Chapter 75: Teacher Xie’s Mengnan
Lu Ciheng covered his cheek and sat obediently to the side, a smile overflowing on his face. He wasn’t even pretending in front of the cameras anymore; getting slapped just made him incredibly happy. The netizens in the live broadcast room were left utterly speechless.
[Lu Gou got off again.] [No bro, you are a real pervert!] [Teacher Xie’s slap must smell so good, can you even comprehend the scent, lch?! Let me do it!] [Person above… maybe you should hide your lch super topic level.] [As expected, fans take after their idol. How come Lu Gou’s fans act exactly like him?] [Fuck off, lch fans! Xie Ge is ours!] [I don’t know if it’s just an illusion, but I feel like xsb and lch are getting sweeter and sweeter! At the beginning, they both seemed very restrained and couldn’t let go.] [Now not only have they let go, lch has completely thrown caution to the wind. He’s practically got “I am Teacher Xie’s creep” written all over his face.] [Good dog, how can Teacher Xie be so tolerant of him!] [Probably because of his face…] [Ah, that’s true.] [Lu Gou’s life is so damn good.] [It’s Teacher Xie who is generous!]
The game of Werewolf ended with a suspense-free victory for the Wolves. After playing a few consecutive rounds and obtaining the travel funds provided by the production team, everyone called it a day. They returned to the cottage to count their money and make travel plans. If the funds were sufficient, they could split up and do whatever they individually wanted.
They could pair up; they weren’t restricted to traveling as a whole group.
The funds the production team provided this time seemed to have undergone strict consumption level research. It was controlled at an amount that allowed them to treat it like a real vacation, but still required careful calculation to prevent reckless spending. It was a bit generous, but not by much.
According to the standards of the previous season, the funds should have been slashed to provoke conflicts and gain attention. But this time, with the participation of Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng, the popularity was already inherently high. Moreover, the problematic guests had already been kicked out after a scandal, and the remaining cast members were all very chill about the trip. The production team simply abandoned the plan of instigating conflicts for heat.
The night before they set out to play, Xie Shibai received a phone call from Chen Qisheng. Through the police, he had obtained the records of the missing person case from back then. Because the case handling procedures were inconsistent at the time, a lot of information was missing. Chen Qisheng had to run across several districts just to piece together the files from that year.
Fortunately, the most crucial information had not been lost.
This included the records of the kind-hearted family who had taken Xie Shibai in all those years ago.
The time after dinner was relatively relaxed, with everyone making plans for the next day’s outing. Knowing Xie Shibai was recording nearby, Chen Qisheng picked a quiet, highly private lounge bar.
The lounge bar was very close to the beach block, so Xie Shibai threw on a thin jacket and left the recording cottage.
At first, the comments in the live broadcast room thought Xie Shibai was just going out for a simple walk. When they realized he wasn’t heading toward the coastline and clearly had a specific destination in mind, they grew full of curiosity. The cameraman in charge of following him for the outdoor shoot was also curious. After hearing questions through his earpiece, he quietly asked Xie Shibai about his destination for this outing.
After recording for this long, Xie Shibai was already used to having a camera following behind him. He paused for a second. “I’m going to meet a friend.”
[It feels like I’m taking a walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Teacher Xie.] [So curious about Teacher Xie’s friend. I feel like he has very few friends in the circle.] [The friend must be an outsider, haven’t heard of anyone who just happens to be in Piaoliangguo right now.] [Just got here, why don’t I see Lu Gou?] [Lu Gou went to walk the dog.] [LMAO hahahahaha, I was watching Lu Gou’s stream and he kept calling our Bobi ‘Lu Biao’, and then he got bitten by Bobi.] [Eh? Lu Gou seems to be walking in this direction too.]
The cameraman quietly asked if recording later would be an intrusion.
Xie Shibai gave a light “Mm.” “You’ll need to step away for a little while.”
The cameraman gave an ‘OK’ gesture.
Upon arriving at the lounge bar, the cameraman consciously found a spot to rest. Just as he was about to ask the director’s team if he could expense a drink on the company’s dime, Xie Shibai told him to order whatever he wanted and that he would foot the bill.
Xie Shibai’s outing this time was considered a personal activity, so the expenses weren’t deducted from the living funds provided by the production team.
Entering the private room, Chen Qisheng had already been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing him, he pushed an old paper file envelope over.
Chen Qisheng said mysteriously, “I guarantee you’ll be surprised when you see the contents inside.”
When he was organizing the files and saw the name, he had been shocked for a long time. The word ‘fate’ even popped into his mind.
They were a little too fated.
Xie Shibai opened the file envelope. Among the few sheets of paper, he saw an English name at the top, and in the column below it, a Chinese name.
His eyelashes lowered gently, looking at the photo clipped on with a paperclip.
In the photo, a young Xie Shibai was being shielded behind a boy of the same height. Compared to the mature Lu Ciheng, the young Lu Ciheng’s emotions were much more outward. A pair of dark eyes stared straightforwardly at the camera. On that tender face, his puppy eyes looked upward, full of ferocity. Facing the person taking the picture, he was full of wariness, like a young wolf king intimidating intruders after his territory had been breached.
He clearly didn’t have much strength himself, yet he was trying his hardest to protect the person behind him.
Xie Shibai felt a bit dazed. It turned out they really had met when they were children.
A child’s memory is unreliable, and their perception and understanding of emotions are different. After experiencing major trauma, they tend to forget a lot. For Xie Shibai, his clearest memories consisted only of cold white walls and the smell of disinfectant; those impressions were too profound, squeezing all other memories into a narrow corner. Aside from Ming Yu, his childhood hadn’t left him with any other memories.
The emotions attached to childhood memories have a delayed effect. Only when an anchor point appears do they surge forth like a tide.
It was as if his memories truly began to awaken at this moment. As he tried hard to recall, some tiny details gradually emerged.
Those dark puppy eyes appeared from the depths of his memory.
Chen Qisheng sighed emotionally, “Fate really is a wondrous thing.”
Xie Shibai looked at the photo.
This was a bit terrible. Lu Ciheng had helped him, yet he harbored thoughts of wanting to lock him up.
Furthermore, this urge was very strong. It was suppressed deep down in his heart, but with just a little trigger, it would be hooked out.
Xie Shibai despised everything about the Xie family, but he could never deny that the Xie family’s blood flowed in his veins.
In his bones, he possessed the same insane desire for control that everyone in the Xie family had.
Under the lighting, the whiskey rippled, and the ice sphere slowly melted, blending with the amber liquid.
Xie Shibai picked up his glass. The coldness seeped into his fingertips. The taste of the whiskey was complex and mellow, leaving a long lingering aftertaste.
Chen Qisheng was puzzled for a second. “Are you unhappy?”
That shouldn’t be the case. When his sister was chasing the show, she even said Xie Shibai must be in love.
Chen Qisheng noticed a fleeting mark by Xie Shibai’s collar when he turned his head. His eyes widened, and then he realized something.
He really was in a relationship.
He felt a bit emotional. He originally thought Xie Shibai looked asexual and would grow old alone. After all this time, it turned out he was homosexual.
Chen Qisheng felt that as a single corporate slave, prying into his boss’s private life was just asking for trouble. “Take your time reading it, I still need to hurry and catch my flight back to the country.”
[Who is Lu Ge meeting?] [As expected of a married couple, Teacher Xie is also meeting a friend, hhh.] [They haven’t officially announced they are a couple! CP fans need to stop screaming nonsense :)] [Lu Gou’s live broadcast room sure has a lot of solo stans.] [That’s the authentic solo stan flavor! You came to the right place, your Ge is acting like a dog for Teacher Xie.] [Your dad! Do CP fans feel happy watching people break down?!] [Hehe.] [Wait a minute, this shop… isn’t this the same shop Teacher Xie went to?] [Xql’s strange tacit understanding has increased.] [Does that mean they might bump into each other!] [So what if they bump into each other? They probably know each other’s friends anyway, they definitely hang out in private.]
Lu Ciheng glanced at the time, his other hand holding a dog leash.
Tudou the puppy was exhausted from the walk. It had bitten Lu Ciheng several times along the way, throwing tantrums and burning a lot of energy. Now, it was lying flat on the ground resting, determined not to get up no matter what.
Because this was a private itinerary and the person across from him was a non-celebrity, the camera was positioned quite far away.
“Ge!”
The moment Lu Lecheng saw Lu Ciheng, her eyes darted everywhere as if looking for someone. After confirming that Lu Ciheng was alone, her face immediately fell, and she asked with a long face, “Just you? Where’s Xie Ge?”
Lu Ciheng: “Did you bring the stuff?”
Lu Lecheng was still unwilling to give up. “Why did you come alone? Are you really married to my Gege? You photoshopped that marriage certificate, didn’t you? Did you two team up to participate in this show? Everything you said in the family group chat was just you bragging, right?”
Lu Ciheng raised his eyes, his tone lazy. “What do you mean ‘your Gege’? Xie Shibai is mine.”
Lu Lecheng muttered softly, “Mengnan.”
Lu Ciheng: “?”
He let out an exasperated laugh. “Go check the serial number, it’s a 100% genuine marriage certificate. How dare you call your brother a Mengnan? Your Xie Ge loves me the most. Hurry up and hand over the photo.”
While rummaging for the photo in her bag, Lu Lecheng muttered under her breath, complaining that Lu Ciheng had gone crazy acting like a Mengnan. She hadn’t believed the analyses online before, but now she did.
Lu Ciheng: “…”
He took a deep breath, trying hard to remind himself that this was his biological sister and he couldn’t hit her.
Lu Lecheng pulled out the photo and handed it to Lu Ciheng, sighing emotionally. “I never expected there to actually be one in the photo album. Xie Ge’s childhood photo was right beside me all along.”
Looking at the group photo, the corners of Lu Ciheng’s lips curled up.
Not getting to see her idol made Lu Lecheng resent her own brother even more. She was used to arguing with Lu Ciheng’s fans in the super topic, and seeing him in person so unexpectedly, she couldn’t help but want to call him ‘Lu Gou’.
She noticed Tudou the puppy lying dead at Lu Ciheng’s feet. Her eyes lit up, and she spoke in a sweet, high-pitched voice: “Is this Bobi? Baby, you’re so cute! So chubby, just like a little gas tank!”
Tudou the puppy was too lazy to move. Having long grown accustomed to being manhandled by the production crew, it rolled over to expose its belly.
Go ahead and pet, there’s nothing I can do about being this cute.
Lu Lecheng let out a silent squeal, crouching down to rub Tudou the puppy’s soft belly.
“As expected of the puppy raised by Xie Ge, so cute! So amazing! Baby, you are the cutest little potato in the world!”
Lu Ciheng: “…”
What kind of deadbeat noise is that.
Lu Lecheng petted it for a while, reluctant to part, but she still had classes and time was tight. “I’m leaving. Don’t forget what you promised me!”
Lu Ciheng gave an “Mm”, his peripheral vision catching sight of the messenger bag Lu Lecheng was wearing. “Wait a second.”
“Hm?” Lu Lecheng was puzzled. Before she could react, her messenger bag was hooked by Lu Ciheng and taken away. She asked in confusion, “Why are you taking my bag?”
Lu Ciheng looked at the string of Xie Shibai Baji pins on the Tongbao.
Chibi manga figures, high-definition laser-printed candid cards, magazine cutouts, and even a Xie Shibai keychain hanging on the zipper.
A surge of crisis instantly rushed up in Lu Lecheng. Before she could snatch it back, she heard Lu Ciheng say in a highly punchable tone.
“Nice bag. But carrying so many things belonging to your sister-in-law in private requires your brother’s permission, doesn’t it? I’m confiscating this.”
Lu Lecheng: “?????”
“Give it back! Lu Gou, are you even human?! Stealing from your own biological sister!”
Lu Ciheng raised an eyebrow, saying unhurriedly, “What did you just call your brother? No respect for your elders. The bag is confiscated.”
Lu Lecheng: “???? I’m telling Mom and Dad!”
Lu Ciheng examined the Baji and photocards on the bag. “Useless.”
Lu Lecheng was unhappy. Starting today, she decided to hate this world.
Lu Ciheng burst into laughter and handed the bag back to Lu Lecheng. “Just messing with you.”
Lu Lecheng immediately hugged the bag tightly, terrified that Lu Ciheng would snatch it away again.
Lu Ciheng pointed at the Baji and laser-printed cards. “Where did you buy these?”
Lu Lecheng hugged the bag even tighter. When speaking of the Baji, she immediately showed off, “I bought them on the secondhand market. These are limited edition, super hard to collect.”
Lu Ciheng was intrigued. “Collect a few for me too.”
Lu Lecheng was speechless. “And you say you’re not a Mengnan.”
The netizens in the live broadcast room couldn’t hear what was being said. They only knew that two people who looked somewhat alike were standing by the roadside, seemingly studying something. Feeling a bit bored, they flooded the screen with comments.
[The bag of the girl across from Lu Gou seems to be covered entirely in Baji.] [I screenshotted and zoomed in, they’re all Teacher Xie’s Baji, and these look like the ones that have been scalped to sky-high prices!] [Is a rich female fan privately contacting him?] [Xie Ge’s fan privately contacting Lu Gou? Is this an offline real-life revenge for stealing her wife?] [I remember the marketing accounts saying Lu Gou seems to have a younger sister.] [The sister carries a Teacher Xie Tongbao, the brother acts like Teacher Xie’s creep. The whole family shares the same attribute, huh…]
On the other side, Xie Shibai and Chen Qisheng left the lounge bar together.
Chen Qisheng didn’t care about being on camera and wasn’t particularly avoiding it, so the cameraman didn’t deliberately frame him out either.
Chen Qisheng pushed open the door of the lounge bar, standing at the entrance to say his goodbyes. “Then I’ll head back first.”
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that he had almost forgotten the flash drive. He took it out and handed it to Xie Shibai. “And the flash drive.”
The moment Xie Shibai’s fingertips touched the flash drive, he heard a familiar puppy bark. He paused, turned his head, and saw the familiar puppy. Looking up, he saw a remarkably familiar, tall figure standing by the roadside.
He was standing with a girl, both of them with their heads lowered looking at their phones. At a glance, it looked like they were adding each other’s contact information.
Chen Qisheng froze for a few seconds, looking back and forth a few times.
Tudou the puppy, who had originally been resting on the ground, noticed Xie Shibai immediately. All exhaustion from its body was seemingly tossed away as it sprang up and charged enthusiastically toward Xie Shibai with a howl.
Lu Ciheng pulled the leash taut. Turning his head, he met Xie Shibai’s eyes. Joy was just about to bloom on his face to say what a coincidence this was, but within a second, his dark eyes instantly locked onto the hand Xie Shibai was using to receive the flash drive.
Seeing Xie Shibai, Lu Lecheng’s eyes gleamed brightly, and she instantly grew excited.
Xie Shibai stared at Lu Lecheng’s puppy eyes, which were identical to Lu Ciheng’s, and paused for a second. Then, he noticed the bag in Lu Ciheng’s hand, covered in colorful laser badges featuring his own face.
“…?”
What the hell is that?
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