Was it too small or too short?

The moment Song Nianxing reached the sofa area, Chen Mingyi and Du Yuesi pulled him into doing the intimacy tasks.

Du Yuesi completed hers with a quick hug, but Chen Mingyi had clearly gotten hooked on pinching Song Nianxing's cheeks.

Only when Shen Siyi finished the last dish and walked over did Chen Mingyi withdraw her hands at Du Yuesi's reminder.

Actually, she would have stopped even without Du Yuesi reminding her, simply because the look Shen Siyi had given her just now had been truly frightening.

Didn't everyone in the industry say Shen Siyi was gentle and refined? Why did she feel like something was off?

But she had no time to think it through before everyone prepared to sit down.

Song Nianxing had just pulled out his chair when Shen Siyi and Yu Xinyan pulled out the chairs on either side of him almost simultaneously.

Song Nianxing looked left, then right, blinking his bright almond-shaped eyes several times.

Shen Siyi glanced at Yu Xinyan, but Yu Xinyan didn't notice. He simply sat down at ease, then looked at Yuan Man, who had originally been heading toward that seat, and raised his eyebrows provocatively.

Hmph, it looked like Yuan Man really wanted to get close to Song Nianxing. Giving up on him and switching targets, was he? Rest assured, he would help ruin everything Yuan Man liked!

Watching Yu Xinyan's smug expression, Yuan Man changed direction and sat opposite him, his rosy lips curving into a smile.

Hubby actually didn't want him sitting beside anyone else. Had he understood the hidden meaning behind his constant outward antagonism? Did he like him now? Want to fuck him? Sob, sob, sob, hubby, hubby, hubby...

Yu Xinyan's expression twitched several times at once.

Seeing this, Qiu Bailu's gaze shifted, and he immediately drew out his words in a meaningful sigh.

"Oh, I'm so jealous of how popular Nianxing is. Not only does Senior Shen protect him so much, but now Brother Xinyan is getting closer and closer to him too. They're even competing to sit beside him."

Yuan Man frowned in displeasure.

What this person had said was practically inviting hatred toward Song Nianxing and Yu Xinyan.

And that was indeed what happened. As soon as Qiu Bailu finished speaking, the livestream filled with abusive comments stirring things up.

[Uh, exactly. Why is everyone starting to revolve around Song Nianxing? I really don't see what's so great about him. Is this show scripted or something, specifically to clean up Song Nianxing's image?]

[Could it be that he really is nice? Are you saying that after he's been dragged for all these years, some backer suddenly decided to throw money at him and call in a bunch of hugely popular celebrities to clean up his image?]

[They've only officially known each other for one day, and they already know who's nice and who isn't? Song Nianxing's fans, stop being so ridiculous. Haven't you "Taro Balls" shippers exploded yet? Your fave is about to fall for someone else, all because of Song Nianxing~]

[Are you nuts? Other ships might sink, but our "Taro Balls" never will, okay? As if Song Nianxing even qualifies.]

Everyone present wore different expressions for a moment.

Chen Mingyi stared wide-eyed, looking ready to enjoy the drama.

Du Yuesi remained fairly calm, merely shifting her gaze from person to person as she observed them.

Jiang Jingzhe's expression was less pleasant, lips pressed into a tight line, seemingly displeased as well.

But the most frightening of all was Shen Siyi, whose eyes were cold and deep.

Yuan Man met his gaze for a moment and felt chilled all over. He hurriedly forced a smile and said, "Nianxing is so cute. Naturally, we all want to get close to him and be his friends. What? Don't you want that too, Little Qiu?"

Qiu Bailu paused, then smiled. "I do. Of course I do."

Only after seeing Shen Siyi sit down out of the corner of his eye did Yuan Man breathe a sigh of relief.

But the very next moment, his heart lurched again.

As soon as Shen Siyi sat down, he urged everyone to eat, immediately placing a chicken wing on Song Nianxing's plate before agreeing with what Yuan Man had just said:

"Yes, Nianxing is cute, so people really like him. Speaking of which, do any of you have pets at home? I think Yuan Man posted a picture of his puppy before?"

Yuan Man nodded. "Yes, I have a puppy at home."

Shen Siyi raised his eyebrows. "Dogs certainly are livelier. They like making friends. I have a little cat at home too."

Song Nianxing had been biting into the chicken wing Shen Siyi had given him, but the moment he heard "little cat," he raised his head almost as though it were a reflexive stress response.

Little cat...

Last time, Shen Siyi had called him that...

Mm... but this time, he probably meant an actual little cat, right?

As if sensing his question, Shen Siyi looked over at him too, his smile still as lovely and gentle as ever. "Don't you like little cats? Come over to my place and see it sometime. It can do backflips."

It seemed he really did mean a cat this time.

Song Nianxing's eyes lit up. "Can I?!"

"Wow, can you bring it next week, Senior Shen? We can all have a look." Qiu Bailu immediately chimed in.

Shen Siyi glanced at him, but his gaze ultimately settled on Yuan Man.

"I won't be bringing it out. I really don't like it running around everywhere. Often, the moment I'm not paying attention, some stray cat or dog sets its sights on it. Dealing with that... is quite troublesome. So I think people should keep their own pets under control, especially since it would be bad if someone else hurt them or made them sick, right?"

Yuan Man couldn't help catching his breath. "Yes, that makes sense. Looks like when I get home... I'll have to give my dog a proper talking-to as well."

"Oh, what's all this about cats and dogs? I don't get it. Isn't this a dating show? Let's talk about something related to relationships instead. Although the PD said you couldn't reveal your sexual orientations to us, I've figured it out anyway. Nianxing and Senior Shen probably like men, right?"

As Chen Mingyi spoke, she smiled, revealing a neat row of white teeth. Then she popped a piece of sweet-and-sour pork rib into her mouth and continued mumbling:

"So, Nianxing, have you slept with anyone? How many times? What did it feel like? Did it feel good?"

[Good grief, Chen Mingyi might as well change her name to Chen the Brave.]

[Holy crap, a zero-frame startup.]

"Cough, cough!"

Song Nianxing nearly choked to death. A blush instantly spread across his face, and his eyes watered. He glanced at Shen Siyi, who merely smiled calmly and handed him a glass of water.

Along with it, he added with a tender smile:

"Exactly. I'd really like to know too~"

Song Nianxing's eyes widened in disbelief. Looking to the side again, he found that everyone present was staring at him except Jiang Jingzhe, who had his head down eating.

"I..." He blinked in extreme embarrassment, biting his lower lip until it had gone a little pale before seemingly gathering the courage to speak again:

"Actually... I didn't really feel anything."

He was telling the truth.

He really hadn't felt much of anything. After all, he couldn't even clearly remember what had happened at the time.

"Oh, I see~" Chen Mingyi sighed with considerable regret. "You didn't feel anything. Tsk, looks like that ex of yours wasn't up to much. Was it too small or too short?"