Chapter 53
Because of Lu Bo and Ruan Chi’s room choice, their CP Super Topic was revived from the ashes. CP fans flooded into the live stream of the double room with a large bed, only to be disappointed to find that this live stream was the first to close.
The CP fans, unable to send bullet comments, could only run to the Super Topic to find their organization:
【Why did Teacher Lu and Ruan Chi’s live stream close at just past eight? I just got in and it was gone, ahhh qwq】
【What other reason could there be [dog head]】
【Everyone, come back tomorrow morning. It probably won’t be over in just a few hours, hehe】
But the atmosphere in the room was the complete opposite of what the CP fans imagined. Ruan Chi sat in a chair, his face grim, and questioned, “Lu Bo, what do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Lu Bo smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to chat with you face to face like this.”
Ruan Chi let out a “heh,” directly took out a cigarette and lit it, smoking in the enclosed room.
Lu Bo was not smoked out of the room. Instead, he also sat down and said in a gentle voice, “Since you helped Zong Mo pay the contract termination fee, why didn’t you let him go back to school? He was only nineteen at the time.”
Ruan Chi didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids, unconcerned. “Do I care if he goes to school or not?”
Lu Bo was silent for a while, thought it over, and asked again, “How long have you two been together?”
“Seven months,” Ruan Chi said without thinking, and also did the math for Lu Bo, “You’ve known him for six months.”
Lu Bo: …
He observed Ruan Chi’s expression, unable to tell if he was deliberately lying to anger him. But from what he knew of Ruan Chi, he was not the kind of person who would stoop to telling such a low-level lie.
So, he wasn’t two years late, just one month late.
It felt as if a fine needle had gently pricked the tip of Lu Bo’s heart, the wound so small it was almost imperceptible, yet exceptionally painful.
Ruan Chi continued on his own, “Because we can turn off the live stream at night, you thought I would have sex while recording the show?”
“I can tell you, I won’t. You’re overstepping your bounds, Lu Bo.”
After finishing a cigarette in a few minutes, Ruan Chi stubbed it out, looked up, and smiled contemptuously.
“At most, we’ll do something else.”
In the three-person room on the other side, Qi Zhiyi went to take a shower, leaving Zong Mo and Qi Nanfeng to face each other. A few minutes ago, it had been a cautious, awkward chat. Now, it was an awkward, stagnant silence.
After all, they were recording a show. As a senior who had been in the industry for ten years, Qi Nanfeng took the initiative to start a conversation, “Little Mo, what time do you usually go to bed and wake up?”
“I usually go to bed at eleven,” Zong Mo said. “And wake up at seven-something to make breakfast.”
“…Do you make your own breakfast every day?” Qi Nanfeng was slightly stunned. “Then you can have a good rest these few days. No need to cook.”
But Zong Mo said with some disbelief, “But the program team won’t be so kind as to just send us food, right?”
Qi Nanfeng nodded, “Mm, Zhiyi and I are not very good at playing games. We’ll probably have to rely on your help then.”
Zong Mo had no objection. It would be even better if he didn’t have to sleep in the middle of the bed.
Qi Nanfeng asked with concern again, “Are you afraid of the cold? If you’re cold, you can stack the two quilts.”
It sounded like he also meant for him to sleep in the middle.
Zong Mo: …
Wasn’t Qi Nanfeng just taking a shower? Had he been eavesdropping, or did he have a telepathic connection with Qi Zhiyi?
Because he had told Qi Nanfeng that he usually went to bed at eleven, and today had been a long journey and he had to wake up early tomorrow, after a discussion between the twins, they gently invited him to bed at ten o’clock.
Zong Mo was sandwiched in the middle. Although he didn’t have to touch anyone, the similar scent of shower gel from both sides surrounded him. He didn’t dare to turn over casually, didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, and kept a distance of several dozen centimeters from each side.
The twins’ sleeping posture was much better than Ruan Chi’s. They didn’t put their hands and feet on him in their sleep. But the killer was, both of their faces were turned towards him, a symmetrical copy and paste, which forced him to lie flat on his back, and he only managed to fall asleep in the latter half of the night.
He didn’t usually have insomnia and was even a bit of a heavy sleeper. The consequence of being forced to stay up late was that he slept particularly soundly in the morning.
At seven in the morning, Qi Nanfeng was the first to open his eyes, waking up naturally.
He got up quietly, changed his clothes, and went to the public bathroom outside to wash up. When he came back, he happened to run into Qi Zhiyi, who had just gotten up.
It was strange. Besides their personalities, the two of them were extremely similar in every aspect.
Whether it was their hobbies, tastes, schedules, or various small habits in life, they were all the same. Even without an alarm, if one woke up, the other would soon follow.
The first thing Qi Zhiyi did when he woke up was also to change his clothes. Qi Nanfeng reminded him in a low voice, “You should go outside to wash up. Little Mo is still sleeping.”
Even without his reminder, Qi Zhiyi would have gone out on his own. But this seemingly kind reminder made Qi Zhiyi inexplicably unhappy. He looked at his own brother, didn’t say anything to disturb Zong Mo, and silently went out to wash up.
When Zong Mo was awake, he had covered himself with half of each quilt, meeting in the center of his body. This uncomfortable way of covering himself was undone after he fell asleep. At this moment, he had turned to his side, hugging Qi Zhiyi’s quilt, with most of his body exposed.
Qi Nanfeng walked over and covered him with his own quilt.
In June, even with the air conditioning on in the bedroom, it wasn’t cold enough for two layers. Zong Mo was wearing long-sleeved pajamas for safety. Feeling hot, he had kicked off both quilts in his sleep and was now curled up.
Qi Nanfeng had minored in psychology in college and knew that a curled-up sleeping position was a sign of a lack of security.
Perhaps he had just happened to switch to this position while tossing and turning, but Qi Nanfeng found it hard not to overthink.
He had watched the recorded version of Field Diary with Qi Zhiyi. When Zong Mo was sleeping on the loft bed in the small cabin, he would also switch between various sleeping positions, but he had never curled up.
And the loft bed was more than two meters high. Zong Mo was on the side of the ladder and could still sleep very relaxed.
He put this small detail aside for now and covered Zong Mo again with the quilt he had kicked off.
Zong Mo mumbled something and kicked off the quilt again.
Qi Nanfeng noticed that his eyelids were still twitching restlessly and asked in a low voice, “…Are you awake?”
No response.
It was already half past seven. Zong Mo was clearly not sleeping well. Qi Nanfeng decided to wake him up.
Qi Nanfeng gently called him three times. Even after Qi Zhiyi came back, Zong Mo did not wake up.
“Why isn’t Little Mo awake yet?”
As Qi Zhiyi spoke, he walked past his brother who was standing by the bed, went straight back to the bed, and called in Zong Mo’s ear, “Little Mo, time to get up.”
Zong Mo let out a “mm” in agreement but pulled the quilt over his head, resisting getting up with his actions.
Qi Zhiyi gently tugged at the quilt, “Little Mo, get up quickly, or I’m going to pull off the quilt.”
The name “Little Mo” was already engraved in Zong Mo’s mind, forming a conditioned reflex of his vocal cords.
“Let me sleep a little longer, ge…”
His tone was low, hoarse, and soft, and became even more muffled through the quilt, as if he were acting cute.
Qi Zhiyi was slightly stunned. Because he was young when he debuted, the fans didn’t like to call him “ge.” At home, no one called him “ge” either, only he called Qi Nanfeng “ge.”
This “ge” was surprisingly pleasant to hear.
Qi Zhiyi stopped pulling the quilt. Taking advantage of Zong Mo’s grogginess, he deliberately coaxed, “Hmm? What did you call me?”
Unfortunately, Zong Mo was too groggy. He just let out a muffled “mm” and didn’t fulfill Qi Zhiyi’s wish.
Realizing that Qi Zhiyi was not properly waking him up, Qi Nanfeng came to the side of the bed, bent down, and prepared to get tough and pull off the quilt directly.
Zong Mo held onto the corner of the quilt tightly and mumbled, “I went to bed too late, CEO Ruan. I don’t want to make breakfast today…”
CEO Ruan?
The person he unconsciously called out when being woken up, and “I don’t want to make breakfast today”…
Then what about usually?
Qi Nanfeng let go of the half-pulled quilt and stood there stiffly, speechless for a long time.
Qi Zhiyi, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his astonishment and finally turned to look at his own brother.
After looking at each other for a moment, Qi Zhiyi temporarily put aside his teasing thoughts and said seriously, “Zong Mo, wake up. It’s almost eight. Director Tu wants us to start the live stream.”
Upon hearing “start the live stream,” Zong Mo finally woke up a little. He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the completely unfamiliar room.
Oh, right, he was here to record a show again…
Zong Mo sat up in a daze, his consciousness slowly returning. Only then did he yawn and look at the two people standing on either side of his bed.
Right, he had been sent to this new three-person battlefield by Gongs #1 and #2.
He had fallen asleep in the latter half of the night. He knew that the twins had been well-behaved while sleeping. It was he who had been overthinking and worrying.
The twin brothers’ storyline would lead to a 3P ending. Besides that, both of them could be considered normal people.
The love battlefield that the main shou attracted was mainly because he had a natural charisma and liked to give out kindness and affection everywhere. But Zong Mo was not like that. He had always maintained a friendly but distant relationship with the twins and had not done anything to cross the line.
He really couldn’t understand why the twins had to force him to sleep in the middle, and why they were standing by the bed and staring at him now, their gazes unreadable.
…It must be the main shou script causing trouble again!
He was silent as he waited for his brain to fully wake up. After choosing his words carefully, he said politely but a little distantly, “You guys are up so early. I’m a bit of a light sleeper in a new bed, so I fell asleep very late…”
As he spoke, he picked up his phone to check the time, “Hmm, let’s start the live stream. I’m going to the bathroom to change.”
Zong Mo closed the bathroom door, and the stagnant atmosphere in the room began to flow again.
Qi Zhiyi let out a self-deprecating “ha,” covered his mouth, and said in a low voice, “This is really annoying…”
Qi Nanfeng: …
Zong Mo changed his clothes and came out of the bathroom, just in time to open the door for the knocking staff.
A card was handed over. Zong Mo read the words on it, “Breakfast task: Please find the breakfast coupons hidden in various parts of the homestay to get a buffet breakfast prepared by a five-star hotel chef.”
“Hmm? So we’re really on vacation…” Zong Mo added his own words in a daze, then continued reading, “Restaurant entry time: 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. Number of breakfast coupons: five.”
“Eh, then one person won’t be able to have breakfast,” Qi Zhiyi said. “It’s already a quarter past eight.”
Zong Mo said apologetically, “Mm, it’s all because I woke up too late. Let’s go find the breakfast coupons now.”
Qi Zhiyi nodded. Qi Nanfeng, on the other hand, said, “The homestay is large, but they only gave us an hour. It shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
Zong Mo happened to use the task as an excuse, “Mm, then let’s split up? If I find extra breakfast coupons, I’ll share them with you.”
“Mm, you don’t have to be in a hurry,” Qi Zhiyi showed a gentle smile. “I ate a lot last night, so I’m not very hungry now. My brother and I were planning to go for a swim first anyway.”
Zong Mo had been asleep when the twins changed their clothes. Only now did he notice that both of them were dressed in a seaside vacation style. They were wearing short-sleeved shirts with coconut tree and fruit patterns, and casual, loose-fitting five-point pants. It looked like they could just take off their clothes and jump into the sea.
As for whether they were wearing swim trunks under their casual pants, Zong Mo didn’t really want to know.
He agreed with an “okay” and quickly went out to find the breakfast coupons.
Zong Mo went downstairs and first saw a pile of staff members. He went over to take a look and found that the chef hired by the program team was busy in the open-plan kitchen. The spacious island countertop was filled with delicacies from all over the world.
There were a few Hong Kong-style dim sum that were extremely popular in China, and more Southeast Asian-style dishes that were sweet, sour, and slightly spicy. Fruits and vegetables were paired with meat, so fresh they were almost dripping. The colors were vibrant and the presentation was excellent, especially appealing in the hot summer.
Placing the buffet restaurant right under their noses, letting them see but not eat, was indeed Director Tu’s style.
Zong Mo had originally just wanted to shake off the twins. At this moment, he was really motivated. He had to find the breakfast coupons!
It was unlikely there were any breakfast coupons in the kitchen. He walked towards the living room and happened to run into Lu Bo, who was leisurely drinking coffee by the window.
Lu Bo happened to look up. Zong Mo met his gaze and had no choice but to greet him, “Morning, Teacher Lu.”
He then noticed the unusually exquisite coffee cup and asked, “Eh, where did the coffee come from?”
Lu Bo put down his coffee cup, took out a card with a red stamp on it, and said, “Breakfast coupon.”
Zong Mo: …
Very good. He was the main shou. The next person to have breakfast would definitely be him.
He was the main shou, after all. The 1/6 chance of being unlucky couldn’t possibly fall on him. Arranged by status, the one who couldn’t have breakfast should be Ling Han.
To avoid missing it due to a blurred vision, Zong Mo borrowed Lu Bo’s breakfast coupon to take a look. He confirmed that it was a very sturdy plastic card that couldn’t be easily broken or torn.
Just then, Ling Han came in from outside, went straight to the kitchen, and handed a similar card to the staff.
Zong Mo: ?
Author’s Note:
Film Emperor Lu: Haha, I’m so angry 🙂
Nanfeng and Zhiyi: Speechless 🙂
Ling Han: …
