"Something I still regret doing when I think about it now?" Chi Li didn't pick up on the malice woven into the question. He simply answered, "Having liked a piece of trash."
Zhou Yang instantly straightened his back and said in a somewhat unnatural tone, "Can't you use more civilized language?"
Perhaps he had developed some immunity to Chi Li's insults. Hearing "piece of trash," he couldn't even be bothered to get angry...
After all, "piece of trash" came with a qualifier-someone he had liked.
Chi Li was young, and Zhou Yang was his first love. It was understandable that he had a bit of a temper.
"I'm under no obligation to be civilized toward trash." Chi Li reached out and pushed the mahjong tiles forward. "Let's hurry up and start the next round."
[Oh no, wifey, you actually liked someone before... [going crazy]]
[Don't tell me the person he used to like was Zhou Yang? Is he targeting him because his love turned to hate?]
[Anyone with eyes can see Zhou Yang goes up to him first every time. My wifey just slaps him while he's at it.]
Zhou Yang swept his gaze around and said confidently as he took his tiles, "You've all won a round. This one's definitely mine-"
Once he won, he would have to give Chi Li a proper "punishment."
Hmm, he would make Chi Li take off his mask for him, then say "Big Brother Zhou Yang is the handsomest" a few times.
But he also had to remember not to neglect Xie Weishui...
Then he would have Xie Weishui feed him dessert. There happened to be little cakes set out here.
As for Fang Jin, he couldn't be bothered with him. A few laps around the table would do.
Having happily planned out the other three's punishments in his head, Zhou Yang even accidentally let out a "hehe" as he drew a tile.
[He isn't even ready to win yet. What's he getting so giddy about?]
[Daydreaming, maybe?]
[Stop laughing. You're scaring me.]
"I win." Chi Li raised his voice, shattering Zhou Yang's fantasy.
"Huh? You won?" Zhou Yang's eyes widened in disbelief. "Shouldn't it have been my turn?"
Chi Li scoffed. "This isn't a game of taking turns."
Xie Weishui leaned over to look at Zhou Yang's tiles, his brows drawing together slightly. "...Your tiles are a bit of a mess. You're still a long way from winning."
"Hehe..." Zhou Yang gave two dry chuckles. "I thought it was my turn to get lucky."
Fang Jin looked at the tiles Chi Li had laid down, confirmed that he hadn't falsely declared a win, and said, "Choose the punishments."
Chi Li looked at Fang Jin with a bright smile. "Can you take anything else off?"
He was only wearing a T-shirt under his light jacket. If he took off anything else, he would have to go shirtless...
"Ahem, that really wouldn't be a pleasant sight." Fang Jin tried to decline. "Better not."
"All right." Chi Li didn't make things difficult for him. "Then you can... draw a little turtle on your face."
Fang Jin nodded and immediately headed back to his room to get a pen.
"As for you." Chi Li shifted his gaze to Zhou Yang. "Put on another layer."
Zhou Yang: "..."
What did he mean by making other people take clothes off but making him put more on?
Did he want to hide his ex-boyfriend's great body and keep it all to himself?
Or-
"Worried I'll catch a chill, huh?" The corners of Zhou Yang's mouth curled way up. "The weather is getting a little cold..." He tilted his head to look at the jacket Chi Li had hung over his chair. "I'll just wear yours. Can't be bothered to go back and get one."
As he spoke, he reached out toward Chi Li as though it were only natural.
His expression seemed to say, "You think I can't see through your little tricks?"
"Let me correct that." Chi Li raised his hand and knocked away the hand reaching toward him. "Put on a down jacket."
Zhou Yang's smile froze on his face. "...What do you mean? Are you trying to roast me alive?"
"Why else would it be called a punishment?" Chi Li wore the suggestion of a smile.
"You-" Zhou Yang started baring his teeth again.
Xie Weishui offered some comfort. "It's fine. When I win later, I'll let you take it off."
Taking off a mask didn't count as a punishment, but taking off clothes surely did.
"Fine... Thanks, Senior." Zhou Yang agreed in a muffled voice, left his seat, and went back to his room to get his clothes.
Only Xie Weishui and Chi Li remained in the mahjong room.
"What punishment are you going to give me?" The time limit for his previous punishment had passed, and the smile had returned to Xie Weishui's face.
"This little brain of mine can't think of any fresh punishments," Chi Li said modestly. "You can do a truth question too."
Xie Weishui had no objection, of course.
No matter what Chi Li asked, there wouldn't be any truth in his answer.
"Hmm..." Chi Li propped his chin on his hand, seemingly troubled. Finally, he asked hesitantly, "...What's your sexual orientation?"
Xie Weishui had prepared himself for a tricky question. He had never imagined it would be so simple and direct.
In all the different shipping combinations, his height and looks often landed him on the right side of the pairing.
But in reality, he liked girls.
There was no harm in telling the truth about that. After all, viewers shipping him didn't actually want him to date a man.
But whenever he thought about how saying he liked girls might bring nasty comments like "A sissy like him dares to say he likes girls," he couldn't get the words out.
Yet if he said he liked boys, all the ambiguous moments he had deliberately created with Fang Jin and Zhou Yang would probably be dragged out for judgment too.
After all, straight men didn't need to maintain boundaries, but gay men did.
"What is it? Is that hard to answer?" Chi Li rolled two mahjong tiles around in his hand. "The policies have relaxed now. Even same-sex couples can get married... There's no need to hide your sexual orientation, is there?"
Various video platforms had even produced all-male dating shows in response to the policies.
"I'm not trying to hide it." Xie Weishui made his decision. "I'm not sure of my sexual orientation myself. That's why I couldn't answer right away."
[Why does Xie Weishui look like he's sweating buckets? Is sexual orientation really such a brain-burner?]
[He's scared he'll lose fans if he gives the wrong answer!]
[Spend all day worrying whether this or that will lose you fans, and eventually every last one will leave.]
[Keep piling more and more fake things onto yourself, and sooner or later you won't be able to keep it under control. It'll all collapse.]
[Oh my god, you people can really go off on tangents. It's just a question about his sexual orientation!]
[Exactly! Besides, Shuishui being willing to spend time thinking about what we like proves he cares about us. He's much better than people who shout about being real when they're actually just ill-mannered.]
[Wow, the well-mannered crowd is here? Do well-mannered people make sneaky, passive-aggressive digs at others too? How very well-mannered!]
[No idea what you're arguing about, but I'm switching to an individual channel for some peace and quiet.]
"Not sure?" Chi Li genuinely didn't understand. "When you were going through puberty, didn't you ever have sexual fantasies about any boys or girls?"
Xie Weishui refused to answer. "That's another question."
"All right..." Chi Li looked regretful. "I'll just have to ask next round."
"Two people are already gone. Will there even be another round?" Shen Xunye's voice came from the doorway.