GSCCO Chapter 14

The cameramen, hired by the production team, were experienced in big productions, remaining calm and composed amidst the interactions between guests. They even skillfully minimized their presence, preventing the guests from feeling awkward.

Filming Mu Huai solo was a breeze, as he didn’t care what he looked like on camera or how the editing would portray him. Even after upsetting Yu Yi and causing him to leave, he felt no embarrassment.

The remaining seven people arrived one after another, just before the production team’s deadline, dragging their suitcases. Those who arrived late hurriedly pushed their suitcases into the room, then rushed to their training rooms without even unpacking.

These people were all quite young. Mu Huai later checked Yu Yi’s information with what the production team had provided. This hot-tempered Yu Yi, who looked like a high school student, was already 21 this year and would graduate from university in another year. Live streaming was just a hobby. Shuangshuang, dressed in overalls, could easily pass for middle school students, but this girl had recently turned twenty. The others were eighteen or nineteen, with the youngest, Li Mao, only seventeen.

I brought a litter of babies.

Mu Huai stood upstairs looking down. The restraint he felt in the studio yesterday seemed to have vanished the moment he stepped inside. Now, a bunch of little brats sitting below, peering out from behind the cameras, were already restless. Except for Yu Yi, the team leader, who wasn’t exactly easy to get along with, the others were already shoving and jostling each other.

They were practicing their team match drills with headphones on. Not controlling the volume, they just shouted all sorts of random slang throughout the room. Mu Huai listened for a while but couldn’t understand a word, wondering if he was getting too old.

So noisy.

Mu Huai frowned. Did I really have to sneak out now to buy groceries and cook for these infuriating little brats?

He’d never cooked before. Even in his most miserable times, all he knew how to do was boil noodles. The production team, wanting to be relatable, insisted they should cook simple home cooked dishes. Mu Huai pressed himself against the wall searching for recipes, his frustration only fueling his increasingly broad smile.

No matter what, he’d definitely keep a close eye on these little brats who hadn’t even touched a bite of food yet. A shadow suddenly fell over him.

Concentrating on figuring out why cilantro and scallions needed to appear together, Mu Huai subconsciously turned off the screen, his brow furrowing.

Mu Huai: “What’s wrong?”

The noises downstairs hadn’t stopped. The team leader’s sudden departure didn’t affect their training. At this moment of honing their teamwork, Mu Huai couldn’t think of a reason to get Yu Yi come upstairs.

“Are you going out?” Yu Yi stepped back, glancing casually at the camera in the corner. “Did you guys always put so many cameras on when you filmed shows?”

“Yeah. There aren’t any in the room.” Mu Huai followed his gaze. “If you don’t want to be filmed, let’s talk inside.”

The two rooms were very close, so Mu Huai didn’t hesitate and opened Yu Yi’s door. He’d only moved in that morning anyway, so there shouldn’t be much privacy.

In Yu Yi’s room, there was another person’s luggages—two of which were cute cartoon-themed suitcases, pitifully placed behind the door. The boy happened to play the same position as Yu Yi and was Yu Yi’s substitute. Apart from playing games, he was always slow and relaxed, whether he was talking or walking. He arrived at the dorm last, leaving only Yu Yi’s room with an empty bed.

The two beds in the room were not far apart, one of which had a neatly folded shirt on it.

Both were obsessed about cleanliness.

Mu Huai took off the microphone and casually asked, “Are you calmed down? Or are you still angry and looking for a place to vent?”

Thinking about it, this was probably the only thing that could have brought Yu Yi here.

Mu Huai smiled lazily.

“Did the production team give you a task?” Yu Yi asked instead of answering. Seeing Mu Huai looking over, Yu Yi explained, “There are a lot of staff waiting at the door.”

True, it’s quite difficult to sneak around during filming. Mu Huai tacitly agreed, then said, “We don’t have much time left, or if you can hold it in, wait until I get back?”

It was a perfectly normal sentence, but coming from Mu Huai, it sounded quite ambiguous.

The line at the corner of Yu Yi’s lips tightened, and a hint of impatience flickered in the corner of his eye: “Would you talk like this if someone else were standing here?”

“You’re my only target right now,” Mu Huai said with interest. “You can also clearly reject me.”

Yu Yi: “And then what?”

Mu Huai chuckled: “Then, I’m going to find another target.”

A two-second silence fell over the room, then the noise from downstairs reached upstairs. Yu Yi took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Mu Huai as if he wanted to devour him.

This was what Mu Huai found most amusing. They say it takes two to tango, and he’d made his stance clear, so why was this clean-cut, aloof, handsome guy still hovering around him? If Yu Yi was really infatuated with that legendary dream girl, why did he choose this team when Yu Yi knew he was after him?

Mu Huai wasn’t afraid of the grumpy Yu-ge, but he felt a pang of guilt, like he was bullying a child. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large cardboard box, its shiny color clashing with the room’s style. Mu Huai shifted his gaze slightly, and clusters of unidentified objects emerged from its round, yellowish-white tops.

Yu Yi followed his gaze and turned around, his tone returning to calm: “Do you like lollipops?”

Mu Huai: ?

As Mu Huai followed Yu Yi toward the cardboard box, he had a vague suspicion, but he still paused when he saw the thick bundle of “flowers”—enough to be wrapped around an adult’s arms.

“I only intended to buy ninety-nine, but lollipops are a bit small, so I bought a few more.”

“You might have a misunderstanding about this.”

“Why is it here?” Mu Huai’s lips twitched.

Yu Yi gave him a deep look, crossed his arms, and leaned against the counter, practically writing “take it or leave it” on his face.

“Yu Ying doesn’t want it?” Mu Huai asked casually.

This wasn’t the first time Mu Huai had mentioned his older brother’s name. Yu Yi guessed that Mu Huai might have some misunderstanding about his and Yu Ying’s relationship.

Yu Yi’s older brother debuted in the entertainment industry without family’s consent. In the world of entertainment, Yu Yi’s brother made his name through his own hard work. To avoid implicating his family and to prove his own abilities, Yu Ying had always kept his family relationships a secret, even going so far as to spread rumors of him being an only child or an orphan if pushed too far.

Anyway, Yu Ying denied the existence of both himself and his older sister.

Yu Yi carefully considered his words, trying to explain, but the word “brother” was forbidden, and “friend” felt too sweet between him and Yu Ying.

“No,” Yu Yi said impatiently.

No, my foot! No one in the Yu family likes sweets.

Mu Huai: “You’re giving them to me if you don’t want them?”

This disbelief even surpassed his earlier complaint. It made Yu Yi so stunned.

Yu Yi: “…”

“Okay, what can I say? I’m just a backup option.” Mu Huai lightly pushed up his glasses, teasingly asking, “Not planning on rejecting me?”

Yu Yi said coolly, “Even cartoons have good people, so why can’t there be good people in real life?”

He shamelessly flattered himself, then walked around Mu Huai, hefted the cardboard box, and hoisted the entire box of lollipops onto his shoulder.

Mu Huai chuckled, following Yu Yi into his side of the room. Watching him place the box of lollipops on his bedside table, he finally couldn’t help but ask, “Yu Yi, didn’t you think you couldn’t finish all these lollipops in ten years?”

Yu Yi: “Then I’ll eat them for ten years.”

Mu Huai: “But this kind of candy only lasts a year.”

Yu Yi glanced at him coldly.

Mu Huai remained calm: “Got time to go grocery shopping with your backup boyfriend?”

There was only one supermarket within a few miles, two or three stories high, with large shelves, somewhat like a wholesale market. But they had to take a car to get there. Cameras were already set up inside and out, and the production crew and supermarket staff were mixed together.

Lin Zi Fei and his group arrived before Mu Huai, with one or two team members accompanying Lin Zi Fei and Liu Jiaolong.

Bringing teammates wasn’t considered cheating. Mu Huai chuckled inwardly, realizing he hadn’t participated in a reality show in so long that he’d forgotten how to exploit loopholes. Lin Zi Fei started spouting nonsense from two or three shelves away. When Mu Huai encountered him, it was nothing but mutual bickering. Actually, these two were the same.

Mu Huai couldn’t recognize any vegetables.

Yu Yi, holding the menu: “Weren’t you going to get watercress¹?”

Mu Huai put down what he was holding and picked up another bunch.

Yu Yi: “…That’s lettuce.”

Mu Huai pondered among the cabbage and bok choy. Yu Yi, who had already thoroughly reviewed the menu, slowly asked, “Why did you buy so many vegetables?”

Vegetarian.

Although he didn’t say what he was going to do with them, Yu Yi could roughly guess. Five managers out grocery shopping at the same time—what else could they be doing?

Mu Huai’s menu was simple: eggs, tomatoes, cabbage, watercress… no meat.

“On a diet,” Mu Huai sneered. Meat was too difficult to cook. He didn’t want to search it.

“…” Every time Yu Yi passed by Lin Zi Fei and the others, he noticed the quantities they bought. Mu Huai always bought less than them, so he guessed it was for everyone to share. He’d been eating almost-none food since appearing on the show, and now Mu Huai wanted everyone to diet with him?

“Get a box of beef,” Yu Yi said.

Mu Huai looked at him with a half-smile, as if to say, “You’re quick to pick up the act, aren’t you?”

Yu Yi calmly replied, “Everyone will thank you.”

Fine. Mu Huai searched for recipes for beef so that no one would say he wouldn’t even let his children eat meat.