RSDH CH26

Duan Xingye wished he could muzzle Cheng Duzhou’s dog mouth. Holding Cheng Duzhou’s face with one hand, his voice was fierce: “You better pray it’s nothing!”

Compared to the possibility of Jiang Li’s livestream picking up the sound, being heard by the couple themselves was nothing.

As a business couple, if one suffered social death, the other wouldn’t look good either.

Without Duan Xingye needing to say much more, Cheng Duzhou was already a wreck. He stammered, “I just wanted to express a simple wish…”

“Simple your head!” Duan Xingye let go in anger, almost flinging Cheng Duzhou’s head aside.

Cheng Duzhou was someone who had seen big scenes after all. He rubbed his burning face, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down. “Hope time can smooth over everything… I won’t go out for now.”

Duan Xingye grabbed his wrist, tilted his head to check his watch, and mocked, “Five minutes can’t smooth over jack shit. You can only smooth over yourself.”

Cheng Duzhou was speechless.

Five minutes later.

Duan Xingye lifted the tent flap and went out.

The camera of the [Lü Ye Shu Huai] livestream followed him.

“Hahaha he’s out, he’s out! Let me see who is pretending nothing happened.”

“Just finished watching the screen recording from Jiang Li’s livestream on Weibo. No wonder the young couple wanted to take off their microphones, hehehe.”

“President Cheng still couldn’t resist making a move on the little kitten, wow.”

“Not afraid of being laughed at if I say this, but I always thought Cheng Duzhou was the type unmoved by beauty.”

“Dying of laughter. So President Cheng thought Teacher Duan was seducing him all along? How could being that cute be seduction!”

“Now President Cheng doesn’t even dare to come out.”

No matter how lively the bullet comments were, Duan Xingye had no way of knowing right now.

If his current level of social death was one foot in the grave, then Cheng Duzhou was already ashes in the crematorium. Therefore, only Duan Xingye came out for now; Cheng Duzhou was still biting his fingernails in the tent, needing some alone time.

The picnic was about to start. Five tables were set up in the clearing, with bonfires and iron pots set up beside each.

Duan Xingye and Xiao Jiahui didn’t match with teammates in the previous round of item selection and needed to complete this segment independently.

Duan Xingye was clueless about cooking. Letting him mess around by himself would not only result in bottom-tier points but wasting ingredients was also a sin. However, if he didn’t lift a finger and let Cheng Duzhou do it all, the rule-conscious production team would be the first to disagree.

So, after Cheng Duzhou finished his own team’s work, he would come over to help under the guise of guidance.

After all guest groups entered the picnic site, the four livestreams switched to a unified view.

In the clearing, some had already put on aprons and were busy preparing ingredients; some grabbed a fish from a basin with bare hands and slapped it onto the chopping board; some lay on the ground poking the fire in the hay pile. Everyone had thrown away their idol baggage.

Only when Duan Xingye passed in front of the camera was the style completely incompatible.

His face was like snow, born with nobility; smoke and dust couldn’t touch him. Carrying a vegetable basket with one hand, he gave off the effect of carrying an Hermès on the street.

Seeing this scene, the audience couldn’t help but speculate: Can Duan Xingye cook? He looks like he can’t.

Fans covered their faces: Don’t mention it. Who knows how he’ll blow up the kitchen later.

Duan Xingye arrived at the table, put down the basket, and was wondering which vegetable to start with.

“Yo, Junior Brother. Look at how busy I am; didn’t have time to say hello all morning.” An annoying voice joined in. “How have you been recently? How’s the song rehearsal going?”

Duan Xingye rolled his eyes speechlessly and looked up.

Tao Ziyi invited himself over, wearing a hypocritical smile.

He knew he was referring to the song for the mentor’s solo stage.

Duan Xingye replied lukewarmly, “Just like that.”

“Ah? You’ve already started preparing?” Tao Ziyi showed a worried expression. “It’s opening next week, and I haven’t rehearsed yet. What to do? The program is live; hope I don’t drag everyone down when I get on stage.”

Like those people who repeatedly emphasize they haven’t opened a book before a big exam, crying out that they’re doomed, while actually studying under a lamp all night. A wave of “study bitch” aura hit him in the face.

Duan Xingye lifted his eyelids, replying naturally, “Have you dragged things down any less during live performances?”

“You!” Tao Ziyi’s face changed drastically, a mask slapped off directly.

But right at this moment.

The giant camera crane swung over, pushing from a long shot to a medium shot in their direction, with the boom mic hanging above arriving simultaneously.

Tao Ziyi had to force a smile. Hitting a wall with Duan Xingye again, he was furious inside.

Duan Xingye had already placed the vegetables from the basket on the counter.

The program team not only provided vegetables and meat, ginger, scallions, and garlic but also a bag of Sichuan peppercorns.

Duan Xingye grabbed a handful and smelled it under his nose, curling his lip slightly.

The scent wasn’t as numbingly fragrant as back home. The quality could only be called passable.

Seeing Duan Xingye’s expression, Tao Ziyi scoffed in his heart.

He and Duan Xingye used to be in the same company and had a bundled relationship, so naturally, he knew Duan Xingye was pampered and spoiled. He could be called a complete idiot in daily life, unable to cook at all, yet extremely picky about food.

Once, an event organizer in Guangzhou treated them to dinner. Knowing Duan Xingye was from Sichuan-Chongqing, they specifically took them to an old hot pot restaurant claiming to be authentic. As a result, Duan Xingye rinsed a piece of tripe, put down his chopsticks, bluntly stated the hot pot base wasn’t authentic and was missing green peppercorns, and never touched that pot again. It embarrassed the organizer so much they couldn’t step down.

Now that the production team set up a picnic segment, Duan Xingye couldn’t even present a decent plate of tomato scrambled eggs, yet he started nitpicking about irrelevant things like spices first.

Rich young masters are truly pretentious.

Taking advantage of the camera being right there, Tao Ziyi raised his voice: “Junior Brother, I remember you can’t cook, right?”

Duan Xingye raised an eyebrow: “You want to help me?”

“How could I help you? I can’t even handle my own mess. If anyone helps, it should be President Cheng…” Before finishing, Tao Ziyi suddenly covered his mouth as if realizing something, hurriedly correcting himself, “No, wait. You have to cook yourself today. You can’t possibly ask President Cheng for help, right? That would be cheating. After all, the final result counts for points. Sigh, of course, I have no objections, but I heard President Cheng’s cooking isn’t bad. If he really helps you, it’s a fact that it’s unfair. Hard to guarantee other guests would be happy about it.”

Duan Xingye’s eyes darkened slightly.

Tao Ziyi blocked his only path. Although the couple wasn’t assigned to the same group, it was reasonable for one party to provide help to the other during the cooking process. The audience wouldn’t be repulsed; they would think it was distributing sugar (showing affection), and the program team wouldn’t stop it either.

But now Tao Ziyi insisted on laying things out in public, introducing the concept of fairness. Even if Cheng Duzhou didn’t lift a finger later and merely stood aside to guide him, it wouldn’t work anymore because the nature had changed; they wouldn’t be strictly abiding by the rules.

Duan Xingye stared at Tao Ziyi without dodging, suddenly tilting his palm, letting the peppercorns rattle back into the bag. “Who said I was looking for help? I’ll cook myself.”

Tao Ziyi was slightly surprised inside.

Fans in his livestream issued mockery.

“Come on, stop acting tough. Someone who can’t even pack luggage can cook?”

“Duan Xingye talks tough now, but in the end, he’ll definitely make a mess. Just wait and see.”

“Tao Ziyi did a beautiful job; cheating behavior must be prevented in advance.”

Tao Ziyi smiled: “Then I wish you success. Cooking is very simple; just put in some heart. No need to be nervous for the first time.”

Finally, he added meaningfully, “You can’t rely on your husband for everything.”

Duan Xingye’s face suddenly turned cold. He reached out and grabbed the kitchen knife beside him.

Clang!

Handle up, point down, stabbing into the thick beech wood chopping board. The iron blade quivered.

“!”

Tao Ziyi was frightened badly, jumping back a step. If that knife had fallen on the ground, it could have chopped off his foot.

His lips trembled: “What… what do you mean?”

The atmosphere between the two was drawn swords and bent bows. The livestreams on both sides were already cursing each other.

“Does Duan Xingye have any manners? Damn, even startled me.”

“The one who provokes first is cheap. No need to talk about manners with people like you.”

“Is Duan Xingye sick? Who is he threatening with a knife?”

“Ask your idol first if he wants to pick a fight? On what grounds does he say others rely on their husband? Who has Duan Xingye relied on to get where he is today? Oh right, relied on your idol stabbing him in the back back then.”

In the time it took to lazily lift his eyelids, Duan Xingye’s expression had softened. His voice was light and slow: “Just cooking, no need to be nervous. By the way, Senior Brother, if the food I make is okay, would you be willing to support me by eating a bit more as encouragement?”

Tao Ziyi’s back felt inexplicably cold. Even in the early days of their cooperation, Duan Xingye had never called him Senior Brother.

Tao Ziyi finally recovered. After the false alarm came anger. He didn’t even restrain his tone this time, speaking meanly and sarcastically: “Sure, I definitely have to support. As long as your score exceeds five, ah no, three points, I’ll finish it all for you!”

Leaving behind harsh words, he left.

Duan Xingye didn’t even lift his eyes. He poured the red peppercorns into the prep bowl and took out all the existing ingredients to count.

After a while, the camera overhead panned away.

Only then did Duan Xingye frown in disgust.

He married Cheng Duzhou, but he had never relied on Cheng Duzhou.

When Cheng Duzhou came out of the tent, everyone was about ready to start.

He looked around but didn’t find Duan Xingye.

A staff member passed by.

Cheng Duzhou made a move to stop her, but before he could speak.

The girl smiled with her eyes and said, “Teacher Duan said he lacked spices and went to the village behind to borrow some.”

Cheng Duzhou paused slightly.

Spices were for seasoning. Duan Xingye couldn’t cook, yet knew what spices were missing.

“He went alone?”

“With Old Xu.”

Cheng Duzhou relaxed.

Seeing he was fine, the girl covered her mouth with her sleeve, giggling “Hehehe,” and left.

“…”

Cheng Duzhou felt inexplicably uncomfortable from that laughter.

Cheng Duzhou walked to his group’s table, looked at Jiang Li from afar, and lowered his head. He had long legs and usually walked with wind, but at this moment, he seemed to be dragging his feet.

Jiang Li was picking vegetables. Seeing Cheng Duzhou, she only said, “Here?” then continued her work without changing expression.

Cheng Duzhou relaxed slightly and picked up another bag of ingredients. “This…”

“Pfft—!”

Jiang Li, who was calmly picking vegetable leaves a second ago, suddenly bent over and sprayed.

“…”

Jiang Li pinched the thin dried vegetable with both hands, laughing uncontrollably, trying hard to explain: “Sorry sorry, don’t misunderstand, President Cheng. I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at Old Xiao… Hahahaha…”

“…………”

But what was so funny about Old Xiao?

In the livestream room, fans from several houses were discussing:

“Once Jiang Li laughed, I couldn’t help laughing too.”

“Young couples saying flirtatious things in private, understandable.”

“Movie Emperor persona completely collapsed, but he’s a normal man after all.”

“Teacher Duan come quick! President Cheng can’t hold on alone much longer!”

Cheng Duzhou pursed his lips, looking down at the ingredients, his ears and face covered in a layer of red.

Duan Xingye wasn’t by his side right now.

Suddenly realizing the earth was so big, yet there was no place for him.

…

The program team gave everyone ninety minutes to cook.

Duan Xingye wandered around the village for over forty minutes.

Actually, his luck was very good. The first farmhouse he encountered had a fan of his. The young man helped him gather most of the spices he wanted, only missing a monk fruit at the end. The young man ran to two houses back and forth and finally found it all.

Owing a favor, Duan Xingye signed his name with a flourish on the album the young man bought. While signing, he said, “Post it on Xianyu, can sell for nine thousand.”

“…”

The young man watched Duan Xingye leave holding the album. Turning back, he found six hundred yuan on the corner of the table, unbeknownst to him when it was placed there.

It far exceeded the price of the borrowed items.

Rain and mist surrounded the wilderness, and the dirt road underfoot was a bit wet.

Duan Xingye held a large bag of green onions, walking unhurriedly.

Old Xu carried spices that were heavier than expected and finally couldn’t restrain his curiosity. “Teacher Duan, what do you need so many spices for?”

Duan Xingye said, “To stir-fry.”

Old Xu was confused. “Huh?”

Others stir-fry dishes; he stir-fries spices?

“I can’t cook dishes.” Duan Xingye said truthfully. “I only know how to stir-fry hot pot base.”

Old Xu was startled!

Teacher Duan had this skill!

Strictly speaking, hot pot base couldn’t be counted as a dish, but a cooking technique.

Before Duan Xingye went to Shanghai years ago, his grandfather Kan Dashan was very nervous. He was afraid Duan Xingye wouldn’t get used to eating, wouldn’t dress well, wouldn’t sleep well outside. Most of all, he feared Duan Xingye would get homesick and couldn’t eat his favorite Sichuan-Chongqing hot pot.

So Kan Dashan spent a fortune to buy the recipe from an old time-honored hot pot restaurant near their home, planning to stir-fry the base himself at home and let Duan Xingye pack it to take away.

Duan Xingye almost went crazy: “Just buy what others make!”

Kan Dashan wouldn’t agree: “Xingxing, every time you open a bag, treat it as Grandpa cooking for you. That way you won’t get homesick.”

Duan Xingye was speechless: “…I won’t get homesick.”

Letting a man over sixty soak in a smoke-filled kitchen, Duan Xingye couldn’t stand it. So during that time, he followed his grandpa to stir-fry the base together.

They studied spices, processes, and heat control, failing who knows how many times, but finally completed a batch of finished products.

As a result, after Duan Xingye came to Shanghai, the record company had a strict diet management plan, forbidding high-salt, high-oil, and high-calorie foods. So he gave all those bagged bases to people around him.

But Duan Xingye didn’t feel it was a pity. Compared to the hot pot base itself, the memory of studying the base in the kitchen with his grandpa was enough to fill his homesickness.

Later, people who had eaten it asked him where they could buy it.

Couldn’t buy it.

Duan Xingye recommended other brands, but the feedback received was never as good as what he gave out the first time.

Old Xu looked at Duan Xingye.

With his snow-white, clean, noble appearance, he didn’t look like someone who could stir-fry hot pot base no matter how you looked at it.

He asked, “Then is what you make delicious?”

The two were approaching the picnic clearing.

Duan Xingye walked on higher ground, seeing Tao Ziyi flipping a spatula stir-frying from a distance.

Saying I rely on my husband.

“Don’t worry.” A cold smile floated on Duan Xingye’s face. “It tastes good even if you boil a shoe sole in it.”

Duan Xingye held the things borrowed from the village. Before reaching the filming site, he saw Cheng Duzhou walking toward him.

Old Xu lifted the spices in his hand and said, “I’ll put this over there for you first.”

Then he left ahead.

Cheng Duzhou arrived in front of him and spontaneously reached out.

Duan Xingye said, “Not heavy.”

Then he walked straight past him.

The bag was full of green onions, with beef tallow at the bottom. The weight wasn’t heavy; he held it with both hands only because it was bulky and would affect walking if carried at his side.

Cheng Duzhou didn’t get the items. He curled his fingers, turned, and followed slowly.

He asked, “You went to the village?”

Duan Xingye: “Mn.”

Cheng Duzhou glanced at the bag and whispered, “So many green onions? What are you making later?”

“Hot pot.”

“…”

“Stop looking. Don’t need your help, I can handle it.”

“…Oh.”

Duan Xingye walked a few more steps forward and finally discovered the problem.

Cheng Duzhou beside him was obviously much more silent than when they first arrived here.

Duan Xingye glanced at him, then glanced again, finally unable to resist asking, “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Duzhou seemed to be thinking about something heavy. Walking and walking, he gradually stopped.

Duan Xingye had to stop too.

Cheng Duzhou looked at the filming site not far away, then lowered his eyes. It was hard to find any happy emotion on that face.

“What’s wrong?” Duan Xingye was impatient and asked again.

Silence for a moment.

“It’s just…”

Cheng Duzhou hung his head, took two steps forward, and grabbed Duan Xingye’s elbow sleeve with one hand.

Duan Xingye glanced at it.

Without warning, Cheng Duzhou bent his back low and head-butted Duan Xingye’s left chest across the bag full of green onions in the middle.

Duan Xingye’s heartbeat missed half a beat.

Cheng Duzhou suppressed his voice, a bit nasally, accusing in a tiny voice: “When you weren’t here, they all laughed at me…”

“…”

Duan Xingye stared ahead, forgetting to blink for a moment.

He didn’t like relying on Cheng Duzhou, but when Cheng Duzhou leaned on him with his whole heart and soul… that feeling wasn’t hateful.

Duan Xingye thought of the local dog at his grandpa’s house when he was little. After losing a fight in the neighborhood, it would whine urgently around his legs when meeting him on the road, aggrieved to death, and try to lead him all the way to the enemy.

From Cheng Duzhou’s deep, magnetic voice, he inexplicably heard that local dog’s whining.

Duan Xingye asked without thinking: “Who?”

Cheng Duzhou whispered, “Just Sister Jiang and the others…”

The laughter from the clearing behind them suddenly became clear.

Duan Xingye blinked, snapped back to reality, and frowned: “Grow a spine!”

He took a step back, showing no mercy: “Get off! Don’t delay my work.”

“…”

Cheng Duzhou stood up straight. His hair was rubbed a bit messy, and his expression recovered its usual indifference in almost a second. Then, slowly and methodically, the tip of his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek.

Duan Xingye glanced at him and quickly withdrew his gaze: “Don’t you have a clue in your heart why others laughed at you?”

After speaking, he turned and left holding the bag full of green onions.

Cheng Duzhou watched Duan Xingye’s back for a while, turned his back, and rubbed his face which was half ice-cold and half burning hot with both hands.

He didn’t know what madness possessed him.

Actually expecting Duan Xingye to comfort him.

Duan Xingye always focused only on himself; he wouldn’t empathize with him. Cold-hearted as hell.

Besides, so what if he was laughed at a couple of times? Was it worth it? It’s not like he hadn’t been laughed at before.

Cheng Duzhou figured it out. Turns out he was just being pretentious, and dared to expose the side he himself considered pretentious to Duan Xingye.

Cheng Duzhou never felt how hard it was to maintain a cold persona before; he was naturally cold.

Just recently, he could hold it less and less.

“…”

Duan Xingye probably thought he was an idiot.

…

Jiang Li was beating eggs at the chopping board.

Duan Xingye passed behind her, looking at the woman the whole way, unknown what he was thinking.

Suddenly, Duan Xingye took two steps back and emitted three mechanical sounds at Jiang Li’s back: “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Bullet comments:

“???”

“What’s up with Teacher Duan?”

“Laughing at what?”

Jiang Li turned around baffled, saw Duan Xingye, and said, “Yo, back?”

Duan Xingye gave a mn, and as if nothing happened, left holding the green onions.

Duan Xingye put the ingredients on the table. Looking up, he found Cheng Duzhou standing where he was just now looking this way.

The man narrowed his eyes slightly, looking thoughtful.

Duan Xingye pursed his lips, secretly pointed in Jiang Li’s direction, and mouthed across the distance:

“Laughed back for you—”

Cheng Duzhou was slightly stunned.

He saw Duan Xingye laugh three times at Jiang Li.

“…………”

Cheng Duzhou looked down, kicked the gravel under his feet. After a long while, he squatted down, crossed his straight arms, and bit the corner of his lips, unable to suppress a smile.

Worth it.

__

Author’s Note:

Previous second: Duan Xingye you are heartless.

Next second: Wifey is so good.