The pan-fried soup dumpling restaurant they wanted to visit was extremely popular. To avoid being photographed or surrounded by fans, Xie Shaoqian got out of the car, bought the food for them, and then drove them straight home.
After changing into comfortable clothes, they plated the dumplings, brewed a pot of green tea, and settled in to enjoy a leisurely afternoon together.
People never really got full at those grand opening banquets, and Xu Tang was already hungry, so he ate with complete concentration.
Watching him, Zong Xuan asked,
“Tang Tang… has my charm gone down in your eyes?”
Xu Tang looked up at him.
“No. You’re doing great.”
“Then why weren’t you jealous?”
Naturally, he was referring to Teng Yizheng.
Taking a bite from the crispy bottom of a dumpling, Xu Tang said,
“Probably because you’ve been behaving so well lately? If your attitude had been unclear, I might’ve been upset. But the way you are now… I don’t think there’s any reason for me to make trouble over nothing.”
“Tang Tang, sometimes you’re so sensible that it makes me feel like I’m not that important to you.”
“Really?”
Xu Tang blinked, bit off the crispy bottom of another dumpling, then dropped the rest into Zong Xuan’s plate.
“Then I’ll eat the bottoms, and you eat the tops.”
Xu Tang had always thought the crispy bottoms were the best part.
Zong Xuan laughed.
“Deal.”
Of course, Xu Tang didn’t eat every single crispy bottom—just a few.
Even so, he felt completely satisfied.
“If we’re going to film the show, we’ll have to postpone our travel plans.”
Sipping his tea, Zong Xuan sounded a little regretful.
Xu Tang didn’t mind much.
“We’re filming overseas anyway. That still counts as traveling.”
“How is that the same?” Zong Xuan objected. “The hotels the production team books are packed with cameras. The only thing we’ll be able to do is lie under the covers fully dressed and chat.”
He’d never participated in a show like this before, but he knew exactly what the accommodations would be like.
Xu Tang’s face immediately reddened.
“That’s… that’s fine too.”
“Fine?” Zong Xuan protested. “It completely prevents me from proving myself.”
“Proving what?”
Xu Tang looked puzzled.
“Obviously that I’m well-endowed and amazing in bed.”
Only at moments like this did the shameless rogue in him truly emerge.
“…”
Xu Tang hadn’t expected the conversation to take such a sharp turn.
“Don’t glare at me. I’m not discriminating against you. You’re pretty well-proportioned yourself.”
“…”
The Shape of Love would begin filming in the couples’ homes.
As for which celebrities had joined the new season, no one would know until everyone gathered at the airport.
That was intentional—the production team wanted to capture everyone’s genuine reactions.
Early that morning, the camera crew assigned to follow them knocked on their front door.
The two of them were eating breakfast when the crew arrived.
Zong Xuan answered the door.
“Welcome.”
He greeted them with a gentlemanly smile.
The assistant traveling with the crew smiled back.
“Good morning, Best Actor Zong. Where’s Xu Tang?”
“Having breakfast. Please come in.”
The crew followed him inside and into the dining room.
When Xu Tang saw them, he smiled.
“So? Any insider information you can leak to us in advance?”
He’d never filmed this kind of program before, but knowing something ahead of time was always helpful.
The assistant answered with perfect sincerity.
“None at all! To prevent us from leaking anything, we don’t know anything either. We didn’t even get your home address until this morning. Luckily it wasn’t hard to find, or we might not have made it here on time.”
“They’re keeping things this secret?”
Xu Tang laughed.
“You’re not plotting something, are you?”
“Of course not! We’re an extremely honest program.”
Xu Tang looked her over before nodding seriously.
“I can tell just by looking at you.”
Since the assistant wasn’t the host, she couldn’t appear on camera. She remained behind the cameras while speaking.
“Would it be all right if we looked around your house?”
The request was already written into the contract.
Neither Zong Xuan nor Xu Tang minded.
“Go ahead.”
One camera operator headed upstairs while the other stayed in the dining room to continue filming breakfast.
Without the assistant present, the cameraman wasn’t responsible for asking or answering questions.
So the two simply continued eating.
“This pancake mix tastes pretty good.”
It was the first time they’d tried this particular brand.
“I’ll try yours.”
Zong Xuan’s pancakes were covered in maple syrup—his usual preference.
Xu Tang’s had chocolate sauce and several sliced strawberries.
Xu Tang enjoyed experimenting with different flavors.
If it hadn’t been breakfast, he’d probably have added a huge scoop of vanilla soft-serve ice cream too.
Xu Tang cut off a piece with a strawberry on top and fed it directly into Zong Xuan’s mouth.
After tasting it, Zong Xuan declared that he still preferred his own.
“Your way lacks layers of flavor.”
Xu Tang shook his head.
It wasn’t bad.
It just wasn’t interesting enough.
Looking at him, Zong Xuan smiled.
“Sometimes food is like love. It doesn’t need endless variety. Simple is best—as long as it’s something you truly like.”
He wasn’t saying it for the cameras.
The thought had simply occurred to him.
Really…
He was saying it only for Xu Tang to hear.
“I’m very loyal.”
Xu Tang looked a little embarrassed while eating.
“I know.”
Zong Xuan smiled.
It was both handsome and warm enough that Xu Tang found himself unable to look away.
The cameraman was delighted.
Xu Tang was mortified.
Only Zong Xuan thought everything was perfectly normal.
Who else could turn something this trivial into a profound life lesson?
At that moment, the cameraman and assistant returned from upstairs.
Smiling, the assistant asked,
“I noticed your house has two bedrooms, and neither looks like a guest room. Which one do you usually sleep in?”
For one brief instant…
Zong Xuan wanted to negotiate with the production team and send this assistant back to farming.
Xu Tang, however, answered calmly.
“We sleep in the room on the second floor.”
He smiled.
“When I’m angry, I sleep upstairs on the third floor.”
Nowadays he really did sleep on the second floor most of the time.
Only when inspiration struck and he stayed up late writing songs—without wanting Zong Xuan to disturb him—would he sleep in the third-floor room instead.
“So what usually makes you angry?”
the assistant asked.
“Nothing much.”
Xu Tang smiled.
“If someone interrupts me while I’m writing songs.”
“Has Zong Xuan ever gotten angry?”
Xu Tang thought about it before smiling.
“Actually… no.”
Zong Xuan took over.
“Tang Tang isn’t really angry.”
“Creative people have certain requirements when it comes to their environment. That’s something that deserves understanding and support.”
“Sometimes I tease him without knowing when to stop.”
“Then he locks me downstairs.”
Xu Tang chuckled softly.
Although they hadn’t gone all the way yet, ever since they’d shared their first kiss, Zong Xuan constantly looked for opportunities to kiss him.
Sometimes they’d be watching a movie in the media room.
By the time Zong Xuan finished kissing him…
Xu Tang couldn’t remember a single thing the movie had been about.
His heart was sweet.
But there was also the tiniest bit of annoyance.
After breakfast, it was almost time to leave.
The two changed clothes, wheeled their suitcases outside, and followed the production team’s vehicles to the airport.
Whether it had been deliberately arranged or they had simply taken longer than everyone else, they arrived last.
The other celebrity guests were already waiting inside the VIP lounge.
The first person Xu Tang saw when he walked in…
…was He Xin.
He Xin looked just as surprised.
“Wow! It’s actually you and Best Actor Zong?!”
Xu Tang smiled.
“They actually invited you too?”
With He Xin there, his nervousness immediately eased.
Although Zong Xuan and Yue Yan were also somewhat surprised, they calmly greeted each other.
He Xin grabbed Xu Tang’s hand.
His grip was surprisingly tight.
But it clearly wasn’t directed at Xu Tang.
Xu Tang noticed something was off but didn’t react.
Instead, he casually turned to greet everyone else.
Among the “everyone else”…
…he unexpectedly saw Yu Lun.
He was definitely surprised.
But at Xu Tang’s current status, there was no need to argue with someone at Yu Lun’s level.
Not caring enough to argue…
Didn’t mean forgiving him.
Some things simply couldn’t be let go.
There was no point pretending to be magnanimous.
Still, they were filming a television show.
His personal dislike of Yu Lun was one thing.
Broadcasting that dislike to the entire country was another.
Fortunately, this show didn’t require much interaction between the guests.
Yu Lun wouldn’t really get in his way.
Xu Tang couldn’t help thinking the production team lacked common sense.
Putting Yu Lun in the same season as them…
Wasn’t that asking for trouble?
If anything…
They were making things difficult for Yu Lun.
Zong Xuan spotted Yu Lun as well.
His expression immediately cooled.
Given his status, even if cameras captured his displeasure, the production team would obediently edit it out.
Yu Lun, on the other hand, had an impressively thick skin.
He greeted them as though nothing had ever happened.
Besides Yu Lun, the remaining guests included Ai Ya, Zhou Xing, and Chen Tina.
Zhou Xing and Chen Tina had been together for many years.
That wasn’t a secret.
Their fans all knew about it.
The two had always kept a low profile, focusing mainly on television dramas.
They were respected actors with solid reputations and were generally well liked.
That left…
Yu Lun and Ai Ya.
…That didn’t seem right.
Everyone exchanged greetings.
Although Xu Tang was puzzled, he didn’t ask.
If he wanted answers, asking He Xin later would be much more reliable.
His guess…
Was that they were a fake couple.
As for what the production team was thinking…
He had no idea.
There was still plenty of time before boarding.
Xie Shaoqian went to buy coffee for Zong Xuan and Xu Tang.
The program allowed assistants to accompany the celebrities, but each couple could only bring one assistant.
Since Yuan Shang was still recovering, Xie Shaoqian had come instead.
Zong Xuan had always been generous toward his assistants.
Expenses like coffee were reimbursed through the studio, so Xie Shaoqian didn’t have to spend his own money as long as he stayed within the budget.
“So where’s our host?”
He Xin asked while watching the crew pack away equipment.
One assistant smiled.
“The host arrived at the filming location yesterday.”
Every season had a different host.
None of them were professional hosts.
Which often made for some hilarious moments.
Zong Xuan accepted the coffee from Xie Shaoqian, poured in a packet of sugar, and shared it with Xu Tang.
Although the cup had a cardboard sleeve, it was still rather hot.
Not wanting Xu Tang to burn himself, Zong Xuan fed him himself.
He Xin clicked his tongue.
“Ugh. That’s the stench of romance.”
Xu Tang smiled at him.
“Isn’t this exactly what you used to do to me with Brother Yan?”
“I didn’t expect the payback to come this quickly.”
He Xin shrugged.
Seeing how happy Xu Tang looked now genuinely made him happy too.
Everyone present knew how close He Xin and Xu Tang were.
No one took the teasing seriously.
They all laughed it off.
The celebrity guests all flew first class.
The staff flew economy.
After boarding, He Xin walked over and asked to switch seats with Zong Xuan.
It had been quite a while since Zong Xuan had seen Yue Yan.
Seeing that Xu Tang also wanted to sit with He Xin, he happily exchanged seats.
Boarding was still noisy.
The two friends leaned their heads together and spoke quietly, without worrying about anyone overhearing.
“Holy crap.”
He Xin lowered his voice.
“You have no idea. The moment I saw Yu Lun today, I almost exploded. Good thing Yue Yan grabbed me, or things would’ve gotten ugly.”
“I was surprised too.”
Xu Tang sighed.
“I have no idea what the production team was thinking. I guess there really won’t be much interaction between guests. Otherwise they never would’ve dared invite him.”
Without interaction…
There was no risk of them making things difficult for Yu Lun or creating awkward scenes.
“This production team is seriously shameless.”
He Xin rolled his eyes.
“They already landed you and Zong Xuan, and that still wasn’t enough. They just had to throw in an awkward guy like Yu Lun. They’re terrified the show won’t have enough drama.”
He had little respect for production teams like this.
No matter how high the ratings…
It couldn’t hide the selfish motives behind their guest selection.
This alone would probably generate plenty of gossip later.
“I thought you said Yu Lun was with that Young Master Sun?”
Xu Tang asked.
“How did he suddenly end up dating Ai Ya? I never heard anything about it.”
“It’s fake.”
He Xin answered without hesitation.
“They paired up temporarily just to get on the show.”
“They can actually do that?”
“Why not?”
He Xin shrugged.
“You don’t work in the variety show industry. You have no idea how bizarre things can get.”
Lowering his voice even further, he continued,
“Ai Ya’s manager and Yu Lun’s manager are cousins.”
“And why do you think Ai Ya became so famous?”
“Why do you think she gets such incredible resources?”
“The president of her company is backing her.”
“He’s way more influential than Young Master Sun.”
“Now think about it.”
“The fact that both of them made it onto the show…”
“Who knows what kind of shady deals happened behind the scenes?”
Ai Ya was currently one of the top five traffic actresses in the industry.
She had starred in countless dramas and movies.
Most of them had been critically panned.
Yet thanks to her beautiful face, she’d accumulated an enormous fanbase and commanded outrageously high paychecks.
The marketing machine and carefully crafted public image behind her…
Were far beyond what an ordinary management team could afford.
“I understand why Yu Lun wants to use this to make a comeback.”
Xu Tang frowned.
“But what does Ai Ya gain?”
Around He Xin, Xu Tang had never been embarrassed to ask questions when he didn’t know something.
He Xin smirked.
“Think about it.”
“With Ai Ya’s current status, choosing someone less famous than herself…”
“Doesn’t that make it look like everything she achieved came through her own hard work instead of the rumors about her sleeping with powerful men?”
Xu Tang sighed.
“This industry is such a mess.”
He Xin rolled his eyes.
“Sorry.”
“You’re part of this industry too.”
At that moment, the flight attendants had all taken their positions.
The two stopped talking.
They decided they’d text each other later instead.
Much safer.