Qian Xingzhi stared fixedly at the exposed stretch of Shen Li’s neck. In truth, from the moment he heard Shen Li call his name, his hand had already clenched into a fist.
Shen Li’s pale skin carried the faintest flush. His thick lashes cast shadows into his deep-set eyes, and his whole person looked like a handful of snow—cold, white, soft, especially beautiful, and somehow a little gentle too.
The things Shen Li said never seemed particularly pleasant to hear, yet every time he spoke, even with that extraordinarily calm expression, every word held a heart-stopping attraction for Qian Xingzhi.
The magnetic field between two people was always inexplicable. It was never as simple as like charges repelling and opposites attracting.
And when a person found something unbearably adorable, they sometimes developed a…terrifying urge to possess it.
So because of that one “Xingzhi” from Shen Li, Qian Xingzhi clenched his fist.
The feeling was awful.
And painfully familiar.
He wanted to kiss him. Wanted to touch him. But he was even more afraid of frightening him.
Seven years was too long.
It really had been a little too long.
Shen Li also noticed that Qian Xingzhi’s gaze was wandering.
Because Qian Xingzhi’s eyes seemed to hover around the lower half of his face. That absentminded look resembled a student zoning out in class, or an audience member who cared only about a person’s face—and judging by the degree of Qian Xingzhi’s concentration, it even looked a little like Shen Li’s own state whenever he listened to Yang Zhiqi talk.
So Shen Li’s voice cooled. “Are you even listening?”
Qian Xingzhi saw Shen Li’s brows knit tightly together.
Still very good-looking.
He shook the indecent thoughts out of his head, then gave a single nod with a cold expression but an obedient attitude. A few clipped syllables struck their way out of his throat:
“I’m listening. Just now…sorry.”
Shen Li knew himself very well. He really was extremely easy to coax.
Or perhaps his temper simply burned small and died quickly. Usually, Qian Xingzhi only needed to say a few soft words and, even if the issue was very serious, one “sorry” could easily sweep the whole matter aside. It was nothing like Shen Li’s working style, but it was perfectly consistent with the way he and Qian Xingzhi had interacted for so many years.
Shen Li frowned at Qian Xingzhi, his heart tightening. Without showing it, he took half a step back and chose not to extend the topic. Instead, he very quickly returned to the matter of “sharing a room.”
“—Which room do you want to rent?”
“Your original room. We can add another bed.”
“That room is small. Where would we put it?”
“Beside the window.”
Shen Li: “…”
Then he heard Qian Xingzhi say softly, “The other two rooms have double beds. They aren’t really suitable for adding a separate bed so we can sleep apart. Or, if you don’t mind, I could also—”
“Add the bed,” Shen Li said as he walked ahead. “As long as the rules allow it.”
“Mm.”
Qian Xingzhi answered in his low voice and followed Shen Li’s steps.
Not long afterward, two in-System messages arrived on the cabin System controlled by Assistant Xu.
[Qian Xingzhi]: [Find some excuse to change the rules. Add another bed to the single room.]
[Qian Xingzhi]: [Shen Li doesn’t like appearing on camera together with me. Cut down on our two-person shots too.]
Assistant Xu received the messages and nearly rolled her eyes into the back of her head.
Once she had saved enough money for retirement, she really needed to quit this life-shortening job at the first opportunity…
Assistant Xu looked at the screen full of protesting comments and thought, There are so many rich people in this world. Why can’t I be one of them?!
Viewer discussion area:
[What the hell is the studio doing? Qian Xingzhi finally came on the show, so why does he have so little screen time?!]
[Fuck, I’ve stared at Yang Zhiqi’s giant head all afternoon, plus KJJ and LX arguing all afternoon, and even Li Weiwei and Kris have more screen time than Qian-Shen. Can the studio explain itself? I haven’t even touched my summer homework because I spent the whole afternoon glued to the screen, and this is what you serve me?!]
[Did Brother Qian pull too many wild moves, so now the studio staff aren’t on the same side as him anymore?]
[Help. No matter what, Qian Xingzhi is still an investor, right? You’re spending his money but refusing to work for him? What’s wrong with giving him and Shen Li more screen time? What’s wrong with giving him a little extra privilege? I went to the bathroom and now both of them are gone again?!]
[Thirty minutes already [cracked] Did they fall into the toilet? Send someone to fish them out]
[Qian Xingzhi…you brat…even if you want to kiss Xiao Li, please don’t choose the bathroom. Thank you [shattered]]
“—Sister Xu, what do we do?!” The camera-team leader looked deeply troubled, almost scratching himself bald. Under the chief director’s orders, he had come over with a miserable face and carefully asked Assistant Xu, “Should we ask President Qian again? The audience has left way too many bad reviews this afternoon. They all say President Qian and Mr. Shen don’t get enough screen time while the other guests get too much. Some viewers have already started calling the complaints department and accusing us of false advertising.”
Chief Assistant Xu raised a brow and answered with remarkable emotional stability, “What are you afraid of? They aren’t cursing you personally. Keep following the current camera plan. Same thing for tonight’s activity.”
The camera-team leader confirmed, “So if President Qian and Mr. Shen appear in the same shot, we should minimize filming them?”
“Yes.”
“Uh…but why?” The cameraman was confused too. “By all logic, shouldn’t those two be the center position? They literally brought investment into the production…”
Assistant Xu’s expression did not change. Her answer was exceedingly professional. “Our program is committed to conducting an in-depth exploration of the various issues that arise within marital relationships, with particular focus on the complex circumstances faced by divorced families, including analysis of the root causes of domestic conflict and the determination and enforcement of child-custody rights. Our aim is to inspire public reflection and discussion on marriage and family issues—not to focus on the private emotional entanglements between an investor and his ex.”
The cameraman listened in a daze.
Then nodded.
Seeing that he had accepted it, Assistant Xu continued, “Actually, during the first three days, there was a little too much footage of Shen Li and President Qian. Look at Yang and Zhao—they’ve been talking about their child lately. Ke and Lin have that impulsive marriage of theirs. Li and Jiang are dealing with property-division difficulties. All of those deserve more filming, with the aim of encouraging the audience to think.”
Cameraman: …
“Got it. Then for tonight’s paired-game segment, I’ll still tell Team A to reduce the two-person shots on President Qian’s side—but what about solo shots? If either of them is alone, should we film them?”
“Try not to film Mr. Shen walking.”
“—Right, right, we were already warned about that. Don’t worry. We’ve avoided filming Mr. Shen walking since the first day of recording. Like the day Mr. Shen came down from the forestry station—the cameraman only shot mountain scenery the entire way. We just recorded the conversation audio.”
“Mm. Good.”
“But what about the viewers’ negative reviews…?”
“I’ll have someone release the bonus audio from their overnight call later.”
First give the howling audience a piece of candy to lick.
Sure enough.
The moment the edited audio clip was released, it immediately drew away a considerable amount of fire. Even the CP super-topic that had previously been bombarded by solo fans was rapidly rebuilt within a few hours by the newly arriving CP fans. But that came later.
Shen Li, being inside the situation himself, naturally had no idea what was going on.
He was only somewhat puzzled as to why, after he and Qian Xingzhi handed in the daytime Task A together, the camera behind them did not follow.
However, seeing that there were still more than two hours before the daytime tasks ended at seven that evening, Shen Li decided to find somewhere without fixed cameras, leisurely complete Task B as well, then return to the cabin to report completion.
“Do you want to do it in 219?”
Ever since Shen Li said he wanted them to maintain some distance, Qian Xingzhi’s voice had returned to that cold, low tone he had used in their recent interactions. Now, with the added sexy rasp caused by illness, his whole voice made it difficult not to wonder whether a human vocal cord could normally produce such a sound.
Was he deliberately squeezing his voice or something?
Qian Xingzhi stood perfectly straight and calmly added, “—People probably won’t disturb you over there. You can work until after six before going back.”
Shen Li lowered his eyes and thought briefly. His main concern was getting rid of the weeds in his bag as soon as possible. He needed both a place without cameras and an opportunity to separate from Qian Xingzhi.
Going back to the production team’s low-rise building might indeed give him a chance.
There was a small JD convenience store a few hundred meters away. When they got there, he could ask Qian Xingzhi to go downstairs and buy two ears of corn or just pick up something to drink. There were many staff members around that area, household garbage was centrally collected, and there would definitely be a large trash bin.
“Okay.”
Shen Li agreed and let Qian Xingzhi ride the little electric scooter while he sat on the back. But he did not put his arms around Qian Xingzhi’s waist. Instead, he braced both hands behind himself—
Exactly the same place he used to put his hands when he rode on the back of Qian Xingzhi’s bicycle in their second year of high school, before they had started dating.
At first, Shen Li had found it rather strange that a rich young master of Qian Xingzhi’s background knew how to ride bicycles and electric scooters. Only later did he learn that Qian Xingzhi had deliberately taught himself so he could take Shen Li home.
“I haven’t ridden one of these in years. Hold on properly. If you fall, don’t blame me.”
Qian Xingzhi’s somewhat stiff voice came from the front. Shen Li gave a faint laugh, tightening the hand gripping the back of the scooter. How could he possibly fail to understand what Qian Xingzhi meant?
“Oh,” Shen Li answered, without moving his hands. “It’s fine. I won’t make you take responsibility.”
“…”
Qian Xingzhi seemed to make a sound somewhere between a “hmph” and an “mm.” It was only one blurred syllable, and it quickly scattered into the wind. Shen Li could not hear it clearly.
There were simply too many similar scenes in his memories. They too seemed stored within the wind striking his ears head-on, rushing toward him in waves before scattering away again.
For example, during winter break in their final year of high school, on the second day after they had started dating, Qian Xingzhi had used the fact that Shen Li still refused to hold his waist and kept gripping the rear seat as a perfectly righteous excuse to stop the bicycle on an empty street, abruptly turn around, and demand their first kiss.
Or another time, when Qian Xingzhi became so angry because Shen Li had ridden Zhao Rong’s motorcycle and held Zhao Rong around the waist that he refused to speak for three hours. Shen Li had to coax him for six hours and hold up two fingers to promise that, for the rest of his life, he would only ever hold his partner’s waist before Qian Xingzhi finally stopped wearing that foul expression.
Things that felt as though they had happened only yesterday had, without anyone noticing, already faded in memory into the caramel tones of an old photograph.
The evening wind would never again carry fine snow and skim across someone’s eyelashes, just as the rust stains on the cuffs of their school uniforms would never again have anything to do with either of them.
…
“We’re here.” Qian Xingzhi stepped on the brake and said to Shen Li, “Get off.”
Shen Li’s eyes darkened. He placed his right hand on Qian Xingzhi’s shoulder, used his left foot as the supporting center of gravity, then lowered his right foot to the ground. During the entire walk upstairs afterward, neither of them said anything more.
Except for Qian Xingzhi asking once, “What’s in your bag? Is it heavy?”
Shen Li replied flatly, “An iPad. It’s not heavy. I’ll carry it myself.”
When they passed Room 208, Shen Li glanced at it, but what he wanted to ask would take too long. Better to wait until they were inside before bringing it up.
As for the most urgent matter right now—
Watching Qian Xingzhi unlock the door, Shen Li finally asked with deliberate casualness, “Is there anything to eat inside?”
Qian Xingzhi looked back, his indifferent gaze falling on Shen Li. “Only a bowl of porridge from this morning.”
“Oh.” Shen Li’s tone remained light. “Then I’ll drink that later. I’m a little hungry.”
Qian Xingzhi pushed the door, put the key into his pocket, then shoved it wide open with force. His tall figure moved aside to let Shen Li enter. “It’s cold. That’s bad for your stomach. I’ll go buy something else.”
Shen Li nodded and did not object.
Once Qian Xingzhi saw Shen Li enter the room, he immediately turned and left, moving very quickly.
Only after the footsteps had gone far away did Shen Li take the backpack off his shoulder and pull the entire black plastic bag of weeds back out from inside it.
At that moment, Shen Li suddenly felt that, among the few stupid things he had done over all his years of conducting himself in the world, he could now add today’s incident to the list—waiting for the right opportunity to dispose of a bag of weeds like a criminal trying to get rid of a murder weapon…
Forget it.
Better not think too deeply. Spare himself.
Shen Li glanced at the automatically locking door and thought he should look for another key.
Old houses that had sat unused for a long time usually had several copies of the door key. After one was given to a temporary tenant, the remaining bundle would often be hung on some hook or placed inside a drawer.
Shen Li only intended to look briefly, checking a few bedside cabinets to see whether there was one. If there really was not, he would simply leave the door open while he went to throw the bag away. The large garbage bin was right downstairs, very close. He would definitely be back far faster than Qian Xingzhi could possibly—
“Shhk—”
Shen Li pulled open the bedside drawer.
There really was a ring of keys inside.
But resting on top of the keys was also a box of something…
Shen Li’s cool eyes abruptly narrowed. Even his breathing seemed to pause. First, he studied the angle at which the box lay across the keys before calmly picking up the small box.
But once Shen Li clearly read the detailed information printed on it, his beautiful brows drew together extremely tightly.
Because the little box resting on top of those keys…
was an unopened box of