Chapter 53: Suspension Bridge Effect
When Lu Ciheng returned with the puppy, Xie Shibai had already suppressed that irritation, acting as if nothing had happened.
A bigger headache was waiting for them next.
Giving the dirty Bobi a bath.
The puppy who had rolled and frolicked in the water was simply too dirty; there wasn’t a single clean spot on its body to touch. Beneath the wet, matted fur, its round eyes darted around, and its four paws paddled in the air as if swimming, trying to pass simply by being cute.
Xie Shibai stopped himself from speaking, but eventually asked, “Can he still be washed clean?”
Lu Ciheng looked full of disgust. “Let’s try.”
They couldn’t just throw him away.
Bobi: “OoO Woof?”
[Oh my god, this dog is done for. Suggest throwing it somewhere I can find it.]
[The abacus beads of the person above are clicking so loud.]
[This is too dirty hahahaha.]
[LMAO, the leopard and cat are so disgusted.]
No dog likes baths, and Bobi was no exception. He had already tried to struggle during the foot wash last night; this time, the bath was like a formidable enemy. As soon as he was carried into the bathroom, he started barking and trying to hide on Xie Shibai.
Although Xie Shibai didn’t have severe mysophobia, no normal person could accept a small mud ball climbing on them.
Lu Ciheng was running the hot water. He skillfully pinned down the puppy attempting to escape with one hand. “Teacher Xie, help me out.”
Xie Shibai: “Help with what?”
Lu Ciheng said, “Hold him.”
Xie Shibai did as Lu Ciheng said, grabbing the little local dog by the only place he could lay a hand on.
Lu Ciheng praised, “Right, just like that.”
Xie Shibai held the scruff of the puppyâs neck, his back to Lu Ciheng as he asked, “And then?”
Lu Ciheng wiped his hands clean and raised his arms to take off his shirt.
Xie Shibai turned around, and solid muscles instantly entered his view. Due to the angle, he could see the veins and the rise and fall of breathing. His fingertips tightened slightly. “Why are you taking off your clothes?”
The netizens in the livestream couldn’t see the scene inside the bathroom, but the two weren’t whispering. After turning up the volume, they could hear the conversation.
[Taking off what???]
[Is this still a serious dog washing?]
[No wait, washing the dog or washing Dog Lu?]
[Does one need to strip to wash a puppy?]
[Burning up again.]
[Are you two really washing the dog? What are you doing behind our backs!]
[Let me see!]
[I’m a VIP, I want to see too!]
Lu Ciheng said with a straight face, “Bobi isn’t easy to wash. Last time, washing his feet got my clothes wet. Taking it off in advance saves getting the clothes wet.”
Xie Shibai: “…”
You’d better be telling the truth.
Lu Ciheng felt Xie Shibaiâs gaze. He smiled and asked with practiced allure, “Teacher Xie, want to touch? I recall that day when you were feeling unwell, you seemed to like touching very much.”
Xie Shibaiâs gaze swept over Lu Ciheng then moved away. His fingertips felt faintly hot. He shoved the puppy over to block Lu Cihengâs mouth. “Hurry up and wash.”
The afternoon sea fishing arrived as scheduled.
Sea fishing didn’t require them to prepare anything; the production team had communicated everything in advance. They only needed to set off according to the team’s arrangements.
The sightseeing yacht could accommodate many people at once. Since the puppy was so small, the probability of it falling into the water and being discovered was low, so the production team thoughtfully prepared a doggy life vest for the potato puppy.
This made the already chubby puppy look even rounder, appearing like a round-headed, round-brained ball wiggling its butt at their heels.
Mu Zhenzhen, Su Xingran, and the others were eager to try, ready to turn whatever they caught today into dinner.
The yacht had professional instructors explaining precautions, including safety issues. The interior was also stocked with plenty of food and drinks, as it was usually used for vacations.
The yacht set off. The cool sea breeze rushed over them, carrying humid moisture.
After the boat stopped at the fishing area, each group was assigned an exclusive fishing spot.
At the start of the fishing, no one had any harvest until Mu Zhenzhen caught a fish that looked quite large.
Su Xingran waved a flag and shouted nearby, “Go, Sister Zhenzhen!”
The attention of the others was focused on Mu Zhenzhen’s big fish.
Hearing the exclamations, the potato puppy was also curious. Helplessly, its legs were too short to see, so it could only spin around anxiously.
Xie Shibaiâs lips hooked up. He picked up the potato puppy and let it lie on the railing to look down, satisfying the puppyâs curiosity.
Li You stared at Xie Shibai for a few seconds. Observing that everyone’s attention was on Mu Zhenzhen, he walked over and pretended to accidentally bump into Xie Shibaiâs back.
Xie Shibai was already leaning down to look. The railing on the sightseeing yacht deck wasn’t high. Caught off guard by the bump, his body suddenly lost balance, falling toward the sea.
Before falling, Xie Shibai pulled the puppy back. With a cold expression, he reached back and yanked. His pale, slender fingers firmly grabbed Li You, who had pushed him, and dragged him heavily off the boat, pressing the man into the seawater a step before himself.
Two splash sounds instantly alerted the safety officers.
The others were also startled by this sudden accident. After reacting, they shouted one after another, “Teacher Xie fell overboard!”
The bullet screen in the livestream was spinning anxiously.
[Holy crap, holy crap, Teacher Xie fell in!]
[Why does it look to me like Li You bumped Teacher Xie on purpose?]
[It was on purpose!]
[I’m so fed up, can the male homewrecker get out of this show?]
[Hurry and save them!!!]
Lu Ciheng, who had just finished getting bait, instantly had a dark expression. He jumped in right after them.
Xie Shibai knew how to swim, so it was easy for him to balance his body in the water. His clothes and hair were soaked by seawater. Due to the season, the water temperature wasn’t high; the cold seawater suddenly enveloping his body made him tense up. He held his breath. His ears suddenly went quiet, leaving only the sound of rushing water. When he surfaced, he slowed his breathing.
Soft black hair plastered to Xie Shibaiâs cheeks. His cold eyes looked toward the other splash point.
Li You couldn’t swim. He slapped the water in panic, choking on several mouthfuls of water, screaming for help.
Xie Shibai glanced at him. His body, submerged in the cold sea, felt slightly chilled. Water droplets hung on his pale cheeks, and wet hair clung to his face. His expression was indifferent; he had no intention of going forward to help.
He wasn’t kind enough to save the person who pushed him into the water.
The seawater was a bit cold. Without warming up, staying in too long could cause cramps. Just as Xie Shibai prepared to swim back, he saw Lu Ciheng, who had jumped in even before the safety officer.
Noticing Xie Shibai was fine, the heart hanging in Lu Cihengâs throat settled down.
Seeing Lu Ciheng, Xie Shibai was stunned for a few seconds, then explained, “I can swim.”
He thought that after learning he could swim, Lu Ciheng would go save Li You, who was obviously choking. The next second, water splashed loudly. Xie Shibai was scooped up and held by Lu Ciheng, reducing his contact with the seawater.
Xie Shibaiâs fingers grabbed Lu Cihengâs shoulders. He looked down, staring blankly at Lu Cihengâs solemn face, his heartbeat accelerating slightly.
Lu Ciheng lifted him onto the deck first. Immediately after coming up, he asked for a towel.
Li You hadn’t been rescued yet. Rescuing a drowning person who couldn’t swim was difficult. After confirming Xie Shibai was fine, the others crowded around.
Xie Shibai sat on the deck. His pale face contrasted with his hair color, and his excessively white skin made his lips look rosy. He parted his lips slightly, panting. His clothes were soaked by seawater, sticking coldly and uncomfortably to his body. His gaze fell on Lu Ciheng, and his fingers curled.
He must have been seen dragging Li You down…
The next second, a water-absorbent blanket was draped over Xie Shibai, wrapping him up tightly like a sticky rice dumpling (zongzi). The thoughts in his head were scattered by this action.
Lu Ciheng ignored the water on himself. After wrapping Xie Shibai in the blanket, he touched Xie Shibaiâs cool cheek with his finger. Feeling it was colder than usual, his brow furrowed as he asked, “Did you choke on water?”
Xie Shibaiâs hair clung to his cheeks. His face was pale, and he pursed his rosy lips, shaking his head gently.
Lu Ciheng breathed a sigh of relief and helped Xie Shibai wipe his hair.
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng. He was silent for a few seconds, feeling he should say something. He opened his mouth and subconsciously said, “You didn’t even take a lifebuoy. If it were a drowning person who couldn’t swim, they would drag you down. And there was someone drowning…”
Before he could finish, Xie Shibai was tightly hugged in Lu Cihengâs arms. Unlike the therapeutic hugs, this one was tighter and more forceful, as if fearing Xie Shibai would disappear the next second.
Although both of them were soaked, a trace of heat rose from the seamless embrace.
“I wouldn’t save others. And if the one dragging me down was Teacher Xie, I would be very willing.”
Xie Shibai was stunned for a few seconds. His long eyelashes trembled slightly. It was silent, but it made his heart race involuntarily. His body felt as if it were going to drown in this embrace. He was silent for a moment, his lips parting. “You’re crazy. I wouldn’t do that.”
Lu Ciheng chuckled lightly. “En, Teacher Xie is always my first choice.”
Xie Shibaiâs heart skipped half a beat, and he lowered his long eyelashes.
This is too wrong.
He feels a little bit towards Lu Ciheng…
Is it the suspension bridge effect triggered by his contact obstacle?
[Suddenly feel like they are easy to ship.]
[LCH didn’t hesitate at all when he jumped. They must really love each other!]
[That scene just now was like a movie. Who dares say they are fake in the future!]
The sea fishing was terminated due to the accident. Although the rescued Li You didn’t choke on much water, the production team sent him to the hospital to prevent secondary drowning syndrome. Meanwhile, the hot search about Xie Shibai falling overboard and Li You intentionally bumping him shot straight to number one. Netizens who watched the recording exploded and went down to boycott.
[You can tell from the recording. Li You bumped Teacher Xie on purpose, causing him to fall.]
[Vomit, so malicious.]
[He deserves falling in himself.]
[Why does it look to me like XSB dragged Li You down?]
[Isn’t it normal to instinctively grab something when falling?]
[Fed up, this kind of person actually has fans washing the floor for him.]
[Li You, stupid and bad, deserves it!]
[Fortunately, Teacher Xie can swim.]
[This isn’t just being bad anymore, this is attempted murder, right? I can’t imagine what would have happened if Teacher Xie couldn’t swim.]
[Can this kind of artist with terrible conduct get out of the show? @InfiniteHeartbeat]
[He dares to do this in front of cameras; who knows how much evil he’s done in private.]
The hot search was unprecedentedly unified in boycotting Li You. Many netizens even dug up Li Youâs past remarks, including bullying other artists in small cliques on previous variety shows, and someone even came out to hammer him for hiding another guest’s asthma medicine just to win.
He couldn’t withstand the scrutiny at all.
Returning to the cabin, Xie Shibai first took a hot shower. When he came out of the bathroom, he found Lu Ciheng on the balcony making a phone call. His figure was sideways, his expression cold. Through the balcony door, only a few words like “hot search” could be vaguely caught.
Xie Shibai glanced at the hot search and found that the video clip of him and Li You falling into the water had been extracted and repeatedly zoomed in on.
He lowered his eyes. In the comments, someone even pointed out that Li You fell because he pulled him down.
Xie Shibai tossed his phone aside, not feeling that he was in the wrong.
As for what Lu Ciheng would think after knowing, let him be.
Lu Ciheng, having finished the call, opened the balcony door. Approaching, he reached out to touch Xie Shibaiâs forehead. After confirming the temperature was normal, he handed him the freshly boiled ginger soup.
“Teacher Xie, just boiled. Want to drink?”
Xie Shibai frowned upon smelling the ginger soup and shook his head. He really couldn’t accept the taste of ginger soup.
Lu Ciheng crouched in front of Xie Shibai, coaxing softly, “Drink a sip. I added sugar. It just smells bad, it doesn’t taste bad.”
Xie Shibai took a sip skeptically. Although sugar was added, for someone who hated ginger, the ginger taste was still very strong.
He turned his head away. The taste of ginger lingered in his mouth, and he decided not to touch another drop. “Disgusting. Liar.”
Lu Ciheng let out a muffled laugh.
Looks like it really tastes bad this time.
Since he wouldn’t drink the ginger soup, Lu Ciheng could only go boil hot coffee for Xie Shibai.
Only after the coffee diluted the taste of the ginger soup did Xie Shibaiâs furrowed brow relax.
Although he had wrapped himself in a thick blanket immediately after falling into the water, it still took more than half an hour to get from the fishing area back to the cabin, plus the sea breeze. Even with a hot shower upon return, it was easy to catch a cold in this weather.
That night, Xie Shibai developed a fever. Half-asleep and half-awake, he got up thirsty to drink water. After drinking, his consciousness was hazy. Soft hair stuck to his pale cheeks, and his cool eyes were tinged with confusion. The low fever made him feel uncomfortable, as if his skin hunger was flaring up.
Xie Shibai tugged irritably at the collar of his pajamas and fixed his eyes on Lu Ciheng, who was sleeping on the other side.
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