Yu Xiuyuan hadn't expected him to still take such good care of him. Didn't he mind how Yu Xiuyuan had offended him earlier? Didn't he mind what had just happened?
He looked at the wound on his hand and understood.
He'd been flattering himself.
His hand was injured, and God Yun had caused it. He'd already promised to take responsibility, so even after discovering all the dirt on Yu Xiuyuan and what a terrible person he was, he wouldn't break his word and abandon him.
He was probably deeply reluctant, wishing he could stay as far away from him as possible.
Yun Chuan reached for the shrimp, and Yu Xiuyuan instinctively pushed them farther away.
Yun Chuan turned to look him in the eyes, slowly bent down, and grabbed the bowl of shrimp. They reached a stalemate.
For some reason, Yu Xiuyuan felt nervous and began rambling. "Are you treating me like a little girl, God Yun? A grown man isn't that delicate. It's embarrassing to keep bringing up such a tiny injury."
They were too close. His soft breath brushed Yun Chuan's ear. Yun Chuan lowered his gaze slightly and said evenly, "Let go."
Yu Xiuyuan blinked, then dazedly let go.
Yun Chuan turned and left. Looking at the shrimp, he rubbed his ear and reached a conclusion. Sure enough, he's playing games to manipulate me again.
Unfortunately, I won't fall for anyone. He's only wasting his effort.
Once Yun Chuan was gone, Yu Xiuyuan sighed inwardly. How pathetic. How did one look make me cave?
A man this handsome, with a great body, money, and integrity... if only he weren't Wen Lin's future brother-in-law.
Ah, what a shame.
The two of them weren't remotely on the same wavelength, but each had his own regrets.
While both believed they had closed their hearts to love, Yun Chuan's fans exploded.
"Aaaah! God Yun, have you lost your mind? Don't look at him!"
"Yu Dog, get out of the entertainment industry!"
"Yu Dog has no shame! He's actually seducing God Yun! How could God Yun let him get that close?"
"God Yun's ears are red."
"Birds of a feather flock together. God Yun, you've really disappointed me. I'm no longer a fan."
"Waaah... to the person above... I don't know whether to yell at you or follow your lead... I've loved God Yun for so many years..."
"God Yun only caused him to cut his hand, so he's being a gentleman and looking after him. Don't read too much into it."
Watching their interaction, Lin Qingnuan slowly clenched her hands and began regretting letting Yu Xiuyuan cook.
In his previous life, Yu Xiuyuan had been an obsessive overachiever who had worked hard at his cooking skills. With Yun Chuan helping, he soon finished several dishes.
Oil-braised shrimp, stir-fried pork with peppers, red-braised pork, and blanched choy sum.
The others each showed off a little of their cooking, too. Li Rou fried her potatoes black, while Lin Xi's green beans came out crisp and refreshing.
Once the food was served, Yu Xiuyuan still sat in the corner.
Yun Chuan naturally sat down beside him. After a moment's hesitation, Li Rou sat on his other side.
Yu Xiuyuan's eyes flickered, and he felt a little happy.
The meal was rather quiet.
Wen Lin was still upset, and Fang Yi was comforting him.
Lin Qingnuan had already eaten her fill in the kitchen.
The others focused on eating. By the end, nearly all of Yu Xiuyuan's dishes had been polished off, especially the red-braised pork. Even Yun Chuan took a couple of extra chopstickfuls, leaving Lin Qingnuan even fuller with resentment.
After dinner came the love-letter segment. Yu Xiuyuan took an envelope straight upstairs, casually drew a period, and dropped it into the mailbox outside Wen Lin's door.
Before long, Yun Chuan returned to their room as well. He handed him a letter and said softly, "The food was delicious."
"Huh?" Yu Xiuyuan was puzzled. "Aren't the letters supposed to go in the mailboxes outside the doors? Do you need me to deliver it for you?"
"No need to bother. The letter is for you."
Yu Xiuyuan's neck stiffened. What's going on? He nervously opened the envelope. It was blank.
After puzzling over it for ages, he understood. With an "Oh," he laughed and said, "You mean delivering it is a hassle, and since we share a room, you might as well just give it to me? The message is that the food was delicious, so you saved yourself the trouble of writing it, too?"
"Mm."
"You really do take the easy way out. Aren't you worried about scaring your fans to death?"
"No."
Yu Xiuyuan shook his head. That wasn't necessarily true.
They didn't speak again after that, each busy with his own things.
Only after Yu Xiuyuan had washed up and comfortably slipped under the covers did Yun Chuan ask, "Aren't you sending a letter?"
"Huh? I already did. I dropped it straight into Wen Lin's mailbox on my way back."
"Wen Lin?"
"Yeah. Given my situation, sending it to anyone else would be inappropriate, so I'll just have to put him through a little trouble."
Yun Chuan nodded without saying anything else and went to turn off the camera.
The night passed without further conversation. After daybreak, Yu Xiuyuan obediently went through the process of reading the love letters and forming pairs.
Wen Lin and Fang Yi successfully chose each other, as did Su Ziming and Lin Xi. Everyone else stayed at the villa for a group date.
Yu Xiuyuan went straight to the gym on the third floor. After two days of proper rest and making an effort to eat, his body finally wasn't so weak, and he could start exercising. He'd been very satisfied with his lean muscles in his previous life, and he wanted them in this life, too.
Half an hour of sweating buckets was already his limit. He went to the kitchen, ate something quick, then plunged back into bed and slept like the dead.
He had told Director Liu and Li Rou beforehand that he wouldn't be eating lunch and that they shouldn't wake him.
When Wen Lin returned from his date and learned that Yu Xiuyuan hadn't appeared all morning and had even skipped lunch, he felt even smugger.
If he knew this would happen, why offend me in the first place?
Wouldn't it have been better to just be my stepping stone?
After all, no matter what, I wouldn't have treated him badly. Take this show, for instance. Didn't he only get to come because of me?
It was already the third day. This week's filming would wrap up that afternoon. Yu Xiuyuan probably wouldn't be around for the next shoot.
Just imagining him with nowhere to turn makes me so excited.
At two in the afternoon, everyone gathered in the living room, including Yu Xiuyuan, who was still groggy from sleep.
Holding a small megaphone, Director Liu announced, "Next, we'll be filming this week's final game segment. The game is called I Have, You Don't."
He gestured for everyone to sit in a circle, but no one wanted to sit beside Yu Xiuyuan.
Lin Qingnuan gave him a brief glance, making no attempt to hide her contempt. After a full day, she was certain Yu Xiuyuan couldn't turn things around.
After all, Yu Xiuyuan himself had tacitly admitted it, and his agency was playing dead, without even doing any PR.
Of course, that was what Yu Xiuyuan had requested. Yesterday, he'd contacted Sister Man and told her he had his own plans. All the agency needed to do was refrain from responding.
Wen Lin and Fang Yi avoided him as though he were garbage.
Su Ziming had very little presence. He hadn't paid Yu Xiuyuan any attention from the start and didn't care where he sat, simply choosing a seat at random.
Only Yun Chuan still walked straight over and sat beside him, with Li Rou following close behind.
In fact, her manager had warned her yesterday to keep her distance from Yu Xiuyuan so she wouldn't get splashed with blood when things went south.
But her sixth sense was very accurate. There was definitely another twist coming, and watching the drama up close was much more satisfying.
The director announced the start of the game.
Lin Qingnuan spoke first. She smiled shyly, with a hint of pride. "I once went three days and nights without sleeping for a shoot."
"You're so dedicated, Lin Qingnuan! Your acting is already so good, and you still work that hard. You're leaving the rest of us no chance." Wen Lin offered his praise at just the right moment.
Everyone chimed in and folded down a finger.
Yu Xiuyuan inwardly rolled his eyes. Pfft, what a load of crap! The last time I went three days without closing my eyes, I ended up in another world. As frail as Lin Qingnuan is, she'd have been done for long before three sleepless days were up.
Before you continue