Xie Ji opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to explain, but he really had no idea how to explain Lu Xunji buying condoms while he paid.
He could hardly say they were close enough to share a box of condoms.
Looking at the favorability that had plunged straight to -200, Xie Ji swallowed the bitter pill, gave a faint smile, and followed Lu Xunji out of the shop.
The livestream viewers instantly lost their composure.
[So much for the antagonistic real and fake young masters. I knew there was no way these two could get along this well. They're all buddy-buddy on the surface, but actually stabbing each other in the back, huh!]
[Holy love-hate relationship. I ship it.]
[How can you ship this? Our Lu Xunji is the real young master who spent eighteen years away from his family. Xie Ji stole eighteen years of his wealthy life, and when he finally returned to his family, he still had to accept this villain who'd usurped his place staying in the Xie Household and competing for his biological parents' affection. If it were me, I'd already hate Xie Ji to death, okay?]
[Exactly. He's clearly the Xie Household's young master, yet his surname is Lu. I heard they still haven't even changed his household registration. How does Xie Ji have the nerve to grin and joke around with Lu Xunji?]
[Please. Has Xie Ji not treated Lu Xunji well enough this whole time? He's even willing to fork out fifty yuan to buy Lu Xunji condoms now! Anyone who thinks Xie Ji isn't good enough to Lu Xunji should take a look at how much money he's already scammed out of Ji Shi. That'll shut you up.]
[Excuse me, does this little play session really have to involve our young master Ji Shi?]
[Didn't Lu Xunji just say this stuff was for Xie Ji to use? Isn't it only right that he pays for it, then?]
[Am I the only one who thinks this is way too suggestive, whatever their relationship is? I keep feeling like they might end up in the same bed tonight...]
Once everyone had finished dinner, the next issue was sleeping arrangements.
Shang Yan and Mu Yao had both bought mattresses, so they could scrape by after giving their rooms a quick sweep. Neither Ji Shi nor Zhou Heyu had a mattress, but Zhou Heyu could handle hardship fairly well. Making do on a wooden floor for one night was no big deal to him.
Because Ji Shi and Xie Ji shared a "secret," their relationship had grown a little closer.
After washing up that evening, when it was time to rest, Ji Shi hugged his pillow and knocked on Xie Ji's door.
The door opened, revealing Xie Ji in short-sleeved cow pajamas, likewise standing there with a pillow in his arms.
Ji Shi froze for a moment. "Where are you going?"
Xie Ji didn't answer his question, asking instead, "What do you want this late?"
Ji Shi swaggered into Xie Ji's room, curled his lip, tossed down his pillow, and sat cross-legged. "There's not even a quilt. I can't sleep on the floor at all. It's hard as hell. That guy Zhou Heyu is unreal. He curled up in a corner and just fell asleep. I can't do that, so I came to find you. Sleep with me."
"?" Xie Ji said, "You'll be able to sleep if I sleep with you?"
What kind of bizarre logic was that?
"No." Ji Shi stood up, looped an arm around Xie Ji's neck, and ruffled his freshly washed and blow-dried blond hair. "But I can't be the only one suffering this indignity. Seeing you unable to sleep too will make me feel better."
Xie Ji: "..."
This accursed capitalism.
"Who says I can't sleep?" Hugging his pillow, Xie Ji huffed. "I'm going to find my big brother. His bed is so big. He must be scared sleeping all alone."
Ji Shi shot up from the floor. "Don't you and Lu Xunji have a terrible relationship?"
Holding the doorknob, Xie Ji raised his chin proudly. "So what?"
Was -200 favorability not terrible enough?
The bed was two meters wide, and he only needed a tiny little meter eighty. In any case, he had decided to shamelessly impose. Surely Lu Xunji couldn't wrap him in a quilt and toss him out?
Ji Shi thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Lu Xunji's bed is two meters wide. It could fit three people."
Xie Ji blinked. "You're coming too?"
Ji Shi scooped up his pillow and hooked an arm around Xie Ji's neck. "Let's go, let's go..."
"Wait, wait, wait. If you're coming, we'll change the plan..." Xie Ji leaned close to his ear and whispered.
After listening for a while, Ji Shi's gaze gradually turned speechless. "So I'm your sacrificial pawn? No way. You first. If he agrees, I'll go."
Xie Ji clicked his tongue. "Aren't we brothers? People take a knife in the ribs for their brothers! And you, my friend, won't even do this little thing for your brother?"
Ji Shi looked at him. "Why aren't you taking a knife in the ribs for me? I don't care. You go first, or I'll beat you up."
Xie Ji: "..."
Xie Ji really had no advantage when it came to fighting, so he could only submit to Ji Shi's tyranny and arrive outside Lu Xunji's door with his pillow.
The summer night was still hot, and no air-conditioning system had been installed in the villa. The air was thick with irritating, sticky summer heat, stiflingly hot.
In weather so hot that even the Bull Devil King would have had to retreat to the Flaming Mountains to cool off, only the doorway to Lu Xunji's room offered a refreshing chill.
Xie Ji and Ji Shi pressed themselves against either side of Lu Xunji's door and took a deep breath.
Bliss!!!!
Everything had cracks; that was where the cool air from Lu Xunji's room escaped.
Tonight, he was sleeping in Lu Xunji's room, no matter what!
His gaze firm, Xie Ji turned the handle of Lu Xunji's door.
Huh?
Lu Xunji actually hadn't locked it.
Cool air rushed out, and Ji Shi gave Xie Ji a push. "Hurry back, my good brother."
Hugging his little pillow, Xie Ji closed the door behind him and tiptoed inside.
Ji Shi, who was waiting outside to enjoy the cool air: "..."
It was all this fucking variety show's fault. He, the young master of the Ji Household, was actually being made to suffer like this!
Xie Ji tiptoed farther inside. The room was huge. A massive walk-in closet lay just inside the entrance, followed by a very large bathroom. Only after passing the bathroom and rounding a corner did he reach the bedroom.
The faint sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Lu Xunji was probably showering.
Worried that the sound of his slippers against the wooden floor would catch Lu Xunji's attention, Xie Ji took them off and carried them, carefully slipping barefoot past the bathroom and into the bedroom.
The moment he saw the exquisite, comfortable two-meter bed, he threw himself onto it. He even rolled around several times before stopping and letting out a long, satisfied sigh.
The running water in the bathroom grew louder, but there seemed to be other sounds as well.
Lying on the bed, Xie Ji pricked up his ears and listened.
The water drowned out everything, leaving only intermittent, indistinct murmurs.
The next moment, a handprint appeared on the mist-covered frosted glass.
Long, slender fingers cast dark shadows in the light. Only a few fingertips pressed against the glass, the well-defined knuckles slightly raised. The mist condensed into droplets that slid swiftly down from where the fingertips met the glass.
"Fuck..."
The filthy curse rang out clearly, but what followed was a name that only emerged after being worked between clenched teeth, too indistinct to make out.
"Xie, Ji..."