Chapter Sixty-Four: Among Three People Walking Together, One is Bound to Be the Third Wheel!

This is not how the development of events is supposed to go. Shouldn't you be saying it's fine, that I'm young, or that I'm quite resilient against the cold?

What on earth is going on with you putting your coat back on yourself?!

[Ding! Detected host's absurd behavior gaining exposure, exposure value +91... exposure value +91...]

Hearing the prompt, Xu Xiu finally took off his coat and draped it over Wang Churan.

This left Wang Churan somewhat bewildered. So it turns out you were just playing with me earlier?

As the old saying goes, when three people walk together, there is bound to be a single dog among them!

Originally, the distance between the three of them was fairly equal, but Wang Churan quietly inched closer to Xu Xiu.

She even shared half of the coat with Xu Xiu, and the two of them stood there under the shared coat, gazing at the deep, serene ocean.

The posture was very peculiar, looking just like Wang Churan leaning into Xu Xiu's arms, resembling a young couple deeply in love.

This completely shattered the viewers' defenses!

[Damn it! Why on earth is this happening? Why are all these female guests treating Xu Xiu so well?]

[Just because Xu Xiu is handsome? Just because he's talented and has a good sense of humor? Sob, sob... Holy crap! Xu Xiu, you really deserve to die!]

[Churan, no! You've lost your mind! Why are you actively throwing yourself at Xu Xiu? He's no good!]

[I used to think the trope in Jin Yong's novels about meeting Yang Guo ruining one's life for good was nonsense, until I saw Xu Xiu. This guy is a true woman-killer!]

[I don't care! Xu-You-Meng is the one true pairing! Wang Churan, get away from Xu Xiu right now!]

[......]

The three of them continued watching the sea for a while longer, until Wang Chuanjun turned to the other two and said, "Shall we head back?"

"Let's go. The temperature has dropped, and I can barely handle it anymore," Xu Xiu said, rubbing his arms with his hands.

"Would you like me to return your coat?" Wang Churan asked weakly.

Xu Xiu didn't speak; he just silently reached out his hand.

His action left Wang Churan dumbfounded once again. This guy is really... honest!

However, Wang Churan didn't say anything either, simply taking off the coat and returning it to Xu Xiu in silence.

When Xu Xiu and Wang Chuanjun reached the entrance of the dormitory, Xu Xiu's eyes were instantly drawn to a disassembled basketball hoop.

As everyone knows, basketball is an indispensable part of Xu Xiu's life!

Who would have thought the production team was so generous, actually buying a brand-new basketball hoop just for Xu Xiu.

Next time I badmouth them, I should lower my voice a bit.

While the two of them were tinkering with the basketball hoop outside, Wang Churan walked into the dormitory and bumped straight into Meng Ziyi, who was just about to head out.

"Hey, Mengmeng, where are you headed?"

"Churan~ I'm going out for a stroll. By the way, what were you doing just now? I looked everywhere and couldn't find you."

"Oh, Brother Jun and I went down to the seaside. The night view by the sea here is so beautiful."

Meng Ziyi didn't think much of it and simply nodded silently.

She then wrapped her arm around Wang Churan's, rested her head on her shoulder, and said, "I have no idea what the production team dragged in just now~ It was so loud~"

"It seems to be a basketball hoop. They're installing it outside."

Meng Ziyi's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Ah? Come on, come on, Churan, let's go take a look."

Outside the house.

A tiny basketball hoop actually required several people to help put it together.

Xu Xiu, Wang Chuanjun, Wu Dajing, and Li Xueqin were studying how to assemble the base, but no matter what they did, it wouldn't fit right.

"Wait a minute, hand me the manual, let me see what the instructions look like," Li Xueqin said.

After glancing at it for two seconds, Li Xueqin immediately spotted the problem:

"No way, you guys turned this thing upside down. Big brothers, you installed it backward!"

"No way?"

"That shouldn't be!"

"What's going on?"

All three men expressed confusion in unison, and some even showed intentions of shifting the blame.

"Come on, the manual illustrates it very clearly. Didn't you guys read it?" Li Xueqin asked, puzzled and bewildered.

Xu Xiu scratched his head: "I only have a high school education, what do you expect me to read? Brother Dajing, he read it just now!"

"Me? I practice skating every day, I've returned all my knowledge to my teachers. Go ask Brother Jun, he read it too!" Wu Dajing immediately shifted the target.

Wang Chuanjun: "???"

His eyes widened in shock.

These two guys had no loyalty whatsoever, selling him out straight away.

"Ahem, maybe it was too dark out. You know how it is, an old guy like me doesn't have the best eyesight," Wang Chuanjun said, spreading his hands.

None of the three admitted to not reading the manual properly, leaving Li Xueqin to curl her lips in utter speechlessness.

Why on earth did she think of hanging out with these guys? How is this any different from a mother raising three foolish sons?

"What are you guys doing? Need any help?"

Her voice arrived before her person; Meng Ziyi arrived fashionably late, accompanied by Wang Churan.

"Hey? It's attached, it's actually correct this time!" Xu Xiu shouted excitedly.

Wang Chuanjun, Wu Dajing, and Xu Xiu exchanged glances and let out awkward laughs.

Li Xueqin was sandwiched right in the middle of the three men, making her feel completely numb all over.

"You guys are so foolish! You are truly so foolish!"

As she spoke, Meng Ziyi finally arrived before the group alongside Wang Churan.

"What are you guys doing? Is there anything we can help with?" Meng Ziyi asked again.

"Well, they're trying to set up a basketball hoop here. They're so clumsy it's driving me crazy," Li Xueqin explained with a helpless expression.

"You came just in time, help pull on the frame," Xu Xiu beckoned.

Soon, the six of them began a three-on-three game of pulling carrots, tugging back and forth just like a tug-of-war.

"Oh man, is this thing really of such good quality?" Wu Dajing muttered.

"I thought this thing was shoddily made, didn't expect the quality to be quite decent," Wang Chuanjun echoed.

Xu Xiu also nodded: "Yeah, it's so tight, I can't even pull it apart!"

"......"

If anyone else had said those words, people might not have thought anything of it, but coming from Xu Xiu's mouth, it definitely wasn't anything clean!

[Ding! Detected host's absurd behavior gaining exposure, vocal skill +0.0069... acting skill +0.0069... culinary skill +0.0069... physical constitution +0.0069...]

"Shut up!"

"Stop talking!"

Meng Ziyi and李雪芹 (Li Xueqin) spoke at the same time; only Wang Churan stood there clueless and dazed.

"What are you two doing? Does a single dog not even have the right to speak nowadays? The world kisses me with pain, and I'll just die of it directly!" Xu Xiu said with a mournful expression.

Yet no one believed his nonsense. Having spent a long time with Xu Xiu, they knew all too well what kind of person he was—his words could only fool a fool.

Soon, the basketball hoop was finally set up, but it looked somewhat fragile and swaying in the wind. Xu Xiu and the other two went to fetch a large rock.

Just as they placed the rock onto the base of the frame, the pole unexpectedly tipped over, shooting straight up right between Wang Chuanjun's crotch.

Wang Chuanjun: "ಠoಠ Ouch~ Ah ouch~"

"Pfft~ Hahaha..."

"Honk honk honk~"

"Hehehe~"

"Ahahahaha..."