RSDH CH19

The globally limited-edition watch that had only existed in rumors moments ago now appeared right before everyone’s eyes, causing a minor commotion across the filming set.

“Did President Cheng buy that for you?” Wu Enqi’s eyes sparkled. “Even idol dramas wouldn’t dare script this!”

Jiang Li nudged Xiao Jiahui with her elbow again, complaining playfully: “Look at the youngsters!”

Xiao Jiahui wasn’t incapable of coughing up the nearly twelve million yuan Tao Ziyi had mentioned earlier, but he would never spend that kind of money to buy her a one-of-a-kind limited-edition watch because it was impractical. Yet it was precisely this gaudy extravagance that radiated a unique kind of impulsive romance—and who didn’t harbor a little vanity?

On the platform, the flower count for [Lu Ye Shu Huai] surged by nearly one hundred thousand in an instant, leaping into first place.

“I could listen to Teacher Duan calling him hubby on repeat a hundred times!”

“Didn’t they say the final buyer was from Iceland?”

“Go check my WeChat, my location shows Iceland too hahahaha.”

“Is this a knockoff?”

“Some people who can’t stand seeing others do well need to use their brains. There’s only one in the entire world, auctioned in a niche billionaire club—who would dare fake that? They could trace your ancestry back eighteen generations.”

“A certain fandom’s mental defenses have completely crumbled hahahahahaha. Someone hasn’t even bought the watch yet, already crying tears of self-indulgent sentimentality and preaching about how the sentiment is most precious, while the actual owner sits quietly beside him watching his performance.”

“Hesitating at the auction boils down to being unwilling to spend the money in the end. Huang Liang, looks like your Ziyi isn’t that unique after all~”

“Teacher Duan has President Cheng’s exclusive global pampering. I’m crying.”

“Spread the word! Every day is an anniversary for Lu Ye Shu Huai, their sense of ceremony is always on point!”

Tao Ziyi’s face turned green. Before a piece limited to one in the world, he couldn’t utter a single word.

If he hadn’t insisted on bringing up the anniversary, he wouldn’t have handed Duan Xingye the chance to flaunt it right in his face.

On one hand, he had shot himself in the foot; on the other, a profound sense of unfairness festered from the bottom of his heart.

Things he couldn’t attain, Duan Xingye could always get his hands on with effortless ease.

It was bad enough that Cheng Duzhou was handsome and wildly lucrative, but he was also willing to splash out exorbitant sums just to coax Duan Xingye and make him happy—unlike his own husband, who was merely a playboy playing with shallow hypocrisies all day long.

Truly, comparisons were odious enough to drive someone to death!

Duan Xingye hadn’t intended to show off. If Cheng Duzhou hadn’t packed this watch into his suitcase, he wouldn’t have worn it in this lifetime. Even after realizing it was an anniversary gift and putting it on as if possessed, he had felt embarrassed to let Cheng Duzhou see it, keeping it hidden under his sleeve instead of displaying it openly.

But Tao Ziyi had come looking for trouble.

Duan Xingye was hardly a pushover to begin with. When it came to face-slapping, everything else took a back seat, so he pushed up his sleeve and put the watch on full display.

Comparing sense of ceremony with our household? Shut your mouth.

Just then, Cheng Duzhou handed over the coconut juice from the side.

Duan Xingye accepted it nonchalantly, using the motion to smooth his sleeve back down.

Seeing Tao Ziyi and Huang Liang’s mortified states, Jiang Li found it amusing as well, but she didn’t forget to keep control of the room: “Teacher Duan put it well. Anniversaries should exist in daily life rather than being confined to a specific date. Let’s not put the cart before the horse. If there is love and gratitude in one’s heart, it can be expressed anytime and anywhere so the other person knows.” Toward the end, she cast a meaningful glance at Xiao Jiahui beside her, grinding her teeth slightly: “Don’t you agree, hubby?”

Xiao Jiahui hastily chimed in: “Buy, buy, buy! I’ll buy it for you the minute we get back!”

The set erupted in uproarious laughter.

Amidst the joyful atmosphere, the production crew proceeded to play the next clip.

Duan Xingye watched the screen.

In a voice audible only to the two of them, Cheng Duzhou asked, “Want some mantis shrimp?”

Duan Xingye glanced at the mantis shrimp, then looked again: “No, hands will smell fishy.”

He loved seafood, but disliked the inconvenience of not being able to wash his hands easily when outdoors.

Cheng Duzhou let out a soft sigh, rolling his cuffs up two folds: “Hubby will peel it for you.”

“…” Duan Xingye’s scalp prickled, delivering a single cool word: “Scram.”

Tao Ziyi had constantly suspected they were fake, so his calling him hubby had been purely to infuriate Tao Ziyi further; he had assumed Cheng Duzhou understood that.

Lowering his eyes, Cheng Duzhou’s long, supple fingers moved nimbly, peeling away the spiny shell.

Looking from the side, Duan Xingye saw the man holding back a smile at the corners of his eyes and brows—shorn of his usual fierce aggressiveness, replaced with an airy, breezy nonchalance.

He clearly understood as well.

Cheng Duzhou said, “Treating you so well, yet you tell hubby to scram. How black-hearted.”

“Hiss…”

Did you get addicted to playing along or what?

Yet before Duan Xingye could speak, a whole piece of shrimp meat was popped into his mouth.

Duan Xingye knitted his brows. Meishan’s mantis shrimp lived up to its reputation for succulent tenderness, bursting with so much juice that it spilled over. Subconsciously, he caught the dripping fingertip between his lips, licking it with his tongue.

Cheng Duzhou’s dark eyes instantly deepened, the playful teasing in his expression evaporating into nothingness.

Having been married for two years, Duan Xingye was hardly an innocent maiden; he was all too familiar with certain looks from Cheng Duzhou. His face heating up, he straightened his back stiffly, shifting his gaze toward the front.

Cheng Duzhou continued peeling shrimp.

Suddenly.

He grumbled under his breath: “No fun.”

“?”

You’re just a sore player!

The seaside banquet, filled with cheerful chatter, drew to a close.

The production crew announced the final voting results, with [Lu Ye Shu Huai] pulling away in a league of its own.

First, a sapphire watch had opened everyone’s eyes; afterward, even though the couple didn’t talk much, the camera constantly caught Cheng Duzhou popping various bites of food into Duan Xingye’s mouth.

Every time viewers witnessed the feeding scenes, they burst into chuckles.

“President Cheng spent the whole time peeling shells so wifey didn’t even need to lift a finger.”

“Teacher Duan has practically turned into a hamster.”

“Other guests are filming a show seriously, while these two are just seriously feasting haha~”

The day’s shoot was basically over, and the guests could return to their respective RVs to rest.

Since this was the first episode, the show gave back to the audience by allocating a quota of prizes for each livestream room; guests only needed to complete the lucky draw before bed.

Before disbanding, however, there was still a gift-awarding segment.

As the couple who had gathered the most flower blessings, Cheng Duzhou and Duan Xingye stepped into the center of the clearing.

Viewers speculated enthusiastically on what the gift might be.

A staff member brought forward a red gift box, gesturing for the couple to hold it together from either side and present it facing the camera.

Duan Xingye’s first thought was cosmetics, but the weight in his hands felt remarkably light.

He lifted the lid.

Nestled among purple raffia grass were several boxes of condoms.

—A gift set from Durex, one of the show’s sponsors.

Duan Xingye: “…”

Cheng Duzhou: “…”

This first place could have been skipped altogether.

Behind them, Jiang Li and Wu Enqi clapped and laughed heartily.

The bullet comments exploded into non-stop laughter as well.

“Teacher Duan: Listen to me, thank you.”

“The couple’s expressions can hardly be described as happy.”

“How do you know President Cheng isn’t happy? Happiness doesn’t have to show on your face hehe.”

“How could President Cheng not be happy? This is literally President Cheng’s pleasure pack.”

…

Back inside the RV, Cheng Duzhou was responsible for wrapping up the livestream.

Duan Xingye used the bathroom first to wash up quickly. By the time he changed into pajamas and slipped beneath the duvet, he was shivering from the cold.

On an island in February, the daytime was pleasantly warm, but the night bordered on freezing.

Although the RV was equipped with air conditioning, its capacity was limited; this level of warmth didn’t even qualify as passable for Duan Xingye.

Cheng Duzhou’s voice sounded from outside, muffled through the door, yet that low, magnetic timbre still sent a tingling buzz straight to his ears.

Taking in two mouthfuls of chilly air, Duan Xingye fished out his phone to check the time.

Why wasn’t he done yet?

He typed and sent a message.

In the living area of the RV.

Having finally cornered an opportunity to interact face-to-face with Cheng Duzhou, viewers pestered him with questions.

Cheng Duzhou answered a few, taking up a bit of time.

Using his own phone to enter the stream, he timed it to take a screenshot.

The user ID frozen in the comments section would be the lucky winner of the draw.

In the interest of fairness, Cheng Duzhou turned the phone screen toward the camera to display it: “Staff will reach out later, please keep an eye on your messages.”

The livestream was instantly flooded with screens of “Ahhhhhhhhhhh—”

Cheng Duzhou figured a lucky draw shouldn’t warrant this level of excitement.

Until a bullet comment alerted him:

“President Cheng, check your WeChat!”

Startled slightly, Cheng Duzhou pulled back his phone and opened WeChat.

There lay the messages Duan Xingye had just sent.

Seen: [Cheng Duzhou, hurry up.]

Seen: [I’m freezing to death.]

The notifications had popped up one after another moments ago, fully visible to the livestream.

“Imagining Teacher Duan’s coquettish tone, ah, I’m dead.”

“The second President Cheng gets into bed, the little kitten burrows straight into his arms—that picture is too heavenly.”

“Teacher Duan cordially invites you to warm the bed.”

“President Cheng is so blessed, a hot bed with wifey.”

Putting his phone away, Cheng Duzhou looked toward the camera: “That’ll be all for today. Signing off.”

This time, the audience cooperatively refrained from begging him to stay, knowing that Duan Xingye was waiting for him.

“See you tomorrow President Cheng, tell Teacher Duan goodnight for me!”

Cheng Duzhou returned to the inner room and locked the door.

Duan Xingye poked only his head out from the pure white duvet, eyeing him reproachfully: “You’re too slow.”

Without answering, Cheng Duzhou knelt on one knee before Duan Xingye’s suitcase, unzipped a compartment pocket, and pulled out two flat items.

Before Duan Xingye could make out what they were, Cheng Duzhou stood, walked over, flipped his blanket aside, and flipped him over along with it.

“What are you… ah!”

Cheng Duzhou slapped a palm against his lower back.

Looking back, Duan Xingye found a self-adhesive heat pack stuck to the back of his pajamas. “…”

“Don’t know how to look for it yourself, just lying in bed crying cold.”

Tearing open another one, Cheng Duzhou stuck it across his upper back.

Duan Xingye kept quiet, bundling himself back into a cocoon beneath the covers.

Cheng Duzhou had helped out around the house since he was young; not only was his self-reliance strong, but he was also remarkably skilled at taking care of people.

From elementary school through high school, whenever the school organized trips, Duan Xingye had been looked after by Cheng Duzhou every single time.

Cheng Duzhou entered the bathroom.

With the heat packs kicking in, Duan Xingye stopped shivering, burying his face in the covers to scroll through his phone. He suddenly noticed the date in the top-right corner of the screen.

February was already more than half gone.

Opening the calendar and counting the days, Duan Xingye realized that in a few days, it would be the third day of the second lunar month.

His and Cheng Duzhou’s second anniversary.

Duan Xingye blinked softly in contemplation.

Since Cheng Duzhou had given him such an expensive gift last year, should he give one this year as well…

Without realizing it, Duan Xingye opened a shopping app. After browsing for a few minutes, he suddenly snapped back to his senses.

Forget last year—that was probably their first year, so Cheng Duzhou had been polite. In two months, they would be divorced; there was truly no need to observe another anniversary.

Rubbing his face, Duan Xingye shut his phone and slipped it outside the covers.

No more celebrating.

Knowing full well it was fake, going through the motions was pointless.

Just as Duan Xingye was drifting off to sleep beneath the covers, he heard Cheng Duzhou step out of the bathroom, climb into bed, and lie down behind him.

When Cheng Duzhou’s arm wrapped around him, Duan Xingye realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“…”

Right.

He hadn’t packed pajamas for Cheng Duzhou.

Duan Xingye’s guardedness melted away. Half-conscious, he wriggled into a comfortable spot, the chill thoroughly dispelled.

Cheng Duzhou worked better than a heat pack.

Cheng Duzhou took one of Duan Xingye’s hands, kneading and inspecting it; a faint purple ring of bite marks was still visible on his index finger.

After a long pause, he asked, “Want matching rings?”

For two years, they had never had wedding rings.

Duan Xingye’s hand dropped limply, his voice hazy with sleep: “Don’t want them, thanks, sleeping…”

Silence lingered behind him for a while.

With a click, the light went out.

Under the covers, Duan Xingye was fine in his pajamas, but lying with his back to him, the heat pack pressed directly against Cheng Duzhou, burning his skin until it felt prickling and itchy.

Cheng Duzhou complained: “Can you take that thing off?”

Duan Xingye nodded, arching his back and sluggishly reaching behind him to peel the heat pack off.

Cheng Duzhou caught his hand and guided it back down.

Next, slender fingers began undoing the buttons of Duan Xingye’s pajamas.

“…”

“…”

Duan Xingye opened his eyes in the dark: “What are you doing?”

“It’s the same thing…” Cheng Duzhou mumbled softly. “Hubby will help you.”

“?”

__

Author’s Note:

Teacher Duan: Scram.