Yu Shiqing glanced at Jiang Yu’s bare upper body, then looked up and met his eyes. Jiang Yu kindly handed him an unopened pair of swim trunks from the closet and walked over. “I’ll wait for you here.”
The swim trunks prepared by the hotel had two layers. The outer layer wasn’t tight, more like loose beach shorts. Since they had already agreed to meet Su Yayi and the others, Yu Shiqing didn’t hesitate. He took the trunks and headed to the bathroom.
Jiang Yu sat in his spot, took a sip of water from his cup, then picked up the script he had placed on the table and casually flipped through a few pages. But ever since Yu Shiqing had gone into the bathroom, Jiang Yu’s eyes had stayed fixed on the script without turning a single page.
Just when the audience thought he might have fallen asleep, he put down the script and opened his notebook to jot down a few lines.
Then, the bathroom door opened. Jiang Yu’s grip on his pen tightened for a moment before he turned to look.
Yu Shiqing came out of the bathroom. After showering, water still clung to his skin. His soaked hair was casually pushed back, and droplets of water ran down his body, completely ignored by him.
Jiang Yu’s eyes followed a droplet that fell from his chin, rolled down his chest, and continued lower.
Knock knock knock. A knock at the door interrupted his gaze.
“Brother Yu, Brother Jiang, are you ready?” It was Su Yayi’s voice.
Yu Shiqing turned and walked to the door, opening it. Su Yayi was waiting outside and instinctively looked in, locking eyes with Yu Shiqing’s bare chest.
She didn’t expect such a scene. She quickly raised her hands to cover her mouth, though her wide eyes didn’t look away. In fact, she glanced him up and down quickly, her face full of suppressed excitement, as if she wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. “Brother Yu, your body is amazing!”
Jiang Yu was standing behind Yu Shiqing. When he heard that, his face darkened. He reached out and pulled Yu Shiqing back, only then noticing that both Su Yayi and Wu Luo were wearing bathrobes.
Seeing him, Su Yayi quickly raised her hands again to cover her mouth. “Brother Jiang, your body is amazing too!”
The two men stood side by side at the door. Though they had different temperaments, they were equally handsome and tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. Their perfect physiques made it hard to look away.
Su Yayi had filmed many episodes with them and had somewhat grown used to their looks, but seeing them in just swim trunks for the first time almost made her lose her composure.
Viewers filled the screen with comments:
“LOL I could almost hear Su Yayi screaming! Honestly, I looked just like her when they came out of the bathroom! Except I did scream!!”
“Ahhhh I want to be there too!! I want to see those abs and long legs up close!!”
Perhaps feeling the energy from these comments, Su Yayi composed herself and lowered her hands. Pretending to stay calm, she noticed they weren’t wearing bathrobes or microphones, probably not ready yet, so she simply said hello and left with Wu Luo.
Jiang Yu closed the door and turned to look at Yu Shiqing.
From that moment, the footage on screen became silent.
The audience panicked.
They could see Yu Shiqing saying something, but Jiang Yu didn’t reply. Instead, he took him by the hand to the closet, pulled out a bathrobe, and helped him put it on. Then, he stood in front of him again, tied the robe neatly.
“What the heck? Did they forget their mics again?! I’m going to cry!!”
“Director! Tell the guests to put on their mics! What are you doing?!”
After they finished putting on the bathrobes, the two left the room together. Downstairs, Wei Yuanju handed them new audio equipment.
But before they could put it on, Jiang Yu pulled Yu Shiqing over, removed his bathrobe, laid it on a lounge chair, and both of them jumped into the pool.
Wei Yuanju turned to the director.
The director helplessly waved his hand, giving up. The equipment wasn’t waterproof. They couldn’t record anything underwater.
So Wei Yuanju just placed the mics by their clothes without saying anything.
In the distance, Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu swam to the edge of the pool. Though the pool was built on the edge of a cliff, the surrounding scenery was beautiful and grand.
They faced the mountains and desert, only showing the camera their close silhouettes.
Jiang Yu turned slightly, resting his arm on the pool’s edge, talking to Yu Shiqing. The side of his face that was visible didn’t show his usual coldness. Instead, he had a rare, relaxed smile, a side he almost never showed in public.
Yu Shiqing listened and turned to look at him.
The sun was setting. The golden sunset painted the water, wrapping them both in warm, vivid light, like a beautiful painting, soft and glowing on their faces.
The comments exploded:
“I’m dying! What are they talking about??”
“I’m literally crying. Are we just going to silently watch them talk all night?? I need to HEAR it!!”
The audience’s strong dissatisfaction pushed the crew to quickly install a microphone above the pool.
Jiang Yu only glanced once at the workers and then looked away. Underwater, he nudged Yu Shiqing’s leg with his knee. “Hey, you still haven’t answered me. How do I pass your test?”
Yu Shiqing paused, then moved slightly away. “This isn’t a test.”
Jiang Yu followed. “Why are you moving away?”
Yu Shiqing replied, “You’re too close.”
Hearing that, Jiang Yu smiled slightly and spoke as if it were casual, “But when you hugged me earlier, you didn’t think it was too close.”
Knowing he was referring to the incident on the mountain, Yu Shiqing said, “That was a special situation.”
Jiang Yu’s smile widened. “How special?”
Realizing the topic was drifting again, Yu Shiqing changed the subject. “The temperature difference on the mountain is huge. Don’t stay in the water too long.”
“Okay,” Jiang Yu agreed, then went back, “But when you said it was a special situation. Was it the situation, or me that was special?”
Yu Shiqing frowned slightly but said nothing.
Jiang Yu moved even closer. “Why aren’t you answering?”
Yu Shiqing looked at him. In Jiang Yu’s eyes, beneath the sunset’s glow, there was a deep sense of hope. He knew Jiang Yu was waiting for his answer.
“Is this question hard to answer too?” Jiang Yu asked directly, “Or are you just pretending to think about it, and deep down you already decided to reject me that’s why you avoid every question that might lead to a yes?”
Yu Shiqing was silent for a moment, then said, “Jiang Yu, let me think about it.”
“Then at least tell me what you’re thinking,” Jiang Yu turned to face him. “Is it because I’m not good enough, or because I’m an alpha?”
Yu Shiqing answered, “Neither.”
“Then what is it?” Jiang Yu asked.
Yu Shiqing didn’t hide it: “It’s you.”
Jiang Yu paused. “Me?”
Yu Shiqing nodded. These past few days, he had kept a distance to create space for Jiang Yu to think clearly without influence. Jiang Yu had no past relationship experience, and this was new to both of them. It was important to know whether it was real affection, mistaken for friendship, or just a spur-of-the-moment impulse.
The path of same-sex love wasn’t easy. He didn’t want Jiang Yu stepping into it on a whim.
But Jiang Yu kept clinging to him.
Hearing this, Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up with surprise. “Then what about you?”
“You said I’m your concern,” he tightly held Yu Shiqing’s wrist, his voice a little rushed. “Does that mean you have feelings for me too?”
Yu Shiqing only said, “I don’t know.”
That wasn’t a clear yes, but the joy in Jiang Yu’s eyes only grew. Yu Shiqing always acted with certainty. For him to say “I don’t know” meant real hesitation something he had never shown before.
“Then let’s try,” Jiang Yu held his hand tighter, “Okay?”
Yu Shiqing hadn’t responded yet when they heard the staff on shore announce they were turning on the mic, so he said, “Let’s talk later.”
Jiang Yu smiled, “Okay.”
As soon as the mic started working, the audience heard that line and lost it.
“Talk later? ABOUT WHAT?! What were you just talking about?!”
“Nooo I rushed over and still missed their whole private talk!!”
“Seeing Jiang Yu smile like that, you just know it was something good. We missed it all!! AAAHHH!!”
As the mic was installed, Wei Yuanju and the others entered the pool. Only Ji Chen stood at the edge, hugging the ladder and refusing to go in, until Su Yayi and Wei Yuanju dragged him in with dramatic screams.
Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu had already turned around to watch everyone laugh and play. Jiang Yu occasionally glanced at Yu Shiqing’s face, then couldn’t help asking, “So is the test more than halfway done?”
Yu Shiqing, having failed to correct him several times, let him be. “I’d say so.”
Jiang Yu was satisfied. But soon after, he turned back. “So, when will it be over?”
Yu Shiqing said, “Depends on which part you’re referring to.”
Jiang Yu frowned. “What do you mean?”
Yu Shiqing replied, “The part about rejecting you that test can end anytime.”
Jiang Yu: “…”
Yu Shiqing looked at him, a faint smile at his lips. “Any more questions, Teacher Jiang?”
“No,” Jiang Yu answered calmly.
Comments flooded in:
“What are they even talking about?! What test?!”
“I remember Jiang Yu mentioning some kind of test earlier, but they never said what it was. Must be really important.”
“Wait… you’re still paying attention to what they’re saying? As long as they stand next to each other and talk, I’m happy. I don’t know why, but everything they do is sweet!”
