GSCCO Chapter 27

Lan Sha spent several days anxiously monitoring the internet, leading her entire PR team on high alert. Even after the show’s short break ended and filming resumed for the next segment, no controversy related to Mu Huai arose online.

Mu Huai had a rare few days without being trending on social media, and Lan Sha didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified. But, it seemed the matter of that family dinner wouldn’t be brought up. Even the entertainment media she contacted remained silent on the topic, which relieved her.

Recalling the family dinner, the Yu family’s tolerance towards Mu Huai was incredibly high. Given the Yu’s connections, they likely knew a little about Ms. Chen Hui’s past debts. Putting that aside, Lan Sha had originally thought that the Yu family, as a prominent and rigid family, would have even greater prejudice against Mu Huai’s profession.

The Yu family was too good to Mu Huai.

Lan Sha couldn’t immediately figure out the reason, but thanks to her keen intuition honed through years of work experience, she would subconsciously tense up whenever Mu Huai and Yu Yi were together.

On the way back to the dorm that day, Yu Yi remained completely unfazed by his manager’s gaze, simply asking Lan Sha if there was anything he wanted to say to Mu Huai.

“Should I excuse myself?” Yu Yi asked politely.

Since that day, Mu Xi’s feelings towards Yu Yi had gone from a simple understanding to adoration. Whenever Yu Yi spoke, he would also look at Lan Sha expectantly, his eyes full of curiosity.

Mu Huai removed his attention from his Jenga game and looked up at Lan Sha.

“No. No need,” Lan Sha said quickly, as always.

She maintained a composed expression despite the gazes of three men.

“After the next recording, find some time to talk to me about your plans for next month,” Lan Sha said to Mu Huai.

Mu Huai gave a casual reply. He seemed to have guessed something from Lan Sha’s cautious gaze and ambiguous tone, but he was too lazy to bring it up, probably not taking it seriously.

Mu Huai trended on social media again with everyone from the game show. The production team released behind-the-scenes footage showing that all five teams participated in a simulated competition in a real-life environment. The team members dressed according to their favorite characters, while the five managers chose characters based on the results of a previous cooking competition.

The behind-the-scenes footage of that competition, which wasn’t really a competition, was also released.

The five people choosing their roles each went into a separate room. Besides a backdrop and a large screen, there was a long table covered with a black cloth and the host sitting opposite the table.

Oh, and there were two cameramen crouching in the corner.

Mu Huai was the second person to finish the task and the second to go in to choose his costume. The four of them waited separately in the lounge, and when Mu Huai was called over, Shi Shaoqian had just come out.

Mu Huai raised an eyebrow: “Who did you choose?”

Shi Shaoqian held a black card, about the size of an adult’s palm, a wide card held between his fingers. As soon as Mu Huai asked, Shi Shaoqian hid the card against his palms and smiled mysteriously.

Shi Shaoqian: “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Actually, there were only two easy choices: Sakata Gintoki and Inuyasha, both normal adult male characters. Chopper was too short, Kinomoto Sakura, and Mouri Ran were out of the question.

The scene of the two old foxes facing off always resulted in fans of both sides arguing in the comments. Mu Huai actually had a decent impression of Shi Shaoqian.

Mu Huai shrugged: “You’ve made me even more curious. Let me guess, Mouri Ran?”

Shi Shaoqian, clutching his card, walked backwards: “Are you going to choose?”

Mu Huai continued his charade: “If Shaoqian leaves me that chance.”

Shi Shaoqian said: “Then you don’t have a chance.”

Mu Huai was a little curious about what Shi Shaoqian would look like dressed as Mouri Ran. Actually, he himself preferred to choose Gintoki Sakata; just dyeing his hair and changing clothes would be much easier than other random cosplay.

Shi Shaoqian chuckled and winked at him, “Go in, there’s a surprise inside!”

A surprise?

The production team never prepared surprises.

Mu Huai took Shi Shaoqian’s warning as a high-risk alert, instinctively guessing what kind of trap the production team would set up as he entered. The production team had decorated the selection room like a wizard’s spellcasting tent, dragging out anything related to the supernatural as decorations, regardless whether it came from Eastern or Western movies.

It was certainly grand, but it hurt his eyes.

Mu Huai just wanted to finish the selection quickly and go back to get some sleep. The team members had all gathered the night before for a belated celebration party, which went on very late. He had even squeezed in some time to compose music that night, and now he was incredibly tired.

Half a minute later, Mu Huai sat facing Yin En across the long table, a forced smile on his face.

It really was a surprise.

Yin En was wearing a black robe and a hat. His clothes looked like a charlatan’s, but his hat was like a wizard’s.

Four cards were placed on the long table, black faces up.

“I missed you guys,” Yin En said. “Since we have time, we’ll record a few more episodes.”

Mu Huai didn’t respond, looking down at the cards. “Didn’t you say we’d choose by ranking? They changed it to drawing roles by ranking at the last minute? The production team is going to get beaten up by the fans for this!”

Mu Huai wanted to push the process forward, so Yin En had to follow suit: “Guess which one Shao Qian chose?”

“He said he chose Ran Mouri.”

Yin En feigned surprise: “Oh, so who did you want to choose?”

“Gintoki…”

Sakata Gintoki was gone, so Ran Mouri was naturally lying on the table.

Mu Huai decisively chose Inuyasha between the short-haired girl and the long-haired man, completing the selection process in half the time it took Shi Shaoqian.

As he walked back, he pondered Yin En’s words. There were still almost two weeks between this live-action environmental competition and the next one. Why was Yin En spending time with them recording this episode if he had nothing better to do?

Did the Yin Group go bankrupt?

That evening, everyone received their costumes. The quality wasn’t great. The clothes would only last three wears at most. Mu Huai sat in the living room watching them try on their costumes one by one, yawning all the while.

“Manager, won’t this petticoat make you look fat on camera?”

“Huai-ge! I think I’ve ruined this look!”

“Damn it! I’ll lose fans if this airs!”

Mu Huai gave a uniform reply: “No, not at all, you look great, very beautiful.”

He hadn’t planned to try on the clothes after receiving them. If they didn’t fit, he could just not wear them, how convenient.

Yu Yi also had no intention of trying them on. Mu Huai leaned back on the sofa, and Yu Yi stood behind it watching, his eyelashes obscuring his vision, so it was unclear whether he heard a word.

“Why don’t you try it on?” Mu Huai remembered that Yu Yi’s recent favorite character was a retro figure, carrying a long sword, wearing a white robe, which resembled Yu Yi’s own temperament.

Yu Yi said calmly, “You didn’t try it on either.”

It was late, and the cameras were unusually off tonight. Everyone was relaxed, with no microphones on, so they didn’t have to be nervous in front of the camera.

Yu Yi had just come downstairs after showering, still wearing his gray pajamas, but dressed smartly in a robe over them. If I didn’t look closely, I wouldn’t even know he was wearing pajamas underneath.

Mu Huai smelled a faint lemon scent and thought to himself, even more addicting.

Yu Yi: “Yin En’s here?”

The teammates were joking around up front, usually keeping their distance from Mu Huai, and now they subconsciously avoided the sofa where Mu Huai was.

Yu Yi’s hand slid down the back of the sofa, resting on Mu Huai’s shoulder, skillfully massaging it.

“Hmm.” Mu Huai tilted his head back, saw Yu Yi’s straightened lips, and chuckled, “What’s wrong? You don’t like him?”

Yu Yi countered, “You like him a lot?”

Putting everything else aside, just Yin En’s arrogant attitude—one personality on camera, another off camera—was hard to like.

Mu Huai: “He’s my former teammate and shares the same mother as me.”

Yu Yi’s lowered gaze was shallow: “So?”

So, logically, I should like him. Mu Huai had wanted to tease him, but inexplicably swallowed his words.

“No so.”

Before the costumes were made, someone measured their bodies, so most of the clothes fit perfectly. Other issues, like whether they suited the role, were unresolved, and the final result depended on the makeup artist and stylist. The teammates, however, excitedly tried on this one outfit for a long time.

Yu Yi massaged Mu Huai, creating a scene of love and filial piety. Especially with a bunch of mischievous kids in front of him, Mu Huai, dozing off, mentally compared himself to his grandmatriarch, Yu Azu, who had a large family.

Yu Yi pulled a gold chain from Mu Huai’s pajamas, frowning: “Where’s the plaque I gave you?”

“…” Mu Huai suddenly woke up, “The one with your name on it?”

Yu Yi hummed in agreement, taking a long stride from the sofa to sit next to Mu Huai.

Mu Huai: “Is it something like a family heirloom?”

“… What?”

“Or the kind that is used to put ashes in an urn or hang on a memorial tablet after death…”

Yu Yi stared at him blankly.

Mu Huai couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “Just kidding.”

If it were really true, Yin En wouldn’t have just given Mu Huai a plaque so easily. Besides, he knew that the younger generation often made new plaque with their names on them.

But Yu Yi’s pendant was really beautiful.

If he didn’t make a few jokes, he’d always have the illusion that he was receiving someone else’s token of love.

“I kept it. Now that we’re filming a show, if the name on my neck gets photographed, I’ll be trending for the next six months… I’ve already thought of the headline: ‘Explosive, Mu Huai, Token of Love.’” Mu Huai glanced at Yu Yi intentionally. “Handsome Yu, your family doesn’t actually have a custom of using plaques as tokens of love, does it?”

Yu Yi snapped out of his blank expression and calmly said, “No.”

Perhaps it was too late, Yu Yi got up and went back to his room to rest after speaking. The other nine team members were too young and energetic, and they would only quiet down once Yu Yi or Mu Huai showed any signs of needing to rest.

Yu Yi, used to this, bid them a goodnight and went upstairs. Mu Huai watched over everyone to prevent them from staying up too late, and then followed Yu Yi upstairs.

Today, Yu Yi went straight to his room. Noticing Mu Huai following, he didn’t slow down or even glance back, showing no team spirit whatsoever, and slammed the door shut.

Mu Huai followed closely behind, knocking symbolically twice before unlocking the door. Yu Yi had just taken off his robe and tossed it precisely onto the bed.

“Not today,” Yu Yi frowned. “Go back to your room.”

“What are you thinking about?”

Mu Huai leaned against the door, the outline of a silver chain visible between his long, slender fingers. He held out his hand, the jade pendant bearing Yu Yi’s name standing out against his pale hand.

He seemed suddenly unable to read people’s expressions, still teasing, “Really not a token of love?”

Yu Yi said coldly, “No.”

“I was just asking. Don’t be angry.” Mu Huai smiled and said. “Here, take it back. I can’t wear it while the show is being filmed, and I won’t be going to your family banquet afterwards, so those people won’t see me again. There’s no need.”

A terrifying silence.

Yu Yi stared at his hand for a long time before moving it: “Mu Huai, are you that afraid of being associated with me?”