Chapter 149 "Xia Mian, don't you like me?"

With Zhou Pingchuan disrupting things, the live stream ultimately ended with Xia Mian taking off her sports watch, awkwardly laughing as she said goodbye, and hastily closing the stream.

Having lost face so badly, he doesn't want to appear in public for a while and just wants to hide away and heal his wounds.

After packing up the live streaming equipment, Xia Mian pushed Zhou Pingchuan away, quickly walked to the guest room, locked the door behind her, and buried herself in the blankets.

Zhou Pingchuan couldn't walk as fast as him. After being locked out, he asked helplessly, "Aren't you going to have dinner?"

Xia Mian lay with her back to the door: "I'm not eating."

Zhou Pingchuan: "I asked the kitchen to prepare Cantonese dishes."

Xia Mian: "I said I won't eat, and that means I won't eat!"

He paused, then added, "Don't talk to me anymore. From now on, I won't answer a single word. I've already informed you beforehand, so don't blame me for being rude."

Zhou Pingchuan sighed.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a stag's antler cane tapping on the carpet came from the doorway, and Zhou Pingchuan seemed to be turning around.

Summer slumber pricked up its ears, and the sound of the antler staff, along with the footsteps, gradually faded into the distance until it disappeared completely.

The world has returned to peace.

So... Zhou Pingchuan left?

Zhou Pingchuan just left like that?!

Okay, I just wanted some peace and quiet, so Xia Mian curled up in a ball, hid under the covers, and opened Weibo.

Xia Mian had anticipated that his live stream would be recorded and posted online. His official Weibo account, fan club, and various fan sites are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their operations, with a technical team responsible for editing and splicing materials. Even if there are no embarrassing moments, the technical team will still release highlights to attract fans.

He found the video with the most shares, opened the comment section below, and inevitably saw the comment about analyzing the relationship status.

Seeing his part, Xia Mian felt a chill run down her spine. It turned out that his reaction was so obvious that even netizens could see that he was resisting Zhou Pingchuan's advances.

As the person involved, did Zhou Pingchuan also find out?

After all, he had just lied and promised Zhou Pingchuan that he would get back to the state he was in before Tan Jingcheng appeared.

When he saw Zhou Pingchuan's part, he was stunned for a moment.

Undeniably, Zhou Pingchuan treated him very well, but it turned out that this kindness was different from liking; it was more like treating a pet.

Xia Mian closed her eyes briefly, and then her phone vibrated.

It was Zhao Wei calling him, and he sounded very happy: "Tonight's results were great, the fan conversion rate was high, and the media index is soaring. The platform also contacted me just now, wanting to invite you to continue your live stream tomorrow night, and they will promote it. I agreed. You can prepare your content first, chatting, dancing, anything is fine, as long as you appear, you can get another wave of traffic."

"...Let's not broadcast it," Xia Mian wailed. "Brother, I have my pride too, you know."

Zhao Wei smiled and comforted him, "You may feel embarrassed, but for the platform and the audience, it's all part of the show. Don't worry about it; what's most important is getting real money back."

Yes, the platform did receive real money in revenue, tens of millions.

Xia Mian was about to refuse when Zhao Wei, who was busy, said, "Anyway, be prepared. It will probably air in the afternoon or evening. I will let you know in advance."

After saying that, Zhao Wei hung up the phone immediately.

Xia Mian stared at her phone, speechless for a long time. Actually, Wei Ge was right; the entertainment industry exists to entertain the public.

He himself also enjoys watching compilations of celebrities making embarrassing mistakes or hilarious moments, which indirectly generates a lot of traffic for his peers.

But he doesn't want this kind of traffic!

Waaaaah!

Xia Mian was on the verge of tears when there was another knock on the door.

The phone call eased her earlier dissatisfaction. Xia Mian decided to ignore the netizens' fallacies, cleared her throat, and asked, "Who is it?"

"Mr. Xia, it's a pleasure to serve you. I'm Chef Chen, bringing you your groceries!"

Chef Chen is the head chef of Longxi's kitchen and also serves as a Cantonese cuisine chef. He also has a notable reputation for repeatedly bowing deeply to Xia Mian on variety shows.

Xia Mian dared not neglect him. As she got up and put on her slippers, she asked, "Delivering vegetables? What vegetables are you delivering?"

"Dinner. Mr. Zhou said you didn't want to go downstairs to eat, so he asked me to bring it up to you."

Is it because he doesn't want to go downstairs to eat?

Xia Mian sneered and unlocked the door.

As soon as the door opened and he saw him, Master Chen bowed.

But what bothered Xia Mian more than the bow was that there was another person behind him.

—Zhou Pingchuan.

They couldn't get the door open earlier, so they came to ask Master Chen for help.

The two hosts stood on either side, leaving Chef Chen alone, bent over and with his rear end sticking out, sandwiched in the middle. He felt something was amiss. He cautiously said, "Mr. Xia, it's a pleasure to serve you dinner tonight. Would you like to eat now?"

Xia Mian remained silent, and Zhou Pingchuan said, "Let's leave it for now."

Where to put it? Master Chen was completely confused.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere didn't allow him to say anything. He glanced around and saw Xia Mian blocking the doorway, so he definitely couldn't get in. There was no platform or anything like that in the hallway either. In the end, he could only place the tray on the ground by the door, since it was covered by an insulation cover and wouldn't get dusty: "Then please enjoy your meal, I'll go downstairs now."

After saying that, Mr. Chen didn't even bow or wait for the elevator; he ran back to the first floor down the stairs in a flash.

“It’s fine to be angry with me, but don’t starve yourself,” Zhou Pingchuan still remembered the scene of someone tossing and turning in hunger last night. “Eat dinner first.”

Feeling resentful?

Did Zhou Pingchuan think he was sulking?

Actually, the word "sulking" is also appropriate. She had already decided not to pursue Zhou Pingchuan anymore, but she blushed and her heart raced for him time and time again. She was happy for him and her heart fluttered for him.

Xia Mian didn't hold a grudge against Zhou Pingchuan.

He was struggling with himself.

“Okay,” Xia Mian took a deep breath, “I’ll eat it.”

“Tell me after you finish eating, and we’ll talk,” Zhou Pingchuan said.

What should we talk about?

"About you. I know you're angry with me and want to know the root of the problem."

Hearing his words, Xia Mian felt an indescribable surge of resentment, so intense that her chest ached.

As Xia Mian glanced at the tray on the ground, a comment from a netizen suddenly flashed through her mind: "Zhou's affection for Xia Mian is more like that for a small animal than love."

What a coincidence, small animals eat like this too. When their owners put the food bowls on the ground, the cats and dogs come running over happily.

So, in Zhou Pingchuan's heart, he really was a little pet...

A person's outburst can happen in an instant.

Even though she knew that Zhou Pingchuan hadn't placed the tray there, nor had he instructed Master Chen to do so, Xia Mian had suppressed those emotions for so long that she couldn't control herself anymore. She slammed the door shut and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it."

Just before the door closed, Zhou Pingchuan stretched out his arm, creating a crack: "Why not talk?"

"Xia Mian," he said, emphasizing each word as he spoke through the crack in the door, "don't you like me?"