Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Ning Yichu suddenly mentioned wanting the "model." He Shixia paused, worried he might be drunk and forgetting the situation. "A Ning, the show is live-streaming."

Ning Yichu glanced around. "Are there cameras in the bathroom too?"

He Shixia chuckled helplessly. "Alright, I'll go get it for you. Wait here, hold still, don't fall."

Ning Yichu frowned in displeasure. "Are your kindergarten teacher instincts kicking in again?"

He Shixia replied seriously, "A kindergarten teacher certainly can't get this kind of 'model' for a student to play with."

Ning Yichu tried to kick him. He Shixia didn't dodge, instead reaching out to steady Ning Yichu, fearing he might actually fall.

"Go get it for me!" Ning Yichu swatted He Shixia's hand away.

He Shixia left the bathroom, first covering the camera in the bedroom, then picked up the box containing the "model" and returned to the bathroom.

He closed the door, opening the box while gently asking Ning Yichu, "A Ning... do you want me to help?"

Ning Yichu stated matter-of-factly, "I can't see it myself anyway."

There were few places to lean in the bathroom. Ning Yichu was held in He Shixia's embrace, his lower back cushioned by He Shixia's palm against the edge of the sink. His face was slightly turned, buried in the crook of He Shixia's neck. He Shixia could clearly see Ning Yichu's flushed cheeks in the mirror before them.

"A Ning... this 'model,' are there any parts that need improvement?" He Shixia asked softly.

After a long while, Ning Yichu, suppressing a trembling sob, answered unhappily, "It'd be best if it were fully automatic and silent... your voice is too annoying..."

Ning Yichu's breaths were like butterfly wings fluttering among flowers and grass, the stirred leaves brushing briefly against the skin of He Shixia's neck. He Shixia experienced a novel kind of "lump in the throat," momentarily unable to even muster a teasing retort for Ning Yichu.

Ning Yichu unknowingly closed his eyes. When he woke again, it was early morning the next day. He had been carried back to bed by He Shixia the previous night, while He Shixia himself had still slept dutifully on the floor.

Although somewhat drunk last night, he hadn't blacked out. Recalling what he had said and done, Ning Yichu couldn't help but rub his temples.

He Shixia had also just woken up. Seeing him doing that, He Shixia asked with concern, "Are you still feeling unwell from last night's drinking?"

Ning Yichu instinctively denied it. "I wasn't drunk!"

He Shixia paused, then laughed softly.

"Morning! Can someone move the cloth off the camera? I want to see! I'm opening my eyes now!"

"A Ning denying he was drunk is so cute."

"Ahhh! What on earth were He Shixia and A Ning doing in the bathroom for so long last night! It's so hard to guess!"

"He even came out midway to cover the camera, tsk tsk."

"But Ning Yichu said he hates He Shixia, so it probably wasn't *that*, right? Otherwise, He Shixia would seem a bit like he took advantage..."

"Hate-sex is like this (yep!)."

"Judging from A Ning's reaction now, Brother He probably didn't do anything against his will."

"Ning Yichu's voice sounds a bit hoarse, hehe."

"Of course, it could also be because he drank last night, so his throat is uncomfortable."

Ning Yichu did have a headache, but it was psychological—seeing He Shixia annoyed him. Physically, he wasn't uncomfortable anywhere, so it didn't affect the usual program recording.

This was the seventh day on the show. In the morning, the four guest stars from Tomato left the deserted island. Simultaneously, the island welcomed six new guest stars for the next episode, who, according to plan, would also stay for three days.

These six guests were three married couples: Chen Yu, the owner of Yushu Media in the entertainment industry, and his husband Du Shu; the renowned director Xu Lin and her husband Li Jiming; and the singer Qiao Yue and her wife Meng Mengran.

It's worth noting that Xu Lin had collaborated with all three actor resident guests present—He Shixia, Ren Shi, and Qin Muyun—and was considered an acquaintance. Qiao Yue had also sung theme songs for works they had starred in.

As for Chen Yu and Du Shu, Ning Yichu and He Shixia were aware of them beforehand.

Because this Yushu Media, in a way, was similar to Ning Anxia's Xiazhi Entertainment—both were businesses struggling to survive, propped up solely by their owners' wealthy backgrounds. Although the Chen family Chen Yu came from wasn't as large-scale in business as the Ning or He families, they were acquainted with both.

Seeing He Shixia and Ning Yichu on the show now, Chen Yu didn't hold back, greeting them directly, "Shixia, Young Master Ning, running into you on the show is quite a coincidence."

Chen Yu was thirty-six this year. Calling He Shixia "He Sixth Young Master" like others did felt awkward, so he simply used his name.

It was just a form of address. He and He Shixia had no prior conflicts, so Chen Yu thought it wouldn't be a problem.

But he didn't expect He Shixia to immediately and publicly rebuff him, replying, "Although our families have some business dealings, ultimately we've never had any personal interaction. President Chen should use a different form of address; there's no need to be so familiar."

Chen Yu's expression froze in place, also showing surprise. It took him a few seconds to recover. "Haha, my mistake then, Teacher He."

Then he looked at Ning Yichu. "What about Young Master Ning? Do you need me to change how I address you too?"

Ning Yichu looked at him leisurely. "Drop the 'Young.' I can handle being called 'President Ning.'"

Hearing this, Chen Yu scoffed. "Of course. Even though you climbed into bed and stole someone else's engagement to latch onto the He family, you've already got them eating out of your hand, especially He Shixia. He even helped you shift the blame for the drugging incident onto the Ning family and gave you He Group shares. With such skills, you certainly deserve the title 'President Ning.'"

His words stunned everyone around. The live-stream audience was baffled—

"What's going on?"

"Again? Why do people keep challenging Ning Yichu despite the odds..."

"New guest stars meet Ning Yichu and immediately start being disrespectful, not even pretending... this scene feels familiar... Is the production team going to lose another guest star today?"

"Ugh, no wonder those brainless narratives from the Ning family persisted for so many years, to the point they believed them themselves. Turns out people in their circle actually buy into it."

"Why bring up drugging, climbing into bed, and stealing engagements again? Why portray He Shixia as a judgment-impaired idiot? Is this guy surnamed Chen or Ning? He should sit at the Ning family's table."

"He Shixia already dug up old WeChat chat records as proof. He said the engagement wasn't assigned to anyone specific. He initially thought it was Ning Yichu and was interested, but after learning it wasn't, he always refused."

[Previously, when the Ning family smeared him, they had an "insider" leak that Ning Yichu drugged and climbed into bed, but they didn't dare say Ning Yichu stole Ning Zeshu's engagement because that argument clearly didn't hold water. Forcing it would only make them seem more unreasonable. Yet this Chen Yu confidently packages it as established fact for the Ning family...]

[And He Shixia already clarified that the drugging was the Ning family's failed scheme backfiring. After his clarification, that "insider" went silent, and the Ning family didn't dare make another peep. What is Chen Yu thinking, believing he can use something the Ning family didn't dare continue shouting about to slap Ning Yichu in the face?]

"With He Shixia's obedient attitude towards Ning Yichu, does Ning Yichu even need to drug and climb into bed? Haha, didn't he find it funny when he said it himself?"

"Reasonably suspect Chen Yu might have a grudge against He Shixia. He Shixia already dislikes him, hence not even letting him use his name earlier. Chen Yu, harboring old and new grievances, wants to cause trouble, deliberately bringing up things Ning Yichu was falsely accused of before, making Ning Yichu remember being implicated by He Shixia and the Ning family's drugging leading to a one-night stand, thereby driving a wedge between Ning Yichu and He Shixia, ultimately achieving his goal of making He Shixia's life difficult."

"He Shixia: The road to winning back my wife is long, and people keep adding roadblocks..."

"Looking at his partner Du Shu's expression, he also seems surprised Chen Yu would speak like this."

Du Shu was indeed very taken aback. However, he reacted quickly. Before the displeased He Shixia and the meaningfully smiling Ning Yichu could respond, Du Shu tried to stop Chen Yu first.

"Chen Yu! What are you doing?" Du Shu said. "Even if you feel Teacher He slighted you, that's no reason to distort the truth and insult President Ning!"

"Others might not know, but you've been to the Ning family, you know how they've always spoken about President Ning. Even I, who've only been married to you for two years, previously found the Ning family's attitude towards him, their adopted son, quite strange when hearing your family talk about him."

"On one hand, spreading damaging rumors about him publicly; on the other, claiming they raised him as their own with meticulous care—that's clearly contradictory. It wasn't until the truth came out a few days ago that it made sense. You can't be this excessive just because you feel slighted. Apologize to President Ning now!"

But to Du Shu's surprise, Chen Yu actually snapped at him harshly: "Me apologize? Du Shu, I should be asking you what you're doing instead. You're siding with outsiders and making me lose face like this. What, have you been taken in by Ning Yichu too?"

Du Shu was stunned: "Chen Yu, you..."

Ning Yichu sighed softly: "You must be surprised, Mr. Du. After all, although Chen Yu often has a bad temper with others, he has always been very gentle with you and never talks back to you."

Du Shu looked at Ning Yichu and fell silent.

Chen Yu seemed to snap out of it, as if "calming down" after Ning Yichu's reminder. He hurriedly apologized to Du Shu: "I'm sorry, Xiao Shu. I was just too angry just now. I didn't mean to take it out on you. I was wrong. I'll listen to you and won't say those hurtful things anymore, okay? Don't be mad at me..."

Du Shu didn't respond, but his expression clearly softened.

Ning Yichu smiled slightly: "The Chen family produced a devoted lover who would rather be disowned than accept an arranged marriage. Instead, he wanted to marry his same-sex partner from a humble background. He persisted for three years and finally convinced his elders to accept his partner. After getting married, they were inseparable... It truly is quite the tale."

Chen Yu glared at Ning Yichu with displeasure: "What, can't find any other dirt on me? You can only bring up something that's public knowledge and perfectly above board. It seems you're not as all-powerful as they say, President Ning."

Du Shu frowned: "Chen Yu..."

Chen Yu lowered his voice: "He's the one who won't let it go..."

"You were the one who was so offensive just now. It's only natural for President Ning to be displeased. You should just listen. Besides, President Ning didn't say anything nasty. You're the one who won't let it go," Du Shu said.

Chen Yu sounded wounded as he squeezed Du Shu's hand: "Xiao Shu, why are you always siding with outsiders?"

Du Shu sighed helplessly: "If you're being unreasonable and I still side with you just because we're close, how can we face anyone in the future? I'm sorry, President Ning, Teacher He. Chen Yu really does have quite a few issues..."

He Shixia's lips twitched: "But this particular flaw today probably isn't a common occurrence, right, Mr. Du? Aren't you curious why your Chen Yu is so eager to stick up for the Ning family?"

Du Shu was taken aback.

Ning Yichu smiled gently: "You're so brazen in insulting me, President Chen, because you think you don't have any major scandals like Ning Shaoli's criminal activities. Airing other petty gossip won't hurt you much anyway. After all, you're a company boss, not a celebrity. You don't care about your reputation, good or bad, so you're not afraid of what I might say, right?"

Chen Yu suddenly felt uneasy, but he still didn't believe Ning Yichu could know, so his expression grew even more brazen as he glared at Ning Yichu: "So what if I am? I just couldn't help wanting to play the hero because my aunt has some connection with the Ning family's second aunt. If you want to expose my dirty laundry, go ahead. What's the big deal? It's all just trivial nonsense anyway. Am I afraid of you?"

Ning Yichu tilted his head: "Weren't you just saying I got into He Shixia's bed and stole Ning Zeshu's engagement? If that's the case, why aren't you thanking me?"

The spectators were stunned. Du Shu frowned as he looked at Chen Yu, and Chen Yu also furrowed his brows.

Then, everyone heard Ning Yichu continue nonchalantly: "I ruined any chance of the two families arranging an engagement between He Shixia and the young master of the Ning family. Didn't that give you a chance to pursue the young master yourself? Why haven't you gotten a divorce to chase after the one you love?"

Chen Yu never imagined Ning Yichu would actually know. His expression instantly turned shocked and panicked. Du Shu, as his husband who shared his bed, caught his momentary reaction and suddenly realized that what Ning Yichu said was probably true.

Du Shu instinctively pulled his hand away from Chen Yu's grasp.

Chen Yu quickly came to his senses, grabbed Du Shu's hand again, and said with sincere gravity: "Don't listen to his nonsense! Xiao Shu, we've known each other for over five years, dated for three, and been married for two. From the first day we started dating, I've always said I wanted to marry you. You can't believe Ning Yichu's slander! He's just spouting nonsense, making things up as he goes. It's outrageous that he's trying to drive a wedge between us like this! The young master of the Ning family just turned twenty-two this year. When we first met, he wasn't even an adult yet. How could I possibly have had feelings for him!"

Du Shu's heart sank. After listening to Chen Yu's defense, he asked blankly: "...You remember the young master of the Ning family's age quite clearly."

Chen Yu was thrown into a panic: "No... it's because, a few months ago, the Ning family threw a big birthday banquet for the young master..."

"You remember *that* banquet so clearly, yet I never heard you mention its existence?" Du Shu looked at Chen Yu. "You just said it's impossible for you to have had feelings for the underage young master over five years ago... Chen Yu, you say President Ning is slandering you. Wouldn't the normal logic be to think he's accusing you of cheating?"

Chen Yu's face stiffened.

Du Shu: "That you developed feelings for the young master of the Ning family during our relationship, but thought it was hopeless so you stayed with me... I thought that would be the normal interpretation. But why did you default to defending yourself by saying President Ning was accusing you of having feelings for the underage young master over five years ago? Why default to that explanation?"

Du Shu shook off Chen Yu's hand: "You're right. We've known each other for over five years, so I know what your reaction now means... Since you like someone else, have been pining for them all this time, and even now still want to stand up for them—even though they don't even know—then why did you get together with me?"

"Wow, intense. A new scandal."

"Chen Yu has such a skeleton in his closet, and he still dared to provoke Ning Yichu?"

"Clearly, he must have hidden it very well before, so even Du Shu, who knows him so well, didn't notice. So he thought no one would know and never imagined Ning Yichu would know about this."

"Now let's see how Chen Yu handles this."

"So I say, don't tempt fate..."

"I feel a bit sorry for Du Shu. Poor guy."

"Chen Yu had feelings for a seventeen-year-old Ning Zeshu five years ago? He's a pervert! He was already thirty back then!"

Although Du Shu had already reached a conclusion, Chen Yu still refused to give up defending himself: "No! Du Shu, you can't just believe someone else's few words so easily. That's not fair to me! This Ning Yichu just shoots his mouth off without any evidence, and you believe him? Then what do our past five years count for? Shouldn't you be siding with me now, questioning Ning Yichu, an outsider?"

Du Shu smiled bitterly: "I'm not blindly believing an outsider. I'm believing my understanding of your character."

Seeing he couldn't persuade him, Chen Yu simply glared fiercely at Ning Yichu: "Your own marriage is unhappy, so you want to ruin other people's happy families, is that it? You randomly claim the young master of the Ning family is the one I love. Where's the evidence! I'll sue you for slander!"

Ning Yichu raised an eyebrow: "Even now, you're still calling him 'the young master,' unable to bring yourself to say his name directly, afraid it would seem disrespectful... Mr. Du, guess which 'Shu' in Chen's 'Yu Shu Media' refers to—you, Du Shu, or the Ning Zeshu he secretly admires and dares not speak of openly?"

Du Shu hadn't even had time to think of this matter yet. Now reminded, he felt as if struck by lightning, feeling the past affection between him and Chen Yu fade even further.

"Of course it's you, Xiao Shu!" Chen Yu hurriedly said.

Du Shu looked at him with a bitter smile: "Come to think of it, the Ning family also calls the young master 'Xiao Shu,' right... Are you calling me, or the young master of the Ning family?"

At this point, Chen Yu, exasperated, said: "Du Shu! Are you determined to side with outsiders and humiliate me like this?"

"Six years ago, you turned thirty, the age of establishing oneself. The Chen family threw you a birthday banquet," Ning Yichu spoke up again, unhurriedly. "At that time, the Ning family brought Ning Zeshu along. You had been living abroad for years before that. That was actually your first time seeing Ning Zeshu, and you fell in love with him at first sight."

Chen Yu's face turned pale.

Ning Yichu: "But the age gap between you was too large, and the Chen family's status wasn't as high as the Ning family's. You knew there was no possibility with Ning Zeshu. Not long after that, you happened to meet your current partner, Du Shu. Because of the shared character 'Shu' and the 'fate' of the timing, you took Mr. Du as a substitute for the one you loved. Since you couldn't be with the one you loved, you decided to devote yourself wholeheartedly to the substitute, even going against your family's wishes to be with him."

"After getting together with Du Shu, you founded 'Yu Shu Media,' telling Du Shu it was a company named after both of you. He was very moved. But in reality?"

"Businesspeople sometimes care about feng shui. The master learned the name came from two people and asked for their birth characters. You gave your own and Ning Zeshu's, which you had managed to obtain with great difficulty. That master is still alive... Does that count as ironclad proof, President Chen?"

That Ning Yichu knew so many details truly caught Chen Yu off guard. His expression turned ugly as he gave up defending himself, only asking the question Ning Yichu had heard most frequently lately: "How on earth do you know all this..."

The light completely left Du Shu's eyes.

Chen Yu was too preoccupied to notice Du Shu now. He just stared at Ning Yichu in disbelief: "I've never told anyone about my secret crush on the young master of the Ning family. How did you... Did you find out from the master who evaluated my company name? Right, you previously exposed a minor celebrity's scandal and also mentioned a master. Maybe masters know each other, and that's how you found out... No, no, that's still not right. Although I gave the birth characters, I never told the master when I started liking the young master of the Ning family. How could you possibly know I fell in love with him at first sight..."

Chen Yu's questioning gradually turned into muttering to himself. Du Shu couldn't bear to listen any longer.

The director, dumbfounded, nodded on autopilot: "Okay, no problem, it's fine..."

"The director: I feel like I've seen this scene of a guest leaving early before..."

"It's also tragic. For Du Shu, it's no less than a bolt from the blue. To think the partner he believed loved him deeply actually saw him as a substitute from the very beginning. The company name he was once moved by turned out to be disgusting, ironclad proof. And this secret was exposed precisely because Chen Yu saw Ning Yichu as Ning Zeshu's enemy and couldn't help wanting to stand up for him—even though he and Ning Zeshu have no real connection—all based on Chen Yu's own imagined sense of justice..."

"And to learn the truth in such a setting, coming together to appear on a show. Du Shu is really impressive to still maintain his composure."

"At this point, we can only look on the bright side. Thankfully, Chen Yu's way of treating the substitute was to be as good to him as possible. At least Du Shu didn't suffer much during the years he didn't know the truth."

"Judging by Du Shu's personality, if Chen Yu hadn't treated him well, he probably would have left Chen Yu long ago. Precisely because Chen Yu acted too well in the past, the sweeter the memories, the more disgusting they are now, making it even more painful."

Hearing Du Shu was leaving, Chen Yu finally snapped back to attention. He stared blankly at Du Shu's retreating back. Just as Du Shu walked far away and disappeared from sight, Chen Yu suddenly shuddered: "No, that's not right... I love Xiao Shu, Du Shu... I stopped liking Ning Zeshu long ago. I just thought I still did. I was wrong... Xiao Shu, wait for me. Let me explain. My feelings for you are genuine... Forgive me this once..."

Chen Yu took off after him, calling his name.

On the first morning of the new episode's guest arrivals, two people had already left early. The remaining four looked at Ning Yichu's composed expression and hurriedly greeted him politely: "President Ning."

"Hello, Teacher Ning. Haha."