Xie Huan walked outside and tilted his head back to look at the sky.
Then he quickly came back in and told Pei Tingyun:
"Don'tcha worry! Tomorrow's weather'll be real nice. We can definitely head out to sea!"
Pei Tingyun looked stunned. "How can you tell?"
Xie Huan went back to eating his noodles and said through a mouthful, "Ever heard of reading the stars at night?"
Pei Tingyun nodded.
But knowing about it was one thing.
Seeing someone who could actually do it was another.
In all his twenty-some years, at least, he had never seen anyone actually use stargazing as a weather forecast.
But ever since they met, Xie Huan had kept overturning everything he thought he knew.
By now, Pei Tingyun was getting a little used to it.
He was just about to ask the other three members for their opinions when he saw the messages they had left him in the group chat.
Warmth filled his heart again.
Since they had told him to arrange whatever he liked, he would leave them to rest.
Pei Tingyun looked at the director for one final confirmation:
"We're planning to go fishing out at sea tomorrow. You'll arrange for someone to pilot the boat for us, right?"
The director shook his head mercilessly.
He wanted to tell them they had to complete tasks first to earn assistance.
However.
The director had only just opened his mouth, before he could make a sound.
Xie Huan waved his big hand and told Pei Tingyun:
"If you wanna go out to sea, go right ahead! Your big bro'll pilot the boat!"
The director: "..."
Was this real young master sent here to be my nemesis?
"You can pilot a boat too?!" Pei Tingyun had lost count of how many times Xie Huan had made his jaw drop today.
Xie Huan nodded. "You betcha!"
At that very moment.
Pei Tingyun really wanted to ask:
Huanhuan, how many more surprises do you have that this emperor knows nothing about?
But he did not actually ask.
After all, his four years as a top star had not been for nothing.
Maintaining the cool, aloof persona his company had crafted for him was already a habit etched into his DNA.
He swallowed the words before they even reached his lips.
An on-air persona collapse was absolutely never going to happen to him!
However.
As everyone knew, you must never raise a flag.
Even one raised in your mind was destined to fall!
So the fact that beneath that cool, aloof kitty exterior lurked a comedian with a wildly wandering mind would not stay hidden for long either.
Of course, that all came later.
Right now, the still-cool-and-aloof Pei Tingyun had already written out a detailed itinerary for tomorrow on a sheet of white paper.
But beside the first item, breakfast, was a question mark.
When Xie Huan saw it, he clapped him on the shoulder:
"Don't you worry about breakfast! Leave it to your big bro. I'll definitely get it all sorted for ya!"
Pei Tingyun had already grown somewhat used to Xie Huan clapping him on the shoulder at every turn.
He asked curiously, "We don't have any ingredients. How are you going to manage?"
Xie Huan gave a mysterious smile. "Hang your heart on your waistband! Your big bro'll get everything sorted, guaranteed!"
Pei Tingyun: "..."
Couldn't his heart just stay in his chest where it belonged?
The two finished their instant noodles.
Xie Huan took the initiative to clear away the rubbish and wipe the table clean before pulling Pei Tingyun, who was still refining the details of tomorrow's itinerary, upstairs.
The livestream's scrolling comments were all along the same lines:
[Wow! Big bro is such a domestic guy!]
[A rugged guy who's this meticulous with chores! Are there any more like him? I want to marry him! Or make him my wife!]
[It feels like grabbing Pei Tingyun's hand is second nature to Xie Huan now. Is it that nice to hold? Let me have a couple of turns too!]
Xie Huan's and Pei Tingyun's luggage was already in their sea-view room.
The moment Xie Huan pulled Pei Tingyun into the room, he reached into his only piece of luggage-
That old hiking backpack-and took something out, tossing it to Pei Tingyun.
Pei Tingyun caught it instinctively.
He looked down and found that Xie Huan had tossed him a tube of ointment.
Xie Huan's distinctive, thick northeastern accent followed:
"Put some ointment on it. Don't let it get infected."
Pei Tingyun froze.
Then he followed Xie Huan's gaze.
Finally.
His eyes landed on his own left forearm.
Although his clothes covered it.
He knew there was a shallow scrape underneath.
He had accidentally scraped it earlier while boarding the plane, trying to avoid contact with other people.
Pei Tingyun had never imagined that Xie Huan would care about him to this extent!
He himself had almost forgotten that little incident.
Not only had Xie Huan noticed, he had remembered it all this time.
He had even prepared ointment for him.
Although, any later and the wound might have healed on its own.
Pei Tingyun was still a little touched.
So considerate.
Even marrying a wife probably would not get him more than this!
The instant that thought popped into his head, Pei Tingyun startled himself.
He had just cast Xie Huan in the role of his wife!!!
That was not a mental image a straight man should have!
Delete it!
It had to be deleted!
Although his brain was practically a complete muddle.
Pei Tingyun still kept his expression composed as he said two words: "Thank you!"
Do not ask. If you did, the answer was a top star's professionalism!
When it came to managing his expressions, Pei Tingyun had never lost.
Xie Huan waved a generous hand. "Aw, c'mon! We're family. What're you being so polite for?"
As the saying went, the speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.
Pei Tingyun had nearly suppressed those inappropriate mental images with his Dao heart.
But the word "family" really made them sound far too much like spouses!
It really was hard not to read more into it!
No, this couldn't continue.
Otherwise, the expression management he was so proud of would crack!
Luckily, it was getting late, giving him ample reason to go compose himself in the bathroom.
And so.
Feeling awkward all by himself, Pei Tingyun found his toiletry bag and pajamas in his suitcase, then walked into the bathroom with an air of composure.
Never mind Pei Tingyun reading too much into it; by this point, plenty of casual viewers in the livestream were becoming White Clouds and Black Soil shippers:
[Am I really watching a travel show? Why does this feel so much like a dating show?]
[Xie Huan has absolutely nailed that married-couple vibe!]
[Nothing else to say. These two really can't wrap this up without officially announcing their relationship!]
The shippers had already started hunting for sweet moments in the details.
Meanwhile, Xie Huan, a towering straight man who lacked any instincts in that department and had always treated Pei Tingyun as a little bro to look after, noticed nothing unusual whatsoever.
When Pei Tingyun finished washing up and came out in pajamas, he even teased him:
"Well, would ya look at that! My bro Da Ting still looks like a peeled egg with his makeup off! So tender!"
Pei Tingyun, who had finally managed to wash all those awkward thoughts from his mind, instantly froze.
Why did he inexplicably feel as if he had just been flirted with?
Xie Huan had only made an offhand remark. After saying it, he took a bar of soap into the bathroom.
Leaving Pei Tingyun standing there in a daze.
He probably... hadn't meant anything special by it, right?
By the time Xie Huan finished the entire routine of washing his face, washing his hair, and showering with a single bar of soap and walked out of the bathroom.
Pei Tingyun had already finished his face mask and moved on to skincare.
Xie Huan looked at the bottles and jars he had spread across the table.
By then, Pei Tingyun had taken off his gloves.
His fair, slender fingers, with their well-defined joints, opened the bottles and jars one by one.
Then he applied layer after layer to his face.
Xie Huan did not know what he was putting on, but he was profoundly astonished:
"Well, would ya look at that! No wonder you look so smooth and shiny. Turns out you've been marinating yourself in this stuff!"
Without pausing his application of skincare products, Pei Tingyun glanced sideways at him.
He was just about to retort when he discovered that Xie Huan had actually come out shirtless!