Chapter 44: Do You Want to Eat BBQ?

Chapter 44: Do You Want to Eat BBQ?

Both of them jumped, and the young emperor hastily pushed away the person pressing against him, looking over his shoulder to meet the eyes of the newcomer who had just opened the door.

"..."

"..."

"Brother?" The Seventh Prince stared at the two of them in utter disbelief, feeling the world spin.

Total minefield.

...

The three of them rehearsed their lines and movements with great enthusiasm, and unexpectedly, each of them got into character fast.

The livestream had already cut off on time during their rehearsal, and the viewers who had only watched half of it were cussing up a storm, but the production team wouldn't budge on the time.

The three of them plopped down on the floor.

Su Zhiyu suggested, "We have a week to rehearse. Let's figure out our available times this week and agree to come here together to practice, okay?"

Qin Yan, propping himself up with one hand on the ground, nodded while sitting: "Sure, I'm free anytime. I've got nothing going on."

Liu Mian said, "I'm busy for two days in the middle, but I should be free the rest of the time. I'll send you my schedule."

"Good." Su Zhiyu took out his phone to note it down. "I'll just go with whatever works for you guys."

During the rehearsal days in the middle, the production team would occasionally film some practice footage to release as bonus content, not for the main episodes, so there was no set rehearsal schedule.

It was all voluntary.

Fortunately, all three of them were on top of things, and they quickly sorted out their schedules, agreeing to come back the next morning to rehearse.

Evening.

Everyone was heading out, and Qin Yan and Su Zhiyu walked out together. Just as they hit the lobby, someone called out to them.

"Brother Yan." Yang Yichen winked at him. "Done rehearsing?"

Qin Yan arched an eyebrow. "Something up?"

"Yeah, how about we go grab some BBQ at my place? My garden is perfect for it. We can come back and practice together tomorrow."

Qin Yan hesitated.

Yang Yichen grabbed his arm: "Come on, let's go. We said we'd have a meal together last time, and it's been forever. I can never catch you. Tonight you're coming to my place for BBQ, no ifs, ands, or buts."

"..." Qin Yan thought it over—he had nothing to do at home anyway, and this friend of the original body's seemed like a decent person worth getting to know. Fine, he'd go. "Okay."

"Great, great."

"Yichen, can I come too?" Jiang Yizhou had shown up out of nowhere, a ribbon tied around his forehead drenched in sweat, his sleeves pushed up to his wrists.

Seeing him, Yang Yichen smiled and nodded: "Of course, Captain. If you're free, come along with us. The more, the merrier."

"Sure, I've been craving BBQ for a while."

Though he said he was craving BBQ, Jiang Yizhou's eyes were on Qin Yan. But with so many people around, he only looked for two seconds before looking away.

"Then let's get going." Yang Yichen called out.

Qin Yan didn't move, then turned to ask Su Zhiyu: "Do you want to eat BBQ?"

Su Zhiyu didn't care much about food—he'd eat whatever was available, and it didn't matter to him.

But he remembered the look Jiang Yizhou had just given Qin Yan, and the word "no" on the tip of his tongue died in his throat.

"Yeah."

Qin Yan smiled, reached over and ruffled his hair: "Then come along. Tonight we'll eat as much as we want."

The warmth of a palm landed on his head, and Su Zhiyu froze for a moment, awkwardly turning his head to avoid the touch.

Qin Yan's hand hung in the air, but he didn't seem embarrassed at all. He calmly pulled it back and turned to ask Liu Mian, who hadn't walked far yet: "Liu Mian, want to come for BBQ? Join us."

Liu Mian had one foot practically out the door, but hearing the call, he stopped and turned back: "BBQ? Where?"

"At Yang Yichen's place. Everyone's going—the Captain and I are both going. You should come too."

Liu Mian looked at Yang Yichen, who scratched his head awkwardly: "Yeah, yeah, you come too. Yi Zhou's also here. The more, the merrier."

While the two were talking, Qin Yan quietly edged closer to Su Zhiyu and whispered very softly: "I'll grill some meat for you later. Eat plenty—ideally eat Yang Yichen out of house and home, so he can't show off anymore."

"?"

Su Zhiyu looked up in surprise, and when he saw the serious expression on Qin Yan's face, he actually felt a hint of amusement.

His eyes crinkled slightly, and he let out a soft "Okay."

Jiang Yizhou stood on the other side, secretly watching Qin Yan from the corner of his eye, so he naturally caught the interaction between Qin Yan and Su Zhiyu.

But he only saw Qin Yan say something to Su Zhiyu, and Su Zhiyu reply with just "okay."

Why were they whispering?

They'd never had any interaction before, while he had at least met Qin Yan before. He should have been the one who came first—so why was the latecomer beating him to it?

The group split into two cars to head to Yang Yichen's villa.

Originally, Yang Yichen was driving Jiang Yizhou, while Su Zhiyu was supposed to ride in Qin Yan's car.

When they reached the parking lot, Jiang Yizhou came up with some excuse to swap with Liu Mian, and he ended up in Qin Yan's car.

Qin Yan sat in the passenger seat, with Jiang Yizhou and Su Zhiyu in the back seat.

Jiang Yizhou leaned against the seat, using the angle to study the Alpha in front, the faint glow of his phone lighting up his face. He sent Qin Yan another friend request.

The phone in Su Zhiyu's pocket buzzed softly. He reached for it and, at a red light, opened it.

It was a friend request from Jiang Yizhou.

His peripheral vision caught Jiang Yizhou sneaking glances at Qin Yan—or rather, openly staring, with a desire he wasn't even trying to hide.

Jiang Yizhou... really did seem to like Qin Yan.

Would Qin Yan like him back?

If they both added each other on WeChat, would they start chatting?

Su Zhiyu stared at that glaring profile picture, his chest feeling tight. He turned off his phone with a heavy heart, not wanting to deal with the friend request.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Yang Yichen and Liu Mian made small talk, drifting from the production crew to their mutual friend Qin Yan, until nearly all their talk was about Qin Yan.

"Why don't we add each other on WeChat?" Yang Yichen suddenly proposed.

Liu Mian was surprised but smiled and pulled out his phone: "Sure, I'll scan your code."

"Alright."

"By the way, I heard you're in stage plays?" Yang Yichen steered the topic away from Qin Yan, gradually shifting it to themselves.

About half an hour later.

Everyone sat around the courtyard of Yang Yichen's house, with a large barbecue grill set up in the middle, surrounded by a variety of fresh and premium ingredients.

"Come on, let's eat."

Yang Yichen grabbed a few large oysters and a plate of seafood, grilling them before handing them out per person. As the seafood was passed to Su Zhiyu, a plate slid over from the side: "I'll take it."

"?" Yang Yichen looked confused. "This one's for Zhi Yu."

"He doesn't do seafood."

Qin Yan said it offhandedly, scooping it onto his own plate, and then realized the mood had shifted.

All four of them were staring at him.

Qin Yan took a few bites, then said, "Why are you all staring at me? Go on, eat. You guys full already?"

"..."

"No, that's not it." Jiang Yizhou asked hesitantly, "Brother Qin, how do you know Zhi Yu doesn't eat seafood?"

That kind of thing is pretty private, at least something you'd only know from eating together.

Had they... gotten that close already?

Jiang Yizhou thought about how he hadn't even added Qin Yan on WeChat yet, and a sour feeling crept in. He was dying to know what the relationship between Qin Yan and Su Zhiyu really was.

Qin Yan hadn't seen that question coming.

In the comic, the original version of him loved seafood, but Su Zhiyu didn't—he'd throw up after eating it, not that he was allergic.

After discovering this, the original character often forced him to eat seafood, getting off on watching him throw up until he went pale.

He'd blurted it out without thinking, and now that he was asked, he wasn't even sure why it had come to mind so fast.

He casually grabbed some tissues and wiped his mouth, then said, "He told me himself."

"Huh?"

Jiang Yizhou turned back to Su Zhiyu: "Zhi Yu, when did you say that? I didn't know about it."

Su Zhiyu hung his head, sounding down: "I don't remember, maybe at the crew's cafeteria."

Jiang Yizhou's mood lifted after hearing that. He cheerfully added some pork belly: "Then don't eat seafood, have something else. Here, eat more of this grilled pork."

"Mm, thanks."

Su Zhiyu barely said anything. Aside from that brief interruption, most of the time the others were chatting while he listened quietly or ate slowly, like part of the scenery.

Someone told a joke, and everyone was cracking up, rocking with laughter. Qin Yan casually threw an arm around Su Zhiyu's shoulder and gave him a shake:

"Su Zhiyu, that joke was so funny. Why don't you tell one too?"

Su Zhiyu: ?

"If you don't, then you've gotta tell a truth," Qin Yan said with a sly grin. "You can't just sit there eating alone. Pick one."

The others joined in the teasing: "Yeah, come on, tell one!"