After Xie Huan gave him a pat on the head, the husky immediately sat down obediently to wait for his food.
Sitting there as demure as a maiden, he seemed like an entirely different dog from the one who had just been charging around without a care whether Gu Lin lived or died!
The look Gu Lin shot Xie Huan was pure defiance!
Xie Huan was the one from the countryside!
So why did he seem to know how to do everything?
He made Gu Lin look like a complete good-for-nothing!
In a fit of pique, Gu Lin refused to eat Xie Huan's cooking.
But his already growling stomach would not let him.
He had no choice.
Being walked by a dog took a lot out of a person, too.
Ten minutes later.
Chef Xie finally finished his work.
Everyone sat down at the dining table.
Each had a plate of seafood fried rice in front of him.
Since dogs could not eat many kinds of seafood, Xie Huan had asked the production team for a big bone with plenty of meat on it and boiled it for the husky.
Now the husky lay at Xie Huan's feet, gnawing away in utter contentment.
At the dining table.
Everyone except Pei Tingyun and Xie Huan exchanged glances.
In the end.
All their gazes settled on the fried rice in front of Pei Tingyun.
Tang Keni and Yao Xuan both wore the expressions of spectators thinking, "We wouldn't dare say anything, and we wouldn't dare ask."
Gu Lin was different.
When it came to anything involving Xie Huan, he always spoke up boldly:
"Xie Huan, why does Tingyun have so much more seafood on his plate than we do?"
Xie Huan, who had already started eating, answered without looking up, utterly unapologetic:
"My buddy Da Ting's the skinniest, so of course he needs more nourishment! What, got a problem? Suck it up!"
At this, the shippers in the livestream went wild:
[Oh my! Big bro's playing favorites so openly!]
[Reality shows really are better with regular people. They don't hide a thing!]
[Big bro's so good at taking care of people! Peipei really should eat more. He's lost so much weight lately!]
Indeed.
In the months before joining Ultimate Roaming, Pei Tingyun had been in particularly bad shape.
He had lost a drastic amount of weight, and his appetite had all but vanished.
His manager felt for the kid and had sent him on the travel show so he could properly relax.
As it turned out, his manager had made the right choice.
Looking at the exceptionally lavish seafood fried rice before him, Pei Tingyun, who had not eaten properly in a long time, actually felt a rare twinge of hunger.
He picked up his spoon and chewed each mouthful carefully and attentively.
To everyone else, he looked as though he were savoring the food.
In truth, though, he was carefully recalling all the ways Xie Huan had treated him differently over the past day.
From slinging an arm around his shoulders when they first met.
To angrily snapping back at the director for him later.
Xie Huan remembered his insignificant little injury.
His care showed in the little things.
More importantly!
Last night, this guy had not only flirted with him!
He had also shown off his muscles in front of him like crazy!
And absolutely refused to put on a shirt!
Looking at the luxurious seafood fried rice Xie Huan had specially prepared for him, Pei Tingyun felt a little conflicted.
Because Pei Tingyun had the same feeling as the shippers.
It seemed Xie Huan was playing favorites with him...
Once Pei Tingyun started thinking, his erratic train of thought got to work.
And so.
An idea even more outlandish than all the previous ones suddenly popped into his head.
Like a bolt from the heavens, it struck him until he was charred outside and tender inside-
Oh no!
Could Xie Huan like me?
At the dining table.
In stark contrast to Pei Tingyun's slow, careful chewing, Gu Lin was wolfing down his food.
Since he could not refute the facts Xie Huan had stated.
He turned his indignation into appetite and shoveled down his rice.
Finishing his own was not enough; he went after Xie Huan's, too.
Surprisingly, Xie Huan offered no resistance at all and let Gu Lin steal the fried rice from his plate.
Seeing no resistance, Gu Lin found it boring and stopped stealing.
In fact, Xie Huan had anticipated Gu Lin's reaction long ago.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly, and he went back to eating.
Pei Tingyun had no idea this was a tactical retreat.
He was still wondering-
Why is Xie Huan so nice to Gu Lin, too?
What happened to playing favorites?
As he thought this, a shrimp suddenly appeared on his plate.
Then came Xie Huan's distinctive, thick Northeastern accent:
"What're you sitting there spacing out for? Dig in! Keep dawdling and it'll go stone cold!"
Pei Tingyun looked at the shrimp on his plate, then at Xie Huan.
Just as I thought!
Xie Huan still favors me!
Having reached this conclusion, Pei Tingyun started worrying again.
After all, being favored by a man was honestly a little beyond the scope of a straight guy like him...
After breakfast, the five members of the Roaming Group prepared to head out to sea.
Before they left, Pei Tingyun asked Xie Huan where the fishing rods they had seen yesterday were, so he could fetch them.
Xie Huan led him to the storeroom.
Only to find that the fishing rods that should have been standing against the wall were gone.
Sitting in front of the monitor, the director could not help smiling smugly at their dumbfounded expressions.
But the director's smile had only spread halfway.
When Xie Huan closed his eyes, opened them, then suddenly slapped his thigh:
"Well, would ya look at that! Someone took the fishing rods! C'mon, I'll take you to find 'em!"
This time, the director was the dumbfounded one.
How did Xie Huan know the fishing rods had been taken?
He must have been guessing blindly, right?
Just as the director was wondering whether Xie Huan had simply stumbled onto the answer by sheer luck.
He saw Xie Huan lead Pei Tingyun straight toward the shore.
And their destination.
Was none other than the boat the production team had moored by the shore exclusively for the staff's use!
Under the director's astonished gaze, Xie Huan simply.
Opened the storage compartment in the cabin and unerringly picked up the fishing rods lying in the corner.
Then he turned around with a flourish.
Before leaving, he even glanced at the dumbstruck director and tossed out:
"Well, would ya look at that! What you did sure wasn't decent!"
And to think he had been kind enough not to expose the production team's secret feast.
Only for them to turn around and hide their fishing rods!
The director was no good-not someone worth being friends with!
Watching Xie Huan and Pei Tingyun walk away, the director took a long time to recover.
No one had let slip that the fishing rods had been moved, so how had Xie Huan known so precisely?
This defied science!
Pei Tingyun, who had witnessed the whole thing, found it just as unbelievable:
"How did you know the fishing rods were on their boat?"
Strictly following his master's instructions, Xie Huan did not explain that closing and opening his eyes just now had been part of his sect's divination process.
He chuckled, pointed at his nose, and spun a tale:
"Bet you didn't know, huh? I was born in the Year of the Dog. My nose is mighty sharp. Just followed the scent."
Pei Tingyun narrowed his eyes slightly.
Do I look that gullible?
What do you gain from conning me into thinking I'm lame?
It's not like you sell crutches.
Still, Pei Tingyun did not press him further.
After all, his head already contained the staggering revelation that "Xie Huan likes me."
If he asked and uncovered something even more explosive, his orderly, smoothly functioning brain would descend into chaos.
And so.
Pei Tingyun said nothing and tacitly accepted Xie Huan's explanation.
But ultimately.
He was still quite curious about Xie Huan's incredibly accurate knack for finding things.
He clearly favored him so much, yet kept deceiving him.
What secret was Xie Huan hiding that he could not let anyone know?