Pei Tingyun felt a little sorry for him for no particular reason.
Xie Huan had just climbed out of the sea and was dripping wet, water still trickling from his buzz cut down his cheeks.
His shirt was gone, and his shorts were soaked.
He looked oddly pitiful and endearing.
Especially with those droplets clinging to his wheat-colored abs...
For some reason, the sight made Pei Tingyun's face grow warm.
He immediately snatched the backpack from Xie Huan's hand and started rummaging.
He found a towel and plopped it straight over Xie Huan's head, blocking his burning gaze.
Then he dug out another towel and tossed it over Xie Huan's body, covering those alluring abs.
Pei Tingyun said, "Hurry up and dry off. You're dripping."
There was finally nothing before his eyes to disturb his Dao heart.
Pei Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief.
The livestream viewers, however, began protesting:
[Peipei, take that towel away! We haven't seen enough!]
[Slurp, slurp. Big bro's inverted triangle is incredible!]
[No wonder the youngest is blocking our view! Of course he wants to keep his man's gorgeous flesh all to himself!]
Xie Huan was very obedient. When Pei Tingyun told him to dry off, he did.
But he only used one towel.
He put the one draped over his body back in the bag.
Xie Huan said, "Aw, man, one's enough! Don't waste 'em. We'll still need it later."
Pei Tingyun hadn't taken in a word Xie Huan said.
His mind was full of-
Oh no, his abs are showing again!
The sight was too beautiful. Pei Tingyun didn't dare look anymore.
He turned around on the spot and began eating his bread distractedly:
"Take your time drying off. I'll... have a few bites first."
As Xie Huan dried his hair, he stared at Pei Tingyun's back and replied:
"Sure! Take your time eating too. No rush!"
Pei Tingyun sighed.
Ugh, when will this man stop radiating charm?
This is so hard...
By the time Pei Tingyun finished his bread without tasting a thing, Xie Huan had dried himself off too.
Xie Huan put on the racerback tank top he had taken off before going into the water, but his beach shorts, which suited the seaside so well, were still soaking wet.
Pei Tingyun frowned. "Why aren't you changing your shorts? You'll get sick staying wet like that!"
Xie Huan scratched his head sheepishly. "I didn't bring any for myself."
Before leaving, he had only worked out what Pei Tingyun would need that day, not what he himself would need.
Pei Tingyun pointed at the backpack. "Aren't there pants in there?"
Xie Huan said, "Those are yours."
Pei Tingyun dug the pants out of the backpack and held them in front of Xie Huan.
Suddenly, he issued a bossy CEO-style command:
"Why are you making a distinction between yours and mine at a time like this? If I tell you to wear them, wear them!"
Xie Huan hesitated. "That... wouldn't be right. You still need 'em tonight."
Pei Tingyun stayed still and simply stared at Xie Huan. "Are you wearing them or not?"
Pei Tingyun's tone was mild, but Xie Huan heard a hint of a threat in it.
He immediately took the pants and said firmly, "I am!"
Just as he turned to head toward the nearby changing room.
Pei Tingyun took something else out of the backpack and discreetly handed it to Xie Huan.
The camera didn't give that item a close-up.
But that couldn't stop the viewers from watching the livestream through microscopes:
[Whoa, whoa, whoa, what did I just see? That packaging looks like disposable underwear!]
[Wait! Pei Tingyun actually knows what size Xie Huan wears!!!]
[I'm not trying to ship them! They just look way too real!]
When Xie Huan came out of the changing room fully dressed, Pei Tingyun took a look. The pants fit pretty well.
It was just that when Pei Tingyun wore those pants, there was space between the fabric and his legs.
On Xie Huan's legs, they became skinny pants.
Their weights actually weren't all that different.
Pei Tingyun thought that as long as the pants weren't particularly tight on him, Xie Huan should be able to wear them.
As for whether the item underneath fit...
Pei Tingyun's position was: he didn't know, and he didn't want to know.
He only had that one size anyway. Whether Xie Huan could get into it was up to his luck.
Pei Tingyun packed up the backpack and planned to continue toward the pier.
But Xie Huan told him to wait there a moment and ran off on his own.
He didn't say what he was going to do, either.
It left Pei Tingyun completely baffled.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before Xie Huan returned on a bicycle.
Pei Tingyun was stunned.
Because the mode of transportation he had chosen for that day's itinerary was a bicycle!
Sure enough, Xie Huan was once again carrying out the itinerary the director had ruined.
Except the bicycle Xie Huan rode back was a tandem.
Xie Huan stopped the bike on the road beside the beach and beckoned to Pei Tingyun:
"Come on, hop on. I'll ride you over."
Pei Tingyun walked up with the bag.
A clear smile hung on his face:
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Though it was a question, Pei Tingyun said it with certainty.
Xie Huan took the bag from his hand and hung it on the handlebars:
"Yep. Don't be mad, okay? Just pretend you made that plan for me alone, all right? I'll do every last thing on it, so all your planning won't go to waste."
Pei Tingyun took the rear seat. "Sure. Then I'll be your personal tour guide today."
Xie Huan pushed hard on the pedals. "Okay, off we go!"
The tandem bicycle receded into the sea breeze.
The scene was beautiful and romantic.
However.
That peaceful atmosphere didn't last very long.
Because Pei Tingyun was once again floored by Xie Huan's photography skills.
Since Gu Lin had already posted a photo of Yao Xuan and Tang Keni together in the group chat earlier.
Pei Tingyun was mentally prepared for the photo spot on the pier.
But what he hadn't expected was-
Xie Huan's performance was actually this consistent.
He still couldn't get them both in the same photo.
His camera angles were always bizarre.
Pei Tingyun really had no ideas left.
He could only do an air kabedon with one hand and take the phone with the other to hold it up himself.
And he decided he would never let Xie Huan take photos again.
Pei Tingyun was truly speechless.
Xie Huan could even learn to slaughter pigs.
How could he not learn to take a selfie?
Whenever he wasn't looking at the lens, his hand became unsteady.
Yet their photo together required eye contact, so he couldn't look at the lens.
From then on, the Roaming Group's all-round ace, Xie Huan, had a shortcoming he could never overcome-
Taking selfies while looking into Pei Tingyun's eyes.
Neither of them paid much attention to it at the time.
Until a very, very long time later.
When they were shopping together hand in hand.
Xie Huan heard a song and finally saw the light:
"Aw, man! I know why my hand always shakes when I take selfies with you!"
Pei Tingyun asked curiously, "Why?"
Xie Huan cleared his throat and sang a line from the song he had just heard:
"Ahem... It's my heart fluttering, oh no, there's no escaping your gaze~"
A rugged man acting cute was the most lethal thing.
And those lyrics were practically a confession.
How could Pei Tingyun withstand that? His pupils abruptly contracted.
He stopped shopping, turned around, and headed straight back.
Caught off guard, Xie Huan stumbled as Pei Tingyun tugged him along. "Whoa, where're we going?"
Pei Tingyun kept it brief. "Home!"
Xie Huan didn't understand what Pei Tingyun was up to. "We just came out, and we're going back?"
Pei Tingyun's breathing was slightly quick. "If we don't go home, the car works too!"
From then on, Xie Huan deeply understood one truth-
You couldn't just sing any old song. Singing could easily leave you unable to get out of the car.