The Love Reality Show's Big Boss and Little Sweetie - Chapter 73

Since Qi Yuan told Mu Chi to get lost, he got lost. Qi Liao got lost right along with him.

“The current Big Brother is as fragile as glass, and you had to provoke him,” Qi Liao said.

Mu Chi replied, “You have to look on the bright side. This is just taking him down a peg, so he won’t suffer such a loss again in the future.”

Qi Liao said quietly, “My Big Brother has lived this long, and this is the first time he’s ever suffered a loss this big.”

“Wasn’t the first big loss you spent  a billion on his card?”

“…”

The two stared at each other. Qi Liao said, “A fortune teller once said I’m my Big Brother’s natural nemesis, that we shouldn’t work in the same industry. Now it seems you’re his nemesis too.”

A loud gurgle sounded. Mu Chi’s already flat stomach seemed to grow even more. “Gege, I’m hungry.”

Qi Liao: “Didn’t you get your fill last night?”

Mu Chi punched his arm. “Did we eat last night? I don’t remember that!”

Qi Liao hooked Mu Chi’s finger, enveloping his entire hand in his palm, and laughed. “Next time, I’ll definitely be fully prepared before letting you eat.”

Mu Chi’s face burned crimson. He tried to pull his hand back, but it was held tightly, immovable.

When they reached the restaurant, Mu Chi noticed they served tea over rice. Delighted, he immediately ordered some and pulled Qi Liao to eat with him.

“So, is this lunch or breakfast?” Qi Liao asked.

“Call it whatever you like. You eat when you’re hungry.”

Just as he said this, the cameraman emerged from who-knows-where, startling Mu Chi. On the camera feed, his peach-blossom eyes widened slightly, the corners and his puffy lower eyelid tinged with a faint red, dewy and challenging the very limits of aesthetics.

【My male god is as beautiful as ever today / Flying kiss】

【Those eyes, that nose, those lips… they’re clearly swollen from kissing】

【The director is a scourge, not even leaving us a single crumb of meat】

【Just how intense was last night to make Mu Chi this coy?】

【If it was intense, could he even sit down to eat? Does Mu Chi have an iron ass?】

【Are you saying… they didn’t make it to home base?】

【Big Devil, are you capable or not? If not, I’ll step in】

【The Big Devil didn’t take advantage of the situation, he’s a gentleman!】

【You got me excited all night… I imagined all sorts of them doing this and that】

【Is it possible they did this and that, just not the home run? / Sneaky laugh】

Mu Chi couldn’t even eat a meal in peace. Once the camera found him, Xu Wuxing and Hao Wenrou quickly found him too, both acting as if the sky had fallen.

“Brother Mu, you…” Hao Wenrou’s eyes darted between Mu Chi and Qi Liao, his words trailing off.

Mu Chi didn’t want to discuss private matters. He calmly changed the subject. “Have you eaten yet? If not, join us?”

Xu Wuxing was much more direct than Hao Wenrou. “Brother Mu, is it true you got hit with an aphrodisiac last night?”

Mu Chi: “… Grown-up matters are none of a kid’s business.”

“How am I a kid? I’m twenty years old!”

“You’re twenty and still haven’t learned how to speak properly.”

“?”Hao Wenrou looked at him as if he were an idiot. “What you should be asking right now is if Brother Mu is okay.”

Xu Wuxing refused to admit fault: “I just wanted to know if Brother Mu was drugged and if he slept with Brother Qi. What’s the big deal?”

Hao Wenrou found this childish ghost completely hopeless to guide.

【… Xu Wuxing, that direct hit of yours could launch someone out of the solar system】

【If you don’t know how to speak, just bark twice. No one will hold it against a puppy】

【Xing Bao ah, Xing Bao, what are we going to do with you】

“We slept together,” Qi Liao said suddenly.

This earth-shattering statement made the surroundings so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Mu Chi stared at Qi Liao in disbelief. Qi Liao gave a bright, clear laugh. “Since we can’t keep it a secret anyway, we might as well go public.”

“Go public? Public with what?” Xu Wuxing asked dumbly. Beside him, Hao Wenrou suddenly slumped. Xu Wuxing, quick-eyed and swift-handed, caught him. “What are you doing?”

Hao Wenrou tried to derail the relationship announcement: “I feel dizzy… Brother Mu, can you take me to see a doctor?”

Mu Chi: “Did you faint from hunger? Is your blood sugar low? Have something to eat, quick.”

“… It’s not that.”

“Just try eating a bit first.” Hao Wenrou was pressed into a seat at the table. Faced with the spread of brunch food, he had no appetite, but forced himself to take a few bites.

“Feeling better?” Mu Chi asked.

“Mm, a bit better,” Hao Wenrou said reluctantly.

Qi Liao watched him with his arms crossed, his posture bold and unrestrained, his face the picture of mockery—everything about him was a provocation. Hao Wenrou clenched a hard-boiled egg. Its soft texture made him want to destroy it. He squeezed, and the egg crumbled into pieces in his hand.

Xu Wuxing, who was also eating, looked on in surprise. “What are you doing? Did the egg offend you?”

The eggshell fragments fell through his fingers. Hao Wenrou stood up. “I’m going to wash my hands.”

Mu Chi also needed to wash his hands. “I’ll go with you.”

The two arrived at the restroom. Standing before the pristine white sinks, they washed their hands. Mu Chi carefully lathered soap between his fingers.

Hao Wenrou stared at his hands—long, pale, smooth as porcelain. “Brother Mu, your hands are so beautiful.”

Mu Chi paused, then smiled. “Your hands are very nice too.”

Hao Wenrou looked down at his own hands. “I play games a lot, hold the mouse… they’ve gotten a bit misshapen.”

“No, you’re overthinking it.”

“Brother Mu… did you really sleep with Qi Liao?”

“…” Mu Chi said, “That question has nothing to do with you.”

“How is it not related?” Hao Wenrou lifted his face stubbornly. “You know perfectly well that I like you.”

Mu Chi’s gaze rested calmly on Hao Wenrou’s face. “Since elementary school, many people have liked me. Teachers, classmates, people from other classes. By middle school, I started receiving love letters. Many people have liked me.”

Hao Wenrou was stunned. “So what? Is my liking you not even worth mentioning?”

“You’re overthinking it again. I’m telling you this because I want you to know that many people have liked me, but each one only appeared briefly in my life. My life is like a straight line. Unless someone comes to break that line, I won’t turn, I won’t give that person a second glance.”

Hao Wenrou asked stiffly, “The only one who can break your line… is Qi Liao?”

Mu Chi nodded, his gaze softening. “He was an accident, yet also fate. He’s the only one who could make me stop and look at the scenery around me.”

“Why… why can’t I be that person?”

“You can believe that someday, someone will appear before you, someone who shatters all your rules and shows you a wider, more colorful array of life’s choices. But that person isn’t me. We are like two parallel lines, forever unable to intersect.”

“But we met. That means we’re not parallel.”

Mu Chi said, “Even parallel lines can catch glimpses of each other sometimes, right? Wenrou, you are a very good person, but we…”

“Is it because I’m not as big as him?” Hao Wenrou asked.

“What?”

Hao Wenrou stepped closer. Despite his 1.7-meter height, he had to tilt his palm-sized face up slightly, her expression both fragile and resolute. “Am I not as ‘big’ as Qi Liao? I’m not as old as him, so in your eyes, I’m not mature enough, is that it?”

Mu Chi said tactfully, “A mature person learns to let go.”

“I don’t want to hear platitudes!” Hao Wenrou bit his lip, tears welling in his eyes. “Mu Ge, please like me? I’ll work hard to grow taller, to become worthy of you.”

Mu Chi gently pushed back the overly close Hao Wenrou. “You are very good, but we are truly not suited.”

Hao Wenrou’s face flushed red with anger, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. Finally, he said to Mu Chi with firm conviction, “Mu Ge, come here. I want to show you something good.”

Not wanting to further bruise the young heart, Mu Chi, though puzzled, followed Hao Wenrou further into the restroom.

Hao Wenrou hesitated for two seconds, then resolutely pulled his pants down. “Brother Mu, look! Am I not big?”

Mu Chi: “……………………”

“Taking so long in the restroom?” Qi Liao walked in.

Qi Liao: “……………………”

Xu Wuxing followed close behind: “……………………”

Hao Wenrou froze in terror, unable to move.

The sound of the cameraman’s footsteps approached.

The more nervous a person is, the stiffer their limbs become. Hao Wenrou stood rooted to the spot, motionless, his pants still draped around his thighs.

Xu Wuxing’s mouth hung open, forming a perfect ‘O’. Finally, Qi Liao said, “Xu Wuxing, block the camera.”

Mu Chi urged frantically, “Quick, quick, pull your pants up!”

Hao Wenrou remained frozen.

Xu Wuxing rushed over in a few strides, using his body to block the camera lens. “Don’t come in! Hao Wenrou’s pants are down! If you film this, it’s over!”

【？？？？】

【Wenrou’s pants are down?】

【In the restroom? Didn’t he go in with Mu Chi…】

【Holy crap, did he drop his pants to offer… that?】

【…………】

From inside the restroom, Qi Liao’s voice came: “His  pants just got wet from water, he’s changing. No need to rush.”

Hao Wenrou finally reacted, hiding in a stall, mortified beyond belief, not daring to make a sound.

Qi Liao grabbed Mu Chi’s wrist. “Let’s go.”

Mu Chi walked out of the restroom in a daze, stopping before the camera, looking confusedly at Qi Liao.

Qi Liao smiled at him and said, “Let’s make it official.”