A fire in his heart

When his ominous premonition came true, Xie Jiali's heart actually settled back into place.

But it was as though all the blood in his limbs had to sustain that heart, surging into his chest without holding anything back and leaving his arms and legs instantly ice-cold.

Xie Jiali completely forgot to manage his expression for the cameras. The smile he had worn since the show began vanished.

It was no exaggeration to call him elegant and refined, with phoenix eyes, thin lips, and skin as pale as jade. When a man like him stopped smiling entirely, there was actually a hint of menace in his expression.

Seeing Su Yue draw that card, Bai Shen pressed his lips together and said nothing.

A thought suddenly popped into Asta's head. I was just bragging about my luck, and there's someone even luckier sitting right across from me...

He slumped heavily against the sofa as though all his strength had drained away and sighed.

Watching this unfold, Yu Manman and Zheng Yu gradually lost their smiles too.

Lin Yuxi stole a glance at everyone, opened her mouth, but said nothing either.

Shi Zhou froze when he saw the card.

No way. There's only one of those in the whole deck, and he actually drew it?

Shi Zhou's thoughts were in disarray. He felt helpless beyond words.

Come on, the male lead is supposed to be straight.

He glanced at Su Yue. Perhaps he had drunk too much; his face was flushed. When he noticed Shi Zhou looking, he tugged at his collar as though feeling hot, revealing his sharply defined jawline.

"Wait, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Xie Jiali slowly exhaled and spoke.

His mind was in such turmoil that his usual strategic composure and knack for steering people were completely gone. He was simply trying to stop this on instinct.

Asta tugged at the corner of his mouth, then suddenly wondered what he was getting so worked up over. Back when they went out drinking, some people had even kissed on the lips.

Just don't let them kiss on the lips, then.

But imagining that scene, he realized he couldn't accept them kissing anywhere!

Still, what right did he have to speak up?

He could only turn his gaze to Shi Zhou.

Noticing the strange atmosphere around him, Shi Zhou assumed everyone was shocked by the result.

He was shocked too.

How could a cannon-fodder extra possibly kiss the protagonist?

Besides, we're both straight.

And look at Su Yue. He already glares and snaps at me all day without ever having kissed me. If we do kiss, won't he shoot me full of holes with his eyes?

At that thought, he couldn't help laughing. "Director, can this even air? Isn't it inappropriate for children?"

He meant they should just forget about it.

-Yes, yes, yes, of course it can! What could possibly be off-limits to a VIP like me?

-I'm a valued paying subscriber. If I say it can air, it can!

-What kids are still watching at this hour? Xie Jiali, stop it. No matter how handsome you are, there's no way I'm backing you on this!

In the time it took for those few remarks, Xie Jiali quickly recovered his senses. Weren't the two people involved the ones with the greatest right to refuse?

He put his smile back on. "Exactly. If Zhouzhou doesn't want to, let's forget it."

You really can't get too pleased with yourself. The moment you do, something goes wrong.

Ugh.

Su Yue didn't turn his head. Outside the window, plants wound their way across the glass, and raindrops pattered down from their branches and leaves.

Listening to the two men beside him play off each other, that indescribable feeling surged up inside him again.

Shi Zhou, especially, made him feel deeply unsettled.

Clutching the card, he stood and looked down coldly at Shi Zhou beside him.

His face is too pale. His mouth is too small.

And he still dares to keep flitting around right in front of me.

He ignored Xie Jiali's words outright, the corners of his flat mouth lifting briefly.

"So it can't air?"

As Xie Jiali's expression changed drastically, he grabbed Shi Zhou and hauled him up!

First, his hands found Shi Zhou's waist. So slender.

Even through his clothes, that startling sensation in his grip shook Su Yue.

Shi Zhou's body trembled, first from shock, then from being tickled.

He was terribly ticklish. He couldn't handle even the slightest touch.

"Don't, that tickles-hahaha." Even his voice sounded strange as he reached out and pushed him.

Su Yue gave a cold laugh, the fire inside him burning even fiercer.

Even now, he's still completely oblivious, not afraid of me in the slightest.

But hearing that breathless quality in his voice,

Fuck.

It really pisses me off.

The mere thought made his palms scorchingly hot. Since Shi Zhou was ticklish, he slid his two large hands upward, wedged them beneath his arms, and lifted him straight up.

Shi Zhou was shocked all over again.

Do these people operate on a completely different strength scale from me? I'm a grown man, and he just picked me up like that.

The next second, Su Yue threw him into the corner of the sofa!

The landing left Shi Zhou dazed. Before he could cry out in pain, he realized Su Yue's hand was cushioning the back of his head. He hadn't hit it.

He caught a faint scent of cedar at the tip of his nose. It was Su Yue's scent; he had been sitting here just a moment ago.

Then that cedar scent pressed down from above, surrounding him on every side and leaving him nowhere to hide.

For some reason, Su Yue was trembling all over, enough to frighten him a little.

Shi Zhou finally stopped laughing. His legs were pinned down, and Su Yue straddled him, so heavy, pressing so hard,

He struggled, but couldn't budge him at all. He couldn't even sit up.

"Yue... Su Yue!"

He didn't dare raise his voice much. There was a pleading note in it. He knew perfectly well that with so many people here, Su Yue couldn't do anything to him, but he was still scared.

Su Yue's eyes were dark enough to devour someone. When Shi Zhou lifted his eyes to look at him, he instinctively reached out and covered them. All he could feel was Shi Zhou's lashes fluttering uneasily against his palm, along with a little dampness.

That trace of moisture seemed to scald him.

Su Yue briefly closed his eyes, stared at Shi Zhou's slightly parted lips, and threw himself heavily onto him!

He pressed down fiercely, with all his strength, yet feared crushing him.

"Holy shit?! He really kissed him?!"

"Aaaaaah!"

A chorus of screams rose around them.

The corner of Su Yue's mouth brushed across the young man's delicate neck.

He collapsed onto him, breathing hard.

It had all happened too quickly. Once Xie Jiali registered what was happening, he could no longer hold back. He shot to his feet and rushed over with a dark expression, reaching for Su Yue's shoulders to haul him off!

Hearing everyone shouting around him, Shi Zhou gradually came back to his senses and said:

"...We didn't kiss."

When he saw Xie Jiali coming to help, he said, "Jiali, hurry and help pull him up. He's crushing me."

That panicked feeling vanished. Caught between laughter and exasperation, Shi Zhou explained:

"No, no. Yue was just trying to scare us."

Yu Manman also said softly, "Su Yue barely said anything toward the end. Is he drunk?"

"Could be. They don't allow drinking in the military, so he probably hasn't drunk much before, right?"

Xie Jiali had seen it clearly. Their faces hadn't even touched.

He let out a breath, but his expression remained dark as he gripped Su Yue's shoulders and pulled him off Shi Zhou.

The lighting wasn't bright enough for those across the large table to make out their expressions. The others were still shouting and joining in the excitement.

With Xie Jiali's "help," Su Yue sat upright. The grip hurt a little, but that pain was just enough to bring him back to his senses.

He crossed his legs, leaned sideways against the armrest with his head tilted, and closed his eyes.

"I'm not drunk. I did have a bit too much, though."

Asta laughed. "...That's what I thought."

They couldn't see his face clearly, but they could see the redness behind his ears and hear his unbelievably hoarse voice.

Apart from Xie Jiali, who gave a cold laugh, everyone seemed to believe Su Yue had merely been carrying out his "penalty."

Bai Shen had been closest to them just now and had seen everything most clearly. Now he didn't dare look at Shi Zhou's face at all. His eyes still seemed to hold a damp, startled fear that made it impossible to look at him for long.

I suppose you could say they didn't kiss, but didn't he actually kiss him?

On the side of his neck...

That's plenty intimate too.

He was the first to stand, slipping both hands into his trouser pockets as he said:

"...Let's go. Aren't we supposed to get ready to send our texts?"

Xie Jiali put an arm around Shi Zhou's shoulders and led him out. Right now, he didn't want to leave his side for even a moment.

Su Yue stayed slumped against the sofa for a long time.

Eventually, a member of the production crew came back to get him. "...Su Yue, wake up."

He hadn't changed positions the whole time, so the staff member thought he had fallen asleep.

Su Yue didn't explain. He murmured an acknowledgment and took another moment to recover before following them out.

Xie Jiali's thoughts were a mess. All he wanted now was to find somewhere deserted and sort them out, but who knew what the production crew was up to? They insisted on announcing that they would show the individual interview videos.

What individual interviews?

The ones they filmed when we first arrived?

Tonight, one thing came on the heels of another. He was afraid something else would happen that he wouldn't like.

He couldn't help giving Shi Zhou a tender look. If only we could spend a night alone together right now. No, even a little while would do.