Shen Shiqin gave him a suspicious look, then sat down to drink his soup.
Duan Nan said from the side, “The livestream duration should be enough. Little Meng just messaged saying we can wrap things up and end the broadcast.”
The few of them immediately gathered in front of the camera.
The screen was instantly bombarded by four faces, each uniquely handsome in its own way.
[Finally remembered us, however, the moment you remember is the moment you end the broadcast! I do not want that!!]
[I forbid you to end the broadcast! I have not seen enough yet. I want to eat hot pot too, and I want to taste Teacher Shen’s seasoning!]
[Get some rest early, everyone. Remember to dream of me! My IP is: Congratulations and get rich, thank you.]
[So handsome, so handsome, so handsome, so handsome. I am not biased; one for each of you, hehe S_s]
He Lan saw this comment and evaluated, “This S_s looks quite lewd; I have never even seen it before.”
Shen Shiqin also saw the comment and said methodically from the side, “Teacher He is really behind the times.”
He Lan: “Would it kill you not to roast me? It sounds quite piercing.”
Duan Nan noticed the stiffness in He Lan’s expression and immediately smoothed things over: “Haha, I did not understand it either. I think this thing is called an emoticon.”
He then continued his duty of following the protocol: “Dear audience friends, beautiful times are always so fleeting.”
As soon as he finished the sentence, the other three responded in unison: “Let us meet again next time!”
[Bye-bye!!!]
[When is next time, t_t]
[I want to see the aurora! Livestream and show us the aurora!]
[See you next time, see you next time, see you next time. Heart.jpg]
Finally, the broadcast ended. The water had boiled, the meatballs were cooked to perfection, and with the hot pot base paired with Shen Shiqin’s handmade seasoning, the taste was no different from what they had back home.
Zuo Jiaxi ate a meatball and bared his teeth from the heat.
Shen Shiqin handed him a glass of water. Zuo Jiaxi accepted it with his tongue sticking out, took a few gulps, and then praised, “Teacher Shen, the soup base you prepared is also delicious!”
The production team had only prepared the essentials in this kitchen and had no dedicated hot pot, so they settled for cooking it in a small rice pot. Zuo Jiaxi and Duan Nan both loved spicy food. Since most of the seasonings and ingredients were brought by them, they had cooked with a spicy hot pot base.
“Is that so?” Shen Shiqin picked up a ladle from the side, intending to scoop a little to taste.
However, just as his hand touched the ladle, another hand reached out, grasped it first, and took it away.
Shen Shiqin turned his head to meet the gaze of this impolite person.
He Lan stared back at him without fear and said, “No.”
Shen Shiqin retorted, “I said I already broke my fever.”
He reached out to grab the ladle, but He Lan took it away and placed it near Zuo Jiaxi. Zuo Jiaxi was momentarily stunned to find a ladle suddenly appear before him, but receiving a look from He Lan, he silently held onto it.
Shen Shiqin looked at the two of them with grievance.
He Lan met his gaze: “That will not work either. You are not fully recovered. If you ruin your throat, how will you record tomorrow? Are you planning to get sick so that tomorrow, your partner, me, will have to go chase the aurora alone? What an insidious trick.”
Shen Shiqin was rendered speechless by the roasting but remained unconvinced. The food in Norway did not quite suit his taste, and he did not think there was any problem with an adult eating hot pot just after breaking a fever.
“How could it be so easy to get sick?”
Duan Nan spoke at the right moment: “What He Lan said makes sense. The place where we are going to see the aurora tomorrow is not close; it is a three or four-hour journey. It will likely be very cold on the road, so it is better to be cautious.”
Zuo Jiaxi also nodded and agreed from the side: “Yes, yes, Brother Duan Nan is right! It will aggravate the inflammatory response.”
He felt a bit apologetic saying this: “We did not know Teacher Shen had a fever; if we had known, we would have cooked a clear broth. Clear broth is also very delicious.”
With the faint fire he felt toward He Lan being extinguished by the two of them in turn, Shen Shiqin gave up the struggle, lowered his head, and honestly drank his soup.
The vegetable soup still had that familiar taste. Shen Shiqin sat quite far from the others who were eating hot pot, and before he knew it, he had already finished several bowls of soup.
Zuo Jiaxi was worried Shen Shiqin was bored, so he picked some vegetables into a bowl and moved over to sit next to Shen Shiqin to eat together.
Shen Shiqin ate very quietly, in a slow and measured way.
Zuo Jiaxi only felt that everything beautiful people did was beautiful, but he, on the contrary, was quiet for a while before starting to tell Shen Shiqin about many interesting things in their group, while Shen Shiqin listened carefully, replying occasionally.
Zuo Jiaxi talked about everything, even occasionally blurting out his private matters.
Whenever he was about to burst with secrets, Shen Shiqin would remind him to be careful with his words.
Zuo Jiaxi agreed with a grin and asked, “Teacher Shen, you will not find me annoying, right?”
Shen Shiqin got up to scoop another bowl of soup. Hearing his question, he shook his head carefully: “No, it is just that I do not speak much.”
After he finished speaking, he looked up at the other side of the bar, where He Lan was chatting with Duan Nan.
Besides, he had long been accustomed to chirping in his ears.
Compared to He Lan, Zuo Jiaxi was minor in comparison.
“That is good, that is good.” Watching Shen Shiqin serve another bowl of soup, Zuo Jiaxi blinked, “Teacher Shen, you have a good appetite.”
His voice was not quiet. He Lan heard the movement and looked over.
Shen Shiqin collided with his gaze unexpectedly, immediately lowered his head, swallowed, and said, “It is okay. I did not eat much at the last meal.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard He Lan give an ambiguous laugh.
When he looked up again, He Lan had already turned his head back, continuing to chat with Duan Nan.
The meal was already halfway through when Meng Yichun sent a message in the group chat.
[Little Meng: Hello, dear guests. Tomorrow’s journey to chase the aurora will proceed as scheduled. Meet at the main recording location of the guesthouse tomorrow at 1:00 PM. After lunch, we will embark on the journey to chase the aurora together. Looking forward to it.jpg]
[Little Meng: Little Meng’s friendly reminder: the journey is long, at least four hours. Everyone must, must keep warm.]
After replying that they had received it, the group ate their fill and cleaned up the kitchen together.
Shen Shiqin remembered that Duan Nan had been to Iceland in the previous season, so he asked, “Teacher Duan, did you not chase the aurora in Iceland last season?”
Duan Nan said, “No. Each season has a different theme. Last season’s theme was tasting unique delicacies and experiencing the dietary differences between domestic and foreign, as well as northern and southern regions. We also learned about some traditional cultures.”
The director of the first season of Let’s Go had actually mainly shot documentaries before this, winning countless awards for various documentaries related to traditional culture and human geography. After the first season aired to great acclaim, they suddenly switched directors to Meng Yichun for the second season, while the original director ran off to some mountain somewhere to shoot more documentaries. When asked, he just used that line about being indifferent to fame and fortune and focusing on his own work.
Hearing about gourmet food, Zuo Jiaxi suddenly became interested: “Then, Brother Duan Nan, were you not eating something delicious in every episode of the last season!”
Duan Nan smiled and replied: “Well, by comparison, the first season was indeed more relaxed. Come to think of it, the styles of these two seasons are indeed very different.”
The dining area was soon cleaned up.
Zuo Jiaxi wiped his hands dry, looked at Duan Nan, and asked, “Brother Duan Nan, should we head back?”
Duan Nan: “Okay, it is getting late, so we will head back first.”
“Wait, wait a moment.” He Lan remembered something, turned around to take a tote bag from the kitchen, packed quite a few of the snacks they had brought over into it, and handed it to Duan Nan.
“We have too many leftovers and cannot finish them; you guys take some back.”
Just as Duan Nan was about to decline, Shen Shiqin also stuffed a few things into the tote bag, saying, “Take them. We are rushing to another place tomorrow after seeing the aurora; it will be a waste if we leave them here.”
Duan Nan could not refuse and took them: “Okay, then we will take some and eat them on the road tomorrow.”
Zuo Jiaxi stood obediently to the side, watching their interaction, and suddenly hallucinated that he was visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year.
And he was the child, watching the polite tug-of-war between two families.
He Lan noticed Zuo Jiaxi was a bit distracted, so he ruffled his hair messily: “What are you thinking about? Not leaving yet?”
“Oh!” Zuo Jiaxi came back to his senses, covered his messy hair, glared at He Lan secretly, and said, “I was thinking that you guys look like relatives now, the kind of scene when a family sees guests off.”
Shen Shiqin asked disapprovingly from the side: “Who is family with him?”
He Lan was stunned. After processing it, he immediately added: “I did not say I was family with you either.”
Hearing this sudden bickering, Zuo Jiaxi immediately turned and followed Duan Nan out the door.
He Lan and Shen Shiqin saw the two off all the way to the door.
Shen Shiqin waved at the two of them: “Take it slow on the road; the snow makes the road slippery.”
Zuo Jiaxi’s original bouncy steps immediately slowed down. He turned back and waved as well: “I know! You guys sleep early too!”
He Lan and Shen Shiqin stood on opposite sides of the doorway, watching the two leave. Only after they were far away did they close the door.
Only the two of them were left in the house, which seemed to become a bit emptier. Because the door had been open just a moment ago, the room was now faintly cold.
Zuo Jiaxi’s “family” remark from just a moment ago circled in both their minds, making it hard to ignore.
He Lan walked to the fireplace and crouched down to feed it with wood.
Shen Shiqin leaned lazily against the doorframe, appearing calm on the surface.
But his eyes lingered leisurely on the person crouching by the fireplace.
Feeling a chill on his back, He Lan was about to turn around when he heard Shen Shiqin ask: “What did you say to Zuo Jiaxi?”
The wood fell into the fireplace, sparks flew, and a crackling sound followed.
“Just regular chatting.” He Lan stood up.
He took off his gloves and placed them on the fireplace, revealing his clean and slender fingers, and patted the remaining debris off his gloves. The time was not early, so He Lan yawned and paced calmly past Shen Shiqin’s side.
Shen Shiqin was somewhat dissatisfied with such an answer.
He did not understand why there was anything he could not say about the conversation with Zuo Jiaxi, but he could feel that the atmosphere between these two was just not right.
Especially He Lan; he was acting weird.
He did not like this feeling.
Thinking this, Shen Shiqin followed He Lan into the bedroom.
He kept thinking about things in his heart, so his body involuntarily kept following the person in front.
He Lan could feel a little tail following behind him. He did not plan on shaking him off, so he went from the living room into the bedroom this way, took fresh clothes from the bedroom, and walked toward the bathroom.
Until he reached the bathroom door.
Noticing that the footsteps behind him did not intend to stop, He Lan paused, finding it funny, and turned around.
Shen Shiqin was looking down and had not had time to stop.
Seeing that his nose was about to hit He Lan’s chin without warning, he squeezed his eyes shut.
But the soreness he imagined did not come. Shen Shiqin opened his eyes and saw He Lan stretch out his hand, palm outward, shielding his face.
It avoided the accident.
He Lan’s palm was dry and warm, stretched straight out, cupping Shen Shiqin’s cheek.
Although Shen Shiqin’s face did not look like it had much meat, being cupped in his palm was unexpectedly soft.
His lips touched He Lan’s palm, still as soft as he had imagined.
The heat touched the skin, with no obstruction, setting off a fine tingle.
In this posture, He Lan lowered his head slightly and made eye contact with Shen Shiqin.
The other party was looking up at him, clearly not having come to his senses yet, appearing unusually dazed.
This was the time to let him go and, as usual, bicker as if nothing had happened.
But Zuo Jiaxi’s remark that “Brother Yuan likes boys” was still swirling in his mind.
He Lan pursed his lips, looking straight into Shen Shiqin’s eyes, his tone filled with nonchalance: “Zuo Jiaxi asked me how Teacher Shen used to coax me when I was angry before.”
He took a step forward, forcing Shen Shiqin to step back.
“I could not answer. Does Teacher Shen remember?”