The wind brushed the loose strands of hair beside Shen Xingcan's cheeks, lending a little more liveliness to the tenderness in his beautiful eyes.
He seemed to be testing the waters, yet also seemed to genuinely be doing it just for points.
Xie Linchuan's expression was calm. "Points are important."
Shen Xingcan tilted his head, looking puzzled. "Hmm? So that means you'd agree no matter who came to kiss you? Since points are so important."
Xie Linchuan gazed at Shen Xingcan with deep, dark eyes for a long time before saying in an even tone, "We don't need that many points."
The smile on Shen Xingcan's lips gradually widened. "True, we don't need that many points. In return, Shen Xingcan will only let Xie Linchuan kiss him too~"
[Huh? We're still on the kiddie bus here, and the actual couple has already moved on to kissing!]
[Something really isn't right here. Mommy, I've found myself actual gay men.]
[Hahahaha, when wifey kisses him, points are important. When someone else kisses him, they don't need that many points. What a double standard.]
[Are we talking about French kissing? Aaaaaah, I can't take it, I'm going to faint.]
[It's just a little game. They aren't actually kissing. They're doing it for points!]
[In return, Shen Xingcan will only let Xie Linchuan kiss him too~ Please rein in your powers. Your husband is already spellbound.]
[Aaah, can this evil ragdoll cat Shen Xingcan stay away from my darling?]
[Shen Xingcan is just teasing Xie Linchuan. Surely no one actually took it seriously?]
Song Tiantian exclaimed, "That was kind of sweet."
Jiang Yifeng wholeheartedly agreed. "Captain and our youngest really are sweet together, even sweeter than ordinary couples. No wonder they have so many shipper fans."
Song Tiantian agreed inwardly.
If these two hadn't been so sweet back when they were in the same group, she wouldn't have stayed at the bottom of this shipping pit for years. Even after they fell out, she had always believed there was more to it. The facts proved that her wait had been worth it.
Anything could be faked except loving someone, and those unconscious, natural expressions of it were even more impossible to fake.
"Our guests have spent the entire afternoon busy selling mangoes. To let them take part in the evening's interactive segment in better shape, the livestream will end at one thirty p.m. and resume at five p.m."
Shen Xingcan made plans for the rest of his day. "I'm going to sleep after lunch and sleep straight through until it's time to meet up."
Jiang Yifeng said, "That's my plan too. The only reason my eyes are still open is that I'm hanging on for dear life."
Song Tiantian said, "To be honest, I'm a little sleepy too."
"Come on, let's head back and cook."
Jiang Yifeng said, "I'll just wait for dinner. I've barely digested those steamed buns Captain fed me this morning. Once the livestream ends, I'm going to sleep straight through until five."
Ye Ran said, "I'm not that hungry either. I'll wait until tonight too."
Shen Xingcan said, "I'm a little hungry, but also a little not hungry... Xie Linchuan, do you think I should eat or not?"
Xie Linchuan didn't answer, asking instead, "What do you want to eat?"
Generally speaking, when Shen Xingcan asked this question, it meant he didn't want a meal, but wanted something else instead.
Shen Xingcan rattled on. "I want Chongen's strawberry cheesecake, strawberry mille crêpe cake, strawberry daifuku, strawberry pastries..."
Xie Linchuan said, "If you eat too much, you won't have room for dinner. You can pick one."
"Stingy."
"Then don't have any."
"...Then I want strawberry cheesecake."
"With Dragon Well tea as usual?"
"Mm."
"All right."
Xie Linchuan looked at the others. "If you're not too sleepy, you can wait a little too."
Song Tiantian said, "Not sleepy, not sleepy! With delicious desserts right before my eyes, even if I can't keep my eyelids open, I'll prop them up with supports."
Jiang Yifeng said, "I think I could hold out for a bit too."
Ye Ran said, "It's not every day we get to eat Chongen's desserts without queuing. I'm not missing this chance."
Bai Lin said, "I'm not sleepy either, so are we having strawberry mille crêpe cake too? Are there any other options? I don't really like strawberries."
Jiang Yifeng said earnestly, "We're only being treated to afternoon tea thanks to Captain. We're lucky to get anything at all. We can't afford to be picky."
You're getting picky now? You really think you're somebody, huh?
Shen Xingcan turned straight around and asked, "Xie Linchuan, do you think there are any other options?"
Xie Linchuan lowered his eyes and glanced at Shen Xingcan. "Shen Xingcan, you're getting more and more petulant."
Then he added, "After we leave the island, I'll have my assistant prepare Chongen cards for everyone. You can go to the shops and choose for yourselves then."
Song Tiantian said, "No need, no need. I really like strawberries too. I don't need a card. I am a celebrity, after all. Having some once in a while is fine, but if you give me a card, I definitely won't be able to control myself."
Ye Ran said, "I don't need one either. It's only because we have so much to do on the island every day. Otherwise, I wouldn't even dare touch dessert."
What a nerve, wanting to eat his food and take things home too.
[Bai Lin really thinks he's somebody, actually getting picky about what he wants to eat. Without Xingcan, he wouldn't get jack shit, okay? Yifeng was absolutely right.]
[Isn't he this willful because you spoiled him? You know he's being petulant, but that hasn't stopped you from spoiling him!]
[He'll have his assistant prepare Chongen vouchers for everyone after they leave the island. In other words, only food Shen Xingcan likes is allowed on this helicopter.]
[They're really dating, right? They're really dating, right? Even my first love and I weren't this sweet.]
[They're obviously in the flirting stage, that phase where they both vaguely have feelings for each other.]
[Does anyone still remember how these two used to be at each other's throats?]
[I do. The sweeter they are now, the more curious I am about why things got so ugly back then...]
[Without love, where would hate come from? An ocean of love and hate, folks.]
A little over forty minutes later, Shen Xingcan finally got the afternoon tea he had been longing for.
The green tea's fresh orchid fragrance balanced the cloying sweetness of the strawberry cheesecake just right. Shen Xingcan's eyes narrowed slightly as he ate, looking as content as a cat rolling in the sun.
Jiang Yifeng said, "No wonder I always see so many people queuing whenever I pass Chongen. They really do have something going for them."
Shen Xingcan nodded. "Mm-hmm, Chongen's strawberry range is really good. During these years abroad, what I missed most was all of Chongen's strawberry offerings."
But there was no Chongen abroad, and even in China, it only had two shops in Binhai. Both just so happened to be near the Xie Group's office campus.
Over the past few years, he had wanted to avoid even seeing the word "Xie." Even when he returned to China and Binhai, there was no way he would go anywhere near the Xie Group.
Song Tiantian chimed in, "It's inconvenient to buy them in China too. Chongen only has two shops in Binhai, and both are near the Xie Group's office campus. I feel like their boss has this attitude of 'selling things is fine, but not selling anything is fine too.'"
Selling things was fine, but not selling anything was fine too, and both shops were near the Xie Group... When had Chongen started putting so much effort into developing its strawberry range?
When he started high school?