*

These words were spoken.

Shen Yao, who was sitting next to Xie Chi, froze instantly, and the skewer in his hand fell back onto the plate with a "thud".

He mechanically turned his head, looked at Xie Chi, swallowed hard, and even his voice changed tone:

"Brother, I...I'm straight..."

As he spoke, he shrank back, almost falling off the wicker chair.

The scene erupted in deafening laughter.

Nan Qing laughed so hard she leaned on Gu Beiyan's shoulder, tears welling up in her eyes. Gu Beiyan held her trembling body firmly with his left arm, a rare smile curving his lips.

Bai Youyuan covered her mouth and laughed heartily, her exaggerated earrings shimmering under the light. She looked at Xie Chi and said teasingly:

"oh?"

"So... this is your type?"

Xie Chi's face turned pale, then red. He grabbed Shen Yao, who was secretly trying to move away from him by carrying a chair, and said angrily, his neck stiff:

"What are you thinking? I'm saying you're good at games, and I like that, so what!"

"It didn't say that female guests had to be selected."

Seeing Shen Yao's still skeptical look, he was so angry he almost jumped up.

"I'm straight, and I'm straight too!!!"

But his words only made everyone burst into laughter. Nan Qing's face was flushed from laughing. Gu Beiyan held her tightly across the chair, preventing her from falling to the side, his eyes full of indulgent smiles.

Needless to say, the viewers in the live stream were in stitches, with the entire chat area bursting into laughter.

[He's getting anxious, he's getting anxious, hahaha]

[I'm dying of laughter! I declare myself a fan of Xie Chi and Shen Yao's pairing from now on!]

[This explanation just makes things worse, hahaha]

[Choosing Shen Yao is absolutely insane!]

[Director: He didn't tell me he likes men....]

The funniest part was Bai Youyuan's line, "You like this kind of thing?" It was hilarious!

[Shen Yao: Come over here with your tonic!!]

Look how scared the child is!

Okay, okay, there's nothing wrong with liking men, I like them too~~

[9494, we can all understand, Shen Yao deserves it~ We like him too]

[Shen Yao: Having you all is my blessing]

[...]

After the laughter subsided, everyone tacitly let the embarrassed Xie Chi off the hook. In fact, everyone knew that his abrupt "choosing Chen Yao" was just a pretext to cover up his predicament.

Moreover, Bai Youyuan's question did not specify that the choice had to be made from among the female guests, which allowed him to exploit this loophole.

After calming down, Xie Chi took a deep breath, reached out and grasped the wine bottle, gently tapping the glass with his fingers, producing a crisp sound.

"Alright, alright, it's my turn."

His voice had returned to its usual cheerful tone, but there was still a lingering blush on his ears.

The bottle spun rapidly, rubbing against the table and making a faint buzzing sound.

Finally, the bottle was pointed at Nanqing, who was slowly eating another string of corn kernels.

"Huh? Me?"

Nan Qing put down the skewers in her hand, smiled, and looked at Xie Chi, who was spinning the bottle, with her bright eyes.

"Then I'll choose truth too~"

Xie Chi had been teased by everyone for a long time, and now he finally had a chance to "get back," so he didn't want to let go of the opportunity to ask a question. He grinned and revealed a sly smile.

"Then let me ask you... who was your first love?"

Wow!

"So exciting~~"

Shen Yao even whistled exaggeratedly and glanced at Gu Beiyan as if he were watching a good show.

Gu Beiyan remained expressionless, only tightening his grip on Nan Qing's waist, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.

No one knew better than him that she harbored feelings for a whole host of other men...

Even though those other men seemed to have some connection with him, the mere thought of Nan Qing's past entanglements with others made him unable to suppress the surge of jealousy in his heart.

Nan Qing ignored his strange behavior, her fingertips gently tapping her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face, and fragments of memories from previous worlds flashing through her mind.

(First love... Qin Mobei? Does that count?)

(But I don't think I was in love with him. Back then, he just forced me into marriage...)

From that moment on, she became obsessed with this person!

Thinking of this, she glanced at Gu Beiyan, whose hands were clearly exerting tremendous force, yet whose face remained indifferent.

(Let's see how long you can keep up this, humph!)

But Nan Qing also had to admit that, apart from "him", she had never had any emotional entanglements with anyone else in the small world.

So Nan Qing honestly raised her hand and pointed to Gu Beiyan beside her.

Strictly speaking... only him.

Her voice was soft, yet it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, startling everyone.

Bai Youyuan's red lips parted slightly, unaware that the wine glass in her hand was tilting slightly. Lian An also raised an eyebrow and smiled, quietly watching the reactions of everyone present.

Shen Yao silently picked up his wine glass, tilted his head back, and drank it all down, concealing the bitterness in his heart.

Perhaps no one expected that in this era where relationships are like fast food, Nan Qing's first love would be reserved for Gu Beiyan, whom she had just met yesterday.

Not to mention Shen Yao was almost driven mad with jealousy, Xie Chi and Jiang Fan were also almost driven mad with jealousy, and even the millions of netizens in the live broadcast room instantly turned into sour grapes, making all sorts of sarcastic remarks.

[I'll say it again, Gu Beiyan, you're so lucky!!]

[Waaaaah, I want a wife like that too!]

[What kind of incredible plot is this? Was there really no script?]

Although Gu Beiyan is a domineering CEO and very rich, I still want to say that he is really lucky!!

[Love is still alive, even though I'm still single~~]

【Aaaaaaah, I'm going crazy! Even watching a dating reality show can be this devastating】

Did you see Gu Beiyan's eyes? Why do I feel like he's unhappy?

[I'm actually a little skeptical. Nan Qing is definitely a campus beauty, she wouldn't lack suitors no matter what kind.]

[Hilarious! Just because someone's pursuing you doesn't mean you have to say yes? What kind of logic is that?]

[Envious of this pure love, and now you believe in love again?]

[...]

In fact, what the netizens said is true; Gu Beiyan really didn't feel much joy at the moment.

Because he knew that Nan Qing referred not only to him, but also to all the men who had spent lifetimes with her...

He is not the first, nor will he be the last.

Even if those men had some kind of relationship with him, they weren't him.

He didn't want to explore why she was able to live so long, or why she was able to traverse the so-called "little worlds" in her heart.

What he wanted was never to be "one of" in her life.

What he wanted was to monopolize her gaze, occupy her memory, and become the "only one".

But the more you yearn for it, the more powerless you feel.

From the moment he heard these strange and magical things in her heart, he knew that she was more than just herself.

She seemed to be...something he couldn't confine or hold onto.

Perhaps, as she said, he will catch up with her again in the next little world, but that "he" is not him.

Gu Beiyan felt a burning jealousy for the "him" of the past and a fear of the "him" of the future.

He wanted her to only look at him, but her gaze always seemed to pass through him and fall on countless other "him".

Under everyone's gaze, he slowly raised a smile, as if he was pleased with what Nan Qing had just said.

But those slightly lowered eyes were completely devoid of light...