Whenever he was close to Shen Shuangjian, the cool fragrance on him became especially distinct, lingering around the nose and seeping into every breath.
It was a complex scent. If it had to be described in concrete terms, it was the faint fragrance of pear blossoms buried in snow, crushed together with frost, snow, and honey.
With that scent accompanying his light sleep, Shen Sixian felt much more at ease. But that peace did not last long. Having slept for less than two hours altogether, Shen Sixian sensed Shen Shuangjian moving where he lay on his lap.
He frowned slightly. Before Shen Shuangjian could struggle upright, he gently pressed a hand against his head and guided him back onto his lap.
"What are you doing?"
Shen Sixian opened his eyes, only to discover everyone gathered in the entryway, seemingly about to head out.
He withdrew his gaze after a single glance. Rubbing his slightly throbbing brow, Shen Sixian felt his headache worsen.
"Going out to gather firewood in exchange for dinner."
Shen Shuangjian had been woken earlier than him. Resting against Shen Sixian's lap, his voice was muffled with sleep, but to Shen Sixian's ears, it carried a hint of grievance.
Going out to gather firewood? No dinner if they didn't?
Shen Sixian could barely believe what he was hearing. He had never even known that this was how Shen Shuangjian spent his days while filming this show.
"Gather what?"
Perhaps too stunned, Shen Sixian actually repeated the question, then received a unanimous answer from everyone.
"Scrap wood and things like that. Once we gather enough, we can exchange it for dinner ingredients, then cook for ourselves."
Then Shen Shuangjian nodded along too, agreeing with them.
"I still remember the soup Shuangjian made before." Lin Weiluo clearly had not caught on to Shen Sixian's current attitude and even added fuel to the fire.
Shen Shuangjian, cooking for other people?
Almost instinctively, Shen Sixian glanced at Shen Shuangjian's hand, which was braced against the sofa as he prepared to rise.
His wrist was slender, his fingers long, his skin porcelain-white and lustrous as jade, yet tinged with a sickly pallor.
Even a light bump would leave bruises on those hands that lingered for ages. Yet after coming on this show, he not only had to gather rough firewood, but even had to cook for a whole group of people!
And of all moments, Shen Shuangjian, who had finally sat up, glanced at him with lingering weariness and casually asked, "Are you going?"
This time, Shen Sixian truly believed what he had heard.
He was now just like Xie Jinghui when he had questioned Yu Sheng. Even if he racked his brains, he could not figure out what sort of magic this show and these people possessed.
What made them worth Shen Shuangjian doing all this, even willingly washing his hands to cook for them?
"Shen Shuangjian, have you gone mad, or are you an idiot?"
At that moment, unable to work out why Shen Shuangjian was behaving this way, Shen Sixian could only begin reflecting on himself.
Had he really neglected him for too long before? Had he given him too little? Or had the production team offered too much? A thousand thoughts seemed to converge into a single question.
So what exactly had they given Shen Shuangjian?!
Quite naturally, Shen Sixian's words made Shen Shuangjian think he did not want to go. In fact, simply because he had asked that extra question, Shen Sixian had inexplicably started getting angry again.
And so Shen Shuangjian fell silent once more. He gently gathered his long hair, and at the sight, Xie Jinghui handed him the red cord tied around his own wrist.
With Shen Sixian still watching like a hawk, Xie Jinghui exercised a little discretion and refrained from tying Shen Shuangjian's hair himself. Otherwise, Shen Sixian's murderous gaze would have spread from the production team to him.
He was Shen Shuangjian's older brother, after all, which made him different from everyone else. Naturally, Xie Jinghui did not mind giving him a little face.
Watching the long hair tied behind Shen Shuangjian's back, Xie Jinghui reached out and tugged at the uneven ends of the red cord, speaking with casual perfunctoriness.
"Mr. Shen grew up in the lap of luxury. I'm afraid this is his first time hearing of anything like this, so he seems to have lost his composure a little."
Unfortunately, Shen Sixian was still immersed in the shock of Shen Shuangjian being "mistreated."
Pressing a hand to his forehead for who knew which time, Shen Sixian looked up at Shen Shuangjian and asked, "You really want to go?"
His answer was a quiet "Mm" from Shen Shuangjian.
And so Shen Sixian was utterly at a loss. Having occupied a position of authority for so long, he could not understand why Shen Shuangjian would willingly offer himself up to be degraded, much less what was going through his mind right now.
He could not understand. He truly could not.
"Suit yourself."
Shen Sixian's headache grew worse.
"Whether you like gathering firewood or cooking for other people, suit yourself. I'm done interfering."
Different ways of thinking led to different understandings. Shen Shuangjian could not understand his expression or what lay behind those words at all.
All he knew was that since filming began, he had barely participated at all, whether they were going out to find ingredients or completing tasks.
So if they needed him this time, Shen Shuangjian would be very willing to do it.
Unable to grasp Shen Sixian's implied meaning, Shen Shuangjian turned, gathered the coat Xie Jinghui had draped over him, and slowly walked toward the entryway.
In the livestream, Shen Sixian's reaction had clearly amused the fans running wild in the chat.
[Hahahahaha, big brother's about to lose it!]
[Shen Sixian is losing it so hard. The sweet-smelling, soft little brother he raised has run off into these remote mountains to gather firewood and even cook for other people!]
[Shen Sixian: Does anyone understand?!]
[Shen Sixian: Losing it. I'm really losing it right now, but there's nothing I can do.]
[Shen Sixian: I don't understand what you're doing! Shen Shuangjian: I don't understand what you're doing...]
[I finally understand why people outside say the brothers don't get along. This is a total communication barrier. Shen Sixian wants to raise a little princess, but Shen Shuangjian wants to go out and be a warrior.]
[Shen Shuangjian's lifelong battle of wits and courage against his brother.]
[Trying everything to prove himself. Basically, he's just rebelling!]
[Shen Shuangjian: Don't worry, big brother. I guarantee I can take care of myself.]
[Shen Sixian: Please spare me...]
[Then wifey got cyberbullied before the show even started, plus rumors that he had a crush on someone. The abuse made him seriously ill, and he still had to film while sick.]
[Shen Sixian: He said he wanted to venture out into the world, then ran off into the remote mountains to gather firewood. Along the way, he got sick and drunk, and even ran into a bear for good measure. Six of them, no less.]
[Shen Sixian: What the medicine-fuck are you people doing to my little princess?!]
[Wonderful, a pharmacist! Shen Sixian can be saved!]
[Imagine if Shen Sixian really stopped interfering, and a few months later, wifey Shuangjian knocked on the door covered in injuries and illness, with several stinking men desperately lusting after him hanging off him, and said, "Big brother, I'm back from venturing out into the world."]
[Shen Sixian might drop to his knees right there.]
[The three things Shen Sixian must protect all his life: his beautiful little brother, Shen Shuangjian's brittle body, and his precarious chastity.]
[After a full day at work, Shen Sixian would come home, see the livestream, and not even have the energy to hang himself, haha.]