Reborn to Stew Soup (GL) 137

Chapter 137: Head Pat

The viewers, energized by the “Welfare Mission System,” had successfully voted for the “Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin sleeping together” mission. They had prepared their coffee, Red Bull, chocolate, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and chicken feet, only to have Mi Hongdou turn off the lights less than a minute after Ji Junxin came out of the bathroom and they got into bed.

Their frustration was immense.

But thankfully, half an hour later, the bedroom lights came back on, Ji Junxin went to the bathroom, and the observant viewers, noticing the tangled blankets, savored the “blanket sugar.”

Having learned from Mi Hongdou’s earlier quick light-switching, the screenshot enthusiasts were ready, their fingers hovering over their mice. But they hadn’t expected Mi Hongdou to turn off the lights again as soon as Ji Junxin returned from the bathroom and sat on the bed. Turning off the lights so quickly! You’ll lose fans, do you know that!

Mi Hongdou didn’t know about the “Welfare Missions” or the growing number of CP fans.

She didn’t know many things, for example…

“You’re saying, during the team challenge this morning, Lu Changhuai secretly helped Yu Naihao?” Mi Hongdou asked, still processing this. “You were all on the platform, we were watching, how could he help?”

“In the first four rounds, Lu Changhuai got every pair right. Then, for some reason, he got every pair wrong in the last four rounds. At first, I thought he was unhappy about being on Zhang Zijing’s team and deliberately lost, so they wouldn’t get any reward. But thinking about it, in the last four rounds, whenever he flipped the boards, he deliberately chose the wrong ones, but the ones he revealed… were always the matching pairs for the previously mismatched boards.” Ji Junxin, seeing Mi Hongdou’s confused expression, elaborated, “For example, in the fourth round, Yu Naihao flipped two bowls of noodles, one straight, one curly. Since he got it wrong, the boards were flipped back. Then, in the fifth round, Lu Changhuai flipped another bowl of straight noodles, not the one Yu Naihao flipped, but its matching pair.”

Ji Junxin’s explanation was clear. “So, Lu Changhuai deliberately chose the wrong boards, but the ones he revealed were the matching pairs for the previously mismatched ones, so Yu Naihao, who went after him, would see two matching pairs.”

“Exactly!” Ji Junxin snuggled closer to Mi Hongdou. “Let me tell you something funny.”

“Is that all there is to it?” Mi Hongdou, still processing the earlier information, thought Ji Junxin’s abrupt change of topic was a bit rude.

“There’s more. Lu Changhuai spent the last four rounds trying to help Yu Naihao, but… Yu Naihao didn’t seem to understand and kept choosing the wrong ones, isn’t that funny!” Ji Junxin, having discovered Lu Changhuai’s little secret, had been dying to tell Mi Hongdou, but with the cameras and microphones everywhere, she had to hold back. Now, she could finally share it.

“Hahaha… that’s hilarious.” Mi Hongdou could imagine Lu Changhuai’s frustration, all that effort wasted…

Why can I imagine it so clearly? … Mi Hongdou shook her head. It’s not like I’ve experienced it myself!

“Do you think… Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao… are they… a couple?” Ji Junxin asked, snuggling closer to Mi Hongdou.

Since Mi Hongdou had turned off the lights as soon as Ji Junxin sat on the bed, Ji Junxin had rolled straight into Mi Hongdou’s blanket cocoon. They were already close, and Ji Junxin kept moving closer, practically lying on top of Mi Hongdou.

Sharing a blanket, Mi Hongdou could feel Ji Junxin’s movements, and even… her intentions.

Having lived two lifetimes, even with her limited romantic experience, she knew… certain things. And now that they were together, those thoughts… were inevitable. She was trying to control herself, being filmed was one reason, but… Ji Junxin, so soft and cuddly, always seeming like she wanted to devour her… it was difficult to handle!

Although she wasn’t opposed to it, something felt… off.

As Ji Junxin asked about Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao, snuggling closer, Mi Hongdou… instinctively put her arm around her. Putting aside the earlier awkwardness, holding Ji Junxin in the warm bed was… wonderful.

The embrace brought them closer, she could hear Ji Junxin’s heartbeat, feel her breath…

They were both silent.

It wasn’t their first time sharing a bed, but it was the first time experiencing such quiet intimacy.

Life was full of experiences, encounters, and sights, but nothing compared to this quiet moment, holding the person you loved, warm and safe.

After a while, Ji Junxin, satisfied, tugged at Mi Hongdou’s clothes. “So, do you think they’re a couple?”

“Why are you suddenly so interested in this? It’s hard to say…” Mi Hongdou recalled her previous life. After “Promise in Troubled Times,” a year or two later? Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao had collaborated again in another of Gu Tiansheng’s films. The rumors about them had persisted, fueled by their frequent collaborations and the suggestive nature of their films… but they had never confirmed it, so it was hard to say. In the entertainment industry, as long as it generated buzz, BG, BL, GL, anything was possible…

“Because I think… they are.” Although her words were affirmative, her tone was uncertain. “But… perhaps it’s just me.”

“What’s wrong?” Mi Hongdou, sensing something in Ji Junxin’s voice, tightened her embrace slightly.

“Nothing, I just thought, if they were also… like us…” Ji Junxin searched for the right words, “it would be nice, to know other people like us.”

Silly girl…

Mi Hongdou’s heart ached, and she held Ji Junxin even closer.

Yuri, it was a lonely path, the joy unspeakable, the happiness unblessed… Mi Hongdou thought, tightening her embrace. In this life, I’ll make her happy, so happy that she’ll never feel lonely again.

Mi Hongdou’s sudden tightening almost suffocated Ji Junxin. So she does want to hug me… Although reluctant to leave the warm embrace, she still had to breathe. She squirmed and pulled away slightly.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re not a couple! As long as we’re together, it’s fine!” Ji Junxin, misinterpreting Mi Hongdou’s action as concern, said earnestly, “Even if we’re the only ones in the world, I’m willing.”

Such sweet words… you must have eaten candied lollipops, not beef jerky…

“Me too,” Mi Hongdou replied softly.

Food was indeed the catalyst for deeper connections. Since the beef jerky, the earlier bathroom awkwardness had vanished, their interactions now sweet and effortless.

The viewers, however, could only see the darkness, couldn’t see their embrace, couldn’t hear their whispered words, Ji Junxin’s speculations about Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao, or their sweet nothings.

The show’s “no cameras or audio at night” rule, it seemed, was more for protecting the viewers’ teeth and wallets…

Lights could be turned on more than once.

After Mi Hongdou turned on the lights for Ji Junxin to brush her teeth, the viewers were energized. We can stay up all night! And those who had been about to go to bed, after seeing the “blanket sugar” analysis, also got up.

The number of viewers increased again…

More people, more imaginations.

While Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin whispered sweet nothings in bed, the viewers, savoring the “blanket sugar,” let their imaginations run wild. And one viewer posed a question that kept them entertained all night.

“Ji Junxin went to the bathroom for three and a half minutes. During that time, in that location, she could have: 1. washed her hands, 2. brushed her teeth, 3. washed her face, 4. used the toilet, 5. taken a quick shower, 6. looked in the mirror, 7. checked for bugs… so, is she the tachi or the neko?”

This question sparked a heated debate about their roles, five minutes later, data analysts and meme creators joined the discussion, fifteen minutes later, besides “blanket sugar,” there were now “hand-washing sugar,” “tooth-brushing sugar,” and “shower sugar”… and half an hour later, the question and the viewers’ responses were compiled into another long Weibo post.

Unbeknownst to Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin, some questions they hadn’t even considered were being answered by helpful strangers.

Ji Junxin woke up, needing to use the restroom. The room was dark, and she felt momentarily disoriented. Then, the warmth beside her, the soft pillow beneath her head, brought her back to reality.

…She remembered chatting with Mi Hongdou about “Imperial Secrets,” Mi Hongdou asking if the prosthetic belly, the spilled cola, the leaving without saying goodbye, were all intentional… and she had just kept saying, it was all intentional, but I can’t tell you why! And then… she must have fallen asleep…

Did Mi Hongdou ask anything else? She couldn’t remember.

Well, using the restroom was more important.

Ji Junxin sat up, still drowsy.

Her movement woke Mi Hongdou.

The sudden lightness on her arm… how could she not wake up?…

After asking what Ji Junxin was doing, Mi Hongdou stopped her from turning on the light, helped her adjust her clothes and hair in the dark, fixed her own hair, tucked Ji Junxin back into her blanket roll, and then turned on the light.

The sudden brightness made Ji Junxin, still sleepy, feel a little cold and her vision slightly blurry.

Mi Hongdou’s eyes also stung from the light, and she squinted at Ji Junxin, who looked a little… dazed.

The viewers still watching the live stream were touched, seeing them sitting on the bed, one looking at the other with a foolishly affectionate gaze, should we eat this sugar, or not?

Those who were still hesitant, seeing Mi Hongdou’s next action, were instantly captivated.

A head pat! Mi Hongdou had just patted Ji Junxin’s head! Fortunately, we’re still here!