Chapter 41: Quite Popular, Aren’t You?

“When I was shipping the Wu-Liu CP before, I still didn’t really believe it. After all, you guys ship everything—even Voldemort and Lin Daiyu. But now, it feels like the main party is personally putting a stamp on it…”

“Inadvertently Planting Willows is real!”

“If this isn’t jealousy, I’ll eat my keyboard live!”

“Hahahaha, sister, there’s really no need.”

In truth, it wasn’t just the netizens who were surprised; even the staff members were completely caught off guard. The guests’ anonymous texts were sent to the staff first, who then forwarded them. Therefore, they knew exactly who sent what to whom.

When they saw that Qin Wu chose to text Pei Liu, and reading between the lines, it reeked of jealousy, they were astounded and couldn’t help but want to laugh.

They never expected a certain aloof Best Actor to fall in love one day, and on their dating show of all places.

The show’s director, a friend of Qin Wu’s father, was amused seeing a glimmer of hope that Qin Wu might end his single status, itching to share the good news with Old Qin. However, it was better to wait for the kid to say it himself. Qin Wu was very independent, so the director would just watch silently and lend a hand when needed.

In the bedroom, Pei Liu was stunned for a moment. After some thought, he said, “This… I don’t think the production team allows us to talk about it, right?”

Qin Wu looked at him for a moment, lowered his eyelashes, and casually played with his phone. In fact, he knew even if Pei Liu didn’t say it.

Pei Liu glanced at his phone but didn’t speak.

The bedroom was very quiet, the atmosphere a bit strange.

Pei Liu inexplicably suspected that if he stayed any longer, Qin Wu would ask who he texted. He had texted Ling Ke, saying her bun hairstyle was full of energy. But what if Qin Wu had also texted Ling Ke? That would be very awkward.

So, Pei Liu stood up and said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Qin Wu slightly raised his eyelids, gave a nonchalant “mhm,” and stayed sitting on the sofa without moving.

Pei Liu grabbed his clothes and entered the bathroom.

Taking off his clothes, he naturally saw the mini deity statue below his collarbone. He unconsciously pinched it, hesitating whether to take it off. Ultimately, he chose to wear it while showering, just in case he bumped into a ghost mid-shower and couldn’t grab the statue in time.

He stood under the showerhead, the warm water flowing over his entire body. White suds slid down his cheek and stuck to the deity statue.

Noticing this, Pei Liu rinsed the statue clean and rubbed it a couple of times, unable to resist staring at it closely. But he still couldn’t make out the facial features.

Suddenly, the temperature in the bathroom plummeted. A drop of water landed on Pei Liu’s shoulder, freezing painfully like an ice pick piercing beneath his skin. His body shivered uncontrollably, and his breath turned into a puff of white mist.

The drain abruptly emitted a bizarre noise, like boiling water bubbling and gurgling. Viscous, foul, and dirty blood surged out frantically, wriggling directly toward him, seeking to devour and dissolve him.

Startled by this anomaly, Pei Liu took a large step back, instinctively clutching the deity statue against his chest and praying for protection.

The deity statue truly heard his plea.

When the eerie blood was just an inch away from him, it suddenly stopped and then vanished into thin air. The bathroom returned to normal.

The chill dissipated, and the warm water gently hit his body, slowly warming him up.

Pei Liu breathed a sigh of relief, his tense body relaxing.

Then, unable to help himself, he lowered his head and kissed the deity statue.

Just like an athlete kissing their lucky charm.

But after the kiss, Pei Liu realized this act was highly disrespectful to a deity. He hastily let go, allowing the statue to fall back against the skin below his collarbone.

Pei Liu sincerely apologized in his heart, saying he didn’t mean to offend, that he had lost his head in a moment of excitement, and absolutely wouldn’t do something so inappropriate again.

In the bedroom.

Qin Wu, sitting on the sofa, suddenly stiffened, as if he had been provoked by something.

The changes in his expression and movements were incredibly subtle, almost imperceptible. But unfortunately, the viewers were acting like human microscopes, watching extremely closely.

“What happened all of a sudden? Wasn’t he just sitting there? He wasn’t even playing on his phone.”

“Tsk tsk, the person he likes is taking a shower right now, separated only by a glass door. How evocative! How could he possibly stay calm?”

“Damn, I’m immersed. If it were me, I’d want to look too.”

“Break down the door.”

“Break down the door +1.”

The direction of the bullet comments grew increasingly improper. Suddenly, Qin Wu stood up and walked toward the camera.

His handsome face constantly approached and enlarged—a total critical hit. The viewers excitedly screamed like groundhogs, and then, the screen went black and stopped abruptly.

“???”
“???”
“???”

“What happened? It went black? Is my computer broken?”

“Qin Wu turned off the camera! That dog of a man!”

“What are you doing? What are you doing? Afraid we’ll steal your wife?”

“I am a premium VIP member! Is there anything I’m not allowed to see? So mad!”

“Dog of a man, I sentence you to life without a wife.”

Both image and sound were gone, yet netizens were reluctant to leave, growing more excited the more they couldn’t see. To prevent the livestream from being banned, the production team had to temporarily shut it down.

But admittedly, the staff members’ imaginations also ran wild, with some even halfway becoming shippers of the “Inadvertently Planting Willows” CP.

Pei Liu came out of the bathroom and met Qin Wu’s eyes. Qin Wu looked at him deeply, as if Pei Liu had done something incredible, leaving him somewhat confused.

…What is it?

But Qin Wu said nothing. He unbuttoned his shirt directly, revealing a large expanse of pale skin, smooth muscle lines, eight-pack abs, a V-taper waist, and Apollo’s belt—all in plain sight.

Pei Liu froze for a moment and reminded him: “The livestream…”

Qin Wu walked into the bathroom, dropping a sentence: “I turned it off.”

Pei Liu glanced at the camera. Usually under the lens, he didn’t dare act too presumptuously or slack off, but now he relaxed.

He walked to the side of the bed, instinctively lunged forward, flopped onto the bed, and sprawled out like a salted fish pancake.

Then, tilting his head, he caught a familiar scent on the pillow.

Only then did he sluggishly realize this was Qin Wu’s bed; his bed was on the top bunk.

Pei Liu hurriedly scrambled up, smoothed out the bedsheets, climbed the wooden ladder to the top bunk, and started playing on his phone.

Jian Yongge’s name was hanging on the Weibo trending list.

Pei Liu clicked into it. A quick scan revealed that juniors who had been bullied by Jian Yongge had spoken out together, exposing his past actions: physical abuse, verbal humiliation, stealing resources, and various forms of bullying. The persona he had carefully crafted collapsed overnight, triggering a severe backlash.

Massive losses of fans, fans turning into anti-fans, criticism from official media—everything came crashing down.

It could be said that Jian Yongge suffered a disastrous fall this time. He was highly likely to be abandoned by his company and unable to survive in the industry anymore.

Pei Liu hadn’t expected him to have done so many evil things behind the scenes. In the response video, although Jian Yongge apologized, his attitude was clearly insincere, merely going through the motions so he could keep making money.

Pei Liu also noticed dense black energy swirling around his forehead.

The retribution for making a deal with a ghost had arrived.

Regarding this, Pei Liu felt that karma was a good thing. However, he wasn’t overjoyed, as he no longer cared about Jian Yongge. After a few glances, he switched to reading his script to prepare for filming next month.

Not long after, the bathroom door opened. Qin Wu walked out, bringing with him the dampness of steam. He was shirtless, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, looking quite languid and unrestrained.

When Pei Liu looked up, he saw that stunningly good physique—broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs—rivaling or even surpassing that of a model. He couldn’t help but look a few more times.

As if sensing it, Qin Wu raised his eyes and looked up.

Pei Liu didn’t look away, but smiled and praised frankly: “You work out often, right? Great body.”

Qin Wu gave an indifferent “mhm,” walked to the wardrobe, untied his towel, and methodically put on his clothes. As he bent over, the muscles on his back arched into a sexy curve, resembling a fierce beast lurking in the dark. His long legs were encased in trousers, yet even through the fabric, one could faintly discern their defined contours.

Pei Liu retracted his gaze, lowered his head, and continued reading his script, missing the dark look Qin Wu directed at him later.

He read the script for another hour, pondering and writing some character biographies.

It was already quite late; time to turn off the lights and sleep.

Being in a new environment, Pei Liu wasn’t entirely used to the bed. It took him quite a while to barely fall asleep, and his sleep was restless. In the middle of the night, half-asleep, he felt an intense gaze. Blankly opening his eyes to a slit, he looked toward the side of the bed.

In the darkness stood a blurry figure. A white dress, hair reaching the waist, face covered, looking like the back of a head, yet from the body’s posture, it was clearly the front.

…I’m sleeping on the top bunk. The figure isn’t on the ladder. How is it standing by the bed? Is it floating in mid-air?

Pei Liu took a closer look and realized the female ghost had no lower body, as if she had been sliced in half at the waist.

Realizing this, he woke up instantly, trembling with fear. He scrambled backward, shrinking into a ball and pressing tightly against the wall.

This scene was very similar to what Zhao Wen described during the ghost stories, but the feeling it evoked was entirely different. Right now, ghostly energy poured from the female ghost, an extreme chill penetrating his bone marrow, grinding against every nerve and cell. The terror was enough to drive one mad.

Pei Liu gripped the deity statue tightly, as if trying to draw strength from it. An uncontrollable, low whimper escaped his throat, carrying a faint sob. The rims of his eyes turned red, and tears continuously rolled down his cheeks.

With his head lowered, he didn’t see the deity statue open its eyes, emitting thick, pitch-black mist. Instantly, as if witnessing something utterly horrifying, the female ghost let out a shrill scream and vanished silently into the air, leaving no trace behind.

“Pei Liu.”

A voice pierced through the darkness, ignoring all obstacles to reach Pei Liu’s ears clearly. It held a magical power, calming and soothing his emotions.

Pei Liu’s inner fear and unease slowly faded, and he looked up blankly.

At some point, the lights in the room had been turned on, illuminating the space brightly.

The bright light stung his eyes, making him squint instinctively. A tear spilled from the corner of his eye, slid down to his chin, and happened to drip onto the deity statue.

Qin Wu climbed up the ladder, leaned his hands on the edge of Pei Liu’s bed, stared at him, and asked: “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Pei Liu wiped the tears from his face and nodded. He was curled up in the blanket, the corners of his eyes red, obvious tear tracks still on his face. Just like a frightened young animal, he looked very pitiful and endearing.

“Can you still sleep? Do you want me to leave the light on?” Qin Wu’s voice grew even lower, laced with gentleness, as if afraid of scaring him.

Pei Liu nodded again. His face was a bit pale, not having fully recovered yet.

Qin Wu sat on the edge of the bed, stayed with him for a while, then turned as if to leave.

Pei Liu flinched, immediately grabbed his sleeve, and asked: “Where are you going?”

Qin Wu paused: “The bathroom.”

Pei Liu quickly said: “I’ll go too.”

He didn’t want to be left alone, afraid another ghost would appear the next second.

Qin Wu agreed, climbed down first, and waited for him below.

Pei Liu still held the deity statue in his hand. It wasn’t until he had to climb down the ladder and found it inconvenient that he reluctantly let go, letting it fall back inside his collar.

He stepped barefoot onto the rungs of the ladder, but perhaps because he was so terrified earlier, his hands and feet were still weak. He almost slipped and fell from mid-air.

Pei Liu’s heart raced.

Qin Wu frowned and said deeply: “Don’t move.”

The next second, Pei Liu felt a pair of large hands grip his waist. His body was suspended in the air, and in the blink of an eye, his feet touched the fluffy carpet, which tickled slightly.

Qin Wu had easily lifted him down; his arm strength was impressive.

Pei Liu glanced down at his sturdy forearms and said earnestly: “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Pei Liu found his slippers, put them on, and followed Qin Wu into the bathroom. Qin Wu reached over his shoulder, gave a push, and closed the door.

Qin Wu paid no mind to his presence and went about his business as usual.

Pei Liu naturally saw it, unable to hide the shock on his face.

Because… it’s genuinely too big.

His future girlfriend will probably have a hard time.

After one glance, Pei Liu realized it was inappropriate and quickly looked away.

Shortly after, Qin Wu walked over to him, turned on the faucet to wash his hands, glanced at him, and asked casually: “Aren’t you going?”

Pei Liu snapped back to reality and gave an “Oh.”

He hadn’t just said it; he really did need to use the toilet.

It was just that… with someone beside him, he felt uncomfortable… and couldn’t go.

Washing hands didn’t take long. Qin Wu turned off the faucet, turned to see him standing there dumbly, and seemed a bit confused.

Pei Liu felt even more embarrassed, regretting not finishing up faster.

But the more anxious he got, the less cooperative his body was.

Qin Wu watched him for a moment and asked: “Do you need help?”

Pei Liu was bewildered. Is this even something you can help with?

Seeing Qin Wu about to walk over, he frantically shook his head: “N-no need, I’ll be done in a second.”

Qin Wu didn’t force it, just waited patiently.

In the end, Pei Liu didn’t even know how he walked out of the bathroom. Under that hard-to-ignore, burning gaze, his body trembled slightly uncontrollably out of shame.

He walked back to the bed but didn’t want to climb up to sleep.

Just as he debated whether to stay up late reading scripts, Qin Wu sat on the bottom bunk, patted the spot beside him, and asked: “Want to sleep together?”

I have to say, this proposal was very tempting.

Pei Liu only hesitated for a second before nodding immediately. He decisively climbed into the inner side of the bed and burrowed under the covers.

Anyway, they were both men; there was nothing to worry about.

Having someone with strong yang energy lying beside him was like a furnace, dispelling all the chill and giving him a great sense of security.

However, it was, after all, a single bed. Spacious for one person, but inherently cramped with two adult men lying in it simultaneously. No matter how they positioned themselves, their hands and feet would inevitably touch.

Qin Wu’s legs almost overlapped with his, the distance between them incredibly close.

The territory belonging to Pei Liu was quietly invaded.

Like a clam being forcefully pried open, compelled to expose its soft flesh, only to be devoured bit by bit until nothing remained, entirely powerless to resist.