Haven't we already done more than this?

The livestream froze for several seconds, then the screen erupted into madness.

[Shen Siyi! Picked! Song Nianxing! He chose him himself!]

[Is this seriously going to be some gentle, impeccable best actor × scandal-ridden, useless pretty face storyline? People still eat this stuff up?]

[I... kind of want to ship them, actually. Mainly because Shen Siyi really has been protecting Song Nianxing from the start. And didn't someone just say he'd actually watched Jiang Jingzhe's interview? Is it possible he was really paying attention to Song Nianxing?!]

[You're shipping them already? Some people really are starving. Could Shen Siyi have picked him just because choosing a girl would be awkward, since he likes men, and the others are already two couples?]

[Exactly. Broken Dew is still the best ship, no question. I don't believe Shen Siyi would ever be interested in Song Nianxing.]

[Am I the only one wondering what today's intimacy tasks will be?]

Just as the livestream comments brought it up, the PD at the scene happened to speak.

"All right, now that every guest has chosen their partner for physical contact, please draw your respective intimacy tasks."

Song Nianxing waited until everyone else had finished choosing before picking up the last task card.

(Stroke his face for 10 seconds)

The PD's voice rang out again. "Over the next five days and four nights, outside the scheduled activities, all guests are free to do as they please. And now, I declare the first week's story of Starstruck Moments officially underway!"

After finishing, the PD left, leaving only the eight guests in the living room.

"Do as we please? Oh, does that mean we have to cook for ourselves too?"

Chen Mingyi was the first to break the silence.

Du Yuesi followed right away. "From the similar shows I've watched before, I think so. How about we split into groups? Just putting it out there first-I can't cook at all."

[Chen Mingyi didn't prepare at all. All she does is ask stupid questions. Watching her is triggering my intolerance for idiots. Our baby Yuesi is so much better. You can tell she really researched the show. She's so smart and hardworking.]

[Ha, your Du Yuesi can't even cook. Doesn't that make her even more useless?]

"No problem. I'll handle it today," Shen Siyi said with a smile, then looked at Song Nianxing. "Will you help me, Nianxing?"

Song Nianxing's eyes instantly lit up.

"He can't cook." Jiang Jingzhe spoke first. Afterward, seeming to realize he'd been impulsive, he hurried to cover for himself. "I... I mean, he doesn't look like someone who can cook. He'd only get in the way."

Song Nianxing's face instantly paled a little.

Jiang Jingzhe wasn't wrong, really. He seemed to be naturally at odds with kitchens.

He longed to cook with someone close to him. To him, that felt more like home than anything else.

So he had once tried very hard to cook a meal for Jiang Jingzhe, but not only did he frequently burn the food, he had nearly ruined his hand too.

"Who wants to eat your cooking? You're so damn stupid. Go wait outside."

Recalling Jiang Jingzhe's words back then, Song Nianxing felt as though the burn scar on his wrist had begun to ache faintly again.

"Y-yes. I'd only get in the way in the kitchen."

"It's all right. I'm here. You can just give me a hand." Shen Siyi spoke gently, meeting his eyes, his expression instantly softening considerably. "As long as you want to, you can."

As long as I want to, I can?

Looking into Shen Siyi's eyes, filled with a sincere smile, Song Nianxing's heart gave another uncontrollable tremble.

Shen Siyi seemed to always understand what he longed for.

So warm.

He wanted to draw closer to him more and more.

Nodding vigorously, Song Nianxing could no longer hide his happy smile. "Okay. I... I'll do my best!"

[Wait! Guys, I'm seriously about to start shipping them. I just looked up that interview someone mentioned. Song Nianxing said back then that he liked gentle people!! And his dream was to cook with his partner because he longed for the feeling of home!! But he wasn't very good at it himself, and now Shen Siyi ticks every box!! It feels like he's been planning this forever.]

[I'm so done with you nutjobs. Just say you like Song Nianxing instead of forcing a connection to Shen Siyi. Does Shen Siyi know he's supposedly been planning this forever? LOL. Having an overactive imagination is an illness, you know.]

"Wow, from the sound of it, Senior Shen is really good at cooking. I'd better learn a thing or two."

Yuan Man raised his hand.

Qiu Bailu's gaze shifted, and she raised her hand too. "Me too."

Shen Siyi lifted his brows and tilted his head toward Song Nianxing. "What do you think, Nianxing?"

Song Nianxing paused, glanced at Yuan Man and Qiu Bailu, then nodded earnestly.

With more people helping, perhaps he could get in Shen Siyi's way a little less.

And so the cooking team for the first day was settled.

Yuan Man, Yu Xinyan, Du Yuesi, and Chen Mingyi had arrived later and needed to sort out their luggage first. Qiu Bailu eagerly offered to help, and Jiang Jingzhe had no choice but to go along too.

As a result, only Song Nianxing and Shen Siyi were in the kitchen area for now.

Shen Siyi deftly picked up an apron and put it on, then picked up another and slipped it over Song Nianxing.

They stood close together, one behind the other, as Shen Siyi tied his apron strings for him.

Song Nianxing could clearly smell the pleasant sandalwood and cedar scent on Shen Siyi. Deep, refined, and gentle, it enveloped him tightly, making him feel safe and relaxed.

"Who did you choose as your partner for intimate contact?"

Beside his ear, Shen Siyi's clear voice vibrated against his eardrum, seeming to mingle with the beat of his heart.

Just then, Shen Siyi gave the apron strings a gentle tug, bringing them much closer together.

For a moment, Song Nianxing felt that the question, which had sounded casual just now, had suddenly taken on a different flavor.

As though, if his answer failed to satisfy Shen Siyi, his waist would be done for...

What are you thinking!

Song Nianxing's ears instantly flushed beyond his control. He blinked rapidly several times and turned his head to look behind him, just as Shen Siyi tilted his head and leaned closer to look at him.

The distance between their faces abruptly shrank.

"Hmm?" Shen Siyi raised his brows, the single syllable emerging from his throat as though urging him to answer.

Warm breath brushed his face. Song Nianxing's hand resting on the sink abruptly clenched into a fist, his long lashes trembling incessantly. Only with difficulty did he manage to say, "You."

Shen Siyi smiled in satisfaction, drawing out an "Ohhh." "And the task? What is it?"

"Touch..." Song Nianxing hesitated.

He had actually still wanted to do the task secretly.

What if Shen Siyi refused after he told him?

"Touch your face."

After thinking it over, Song Nianxing told him anyway.

Shen Siyi's smile remained gentle and pure as the clear moon. "I see. Then, do you want to do it now?"

!!

Song Nianxing jolted in fright.

But Shen Siyi's expression looked so perfectly serious that he could only suspect his own head was full of too much dirty stuff.

[? Something's off. Very off.]

[What kind of filthy talk is this?]

The livestream comments were equally stunned, and in the next instant, they went completely wild.

"Are you that shy?"

When Song Nianxing failed to respond for a long time, Shen Siyi took one of his hands and placed it against his own face. After nuzzling it twice, his eyes narrowed in satisfaction into an alluring curve.

"What part of me haven't you touched? Things more intimate than this-haven't we already done them?"

The livestream instantly exploded.