Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Before heading out to film the variety show, Su Tinghe went to the program team for makeup. Coincidentally, he ran into Bai Hua in the dressing room. The two chatted as they got their makeup done, and the makeup artist kept praising their good looks, saying makeup went on easily.

After finishing their makeup, Bai Hua took advantage of the moment when no one was around and mysteriously leaned closer to Su Tinghe, "I heard the deputy general manager who dined with us the other day got fired."

Su Tinghe was taken aback. After being sent back by Shang Yizhi that day, he had been feeling dizzy and hadn't paid attention to the follow-up.

"What was the reason for his dismissal?" Su Tinghe asked curiously and puzzled.

"Officially, it was due to business problems, but I heard it was because he offended someone he shouldn't have. That day, he kept urging you to drink, which made me feel something was off. Later, I wanted to find you, but someone said you had already gone back. Thankfully, you're fine." Bai Hua looked relieved.

Su Tinghe pondered and sighed, "Well, what goes around comes around."

"If you encounter such dinner parties in the future, try not to attend. If you do, definitely don't drink. Someone like you, a little innocent, is an easy target for those with bad intentions." Bai Hua went to pinch Su Tinghe's cheek but then remembered their fresh makeup and held back.

At that moment, Ruan Xiting and his bandmates, along with another lead actor from "Yu Lin Ling," finished their makeup and came over. Bai Hua and Su Tinghe paused their conversation to greet everyone, then got into the car heading to the variety show filming site.

Among the people in the car, only Chu Zhuoyuan, the other lead actor from the drama, wasn't very familiar with everyone, but he quickly blended in. Chu Zhuoyuan even sincerely thanked Su Tinghe for choosing him as the lead actor.

Amid all the laughter and banter, the group soon arrived at a villa for the variety show filming. The villa had expansive open areas in the front and back, and an indoor heated swimming pool.

This was Su Tinghe's first time taking part in such a program filming, and he diligently followed the crew's directions to engage in various games. Most games were in pairs, and some inevitably involved close contact.

For example, in a game where one person acted out words for the other to guess, the program team likely aimed to enhance interaction by having one person hug the other from behind, using the front person's hands to make gestures for them to guess the given words.

Su Tinghe teamed up with Ruan Xiting. Su Tinghe felt a bit shy, but having been in this world for a while, he could now accept physical contact between them.

Among the participants, only Su Tinghe wasn't single, so the program team didn't intentionally steer towards creating a couple pairing. The main focus of the variety show was on Bai Hua and Chu Zhuoyuan, and the program team truly aimed to spark a romantic vibe between them.

Su Tinghe realized for the first time that actors not only have to pour emotions into their roles but also work hard to build chemistry off-screen. Luckily, he hadn't taken Zhang Shijing's advice to pursue acting.

Su Tinghe always remembered he was pregnant, so he avoided strenuous activities whenever possible.

After the land games ended, everyone changed into swimsuits and moved to the pool for water games.

The men present all bared their upper bodies, flaunting their physiques. Su Tinghe looked at his belly and asked the crew for an extra floral shirt.

The program team didn't ask questions and simply gave it to Su Tinghe.

Su Tinghe couldn't swim and had never been in the water before. He stepped into the pool carefully, but upon discovering the water wasn't deep and posed no life-threatening danger, he opened the door to a new world, realizing how fun playing in the water could be.

In the water games, Su Tinghe only joined in one round, riding on Ruan Xiting's back, competing with another team to snatch hats from each other's heads. Su Tinghe wasn't aggressive, and his hat was snatched quickly.

After the game, Ruan Xiting put Su Tinghe down and casually asked, "Have you been eating too much lately? You've got a little belly."

Su Tinghe felt nervous, "Really?"

Just out of the water, his clothes clung tightly to his body. Meng Meng glanced over and saw Su Tinghe's belly was a bit rounded. Avoiding the microphone, she whispered, "No wonder you insisted on wearing a floral shirt, to hide your belly. You're still young, so you should exercise more, or you might turn into a sloppy man."

Su Tinghe awkwardly smiled, "I'll pay attention in the future."

Meng Meng comforted him, "Don't worry, it's probably just from eating too much during the New Year. Eat less and do some light exercise, and it'll go away soon."

Su Tinghe felt even more awkward and softly replied, "Hmm," thinking that when the weather gets hotter, he might not be able to go out easily.

After all the game segments ended, the program team provided a variety of barbecue ingredients, allowing everyone to change clothes and have a self-service barbecue in the yard.

After Bai Hua and Ruan Xiting grilled some meat, they brought it over to feed Su Tinghe. Meng Meng pretended to be jealous with her hands on her hips, and Chu Zhuoyuan exclaimed that Su Tinghe was the group's favorite.

Su Tinghe felt really awkward and started roasting marshmallows for everyone, handing them out one by one until everyone got one.

After the barbecue, everyone tidied up and headed inside to figure out room assignments. Since the show was a two-day, one-night thing, everyone would stay overnight at the villa.

Meng Meng needed her own room, but the rest of us paired up. Su Tinghe and Ruan Xiting got stuck sharing a room.

Honestly, Su Tinghe had only ever shared a bed with Shang Huoyong. When he found out he would be sharing a room with Ruan Xiting, he felt super uncomfortable. But since it was for the show, Su Tinghe had no choice but to accept it.

On the surface, it was just two guys sharing a bed, but for Su Tinghe, it felt like a man and a "ge'er" (a term implying a delicate or effeminate man) sleeping together. If he said no, he’d come off as too picky or high-maintenance.

Everyone returned to their rooms, and someone whispered something to the director. Suddenly, the director said, "There's an extra room in the villa. Su Tinghe, since you have a cold, why don't you take the room by yourself?"

Su Tinghe had no idea how he’d gotten a cold, but this was a lucky break. He nodded so hard it looked like he was pounding garlic and said, "Okay."

Then, a staff member led Su Tinghe to a black car outside the villa. Su Tinghe frowned, confused, "What’s this about?"

The car door opened slowly, and Su Tinghe saw Shang Huoyong sitting inside, reaching out his hand to him and saying, "The extra room is with me. You're coming with me."

Su Tinghe’s frown faded, and he stared at Shang Huoyong in surprise, then glanced incredulously at the staff member, who nodded at him and left.

Su Tinghe got in the car, totally lost. "What's going on? Why are you here?"

Shang Huoyong told him, "You’re crashing with me tonight."

"But the show’s still going on. We're all supposed to stay in the villa," Su Tinghe said, his mind in a fog, pointing at the villa outside the car window. "The director said there was a spare room."

Shang Huoyong patted Su Tinghe's head, "I’ll drop you back tomorrow morning."

"The cameras are rolling. Won’t they catch this?" Su Tinghe was worried.

Shang Huoyong pretended to be serious, "You don’t wanna stay with me? Or do you want to stay with someone else?"

"Of course, I want to stay with you," Su Tinghe threw himself into Shang Huoyong's arms, hugging him tightly and murmuring softly, "I don’t want to stay with anyone else."

Shang Huoyong held Su Tinghe and patted him, "Then don’t worry. The cameras won’t catch it. Tomorrow, you just need to appear in the villa's living room in your pajamas. The editors will take care of it."

"So, there wasn’t really an extra room, was there?" Su Tinghe looked up at Shang Huoyong.

Shang Huoyong pinched the soft flesh on Su Tinghe's cheek, "The extra room is with me."

Su Tinghe followed Shang Huoyong to a nearby hotel and finally understood that the so-called extra room was actually a hotel suite.

After arriving at the room, Shang Huoyong told Su Tinghe to take a shower first. Su Tinghe stood in the bathroom, naked, looking at himself in the mirror for a long time, and finally had to admit that he did seem to have a slight belly.

After showering, Su Tinghe deliberately went out shirtless to confirm with Shang Huoyong again, "Is my belly really noticeable?"

As he asked, Su Tinghe spun around in front of Shang Huoyong. Shang Huoyong pulled him close and draped a shirt over him, "Your belly is flat. You can't see anything."

"But Ruan Xiting and Meng Meng both said they could see my belly," Su Tinghe said with a serious expression, recounting the events of the afternoon to Shang Huoyong. "We were playing games in the pool this afternoon. I didn’t want to be shirtless, so I wore a shirt. Ruan Xiting carried me on his back and said I had soft flesh on my stomach. The wet shirt might have been clingy, and Meng Meng also said I had a belly."

Shang Huoyong's hand paused, "Ruan Xiting carried you? What else did he do with you?"

"We were just playing games together," Su Tinghe said. "The point is they said I have a belly. Did you hear that?"

Shang Huoyong continued, "If I hadn’t come tonight, would you have slept with him?"

Su Tinghe suddenly sensed something was off and quickly hugged Shang Huoyong, cooing, "It’s just for the show. And thankfully, you came. I only want to sleep with you."

Shang Huoyong said, "Don’t record this kind of show in the future."

Su Tinghe emphasized, "I'm working to earn a living."

Shang Huoyong gave a faint smile but said nothing. Su Tinghe hung his head, a bit upset, and said, "Soon, I'll start to show."

Shang Huoyong asked, "What are you worried about?"

Su Tinghe's eyes were slightly red as he looked up directly at Shang Huoyong, "You really don’t think I’m a monster?"

Shang Huoyong held Su Tinghe's face and replied slowly, "You're not a monster. The child in your belly is a treasure bestowed by heaven."

Su Tinghe smiled, hugged Shang Huoyong, and whispered in his ear, "Shang Huoyong, when the child is born, I'll tell you a secret, okay?"

Shang Huoyong asked him, "What secret? Can't you tell me now?"

Su Tinghe said, "It’s a secret. I’ll tell you when the time is right."

Shang Huoyong felt a bit uneasy in his heart. Could Su Tinghe really have been reborn, harmed him in a past life, and now regret it in this one?