Chapter 50: Pocky Biscuit part 1
Xie Shibai was utterly speechless at Lu Ciheng’s blatant attempt to fish for a reaction.
He glanced around. The other guests’ attention was on the production team; Director Tan was currently distributing the living expenses for this recording session and explaining the situation. They were standing relatively far back, so no one noticed them.
Xie Shibai turned his gaze slightly. Seeing Lu Ciheng’s face made his hands itch to pinch it, but he held back for the sake of the cameras. “What exactly have I infected you with?”
Lu Ciheng lowered his voice right next to Xie Shibai’s ear and replied without thinking, “Does wanting to be glued to Teacher Xie every single day count as being infected?”
Xie Shibai fell silent for a few seconds. He didn’t even need to think back; Lu Ciheng was like this almost every day. There was no such thing as being “infected”—this was just his default state. He asked slowly, “What else?”
Lu Ciheng tilted his head, his eyes shining as he looked at Xie Shibai, his tone cheerful. “No matter how much I say, will Teacher Xie take responsibility for it all?”
[What are the young couple whispering about?]
[Ahhh, I can’t hear them! I’m so curious!]
[It sounded like LCH asked Teacher Xie to take responsibility for him.]
[Didn’t they already get their marriage license? What responsibility is left to take?]
[See, I told you the marriage certificate was fake. If they really got the license, why would they be fussing over taking responsibility?]
[It’s normal for a puppy to want its owner to take responsibility.]
[LMAO, once you swap their identities, I suddenly understand exactly what this ‘responsibility’ entails.]
[Disperse, everyone. The puppy just wants a title.]
[Oh, he wants a dog tag. Nothing to see here then.]
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng, who was shamelessly making false accusations. The corners of his lips hooked up slightly. His pale, cool fingers rested against the side of Lu Ciheng’s neck, controlling the distance between them. His cool tone carried a rare, unusual gentleness. “Go on, tell me.”
Lu Ciheng stared intently at Xie Shibai, whose face seemed to carry a smile. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Such good fortune today? I’d better make up a few more.
He opened his mouth and sprouted some nonsense. After he finished, he lowered his head slightly, his eyes smiling but his voice feigning pitifulness. “Am I terminally ill? Teacher Xie, hold my hand. Oh right, and I want everyone to know that I am Teacher Xie’s only puppy.”
The kind that is stamped and certified as the only one. No one else allowed.
Perhaps it was canine intuition, but Lu Ciheng had seen through Su Xingran early on. That home-wrecker had dangerous thoughts and wanted to replace him as Xie Shibai’s only dog.
Xie Shibai listened quietly to Lu Ciheng’s nonsense, remaining silent for a while. “…”
It was one thing to say this in private, but did the whole world really need to know?
Framing the marriage certificate was embarrassing enough; admitting to raising a human-shaped Beagle with a noisy personality wouldn’t sound good either.
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng for a few seconds, staring at that handsome face that was always chattering away. He reached out and pinched it without mercy.
“Hiss—” Lu Ciheng reacted with exaggeration. It was clearly no more painful than a scratch, yet he pretended it hurt terribly. In reality, just one action from Xie Shibai was enough to make his mood soar with excitement.
Seeing Lu Ciheng’s reaction, Xie Shibai felt a trace of amusement in his heart. He pressed down the corners of his lips and deliberately spoke coldly. “Impossible.”
Thanks to recent events, Lu Ciheng could quickly sense the changes in Xie Shibai’s emotions. He stared into Xie Shibai’s eyes and said pitifully, “Teacher Xie, it hurts. You’re too cruel. Was everything just now a lie?”
“En,” Xie Shibai said. “You found me out.”
Surprise flashed in Lu Ciheng’s eyes as he suppressed a smile.
Cute.
He dragged out his tone deliberately. “You’re really too much, Teacher Xie.”
Xie Shibai felt an inexplicable, slight joy. A sudden urge for physical contact rose in his heart. He reached out and patted Lu Ciheng’s face. “Puppy, be quiet.”
Lu Ciheng’s breath hitched. A thick, dark light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and his fingers tightened.
He wanted to hug Xie Shibai.
Although the two of them had avoided most of the gazes at the recording site, the camera lens facing them had diligently recorded everything from start to finish.
From Lu Ciheng leaning in, to getting his face pinched by Xie Shibai, the bullet screen was joyous.
[I knew he was going to get hit.]
[Laughing to death, why is Dog Lu so cheap?]
[Teacher Xie, don’t reward him!]
[He’s definitely enjoying it again.]
[No, but what is LCH secretly enjoying? It doesn’t feel like XSB likes him that much.]
[You think this meal isn’t delicious? Teacher Xie is obviously the type of person with faint emotions—an ‘indifferent person.’ When Dog Lu isn’t around, you can see his mood doesn’t fluctuate much. He has a strong sense of detachment, out of place with his surroundings. No matter how lively it is, it has nothing to do with him. There’s nothing in the world he’s attached to; no one can hold onto him. He could detach from this world at any moment. But he’s different with Dog Lu! When he’s with Dog Lu, he has so many emotions—he can be sarcastic, he can hit people. He feels so alive, as if he has an anchor in this world. Look at that home-wrecker [Su Xingran]; he has the same idea, but Teacher Xie ignores him completely and only indulges Dog Lu. If this isn’t love, what is it?!]
[Yes! Although stealing a wife is a sworn enmity, Brother Lu is quite durable. Teacher Xie likes him, so what can we do? Boohoo.]
[Aren’t you a big fan of LCH? When did my brother become your wife? Get lost!]
[Brother isn’t as fragrant as Sister-in-law, hehe.]
[? My Brother Xie is a Top (1)!]
[I don’t know if I can say this, but it really feels like XSB can tame Lu Ciheng into obedience with just a casual movement.]
[More than that, XSB has such good patience. Is this what it takes to raise a Beagle?]
[LMAO, does it have to be so graphic?]
[Even easier to ship now! I’ll be netizens with you guys in the next life too!]
The production team provided the living expenses for this recording session—the same amount as the last one. At the same time, they announced the balance from the previous session. The small amount remaining from last time could be added to this fund to use together.
The guests hadn’t expected any money to be left over.
Mu Zhenzhen asked, “How much is left?”
Su Xingran was a little excited. “If it’s a lot, we can have a big feast tonight.”
Director Tan said ruthlessly, “Let me see… ten yuan.”
Mu Zhenzhen: “…”
Su Xingran: “…”
They instantly wilted like frosted eggplants.
[LMAO hahahahaha]
[The way Director Tan spoke earlier, I thought there was a huge sum left.]
[But it’s amazing they had any money left. I remember last season they didn’t have enough to spend.]
[Last time was because of the chaotic brawl; no one managed the money, so it turned out like that.]
Just as Su Xingran’s dream of a big feast was dashed, he heard Director Tan say, “The surrounding sea area allows for fishing and gathering. You can obtain ingredients through your own efforts. Considering everyone is tired from the journey, the task for this time is to make the first dinner in the new cabin together.”
Making dinner wasn’t difficult. The money was given to Mu Zhenzhen and Xu Xiangming’s group to manage, just like last time.
After everything was distributed, they began assigning rooms in the cabin. The room assignment was done by drawing lots. The room types in the seaside cabin were basically the same—scenic rooms facing the sea with beautiful views.
The vegetation around the cabin was dense, and a winding sheep-gut path led directly to the beach.
Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng put their luggage away first. The potato-like puppy sniffed around the room, seeming to accept the cabin quite well.
For the first meal in the new residence, everyone unanimously decided to have a seafood barbecue.
However, there was no market around the cabin. After asking the local residents, they learned that the market was very far away. Fortunately, there were small scooters prepared at the cabin, so they split into groups to prepare dinner.
Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng were assigned to buy ingredients.
Li You volunteered, wanting to tag along, claiming they couldn’t carry so many ingredients and needed an extra person to help.
Xie Shibai was feeding the potato puppy jerky to let it play on its own. He looked up and saw Lu Ciheng talking to Li You, and his brow furrowed slightly.
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