A dab hand at housework

Backstage at the livestream, Director Ma watched the comments in Xie Yuan's stream and remarked to the assistant director beside him, "Just what you'd expect from Young Master Xie's fans. Their tongues are just as sharp as his."

The assistant director glanced at Director Ma's smug expression and muttered, "You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit. Don't tell me you're a fan of Young Master Xie too."

Director Ma kept his eyes on the stream, pretending not to hear.

After dinner, the four pairs of guests met in the living room with their flowers.

Su Wanyue stared at the flowers in Mu Ze's hands for a long while before looking away.

Xie Yuan noticed and felt a little disappointed.

He had thought Su Wanyue would stir up trouble again.

It seemed she had learned her lesson after failing to get the better of him several times.

Tan Yaya, however, looked at the flowers in Mu Ze's hands and turned to Zhang Jue beside her. "Mr. Zhang, do you like flowers?"

Zhang Jue had no idea why she was asking, but nodded anyway. "Flowers are beautiful. Apart from people allergic to pollen, I doubt anyone dislikes them."

Tan Yaya unwrapped her roses and handed half of them over. "Here. Half for each of us."

Looking at the red roses before him, Zhang Jue fell silent for a moment before accepting them. "Thank you. I like them very much."

After what Tan Yaya had done, Su Wanyue and Liu Yan, each holding a bouquet of roses, were unsure whether to share their flowers with their male partners.

Gu Yanzhou noticed Su Wanyue's hesitation and said, "Keep the flowers. Your happiness matters more to me than whether I like them."

"Besides, what man needs someone to give him flowers?"

It went without saying that this was aimed at Mu Ze.

Xie Yuan glanced at Gu Yanzhou. "You really do stick your nose into everything, Mr. Gu. Even whether men like flowers."

"Anyone who didn't know better would think the entire Pacific Ocean was the Gu Family's backyard."

"Pfft." Tan Yaya couldn't help laughing. When everyone looked over, she half covered her mouth and said, "I just remembered that my uncle's dog had puppies. I'm happy."

Gu Yanzhou's face darkened at once. "Xie Yuan, if you have something to say, say it outright. You're a grown man. Can you stop taking veiled jabs at people every time you open your mouth?"

"Fine." Xie Yuan nodded. "You're sticking your nose in far too much, Mr. Gu. What the hell does anyone else's taste have to do with you?"

Gu Yanzhou's expression grew even uglier. "I won't stoop to arguing with you."

He turned and headed upstairs alone, leaving Su Wanyue behind.

Su Wanyue watched his figure disappear upstairs, glanced toward Xie Yuan, and went upstairs too.

Having left the male lead speechless once again, Xie Yuan went upstairs in an excellent mood.

Before heading upstairs, Mu Ze asked the production team for a vase, put the flowers in it, and added water. Only then did he carry it upstairs.

As he entered the bedroom, Mu Ze looked up to find Xie Yuan lying on his stomach on the bed.

His slender waist rested against the bed, particularly eye-catching against the pale sheets.

For a moment, Mu Ze stared at that waist in a daze.

Xie Yuan had heard Mu Ze come in, but when no further sound followed, he turned back curiously, meeting Mu Ze's distracted gaze.

"What's wrong?"

Mu Ze snapped out of it, the tips of his ears faintly red. He looked away and walked aside with the flowers. "Nothing. I just remembered you haven't unpacked yet. Do you need a hand?"

Xie Yuan's gaze fell on the suitcase in the corner. "Sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble." Mu Ze set down the vase, took Xie Yuan's suitcase over to the wardrobe, and began unpacking for him.

He sorted the tops and trousers and put them away. All that remained was the underwear. Mu Ze's hand paused, and he unconsciously rubbed his fingers together before folding the underwear and putting it in the wardrobe, his face warm.

Mu Ze placed the remaining set of pajamas on Xie Yuan's bed. "I've put your pajamas on the bed."

Xie Yuan took a moment to look up from his phone toward the wardrobe. His clothes hung neatly inside.

Even his shoes and socks had been put in perfect order in their designated cabinets.

"Mu Ze, you're even more capable than I imagined."

In the book, Mu Ze's description amounted to a single offhand line: "He died in an accident, and his assets passed to Gu Yanzhou."

That description had nothing to do with who Mu Ze was.

Someone so good shouldn't end up like that, no matter what.

It seemed he would have to get someone to investigate Mu Ze.

To see whether his death was simply an accident or someone's doing.

He praised me.

Those words filled Mu Ze's mind, though none of it showed on his face. "It's nothing much. If you need anything in the future, you can always ask me for help."

"All right, then I won't stand on ceremony." Xie Yuan put down his phone and took his clothes into the bathroom.

Watching the bathroom door close, Mu Ze stood in a daze for quite a while before returning to sit on his own bed.

The villa's bedrooms all had double beds, making one bed per person just right.

The livestream ran around the clock, and the cameras in the bedrooms had been fixed in place beforehand.

This was also to give the guests some privacy.

After all, some people disliked having others enter a space like their bedroom.

Xie Yuan's and Mu Ze's livestreams had been merged.

The comments were lively.

[Wow, at first I thought Mu Ze, a non-celebrity, wasn't a good match for Young Master Xie. Now I see I was being narrow-minded.]

[Mu Ze is good-looking, can cook, and can organize clothes. He's clearly a dab hand at housework. He's perfect for a lazybones like Young Master Xie.]

[Waaaah, Mu Ze is so doting. Who helps their partner unpack on the very first day of being paired up on a show? He even took care of the underwear. I really need a partner like that.]

[Originally, I just liked Mu Ze's face. Now I like everything about him. Do you think I'd have a chance if I pursued him after the show ends?]

[Girl above, I'd advise against it. Young Master Xie is clearly interested in Mu Ze, and Mu Ze likes him too. Do you really think you can beat Young Master Xie?]

[Young Master Xie has seriously hit the jackpot. When he's not insulting people, he's so sweet and cute. When he does, he's fierce and thrilling. I'm already in too deep.]

Amid the comments' various prying looks at the two of them, Xie Yuan came out of the shower.

He held a towel and rubbed his hair haphazardly, without any method at all.

From the moment he emerged, Mu Ze seemed focused on his phone, but was actually watching Xie Yuan out of the corner of his eye.

When he saw Xie Yuan give his hair a few rubs, toss the towel aside, and sit on the bed, Mu Ze stood.

"If you don't dry your hair, you'll wake up with a headache tomorrow. Let me help."

Water dripped from the hair at the nape of his neck onto his skin, which was rather uncomfortable, so Xie Yuan agreed.

"Sure. Sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble." Mu Ze picked up the towel Xie Yuan had just discarded, walked over, and gently dried his hair for him.

Xie Yuan's hair was very soft, with a slight natural curl when dry.

Now that it was wet, it lay obediently against its owner's head.

Drying his hair inevitably involved skin contact.

Several times, Mu Ze's fingers accidentally brushed the curve of Xie Yuan's ear, each time sending a warm, soft, delicate sensation through his fingertips.

Heat crept into Mu Ze's earlobes. He carefully dried the hair until it was half dry, then stepped back twice with the towel in hand.

"Done. See if you need it dried a little more?"

Xie Yuan took his fingers off his phone and touched the hair beside his ear. "It's fine. It'll dry on its own in a bit."

A trace of disappointment flickered in Mu Ze's eyes. "All right. I'll go take a shower."