Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 74
byTired of It
The sight of the two of them stopping on the road to look at the moon together was warm and beautiful, like a scene straight out of a TV drama. Netizens dubbed it the “Seven Seconds of Divinity.”
One person took the lead, and soon other netizens started shipping them, exclaiming how well-matched they were. However, many of Shen Zhiyu’s fans tried to stop the forced pairing and began controlling the comments.
The video continued playing, quickly moving to the scene where the group played a game.
When Jiang Zhou mentioned that he had a long-term crush in college, the comments section was filled with lamentations and guesses as to who that person was.
The show’s popularity continued to climb, even attracting Jiang Zhou’s former college classmates to make an appearance.
“I’m Jiang Zhou’s college classmate. Jiang Zhou started university at 16 and graduated with a master’s degree at 19. A total academic genius.”
“But he was shy and barely spoke a few words during his first year of college.”
“I remember he had a very good friend back then, a male classmate in our class named Yuan Chong.”
“I went back to Haishi a few days ago and visited the bar he opened.”
Netizens’ gossip was completely ignited, and they frantically asked for the bar’s address and photos.
Although he was mentally prepared, Jiang Zhou was still a little surprised to see how quickly netizens swarmed the gossip and immediately dug up Yuan Chong.
He even considered whether the editors should cut Yuan Chong’s appearance entirely in the post-production to prevent excessive speculation about him and Shen Zhiyu.
As expected, netizens did have excessive speculation.
When the episode showed Shen Zhiyu suddenly ending the game and drinking the penalty drink for Cai Zhiyang, the netizens who were already shipping them immediately interpreted it as Shen Zhiyu being jealous after hearing that Jiang Zhou had a crush.
Seeing the netizens getting more and more excited about shipping Shen Zhiyu and Jiang Zhou, Cai Zhiyang couldn’t help but argue for himself.
“Why are you all focused on Brother Yu and CEO Jiang? Brother Yu and I are doing great! Brother Yu drank that for me! He likes me!”
The guests burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Netizens didn’t humor him.
“Look in the mirror! If Brother Yu likes you, I’ll live-stream myself eating shit!”
“If Brother Yu likes you, I’ll become a monk!”
Cai Zhiyang whined for comfort, “Brother Yu, look at them! They’re all bullying me!”
Shen Zhiyu seemed to be in a good mood and played along with Cai Zhiyang. “Yes, I like you.”
Cai Zhiyang’s tail immediately wagged, his face beaming with pride. “Did you hear that! Brother Yu said he likes me! I’ve noted down the IDs of those who promised to eat shit and become monks. I’m waiting for you!”
Jiang Zhou’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Shen Zhiyu say “I like you.” He glanced at the corner of the screen and saw the man’s smiling eyes.
His phone vibrated, signaling a new message.
Considering they were live-streaming, Jiang Zhou didn’t check it immediately. The next second, he saw Shen Zhiyu in the live camera tapping the display board in his lap, seemingly reminding him.
Jiang Zhou finally glanced at his phone.
It was a message from Shen Zhiyu. “I’m hungry.”
Chatting privately with Shen Zhiyu during a live broadcast, in front of netizens and other guests, gave Jiang Zhou a sense of illicit rendezvous.
He moved the camera slightly to the side, placed his phone out of view, and reached out his right hand to tap out a reply.
“What do you want to eat? I can order takeout for you.”
Seeing Jiang Zhou’s embarrassed look on camera, Shen Zhiyu couldn’t resist teasing him further, so he deliberately replied with the single word: “You.”
Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Zhou’s camera moved slightly, the flush on his cheeks deepened, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.
Shen Zhiyu was like a triumphant fox, watching with interest the live performance of a startled kitten.
How could there be such a cute and interesting person in the world?
The more Shen Zhiyu watched, the more fond he became, even feeling an urge to rush over to the apartment across the hall and pull him into his embrace.
Cai Zhiyang noticed the change in Jiang Zhou’s expression and asked worriedly, “CEO Jiang, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. The air conditioning at home is set too high, so it’s a bit hot.” Jiang Zhou adjusted the camera again and moved back slightly.
Shen Zhiyu enjoyed the kitten’s performance for a while before slowly sending his next message. “Home-cooked food.”
When Jiang Zhou saw this message, his expression instantly changed.
This man was truly hateful, deliberately leaving his sentence unfinished to make him overthink, causing him to look flustered during the live broadcast and even be noticed by others.
Jiang Zhou angrily replied with several kitchen knife emojis.
Jiang Zhou didn’t realize that under Shen Zhiyu’s deliberate teasing during this period, his tone when speaking to Shen Zhiyu was becoming increasingly casual. The past cautiousness and the mindset of always prioritizing Shen Zhiyu seemed to be slowly and quietly changing.
Shen Zhiyu was the first to notice this change in Jiang Zhou. This was his goal, and also part of the fun.
Shen Zhiyu replied with an emoji that conveyed, “I’m really hungry.”
Jiang Zhou had been catching up on sleep all day and hadn’t eaten much. Shen Zhiyu, accompanying him, hadn’t eaten much either.
Despite sending the knife emojis, Jiang Zhou ultimately felt sorry for him and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Shen Zhiyu: “I love anything you cook.”
Jiang Zhou: …
Jiang Zhou glanced at the time. The episode still had twenty minutes left to play. Jiang Zhou simply moved the live-streaming phone into the kitchen.
“Sorry, I’m going to prepare some food first. It won’t affect anyone,” he said.
The other guests and netizens: ???
Shen Zhiyu was surprised for a moment, then his eyes immediately curved into a smile.
He thought Jiang Zhou would cook for him after the live stream ended, but he didn’t expect him to take the live-streaming phone directly into the kitchen.
Why was this person so obedient?
Watching Jiang Zhou busy in the kitchen for him, Shen Zhiyu felt an intense longing, and the fingers resting on the display board curled slightly.
The comments section was silent for a moment, then a netizen spotted the key detail.
“CEO Jiang is definitely hiding a lover! He deliberately moved the camera away just now; I saw him looking at his phone!”
“I noticed it too! Who is so lucky to have such an excellent man who also cooks!”
Jiang Zhou didn’t pay attention to these comments. He turned to the refrigerator to get ingredients.
Shen Zhiyu was a picky eater; he didn’t like seafood or fish, nor did he like chicken or duck. The only meat he would eat more of was pork.
Jiang Zhou had discovered this when they were in Taoyuan, so he always chose ingredients based on Shen Zhiyu’s preferences when cooking, and most of the ingredients he prepared were ones Shen Zhiyu liked.
There was still some crispy pork cartilage in the refrigerator. Jiang Zhou took it out to thaw, then found some tea leaves, planning to make Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage.
Jiang Zhou was preparing the ingredients, with the live-streaming phone propped up on the kitchen shelf. The guests chatted about the rest of the video that was playing.
Jiang Zhou cut the thawed cartilage into pieces and washed some spinach.
Cai Zhiyang, sharp-eyed, saw Jiang Zhou’s preparation. “CEO Jiang, are you making Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage again?”
“Yes.” Jiang Zhou finished preparing all the ingredients, checked the time, and saw that the episode video had five minutes left.
The sound of stir-frying would be too noisy, so to avoid disrupting the broadcast, Jiang Zhou boiled water and made an egg drop soup first.
The episode video hadn’t yet reached the part where Jiang Zhou cooked; that would be broadcast in the next episode.
Cai Zhiyang boasted to the netizens, “CEO Jiang’s cooking is super delicious! Especially this Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage! It’s the best of the best, and we all love it!”
To seek validation, he called out the names of the other guests one by one.
When he mentioned Shen Zhiyu, he suddenly remembered Shen Zhiyu saying the first time he ate it that it wasn’t as good as the Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage he had eaten the previous noon. He couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Yu, where did you eat that better Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage you mentioned last time? You said you’d take us to eat it, but we never got to before we left!”
Shen Zhiyu rotated the bracelet on his wrist, pinching the moon pendant between his fingers and gently rubbing it. “Only you are so greedy, still thinking about it after all this time.”
The other guests laughed at him, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
The first episode of “Taoyuan Dream Weaver” finished playing. The host then asked the guests a few questions individually, marking the end of the live viewing session.
Jiang Zhou exited the live stream and began stir-frying.
The range hood was loud, so Jiang Zhou didn’t hear Shen Zhiyu arrive.
“Let me do the dishes.” A voice suddenly sounded in the kitchen. Jiang Zhou, who was seriously stir-frying, was startled, and the ladle clattered into the wok.
Shen Zhiyu had already walked in, his gaze fixed on Jiang Zhou’s hand as he gripped the ladle again. He asked with a smile, “Didn’t burn yourself this time?”
Jiang Zhou’s fingers paused. “No.”
Shen Zhiyu took two sets of bowls and chopsticks and started washing them by the sink.
The sound of trickling water mixed with the aroma of the food created a quiet, beautiful scene.
After the first episode of “Taoyuan Dream Weaver” aired, it dominated the trending topics.
Netizens followed the trail and found Yuan Chong’s public social media account. They meticulously dug through the public content, attempting to find connections between him and Jiang Zhou.
In just a few hours, Yuan Chong’s account gained nearly twenty thousand followers. Yuan Chong was so frightened that he immediately deactivated his account and vanished.
He knew his limits; he couldn’t withstand scrutiny, didn’t want fame, and certainly didn’t want to be pushed into the spotlight.
Languang Media immediately issued a statement clarifying that the person Jiang Zhou had a crush on was not Yuan Chong, urging netizens not to disturb ordinary people.
The waves of the entertainment industry come and go quickly. Since Yuan Chong was a non-celebrity and immediately deactivated his media account, netizens soon forgot about him.
Since the last incident, Shen Zhiyu had not made any public appearances or participated in any film or television shoots. Fans also noticed that his manager, Wang Lei, had recently been working with a new actor.
The fans grew restless again, running around everywhere seeking information.
Shen Zhiyu, however, was not in a hurry. He stayed home every day, becoming a domestic chef, meticulously arranging breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Jiang Zhou.
If Jiang Zhou didn’t come home for dinner, he would even bring a lunchbox and show up on set. After a week, Jiang Zhou had gained three pounds.
Shen Zhiyu felt Jiang Zhou’s wrist, still finding it a bit bony. Too thin. The weight gain was negligible.
Jiang Zhou pushed him gently. “The live stream is about to start.”
Shen Zhiyu mumbled an acknowledgment, lowered his head to peck him lightly on the corner of his mouth, and then reluctantly watched him get out of the car.
The two arrived five minutes apart.
For this live viewing session, all the guests were gathered at Languang Media. Having not seen each other for nearly half a year, they exchanged greetings for a while.
Jiang Zhou specifically brought a plate of Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage. Everyone was supportive and scrambled for it.
When netizens entered the live stream, they saw this chaotic scene.
Cai Zhiyang was experienced; he picked up a piece of cartilage and showed it to the camera. “Look, this is the Tea-Fried Crispy Cartilage made by CEO Jiang. It’s especially delicious!”
Only Shen Zhiyu sat still. Cai Zhiyang and Zhang Qian were fighting over the food, protecting their shares. “Brother Yu, hurry up and eat! If you don’t, Zhang Qian will finish it all!”
Shen Zhiyu glanced at the two remaining pieces of cartilage on the plate and chuckled softly. “No need. You guys eat. I’m tired of it.”
The two people fighting: ???