Xiao Can’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He anxiously glanced at He Xingzhou, only to see He Xingzhou looking calm, even showing a composed smile.
After a brief moment of confusion, Xiao Can suddenly remembered the lie he had half-heartedly made up when he went to visit him at his home.
He Xingzhou thought he knew which room he had stayed in because he had peeked from outside the door.
Xiao Can breathed a sigh of relief.
This reason was so embarrassing that it would be difficult for anyone to mention it, and He Xingzhou probably wouldn’t bring it up in this situation.
“It’s because…” Xiao Can nervously licked his lips and began to ramble, “Because I have poor manners.”
“Huh?” Tan Zhen was confused.
He Xingzhou interrupted, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“You’re the one talking nonsense, don’t talk!” Xiao Can was extremely nervous.
Tan Zhen furrowed his brows even tighter and ignored Xiao Can, turning to He Xingzhou, “What’s going on?”
“He smelled pheromones in the corridor,” He Xingzhou explained for Xiao Can, “For the same reason as you, but after you.”
Xiao Can covered his face in despair.
Tan Zhen blinked his eyes again, looking shocked when he looked at Xiao Can.
Xiao Can dared not meet his gaze.
This lie might fool He Xingzhou, but it wouldn’t fool Tan Zhen.
After a moment, Tan Zhen narrowed his eyes, with a meaningful look on his face, and slowly nodded, “Oh, I see.” After sighing, he asked He Xingzhou, “When did he tell you?”
“The last time he came to my house to visit me,” He Xingzhou said honestly.
“So early~” Tan Zhen’s tone sounded exaggerated.
Xiao Can blushed, biting his lower lip without saying a word.
“Why are you so embarrassed?” He Xingzhou didn’t understand, “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Tan Zhen isn’t shy, so why are you blushing?”
Xiao Can didn’t bother to respond, picking up a skewer and eating it voraciously, trying to cover up his unease.
“Yeah, I don’t mind at all,” Tan Zhen also said, “No need to be embarrassed.”
Xiao Can cautiously looked up at him and saw a strange expression on his face, with the corners of his lips noticeably turning upwards.
The atmosphere became very strange after that.
Tan Zhen seemed lost in thought, hardly speaking, and even bland food cooked in water seemed delicious to him.
Xiao Can tried hard to come up with a few topics to ease the awkwardness, but unfortunately, the response was lukewarm.
He Xingzhou also showed rare signs of discomfort.
His weak common sense belatedly realized the inappropriateness of his words and actions, feeling very apologetic, he whispered “sorry” to Xiao Can before leaving.
“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” he said, “but since he asked, I didn’t want to lie to him.”
Xiao Can remained expressionless. “It’s rare to hear you apologize.”
“I’m sincere,” He Xingzhou said.
“Is that so,” Xiao Can said, “Then, as compensation, you should give Charlie to me.”
He Xingzhou was speechless, glanced at him, and then left.
After parting ways at the hotel, Xiao Can had just returned to his room when he received a call from Tan Zhen.
“You’re hiding something from me,” he said to Xiao Can.
Xiao Can remained silent.
He didn’t want to admit it, but at this moment, denying it was meaningless.
“If you don’t want to say, then forget it,” Tan Zhen continued, “You have a program to record tomorrow. Good night.”
“…Good night,” Xiao Can said.
Tan Zhen didn’t hang up immediately, but smiled comfortingly and said, “Whenever you feel it’s right, you can talk to me. After all, I’m also involved.”
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Can replied, “Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought he would be interrogated, but Tan Zhen let him off so easily.
Since the first day they met, Xiao Can knew that Tan Zhen was a very gentle person, and now he felt even more grateful.
From Tan Zhen’s perspective, it wasn’t difficult to guess what had happened.
He had secretly suspected whether someone had really been with He Xingzhou before he arrived.
Xiao Can’s response just now was tantamount to confirmation.
Lying in bed, Xiao Can tossed and turned for a long time under the covers, and finally sent a message to Tan Zhen.
—”I want to pretend that nothing happened.”
Tan Zhen, who was still awake, replied quickly and sent a hug emoji.
After a moment, he added:
—”Go to sleep, tomorrow will be tough for sure.”
Xiao Can breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much lighter.
Tan Zhen had always said that he and He Xingzhou were a good match. He thought Tan Zhen would intensify after knowing about this, but he showed restraint.
Xiao Can replied with a hug emoji as well and closed his eyes, feeling relieved.
The next day, the recording officially began at one o’clock in the afternoon.
After lunch, everyone got into a car and headed to a large farm in the suburbs. The staff on the car briefed them on the process and things to pay attention to.
After getting off the car, they were taken to a riverside, where the recording officially began.
The first to appear was a heavyweight anchor under Bai Tao. Unlike Xiao Can, this male Beta, who was over forty, was originally an actor before becoming an anchor. Due to his appearance limitations, he usually played supporting roles, but he had outstanding business capabilities and moderate popularity. After casually starting a live broadcast, he became popular by handling high EQ situations and some entertaining industry anecdotes. Afterwards, he participated in several variety show recordings, and he was friendly and good at creating program effects, which was very popular with the audience.
His appearance here was undoubtedly due to Bai Tao’s invitation, to promote the ongoing charity project.
Bai Tao attached great importance to this project, and even the farm chosen for the recording was part of the entire project.
The second to appear was Tan Zhen.
When he was on stage, he appeared much quieter than he was in private, with a sweet voice and a gentle smile, very cute.
Xiao Can was the third to appear.
He bounced out of the temporary lounge, waving his hands and skipping to the camera, smiling and greeting everyone. At the same time, the temporary host loudly announced, “Connected by hearts, love spreads, warming thousands of families, blessings pour down on the earth! Welcome our ‘Ambassador of Warmth,’ the lovely Xiao Can!”
The so-called “Ambassador of Warmth” was the official title of the event spokesperson.
Xiao Can guessed that this title and those awkward promotional phrases were probably Mr. Ma’s taste.
He had to pretend not to be embarrassed, even though he felt quite embarrassed.
He Xingzhou was arranged to appear last.
Xiao Can was worried that he might say or do something inappropriate, but fortunately, it was a false alarm. He Xingzhou behaved impeccably throughout, smiling when he greeted everyone, and was quite well-mannered.
After the introductions were over, the temporary host quickly announced that the next step was the team formation.
There were a total of eight people, divided into four teams, with half drawn by lots and half self-selected.
The staff brought out a large frame containing eight Bai Tao mascot dolls named “Tao Qiqi”. After opening the frame, each doll contained a number card, numbered from one to eight.
The person who drew number one had the highest priority and could actively choose any other participant from number two to number eight. After the selection, the two individuals would immediately form a team, and so on.
Xiao Chan finished drawing and opened it to see number eight.
“Very auspicious,” he said to the camera, “waiting for a destined fate.”
He observed Tan Zhen from afar and found that he had drawn number three.
That was close to number one and a good chance of actively choosing. Xiao Chan winked at him, indicating he should choose him. Tan Zhen saw it and gestured with an OK sign.
After the selection process started, number one chose number five, and number two chose number six.
When it came to Tan Zhen, the remaining options were number four He Xingzhou, number eight Xiao Chan, and one more person number seven.
Number seven was a long-haired Beta girl who seemed to know Tan Zhen.
She shouted to Tan Zhen, “You surely won’t choose me, right? You’re going to choose your husband, aren’t you!”
Tan Zhen held the number plate, pursed his lips, and glanced at each of the three people, looking thoughtful and not speaking.
Suddenly, Xiao Chan had a foreboding feeling.
“He’s definitely going to choose He Xingzhou,” others chimed in, “He can’t just leave his partner behind.”
Tan Zhen tilted his head, “Since you say that, then I won’t choose him.”
Xiao Chan pointed frantically at himself upon hearing this.
It was a great opportunity, so it was logical for him to speak up next and say that choosing number eight was a matter of course.
Tan Zhen looked at him, a hint of a smile appearing on his lips, and said slowly, “To avoid suspicion, I’ll choose number seven.”
