I'll just rub a little

[Aaaaaah!!??? What does Shen Siyi mean by that? Is it what I'm thinking? Folks watching at home, do you think this is real?]

[So! Those two have been having sex with each other, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Terrifying if you think hard about it, terrifying even if you don't!]

[Just asking, do the people who said Shen Siyi could never be interested in Song Nianxing feel slapped in the face now? He's not just into him, he's been in him.]

[Brothers and sisters up there, could you please phrase that a little more nicely?]

[Those people definitely don't dare say anything now. And I remember the one who said they'd eat shit!]

[But honestly, aren't these two standing a little too close and getting a little too intimate? You're in a kitchen, not a hotel room.]

"OMG! What a compromising position!"

The kitchen was open-plan, just to the left of the stairs. Chen Mingyi and Du Yuesi had both changed into fairly casual clothes and saw this scene the moment they came downstairs.

Chen Mingyi couldn't stop that remark from slipping out on the spot. Hearing it, Du Yuesi hurriedly shot her a look.

Chen Mingyi blinked in panic, gave two awkward laughs, and hurried toward the sofa, pretending she hadn't seen anything.

Du Yuesi gave Shen Siyi an apologetic nod and smile, then quickly followed her.

[Hahahaha, Chen Mingyi is seriously so funny. I just love funny girls like her. Planting a huge kiss on her.]

[Wait, what's with Du Yuesi's look? Is she rolling her eyes at my baby Yiyi? What a bitch.]

[Haha, didn't what Chen Mingyi just said deserve an eye roll? She has no social awareness. My Sisi was literally making my face for me. So satisfying.]

[Can you honestly say you wouldn't be shocked seeing Shen Siyi and Song Nianxing like that in person? Our Yiyi is being real, okay? Unlike your fave, such a fucking poser.]

The live comments started arguing again.

Off camera, however, Song Nianxing saw with his own eyes how Chen Mingyi and Du Yuesi huddled together as they walked.

"Holy shit, bestie! Are Shen Siyi and Song Nianxing both gay?"

"Holy shit, bestie! One look confirmed it. Actual gay men, in the flesh!"

"They're so close. I feel like there's a chance."

"I'm on board!! I approve this marriage!!"

Neither of them spoke very loudly, but all of Song Nianxing's senses were naturally much more sensitive than the average person's, so he could still hear them clearly.

The redness at his ears immediately spread to his cheeks. His gaze fell on the hand Shen Siyi was holding, and he felt the warmth of their contact.

When his gaze shifted again and fell on the face that looked like Nüwa's graduation project, currently rubbing lightly against his palm, Song Nianxing hurriedly pulled his hand back as though he'd been burned.

"O... okay, that's enough. The task only needed ten seconds."

His hand now empty, Shen Siyi's eyes darkened almost imperceptibly. He rubbed his fingertips together and said with a hint of regret, "Only ten seconds? So short. Then what about my task?"

He gazed into Song Nianxing's eyes, a hint of aggression entering his look. "Will you help me complete it, Nianxing?"

Song Nianxing froze for a moment.

Shen Siyi had chosen him.

Was he afraid I'd be embarrassed if no one chose me?

Collecting himself, Song Nianxing nodded slightly.

Shen Siyi chuckled. "You're agreeing without even asking what kind of task it is?"

"It... it shouldn't be anything too much, right? The PD said today's tasks should be the mildest..." Song Nianxing's lips moved slightly as he spoke cautiously.

Shen Siyi's gaze unconsciously fell on that spot of rosy color.

But the thought of their current circumstances stirred a sense of irritation in his heart.

My persona, the cameras...

Fuck!

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He took a deep breath and put on his usual smile again. "It really isn't anything too much. Just a little rubbing. What happened just now doesn't count. Tonight, then, after we've eaten our fill."

He paused, then moved a little farther away from Song Nianxing before raising his brows and curling his lips again.

"Tonight, Nianxing, let me rub a little~"

Having said that, Shen Siyi turned to the refrigerator on his own and started picking out ingredients for dinner, paying no mind to how suggestive his words had been or how much they left to the imagination.

[Shen Siyi, I'm warning you. If you keep this up, I'm seriously going to ship you, waaaah.]

[It's already this obvious... smart people have started shipping them. Don't turn down the sweet moments. This feels even sweeter than the other two pairs.]

[??? We're not worried. "Broken Dew" is pure sincerity with no additives, okay? Anyway, Shen Siyi and Song Nianxing feel weird to me. Artificial sweetener, maybe. Shen Siyi must be blind, too.]

[Wait, hahahaha, am I the only one thinking about Chen Mingyi and Du Yuesi? What are those two supposed to do? Now only the two in "Taro Balls" haven't revealed their sexual orientations, but it feels like no one would dare break that pairing up either. Can't play against that hand.]

After finishing helping out, the first thing Jiang Jingzhe saw when he came downstairs was Song Nianxing gazing at Shen Siyi in a daze.

His mood had already been foul because he'd inexplicably had to help someone tidy a room, and now it immediately grew even worse.

"Haven't you noticed how much attention you pay to Song Nianxing? Your eyes, your expressions, they've been slipping out of your control all day~"

Qiu Bailu's voice drifted lazily into his ears.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Jiang Jingzhe's face instantly darkened.

If it weren't for this person, why would he have gone to move things around and tidy a room like a servant?

He had no idea what Shen Siyi and Song Nianxing had just done again...

At that thought, Qiu Bailu's words seemed to repeat themselves in his mind. Jiang Jingzhe froze for a moment, then gave a cold snort full of anger.

"Heh, I pay attention to him? What a joke. I'm not gay. Go find your Senior Shen. Aren't you trying to climb the social ladder?"

Qiu Bailu raised an eyebrow indifferently. "Sure."

With that, Qiu Bailu put on a brilliant smile and walked toward the kitchen. "Sorry, Senior Shen, I'm late. What do you need me to do?"

Just then, Yuan Man and Yu Xinyan also came downstairs one after the other. One walked straight past him toward the kitchen, while the other greeted Shen Siyi and headed toward the sofas, as though neither had seen him.

Looking at the group gathered around Shen Siyi, especially Song Nianxing with his radiant smile, Jiang Jingzhe uncontrollably clenched his hands at his sides into fists again. Only when they began to hurt intensely did he release them and head toward the kitchen as well.

In the kitchen, Song Nianxing was obediently carrying out the potato-cutting task Shen Siyi had assigned him when two large shadows suddenly fell in front of him.

When he looked up, Jiang Jingzhe and Yu Xinyan had both come to stand in front of him without his noticing, with only a marble sink counter between them.

Startled, Song Nianxing glanced back and forth between the two, then asked in confusion, "Is... is something wrong?"

Jiang Jingzhe and Yu Xinyan also exchanged a glance.

Jiang Jingzhe said, "Nothing. Just came to have a look. Don't overthink it. I didn't come to look at you."

Why has Yu Xinyan come over here too? Could he... have fallen for Song Nianxing as well? Aside from me, people in the industry who promote male-male pairings are very likely actually gay. Qiu Bailu is proof enough.

Yu Xinyan coughed and also spoke. "Same here. I came to watch and learn."

Could Jiang Jingzhe have come over here because... he's fallen for that guy Yuan Man?! Aside from me, people in the industry who promote male-male pairings are very likely actually gay. Yuan Man is proof enough.

It's fine. Yuan Man wouldn't like his type anyway.

Yuan Man is a hopeless sucker for looks, a total pervert. He only likes pretty, good-looking people.

That's how well I know Yuan Man, but it's not because I have a crush on him. I'm not gay!

He only knew all this because he could hear Yuan Man's thoughts, and Yuan Man's were the only thoughts he could hear.

That guy Yuan Man acted antagonistic toward him every day, but in reality, every time he saw him, he said in his mind that he liked his face, that he was cute, that he wanted to kiss him to death and touch him to his heart's content...

Yep, he only goes on about me.

At any rate, he had never heard Yuan Man think about anyone else.

Which means that so far, no one but me has met Yuan Man's standards. Heh heh.

As he thought this, his gaze fell on Yuan Man again.

At that moment, Yuan Man was approaching Song Nianxing. After lowering his head to look at Song Nianxing's "masterpiece," he burst out laughing.

"The way you've cut these potatoes... never mind how good-looking you are, even your knife work is something we'd better never mind."

(So cute.)

Yu Xinyan's eyes immediately widened like brass bells.