It was already the middle of the night when Xia Yan and the others arrived at the guesthouse in Santorini. Since they would be moving to a different accommodation the next day, all of their large suitcases were left on the first floor, and they only brought their carry-on bags for changing and washing.
All of Song Yutong’s toiletries were packed inside a large suitcase. The honest young girl didn’t think to ask anyone for help, and huffed and puffed as she dragged her suitcase up the stairs. She hadn’t climbed more than two steps before she almost lost her balance and tumbled back down.
As her roommate and a 21st-century warm guy, Xia Yan took the initiative to step forward and help her with her luggage. With his own luggage in tow, one in his left hand and one in his right, he effortlessly carried them up the stairs.
Song Yutong hadn’t expected Xia Yan to look so delicate and frail while actually possessing such incredible strength. Standing behind him, she stared at him with starry eyes full of admiration.
“Whoa~ Little Xia, you’re so manly! You’re seriously making my heart flutter!”
[Ding! The target’s favorability has decreased by 1 point. Current favorability: 10.]
Xia Yan thought: …No, wait, don’t do this!
Xia Yan searched around for Lu Chengyan’s figure and found him standing downstairs, watching this side with a gloomy gaze.
Was this… jealousy?
Is it normal for a good buddy with a favorability of 10 to have such a strong sense of possessiveness?
When they were picking rooms earlier, he certainly didn’t show any possessiveness or ask to share a room with him.
A man’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; you can’t touch it or guess it. Better to butter him up first.
Floating over to Lu Chengyan like a little butterfly, Xia Yan asked ingratiatingly, “Brother, is there anything you need help with?”
Lu Chengyan’s expression remained indifferent. “No need.”
His favorability didn’t go up. He hadn’t been coaxed successfully.
Xia Yan tugged at the corner of Lu Chengyan’s shirt. “Brother, let me help you. Make this little fan’s tiny wish come true.”
[Ding! The target’s favorability has increased by 2 points. Current favorability: 12.]
Lu Chengyan maintained his aloof facade, but his tone softened significantly. “I don’t have much luggage; I can manage it myself. You should go get some rest early.”
“Alright then. Be sure to call me if you need any help, Brother. I’ll go back to unpack first.”
Having failed to help Lu Chengyan, Xia Yan drooped his eyes in mild disappointment, but he was secretly laughing inside as he floated back up to the second floor like a little butterfly.
He had buttered him up, so he could go back to sleep now. Time to lie flat and relax~
The guesthouse was a sea-view room. Pushing open the window allowed one to see the vast ocean and smell the salty sea breeze.
The interior of the room was styled in light blue tones: sky-blue walls, light blue sheer curtains, and decorative lifebuoys hanging on the wall with two coils of white-painted hemp rope wrapped around them. A wind chime also hung by the window, and whenever the window opened, it let out a crisp, tinkling chime.
The moment she pushed the door open, Song Yutong spun around with an “Ah!” and wailed, “Oh! This is simply the dream room of us inland kids.”
Facing Xia Yan, she pressed her palms together and put on a pitiful expression. “Xia Yan~~ Can you let me have the bed by the window? Please, please! If that really doesn’t work, let’s roll dice to decide.”
Xia Yan didn’t mind; as long as there was a bed, sleeping anywhere was the same. “It’s fine, you pick first.”
Seeing that Song Yutong was about to shriek with excitement again, Xia Yan cut her off mid-spell: “Keep it down in the middle of the night, yo. Watch out for noise complaints. You can keep getting excited while I go take a shower first.”
Song Yutong made a finger heart at Xia Yan. “Got it~ Love you~”
As a host, Song Yutong had an outgoing personality, but she still maintained a distance from male strangers. She would certainly never say things like “love you” or make finger hearts to guys.
Although today was her first time meeting Xia Yan, a subconscious feeling of closeness inexplicably told her that Xia Yan was destined to be her ultimate bestie, driving her to act coquettishly and beg for the bedside spot.
Xia Yan carried a certain kind of buff on him—something like “women’s best friend” or “universal best girl.” (Note: the hyphen here connects descriptive terms rather than acting as a dash break)
Taking cars and airplanes was an energy-draining ordeal. Even if one hadn’t done anything, it still felt exhausting.
Xia Yan took a hot shower and returned to the bedroom with a dry towel over his head.
He was wearing a pure white T-shirt and light blue shorts. His exposed legs were fair enough to glow, and when he raised his arms to wipe his hair, his short sleeves hitched up. That waist, which complemented his legs perfectly, had its lower back dimples faintly visible.
“Done washing?” Song Yutong was busy taking selfies with her phone. Hearing movement from the bathroom doorway, she looked up and asked casually.
And then she froze. Her non-existent phantom limb hardened.
“Oh my god! Look at those calves, that waist. Who knows whose fortune this will be in the future?”
Xia Yan: “…” As a girl, was this old-pervert look appropriate for Song Yutong?
He silently lowered his hands and gave a dry cough. “I’m done. You can go ahead.”
“No rush, no rush,” Song Yutong said, circling around Xia Yan while rubbing her chin in amazement. “Your skin is too good. Like a BJD doll without a single flaw. How do you maintain it?”
Xia Yan was starting to feel embarrassed from her stare and fobbed her off with, “Born with it.”
“And sleeping early and waking up early,” he added, pushing Song Yutong toward the bathroom. “Hurry up and wash up so you can go to bed early. We still have to record the show tomorrow.”
Song Yutong twisted her head back, staring reluctantly at Xia Yan’s face. Xia Yan looked good from afar, looked good up close, and looked even more stunning upon closer inspection. She couldn’t bear to look away until Xia Yan finally pushed her inside the bathroom.
Only then did she react. “Eh! I haven’t brought my toiletries in yet!”
Cue another round of bustling activity.
As the sun crept over the horizon, the mobile alarm went off right on time.
Xia Yan stretched lazily, got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to wash up and change.
Fifteen minutes later, wearing a beret paired with a sailor uniform, he looked like a lively, radiant, and energetic “youthful high school student.”
There was still no movement from Song Yutong on the adjacent bed. Xia Yan called out to her through the curtain, “Yutong, time to wake up.”
Song Yutong mumbled and groaned for a few seconds, peeled open her eyelids to check the time on her phone, and then turned over to bury herself entirely under the quilt, mumbling vaguely:
“Morning, Little Xia. Emmm, it’s still early. Let me sleep for ten more minutes, just ten last minutes…”
As her voice trailed off, a soft snoring sound immediately followed.
Young people really had great sleeping quality.
Xia Yan said, “Then I’ll head downstairs first.”
Based on what he knew, Lu Chengyan had a habit of morning jogging, though he wasn’t sure if he would keep it up during the show recording. He planned to go try his luck.
If he managed to catch Lu Chengyan heading out for a morning run, he would tag along and use their shared hobby to close the distance.
If he didn’t catch him, it would at least establish a diligent, self-disciplined persona.
Humming a little tune, Xia Yan walked downstairs. Just two steps down, he saw Lu Chengyan walking toward him from the opposite direction.
Lu Chengyan looked like he had just finished his morning run. The hair strands in front of his forehead were slightly messy, and a dark blue short-sleeve shirt clung to his shoulders and arms, outlining smooth lines. As he moved, the fabric across his chest occasionally pressed against his sweat-slicked skin, faintly revealing his abdominal muscle contours. The whole man radiated a wild, untamed beauty.
Xia Yan swallowed hard.
Absolute perfection.
While Xia Yan’s inner thoughts were slightly racy, his face remained obedient and well-behaved. “Good morning, Brother.”
“Mm, morning.”
Lu Chengyan was cold, but not the type of pretentious snob who looked down his nose at people.
His conduct in the world was courteous and his manners were refined; it was just that his temperament was chilly and distant, making others hesitant to approach him.
Xia Yan walked down the stairs while Lu Chengyan walked up. The body full of male hormones made Xia Yan’s heart flutter.
Should he do something now, or should he do something now~
Just as they were separated by a single step, Xia Yan “accidentally” missed his footing and tumbled forward.
Lu Chengyan instinctively reached out and caught Xia Yan, his palm pressing against Xia Yan’s slender waist, feeling the warm skin beneath the fabric.
Due to momentum, Xia Yan’s face pressed against Lu Chengyan’s chest, soft and cool, while the breath puffed against Lu Chengyan’s earlobe was scorching and burning hot.
[Ding! The target’s favorability has increased by 3 points. Current favorability: 15.]
“Be more careful.” Lu Chengyan’s voice was hoarser than before.
“Mhm.” Xia Yan didn’t process whatever mumble Lu Chengyan had uttered and gave a perfunctory response. His hand was braced against Lu Chengyan’s pectoral muscles, and his entire attention was focused squarely on them.
He had suffered through a bitter half-life, doing good deeds and accumulating virtue every day, only to die a violent death. Meeting a handsome man and getting to touch him a few times now was the blessing he rightfully deserved!
His mischievous little hand secretly patted a pectoral muscle, then rubbed downward to take advantage of the abdominal muscles as well.
Right as it went any lower… his wrist was grabbed and pulled away.
Lu Chengyan lowered his gaze to look at him. His deep pupils held little warmth, and the hand restraining him applied slight pressure as his tone remained entirely flat.
“Intentional?”
He looked like he was angry.
Yet his favorability hadn’t dropped.
Therefore, Lu Chengyan wasn’t actually angry.
In fact, because of his approach and intimate contact, his favorability had increased by another 2 points.
“It was an accident, Brother~”
Xia Yan grinned, revealing two little canine teeth, and stared straight at Lu Chengyan, forming a sharp contrast with his pure and innocent appearance.
It was a blatant, prey-luring gaze that bordered on offensive.
His words and actions didn’t match, which also bordered on hypocrisy.
Lu Chengyan didn’t like people like this, but he found himself unable to treat Xia Yan the way he treated other people he loathed.
He felt a bit off and couldn’t figure out the reason for now.
So, he decided to make the person who was throwing him off balance stay far away from him.
He steadied Xia Yan, stepped past him to the side, and warned in a deep voice, “I’m straight. Please show some self-respect and stop doing meaningless things.”
With that, he strode quickly upstairs, with somewhat of a fleeing-in-defeat vibe to his steps.
Watching Lu Chengyan’s retreating back with a smile in his eyes, Xia Yan asked, “Is that really true, Brother?”
Lu Chengyan’s figure paused imperceptibly for a fraction of a second.
[Ding! The target’s favorability has increased by 1 point. Current favorability: 16.]
Yo, big guy Lu’s favorability just went up again.
Xia Yan mentally mocked Lu Chengyan with a sarcastic tone while humming a tune and continuing down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he saw the director’s crew, who had set up their equipment and were squatting on the first floor.
As he walked over, every single member of the production crew cast gazes of fixed attention at him, with words written plainly in each of their eyes.
For instance, a certain assistant director’s eyes seemed to say: A role model for our generation.
A certain cameraman’s eyes seemed to say: Holy crap.
A certain script supervisor’s eyes seemed to say: Even though the look has changed, Xia Yan is still Xia Yan.
Director Zhao’s eyes seemed to say: You brat, I really did hire the right person.
Seeing their expressions, Xia Yan suddenly remembered something.
Aside from the bedrooms and bathrooms, the guesthouse had cameras and audio-recording devices everywhere.
What had just happened on the stairs had probably, basically, maybe all been caught on tape.
Barring any accidents, after the show aired, he would be crowned with the title of “the venomous green tea who harasses the Best Actor.”
Xia Yan silently took out his phone and disabled all private message and comment functions across every social media platform to protect his parents, who were still safe and sound in another world.
There was nothing else to explain anyway; he was the venomous green tea who harasses the Best Actor.
Mwahaha!
He was going to chase after Lu Chengyan, get his favorability to 100, make Lu Chengyan fall in love with him, and slide down a slide on Lu Chengyan’s abs!
Today he would cater to Lu Chengyan and accommodate him in every possible way, so that in the future, Lu Chengyan would have to pay him back with his flesh!