The longer Si Shi Wu listened to what Qian Huang had to say, the more he wanted to facepalm. This was so typical of Si Er. That guy just wouldn’t be happy until he had caused chaos. There was a reason why they called him the wild child of the Si clan even though he was usually inside and not even half as outgoing as Si San. Well, all complaining wouldn’t solve the current issue.

He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Mister Qiang, I’m so sorry. I can imagine that this has freaked you out. Truth be told, this is a frequent problem with him. In our friend group, we really can’t go out with anyone without him checking the other person and getting involved where he isn’t needed.

“I swear it’s not done maliciously. He is just trying to keep us safe and help out but he crosses boundaries he shouldn’t ignore. It is uncomfortable at best if his victims find out and I’m afraid he will get himself and us into trouble one day if he doesn’t learn his lesson soon.

“Well, I … I’ll have a talk with him. I can’t promise that it will work out but I will do my best. And … I will also talk to Si Jin. He probably doesn’t have any idea yet that something like this has been happening. And that guy might listen to him more than he would to me.”

Qian Huang’s brows couldn’t help but twitch when he heard that. This really made it sound like that Nin Sha was the head of some group of criminals. If they suddenly all started calling out ‘Boss!’, he wouldn’t even be surprised. “Well, I really hope that you will manage to convince him. I know that he’s just a friend and you can’t really do anything about it but we just didn’t know who else to turn to. Especially with the show running, this is problematic for us. Xiao Ming hasn’t been taking it that well.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I will have a talk with him this evening. And I will get back to you tomorrow at the very latest so you can put your mind at ease. In the meantime, just go about your life as usual. You absolutely don’t have to be worried that he’s going to retaliate.

“Look, I know the last thing you need is another person getting involved but Si Jin isn’t the type of person who would do that to somebody he likes. If Mister Xiao doesn’t requite his feelings, then I’m sure he will give up. He will try at first, sure, but if there is no way to achieve it, he will leave graciously. He isn’t the type to force anything. You can be sure of that at least.”

Qian Huang smiled wryly at that. He had really thought that this Mister Ai would be a good candidate for dating Xiao Ming but listening to him now, he realized that, most likely, there wasn’t a chance in hell that these two would get together.

What he was saying sounded pretty much like a marketing campaign for Nin Sha trying to sell him as a good guy worthy of being dated. He was trying to be subtle about it but after already hearing this once and knowing the general situation, it was much too obvious.

So unfortunately, he had to admit that it was just like that Shi Ru Qiu had told Xiao Ming: Ai Gui Jin would never even think about dating Xiao Ming if his friend was into him. Even if he was gay or was in some way interested in men, Xiao Ming would be right on top of the list of people he would never date in his life. So much for that plan.

Qian Huang sighed to himself but then forced himself not to dwell on it. In any case, it wasn’t like Xiao Ming had known about him wanting to push that and it would be nice just having him as a friend

Although he wasn’t quite sure anymore if it would be that smart considering he was friends with Si Jin but at this point, they were already embroiled in this whole matter anyway so might as well go forward.

“Well, thank you for your assistance. Speaking of the things … that cookout with Miss Yu and Xiao Ming is still on though, right? Ah Shui told me about that and I figured it was a nice idea. Xiao Ming would certainly love it.”

Si Shi Wu smiled at the thought. “But of course! In any case, I am looking forward to it as well and Miss Yu also seemed quite interested. It would be a shame to not do it just because of this matter. In any case, I’ll come over. Actually … do you want me to bring Si Jin as well?”

Qian Huang’s lips twitched when he heard that. This guy … he was really trying to play the wingman for his friend, wasn’t he? In fact, maybe that had been his plan from the very beginning? Either talk well about Si Jin while he was at their place or actually bring him along? It seemed quite plausible.

He would have been angry at that if he hadn’t been trying to do the very same thing with Xiao Ming. After all, he had been happy when he heard about the possible meeting with Ai Gui Jin because he had thought that this would be a great opportunity to let these two get closer. So really, between him and Ai Gui Jin, was there any difference in what they had done? Probably not.

He cleared his throat and then tried to put it politely. “You know, not even considering today’s drama, Xiao Ming is currently one of the main judges of ‘Golden Spoon’. I don’t think that him privately meeting with a contestant would be all that good of a look. With you and Miss Yu, it’s a different matter altogether. But as for Si Jin … I’m afraid it wouldn’t work out.” In more than one way. But he didn’t say that out loud.

Si Shi Wu sighed, feeling that he probably should’ve expected this. In any case, Si Qi had warned them about this just this morning. “Yes, you’re right, of course. I shouldn’t even have suggested that. I just … I guess I feel a bit sorry that people are making so much trouble for him. Mister Xiao probably isn’t thinking too well of him right now, is he?”

Qian Huang felt even more that this guy was currently trying to wriggle information out of him and really wasn’t sure how to deal with that. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But right now, this whole matter with Si Jin was still troublesome. And he wasn’t sure if he wanted even more information to get out. Actually, he felt that putting these guys on an information diet regarding Xiao Ming might be better.

Thinking for a moment, he finally sighed. “Mister Ai, I’m sorry to say it like this but I honestly think we shouldn’t discuss the topic any longer.”

Si Shi Wu kept quiet for a moment and then sighed as well. “I understand what you mean. I guess that already gives me the answer I wanted. Well, as I said, I’ll talk to them. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Thank you.”

Neither of them really knew what else to say so they finally bid farewell.

Qian Huang continued to sit out there, staring ahead blankly. This matter … he probably shouldn’t get involved where it concerned Xiao Ming’s own decision regarding whether he was interested or not. But he just felt like at least for the time being, that wasn’t a decision Xiao Ming should make at all. And if he could help him put it off for a bit, that would be for the best.

He shook his head and then slowly got up, walking back into the house. He waved the phone and then put it on the table, sitting down next to Xiao Ming again. “Well, he was quite understanding. As expected of that Ai Gui Jin. He said he’d talk to him and also have a talk with Si Jin and see how it goes. Then, he’d get back to us so we’re in the loop. I’m not sure if he’ll be able to do anything but it’s still better than doing nothing, right?”

Xiao Ming nodded. “True. Anyway, we’ve dealt with what we could deal with. Now, let’s just focus on other things again. When is the next stream coming up?”

“In three days. They’ll put up the video of Goddess Tao Jin cooking on Wednesday evening and then the day after that, it’s your review stream.”

Xiao Ming nodded and got up, stretching before he motioned over to the stovetop. “Well, I guess we have a few days of rest then. I’ll make us something to eat.”

Before Qian Huang could say anything, Li Shui was already giving a satisfied hum. “Make a lot!”

Xiao Ming laughed and shook his head at him, feeling that this guy was really too ravenous. If he wasn’t careful, he and Qian Huang would not get anything to eat at all. “Well, any special wishes? Although I guess I’d have to see if we have the ingredients here.”

“No wishes. Anything you make is delicious anyway.” Li Shui leaned back happily but then couldn’t help but glance in the direction of Xiao Ming’s room. “So, since that guy is dealt with, can I go and get my phone again?”

Xiao Ming and Qian Huang both raised their brows at him, their gazes getting a little curious.

“You know, now that I think of it, you were awfully busy when we came out. What were you doing?”

“Yes, why do you suddenly need your phone so much, Ah Shui? Is there something going on we should know about?”

Li Shui looked from Qian Huang to Xiao Ming and then shook his head. “Nothing!” Then, he got up and rushed into Xiao Ming’s room, grabbing his phone before he disappeared into his own room.

Xiao Ming and Qian Huang exchanged a glance.

“There is one hundred percent something going on.”

Xiao Ming nodded thoughtfully but also wasn’t quite sure what to do. “Well, if he doesn’t want to say, we can’t force him. We’ll just have to wait until he comes out with it.”

“What do you think it is though?” Qian Huang cupped his cheek, wondering when this had happened. He hadn’t noticed any change before so this was quite odd. Especially for Li Shui.

Xiao Ming started to gather the ingredients for today’s meal while his own thoughts were also wandering. “Well, it might still be about the cameramen from ‘Golden Spoon’. Anyway, he seemed to get along really fine with them. And I guess it would be awesome for him to have somebody to talk about his passion, right? The two of us can’t really understand most of it.”

“Are you sure? I thought like that looked more like a new girlfriend or something.”

Xiao Ming chuckled at that. “If I saw it right, at least one or two of those cameramen were actually women. Who knows if he managed to charm one of them?”

Qian Huang couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know what he’d charm them with. Must have been that bottomless belly of his.”

“Well, I’m sure there are people who are impressed with it. Well, no matter what, if it’s really like that, I hope it works out. The two of you aren’t successful with dating either. I somehow feel like it’s my fault. You always have to run around because of me. Where would you get the time to meet some nice girls?”

“Then Li Shui and I are probably the ones deterring any handsome guys from approaching you, are we?”

Xiao Ming looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Are you though? Looking at how things are right now, I feel like I might have a row of handsome admirers that I just don’t know of yet. Then again, maybe the two of you have some personal fans among our viewers as well. It makes me feel like we should do some kind of meet and greet someday. Maybe you will also be able to find a girlfriend then.”

Qian Huang chuckled but shook his head at him. “I’ll get a girlfriend when you have a boyfriend. So I guess that will have to wait until ‘Golden Spoon’ is over. Well, I can take a few more weeks of being single. Right now, work is more important.”

“It always feels more important. If you ever get the chance though, just take it. There is no reason to hold back when you get the opportunity.”

Qian Huang looked at him and seeing that his gaze was pretty serious, he finally just nodded. Yes, to Xiao Ming, missed chances were a huge thing. And life had shown them that you didn’t always have the time to do things you wanted later on in life. After all, you never knew if there would be a later.

Thinking of that, he couldn’t help but sigh. Yes, after the show was over, they should really be on the lookout again. They were old enough and with their income more stable now, they didn’t need to worry as much. At the very least, suddenly going broke again didn’t seem as likely anymore.

So maybe they really would have some time to start dating. It might be a nice experience.