But since Pei Tingyun asked him to put it on, he took it and did so without hesitation.
His technique was just a little rough.
As though washing his face, Xie Huan smeared sunscreen all over his face and neck in a few brisk swipes.
He had put it on, but it was anything but even, with dark patches here and white patches there.
Pei Tingyun couldn't bear to watch. He took off his gloves and helped him spread it.
After taking his gloves off, he casually draped them over Xie Huan's shoulder.
But just as Pei Tingyun finished evening out Xie Huan's sunscreen-
A gust of wind blew the gloves off Xie Huan's shoulder.
The gloves landed on the beach. Pei Tingyun was about to pick them up when a wave suddenly crashed in.
Xie Huan pulled him back in time.
Pei Tingyun escaped the wave, but the surf swept his gloves away.
His gloves were gone.
Panic seized Pei Tingyun's heart.
Without his gloves, he couldn't do anything.
He didn't wear gloves for looks, nor was it because of the germophobia outsiders assumed he had.
Over the past year, his touch aversion had grown increasingly severe.
Without gloves, even touching objects around him caused him varying degrees of discomfort.
That was also why he had suffered and lost so much weight on his previous production.
Almost every moment had been torture.
Yet even under those circumstances, he still had to play his role as a top star, as well as his role in the script.
Seeing Pei Tingyun staring blankly out to sea, Xie Huan gave his hand a firm little squeeze.
"Aw, man, they're just gloves. I'll buy you another pair later, okay? Come on, I'll take you sailing!"
With that, he took Pei Tingyun by the hand and led him away.
Pei Tingyun lowered his eyes.
His gaze fell on their clasped hands.
Maybe I should count myself lucky.
At least there's still one person in this world who doesn't cause me any discomfort.
It's just a shame.
I'd only just decided to split up with Xie Huan, and now we have to do things together again.
Is this fate?
A song suddenly came to Pei Tingyun, perfectly matching his current mood-
Oh~ my~ I say~ fate~ oh~ fate~
Without his gloves, Pei Tingyun didn't dare touch anything except Xie Huan.
He boarded the sailboat with extreme care, clinging tightly to Xie Huan's sturdy arm as though it were a lifeline.
Sensing his unease, Xie Huan provided steady support the entire time.
Fortunately, the waves weren't high that day, and the sailboat sailed smoothly.
But of the five sailboats originally expected to head out, only four ended up afloat on the sea.
And on one of them, two people stayed glued together like conjoined twins.
The shipper fans in the livestream affectionately dubbed this phenomenon the honeymoon phase.
[Couples in their honeymoon phase have to stay glued together every second!]
[I'll steer the boat. You two just keep holding each other!]
[Are we sure today's livestream isn't a dating show? Their sweetness is killing me!]
Although he couldn't see the scrolling comments, Pei Tingyun could already imagine-
After today...
Forget the Milky Way.
Even if I jumped into the River of Forgetfulness, no one would believe Xie Huan and I were just friends!
Honestly.
If he hadn't known for certain that he was straight, even Pei Tingyun would have started wondering whether there really was something between him and Xie Huan.
After all, even he thought the way he clung to Xie Huan's arm with both hands was as clingy as a couple.
But out on that vast sea, Xie Huan really was the only person who could make him feel safe.
Without something to hold on to, Pei Tingyun was genuinely afraid he would fall into the sea.
Under the professional instructor's guidance, Xie Huan handled the sailboat with ease.
Meanwhile, Pei Tingyun, who kept tugging on one of his arms, became a passenger in the truest sense.
Still, this trip out to sea wasn't without its rewards.
As they headed back toward evening, they encountered the Tyndall effect again.
Excited, Xie Huan pulled Pei Tingyun over to sit on the other side of the sailboat.
"Aw, man! That whatchamacallit-da... the Avatar effect! Quick, take pictures!"
Pei Tingyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he corrected him. "It's called the Tyndall effect."
Xie Huan said, "Aw, man, never mind what effect it is. Hurry up and take pictures before it disappears again! We didn't get any yesterday!"
Xie Huan had already taken out his phone when he suddenly remembered that Pei Tingyun had kept criticizing his photography skills yesterday.
Instead, he turned to the cameraman following them and asked him to take a few extra pictures of Pei Tingyun.
Yesterday, Pei Tingyun had only taken pictures of Xie Huan, not himself.
Actually, Pei Tingyun didn't feel any regret about that.
After all, he frequently flew from place to place for work and had plenty of opportunities to see scenery like this.
Still, seeing how much Xie Huan seemed to care left Pei Tingyun rather touched.
His heart was moved, but his body didn't dare move.
To fit his whole body into the pictures, Xie Huan had temporarily withdrawn his support.
Sitting on the sailboat, Pei Tingyun didn't dare put either hand anywhere and was stiff all over.
Although he had already tried very hard to look relaxed, the cameraman found the resulting pictures unnatural no matter how he looked at them.
Then a wave jolted the sailboat.
Pei Tingyun swayed in his unsteady seat, and Xie Huan immediately reached out to steady him.
The moment their eyes met, the cameraman finally captured a photo he was happy with-and it was a photo of them together.
The cameraman smiled in satisfaction.
That's riiight! Now that looks natural!
It was also at that moment that Pei Tingyun realized-
When the Tyndall effect appeared, light took shape.
And when Xie Huan appeared, his heart, left hanging in midair by fright, suddenly found its way home.
Pei Tingyun also suddenly found a sense of belonging in Xie Huan.
It was a subtle feeling.
Xie Huan was like a haven open only to him, one he could turn to whenever he wished.
And as far as Pei Tingyun understood it...
Apart from his parents, the only person who could offer him that kind of exclusive haven was his wife.
A thunderous clap suddenly rang through Pei Tingyun's mind!
Had I already fallen this deep without even realizing it?!
By the time the five members of the Roaming Group returned to shore, the evening sunset was at its most beautiful.
Yesterday evening, they had been so busy putting on makeup in the mountaintop restaurant that they hadn't properly admired the scenery outside the windows.
With nothing else scheduled for the rest of today, all five readily agreed to sit together on the beach and watch the sunset.
The four major extroverts chattered, laughed, and joked, while Pei Tingyun, the lone introvert, remained silent.
It wasn't that he couldn't join in their conversation.
Pei Tingyun was simply having a little trouble accepting this.
Before he had even figured out exactly how he felt about Xie Huan, he had skipped straight to the stage of thinking of Xie Huan as his wife.
No process, straight to the result.
That didn't fit Pei Tingyun's views on relationships.
He believed that, no matter what, he had to be one hundred percent certain of his feelings before starting a relationship.
Besides, Xie Huan wasn't even the right gender!
Pei Tingyun felt he really needed to think this through calmly.
However.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't calm down at all.
Because once he accepted the premise that Xie Huan was his wife...
I'm done for!
I don't think I can get out of this anymore...