After Dumping the Scumbag Top, I Was Relentlessly Chased by a Top-Tier Idol - Chapter 44

The atmosphere grew inexplicably cold for a moment.

Song Chizheng looked back and smiled faintly. “Does Little Brother Shen perhaps not know what ‘ingredients’ means?”

Shen Xu was about to speak, but unexpectedly, another oyster was held to his lips. He obediently opened his mouth and ate it.

“How does it taste?” Lin Yizhou asked, seemingly nonchalant.

Shen Xu’s eyes lit up with joy Lin Yizhou had finally learned how to fight back.

“It’s delicious,” Shen Xu said with a face full of satisfaction. “The ones the Captain grills are especially tasty.”

As he spoke, he nudged the person beside him, who was preoccupied with eating, with his elbow.

Pei Yutai gave a thumbs up and said indistinctly, “It’s really super delicious! Captain, there’s nothing you make that isn’t good.”

“By the way, Captain, after we get out of here, can I come to your house to mooch a meal?”

Lin Yizhou was about to answer, but Shen Xu cut him off: “Captain, I want more.”

Pei Yutai:

Brother Xu, the amount of jealousy you’re brewing could probably be measured in tons…

Song Chizheng watched them, his brow furrowing slightly.

Lin Yizhou picked up another oyster as requested, but Shen Xu avoided it. “Captain, you eat one. Just try one. If you’re too full, I can go for a walk with you later.”

Pei Yutai tossed aside an oyster shell. “Brother Xu, the beads of your abacus are bouncing off my face.”

Shen Xu played dumb. “What’s an abacus?”

Pei Yutai gave a fake smile. “It’s that thing that goes clack-clack-clack-clack.”

Shen Xu shook his head. “Brother, your linguistic explanation skills are a bit lacking.”

“Captain, do you know anything about the law?” Pei Yutai looked at Lin Yizhou. “For someone like Brother Xu, can I sue him for personal attack?”

“I’ve read up on it,” Lin Yizhou said, the corners of his lips curling slightly. “But at this level, it doesn’t constitute one.”

Shen Xu gave a triumphant little shrug.

As time passed, the oysters in the box gradually reached the bottom.

After swallowing the last piece of oyster meat, Shen Xu said, “Captain, could you please pass me a drink?”

As soon as he finished speaking, someone else chimed in: “I want one too.”

Song Chizheng and Shen Xu’s gazes collided in the air, both reflecting the same firelight.

The six bottles of beverages were placed not far behind Lin Yizhou. He only had to turn and lean over slightly to reach them. When he turned back, two hands were stretched out in front of him.

Lin Yizhou glanced at Song Chizheng. The latter thought this meant the drink was for him and couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows triumphantly at Shen Xu.

To everyone’s surprise, Lin Yizhou unscrewed the cap and placed the drink in Shen Xu’s hand.

Shen Xu took the drink, looked at Song Chizheng, and lightly shook it next to his face, his eyes full of smugness.

Wen Yue was sitting to Lin Yizhou’s right. She leaned over slightly, reached a drink herself, and before Song Chizheng could react, she placed it in his hand.

“Teacher Jiang, do you want a drink now?” Wen Yue tilted her head to look at him.

Jiang Siyuan nodded.

At the same time, Lin Yizhou gave the last bottle of beverage to Pei Yutai.

After finishing his drink, Pei Yutai leaned back and sighed at the sky, rubbing his stomach. “Even though today was tense and exhausting, delicious food really brings satisfaction~ It was worth it~”

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and suddenly sat up. “Oh right! Aren’t there supposed to be desserts after the meal?”

He scrambled up and brought the desserts over like a waiter. He first walked to Lin Yizhou’s side and half-knelt. “Captain, this is your favorite dessert. Please enjoy.”

A cold sneer suddenly came from the group.

Looking over, they saw Song Chizheng with an unreadable expression. “You seem to be a rather unqualified fanboy.”

When they were together, he had heard Lin Yizhou say with his own ears—that he didn’t like eating sweets.

Pei Yutai withdrew his gaze and looked at Lin Yizhou, clearly confused.

Lin Yizhou said nothing. He took the dessert cupcake and asked, “How did you know?”

This counter-question was undoubtedly a direct slap to Song Chizheng’s face.

Pei Yutai scratched his head sheepishly. “Didn’t I say I’ve watched all your interviews? Hahaha, I just remembered.”

Shen Xu patted his shoulder and said, “Although your starting point was bad, now that the Captain has personally authenticated it, you are qualified.”

His gaze slowly drifted to Song Chizheng. The sarcasm in his eyes couldn’t be more obvious.

But Song Chizheng ignored him. His mind was full of one thought: How many things has Lin Yizhou hidden from me? Or rather, how many lies has he told me?

The way he used to stay by my side with eyes full of me… was it really all an act?

Jiang Siyuan looked at the person beside him, picked up two desserts, and nudged him nonchalantly with his elbow. “What are you dazing off for?”

Song Chizheng snapped out of it and saw the cake in front of him. He was about to refuse when the person in front of him spoke first: “Hurry and try it. Isn’t this your favorite flavor of dessert?”

Song Chizheng frowned at him.

He had never liked sweet things. He had never even tasted a bit of high-sugar items like desserts. Even on his birthday, when Lin Yizhou personally made the lowest-sugar cake for him, he hadn’t taken a single bite.

Jiang Siyuan seemed to realize his mistake belatedly and talked to himself: “Wait, I think I remembered wrong. It’s my dad who likes this flavor.”

In the past, no matter what Jiang Siyuan said wrong, as long as his explanation made sense, Song Chizheng would instantly stop being angry. But today, he felt inexplicably frustrated.

However, he didn’t say much, only stating coldly, “Mhm, you can eat my portion.”

After speaking, he adjusted his sitting posture, and his peripheral vision just happened to catch Lin Yizhou.

Shen Xu held the cake in his hand but didn’t eat it immediately. He watched Lin Yizhou take a bite and looked at him expectantly. “Captain, how does it taste? Does it bring back any precious memories of the past or something?”

He had specifically instructed Cui Sula to confirm the process with the program team. If there was a dessert segment, they had to prepare desserts from that specific shop.

“It tastes very good.”

As for the second question, he didn’t understand why Shen Xu would suddenly ask that, so he shook his head truthfully.

Because Song Chizheng said he didn’t like desserts, Lin Yizhou had claimed he didn’t like them either. Coupled with his busy work, he hadn’t eaten dessert in nearly five years.

The expression on Shen Xu’s face flickered with disappointment for a second, but it quickly brightened again. “It’s okay. It’s not too late to start creating beautiful dessert memories now.”

Lin Yizhou nodded. Even though he was already very full, he still finished the entire cake.

As soon as he finished, another identical cake appeared before him. Shen Xu smiled like the bright sun. “Captain, do you want more?”

Lin Yizhou shook his head. “No, I can’t eat anymore.”

Song Chizheng poked at the fire and spoke leisurely, “If you don’t like it, don’t force the act. In the end, you’re only making it hard on yourself.”

Pei Yutai gave him a strange look, then leaned toward Shen Xu and said as if chatting, “Brother Xu, I suddenly remembered a saying. It basically means that a person sees things as a reflection of what they are themselves.”

“Do you think that saying is right?”

The words Shen Xu was about to say died in his throat, and he said nonchalantly, “How could it not be right?”

Song Chizheng glanced at the two and smiled. “If you’re going to treat others as fools, I suggest you don’t mix in this industry.”

Pei Yutai sensibly shut his mouth.

This sentence seemed like a reminder, but as long as one wasn’t stupid, it was impossible not to hear the threat behind it.

Shen Xu acted as if he didn’t understand, dragging out his words: “I just fear some people lack the self-awareness to realize the shoe fits.”

The atmosphere suddenly fell into an ice cellar. The fire blazed brightly, yet the vibe remained cold and harsh.

Jiang Siyuan spoke to break the silence: “Teacher Shen is so self-aware,” he smiled across the firelight at him, “have you perhaps cast yourself into a role ahead of time?”

The atmosphere dropped another degree.

Suddenly, Pei Yutai stood up abruptly, yawning and stretching. His voice was thick with sleepiness: “It’s so late, time to sleep. Captain, how is the night watch arranged for tonight?”

“If we follow the order, then today it should be…”

His gaze moved slowly from Lin Yizhou to Song Chizheng.

Last night, in order to let Lin Yizhou rest, Shen Xu insisted that Lin Yizhou go sleep while he took the first shift. Now, in this situation…

His eyes drifted to Shen Xu.

But Shen Xu didn’t react; he just looked at Lin Yizhou.

Lin Yizhou didn’t have much of a reaction either, saying calmly, “Tonight, I will keep watch with the new guest. It’s getting late; everyone who is tired should go to sleep.”

Pei Yutai glanced at his Brother Xu, gave another yawn, and left his seat, quickly escaping the scene of conflict.

Wen Yue stood up. “Then it’ll be hard on you tonight, Captain.”

For a moment, only four people remained by the fire.

Jiang Siyuan leaned his head on Song Chizheng’s shoulder and linked his arm. His voice was soft and slightly damp: “A-Zheng, do you need me to stay with you?”

Song Chizheng patted his head and said dotingly, “No need, go to sleep like a good boy.”

Jiang Siyuan covered his mouth and yawned. “But I want to stay with you. They say one day apart is like three autumns, and we haven’t seen each other for three days.”

Song Chizheng reached out and put his arm around his shoulder. “Then you sleep here while leaning on me?”

“Okay.” Jiang Siyuan yawned again. “Goodnight.”

Song Chizheng leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Mhm, sleep peacefully.”

Lin Yizhou acted as if they didn’t exist and looked at Shen Xu. “Aren’t you tired?”

Shen Xu: “I’m alright.”

“Go sleep.” Lin Yizhou poked the fire with a branch. “You didn’t sleep at all last night.”

Shen Xu’s brow furrowed slightly as he glanced at Song Chizheng. “I’ll just sit here and sleep.”

Lin Yizhou looked at him, put down the branch, and stood up. “Let’s go. I’m going over to the wooden shed to keep watch. You go over there and get some proper sleep.”

Shen Xu was surprised and stood up quickly. “Really?”

Lin Yizhou nodded and said nothing more, leading the way toward the wooden shed.

Shen Xu waved at Song Chizheng with a triumphant smile. “Goodnight~”

Song Chizheng: “…”

Let him be smug for now.

Around three in the morning, the firelight grew dim, and the jungle was silent.

Suddenly, Lin Yizhou heard the person behind him say something. He looked back, but it was too dark. He took out his flashlight and shone the light on the wooden shed. Seeing nothing unusual about Shen Xu, he relaxed slightly, turned off the flashlight, and continued his quiet watch.

After an unknown amount of time, there was movement behind him again.

“Mom.”

This time, Lin Yizhou heard it very clearly.

Was he having a nightmare again?

He took out his flashlight and stood up. Just as he was about to enter the wooden shed, his arm was grabbed from behind.

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