Chapter 33: Safeword
When the day of the camping trip arrived, the group set off carrying their equipment under the urging of the production team.
Even though the preparation time left by the production team was sufficient, there was still some chaotic panic involved, with almost everyone repeatedly checking if their camping gear was complete.
The road up the mountain wasn’t very far. The hut itself was located halfway up the mountain, but because they were carrying a lot of equipment, their speed was relatively slow.
Each pair carried their own gear.
Xie Shibai was just about to grab the backpack when Lu Ciheng beat him to it.
“Don’t touch such heavy things.” Lu Ciheng carried the tent and other items steadily by himself, as if the iron frame supporting the tent had no weight at all, like it was made of plastic.
Wearing a black mountaineering suit, his height of 1.93 meters made it look less like he was climbing a mountain and more like he was on a runway, causing Xie Shibai to take a few extra glances.
Climbing a mountain path was different from flat ground, after all. Xie Shibai originally wanted to help, but Lu Ciheng righteously refused, stating that he didn’t need to do these things.
Compared to Lu Cihengās relaxed leisure, the other groups were relatively miserable.
Although the program team had suppressed the prices, the tents they prepared weren’t cheap to begin with. Added to the weight of various support frames, it wasn’t light. Climbing with the load required two people to cooperate and share the work.
Li You had just finished arguing with Su Xingran about how to distribute the backpacks. As they started climbing, he saw Xie Shibai walking next to Lu Ciheng, carrying nothing, and suddenly felt a bit angry.
Lu Ciheng felt this division of labor was fine, and the netizens in the livestream were long used to it and felt it was fine too.
On the contrary, Li You got angrier the more he looked, feeling that Lu Ciheng had it tough, yet Xie Shibai didn’t even help at a time like this.
Su Xingran was also speechless, but he had to perform in front of the camera and couldn’t tear off his face with Li You directly. Glancing in Lu Cihengās direction, a sudden feeling of envy surged.
Putting aside whether he could carry it or not, he also wanted to carry things for Xie Shibai.
After climbing up, the production team let everyone freely choose a tent location. The setup area basically had everything needed for tents. After choosing a spot, Lu Ciheng specially unfolded an outdoor chair for Xie Shibai to sit on. Since the temperature on the mountain was on the low side, he even poured Xie Shibai a cup of hot water to warm his stomach.
The livestream watched in awe.
[So considerate. No wonder he’s called the Number One Simp.] [They are really too shippable! Who dares say they don’t match!] [No, just letting my LCH do all this work alone? Why doesn’t XSB help?] [Do you even need to ask? LCH can’t bear to let him; he loves him super much.] [Barely passing. Our White Moonlight deserves to be treated like this!]
Most of the people arguing in the livestream were fans with specific allegiances; passersby just watched happily and didn’t think there was any big problem.
When Lu Ciheng went to get tools and wasn’t around, Li You, who had been following them, couldn’t stand it anymore. He noted the audio equipment, dragged an outdoor chair over, and sat next to Xie Shibai.
Deliberately leaning close to Xie Shibai, he lowered his voice and provoked, “Teacher Xie Shibai, you actually don’t like Brother Lu at all, right? Don’t you feel like you’re superfluous occupying this position when you don’t even like him?”
Although Li You lowered his voice, he overlooked that the audio equipment this time was the outdoor version Director Tan had just swapped ināsuper powerful.
[???? What is he saying?] [Holy crap, sisters in the livestream, turn up the volume! Li You isn’t even pretending anymore? Direct provocation?] [Heard it, heard it! Shocking, this bro wants to be a homewrecker so bad he’s gone crazy. Doesn’t he feel superfluous?] [Is there anything wrong with what Li You said? Isn’t it obvious to everyone that XSB doesn’t like LCH?] [Although they might be a trainee couple, interfering in someone’s relationship is just cheap.] [Li You’s fans really love their fave being a third party.] [Sick of this. Can someone come and pull him away! Where is Lu Ciheng! What is he doing at a time like this? Can’t even guard his cornbread in the doghouse!]
Xie Shibai stopped drinking water and swept a cold glance at Li You.
Before coming, Li You had resisted watching the livestream, only understanding the situation through snippets from trending searches. In those clips, Xie Shibai was impatient with Lu Ciheng every time, as if Lu Ciheng owed him money. Even with the romance exposed, he had to suppress Lu Ciheng with his persona. After two days of recording, Li You was convinced: Xie Shibai didn’t like Lu Ciheng at all and was just stringing him along.
What kind of ‘High Mountain Flower’ persona was he trying to set up?
He didn’t understand what was so good about Xie Shibai that Lu Ciheng would rather be a simp for him.
Li You felt that although he wasn’t incredibly outstanding, he was at least more serious about feelings than Xie Shibai.
“Can you give up this position sooner?”
[Damn you, are you worthy?] [Damn, is no one going to control him? How can he be so shameless!]
Xie Shibai leaned back in his chair, his eyes lifting slightly, indifferent. He just found it a bit funny. “Give it to you?”
Li You: “You don’t care about him at all. As a partner, you are very negligent.”
Xie Shibaiās gaze was icy. “If you have these thoughts, you should go find Lu Ciheng, not say these things in front of me.”
[What does that mean? Brother Xie isn’t worried at all?] [No, brother, at least be a little vigilant!] [Actually, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about…] [True, with LCH’s personality, feels like he’s a submissive b*tch who recognizes his master.]
Li You was a bit surprised, not expecting Xie Shibai to be so calm. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll snatch Brother Lu away?”
Although the marriage between Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng was an agreement, he felt that even if they separated, Lu Ciheng wouldn’t look twice at Li You. Even though Lu Cihengās brain circuitry was strange, Xie Shibai subconsciously felt that Lu Cihengās taste wouldn’t be that bad.
“You don’t go to him, but come to say these things to me insteadāis it because you’re insecure?”
Li You gritted his teeth. “What do you mean? Just you wait and see!”
Soon, Lu Ciheng, whom the livestream had been eagerly awaiting, returned. Having retrieved the tools, he immediately noticed Li You sitting very close to Xie Shibai.
His eyes sank instantly. He was very unhappy about Xie Shibai having close contact with others. He had just fobbed off a Su Xingran, and now here came a Li You.
When Li You noticed Lu Ciheng returning, he immediately stood up nervously. “Brother Lu, do you need help?”
Lu Ciheng swept an icy glance at him. “Is your tent finished?”
Li You mistakenly thought Lu Ciheng was caring about him, though he was surprised at how Lu Cihengās personality suddenly switched from gentle back to cold. He quickly shook his head and said, “Not yet…”
“If not, then hurry back and build it. Are you very idle?”
Lu Ciheng recalled the distance between the two just now. He placed his hand on Xie Shibaiās shoulder, his gaze cold and rejecting. “I don’t like others getting too close to my lover.”
[My lover!!!] [Ahhhh this title is so sweet!] [Emmm, a very expected development.] [This is the Brother Lu we knowācool and reassuring!] [I suddenly understand why XSB told Li You to speak to LCH directly just now, laughing to death.] [No, LCH definitely sees Li You as a rival now hahaha.]
Li You was slightly stunned. Looking at Lu Cihengās hand on Xie Shibaiās shoulder, he hesitated to speak. After meeting Lu Cihengās gaze, he was startled, and an absurd guess floated into his mind.
Lu Ciheng… wouldn’t be treating him as a love rival, right?
Setting up tents was time-consuming. By the time the other groups finished, the sky had already darkened.
After the tents were up, the next step was gathering nearby branches to make a large bonfire.
Since finishing the tent, Lu Ciheng had been sticking to Xie Shibai. “Teacher Xie, what did Li You say to you just now?”
Xie Shibai tossed a branch to Lu Ciheng and said unhurriedly, “He said he wanted to be the third party in your marriage.”
Lu Ciheng paused for a few seconds, then hurriedly leaned in next to Xie Shibai. “Teacher Xie, our marriage can’t have a third party.”
Xie Shibai found Lu Ciheng blocking his view annoying and hummed a response casually. “You’re blocking me.”
Hearing a satisfactory answer, Lu Ciheng followed by Xie Shibaiās side, smiling brightly.
When Xie Shibai bent down to pick up a branch, he looked up and met a pair of dark, round puppy eyes.
The ugly potato puppy had a long stick in its mouth, whining. It looked like it wanted to give it to Xie Shibai, but it happened to be right between two closely spaced trees.
The branch the puppy was holding was too heavy, and it seemed stubborn, determined to come out through this specific gap between the trees. But every time, the branch in its mouth got stuck, making it whine anxiously.
Xie Shibai glanced at the empty space right next to it: “…”
Lu Ciheng squatted down slightly, unable to resist a chuckle. “Looks like a potato and has a dumb brain too. There are no trees right next to you, yet you insist on getting stuck between these two?”
Potato the puppy couldn’t understand, but subconsciously assumed they weren’t good words, and barked back a few times.
Lu Ciheng flicked the puppy’s head. “Quite a temper.”
Potato bared its teeth at Lu Ciheng, then wagged its tail frantically at Xie Shibai.
Xie Shibai squatted down and patted the little local dog’s round head, giving the back of its head a few extra strokes.
The little local dog dropped the branch, rubbed against Xie Shibaiās hand, then turned and ran quickly out of Xie Shibaiās sight. Like a ‘Snail Girl’ puppyāappearing, delivering a gift, then vanishing without a trace.
The tactile sensation left his hand feeling empty, which was a pity.
When Xie Shibai stood up, the squatting posture made his legs numb. He subconsciously stepped on a stone, and his body swayed slightly. Before anything could happen to him, Lu Ciheng beside him thought Xie Shibai had low blood sugar and couldn’t stand, so he instinctively reached out and grabbed Xie Shibaiās arm.
Xie Shibai froze, his subconscious reaction to shake off Lu Cihengās hand.
But doing such an overly resistant action in front of the camera might reveal his illness. The Xie family, in particular, would be analyzing this show frame by frame. By the time Xie Shibai reacted and wanted to stop, it was too late.
In the next second, his arm was firmly grasped by Lu Ciheng, and he was abruptly pulled into Lu Cihengās embrace. Pressed tightly against the chest, he was instantly infected by the heat source. Chest to chest, they could feel each other’s heartbeat and breathing.
After pulling him into his arms, Lu Ciheng let go of Xie Shibaiās arm, soothingly stroked his back, and whispered in Xie Shibaiās ear with a lowered voice, “The camera is filming.”
Xie Shibai tried hard to calm his breathing. After composing himself, he patted Lu Cihengās arm. “I’m okay.”
Upon returning to the tent, before Xie Shibai could think about the double sleeping bag, he was interrupted by the movement behind him.
Lu Ciheng squeezed into the tent. The already small space was very cramped for two people, especially with Lu Cihengās height. His broad shoulders completely blocked the tent entrance, letting in no light from outside, creating an inexplicable sense of inescapable danger.
Lu Ciheng reached back and zipped up the tent. The slight sound made Xie Shibaiās heart miss a beat for no reason.
He reached out, his arm brushing past Xie Shibai. His broad fingers covered the camera lens cap. He capped the lens and turned off the audio in one smooth, rapid motion. Before the netizens in the livestream could react, only darkness remained.
Xie Shibai braced his hand on the sleeping bag, leaning back slightly.
Lu Cihengās hand pressed down on Xie Shibaiās fingers. They were very close; in the space between breaths, their respiration seemed to exchange. His calm tone was lowered. “Teacher Xie, we were almost discovered.”
Xie Shibai still felt some lingering fear about what happened just now.
He had nearly exposed his illness.
Lu Ciheng stared straight at Xie Shibai. “We can’t go on like this.”
Xie Shibai was stunned for a few seconds. “What do you want to do?”
Lu Cihengās body temperature transmitted easily through his clothes. Playing with Xie Shibaiās fingers, he whispered, “Teacher Xie, do you remember a special note in the treatment plan Dr. Chen gave?”
Xie Shibai recalled it. The treatment plan Chen Yi gave clearly stated a method for dealing with a long-term plateau.
A type of stimulation desensitization that required setting a safeword.
His desensitization therapy with Lu Ciheng had been stuck at 50%. Even though the contact consolidation before was done well, they couldn’t break through that 50%.
Perhaps this was the bottleneck period Chen Yi mentioned. Maybe they would break through in the next second, or maybe they would never be able to cross this hurdle.
Desensitization therapy itself was an infinite review of rainy days.
He subconsciously resisted, but he also knew that if he was discovered next time, his illness absolutely could not be exposed in front of the camera.
But Chen Yi had noted that unless it was a very special situation, gradual progress was recommended. After all, stimulation desensitization used forceful means to make a person adapt to contact.
Lu Cihengās fingertips glided across the back of Xie Shibaiās hand. His lowered voice was deep. “Teacher Xie, have you made a decision?”
In the light from outside the tent, Xie Shibai could only see Lu Cihengās slightly blurred face. That faint excitement revealed was exactly the same as when they first got their marriage certificate.
Excited and passionate like a dog.
Xie Shibai felt inexplicably annoyed looking at it. “Try it once. It better actually work. If it doesn’t, you roll out of the tent and go be a savage.”
Lu Ciheng chuckled low, his eyes pitch black. His muscular arm first encircled Xie Shibaiās waist, while his other hand grabbed Xie Shibaiās wrist. His slender fingers slipped through the fabric of the cuff, touching the skin of the arm inch by inch, administering treatment in a forceful posture that allowed no refusal.
“Of course, no problem. However, Teacher Xie needs to think of a safeword in advance. Since you said so, I won’t stop this time.”
In the darkness.
Lu Cihengās tongue pressed against his cheek, his eyes gleaming, his tone deep. “So, what is your safeword?”
Recommended Reads
