[If you like this story please support the Author]
.............
It's not that he didn't want to kiss the older man. It's because he was afraid to be annoying and rude. It was hard enough to forge this current relationship with Fu Jinxiao. If a junior behaved this way, wouldn't that be counted as disrespectful? He didn't want to destroy this relationship he managed to make.
If he was hated, he would be sad and want to cry.
The director was still happily urging the small bunny into the wolf's den, "Suisui, don't waste time. Go quickly – if you go early, you will return early."
These words sounded more like: "if you die early, you will be reborn early" instead.
Shen Xingsui had no choice. Since he was a guest on this show, he couldn't be too pretentious. He put on his clothes, washed up briefly, and then went out.
It was about dawn time.
The sky outside was foggy, as this small town was close to the mountains. On the faraway horizon, green mountains were winding into a line. The peak was surrounded by heavy clouds, masking it in a hazy mystery. The mansion itself was very quiet, its inhabitants were still in deep slumber. Only a few chirps from songbirds in the garden could be heard, giving the building a sense of peaceful tranquility.
The director urged again in a whisper, "Go quickly."
Shen Xingsui then turned his gaze to the door in front of him. He took a deep breath under the morning light, and then walked slowly to the inside of Fu Jinxiao's room.
Netizens in the live broadcast room were anxiously waiting:
[I can tell from Suisui's expression that he is walking to his death.]
[I'm Fu-ge's fan. I was a little jealous at first, but seeing his expression now, I can only just laugh.]
[I'm sorry, it's a little sad, but it's so funny.]
[My baby Suisui is so cute
The cameraman poked him quietly again, silently mouthing, "Hurry up."
Netizens in the live broadcast room's impatience skyrocketed, scratching their hearts and lungs:
[OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING]
[I'm panicking! I can't see this, but I want to see!!]
[Ahh ahhh!!! I want to be in Suisui's place QAQ]
[Suisui, can you do it?]
When everyone was getting angry, Shen Xingsui, who had always been nervous and timid, finally acted.
Shen Xingsui leaned against the edge of the bed and bent down slightly. He looked down at Fu Jinxiao, his eyes were so peaceful and focused, as gentle as a clear moon, and his movements were light and slow. Because he was directly facing Fu Jinxiao, the distance between their lips was also very close.
For some reason, the cameraman's hands were sweating.
If Shen Xingsui was willing, under such circumstances, he could just kiss the actor directly. There were legitimate reasons, the right timing, and the opportunity to realize his dream.
"..."
The room was silent.
After a while–
Shen Xingsui leaned forward a little, piously and sincerely, like a believer kneeling down to a god. He placed a light kiss on Fu Jinxiao's forehead, like a superficial touch, as light as a brush of feather on your face. It was full of unspoken meaning.
However, just when Shen Xingsui wanted to get away after kissing, the sleeping man suddenly opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleepiness in those deep dark eyes. With efficient movement, he grabbed Shen Xingsui by the arm and yanked him down. The youth panicked as he felt his world turned upside-down, but he couldn't react in time.
In the end, he also fell unceremoniously beside Fu Jinxiao on the bed. Thankfully, he fell on top of the quilt, so it wasn't too awkward.
Fu Jinxiao looked at him with an indescribable look. The man who had just woken up said in a deep, hoarse, and ears-numbing voice, "Good morning."
"..."
Shen Xingsui's face was flushed.
It was obviously someone else he secretly kissed, but he blushed as if there was nothing unusual. With a blush and a stammer, he replied, "Morning, good morning."
"Such an elegant greeting, Comrade Little Shen," Fu Jinxiao's handsome face was too close. With one glance at those half-lidded eyes, Shen Xingsui felt his heart jump out of his ribcage. It was too attractive, it felt sinful.
With a teasing voice, Fu Jinxiao asked, "I got up early in the morning, what are you doing here?"
Shen Xingsui was embarrassed and thought, 'What, you don't know what I did?? Liar!'
But Fu Jinxiao looked at him so leisurely, and Shen Xingsui didn't dare to be dishonest with his look of waiting for an answer, so he hurriedly said, "I'm doing the task assigned to me by the program group."
Fu Jinxiao, "Oh?"
Shen Xingsui hastily confessed about the director's dastardly task, "They... uh, they made me wake you up with a good morning kiss."
Fu Jinxiao raised his eyebrows, his meaning unclear.
Shen Xingsui thought he was angry, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, Instructor Fu, I didn't mean it!"
Fu Jinxiao said, "So you really kissed me while I was sleeping?"
Shen Xingsui nodded obediently, but when he found that Fu Jinxiao was still looking at him, he quickly added: "I, I didn't do other things improperly. I kissed where I shouldn't, so I just kissed it. Your forehead, don't be angry!"
Fu Jinxiao continued to stare at him, making Shen Xingsui even more nervous. His Adam's apple rolled up and down.
"Tsk..." Fu Jinxiao sighed lightly, and poked Shen Xingsui's head with his slender and fair fingers, his voice was low and seemed to be somewhat helpless, "Coward."
Shen Xingsui was taken aback, "Huh?"
Fu Jinxiao got up as if he had given up teasing him, "Don't you need to wake others up?"
Shen Xingsui finally realized: "Yes, yes."
When he thought of calling someone else to wake up and give him a good morning kiss, Shen Xingsui felt that this was the real torture, the real moment of death.
Shen Xingsui sighed heavily.
Fu Jinxiao sat up next to him then took a drink from the cup by the table. The man who just woke up looked dangerous for some reason –his nightgown was loose and he squinted at him, "Why, don't you want to go?"
Shen Xingsui with a bitter face, "This is a punishment task, because we took a shortcut yesterday, so we have to wake everyone up."
Fu Jinxiao raised his eyebrows, and his eyes fell on the cameraman next to him. The smile on the corner of his mouth seemed very shallow, and his voice gentle but it sounded inexplicably dangerous: "Is this the case?"
The cameraman felt the hidden knife behind that smile, but he could only nod.
Fu Jinxiao looked very reasonable and gentle, "The director's arrangement is also reasonable, of course we have to follow it."
The director not far away also felt a sudden chill down his spine.
Fu Jinxiao smiled more kindly, and said to Shen Xingsui beside him, "In this case, go quickly, don't waste time."
Shen Xingsui also knew that it was not good to drag things for too long. So he went out to Shen Xingchen's room next. Although he was his own older brother, the young master's sleep was notoriously hard to disturb. Despite his effort on kissing him, Shen Xingchen didn't budge. It's only after he shook the older man, he got a whine in response. Shen Xingchen finally woke up.
Suddenly, the air conditioner stopped.
The lights in the room were also off.
The temperature rose rapidly, and the room began to heat up.
Just when Shen Xingsui was about to wake other people to perform his own social death, he saw that the doors and windows of other rooms were opened. All of them woke up early without any need of a "loving alarm".
Ning Ze asked, clearly just woken up, "What's going on, the power went out?"
"I slept soundly and woke up from the heat." Li Xu'an also came out of his room, "Where is the breaker? Is there something wrong?"
Shen Xingsui himself was also shocked stupid.
Everyone was curious what's going on. Without anyone noticing, Fu Jinxiao also came out of a hidden corner slowly. The actor had been fully dressed and presentable. He leaned against the edge of the corridor and said to everyone in good spirits, "Morning."
The others greeted him back.
The stupid Shen Xingchen said without thinking, "Then, there's no task now, right? I'm so sleepy, I want to go back to sleep."
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
The director originally wanted to have a program like a good morning kiss, but he didn't expect that the electricity in the guest room would be cut off. As for who did this, he didn't dare to ask, and he didn't dare to say.
.............
Fortunately for the director, the "morning kiss" punishment game was popular enough with the viewers, so it wasn't a big deal to directly move to the next agenda.
"Good morning everyone, we are going to get up earlier today. Everyone must have received the mission card last night, right?"
One sentence made everyone who was a little sleepy instantly refreshed.
Suddenly, everyone cast suspicion on every gaze they met.
Shen Xingchen was the first to say his piece, "I am a good person. I'm the prince's royal guard. Anyway, the assassin should give up now. Maybe if you're honest enough, the prince will spare your life."
Everyone else smiled and replied:
"Ah, what a coincidence, I am also a guard."
"Yes, yes, I'm a good person."
Anran instead asked, "Who is the prince? We will focus on protecting him from now on, so it's easier for us to know their identity."
Before Shen Xingsui could speak, Actor Fu beside him took a cold look at Anran, and opened his lips, "Ah, you mean, so it's to make it easier for the assassin to kill the prince?"
They still didn't know a key detail of the assassin – the method they use for "killing". Besides, nobody said that an assassin can't kill a guard, right?
Anran choked on pure air, and smiled embarrassingly, "We have more good people, are you afraid that we won't be able to protect the prince?" "
"Who told you that there is only one assassin?" Fu Jinxiao's way of thinking was quite terrifying, "Is the number mentioned anywhere on the mission card?"
After finishing the sentence, the surroundings were silent.
The word "assassin" appeared in the narrative of the mission card yesterday. Most people subconsciously thought that there was only one assassin. But Fu Jinxiao was right, as long as there was no actual confirmation, who said that there could only be one assassin?
Netizens in the live broadcast room also expressed their surprise:
[I knew it!!]
[Fu Jinxiao's brain is terrifying.]
[I finally know why he wasn't allowed to take the assassin identity.]
[True, true, in that way, nobody would survive!]
[The director is so far-sighted!]
Currently, everyone was silent, having their own thoughts. To continue the show's narrative, the director nudged them, "Actually, we still have a lot of good people here. And as for the next mission, anyone who completes their mission will get a hint card. Each of them will give a bit of description to help you guess the assassin's identity. Furthermore, as long as everyone deciphers the hint and finds them, the prince's side will automatically win."
Then, the director gave today's mission, "We stayed at this gorgeous villa last night, and the payment is actually a loan given by the locals. So today, everyone is required to pay off their loans! You can go look for a job, and you need to buy your own meals and clothes! As for the villa's rent, you need to pay off 1,000 yuan1about 145 USD before dusk today! Of course, the person who earns the most money today is considered the winner and is eligible to get a hint card."
Make that much money on the first day?
Everyone was quite surprised, but they also had more fighting spirit and vigor after hearing that they could win the hint cards.
After the director assigned the task, he said, "Okay, let's start the day!"
Tuya found a key point from the director's speech, "Director, where is our breakfast?
"You are all mature adults, you can solve it by yourself. You all should learn to be self-reliant, tsk tsk tsk... of course, if you really don't have anything to eat, we have prepared large pancakes2he actually said 饼 "bǐng", which is a thin pancake that is very versatile, you can pair/stuff it with anything basically. But only eating the pancake/bread by itself is kinda... pitiful.. This will count as a... loan of sorts as well."
Everyone: "..."
Well, thank you very much.
The audience in the live broadcast room was laughing at their misery:
[The director can really spit out some doggy words.]
[Hahaha, working while hungry.]
[I'll give a medal to whoever's evil enough to think of this mission.]
Fortunately, there was still readily-available breakfast. While some people could work without breakfast, some others weren't used to this.
Anran came out of his room at this time and said with a smile, "Are you hungry? I happen to have some biscuits and pastries that I baked myself. If you don't mind, eat them!"
This move was a lifesaver.
After listening, everyone of course gave up the big pancake in their hands and went to eat pastries instead.
Shen Xingsui didn't go, he continued to eat the pancakes. But Anran came over by himself, took a pastry and handed it to Shen Xingsui, saying, "Suisui, would you like to eat some too?"
Shen Xingsui politely refused, "I'm fine with these pancakes. Thank you for the offering, though."
Anran frowned as he looked at Shen Xingsui with a hint of grievance. He softly persuaded, "Suisui, I've been baking cakes for a long time. And you see Instructor Tuya and the others ate them all. Why not give it a try? I just want to share it with you."
Shen Xingsui really didn't want to eat Anran's baked goods. The more Anran pushed him, the more scared he became.
But Anran didn't seem to be able to see his rejection, and insisted on standing beside Shen Xingsui with a pastry, as if it was exhausting to the end.
Netizens also said:
[It's just a piece of pastry, why are you rejecting his kindness?]
[Ranran is so kind...]
[Shen Xingsui is too difficult to get along with.]
Anran's persistence wore Shen Xingsui off. He picked up a piece of pastry and said, "Thank you."
Shen Xingchen who was next to him was also given a piece. In fact, this pastry tasted very soft and delicious, and most people wouldn't find anything wrong with it. But Shen Xingchen was different from others. The young master has been eating various delicacies from mountains and seas since he was a child, and he has developed sensitive taste buds. He could distinguish the ingredients of almost every food he ate.
Shen Xingchen took a bite and grumbled, "Why does it smell like seaweed?"
Anran froze and smiled awkwardly, "How is that possible?"
"Really." Shen Xingchen glared at him, "What, do you think I would lie to splash dirty water on you?"
Anran didn't expect to be countered, and immediately gave up, "No, no, I didn't mean that! But I really didn't put in seaweed. This is just a normal savory pastry, I didn't put any unusual ingredients in it."
Only then did Shen Xingchen give up, "Really? Okay, then."
Shen Xingsui froze after hearing this.
He was very allergic to seaweed. He would get itchy rashes all over his body if he ingested a miniscule of it.
Shouldn't Anran know about this? Then, does this pastry contain seaweed? If so, why did Anran do this? Shen Xingsui just felt a chill down his spine.
But soon, everyone left the house after eating.
Everyone had to split up and prepare to start making money to pay off their loan. When they went out, they saw a stray dog. It looked friendly, and unbothered by strangers as it squatted there. However, looking at its prominent rib cage, it must've been hungry for quite a while. It had golden-yellow fur, and it looked like a very good boy. Maybe because it had been a stray for a long time, it was very dirty with grime all over its fur.
Anran always appeared like a kind little angel. He pointed at the stray dog and said, "Wow, it's a puppy."
Li Xu'an stopped and commented, "Yeah, I think that's a stray."
"It's so pitiful." Anran had a face full of sympathy, "It looks very hungry and hasn't eaten for a long time."
After the dog sensed this group of strangers, it approached them. It was very friendly, and it even wagged its tail. But Anran, who just said that the dog was cute, reflexively flinched as the dog went his way. He didn't want the dirt and grime to stain his clothes, so he took two steps backward.
Shen Xingchen caught this hypocrite and commented, "If you really feel pity for it, you can make more money and buy it some food."
Anran looked embarrassed again and said, "But I have no money now, and I don't have any food with me. And... when I have the money, it should be already at night. I'm afraid I won't be able to find the puppy then."
Netizens also sighed:
[Ranran has a really kind heart.]
[Truly an angel!]
[Hahaha, don't think I failed to catch that step back!]
At this moment, Shen Xingsui, who was behind his brother, quipped, "It's okay, no need to trouble yourself. I'm already full from eating that pancake, so I haven't had time to eat the pastry you gave me. Since the dog is so pitiful, let's give the pastry to the dog, how about it?"
That pastry was originally used by Anran to attack Shen Xingsui.
After all, if Shen Xingsui doesn't eat it, the netizens will definitely attack him – they would say that he's being too rude in refusing Anran's hospitality. And if he eats it and his allergies act up, it has nothing to do with him. After all, he doesn't know Shen Xingsui has an allergy, so he can't be blamed.
Anran never expected that Shen Xingsui would take out the pastry at this time. Plus, he quoted Anran's own words. If he refused to help the dog again, wouldn't that make him look bad?
Therefore, even though he didn't want to, Anran still showed a forced smile, "Well... that's fine."
Shen Xingsui knelt down and called to the dog, "Doggy, come here."
The little yellow dog came wagging its tail as if it could understand human words.
Shen Xingsui broke open the pastry carefully and handed it to the dog.
But after putting the pastry on the ground, the little yellow dog sniffed it and gave a tentative lick. Then, it walked away as if it was disgusted! The most outrageous thing was that it also ran to the trash can not far away, preferring to dig through the trash to find food!
"..."
The air was silent for a moment, and Anran got visibly more embarrassed as the silence marched on.
The audience in the live broadcast room were laughing their ass off:
[Is this the legendary dog instinct?!]
[HAHAHAHA that just proves how unpalatable the pastry is to the dog!!]
[I laughed to death.]
[Look at Anran's expression! Hahahahaha!!!!]