Chapter 52

Hearing this, Jiang Xiao was taken aback. His fingers loosened, and the potato he had just fished out plopped back into the water, splashing him wet.

“Do you need a hand?” Si Mingyu, wearing a bean-green T-shirt, appeared at the doorway at some unknown point and volunteered, “Isn’t two people cooking a bit few? I can chop vegetables.”

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Jiang Xiao. He said with surprise, “Brother, why are you all wet? Let me take you to change your clothes.”

The T-shirt was thin to begin with, and the front was soaked. But it was very warm inside, so it would dry soon, and Jiang Xiao didn’t pay it much mind.

Jiang Xiao waved a hand. “No need.”

“You’d better change into another set.” Si Mingyu’s lips held a hint of a smile, but his tone was slightly heavy. “We’re livestreaming, Brother. It’s not very proper for you to be disheveled.”

After saying this, without waiting for Jiang Xiao’s reaction, he took Jiang Xiao’s hand and headed out. He didn’t forget to tell Si Lin, “I’m borrowing Brother Jiang for a bit, I’ll be back later.”

Si Mingyu walked quickly, and Jiang Xiao almost stumbled along behind him.

The kitchen was a public area with no partitions set up. Anyone passing through the living room could see in, but right now, aside from Ji Yanli, who was in the living room reading a book, no one else was in sight.

Jiang Xiao was led by Si Mingyu all the way into the utility room where the suitcases were temporarily stored.

“Leaving Lawyer Si there alone is really quite rude,” Jiang Xiao said patiently. “If you have a conflict with him, you should talk it out face-to-face…”

Anyone could see that the relationship between Si Mingyu and Si Lin seemed rather poor, and Si Lin didn’t seem like the type to proactively provoke others.

Si Mingyu remained silent. Jiang Xiao didn’t feel right saying anything more and was just about to get clothes from his suitcase when he suddenly heard an extremely faint sob.

Startled, Jiang Xiao hurriedly looked at Si Mingyu, only to find him squatting on the floor. His eyes had reddened silently at some point, tears welling up in them.

Jiang Xiao never expected he’d make someone cry on the very first day. A moment of panic set in, and he quickly said, “I wasn’t blaming you… Get up first…”

“I know you hate me… You always speak up for Si Lin.” Si Mingyu said stubbornly, “But I just like you. I only came on this show because you’re here.”

Jiang Xiao choked on his words.

“In the end, didn’t you two not end up together either?” Si Mingyu kept his head down, his voice muffled. “I was just hoping you could consider me. Is that really not okay?”

Jiang Xiao wondered to himself just when he had provoked this romantic entanglement and couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. But the other had just cried, so he couldn’t very well refuse directly. He had no choice but to lean down and help him up.

“It’s not that I dislike you, it’s just…”

The utility room had no light on, only a beam of light coming through the half-open door. In the darkness, Jiang Xiao bumped into something and suddenly lost his balance, pitching forward.

He collided right into Si Mingyu, and the two of them toppled to the ground together.

Both let out a muffled grunt. They were both wearing T-shirts, so some physical contact was inevitable. Perhaps because he was so young, Si Mingyu’s body temperature was exceptionally high.

Jiang Xiao was just about to get up when his wrist was grabbed. Then, with a forceful yank, he fell back down again.

His lips seemed to brush against an equally soft spot.

Just as Jiang Xiao was wondering what that was, he heard Si Mingyu’s voice rise softly from the darkness:

“Brother, you stole a kiss from me.”

“That was my first kiss just now.”

As if his wasn’t also a first kiss! Jiang Xiao was completely out of patience. He, a straight man, had been kissed by a guy. Yet this could only be considered an accident. He truly had a grievance he couldn’t voice.

But in the next second, a pair of hands secretly slipped under the hem of his shirt, reaching upward. The scorching body heat made Jiang Xiao involuntarily flinch.

Because T-shirts don’t need to be tucked into pants, it was very easy to take advantage of the opening.

Si Mingyu looked like a pampered Little Young Master, but his fingertips held thin calluses. They brushed faintly against the skin of Jiang Xiao’s waist. Jiang Xiao was utterly stunned by Si Mingyu’s smooth, flowing sequence of actions. “What are you doing?!”

He nearly lost his voice from fright.

“Brother just said you wanted to change clothes…”

Before Si Mingyu could finish his sentence, Jiang Xiao forcefully pushed him away, stood up, and, without even bothering to straighten his clothes, rushed out of the utility room.

With a loud “Bang!”, the door was slammed shut.

Si Mingyu remained in the position Jiang Xiao had pushed him into, savoring the sensation of the lip contact just moments ago and Jiang Xiao’s clean scent. He lowered his gaze and chuckled softly.

It seemed Brother truly had never been in a relationship before. A light touch and he fled like a startled little rabbit.

He licked his lips again.

A little sour and sweet. Brother must have eaten an orange earlier.

Before coming to the variety show, Si Mingyu’s feelings were incomparably complex. He was afraid Jiang Xiao would fall for someone else, and he was angry at why Jiang Xiao couldn’t be with him.

His grades were excellent too, his personality was good, he was infinitely better than that ice block face Si Lin, yet Jiang Xiao just wouldn’t look his way.

Si Mingyu racked his brains trying to chase Jiang Xiao, but Jiang Xiao always acted like such a straight man, often making Si Mingyu furious with frustration. He suspected Jiang Xiao was deliberately playing obtuse, thereby politely rejecting him.

But later on, the one who angered Jiang Xiao and then never came back… well, that wasn’t him, was it…

But after not seeing him for so long, he’d been a bit too hasty and ended up scaring him. Si Mingyu felt a pang of regret.

Originally, he wanted to tell Jiang Xiao about something else. Now he would have to take his time and plan.

Si Mingyu ran through all the show participants in his mind again.

Lu Moxing: There was no way Jiang Xiao could take a liking to this type—overbearing and self-righteous. Pass. Ji Yanli: he looked like a fox, and he was a doctor. Si Mingyu could tell Jiang Xiao was somewhat avoiding Ji Yanli; something bad must have happened between them. Also a pass. He Chen: no real impression. This guy was just like an otaku. Definitely not Jiang Xiao’s type. Pass.

After this mental round, it turned out there were no competitors after all.

Except for Si Lin.

Then let’s just see, in the end, just who would win Brother’s heart.

After leaving the room, Jiang Xiao was still a bit shaken. He glanced back; the utility room door was still shut, and Si Mingyu hadn’t come out yet. He calmed his emotions for a while, then felt his earlier reaction had been too uncomposed. In front of a younger guy, it was practically humiliating.

Had he… been exposed just now?

As Jiang Xiao was pondering, the door beside him opened and He Chen walked out. Seeing Jiang Xiao, he was also momentarily startled.

“What happened?”

Jiang Xiao also looked himself over. His clothes had already been wet, and then he had rolled around on the floor just now, plus the tussling with Si Mingyu. His clothes had long since become wrinkled.

“…A small accident.” Jiang Xiao said.

He Chen didn’t press for details. Seeing that Jiang Xiao also didn’t seem inclined to go change clothes, he said, “I was just sorting my luggage. I bought one piece of clothing in the wrong size, but it looks like it might fit you. Want to try it on?”

What He Chen said was essentially offering him a way out. After all, Jiang Xiao currently looked like he’d been in a scuffle. Jiang Xiao truly didn’t want to go back to the utility room, nor could he go back to the kitchen wearing this outfit—Si Lin would probably kick him right out.

After thinking it over for a long moment, Jiang Xiao glanced again at the tightly shut utility room door and said, “Sorry to trouble you.”

He Chen had indeed randomly found a room to organize his clothes. True to form, most of his clothes were sweaters, coats, and cashmere shirts. He let Jiang Xiao choose for himself.

Even his pajamas had tails on them. That was simply adorable.

“All these are new clothes,” He Chen said.

When Jiang Xiao changed clothes, He Chen turned his back to him, perfectly proper, not peeking one bit. Jiang Xiao instead felt that sense of ease he’d had back in his university dorm.

“Oh, right,” Jiang Xiao remembered something. He said, “Is the fact that you’re a hacker only known to me?”

He Chen nodded. His glasses frame seemed a bit too large, sliding down with the motion, so he pushed them back up. “Because it’s a rather dangerous profession, and this is a live broadcast show. It’s not good if too many people know.”

“Then why did you tell me?” Jiang Xiao said. “I almost blurted it out.”

“Because of a feeling,” He Chen pondered for a few seconds, the corner of his mouth curving up slightly. “You’re the type that can be trusted.”

The new sweater was very soft to the touch and carried a fresh, clean scent. Jiang Xiao thanked He Chen and said, “I’ve got to hurry back.”

He Chen nodded and watched Jiang Xiao leave the room.

Afterwards, he opened his laptop and continued what he’d been doing before.

On the computer screen, in the search box, the names of the other participants were prominently displayed.

Jiang Xiao rolled up his sleeves as he went downstairs. He hurried back to find Si Lin had already prepared several dishes.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Xiao said in rapid succession. “Let me do all the remaining cooking.”

Even wearing a white shirt and an apron, Lawyer Si seemed to carry not a trace of earthly kitchen smoke. Perhaps it was masked by the heavier, colder aura on him. He lifted his eyes and looked at the sweater Jiang Xiao was wearing.

Everyone in this house had their own distinct style of dress. Whose sweater this was, it was clear at a glance.

Si Lin’s eyelashes lowered slightly. He said, “Si Mingyu caused you trouble.”

Jiang Xiao scratched his head. “Uh… it was really nothing.”

Si Lin calmly said, “Understood. I’ll discipline him.”

As Jiang Xiao took greens to wash, he secretly glanced over at Si Lin.

If Si Lin knew him from before, then why hadn’t they seen each other for all these years?

A sentence Si Mingyu had said not long ago surfaced in his mind.

“In the end, didn’t you two not end up together either?”

That would be normal enough.

After all, he was straight. How could he have been together with Si Lin before that?

Then what exactly was their relationship? Just ordinary friends? But judging by Si Lin’s tone, that didn’t seem quite right either.

Jiang Xiao’s gaze drifted, and suddenly it bumped right into Lawyer Si’s eyes. Those eyes, tempered over a long time, made one’s heart race and knees weaken with just a glance.

“What do you want to ask?” Si Lin said. “About the past… I can tell you everything.”

The past… things?

Jiang Xiao was certainly very curious, but probably because the aroma of food had wafted into the living room, almost everyone came downstairs. With so many eyes around, and cameras present on top of that, it wasn’t suitable to discuss the past right now.

Jiang Xiao shook his head. “Let’s cook first. Everyone is probably hungry.”

As he spoke, his own stomach growled first instead. Jiang Xiao was rather embarrassed, not knowing if Si Lin had heard.

Just as Jiang Xiao was diligently washing vegetables, a piece of sweet and sour pork rib, fried to a golden crisp and covered in a thin layer of glossy, translucent sauce, suddenly appeared by his lips.

“Taste this,” Si Lin said.

Since the food was already right at his mouth, Jiang Xiao couldn’t very well refuse. He opened wide and took a bite, his eyes instantly lighting up.

“It’s delicious!”

In Si Lin’s usually calm and waveless dark eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible hint of a smile rippled into existence.

There were many people around, and later everyone came to help. Thus, the meal was quickly prepared. Especially after that inexplicable escape room experience just now, Jiang Xiao was so hungry his stomach was sticking to his back.

“So many dishes.” Ji Yanli’s lips curved into a smile. “Then when it’s my turn, I can’t slack off either. I’ll have to seek cooking advice from you two.”

“It’s all Lawyer Si’s credit,” Jiang Xiao said. “Next time, let me stir-fry the dishes for everyone.”

Even Lu Moxing, who seemed the pickiest, didn’t activate his venomous tongue skill. He commented, “Not bad.”

Si Lin’s cooking truly exceeded Jiang Xiao’s imagination. He hadn’t expected Si Lin, so busy with work, to be able to cook. Si Lin, conversely, showed no self-satisfied expression. Noticing Jiang Xiao’s gaze, he used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of stuffed eggplant for him.

All things Jiang Xiao liked to eat.

Si Lin really did seem to understand him very well… If they were just friends before, this level of concern seemed a bit excessive.

Just as Jiang Xiao was pondering while biting his chopsticks, he heard Lu Moxing casually say, “After we finish eating, shouldn’t we divide up the rooms?”

“Yeah, we should have done it at the very start. Everyone’s luggage has no place to go,” He Chen said.

“Has anyone seen the bedroom layout?” Ji Yanli laughed. “It’s quite interesting.”

“Two Single Rooms, one Double Room, and also one…”

“King Bed Room.”

“How should we split them?”