The two of them walked with their shoulders pressed together. It was getting darker and darker around them. Xiyu glanced around, thinking that no one should be able to notice anything, so he simply let Lu Zhixing hold his hand.
As they entered deeper into the Lost Forest, the temperature grew lower and lower. The trees, which had originally been packed tightly together, also became sparser, and the surroundings became somewhat brighter.
Yu Qian shivered and pulled her leather jacket tighter around herself. “It’s so cold.”
Hearing this, Luo Cheng’an pointed at the bag on his back. “Do you want to take a piece of clothing and put it on?”
“Sure.”
The group stopped. Yu Qian took a jacket out of her backpack and put it on over her leather jacket.
Xiyu was already wearing a thin jacket and felt that he was fine, but he still asked Lu Zhixing, “Are you cold?”
As Xiyu spoke, he had already released Lu Zhixing’s hand. There were no branches around them now, and the sky was getting brighter.
He himself did not care, but it would not be good if Lu Zhixing was filmed.
After all, he was an actor of emperor-level status. If people found out that he had been holding someone else’s hand, it would ultimately be bad for him.
Lu Zhixing’s palm suddenly felt empty. He paused before slowly shaking his head.
【Xi! Yu! You! Better! Keep! Holding! His! Hand!】
【Why did you let go!? Brother Lu is aggrieved!】
【Xiyu! Brother Lu is only secretly holding your hand! He just wants to hold your hand! He’s not asking for the stars in the sky! Why won’t you satisfy him!?】
【Don’t ship them! Brother Lu is just scared. The Lost Forest is so dark. They’re just holding hands because they’re good friends.】
【Agreed. If it were me, I’d be scared too. Whenever I go to a haunted house with my friends, we hold hands to ease our fear. Isn’t Luo Cheng’an also scared enough to scream his head off?】
“There’s a stream!”
After changing her clothes, Yu Qian heard Shen Linchuan’s voice. She hurriedly followed him, leaving her backpack with even its zipper still open.
Luo Cheng’an zipped up Yu Qian’s backpack and placed it beside him. “Brother, Brother Lu, let’s go take a look too.”
Xiyu nodded and put his bag on the ground.
Lu Zhixing also tossed his bag aside.
【Honestly, I’ve gone from being a gray fan to a light-gray fan of Raccoon Cat. He seems especially good at taking care of people. He’s been carrying Yu Qian’s backpack the whole way. When Yu Qian felt embarrassed halfway through and wanted to switch with him, he said that this kind of rough work should be done by a man. He seems so well-mannered.】
【So considerate. He put Beauty Yu’s bag on top of his own, probably because he was afraid the mud on the ground would dirty her bag. I’m shipping it, I’m shipping it.】
【LOL, he’s really putting on an act. Who doesn’t know that Raccoon Cat bullied Shushu? He’s just performing for the drone. Only an idiot would believe it.】
【Didn’t Luo Shujing explain it before? He was the one who requested that they really hit each other, so Luo Cheng’an actually hit him during filming.】
【LOL, only an idiot would believe that. Actors make a living off their faces. When Shushu clarified things, his face was horribly swollen. That was filming? Speechless. Raccoon Cat fans, can you stop trying to whitewash it?】
【Who’s whitewashing anything? Luo Cheng’an doesn’t even have fans. We’re just discussing the matter itself.】
Xiyu watched as the golden aura around Luo Cheng’an grew increasingly dense and pushed Lu Zhixing toward him.
It was all merit.
Absorbing it would not be a loss.
“What a huge box! Is that it? Ah—…” Luo Cheng’an spotted an airdrop supply box on the other side of the stream and hurried to the bank. Before he could finish speaking excitedly, his foot slipped, and he was about to fall into the water.
Xiyu’s heart jumped.
Although the stream was not deep, it was so cold inside the Lost Forest. Getting soaked in this weather would not be good.
But he was some distance away. He instinctively wanted to use spiritual power to steady Luo Cheng’an, but when he saw Lu Zhixing’s movement, he suddenly stopped.
Lu Zhixing reacted extremely quickly and grabbed Luo Cheng’an. Just as he was about to let go, he saw Xiyu angrily walking toward them, his gaze fixed on Luo Cheng’an.
He was not looking at him.
Lu Zhixing pressed his lips together, and a dark glint flashed through his eyes. The next second, he released Luo Cheng’an’s hand and, as though he had lost his footing, leaned backward with the momentum and fell into the stream.
“Lu Zhixing!”
“Brother Lu!”
“Oh! Emperor Lu!”
The cries of alarm sounded simultaneously. Xiyu went around Luo Cheng’an, ran into the water, and pulled Lu Zhixing up, his expression anxious. “Are you hurt?”
The vessel could not be allowed to bleed. Once it bled and its body became weakened, it would be easier for the murderous aura to control it.
“Holy crap.” Luo Cheng’an blamed himself. “Brother Lu! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault.”
Lu Zhixing was soaked from head to toe, and his face was somewhat pale. He shook his head at Xiyu, his brows and eyes lowered, looking utterly pitiful.
Xiyu was still worried. He walked around him and checked him from head to toe. Only after confirming that he had not been scratched by any stones did he let go.
Luo Shujing had already taken his own towel from his bag and handed it to Lu Zhixing. “Brother Lu, dry yourself off quickly, or you’ll catch a cold.”
Lu Zhixing shook his head. His tone was gentle, making it impossible to find fault with him. “I’m not used to using other people’s things.”
After saying that, Lu Zhixing walked to the bank and began wringing the water out of his clothes.
Luo Shujing’s hand tightened around the towel, becoming somewhat stiff.
【Raccoon Cat, do you have ADHD or something!? You pulled him and made my Brother Lu fall into the water! Brother Lu is too kind!】
【Beauty Yu was so cold that she had to put on another jacket. I don’t even want to imagine how cold Brother Lu must be after that.】
【Change your clothes quickly! Don’t catch a cold!!!】
【Shushu is beautiful and kind-hearted. Emperor Lu is being a little rude, isn’t he? He made things so awkward for him.】
【Go upstairs and look at the previous incident. Brother Lu was injured on set before, and someone from the same production poured sulfuric acid into the saline solution meant for Brother Lu. Fortunately, Brother Lu smelled something strange and it was discovered in time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Ever since then, Brother Lu hasn’t used other people’s things. Everyone in the entertainment industry knows this.】
【That incident caused such a huge uproar. Didn’t Luo Shujing say he was a fan of Lu Zhixing? He didn’t know about this? Could it have just been commercial flattery…?】
Yu Qian had sung the opening theme for one of Luo Shujing’s dramas, so the two had interacted before. She hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. “Shujing, Linchuan, let’s go over and see what supplies are there. I’m hungry too.”
There was a time display on the communicator. It was already noon, and after walking for half a day, everyone was hungry.
Shen Linchuan rolled up his pant legs. “Let’s go.”
…………………..
The stream was very shallow, and they did not need many people on the other side to retrieve the supplies. Xiyu did not go over. Instead, he moved closer to Lu Zhixing. “Change your clothes. Otherwise, you’ll catch a chill.”
Lu Zhixing acknowledged him and took a set of clothes from his bag. Just as he was about to change, he suddenly noticed an extremely faint red light flashing somewhere.
He focused his gaze. There was a very faint light source in the corner. He waited several seconds, and it flashed again.
Lu Zhixing paused with his hand on his jacket.
Xiyu frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Zhixing gave an ambiguous smile and slowly said, “There’s a drone. I’ll change later.”
Luo Cheng’an felt especially guilty. If he had not pulled him, Lu Zhixing would not have fallen into the water. Hearing this, he hurriedly waved at the drone. “Brother Lu, I’ll take the drone away. Change your clothes!”
The drone followed wherever there were more people. Luo Cheng’an ran toward the supplies, and when the drone detected that there were more people across the stream, it flew over.
Xiyu turned his back. “I’ll watch the drone for you. Go ahead and change.”
Lu Zhixing stared at Xiyu’s back. The blue-green color Xiyu was wearing was especially demanding. Even slightly darker skin would not be able to carry off this color.
But a section of Xiyu’s nape was jade-white. The sunlight, not particularly harsh, fell upon him, seeming to sprinkle a circle of soft light around him.
It was as though Xiyu himself were glowing.
Lu Zhixing tilted his head. The words he wanted to say about there being miniature cameras elsewhere were swallowed back down.
He picked up the towel and leisurely dried his hair, speaking with great fussiness. “I don’t like taking off my clothes in an open place like this.”
Xiyu turned his head. “You’re pretty particular.”
Lu Zhixing said, “Chastity is a man’s best dowry. Other than myself, only my partner can see my body. Even the birds flying around here aren’t allowed.”
Seeing that he truly had no intention of changing, Xiyu leaned against the tree trunk. When he saw that the drone had not come over, he let out a snort and lowered his voice teasingly. “When you climbed through my window to find me in the middle of the night, and came out after showering with your collar wide open, why didn’t you say anything about protecting your dowry then?”
Lu Zhixing smiled. His pitch-black pupils seemed to have caught a handful of stardust, filled with tiny fragments of light.
He said nothing, simply staring into Xiyu’s eyes.
Xiyu smiled carelessly and looked directly at Lu Zhixing, waiting for him to speak.
But Lu Zhixing merely smiled, with an indescribable meaning in his expression.
Xiyu’s heartbeat suddenly became very fast. Suddenly and uncontrollably, something seemed to spread out from his chest.
It was a very subtle feeling of something being off. Before Xiyu could think about what it was, a shout interrupted him.
“Brother!!! Come over quickly, there’s good food!”
Xiyu suddenly came back to his senses. He instinctively took a step back, breaking eye contact with Lu Zhixing. “If you’re not changing your clothes, then let’s eat.”
Xiyu hurriedly ran to the other side, and only then did his frantic heartbeat gradually settle.
How strange. Why was his heart beating so fast?
【Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!! Am I hearing things!?】
【Are we allowed to hear this??????】
【Don’t listen! They’re just good friends who occasionally stay over at each other’s places. Don’t stir things up.】
【The Xing fans can’t even wash this one away. They’re just blindly insisting they’re good friends.】
【Anyway, my good friend usually doesn’t climb through my window. He uses the front door.】
【My mom doesn’t approve of me dating my boyfriend. Sometimes my boyfriend secretly climbs into my family’s yard to see me. Once my mom caught him and beat him until he screamed.】
【No, seriously, is Lu Zhixing a peacock or something? Is he showing off? He totally is! One second he’s saying even flying birds can’t look, and the next Xiyu exposes him for coming out after a shower without his clothes properly fastened. What does that mean!? Xiyu doesn’t know! But do I not understand!?】
【That smile Brother Lu gave just now was kind of suggestive. Who understands me!? Who understands me!? I’m a psychology major. If this isn’t flirting, I’ll eat dirt.】
【Same field as the person above. Not a fan of either side, but Lu Zhixing was obviously saying it on purpose, waiting for Xiyu to respond. That smile and that ambiguous atmosphere came up all at once. Xiyu is probably single to the point of never having dated. Lu Zhixing was being that direct and he still didn’t get it.】
【Emperor Lu’s move just now was basically winking at a blind man.】
Blind Xiyu, after seeing the “good food,” genuinely wished he could gouge his own eyes out. He pointed at the live fish and the plucked chicken and asked, “Good food?”
Luo Cheng’an nodded firmly. “It’ll be delicious once it’s cooked.”