Soon, two o'clock in the afternoon was approaching.
The main livestream's 180,000 viewers and the six remaining members of the Raising House were all on high alert.
Xie Weishui bit his lip and spoke with some unease. "I wonder if I know the new members, and whether they'll be easy to get along with."
"We'll know them once they get here. Don't worry, senior." As usual, Zhou Yang was the first to respond to Xie Weishui. "Besides, you're so good-tempered. I'm sure you can get along with anyone."
Fang Jin stood to one side with his arms folded, watching the two of them coldly.
"Exactly, Shuishui, don't worry about that." His "bestie" Jiang Lele also offered reassurance.
Wei Xuan chimed in too. "Yeah, the new members will definitely like Shuishui."
"Pfft..." Gao Yuan couldn't help laughing. "Just because you like being a dog doesn't mean you can assume everyone else does."
At his words, all four who had spoken earlier darkened in unison.
"I'm starting to think you're seriously hard to get along with." Jiang Lele curled his lip. "We live under the same roof. Do you really need to take digs at people like that?"
Wei Xuan said, "Exactly. If you can't stand us, why didn't you leave and let Xu Su stay? He's much better-tempered than you."
Gao Yuan snorted. "He was so good-tempered that you bullied him into the ground."
He wanted to leave too, but the thought of the entire Raising House becoming Xie Weishui's personal dictatorship once he left rankled him.
Besides, his presence created at least some conflict in the Raising House, and with conflict, the viewers enjoyed watching a little more.
He also had a regular audience, seventy percent of whom were Xie Weishui's haters.
"You-"
Zhou Yang glared, about to join the denunciation, when the doorbell rang.
"Stop arguing, stop arguing." Xie Weishui hurried to smooth things over, poking Zhou Yang in the waist. "Go get the door, junior."
"Okay. I'll listen to you, senior."
Zhou Yang immediately turned back into an obedient puppy and jogged over to open the door.
The moment it opened, his smile froze.
At 185 centimeters, he towered over everyone in the Raising House, but the man before him was actually half a head taller, at least 193 by his estimate.
But height wasn't the only thing that made him sense a threat.
[Holy shit, where did they get this one? How have I never seen or heard of him?]
[You had goods this good and only brought them out now? Production team, that's fucking underhanded.]
[I thought Zhou Yang was pretty good-looking, but side by side... he got absolutely obliterated.]
[Junior's looks -9999]
[[Wow] Congrats to our Shuishui on gaining another husband]
[[Eye roll] Do you seriously think your Shuishui is loved by everyone?]
The universally adored Xie Weishui had already smiled and taken the initiative to approach the instant he saw Shen Xunye's face. "Hello, I'm Xie Weishui. Which company are you signed with?"
"I'm with Starlight Entertainment too." Shen Xunye shot Zhou Yang a provocative look, picked up his suitcase with one hand, and stepped through the doorway. "But I'm in a different department from you. I'm a newcomer in the film and television department."
Realizing this was a good opportunity to find an ally, Gao Yuan also approached enthusiastically. "Has our company finally started going after the film and television department?"
Shen Xunye nodded at him. "I'm here to coast along."
"You can't say that on camera." Seeing him respond, Gao Yuan eagerly kept the conversation going and handed him a bottle of water. "By the way, how tall are you?"
"196." Shen Xunye took the water, tossed it up, and caught it again.
"Wow, that tall?" Sensing a possible new opportunity, Jiang Lele also came over, gazing at Shen Xunye in admiration. "We all grew up eating the same rice, so how come you're so tall?"
Shen Xunye looked down at the top of Jiang Lele's head. "Who knows?"
"All right, stop crowding him." Xie Weishui firmly took back control. "It's time to show him to his room."
Gao Yuan immediately raised his hand. "I'll do it."
"Okay, you do it." Xie Weishui was always very magnanimous toward Gao Yuan. He turned back to Shen Xunye and instructed him like the master of the house. "Unpack your things first. Another new member will be arriving shortly. Once he's here, we'll hold a welcome ceremony together."
"Okay." Shen Xunye had no objections.
After Gao Yuan took Shen Xunye upstairs, Zhou Yang sidled over and said sourly, "You're always so enthusiastic toward newcomers, senior."
"...Haha." Xie Weishui put on his standard smile. "It's what I should do. I've been here the longest, after all."
...If I'd known the company had someone that exceptional, there's no way I would've picked the best of a bad bunch and brought Zhou Yang here.
Wei Xuan raised his voice. "Zhou Yang, stop being so possessive of your senior."
Fang Jin, who had been playing mute all this time, finally deigned to speak. "Hmph. So you treat everyone the same."
Hmm... with that line, I should've met today's queerbaiting quota.
"Fang Jin... do you really have to say that about me?" Xie Weishui looked on the verge of tears.
[Aaaaaah, don't just blurt things out, you idiot Fang Jin!]
[Great, now the sense of crisis is +999999999]
[Can you stop directing all the romantic arrows at Xie Weishui... I've seriously had enough. Hoping the new guest is a god-tier handsome bottom. [Praying]]
Half an hour later, the doorbell finally rang again.
Xie Weishui poked Zhou Yang again, telling him to answer it.
Zhou Yang looked at Shen Xunye, who was lounging against the sofa with freshly washed fruit set out before him, and dawdled for quite a while before going.
Since the production team was deliberately steering them toward queerbaiting, the second new guest probably wouldn't be another Shen Xunye, or the number of tops in this house would explode.
So the newcomer was most likely a bottom.
Xie Weishui's too controlling. He even scripts the dialogue in advance... while he has his sights on the new guest, I should secretly find myself another queerbaiting partner.
The existing members had already been infiltrated by Xie Weishui, and there were no new sparks to be had, so the best choice was the new member outside the door.
Gripping the handle and pressing it down, Zhou Yang arranged his face into a sunny smile and pulled the door open.
The next second, his smile froze again.
This time, it froze even more completely.
?!?!
Why didn't anyone tell me the Raising House's new guest was Chi Li?!
[Holy shit holy shit holy shit, the god-tier handsome bottom I prayed for has actually descended!!!]
[He's so beautiful... [Drooling]]
[Zhou Yang's already staring dumbstruck. [Smirk]]
[The Raising House finally decided to bring in some quality goods.]
"Zhou Yang." Chi Li tilted his head and smiled, the curve of his lips just right, yet his eyes held not a trace of warmth. "Surprised to see me?"
Several thoughts had already raced through Zhou Yang's mind. "...Actually, I've really been looking forward to your arrival."
He had figured it out.
The reason Chi Li had appeared here was most likely that he wanted to get back together with him.
Other than that, he truly couldn't think of any other reason.