The Roaming Group had been enjoying the sunset when the production crew suddenly appeared and set up a set of outdoor tables and chairs beside them.
Then they covered the table with all kinds of local specialties.
The director said, "This is the dinner the production team prepared for you."
The five members of the Roaming Group cautiously approached the table and sat down.
They kept feeling there would be a "but" coming from the director.
Some twist that would stop them from eating in peace, anyway.
Yet after waiting for ages, all they got from the director was:
"Enjoy your meal."
Every member of the Roaming Group looked at the director in confusion.
Tang Keni said, "That's it? Where's the catch?"
The director said, "That's it! There's no catch!"
Yao Xuan said warily, "I'm really not used to him not setting us up. I keep feeling like he's charging up some ultimate move!"
Gu Lin nodded in agreement.
Xie Huan couldn't be bothered with any of that. He picked up his chopsticks and dug in.
As he ate, he didn't forget to serve Pei Tingyun the dishes he couldn't reach.
Pei Tingyun looked at the rice bowl in front of him, which had soon been piled into a little mountain.
What should I do?
The idea that his wife was taking such attentive care of him seemed to be getting harder and harder to shake...
In fact, the director really wasn't planning to set them up this time.
It was because Xie Huan and Pei Tingyun's ship interactions had worked out extremely well today.
He had only moved dinner onto the beach to give them a more romantic atmosphere.
For that purpose, the director had even specially prepared quite a few pretty little colored lights.
Once the sun had completely set, they would light up one by one, scattered around them like stars.
Just imagining that scene felt romantic.
The setting sun sank bit by bit beneath the endless sea horizon, taking the last trace of light from the sky with it.
The colored lights that had already been arranged lit up right on cue.
The romantic atmosphere was just right.
But Pei Tingyun stopped frequently serving up sugar with Xie Huan. He wasn't even eating anymore.
His chopsticks lay there, untouched.
The director scratched his head in confusion.
What's going on?
Did they have a fight?
Surely not.
The cameras had been following them the whole time, and he hadn't seen them bicker.
How could the director have known that it wasn't that Pei Tingyun didn't want to eat, but that he didn't dare eat without his gloves?
He was afraid that holding the chopsticks with his bare hands would trigger an uncomfortable physical reaction, and he would end up too nauseated to eat anyway.
Since the outcome would be the same, he might as well not eat from the start and spare himself some suffering.
Xie Huan was chatting with the others.
Suddenly, he caught sight of the rice bowl in front of Pei Tingyun, still filled to the brim.
Xie Huan's brows drew together slightly. Just as he was about to ask why he wasn't eating, his gaze happened to sweep over Pei Tingyun's fair hands.
Xie Huan slapped his forehead and said ruefully:
"Oh, man! How'd I forget about that! Excuse me a sec. I'll be right back!"
With that, he dashed off toward the villa.
Pei Tingyun's gaze fell on the rice bowl Xie Huan had just looked at, then on his own hands.
A possibility came to mind, sending a slight tremor through his heart.
Xie Huan ran fast, returning with a pair of leather gloves in just five minutes.
Pei Tingyun's pupils widened slightly. He really had gone back to the villa to get his gloves!
Xie Huan sat back down in his seat, casually placed the gloves on Pei Tingyun's lap, and went right back to chatting with the others.
It was as though getting Pei Tingyun's gloves was the most ordinary little thing in the world.
It needed no explanation and wasn't worth making a fuss over.
It was as natural as if this was how everything ought to be.
The moment Pei Tingyun put on his gloves.
He felt he had fallen completely into the strange loop of "Xie Huan is my wife" and couldn't get out.
Because he realized he actually couldn't find a more accurate word than "wife" to define Xie Huan.
Forget it. If I really can't get out, I'll just stay in here for now.
Whatever word I use to define him, the person by my side is still Xie Huan.
As for what exactly I feel for Xie Huan...
I'll think about it later. Food first. I'm starving.
Pei Tingyun finished putting on his gloves and started shoveling food into his mouth.
In just a few mouthfuls, he leveled the little mountain Xie Huan had piled up for him earlier.
The livestream's bullet comments:
[So Peipei wasn't eating because he didn't have his gloves!]
[Wait, is Pei Tingyun's germophobia that bad?]
[Thank goodness Xie Huan understands him. Otherwise, who knows how much longer the poor boy would've gone hungry? Boohoo, my heart hurts!]
[He won't even pick up chopsticks without gloves, but he can hold hands with Xie Huan all day. Fam, what does that tell us?]
[Okay, okay, the whole world knows they're dating. No need to emphasize it.]
After dinner, everyone returned to the villa.
Although today's livestream was over, no one was off work yet.
Because yesterday, the director had launched a "What do you most want to see?" poll online.
The option that ultimately received the most votes was a full luggage reveal.
As the saying went, no matter who had to suffer, the audience mustn't.
Whatever the audience wanted to see had to be arranged.
So, after the livestream ended, the director took the camera crew from room to room to film.
When Pei Tingyun heard the news, he inwardly rejected the idea.
Because to him, luggage was something very private.
He didn't want to lay his private things out for outsiders to see.
Normally, unless necessary, even his assistant wasn't allowed to touch his suitcases.
Yet yesterday, Xie Huan had not only looked inside his suitcases, but also touched the things in them.
He hadn't felt the slightest resistance.
When Xie Huan had fetched his spare gloves just now, he must have gone through his suitcase too.
He hadn't felt the slightest discomfort about that either.
Clearly, Xie Huan really was someone very special to him.
But was that special treatment really because he liked him?
In his twenty-odd years of life, Pei Tingyun had never fallen for anyone, much less known what liking a man was supposed to feel like.
So even now, he couldn't determine exactly what kind of feelings he had for Xie Huan.
But the one thing he could be certain of was that every aspect of Xie Huan made him feel very comfortable.
The director came to their room last.
While waiting, Pei Tingyun had already mentally prepared himself.
His professional smile was on standby.
When the camera swung toward him, Pei Tingyun instantly slipped into gear, introducing his luggage to the camera with a warm smile.
Xie Huan was dumbfounded.
Was this the same person who'd had "I don't want to show them my luggage" written all over his face just now?
No wonder he could become a top star!
He's way too good at... oh, man, what was that word again?
Oh, right. Working the camera!
He's so good at working the camera!
He really deserves to be famous!
Displaying Pei Tingyun's three large suitcases took a full fifteen minutes.
Everything from clothing for all four seasons down to lotion, serum, and conditioner...
Every last detail was covered. It was practically like moving house.
Things were much simpler when it came to Xie Huan.
His luggage consisted of a single backpack, and introducing it took just one minute.
A few changes of clothes, a bar of soap, a first aid kit, plus some documents needed for traveling abroad-that was all his luggage.
Even after sharing a room for three days, Pei Tingyun had never seen what was in his bag.
Now, he wore the same shocked expression as the director.
The director said, "You only brought this little? Is it enough?"