Chapter 6

Zhai Xingchen blinked.

Anyone who didn't know would think he was the beloved Ten Thousand Admirers type.

But the male leads were all so beautiful and kind-hearted. Can't help it.

Too bad for them—he already had a ride.

'Yan Zhi said he'd drive me,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Pei Xu blinked and looked at Yan Zhi behind him.

Yan Zhi smiled.

Pei Xu just got in his car and left.

'Thanks,' Zhai Xingchen said, a little sheepish.

Pei Xu said nothing and drove off in his Maybach.

Duan Yihua beside him said, 'He actually offered someone a ride? That's rare.'

Huo Cheng laughed and said to Zhai Xingchen, 'Then I won't bother driving you.'

'Where's Wen Nu?' Zhai Xingchen asked.

He's not the only one without a car here—there's Wen Nu too.

'Qingning took him,' Duan Yihua said.

Tch, that Lin Qingning.

Why won't he give Wen Nu a chance?

Zhai Xingchen got in Yan Zhi's car—a white Land Rover, imposing-looking.

The camera had just been installed in the car, and Yan Zhi gestured toward it.

Zhai Xingchen flashed a YES at the lens.

'Which department is your sister in?'

'She does contemporary dance. Same year as you, sophomore.' Yan Zhi took a turn. 'If there's a chance later, I'll introduce you two. You could all grab a meal together.'

Zhai Xingchen grinned. 'Sure.'

He turned to look at Yan Zhi. Yan Zhi looked back at him, flashing that signature smile of his—seemingly shy, but his eyes didn't flinch at all. That contrast, that contradiction, paired with a face that handsome... yeah, easy to fall for.

Fall for him and you find out he's no gentleman—he's a demon born from a raging inferno.

Good thing this guy has nothing to do with him. He could just quietly appreciate the view.

A side character can look at beauty and stay completely unmoved.

Yan Zhi dropped him at the gate of Central Academy of Dance. 'What time does your class end? If I'm free, I'll come pick you up.'

Zhai Xingchen blinked. 'Six.'

Yan Zhi nodded. 'Later.'

Zhai Xingchen stood on the curb, watching Yan Zhi's car disappear.

He figured Yan Zhi looked quiet and reserved, but underneath he was controlling as hell. Like just now—not 'what time does your class end?' followed by a question mark, but a question followed immediately by a statement. Not 'I'll come pick you up,' but 'if I'm free'—sounds casual, doesn't even give you room to refuse. The second it's decided, he's gone. Not one extra second.

Clean and decisive.

And that's just how he treats him. If he pulls this move on Wen Nu and the others...

A sadist is forever.

Zhai Xingchen didn't really have much class today — mostly he was filming some content for the Production Team at the Dance School. After that he went to the library and stayed until almost six, then he quickly packed his bag and headed out of the school, worried Yan Zhi would wait too long. He got to the main gate at five fifty.

But before he even made it out the gate, he spotted that familiar Land Rover.

Yan Zhi was leaning on the car window, looking toward the school gate. Golden sunlight poured over his head, turning his hair chestnut. His skin was fair, his features striking and beautiful, and with those gold-rimmed glasses he looked like a god who'd descended to earth.

Zhai Xingchen ran toward him, waving.

Yan Zhi sat up straight.

'You're early.' Zhai Xingchen opened the door and got in. 'How long have you been waiting?'

'Just a few minutes.'

'I was actually thinking—what if you came to pick me up and couldn't find me? We didn't even exchange contact info.'

'I had nothing to do anyway, so I came early,' Yan Zhi said.

'I've always wondered—what do esports players do when they're not competing?'

'We're basically training all the time. Pretty boring.' Yan Zhi paused. 'Recently we've got more free time because of the variety show.'

Yan Zhi was pushed here by his company. Originally, the one meant to join this show wasn't him but another legendary player on their team — but that guy had a girlfriend leak during a Live Streaming session a month ago, so he couldn't come. The Production Team figured Yan Zhi was a better fit for the Love Variety Show anyway, so they asked his company for him.

Their school was a bit far from the Red and Blue house, and they hit evening rush hour, so they got back later than expected. The car pulled into the open-air garage beside the house. Zhai Xingchen stepped out and glanced at the luxury cars parked nearby. 'Looks like everyone's back.'

Someone had even switched cars.

He figured it was Hu Ying—this time a blue supercar.

That girl's cars and outfits never repeat.

They'd just changed shoes at the entryway when Wen Nu came running over. He blinked when he saw them. 'Hey, why'd you two come back together?'

'Yan-ge came to pick me up,' Zhai Xingchen grinned.

Duan Yihua and the others were playing checkers in the living room. They heard the noise and looked toward the entryway.

'Yan Zhi went to pick up Xingchen?' Duan Yihua asked.

Everyone stood up, except Pei Xu beside them, who kept staring at the board in front of him without lifting his head.

The moment Zhai Xingchen came in, he said, 'Sorry, I'm late. Everyone hungry? I'll start cooking right now.'

Saying that, he ran off to his room with his backpack.

Duan Yihua asked Yan Zhi, 'You went to pick up Xingchen?'

Yan Zhi hummed. 'Just happened to be passing by.'

Hu Ying raised an eyebrow. Then a clatter—a marble rolled off the board, bouncing and tumbling right under Pei Xu's leg.

Zhai Xingchen dropped his backpack the moment he got to his room. He used the bathroom, and when he came out, Pei Xu was already inside.

'Good evening.' Zhai Xingchen smiled and greeted him.

Pei Xu just hummed, didn't even look at him.

Zhai Xingchen was focused on getting dinner going, so he rushed out in a hurry.

Pei Xu turned to watch him go, then glanced at the camera in the small living room.

Staff: 'Is he mad?'

'He seemed fine when we were playing checkers just now.'

'Producer Zhou said that's just how he is—moody.'

'He was winning the whole time and everyone was kissing his ass. What's he got to be mad about?'

'Weird personality. What a waste of a face that handsome.'

Pei Xu couldn't hear any of that, of course. He lay on the sofa in the small living room for a while, listening to the noise outside. The clearest voice was Zhai Xingchen's—bright, full of energy.

Must be in a really good mood today.

Huo Cheng was the last one back. When he came in, he found a crowd gathered in the kitchen, watching Zhai Xingchen cook.

'Why's everyone standing in the kitchen?' he asked, smiling.

'We're worshipping Zhai-ge's knife skills,' Hu Ying said.

Huo Cheng laughed, looked around. 'Wait, I'm not the last one back? Pei Xu's later than me?'

'He's been back for a while. Went to his room,' Wen Nu said.

'No idea what he's doing in there alone,' Hu Ying said.

Huo Cheng went back and changed, then on his way out swung by the next room. He pushed the door open and found Pei Xu lying on the sofa.

'What are you doing?' Huo Cheng asked.

Pei Xu sat up. 'Nothing.'

'Don't just stew in here alone. Come out and hang with everyone,' Huo Cheng said.

Pei Xu said, 'Too noisy.'

Huo Cheng laughed. 'More people, more fun. Go check out Xingchen's knife skills. I'm tired of saying "amazing."'

Time was tight today, and Hu Ying and Duan Yihua were both dieting, so he only made a few salads, a plate of pasta, and two cold dishes. In less than half an hour, dinner was ready.

"Dinner's up!" Zhai Xingchen shouted.

Everyone drifted toward the table. Zhai Xingchen deliberately hung back.

Because let's be real — seating arrangements at every meal are classic Love Variety Show moments!

While everyone's sizing each other up, the Production Team usually gives everyone close-ups — the careful glances, who wants to sit next to whom, who wants to sit across from whom. Edited together, it makes people stomp their feet with excitement.

Ahhhh, get flirty already!

Duan Yihua sat down first.

Wen Nu was the same as always, waiting for others to pick their spots first.

Hu Ying asked Yan Zhi straight up, 'Where are you sitting?'

Yan Zhi glanced at Zhai Xingchen and the others, then chose the same seat he'd taken at lunch — leftmost, against the wall.

Hu Ying sat right across from him.

Yan Zhi took a sip of water and turned to look at Zhai Xingchen.

All tall, long-legged guys — the dining room felt cramped for a second. Lin Qingning laughed and asked, 'Are we still doing the Red and Blue split seating thing?'

'Don't bother, just sit wherever,' Duan Yihua said.

Lin Qingning took Zhai Xingchen's lunch seat — to Yan Zhi's right.

Usually so gentle and intellectual, but for some reason he had an edge to him today.

Like Yan Zhi, he was wearing gold-rimmed glasses today.

Yan Zhi set down his water glass. His throat moved.

'Pei Xu!' Zhai Xingchen called. 'Come eat!'

Wen Nu sat down next to Duan Yihua.

Huo Cheng took the seat next to Lin Qingning, directly across from Wen Nu.

Only two seats left — both by the window, facing each other.

Zhai Xingchen finally sat down next to Huo Cheng.

He wanted to save the seat next to Wen Nu for Pei Xu.

Pei Xu came in last, no choice left, so he sat down beside Wen Nu.

'Did you go back to check stocks again?' Duan Yihua asked Pei Xu.

'He has a phone?' Huo Cheng asked.

'Didn't you know? She's the only one here with special privileges. The Production Team didn't take her phone,' Hu Ying said.

'He needs it for work,' Zhai Xingchen explained while serving out pasta.

Pei Xu had to keep up with current events — domestic funds are policy-driven, super sensitive to good or bad news.

'I've actually always been curious about fund managers' jobs. The market opens at 9:30 and closes at 3:00, right? So what do you do the rest of the time?' Duan Yihua said.

'No wonder he came back so early today,' Wen Nu said.

'He came back early?'

Wen Nu nodded. 'Seems like he was back before five. When I got back, he was already here.'

'After dinner we should all chat more. I'm really interested in what a lot of you do for work,' Hu Ying said.

'Should we guess each other's jobs?' Huo Cheng asked.

'Do we even need to guess?' Lin Qingning asked. 'Or are we pretending not to know?'

'Our jobs all seem pretty different. We could have a real conversation about it,' Hu Ying said.

'This meat sauce is really good,' Pei Xu said suddenly.

'I think so too.' Duan Yihua picked up a napkin and carefully dabbed the corner of his mouth. 'Xingchen's cooking is seriously amazing.'

'My dream is to open a restaurant someday,' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Aren't you a dance major?' Duan Yihua asked.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'But I'm more into food.'

'Infuriating. Cooks well, eats a lot, still that skinny,' Hu Ying said.

Since Pei Xu was sitting across from him, Zhai Xingchen was face-to-face with him whenever he looked up. He noticed Pei Xu seemed to have a big appetite tonight.

He'd eaten a lot — finished his plate of pasta in no time.

Zhai Xingchen immediately stood up and reached out.

Pei Xu handed his plate over.

'Good?' he asked.

Pei Xu said, 'Good.'

He served Pei Xu another helping, and Pei Xu polished that off too.

He'd only made normal portions for eight, but since Hu Ying and the others only ate about half, there was plenty left — and Pei Xu basically ate the rest by himself.

Huo Cheng said while drinking water, 'What did you do today, starving like that?'

Everyone laughed and looked at him. Pei Xu said, 'Because it's good.'

That made Zhai Xingchen feel really accomplished.

After dinner was their first proper hangout time as eight. Huo Cheng and the others volunteered to wash dishes. Zhai Xingchen went back to his room and showered.

Coming out of the shower, Lin Qingning said, 'The Production Team says the sunset outside is gorgeous right now. They want us to go for a walk on the beach.'

Zhai Xingchen glanced out the window — sure enough, the whole sky was gold and red. Thick clouds everywhere, all glowing gold-red. More vivid and rich than any oil painting could capture.

It was hot today, so everyone was dressed light and breezy — except Yan Zhi, still in long pants and a button-up. The man was Asceticism incarnate, like he stepped out of a magazine spread.

Zhai Xingchen was in just printed swim trunks and a white tee. Seeing everyone head to the beach on the Production Team's suggestion — clearly they wanted them all dressed up nicely — he went back and changed into a printed shirt.

But the most eye-catching among them was still Hu Ying.

She wore a fiery red shirt, brighter than the sunset itself. Even surrounded by a bunch of handsome guys, she was the one you couldn't miss.

Zhai Xingchen couldn't stop looking at Hu Ying, sighing over and over, 'Hu Ying is so pretty.'

Hu Ying heard him and glanced back, her features even more striking.

The Beach was super close — five or six hundred meters and they were there. Because of filming, the Production Team had put up cordon lines, and a crowd of onlookers was filming them with their phones.

Zhai Xingchen was the most excited, running ahead early on. Huo Cheng walked with Hu Ying and the others. The sea breeze came in carrying a faint briny smell — blue sea, red sky, so gorgeous it didn't look real.

'Look at Xingchen's legs…' Hu Ying said, staring at Zhai Xingchen ahead.

Huo Cheng had been talking to Wen Nu, but at that he glanced at Zhai Xingchen's legs. The sea breeze blew through, and Zhai Xingchen's loose thin printed trunks clung to his body — but the real killer was those legs. Long, white, straight.

He'd never really noticed how good his proportions were before. Huo Cheng was nearly 1.9 meters, and Zhai Xingchen was barely over 1.8, but he felt like Zhai Xingchen's legs might actually be longer than his.

Those legs had no hair, so white, that something strange stirred in Huo Cheng for the first time. He walked along, glancing at Zhai Xingchen's legs every now and then. The sunset kept getting redder, painting those legs with a honey-colored glow.

The sea breeze came in waves, splashing up with the surf. Zhai Xingchen kicked off his shoes, carried them, and walked into the water. 'Not cold.'

Yan Zhi, Lin Qingning, and Duan Yihua hadn't come over. Hu Ying and Wen Nu ran over to splash around with him. Huo Cheng rolled up his pants and suddenly said to Zhai Xingchen, 'Look at my leg hair…'

Zhai Xingchen looked down at his legs at that. Huo Cheng's calves were solid and athletic, with way more leg hair than most guys — fuzzy, and the waves pressed it all flat against his skin.

Huo Cheng laughed at himself.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'I don't have any leg hair.'

He said it with a hint of regret.

But Huo Cheng said, 'Smooth legs look great. I like hairless ones.'

'Where's Pei Xu?' Hu Ying asked. 'Didn't he come out?'

Zhai Xingchen just realized Pei Xu wasn't there.

'Where'd he go?' he asked into the sea breeze.

'He said he ate too much and went out for a walk,' Wen Nu said with a smile.

Zhai Xingchen froze for a second, then laughed. The orange-red sunset lit up his face. Huo Cheng was completely mesmerized — after rolling his pants back down, all he could do was grin stupidly. He stepped forward and kicked seawater at Zhai Xingchen. Zhai Xingchen jumped back a few steps, then suddenly stumbled and fell into the sea.

Huo Cheng took one big stride and pulled him straight up. Zhai Xingchen was soaked through, still laughing — so young, so free, so unrestrained. He pushed his wet hair back against the sunset, revealing a smooth forehead, his eyes reflecting the sea and sky.

Huo Cheng steadied him. Because neither was standing fully upright, they were almost the same height — just different builds, one broader, one slimmer. Huo Cheng's gaze traveled from the nape of his neck downward, the soaked shirt and trunks clinging to his back.

He was more dazzling than the whole blazing sunset, as if all the light in the world had landed on him.

Huo Cheng grinned dopily and licked his slightly dry lips.