GSCCO Chapter 19

Chapter 19

By noon, the sun shines even brighter. And the porridge and water from breakfast were completely metabolized.

Hungry and hot.

Everyone faced the camera, half complaining and half jokingly begging the show crew to let him go.

The program team let go of the anchor who was caught most often in the first few rounds, and spent the latter half of the session picking on the managers instead.

The manager carried a lot of traffic, and a few rounds of polite, playful participation was more than enough to make for good content.

At two in the afternoon, the program team finally let them go, and everyone walked back huffing. 50 players walked in twos and threes in front, and five managers followed leisurely like herding sheep.

After all that running and jumping, it wasn’t exactly exhausting, but they’d worked up a sweat—everyone was damp and giving their own “natural scent”.

Once the camera was gone, everyone was too lazy to pretend to be familiar with each other. Liu Jiaolong was blank-faced, zoning out. The athlete and Shi Shaoqian walked one ahead of the other, occasionally exchanging a word or two.

Lin Zifei: “What’s the deal with that Yu Yi?”

Mu Huai swept his bangs back, revealing his smooth forehead.

“A kid.”

The corner of Lin Zifei’s mouth twitched: “Yes, he is a good-looking kid, and he is also quite smart—a kind of kid that is right up your alley.”

Mu Huai said nothing, with a look on his face like “Where do you come from with so much crap?”

“Don’t try to fool me.” Lin Zifei said with a hint of disgust: “I’ve never seen you shy during training before.”

Mu Huai: “…Shy?”

Lin Zifei: “Pocky game! The time we both got punished—it was our team’s suggestion to play Pocky. Our team’s kids were all behind me, so why did you turn around to see what you were doing?”

Before the boy band officially debuted, there was a period of closed training. In order to let them get rid of their shame, they did a lot of training that would make others blush and heartbeat. After debuting and before becoming famous, the host would often arrange for them to play a lot of more extreme games.

Now, even if the show crew lets Mu Huai and Lin Zifei vent their anger at each other, both of them could keep their expressions on their faces. So Mu Huai’s two-second hesitation was really wrong in Lin Zifei’s eyes.

Lin Zi didn’t like to use his brain, but he wasn’t brainless either. The sexual orientation of his former band mate was not a secret in the group or even in the industry. Yu Yi, who was so outstanding, was placed there alone, just like seeing his ideal dream girl standing in front of him—who could hold out against that?

“Pretty concerned about me, huh?” Mu Huai wanted to smile.

“Bullshit.” Lin Zifei said. “He’s a good kid. Can you not harm others?”

“I can.”

“I knew you were this kind of person, Mu Huai. And you can’t be too…” Lin Zifei stopped in surprise. “You just said you could? Well, I knew my ex-band mate still had a little bit of humanity. I mean, that’s fine. Well, I didn’t mean to interfere with you, but after all, you can just keep it in the industry. If you touch a clean kid, you will be in a lot of trouble…”

Lin Zifei kept talking more and more nonsense, and Mu Huai still had time to laugh at him.

This road went around to the dormitory area. Liu Jiaolong and the others looked back at Lin Zifei and Mu Huai. Ever since the group disbanded, rumors about the poor internal relationship among the members of the group hadn’t stopped—talk of fighting over resources and screen time, all with plausible-sounding details, claiming their good public relationship was just for marketing.

Liu Jiaolong and the athlete were both standing on the edge of this circle, and Shi Shaoqian was in it, but grabbing resources always existed in the industry. When they first learned that the two idols who participated together were in a boy group, everyone was a little worried. And even planned to watch them indifferently after they appeared on the show, no matter how lively they were.

Now it seemed that they were unnecessary. Lin Zifei and Mu Huai were very quarrelsome with each other, but if they weren’t actually lose, who would bother bickering like that?

“The competition is about to begin!” Lin Zifei said, “I’m a little nervous.”

Mu Huai: “I remember you got a bye this round. Are you here to show off?”

Lin Zifei just remembered that Mu Huai had drawn Liu Jiaolong: “That’s not what I meant. You can just think of me as showing off!”

Mu Huai: “…”

Lin Zifei: “Why didn’t you react at all?”

Mu Huai: “How should I react?”

Lin Zifei said: “Damn it, you really don’t know?”

Mu Huai: “…”

The sneakers left a red mark on the ground. Li Mao looked down and took out his hand from his pocket.

His heart skipped two beats, his chest feeling tight and heavy–like some kind of bad omen.

Mu Huai frowned: “What’s wrong?”

Lin Zifei: “… Don’t the commentators invited by the program team be different every time? My agent said that the invitation must have been sent to them… Do you still remember how long ago we disbanded? Didn’t we say we’d have a meal together once a year?”

Mu Huai really forgot about this matter. It used to be around April or May. Now that he thought about it, the time was about right. People in the know had also figured out when they gathered, and were planning to use this window to invite them all onto the same show, riding the wave of their reunion buzz.

Lin Zifei: “You really don’t know?”

Mu Huai pursed his lips: “Who do you think is most likely to come?”

“Our leader won’t be coming. He posted his schedule at the beginning of the month, and it was already scheduled that day.” Lin Zifei closed his eyes and thought: “Devin and Yin En are about half-half.”

“If it’s Yin En, I will help shield you a bit.” Lin Zifei actually didn’t know what happened between the two of them, but he felt that Mu Huai had never liked Yin En, “I thought you two had reconciled last time he went to your concert…”

Lin Zifei said: “Whatever, you still have to keep up appearances. He is not only your former teammate, but also the prince of Yuzi. You shouldn’t end up on bad terms with him no matter what…”

“Where are you going?” Mu Huai pushed Lin Zifei and turned him around: “Even if you want to join our team, we have no place for you to sleep here.”

Moisture from the stream lingered on both floors of the dorm. The training room was empty, and no one was at the dining table either. The auntie had carefully covered the lunch to keep it warm.

Walking down the hallway, one could still hear the sound of water. Every room had its own bathroom, so they were probably showering.

Mu Huai picked up his clothes and sniffed them. The first thing he did when he returned to his room was to grab clothes and take a shower.

Hot steam filled the entire bathroom, and the smell of sweat mixed with excitement or laziness slid along the water, disappearing into the drain pipe.

Since there were two girls living upstairs, Mu Huai usually made sure to close his door when he was in his room. The sound of the outer door being opened from outside was especially jarring—a sharp click-clack.

Mu Huai paused mid-motion and made sure the bathroom door was locked before continuing to take a shower.

When he came out of the bathroom, Mu Huai was wearing an oversized jacket with a towel draped around his neck. After being sick, he was extra careful about his body.

Yu Yi was standing next to the bookshelf reading and looked over when he heard the sound. He had also just taken a shower, and his thin shirt could not block the boy’s natural charm.

Mu Huai wiped his hair: “Why are you here?”

“Come here to find you.” Yu Yi said bluntly and handed over the hot water he’d prepared in advance.

“…I never would’ve guessed you were such a little thoughtful little sweetheart.” Mu Huai glanced at him from the corner of his eye: “So why are you looking for me?”

Yu Yi looked at him silently. Mu Huai was not in a hurry either—half the water was bottomed out in an instant, and he looked at Yu Yi with ease.

Mu Huai had decided to back off on a whim, and he’d also wondered whether his recent teasing might have affected the kid. He’d built his career on his charm; there was no way his deliberate flirtation had no effect at all.

He could just pull back.

“What do you think?” Yu Yi answered the question with another question. “Why do you think I’m looking for you?”

Yu Yi was actually a little taller than Mu Huai. This was one of the countless times he’d traced Mu Huai’s features in his mind, comparing the image in his memory to the person in front of him, piece by piece. The smiling eyes, the gaze that always carried a hint of suggestion.

Even in the eyes of people who were ten or twenty years older, this man was a seasoned smooth talker with a wagging tail—because he’d soaked in society long enough and been through enough.

In contrast, Yu Yi was clean and innocent, with one foot still in college life and surrounded by layers of protective shields.

Behind Mu Huai was a bookshelf, and his half-wet hair had a small patch of dark color on it.

He blinked lightly and tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to muster a careless smile. The straightforward question that had been glossed over under the camera seemed ready to be brought up again.

But Mu Huai hadn’t yet thought of a perfect answer. His proud self-regard made him disdain lying to cover up his thoughts. He had never concealed his appreciation for Yu Yi, but he decided to let the person go. This kind of rogue-ish thought that both of them knew well wasn’t suitable to say out loud.

Mu Huai said, “Aren’t you hungry?”

Changed the topic again. Yu Yi was a little disappointed, which was expected. He knows Mu Huai very well; he always has. Perhaps even earlier before Mu Huai knew about Yu Yi.

He never thought about getting close to Mu Huai so early.

In this industry, one had to tread as if on thin ice. And Mu Huai had no one behind him, only a hollow version of himself holding himself up. So this man was careful, with countless walls erected around his flirtatious heart. Anyone who actively approached him could be politely invited to sit in the living room.

And that was it. 

Yu Yi tried his best to restrain himself, telling himself that was enough. He’d take the steps Mu Huai had laid out for him, then plan for the long-term.

He had already planned a road long ago, and he was retreating every step of the way. According to his plan, the more he retreated, the more Mu Huai would move forward.

Mu Huai always thought that he accidentally stumbled to Yu Yi’s livestream. He was too lazy to think about why the former leader who had never played games suddenly clicked on the game livestream.

“Hungry.” Yu Yi pursed his lips, feeling a sense of grievance in his heart.

Mu Huai: “Don’t just stand here if you’re hungry. Let’s go down and eat.”

The box of lollipops sat on the other side of the bookshelf. That bundle that could barely be called flowers had been torn apart into pieces, the remaining lollipops scattered across the bottom of the box.

“Oh.”

Yu Yi was a little annoyed, mostly at his own pretentiousness.

Mu Huai was keenly aware of the child’s displeasure. Without changing his expression, he averted his gaze and called out, “Xiao Yu’er…”

That was what he used to call him when they were live-streaming before, and Mu Huai said it out of habit. He then shifted his tone and mumbled: “Come on. Stop dragging my book.”

“…Hmm.”

Yu Yi came to his senses and stuffed the book back into the bookshelf. He put his arm over Mu Huai’s head to circle around the big star.

Mu Huai raised his chin slightly, wondering to himself whether this kid was unintentionally caging him in against the shelf or what. Yu Yi had used his own body wash, and the smell entered his nose. If he closed his eyes and took a whiff, he could still smell the alcohol from that day.

This didn’t feel right.

Mu Huai, with the composure of an old fox, casually looked at Yu Yi.

Yu Yi glanced down, thinking to himself the Yu-ge had practically become a ninja turtle.

He was actually patient enough to play this hide-and-seek game with Mu Huai.

But Mu Huai pushed him away, which made him a little irritable.

Fuck this suffocating frustration.

Handsome Yu pushed the book in with his fingers, lowering his eyes slightly, and kissed him directly without any greetings.

Mu Huai: ?

Even if they want to kiss, the ambiguous atmosphere seems not enough, right?

Top celebrity Mu didn’t get into the mood at first and even tried to push Yu Yi away. Yu Yi pressed against the bookshelf and took a small step forward, completely Mu Huai in the cramped space.

Yu Yi: “You don’t want to do it?”

This time, both of them were sober, and Mu Huai still remembered his firm resolve.

“Kid, get up.”

Yu Yi: “… Who is the kid?”

Mu Huai hissed and said, “I won’t take responsibility.”

“You don’t need to be responsible.” Yu Yi swallowed his gritted-teeth frustration into their fragmented kisses.