RSDH CH12

Duan Xingye felt needles at his back, his entire body stiffening.

Fortunately, his phone rang, breaking the deadlock.

Slipping the boxer briefs down from his ankles, Duan Xingye fished his phone from his pajama pocket and answered with remarkable composure: “Hello?”

Sister Yu spluttered with several choked-back bursts of laughter before struggling to steady her voice: “Babe, my bad. I was distracted on the phone this afternoon and forgot to remind you there was a camera set up in the bedroom.”

Duan Xingye: “Oh.”

It was too late to say anything now.

He asked, “Only one?”

Sister Yu: “Yes.”

Duan Xingye walked toward the walk-in closet as if nothing had happened, continuing the call.

Behind him, the livestream had already collapsed into helpless laughter.

“That retreating back is so stubbornly resilient it makes my heart ache.”

“Not looking back is Teacher Duan’s final shred of dignity.”

“Hahahahahahaha, the embarrassment is practically spilling out of the screen, yet he’s still acting so solemn and feigning nonchalance. What kind of precious cutie is this?!”

…

The walk-in closet was neat and tidy. The packed clothes provided great sound dampening, giving Duan Xingye instant peace and quiet the moment he stepped inside.

He closed the door, casually threw the latch, walked up to the wardrobe, slid open the door, leaned half his body inside, and buried his face into the piles of clothing.

His chest heaved violently as he held his breath.

Two seconds later.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—!!!” (Muted version)

Throwing a fit was one thing, but fifteen minutes later, Duan Xingye still rolled a suitcase out.

Next, it was Cheng Duzhou’s turn to pack for him.

Throughout the entire process, there was zero communication between the two—not even a single exchange of glances.

Having completed his task, Duan Xingye avoided looking at the camera in the corner, climbed onto the bed, fished out a pair of black-rimmed glasses from the nightstand, and perched them on the bridge of his nose.

He had mild astigmatism and usually only wore glasses when reading or composing music and lyrics. Today was different; today was purely to hide his face—covering whatever little bit he could.

…He wished he could burrow his entire head into the duvet so no one could see him.

The audience’s attention shifted momentarily, squealing in delight at how stunning Teacher Duan looked in black frames.

Duan Xingye wasn’t looking at the stream, so he had no idea.

He sat cross-legged as naturally as possible, merely keeping his head down fiddling with his phone as though nothing had happened earlier. Yet when he scrolled past the Weibo trending searches, he still choked, nearly having a breakdown.

Occupying the top three spots were #ChengDuzhou Donkey#, #DuanXingyeIconicMomentsCompilation#, and #LuYeShuHuaiIsTooAddictive#.

Seeing “Donkey,” Duan Xingye immediately knew what it was about and clicked in.

Niche Shipper:

Tonight’s livestream from this couple was packed with laughs and non-stop twists. I refuse to allow anyone to miss this!

Attached below was the screen recording of Duan Xingye in the bedroom.

The comments section was exceptionally lively.

“A good laugh makes you ten years younger; Duan Xingye sent me straight back to the womb.”

“Hahahahaha Teacher Duan’s unbeknownst baffling behavior! In the end, he even tried to slip the underwear over his pajama bottoms to test it out. If President Cheng hadn’t shown up in time to cut him off, another glorious stroke would’ve been added to Teacher Duan’s compilation of iconic moments.”

“Do all men love comparing sizes? Even the ethereal and aloof Duan Xingye isn’t exempt.”

“Duan Xingye actually has quite a mischievous side; I’ll never be fooled by his icy exterior again.”

“I was wondering how President Cheng could be associated with a donkey. Only understood after clicking in Orz.”

“Spread the word: President Cheng is huge, officially certified by his spouse.”

“…”

Once again, Duan Xingye felt that familiar prickle across his scalp. This time, not only had he suffered social death, but he had dragged Cheng Duzhou down into social death along with him.

No wonder Cheng Duzhou’s expression hadn’t looked great earlier; this was probably the most severe damage to his public image since his debut.

The bullet comments in the stream were still rolling past enthusiastically:

“Looking at Teacher Duan’s expression, he’s definitely checking the trending searches.”

“I wonder how he’s going to face President Cheng in a moment.”

“Pay attention to us, Teacher Duan!”

A notification popped up at the top of Duan Xingye’s screen.

Follow-up Director: [Teacher Duan, you can take this opportunity to casually chat with the audience. Everyone really wants to interact with you.]

Duan Xingye typed.

Seen: [I don’t want to.]

Follow-up Director: […]

After waiting another ten minutes or so.

Cheng Duzhou finished packing Duan Xingye’s suitcase, brought it to the entryway, and opened the door for the staff.

The crew members took away both suitcases, keeping their heads lowered the entire time, their voices slightly strained: “Teacher Cheng, tomorrow you two only need to bring your phones and ID cards when heading out. Your luggage will be transported by the production crew. Tonight’s livestream… cough… just needs the vow segment before it can conclude.”

Cheng Duzhou guessed that they must have been laughing their heads off outside earlier. Looking slightly weary, he said, “Understood. You guys get off work early.”

Duan Xingye was still waiting in the room. Cheng Duzhou stepped inside and closed the door.

Their eyes met, and the surrounding air instantly froze.

Cheng Duzhou’s dark pupils carried an overwhelming sense of pressure when staring at someone.

Sitting there, after a brief standoff, Duan Xingye blinked and was the first to lower his head.

It was his own reckless mouth that had landed Cheng Duzhou such an embarrassing trending search.

If Cheng Duzhou blamed him, he had no defense to offer.

At this moment, Duan Xingye hung his head, devoid of his usual proud swagger. Even those highlighted milky-white strands of hair drooped limply, resembling a defeated little rooster.

Cheng Duzhou’s gaze unconsciously drifted to his slender, snow-white neck. His originally sharp look softened slightly, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

He wasn’t trying to assign blame; it was just that this whole situation… nobody could even give him an explanation.

Watching this scene, the audience felt that silence spoke louder than words.

“Ahhhh Teacher Duan looks so aggrieved, President Cheng can’t bring himself to scold him.”

“You can tell President Cheng is a bit frustrated too.”

“No one is really to blame here; blame the production crew for not clarifying where the camera was.”

“Maybe President Cheng just wants Teacher Duan to coax him?”

Cheng Duzhou sat down by the edge of the bed, shifting the tripod holding the streaming phone in front of them, and asked Duan Xingye in a calm voice: “Do you have the vows?”

“Yes.”

Duan Xingye pulled a fresh envelope from his pajama pocket.

Once the vow segment was over, today’s torturous livestream would finally end.

With the phone placed before him,

Duan Xingye had no choice but to brace himself and look at it.

Yet the audience clearly didn’t find it torturous at all, wanting more.

“Don’t! Don’t recite the vows so fast! We haven’t had enough!”

“These two are so adorable together, I hate that I didn’t fall down the rabbit hole earlier! Is it still in time to catch up?”

“To the commenter above: jumping in now is totally fine, no need to catch up on old stuff—you wouldn’t find any material even if you tried.”

Seeing that no one was dwelling on the underwear incident, Duan Xingye breathed a sigh of relief. Soon, however, a few discordantly toned comments drifted past.

“Speechless. Don’t get what’s so great to ship. Since they can’t use a script, they’re just relying on borderline vulgar antics to farm clout. Anyway, they’ve got the production crew spoon-feeding them.”

“I’m out. Among the married couples, the Huang Tao CP is way more natural. This pair looks totally fake—they’re even sitting so far apart.”

Duan Xingye’s temper flared instantly, providing an outlet for all the pent-up frustration he hadn’t been able to unleash earlier.

Were they ever going to stop? He and Cheng Duzhou had already sacrificed this much, yet people still questioned whether they were being favored by the production crew. Every single bit of traffic was earned fair and square through their faces!

Did they think he couldn’t see what kind of people they were?

So what if they leaned into borderline content today!

“Sitting far apart is a problem too?” Duan Xingye arched a brow, a chill flashing in his dark pupils. “Then how about I sit on Cheng Duzhou’s lap? Or if that’s not enough, a distance of negative eighteen centimeters—mmph…”

Cheng Duzhou clamped a hand over Duan Xingye’s mouth, nearly sending him tumbling backward.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Holy shit, dropped the exact measurements right there.”

“Stop flexing, stop flexing!”

“A world where President Cheng gets hurt x2”

Exhausted, Cheng Duzhou said: “Mods, you can go home. I’ll manually ban him for you.”

Duan Xingye, whose mouth was covered: “…”

Bullet comments: Hahahahahahahaha…

After dawdling around, Duan Xingye unfolded the vow card under Cheng Duzhou’s prompt.

He went first.

Then Cheng Duzhou would repeat the process.

“On this night before embarking on our journey, I am grateful for your companionship. No matter what happens on the road ahead, I will hold your hand firmly, sharing happiness, joy, and moving moments with you, and soothing brokenness and sorrow together. Please believe that I can do this, because…”

As Duan Xingye read placidly from the card, his voice was clear and pleasant to the ear, captivating the audience. But all of a sudden, something seemed to lodge in his throat, rendering him unable to get the remaining words out.

Duan Xingye tried multiple times, his face turning slightly flushed from holding it in, until he finally forced the words out stiffly: “Because, Cheng Duzhou, I… I love you.”

Done!

Duan Xingye exhaled sharply, reached out, and shoved the card to Cheng Duzhou.

Cheng Duzhou didn’t take it immediately, merely looking at him, his deep, dark eyes making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Duan Xingye suspected Cheng Duzhou was getting into character.

Acting opposite this man was truly terrifying. When Cheng Duzhou said “I love you,” it was natural and calm, yet brimmed with an unwavering, unswerving certainty, striking straight to the heart with profound devotion.

Duan Xingye was relieved he had experienced it in the kitchen this afternoon and was already mentally prepared.

That way, hearing those three words again wouldn’t make him lose his composure in front of the audience.

Right at that moment.

Cheng Duzhou glanced at the card in Duan Xingye’s hand, lifted his gaze, and said: “I love you more.”

“…”

The pump inside Duan Xingye’s body revved up once again, sending blood rushing upward, coating his face in burning heat.

He had still lost his composure.

Cheng Duzhou leaned in close. Bracing one hand against the mattress, he slipped off Duan Xingye’s black-rimmed glasses with the other, lowering his head to press his lips against the small mole beside his nose.

Duan Xingye had no choice but to close his eyes and press his lips together, his delicate, pink-tinged jaw trembling unsteadily.

It felt like rolling across a grassy slope filled with summer breeze, tumbling straight into the clouds.

Utterly, completely disorganized…

Bullet comments:

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Who dares to say Lu Ye Shu Huai isn’t real anymore!!!”

…

Outside the room.

Looking at the monitor, the follow-up director let out a deeply satisfied sigh, leaning back to stretch: “That’ll do. Number one in ratings.”

The surrounding crew members began packing up their equipment, relieved to call it a day, leaving only one technician to wrap things up and wait to shut down the livestream remotely.

Glancing at the guests who showed no signs of wrapping up yet, the technician helped carry the luggage downstairs first.

Inside.

Cheng Duzhou and Duan Xingye turned off the phone used for streaming, casually tidied the bed, turned off the lights, and lay down.

Neither fell asleep right away, each occupied with their own thoughts.

After a while passed.

Cheng Duzhou seemed genuinely bothered, asking in a low whisper: “Why did you try to wear my underwear?”

Still pondering the vows, Duan Xingye snapped back to reality upon hearing this. Blinking twice in the dark, he couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore, snapping crossly: “Just felt like it.”

Petty competitiveness and pride at work.

Cheng Duzhou was perplexed: “How can you enjoy using it so much on one hand, yet remain so bitter on the other?”

Duan Xingye’s face erupted in flames with a boom: “Shut up! Aren’t you filthy?”

Cheng Duzhou said, “Want to compare right now…”

—”Um… Teachers, hold on a second.”

Cheng Duzhou’s breathing halted completely.

The technician’s voice drifted through the camera on the cabinet once again, laden with agonizing awkwardness: “Just shutting down the stream.”

With a subtle, faint click, silence descended over the room once more.

Was there going to be another trending search waiting for them tomorrow morning…

Duan Xingye had already lost the courage to imagine.

With a snap,

Cheng Duzhou slapped the light on, got out of bed, snatched the camera off the display cabinet, opened the bedroom door, hurled it straight outside, and slammed the door shut again.

When Cheng Duzhou returned, Duan Xingye saw the muscles in his face pulled taut and his neck flushed red.

Cheng Duzhou rarely lost his temper.

The lights went out.

This time, neither uttered another word.

Uneasy, Duan Xingye turned his head to look. In the dim light, he saw Cheng Duzhou with one arm thrown across his eyes, his chest heaving noticeably with every breath.

Fans probably knew by now that their President Cheng wasn’t some cold, abstinent ascetic; behind closed doors, he was capable of dropping all kinds of shameless talk.

Cheng Duzhou felt humiliated over this, and Duan Xingye understood that better than anyone.

However, when a good friend was going through a tough time, making yourself sound even more miserable was usually the way to go.

That was how normal people comforted each other.

Looking back up at the ceiling in the dark, Duan Xingye cleared his throat and said, “They even put together an iconic moments compilation for me. When it comes to social death… I’m probably getting used to it.”

He wondered if that would make Cheng Duzhou feel a bit better.

Yet there was no sound from beside him for a long while.

When Duan Xingye turned his head to look again,

Cheng Duzhou rolled onto his side, buried his face into Duan Xingye’s shoulder, and said with a slight sob in his voice: “Let’s quit this variety show.”

…

Author’s Note:

President Cheng: I can’t afford this level of humiliation.