This sudden, unwarranted intrusion had indeed been outside Xie Jinghui's expectations.
His brows knitted tightly. With his hand pinned beneath Shen Shuangjian, he could not make any large movements. He pressed his lips together and looked toward the camera, his voice cold and sharp.
"Get out."
Xie Jinghui was not an entertainment celebrity who depended on the camera for his livelihood. He held power and had no fear of the public that could support him also bringing him down. Naturally, unlike the others, he had no need to feign magnanimity despite his displeasure.
The door was gently closed again, and at last Xie Jinghui's expression relaxed. He lowered his gaze toward Shen Shuangjian. Tenderness had only just reached his eyes when, in the next instant, his gaze met Shen Shuangjian's directly.
After all the commotion, Shen Shuangjian had already been sleeping lightly. Now that his reason had returned, so too had a measure of distance.
Cool strands of hair brushed lightly across his arm. Like their owner, they lost all lingering intimacy in an instant, hovering between closeness and distance, as elusive as something in the mist.
When Shen Shuangjian withdrew from Xie Jinghui's embrace, his brows were slightly furrowed. Xie Jinghui speculated that perhaps he was wondering why they had been so close.
But since they had shared a bed, he could not question him about it, which was why he was faintly displeased.
Displeased that his long hair was tangled around Xie Jinghui's wrist, displeased that, with their bodies pressed together, his faint fragrance had been forced to mingle with Xie Jinghui's scent.
Xie Jinghui thought a great deal, but he was indeed innocent. While sharing the bed, he had not even dared wind Shen Shuangjian's loose hair any tighter.
But Shen Shuangjian was truly sensitive to the cold. Dimly sensing a source of warmth beside him, he had cautiously tested his way closer and curled into it, just like the cat in Xie Jinghui's memory.
And so he had slept soundly in Xie Jinghui's arms all night, neither waking nor shivering and shrinking into himself when the temperature dropped during the night.
"You didn't have dinner yesterday. Do you have any appetite now?" Xie Jinghui gently gathered the strands of hair upward with one hand, while his other found the cold phone beneath his pillow.
"I imagine the production team will have prepared a substantial breakfast. Otherwise, that would be going a little too far."
Shen Shuangjian truly did not feel hungry, but his sole source of nourishment throughout the previous day had been a single bottle of milk.
He knew very well that if he skipped breakfast too, his body would not hold up.
Shen Shuangjian rubbed between his brows wearily and pushed himself up from the mattress to go wash up. With his back to Xie Jinghui, the dazzling morning sunlight shone through his thin shirt, outlining the slender curve of his waist.
"Shuangjian."
Xie Jinghui spoke very abruptly. Meeting Shen Shuangjian's questioning gaze, he paused before saying with a faint sigh, "Don't take a shower."
"You didn't have dinner. Your blood sugar might be low."
At these words, the slight furrow of confusion between Shen Shuangjian's brows eased. He did not argue, merely giving a quiet acknowledgment.
"Mm."
At a quarter past nine in the morning, the little villa in the woods finally broke its hushed stillness. Golden sunlight spilled across the corridor, and as doors opened and footsteps descended the stairs one after another, the dining room gradually filled.
"Wow!"
Song Shi and Gu Xuanlin came downstairs together. The moment they reached the open dining area, they saw Li Yi and Lin Weiluo seated at the table, along with a lavish breakfast that was still steaming.
"Who made all this?" Song Shi exclaimed instinctively, rubbing his eyes with exaggerated disbelief. "Have I misjudged the production team? I shouldn't have thought so badly of you."
Hearing the noise, Yu Sheng came downstairs. Before he reached the dining room, he heard footsteps of varying weight behind him, so he turned and doubled back.
"Shuangjian! You're awake!"
He leaned excitedly against the stair railing and shared the news eagerly. "The production team prepared a really big breakfast! You didn't eat yesterday. Come on, come on!"
They were in the forest, and although it was only the outskirts, it was still colder than the city. Shen Shuangjian pulled his clothes closer around himself without answering.
"Come have breakfast. We've been waiting for you for a while," Lin Weiluo urged, already picking up her chopsticks.
By the time Shen Shuangjian came downstairs, there were few seats left at the table. He casually chose the nearest chair, but before he had even sat down, Yu Sheng had already plopped into the seat beside him.
Xie Jinghui walked slowly, so naturally, the sole remaining seat at the head of the table on the far right was left for him.
"Shuangjian, would you like soup or congee?"
They had only just sat down when Yu Sheng eagerly picked up the bowl in front of him and looked expectantly at Shen Shuangjian beside him.
After a brief silence, Shen Shuangjian answered, "Soup."
Yu Sheng readily agreed. He stood to ladle out a bowl of soup and set it steadily in front of Shen Shuangjian.
Shen Shuangjian had only just picked up his chopsticks when, in the blink of an eye, Yu Sheng followed up with another question.
"Shuangjian, is there anything you want to eat? I'll get it for you."
Shen Shuangjian: "..."
But this time, before Shen Shuangjian could speak, Gu Xuanlin, who had been picking the bones out of some fish beside them, quite naturally used the serving chopsticks to place the fish onto Shen Shuangjian's plate.
He looked up with a smile. "Yu Sheng, let Shuangjian eat by himself."
Then, his expression softening, he added quietly, "This fish tastes quite good, but it has a lot of bones. I picked them out for you. Give it a try."
Yu Sheng: "..."
He raised his brows slightly and swallowed back the words, "You want it both ways."
[Hahahahaha, Yu Sheng's face. I feel like he's cursing up a storm.]
[Gu Xuanlin one second: Yu Sheng, let Shuangjian eat by himself. The next second: Try this fish. I personally picked out the bones.]
[Gu Xuanlin wants it both ways.]
[It really does live up to being the hottest dating show right now. Even breakfast turns into a shura field.]
[That was a savage insult, commenter above.]
[What slice-of-life show? I've already forgotten. I suggest renaming this show Operation Courtship starting today.]
[Shen Shuangjian: Go away! Things have never been this awful for me. I want to go home. Home!]
[A cool, aloof young master from a wealthy family stumbles into a shura field. Is this the distortion of human nature or the collapse of morality? Things are heating up, so stay tuned to "Real Life."]
[Does anyone still remember Xie Qingchi by Daming Lake?]
[Absolutely no one cares, lol.]
The fish on his plate had clearly been carefully deboned before being placed there. At a glance, all the long bones had been removed, yet the flesh had not fallen apart at all.
Without absolute care and patience, achieving this would have been utterly impossible.
Yet Shen Shuangjian merely frowned slightly at it. He looked at Gu Xuanlin and said evenly, "Sorry, I don't eat fish."
"Pfft!"
Yu Sheng nearly spat out a mouthful of congee. He covered his mouth with a napkin just in time and successfully enjoyed the sight of Gu Xuanlin's expression freezing.
"Is that so?"
Gu Xuanlin looked at Shen Shuangjian with a hint of apology and reached out to swap his own clean plate for the one with the fish.
"I'll keep that in mind next time."