Was this part of the act too?

[Now that I've taken off the rose-tinted glasses, I keep thinking Bai Luochuan's fans who follow him for his looks really have it good!]

[I agree! I used to think Betas were just background scenery in showbiz, but now I realize! I was so, so wrong!]

[Betas can have both an Omega's beauty and an Alpha's good looks!]

[Does having a pretty face mean character doesn't matter at all?]

[I really envy you deaf and blind fans.]

[Bai Luochuan is just grandstanding! Ready to kill a chicken, my ass! I bet he can't even cook!]

[Go, Bai Luochuan! I want to see you spoil Qi Yu absolutely rotten!]

Bai Luochuan's name appeared far more often in the live comments than before.

Although the production team also wanted him to demonstrate killing a chicken, a show livestreamed across the internet could easily get banned for being too bloody and violent.

So the director tearfully abandoned the plan.

He told everyone that all the ingredients had been prepared in the kitchen, and they wouldn't need to process things like poultry themselves.

They could go straight to the kitchen to show off their skills.

Anyone who didn't participate in the cooking would certainly receive less attention.

So even though He Gui and Chu Zhu felt extremely awkward, they still followed everyone into the kitchen, intending to do battle with the potatoes they had obtained.

Lan Muxing played the beautiful airhead to perfection.

He tried very hard to help.

But he wasn't very good at it.

So Yan Cheng stood behind him, holding his hands as they washed and chopped vegetables together. He said this would help him feel more involved, and their dinner would count as something they had prepared together.

[God! The Chengxing ship is going to kill me with sweetness! I'll feel sorry for anyone who hasn't shipped them!]

[Where else can you find an Alpha as good as Yan Cheng? Tall, handsome, and a good person! And so gentle and considerate toward his wife! Aren't they extinct everywhere else?]

[Waaah, Lan Muxing is so blessed!]

[Another day of crying over my gorgeous ship!]

The two of them took their time enjoying the atmosphere.

Their background music was the rapid, frenzied chopping coming from beside them.

It really was a little loud.

Coupled with the fact that it never stopped.

It made it a little difficult for Yan Cheng and Lan Muxing to keep up their act.

They couldn't help breaking the mood to glance toward the source of the sound.

Bai Luochuan held vegetables in one hand and a knife in the other.

He chopped at lightning speed, his knife skills impeccable.

In less than five minutes, he had washed and chopped all the vegetables that needed preparing.

Satisfied, he spun the cleaver between his fingers.

Then his gaze flicked aside.

When he saw the meat ingredients sitting nearby, that satisfied yet sinister smile appeared on Bai Luochuan's face again.

The other guests: ...

Their hair was standing on end a little.

Production team.

Had they really invited a celebrity, and not a fugitive suspect in a mass murder case?

Only Qi Yu, sitting behind Bai Luochuan and watching his movements, wore an utterly entranced expression.

Whose wife was this cute?

His.

Whose wife looked this handsome even while chopping meat?

His.

The big fox's invisible tail wagged merrily behind him.

But in his eyes, the so-called ingredients were all just inconsequential accompaniments.

The real main course was clearly the person before him.

No one else.

[Where did the people calling Bai Luochuan a show-off go?]

[Didn't you say our boy couldn't use a knife?]

[Why aren't you coming out to keep running your mouths?]

[I thought everyone was acting, but it turns out Bai Luochuan is the real deal!]

Only after Bai Luochuan finished chopping the poultry did Qi Yu finally uncross his legs and stand up, thoroughly satisfied.

As though he had just finished admiring an exquisite work of art.

The intoxicated expression on his face hadn't changed in the slightest.

Reaching out to take the knife from Bai Luochuan, Qi Yu smiled at him.

His eyes curved.

His golden eyes narrowed.

Light shimmered within them, reflecting nothing but Bai Luochuan.

"It's a team game. You've prepared the ingredients, so leave the rest to me."

Qi Yu set the knife down as a matter of course.

He took Bai Luochuan over to the sink.

When he turned on the faucet, he placed both their hands under the running water.

His long fingertips brushed between Bai Luochuan's fingers.

The cool water, along with the brush of warm fingertips, made Bai Luochuan's heart suddenly race.

The atmosphere was far too intimate.

His body stiffened instinctively.

Bai Luochuan lowered his voice. "Is this part of the act too?"

Qi Yu had told him before.

Since they were going to be proper teammates, they should at least put on an act on the surface.

Bai Luochuan didn't care either way.

Nor could he be bothered to act.

But he respected Qi Yu's work.

So he had agreed.

But they had agreed not to take it too far.

Now their bodies were practically pressed together.

He could feel Qi Yu's heartbeat distinctly through his back.

However Bai Luochuan thought about it, this didn't seem remotely like "not taking it too far," did it?

Qi Yu's fingers brushed between his again as he patiently held Bai Luochuan's hands and washed them thoroughly.

Only after finishing did Qi Yu lean close to Bai Luochuan's ear and reply softly, "Ge, do you hate it when I touch you?"

Warm breath lingered beside his ear.

It turned the tips of Bai Luochuan's ears red.

That question was too difficult to answer.

If the other person were Qi Yu himself, of course he wouldn't dislike it at all.

But Bai Luochuan was an upright man.

He wasn't into using someone as a substitute.

So he still gave Qi Yu a push and said with a frown, "If this is how we're acting, I'm switching partners."

Qi Yu immediately stepped back.

As though no exchange had taken place between them at all.

With only a smile curling his lips, he turned away and began sorting the ingredients and cooking them.

Leaving Bai Luochuan standing alone beside the sink.

After a long silence.

He turned the faucet on again.

He rinsed his hands thoroughly with ice-cold water.

And finally calmed those uncontrollable feelings in his heart.

When Qi Yu began stir-frying, Yan Cheng had reached the same step.

The two Alphas stood before their stoves.

Once again forming a stark contrast.

[Yan Cheng doesn't look very practiced at cooking. Did he learn just for the show?]

[So what if he did? Is it so hard to understand wanting to show off his skills for his wife on the show?]

[Yan Cheng is usually so busy filming. When would he have time to learn to cook? He's already doing really well, okay?]

[Filming keeps you busy, but fighting wars doesn't? Qi Yu's movements are so practiced, he's practically a five-star chef!]

[And it looks really tempting...]

[That's why he's an actor! He's not Qi Yu at all!]

[How could the real Qi Yu possibly know how to cook? He's actual nobility! He has dozens of chefs waiting on him at home! Why would he ever need to do this?]