By the time everyone returned to the variety show's house, it was nearly dinnertime.
The host held a microphone, his voice coming through the camera.
"Good afternoon, guests! Since our production crew is short on cooks, you'll need to prepare dinner yourselves. There are eight of you, so split into four pairs. Over the next four days, each pair will take a turn."
The guests let out a chorus of groans.
In the end, after sorting themselves out, they formed three groups: those who could cook, those who could cook but whose food tasted bad, and those who couldn't cook.
Those who could cook: Gu Weichen, Ding Zeyang, Feng Mengjie, Fan Shaohan.
Those who could cook but whose food tasted bad: Shen Xuanrun, Deng Yingying.
Those who knew absolutely nothing: Wei Wenbo, Yan Nana.
The four who could cook would each choose one of the other four, with the picking order decided by a round of finger-guessing.
Ding Zeyang went first, and he chose Deng Yingying;
Then came Feng Mengjie, who chose Wei Wenbo;
Last was Fan Shaohan. As a fanfiction writer, he glanced at Shen Xuanrun, then at Gu Weichen, and finally chose Yan Nana.
Shen Xuanrun: Could you please make that look in your eyes a little less obvious? (ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻
Gu Weichen secretly chuckled.
Gu Weichen and Shen Xuanrun naturally ended up paired together.
Ding Zeyang and Deng Yingying would prepare dinner that day.
The others chatted in the living room.
Everyone chose a seat. After Gu Weichen sat down, Shen Xuanrun chose the spot farthest away from him.
Fan Shaohan quietly adjusted his glasses. Hmm? Something's gone wrong with my fanfiction material, but I can still write it. I'll just switch styles.
Everyone present could feel Gu Weichen's mood suddenly turn sour. He sat on the couch without saying a word.
Yan Nana secretly rejoiced. Heh, I thought he was a formidable rival at first, but it looks like he's letting go himself. Don't blame me for making my move.
In his mind, Wei Wenbo... no, he didn't dare think anything. Dad Shen's demonic voice had bored into his ears that day, and he still couldn't forget it, so he didn't dare think anything now.
When the Storm Rises: Something we don't know about happened between Gu Weichen and Shen Xuanrun (quietly speculating).
My Ship Cannot Have a Bad Ending: No, why is Runrun suddenly keeping so far away from Gu Weichen? They can't have a bad ending! They have to be okay, sob, sob, sob...
A Rare Youth in This World: I'd only just started believing in love, and reality immediately slapped me in the face.
Toyota Beyond Dawn: Why do I feel like Yan Nana looks like she's gloating? Why does looking at her make me so uncomfortable? I want to rush over and slap her a few times! She reminds me of that fake-innocent best friend who stole my ex-boyfriend. I'm so mad!
When Deng Yingying and Ding Zeyang finished cooking and returned to the living room, they discovered that the atmosphere had changed.
Instead of its earlier relaxed cheerfulness, it had become a little oppressive.
Looking at Gu Weichen and Shen Xuanrun sitting as far apart as possible, Deng Yingying nearly burst into tears. Sob, sob, sob, what happened to them?
Everyone moved to the dining room to eat.
Ding Zeyang tried to start a conversation, but only Fan Shaohan and Feng Mengjie responded. Everyone else stayed silent.
Shen Xuanrun felt miserable and thought quietly to himself.
I can't let these feelings develop any further. From now on, I'll avoid him whenever I can. He'll definitely forget me.
Hearing Shen Xuanrun's thoughts, Gu Weichen seethed inwardly. What gives him the right to say I should just forget him? To tell me to give up and expect me to do it? Are my feelings really that cheap?
Wei Wenbo: I don't dare think anything. I'll just eat quietly! Eating is my calling, eating is my soul!
Deng Yingying: Sob, sob, what happened to my ship?
Yan Nana: Heh, isn't this my chance?
Ding Zeyang: (ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻
Could you all cut back on the inner monologues? I'm chattering away here all by myself, and only Fan Shaohan and Feng Mengjie are responding. It's really embarrassing, okay? Don't I have any dignity?
One Person's Martial World: Only Feng Mengjie and Fan Shaohan are responding to Ding Zeyang! Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter. That poor sunny, cheerful boy.
Roaming the World with a Sword: Tonight is completely different from last night. The atmosphere is so tense. All Shen Xuanrun and Gu Weichen did was walk around together for a bit. How did it turn into this?
A Fish's Life Has Tangerines: My intuition tells me Wei Wenbo still hasn't recovered from Dad Shen's "Dad won't allow it!" Hahahahaha, it's way too catchy.
Dad Shen, who had been lurking in the livestream all along, was speechless. Is that any way to behave, viewer?
Mom Shen, who had come home that evening and was watching with him, stared hard at Dad Shen. She had already known what Shen Jiangwei had done before she came home, and this comment had reminded her.
Dad Shen felt a chill down his back and turned to see Mom Shen.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Dad Shen asked fearfully.
Mom Shen (눈_눈): "Just look at what you did today! The whole internet knows!"
"Sob, sob, sob, I was worried about Runrun!"
"Sooner or later, Runrun is going to marry... leave us. You can't keep watching over him forever, can you?"
Dad Shen looked resolute. "I can!"
Mom Shen punched Dad Shen in the back. "Like hell you can! Our child will have his own life someday. If he meets someone he likes, are you going to stop them from being together too?"
"It's not as if I can't afford to support him," Dad Shen stubbornly replied.
Mom Shen rolled her eyes at Dad Shen. "What if Runrun isn't happy?"
Dad Shen said nothing, but he remained stubborn. I'll definitely take good care of Runrun!
Mom Shen already knew Dad Shen inside out. The moment he opened his mouth, she knew what he intended to say.
"If Runrun can't be with the person he likes, he'll be unhappy and miserable. You can satisfy his material needs, but what about his emotional needs?"
Dad Shen sighed. "Ah, I'm just afraid he'll get bullied someday."
Mom Shen comforted him. "We watched Little Gu grow up when he was young. Although he went abroad later, don't you trust his character?"
Dad Shen was puzzled. "Little Gu? What do you mean, Little Gu? Little Gu wants to pursue Runrun, sure, but Runrun never said he liked him."
Mom Shen was speechless. "You blockhead." When our son gets carried off, you can cry all by yourself.
Dad Shen sniffled. Why is my wife scolding me? _(:з"∠)_
After dinner, Shen Xuanrun said goodbye to the others and returned to his dorm room alone.
Watching Shen Xuanrun walk away, Gu Weichen secretly clenched his fists. He didn't know what exactly had happened between them. Why was Shen Xuanrun afraid of being together?
That feeling left him flustered. He didn't know where the problem stemmed from, so he couldn't address it.
The young man climbed the stairs one step at a time. His footsteps seemed to tread on Gu Weichen's heart, each step heavier than the last, echoing in his mind, impossible to erase.
After returning to his dorm room, Shen Xuanrun first took some clothes and covered the camera. Then he collapsed onto the bed and squeezed his eyes shut.
His heart ached, sour and bitter.
When Gu Weichen confessed to him, he could feel that Gu Weichen truly liked him very much. In fact, at that moment, he had felt a little thrill of happiness too.
But he had no choice. He had to cut things off completely and leave Gu Weichen no hope.