That’s So Gay!

And then?

Facing Su Hanying’s profound gaze, Shen Yang turned into a statue; did he still have to fake a head tilt and kiss? He must have been poisoned by those evil Jinjiang romance novels!

Shen Yang was too miserable for tears. He gave up on himself: “Sorr --- ”

Suddenly, he felt Su Hanying grasp the back of his head and pull him closer.

Shen Yang: ??!

His vision dimmed; he could hear his own heart beating like a drum, and his breath was filled with the taste of another man.

After blanking out for a moment, Shen Yang slowly relaxed -- like this, he didn’t have to worry about being recognised.

Over to the side, Wei Fengmian and Xu Yunrong brushed past Shen Yang with their shopping cart. They couldn’t help sneaking a glance at him in the process. Once they were further away, Xu Yunrong whispered: “Were they filming something just then? That was so gay!”

Wei Fengmian: “I don’t know.”

Xu Yunrong: “Why didn’t they clear the area? I felt faint when I saw those cameras; we wouldn’t have been caught in the shot, right?”

Wei Fengmian hid a sneer, but his words were gentle and conciliatory: “Don’t worry, I have a mask on. Besides, aside from certain groups, not many people would actually recognise me in real life.”

Xu Yunrong said jestingly: “God Luan, don’t be humble; your live broadcast room has almost twenty million fans.”

“Twenty million fans can’t compare to being a world champion.” Wei Fengmian suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at a certain person’s back.

Xu Yunrong: “Fengmian?”

“Don’t you think……” Doesn’t that person’s back seem a tad familiar? But the person in his mind couldn’t possibly have agreed to appear on camera again. Wei Fengmian’s eyes darkened slightly, and he shook his head: “Forget it, it’s nothing.”

The two of them gradually departed. Shen Yang felt Su Hanying loosen his grip and hurriedly withdrew from the other’s embrace. He suspected that Su Hanying had guessed something and helped him out, but Su Hanying evidently didn’t want an explanation. He pushed the cart and said, “Let’s go.”

Because he had encountered an “old acquaintance” and been seen in a tight spot by his new roommate, Shen Yang’s mood was a bit low. He remained absentminded even after they returned to the car.

Su Hanying: “Your seatbelt.”

Shen Yang had been distracted; he hastily fastened his seatbelt and saw Su Hanying with one hand resting on the steering wheel, looking at him with an unreadable expression.

His heart tightened: “You’re not driving?”

Su Hanying glanced at the fixed camera in the car and said: “If it happened to involve a private matter, you can discuss cutting the previous segment with the program group.”

Shen Yang was silent for a moment. “Okay.”

The car slowly left the parking lot. Shen Yang struggled for a long time but was eventually unable to hold back his curiosity and asked tentatively: “Did you guess something?”

Su Hanying’s voice was steady: “You know those two, but you don’t want to let them see you.”

Shen Yang: “......” He really did guess it! Was he a mind reader?

Neither confirming nor denying it, Shen Yang said, “Mm,” and then, “thank you.”

Su Hanying: “No problem.”

By the time they arrived back at the mansion it was already four o’clock. Shen Yang really wanted to hide under the blankets to ease the fright his little heart had suffered, but when he thought that Duan Weiwei was still waiting to cook with him, he could only pull himself together and hope that Weiwei-xiaojie’s sweet smile could rescue his mood.

First, he found the director and told them about the unexpected event which had occurred in the supermarket, then hurried to the kitchen after they agreed to delete that part.

After they roughly divided the work between them, Shen Yang and Duan Weiwei started making dinner. At the start, Shen Yang was still a little nervous; he worried that he would have to constantly find topics to liven up the atmosphere, and he worried that Duan Weiwei would find him boring, but once they busied themselves he found there was no time for any of that.

“Shen-ge,” called Duan Weiwei suddenly, showing him her wet hands. “Can you help me with my apron?”

Shen Yang: “Okay.”

But after Shen Yang handed her the apron, Duan Weiwei didn’t take it. She stood half-facing him, her head slightly lowered, a clear hint in her eyes.

For a long time, nothing happened.

Duan Weiwei couldn’t believe her eyes. She even saw Shen Yang looking doubtfully at her, his gaze asking: Why aren’t you taking it?

Duan Weiwei: “......”

She accepted her fate, dried her hands, took the apron, and fastened it well. She was every so slightly resentful of Shen Yang’s obliviousness; it was self-apparent that “tying her apron” could have become a romantic moment!

But she couldn’t say it plainly to Shen Yang either, ahh, how could she be so shameless? It was only the first day of filming; if she took the initiative to ask a boy to tie her apron for her, their future audience might jeer at her for being a slut. Who knows how harsh the white knights on the internet are...Although she really had flirted a bit just then.

Shen Yang had no idea about Duan Weiwei’s train of thought. He went back to the sink and continued to diligently wash the dishes.

The kitchen was quiet for a while. While the water was boiling, Duan Weiwei took the opportunity to strike up a conversation again: “Actually, I’m best at Western cuisine; if there’s an opportunity I’ll cook it for you all.”

“Sure.”

Wasn’t that reply too flat?

Shen Yang felt that he should be a bit more proactive. “I really like Western food.”

He observed Duan Weiwei’s expression and saw two dimples appear as she smiled: “Then let’s make Western next time.”

Shen Yang’s heart skipped a beat. Happily, he said, “I’m really looking forward to that!”

Duan Weiwei stared at the pot and asked in a seemingly casual tone: “Su-ge is pretty good at cooking, right?”

Shen Yang answered decisively: “He’s incredibly good.”

Duan Weiwei’s voice was tinged with longing: “I really want to try it.”

Shen Yang: “It’ll be his turn the day after tomorrow; we can all try it then.”

“That’s true.” Duan Weiwei paused, then asked: “You two live together; can you guess what work he does?”

Shen Yang pondered it over, thinking of the reactions the girls at the entrance to the supermarket had to Su Hanying, and said hesitantly: “The entertainment industry?”

Duan Weiwei: “Why?”

Shen Yang’s reply was exceedingly dignified: “He’s a gorgeous specimen.”

Once the words fell, he saw that the aforementioned “gorgeous specimen” had at some point come to the kitchen and was even holding a book.

Shen Yang: “......”

Although everything he’d said had been complimentary, why was there a sense of being caught red-handed?

Su Hanying didn’t show any particular reaction; he merely nodded to Duan Weiwei then went behind to pour himself a glass of water. Just as Shen Yang was beginning to doubt whether he’d actually been heard, Su Hanying came to a sudden halt beside him and slowly opened his mouth: “Thank you.”

Taking the glass of water, he sat down at the dining table and leisurely started reading.

Shen Yang: “......”

Was there no water in the lounge?

For a certain time, the kitchen was silent. Shen Yang was a bit uncomfortable, and upon seeing the air of “I’m very serious, do not disturb” that Su Hanying was emitting with his whole body, Duan Weiwei conscientiously guarded her mouth.

With Su Hanying as the “supervisor”, the two of them became rather efficient at cooking, and before long, a burst of fragrance was released from the kitchen, which attracted Yang Tianchi and Yan Jiaqi.

As the crowd increased, the atmosphere also became lively, and even Su Hanying put away his book and came over to help. Duan Weiwei braced herself and brought up her wish to try Su Hanying’s handiwork, and this time he didn’t refuse; he swept his eyes over the ingredients prepared on the kitchen bench and went back to take the spare ribs out of the fridge.

Blanching, marinating, frying…...The aroma filled the air, earning everyone’s praise, but Shen Yang became increasingly confused: he really hadn’t ordered this specifically?

As it was approaching six o’clock, the first meal after entering the mansion was finally completed. Yang Tianchi asked while he set the table: “How come we haven’t seen Long Nu?”

Yan Jiaqi wiped her hands: “She’s not quite well, I’ll go call her.”

After a short while, the two ladies returned together. Yang Tianchi saw that Long Nu really did seem pale and asked, concerned: “What’s the matter? Did you catch a cold?”

Long Nu blushed and mumbled: “Stomach ache.”

Yang Tianchi was stunned. He quickly inferred the reason from Long Nu’s reaction, but Shen Yang, who was near them, was wondering why she had started being embarrassed now when she and Yang Tianchi had clearly been interacting rather naturally that afternoon? Nevertheless, he kept the matter of Long Nu’s stomach ache in his heart; after all, he was the “air conditioner” which only blew warm air!

By the time the meal ended, they were all much more familiar with one another. Yang Tianchi had a constant supply of jokes which made the female guests laugh non-stop. He wiped his mouth and raised his glass: “I propose a toast to our two chefs; thank you both from preparing such a sumptuous dinner.”

Duan Weiwei also followed him: “And thanks to Su-ge for letting us recall the taste of our childhoods.”

The sweet-and-sour spare ribs Su Hanying made had been poached instantly upon being placed on the table. Shen Yang had also eaten heartily and said in support: “Mm, I thought of my grandmother too.”

Su Hanying was silent for a moment. Then he lifted his glass coolly: “It was nothing.”

After the toast, everyone discussed what to do after dinner. In the end, they decided to go to the home cinema and watch a movie. But Shen Yang hadn’t thought that they would be watching a horror film! When he was young, he’d heard his grandmother tell a lot of ghost stories, and although his brain chose to trust in science, deep in his heart he had always been afraid of ghosts!

He was acting as a manly man; how could such a shameful matter be leaked to outsiders?

Shen Yang ruminated over this secretly and found himself in a dilemma. He calmed his nerves and headed over to Long Nu, who was sitting on the single seater sofa. Seeing her look at him with bewilderment, Shen Yang took a pack of tablets from his pocket: “I brought medicine; this is very effective for treating digestive problems.”

Long Nu: ?

Shen Yang smiled warmly: “Don’t you have a stomach ache?"

Long Nu: “......”

After a long time, she mechanically took the medicine: “Thanks……”

Shen Yang was satisfied; this time, he had reliably established his persona. He swept his eyes over Yang Tianchi, Yan Jiaqi, and Duan Weiwei, who were sitting on the sofa, and didn’t know whether he was mistaken, but he felt that they were all looking at him very oddly.

With a mind full of doubts, he waited for Su Hanying to sit down. He kind of wanted to say something, but after seeing Su Hanying look at him with the same odd gaze, he shut up.

Before long, the room echoed with eerie sound effects. On screen, several students were gathered in a canteen, talking about a ghost story that had been circulating within the school -- On that day ten years ago, a first-year schoolgirl had jumped to her death, and a student had died in a bizarre fashion for three consecutive years since then. The school had no choice but to temporarily propose a holiday on the special date. Rumor had it that before her death, the schoolgirl had left a letter which contained one wish of hers, and that if someone could fulfil her wish, it would erase her regrets and thus lift the curse.

Shen Yang reclined leisurely on the sofa with a pillow across his lap; in his hands was a bag of chips, and a light smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The plot progressed to the point where the students were starting to seek death; they tried asking the pen fairy where the letter was. Several of them snuck into school under the cover of the night. Apart from the sound of water droplets coming from who-knows-where, the classrooms were silent as the grave.

Crunch, crunch. Shen Yang munched on a chip. Where there was no sound, he would make his own.

The students continued to seek death, and went to the classroom that the schoolgirl had originally attended to question the pen fairy. The camera moved to a mirror on the wall.

Whoosh. Shen Yang bowed his head to send a message. The recipient: his own abandoned side account.

The students sat around a table and began the ceremony; the pen they held simultaneously slowly began to move……

“Let’s learn to meow together, meow meow meow meow meow……” Shen Yang calmly pressed the pause button and said apologetically: “Sorry, I forgot to mute my phone; I’m going to take a call.”

I’m trash. I know. It’s only a ghost movie.

Yet he hadn’t stood when there was a sudden pop and the room was plunged into darkness. At the same time, an ear-splitting shriek rang out to the ceiling.

 For a moment, Shen Yang really thought he’d failed to contain his voice. Then he heard Yan Jiaqi grumble: “Yang Tianchi, you almost yelled my ears off!”

Shen Yang exhaled slowly. It was still okay; his dignity had been maintained, and his personhood was still intact. He had realised it was a power outage, but Yang Tianchi was scared too? Thinking carefully, while they had been watching the movie just then, the girls had still made comments every now and then, but Yang Tianchi, who was usually so talkative, hadn’t said a word the whole time; it really was suspicious.

Hmph, it turned out he was just pretending not to be scared.

Shen Yang restrained the joy of meeting a like-minded comrade, subconsciously wanting to go check out Su Hanying……

Suddenly, he became aware of a slight abnormality. That strange feeling rapidly split into a trace of awkwardness and a trace of panic……

-- Both of his hands were tightly gripping someone’s arm!

The author has something to say:

Shen-mei: Listen to my ringtone, are you all going to sing with me or not!