“I remember!” Shen Shiqin froze for a split second, then immediately pressed his hands against the person’s chest before him, looking aggressive. “Can you stay further away from me? So, because of this, you two have been moping around all night?”
He Lan pulled back, distancing himself in response to Shen Shiqin’s action.
As the warmth from the other person vanished, his fingers curled involuntarily. He denied it, saying, “Who was moping? I certainly was not.”
Shen Shiqin did not notice the movement. With some lingering sensation still on his cheeks, he rubbed his face uncomfortably. Seeing that he could not get any straight answers out of He Lan, Shen Shiqin turned to leave.
Seeing him about to go, He Lan reflexively grabbed his wrist.
He expected the other man to shake him off immediately, but to He Lan’s surprise, Shen Shiqin simply let him hold on.
He Lan’s palm easily wrapped around the entire wrist.
The skin was smooth and soft, and He Lan’s fingers habitually rubbed against it. He did not know what He Lan had been doing over the past three years, but Shen Shiqin could actually feel a negligible layer of thin calluses gently brushing against his skin.
Shen Shiqin gripped his own captured hand, turned his head to glare at him, and maintaining his aggressive demeanor, asked impatiently: “What do you want now?”
He Lan wanted to tell him: Do you know that Yuan Kuanglun likes men?
Or perhaps: After three years of breaking up, how did your taste get so bad? You are taking such good care of that new actor; have you seen his true face?
Or maybe, as a variety show partner, offer a kind reminder: Do you know he might have ulterior motives for you?
The words he wanted to ask were spinning in his mind like a complex martial arts routine, but He Lan opened his mouth and could not say a word.
For the first time, He Lan felt a sense of annoyance and restriction regarding their current messy relationship.
By the time Shen Shiqin was about to lose his patience, He Lan still had not spoken, eventually just spitting out two words: “Nothing.”
Shen Shiqin: “Nothing.”
In truth, He Lan was not gripping his wrist tightly at all, yet Shen Shiqin even felt a wave of pain.
He shook off He Lan’s hand, muttered something incomprehensible, and left without looking back.
He Lan watched the angry, retreating figure and blinked.
He turned and opened the bathroom door, only to hear a deafening slam from the bedroom, causing his feet to pause reflexively.
Well, he certainly has a temper.
He reached out, silently smoothed his hand over his chest, and let out a sigh. Then, he placed his hand on the doorknob and closed the bathroom door with a movement that could only be described as gentle.
Shen Shiqin walked back to the bedroom with his feet like wind, though the place was too small and the distance too short.
He did not even have enough space to pace off his anger before arriving. The bed in the bedroom was very inviting, but he had not showered yet. Although they had not eaten hot pot today, the smell had inevitably clung to him, so he sat on the bedroom carpet, bored, and looked at his phone.
His phone had been off since the afternoon. He struggled to find it under the covers and turned it on, only for a mountain of messages to pop up.
Most of them were from Meng Yichun. Because Shen Shiqin had not replied, Meng Yichun had tirelessly finished sending messages on WeChat, switched to Weibo, and then switched back to WeChat to continue.
Shen Shiqin selectively scanned the task box, and seeing there were no important messages, he clicked to clear all notifications.
He opened WeChat, clicked on Meng Yichun’s chat box, automatically ignored the endless stream of messages above, and tapped his screen a few times.
【Meraki: ?】
The person on the other end, who had been guarding his phone, clearly did not expect him to actually respond. He immediately replied:
【A-Meng: Brother, you finally responded to me. You are not angry anymore, right?】
Shen Shiqin scrolled up a bit further. The last message Meng Yichun had sent him was: 【A-Meng: Brother, my dear brother, my brother from another mother, please do not be angry. I had my reasons. Look, for your sake, I even tied Ji Wenchen up to do this show with me! T_t】
【Meraki: …】
Meng Yichun had already drafted a long explanation as to why he had dragged them both into the variety show, but after waiting for half a day, he only received three dots. His fingertip hovered over the screen again and again. He asked:
【A-Meng: Brother, are you not going to ask what the reasons were?】
【Meraki: Not interested.】
Meng Yichun was choked up by his brother.
Well, at least it saved him from having to tell sweet lies to his brother.
【Meraki: Whose idea was it, yours or his?】
After a long wait, the other side replied: 【A-Meng: Ji Wenchen’s! It has nothing to do with me!】
【A-Meng: Really! Brother, you have to believe me. Ji Wenchen has always colluded and conspired with He Lan in the past, they are two of a kind!】
Shen Shiqin looked at the stack of four-character idioms and squinted, clearly not believing him.
Anyway, Meng Yichun could not keep a secret; sooner or later, he would talk.
However, he clicked to modify the note and changed “A-Meng” to “Xiao Meng.” While modifying it, he accidentally clicked on Meng Yichun’s avatar. The avatar was a Teddy dog, the same one he and He Lan had picked up a few years ago. But at that time, both of them were too busy with work, so Meng Yichun had volunteered for the responsibility of raising it. Now, whenever he had free time, he would occasionally take it over for a couple of days. He did not know if that heartless He Lan had ever gone to see it.
Meng Yichun waited and waited without getting a reply, so he tested the waters: 【Xiao Meng: Brother, I am on your side!】
Shen Shiqin stared blankly at the avatar until Meng Yichun sent a message. He shook himself out of his daze, sent a period, and ignored him.
The soundproofing of the little red house was truly subpar. Every time He Lan took a shower, the sound of the dripping water clearly drifted into the bedroom, making one feel restless.
Shen Shiqin stood up and paced over to where their suitcases were placed, intending to pack the things he would need to see the aurora tomorrow.
Because space was limited, the two open suitcases were placed side by side. Shen Shiqin saw a black windbreaker that did not belong to him lying messily in his suitcase. He picked up the windbreaker, intending to put it back into He Lan’s suitcase.
But as soon as he picked it up, two small round objects fell out of the clothes, hit the floor, and made a sound.
Shen Shiqin squatted down and saw what they were. Two identical small medals lay quietly on the floor, reflecting light. He picked them up and held them in his palm, catching the light to see what was engraved on them: a white moose.
The pattern was delicately carved, appearing lifelike. Shen Shiqin ran his fingertips over the slightly raised pattern, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. He did not come back to his senses until the bedroom door opened, at which point he hurriedly shoved the two medals into the windbreaker.
The clothes were a dark mess, and Shen Shiqin could not find a pocket. He was stuffing them in randomly when he felt He Lan stop behind him.
Then he heard He Lan say: “Why are you putting them back? Keep one for yourself.”
Shen Shiqin’s movements paused. He stood up holding the two medals and looked at He Lan.
His hair was all tousled over his forehead, and as usual, he looked at him lazily. His hair tips were still dripping with water; in such cold weather, after a shower, he seemed to be radiating thin wisps of heat.
Since the last time he was told he was acting like a rogue, He Lan had been obediently wrapping himself in pajamas after showering.
The pajamas had a slightly loose collar. Shen Shiqin looked over and immediately noticed the necklace still hanging on He Lan’s neck. The small pearl on the mistletoe shone with luster, likely having been finely polished by someone.
He averted his gaze from the necklace, held the two medals, reached out with his palm facing up toward He Lan, and asked: “Are these souvenirs, too?”
He Lan, who was holding a towel and drying his hair, took the medals from Shen Shiqin’s hand: “Yeah, the local guide gave them to us when we were visiting the forest.”
Just as he was about to take them away, he saw Shen Shiqin’s two fingers curl, pressing down on one of them. He said nothing, just took one and said: “Go take a shower.”
Shen Shiqin nodded and entered the bathroom, holding the medal.
At 1:00 PM the next afternoon, the guests arrived at the recording location on time. Everyone stood in a row with suitcases, fully geared up, looking very much like students waiting for a winter camp.
As soon as He Lan entered the room, Zuo Jiaxi noticed his outfit for the day. He praised him sincerely: “Brother He, you look so handsome today.”
He Lan was wearing a flashy red windbreaker today, with goggles pinned to his beanie. His features were distinct, making him look wild and flamboyant. After hearing Zuo Jiaxi’s compliment, he raised an eyebrow at him: “Of course, your Brother He has never looked ugly.”
Shen Shiqin, who had witnessed He Lan spending nearly twenty minutes in front of the mirror organizing his beanie that morning, let out a sneer. “Better not praise him, or he will be insufferably cocky all night.”
Everyone had arrived, and the cameras were turned on.
Meng Yichun walked in with the schedule book, sat opposite everyone, and said: “Long time no see, everyone. Did you have fun yesterday?”
Several people replied in long tones: “Great.”
Meng Yichun nodded with satisfaction and continued: “Alright, let me introduce our task for today. First: Everyone needs to take a photo with the aurora, plus one big group photo. Second: Everyone will make a barbecue with Norwegian aurora characteristics, and take a photo to commemorate it.”
He Lan raised his hand to ask: “I understand the first task, but what does the second one mean? What is a barbecue with aurora characteristics?”
Meng Yichun spread his hands and said innocently: “I do not know. Old Ji made the suggestion.”
“?” He Lan’s face was full of suspicion: “Who is the director again?”
Although he did not know why He Lan asked such a stupid question, considering it was He Lan, Meng Yichun pointed to himself and answered seriously: “Meng Yichun.”
Then he received a look from He Lan as if he were looking at an idiot. Meng Yichun wanted to ignore He Lan’s expression, but suddenly realized that Shen Shiqin was just standing to the side and did not help him snap back at He Lan.
He remembered being given the cold shoulder by Shen Shiqin last night and began to suspect that He Lan had secretly been whispering in his ear.
Thinking this way, he felt it was very possible. He felt that these two did not understand the painstaking efforts of Director Xiao Meng at all! Although he did not dare to get angry at Shen Shiqin, he could certainly do so with He Lan!
“Why ask such a question?! No wonder my Brother Shen always said you were an idiot!”
Shen Shiqin, who was silent on the side, was suddenly mentioned and slowly produced a question mark.
He Lan: “…”
“Just listen to your Old Ji and Brother Shen.”
Meng Yichun waved his hand: “Production team, cut this part later.”
After giving the order, he pointed at He Lan with the schedule book in his hand and pointedly remarked: “That is why you broke up with Brother Shen, you idiot!”
He Lan’s fur immediately stood on end: “You are so smart, you do not even know what the task means!”
“You do not know either!”
The people around them looked at these two, not knowing what to do, and looked at Shen Shiqin together. Fortunately, Shen Shiqin, listening to the conversation between these two not-very-bright people, only felt a headache. Noticing everyone’s gaze, he was silent for a few seconds and spoke: “Shut up.”
The world went quiet for a second.
Shen Shiqin looked toward Ji Wenchen and asked: “So, what does the second task mean?”