Ming Yue’s camera panned outwards.

On the phone screen, the man was extremely tall, with deep-set eyebrows, a straight nose, and skin that wasn’t the currently popular cool-toned white, but a healthy tan. When his eyes lowered, his entire being carried an intangible aura.

As the camera swept past, Cheng Ye raised his eyebrows and looked over, his jet-black eyes meeting the lens directly. Under the sunlight, they glinted with a faint, ghostly green.

Ming Yue’s breath hitched.

By the time she came to her senses, the man had already stepped onto the stairs. His gaze swept over the two or three staff members following behind Ming Yue, his voice low and devoid of emotion. “Didn’t you say ten o’clock?”

Being looked at like that, the few of them felt an inexplicable sense of dread. Ming Yue was the first to react, like a student being called upon, her back instantly straightening. “The production team wanted to give the guests a surprise, so we moved the time up.”

Cheng Ye said nothing and walked into the house.

Jiang Shi leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching as President Cheng super-casually removed the sparkling sapphire cufflinks from his wrists, then took off the watch worth over a million. The suit jacket, usually carelessly thrown on the sofa, was now obediently hung on the coat rack in the entryway. He glanced at Jiang Shi without emotion, then went to the kitchen to heat up buns for him, also without expression.

The bullet comments flew across the screen.

[Is the President of Hengyuan this handsome?]

[The quality of those reports was too blurry. With looks like these, he’d be one of a kind even in the entertainment industry.]

[Ahhh… that look just now when he raised his eyes killed me. This is a real overbearing President.]

[Cufflinks worth hundreds of thousands, a watch worth over a million, I’ve really seen it all today.]

Ming Yue held up her phone and moved closer to the kitchen.

With the man standing in the kitchen, the space instantly felt more cramped, and even the air pressure seemed to drop a few degrees.

Ming Yue lacked the composure she had in front of Jiang Shi. She swallowed and carefully tried to start a conversation. “Teacher Jiang, does President Cheng usually do the cooking at home?”

Before Jiang Shi could answer, the President heating up buns spoke.

“Usually, the auntie cooks. The production team is coming today, so I gave the villa staff the day off.”

Jiang Shi turned his head and coughed. “He’s right.”

The live camera was once again on Cheng Ye, whose back was to everyone.

His face was dignified and stern, his white shirt still carrying the scent of cologne. He didn’t look like someone who would do this kind of work, but the hands that usually signed contracts worth hundreds of millions were now skillfully using the kitchen utensils. Before the audience could react, breakfast was already on the table.

Jiang Shi ate his buns and hot soy milk. In front of President Cheng was a sandwich as big as his palm. As the white milk entered his mouth, President Cheng’s brows furrowed slightly.

Jiang Shi glanced at him, then slowly took a bite of his bun. The scent of crab roe wafted into President Cheng’s nose, and the lines on his brow deepened.

Neither of them spoke, and the scene fell into a strange silence.

Compared to a couple, these two looked more like strangers who weren’t very familiar with each other.

Ming Yue coughed and took the initiative to start a topic. “Teacher Jiang, President Cheng, is this how you usually have breakfast?”

President Cheng seemed to be choking on an undercooked sausage in his sandwich, his face silently darkening.

Jiang Shi had no choice but to answer, “We usually chat. Maybe it’s because there are outsiders here today, we’re not used to it.”

Ming Yue asked again, “Then what do you usually talk about?”

That was hard to say…

After all, as they talked, Cheng Ye could end up taking off his clothes.

Cheng Ye finally spoke. “Occasionally, we talk about his filming, and he also asks me some questions about my work.”

That was very polite.

Ming Yue asked, “What about besides work?”

Cheng Ye took a sip of milk, his eyelashes sweeping down, his voice cold. “His life is taken care of by the maids. There’s nothing for me to ask about.”

Jiang Shi turned his head away, seeming to not even want to look at Cheng Ye.

He said, “That’s right.”

[What an awkward scene. I was just about to praise them for being a good match.]

[Help, I feel awkward even for Ming Yue. Are these two really a couple?]

[Definitely fake. What couple has breakfast like a business meeting?]

[Wow, they’re not even trying to act. Just this perfunctory with the audience. My colleagues and I have a better relationship than these two.]

[Cheng Ye must really hate Jiang Shi. His brows have been furrowed from the beginning and haven’t relaxed. Jiang Shi too, he can’t even be bothered to look at Cheng Ye.]

[The other live rooms are all lovey-dovey, even feeding each other. These two are just putting on a show.]

[Looks like they really did break up a long time ago, otherwise it wouldn’t be like this.]

[They’re like this, and they still take on this kind of variety show. Who are they trying to disgust?]

The bullet comments were a sea of curses. Ming Yue looked on, terrified. She changed the question. “I heard you two have known each other since high school? Can you tell everyone how you got together?”

Jiang Shi thought for a moment and said, “There’s not much to say. We just knew each other, saw eye to eye, and then we got together.”

Cheng Ye didn’t speak, and Jiang Shi didn’t say much either. Ming Yue was helpless and could only change the topic.

“Have you two packed your luggage yet?”

The production team had already notified them about this in advance. After breakfast, packing was the main event.

“Not yet,” he said.

As the live broadcast continued, the number of viewers in Jiang Shi’s room dwindled. Many people came in, saw the two sitting there having breakfast like colleagues, the air thick with an awkwardness even the host could feel, and quickly fled to the lovey-dovey live rooms next door.

Ming Yue was also a bit helpless. She had thought that since these two had been public for so long, their room would be the easiest to liven up. But in the end, they turned out to be the most awkward pair.

She had seen plenty of fake couples in the entertainment industry. These two looked completely unfamiliar with each other, probably forced to do business together. And that face of Cheng Ye’s, he didn’t look gay at all.

There was supposed to be a segment for reading bullet comments later, but since they were all filled with mockery, Ming Yue skipped it directly and asked Jiang Shi, “Can I follow you to see what you’ve packed?”

This segment was planned. After Jiang Shi and Cheng Ye finished eating, they took Ming Yue upstairs.

President Cheng still looked exceptionally profound. Jiang Shi could only explain, “The bedroom hasn’t been tidied up today, it might be a bit messy.”

He pushed open the door and went in. The quilt on the bed was casually piled up. It seemed Jiang Shi really had been woken up by the doorbell this morning. The bedroom was connected to the walk-in closet. Things that shouldn’t be seen had been put away elsewhere. Jiang Shi opened the closet door. “Cheng Ye usually packs my things. The show didn’t specify that we had to pack ourselves, right?”

Ming Yue held up her phone and scanned the closet. It wasn’t messy, it was quite neat. But what surprised her was that the clothes of two different sizes were casually mixed together.

These two both seemed to be people with strong personal boundaries, yet their clothes and pants were hung together so casually. It didn’t look at all like their outward performance.

Cheng Ye had already opened a suitcase.

To make the live broadcast seem more natural, Ming Yue placed her phone on a cabinet that had a panoramic view of the room. “Teacher Jiang, President Cheng, I need to use the restroom. I’ll just leave my phone here for now.”

The real meaning was to let the guests broadcast themselves.

Jiang Shi knew what she meant, but he was lazy and couldn’t be bothered to hold the phone. Cheng Ye had no idea. With no one else in the bedroom, his shoulders visibly relaxed a bit. He rolled up his sleeves and started packing.

The first things to be packed were, of course, Jiang Shi’s. He first put in the small pillow he was used to sleeping with, then the clothes…

Jiang Shi stood behind him. “Get the looser ones. We might have to do some work later.”

Cheng Ye had forgotten about the phone on the table.

He said, “You don’t have to do any work.”

Jiang Shi pulled a wine-red suit jacket out of the suitcase. “I’m going to wear this to the village?”

Cheng Ye took the jacket out.

Jiang Shi pulled out another piece. “Don’t want this one.”

“This one looks good.”

“Are you trying to make me die of heat so you can inherit my Huabei debt?”

Cheng Ye: “…”

Jiang Shi kicked the President’s butt. “Do you even know how to pack? If not, I’ll do it myself.”

Cheng Ye took out Jiang Shi’s red carpet outfits and silently started putting in T-shirts and long pants.

[I didn’t even blink. How did the style change so fast?]

[I don’t know, but I inexplicably feel like I shouldn’t be on the table, I should be under the table.]

[Weren’t they just strangers? How did it get to kicking?]

[Jiang Shi is so rude, kicking people.]

[It’s just a couple’s playful banter. The person involved isn’t even angry. Some people, I’d say, don’t be too hateful.]

[They were just strangers a minute ago, and now they’re starting to act again. The acting is so bad. I’d rather go watch Sun Jiayu and Zhao Chuan next door. That’s a real couple.]

Jiang Shi couldn’t see the bullet comments. He was given a tomato from the vegetable garden downstairs by Cheng Ye and watched him continue to pack.

[Cheng Ye folds clothes so neatly, even neater than my mom. I really couldn’t tell he was so good at packing.]

[Although I can’t see clearly because it’s far away, the things he’s packing are very comprehensive. Mosquito repellent, insect repellent, even a first-aid kit. I signed up for a camping team before, and the leader packed for us just like this.]

[And the other groups are stuffing all kinds of self-heating hot pots, instant noodles, and snacks into their suitcases. These two are just packing daily necessities?]

[Next door, Sun Jiayu and Zhao Chuan almost got into a fight over whether to bring beef-flavored or pickled pepper-flavored instant noodles.]

Outside the screen…

Cheng Ye thought for a moment, put all the daily necessities in his own suitcase, and then packed a few more clothes for Jiang Shi.

As for himself…

He opened his closet, a few old-man undershirts, a few T-shirts, two pairs of pants, and a black jacket. He didn’t even bother to fold them, just piled them in, closed the suitcase, and it was done. The whole process took less than two minutes.

[What just happened? Something went ‘swoosh’.]

[No, this contrast, I’m feeling a strong sense of perfunctoriness, and he’s even being perfunctory with himself.]

[I don’t know why, but I suddenly feel like laughing. President Cheng, so this is the kind of person you are.]

[Wife’s: meticulously prepared, neatly folded, a wide variety. His own: as long as there’s something to wear.]

[It’s an act, right? This is too fake.]

Jiang Shi finished his tomato and finally remembered the phone on the table. Before he could get up, Cheng Ye was squatting beside him secretively.

From the phone’s angle, the tall man almost completely enveloped the slender young man. They were close together, the posture not overly intimate, but it gave off an air that no one could intrude upon.

They weren’t wearing microphones, so because of the distance, their voices wouldn’t be picked up by the phone. Little did they know, the phone used for the live broadcast was a newly released model on the market, capable of picking up even the faintest sounds with clarity.

“Can we bring condoms in the suitcase?”

Jiang Shi laughed. “What do you think?”

“We can.”

“Get lost.”

Cheng Ye said, “Then I’ll hide them secretly.”

Jiang Shi gave him a shove. “Overbearing President, your persona has collapsed.”

“It hasn’t collapsed…” Cheng Ye said. “I’ve looked it up. The overbearing Presidents in novels go seven times a night. I can bring forty-nine for now, and we’ll figure out a way for next week’s.”

Jiang Shi said, “Don’t force me to slap you in front of tens of thousands of viewers.”

Cheng Ye: “…”