Chapter Forty-Eight: A Peculiar Atmosphere

While the online community was still in chaos, one of the people involved finally spoke up.

Lin Yue shouted at the top of his lungs, “How much longer are you going to chat? Don’t you have work to do?”

Bai Chenxi yelled back, “Just a minute!”

He had already given them plenty of time, after all. Who told them to be so caught up in gazing affectionately at each other?

At the sound of Lin Yue’s voice, Chu Muyun’s demeanor instantly turned icy.

“What’s this? Do we have a guest at home?”

Bai Chenxi answered honestly, “Yes! It’s Lin Yue. The Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, so I asked him to help me wrap zongzi.”

“By the way, when did you get back?”

“Just now.”

As he spoke, Chu Muyun took off his jacket and handed it to Bai Chenxi, who took it without thinking. Only after the coat was in her hands did Bai Chenxi realize it seemed a bit inappropriate. Yet Chu Muyun looked perfectly at ease, as if nothing was amiss.

Thinking she was overthinking it, Bai Chenxi naturally walked over and hung the coat on the rack.

Watching Chu Muyun interact with Caesar, Bai Chenxi smiled and said, “You’re finally home. Caesar has really missed you.”

Chu Muyun replied in a low voice, “I know.”

But whether those words were meant for Caesar or someone else was anyone’s guess.

“Have a seat and play with Caesar for a while. I’m going to wrap some zongzi.”

As Bai Chenxi finished, Chu Muyun stood up and said, “Let me help.”

Bai Chenxi looked at him skeptically: Are you sure you can?

Chu Muyun seemed to read her expression. “Don’t worry, there’s no frying involved.”

With that, he went to wash his hands in the kitchen.

Bai Chenxi looked at Chu Muyun washing his hands, then at Lin Yue still rinsing rice, and wondered: Did I buy too few bamboo leaves?

Seeing Chu Muyun and Bai Chenxi coming over together, Lin Yue raised an eyebrow. “Well, well! Who would have thought our King Chu knows how to wrap zongzi!”

Chu Muyun sat down and replied, “I don’t.”

Lin Yue choked: How could he sound so confident about not knowing? No wonder Bai Chenxi was getting better at retorts.

Seeing Lin Yue’s expression, Chu Muyun asked, “Do you?”

Lin Yue deflated. “Alright, I don’t either.”

Both of them turned to look at Bai Chenxi.

Under the gaze of these two “masters,” Bai Chenxi suddenly felt enormous pressure: Can I just not wrap zongzi?

“Um… I can do it. I’ll teach you.”

As soon as Bai Chenxi sat down, the two men just watched her, not even lifting a finger.

She sighed, picked up some bamboo leaves, and demonstrated, “Take two leaves each. Like this, put them together and fold one end into a funnel shape.”

Immediately, Chu Muyun and Lin Yue began demonstrating—for the audience—a hundred ways to ruin bamboo leaves.

Watching the two of them torment the zongzi, Bai Chenxi’s heart ached. Good thing she’d bought plenty.

Practice truly is the best teacher. After many failed attempts, the two finally started to get the hang of it.

After some careful exploration, Chu Muyun finally completed his first zongzi. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, maintaining a composed expression as he set his zongzi aside, as if wrapping one was no big deal. Of course, the fact that his zongzi was tied with a bit too much string could be conveniently ignored.

“Impressive, Chu!” Bai Chenxi praised with her eyes almost closed, knowing encouragement was in order.

Chu Muyun reacted with disdain, as if it really was nothing to him. Yet he picked up two more leaves, his movements noticeably quicker.

Hearing Bai Chenxi’s praise, Lin Yue protested, “Bai Chenxi, are you blind? Look at all that string—are we eating zongzi or eating thread?”

Chu Muyun showed little reaction, continuing to wrap zongzi as if he hadn’t heard a thing, completely ignoring Lin Yue.

But Bai Chenxi wouldn’t let it go. “At least he finished one. You haven’t wrapped a single one, do you even have the right to speak?”

Stung, Lin Yue shot back, “Just you wait! I’ll wrap one better than his right now!”

[Jealousy is in the air! This is the moment I’ve been waiting for (so excited!)]
[Bai Chenxi was a bit harsh, wasn’t she?]
[Their relationship is good, it’s fine.]
[Still, even with a good relationship, that was a bit much~]
[Lin Yue doesn’t even care, you all are overreacting!]
[Seriously, can’t we just enjoy the sugar in peace?]
[Who exactly are we shipping here?]
[Isn’t this love triangle sweet enough?]
[What on earth just floated by?]

Lin Yue proudly showed off his freshly wrapped zongzi to Bai Chenxi. “How about it, mine’s better than his, right?”

He deliberately placed his zongzi next to Chu Muyun’s for the netizens to compare directly.

But before he could bask in his triumph, Chu Muyun set down an even better one beside his.

Bai Chenxi patted Lin Yue on the shoulder. “The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrade, you must keep striving.”

Chu Muyun and Lin Yue, locked in a silent contest, both sped up their wrapping.

Bai Chenxi watched the three of them at work, the room growing silent. Wanting to lift the increasingly awkward atmosphere, she said, “Aren’t you bored? Let’s chat while we work.”

Lin Yue, focused only on the zongzi, didn’t even look up. “No time.”

Chu Muyun, on the other hand, acknowledged her. Though he was never one for many words, he looked at her and said, “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

No matter how gentle the words, they couldn’t ease the awkwardness in the air.

Bai Chenxi forced a smile, “Forget I said anything,” and lowered her head in silence.

[Laughing my head off…]
[Poor Bai Chenxi, just for a second]
[Even if they don’t talk, I could watch all day]
[Who wouldn’t? The looks alone are enough]
[All straight men here, poor Bai Chenxi]
[Lin Yue: Don’t drag me in, I only care about zongzi]
[Chu Muyun: Conversation is not happening]
[Bai Chenxi: Pretend I said nothing. Erase this from memory]
[That’s the vibe, hilarious~]

“Finally finished.” Bai Chenxi looked at the neatly wrapped zongzi with satisfaction. Some of them were a bit unsightly, but she chose to ignore those.

After the two of them helped her carry the zongzi to the kitchen, Bai Chenxi promptly shooed them out. She was determined not to let either of them step foot near the kitchen.

Chu Muyun and Lin Yue trailed into the living room, one after the other.

…

Chu Muyun was never talkative, and Lin Yue didn’t know what to say to him. Even if he did, a livestream wasn’t the place for it.

The two shared a moment of mutual silence, then turned away by tacit agreement—one went to pet the dog, the other to check his phone.

[I think I’m about to change my ship again]
[Please, stop with your wild imaginings]
[I ship the male god and his rival in love]
[Write it and let us know when it’s out]
[+1]
[+10086]

If Chu Muyun and Lin Yue saw these comments, they’d probably scoff. Had everyone lost their minds?

When Bai Chenxi came out, she saw the two of them each quietly occupying a corner. But none of that mattered. What caught her attention was that, with Chu Muyun home, Caesar would be on his best behavior.

And that meant there would be an exceptionally well-behaved Caesar for her to pet.

Eyes shining, Bai Chenxi dashed over to Caesar.