After a D-List Celebrity and Their A-List Ex-Partner Join a Travel Reality Show - Chapter 21

“Cough, is that so?” He Lan’s gaze swept over the brooch in his hand, then he lowered his eyes to pick up his own, preparing to put it on.

He had rarely worn accessories over the past few years, except for ear studs, and he had never worn this Nordic style before. As he fastened the back clasp, the necklace suddenly snagged on the collar of his sweater behind his neck. He looked up at the comments, hoping no one had noticed. He subtly shifted to the side, confirmed the viewers were oblivious, and continued his struggle with the sweater collar.

Shen Shiqin placed the brooch back into its small box and closed it. Noticing the corner of his eye fixed on He Lan’s seven parts struggling and three parts distorted posture, he let out a slightly helpless sigh.

“Sigh, Teacher He.”

He Lan’s movements froze at the familiar tone and phrasing. It was such a familiar sentence; he seemed to have said it himself before. The boomerang hit him fast. He Lan sped up his attempts to untangle the necklace. Unfortunately, the more he tugged, the messier it became. He simply gave up the fight against the jewelry and turned to Shen Shiqin, wearing a sincere smile: “Need a hand?”

Shen Shiqin was resting his chin on his left hand, observing him with calm amusement. Hearing the request, he curled his lips into a smile as well. He curved his eyes as he looked at He Lan and, amid the other man’s guarded expression, extended his right hand and hooked his finger.

Under the lights, Shen Shiqin maintained an extremely relaxed posture, his eyebrows slightly arched as he looked at He Lan, still beckoning with his finger. He Lan’s gaze could not help but linger on that hand. He swallowed, his voice husky: “Thank you, Teacher Shen.”

He Lan moved closer to Shen Shiqin, then lowered his head. His field of vision was filled with Shen Shiqin’s soft sweater. With nowhere else to look, he stared at the fabric, waiting for him to move.

Shen Shiqin reached out, his cool fingers passing through the necklace to touch the small patch of skin on the back of He Lan’s neck. Those fingertips wandered aimlessly between the necklace and the collar, sending a wave of itchiness across his skin. The sensation was impossible to ignore; He Lan kept his head down, restraining himself from moving.

His gaze accidentally swept over the junction where Shen Shiqin’s sweater met his pajama pants, and he hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut, looking to the side. But the coolness on the back of his neck still made his body tremble uncontrollably. Then, he heard a very light huff of laughter from the person opposite him.

It felt almost like an illusion. He Lan raised his head slightly and bumped into the laughter Shen Shiqin had not yet managed to hide in his eyes. Shen Shiqin’s hand was still loosely circled around his neck. A brief moment of eye contact followed. Under the light, He Lan’s eyes were brighter than usual, appearing somewhat scorching.

The necklace was fastened. Shen Shiqin reached up to tug at the collar of his sweater and withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened. The other man, however, was not as calm. He Lan maintained his slightly hunched posture, waiting for the tingling sensation on his neck to vanish before sitting upright.

Both of them looked toward the comments, acting as if nothing had occurred. The viewers had caught all those little actions, and the comment section had been amusing itself for a while.

[Do you believe they really broke up, or should I believe I am Qin Shi Huang?] [Just reconcile already; the child is crying!] [Is it necessary to get that close just to put on a necklace? He Lan’s head was almost touching Shen Shiqin’s sweater.] [Remove the “almost.” I watched it with a magnifying glass; He Lan’s head had already touched Shen Shiqin’s chest, and Shen Shiqin did not even dodge!] [If this is not a reward, what is?!]

Seeing this comment, the two of them tacitly looked left and right, respectively. He Lan saw the clock on the wall and noticed the time was nearing three. He turned back, only to be met by a fluffy back of a head. He noticed a stray hair sticking up on the crown of the other’s head, froze for a few seconds, then asked, “Um, are you hungry?”

Shen Shiqin turned his head back: “It is alright.”

But he checked the time, remembered they still had to shoot livestream content, and said, “What are we livestreaming?”

He Lan: “Up to you.”

“Hm.” Shen Shiqin made a prompt decision: “Then let us livestream cooking.”

The livestream finally had content. He Lan stood up first and headed to the kitchen to see what ingredients the production team had prepared. Shen Shiqin followed behind him. The two of them had completely forgotten about the people in the livestream room.

[Hello? Does anyone remember we are still on this table?] [Can someone pay attention to us!?] [Up to you.] [Baby Shen following behind Baby He, he looks so well-behaved and cute, but that is not a reason to forget about us!!]

It was Shen Shiqin who, after walking two steps, remembered they were still livestreaming. He turned around, bent down to pick up the device holding the phone for the broadcast, and muttered, “Almost forgot.”

After muttering, he looked at the screen and said in a slightly apologetic yet expressionless tone: “Sorry.”

The screen was occupied by that beauty magnified several times over. The comments, which had been enthusiastically guessing when the two would remember them, suddenly went quiet before scrolling frantically again.

[It is okay!] [God, his eyelashes are so long, his skin so white, his lips so thin!] [So beautiful, no, so handsome… wait, so beautiful… I am dead Q_Q] [Am I the only one who kissed the screen in time? Hehe.] [Okay, I announce that I forgive you. When have the Emperor and a beauty ever had a grudge?]

Watching these chaotic comments, the slight apology Shen Shiqin had just brewed in his heart vanished instantly.

“Why is this apron pink?” He Lan frowned, looking at the small pink apron with disdain as he wrapped it around himself.

Shen Shiqin walked past him holding the livestream equipment, looked him up and down, and evaluated: “Pink really does make you look younger.”

He Lan paused while tying the apron, not reacting in time, “What looks younger?”

Shen Shiqin ignored him and looked around, searching for a place to put the equipment. The kitchen was open-plan, sharing the same space as the living room, separated only by a bar counter. Shen Shiqin placed the equipment on the bar, ensured the screen framed the kitchen, and caught He Lan’s figure before getting up.

He Lan, having tied his apron, opened the refrigerator to see what ingredients the production team had prepared. The fridge was well-stocked with eggs, bread, vegetables, and various kinds of seafood. Shen Shiqin was nearby, washing a spatula.

He Lan finished checking the ingredients and called to him, “Teacher Shen, come over and see what we are eating.”

Shen Shiqin walked over and saw the variety of seafood at a glance: “Let us have sea…”

“No.” He Lan interrupted him ruthlessly.

“Why not?” Shen Shiqin looked at him with aggrieved eyes.

The freezer was basically full of seafood. He Lan automatically ignored that aggrieved look and pushed the freezer door shut.

He Lan leaned his elbows on the fridge door, looking at Shen Shiqin, and asked: “Is Teacher Shen still having a fever?”

Shen Shiqin did not understand why he asked that, but his desire for seafood was strong: “My fever just broke.”

“And that means you can eat seafood right after the fever breaks?” He Lan hit the nail on the head.

“…” Shen Shiqin could not think of a rebuttal. The man was right; he was prone to relapses whenever he got sick. Even though his fever had just broken, seafood was hard to digest.

However.

Teacher Shen pursed his lips downward, unhappy: “Then why did you even ask me to choose?”

“It is a process we have to go through.” He Lan took several types of vegetables from the refrigerator’s main compartment: “Let us have vegetables.”

Shen Shiqin nodded listlessly.

He Lan held up the vegetables in his hand: “Pick a few.”

Looking at those vegetables that looked bland and tasteless, Shen Shiqin reached out, plucked a few from his hand, and went to sit by the bar. With several items now missing, He Lan raised an eyebrow, put the remaining vegetables back in the fridge, and began to wash the selection.

Stir-frying was not a staple in Norwegian cuisine, so the seasonings here were not very rich, and he did not feel it was appropriate to cook anything else, so he decided to make vegetable soup. Nutritious and healthy.

Shen Shiqin sat by the bar holding a water cup, sipping hot water, watching He Lan cook along with the netizens in the livestream. He Lan was wearing a black sweater today with off-white casual pants. His tall, straight figure was paired with a somewhat discordant, tender pink apron.

[Chef Little He, cooking online.] [I actually feel he has such a “husbandly” vibe, what is going on??] [Upstairs, you are not the only one! Apron tied from the back, broad shoulders and narrow waist, drooling.jpg] [This is a rare, warm moment for these two…] [These two are actually quite harmonious when they are not arguing or bickering.] [Haven’t seen him in years, but this guy is still incredibly handsome; his back view is enough to fascinate me to death TvT]

Shen Shiqin watched for a while and felt a bit bored. After yawning a few times, he finally got up and walked to He Lan’s side to ask, “What should I do?”

“Heat a cup of milk and sit on the side.” He Lan said.

The task was too concise. Shen Shiqin frowned and thought for a while, unable to figure out what kind of cooking method this was. But the person cooking had the final say, so he hesitated while looking for the milk:

“Ah, do you put milk in vegetable soup?”

“Ah, so Teacher Shen was not asleep earlier.”

“…”

“So I have a talent for cooking to soothe people to sleep.”

“I am very awake.”

To prove he was not sleepy, Shen Shiqin immediately walked to the sink, rolled up his sleeves, revealing his smooth, well-defined, and fair forearms. Although Shen Shiqin was much thinner than He Lan, he did not skip his daily workouts due to the demands of filming. He put on gloves, intending to wash all the remaining bowls, but his posture looked like he was about to start a fight with them.

He Lan, holding the vegetables he had just picked, walked to his side, put the vegetables in the other basin to wash, and seeing his posture, raised an eyebrow: “Do these bowls have a grudge against you?”

He took the poor bowls away from Shen Shiqin’s hands.

Just as Shen Shiqin was about to take the bowls back to continue working, the doorbell rang, so he left the kitchen to open the door. As soon as the door opened, Zuo Jiaxi squeezed in, carrying a bag of things. Stomping his feet, he said, “Hello, Teacher Shen, God, it is really cold outside!!”

Duan Nan followed behind him. Shen Shiqin stepped aside to let them both in. The door closed, dispelling the chill from outside.

Shen Shiqin noticed that both of their faces were red from the cold and asked curiously: “Where did you go?”

Zuo Jiaxi, hearing this, felt a bit embarrassed and laughed it off as they entered. Duan Nan changed into slippers and answered for him: “We went out to buy some ingredients. We planned to make hot pot, but Jiaxi said hot pot is only lively if everyone eats it together, so we came to find you.”

“We came directly after shopping; we did not have time to tell you in advance. We are not being too much of a bother, right?”

Shen Shiqin shook his head: “Not a bother, give it to me.”

After saying that, he took the bag filled with ingredients from Duan Nan and walked inside, chatting and laughing with Duan Nan.

“Are there only you two? I remember Xiao Yuan lives with Jiaxi.”

That name clearly reached He Lan’s ears. He heard the movement, his hands paused for an instant, and he poked his head out to look. Zuo Jiaxi’s figure appeared before his eyes.

Zuo Jiaxi walked over, panting while carrying an extra-large tote bag. He set the bag on the bar and greeted him with a grin: “Brother He Lan!”

“Yeah.” He Lan responded, bracing his hands on the counter, and scanned toward the door. He happened to make eye contact with Duan Nan. They nodded to each other. He Lan asked, “Why did you guys come?”

Zuo Jiaxi was organizing the things from the tote bag. Hearing his question, he lifted his hand to touch his nose: “It is nothing, it is nothing. We prepared hot pot ingredients; it just feels more lively when more people eat together.”

After hearing the words “more people,” He Lan looked toward the door. The door was tightly shut; not a single snowflake could blow in. Shen Shiqin and Duan Nan entered the room and put their tote bag on the bar as well.

Duan Nan: “Xiao Yuan should be coming in a bit; he is still livestreaming.”

He Lan turned his head and peeked at Shen Shiqin, who was chatting. The other man was tidying up the ingredients they brought with Zuo Jiaxi. Hearing Duan Nan’s words, he said a “good,” his face still bearing a smile.

He Lan shifted his gaze away from that slightly slender figure and continued chopping vegetables, acting as if nothing mattered.

The chopping board rang out with a steady thud-thud sound.