Kiss

Xin Wan suddenly hid his phone behind his back.

'I...... no, xiao shidi, what are you saying?'

Xin Wan forced a stiff smile, trying to talk his way out.

'I didn't hear you clearly just now, xiao shidi, so I accidentally agreed. Actually, what I said just now was in a questioning and denying tone......'

'It's fine, shixiong didn't hear clearly, then I'll say it again.' Ying Huai laughed good-naturedly.

He didn't wait for Xin Wan to react again, sat up slightly straight, and said with a smile: 'Shixiong actually registered the Swear Brother account long ago, and has been secretly observing without telling me, right?'

'Right, of course I didn't—' Xin Wan, thinking of his answer just now, said with certainty.

But just as he finished speaking quickly, he suddenly realized something was off.

——This wasn't the same rhetorical question format as before.

Xin Wan suddenly raised his head: 'You tricked me?'

Ying Huai lightly coughed covering his lips, then suddenly laughed: 'How did I trick shixiong? It was shixiong's own subconscious that answered me.'

He looked at Xin Wan, the corners of his mouth still smiling, but his tone sank slightly: 'Shixiong is really persistent, isn't it. Harassing me offline isn't enough, online you also........pay extra attention.'

Xin Wan was stunned for a moment, instantly realizing what Ying Huai had misunderstood.

'Wait, I'm not......'

Xin Wan opened his mouth to explain, but meeting Ying Huai's calm gaze, for a moment couldn't say anything.

——He had indeed registered this account initially to follow Ying Huai.

This account was registered by Xin Wan when Ying Huai first left the company, originally just to lurk and follow Ying Huai's Weibo.

But later he gradually started greedily commenting in livestream rooms or comment sections, using a passive-aggressive tone to awkwardly defend Ying Huai, trying to attract Ying Huai's attention.

Xin Wan fell silent, but the livestream chat had already exploded.

[Oh my god, Xin Wan is Ying Huai's.....loyal fan?]

[I'm so confused, I always remembered Xin Wan hating Ying Huai, but now looking at it seems like......saying one thing and meaning another?]

[Right right, like that tsundere puppy, on the surface fierce and full of disdain, but when no one's around wildly wagging its tail and circling around, trying to get close but being rejected hahahahaha!]

[Help, the description upstairs is so vivid, now the situation really seems to have reversed, Xin Wan is trying hard to show goodwill to Ying Huai, but Ying Huai calmly and directly rejects.]

[Am I the only one still scrolling through Swear Brother's past comments? And it let me find a shocking thing——]

[What what? Upstairs say it quickly——a wave of the hand, a push of the landmine.]

[Do you remember, after Ying Huai and Le Xi dissolved their master-disciple relationship, there was a rumor that Ying Huai took Liang Shining as a disciple?]

[? Don't drag our Liang ge into this, don't cue him ha.]

[I just scrolled through past comments and found that Swear Brother once said, 'Dying of laughter, I swear, even if Ying Huai acknowledges me as shixiong, he won't take Liang Shining as a disciple.']

[! Now Swear Brother really is Ying Huai's shixiong, then Liang Shining really is——Ying Huai's disciple??!]

[?!! This is probably the first time Swear Brother hasn't been slapped in the face.]

[But why has Liang Shining never publicly called Ying Huai shifu, and Ying Huai never publicly acknowledged it?]

[Dying of laughter, isn't this easy to explain, the thing is fake, or Liang Shining is unwilling.]

[emmmm Liang Shining's current behavior doesn't seem like he's unwilling.]

[Is it possible that Ying Huai doesn't agree. Although Liang Shining has always wanted to call him shifu, he's afraid of making Ying Huai angry, so he only dares to call him privately?]

Outside the livestream room, Xin Wan was still trying to explain to Ying Huai: 'Xiao shidi, this is different from me finding you offline before, I really just want to......'

But before he finished speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by the Director cheerfully.

'Ahem, perfect, the people from our livestream room have all gathered together now, let's just play a game.'

The Director looked around at the few people with varied expressions in front of him, his expression slowly becoming excited: 'Perfect, everyone has a lot of questions now——'

Ying Huai looked at the Director's appearance, and a bad premonition inexplicably rose in his heart.

Sure enough, the next second, he heard the Director say loudly: 'Then let's play Truth or Dare!'

Outside the livestream room there was silence, Xin Wan frowned and raised his head, saying inexplicably: 'Director, do you really not have any newer games?'

'Classics endure forever, no problem,' the Director said cheerfully, even turning the tables: 'And can you understand it if it's harder?'

Xin Wan scoffed dismissively, Ying Huai beside him paused, his body quietly leaning back.

——He was essentially an out-and-out game black hole.

He didn't play games, and couldn't play them even if he did; last time the horror box was just a fluke that got him first place.

——But it's just Truth or Dare, it shouldn't require much skill.

Ying Huai's heart settled slightly, but the next second, he saw the Director on the other side of the camera take out a prop with a smile.

'Our Truth or Dare today is still an innovative version.'

Ying Huai: .......

——He took back what he said just now.

According to the Director, his game was very 'simple'.

Each person has two minutes per turn; during these two minutes he will give pictures in sequence, requiring them to find the specified item on the picture to proceed to the next picture; whoever passes the fewest pictures within the time limit is the person to be questioned in this round of Truth or Dare.

'The first place is the questioner, who can choose to ask questions themselves or draw from the audience.' The Director added.

'This is too easy.' Xin Wan instantly relaxed.

Xin Wan was clear about Ying Huai's 'game ability'.

He calculated in his heart to quickly win the game, and when Ying Huai chose Truth, take the opportunity of asking him questions to explain to Ying Huai.

Xin Wan's mood relaxed a bit, and he said jokingly: 'Director, you're looking down on us.'

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Ying Huai turn his head expressionlessly, a flash of indignation in his peach blossom eyes.

Xin Wan: ?

——He inexplicably felt that xiao shidi had another layer of misunderstanding about him.

'The first round is this game, the next round will be adjusted according to your situation.' The Director clapped his hands, 'Alright, who's first?'

'I'll go, I'll go!' Xin Wan immediately volunteered, raising his hand.

'I'll show you a sample, let you see what a true game king's level is,' Xin Wan was pleased internally, and his mouth started running again without restraint, 'But don't worry, I won't win by too much, I'll hold back some of my strength——'

As he spoke, he turned his head, but his voice suddenly stopped.

He looked at the picture the Director gave in disbelief, 'What the hell?'

The picture was filled with the same Bouquet cat across the entire screen, and the Director required finding the one that belonged to Ying Huai among them.

......Xin Wan only remembered that Ying Huai's one was especially fat.

Ying Huai couldn't help laughing out loud, and Liang Shining beside him also had a bit more smile on his face.

'Didn't Teacher Xin just say it was easy to find?' Lu Jing, who had been watching coldly, finally caught the opportunity and said slowly, 'Teacher Xin, don't hold back on us, show your full strength.'

......Xin Wan really didn't want to hold back anymore.

His whole body almost pressed against the screen, but after searching for a long time, not only couldn't find that Bouquet, but felt like the whole view was swaying with Bouquet cats.

Xin Wan finally ended the game first with a score of 0.

And Lu Jing and Liang Shining's scores, unsurprisingly, both exceeded Xin Wan's.

——And without exception, they both thanked Xin Wan for 'holding back' after finishing.

Xin Wan gritted his teeth, simply ignoring them, and cast his hopeful gaze toward Ying Huai.

——Anyway, he had already lost; if Ying Huai could win, when he was asked at the end, he could also take the opportunity to explain.

Ying Huai casually played with the Hongyu Jewel Pendant at the end of his hair, his expression as casual as ever.

He took a deep breath, slowly straightened up, and suddenly heard Liang Shining beside him say quietly: 'Don't be nervous.'

Ying Huai was stunned for a moment, and turned his head with an unclear meaning.

Although this game really didn't require much skill, because of his past life, he had always been subconsciously panicked by these vision-testing things.

He stared at Liang Shining for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: 'What is Mr. Liang saying, I'm not nervous?'

Liang Shining did not refute his words.

He quietly stared at Ying Huai for a few seconds, then suddenly also slightly curved his lips: 'Okay.'

Ying Huai paused, and his heart inexplicably really calmed down.

He took a deep breath, turned around again to look at the Director.

Not knowing if Liang Shining's two sentences just now were really useful, Ying Huai answered rapidly all the way, always able to accurately find what was required.

Xin Wan beside him was so excited he was about to jump up: 'Xiao shidi, keep it up, there's still twenty seconds left, one more and you can surpass Lu Jing——'

But before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw the person in front frown and sway for a moment.

Xin Wan was stunned: 'Xiao shidi?'

Ying Huai suddenly felt a wave of dizziness before his eyes.

The inexplicable black fog from the stairs just now appeared before his eyes again, Ying Huai frowned, suddenly reached out to support the armrest beside him, and slightly shook his head.

Liang Shining beside him instantly noticed something was off with Ying Huai.

'What's wrong?' Liang Shining reached out to support Ying Huai's arm, and said quietly, 'Where does it feel uncomfortable?'

Ying Huai lowered his eyes and shook his head.

That wave of black fog came and went quickly; at this moment, besides some blurriness before Ying Huai's eyes, there was nothing abnormal.

'It's nothing, maybe I looked too long, a bit dizzy.'

As he spoke, he avoided Liang Shining's hand, raised his head again to look at the screen: 'The second from the bottom in the vertical row at the lower left corner is the Mint Chocolate Ice Cream, the others are all matcha.'

As soon as he finished speaking, the timer beside him stopped at the same time.

Xin Wan cheered, seeing the few people beside him turn their heads in confusion, he coughed as if to cover it up: 'I, I'm forcing a smile here.'

As he spoke, he quickly turned his head, and without waiting for the Director's question, said without hesitation: 'I choose Truth.'

Ying Huai raised his head and gave the excited Xin Wan an inexplicable look.

'Alright, congratulations to Teacher Ying for winning the first round.' The Director finally reacted too, coughed and laughed: 'Teacher Ying can randomly draw audience questions, or directly ask Teacher Xin.'

'Xiao shidi, just ask me directly,' Xin Wan said impatiently, 'I know you have a lot you want to ask me, quick——'

Ying Huai leaned back on the sofa, half-propping his head, rubbing his brow repeatedly.

His complexion was still a bit pale, but his expression had returned to normal, as if the discomfort just now was just an accident.

'Alright,' Ying Huai raised his head, and said with a half-smile, 'I do have something to ask shixiong.'

Xin Wan expectantly sat up straight, listening to Ying Huai say unhurriedly: 'Shixiong is......recently preparing a competition Art Exhibition?'

'Right, I——wait, what?' Xin Wan was stunned, only then belatedly realizing what Ying Huai had asked.

The competition he was recently preparing was a relatively heavyweight international competition; Xin Wan was eager to win an award in this competition to prove himself to everyone.

But he had recently been stuck at the topic selection stage, with no inspiration at all.

"How did you know—no wait," Xin Wan instinctively began, then realized something and raised his head in disbelief, "is this your question, junior shidi?"

Ying Huai did not answer Xin Wan's first question.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, let out a low hiss, and said offhandedly: "Yeah."

Ying Huai closed his eyes briefly, then sat up straight again: "Alright, I've finished asking. Director, start the next round."

"Wait," Xin Wan spoke again, unwilling to let it go, "don't you have anything else to ask me, junior shidi? My alt account really wasn't for monitoring you......"

"No." Ying Huai softly cut Xin Wan off.

He turned his head, his gaze unfocused for some reason: "I'm not interested in—those things about shixiong."

Xin Wan suddenly froze.

Ying Huai lowered his eyes again. The Director beside him had already started the next round of the game.

Xin Wan was completely distracted, and as expected only identified one image again.

But for some reason, Ying Huai did not identify a single one this round.

"Alright, Teacher Ying chose Truth. This round, the first-place Teacher Lu will ask Teacher Ying a question." The Director said cheerfully.

Ying Huai was still sitting on the sofa holding the cat plushie, looking perfectly at ease.

For some reason, Lu Jing's expression actually became somewhat nervous.

"Can I ask anything?" Lu Jing said quietly.

The Director was a seasoned veteran of the entertainment industry and spoke without giving anything away: "In principle, you can ask anything, but Teacher Lu, you decide for yourself how deep the question goes."

Lu Jing closed his eyes briefly.

He raised his head, looked at the person sitting before him with lowered eyes, and after a long moment said quietly: "Have you forgiven me, Xiao Huai?"

The people around them were startled. Ying Huai's hand, which had been tugging at the cat's ear, trembled slightly.

He raised his head, squinted slightly, and looked at Lu Jing before him.

Father Liang worked with decisive efficiency; the very next day, Father Lu's dismissal transfer came through.

The Lu Family was suddenly leaderless, and all the mess immediately fell onto Lu Jing.

Although Lu Jing had announced his departure from the Lu Family, under pressure from the board he could only be forced to clean up the mess. These past few days he had been swamped, and the whole person seemed to have aged a full circle.

Ying Huai stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly curved his eyes: "What is shixiong talking about?"

"Shixiong and I haven't had any interaction recently. What would I need to forgive?"

Lu Jing was stunned. The Director beside him had no idea what was going on, but still hurriedly spoke up: "Hey hey, Teacher Ying, you can't do that. Once a question is asked, you have to answer accurately—"

Before Ying Huai could speak, Lu Jing beside him spoke first: "It's fine, my question wasn't good. Let me change it."

Lu Jing sat back down dejectedly.

He did not have the energy to think it through. He closed his eyes briefly and said tiredly: "I'll randomly pick one from the audience questions."

He casually took a screenshot, and when he lowered his eyes, his expression suddenly froze.

The first question on the bullet comments was—

[Y: Are Teacher Ying and Teacher Liang secretly dating?]

Lu Jing's expression went blank. Ying Huai choked, instantly coughing until the sky turned dark: "No."

He was caught between laughter and tears: "Why would you even think that......"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the bullet comment from the user named 'Y' type out another sentence.

[Y: Then why are Teacher Ying and Teacher Liang wearing matching couple's loungewear?]

Ying Huai was stunned for a moment, lowered his head in bewilderment: "We're not wearing couple's loungewear......"

The moment his words fell, he saw user Y on the bullet comments directly post an image, which was clearly a screenshot from the website showing these two outfits.

And on that screenshot, the words 'Couple's Style' were written in bold letters.

Ying Huai, who had squinted for a long time and finally seen clearly: ???

His expression, rarely flustered, showed panic: "No, I didn't buy this. Someone helped me buy it. They probably didn't pay attention to that when buying......"

But the bullet comments had already exploded, and people below were even echoing the sentiment.

[That makes sense, and it looks like the Hongyu Jewel Pendant at the end of Ying Huai's hair and Teacher Liang's Hongyu Earrings are also a pair.]

Ying Huai: ??

He felt his head spinning even more.

Having been cyberbullied by the entire internet for so long, this was the first time Ying Huai felt he had no way to defend himself.

He clenched his teeth and, without being obvious about it, stepped on Liang Shining's foot beside him.

"Perhaps Teacher Liang could also explain?"

Liang Shining glanced down at him and said slowly: "My mother helped buy this. She probably really didn't notice that point."

Unexpectedly, the moment his words fell, that 'Y' spoke again.

[Y: Wow, mother-in-law is already helping buy clothes?]

Ying Huai: ??

—He suddenly had a feeling that today's matter could not be explained away.

Ying Huai really wanted to know who this 'Y' was.

His face was burning. He opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly heard Liang Shining's unhurried voice from beside him.

"That's enough, detailed explanations are for the next question." Liang Shining looked at Ying Huai's thoroughly reddened earlobes and slightly curved his lips.

He turned to the Director: "Director, start the next round."

The Director beside them, who had been enjoying the show immensely, finally came back to himself, coughed lightly, and began the procedure: "Alright, we do need to start the next round."

The Director confirmed something with the assistant beside him and said with a smile: "Su Yun has a scheduling conflict today and can't come, but we have another new guest who will finally be able to join us in a moment."

"Let's squeeze in one more round. Once this round ends, that guest should be able to make it over." The Director clapped his hands.

The others' expressions did not change, but Ying Huai raised his head at the sound, looking thoughtfully at the Director.

—He seemed to know who that upcoming guest was.

The Director, who enjoyed the drama, spoke again: "Since this is the last round, let's raise the stakes. The last-place finisher can only choose Dare, drawing from the Adventure Challenge cards I've prepared. Everyone, give it your all."

It seemed this sentence had an effect—Xin Wan finally had a breakthrough this round, clearing through rapidly with quick reactions.

But Ying Huai's condition still did not seem quite right.

He barely identified one image, his entire body soaked in cold sweat, and even stumbled when getting up.

Liang Shining beside him quickly reached out to steady him, looked at the person before him clutching his chest and breathing heavily with head lowered, and said with a frown: "Where do you feel unwell, Ying Huai?"

"Is your heart bothering you?"

Ying Huai shook his head.

His vision was spinning, his ears filled with buzzing, and his muddled, dizzy brain seemed to stop functioning all at once.

Ying Huai's heart was pounding violently, but he could not say a single word, only passively being swallowed by the interwoven exhaustion and helplessness.

A cup of warm water was suddenly brought to his lips, and then a hand suddenly pressed against his chest, skillfully kneading in rhythm, helping Ying Huai steady his breathing.

Liang Shining, while observing Ying Huai's condition, quickly sent a message to Song Si Lan.

Lu Jing beside him had also long noticed something was off with Ying Huai, and said with a frown: "Can we take a break, Director?"

The Director shook his head: "That guest will be here in a moment. His schedule is tight. If we take a break, there won't be enough time."

The Director was well aware of Ying Huai's illness, but for the sake of the livestream's ratings, his words were extremely perfunctory: "I've approved sick leave for Teacher Ying for the past few weeks. After resting so long, Teacher Ying's body still isn't better?"

Ying Huai's lips curved slightly: "If these past few weeks were all rest, why am I still livestreaming here now?"

The Director's face stiffened.

Ying Huai barely caught his breath.

He did not want to reveal his physical condition in front of the camera. Leaning on Liang Shining's support, he slowly steadied himself and shook his head slightly.

"I'm fine, let's continue."

"I won't choose," Xin Wan beside him also said through gritted teeth, "let Ying Huai rest first. After he's rested, I'll choose."

The Director gave Xin Wan a meaningful look: "Teacher Xin is voluntarily giving up this opportunity?"

Xin Wan nodded with an ashen face, but Ying Huai beside him suddenly realized something and hurriedly raised his head: "Wait—"

Before he could finish speaking, he heard the Director instantly laugh: "Alright then, the choice is handed over to the audience."

Xin Wan's expression froze. Ying Huai silently sighed.

The Director beside him said unhurriedly, "It's fine, Teacher Xin. If you won't choose, just let the audience choose for you."

"I'll still randomly take a screenshot. The first audience comment in the screenshot will be Teacher Ying's Adventure Challenge method." The Director said leisurely.

"You're playing tricks on me—" Xin Wan suddenly stood up.

But the Director had already pressed the screenshot.

The next second, the Director's pleasantly surprised voice rang out: "The comment requires Teacher Ying to kiss the person on his left."

—And the person sitting on Ying Huai's left was precisely Liang Shining.

The moment the Director finished speaking, Xin Wan and Lu Jing both suddenly stood up and said simultaneously: "No."

Ying Huai, who had not yet reacted, raised his head blankly, looking at Xin Wan with a face flushed red and Lu Jing with an angry expression.

—And Liang Shining beside them, whose expression was unreadable.

The Director, who had already anticipated the livestream's ratings, could not suppress his excitement in his voice: "Do Teacher Xin and Teacher Lu have any issues?"

"Change the Adventure Challenge," Lu Jing said in a low voice, "this one won't do."

"What, does the young President Lu have an objection?" The Director laughed, "Oh I forgot, Teacher Lu isn't the young President Lu anymore. You're no longer a member of the Lu Family Group."

Xin Wan was nearly fuming with rage: "Junior shidi is still young, he can't—"

"Teacher Ying is already over eighteen. This kind of thing would only get censored on a certain literature site." The Director said unhurriedly.

"Then why does junior shidi have to kiss Liang Shining," Xin Wan said in a rage, speaking without thinking, "why can't it be......"

For that instant, Ying Huai inexplicably felt that Xin Wan was about to say his own name.

He suddenly laughed: "You've been arguing for ages, but has anyone asked Teacher Liang's opinion?"

The people around them were instantly stunned.

Ying Huai leaned back in the corner of the sofa, his head slightly raised, his gaze turning to Liang Shining beside him who had not spoken.

Liang Shining was the one with the most say among these people, and Ying Huai was certain Liang Shining would absolutely not agree to this kind of thing.

Ying Huai yawned, lazily waiting for Liang Shining to refuse.

Unexpectedly, the next second, he saw Liang Shining turn his head and look at him with an unreadable expression.

Ying Huai was stunned.

—He suddenly was not so sure in his heart anymore.