Chapter 59

Hu Ying felt her mouth was dry, so she sat up and drank a glass of water.

After the water, she got up again, threw a coat over her shoulders, and ran out to use the bathroom.

These awful accommodations—you have to go outside just to use the bathroom.

She'd heard that in northern rural areas, people kept a chamber pot in the bedroom during winter.

But they were filming a show, and she was rooming with Pei Xu, so of course she didn't dare pee indoors.

She thought: if she were rooming with Zhai Xingchen, she'd dare.

With Zhai Xingchen, she could completely be herself.

Hu Ying squinted at the starry sky outside, threw on her Down Jacket, and ran back in.

'Freezing my ass off.' She dove under the covers fast, grabbed the pink rabbit from her bedside, hugged it to her chest, and closed her eyes with a happy sigh.

Maybe if she thought of Xingchen before sleeping, she'd dream of him again.

Just from dreaming of him, she still had a sweet feeling lingering in her chest.

Today had been exhausting, and cold—everyone turned in earlier than usual.

Zhai Xingchen and Yan Zhi chatted until they fell asleep.

Yan Zhi, though, had no desire to sleep.

His body was tired too, but he didn't want to sleep.

He couldn't bear to.

Opportunities to room with Zhai Xingchen like this were rare—the Love Variety Show's four weeks would pass in a flash.

He lay on his side, watching Zhai Xingchen in the dim light, listening to his steady breathing.

Zhai Xingchen's breathing had started heavy, then gradually grown lighter.

Yan Zhi wondered: if he got out of bed now, leaned over Zhai Xingchen's pillow to smell him, or stole a kiss—just a peck on the forehead—would that be too twisted?

The thought pulled at him. Even if he did it, the Production Team wouldn't catch it, and Zhai Xingchen was so deeply asleep he wouldn't know.

Yan Zhi turned over, realizing sweetness was its own kind of torment.

Yan Zhi dreamed.

In the dream he did nothing—the scene was like reality replayed. Zhai Xingchen was sleeping in the bed beside him.

And he just stood quietly at his bedside.

He pulled back Zhai Xingchen's blanket.

Once it was open, he just stared at Zhai Xingchen, looking from his face all the way down to his toes.

Just looking. When he finished, he woke up—and it was pitch black night.

Maybe because of the cold and the exhaustion, Zhai Xingchen slept in terribly late the next day—he didn't wake until nine in the morning.

Yan Zhi's bed was already empty.

But the scent in the room seemed even stronger—like he'd sprayed more cologne.

He got up, washed, dressed, and stepped out—and saw Yan Zhi busy in the kitchen.

He was making porridge.

'Morning.'

'Morning.' Zhai Xingchen still looked drowsy from sleep. 'What are you making?'

'I just threw together some porridge, lots of stuff in it,' Yan Zhi said. 'Might've not added enough water.'

Zhai Xingchen went over for a look and saw Yan Zhi was only wearing a sweater. Their kitchen was open-plan, the whole living room was huge with lots of windows, and even though there was a thick curtain at the door, the living room couldn't compare to the bedroom for warmth—it was still pretty cold. So he asked: 'Aren't you cold?'

'A little.'

'Go put your Down Jacket on. I've got it from here.' Zhai Xingchen said. 'None of the others are up yet? I thought I was already late.'

'Pei Xu was up. Came in for a look, then went back out.' Yan Zhi said.

He'd barely finished speaking when Huo Cheng came in, blowing on his hands.

'Morning.' Zhai Xingchen greeted him.

'Morning,' Huo Cheng said.

He'd slept too late last night and accidentally overslept—just now getting up.

He should've come over earlier!

Wen Nuo came in next, and shortly after, Hu Ying too.

The moment Hu Ying came in, she asked: 'Did you and Yan Zhi take a bath yesterday?'

Huo Cheng was drinking water and immediately looked at Zhai Xingchen at the question.

Zhai Xingchen laughed: 'We came back and went straight to sleep. What bath? You want to soak?'

'Sure do,' Hu Ying said.

'Then soak today.'

'Can I?' Hu Ying asked. 'Yan Zhi's got such bad germ issues.'

'He's not soaking.' Zhai Xingchen said.

'He's not?' Huo Cheng asked.

He was surprised—he'd figured Yan Zhi wouldn't pass up the chance.

For a moment he felt petty for even thinking it.

'He doesn't want the cameras catching him,' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Image stays intact,' Hu Ying laughed. 'I used to think he dressed so covered up for the image, but now I believe that's genuinely him. Poster boy for chastity.'

She'd barely finished speaking when Yan Zhi came out wearing his Down Jacket.

Seeing Yan Zhi reminded Hu Ying of what Pei Xu had said yesterday—about Yan Zhi liking Zhai Xingchen. She took a sip of hot water and smiled: 'Yan-ge, morning.'

'Morning.'

Yan Zhi said it and moved to Zhai Xingchen's side. There wasn't really anything to help with in the kitchen right now, but Yan Zhi just kept standing next to Zhai Xingchen, occasionally touching the prop bowls and dishes. His body naturally tilted toward Zhai Xingchen.

Hu Ying felt she was really slow on the uptake—even Pei Xu, who'd stayed out of it, had better observation skills.

Looking now, the way Yan Zhi looked at Zhai Xingchen really did seem different. Toward Zhai Xingchen, he did seem a bit more proactive than with the others—but Yan Zhi was so gentlemanly and gentle that she hadn't noticed before.

Hu Ying's heart was now full of shock: 'So there's a love rival hiding here too.'

Blame herself for being so unperceptive!

Honestly, this rival was way more formidable than the straightforward Huo Cheng—younger, better-looking, and better at playing the game.

She suddenly noticed Zhai Xingchen watching her. 'What?'

'Did you not sleep well?' Zhai Xingchen asked. 'You look a little worn out.'

'Not great,' Hu Ying said. 'First half of the night was okay, second half not so much. But I was too cold to get up, just curled up in bed. My throat's sore now—I'll just have some thin soup later, swallowing hurts a bit.'

'Probably too dry, you're getting heatstroke,' Zhai Xingchen said. 'I've got medicine—suck on a lozenge later.'

'But I'm better off than Pei-ge—he said he barely slept all night, not used to it. Got a really obvious sore on his lip.'

Before long, Pei Xu came in too, wrapped in the cold.

'Out for another walk?' Huo Cheng asked.

Pei Xu hummed. 'Just wandered around a bit.'

Zhai Xingchen noticed Pei Xu really did have a red sore on his upper lip.

'Put anything on it?' Yan Zhi asked.

'Took some medicine,' Pei Xu said.

'Too much internal heat,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Internal fire plus external fire piling up, right? The heated kang was dry, plus a young man's fire runs hot, and sleeping next to the beauty Hu Ying—heartfire was way too strong.

If he got the chance, he'd definitely ask Hu Ying how their night sleeping together had gone.

He figured Room 3's rough conditions actually made sparks more likely. Especially since there was only one bed there—the only one of the four rooms with just a single bed.

'Actually I don't think it's just the heat—the kang's uncomfortable too. Two layers of blankets and it still digs into you,' Hu Ying said. 'Too hard.'

"The heat's uneven too," Pei Xu said. "You really have to get used to a kang before you can sleep on one."

"Good thing I didn't get Room 3," Huo Cheng said.

"Maybe next time it'll be your turn," Lin Qingning said with a smile.

"My luck can't be that bad forever, right?" Huo Cheng said.

But if it was with Zhai Xingchen, he'd be totally down.

After all, they could share a bed.

They'd barely finished making breakfast when the Production Team's car pulled up, telling them to hurry up and eat.

Huo Cheng went out to check, came back and said: "Eat fast—the Production Team says the car can't stay off too long or it'll freeze up."

They wolfed down their food and hurried out.

The Production Team had two cars ready for them.

"The road conditions are rough here—best driver takes the wheel," Hu Ying said.

"I'll drive then," Huo Cheng said.

Yan Zhi raised his hand too.

Hu Ying headed straight for Yan Zhi's car.

Zhai Xingchen was pleasantly surprised—Hu Ying hadn't been this forward with Yan Zhi in a long time.

"Zhai Xingchen." Huo Cheng called him.

Zhai Xingchen got in Huo Cheng's car.

Hu Ying was sitting in the passenger seat when she caught Yan Zhi glancing at Zhai Xingchen.

It was real!

She cursed herself for being so blind before!

She gave a cold little laugh, buckled her seatbelt, and called out: "Yan Zhi, you getting in or what? Who are you waiting for?"

Yan Zhi had no idea why Hu Ying was suddenly so forward with him—it felt like being back at the Red and Blue House on day one.

What the hell was this little demon up to?

Pei Xu got in Huo Cheng's car. Lin Qingning hesitated, then followed.

Seven people, four already in Huo Cheng's car. Wen Nu had wanted to ride with Huo Cheng and Zhai Xingchen, but hesitated and ended up in Yan Zhi's car.

Zhai Xingchen hadn't taken the passenger seat—he'd been saving it for Wen Nu. Seeing Wen Nu go to Yan Zhi's car, he pressed his lips together, got out, and moved up to the front.

Pei Xu had been planning to slip the hat he'd been carrying in his pocket to Zhai Xingchen, but didn't expect him to move to the front seat.

Huo Cheng was thrilled, grinning as he glanced back at Zhai Xingchen.

"Duan-ge still not coming?" he asked.

"He said he's staying, waiting for us here," Lin Qingning said. "But he's doing better—no more coughing."

Lin Qingning unwound his Scarf, face a little flushed.

He didn't turn to look at Pei Xu—just caught the faint mint scent off him. The car was warmer, and his glasses fogged up. The sudden shift from cold to warm made him stiff and self-conscious.

They drove off to the biggest market nearby. The northern scenery was endless—birch groves and camphor trees everywhere, lonely and vast.

Zhai Xingchen had expected an ordinary market selling fish and vegetables, but the moment he got out of the car, he was stunned.

White Mountain Market sits next to a village called White Mountain—not a town center, far from County Town, but it's been the region's famous big market since forever. When Wen Nu and the others got out, they saw a massive crowd, umbrella stalls stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Wow," Wen Nu breathed.

"So many people," Hu Ying said.

There weren't just vegetable sellers—there were even more food stalls. Northeast Region-style fried dough sticks, pan-fried meat buns, tofu pudding, smoked meat pancakes—everything was steaming, mixed with the shouts of vendors. Even Pei Xu perked up.

"Groceries first or food first?" Huo Cheng asked.

"Groceries first—then we'll be right on time for lunch," Zhai Xingchen said.

But Hu Ying hadn't gone a few steps before something caught her eye.

"What's this? Never seen it before."

Their big group plus all the cameras caused quite a stir. The stall owner spotted them filming and called out in a loud voice: "Hey handsome! Want some?"

Hu Ying rushed right over: "What's it called? Never seen it."

"Su Mouse."

"Huh?"

The lady laughed: "Ground-rice-flour Su Mouse, leaf buns!"

Hu Ying and the others still didn't get it. Zhai Xingchen asked: "Sweet or savory?"

"Sweet, pure rice flour, guaranteed good—six yuan a jin! Want some?"

Hu Ying said: "Yeah yeah, give us seven."

"We don't even know if it's good—don't get that many," Wen Nu said quietly.

"I'm not eating it," Yan Zhi said.

Hu Ying looked at Pei Xu and Huo Cheng.

"Let's start with three, everyone can try," Huo Cheng said.

"You want to split them?" Hu Ying said.

They got three and shared. Zhai Xingchen asked Yan Zhi: "You sure you don't want any?"

Yan Zhi shook his head.

Just looking at the steamer killed his appetite—sticky and grimy, totally unhygienic.

A few sharp-dressed, gorgeous young guys eating Su Mouse surrounded by cameras drew a crowd of people filming with their phones.

"What show are you filming?" the owner asked.

"We're a variety show! It's called The Red and Blue Signal!" Hu Ying said.

The owner didn't know the show, laughed and said: "You must all be big stars! No wonder they say celebrities are handsome."

Pale, clean, and tall.

Hu Ying laughed: "We're better-looking than any big star!"

She figured the Su Mouse was okay, just a bit dry. She spotted a tofu pudding stall nearby and turned back: "Anyone want some?"

"I'm not eating," Yan Zhi said.

"You're so picky," Hu Ying said.

Since Yan Zhi wasn't eating, they got six bowls. Everyone sat on little stools drinking tofu pudding while Yan Zhi sat nearby watching.

Zhai Xingchen asked: "You really don't want any?"

"I could try a bit," Yan Zhi said, moving closer to Zhai Xingchen.

Hu Ying heard that and immediately pushed her bowl over, handing him the spoon.

She was getting better and better at reading Yan Zhi's little moves.

He wanted to drink from Zhai Xingchen's bowl, didn't he?

Hehehehehe.

Yan Zhi paused, then glanced at her.

Zhai Xingchen was happy to see Hu Ying being so proactive: "Just try his, they're all the same."

Huo Cheng laughed. He didn't know why Hu Ying was suddenly so forward, but he was happy to see it.

Yan Zhi didn't use Hu Ying's spoon—he grabbed a fresh plastic one and scooped up a spoonful.

"How is it?" Hu Ying asked.

"Meh." Yan Zhi put the spoon down. "A bit sour."

Pei Xu was seriously focused on his tofu pudding.

It was pretty good, but he didn't think it was sour enough, so he added some more vinegar.