Please, God Yun, turn off your charm already

Yun Chuan closed his eyes, then opened them again, suppressing the last traces of drowsiness.

He tilted his head, his voice low and soft. "You were the one who told me to wait until you got back..."

Yu Xiuyuan was dubious. Had he really said that?

When Yun Chuan saw that he wasn't responding, he lowered his lashes, his voice growing even softer.

"I understand. I misunderstood. I'll leave right now."

With that, he stood up to go.

Only then did Yu Xiuyuan notice that Yun Chuan hadn't even taken his shoes off to sleep. He must have waited so long that he'd accidentally dozed off.

Guilt instantly welled up inside him, and he hurried to stop him.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, thanks for staying here... waiting for me! I'm really sorry for the wait."

Yun Chuan stopped and looked down at him, his gaze searching, as if to ask, Really?

"Really!" Yu Xiuyuan stepped forward and assured him loudly.

The guiltier he felt, the more he explained. "I knew you were waiting, so I hurried back."

He even sneaked a glance at the time. "I was only gone for an hour. It's just three now. Perfect timing to dig up sweet potatoes."

Only then did Yun Chuan nod in satisfaction. "Mm, as long as I wasn't bothering you. Shall we go now?"

"Let's go now!" Yu Xiuyuan answered eagerly, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

He trailed a step behind Yun Chuan and secretly wiped away some sweat. For some reason, he'd broken out in a sweat all over.

Walking ahead of him, Yun Chuan's lips curled into a triumphant smile.

Unfortunately, Yu Xiuyuan couldn't see it.

In short, less than five minutes after returning to his room, he'd been sweet-talked into going out again.

Yun Chuan first took Yu Xiuyuan to the tool shed to get some tools, then headed straight for the backyard.

There was no one in the vegetable garden. Who knew where Su Ziming and the others had gone? Not a single one was in sight.

They didn't see the small patch of sweet potatoes until they reached the wall.

Yun Chuan explained, "They haven't reached their full size yet. Another couple of weeks would be better, but we can dig some up to eat now."

Yu Xiuyuan wasn't picky. As long as he could dig them up, that was enough.

He tossed his shovel aside, crouched down, and started clawing at the soil.

"Use the shovel. You'll hurt your hands digging like that." Yun Chuan stopped him, his tone a little commanding.

Yu Xiuyuan refused without even looking up. "You don't get it. Digging this way feels different."

Yun Chuan didn't get it, but he decided to give it a try.

He crouched down too and dug at the soil with his hands. Sure enough, it did feel different.

Rather pitiful, really.

The soil here wasn't particularly loose, so digging by hand really did take some effort.

But when Yu Xiuyuan unearthed his first sweet potato, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

He held it up. "Hahahaha! The first sweet potato I've ever dug up in my life!"

His laugh was a little over the top. Yun Chuan hurriedly lowered his head to stifle his own laughter, sensing that laughing out loud right now might not end well.

Yu Xiuyuan set the sweet potato aside as if it were a precious treasure, then kept digging.

Before long, he got tired and switched back to the shovel.

Seeing that he genuinely enjoyed it, Yun Chuan stopped competing with him and instead collected the sweet potatoes he dug up, putting them in the basket.

Yu Xiuyuan only stopped once he felt they'd dug up enough to eat, still wishing he could keep going.

He stuck the shovel into the soil, straightened up, and wiped away his sweat.

He posed as if he'd just plowed two whole acres, looking ridiculously pleased with himself.

In reality, he'd only dug up a handful.

Yu Xiuyuan turned to look at Yun Chuan and froze for a moment.

Yun Chuan was bending over to pick up sweet potatoes, with the top two buttons of his shirt undone.

From this angle, his shirt hung away from his body, revealing his well-developed chest...

Yu Xiuyuan hurriedly looked away, only to sneak another glance a moment later.

The shirt stretched taut across his back, and those back muscles were gorgeous too...

And those suit pants...

Yu Xiuyuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared, a little dazed.

After collecting all the sweet potatoes, Yun Chuan turned away and pressed his lips together, smiling in secret.

When Yu Xiuyuan came back to his senses, he felt a little awkward.

He grumbled inwardly, He knew we were coming to dig up sweet potatoes, yet he still wore a suit. Clearly not cut out for manual labor!

Clearing his throat, Yu Xiuyuan searched for something to say. "Seriously, I didn't get to dig nearly enough."

Yun Chuan didn't expose him. He even offered him a second option.

"There are peanuts over there too. They're ready to harvest. Want to pick some?"

Sure enough, Yu Xiuyuan was interested. "Yes!"

Looking at the faint flush on his face, Yun Chuan's fingers itched to pinch his cheeks.

But he couldn't.

He rubbed his hands together, suppressed the urge, and led him over to harvest peanuts.

They first loosened the soil with a rake, then pulled up the plants and gave them a shake, revealing clusters of peanuts.

Yu Xiuyuan found it deeply satisfying.

They couldn't eat that many peanuts, so a dozen or so plants were enough.

Worried that he hadn't had his fill of fun, Yun Chuan offered thoughtfully,

"It's fine to pick more. We can just pay separately for the extras. The same goes for the sweet potatoes. We can dig up more of those too."

Yu Xiuyuan shook his head. "That's enough. Too much would take the fun out of it."

Looking over the peanuts they'd harvested, Yu Xiuyuan chose the largest pod. It was quite long, with four kernels inside. He squeezed it open, bit two kernels into his mouth, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Mm! Sweet and fresh. Delicious."

"Really? Let me try." Yun Chuan leaned closer.

Without thinking much of it, Yu Xiuyuan raised his hand and offered it to him.

Yun Chuan didn't take it. He simply lowered his head and bit the remaining two kernels straight out of Yu Xiuyuan's hand.

He even raised his eyebrows and smiled at Yu Xiuyuan. "Mm, very sweet indeed."

Yu Xiuyuan sucked in a breath and awkwardly changed the subject.

"How did you know there were sweet potatoes and peanuts here? I didn't even notice them. Do you like these too?"

Yun Chuan kept looking at him, his gaze both heated and unabashed.

He shook his head. "No. I knew you liked them, so I kept an eye out."

Yu Xiuyuan couldn't take it anymore.

He was close to breaking.

He really was going to fall for him.

Please, God Yun, stop flirting. Turn off your charm already!

In the original novel, Yun Chuan had clearly stayed single, then retired from acting and disappeared.

There hadn't been any of this dating partnership business at all!

Besides, Yun Chuan was supposed to be an unattainable beauty, a cool, aloof heartthrob.

And now?

He put food on my plate in front of everyone and even ate my leftovers.

He slept in my room and played the victim.

And now he kept flirting, practically confessing his feelings!

What on earth was wrong with him?

Had his entire family held knives to their throats to force him to get married?

And did Yun Chuan have any damn idea how good his acting was?

Did he have any freaking clue how hot his body and face were?

He went in for the kill without caring whether anyone survived.

Did he really think I wouldn't dare pounce on him?!