Borrowing food

Fu Sichen looked at the young man's nervous expression, his lips curving upward, his voice carrying a hint of pleasure. "It's very well hidden. No one but me could find it."

Was that a normal thing to say?

Xu Chao was briefly puzzled, but someone soon came over to make a nuisance of himself.

Shen Xinbai and Lou Jun walked over hand in hand and stopped in front of Xu Chao.

"Chaochao, our supply bags got soaked yesterday, and a lot of the food spoiled and became inedible. Could you lend us something to eat?"

As he spoke, tears welled in Shen Xinbai's eyes, and he pitifully held up one finger.

"Just a little. Just a tiny bit will do, enough to put something in our stomachs so we won't hold you back when we set off later."

Xu Chao readily agreed. "Sure, I can lend you some."

Lin Yang immediately grew anxious. "Shen Xinbai's a rotten jerk! Why would you lend him anything?"

Xu Chao turned and gave him a reassuring smile, then lifted his chin at the pair. "You can borrow some, but what will you give me in return?"

Shen Xinbai said, "Chaochao, I'm begging you. Once we're done filming, even if you ask for a hundred or two hundred thousand, I'll transfer it to you right away."

A few pieces of bread obviously weren't worth that much money.

But he had said it deliberately, to completely destroy Xu Chao's reputation with casual viewers!

What he didn't know, however, was that Xu Chao knew himself all too well!

"A few pieces of bread aren't worth that much."

"All right, all right, your scheming is practically hitting me in the face. If I don't lend you any, the whole internet will immediately be flooded with articles calling me selfish and accusing me of disregarding my fellow contestants. If I do, we'll have to go hungry next meal. You've really mastered emotional blackmail."

He had spelled it out so clearly.

Shen Xinbai's expression changed at once. That had indeed been his plan, but with Xu Chao laying it all out, what was left for him to plan?

He could only put on an aggrieved expression. "I wasn't."

Lou Jun couldn't stand watching anymore. His face darkened as he snapped angrily, "Xu Chao, are you done yet? We're just asking to borrow a little food, and you insist on making us pay it back!"

Xu Chao immediately covered his mouth and snickered. "My bad. I forgot that you, Best Actor Lou, are the sort who borrows money fair and square and doesn't have to repay it. My apologies, my apologies."

The mockery was dialed all the way up.

The live comments went wild with laughter.

[Best Actor Lou really has been nailed to the pillar of shame.]

[Hahaha, writing that down in my little notebook. Next time someone borrows money and doesn't pay me back, I'll repeat that famous quote on a loop.]

Lou Jun's face flushed bright red. He grabbed Shen Xinbai and declared with great backbone, "Xinbai, let's go. Even if we starve to death, we won't borrow anything from him."

Xu Chao kindly reminded him, "Die somewhere far away. Don't block my path to victory."

The two of them: "..." Aaaah, he was seriously going to infuriate them to death!

Just then, Wen Shiting came over with Cheng Yu in tow, both of them holding a few yellow fruits.

Xu Chao tilted his head. "Are you here to borrow food too?"

Cheng Yu cautiously glanced toward Lou Jun and Shen Xinbai out of the corner of his eye, looking somewhat awkward. Wen Shiting smiled amiably. "Not to borrow anything. We wanted to ask you to help us check whether this kind of fruit is edible."

Cheng Yu immediately added, "We picked these from that big tree over there while we were washing up this morning. These are all that were left."

Xu Chao took one and examined it closely. "Yes."

Cheng Yu looked pleasantly surprised. "Really? You'd better not be messing with us."

Xu Chao gave a scoffing laugh. "Nope. Eat it and you'll turn into a human diarrhea cannon."

Lou Jun's steps faltered, and his fists clenched.

Wen Shiting spoke up at just the right moment. "Xiaoyu, don't be silly."

Cheng Yu's face instantly turned red, and he glared fiercely at the man. "Who said you could call me by my nickname, you old man? Don't call me that!"

With that, he ran off in a huff.

Wen Shiting quickly handed two fruits to Fu Sichen, briefly saying they were a thank-you gift, then hurried after Cheng Yu.

He fled, he chased, and even wings wouldn't let him escape.

Lou Jun and Shen Xinbai exchanged a glance, then hurried after them too. Otherwise, Cheng Yu would finish all the fruit!

[Uh, wow. They just opened their mouths and asked Cheng Yu for four fruits. Come on, they only had six altogether, didn't they?]

[How do those two have the nerve? Did they forget they dumped Cheng Yu in the stream last night?]

[Wen Shiting and Cheng Yu are such a shippable pair too. It's like he's raising a son.]

[Nonsense, he's clearly raising his future bride, okay? An old fox and his little fox.]