“Not many.” Wan Tong seriously counted for a moment.
In the end, she held up ten fingers. “Eight older cousins, two younger cousins.”
Actually, she also had a few maternal cousins. Most of these cousins were more than twelve years older than her, so they usually acted like elders. Even Xiaoyu often overstepped his place, treating her like a younger sister.
Chu Yuanxun listened to her words and let out a quiet sigh. A strand of hair fell over his deep, ink-black eyes, making his expression even heavier.
From the current situation, the cub protection squad was indeed too formidable.
“What’s wrong?” Wan Tong noticed his change in expression and leaned in to ask.
Chu Yuanxun gazed at her soft, fair fingers, slowly shook his head, and, without knowing whether he was reassuring her or himself, murmured, “Nothing. It’s fine.”
“…” Wan Tong had the distinct feeling that his words were squeezed out from between his teeth.
Chu Yuanxun sat cross-legged beside her and reached out to poke the neatly folded clothes beside her. His voice carried a slight nasal tone. “Why is your younger cousin here to see you?”
Wan Tong was briefly startled by his wording before explaining, “Xiaoyu is studying in T City. He never listens and loves running around. He often comes to see me. Are we causing you trouble?”
Chu Yuanxun listened quietly, then gave a slight nod. “Yeah, pretty troublesome.”
“…” Wan Tong choked for a moment, blinking in confusion, unsure of how to respond.
“I meant your cousin,” Chu Yuanxun corrected. He tilted his head to meet Wan Tong’s gaze and said in a muffled voice, “He’s always targeting me.”
“…” The grievance in his tone made Wan Tong both amused and exasperated. “Xiaoyu is still young. Don’t hold it against him.”
“Mm.” Chu Yuanxun hummed softly, as if generously letting it slide.
He braced one hand against the carpet, leaning slightly toward Wan Tong. As the distance between them shrank, the air seemed to grow subtly sweet.
At that moment, Jian Shiyu, who had been eavesdropping at the door for some time, finally couldn’t hold back.
—Damn! This Chu Yuanxun, looking all proper and decent, was actually this sneaky? Running to complain behind my back? Did he have no shame? No shame at all?!
“Sister, I’m hungry. Let’s order takeout.” He strolled in from outside, acting as if he hadn’t just interrupted something, his expression innocent and mild.
The two people in the bedroom looked at him simultaneously, and the previously warm and sweet atmosphere was instantly dispelled.
“Alright, what do you want to eat?” Wan Tong turned to Jian Shiyu. They had eaten dinner early, so it wasn’t surprising that he was hungry.
Chu Yuanxun’s eye twitched slightly. He withdrew nonchalantly, but when he glanced at Jian Shiyu, he caught the faint hint of a warning in Jian Shiyu’s gaze.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the floor, lowering his long lashes to conceal the unreadable glint in his eyes.
Actually, having an extra third wheel around wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
At least it kept him from… overthinking.
And acting on impulse.
Before going to bed, Wan Tong lay in bed, playing with her new phone, feeling a little excited.
She was supposed to go buy a phone with Chu Yuanxun today, but they hadn’t gone in the end. Unexpectedly, he had already gotten one for her.
Her old phone had been off for some time. Now, as soon as she turned it on, a flood of messages and missed calls popped up.
Her family had already found out that she had run off to B City. Judging from her uncle’s messages, he had been scolded badly and was currently in a mess. Jian Shitong wasn’t much better off—he had been interrogated to the point of exhaustion.
Wan Tong patiently made calls to reassure her family. As expected, once they heard she was with Jian Shiyu, they calmed down a little.
After settling things with her family, she logged into Weibo.
Last night, she and Chu Yuanxun had followed each other on Weibo, so now everyone had confirmed her identity. Since opening her account, her follower count had surged to nearly 200,000—some were fans of her looks, some were haters, but most were just curious onlookers gossiping.
However, it seemed like the malicious comments had lessened compared to yesterday. Had her family started managing public opinion for her?
That was a real possibility. During the first season, her family had also done PR control for her.
But back then, the over-the-top damage control had backfired, worsening her reputation instead. This time, she wanted to handle things herself, so she made calls to both her father and uncle.
Searching the trending topics, she quickly spotted a familiar name.
Not only were there rumors about her and Jian Shiyu, but there were also photos of Chu Yuanxun meeting Yuan Qingqing.
So, Chu Yuanxun had actually met Yuan Qingqing today?!
Wan Tong practically jumped out of bed, then dashed out the door.
Jian Shiyu had claimed he was too scared to sleep alone, so he had ended up dragging Chu Yuanxun to the master bedroom while she was left with the guest room.
*Knock knock—*
The moment she knocked on the master bedroom door, it swung open immediately. Inside, the room was brightly lit, and Chu Yuanxun stood at the doorway as if he had been waiting for her to knock.
As he stepped out, behind him, Jian Shiyu grinned in schadenfreude.
—Sister must’ve seen the news on Weibo and come to confront him! Chu Yuanxun was doomed!
—Sister was always decisive, this time, she’d definitely cut things off cleanly!
Chu Yuanxun shut the door behind him, his deep black eyes glancing briefly at Jian Shiyu, who responded with an even more smugly raised eyebrow.
As the door clicked shut, the faint curve of Chu Yuanxun’s lips surfaced for just a moment.
But as he turned to face Wan Tong, the smile was already gone, replaced by lowered lashes, long and dark, giving him a pitiful air.
Wan Tong tugged at the corner of his shirt and quickly walked back to the guest room. After much contemplation, she finally voiced her question. “Did you meet with Yuan Qingqing?”
No matter how she phrased it, there was no avoiding the hint of an interrogation in her tone.
During the airing of the show, he had separately made the trending list with both her and Yuan Qingqing, earning himself the label of a scumbag. The backlash had severely impacted his image.
Besides, she also wanted to take this chance to find out why he had met with Yuan Qingqing.
Shishi hadn’t mentioned anything about Yuan Qingqing making a move, so Yuan Qingqing probably hadn’t started stirring up trouble yet.
“She asked me to have a meal, but I declined.” Chu Yuanxun’s explanation was immediate, his words as concise as ever.
Seeing Wan Tong’s still-serious expression, he pressed his lips together, a subtle ripple crossing his brow.
[Tongtong, the boss’s favorability toward the Raider has dropped by 10.] Shishi reminded her.
“…” Wan Tong opened her mouth but forgot what she was about to say.
“You’re… angry?” Chu Yuanxun tilted his head slightly, his deep gaze locking onto her.
Shishi : [Tongtong, the boss’s favorability toward the Raider has dropped by 10. Current favorability rating: 10.]
Wan Tong : “…” In just a short while, Chu Yuanxun’s favorability toward Yuan Qingqing had dropped multiple times. What did that imply?
Did he think she was mad, so… he was taking it out on Yuan Qingqing?
“I’m not mad. I’m just worried about you.” Wan Tong paused, then added with a helpless chuckle, “Right now, we’re both seen as a scumbag couple. People are cursing us like crazy, saying we’re just trying to create hype. Aren’t you worried about how this will affect your life?”
Chu Yuanxun’s expression finally softened a bit. However, when he thought about all the ridiculous things online and the trouble they might bring, a sharp glint flickered in his eyes. “Given the current situation, it does look like some kind of publicity stunt.”
Whether it was Wan Tong and Jian Shiyu or him and Yuan Qingqing, these were all baseless rumors that couldn’t withstand scrutiny.
The harsher the accusations now, the more humiliating it would be for those people once the truth came out.
But the problem was, until the show finished airing, he couldn’t clarify anything to avoid spoiling it.
He wasn’t worried about himself, he was worried about Tongtong.
The world didn’t need to know how wonderful she was. He also didn’t want to showcase his treasure to the public, but…
“It’s fine. I know how to handle it.” Wan Tong’s lips curled into a small, triumphant smile, her dewy eyes shimmering with a peculiar light.
Chu Yuanxun refocused, his gaze softening as he raised a brow. “And how will you handle it?”
From what he knew, she wasn’t the type to respond to gossip.
Wan Tong shook her head. “Just tell the truth.” After all, what netizens loved most was unexpected plot twists.
Chu Yuanxun chuckled. “Then what do you think I should do?”
Wan Tong frowned slightly, pressing her soft, pink lips into a thin line. After a moment, her eyes lit up as she suggested, “How about… you don’t meet Yuan Qingqing alone until the show finishes airing?”
She emphasized the word ‘alone.’
She was just a guqin player. To put it nicely, she toured frequently and had some international recognition, but domestically, she wasn’t well known. She could afford to ignore online gossip.
But for Chu Yuanxun, whose academic and professional reputation were heavily influenced by public perception, this was a critical moment. With all eyes on him and the non-disclosure agreement with the production team restricting his explanations, he had every reason to be cautious.
However, Chu Yuanxun’s focus was elsewhere. “You don’t want me to see Yuan Qingqing?”
“Uh, you could say that. Also, we could invite other cast members out for tea or something. Zhong Jiaqi called me this morning to ask me to dinner…”
“How does he have your number?”
“I registered on Weibo, and he contacted me through there. We exchanged numbers.” Wan Tong explained everything in detail, only to notice the man across from her growing visibly displeased. His lips curved into a rather intriguing smirk.
“I don’t seem to have your number.” He took a step closer, boxing her in against the table and his chest.
Wan Tong blinked. That was true…
She quickly recited a string of numbers.
Chu Yuanxun scoffed lightly, tilting his chin in a haughty manner as if he hadn’t heard her at all.
Watching the subtle movement of his Adam’s apple from such close proximity, Wan Tong suddenly felt parched. In this intimate perspective, she even noticed, there was a tiny mole on it.
She distinctly remembered that during the show, he didn’t have a mole on his Adam’s apple. But now, he did?
“You have a mole here…” she muttered, reaching out dazedly to point at his throat.
Chu Yuanxun glanced down, momentarily not following her train of thought. “Hmm?”
Wan Tong gently tapped the small mole with her fingertip and, fearing he wouldn’t believe her, stated seriously, “Really, you have a mole here. It wasn’t there before.”
Chu Yuanxun lowered his gaze to her, momentarily unresponsive.
As his Adam’s apple moved slightly, Wan Tong felt her fingertip shift along with it. In an instant, heat rushed to her face, leaving her flushed.
Before she could withdraw her hand, Chu Yuanxun wrapped his palm around hers, leaning in slightly closer.
Wan Tong instinctively leaned back, but it did nothing to stop the decreasing distance between them.
“I have another mole,” he murmured in a husky tone, his deep voice as rich and resonant as a cello, brushing against her eardrums.
“W-Where?” Wan Tong leaned back against the table with both hands, glanced at his Adam’s apple, her mouth went dry. Then at his slightly parted lips, her tongue burned. Finally, she met his deep, smiling eyes, and her heart itched…
“In the heart.” Chu Yuanxun guided her hand to his chest, and from his thin lips, a sentence slipped out: “This mole is called Jian Wantong.”
Wan Tong: “…” Ah, I’m dead.
“Who taught you that?” Her face was burning, and she whimpered the question.
Chu Yuanxun gently squeezed her hand, his heart thrown into chaos by her flustered yet stubbornly composed expression. “Probably self-taught.”
Wan Tong swallowed hard, then suddenly stood on tiptoe, hooked her arms around his neck, and bit his Adam’s apple before quickly retreating, maintaining her composure. “Go back to sleep.”
Meeting Chu Yuanxun’s fiery gaze, she put on a tough act again. “Stop teasing me, or next time I’ll bite you to death.”
Chu Yuanxun let out a deep breath. Not only was his body tense, but his nerves were stretched taut. His eyes held a restrained, unreadable emotion.
Damn, who’s the one doing the teasing here?
Instead of backing off, he lifted her by the waist and placed the feisty little thing onto the table. Their bodies were almost pressed together as he brushed his nose against her ear, inhaled lightly, and murmured, “How will you bite?”
“…” Wan Tong felt like she was playing with fire. What was with that suggestive tone?
Was he subtly flirting in a not-so-subtle way?
Looking at his exposed neck, she suddenly wasn’t sure if she should demonstrate for him.
*Bzzzz…*
The vibration of her phone successfully pulled her out of the awkward situation.
She pushed Chu Yuanxun out of the room, steadied her racing heart, and answered the call.
It was Zheng Tianqiong.
“Tongtong, your cousin Luoting has a house in B City. I’ve spoken to Xiaoyu. You two will move in tomorrow. This was the best decision after our family meeting. You figure it out.” Zheng Tianqiong’s tone was serious. Recently, Wan Tong had become more outgoing, more rebellious. But for her, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. So, after hours of discussion, the family decided to let her experience some independence.
Besides, they had already investigated Chu Yuanxun inside out. Surprisingly, his background was spotless, which was one of the reasons the Jian family felt reassured.
Wan Tong didn’t refuse and obediently agreed.
In the small bathroom, Chu Yuanxun leaned toward the mirror, squinting slightly, barely able to make out the tiny mole on his Adam’s apple.
“So it really is…”
Thinking of the dazed, almost trance-like look in the girl’s eyes earlier, a subtle emotion stirred in his heart.
Back in the living room, he stared at the flower vase for a while before finally picking up his phone.
Leng Jing, upon checking his phone, saw a message that made him laugh out loud.
Chu Yuanxun : [I have a friend whose girlfriend is obsessed with a newly grown mole on him. What should he do?]
Leng Jing, still chuckling, immediately called back.
“A’Xun, I gave this serious thought. The answer is simple. It’s normal for girlfriends to have quirks, but you can’t spoil her too much. Play hard to get, you get me? The more she likes it, the more you should hold back. That way, she’ll only get more addicted to you…”
Leng Jing rambled on, but Chu Yuanxun simply replied, “It’s my friend.”
Then he hung up.
Leng Jing : “…”
Chu Yuanxun was so prickly. His ‘friend’ was just him, and everyone knew it.
As night deepened, Weibo was still in an uproar over certain relationships. Jian Shiyu’s background had been dug up, and just seeing his surname ‘Jian’ made people speculate whether he was related to Jian Wantong by blood.
Not long after, the long-dormant, uncertified account “JianWantong” suddenly posted late at night, sharing an old photo.
In the picture, a delicate little girl, about five or six years old, wore a perfectly fitted qipao and held a baby in her arms. The baby had a red mark on his forehead.
The caption read:
[Seeing everyone’s speculation, I seriously suspect that my little brother is just here to ride my popularity. @JianShiyu]
The moment this post dropped, it cleared away the confusion and delivered a loud slap to many faces.
They were siblings! And yet, some people had spent the whole day insulting Jian Wantong. Now what? Feeling embarrassed yet?
Jian Shiyu was a big name on campus, with plenty of fangirls on Weibo. They quickly flooded Wantong’s comments.
[Poor senior got scolded all day. Finally, his name is cleared. He’s such a nice guy—so gentle and kind!]
[OMG, my crush has been handsome since childhood! Sister, can I be your sister-in-law??]
[So they really are siblings! Not just high-level looks, but the same aura too! Is the Jian family a dynasty of artists?!]
[Jian Shiyu plays the guqin! He performed at the freshman welcome party and said his Sister taught him! Ahhh, these two are amazing!]
[A little background info: Jian Wantong isn’t just a guqin teacher like the show said. Her parents are world-class artists. Her guqin skills are inherited and refined through years of touring with masters. Her grandfather is a renowned painter. That portrait on the show? Looks simple, but every brushstroke is fluid and masterful—she’s clearly trained since childhood. Her uncle, Zheng Tianqiong, is a famous director. That’s common knowledge. But she also has another uncle who’s an award-winning architect, and apparently, a cousin who’s a physicist… So out of the four male guests, none of them can actually match her in family background. If she wanted fame, any one of her relatives could have made her famous. Why would she resort to cheap relationship drama for clout?]
The top comments were overwhelmingly positive.
Wan Tong was currently only following a few guests from the show. She even followed Yuan Qingqing, though Yuan Qingqing hadn’t followed her back yet.
Before putting her phone away, Wan Tong casually followed some well-known bloggers. The rest could wait until tomorrow.
On the other side, Jian Shiyu reposted Wan Tong’s Weibo and, while reading the flood of praise in the comments, soon succumbed to sleepiness.
He had thought Chu Yuanxun was going to be in trouble and had let out a long sigh of relief.
But when he woke up the next day and saw that the room only had him in it—no sign of Chu Yuanxun—his heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling crept in.
He rolled off the bed, not even bothering to put on shoes, and bolted to the guest room, pounding on the door.
Hearing the commotion, Wan Tong came in from the living room. “Xiaoyu, what are you doing?”
Jian Shiyu turned his head blankly, only to see his sister standing there, holding a breakfast box. A wave of relief washed over him.
But before he could say anything, the door in front of him swung open. Chu Yuanxun, still drowsy, leaned lazily against the doorway. “Why are you knocking so hard?”
Jian Shiyu opened his mouth but then caught sight of the small guest room with just one bed. A million wild thoughts stampeded through his mind.
“What do you think?” He forced out three words, his voice calm, but his eyes burning with fury, as if he wanted to tear Chu Yuanxun to pieces.
Seeing his expression, Wan Tong immediately understood his misunderstanding and explained, “Xiaoyu, don’t overthink. Come eat breakfast before it gets cold.”
Chu Yuanxun had slept on the sofa last night. When Wan Tong got up early and saw him there, she told him to go to the guest room to get some proper rest.
Thinking about it now, he really was having a rough time as the host.
Wan Tong’s tone and expression were so natural and upright that Jian Shiyu had no room to argue. But after this, he knew he had to stay even more vigilant.
This Chu Yuanxun was a cunning one.