Xu Chao!!!

The secretarial office on the top floor of the Fu conglomerate.

"I think I'm hallucinating. Why does that guy on TV look so much like President Fu?!"

"Funny, I thought so too, but surely not. Why would that cold-faced tyrant be smiling like such a lovesick fool?"

"Wait, President Fu was working overtime these past few days. Was he doing it to make time for a variety show?!"

"Holy shit, emotionally, I refuse to believe it, but reason tells me that's him. That face definitely belongs to President Fu. His husband is so cute!"

Meanwhile, at the Fu family's old residence.

Old Master Fu watched the livestream cheerfully. Not only that, with the butler's help, he even registered an account and painstakingly tapped out a live comment, one character at a time.

[Wishing my grandson Fu Sichen and grandson-in-law Xu Chao a happy marriage and a baby soon!]

[Hahahaha, I've seen sister fans, mom fans, girlfriend fans, and even dad fans, but this is my first time seeing a grandpa fan.]

[Honestly, with that little motormouth of his, Xu Chao looks like exactly the type who knows how to keep old folks happy.]

[Has this grandpa fan gotten their genders mixed up? Young Master Fu and Chaochao are both men. They can't have babies.]

[Hahaha, pass it on: Xu Chao had President Fu's baby.]

After making amends and apologizing, Xu Chao stuffed his spoils into the supply bag and happily walked on, holding Fu Sichen's hand.

The others had already been tired, and after their bouts of diarrhea, they were even weaker. Just a few steps left them panting like dogs. Precisely because of that, none of them had the energy to stir up trouble.

The group followed the map, and when the sun reached its highest point, they finally found a water source.

The little stream wound along, its water so clear they could see the bottom.

Joy appeared on everyone's faces. They all put down their supply bags and went to wash by the stream.

Xu Chao waved his little hand twice in front of his nose and earnestly instructed them, "All of you, wash properly. Get yourselves nice and clean, or I'll keep smelling that stink."

The stinky group's faces alternated between livid and pale, yet none of them dared be the first to talk back.

After all, whoever talked back would be admitting they were the stinky one!

They spent a long while washing by the stream in sullen silence. Meanwhile, Xu Chao and Fu Sichen were concentrating on preparing the self-heating hot pot.

Of course, Xu Chao was concentrating on opening the ingredient packets, while Fu Sichen stared unblinkingly at his husband.

Once all the ingredient packets had finally been added, while waiting for the hot pot to bubble away, Xu Chao took out two big apples, washed them, and started eating.

When the others finally finished washing and returned, they were greeted by the sight of the two sitting together, eating hot pot and munching apples.

Fuck, it was infuriating!

Shen Xinbai felt so stifled that he couldn't help saying, "Xu Chao, we still have three days of jungle exploration ahead. If you eat all your food now, what will you do later?"

Lou Jun immediately snorted. "Only thinking about immediate gains, with no plans for the future."

"If there's wine today, I'll get drunk today. Even if I fall into the wine vat, I can still sleep there." As he spoke, Xu Chao took a big, crunchy bite of his apple, and his eyes instantly lit up. "This apple's so sweet. Honey, hurry and try it."

Fu Sichen swept a cold glance over the others before lowering his head to bite the apple. "Mm, sweet."

Wildly envious, Lou Jun muttered under his breath, "What fucking good is sweet? It won't fill you up."

Xu Chao smiled, his eyes curving. "If one apple isn't enough, we still have bananas and oranges. Once we finish the self-heating hot pot, there's self-heating rice too."

Everyone: "..." Ah, enough, enough! Shut up!

After bubbling for over ten minutes, the self-heating hot pot was almost ready, and Xu Chao eagerly opened the lid.

Immediately, the rich, spicy aroma of beef-tallow hot pot spread through the air, assailing everyone's mouths and noses.

Xu Chao inhaled, intoxicated. "It smells so good, so good! This is exactly the smell!"

Watching the young man look like a little greedy cat, a trace of amusement crossed Fu Sichen's eyes. "Eat plenty."

Xu Chao obediently murmured his agreement twice, then turned and picked up a piece of beef tripe, rinsed it in mineral water, and held it to Fu Sichen's lips.

"Honey, it's not as spicy after rinsing. Try it and see if it's okay?"

Fu Sichen froze, his pitch-black eyes fixed on that piece of tripe with its chili oil rinsed away. After a long time, he opened his mouth and ate it.

The tripe entered his mouth, mildly numbing and spicy, yet like high-proof liquor, it burned his insides painfully.

Almost losing control, he tightened his grip around the young man's wrist, a low growl escaping his throat. "Xu Chao!"

Xu Chao hissed in pain and immediately said, "What's wrong? Is it too spicy? I'll rinse it some more."

Although he had rarely eaten with Fu Sichen, Xu Chao had still carefully noticed how plain his diet was: plain congee, simple side dishes, and white steamed buns, unlike his own fried chicken, burgers, and soda, not to mention his need for spice in everything.

He had thought rinsing off the surface spice with plain water would be enough, but he hadn't expected it to still be too spicy. Xu Chao bit his lip, feeling a little guilty.

Hearing the young man's soft voice, Fu Sichen came back to his senses. Whether from the stimulation of the spice or some other reason, his thin lips had taken on a vivid, sensual flush.

His lips curved as he said softly, "No, I'm just so happy."

Across two worlds.

Chaochao was still his Chaochao.

Xu Chao was baffled. Did eating a piece of tripe without any spicy flavor really make him that happy?

Oh, wow. Such a big-shot president, and he hadn't even had anything this good. How pitiful.

At once, a little more sympathy appeared in Xu Chao's gaze.

Fu Sichen: "?"

At that moment, the others were also sneaking looks their way. For no other reason than that the self-heating hot pot smelled so strong. So fragrant, so spicy. They wanted some so badly!

Especially compared with the compressed biscuits in their hands. Ah, what kind of crime against humanity was this? Were they chewing cattle feed?!

Gulp, gulp. They swallowed two great mouthfuls of saliva.

Their eyes were red with craving.

"You and Xu Chao are good friends. How come he hasn't shared any hot pot with you? He's just watching you gnaw on a ham sausage?"

Zhou Nan looked left at the self-heating hot pot, then right at the ham sausage, acid rising uncontrollably in his stomach.

Lin Yang was baffled. "Huh? We are good friends, but what does Chaochao eating hot pot have to do with me?"

"Hmph. You treat him as a friend, speak up for him at every turn, and give him your heart and soul, but when he has something good, he doesn't even offer to share. Heh," Zhou Nan said.

"He's my friend, not my dad. Does he have to keep me fed too?" After saying that, Lin Yang added, "Besides, you're my husband. Shouldn't you be working hard to gather things for me to eat?"

That did seem to be true!

Zhou Nan gritted his teeth and pledged his devotion. "Yangyang, don't worry. I'll definitely work hard to find food for you. Whatever you like, I'll make it for you."

Lin Yang was deeply touched. "You're so good to me, Zhou Nan. Oh, right, you mentioned wanting a Maybach before. Once we leave the jungle, I'll get you..."

Lin Yang was the type to repay any kindness tenfold.

Even though Zhou Nan had only made him an empty promise, Lin Yang was still especially eager to repay him. But halfway through speaking, he suddenly remembered that Xu Chao had borrowed all his money!

Uh.

This was awkward.

Lin Yang rubbed the tip of his nose sheepishly. "Oh, this ham sausage tastes pretty good. Have some too."

Zhou Nan had already been prepared to gently lecture Lin Yang on camera about not spending recklessly, displaying his own graciousness, then coax Lin Yang into buying him the car in private.

But unexpectedly, Lin Yang had stopped halfway through.

Was he fobbing him off with a ham sausage?

Did he think he was a beggar?!

Zhou Nan frowned. "I don't want any."

Lin Yang didn't think much of it. "Okay, I'll eat it myself, then."

With great dignity, Zhou Nan turned his face away and angrily bit into his compressed biscuit. It was dry and powdery, with an indescribably strange taste.

He regretted it!

He wanted some ham sausage too!

Xu Chao pricked up his ears to listen to their conversation, smugly bobbing his little feet.

In the original story, every time Zhou Nan sweet-talked him a little, Lin Yang would eagerly shower him with watches, cars, and career opportunities, gradually feeding Zhou Nan's ever-growing appetite.

Now that Lin Yang had no money and couldn't give him anything, what would Zhou Nan do?

He was very curious!