The livestream comments:
[This production team really does know how to stir things up. This segment is killing me!]
[Director, have you misunderstood the word "refined"?]
[With makeup this bizarre staring you in the face, it must be hard to swallow your food hahaha]
The refined candlelit dinner had been served.
They were under no obligation not to eat.
As all five picked up their knives and forks, they all averted their eyes from everyone else's faces.
They were afraid a single exchange of looks would make them burst out laughing again.
Just then.
A sudden clap of thunder rang out across the sky.
Whoosh-
Without warning, torrential rain began pouring outside the window!
Everyone turned to look at Xie Huan in unison.
He had actually called it!
Not just rain, but heavy rain!
Xie Huan looked up, coming face-to-face with several faces that were each ugly in their own distinctive way.
He raised his arm, hastily blocking his view:
"Oh, jeez, your makeup's way too ugly! Quit looking at me, all of you! You're burning my eyes!"
Pei Tingyun leaned his face closer for him to see:
"With makeup skills like yours, you've got the nerve to criticize anyone else?"
Xie Huan showed no modesty whatsoever:
"What's wrong with my makeup skills? Look how good I did! Your nose looks like a nose, your eyes look like eyes!"
Pei Tingyun: "..."
Isn't your bar for "good" a little too low?
Besides, I grew that nose and those eyes myself!
What the hell do they have to do with your makeup skills?
Unaware that Pei Tingyun's head was full of complaints, Xie Huan kept right on admiring his handiwork:
"I reckon you're the best-looking one outta this whole bunch!"
The unexpected praise brought Pei Tingyun's internal complaints to an abrupt halt.
He wasn't sure whether Xie Huan was praising his own makeup skills or Pei Tingyun himself.
But Pei Tingyun still found it very gratifying.
After all, who wouldn't like such sincere praise?
Pei Tingyun suppressed the upward curve of his lips and asked with a little affected haughtiness, "Really?"
Xie Huan nodded. "Yep! Long as it's you, you look good no matter what!"
Pei Tingyun froze.
Seriously...
Another sneak attack like this!
That last line could still count as an ordinary compliment, but this one...
Isn't that a little flirty, dude?
Are you that afraid people won't know you like me?
Pei Tingyun had never been able to handle these sudden straight balls.
He simply declined to comment.
He lowered his head and continued eating.
Tang Keni, the considerate leader of the shipper fans, waited until they had finished dishing out sugar before asking the director:
"It's pouring. What do we do? Can we still get back to the villa tonight?"
Outside, the torrential rain showed no sign of stopping and was only getting heavier.
The director said he was baffled too.
The forecast had clearly said there would be no rain today!
How had it actually started raining just because Xie Huan said it would?
What breed of jinx was Xie Huan, exactly?
This was far too accurate!
The production team had actually prepared contingency plans for extreme weather in advance.
But those plans all depended on them being at the villa.
Aside from food, they hadn't prepared any other supplies at this restaurant.
Just as the director was fretting.
The rough but kindhearted Xie Huan spoke up:
"I say none of us should head back tonight. Even if the rain stops in the middle of the night, those mountain roads won't be safe. Let's all just stay here."
Pei Tingyun instantly followed his lead: "I agree!"
The other three also felt that returning to the villa in this weather wasn't very realistic.
But...
Yao Xuan said, "Then where are we sleeping?"
The director finally acted like a proper director:
"We'll work something out. You don't need to worry."
With that, he went to the kitchen himself to discuss it with the chef who claimed to be Pei Tingyun's fan.
The chef was a blond, blue-eyed foreigner, and he was delighted to hear they wanted to stay overnight:
"Staying overnight is no problem! There are a few rooms here for the restaurant staff. Since you rented the island, the staff are all on leave, so those rooms are empty now. You can divide them up yourselves."
With the accommodation problem resolved, the director finally let out a sigh of relief.
He had originally planned to end the livestream as soon as the guests finished eating.
But after following the chef to inspect the rooms.
The director immediately decided to give them another five bucks' worth of streaming!
Because he was going to feed the shippers!
When the director returned to the livestream area, the Roaming Group members were almost done eating.
They were just waiting to clock out and wash their faces.
Yet not only did the director show no intention of calling it a day, he had even brought the chef over.
The moment he heard the director introduce the chef, Pei Tingyun knew he was about to be forced into fan service.
Pei Tingyun wore a perfectly professional smile, but inside, all he wanted was to clock out.
The blond, blue-eyed chef was thrilled to see Pei Tingyun and rushed over for a bear hug.
But he didn't succeed.
Because Xie Huan reacted swiftly, pulling Pei Tingyun behind him first.
At the same time, he braced a hand against the chef's shoulder, hard-CCing him at arm's length.
The chef rattled off a stream of English. Xie Huan couldn't understand him, but he could sense his anger.
Xie Huan didn't care, though.
Pei Tingyun wasn't the one getting angry, so there was nothing worth worrying about.
Pei Tingyun knew Xie Huan meant well and was afraid he would get knocked into.
But the other man was a fan, after all, and it wouldn't be good to let things turn sour.
So he stepped forward of his own accord and spoke to the chef in English.
Xie Huan still couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could tell that Pei Tingyun had soothed the chef with just a few words.
Rationally, Xie Huan knew that meeting fans was part of Pei Tingyun's job.
But somehow, watching Pei Tingyun sign autographs and pose for photos, even enduring the discomfort caused by his aversion to touch to hug someone.
The more Xie Huan watched him work to placate the man, the more uncomfortable he felt inside.
Besides feeling bad for him, there seemed to be another emotion too.
And it was an emotion he had never experienced before.
It was strange.
But Xie Huan had always been thick-skinned and didn't think too deeply about it.
As soon as this little fan meeting ended, Xie Huan immediately pulled Pei Tingyun over to his other side, shielding him like a mother hen protecting her chick.
The chef found Xie Huan baffling.
Pei Tingyun, however, felt warm inside.
It really felt wonderful to have someone sincerely protecting him.
It was just a shame Xie Huan wasn't a girl.
Otherwise, he might really want to marry him and bring him home.
Presentable in company and capable in the kitchen.
Able to protect his husband and beat up thugs.
How could such a perfect life partner be a man?
As all sorts of thoughts ran through Pei Tingyun's mind.
He suddenly heard the director say, "Since rooms are limited, you'll still be sharing two to a room during your stay, in your previous pairings. You'll have to squeeze in."
Every member of the Roaming Group said that was fine.
They all assumed it would be just like staying at the villa, with no difference.
Only when they saw the rooms did they realize the director's "squeeze in" hadn't been a polite turn of phrase, but a statement of fact.
Because each room had only one bed, and it was a 1.5-meter-wide single bed at that.
There was no way two grown men could sleep on it without squeezing together!