Cheng Xingyu did not know how long he had been staring before he finally managed to tear his gaze away. Without anyone telling him, he felt like a pervert for staring at the same spot for so long. After all, it was just a mouth; why did he find Tong Chui’s so uniquely captivating?
Suddenly, Cheng Xingyu recalled a saying he had seen somewhere: “Falling in love with someone is discovering their uniqueness.” Even the scent on him was exceptionally alluring. Cheng Xingyu took a breath, his gaze landing on Tong Chui’s hands. The dark-colored clay made his fingers appear even whiter, as if the pure white jade had been stained by pollution, adding an imperfection that enhanced its beauty.
The image of Zhou Siyuan’s earlier actions flashed in Cheng Xingyu’s mind. Beyond mere admiration, there were other feelings involved. His heart raced involuntarily, but his expression tightened further. He extended his hand closer to Tong Chui. Cheng Xingyu was used to acting boldly and openly, never having done anything sneaky before. His movements were so deliberate that anyone with eyes could see through them.
Cheng Xingyu was not interested in pottery; his sole interest lay in Tong Chui. The clay form on the wheel had taken shape under Tong Chui’s hands, yet Cheng Xingyu’s hand intrusively approached at that moment. Tong Chui’s hand moved aside, creating a dent in the clay.
“What are you doing?” Tong Chui murmured with some dissatisfaction, not even bothering to look up at Cheng Xingyu. He had barely managed to finish his work. Cheng Xingyu didn’t care what shape the clay turned into; he didn’t hide his intentions at all and simply grasped Tong Chui’s hand.
“Stop it. Come look at me.”
Tong Chui’s hand was covered in wet clay, and it felt soft and slippery, almost as if there were no bones beneath. Tong Chui seemed very slender; how could his hands feel so soft? Cheng Xingyu frowned slightly. Why did his hands feel so different from other boys?
Tong Chui had no idea what Cheng Xingyu wanted to do. He let him mess around, not expecting Cheng Xingyu to care about the dirt; he didn’t plan to let go even with mud all over his hands. Slowly, Tong Chui realized that their actions were quite ambiguous. He struggled to pull his hand back, but Cheng Xingyu tightened his grip even more.
“Let go, please.”
“Just hold on a little longer.” Cheng Xingyu leaned against the back of Tong Chui’s hand, reluctant to release him.
Perhaps Cheng Xingyu’s boldness was so overwhelming that it made people forget for a moment that this date was originally meant for Tong Chui and Zhou Siyuan.
As they left the pottery studio, the owner gave them an address, promising to send the items to them in a few days. By this time, it was getting late, and after several days of cooking for themselves in the small house, everyone had grown tired of it. So they decided to find a nearby restaurant.
Standing aside, Zhou Zhe quietly observed the situation and relayed the precise location to Jiang Ciyan via his phone.
The production team: “…”. According to the rules, they hadn’t actually prohibited the guests from going out, so Zhou Zhe’s actions could only be considered a loophole. They could only turn a blind eye as they watched Jiang Ciyan create a “chance encounter.”
When Tong Chui and the others walked into the restaurant, a stir ensued. Although the current season had only recently begun airing, they had already gathered a significant following. Especially among viewers who had seen the show, excitement erupted.
“Chui Bao!! Mom loves you!!!”
This declaration had far more impact than the similar phrases seen in the comments section. Tong Chui felt embarrassed by the sudden attention and shyly ducked to the side, bumping into Zhou Siyuan who was walking next to him. His ears were red from shame.
Zhou Siyuan asked the waiter, “Is there a private room available here?”
The waiter replied, “I’m sorry, but all the private rooms are currently full. If you need one, you’ll have to wait.”
“Wait?”
Zhong Yi frowned. He had barely managed to tolerate getting his hands dirty with clay earlier, and now having to wait for a table was even more unacceptable. As the heir of the Zhong family, he had never been subjected to such delays. He pulled out a card and declared, “Get your boss over here. I’m buying out this restaurant.”
Tong Chui stared at Zhong Yi in shock. He was being ridiculously extravagant; who buys out a restaurant just because they don’t want to wait?
If it came down to it, they could just find another place.
The waiter clearly hadn’t encountered such a situation before either, standing still for a few seconds before contacting the manager. The manager remained more composed than the waiter, bowing to the group. “If you don’t mind, we have a private room that is currently only occupied by one person. You can go there.”
They were quite lucky.
As Tong Chui walked behind the group towards the upstairs room, he pondered about the situation. After opening the door, he heard Cheng Xingyu’s disgruntled voice: “I can’t believe it’s you.”
He knew Jiang Ciyan was up to no good with the borrowed car.
Tong Chui wanted to peek in, but Cheng Xingyu grabbed his arm, “Let’s go eat somewhere else.”
Jiang Ciyan said, “The dishes have already been ordered.”
Cheng Xingyu: “……”
He truly found this unbearable.
A bunch of people sat down, silently watching as Jiang Ciyan’s ordered dishes were served one after another. It turned out that Jiang Ciyan had already been waiting for them.
Cheng Xingyu felt inexplicably irritated. He had suspected Jiang Ciyan would not act selflessly; it turned out he was using the opportunity to disrupt their private date and wanted to share the spotlight.
Compared to Cheng Xingyu’s annoyance, Zhou Siyuan felt even more speechless. He sighed inwardly.
The production team’s words were completely untrustworthy. What was supposed to be a private date had turned into a large gathering of people.