RSDH CH11

Seeing the retreating figure of Duan Xingye leaving in a huff, Cheng Duzhou couldn’t help but chuckle.

Before going live, Duan Xingye had vowed with supreme confidence that he knew how to stream and chat, yet within just a few minutes of broadcasting, he had been chased away in pure fury by the fans.

Facts proved that Teacher Duan was an absolute master of talking big, yet completely incompetent in practice.

But Cheng Duzhou could understand him.

Rarely seen in the industry, Duan Xingye lacked that over-commercialized, entertainment-first nature. Prior to joining Companionship Along the Way, he never pandered to the audience for traffic or commodified his personal life. It was precisely this refusal to fit in that made him seem perpetually aloof on his high horse, which in turn led to a lack of broad public goodwill.

Today was Duan Xingye’s first time livestreaming. Newly thrust into an environment where jokes ranged from mild to wildly suggestive—especially with viewers relentlessly teasing him—he felt mortified, along with an uneasy feeling that his boundaries were being violated.

Yet in the eyes of the audience, every single one of these reactions came across as adorable and vividly genuine. What’s more, the fiercer his reaction, the more excited the netizens grew.

Duan Xingye had never experienced this before, so he had no clue.

Cheng Duzhou had dealt with all sorts of people from every walk of life, making him far more adept at streaming. Seeing suggestive comments, he either smiled or ignored them entirely with nonchalant composure.

Seeing that he was unshakeable and untroubled by their teasing, the audience quickly calmed down.

Thus, when Duan Xingye returned to the living room after drinking his water:

Cheng Duzhou: “Not considering BL adaptation dramas; being married makes it inappropriate… A bit surprised by the box office this time, thank you all for your support… What kind of genre I want to take on next?… I’ve never boxed myself into specific genres. As long as the script has real-world significance, I’m willing to give it a try.”

Duan Xingye: “?”

The fans acted completely unhinged and unruly with him, yet the moment it came to Cheng Duzhou, the vibe turned entirely respectable and professional.

Were they looking down on someone or what?

Swallowing down his annoyance, he returned to the dining table and sat down.

Cheng Duzhou looked at him, the amusement in his eyes obvious: “All good?”

Duan Xingye gave a sullen hum and looked at the livestream chat.

The netizens who had just been discussing the art of cinema seemed to switch personalities in a single second:

“Ahhhhh Teacher Duan is back!”

“Confessing to Teacher Duan! Teacher Duan, do you know you’re an alluring bottom?”

“May I ask which part of President Cheng Teacher Duan likes the most?”

“My guess is his back :)”

Duan Xingye’s face gradually darkened, uttering not a single word.

He assumed the audience was just picking on him selectively, unaware that during the brief moments since his return, the stream’s popularity—which had shown signs of dipping—had rebounded and skyrocketed once more.

The follow-up director, monitoring the backend metrics the whole time, clicked his tongue in wonder: “Who said Teacher Duan wasn’t cut out for variety shows? Look at how much the audience adores him.”

“Right? Teacher Duan comes with built-in variety entertainment value,” the assistant chuckled beside him. “I thought he belonged to that icy, unapproachable category, but seeing him genuinely get worked up with the netizens—the gap moe is way too cute.”

After returning to the livestream, Duan Xingye’s periods of silence grew noticeably longer.

Sensing the tense mood, Cheng Duzhou was just about to say something when Duan Xingye spoke up coldly: “No raunchy or suggestive talk in my stream. Otherwise, all of you can get out. If you don’t leave, I’m ending the stream.”

“!”

The follow-up director broke into a cold sweat on the spot.

Watching the stream at home, Sister Yu was so startled her sheet mask slipped right off: “My sweet little ancestor!!!”

In the livestream, the barrage of comments plummeted by half in an instant.

Yet the viewer count only climbed higher and higher.

“Is he angry?”

“Wuuuu I was wrong, Teacher don’t leave!”

“Some people really need to keep memes in check; who wouldn’t be annoyed if you hound them nonstop?”

“Everyone stop here, he’s genuinely capable of actually ending the stream.”

If Duan Xingye had put on an unapproachable, inviolable attitude right from the start and sternly shut down teasing comments, viewers would definitely have felt, “Duan Xingye is such a buzzkill,” or “What makes Duan Xingye think he’s so high and mighty?”, leaving of their own accord without being told to.

However, after watching Teacher Duan earnestly read comments, get flustered and irritated as he read, and then run off to a quiet corner on his own to calm down, the audience stubbornly lingered in the stream, reluctant to leave, hastily stroking his fur to coax him.

Teasing him brought far too much satisfaction; they absolutely couldn’t let him slip away.

Seeing that his words had proved quite effective, Duan Xingye assumed he had successfully asserted his authority, and his mood softened slightly. Nevertheless, his expression remained cool, keeping his guard firmly up to prevent the audience from grinning and messing around with him again.

Watching the stream’s numbers steadily rise, the follow-up director let out a relieved breath: “Suddenly I understand why, despite Teacher Duan having a big temper and zero gentleness, President Cheng is still wrapped around his finger completely.”

The assistant said, “Not just President Cheng—the audience eats up this exact dynamic too.”

It was almost time.

The interaction with the audience was drawing to a close, and the directors for each group timed it to knock on the guests’ front doors.

Cheng Duzhou went to open the door, returning with an envelope in hand.

—The mystery task issued by the production crew had arrived.

Cheng Duzhou handed the envelope to Duan Xingye.

Duan Xingye tore it open and read the contents of the task card aloud:

“Pack up and set out.”

“Tomorrow morning, our island journey will officially embark. Please pack your luggage now. Requirement: your suitcase must be packed by your partner, and throughout the process, no hints or interference are allowed. Both of you will complete this independently in turns…”

As Duan Xingye read toward the end, his voice slowed down.

The production crew had previously given them a specific reminder that time would be allotted on the morning of departure to pack luggage as livestream material, so there was no need to prepare beforehand.

Turns out that was a smokescreen, waiting for them right here.

To Duan Xingye, the production crew had undoubtedly pulled off another surprise ambush.

He had never packed luggage before. He had already scheduled the housekeeper to come over and help tomorrow morning, but now he had to do it with his own hands, and for Cheng Duzhou at that.

Fortunately, the task itself wasn’t difficult; anyone with hands could do it.

Duan Xingye looked up: “I’ll go first.”

Cheng Duzhou blurted out almost instinctively: “Do you know how to—”

And caught himself.

Surrounded by five nannies since childhood, Duan Xingye had never needed to do housework, so having him pack luggage was undeniably a cause for concern.

However, having asked earlier if Duan Xingye knew how to livestream, and now asking if he knew how to pack, it felt like constantly questioning his capabilities, which could easily lead to misunderstandings.

In reality, he was simply worried about Duan Xingye’s lack of experience.

After a brief thought, Cheng Duzhou changed his wording: “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Walking toward the bedroom, Duan Xingye rolled up his pajama sleeves, his movements exuding an inexplicable touch of domestic adeptness.

Cheng Duzhou felt a subtle stir in his heart, suddenly realizing that all his misgivings were just preconceived biases at work.

No matter what, he ought to have a little more faith in Duan Xingye.

Entering the bedroom and shutting the door, Duan Xingye let out a long breath of relief.

Active cameras were everywhere outside, restricting his every word and gesture and imposing no small amount of psychological pressure. Only upon returning to the bedroom could he loosen his taut nerves; escaping the high-tech surveillance environment felt especially peaceful.

Outside, Cheng Duzhou went to the kitchen to wash fruit, preparing for the road tomorrow.

The phone used for streaming was still resting on the dining table.

Just as viewers were waiting in sheer boredom, the camera feed abruptly switched.

Inside the simple, fresh-styled room, Duan Xingye could be seen leaning his back against the door panel, looking thoughtful.

“Wa-oh~ This season has bedroom scenes~”

“President Cheng and Teacher Duan’s bed is so big, so sturdy.”

“If the bed isn’t big and sturdy, how would that work?”

“Haha, the folks driving invisible sports cars are genuinely terrified of Teacher Duan blowing his top.”

“What is Teacher Duan thinking about so deeply?”

Outside the room, the follow-up director verified with his assistant: “The guests know there’s a camera in the bedroom, right?”

The production crew had placed a camera in every guest couple’s bedroom so they could capture the shot of them pulling up the blankets and bidding the audience goodnight.

When the time came, staff would disconnect it remotely, ensuring none of the guests’ privacy would be leaked.

The assistant replied: “When I went to look for them this afternoon, President Cheng and Teacher Duan were in the kitchen… cough… President Cheng was saying ‘I love you’ and all that. It obviously wasn’t convenient for me to intrude. Conveniently, their manager was on the phone by the bedroom door, so I asked her to sign the confirmation.”

“Oh, that works then.” The follow-up director was reassured.

Duan Xingye didn’t jump into action immediately, planning out in his mind what to pack into the suitcase first.

For this island trip, they would be away for two days and one night, so two sets of clothes were an absolute necessity.

Although it was currently winter, seaside cities had pleasant temperatures during this season, so spring attire was the right choice.

Duan Xingye walked toward the walk-in closet, then abruptly changed direction, heading toward the three-drawer chest against the wall.

…Almost forgot.

He still needed to pack a change of underwear for Cheng Duzhou.

Duan Xingye opened the second drawer belonging to Cheng Duzhou, pulled out a pair of boxer briefs, glanced over them, and was just about to set them aside when he seemed to notice something. Holding them out with both hands, he unfolded and examined them.

The camera sat right on the display cabinet beside him, crystal-clear in resolution, making viewers intensely curious about what Teacher Duan had spotted.

Two seconds later.

Duan Xingye lowered both hands, holding the standard pair of men’s boxer briefs up against his waist for comparison.

Bullet comments: …………….

The waistband was stretched taut, a whole knuckle wider than Duan Xingye’s hips.

Staring at the size of the underwear, Duan Xingye muttered under his breath: “Cheng Duzhou really is hung like a donkey…”

The audio, picked up by the lapel mic, was clear as day.

Just stepping out of the kitchen, Cheng Duzhou lost his footing, bracing a hand against the doorframe: “…………”

The livestream screen flickered twice, erupting into a monstrous tidal wave of comments.

“Ahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

The technician panicked: “Director, th-there’s no way to bleep that out in real time!”

Watching the stream, Sister Yu’s mouth twitched erratically, but in the end, she couldn’t hold it back—her sheet mask split open from laughing.

The stream had completely lost its mind.

“Is he praising President Cheng for being hung like a donkey?!”

“Hahaha I thought he discovered something serious, turns out he just discovered his hubby’s massive size.”

“Baby, are you pleasantly surprised?”

“Teacher Duan, do you not know there’s a camera right there?!”

“I’m curling my toes and rolling all over my bed, does anyone understand this feeling?!”

Cheng Duzhou walked over to the table and snatched up the phone broadcasting the livestream to look.

Duan Xingye was still looking down, gesturing back and forth against the fabric. Then, apparently finding that not visual enough, he bent down and prepared to slip the underwear over his feet.

“…” Taking a deep breath, Cheng Duzhou rolled up his sleeves, turned around, and marched toward the bedroom.

Knuckles rapped against the bedroom door.

Duan Xingye’s movement paused. He looked up, not panicked in the slightest, his voice aloof: “What? You’re not allowed in.”

Cheng Duzhou actually let go of the doorknob, asking back in a deep voice through the door: “What are you doing?”

“What could I be doing? Packing your clothes.” Duan Xingye looked back down to resume, slipping the briefs over one leg: “I’m busy. Go back to streaming.”

“Duan Xingye.”

“Yeah?”

Standing outside the door and watching the phone’s livestream, Cheng Duzhou said: “Pull your foot out of my underwear.”

“…………”

Duan Xingye froze solid on the spot, slowly swallowing down a dry gulp of saliva, not even daring to turn his head to search for where the camera was located.

Five minutes later, the bizarre trending search #ChengDuzhou Donkey# seized the number one spot.

__

Author’s Note:

President Cheng: Thanks to Teacher Duan, this is the most prestigious trending search I’ve ever landed on 🙂