Pei Tingyun, who had been silently defending Xie Huan in his mind, was suddenly startled by what he heard.
Why was he acting cute out of nowhere? Seriously!
A macho man acting cute was practically cheating!
Pei Tingyun's inner resistance suddenly wavered a little.
As though trying to hide something, he hurriedly picked up the extra-long chopsticks to grab some fish.
He followed suit and fed Xie Huan.
The others at the table, who had been stunned by all the sweetness, snapped out of it too.
They all picked up their long chopsticks and began feeding one another.
Yao Xuan carefully picked up some fish and naturally fed it to Tang Keni across from him.
Tang Keni just as naturally fed Yao Xuan in return.
Not content with that, he played the mimic, copying the way Xie Huan had asked to be fed earlier.
Deliberately putting on an exaggerated act, he pointed at his open mouth:
"Ahh-big bwother, feed me a couple more bites?"
Everyone cringed. "Ewww~"
Pei Tingyun cringed hardest of all, breaking out in goosebumps.
That proved it.
He really couldn't like men after all!
Meanwhile, Xie Huan, whose obliviousness in this department was wide enough to run a train through, hadn't even realized Tang Keni was imitating him.
Much less realized that his earlier request to be fed had amounted to acting cute.
He simply thought Tang Keni was trying to be funny.
But Tang Keni's comedy only made Yao Xuan laugh.
Gu Lin looked at the pairs around him, holding a piece of fish all alone with no one to feed.
The husky, which had been eating dog food, wandered over instead.
It rubbed against Gu Lin's leg.
Indicating that he could feed it.
Gu Lin looked thoroughly disgusted.
"What's the point of feeding you? You can't feed me back, so I still wouldn't get any. Besides, braised fish is really salty. You can't eat it."
Having gotten his wish, the director watched the livestream's popularity and bullet comment count soar as Xie Huan and Pei Tingyun fed each other.
For once, he was understanding.
"Mr. Gu, as long as you successfully feed the husky ten pieces of kibble with those chopsticks, you can use normal chopsticks to eat the fish."
Gu Lin's eyes lit up.
He thought he'd come out ahead this time.
But he hadn't expected kibble to be much harder to pick up than fish.
Each piece was tiny and round, making it practically as difficult as picking up beans.
Xie Huan had nearly finished feeding Pei Tingyun all the deboned fish in his bowl.
Gu Lin still hadn't managed to pick up a single piece of kibble.
And so.
In a fit of rage, he got briefly enraged.
"Screw this! I'm not eating!"
The livestream's bullet comments went back into hahaha mode:
[Hahaha, I'm dying. We've achieved a world where only Number Two gets hurt.]
[White Clouds and Black Soil have taken feeding us dog food to new heights. Too sweet!]
[To the people above, I suspect you're taking digs at Gu Lin and the dog, and I've saved screenshots as evidence.]
[Am I the only one who thinks Xuan-Ni are a great match too? Who gets that feeling of one goofing around while the other laughs?]
[Girl above, I get you!!!]
After a lunch full of dog food.
Pei Tingyun took out the map Xie Huan had drawn earlier and discussed their plans for the afternoon with everyone.
"Here's the thing. I've prepared two possible itineraries: surfing here, or riding beach ATVs around the island. Which would you like?"
At the mention of surfing, Tang Keni's face fell.
He raised a tentative little hand as though sneaking around and said weakly:
"Can I skip riding the waves? Brother Xie's smooth little combo out at sea this morning nearly made me puke. I really can't handle any more waves right now..."
As always, Yao Xuan instantly followed his lead. "I also think we could have some fun on land first and get familiar with the island."
With that, both of them turned to look at Gu Lin.
Gu Lin didn't really care where they went.
After all, surfing and ATVs were things he, a rich second-generation heir, had long since played to death.
There was nothing novel about them.
So he shrugged. "Either works."
In the end.
The pressure fell on Xie Huan.
Ever since finishing lunch, Xie Huan had been sitting cross-legged on his chair, cracking sunflower seeds.
Forget feeling pressured.
He looked as relaxed as if he'd settled onto a heated kang bed.
Tang Keni's lips curved as he asked meaningfully:
"What about you, big brother? Want to go out to sea or head ashore?"
Without even thinking, Xie Huan turned straight to Pei Tingyun.
"Where d'you wanna go?"
Pei Tingyun froze.
He hadn't expected Xie Huan to turn the question around and ask what he wanted.
Before he could answer, Xie Huan added, "Wherever you wanna go, that's where I'll go."
At those words.
The livestream's bullet comments surged again:
[There he goes again! Big brother's feeding us dog food again!]
[Hahaha, Nini knows exactly what he's asking!]
[I already know the answer! Big brother definitely wants to go out to sea. IYKYK! wicked_grin.jpg]
Pei Tingyun had thought.
As the tour guide, his personal preferences mattered least.
Because he first had to make sure everyone else had fun.
He had to prioritize everyone else's feelings and preferences.
Just like the sea fishing that morning.
He'd known perfectly well that he got seasick, but he'd still arranged a sea fishing trip.
He felt that everyone having fun mattered more than anything.
Yet Xie Huan's words actually made him feel that someone cared about what he wanted too.
That warm feeling in his heart returned.
His gaze softened a little without him realizing as he looked at Xie Huan.
In the end.
Pei Tingyun followed his heart.
He too chose the land-based activity-a beach ATV tour around the island.
All five reached an agreement.
They headed straight for the starting point of the beach ATV island tour.
There had actually been five ATVs there originally.
But ever since discovering that Xie Huan and Pei Tingyun brought enormous shipping traffic with them.
The director had immediately had two of the ATVs removed.
He was determined to get those two onto the same vehicle.
Riding together and all that...
The director could already picture the shippers going wild over the sweetness.
The Roaming Group's five men and one dog had only just arrived at the designated location.
When the three beach ATVs before them left them baffled.
As always, Tang Keni asked when he didn't understand:
"What's this supposed to mean? Only three people get to ride?"
Yao Xuan shook his head repeatedly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is the production team so strapped for cash that they can't even afford to rent enough vehicles?"
Gu Lin waved a hand.
Displaying all the extravagance of a landlord's foolish son, he declared, "How much more do you need for the rentals? I'll cover it!"
The director was utterly speechless-
This isn't about money, my dear second young master!
Pei Tingyun circled one of the beach ATVs.
Then he said, "These four-wheelers can carry passengers. Three are enough for five people."
The director smiled in relief-
You could count on a top star to know his stuff!
He understood what I wanted!
However!
The director soon discovered he'd celebrated too early.
Because Pei Tingyun exercised his authority as tour guide and made all the arrangements.
He assigned Xie Huan and Gu Lin to the same ATV.
Then he assigned Tang Keni and Yao Xuan to another.
He got onto an ATV alone.
He would lead the way up front.
Seeing this, the director hurriedly picked up his megaphone, ready to stop Pei Tingyun from breaking up the ship.
But Xie Huan stepped in front of Pei Tingyun's ATV first.
Pei Tingyun raised an eyebrow coolly. "Need something?"
Xie Huan said, "This sand's all bumpy and full of holes. Can you handle driving on it? How about I give you a ride?"