Upon seeing this, the audience was dumbfounded, and after regaining their senses, the bullet comments became unprecedentedly excited:
“Ah?!! This is so erotic??”
“What are you doing, what are you doing? We’re all watching, how did you guys start holding hands?!”
“No, this doesn’t look like hand-holding, it looks more like”
“Ahhhhh, this slow-motion of prying the fingers one by one, I’m directly and intensely imagining the scene of being pinned down while clutching the bedsheets.”
“I don’t even dare to imagine, when they are in bed, President Yun was just riding in a superior position, and the next second, just from having his little hand touched, his face instantly flushed red, too embarrassed to even scold him, left to be at someone else’s mercy.”
“I’m dying of joy, I’m dying of joy, ahhhhh, god-tier!”
“Why are there so many perverts in the bullet comments… I’m different, I’m a huge pervert. If such sensitive hands were forced to be covered by the back of the hand to muffle sobs, and biting one’s own fingers… hmm.”
Just as the bullet comments were overflowing with creative inspiration, Duan Xingge slowly recovered his senses. However, he still didn’t let go of Yun Qi; instead, he gripped his hand and stood up.
If it were true that Duan Xingge was genuinely having a stress reaction in the ice water at first, then once he had slowly regained his senses and discovered that Yun Qi, for some unknown state of mind, hadn’t pushed him away, his subsequent actions were definitely a case of “giving an inch and taking a mile.”
And when the other party finally realized it, the price Duan Xingge paid was that Yun Qi kept a cold face and ignored him for the entire dinner.
However, the audience this time didn’t misunderstand Yun Qi’s coldness as jealousy; instead, they savored it with great interest.
After dinner ended, the host announced the activities for the entire day tomorrow.
Yun Qi had anticipated this; unsurprisingly, tomorrow during the day, the production team would organize a sea fishing competition, and in the evening, there would be a deck barbecue. Everyone would eat what they caught; those who didn’t catch anything would have to go hungry or beg for alms from others.
Once the host finished the introduction, the first day of the second phase officially came to an end.
Given that some guests were taking a cruise for the first time, there were no evening dates for the first two nights, giving everyone plenty of time to rest and the audience plenty of time to discuss.
The second phase had only been airing for one day, yet the number of new viewers attracted showed signs of rivaling the previous fans.
Since the broadcast began, for the first time, the term “Xing-Yun” hit the trending list, not as a company name, but as a CP (couple) name.
What followed naturally was a storm of controversy.
However, just as the public perception of the two of them vaguely began to reverse, Yun Qi, the center of the topic, was temporarily too busy to care about these things because—
The bathroom door, filled with steam, was suddenly pulled open from the inside. Yun Qi snapped back to reality, subconsciously looking up, and bumped directly into Duan Xingge, who was wrapped in nothing but a bath towel.
Water droplets streamed down from his hair tips, flowing slowly along his abdominals to his mermaid line, finally disappearing into the bath towel.
Because Yun Qi suddenly realized that the matter he had been avoiding since the morning could no longer be avoided.
After many years, he was going to share a bed with Duan Xingge again.
The not-so-narrow double room seemed somewhat crowded at this moment; it felt as if even the air had become sticky due to the mysteriously rising ambiguity.
Clearly, there was still a distance of two or three steps between them, yet Yun Qi felt as if he could feel the hot air emanating from Duan Xingge, carrying the faint scent of shower gel.
Duan Xingge curled the corners of his mouth, his gaze appearing somewhat dark beneath the light.
Yun Qi suddenly snapped back to reality, immediately withdrew his gaze, feigned calmness as he lifted the quilt, and without even giving Duan Xingge time to dry his hair, directly turned off the lights.
Duan Xingge paused, then laughed softly. Walking to the floor-length mirror in the dark, he dried his hair by the starlight while teasing, “President Yun isn’t planning on keeping his gloves on while sleeping, is he? There’s no one else here, why be so heavily guarded?”
Yun Qi snorted coldly upon hearing this: “Guard against thieves.”
However, despite his words, after hesitating for a long time, he still took off his gloves and placed them on the bedside table.
To enhance the show’s effect, the production team could forcibly arrange two people in the same room; clearly, they wouldn’t skimp on a quilt.
Yun Qi had showered first, and his hair was mostly dry by now. Looking at the single quilt, he hesitated for a long time before lying down into the bedding he had pulled back.
Since Duan Xingge had left home, Yun Qi had never shared a bed with anyone. Everything before him felt familiar yet filled with uncertainty.
…After all, Duan Xingge had evolved from that cute little thing who would chase after him shouting “Brother” into an impeccably dressed mad dog.
Through the starlight on the sea, Yun Qi vaguely saw Duan Xingge’s arms as he dried his hair and his muscular back, so different from the child in his memories.
He pressed his lips together and withdrew his peripheral vision, suddenly hesitating about where his hands now free of gloves should be placed.
Placing them on the quilt felt unsafe, but placing them inside the bedding seemed even more unsafe.
Just as Yun Qi was hesitating, Duan Xingge, who had finished drying his hair at some unknown point, suddenly lifted the quilt without warning.
Yun Qi was startled; before he could recover, the other party directly covered him with the quilt, and naturally, Yun Qi’s hands were also directly wrapped inside.
Seeing that Duan Xingge had made the decision for him, Yun Qi hesitated for three seconds before accepting the result.
Just as he intended to go to sleep like this, he turned over gently, subconsciously adjusting to a flat position, never imagining that this turn was like a rabbit entering a wolf’s den. The person beside him reached out in the quilt without warning and directly gripped his right hand.
Yun Qi opened his eyes wide abruptly, subconsciously wanting to struggle. His struggle wasn’t the kind of half-hearted, rabbit-like resistance that was actually an invitation; it was a genuine push-back.
With his right hand gripped and unable to move, he gritted his teeth and used his left hand to pry away Duan Xingge’s hand, never imagining that the other party was like a rock, not even moving an inch.
Yun Qi was exasperated; his movement was a bit too wide, accidentally and firmly scratching a cut on Duan Xingge’s arm.
Yet even so, the other party still didn’t let go.
Upon feeling the blood beads seeping through, Yun Qi’s heart jumped; he immediately stopped struggling and just wanted to speak, but when he looked up, he crashed directly into Duan Xingge’s eyes that were inches away.
In the darkness, the dots of starlight outside the window reflected in Duan Xingge’s pupils, but all of that seemed less important than the person in front of him at this moment.
Compared to the cheerful and bright Duan Xingge during the day, he was currently as quiet as a silent pine and cypress, or like an abyss brewing something in silence.
Yun Qi suddenly remembered that the young Duan Xingge was not a child skilled in speech. His forced tactfulness was all tempered while drifting from place to place with his mother.
When he first came to the Yun family, Duan Xingge didn’t even talk as much as Yun Qi at night. At that time, he lacked security and was too nervous to sleep, yet was unwilling to say anything, preferring to hold Yun Qi’s hand without a word until he fell asleep, just like now.
And in this silent stillness, Yun Qi suddenly understood that Duan Xingge was nervous, and he understood what he was nervous about.
Tomorrow, after sea fishing ends, the day after tomorrow is the Truth or Dare game, which is… his own deadline.
The silent breathing in the dark night was like a countdown without a bell. At this moment, they were like the two fish in the story washed ashore by the waves, keeping each other alive with moisture, yet unsure if they could survive.
Seeming to notice his own off-kilter emotions, Duan Xingge’s eyes flickered slightly, and he revealed that familiar, everyday smile.
“Sea fishing tomorrow.” Duan Xingge, as if afraid Yun Qi might notice something, deliberately gripped his hand and squeezed it teasingly, while making small talk: “If President Yun can’t do it, you better surrender early; don’t starve our President just for the sake of face.”
Yun Qi hadn’t known how to fish previously, let alone have experience in sea fishing.
In his previous life, although he learned quickly due to his strong learning ability, he hadn’t caught many fish.
However, in comparison, Ming Jiao was even more pathetic, becoming the only “empty-handed” pilot among the guests. Yun Qi saw him looking as pitiful as the little puppy who used to be unable to afford a meal, and when he wanted to give him his fish, he had it intercepted by the ungrateful Duan Xingge.
Faced with the fish handed over by the two of them, Ming Jiao was hesitant, not knowing whose to accept. Seeing this, the viewers naturally thought they were competing for favor over Ming Jiao again, and the bullet comments were exceptionally lively.
But the outcome of Yun Qi finally doing a good deed was that he didn’t catch anything in the afternoon, ultimately suffering a not-so-small hunger at night.
Yun Qi recalled that day now; it had indeed been a bit miserable.
Duan Xingge lay on his side on the pillow. Seeing him remain silent, he guessed his meaning, then held his hand and laughed softly: “How about President Yun calls me something pleasant? I’ll advance you two fish first, to prevent our President大人 from going hungry.”
The laughter made Yun Qi’s heart tremble, but after coming to his senses and hearing this, that hint of ambiguity vanished instantly, leaving him too angry to speak.
Seeing him remain silent, Duan Xingge deliberately misinterpreted his meaning. The words that came next made Yun Qi so ashamed and angry that he wished he could hit him with a pillow:
“If President Yun doesn’t know what to call me, then… why not call me ‘Brother,’ how about that?”
Follow-up question: Would you like to proceed to the next chapter, or is there a specific interaction or plot detail you would like to analyze?