Chapter 60

The bustling, smoky buzz of ordinary life had these rich kids, who'd never lifted a finger at home, curious and excited.

Lin Qingning was actually the most excited of all.

It was his first time living like this, his first time having savory tofu pudding, and his first time seeing tofu pudding with cilantro in it. The stall wasn't exactly clean, and the tofu pudding wasn't the best he'd ever had, but he found all of it incredibly fun and wanted to try everything.

While he was eating, he saw a staffer from the Production Team buy a huoshao from the stall next door, and he immediately stood up and asked, 'Is it good?'

The staffer said, 'Smells amazing.'

Lin Qingning immediately asked, 'Are you guys eating that?'

'I want one.' Huo Cheng raised a hand.

'Me too,' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Good thing I didn't eat much breakfast,' Hu Ying said.

He saw a bunch of people filming them on their phones, so he smiled and called out, 'Please use a beauty filter on us, okay?'

Zhai Xingchen looked at him and laughed. 'Your eyelashes and eyebrows are all frosted over.'

'Look who's talking. Yours are too.'

After the beef huoshao, everyone was basically full. Only Huo Cheng still wasn't satisfied, so he bought a roasted sweet potato too.

This time, Pei Xu actually asked for half on his own.

'You like roasted sweet potatoes?' Zhai Xingchen turned around and asked.

Pei Xu said, 'It's really sweet. Want a bite?'

As he spoke, he broke off a piece. Zhai Xingchen took it and ate it. 'It is sweet.'

He immediately turned and called to Hu Ying, 'This roasted sweet potato's really good. Sweet and fragrant. Want some?'

Hu Ying said, 'I really can't eat anymore...'

He had barely finished speaking when Huo Cheng broke off a piece and handed it to him.

Hu Ying took it with a reluctant look, then bit into it and said, 'Okay, yeah, it is good.'

He hurried to share it with Lin Qingning and Wen Nu.

'Yan-ge, want some?' Zhai Xingchen asked.

Yan Zhi frowned and shook his head, then pulled some tissues from his pocket and handed them out.

'My hands are still sticky,' Zhai Xingchen said after wiping them.

Yan Zhi touched his fingers for a second, then let go.

It lasted less than a second, but Hu Ying and the others still saw it.

Hu Ying curled his fingers and elbowed Zhai Xingchen. 'Come on. Let's go buy groceries.'

The market was a mess. Cars kept squeezing through the middle now and then, and with so many people, traffic was clogged and their group quickly got stretched out. Pei Xu felt like he couldn't really squeeze in right then, so he wandered off to the side instead. His cameraman followed him out of the crowd. Under a birch tree nearby was a shack made from plastic sheeting. Inside, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties was shaving an old man's head. Beside him sat a little stove with hot water and a washbasin on it.

He'd only ever seen roadside haircuts on TV.

He watched for a bit, then kept turning to look back at Zhai Xingchen.

Sure enough, he heard Zhai Xingchen ask, 'Where's Pei-ge?'

Pei Xu was deeply satisfied.

He knew Zhai Xingchen would notice he was gone.

Hu Ying said, 'He was right behind us a second ago. Then poof, gone.'

'He's over there.' Wen Nu pointed at Pei Xu.

'This market's pretty big. Let's not lose anyone later,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Lin Qingning glanced at Pei Xu, hesitated for a moment, then said, 'You guys go buy groceries first. I'll go get him.'

As he spoke, he pushed through the crowd and headed toward Pei Xu.

Zhai Xingchen smiled.

'Let's go. We'll buy the groceries.' He said to Hu Ying, 'If anyone wants to eat something specific, just tell me.'

Hu Ying said, 'We all trust your cooking. Whatever you make will be good.'

Huo Cheng laughed from behind them. 'Suck-up.'

Hu Ying immediately did an exaggerated little hip wiggle.

They shopped as they walked, and everything felt new to them. Frozen peaches, frozen persimmons, little free-range chickens, sticky bean buns, the Northeast Region old-school big three, oil tea flour. They even ran into someone selling freshly butchered pork off a four-wheeler. There were the most fish stalls, with all kinds of fish frozen rock-hard.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'Since we're here, let's eat local specialty dishes these next few days.'

'You know how to make all that?' Huo Cheng asked.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'I do.'

Huo Cheng and Hu Ying both looked at him in shock.

Wen Nu said, 'You're amazing.'

'I like looking up recipes in my free time.'

Yan Zhi listened from the side, and even his glasses couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes anymore.

He couldn't cook, so he especially liked people who could, and admired them too. To him, that was a real talent.

And really, who wouldn't want a partner who could cook? He glanced at Huo Cheng and Hu Ying beside him. Even Wen Nu's eyes lit up when he looked at Zhai Xingchen.

The sunlight fell across Zhai Xingchen's brows and eyes. There was a pale dusting of frost on his lashes, and the tip of his neat, elegant nose was red from the cold.

They bought a lot on this trip. Just cabbage alone, they got four heads, and they were heavy. Every time Zhai Xingchen picked something up, Hu Ying would take one from his hands and pass it along.

Sometimes Yan Zhi took it. Sometimes Huo Cheng did.

Hu Ying was perfectly happy to make them do the heavy lifting.

This feeling of seeing through everything was great.

He really had to thank Pei Xu for it.

Where was Pei Xu?

He turned and looked, and saw Lin Qingning standing by Pei Xu, saying something. Pei Xu had both hands in his pockets, in a black Down Jacket, his face pale and cold.

He felt like Lin Qingning was really putting himself through it.

Pei Xu really didn't look like someone who knew how to date. Climbing a mountain was hard enough already, let alone a Snow Mountain of ice and snow. One wrong move and you'd freeze to death up there.

Someone like Zhai Xingchen was way better. Just being near him felt warm.

Lin Qingning wasn't secretly a masochist, was he?

Zhai Xingchen followed Hu Ying's gaze and saw Lin Qingning and Pei Xu standing together.

The two of them really did look good together. They both had that polished, expensive air about them. Even in those bulky Down Jackets, just standing there in the middle of the bustling market, they looked like they were filming an idol drama.

When Hu Ying came over to help him pick up the sweet potatoes, he said to Hu Ying, 'Look at Lin Qingning over there.'

Hu Ying said, 'I'm not as hopeless as him. Out of all people to like, he had to pick Pei Xu.'

Huo Cheng and Yan Zhi both heard that and turned to look at Pei Xu and Lin Qingning.

Huo Cheng laughed.

He also thought Lin Qingning's courage was admirable.

Everyone was happy to watch Lin Qingning go after Pei Xu.

Zhai Xingchen was sweating for Lin Qingning a little.

After all, a Jinjiang male lead wasn't easy to win over.

Of the three kinds of male leads, readers were strictest with Jinjiang ones. A Haitang male lead could sleep with everyone he met. A Qidian male lead could fall for everyone he met. But a Jinjiang male lead had to be absolutely devoted. Especially the cold, dark type. Their tenderness and love were meant for one person only.

[Ah, the young master actually smiled. This is the first time I've ever seen him smile.]

[Ah, this is the first time the young master has brought a girl, no, a boy, home.]

That kind of thing.

But would Lin Qingning be the one who got that special treatment?

He didn't know.

If Jinjiang male leads treated the person they loved with springlike warmth, then they treated male supporting characters with the ruthlessness of autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.

But Lin Qingning cared a lot about pride. He was reserved, and his self-respect ran deep. If he got treated like fallen leaves in an autumn wind, who knew if he'd get mad.

'Xingchen and the others said they come here every two days to buy groceries. So the next time will be the day after tomorrow. If there's anything you want to eat, tell him now. Otherwise you'll only be eating whatever other people asked for over the next two days,' Lin Qingning said.

Pei Xu replied, 'There's nothing I especially want to eat. Anything's fine.'

The weather wasn't that great today. It had been bright and sunny in the morning, but by late morning the clouds had started piling up. Once the sunlight disappeared, the temperature dropped right away.

They'd bought pretty much everything they needed, so the group got ready to head back.

But just as Yan Zhi opened the car door, Hu Ying climbed into his passenger seat again.

This time Yan Zhi couldn't hold it in. He asked, 'Are you sure you want to ride in my car?'

'Is there someone you want sitting in your passenger seat?' Hu Ying looked innocent. 'If there is, then I won't sit here.'

Yan Zhi lifted a hand and slammed the car door shut with a bang.

Pei Xu smiled faintly. He suddenly found Hu Ying, all bluster and fire like a little cannon, kind of cute.

He turned and asked Zhai Xingchen, 'Which car are you taking?'

'Same arrangement as when we came,' Zhai Xingchen said as he got into Huo Cheng's passenger seat. 'You and Lin-ge take the back.'

Pei Xu: '...'

Lin Qingning pushed up his glasses, got in, and even held the door for him.

The smile at the corner of Pei Xu's lips froze.

Pei Xu felt like he'd fallen into an extremely dangerous situation.

This kind of thing happened all the time on a Love Variety Show. If there were two guests everyone thought suited each other, or seemed interested in each other, then a silent understanding would form. People would intentionally or unintentionally create chances for them to be alone together.

On the way back, Huo Cheng kept chatting with Zhai Xingchen.

Huo Cheng was great at talking. Funny, easygoing, bright. He kept making Zhai Xingchen laugh out loud.

Meanwhile, he and Lin Qingning sat in silence in the back.

He realized Huo Cheng was actually the biggest winner here.

He'd basically ended up sewing Huo Cheng's wedding dress for him.

All of a sudden, even Huo Cheng's laughter sounded grating to Pei Xu.

Huo Cheng was in a great mood.

He had no idea why Hu Ying had suddenly become so attentive to Yan Zhi, but he was more than happy to see it. With Hu Ying glued to Yan Zhi, Zhai Xingchen was all his.

As for Pei Xu and Lin Qingning in the back, they were just two third wheels.

He didn't need to worry about them at all. Pei Xu wasn't interested in anyone, and as for Lin Qingning, wasn't he always trying his best to pursue Pei Xu?

Neither of them was any threat to him.

Huo Cheng even naively thought Pei Xu and Lin Qingning might help him out.

After all, they were all friends.

There were only three kinds of relationships on a Love Variety Show: love, friendship, and romantic rivals.

No matter what country the show was from, there were always guests who didn't click romantically and became friends instead. They'd help each other out, with zero competition between them.

So on a Love Variety Show, having friends mattered.

They could play support.

He planned to extend an olive branch to Lin Qingning first.

'Put on a song,' he said, picking up his phone.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'Let me see what kind of music you listen to.'

Huo Cheng smiled, scrolled for a while, then put on a song.

It was a pretty obscure song. Zhai Xingchen had never heard it before.

'What song is this?'

'Childhood Sweethearts.'

Huo Cheng said it with a smile.

In the back seat, Pei Xu's expression turned even colder.

Lin Qingning quietly let out a breath and pulled down the zipper on his Down Jacket.

He was feeling a little hot.

The CP name for him and Pei Xu was Childhood Sweethearts.

But strictly speaking, he and Pei Xu didn't really count as childhood sweethearts. That was just a gimmick cooked up by the Production Team.

'Huo-ge's music taste is kind of old,' Pei Xu said. 'Xingchen probably isn't into it. He's only twenty.'

'I actually really like old songs,' Zhai Xingchen said with a smile.

Pei Xu grabbed at the hat in his pocket, then stopped talking.

As soon as they got back to Xiaobeiji, Pei Xu got out of the car right away. Everyone started hauling things out of the trunk. There was a lot of stuff, plus some vegetables the Production Team had bought. A few heads of Sour Cabbage fell out of one bag. Pei Xu picked them up and put them back in, then asked, 'Can we still eat these?'

'Just wash them. We're going to slice them up and soak them anyway,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Pei Xu had just lifted that bag of vegetables when the plastic split open. Zhai Xingchen hurried over to catch it, and Sour Cabbage brine splashed onto his clothes.

'Careful,' Pei Xu said.

Zhai Xingchen was about to crouch down and pick things up, but Pei Xu stopped him. 'I've got it.'

He picked up the fallen Sour Cabbage, then glanced at Zhai Xingchen's clothes. 'Your clothes got dirty.'

Zhai Xingchen looked down, and by then Pei Xu had already taken the bag from his hands and carried it into the cabin.

Yan Zhi's car slowly pulled in too, and Zhai Xingchen went over to help them carry their things.

Hu Ying said, 'Xingchen, your clothes are really dirty.'

'It's fine. I'll just wipe it off,' Zhai Xingchen said.

He reached out to carry something, but Yan Zhi took everything himself before he could.

There wasn't much in that car's trunk to begin with.

Zhai Xingchen went back and took off his Down Jacket. There weren't that many stains, but since it was white, they stood out.

So he took it off and wiped it down with a disposable face towel dipped in soapy water.

Everyone was in the kitchen getting lunch ready when Pei Xu walked in carrying a Down Jacket.