Near noon, the temperature in Xijiang warmed up.

After a brief respite, the production team reminded the guests to head to the gathering spot. Shi Linchuan woke up at this moment; the person in his arms was still wearing a thick sweater and covered by a quilt, giving his cheeks a light, rosy flush.

Xie Jinghe was still asleep. Near the door, a staff member reminded them again, “Teacher Shi, it’s about time for you all to leave.”

Shi Linchuan nodded, sat up, and stared down at the sleeping face in his arms. Suddenly, he reached out and pinched the other man’s nose. He watched as the man’s brows furrowed, his eyelids fluttered, and he murmured in a half-dream state, “No more…”

Shi Linchuan was quick; he immediately pinched Xie Jinghe’s lips shut.

Two or three seconds later, Xie Jinghe was startled awake, his face flushing even deeper, his eyes dazed. Shi Linchuan calmly let go, sat on the edge of the bed to put on his coat and glasses as if nothing had happened. Xie Jinghe said nothing, just looked at him silently and rubbed his own nose—it was a little red from the pinch.

The man had woken him up before, many times. Back then, Shi Linchuan would hold him close, softly calling “Xiao Jing, time to wake up” in his ear. Until he opened his eyes, the man would brush the hair from his forehead, stroke it, and occasionally leave a kiss.

The disparity in treatment now was quite large. But for some reason, Xie Jinghe felt no disappointment; instead, a touch of sweetness sprouted in his heart from being bullied and teased by the man, making him involuntarily cover his nose and curve his lips into a smile.

Shi Linchuan turned back and saw Xie Jinghe sitting up in the quilt looking at him. The redness on his cheeks hadn’t faded, and his soulful eyes were moist and dewy, as if he were still half-asleep. Like a little curly-haired puppy.

Shi Linchuan hated dogs. Seeing Xie Jinghe look at him with that same attachment a dog shows its owner was annoying squared—annoying to the power of two. He stood up with a whoosh and urged him in a cold, sharp voice: “Wake up, you’re already late.”

Xie Jinghe widened his eyes. “I’m already awake.”

Shi Linchuan mocked, “Then stop wearing that ‘I’m still sleepy’ expression. It’s hideous.”

Xie Jinghe: “…”

He felt a bit indignant as he threw off the quilt and put on his shoes. But the moment his shoes were on, his annoyance vanished; he took the initiative to sidle up to Shi Linchuan and followed the man downstairs.

Just as they reached the courtyard gate, Xie Jinghe paused. “I put the map on the table and forgot to pick it up… Linchuan, wait a second, I’ll go back and get it.”

“No need to go through the trouble.” Shi Linchuan didn’t look back; he grabbed the other man’s forearm and led him forward. “I remember it, we can just head over.”

Xie Jinghe let out an “oh” and looked down at the hand gripping his forearm. It was a very handsome hand—the palm was broad, the fingers long with particularly prominent knuckles, and veins bulged on the back of his hand. As his fingers sank slightly into the black wool of the sweater, it looked full of strength—and possessiveness.

They left the gate, and Shi Linchuan walked without hesitation. He forgot to let go of Xie Jinghe’s arm, and the other didn’t remind him, so they walked halfway there just like that, at a leisurely pace.

The gathering spot announced by the production team was quite far, located at the northwest corner on the outskirts of the village. It took about ten minutes to walk there at a normal pace. The road wasn’t easy; the first stretch was just muddy with some potholes, but after turning a corner, the path disappeared and was replaced by a winding flight of stairs.

Shi Linchuan asked the person half a step behind him, “Can you still walk?”

Xie Jinghe met the man’s slightly teasing eyes. Even though he had been fully awake for a while, his cheeks flushed red. Unwilling to back down, he replied, “I can walk.” He took a step forward and urged, “Hurry up, we’re going too slowly. I don’t know if the other guests are already in position.”

Xie Jinghe was right. The live stream camera switched back from the other two pairs of guests to show two men standing before a mountain staircase, holding hands and talking. The sky was a gray-blue. Wisps of clouds were torn by the wind into ragged shreds. The quiet little village was left far behind, creating a winter vista alongside the withered mountain forest and grass.

The man in the oversized sweater didn’t pull his partner along; instead, he was anchored in place by the other. The tall, slender partner pushed up his sliding glasses with his free hand and asked nonchalantly: “Do you want me to carry you on my back?”

As soon as the words left his lips, the chat exploded:

[???]

[Aren’t you two the earliest guests? The other four have been chatting at the meeting point for ages, and you two are still flirting on the road?? You’d better be here to get divorced!]

[I checked the title, this is a divorce variety show, right? I’m not in the wrong room, am I?]

[These two have been moving in slow motion since the start, as if they’re on 0.5x speed.]

[No, is the movie star this soft in private? My filters are shattering.]

[The “Xie” fans must be shattered, especially the ones who dreamed of him. Called him ‘gege’ and ‘husband’ for years, only to find out their idol might be calling another man ‘gege’ and ‘husband’ in private. Hahahaha.]

[Now that you say that, the drama-lovers are energized. Stimulating!!]

[Waiting for them to fight, hehe.]

[Blind guess: Xie’s fans are watching in silent agony.]

A stream of ellipses drifted across the screen.

Hearing that question, Xie Jinghe froze. The reason was simple: it had been a long time since the man had carried him on his back.

Shi Linchuan was tall with a broad back. Once, after they had been intimate, the man sat on the edge of the bed smoking, his back scarred with red scratches from his own fingernails. Xie Jinghe had lain on the bed, his gaze unfocused but drawn to the man. Finally, he couldn’t help but sit up and crawl onto the man’s back.

At that time, he couldn’t suppress his longing and kissed the man’s shoulder, whispering, “Linchuan, your back is so broad. It’s like the fatherly figure described in elementary school textbooks. It looks so reliable, you’re really so wonderful…”

Stripped of any script, his words were blunt and simple. The man had let him cling to him from behind, only turning around to pat his head after a long while, his fingertips smelling of tobacco, making Xie Jinghe close his eyes and inhale deeply, obsessed.

“No wonder you always like to call me that.”

“I thought…” the man laughed, his voice gentle. Xie Jinghe pricked up his ears as he heard the man continue, “I thought you liked old men. I don’t seem to be that much older than you, right?”

Xie Jinghe had pressed his lips against the man’s skin. “I don’t like old ones.”

“Then what kind do you like?”

“Like you!”

Xie Jinghe had given the answer as a matter of course. Silence filled the room. The man had sighed half a beat too late, “Is that so?” Before he could react, the man had asked, “Have you rested enough? Do you want Daddy to carry you to take a bath and fulfill your childhood dream?”

Ever since then, he had developed the habit of pouncing on the man’s back.

Seeing Xie Jinghe dazed by his words, Shi Linchuan guessed he was remembering a memory fragment from the last three years. His calm expression slowly turned to impatience, and the strength of his grip on Xie Jinghe’s fingers slowly faded.

Just then, he heard Xie Jinghe respond softly, “Yes. I want you to carry me.”

Shi Linchuan stared at him for a moment and then, with zero hesitation, reneged on his offer, righteously retorting, “I’m not your dad, why should I carry you? Walk yourself.”

Xie Jinghe: “…”

[The movie star’s silence is deafening.]

[Hahahaha, was the civilian guy fishing for a reaction? One second it’s ‘do you want me to carry you,’ the next it’s ‘I’m not your dad!’ Bro, are you intentionally stoking the fire because you’re afraid you won’t get divorced?!]

[I’m laughing my head off. Confirmed in one second, this is definitely a divorce show.]

[Whoa, did the movie star just swear?]

[His voice was so quiet, but I vaguely heard something like ‘old man’… did he curse at him??]

[Fight! Fight! [Excited]]

Fighting on camera was impossible. Besides, if it came to a real physical struggle, Shi Linchuan couldn’t beat Xie Jinghe at all. But so what? Wasn’t Xie Jinghe already being carried up the stairs because he couldn’t climb them? Even after being rejected, he still spoke softly to him, his bright eyes darting over as if begging.

Looking at him was annoying. I’ll say it again: he has good bed manners.

Shi Linchuan carried the man, walking steadily up the stone stairs in the forest, grumbling in his heart. He heard the person on his back say inexplicably, “Like you.”

The arms wrapped around his neck tightened slowly; the breath hitting his neck was damp and inexplicably burning. Shi Linchuan paused slightly, turned his head to dodge, and heard Xie Jinghe continue, “Or someone like you.”

This was spoken like a riddle. Xie Jinghe leaned his head forward, squeezing next to his cheek, confirming: “Linchuan, did you hear what I said? Did you hear it?”

Shi Linchuan wore the expression of someone who had just been trampled by a pig. He impatiently jogged the man higher and said maliciously: “So noisy. One more word and I’ll drop you.”

Xie Jinghe: “Hmph.”

Shi Linchuan: “What are you pig-snorting about again?”

Xie Jinghe: “I’m imitating you.”

Shi Linchuan: “…”

A mere Xie Jinghe, too arrogant.

Need to teach him a lesson.

Shi Linchuan quickened his pace. After crossing a few stairs, he made a show of threatening to throw Xie Jinghe into a pile of withered weeds nearby. He let go with most of his strength, scaring the person on his back into shouting “Woah!” But because his legs couldn’t lock around the man’s waist, he instinctively shouted:

“Daddy, I was wrong! Don’t throw me!”

The forest was empty, and the echo carried the sound. Once the shout ended, Xie Jinghe fell silent, burying his head deep into Shi Linchuan’s neck, hiding his face completely, and tightening his arms around the man again.

Shi Linchuan coughed lightly, dissatisfied: “Are you trying to strangle me?”

As soon as the words fell, the arms loosened.

Still unsatisfied, Shi Linchuan went looking for trouble: “Wrong where?”

The person behind him kept his face buried, his voice muffled.

He said,

“Wrong for imitating your pig-snorting.”

The audience watching the live stream almost died laughing at this.

[Hahahaha, you two, the fight wasn’t in vain!]

[He admitted he was wrong, but only a little bit.]

[Am I the only one still savoring that slip-of-the-tongue ‘Daddy’? No, really, is it this natural for the movie star and his man to act like this in private? How many times do they call each other Daddy in private??]

[Wow, this is actually kind of sweet.]

The two on camera finally finished the last stretch of the road. With only ten meters left to the gathering spot, the director cut the feed, switching to the other guests who were already chatting.

The first to notice their approach was Xu You. The other three were chatting, and he couldn’t quite jump in, so he got distracted. His gaze shifted toward the direction they had come from, and he suddenly saw a tall man carrying another on his back, walking over slowly.

He didn’t recognize them.

The person on his back had his arms around his neck, only showing the top half of his face, his eyes slightly curved, his legs dangling—he looked to be in a very good mood.

This person was too famous for Xu You not to recognize him. The rock singer was blunt.

The next instant, a sentence exploded in the ears of all the viewers:

“Eh? Are you two here to participate in a dating show?”