On the day of the hot spring trip, Gu Yanchen drove over to pick them up.
As soon as they got into the car, Su Jin who was sitting in the passenger seat handed Pei Huaixue a full bag of snacks.
Su Jin smiled gently. “Xiaoxue, these are all your favorites. Eat them on the way if you get bored.”
Clearly, he hadn’t been affected by the online public opinion. Instead, he felt quite apologetic: “Some of the fans online are a bit irrational. I’ve already reminded them not to come and harass you anymore, and I hope it hasn’t caused you any trouble.”
“Brother Su Jin, you’re so nice.”
Looking at Su Jin, who cared for him so thoughtfully, and thinking about what he needed to do during this hot spring trip, Pei Huaixue felt a heavy wave of guilt in his heart.
In the original novel, Su Jin had also pampered Pei Huaixue greatly in the beginning, treating him like a younger brother. Therefore, when he later discovered Pei Huaixue’s true colors, he felt immensely disappointed in him.
Pei Huaixue’s ultimate ending had also been quite grim.
With the internet flooded with curses branding him a homewrecker, he became a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat, eventually developing depression and dying in an accidental car crash during a state of mental daze.
Yet now, due to the existence of the bug named Gu Minghe, the entire plot had deviated, and none of the events from the original book had transpired yet.
Pei Huaixue desperately wanted the plot to keep deviating like this, but the system insisted that if things continued this way, Gu Minghe would sooner or later be erased by the world consciousness.
He had to accumulate enough points to redeem items capable of reversing the plot so that the world consciousness would stop treating Gu Minghe as a bug.
Only then could he also steer clear of his final ending of dying a tragic death from depression.
[This hot spring trip’s plot is exceptionally crucial. Completing all tasks will yield a reward of 100 points. Please work hard, Host!]
029 was once again cheering Pei Huaixue on.
The system also needed to acquire task points to complete its upgrades, so it could only continuously urge Pei Huaixue, who was always wanting to back out.
“A hundred is way too few; that item costs a full ten thousand points.”
Twiddling his fingers, Pei Huaixue frowned. “Is there any way to get a massive points reward all at once?”
[No, please be down-to-earth, Host, and do not think about taking shortcuts.]
“Fine.”
Pei Huaixue tore open a bag of savory dried small fish, chewing on them with a satisfying crunch.
Feeling thirsty from eating, before he could even open his mouth, Gu Minghe pulled out his little cartoon water bottle and fed him water.
“Slow down.”
Then, using a wet wipe, he carefully wiped away the oil stains from the corners of his lips, finishing off by meticulously cleaning every single one of his ten fingers.
Gu Minghe had taken care of Pei Huaixue like this ever since they were kids. He never found it tedious; instead, he took immense pleasure in it.
Glancing through the rearview mirror and seeing the young couple as close as glue, Su Jin couldn’t help smiling. “You two really have a wonderful relationship.”
Pei Huaixue blurted out, “Your relationship with Brother Chen is great, too.”
Su Jin’s face flushed instantly as he secretly glanced at Gu Yanchen, who was driving. “Don’t talk nonsense. Yan Chen and I are just very good friends; don’t take those online gossip rumors seriously.”
Gu Yanchen nodded in agreement.
He seemed to concur with Su Jin’s statement.
Pei Huaixue wore an I understand expression.
According to the book’s plot, these two were secretly crushing on each other yet stubbornly refused to pierce the window paper, which was why they needed a vicious cannon fodder like him to act as a catalyst.
Talk about being excessively awkward.
Just as he was thinking this, Pei Huaixue felt an itch at his waist.
Looking down, he saw Gu Minghe’s large, broad palm gripping tightly onto his waist with force.
Pei Huaixue looked back up at Gu Minghe, only to see that although his husband wore a blank expression with no readable emotions, the taut line of his jaw was silently signaling to Pei Huaixue that he was jealous again.
All because Pei Huaixue had glanced at Gu Yanchen for a fraction of a second too long.
With a smile, Pei Huaixue tilted his head and nuzzled against his husband’s shoulder like a little cat. Only then did the tension in Gu Minghe’s frame gradually ease away.
An hour later, the car pulled up to the hot spring hotel.
The hotel belonged to the Gu Group. Since it was newly opened, the number of guests staying there wasn’t large, making it quite peaceful and quiet.
After all, both Gu Minghe and Su Jin were public figures; if they were photographed by someone, it would inevitably stir up unnecessary trouble.
The hotel had arranged a twin room for them along with two single rooms. At thirty thousand per night, the rooms weren’t the most expensive, but they certainly weren’t cheap either.
As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Pei Huaixue pulled out his phone and started filming a vlog of the hot spring trip.
His Douyin account hadn’t been updated for several days ever since he was blasted on the trending searches a few days prior.
From time to time, his loyal older fans would urge him for updates: Little Princess Xuexue, why haven’t you been posting lately? Don’t let those mad dogs affect you; the Xue family legion is always right here!
This moved Pei Huaixue to the verge of tears, making him want to post ten updates in a row.
Even so, he exercised restraint, only maintaining an aloof demeanor as he filmed a glimpse of the hotel room accidentally and quite carelessly filming the double bed as well.
The short video had barely been posted for ten minutes when it broke a thousand likes, and notifications for comments popped up continuously.
Where has Xuexue gone to play? Is he staying at another hotel that costs hundreds of thousands a night today?
Pei Huaixue replied to her: Not expensive, only thirty thousand a night.
Ahhhh Pei Huaixue, you’re flexing your wealth again!
Pei Huaixue, has your family gone bankrupt? How have you fallen to staying at a mere thirty thousand a night hotel? Shouldn’t you be staying at places costing millions per night to properly reflect your status?!
This hotel looks like a newly opened property under the Gu Group—a five-star hot spring hotel. Could Pei Huaixue have gone to soak in the hot springs with President Gu?
So are they low-key showing off their romance here?!
What is the meaning of this double bed??
Is Gu Yanchen in your room?!
Netizens’ imaginations ran wilder and wilder.
You could say they guessed the process right, but got the ending completely wrong.
He had indeed gone to soak in hot springs with someone surnamed Gu, but it wasn’t Gu Yanchen; it was Gu Minghe.
However, the netizens misunderstood, which quickly provoked furious curses from the Gu-Su CP fans.
Clearly, Su Jin’s admonishments hadn’t achieved much effect.
As the abuses piled up, system prompt sounds rang incessantly inside Pei Huaixue’s head.
[Completed main storyline task, acquired extra points +1]
[Completed main storyline task, acquired extra points +1]
[Completed main storyline task, acquired extra points +1]
Pei Huaixue: =.=
What is going on here?
029: [The short video posted by the Host caught the attention of Gu-Su CP fans and sparked quite a bit of public discussion, so you’ve been awarded extra points.]
So it was a case of planting willows without intending for them to shade.
Pei Huaixue thought to himself that he truly had a natural talent for being a vicious cannon fodder.
After taking a short nap in their room, Pei Huaixue was hauled up by Gu Minghe to have dinner at the first-floor restaurant.
Gu Yanchen and Su Jin were already waiting there. Seeing them come down, Su Jin waved his hand. “Over here!”
Pei Huaixue walked over and sat down opposite Su Jin, while Gu Minghe went to fetch food for his wife.
In no time at all, he returned with a plate piled high with food, all of it belonging to Pei Huaixue’s favorites.
Lobster, snow crab, salmon, black truffles, alongside various desserts.
Gu Minghe skillfully shelled the prawns for Pei Huaixue, and Pei Huaixue naturally parted his lips to accept Gu Minghe’s feeding.
The young couple acted as though no one else was around, completely wrapped up in their sweet little world.
Sitting across from them, Gu Yanchen and Su Jin looked like two oversized lightbulbs.
Fortunately, they were accustomed to it and didn’t feel awkward at all.
[Beep]
System 029 dutifully reminded Pei Huaixue to remember to complete his task!
According to the book’s plot, tonight while soaking in the hot springs, Pei Huaixue would attempt to seduce Gu Yanchen, only to be accidentally spotted by Su Jin, thereby sparking misunderstandings between the two.
During dinner, Pei Huaixue also stirred up some minor commotions, planting seeds of doubt in Su Jin’s mind regarding the relationship between the two brothers.
Pei Huaixue squirmed uncomfortably: But my husband is right here, too. Making me seduce my older brother right in front of my husband is way too stimulating—I’m afraid my hubby won’t be able to handle it.
[Host, think about those 100 points.]
Hesitating for a moment, Pei Huaixue guiltily lowered his head, not daring to meet Gu Minghe’s eyes.
Kicking off his wooden slippers, his bare, snow-white little foot shifted back and forth under the table, cautiously probing forward.
In the original novel, he secretly used his foot to brush against Gu Yanchen’s thigh, then dropped his spoon under the table and had Su Jin pick it up for him, deliberately letting Su Jin catch sight of the undercurrents moving beneath the table.
Pei Huaixue figured that brushing against a thigh was simply too much, so he decided to switch it to just stepping on someone instead.
Turning midway, his little foot felt its way downwards blindly. Just as it was about to step onto Gu Yanchen’s foot, another leg suddenly intercepted it from the side, hooking his foot and dragging it back. Pei Huaixue’s expression shifted, and with a sharp clatter, the spoon slipped from his hand, falling from the plate down beneath the table.
With a completely normal expression beside him, Gu Minghe asked, “Why are you being so clumsy?”
Then, turning his gaze toward Su Jin’s direction, he said, “Brother Su Jin, it looks like it fell over on your side. Sorry to trouble you, could you help pick it up?”
“Oh, sure.”
Recovering his wits, Su Jin bent down to pick up the spoon for Pei Huaixue.
Pei Huaixue frantically tried to break free from the strong, muscular leg that was still hooked and entwining with his. However, the owner of that leg was utterly determined not to let go. Their legs tangled together beneath the table like mandarin ducks intertwining necks. Feeling the hard-as-iron, scorching heat pressed directly against his skin, Pei Huaixue instantly flushed crimson, his heart fluttering into a state of restless agitation.
Especially when Su Jin picked up the spoon and lifted his gaze to shoot him a teasing look, he felt as though he had been stripped bare in public, feeling immensely ashamed and vexed.
After the meal, Gu Yanchen and Su Jin returned to their rooms to shower first. Pei Huaixue hadn’t finished eating yet, so Gu Minghe stayed by his side while he ate at a leisurely pace.
As soon as they left, Gu Minghe picked at the leftover tiramisu his wife hadn’t finished, asking in a calm tone, “Were you trying to rub your foot against Gu Yanchen just now?”
“Pfft”
Pei Huaixue nearly choked.
Faced with this sensation of a wife’s infidelity being caught red-handed by her husband, he could only flush brightly and continue lying: “No, I wanted to rub against you, I just misjudged the direction.”
Gu Minghe watched him quietly, those deep, unfathomable eyes seemingly capable of seeing right through him.
Slowly, he spoke: “Whatever my wife says goes.”
Guilty under his gaze, Pei Huaixue had no choice but to resume acting spoiled. “Hubby, you’re way too prone to wild imaginations. If you keep doing this, I’m going to get mad.”
“I won’t make you mad.” Pinching his little hand, Gu Minghe pressed a kiss against his palm. “Tonight hubby will make it up to you.”
Pei Huaixue’s palms felt itchy, and his chest was set ablaze by a tingling ripple of sweetness.
When they went to soak in the hot springs that night, Gu Minghe made good on his word, “making it up” to Pei Huaixue with great vigor.
The two of them soaked alone in a highly private hot spring pool, playing out every possible variation inside the water. Just as Pei Huaixue was completely exhausted, he finally remembered his mission.
He still had to go seduce Gu Yanchen!
Pei Huaixue’s unfocused eyes slowly regained clarity, and a snow-white hand reached out toward the edge of the pool, preparing to pull himself up. In the next instant, however, his ankle was caught and forcefully yanked downward, dragging his entire body right back into the swirling, vaporous mist of the pool, leaving only five damp finger-marks pressed into the stone surface.
[Beep, beep]
[System warning! System warning!]
[The hot spring trip’s main storyline task is on the verge of failure! Host, please hurry up and salvage the situation!]