chewing, talking, drinking...

Indeed, they could easily do all those things while moving.

They couldn't look too eager, either, or they might embarrass themselves in front of hundreds of millions, even more than a billion viewers.

But while they sat in their seats, the cameras had already captured every little move they were making underneath.