Chapter 13

Hu Ying parked outside the supermarket and got out with Zhai Xingchen.

His blue supercar drew plenty of looks from passersby, and Hu Ying only lifted his chin higher because of it. He slid on his sunglasses, like a beautiful, proud peacock.

Walking next to Hu Ying, Zhai Xingchen felt like some loyal, dull servant.

When you were with Hu Ying, having the self-awareness to play the supporting leaf was important.

He just had to do his job and make this overbearing flower look even better.

Out of the eight guests on The Red and Blue Signal, the Production Team had set up almost seven CP lines for everyone. Among that whole mess of pairings, some were key focus targets, like Hu Ying and Yan Zhi right now. Some were just there for show, like Hu Ying and Wen Nu, or Hu Ying and Zhai Xingchen.

Everyone knew Hu Ying's type.

Zhai Xingchen wasn't even in his dating range.

So for this grocery run, the Production Team only gave them a selfie camera. They didn't even send a follow cam.

What Zhai Xingchen bought today was all pretty unusual.

Clearly, he was making a big meal.

'How come you didn't ask what we wanted to eat today?' Hu Ying said.

'Today everyone's opening a blind box,' Zhai Xingchen said with a smile. 'Whatever I make, that's what you eat. No custom orders.'

Zhai Xingchen was serious when he picked out seafood. Hu Ying pushed the cart and watched from the side, bored out of his mind. If this weren't for filming, he definitely would've never come to the fresh section. Just the smell alone was already getting to him. But Zhai Xingchen was so focused. Hu Ying watched him for a while, and maybe it was just because Zhai Xingchen was too good-looking, but he actually started spotting a few of Zhai Xingchen's good points.

Actually, the first time he met Zhai Xingchen, he'd already passed on him. It wasn't just an age thing. He'd dated high schoolers before, so age really wasn't a big issue. He mostly just thought Zhai Xingchen looked like he didn't have much personality.

He'd always thought personality mattered most in a man. The more distinct someone was, the more he wanted to dig deeper.

Like Yan Zhi. Like Pei Xu.

Huo Cheng worked too. The guy was plenty manly.

But compared to them, Zhai Xingchen felt too ordinary. Sure, his temperament was nice. And he was good-looking too. But overall he was just too mild, nothing that made you itch to explore him.

But now that he was really watching him, Hu Ying realized Zhai Xingchen wasn't bad at all.

At one-eighty-three, he counted as tall. Probably because he danced, his proportions were especially good, and visually he didn't look any shorter than Yan Zhi and the others. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. Fresh and clean, with that bright college-kid energy. Unlike the rest of them, who were covered in designer labels, Zhai Xingchen's T-shirt and pants looked plain at a glance. But that plainness suited him instead. It fit that low-key but bright aura he had.

He just felt natural. Easy to be around.

You had to know, most people would put on at least a bit of an act in front of the camera, especially amateurs.

But Zhai Xingchen was very natural. He didn't avoid the camera, and he didn't perform for it either.

Zhai Xingchen noticed Hu Ying staring at him and turned to look.

Meeting Hu Ying's oddly serious gaze, Zhai Xingchen gave him a faint smile.

That smile dazzled Hu Ying. His heart suddenly skipped.

Yeah. Zhai Xingchen actually was... pretty good.

Red lips, white teeth, that healthy clean vibe, just a sophomore in college. Maybe he was even... still a virgin?

Hu Ying, who had a thing for virgins, felt a rush of heat in his chest.

Maybe Pei Xu was too cold, and Yan Zhi a little too distant. He'd always been adored everywhere he went, and he still hadn't adjusted to that drop-off, so he'd been feeling off. So when he ran into someone like Zhai Xingchen, this warm top, he suddenly felt like that wasn't bad either.

Once that little thought took root, the ride back suddenly started to feel weird. So Hu Ying turned on some music. After listening for a second, Zhai Xingchen asked, 'This song's pretty old, isn't it?'

'I like old songs done in new versions. Don't you think there aren't many good songs these days? The older ones hold up better,' Hu Ying said.

The song Hu Ying put on was an unknown singer's cover of 'The First Time.'

Slower than the original, with only simple Guitar accompaniment and a low, husky voice.

The sky suddenly dimmed. Thick dark clouds rose off the sea, the sun tracing a beautiful gold edge around them. Hu Ying was drawn in by the sight and turned to look. The song sang:

'The first time I said I love you,

my breathing turned ragged,

and my heart wouldn't stop trembling.

The first time I took your hands,

I lost my sense of direction,

and didn't know where to go.'

Hu Ying suddenly reached out and pressed a button in the car.

'Whoa.'

The supercar transformed in one flashy move. A luxury car really was a luxury car. Even the way the top came down was cool as hell, like a Transformer.

Once the roof was fully retracted, the wind instantly blew Hu Ying's hair into a mess. Zhai Xingchen thought, this really was a rich people's variety show. They were out buying groceries in a convertible supercar.

He turned to look at Hu Ying and saw the wind had blown all his hair across his face, so he leaned over and brushed the hair away for him.

Hu Ying smiled a little but didn't say anything. He just bit his lower lip, looking cool.

The Production Team all watched, holding their breath.

In the silence, someone suddenly spoke up. 'I think I'm finally getting the CP vibe.'

'A tsundere Queen bottom and his loyal soft-puppy top.'

'That part just now, where Zhai Xingchen brushed his hair aside, cut that into the trailer for me!'

Suddenly, a sound drifted over from far away. The wind rushing at them had picked up a damp, watery edge.

Zhai Xingchen turned to look at the clouds rolling in over the sea. 'Not good.'

'What is it?' Hu Ying asked.

Zhai Xingchen looked ahead again. 'Rain's coming.'

The second he said it, the rain came rushing at them in sheets.

'It's raining,' Lin Qingning said, closing his book.

Pei Xu turned to look outside. The yard was already a hazy blur.

It was a sudden storm, hard and violent. It had only been raining for less than two minutes when sunlight started breaking through again. Thunder rumbled. The sun shone. The rain poured. The bizarre weather snapped everyone fully awake.

Duan Yihua and Wen Nu had been lying in bed chatting, and when they saw that, they both came downstairs. They'd only just reached the bottom when they heard Hu Ying and Zhai Xingchen laughing at the door. A moment later, the two of them came over carrying grocery bags, soaked through like drowned rats, leaving a trail of water behind them as they walked.

'How'd you two get that drenched?'

Lin Qingning came out of Pei Xu's room too. When he saw them, he hurriedly asked, 'Didn't you go by car? How are you still this soaked?'

'Don't even ask. Hu Ying opened the top halfway through the ride, and then we ran straight into the rain. I told him to put it back up, but he just wouldn't,' Zhai Xingchen said, shaking his head as he set down the dripping grocery bags.

'Wasn't it great, though?' Hu Ying said. 'Getting caught in the rain once in a while feels amazing.'

'You're seriously nuts.' Zhai Xingchen headed for the bedroom. 'I'm gonna wash off.'

He ran toward the bedroom laughing. Right when he got to the door, Pei Xu came out from inside.

'How'd you get soaked like that?' Pei Xu said.

Zhai Xingchen laughed a couple times and went into the room. Pei Xu frowned and turned to look at Hu Ying, who was just as drenched. Hu Ying slicked his hair back, revealing a smooth forehead and a bare, makeup-free face. But the tails of his brows and the corners of his eyes still tilted up, giving him that same bold, striking look.

Right in front of Pei Xu and the others, Hu Ying stripped off his shirt. Duan Yihua and the rest looked at him and said nothing.

Hu Ying had large tattoos across his back and lower abdomen, red and green tangled together, gorgeous and almost wicked-looking. His abs were lean. His shoulder blades stood out slightly along his back. His whole body had a wild kind of beauty. He knew exactly what he had going for him, too, and shot Pei Xu a glance.

But Pei Xu didn't look at him at all.

Hu Ying swallowed down a burst of anger, pressed his lips into a cold line, and went upstairs.

Duan Yihua and Wen Nu started taking the groceries out of the bags.

'The crabs are alive.' Wen Nu got scared and jumped back two steps.

Lin Qingning wanted to help, but when he caught the fishy smell, he frowned a little and pulled his hand back. Duan Yihua hurried to cover them with a lid, but two still crawled out and dropped right onto the floor. One of the fish in the bag gave a violent flop and fell out too, hitting the ground with a smack and sliding all over the place.

The kitchen instantly turned into chaos. Zhai Xingchen came running out shirtless. 'What happened?!'

Holding up his two slippery hands, Duan Yihua said, 'They all got out.'

Zhai Xingchen bent down to pick them up. Seeing how scared Wen Nu was, he deliberately held a crab up to scare him, and Wen Nu immediately hid behind Duan Yihua.

Maybe getting caught in the rain had been too wild, because Zhai Xingchen seemed a little hyped up all over. He burst out laughing and said, 'This is exactly why you guys aren't allowed in the kitchen. This whole place is my territory.'

He put the crabs and live fish away. 'I'll deal with it in a bit.'

'Go put some clothes on first. Don't catch cold.' As Duan Yihua said it, he glanced at Zhai Xingchen again.

Zhai Xingchen was slim, with that lean build twenty-year-old guys had. But maybe because he studied dance, his waist was tight and toned. Tall, wiry, pale enough to glow.

Was it because he knew Zhai Xingchen liked him?

Duan Yihua felt like he'd started paying a little more attention to Zhai Xingchen.

Zhai Xingchen ran back to put on clothes and saw Pei Xu standing alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the rain outside. Just as he ran into the room, Huo Cheng came out from next door.

Everyone was up now, all gathered around in the kitchen. Outside, the rain was still falling. The dark clouds and the sun had been fighting it out, but in the end the clouds won. Not a trace of sunlight was left. The whole sky had gone gloomy, the rain kept getting heavier, and every light in the room had been switched on.

Everyone clustered around Zhai Xingchen, watching him clean the fish and deal with the crabs.

When Zhai Xingchen worked, it was like he turned into a different person. Serious. Focused. Skilled.

When he was lively, he felt like a boy.

When he was serious, he felt like a man.

That was probably the charm of his type.

Watching him, Hu Ying suddenly thought, this was probably exactly the kind of son-in-law all the aunties loved most.

Like the perfect homebody husband type.

'Where's Yan Zhi?' Hu Ying asked. 'He's still not up?'

Huo Cheng said, 'He's not home. Went out.'

'Went out?'

'Yeah. He left while we were all still asleep.'

'Did he take an umbrella?' Wen Nu asked.

'He probably didn't get caught in the rain,' Lin Qingning said.

At that, Zhai Xingchen glanced at the dark, heavy sky outside.

They stood there chatting for a while, and then he saw Hu Ying quietly slip away.

He knew it. With an opening this good, Hu Ying was never going to let it pass.

A little later, Hu Ying came downstairs with his jacket on. 'Any of you have an umbrella?'

Everyone looked at him. 'You're going out?'

'Just getting some air,' Hu Ying said.

'I don't think any of us have one. Why don't you ask the Production Team next door?' Huo Cheng said.

Hu Ying nodded and headed out.

Zhai Xingchen was mincing ginger, head lowered, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He was going to buy stock in Hu Ying.

He felt like Hu Ying was the most proactive one of them all.

Hu Ying had only just reached the door when the Production Team brought him an umbrella.

'You guys really get me,' Hu Ying said.

He'd tied his hair up and put on a knit sweater. He looked sharp and beautiful, and when he smiled, even the male staffers didn't dare look at him for too long.

That kind of androgynous beauty was too much for even straight guys to handle.

He stepped out with the umbrella. Rain drummed against it in loud rapid taps, and before long the splashback had soaked his pant legs. He walked out through the gate and stopped at the entrance.

It had been hot out, but the second it rained, the temperature dropped fast. He pulled his coat tighter around himself and stood there in the rain, waiting for Yan Zhi to come back.

Duan Yihua and the others had all moved into the living room. That's how a Love Variety Show went. The highlights only took up a few hours. The rest was just scattered, boring everyday life. Zhai Xingchen was cooking in the kitchen. Huo Cheng and Wen Nu were helping him. The others in the living room were reading, chatting, each busy with their own thing.

Zhou Lan had some free time that afternoon, so she came over again to watch the set.

Nights were always the main event on a Love Variety Show.

They went through more than a dozen monitors, and there was Pei Xu, still the same unsociable as ever, sprawled on the sofa alone playing a dull, joyless Sudoku game. He'd only been on The Red and Blue Signal for two days, and he was already almost done filling out that Sudoku Challenge book.

At the beginning, Hu Ying and the others had gone over to join in on the fun too. But to Pei Xu it was just a little game to kill time. To normal people, though, it took way too much brainpower. Hu Ying and the others tried twice, then gave up.

When he played that, no one else could really follow it, and they also felt awkward interrupting him. So he got to enjoy his peace and quiet alone.

'Call him over,' Zhou Lan said.

A staff member went to get Pei Xu. Pei Xu pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt and headed out, and the first thing he saw was Hu Ying standing alone in the rain.

Hu Ying saw him too.

Pei Xu went straight next door.

Hu Ying froze for a second, then let out a cold little snort.

The Production Team staff rarely went into the Red and Blue house itself. Most of the time they stayed in the building next door. That one was also a small two-story building, but with so many staff packed inside, it felt cramped. Pei Xu passed rows of workstations and entered the room deeper inside.

The second he stepped in, he saw Zhou Lan sitting in a chair with a cigarette in hand.

She'd been under a lot of pressure lately and had been smoking often.

Starting a business as a rich second-gen wasn't easy.

The moment she saw Pei Xu, Zhou Lan frowned. 'What exactly did you promise me?'

Pei Xu dropped into a chair like a deflated balloon, lazy and limp. 'No energy.'

'Isn't that just how a Love Variety Show is? Why no energy?'

'I mean physically. I've got no energy.'

Zhou Lan asked, 'You feeling sick? Coming down with something?'

'No.' Pei Xu said, 'I just can't get myself going. My head hurts.'

Zhou Lan said, 'You know you're on a Love Variety Show, right? And you know how important this show is to me, right? It's such a huge hit. I really don't want it getting wrecked in my hands. Do you know how hard it was for your aunt to come out here and start a business? The old man doesn't support me. I'm just a weak woman, and I've poured my entire fortune...'

'You've said this like eight hundred times already,' Pei Xu cut in.

Zhou Lan held out a cigarette to him.

'I don't smoke.'

Zhou Lan put it back and sat on the edge of the desk. 'Anyway, I don't care whether you like anyone or not. Out of ten people who join a Love Variety Show, nine of them aren't really here to fall in love. If one real couple comes out of a season, that's already not bad. Most of the rest are just filling space. But even if you're just filling space, you need to do that part well. At the very least, make it fun for the audience to watch. Act like an actual Love Variety Show guest. I don't care. You have to pick someone and give me footage I can air.'

'Like who?'

Zhou Lan thought for a moment. 'For example. Let's say Huo Cheng is pursuing Zhai Xingchen. That's one CP line. You don't like anybody, right? Fine. But you can still spend more time around Zhai Xingchen. You don't need to say anything flirty, and you don't need to do anything flirty either. No need. Just look at him more in your day-to-day life. Stay around him more. In post, we can edit that into a love triangle ourselves. You're smart. You get what I mean, right?'

Pei Xu frowned. Zhou Lan reached out and tried to smooth the crease between his brows. 'Stop frowning all the time. You're still young.'

Pei Xu said, 'Huo Cheng is pursuing Zhai Xingchen?'

'I was just giving an example.'

'That wasn't just a random example, was it?' Pei Xu asked.

Zhou Lan said, 'Right. Those two are showing signs of something now.'

'Haven't you always done Red and Blue pairings?'

'We've never said our show only allows Red and Blue pairings. Sure, our target is Red and Blue, and in the past most CPs did come from Red and Blue. But that doesn't mean Blue-Blue or Red-Red can't happen internally too. Isn't that how it is? People can mix however they mix. We've always followed CPs, not manufactured them.'

'Oh.'

'Oh?'

'Got it.'

'What do you mean, got it?'

'From now on, I'll spend more time around Zhai Xingchen. Look at him more,' Pei Xu said.

Zhou Lan looked at him for a while. 'I really don't know whether you're actually frigid or asexual. When I introduce girls to you, you ignore them. And the male guests on this show are all top-tier guys, aren't they? Not one of them catches your eye?'

'Just treat me as asexual.' Pei Xu stood up. 'Anything else? If not, I'm going to go stand around by Zhai Xingchen.'

Zhou Lan: '...'

Zhou Lan felt that maybe dragging Pei Xu onto this show through every favor and connection she could call in had been a mistake.

From childhood to now, Pei Xu really did seem to have no interest in love.

All these years, whether abroad or at home, she'd never seen him get close to anyone.

He didn't even have any especially close friends.

Even Pei Huahong had supported the idea of sending him onto this show.

See? Even his own mom thought that if her son kept spending every day buried in stocks and funds, he was going to end up alone for life.

Pei Xu was the classic disaster-level beauty in male form. He couldn't do anything, and he didn't need to do anything. He just had to stand there, and people would fall for him.

Some people were just born to be the male lead.

She'd originally thought Pei Xu was handsome enough and famous enough that once he came on their show, he'd become the center of the whole battlefield even if he never took initiative himself.

But after watching for two days, she suddenly got it.

Pei Xu simply didn't fit the whole rich-household Love Variety Show setup.

A true amateur might get dazzled by Pei Xu's glow. But this group of rich second-gens? They had the looks, the family background, everything. Whether it was the people they interacted with every day or the boyfriends they'd dated before, which one of them had ever been lacking?

They were all people with status. On a mainstream variety show with such a broad audience, they really had no reason to chase after someone as cold as Pei Xu.

And yet only two days into filming, two surprises had already shown up.

One heavyweight guest wasn't nearly as popular as expected, while one guest they'd brought in to round out the numbers had somehow become the center of the whole battlefield.

At this point, the disappointment Pei Xu had given her could only be healed by Zhai Xingchen.

She went back to the next room. In the dim space, more than a dozen monitors glowed at once, every corner of the Red and Blue house spread out in full view.

'What's Hu Ying doing out there?' she asked.

'He's waiting for Yan Zhi.' Director Guo Bing sounded excited.

Zhou Lan let out a long breath.

At least one of the CP lines they'd been focusing on was finally moving along pretty smoothly.

'Why didn't we send a follow cam with him?'

Right now, the only cameras catching Hu Ying were the two by the gate and the garage. Because the rain outside was so heavy, the light had gone very dim, and you could barely make out his expression.

'We're trying not to use follow cams as much right now. That way the guests relax more, and the footage comes out more immersive and more real. It satisfies the audience's voyeuristic itch as much as possible,' Guo Bing explained.

Zhou Lan nodded, then turned to the kitchen feed again.

Zhai Xingchen was cooking, with Huo Cheng and Wen Nu standing beside him.

Compared to Hu Ying's side, this feed was much clearer. With multiple hidden cameras, they could catch almost every tiny shift in expression on each person's face.

'Go hang out in the living room,' Huo Cheng suddenly said to Wen Nu.

Wen Nu looked up. 'I'll stay here and help Xingchen a little.'

'I'm enough help for him,' Huo Cheng said. 'Be good. Go play.'

Wen Nu looked at Huo Cheng and saw him smiling right at him. The two of them held each other's gaze for a moment. Then Wen Nu suddenly smiled too and took off his Gloves. 'Then I'll leave you two to it.'

Zhai Xingchen was frying something in oil. He watched Wen Nu run off to the living room, then turned and glanced at Huo Cheng.

'You can't do that,' he said.

Huo Cheng said, 'If there's anything you need me to do, just tell me.'

'I actually think Wen Nu's pretty great,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Huo Cheng shot him a glance. 'You like him?'

Zhai Xingchen didn't want the Production Team to catch what he was saying, so he lowered his voice until it was almost inaudible. 'I think he's really great. You...'

He didn't finish the rest. He just hinted with a look.

Huo Cheng only smiled. He didn't say anything.

Zhai Xingchen let out a helpless sigh.

You couldn't force this kind of thing. At most, he could give a little push.

'How long did you sleep today?' Huo Cheng asked.

'Didn't really notice. But not as long as you.'

Huo Cheng said, 'I slept a long time. Had a really good dream too. When I woke up, I still wasn't over it, so I thought maybe if I went back to sleep, I could keep dreaming. Then I actually fell asleep again.'

Zhai Xingchen looked up at him. 'So did the dream continue?'

Huo Cheng was just about to answer when he saw Pei Xu come out from the entryway.

Pei Xu didn't go to the living room. He came straight toward the kitchen.

Zhai Xingchen and Huo Cheng both looked at Pei Xu. Pei Xu picked up a bottle of mineral water and stopped right in front of them.

The camera pushed in for a waist-up shot. Huo Cheng stood to Zhai Xingchen's left, both of them facing the camera. Pei Xu stood forward and to their right, his sharply defined profile on display. Three ridiculously handsome guys in one frame, with the kitchen lighting on top of that. It looked even better than an idol drama.

With a smile, Huo Cheng asked, 'You went out just now?'

Pei Xu gave a quiet 'Mm.'

Huo Cheng asked, 'Did you see Hu Ying?'

Pei Xu nodded, unscrewed the cap, and took two sips of water.

Zhai Xingchen turned and glanced at Huo Cheng.

He realized Huo Cheng actually knew everything.

Sure enough, Huo Cheng gave a soft laugh and said, 'He went to wait for Yan Zhi, didn't he?'

Pei Xu raised a brow. 'Did he? I was wondering why he was standing there by himself.'

'Looks like you still don't really understand the emotional dynamics in our house,' Huo Cheng said with a laugh. Both hands braced against the counter, he leaned slightly toward Zhai Xingchen.

Zhai Xingchen thought, it wasn't that Pei Xu didn't understand. He just couldn't be bothered to.

His body was in the house, but his heart was with stocks and funds.

But then he heard Pei Xu say lightly, 'It's not that I don't understand anything.'

Next door, the glow of the screens lit up everyone's eyes and brows.

One by one, they pressed their lips together, eyes bright with excitement. Some of them even clenched tiny fists.

'Talking to Pei Xu really did help, Zhou-jie.'

'It's not that I don't understand anything'... that's such a normal line, so why am I this worked up over it?!

'No, that line is amazing. And with that grumpy face of his, it's even better!'

'Exactly, exactly. It's got this weird passive-aggressive edge, and he's kind of sour too!'

'And if you think about it, what Huo Cheng said was pretty interesting too. He brought up the ambiguous thing between Yan Zhi and Hu Ying right in front of Zhai Xingchen. Yan Zhi counts as his love rival now, right?'

'Ah, right, holy shit, all these little schemes!'