A kiss or a hug?

After breakfast and taking his medicine under Huo Xingye's supervision, Nan Zhou reluctantly slung his guitar over his back and headed out to work.

He was still going to the basement to rehearse, but Nan Zhou had fallen ill after he and Huo Xingye got caught in the rain last night, and the livestream's growing popularity had drawn many fans to the area specifically to watch.

For the guests' safety and health, Pei Feng and the directing team held a meeting and made a last-minute decision to replace the electric scooters with production vehicles to take the guests to work.

Today was the last day of the first livestream installment and also Christmas Eve, and the guests had packed task schedules.

Nan Zhou would rehearse that afternoon and perform the songs they had practiced with SIXGO at the bar that evening. Though billed as a gift for Huo Xingye, it was really just a stage the production team had provided for the guests to show off their talents.

Lu Zhou and Wen Yu, for instance, ostensibly had a singing and dancing assessment that evening, but fundamentally, it served the same purpose.

[Three days gone in the blink of an eye. Three days have never felt so short.]

[After today, we have to wait two whole weeks to see our Zhou Bao and Brother Ye again.]

[I heard Huo Xingye's leaving tonight to make it to another engagement. Doesn't that mean he can't spend Christmas Eve with Nan Zhou?]

[Aaaaaah, Pei Feng, can you film more behind-the-scenes footage? Otherwise, how am I supposed to survive the next fourteen days!]

[The little lovebirds can't even spend Christmas together. Damn it.]

In the car, Nan Zhou was rapidly writing and sketching on the tablet he had just borrowed from Huo Xingye, using its stylus. No one knew what he was doing.

Only when they were nearly at their destination did the cameraman, following Pei Feng's remote instructions, remind him, "Mr. Huo, you didn't complete yesterday's hidden task, so there will be a penalty."

"Hidden task?" Nan Zhou asked.

Afraid his next sentence would be something earth-shattering again, the cameraman rushed to answer. "Mr. Huo accepted a hidden task yesterday. He had twenty-four hours to get you to ask him for a hug or a kiss."

The last few words were rather intimate, and as a grown man, the cameraman felt embarrassed saying them. His voice involuntarily dropped.

To his surprise, Nan Zhou protested loudly, "But he completed that."

The cameraman said, "Huh?"

[Huh?????]

[I knew it! I knew it! They were getting naughty after turning off the cameras yesterday!]

[Brother Ye, you animal, you wouldn't leave your wife alone even when he was sick! That's my idol, all right. So dominant. I love it!]

[I can testify that Nan Zhou asked for a hug. We just didn't see what happened afterward. I strongly demand a reenactment!]

[Seconded!!!!!]

Nan Zhou stopped what he was doing and looked up at Huo Xingye beside him. "Right? Last night, didn't you..."

"What's the penalty?" Huo Xingye asked.

Nan Zhou froze.

Through the Bluetooth earphones, Pei Feng remotely instructed the cameraman to ask, "Did you complete it? Was it a kiss or a hug?"

"What's wrong with you two!" Nan Zhou shot them a sidelong glance. "It's only been one night, and you've already forgotten?"

Huo Xingye took his hand, his deep, dark eyes fixed on the cameraman. More precisely, he was negotiating with Pei Feng through the lens.

"He has no experience being on shows. Don't bully him."

Everyone in the livestream slowly typed a question mark. Even Pei Feng and everyone on the production team couldn't help letting out a "Hah?"

Who was bullying whom!

There was a limit to lying through your teeth! Hadn't his boyfriend given them enough grief already?

Now even Nan Zhou caught on. This was a trap.

He gave a snort of laughter, leaned closer to the camera, and grinned. "If you don't believe me, go watch the recording. Anyway, I say he completed it. If you punish him, the show will have to bear the corresponding risks."

The cameraman said, "...What risks?"

"The risk of being taken down."

"Huh?"

Nan Zhou wrote a few words on the tablet, then reached out to cover the camera and held up the tablet's contents for the cameraman to see.

The cameraman said, "..." Fuck!

What kind of celebrity was this unhinged, deliberately exposing a massive scandal about himself to get himself banned!

Though no one knew how much truth there was to Nan Zhou's words, he had successfully intimidated the entire directing team.

After all, these days, whether it was a television series, a movie, or a variety show, being able to air a production without trouble was already quite an achievement.

The fear was that some celebrity would suddenly get into trouble along the way, sending the entire project down the drain.

Nan Zhou moved his hand away, and the viewers could see the livestream again.

Only this time, none of the people in the car, especially the cameraman, brought up last night's task again.

[Huh? So what did he do?]

[He wasn't about to do something explicit in front of everyone, was he?]

[Please elaborate on how explicit. Eating dick?]

[I often feel out of place among you because I'm not horny enough... This livestream is terrifying. I love watching it, hehe.]

[Whatever else you say, Nan Zhou really does protect our Brother Ye. Hugs.]

After dropping Nan Zhou off at the rehearsal venue, Huo Xingye went to do his own task for the day.

The money he had earned working as an extra yesterday was to buy Nan Zhou a Christmas present, so his daytime task was to pick out a gift, then collect Nan Zhou after work so they could head to the bar together and keep working.

More people were present in the basement than yesterday.

Not only had every member of the SIXGO band arrived early to wait, but Yue Yang was there too.

The moment Nan Zhou entered, his devoted disciple Tang Yang eagerly complained, "Master, that guy surnamed Lu on your team stole your song!"

As soon as he said that, the comments were full of people calling him brave.

After all, Lu Zhou was an idol with a sizable fan base, far more popular than Tang Yang, an obscure band keyboardist.

That was how the entertainment industry worked. Traffic and rank determined status, and people liked to trample the lowly and flatter the powerful.

By saying this about Lu Zhou on a livestream, Tang Yang was offending him, his fans, and his team. Things could end badly for him.

Jia Jia was a girl, and her concerns were different. "Mr. Nan Zhou, are you really all right now? Do you need some more rest?"

"My head hurts," Nan Zhou replied.

"Then..."

"There's a rat stealing my wisdom."

"..."

Nan Zhou planted himself in a chair, looking every inch the big shot. "So I've decided to give that shameless thing the punch of its rat life."

"Have you all seen what I just sent to the group?"

The members of SIXGO and the others paused, then pulled out their phones.

They had all been busy discussing Lu Zhou stealing the song and hadn't looked at their phones at all.

As he opened the chat, Tang Yang said, "Master, I support you! That guy's skills are miles behind even mine. You could crush him with one finger."

Only Yue Yang smiled faintly and began plucking out a bass solo.

To his surprise, Nan Zhou called out, "Stop!"

Yue Yang stopped, and the others looked up in confusion.

"That rat might be peeking from a toilet drain. I want this afternoon's rehearsal muted," Nan Zhou told the director coordinating things on-site.

At that very moment, Lu Zhou, who happened to be watching the livestream on a toilet after using a break as an excuse, widened his eyes in disbelief at those words.

"Fuck!"