CH 15

Chapter 15: Where’s my chocolate?

It took around two hours to check in and wait for boarding at the VIP lounge.

Ever since they began recording in the morning up to now, everyone still hadn’t eaten yet. As soon as they got on the plane, they ordered one of the better in-flight meals. While waiting, they quietly began chatting.

Xu Tangzhou’s status was the lowest. Because of Ling Che’s attitude, the program crew was not very warm to him. Aside from Momo who occasionally kindly chatted with him, he often sat quietly by himself.

At this moment, a miraculous scene occurred.

Mi Fei suddenly appeared next to Xu Tangzhou and jumped out with a shout: “Zhouzhou!”

Xu Tangzhou: “!!!”

He was shocked, “Xiao Mi Ge?!”

Appearing at the same time with Mi Fei was their following cameraman who had clearly been lying in wait for this scene to happen.

“Haha, you would’ve never guessed, right?” Mi Fei spoke proudly, “We saw you from afar at the lounge earlier, and my Ge made me hide. Hmph, Che Shen is too tight-lipped. We obviously had to take revenge and scare you!”

Lu Chengan embraced Mi Fei’s waist from behind and calmly said: “Older people prefer to seek stability.”

All the following assistants are traitors. For the effect of the show, similar words were spread quickly amongst the guests.

Having said that, Lu Chengan took a small step back and turned to face Ling Che: “Unfortunately, Che Shen forgot. I still have Xiao Mi. Therefore, I can also be considered young.”

Xu Tangzhou and Ling Che’s seats were separated by a walkway.

Ling Che’s expression was calm: “My mistake, Senior Lu’s adventurous spirit is admirable.”

Lu Chengan laughed: “No, I just wanted to see what thing is so interesting only two people could enjoy it.”

Xu Tangzhou: “...... It’s rock paper scissors.”

Will this car* never stop! Could they let him say a few words too?

TN: When people mention cars or driving out of context, it’s likely referring to R18+ stuffs…

It wasn’t clear whether Mi Fei understood or not, but he earnestly suggested: “Isn’t that too boring? It’s eleven hours, so the four of us could play poker.”

With the addition of the LuMi CP, Xu Tangzhou’s situation improved. Mi Fei was a chatterbox, and he could chat with Xu Tangzhou the whole time if given the chance. After the meal, they played online poker on the transparent screens attached to their seats.

Ling Che originally didn’t want to play, but he didn’t want to brush off Lu Chengan. After all, the other person was still a senior.

Ling Che didn’t want to play for nothing, and he said disdainfully: “Betting with pasting paper on faces* as punishment is only for kids.”

TN: It’s a type of punishment game. They take strips of paper and stick them onto the loser’s face XD

Lu Chengan: “Then do you want to bet with money?”

Ling Che: “Little kids would choose one or the other, but I choose both. We currently have the same amount of money. So, does Senior Lu dare to gamble?”

Like this, even Xu Tangzhou was a little excited.

The bets would be made with the starting funds. In their current situations, the game would be of high stakes, while betting with sticking pieces of paper on faces as punishment would be practically inconsequential.

“There’s nothing I don’t dare to do.” In the TV series that made Lu Chengan into the TV show emperor, he acted as a prodigal gambler, and he himself had earnestly learned a bit. In his eyes, they simply seemed to be provoking him.

But an hour later.

Lu Chengan walked over: “I’m not playing anymore.”

Senior Lu, who was 35 years old, lost. But he couldn’t understand why he was with these people sticking paper on their faces.

Mi Fei tried his utmost to restrain his laughter. Even though he wanted to laugh, he didn’t dare to.

Ling Che asked Xu Tangzhou in front of him: “Zaizai, how much did we win?”

Xu Tangzhou counted: “340 yuan.”

The two of them belonged to the same team, and Ling Che had won most of the money. Looking a little dissatisfied, he said: “Not a lot, let’s keep it as a tip for the locals.”

Lu Chengan was choking with anger: “Goodbye.”

As soon as he left, Mi Fei fell laughing onto Xu Tangzhou. He praised the other team: “Hey, Zhouzhou, do you and Che Shen play together often? You’re so skilled! It’s hilarious seeing my Ge looking so defeated.”

Xu Tangzhou said tactfully: “We’ve played together a few times before. I have a doctor friend who plays incredibly well.”

A creature with incredibly high intelligence such as Qiu Yin could even clearly predict the cards held in others’ hands.

A doctor friend.

Ling Che’s expression slightly changed, but he didn’t continue asking.

TN: The audio drama did well here~ they added some Ling Che thoughts and the sheer amount of vinegar— (jealousy) hahaha~

Mi Fei had left. He pulled the cameraman aside and asked if the previous segment was recorded. He also asked if they would be able to send him a copy afterward.

Their relationship was really good. Xu Tangzhou remembered that under the official program announcement, a black fan had said that they were only faking it and that AB* love was impossible. But Xu Tangzhou felt that neither Mi Fei nor Lu Chengan seemed to mind their genders.

TN: For the ones who still aren’t clear about omegaverse terms, AB usually means Alpha x Beta~

Ling Che asked Xu Tangzhou to collect the money.

Xu Tangzhou also had a few strands of paper stuck to his face, so he went to the bathroom to clean up. When he came back, Ling Che was already comfortably leaning back on the recliner while reading a book and wearing a pair of headphones.

Everyone in the show could see that the Chezhou group… It didn’t seem that their relationship was as good as the official account claimed. As long as they weren’t being filmed, Ling Che hardly talked with Xu Tangzhou, while Xu Tangzhou appeared haughty and cold when he didn’t speak. There was a painfully obvious gap between the two.

This type of situation often occurred within the entertainment circle. Fortunately, everyone was smart and didn’t say anything. They only tactfully did what they were supposed to.

Without their assistants, the film crew was responsible for the artists’ daily activities. Momo had several responsibilities. Aside from cueing the next scenes, she also was responsible for making arrangements so they could arrive in Surilan smoothly and comfortably.

Momo ordered a few deserts on the recommended menu. When the flight attendant sent it over, they also gave Xu Tangzhou one.

“He can’t eat this.”

Xu Tangzhou looked over. It was Ling Che who was talking to the flight attendant.

“There’s blueberry jam inside this dessert. This passenger happens to be allergic to berries.” Ling Che gestured for the flight attendant to look towards Xu Tangzhou.

Xu Tangzhou subconsciously nodded, expressing to the flight attendant that he had an allergy.

Ling Che even remembered this?

“Sorry.” The flight attendant politely suggested, “I can give you a pudding instead, would that be acceptable?”

“Sure.” Xu Tangzhou said, “Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”

Momo noticed the movement and came over: “I’m so sorry… I didn’t realize it contained blueberries.”

Xu Tangzhou’s artist profile explicitly stated that he didn’t eat berries such as grapes or blueberries. As soon as she became busy, Momo completely forgot about jam.

Ling Che wasn’t willing to put this matter to rest and straightforwardly told her: “No need to apologize. Don’t order his dishes by yourself next time.”

Although Ling Che was famous, he rarely taught others.

His aura had nothing to do with his S-class pheromones, but it was enough to make others’ legs become weak.

Momo blushed and replied: “Ok Che Shen.”

Everyone had a little question mark in their hearts.

If anyone said that their relationship wasn’t good, who would believe it? Perhaps that’s how they usually get along?

Momo apologized to Xu Tangzhou again, and Xu Tangzhou said quickly: “It’s fine. At worst, my face would only swell if I ate it. It would become normal the next day.”

Momo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “How could it be fine? How could the show continue filming if your face becomes swollen? Also, it was truly dangerous. Zhouzhou, don’t say anything else. Next time you need to eat or do anything, I’d better ask Che Shen.”

Xu Tangzhou: “???” Shouldn’t you be asking me instead?

A corridor separated Xu Tangzhou and Ling Che’s seats. Ling Che had begun reading his book again. He seemed unwilling to pay attention to them and seemed to have the words “Don’t bother me” written all over his face.

If every trivial matter of his were to be handed over to Ling Che, perhaps they’d be seeking an early death.

The trip was long and boring. Xu Tangzhou didn’t bring a book, and he didn’t have anything to do to pass the time, so he took a nap for 3-4 hours. When he woke up, aside from the quiet rumble of the plane sounds, the cabin became very quiet. The sky outside the window also turned a shade darker.

The plane passed through the moonlit grey sea of clouds. Beyond the layers of clouds, a few sparkling stars were strung across the night sky.

Ling Che fell asleep.

Under the dim light of the cabin, he leaned back on the reclined seat. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, the bridge of his nose was high, and his lips were thin and expressionless.

Xu Tangzhou thought to himself: Ling Che only lazily poked at his food a few times during the meal. He didn’t have much of an appetite, and there was a lot of food left over on his plate. He’s really a picky eater, so how in the world did such a picky eater grow so tall?

Seemingly aware of Xu Tangzhou’s gaze, Ling Che suddenly opened his eyes.

“What are you looking at?”

He spoke.

Xu Tangzhou who was peeking and then caught red-handed: “......”

He knew that it wasn’t a good sign when Ling Che questioned him like this, but he still wanted to properly record the show with Ling Che and try not to appear too estranged. He spoke up: “Are you hungry?”

Ling Che’s eyebrows became more furrowed: “Are you hungry again?”

He personally saw Xu Tangzhou eat a lot earlier.

Xu Tangzhou make a “shh” gesture and turned on the little light above his seat. Under the illumination, Xu Tangzhou was blindingly white, and his droopy eyebrows looked like the wings of a crow.

Xu Tangzhou found the coat he took off earlier and rummaged through it. He handed a few pieces of chocolates over and whispered: “I hid these in my coat pocket. This is my secret stash, and I can share some with you.”

Huang Qian said that this couldn’t be counted as going against the rules since the program team wouldn’t search them. Since other guests might also have their own little cards up their sleeves, the program team would turn a blind eye to it. No one would actually dare to make the guests starve.

Xu Tangzhou’s cheeks had a hint of redness from excitement.

He realized that this was the same as using snacks to be on good terms with a seatmate.

“You can eat it now.” They could still order food on the airplane. Xu Tangzhou’s hand was still stretched across the aisle. “I still have more, no need to worry.”

Ling Che didn’t answer and only asked: “Who taught you this?”

Lying, not following the rules, and playing cards, who taught him these?

What “well-behaved and would abide by the rules”? He should’ve known that Xu Tangzhou changed from the moment he had said: “never dated before”. Also, who taught him these? Was it the one who marked Xu Tangzhou? Or was it the one who taught Xu Tangzhou how to play cards? He felt disgusted just thinking about it.

TN: Slight edit for chapter 12 to make it flow better here!

Ling Che didn’t take those chocolates.

He turned around with his back to Xu Tangzhou. He didn’t speak anymore and didn’t look back at Xu Tangzhou’s expression.

Xu Tangzhou feebly said: “Huang Ge taught me.”

The moment he spoke the last word, he saw Mi Fei looking back at him from their seat.

Mi Fei silently stared with a hint of resentment at his chocolate, as he pointed to his mouth.

Xu Tangzhou: “......”

If he gave some to Mi Fei, they’d be in the same boat and he might not expose his rule-breaking.

The two people quietly split the chocolate and silently high-fived as if they had struck some secret deal.

“Give it to me.” At some point, Ling Che turned around again.

Xu Tangzhou: “......”

Mi Fei: “......”

Ling Che’s expression became unpleasant: “Where’s my chocolate?”

Xu Tangzhou stopped chewing. With one cheek full, he said innocently: “... I still have some compressed biscuits, do you want it?”

*

Xu Tangzhou felt that from then until they got off the plane, Ling Che was still moody about those chocolates. Because he was very picky, he wouldn’t eat the compressed biscuits, resulting in his expression becoming very unpleasant.

But what did the compressed biscuits do wrong? Xu Tangzhou believed that compressed biscuits were also very delicious.

Upon leaving the airport, the sky was dyed with the hues of sunset due to the time difference.

The program team was so stingy they didn’t even prepare a car to pick them up after getting off the plane and made the guests figure out transportation by themselves.

“Since both groups arrived simultaneously at Surilan, we have thoughtfully prepared excellent rooms for you.” Momo said cheerfully to them, “However-- the privilege of first choosing the room has been changed to whoever first arrives at the recording area! You can choose to take a taxi, bus, or walk there. As a friendly reminder, the recording area is 30 kilometers away from the airport.”

The four of them dragged their suitcases with faces devoid of expression.

A sea wind blows.

TN: Chinese terms as pinyin in this chapter

“Ge” (older brother, could be used as a respectful address for male acquaintances)

“Shen” (literally: god, but mainly for a highly respected and revered figure)

"Zaizai" (Literally: child, but it's mainly used as a nickname for kids)

"Xiao" in front of names means little, but it's a way of addressing people you care about who are younger.