Chapter 55: He Could Never Like Lu Ciheng…
Xie Shibai didn’t realize where he had stepped; he only felt that the texture was hard and not very comfortable.
The antipyretic he had taken was gradually taking effect. His state shifted from half-asleep to drowsy. He tried to pull his foot back, but his ankle was gripped tightly. The thin calluses on the palm rubbed against his skin, and the contact spread a sense of comfort. His long-suppressed condition made him greedy for skin contact.
He tried to get more touches.
His struggling foot stepped onto a thigh.
Lu Ciheng gave a low, muffled grunt. His hand tightened unconsciously, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. His exhaled breath was scorching as he sighed helplessly in a low voice, “Teacher Xie.”
He pressed the tip of his tongue against his canine tooth, his pitch-black eyes hiding a vast excitement that was hard to conceal.
Xie Shibai turned his head. Under the effect of the fever medicine, his cheeks were tinged with weariness. He hadn’t fully woken up and was already sleepy; the thought of teaching the bad dog a lesson had long since flown away when he tried to retract his foot, and he was too lazy to think about it. After tossing and turning for so long, he had no strength left. Drowsily, he spoke slowly, “Be quiet.”
Lu Ciheng gently touched Xie Shibai’s face. His thumb rubbed and lingered on the full lips, a deep darkness breeding in his eyes. He leaned down slightly, rubbing the tip of his nose against Xie Shibai’s cheek a few times. His breath was hot as he followed the line down to rest on the pale side of the neck. His canine teeth itched; staring at that white neck, he really wanted to bite.
Xie Shibai had fallen asleep. He only felt ticklish from the nuzzling against his neck. He subconsciously turned his head, his pale fingers pushing at the head buried in his neck.
Lu Ciheng felt a bit of regret that Xie Shibai wasn’t in a lucid state.
He looked down at his spirited and very excited position, rubbed his forehead helplessly, and resignedly got up to take a shower.
First, he took a rather long cold shower, then a hot shower to ensure his body was warm before returning to bed and pulling Xie Shibai into his arms.
Almost as soon as he was held, the sleeping Xie Shibai subconsciously pressed closer to the familiar heat source, rubbing against it unconsciously.
Lu Ciheng’s breath hitched, and he almost reacted again.
The hot search fermented for a day, and everything Li You had done in the past was dug up. The boycott hashtags were overwhelming. Whenever water armies tried to whitewash him, they were flamed so hard they had to close their comment sections.
Still, some anti-fans tried to use the point that Xie Shibai pulled Li You down to create a narrative of an imperfect victim.
【@IsItAnyOfYourBusiness: XSB pulled LY down, so he’s not as innocent as the marketing says. And XSB can swim but didn’t help the drowning LY next to him. LCH jumped in but didn’t save him either. How is this different from disregarding human life?】
[Don’t go out on the street with a pig brain. How does LY intentionally pushing someone into the water count as attempted murder then?]
[Would LY have fallen if he didn’t push someone? It’s all his own karma.]
[Your idol was stupid enough to push someone and got his retribution.]
[I just want to say I enjoyed watching it. Li You deserves it.]
[The most satisfying part is that Li You himself can’t swim. LMAO, stupid and bad, surprised he didn’t kill himself.]
[People full of evil deeds still have fans washing the floor for them? Do you want this account or not?]
[Your idol is worth it (finger heart)]
[Originally, I didn’t like XSB, but this point turned me from a hater to a fan. As expected of my sister-in-law.]
[Dog Lu fans upstairs, get lost. Who are you calling sister-in-law? My brother is a Top (1).]
Eventually, the thread went off-topic and turned into Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng’s fans arguing over who was the Top. When CP fans smelled the drama and arrived, they proclaimed that the Solo fans shipped it harder than they did, causing both sides of Solo fans to break down.
[I’m really impressed. One slap for CP fans, two slaps for Dog Lu fans.]
[If LCH can get enjoyment from being slapped by Teacher Xie, his fans probably take after their idol (finger heart).]
[??? You CP fans are terrifying, you don’t even spare the fans!]
[Hehe (Bitchy version)]
Every post throwing mud or questioning them eventually turned in this direction. Wherever CP fans went, no grass grew, amusing the passersby netizens to no end.
Li You’s manager was burned out, having cursed “idiot” countless times. He called Li You back from the recording site overnight. The water armies hired at a high price were destroyed the moment they appeared. The hot search refused to go down, the money was wasted, and more dirt was being dug up. Many brands had already come to terminate contracts and demand penalties; the compensation alone was a considerable sum.
The director team of Infinite Heartbeat unanimously decided to make Li You exit the show and pursue accountability.
Su Xingran was practically dying of happiness. Although they were a probationary couple with two beds in the cabin, they were still in the same bedroom. Seeing him as soon as he opened his eyes was a devastating blow to his daily mood.
After the person left, the air tasted sweet as soon as he opened his eyes.
With Li You exiting the show, they were down one person. The program team’s subsequent activities were already customized, and the investment costs meant they couldn’t be changed. Director Tan could only swallow his pride and look for a new guest.
Once a new guest was found, the production team deliberately left it as a cliffhanger and didn’t name them, only stating that a new guest would replace Li You. This instantly triggered massive speculation among netizens.
After all, from the bumpy road of the first season to stepping on a landmine every episode in this one, such a level of bad luck for Infinite Heartbeat was rare.
[Is Director Tan going in himself?]
[LMAO, fifty is the prime age to strive.]
[First time seeing a show step on mines consecutively hahahaha.]
[Is the feng shui bad for this solo spot? Hope my brother doesn’t join the fun.]
[Why not find a couple? No one wants to go, right? The first season was a chaotic brawl, and everyone on the show broke up. This season started with someone going to jail (sewing machine), and then Li You happened. Inner entertainment seems quite superstitious about feng shui. I’m curious who has the guts.]
[This new guest will definitely be scrutinized thoroughly. Do they think they have zero dirt, hence the confidence?]
[Who doesn’t have activities recently?]
[Loads of people. Probably some obscure B-lister with no fame.]
Xie Shibai slept longer than usual. When he opened his eyes, he was still a bit disoriented, as if yesterday’s sleepwalking hadn’t ended. His head felt dizzy and heavy.
He paused for several seconds as he got up, subconsciously looking to the side. He breathed a sigh of relief only after seeing no sign of Lu Ciheng.
Xie Shibai got up to wash with a normal expression, but in the mirror, the tips of his ears hidden under his black hair were covered in an imperceptible thin flush.
Damn it.
What did I do?
When he recalled last night, he didn’t feel disgust. On the contrary, he liked the feeling of the tight skin contact while hugging.
As soon as he left the bathroom, he saw Lu Ciheng.
“Morning, Teacher Xie.” Lu Ciheng greeted him with a bright smile. “Breakfast?”
Xie Shibai’s steps paused. He gave a soft “En” as if nothing had happened.
As if the person clinging to him yesterday wasn’t himself.
Before that, he had to clarify something.
Lu Ciheng brought breakfast directly. Except for the lack of coffee, everything was suitable for someone sick.
Xie Shibai moved slowly, glancing at the neatly arranged breakfast.
Lu Ciheng: “Teacher Xie, do you remember yesterday—”
“What filling is this?” Xie Shibai interrupted him first.
Lu Ciheng: “It’s a custard bun.”
Xie Shibai gave an “Oh” and took a bite unhurriedly.
Lu Ciheng continued, “Last night—”
“Quite delicious,” Xie Shibai said softly.
Lu Ciheng raised his eyebrows slightly, realizing Xie Shibai didn’t want to mention it. He didn’t push too hard; a hedgehog-like cat would bite out of embarrassment and anger.
The production team announced that a new guest would arrive at noon and that a simple welcome ceremony would be held after being informed of the guest’s preferences in advance.
Not only were the netizens curious about who would come, but the other groups of guests were also curious about who would be headstrong enough to participate knowing the position had bad feng shui.
Mu Zhenzhen asked curiously, “Have you guys heard anything? Who’s coming?”
Su Xingran shook his head. “I asked around, everyone had scheduling conflicts.”
Mi Qiran: “Maybe they signed a confidentiality agreement to give us a surprise.”
Su Xingran looked around and suddenly asked, “Why don’t I see Brother Xie?”
Mu Zhenzhen said, “Teacher Xie caught a cold. Since there’s nothing to do today anyway, let him rest upstairs.”
Su Xingran’s eyes lit up, and he immediately looked eager. “Then Brother Xie hasn’t eaten yet? I’ll bring it up to him.”
Mu Zhenzhen looked at him with pity, as if looking at an idiot. “What are you thinking? Where do you think I learned about Teacher Xie catching a cold?”
Su Xingran: “…”
[Su Xingran is still thinking about poaching the wall.]
[The fact he hasn’t exploded is entirely thanks to Li You making him look good by comparison.]
[LMAO, I can only say it’s good he didn’t harbor bad intentions to harm anyone. He’s the best among the worst.]
In the afternoon, the members of the cabin, having made all preparations, waited in the living room early.
Xie Shibai looked listless. His privilege of a daily morning coffee had been suspended due to the cold. The combination of the cold and the lack of coffee directly led to his low mood and lack of interest in anything.
He sat on the sofa, tossing a cat teaser at the puppy. Looking out the window, he could still recall the events of last night.
His long eyelashes lowered. He harbored some doubts about the suspension bridge effect in his mind. Subconsciously, he could vaguely sense it, just without a more definite cognition.
If it’s not the suspension bridge effect, what could it be? It can’t be that I like Lu Ciheng, right?
Xie Shibai thought about Lu Ciheng’s personality.
Impossible. How could I like a Beagle?
The doorbell of the cabin rang. Mu Zhenzhen went to open the door. When she saw clearly who was outside, her eyes widened slightly.
Su Xingran leaned over curiously. “Who is it?”
Mu Zhenzhen said with a complicated expression, “Your peer.”
Su Xingran was confused. Aren’t everyone here my peers?
Mu Zhenzhen had a look that said “You’ll know when you see him,” which gave Su Xingran a bad premonition instead.
The door opened, and Li Lechi, pulling a suitcase, smiled and greeted everyone: “Good afternoon!”
[It’s actually Li Lechi!]
[Where does the program team find these people? First Su Xingran, now Li Lechi. Is this the dog section of the flower and bird market?]
[Doesn’t matter, the Beagle will battle two Chihuahuas.]
[Woohoo! This is going to be fun!]
[This brother has such guts? He dares to come to this feng shui spot?]
[No, Brother, are you really joining this mess? You just bragged yesterday that you wouldn’t come ahhh.]
Su Xingran’s face turned green.
Another competitor for the qualification to be a dog.
Li Lechi shook hands and greeted everyone in turn. When it was Xie Shibai’s turn, the smile on his face lifted. While he shook hands with others, he turned it into a hug for Xie Shibai. Glancing at Lu Ciheng, he hooked his lips and deliberately said, “Long time no see, Brother Xie. You don’t know how much I missed you during this time.”
Xie Shibai was suddenly hugged. The embrace and contact, different from Lu Ciheng’s, instantly triggered a wave of chills. His back went rigid; if he had a tail, every hair would definitely be standing on end at this moment.
Extreme discomfort. It was as if the long and smooth desensitization treatment with Lu Ciheng was all an illusion. Apart from brief handshakes and passing objects, he still couldn’t accept any excessive physical contact.
The suspension bridge effect collapsed with a crash in his heart. Like a thin sheet of paper that couldn’t withstand scrutiny, it cracked all over with a light touch, leaving only one other option.
Before Xie Shibai could react, he was pulled into another familiar embrace. Lu Ciheng wrapped his arm around Xie Shibai’s waist, his face icy cold. His pitch-black eyes stared at Li Lechi with undisguised hostility.
Lu Ciheng’s cold face carried scrutiny, and he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction internally.
Here comes one with the scent of green tea.
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