Watching the two leave, Teacher He breathed a sigh of relief.
He had genuinely feared they would start fighting, though this would not have been the first time someone had been hit.
Gu Yanzhou sat back down and comforted Su Wanyue.
Wang Zihua quietly edged toward Liu Yan and whispered, "Young Master Xie has quite a temper. I almost thought he was going to get into a fight with President Gu."
Liu Yan gave Wang Zihua an indescribable look. So you only just noticed.
"Young Master Wang, haven't you noticed? As long as you don't provoke Young Master Xie, he basically won't bother with you."
Wang Zihua noticed Liu Yan's look and felt thoroughly unsettled.
"What do you mean?"
"You think I deliberately provoked Xie Yuan?"
Liu Yan said nothing. Her eyes said it all.
Wang Zihua suddenly remembered that he really had been the one to provoke Xie Yuan first.
A little embarrassed, he made an excuse. "Well, I thought, since we're all filming this show together, that counts as a kind of fate, doesn't it?"
"I wanted to get closer to him."
Liu Yan's gaze grew a little stranger as she looked at Wang Zihua. "Get closer? Young Master Wang, you..."
"Haven't forgotten what kind of show this is, have you?"
Wang Zihua belatedly caught on and jumped to his feet in agitation. "Don't talk nonsense! I'm straight. I'm not into that."
Liu Yan said, "Didn't you say you wanted to get closer to Young Master Xie?"
"What kind of nonsense is going through your head?" Wang Zihua snapped. "Can't it just be pure brotherhood?"
"Oh." The expression on Liu Yan's face said otherwise.
Wang Zihua clawed at his hair in distress. He felt he would never clear his name.
In the livestream chat.
[That scared me to death. I thought they were really going to fight.]
[I don't quite get it. Everything was fine, so why did someone have to butt in?]
[Our Yueyue is just kind. Is that not allowed?]
[Exactly. She only said a few words. Xie Dog was being too sensitive.]
[So kind she even steals someone else's man.]
[They weren't married. How was he someone else's man? Besides, President Gu loves our Yueyue.]
[As someone who went to the same school as President Gu and President Xie, let me say this: President Gu was the one who pursued President Xie back then. It's only been a few years, and he's already fallen for someone else. That love sure was short-lived.]
[I've noticed that Young Master Xie really doesn't hold back with people he dislikes.]
[I like people like Young Master Xie. He knows who he likes and dislikes and doesn't force himself.]
Because of the unpleasantness at breakfast, Xie Yuan and Mu Ze did not ride in the same car as Su Wanyue and the others again.
Only when they were almost at the shop did Xie Yuan remember that Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue had not come down for breakfast.
As if he could tell what Xie Yuan was thinking, Mu Ze said, "Teacher Zhang stopped by this morning. He said Teacher Tan developed a fever in the middle of the night."
"She probably couldn't get up for breakfast. The production team saved them some food."
Hearing this, Xie Yuan visibly relaxed a little.
Xie Yuan had barely sat down in the funeral shop before he received two or three orders for custom paper figures, paper villas, and other funeral goods.
They all wanted the elaborate versions.
At lunch, while enjoying Mu Ze's attentions, Xie Yuan suggested, "Old Yuan, hire a couple more shop assistants. Once we leave, you definitely won't be able to handle everything alone."
Old Yuan glanced at Xie Yuan. "None of your concern."
Xie Yuan swallowed his food. "I'm not worried about you. I'm worried the orders won't be finished on time."
"I took all these orders. If you can't finish them on time, won't that make me look bad?"
Old Yuan looked at Mu Ze. "Is he this awkward when he shows concern for you, too?"
Mu Ze's hand paused as he picked up some food. "No. He's only like this with you."
"Tch." Old Yuan clicked his tongue in displeasure. "Just keep spoiling him."
Intent on feeding Xie Yuan, Mu Ze did not argue.
Xie Yuan tapped his bowl. "You still haven't said whether you agree."
Old Yuan glared at Xie Yuan. "Don't tap your bowl. It's rude."
"So fussy." Xie Yuan scoffed irritably. "If you won't say anything, I'll have someone post a job ad. Once someone gets hired, I'll send them over."
Before Old Yuan could react, Xie Yuan had already finished the food in his bowl and got up to head outside.
Old Yuan was dumbfounded. It took him a while to stand up. "Wait, I haven't agreed yet. You've just decided on your own?"
"My opinion doesn't matter, is that it?"
"I don't agree."
Mu Ze ate quietly, staying completely out of their battle.
Getting no response, Old Yuan slapped the table in annoyance. "Say something to him! He's so domineering. How can you stand him?"
Mu Ze's gaze was gentle. "He treats me very well."
Old Yuan gave him a disdainful look. "Hopelessly lovesick."
As it turned out, Xie Yuan's concerns were justified. They received several more orders that afternoon.
Each started with three to five paper figures and paper villas, along with other items.
After hearing the orders, Old Yuan was silent for a while. "Fine. Help me find two people to lend a hand."
That afternoon, Old Yuan suddenly went out.
When he returned, he was carrying plenty of ingredients.
He refused to let Mu Ze or Xie Yuan help and busied himself alone in the kitchen.
A little after six, a tableful of dishes was laid out in the back courtyard.
The three sat around the table.
The smell of cooking oil still clung to Old Yuan. "Dig in. I rarely cook. You two boys are lucky."
Xie Yuan did not stand on ceremony. He took a bite. "Not bad. A little worse than Mu Ze's cooking."
Old Yuan glared. "Even food can't shut you up."
"After this meal, don't come back here."
Xie Yuan's mouth did not stop moving. "I wasn't planning to."
"Hmph." Old Yuan snorted in displeasure. "You'd better mean that."
"Not likable in the slightest."
The old man and the young man were rather like a pair of adversaries.
In the livestream chat.
[Young Master Xie only softens that sharp tongue a little when he's talking to Mu Ze.]
[Old Yuan and Young Master Xie, your mouths are the most stubborn part of you.]
[You two adversaries, why put yourselves through this?]
After dinner, Old Yuan personally saw them out to the end of the alley.
He gave each of them a large red envelope. There was no telling how much money was inside.
Xie Yuan weighed his in his hand. "You haven't given us all the money you made from sales these past few days, have you?"
"In your dreams." Old Yuan glared at him. "I only gave you the share you earned. Don't even think about the rest."
"Fine. Even if you gave me extra, I wouldn't give it back anyway." Xie Yuan put the red envelope straight into his pocket.
When they returned to the villa, all the other pairs of guests were already back.
Tan Yaya looked much better.
The two had only been seated for a short while when Teacher He appeared in the living room. "Because of the time constraints, Teacher Tan and Teacher Zhang won't be able to continue performing at the bar tonight."
"To keep things fair, the production team will compensate them with a certain amount in wages."
The staff had already collected everyone's wages in advance.
Now they were all in Teacher He's hands.
His voice took on a mysterious air. "The wages have been totaled. To be honest, first place is a bit of a surprise."
The guests were all a little surprised to hear this.
Wang Zihua could not resist whispering to Liu Yan, "Could we be in first place?"
Liu Yan gave Wang Zihua an indescribable look. "Young Master Wang, don't you remember how many takeout orders we delivered?"
Wang Zihua's expression stiffened as he remembered his own behavior over the past three days. "You have to have dreams."
As long as they're not delusions.
Liu Yan silently added that to herself.
Gu Yanzhou and Su Wanyue said nothing. Even at a private kindergarten, three days' pay for a kindergarten teacher would not be very high.
Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue could roughly guess how much they had earned.
Of everyone there, only Xie Yuan and Mu Ze's wages remained a mystery.
"Our first-place winners are..."
Before you continue