Chapter 48: The Cooking Livestream

Song Chu usually started his livestream around this time, so the room was already filled with waiting viewers.

Once the stream went live, Song Chu greeted everyone with a sweet smile:

“Today, we’re having someone else teach you how to cook. I’m just here to eat~”

As he spoke, the camera turned to Ji Xiao.

[It’s the roommate who appeared last night!]

[I want to see Chu Chu cook qaq]

[It’s okay for Chu Chu to take a day off, let’s see the roommate’s cooking skills!]

[Actually, the roommate’s features are handsome and masculine, but he looks pale. If he had more color, he’d be perfect.]

[Wow—those hands, so long!]

Song Chu glanced at the comments and frowned almost imperceptibly.

Right, last night he said ‘roommate.’

How could he, without being too obvious, show their affection and let everyone know that they were more than roommates—they were lovers!

Ji Xiao turned on the heat and put the wok on, then said softly, “Ah Chu, I forgot to tie my apron. Can you help me tie it?”

“Ah, sure.”

Song Chu fixed his phone to one side, grabbed the apron hanging nearby, and walked over to tie it on him.

Ji Xiao cooperated, looking down at him with tender eyes.

Feeling his gaze, Song Chu’s hands trembled as he carefully tied the apron. He whispered, “Stop looking at me.”

Ji Xiao reached out and touched his ear, his voice tinged with laughter. “A little red. Embarrassed?”

[I feel like…]

[The roommate’s gaze is so tender!]

[Am I the only one who thinks the roommate is being sly? He hasn’t even started cooking yet, both hands free—he could’ve tied it himself.]

[Chu Chu is blushing, Chu Chu is blushing]

[This is too sweet!]

[Sweet or not, can we look at the wok first? The wok is about to burn red!!!]

[The roommate’s voice is so doting and gentle!]

Ji Xiao patted Song Chu’s head. “Alright, I’m going to cook now.”

Song Chu: “…” As if anyone was stopping you!

He took a few steps back.

Watching Ji Xiao skillfully pour oil into the wok, he couldn’t help but fall into thought.

Since he could cook, why hadn’t he done it even once this past month?

“Today’s dishes are simple: scrambled eggs with beef, beer duck, stir-fried choy sum, and finally lychee shrimp balls. First, we’ll start with…”

Following Song Chu’s usual style, Ji Xiao explained as he cooked.

Song Chu leaned against the counter, watching him bustle about along with the viewers.

[Honestly, the roommate’s cooking style is different from Chu Chu’s, but it’s great!]

[Watching Chu Chu cook feels relaxing and enjoyable; watching the roommate cook has a different charm.]

[Chu Chu, stop staring, interact with us!]

[Chu Chu is totally stunned, hahaha]

[The roommate is just doing his own commentary, not even glancing at us. I miss Chu Chu sweetly asking, “Did you get it?”]

[Holy crap, that speed!]

“Ah Chu, hand me a plate.”

“Okay.”

“Ah Chu, I’m sweating a bit. Can you wipe it off?”

“Mmhm!”

Song Chu grabbed a few tissues and stood on tiptoe to wipe his sweat.

Ji Xiao lowered his head slightly, bringing his face very close to Song Chu’s.

Song Chu: “…” I’m dead.

Is he about to kiss me? Is he?

[I so want to push their heads together!]

[Stop the slow motion!]

[The food! The food!]

Just as his lips were about to touch Song Chu’s, Ji Xiao pulled back slightly and, without missing a beat, began washing the wok for the next dish.

Song Chu stood there holding the tissues, a bit dazed.

[The roommate is so sneaky!]

[Playing hard to get!]

[Chu Chu, go for him—]

…

By the time Ji Xiao finished all the dishes and brought them to the table with Song Chu, the livestream room had already decided they were more than just roommates and were frantically looking for evidence.

Among the dishes, only the beer duck had some chili.

Song Chu tentatively took a bite and immediately choked. “Cough, cough, cough—”

Ji Xiao handed him some tissues and pushed a glass of water toward him. “What’s wrong? Too spicy?”

Song Chu nodded while coughing. “So, so spicy!”

Ji Xiao reached out and wiped the tears from the corner of his eye, saying helplessly, “If you can’t eat spicy food, why didn’t you tell me?”

Xiao Yang wasn’t picky; he could eat anything—sweet, sour, bitter, spicy.

Before, Song Chu had always been the one cooking. Now that he thought about it, he had never made spicy dishes.

Song Chu gradually calmed down, looking at him with reddened eyes. “I saw you only put a little, so I thought it would be okay…”

“It’s my fault. I didn’t notice your preference.”

“No, no, it’s because I didn’t tell you!”

“Sigh.”

Ji Xiao took another tissue and leaned in to dry the tears from his choking. “Feeling better?”

Song Chu nodded. “Yeah, let’s continue eating.”

[Is this the smoking gun?]

[Eating together, a good friend chokes, you pass tissues and wipe tears—that’s totally normal!]

[This is clearly normal brotherly affection. Some people need to stop stretching it.]

[Good brothers… women these days…]

[Psycho! We’re just imagining—who do you think you are?]

Song Chu drank some water and once he was mostly recovered, he picked up a lychee shrimp ball and popped it into his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up.

Chew, chew, chew.

“Mmm—so good!”

[Wow! Chu Chu’s eyes have never sparkled like that even when eating his own cooking. Is it really that good!]

[I’ll watch the replay later and make one myself. I want to eat it too!]

[Everyone, it’s dinner time. Have you eaten?]

[Yes, I’m eating takeout while watching Chu Chu go with the meal.]

[Hey! We’re either cooking while watching or eating while watching. Today I made the white-cut chicken Chu Chu taught the night before last…]

After the meal, Song Chu quickly cleared the dishes before Ji Xiao could.

Ji Xiao chuckled. “What’s the rush? Slow down, don’t trip.”

[Shouldn’t it be ‘don’t break the bowls’?]

[‘Don’t trip’ hahaha]

[He’s worried that if he trips, the bowls will break and Chu Chu might get cut.]

Song Chu: “I’ll wash the dishes!”

Ji Xiao watched his back with tender eyes, subtly pressing a hand to his stomach.

Song Chu had only taken the first bite of the beer duck; the rest had gone into Ji Xiao’s stomach.

Because he wanted to leave the other non-spicy dishes for Song Chu, he ended up eating only the beer duck all evening.

It seemed next time he’d have to make more dishes, and all of them non-spicy.

[Huh, is the roommate having a stomachache?]

[He’s rubbing his stomach.]

[He seems to have been eating the duck all along. Can he not handle spicy food either?]

[Are you stupid? If he can’t eat spicy, why would he make spicy food?]

[It’s because he didn’t know Chu Chu’s preference.]

Ji Xiao glanced at the comments, put his hand down, and smiled warmly. “Thank you all for supporting Ah Chu. He’ll teach you to make more delicious food in the future.”

[Chu Chu’s cooking skills are amazing! I used to hate cooking and ate takeout every day, but now I can cook. It’s not as good as Chu Chu’s, but it’s still pretty tasty—better than takeout!]

[Roommate, roommate, are you and Chu Chu a couple? Yes or no?]

[Roommate, look at me! Do you stream? I’ll be your first fan if you do!]

[Roommate…]

Ji Xiao shook his head. “If you support Ah Chu, that’s the same as supporting me.”

[Eh—]

[Oh oh oh oh oh!]

[Are you really just roommates with Chu Chu?]

Ji Xiao didn’t say more. He stood up and walked toward the screen. “That’s about it for today’s livestream. Please continue to support Chu Chu in the future. Thank you.”

[Don’t go! Let us wait for Chu Chu to come back!]

[Yes, yes, don’t end the stream! We want to hear Chu Chu say goodbye!]

[Chu Chu, Chu Chu, come back quickly!]

Ji Xiao paused mid-step, then sat back down. “Alright, then let him say goodbye to you himself.”

Soon, Song Chu returned.

“Brother Xiao, why are you so good to me~”

Ji Xiao reached out and hugged him to keep him from sliding down, then looked at the rapidly scrolling comments and said softly, “The stream is still on.”

Song Chu: “?”

He turned his head in confusion, seeing the phone still glowing. “We should have ended the stream after the meal. Didn’t you close it?”

“They wanted you to say goodbye personally.”

“…”

Realizing that his earlier actions had all been seen, Song Chu’s face suddenly turned red.

He quickly pulled away from Ji Xiao’s embrace and headed for the bedroom. “Brother Xiao, you close the stream. I have a stomachache—I need to go to the bathroom!”

Ji Xiao walked over to the phone. “Did you hear that? That’s it for today. Bye.”

Ignoring the still-rolling comments, he directly ended the stream, picked up the slightly warm phone, and also went back to the bedroom.

Song Chu lay face-down on the bed, burying his head in the pillow, looking like he didn’t want to face anyone.

He had wanted to show off their relationship, but he hadn’t meant to do it in front of everyone with Brother Xiao… sob.

And he had even jumped over and kissed him!

Ji Xiao placed his phone on the nightstand and reached out to lift him up.

“Brother Xiao! What are you doing?”

“Taking you to bathe.”

Ji Xiao raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were going to stay in bed forever. Can you really go by yourself?”

Song Chu: “I really can!”

Ji Xiao put him down with a hint of regret. “Then go ahead. I’ll wait for you.”

Song Chu slipped into the bathroom, feeling his heart racing.

Ji Xiao sat down at the computer, lit a cigarette, and turned it on.

He bought the geared account he had his eye on earlier and logged in.

The server for this account happened to be the one he used to play on.

As soon as he logged in, he saw a familiar name in the world channel and took a closer look.

The world channel was all about White Clothes Like Snow.

In just one day, he had become universally despised.

White Clothes Like Snow had been exposed on 818.

In the game, on the forums, everywhere people were bashing him.

In reality, White Clothes Like Snow’s young boyfriend had a good family background—his parents owned a conglomerate, his brother was starting a business, and even the childhood friend who had a crush on him was wealthy.

White Clothes Like Snow looked glamorous on the surface but was fragile inside. Soon, the young boyfriend was forcibly taken away by his brother.

Not only were his actions exposed, but his appearance and address were leaked as well.

He had to move in a hurry, and he hated Xiao Yang to the core.

His cigarette burned out. Ji Xiao stopped watching the drama and looked at the ID above his character’s head. Silently, he topped up and bought a name-change item.

On the page to enter a new name, his fingers hovered over the keyboard. He paused for a long time without pressing a single key.

Black Cat: “Wasn’t your old name good? Why waste money? You’re so broke now.”

Ji Xiao: “You think that name is good?”

Black Cat: “White Stain at the Corner of the Mouth—no problem with that. Though it might give people the impression of drooling or spilling milk… wait.”

Ji Xiao: “Heh.”

Black Cat accused: “You’re so dirty! I was thinking about drinking milk, but you—you were thinking about that… You’re too dirty!”

Ji Xiao: “If you weren’t dirty, how would you know what I was thinking?”

Black Cat: “…” Feels bullied.

Song Chu came out of the shower and saw him still playing games. His earlier excitement gradually faded.

“I’m done. Do you want to shower? Or are you going to keep playing?”

Ji Xiao stood up. “I’m going to shower. Ah Chu, help me change my name. I’ve been thinking for ages and can’t come up with one.”

“…”

The bathroom door closed.

Song Chu sat down in front of the computer, looking at the name-change interface. His eyes flickered.

It was him who asked me to do it!

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