Chapter 31
Meng Xueyuan hugged Lu Xiao and spoke softly. “Let’s go back and sleep.”
The red bucket in Lu Xiao’s hand dropped with a thud onto the stone path. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Meng Xueyuan’s shoulders; the fierce, “Even if the King of Heaven came, no one could stop me” aura vanished completely. He drew close, neck to neck, blocking the sea breeze. Bending one long leg, he encircled Meng Xueyuan’s thigh with his palm, his arms tightening as his muscles engaged, lifting his barefoot wife off the ground. “Okay. Let’s go inside.”
Held straight up in his arms, Meng Xueyuan’s line of sight was a head higher than Lu Xiao’s. He clearly saw everyone’s reactions around them, and his cheeks flushed.
The director, who had woken up in the middle of the night and been force-fed some salty, sea-breeze-flavored dog food, burped and said to the cameraman, “From now on, if there’s anything Meng Xueyuan can’t handle, then call me.”
Of course, by then, calling him would’ve been useless anyway.
Before leaving, the director glanced at the security cameras outside. To protect the artists as much as possible, cameras had been installed all over the small island as if they were free. Any suspicious activity would trigger an automatic alarm, and there were people on night duty watching the monitors. The moment Lu Xiao stepped outside, he was caught red-handed.
“Here—and here—add two more,” the director said, worried that Lu Xiao might have other unconventional ways to get to the seaside to forage. Troublemakers always found ways out of school that caught the security office off guard.
Even so, the director couldn’t openly give Lu Xiao special treatment and send him seafood in front of the entire internet. To show how strict the variety show was, there were 24-hour live cameras at both the front and back gates, proving that no staff were secretly transporting food for them.
Fortunately, there was a law-abiding campus heartthrob boyfriend. The director sighed again.
[Since you’re awake, can you turn on the cameras inside the room?]
[After they went in, they went crazy…]
[I didn’t even want to see anything. My wife’s feet got dirty—I just want to see Lu Xiao wash her feet.]
Lu Xiao set Meng Xueyuan down at the foot of the bed. Just as Meng Xueyuan was about to get up and head to the bathroom, a weight pressed on his shoulder, pushing him back into place.
“Sit. Wait for me,” Lu Xiao said.
Meng Xueyuan swung his pale feet, confused. After a moment, he saw Lu Xiao go out and bring back the bucket he had been planning to use for seafood.
“Who told you to run outside barefoot?” Lu Xiao said in a threatening tone. “You need to wash properly.”
Meng Xueyuan: “……”
Lu Xiao went to the bathroom and filled half the bucket with hot water. He lifted Meng Xueyuan’s foot, clamping the ankle with the base of his thumb, frowning as he checked the sole for any cuts. After confirming it was intact, he pressed it into the hot water to soak.
Meng Xueyuan felt that Lu Xiao was like a very strict quality inspector on a production line, making him feel that he’d better not get injured in the future.
The water was a little hot. Meng Xueyuan’s instep, along with Lu Xiao’s hand submerged in the water, flushed crimson.
Sweat began to bead on Meng Xueyuan’s forehead.
Because of Meng Xueyuan’s hug earlier, the blood coursing through Lu Xiao refused to calm down. His head heated up, and in this awkward posture and simple setting, he said to Meng Xueyuan, “I like you. Be my wife.”
The foot in the red bucket jerked like a live fish.
With his ankle effectively “held hostage,” Meng Xueyuan was confessed to like this. The hot water was scorching; Lu Xiao’s palm was scorching. Very quickly, his cheeks burned hotter than the water.
He opened his mouth. If tears fell at this moment, they’d probably be hot too.
Lu Xiao lifted his head, eyes pure and blazing. “Okay?”
Meng Xueyuan didn’t say anything. His sole was pressed a little too hard, snapping him back to his senses.
“I—I want to think about it.”
Meng Xueyuan’s brain felt like it was about to smoke. Little bees clearly have big heads—they look smart—and all those clever brain cells were clamoring for him to agree quickly.
He liked Lu Xiao. Lu Xiao liked him.
But scenes from the solo-fan forums surged up in his mind. Even Lu Xiao’s diehard fans said: don’t claim the fan identity.
He didn’t want agreeing to Lu Xiao to turn their relationship into something with an expiration date.
When Lu Xiao was in the racing world, and when he entered the entertainment industry, anyone could see his burning passion for his career—but his passion cooled so quickly.
He felt that things were perfect as they were. If he didn’t confine Lu Xiao to a certain circle, then Lu Xiao wouldn’t quit it. He couldn’t exactly quit his circle of friends, right? From what he’d observed, Lu Xiao had known that friend Chu Hao for over ten years.
Meng Xueyuan had already slept with Lu Xiao so many times. If he went ahead and made it official, then in the realm of love, Lu Xiao would be fulfilled to the point of excess.
People never cherish what they already have. If he judged Lu Xiao that way, Meng Xueyuan felt it was unfair.
He was a bad person. He wanted to keep Lu Xiao hanging. While Lu Xiao was squatting in front of him washing his feet, massaging him, confessing to him, what he was thinking was that he couldn’t satisfy Lu Xiao.
But wasn’t Lu Xiao a bad person too? His confession made him happy—and sad at the same time.
Meng Xueyuan had never imagined that when Lu Xiao confessed to him, he would feel sad.
He turned his face away, forcefully pulling his foot out of the bucket, splashing water everywhere. Not looking into Lu Xiao’s eyes, he said, “I can’t be your wife.”
Lu Xiao reacted instantly, grabbing a towel and wrapping Meng Xueyuan’s foot, locking it against his chest as he dried it. “Then be my boyfriend?”
Meng Xueyuan: “That’s not okay either.”
Lu Xiao let go, letting Meng Xueyuan burrow into the covers. After pouring out the water, he dug Meng Xueyuan’s face out from under the blanket. “If you’re not agreeing, then you’re not agreeing—what’s with that expression? Now you’re mad?”
Like a cat sulking under the covers.
Lu Xiao admitted he’d been impatient today. He’d planned to confess after the variety show ended—successful or not, at least it wouldn’t affect Meng Xueyuan’s state during filming.
As for himself… whether it succeeded or not didn’t affect him treating Meng Xueyuan as his wife.
But now that he’d confessed, Lu Xiao suddenly felt enlightened. Put plainly, the thick-skinned nerve that made him run away from home when facing his wife suddenly returned to his face. Probably because after spending these days with Meng Xueyuan, he realized that Meng Xueyuan wasn’t as cold as he seemed—on the contrary, his heart was very soft.
Just saying “I like you” to Meng Xueyuan—what was there to be afraid of? He’d say it. Say it every day. Say it until Meng Xueyuan got so mad he slapped him.
Lu Xiao climbed onto the bed, pinning Meng Xueyuan and the blanket beneath him, completely lacking the awkwardness of a failed confessor. “Are you angry?”
Meng Xueyuan didn’t look angry at all. He was puzzled how Lu Xiao could tell.
“What are you angry about? Tell me,” Lu Xiao said, kissing his forehead.
—Meng Xueyuan didn’t push him away, which showed that a failed confession wasn’t that big a deal. He’d really been too cowardly before!
After a moment of silence, Meng Xueyuan said, “I’m angry that I didn’t agree to you.” According to solo-fan terminology, that made him a “green tea.”
This suspiciously good-guy-card opening… Lu Xiao’s heart skipped. What did his wife mean? You’re great; it’s my fault for not agreeing, so I’m mad at myself—because I really can’t like you?
Lu Xiao said, “It’s okay. It’s not worth being angry over.”
Meng Xueyuan buried his face in the pillow. “You don’t understand.” How could a bee become so bad just because it was confessed to?
Lu Xiao didn’t know how to comfort a Meng Xueyuan who was sulking over having given a good-guy card.
His wife was just too kind. Only soft-hearted people would have this kind of trouble.
…
Because he slept poorly after turning himself into a bad person, Meng Xueyuan clearly looked sleep-deprived the next day—sharp-eyed netizens noticed immediately.
The bullet comments went full throttle, but none of them imagined that last night had been the purest night the leads had slept. In the first half of the night, Lu Xiao hadn’t disturbed Meng Xueyuan because he was preparing to forage at sea; in the second half, both of them slept poorly because the confession had failed.
Meng Xueyuan felt that if he wasn’t going to date Lu Xiao, he shouldn’t continue enjoying his care. So he got up early to cook himself.
[Lu Xiao misled me. He dotes on him every day—I thought Meng Xueyuan couldn’t do anything.]
[Lu Xiao, please give Meng Xueyuan some room to shine. Don’t just focus on farming fans.]
[Yes, yes, the kid’s grown up. Parents should let go—doge.]
[LMAO, frying an egg and Lu Xiao comes over to take over.]
[Why does the couple feel like they’re avoiding suspicion today?]
[Bold guess: something fundamentally changed last night!]
Lu Xiao, who insisted on at least three dishes per meal, looked at the increasingly empty fridge, his expression darkening slightly.
Today was the third day. Two days left. How about eating what was left and then dragging his wife away?
“Cluck cluck.” A hen raised free-range by a fisherman on the mountain wandered down at some point, passing by Lu Xiao’s feet.
Lu Xiao’s eyes turned green, his posture turning predatory. “Old hen soup?”
The hen seemed to sense a threat of death and bolted off, waddling at full speed.
Cameraman: “…The production team didn’t book the hen.”
Lu Xiao looked regretful.
[Hen bro, we told you—don’t get close to people with love-brain.]
Including Meng Xueyuan, everyone had thought this would be a comfy travel variety show. They hadn’t expected to be cooking for three straight days.
Early that morning, the director finally showed mercy and said that today’s task reward would include ingredients.
The show set up a fenced-off seawater pond, with many balloons floating on the surface. Each balloon contained a card with a picture of food on it.
Each group would send one person to sit in a small wooden tub, paddle with wooden spoons to reach and pop balloons, take out the cards, then paddle back to shore and choose a dock to stop at, handing the card to their partner.
There were five docks arranged in a row. On shore, half-body-high partitions separated five winding ramps leading to the docks.
That meant once one person entered a ramp, they couldn’t tell which dock their partner was waiting at until they reached the shore. If they chose wrong, they’d have to return to the start and try again.
The director said, “This round tests tacit understanding and stamina. We often liken home to a safe harbor—let’s see if you can choose the right one. Guests in the water: if you realize the person coming isn’t your partner, get away from the dock quickly and choose again, or your card might be stolen.”
Meng Xueyuan squeezed into a small wooden tub. He’d drawn the paddling lot, so Lu Xiao had to stay on shore. The rules were announced afterward, so they didn’t have time to coordinate—but Lu Xiao said he had terminal ‘top cancer,’ so Meng Xueyuan decided to just close his eyes and pick dock number one.
The others who drew the water lots were Li Fei, Jiang Xunbai, and Jiang Weina’s husband.
Teacher Zhang’s group was older and didn’t participate.
On Lu Xiao’s side, they weren’t just waiting around. They chose their ramps in advance. At the start of each ramp was a task card that had to be completed before setting off.
Lu Xiao chose number one. Inside, he saw a pile of fresh flowers, ribbons, and newspapers. The task was to make a bouquet worth at least 100, to be evaluated by Teacher Zhang and his spouse.
This was no problem for Lu Xiao.
Afraid that the cards he got wouldn’t be enough and that Lu Xiao would have to find food elsewhere again, Meng Xueyuan paddled with all his might. He reached a balloon, popped it decisively, and took out the card. When the balloon burst, his eyelashes fluttered.
Rice.
Meng Xueyuan: “……”
He rushed to the next one. By the third balloon, he finally saw a picture of a bowl of fresh shrimp.
Kelp, bamboo shoots, abalone.
That seemed about right, so Meng Xueyuan headed for dock number one.
But Li Fei and Jiang Xunbai also had their eyes on number one and paddled toward it. Only Jiang Weina’s husband chose number five.
[Is dock number one some kind of Pier 1?]
Only one person could dock at each pier. Meng Xueyuan sped up, but his paddling couldn’t match Li Fei’s. Just as his spot was about to be taken, in his panic he forgot to watch the water and collided with Jiang Xunbai’s tub coming from the other side. With a bang, the tubs tipped over and both fell into the water.
“Hey! It tipped! It tipped!”
“Teacher Jiang! Teacher Meng!”
They were both wearing inflatable life jackets and quickly floated up, grabbing the edges of their tubs and wiping water from their faces as they swam toward shore. Once the cards got wet, they couldn’t be used—they’d have to climb back into the tubs and pop balloons again.
“Wife?” The moment Lu Xiao heard that his wife had fallen into the water, he abandoned the step he was on—tying ribbon around the bouquet. His wrist loosened, and the bouquet he’d just finished scattered across the table.
He didn’t even look back, sprinting straight toward the ramp, so fast that the air whipped up at his sides.
Was someone rescuing his wife? The production team surely was—but he wasn’t reassured.
Besides, the seawater in that pond wasn’t clean. After falling in, you had to wash your face and eyes quickly to avoid inflammation. Meng Xueyuan definitely wouldn’t bother with that—he’d just climb back up and continue the task.
On the other side, Wang Changyi’s task was to build a Magpie Bridge for Qixi using blocks. He was halfway done when he heard that Jiang Xunbai had fallen into the water.
He immediately stood up, shouting, “Baby! Baby, are you okay? Answer me! I’m coming right now!”
As he shouted, he tried to place the blocks, but then realized that if he exited from behind the table, his movement would knock the structure over.
“Baby, the task doesn’t matter—safety is most important!”
Wang Changyi carefully supported the block bridge and tried several methods before finally getting out.
The ramps were covered on top. Taller people couldn’t stand upright inside and had to bend forward. For the sake of his image, Wang Changyi could only slow down.
[Lu Xiao’s taller than you. He’s bent over sprinting like a special forces soldier.]
[You’re the one who can’t bend.]
[Your wife fell in the water waiting for you—you’re already drinking Meng Po soup.]
[Mouth says safety first, actions are dithering.]
[LMAO, Wang Changyi still doesn’t know this is the most important race of his life.]
[And his opponent is Lu Xiao. He’s definitely losing.]
[What do you mean?]
[Go watch the main livestream. The director’s a bit wicked.]
[Meng Xueyuan and Jiang Xunbai have to go ashore and get help from staff before getting back into the tubs, and the director shoved the live feeds of Lu Xiao and Wang Changyi right in front of them.]
Meng Xueyuan reached the shore, took a towel, and noticed the director standing right there, a large screen in front of him with all the livestreams each occupying a square.
He saw Lu Xiao bent over, charging toward him. Running in that posture put the center of gravity too far forward—he could easily stumble. Meng Xueyuan’s heart clenched as he watched.
He forgot to move, staring without blinking.
Jiang Xunbai had the same reaction.
The difference was that Wang Changyi’s side had synced audio and video, his anxious shouts coming through nonstop.
“Baby, be careful.” One meter forward.
“Baby, I’m almost there.” Two meters forward.
Wang Changyi’s voice was loud. Each sentence reached them twice—once through the speakers, once through the air.
Jiang Xunbai: “……” Words he usually heard all the time suddenly made him feel awkward. He glanced at Meng Xueyuan and saw that Meng Xueyuan seemed not to hear at all, eyes fixed only on Lu Xiao’s feed.
The real-time footage clearly showed the distance between the two men in their respective ramps widening.
As Jiang Xunbai listened to those repeated shouts, his face grew slightly pale, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes.
Lu Xiao didn’t say a single word. He had already burst out of the ramp, his gaze urgently searching the water. When he saw Meng Xueyuan leaning by the shore, the tension in his shoulders finally eased.
Jiang Xunbai looked at Wang Changyi, then at Lu Xiao back in the open, then at Meng Xueyuan, and finally covered his ears.
“Why were you so careless?” Lu Xiao said.
Across the water, his tone sounded like a scolding. “Don’t move.”
He dove into the water like a flying fish. In the blink of an eye, he swam to Meng Xueyuan, pushed the dazed Meng Xueyuan up onto the shore, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, and rinsed his face.
Meng Xueyuan tilted his face up, feeling the cool water flow over his eyelids. A towel was placed over his face.
“Go change your clothes, then come back,” Lu Xiao said.
Director: “We’re in the middle of a competition! Don’t you want to eat?”
Lu Xiao: “I’m not a rice bucket.”
…
This method of grabbing food was truly exhausting. Meng Xueyuan and Lu Xiao carried a bucket of seafood home, turned off the cameras, and let Lu Xiao shower first.
If Lu Xiao didn’t shower first, he’d definitely run off to cook—and once he started, he wouldn’t stop until he finished.
Meng Xueyuan sat on a chair, scrolling through Lu Xiao’s Weibo comments.
“Huh? Why are so many people thanking Lu Xiao?”
[Brother Lu, nothing more to say—you’re my god!]
[Brother Lu, you’re Hua Tuo reincarnated! You cured my Little Bai’s eye problems. In my next life I’ll be your ultimate toxic solo fan!]
[Lu Xiao can’t even cure his own love-brain and he’s out here curing others—LOL.]
[Two days left. Brother Lu, please keep shining and keep using your demon-revealing mirror.]
An incoming call popped up—it was Mama Meng.
“Hello, Mom.”
Mama Meng said, “Are you eating well on the show? I see everyone saying there’s no food.”
Meng Xueyuan replied, “We’re eating great. Every meal has dishes and meat.”
Mama Meng said, “That makes sense. I watched the livestream—having Lu Xiao, that big chef, there puts me at ease. Next time invite him over to eat. I’ll thank him properly.”
Meng Xueyuan said, “Okay.”
Mama Meng continued, “Oh right, today I passed by the kindergarten you went to, and it suddenly occurred to me—wasn’t Lu Xiao the kid who used to wait with you at the school gate every time for the guard to open it?”
Meng Xueyuan froze, rummaging through dusty memories for the image.
He remembered the older brother who squatted at the school gate with him every morning. He remembered how that brother helped him eat the egg whites every day. But that brother…
How could it be Lu Xiao?!
That brother had been delicate and pretty, fair and pampered, cute like a porcelain doll. Compared to Lu Xiao now—his sharp jawline, deep-set brows, fierce aura, hands full of calluses… how were they the same?
But… maybe a little the same?
Lu Xiao had simply gone from resembling Shen Ning to resembling Lu Fengge.
Meng Xueyuan finally understood why Lu Xiao always forced him to eat boiled eggs and kept mentioning how he used to live in the southwest.
Lu Xiao was upset that he hadn’t remembered.
He and Lu Xiao had known each other for eighteen years.
Meng Xueyuan blinked. Having known each other for so long—did that count as breaking the curse of quitting the circle?
“Mom, I need to cook. I’ll call you tonight.”
“I’ll cook,” Lu Xiao said, coming out in a bathrobe, towel-drying his hair by the bed.
Meng Xueyuan asked, “Why do you always make me eat boiled eggs?”
Lu Xiao snorted when he saw that Meng Xueyuan was only asking now. “Figure it out yourself. If you can’t by noon, eat another one.”
“I already ate one this morning!” Meng Xueyuan climbed onto the bed. “I remembered—we used to eat eggs together.”
Lu Xiao lowered his gaze. He was happier than he could say, but stubbornly replied, “Remembering only now is too late. You still have to eat them.”
Meng Xueyuan said, “Can’t you forgive me?”
His wife looked very easy to bully right now. Lu Xiao, who had just felt he was being too petty and not man enough, immediately revealed his true colors. “You messed up big time—nine hundred and forty-nine times.”
Meng Xueyuan was shocked. “That… many?”
Lu Xiao said, “You’re wrong; I’m not. Every day you didn’t remember counts as one mistake. If you want to atone, you still have to eat nine hundred—”
Meng Xueyuan half-kneeled up, untied the belt of Lu Xiao’s bathrobe, his eyelashes trembling, cheeks flushed. “I’ll eat this of yours. I won’t eat egg whites anymore, okay?”
Lu Xiao: ?!!
He had never dared let his wife do this!
Meng Xueyuan lifted his dark, feather-like lashes and negotiated softly. “One counts as five hundred. Okay?”
