Xie Linchuan asked again, "Really not going to sleep?"
"I'm not!"
At that moment, Shen Xingcan practically had rebellion written all over him.
Xie Linchuan said, "Fine, then I'll sleep first."
Before Shen Xingcan could work out what Xie Linchuan meant, Xie Linchuan had already switched off the light and climbed into bed. The whole sequence flowed seamlessly, leaving Shen Xingcan no time to react.
The cabin instantly went dark.
Shen Xingcan was very displeased. "Xie Linchuan, why did you turn off the light?"
"Because I'm going to sleep."
Shen Xingcan grew even more displeased. "But I'm not sleeping, and I'm not even in bed yet. Are you trying to make me fall to my death? I knew you had ulterior motives for making up with me. Xie Linchuan, how dare you play with my feelings!"
Xie Linchuan's voice was calm. "You're less than half a step from the bed. If you can fall to your death over that distance, Shen Xingcan, what breed of little pig are you?"
Shen Xingcan planted his hands on his hips. "I don't care. Just turn the light on. If you don't, I'll stand here all night and stare at you every single second!"
The light switch was within Shen Xingcan's reach, but he thought ordering Xie Linchuan to turn it on suited his character better than doing it himself.
Seeing Xie Linchuan fall silent again, Shen Xingcan was about to speak, but he had barely said "Xie" before abruptly stopping.
Because the next second, Xie Linchuan's tall figure loomed over him. His movements were crisp and decisive. Before Shen Xingcan could react, an arm circled his waist, then a hand securely scooped beneath his knees, lifting him abruptly off the floor.
Shen Xingcan cried out, "Xie Linchuan, what are you doing?"
Without a word, Xie Linchuan carried him to bed, then grabbed the blanket beside them and wrapped Shen Xingcan into a little silkworm. "Close your eyes and sleep."
Shen Xingcan struggled hard a few times, but with Xie Linchuan pinning down the edges of the blanket, all his thrashing failed to free him. Instead, he only worked himself into a flush. "...It's so hot. Xie Linchuan, let me go."
Xie Linchuan sounded exasperated. "What for? So you can wreak havoc?"
Shen Xingcan said, "What do you mean, wreak havoc? I'm just reasonably expressing my demands. How is that wreaking havoc? Let me out!"
Xie Linchuan didn't respond. If the blanket around him hadn't remained just as tight, Shen Xingcan would have thought Xie Linchuan had already fallen asleep.
Shen Xingcan sniffled, his voice aggrieved. "I knew you didn't want to make up with me, Xie Linchuan..."
Xie Linchuan cut him off, his tone cool. "Mm, I don't want to make up with you. I also want you to overheat to death."
Shen Xingcan, who was still working himself into the mood: "?"
Was this right?
With every route ruthlessly blocked, Shen Xingcan decided that a wise man knew when to yield. "Xie Linchuan, let me go. I'll go to sleep."
Xie Linchuan remained unmoved, as though he hadn't heard him at all.
With difficulty, Shen Xingcan turned to look at the man beside him. "Xie Linchuan, are you asleep?"
"No."
"Then why didn't you answer my question?"
"Because you were lying."
Shen Xingcan said, "...I wasn't."
Xie Linchuan said, "Heh."
Shen Xingcan sighed. That was the trouble with being childhood friends. It was hard to fool him.
"Fine, I admit I was lying just now, but I mean it this time. If I'm lying, I'll never eat mango ice cream again..."
Xie Linchuan said, "Change mango to strawberry."
Shen Xingcan argued, "...Do we really need to worry about little details like that? I think mango and strawberry are pretty much the same."
Xie Linchuan fell silent again, clearly having no intention of entertaining Shen Xingcan's "pretty much the same."
Shen Xingcan was genuinely a little afraid Xie Linchuan would fall asleep while staying silent. To avoid being cooked into an idiot, he could only compromise. "Then I'll never eat strawberry ice cream again."
Having finally regained his freedom, Shen Xingcan savored the breeze blowing through the window. "That feels so good."
Once he'd enjoyed himself enough, Shen Xingcan looked at Xie Linchuan, who lay motionless beside him.
"Xie Linchuan, are you asleep?"
No response.
After a while, Shen Xingcan asked again, "Xie Linchuan, are you asleep?"
Still no response.
Shen Xingcan promptly sat up, grabbed the blanket, and lunged at Xie Linchuan. He was going to wrap Xie Linchuan into a little silkworm too. No one got to make Shen Xingcan suffer a loss! No one!
Then the extremely vindictive Shen Xingcan was ruthlessly subdued.
The very wicked Shen Xingcan was trapped within a pair of arms.
The campsite lights shone through the gauze curtains onto the bed inside the cabin, allowing Xie Linchuan to see the person on top of him clearly.
After their tussle, Shen Xingcan's robe had fallen completely open, its neckline slipping down to his elbows. His luminous white shoulders and delicate collarbones gleamed softly in the faint light, tempting one to touch, to caress.
Xie Linchuan's Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably. As though burned by that snowy skin, he didn't dare look again.
Shen Xingcan lifted his eyes, and his beautiful peach-blossom eyes instantly met Xie Linchuan's gaze. Xie Linchuan's gaze was scorching and intense, as though it would devour Shen Xingcan whole.
After they looked at each other for a moment, Shen Xingcan reached out and poked the arm restraining his waist. "Xie Linchuan, let go. I want to sleep."
But Xie Linchuan didn't move. He only continued staring at Shen Xingcan.
Receiving no response, Shen Xingcan scrunched up his pretty little face in displeasure. "Xie Linchuan, are you trying to make me die of sleepiness?"
He had clearly been the one raising a fuss about not sleeping earlier, yet now he was also the one claiming he was dying of sleepiness.
"Shen Xingcan, why are you so infuriating?"
Xie Linchuan's voice was very hoarse, as though he was desperately suppressing something.
Despite his words, Xie Linchuan still released his hold on Shen Xingcan.
Shen Xingcan took Xie Linchuan's criticism very well. His tone was nasty. "You'll have to put up with me even if I'm infuriating. That's what you get for being my childhood friend and good bro."
Xie Linchuan thought he might have developed an illness that gave him a headache whenever he heard Shen Xingcan say "good bro."
After saying that, Shen Xingcan virtuously tied his robe shut and obediently lay back down on his own pillow.
With his eyes closed, Shen Xingcan said, "Xie Linchuan, wake me up early tomorrow morning. I don't want the production crew catching me in the room wearing a robe. I need to change beforehand."
"Okay."
Shen Xingcan said, "Aren't you curious why I brought so many robes when I knew they weren't convenient for filming?"
"Why?"
Shen Xingcan said, "There are two answers to that question. One true, one false. Which do you want to hear?"
"Both."
Shen Xingcan's voice was light. "Xie Linchuan, you're a little greedy. But the generous Shen Xingcan has decided to tell you both anyway. The truth is that robes are comfortable. The lie is that I wanted to seduce you, my sworn enemy."
Even with his eyes closed, Shen Xingcan could feel the scorching gaze resting on him.
Under Xie Linchuan's gaze, Shen Xingcan fell asleep in a very good mood.
Perhaps his mood really was excellent, because even asleep, a faint smile still lingered at the corners of Shen Xingcan's lips.
Sleeping soundly, Shen Xingcan seemed unaware that the man beside him hadn't slept all night.
Shen Xingcan was woken by the cold. He opened his eyes in confusion and reached up to his head, grabbing a cold, damp towel. He instinctively tried to throw it away, but someone caught his wrist.
"What?"
His voice was still a little muddled from sleep.
"It's four thirty."
"So it's four thirty... Even if you didn't sleep all night, you can't take revenge on me first thing in the morning. Xie Linchuan, that's immoral."
Woken from his dreams, Shen Xingcan was clearly still not quite lucid. In his daze, he completely overlooked the fact that he had asked Xie Linchuan to wake him early last night.
Xie Linchuan's hand paused, and an indescribable hint of danger entered his dark eyes as he looked at Shen Xingcan. "You knew I didn't sleep all night?"
Shen Xingcan said casually, "Of course I knew. Those words would've been beyond any straight man's ability to handle. But don't worry about me doing anything to you. You know I'm straight."
"So you said all that yesterday just to keep me awake?"
Shen Xingcan nodded. "Yep. We're sworn enemies. It's perfectly normal for me to screw you over."
Xie Linchuan said, "But I remember us making up."
Shen Xingcan gave an exaggerated gasp. "Oh, right, I forgot we've made up now. But you can't blame me. We've been following this script for so many years. It's understandable that I couldn't get out of character right away... Xie Linchuan, you'll forgive me, won't you?"
Shen Xingcan looked at Xie Linchuan expectantly.
Xie Linchuan coldly shattered his hopes. "Dream on."
The next second, an icy hand landed on the back of Shen Xingcan's neck.
Shen Xingcan shrank in on himself and shuddered uncontrollably. Even his pretty, rounded toes curled involuntarily as he scrambled toward the far side of the bed on all fours.
Once he was certain he had reached safety, Shen Xingcan loudly berated him. "Xie Linchuan, you're awful! How could you ambush me, you super-mega villain!"
Xie Linchuan said, "We're sworn enemies. Why can't I ambush you?"
Anger flashed in Shen Xingcan's beautiful peach-blossom eyes. "Xie Linchuan, I'll never..."
Xie Linchuan interrupted his fierce declaration halfway through. "Shen Xingcan, I'll never forgive you again."
Shen Xingcan's eyes went round, making him look exactly like an angry cat. "You've stolen my line twice now!"
Xie Linchuan glanced at the brand-new clock on the wall. "It's ten to five. Unless you don't mind the crew filming you as you are, I suggest you start changing right now."
With that, Xie Linchuan walked straight out of the cabin.
Shen Xingcan said, "..."
Despite his reluctance, Shen Xingcan quickly climbed out of bed to avoid being filmed in his current state.
He dawdled through getting dressed, then walked out of the cabin carrying his dark green silk scarf.
"Help me tie up my hair. We're going out to sea today, so braid the back into little braids for me. Otherwise the wind will mess it all up."
Xie Linchuan declined tactfully. "I don't think sworn enemies should provide that service."
Shen Xingcan said, "I think they can. We're a new kind of twenty-first-century sworn enemies."
Without waiting for Xie Linchuan to agree, Shen Xingcan shoved the scarf into his hand, then quite naturally picked up a little folding stool and sat down in front of him.
After pausing for a few seconds, Xie Linchuan began braiding Shen Xingcan's hair as requested.
[Holy shit, holy shit, Xie Linchuan is braiding Shen Xingcan's hair!]
[I told you the early bird gets the worm. Sure enough, getting up early scored me some sugar.]
[It's almost five. Are they switching cameras soon? Holy shit, no, I want to watch him braid his hair!]
[Aaaah, damn you, Shen Xingcan! Can't you stay away from our best actor?!]
[I knew Xie Linchuan was our baby Xingcan's simp.]
[When the camera switches, could Song Tiantian please sprint a hundred meters over to Shen Xingcan and Xie Linchuan?]
[Okay.]
Naturally, Song Tiantian couldn't sprint over, but she could flash over with little steps that looked slow but actually weren't slow at all.
Since Song Tiantian had to wake the other guests, she had been waiting there for some time. Waiting was naturally boring, so she took out her phone and opened their livestream, where she saw this scene.
Shen Xingcan's hair was neither short nor long, making it particularly troublesome to braid. By the time Song Tiantian arrived with the crew and all the livestreaming equipment, the braiding was just about finished.
The high-definition camera conveyed every bit of that beautiful scene to the viewers on the other side of the screen.
Morning light spilled over the cabin, falling on the two men in front of it, one standing and one seated.
The standing man wore black from top to bottom, his figure straight as a pine and his presence cold. Yet when he bent to look at the person before him, only focus and tenderness remained in his handsome features. His thin lips beneath his high nose were lightly pressed together, and his hands moved with practiced gentleness.
The seated man wore a dusty pink T-shirt with denim overalls, making his skin look whiter than snow.
His shimmering peach-blossom eyes held scattered fragments of morning light. His forehead was smooth and full, his lashes long and curled. The headband woven from the dark green scarf lay against his forehead, making his features all the more exquisitely beautiful, like a pretty little prince who had stepped out of a fairy tale.
[Waaah, they're such a perfect match.]
[I just don't get it. What exactly are Shen Xingcan's and Xie Linchuan's solo fans unhappy about? They look so good together.]
[Maybe they think those two can't have kids together. (Just saying.)]
[Ahem... That's not necessarily impossible. Best Actor Xie just needs to work a little harder... Ahem.]
[Please do it more, do it often, do it hard, do it with force, do it until you lose all track of time!]
Song Tiantian feigned surprise. "Brother Xingcan, Brother Linchuan, you're up so early! I thought I'd get to film you waking up today."
Shen Xingcan smiled brightly. "You should be glad you didn't. If you had, our livestream might've been shut down."
[?! Elaborate. Why would've the livestream been shut down? What exactly did you two do in that cabin?!]