[He got a fish bone stuck hahaha.]
[I knew Duan Mufeng was going to get a bone stuck when I saw him eating just now. He was too busy looking at the person across from him. If not him, who?]
[I'm dying hahahaha. Sneaking looks at someone while eating, swallowing without even looking at what's in his bowl. Hahaha, off to the hospital.]
[Ke Yan is always going on about wanting to attend Radish's funeral feast, but she still cares about him hahaha. That's a childhood friend who roasts you for you.]
[Now this is what childhood friends should be like.]
[I suspect the person above is throwing shade at a certain fandom hahaha.]
[Just another day for fish lovers.]
[That suddenly reminded me of my younger brother, who went to the hospital three times in one month because of fish.]
It would take more than two hours to get out of the mountains even at the fastest speed. It had just rained, too, making the mountain roads difficult to travel.
None of them knew what to do.
Wen Yanyu hesitated, then stood and walked over to the man. "Can you feel where it's stuck?"
With tears in his eyes, Duan Mufeng pointed to the right side of his throat.
Wen Yanyu reached out and tapped the spot. "Here?"
Duan Mufeng nodded frantically.
"Don't keep coughing." After giving him that instruction, Wen Yanyu ran toward the kitchen.
Duan Mufeng clutched his throat, looking miserable.
The others at the table put down their chopsticks as well.
Before long, Wen Yanyu emerged with three chopsticks and stood before Duan Mufeng. "Tilt your head up. This will be over soon."
Looking at the three chopsticks in the young man's hand, Lu Mingxu instantly realized what he intended to do. He asked with some concern, "Shouldn't we go to the hospital instead?"
"It's all right. I have experience," Wen Yanyu replied softly.
Lu Mingxu hesitated, then said nothing more.
Duan Mufeng obediently tilted his head back. Wen Yanyu used one chopstick to firmly pin down his moving tongue, then carefully slipped the other two into his throat. In less than a few seconds, he securely extracted a fish bone.
The feeling of something lodged in his throat finally vanished. Duan Mufeng let out a long breath as though given a new lease on life, his whole body relaxing.
They were very close. The faint peach fragrance from the young man drifted around Duan Mufeng's nose. His gaze shifted slightly, his voice hoarse.
"Thanks, babe."
He instinctively tried to take the opportunity to put an arm around him.
Wen Yanyu turned to put down the chopsticks, leaving the man grasping at empty air. Duan Mufeng lost his balance and nearly fell off his chair.
Lu Mingxu, who had witnessed the whole thing: "..." Pfft.
Sang Yu silently turned her head away.
Jiang Keyan: (´.̫.) I didn't see a thing.
Duan Mufeng: (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)
Jiang Wanrou: (￢_￢)
"What's wrong?" Wen Yanyu wiped his hands and turned back. Seeing their strange expressions, a trace of surprise entered his eyes.
Had I done something strange?
"Nothing, nothing!" Jiang Keyan smoothed things over with a laugh. "We were just wondering how you got the bone out so quickly."
Duan Mufeng took a sip of water and propped his chin on one hand, teasing him in a joking tone. "Yanyu~ You've removed bones for other people before, haven't you? You're so practiced."
He feigned a mournful expression, his long, narrow phoenix eyes drooping slightly. The corners of his mouth, so often carrying a wild, carefree smile, now turned down in a wounded pout.
"So I'm not the first man you've helped remove a fish bone for..."
"I'm so heartbroken, so sad..."
"Ah..." Duan Mufeng lowered his eyes and sighed, looking every bit the pitiful, wronged soul.
The corners of Lu Mingxu's mouth twitched. Unable to bear looking at him, he simply turned his head away in disgust.
[I can't hahaha. This guy is seriously great on variety shows, hahahaha.]
[I've been laughing since the fish bone got stuck hahaha. This guy is variety-show gold. Suddenly remembered how he couldn't afford to rent a room on that life-swap show, so he just lay down in the street and went to sleep.]
[Wen Yanyu (bewildered): What happened?]
[I think the other guests deserve a little extra pay. Don't let holding back their laughter turn into a workplace injury.]
[Hahaha, he failed to cop a feel and nearly fell flat on his face instead hahahaha. Duan Radish, that's so you.]
[The bit where he reached out for a wounded little hug, only for Wen Yanyu to turn to put down the chopsticks and leave him grabbing nothing, I-hahaha. Duan Radish, your day has finally come hahaha.]
Wen Yanyu paused. "I've never removed a bone for anyone."
He suddenly thought of that world.
Wen Yanyu lowered his eyes slightly and offered a vague explanation. "Other things... a few times, yes, but not bones..."
He remembered the things that villain had forced him to do.
Wen Yanyu looked away, disgust rising in his eyes. "But you probably wouldn't want to know where I got that experience."
Duan Mufeng raised his eyebrows in surprise.
That night, torrential rain fell over the mountains again.
There was a two-meter-wide bed in the room. Duan Mufeng entered first, with Lu Mingxu close behind.
Duan Mufeng set his suitcase beside the bed.
A staff member followed them in with three thin quilts. "We borrowed this house from the villagers. Sorry, but you'll have to make do and squeeze in together for now."
Lu Mingxu frowned slightly at the not particularly spacious bed, feeling helpless.
Duan Mufeng adapted readily. He quickly changed his clothes and scrambled onto the bed, casually claiming a large section of it.
Grinning, he said, "I'm exhausted. It's been ages since I shared a bed with anyone. Come on up, come on."
The house the production team had borrowed for them was small, and so was the bathing area. There were no windows, either, so it became unbearably stuffy after only a short while. Almost all of them merely gave themselves a quick rinse before leaving.
Lu Mingxu hesitated for a while, but ultimately could not resist his sleepiness and fatigue. With a sigh, he changed into something else and sat on the bed.
Something suddenly occurred to Duan Mufeng, and he sprang up off the bed. "Where's Yanyu? Hasn't he finished showering yet? I'll go check!"
Just as he spoke.
Wen Yanyu walked in with an overcoat draped over his shoulders. He, too, paused when he saw there was only one bed.
"Yanyu! We were just talking about you." Duan Mufeng immediately waved him over. "Come here, come here. Sleep on the inside. I've warmed the bed for you."
The man smiled ingratiatingly and patted the inner side of the bed beside him, even thoughtfully setting out two pillows.
Lu Mingxu straightened his quilt and lay down on the outermost edge.
"I'll sleep on the outside."
Their places were settled.
Holding the edge of the bed, Wen Yanyu bent down and took off his shoes, socks, and trousers, leaving only an oversized white shirt on his body.
His legs were long and straight, and the buttocks covered by his shirt were faintly discernible. Beneath the dim yellow light, his slender waist was just visible through the fabric, inviting endless imaginings.
Duan Mufeng stared without blinking, his breathing unconsciously growing a little heavier.
Wen Yanyu took out his pajama bottoms and was just about to lift his shirt to put them on.
Lu Mingxu glanced at Duan Mufeng's blatant gaze. Finally unable to hold back, he caught the young man's wrist and offered a reminder, picking an excuse at random.
"There's a camera in the room, and it might still be on. You'd better change your trousers under the quilt."
Wen Yanyu froze briefly. When his gaze caught the camera flashing red in the corner, his face instantly flushed crimson.
In his panic, he paid no mind to the person still on that side of the bed. Bracing himself on the edge, he clambered onto it.
Before you continue