Xi Nian was originally holding onto the railing, ready to jump. Hearing this, his movements paused imperceptibly, as if hesitating. When netizens saw this, they were about to praise him for still having some team spirit, but who knew Xi Nian would say, "...Then kill her, just don't make it too painful."

After saying that, he nimbly flipped over and jumped directly off the second floor.

Netizens: ??!!

Their expressions were as shocked as Qiao Zhi's. When they came to their senses, they almost laughed their heads off. Kill her then, kill her, but what the hell was with that last sentence, "don't make it too painful"? Was it to make himself seem a little more gentle???

[This "daddy" was ultimately wasted]

[Not only is Xi Nian agile, he was also considerate enough to notice that Qiao Zhi is afraid of pain. The award for the most "gentle" male guest in history goes to Xi Nian, no one better try to take it from him]

[What the fuck, don't make it too painful hahaha, as an outsider I'm almost moved to tears. So moving, so moving, Qiao Zhi is too scared to even move now]

[I think this line could be nominated for the top ten romantic lines of the year. Xi Nian is such a warm guy, I'm a fan, I'm a fan pfft hahaha]

[Fatherly love is like a landslide. Is anyone shipping Zhi Nian CP? I suddenly find this pair so damn interesting.]

[Ship ship ship!]

The Niangao were internally rejecting it: Don't ship, don't ship! Our Zai Zai is still young!

Qiao Zhi's fans were unexpectedly enthusiastic: Ship ship ship, their faces match, their personalities match, forcing you to ship!

While the netizens were following the show, Lu Xingzhe of course wouldn't miss it. He was lazily leaning on the sofa watching the projection screen, cracking sunflower seeds while watching the show. He then discovered that the originally laughing and joking bullet comments suddenly started spamming about the CP. His eyes narrowed slightly, and then he shot up into a sitting position with a rustle.

Holy shit, they can even ship this fucking thing?!

Lu Xingzhe instantly felt that the sunflower seeds in his hand were no longer tasty. He stared intently at the bullet comments for a long while, hoping the toxic solo stans from both sides would quickly pop out and hop around, tearing the CP apart. But as the plot progressed, more and more people spammed the CP, until the entire screen was filled with pink.

Lu Xingzhe: "..."

So infuriating.

Xi Nian was taking a shower. As soon as he came out of the bathroom, he saw Lu Xingzhe paralyzed on the sofa, motionless like a salted fish that had lost its dreams. He walked over, pushed his legs aside, then sat down and casually asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Xingzhe didn't want to talk. He secretly hammered the cushion, then told him to look for himself.

Xi Nian subconsciously looked over and saw that the plot had progressed to the undercover part. Qiao Zhi was desperately trying to argue that she wasn't a traitor, but was choked speechless by Xi Nian's line, "You really have no qualms about tricking us." Besides the audience laughing like crazy, the bullet comments were full of people frantically spamming the CP.

[I'm begging you, get married on the spot hahahahahaha, only Xi Nian can control our Ah Zhi]

[If you two don't get married, it'll be really hard for us to move on]

[A talented man and a beautiful woman, mutually screwing each other over, leaving each other to die, a match made in heaven]

Xi Nian understood. He casually wiped his hair with a towel, not paying it much mind. These days, the paparazzi media had eight mouths; a chance encounter at a hotel could be spun into getting a room late at night, and a conversation on the street could be written up as a deep embrace. In comparison, shipping a virtual CP was nothing.

Xi Nian deliberately pretended not to see Lu Xingzhe's little movements and sank into the sofa with a half-smile, "Oh, shipping a CP, huh? What's wrong?"

What's wrong? You're still asking what's wrong?

An alarm blared in Lu Xingzhe's mind. He instantly opened his eyes, "You haven't actually taken a liking to that woman, have you?"

He stared intently at Xi Nian as he said this, afraid of missing any of the man's subtle expressions. His gaze was dangerous and vigilant, as if he was afraid his property was about to be snatched away.

After so long, Xi Nian hadn't seen this kind of sharp emotion from him in a long time.

'I'm so good to you, how could you possibly like someone else?'

This was Lu Xingzhe's thought, simple and direct like a child's.

So Xi Nian stopped teasing him, "I don't."

He would dare to say that even to that broad Qiao Zhi's face.

Just then, a pink bullet comment suddenly floated across the screen: [Xi Nian doesn't talk much throughout the show, but why does he always pick on Qiao Zhi? Is he interested in her?]

Xi Nian: "..."

Lu Xingzhe also leaned over and asked, "Why?"

'What other reason could there be?' Xi Nian thought. 'In my past life, Qiao Zhi was sharp-tongued towards me plenty of times. If I really had to dig for a reason, I could only say that mocking her has already become an instinct.'

Xi Nian answered concisely, "I just felt like it."

Lu Xingzhe suddenly felt wronged, "You've never picked on me."

Xi Nian: "..."

Great. I've seen people looking for money and looking for trouble, but this is the first time I've seen someone looking to be picked on.

This guy Lu Xingzhe was petty to begin with, and he just had to love reading the bullet comments. He was clearly just looking for misery. Xi Nian pulled him over to do something else.

He had just finished his shower, and his collar still carried a faint trace of steam. His lips were also cool. Cradling Lu Xingzhe's slender waist, he first kissed his most sensitive earlobe, then followed the smooth line of his side profile, kissing all the way.

Lu Xingzhe shivered from the ticklish sensation, then wrapped his arms around Xi Nian's neck, wanting to kiss back, but was avoided by the latter.

Xi Nian pinched Lu Xingzhe's chin and asked him, "Would I kiss Qiao Zhi like this?"

Of course not. In his past life and this one, Xi Nian had only ever been like this with Lu Xingzhe...

But Lu Xingzhe didn't know. He just forcefully pushed Xi Nian's shoulders onto the sofa, panting as he stared into his eyes and said, "Fuck, you dare try kissing her!"

Xi Nian felt he wasn't getting it, so he couldn't be bothered with more nonsense. He turned and pinned Lu Xingzhe down, then made him half-kneel on the sofa. Pressing against him from behind, he whispered by his ear, calmly concluding, "I think your brain is only the size of a peanut."

Hearing this, Lu Xingzhe was about to say something, but he let out a muffled grunt due to the man's sudden movement. The words he had just formed were shattered into pieces, becoming pants of what seemed like both pain and pleasure from his lips.

The screen on the TV was still constantly changing, flickering between light and dark. By the time Xi Nian shouldered the heavy burden of decoding, avoided the evil ghost, and went back the way he came to get the keychain, no one was spamming the CP anymore. It was a solid wall of people shouting "666".

Especially as the plot progressed, when he dodged the psycho, leaped off the second floor with a beautiful move, and locked up the mole Bai Yicheng, the people who used to call him Zai Zai were all gone, replaced by a frantic spam of the word "Hubby".

[Ahhhhh I'm screaming like a groundhog! I thought he was destined to die, but it turns out he's the one carrying the team with his skills. What kind of godly boy is Xi Nian ahhh!!!]

[Hubby I want to have your babies!!!]

[I thought he and Qiao Zhi were sure to die, I never expected, never expected, this is insane, he actually saved the entire group!]

[I've changed my mind, I'm not shipping the CP anymore. Hubby is mine, don't even think about snatching him away wuwuwuwuwu]

[Suddenly a fan of Xi Nian. He's so reliable and smart, his boyfriend-material power is off the charts wuwuwu. So cool my legs went weak. The number one person to turn the tide for the show.]

#Somehow Gained a Huge Batch of Wife Fans#

Lu Xingzhe felt like he could fuck a dog. He thought Xi Nian was deliberately trying to kill him. While adjusting his body to make it easier for him to move, he cursed with red eyes and a trembling voice, "Fuck, can't you fucking do this on the bed?"

Responding to him were Xi Nian's hoarse and brief word: "No."

This infamous paparazzo was nearly tormented to death by Xi Nian on the sofa, yet his once empty heart was unknowingly filled to the brim with some unknown emotion.

Lu Xingzhe lay on top of Xi Nian, his hair soaked with sweat, his eyes hazy and alluring with lust. He kissed the man's sharply defined profile intermittently, then left a dense trail of hickeys on his collarbone, finally feeling a little more balanced inside.

Hubby then, Hubby. While the fangirls were calling him Hubby from the other side of their computers, he had already gotten the man into his bed.

Thinking this, Lu Xingzhe unconsciously nuzzled Xi Nian. When the man looked over, he leaned down and gave him an ambiguous kiss, his lips curling smugly, his lingering breath bewitching, "From now on, just kissing me is enough..."

No two people were more compatible than them.

For the first time, Xi Nian found Lu Xingzhe's smug expression not so annoying, even a little cute. He unconsciously stroked Lu Xingzhe's leg; it was no longer as lame as in his previous life. And as he had walked this path, when he looked back, it was surprisingly clean.

Xi Nian couldn't say whether this change was for the better, but at least it wasn't bad.

After fermenting overnight, the show went straight to the top of Weibo's hot searches the next day. The top three were all topics related to Escape Room: Decode, and Xi Nian and Qiao Zhi's names were blatantly displayed there.

#EscapeRoomDecodePremiere#

#XiNianQiaoZhiFatherDaughterLove#

#EscapeRoomDecodeAllMembersSuccessfullyEscape#

When the crowd of melon-eaters saw the hot search, their first reaction was the confused black man meme face. What the hell was this "deep father-daughter affection"? Did the two of them have such a subtle relationship? It was simply shocking??!!

Those who had watched the show last night said they were already laughing like crazy, recommending it to people everywhere. "I'm begging you, go watch the latest episode of Escape Room: Decode. After watching, you'll absolutely laugh until your face breaks."

Some quick-handed fangirls had already edited together a meme video, using the epic and moving team spirit of the other two teams as a contrast to highlight the cold-blooded ruthlessness of Xi Nian and Qiao Zhi's team. Especially when the two of them ran away and hid in the classroom, Xi Nian's line, "I'll run first, you cover the rear," could make people laugh to death on the spot in minutes.

There were too many highlights in this episode. Master editors all showed off their unique tricks, and the CP-shipping girls didn't fall behind either. They managed to turn a horror variety show into a love story video montage of life-and-death parting. A handsome man and a beautiful woman, paired with a sentimental BGM and cinematic color grading—the moment Xi Nian looked back before jumping off the second floor stunned many people.

A desolate high-rise, dim daylight, the man looking back, the wind lifting the corner of his clothes. His pair of deep eyes clearly reflected the woman's face. Handsome and indifferent, even his heartlessness was moving—

[...Then kill her, just don't make it too painful]

The netizens first watched with their hands clasped to their hearts, unable to stop themselves from being suffocated by his handsomeness. But upon hearing the last sentence, they all instantly broke character: [Pfft hahahahaha please shut up, don't make us laugh until we puke]

[Requesting the area of Qiao Zhi's psychological trauma]

Although Lu Xingzhe had anticipated that Xi Nian's popularity would rise somewhat after the show aired, he hadn't expected such a huge spectacle. Overnight, edited videos about Xi Nian sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Many people fell straight into the fandom, treating him as their ultimate bias, and even his past experiences were all dug up.

And so the netizens gasped. What kind of godly treasure boy was this? It was one thing to be good at archery, but he was also handsome, doted on his fans, and his IQ while playing games was top-notch. For him not to be popular would be fucking defying heaven's law, okay?!!!

Even more so, someone dug up the incident where Su Ge had previously schemed against Xi Nian. They collectively went to his Weibo and cursed him out. Su Ge had been shelved for a long time, and although there were recent faint signs of a comeback, they were immediately snuffed out by the backlash. His Weibo feed was dead silent, no longer possessing its former liveliness and glamour.

The entertainment circle was just such a fickle place. Some people constantly rose, while others constantly fell. It was like a wall built of bricks and tiles; every step had to be steady and sure, allowing for no cracks, otherwise, a single push from the crowd would cause it to collapse with a roar.

Su Ge could once have been described as being at the height of his popularity. Now, after just disappearing for a period of time, he was replaced by a newcomer in the blink of an eye. Those past mistakes and scandals flew everywhere, enough to easily crush this not-so-sturdy wall of his.

Xi Nian looked at the rapidly increasing number of followers on his Weibo, and at the various big and small matters from his debut days that were being dug up. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a wave of lingering fear for no reason.

For his disastrous past life.

It turns out that in this life, one really cannot walk the wrong path...

Xi Nian sat in front of the computer, his body slowly sinking into the back of the chair. Although he didn't want to admit it, in fact, when he saw Su Ge's fate, he dazedly saw his own past as well.

Lu Xingzhe had just entered the room when he saw Xi Nian staring motionlessly at the computer, as if he was thinking about something. He couldn't help but walk quietly up to him and ask, "What's wrong?"

Xi Nian said nothing, just pulled him into his arms and slowly hugged him. The latter felt for a moment that he was being held so tight he couldn't breathe.

Lu Xingzhe inconspicuously glanced at the screen. Seeing that the number of Weibo followers was still rising, he withdrew his gaze, looked back at Xi Nian, reached out to stroke his head, and then hugged him back, "Are you unhappy?"

Xi Nian didn't answer, just looked at Lu Xingzhe, then kissed his beautiful eyes and suddenly asked for no reason, "Do you hate me?"

Do you hate me...

For lying to you, using you, and finally abandoning you.

In the past, Xi Nian had only seen his own hardships and struggles, to the point that he forgot that the experience of the person in front of him was not much better than his own. It was just that he never said anything, so no one knew. This question should have been asked long ago, but it was delayed by a lifetime.

Lu Xingzhe didn't even need to delve into the reason behind this question. Hearing it, he directly shook his head and muttered, "Why would I hate you."

After he finished speaking, he instantly gave a cunning and flippant smile, reached out to hook Xi Nian's chin, winked, and whistled, "Laozi likes you."

Just like. No other reason. Lu Xingzhe never hesitated to say those two words. It inexplicably gave people the feeling that even his badness was clean and straightforward.

Xi Nian's mood inexplicably improved a little. He pressed Lu Xingzhe into his embrace, his chin resting on the other's soft hair, and then let out an emotionless "en".

Hearing this, Lu Xingzhe quietly raised his head in his embrace, glanced at Xi Nian, and then unconsciously frowned.

What the fuck does "en" mean?

As a former gossip paparazzo who had written plenty of celebrity scandals, Lu Xingzhe considered his language skills to be barely passing. He was especially good at twisting black and white and embellishing the truth, but he was stunned that he couldn't figure out the meaning behind Xi Nian's "en". He couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken.

#Suffering From a Lack of Culture#

Just as Xi Nian's popularity was soaring, the contract termination with Shanxing was also officially put on the agenda. That side seemed to have intentions of keeping him, even changing the negotiator to a high-level executive from the company instead of the annoying Sun Ming. Xi Nian would have to be an idiot to sign a slave contract with them. He directly found a lawyer to represent him in negotiating the termination.

Lu Xingzhe guessed that after the news got out, Shanxing would definitely hire an internet water army to slander Xi Nian, cursing him for becoming ungrateful after his comeback, for kicking his old employer to the curb once he got famous. He gathered some hard evidence of Shanxing Entertainment bullying its artists in advance, preparing to release it when the time was right.

At the same time, as the popularity of Escape Room: Decode soared, Qiao Zhi's fame also rose. She usually had a pretentious and artificial persona in front of the camera that attracted haters, but in the show, her crying and screaming out of fear actually made netizens feel it was real, and it was unexpectedly endearing. Her management team behind the scenes frequently released press releases, and she successively landed several endorsements, showing signs of becoming a dominant force among the young actresses.

That night, Lu Xingzhe was sitting in front of the computer editing materials when he suddenly received an email. He glanced at it casually and didn't originally intend to pay it any mind, but for some reason, he got up, put on a jacket, a mask, and a baseball cap, and left the house.

It was the middle of the night. Lu Xingzhe drove all the way to a nearby park. Under a streetlight, a man with a hunched figure was waiting, looking around from time to time. He looked furtive, not like a good person.

Lu Xingzhe rolled down the car window and tapped on the door with his finger. When the man noticed, he immediately trotted over excitedly, "You're finally here. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Lu Xingzhe rarely showed his face in public. Wearing a mask, only his eyes were visible. Hearing the man's words, he tapped his fingertips lightly on the steering wheel and asked in an emotionless tone, "You said you had a big scoop, but you wouldn't say over the computer. You can tell me whose it is now, right?"

Paparazzi would occasionally exchange information privately. Hong Biao was in this line of work. He didn't know that Lu Xingzhe had already quit. Hearing the question, he chuckled and shook the envelope in his hand, "I said it's a big scoop, so of course it's a big scoop. Otherwise, I wouldn't have looked for you, right? I'm not interested in digging up dirt on those D-list celebrities."

Lu Xingzhe asked again, "Who?"

He hadn't actually planned on coming, but he was afraid it was about Xi Nian. After all, he was in the limelight right now, and it was inevitable that he would attract the jealousy of malicious people, so he drove over.

Hong Biao leaned slightly closer to the car window. He had a crumpled envelope in his hand, bulging with a pile of photos. He then smiled at Lu Xingzhe and said, "Don't say your bro doesn't include you when making money. The boss this time is quite generous. You have the most information channels. Spread this dirt, the more the better, and you can get this much."

After saying that, he held up his hand to show a number. The reward was indeed generous.

Although the internet is well-developed now and news travels fast, it gets suppressed even faster. Some artists, in order to slander their rivals, would deliberately bribe paparazzi to spread news, causing a huge uproar.

Lu Xingzhe's lips curled slightly as he deliberately deceived him, "Who wouldn't make money if they could?"

After saying that, he took the envelope and tore it open in a couple of moves. However, when he saw the person in the photo, his interest vanished instantly. He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked Hong Biao, "It's her?"

The photos showed a man and a woman walking arm in arm, and they were seen entering and exiting the same residential complex multiple times. The man's appearance was unclear, but the woman was clearly Qiao Zhi.

Hong Biao said, "How come your information network isn't working? Qiao Zhi has a boyfriend outside the circle, and he's a small-time hoodlum who's been supporting her through school. This time, she probably offended someone. Someone specifically wants to take her down."

Lu Xingzhe subconsciously wanted to say, "What the fuck does that have to do with me," but he swallowed the words back. He tossed the photos onto the passenger seat, showing no interest, "What's there to expose in this kind of trashy scoop."

Hong Biao gave him an incredulous look, "Are you stupid? This isn't a big scoop? A popular goddess getting together with a little hoodlum, if this gets out, it'll make people's jaws drop. Besides, if there's money to be made, just make it. Why do you care so much?"

Lu Xingzhe paused, then said perfunctorily, "Got it, I'll message you later."

Hong Biao nodded, said a few more words, and then left.

Lu Xingzhe sat in the car, picked up the stack of photos again and flipped through them. He found that there were even photos of the two kissing, which was solid proof. He thought to himself that it was indeed a big scoop, but he had already promised Xi Nian he wouldn't be a paparazzo anymore.

He pouted and tossed them back again.

Xi Nian had just finished settling the contract termination with Shanxing today. When he got home in the middle of the night, he didn't see Lu Xingzhe. He was about to call him, but who would have thought that Lu Xingzhe would return at that exact moment. The two of them ran into each other right at the door.

Seeing him all bundled up to the point where his own mother wouldn't recognize him, Xi Nian reached up and took off his hat, "Where have you been?"

Lu Xingzhe closed the door with a backhand motion and squeezed right into his arms, "The park. Someone wanted me to expose Qiao Zhi's scandals."

He handed over the stack of photos and recounted what had happened. Xi Nian held him with one arm, roughly scanned the photos upon hearing the story, and understood. Then he looked at Lu Xingzhe with a half-smile, "Then why didn't you take the job?"

Lu Xingzhe rested on his shoulder and whispered, "I'm not lying to you. I said I wouldn't be a paparazzo anymore, so I won't."

Xi Nian paused, "Even for money?"

Lu Xingzhe: "Money isn't as important as you."

After saying that, he nuzzled Xi Nian's chin and then gave him a loud peck on the cheek to show his affection.

Xi Nian hugged him, and for some reason, was dazed for a moment. Then he kissed his eyes, and in a low voice, said only a single, short word.

"Good."

A low sound, extremely magnetic.

Lu Xingzhe: "..."

Damn it, my legs are weak.

The author has something to say:

Qiao Zhi: This "daddy" was ultimately wasted.