Han Cheng was wiping down his body; Ji Nuo felt too embarrassed to stay in the same space. He immediately went into the bedroom, changed into his pajamas, then waited by the door, listening. Once he sensed Han Cheng was done washing, he went out to help clean up.
But Han Cheng had already taken the basin to the corner of the yard to dump the water. Returning, he happened to meet Ji Nuo, who was in his lightweight pajamas.
Unlike Han Cheng, tanned a wheat color for his role, Ji Nuo was that rare cool white skin. The yellow light from the kitchen’s incandescent bulb shone on the long, slender limbs exposed by his short pajamas, making them look like a piece of creamy jade.
Ji Nuo’s height of 1.8 meters wasn’t an advantage among male celebrities, but his small head, small face, and excellent body proportions made him look over 1.8 meters tall when standing alone. However, standing next to Han Cheng now, he was clearly half a head shorter.
Plus the blush that immediately surfaced on his face whenever he saw Han Cheng… his deeply ingrained image as Ao’ao’s old father was subtly evolving towards that of a bashful young wife.
Ji Nuo was thinking about the 1.2-meter-wide bed, his beautiful peach blossom eyes not knowing where to look…
His face grew hotter and hotter, his thoughts running on multiple tracks, almost short-circuiting. He stood there dumbly, asking the obvious: “Oh, you went to dump the water…”
Han Cheng slightly nodded. “Should I put the basin over there?”
Ji Nuo’s gaze flickered, his mouth opening and closing. “Should the basin go there… Yes!”
Han Cheng looked at the deepening blush on the innocent face so close to him, a barely perceptible curve appearing at the corner of his lips. He thought for a moment, decided against speaking, turned around, and put the basin away.
When he came back, Ji Nuo was still standing there, his long lashes lowered, looking like his CPU was about to burn out.
Han Cheng was suddenly stirred by a hint of interest. “Waiting for me?”
Ji Nuo was abruptly unfrozen, his face instantly turning rosy. “I, I…”
The live broadcast viewers, even through the screen, could feel the ambiguous atmosphere lingering in the shabby little kitchen.
After the wailing triggered by their appetites, another round of primal howls erupted:
[Quick, someone come kill me to entertain the big brother and sister-in-law, okay?!]
[Oh my god, Ji Nuo completely changes when he sees Han Cheng. So full of wifely vibes, eyes glued to Han Cheng, can’t tear them away. So sweet, so sweet, so sweet ahhhhh.]
[What sweetness? It’s all industrial sugar. These two clearly aren’t familiar. Ji Nuo even used an honorific in his first sentence to Han Cheng.]
[What wifely feeling? Clearly ‘everyone’s wife’ feeling! Damn! Ahhhhh, I declare, from today, Ji Nuo is my wife!]
In a daze, Ji Nuo fished another thin blanket out of the cabinet. He had put this out in the yard to air this morning after hearing Han Cheng was coming. He and the cub usually shared one thin blanket, just enough, but with Han Cheng here, it definitely wouldn’t be.
He had been tired and groggy when putting the blanket away in the evening, not remembering it was meant for Han Cheng. Now, holding the sun-warmed blanket, he was grateful the bedroom light was off, his bright red face finally having somewhere to hide.
Han Cheng’s eyelid also twitched upon seeing the small bed.
A width of 1.2 meters, exactly the size of a single bed in a standard hotel room, barely enough for two adult men.
But… Han Cheng looked at the little one in the center of the bed. A tiny dot barely a meter tall, yet somehow taking up the entire bed. He sank into the same deep thought that Ji Nuo had experienced not long ago…
Ji Nuo had genuinely been too busy to remember. If he had recalled this matter during the day, he should have applied to the production team to stay in the small Western-style house.
They had gotten used to living here. Even though they had the money for the most expensive place, the cub was quite comfortable, so he didn’t want to bother moving, resulting in this awkward situation.
Ji Nuo asked Han Cheng in the lowest possible whisper, “…Seems like it won’t fit. Should I ask the production team if we can temporarily switch to the small Western-style house?”
Han Cheng had already finished Qian Lei’s “extracurricular tutoring” on the way. Seeing the child sleeping soundly, he shook his head. “Let’s just make do tonight.”
Saying this, he took the thin blanket Ji Nuo offered and lay down sideways along the edge of the bed. Ji Nuo immediately dragged the waterproof pad under the child, shifting the cub closer to his side.
The two adults carefully adjusted themselves. In the end, both lay on their sides at the edges, taking up little space. Meanwhile, the cub in the middle still slept sprawled out and very “luxuriously.”
Even though it was already midnight, the live stream’s popularity only grew. Because entering the bedroom left only a small strip of view above the bed from the camera, plus the night vision effect was never as good as daytime, the audience could only imagine what was happening from the subtle sounds after the two lay down. The rustling sounds continued for a long time before quieting down, at which point the viewers completely boiled over:
[Ahhhhh, is this something I, a mere regular VIP, can watch?]
[Strongly suggest Mangosteen Livestream open a tipping channel! Teacher Han is so generous! Really doesn’t treat us like outsiders.]
[Damn damn damn, what was that sound? Did they kiss??]
[God, how could Han Cheng and Ji Nuo be like this? The child is right there! Too much. Really want to soul-transmigrate into Ao’ao to watch the scene live.]
Ji Nuo thought he would be too nervous to sleep. In reality, he practically passed out the moment his head hit the pillow, so smoothly he found it somewhat unbelievable.
Actually, his sleep quality hadn’t been this good before. Unless completely exhausted, he tended to overthink things before sleep. Until he started squeezing into the small bed with little Lu Ao’ao, the sweet, milky scent from the child made him feel exceptionally at ease.
Busy all day, sleeping soundly at night. It was a long-lost mental ease. He hadn’t felt that sharp pang in his abdomen for days.
When Ji Nuo opened his eyes again, the cub had already expertly burrowed into his arms.
He was on his side, hugging the cub, his upper body slightly bent, his head just resting near the man’s jaw. The skin on the back of his neck could clearly feel the man’s steady, warm breaths. Ji Nuo’s fair face quickly flushed red.
Five minutes later, Ji Nuo finally calmed his heart and carefully, very carefully, got out of bed.
The live stream, silent for hours, stirred with comments again:
[Wow, wifey Ji Nuo is up. Let me see what that lump on the bed is. Oh! It’s Ao’ao’s little butt! Pfft~]
[I really want to see Han Cheng and the cub’s sleeping faces on the same screen. These two are so alike individually, curious about the effect together!]
[Instant noodles are in. Waiting for ‘A Bite of Ji Nuo’ to go with my meal.]
On the other side, Ji Nuo washed his face with the icy well water before finally calming down completely.
He took a deep breath facing the small courtyard, steadied his mind, and solidified his resolve to be a straight man focused solely on highlighting Han Cheng.
Then, full of energy, he marched into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and started preparing breakfast.
This morning, he didn’t need to worry about food, nor did he need to go to the market to sell mushrooms. The 9:30 assembly time was very generous for Ji Nuo.
Considering today was the main event the production team refused to reveal in advance, Ji Nuo planned to cook a proper meal, even preparing lunch boxes this time.
Yesterday noon, while working at the orchard, they ate the expensive 20-yuan work meals provided by the production team. Ao’ao found it so unpalatable he only took two bites and was green with hunger on the way home. Coupled with Han Cheng being here today, he couldn’t let the production team screw them over again.
Ji Nuo quickly ran through the ingredients in his mind and swiftly planned a five-course, one-soup meal: Chestnut-Braised Beef, Aromatic Braised Beef, Cured Meat Fried Mixed Mushrooms, Stir-Fried Seasonal Vegetables, Milk Pancake, Ham and Egg Drop Soup.
The beef brisket had already been braised tender the night before. He just needed to take it out, cut it into small pieces, and drizzle the sauce over it.
The cured meat fried mixed mushrooms was Ji Nuo’s second time making it. This time, his control over the heat was even more adept. After finishing, he used the fragrant residual oil from the mushrooms to fry the relatively fatty ham slices until intensely aromatic, then added water to boil. Pouring in the stirred egg liquid created silky, smooth egg drop soup as beautiful as satin.
The chestnut beef took relatively longer. Ji Nuo set it to simmer on low heat, then turned to fiddle with the charcoal brazier.
The conventional way to eat milk pancake should be steaming it over high heat sandwiched with thin ham slices, or pan-frying it until golden on both sides in plenty of oil.
But Ji Nuo only had one earthen stove, limited conditions, so he changed the method.
He cut the milk pancake into two-finger-wide thin slices, topped them with ham slices thin as cicada wings, skewered them onto bamboo sticks, brushed them with oil, and grilled them over the charcoal brazier.
Under the oil and fire, the rich aroma of authentic goat’s milk pancake and the savory scent of Jade Mountain ham were both stimulated, complementing each other. The slightly charred look made the live broadcast viewers gulp down their saliva:
[Some people, watching the stream, just switch over to place an order on Orange App…]
[Is there any local friend who can describe what this stuff tastes like? Why does Ji Nuo make it look so delicious!]
[Person from Province A raising hand. If you like lamb, you’ll love this. If you don’t, you’ll be completely indifferent to it. Friends, be careful about blindly following trends~]
[What doesn’t Ji Nuo make smell good? I feel like even with a shoe sole he could make a bunch of people drool.]
Seeing the time was about right, Ji Nuo first flipped the chestnut beef with the spatula, then increased the heat on the earthen stove to reduce the sauce and dish it out.
Just as he was about to call the two to get up, he heard the cub’s milky, loud shout from the room: “Who are you?!”
Ji Nuo smiled and pushed open the door. He saw the cub had pulled the blanket up to his chin, shrinking to the edge of the bed like a maiden violated by a villain, his face showing three parts shock and seven parts fury.
On the other side of the bed lay Han Cheng, his dark eyes half-closed.
The large and small faces had up to a 70% similarity, a resemblance only possible between biological father and son.
Lu Aotian, after recognizing the man’s appearance, quickly figured it out. This was that guy named Han Cheng.
Due to some personal reasons, Lu Aotian actually always held a certain prejudice against the so-called big stars of the entertainment industry. The more popular, the more annoying he found them.
Although he’d been told more than once they looked alike, he’d never bothered to check what the other guy looked like. After all, in his view, Han Cheng sharing some resemblance to him was the other party’s blessing. How could such a minor world background character deserve his extra attention?
The first time seeing Han Cheng, like this, face-to-face at close range, Lu Aotian was also shocked. Wasn’t this just what he would look like grown up?!
Aside from the eye color difference, the corner of Han Cheng’s eyes curved upward slightly in standard peach blossom eyes… plus he had two dimples…
After the initial shock, Lu Aotian’s first reaction was that the damn main system had gotten lazy again. He’d been to too many of these book-based small worlds and encountered model collision situations more than once.
