Yu Qian and Luo Cheng’an couldn’t bear to be separated from Xi Yu. Luo Cheng’an had always been this way, while Yu Qian only realized after Xi Yu’s talismans drove back the swarm of snakes that he was a powerful ally and had to cling tightly to him.
On top of that, after enjoying the past few days of the happiness that came from following Xi Yu around and having nothing to worry about, she no longer wanted to leave his side.
She had come out to have fun. She certainly didn’t want anything to happen to her.
Since the girls were going, Shen Linchuan and Lu Zhixing naturally followed along as well.
The stream babbled softly, its waters clear enough to see straight to the bottom.
Shen Linchuan used his clothes to make a makeshift net.
Luo Cheng’an rolled up his pants and went catching crabs.
Yu Qian shrank back from the icy water. She helped Luo Cheng’an out, looking around to see whether there were any other places with shrimp, crabs, or the like. Her big head of loose, wavy hair was somewhat messy.
Seeing everyone busy and not wanting to sit idle, Lu Zhixing was about to go catch fish when Xi Yu pulled him back.
Lu Zhixing lowered his eyes, a flicker passing through them.
Xi Yu sneakily glanced toward the others. Aside from the two people in the water and Shen Linchuan, who was making the net, the only person left was Luo Shujing, who was picking up dead leaves.
After making sure none of them were looking at him and Lu Zhixing—and that the drone wasn’t here either—Xi Yu magically pulled out a spirit fruit and placed it in Lu Zhixing’s hand.
“Here.”
Lu Zhixing blinked and slowly accepted the spirit fruit.
“You’re only giving one to me. Wouldn’t it be bad if the others found out?”
Although Lu Zhixing said that, he held the fruit in his hand without the slightest awareness that he had been given special treatment. He openly took a bite, a smile spreading across his lips.
But before that smile could fully spread, Xi Yu gave him a shove, forcing him behind a tree.
“Keep your voice down! Of course it’d be bad. Eat it secretly.”
Although the spirit fruit contained spiritual energy, its appearance was no different from an ordinary fruit, except that it was fuller and prettier.
If someone saw it—especially Luo Cheng’an—wouldn’t the whole place be turned upside down?
It wasn’t that Xi Yu was unwilling to let others eat it.
Fine, he really was unwilling.
But that wasn’t the main reason.
After ordinary people ate spirit fruits, they could extend their lifespans and cleanse and strengthen their bodies. However, before that happened, most people would develop a fever and fall unconscious because they couldn’t withstand the spiritual energy. Once they recovered, it would be as though they had been reborn.
As a vessel, Lu Zhixing wouldn’t have any of those reactions.
But others were different.
Xi Yu was afraid that after giving someone one, they would develop a fever and fall unconscious. If the drone filmed it, wouldn’t everyone think he’d poisoned them?
Xi Yu had already suffered because he didn’t know about the hidden cameras. If he had known, he wouldn’t even have given Lu Zhixing one!
The moment Xi Yu gave Lu Zhixing the spirit fruit, the comments once again flooded the screen so quickly that they became impossible to read.
【Wait, where did Yu Bao pull that fruit out of?】
【Xi Yu: Eat it secretly!】
【Brother Lu: It’s something you’re giving only to me, isn’t it~】
【I hereby declare that Suixing Suoyu is the absolute best!】
【Before the show started, my impression of Yu Bao was: hanger-on.
Then it became: buddy.
And now I’ve become the captain of the Suixing Suoyu ship.】
【I used to say I didn’t like shipping couples. Looking at myself now, I really was pretending.】
【Hahahahahaha, Brother Lu was definitely about to show off that fruit, right? And then Yu Bao shoved him behind the tree.】
Xi Yu sneakily watched the river while urging Lu Zhixing to hurry up and eat.
“How come I never noticed before that you’re such a slow eater?” Xi Yu anxiously watched Luo Cheng’an, who had already come ashore.
Lu Zhixing leaned against the tree trunk as he ate the fruit, his gaze falling on Xi Yu’s opening and closing lips.
They were vividly red, and so was the tip of his tongue.
The spirit fruit was sweet and sour, its abundant juice bursting inside his mouth.
It shouldn’t have made him thirsty.
Yet his throat itched, his mouth and tongue dry.
No matter how many spirit fruits he ate, they couldn’t suppress the thirst.
Seeing that Luo Cheng’an was about to run toward him, Xi Yu raised a foot, intending to go meet him and draw him away.
Suddenly, his arm tightened.
The next moment, his back was pressed against the hard tree trunk.
Lu Zhixing moved too quickly for Xi Yu to react. All he saw was Lu Zhixing’s face suddenly enlarging before him.
Xi Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
An indescribable sense of panic seeped into his nerves, making him instinctively darken his expression.
It was the fierce look of someone whose boundaries had been violated.
“Lu Zhixing! Let go—”
“I can’t finish it.”
Their voices sounded at the same time: Xi Yu’s sharp and angry voice, and Lu Zhixing’s slow, gentle one.
Clearly, Xi Yu’s voice was louder, but Lu Zhixing’s tone was too strange—slightly troubled, yet almost like he was acting spoiled.
Xi Yu suddenly realized what was strange.
It was Lu Zhixing’s posture.
Lu Zhixing had trapped Xi Yu against the tree in a classic wall-pin pose, then raised the spirit fruit in his hand and pressed it against Xi Yu’s lips.
They were far too close. The sweet fragrance of the spirit fruit had already seeped into Xi Yu’s nose.
And it wasn’t just the fruit that was close.
Lu Zhixing’s slightly lowered forehead was close too, his breath passing over the fruit and brushing against Xi Yu’s eyelashes.
…………………..
Xi Yu’s heartbeat stumbled once, then began pounding violently.
Behind the thick tree trunk, there was a moment of silence.
Xi Yu’s eyelashes trembled. The unfamiliar, uncomfortable sensation left him unusually bewildered. He moved his lips, about to speak.
“Brother! Brother Lu! What are you guys doing? We caught so many crabs! Come on, come on~”
Luo Cheng’an’s voice was clear and full of delight.
【I’ve gone from Luo Cheng’an fan to light fan. He’s such a hardcore brother-con! He’s interrupting the little couple’s romance.】
【Luo Cheng’an is like someone watching a Korean webtoon, only to have a 401 (wilted) pop up.】
【I just saw a sentence on Brother Lu’s face.】
【I know what you mean! Is it: “That little mouth of yours just won’t stop. You don’t understand, so I want to kiss you.”】
【Beauty Yu has completely let loose on this variety show. She’s terrified but still catching crabs with her bare hands, while having to keep herself from screaming to protect her voice. She’s so cute, hahahahaha.】
【If Brother Lu can’t finish it, I’ll eat shit.】
【What I used to see on Brother Lu was acting skills, looks, and charisma. Now all I can see are the words “green tea.”】
【Xi Yu has been completely reeled in. When you guys ship them, I couldn’t get into it. I always felt Xi Yu was pretty straight, but Xi Yu actually—froze!】
【I really want to give Luo Cheng’an a couple of solid punches.】
Completely unaware that he’d been designated as a third wheel, Luo Cheng’an continued calling excitedly.
“Brother! Come look at my crabs! It’s my first time catching crabs!”
Luo Cheng’an’s extremely excited voice drowned out Xi Yu’s suddenly accelerated heartbeat and pulled him out of his momentary helplessness.
Xi Yu glanced at Lu Zhixing, then lowered his head and bit down on the spirit fruit. He finished it in a few bites, threw the pit onto the ground, and didn’t forget to cover it with a leaf. Mumbling indistinctly, he complained, “You can’t even finish this? You’re grown so big for nothing.”
After swallowing the last bite of the spirit fruit, Xi Yu ducked out from beneath Lu Zhixing’s arm and called out loudly, “Are the crabs fat?”
“Absolutely!”
Luo Cheng’an showed Xi Yu the net.
Most of the crabs this season were male crabs, and they were very plump.
Xi Yu took another look at the small shrimp mixed in among them and was satisfied.
Completely natural and pollution-free—though they did have a little demonic aura.
Still, it wasn’t a big problem.
Xi Yu casually tapped the net a few times with his hand as he walked, discussing with Luo Cheng’an how they should cook them.
Lu Zhixing trailed behind. He patted the bits of bark from the tree trunk off his hands and stared at the backs of the two walking side by side.
After a long while, he gave a derisive chuckle.
There was only one pot. Xi Yu lit the fire, then left everything else to Luo Cheng’an.
Luo Cheng’an poured water into the pot, then added the shrimp. He picked up several pieces of tree branch to use as a steaming rack and placed the crabs on top.
The pot wasn’t very large, and they had caught quite a lot, so they would need two batches to cook everything.
Xi Yu figured it would take a while, so he crawled into the tent to rest.
Lu Zhixing squatted beside the pot, occasionally adding another dead branch to the fire.
Luo Cheng’an sat opposite Lu Zhixing, chatting with Yu Qian, while Shen Linchuan occasionally chimed in.
Only Luo Shujing sat in the shadows, head lowered, inconspicuous beneath the drone.
【Shushu has been so quiet these past two days. It feels like he’s being ostracized.】
【+1. Ever since Shushu suggested splitting into three groups, the others haven’t really talked to him much.】
【Don’t turn everything into some conspiracy theory, okay? Whenever they’re going somewhere, they ask him about it. He’s the one who doesn’t take the initiative to talk. Haven’t you Jing fans always said Luo Shujing is indifferent and pure, shy and innocent? Why did nobody say he was being bullied before, but now that he’s quiet, he’s suddenly being bullied? Who’s bullying him?】
【Why are you so triggered? Did that hit a sore spot? Luo Cheng’an, Xi Yu, and Lu Zhixing have all initiated conversations with him several times. Yu Qian and Shen Linchuan are just a little better about it. I really can’t stand watching this. I didn’t feel anything toward Luo Shujing before, but seeing this, I really feel sorry for him.】
【Leave my Brother Lu out of this, thanks. And don’t say another word about Brother Lu’s personality. He’s always been like this. Aside from Xi Yu, he hardly ever initiates conversations with anyone, okay? But he’ll respond whenever someone talks to him. He treats everyone equally.】
【Don’t you dare talk about my Brother Lu. He may bully us fans, but he’s never bullied anyone else!】
【The most obvious one is Luo Cheng’an. Unless absolutely necessary, he basically won’t say a word to Shushu. They’re cousins, so shouldn’t they be more familiar with each other than the others?】
【I’ve wanted to say this for a long time to all you people who became Luo Cheng’an fans after watching two days of the variety show. Just now, Shushu arranged the tent assignments with the bigger picture in mind. Did you all go blind when you saw Luo Cheng’an’s expression of resistance? Microexpressions don’t lie. With all his past history, and you people still—】
【Screw your “lips.” If Luo Shujing were being bullied, would he have asked to live together with three people himself?】
【Before catching crabs, didn’t they say the three of them had a good relationship? How are they suddenly bullying him again? (black person confused face)】
【No one said anything, so I hadn’t noticed either. But now that you mention it, I thought about it. What the person above said is admittedly extreme, but Luo Cheng’an and Xi Yu really haven’t talked much with Luo Shujing. Let’s put Xi Yu aside for now. Given Luo Cheng’an’s personality, how can he be this quiet around him? He can probably strike up a conversation with even an ant on the ground. If they had a good relationship, shouldn’t it be like that?】
【Bullies, get out, okay? Luo Cheng’an’s persona can’t hold up anymore. He’s playing the “pretend to be a pig while eating the tiger” game pretty well, treating you all like idiots.】
【It’s seriously disgusting. Luo Cheng’an used to be jealous that Shushu was more popular than him and isolated him on set. Now he’s doing the same thing again, and some people still can’t see it. Hilarious.】