"Of course I know." Shen Xunye chuckled. "Do I seem that frivolous to you?"
Seeing that Shen Xunye had not misunderstood, Chi Li immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"...Looks like we do understand each other a little."
"But I still need to clear something up." Shen Xunye bent slightly, bracing both hands on the edge of the desk and trapping Chi Li between himself and the desktop. "I'm not all looks and no substance."
A faint mint scent drifted into Chi Li's nose, and he leaned his head back. "I never thought that."
"But wouldn't it be better to prove it?" A smile curved Shen Xunye's lips as he tightened his enclosure. "What do you think?"
"I don't think that's necessary." Chi Li raised both hands, holding them between himself and Shen Xunye.
"Then what if Zhou Yang asks?" Shen Xunye's knee barely brushed the side of Chi Li's leg.
Chi Li shivered slightly and avoided his eyes. "Naturally, I'll sing your praises."
"Mm...good, then."
Seeing the pink creeping onto the tips of Chi Li's ears, Shen Xunye withdrew his "confinement" in satisfaction.
He was afraid that if he went any further, that utility knife would make another appearance.
"Whew..." Chi Li's fluster gradually subsided. "All right, will you go back and get some rest now?"
"Now?" Shen Xunye found himself a chair and sat down. "Zhou Yang only left a few minutes ago."
"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Chi Li was a little confused.
"What if he's waiting outside and sees me leaving this soon..." Shen Xunye propped his chin on one hand, blinking at Chi Li. "Wouldn't that confirm that I'm all looks and no substance?"
"Ahem." Now that he mentioned it, Chi Li realized it too. "Then stay another half hour."
"No." Shen Xunye rejected that firmly. "Half an hour is far too short."
"Half an hour...is short?" Chi Li tilted his head in confusion.
It wasn't as though he knew nothing about this subject.
A man who lasted half an hour was already pretty impressive.
"Isn't it?" Shen Xunye countered.
"Then you..." Chi Li pulled up a chair too and sat down, beginning a discussion with Shen Xunye. "Then how long do you last on average?"
Shen Xunye answered with perfect confidence, "I don't know. I'm a virgin."
"..." Chi Li's expression changed instantly. "You're a virgin, and you're turning your nose up at half an hour?"
He was just like a college student who had never experienced the real world, thinking jobs paying ten thousand a month were everywhere.
Shen Xunye's tone was firm. "It is short."
"Fine." Chi Li did not want to argue with a stubborn virgin. Once he tried it, he would know how foolish he was being now anyway. "Half an hour is short...so how long do you want to stay?"
Shen Xunye held up a peace sign. "Two hours."
Chi Li: "..."
This virgin really did care about saving face.
Another two hours would make it two in the morning.
"Do you think..." When Chi Li said nothing, Shen Xunye picked up their earlier topic again. "Half an hour is a long time? Were the men you slept with before all that caliber?"
"No, I read it in an educational article." Chi Li slumped weakly in his chair. "I'm a virgin too."
"Really?" Something flickered in Shen Xunye's expression, and his smile grew a little more genuine. "Then we really are fated."
"There are plenty of virgins in this world. We're not the only ones who are fated." Thinking of how this man would be staying in his room for another two hours, Chi Li simply picked up the tablet on the desk and opened a video app. "How about we pick a movie to watch together?"
Naturally, Shen Xunye had no objection.
Chi Li chose a highly rated comedy.
After watching at the desk for a while, he found the hard chair a little uncomfortable and suggested, "Why don't we lie on the bed to watch?"
"Sure." Shen Xunye helped pick up the tablet.
Halfway through the movie, Chi Li fell asleep with his head tilted to one side.
Shen Xunye dragged the progress bar to the end, turned off the tablet, and tucked him under the covers.
Lying on his side, propped on one arm, he traced the sleeping face beside him with his gaze.
Chi Li's lashes cast fan-shaped shadows over his eyelids, trembling gently with his dreams.
His lips were unconsciously parted, revealing a little of his white teeth.
His tousled black hair lay against his cheeks, with one strand falling right across the bridge of his nose.
Shen Xunye moved the troublesome strand aside, and the corners of his mouth began to lift without him realizing.
At two in the morning, Shen Xunye left Chi Li's room right on time.
Rounding the corner, he unexpectedly met Zhou Yang's sleepy eyes.
...Ha.
The excuse he had casually made up to stay had actually come true.
"The goods matched the description," Shen Xunye said before Zhou Yang could speak. "He was very satisfied."
"You ****..." Zhou Yang could not hold back a curse. "He has to film tomorrow. Don't you **** know to take it easy?"
"I wanted to." Shen Xunye looked utterly innocent. "But he insisted. What could I do?"
"Fuck! He really is an insatiable bit-"
"I suggest," Shen Xunye's expression turned abruptly cold, "you watch your mouth."
Zhou Yang trembled under his gaze, but still stiffened his neck and retorted, "You just slept with him, didn't you? What are you so smug about? I already slept with him ages ago-"
With that, he beat a hasty retreat.
Only after his retreating figure disappeared from view did Shen Xunye turn and head toward his own room.
At ten the next morning, the livestream started right on time.
Chi Li was already standing in front of yesterday's patch of land.
Shen Xunye and Gao Yuan stood there with him.
"I'm going out to buy seeds in a bit. You two help me loosen the soil first." Chi Li stuffed the two small hoes he had dug out of the storage room into their hands. "No problem, right?"
These few little plots were not large. As long as the two of them did not slack off, they could finish in half an hour.
Gao Yuan hefted the hoe in his hand. "No problem. Leave it to me."
Shen Xunye answered too. "Mm."
"Then I'm off-"
[Wifey?! You're leaving as soon as the stream starts?! [Dazed]]
[We haven't seen each other for twelve hours...and less than thirty seconds after we reunite, you turn around and leave...no-[Kneeling and screaming]]
[Wifey...I want to eat the vegetables you grow too...when they're ready, could you hold a giveaway so fans can try them?]
[Off topic, but Shen Xunye looks like he'd be great at plowing fields! [Drooling]]
[I suspect you're driving, but I have no evidence...]
[Those bulging veins on his arms when he hoes...they're seriously giving me a nosebleed.]
"Hey, tell me." Gao Yuan struck up a conversation with Shen Xunye as he hoed. "Isn't Chi Li a really interesting guy?"
Shen Xunye turned over the soil beneath his hoe. "Mm."
"He's given me a lot of inspiration." Gao Yuan sounded a little wistful. "Too bad I can't stay with him much longer."
Shen Xunye glanced at him. "You're leaving?"
"Yep." Gao Yuan nodded. "I requested it myself...because I have something else, something more important to do."