NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 78
"Ding dong", the sound of the elevator broke the lingering romantic atmosphere outside the door.
Jiang Yan's gaze was blank as Gu Xilin held her waist, his other hand fumbling to retrieve the keys from her body and swiftly unlocked the door.
The moment the elevator opened, the sound of loud chatter mingled with a forceful door-closing.
Jiang Yan sat crouched on the floor while Gu Xilin, unsatisfied, leaned in close, only to be slapped away.
Gu Xilin rubbed his cheek dejectedly, then feeling the chill of the floor, scooped Jiang Yan up and set her on the sofa.
Ever since their first kiss, Gu Xilin had grown increasingly clingy. Eating the same meal, he'd insist on tasting from Jiang Yan's bowl; despite having a bathroom in the guest room, he'd sneak into Jiang Yan's master bedroom, claiming his was broken.
When he emerged, hair disheveled and wet, his toned muscles glistening with water droplets, the towel draped around him revealing more than it concealed...
Jiang Yan lay on the bed, her fair little feet bare, a knowing smile in her eyes as she teased: "Want to sleep together?"
Gu Xilin's flaunting movements paused, surprise flashing in his eyes. After a long moment, he forced out the awkward words: "Not... a good idea."
As Jiang Yan swayed her feet smugly, about to laugh, the next moment that very person pounced on her, the soft bed shuddering beneath their weight.
Gu Xilin slowly blew into her ear, his low, husky voice laced with laughter: "I knew you wanted me to say that."
Quick-witted Jiang Yan immediately spoke up: "I was wrong, I shouldn't have teased you on purpose..."
When the person you like admits their mistake like that, who could resist making a move?
The two fooled around in bed for a long time, oversleeping the next day.
Jiang Yan opened her drowsy eyes to push Gu Xilin's chin with her hand. Gu Xilin squinted, pulling her into his embrace.
Jiang Yan struggled to free an arm and groped for her phone, where a message about 'The Warm Human World' Season 3 was awaiting her, reminding her to repost and promote it.
It was a crucial plot point. In the original story, the female lead forgot to switch to her main account when reposting the show's Weibo message, exposing her secret hate account against He Suyi.
Before reposting, the system had carefully vetted whether her hate was up to standard. But fortunately, it only had a superficial personalization and merely remarked after reading: "You're so naughty, the female lead is so good to you, yet you can still do this to her."
"Then I won't repost it?" Jiang Yan immediately retorted.
The system hastily said: "No, no, this is a mission."
Jiang Yan lay in Gu Xilin's embrace and reposted the message, then closed her eyes to continue sleeping.
The next time she opened her eyes, it was to Gu Xilin calling her with a stern expression. Just as in the original story, Jiang Yan's small account had caused a huge uproar.
But its content was thought-provoking. Upon investigation, netizens almost laughed their heads off.
Things like "He Suyi eats so little, is she trying to outdo other female celebrities in managing her figure?"; "He Suyi is so tall, did she secretly get bone reconstruction?"; "He Suyi smells so nice, is she trying to seduce me..."
The most popular comment under the Weibo post was: Does Jiang Yan like He Suyi?
The system was just a silly thing - upon seeing words like "seduce" or "die", it assumed the content was inappropriate.
Gu Xilin had long known his little treasure had two faces and could accept any so-called expose about her. Before clicking through, he thought Jiang Yan disliked He Suyi and was cursing her behind her back, so he planned to help quell the heated discussion.
But after reading it, especially the top liked comments, he just wanted to wake her up and demand why she was so fixated on He Suyi to the point of opening a separate account just to praise her!
...
So the outcome of this incident turned out even better than Jiang Yan had expected. Everyone treated the small account as a laughingstock, especially when He Suyi even publicly posted that she wanted to chat with her "little sister".
The hype for Season 3 of 'The Warm Human World' nearly reached a fever pitch.
Finally, amid the audience's rising anticipation, the guests reunited.
As soon as it aired, the "Gu-Jiang" ship's flag was raised high. Although the cohabitation buzz had previously been quelled and it was clarified that Gu Xilin owned a nearby property, fans still read between the lines about all the sightings and contact between the two.
But what was both laughable and bewildering was that among all the male guests, the only ship that could rival "Gu-Jiang" was "He-Jiang".
...
The director was adept at capitalizing on trending topics. This season's opening activity was a game.
The game: Who is the mole?
Six cups contained either sugar water or white vinegar, two different beverages distributed according to the guests' choices. White vinegar represented the mole.
After identities were assigned, the mole would be identified through each person's descriptions. If the mole was voted out, the non-moles won; otherwise, the result was reversed.
Since it had been so long, the guests had a lot to catch up on as they excitedly chose their cups.
Pei Yinche and Su Liangchuan scrambled to drink first, while He Suyi placed a hand on Jiang Yan's shoulder, pulling her close to discuss the buzz. Gu Xilin shifted his position, reaching out to hold Jiang Yan's hand on camera.
Openly chatting with He Suyi while secretly holding her boyfriend's hand behind the scenes, it was quite thrilling.