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“I noticed it from the moment they met,” Ye Xiu declared, eyes narrowed on Su Mucheng and Tang Rou. Who were standing very close together and exchanging glances every few seconds, like they had to drink in the sight of each other’s faces before they were torn apart.
(No one was trying to tear them apart. They were just that obsessed.)
Chen Guo sniffed. “Well, I’m the one that caught them holding hands.”
“What does that matter? You were convinced they were just good friends.”
“Hey!” she squawked. “I think I could be forgiven for assuming they were straight! I’ve heard Rourou talk about a couple of guys she dated in her school days and Mumu is always pointing out the most handsome actors in dramas.”
“At most, that indicates an aesthetic appreciation for men, or an experiment in receiving male attention. You assumed too much.”
“Gah, there’s no winning with you.”
Ye Xiu smirked and let the matter drop. But he didn’t stop watching Su Mucheng and Tang Rou, although they weren’t doing anything terribly interesting. Indeed, they were only discussing something on Tang Rou’s monitor—the results of that day’s training, perhaps. Su Mucheng had taken it upon herself to give Tang Rou some extra attention at the end of each exercise.
It was blatant favoritism, of course, yet no one on the team raised any objections. Not even Fang Rui, the last to join and the first to openly acknowledge the romance playing out in front of their faces.
“Everyone always told me girls stopped being gross after a certain age, but I know now that was a lie,” he’d joked one afternoon, raising his nose at the girls’ intimate whispering. “Seriously, you don’t need to sit in her lap just to gossip, Sis Su.”
“I’m imparting wisdom,” had been Su Mucheng’s rather snappish response. “Butt out.”
Fang Rui had wisely butted out. And since then, they’d all refused to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Even Wei Chen had nothing to say; Su Mucheng’s expression grew foreboding the second he looked at either of them and opened his mouth.
Ye Xiu didn’t care one way or another if his teammates dated. It would probably be a bit messy, but so was repressing one’s feelings. All of them were grown up enough to handle their own emotional baggage, so he’d prefer to leave them to it.
Su Mucheng and Tang Rou could at least be relied upon to keep their personal business away from their work. Sure, they were gooey in front of the team, but they didn’t say or do anything scandalous. They were circumspect in public and never scorned outside company.
He was okay with letting them figure this out by themselves.
Chen Guo, on the other hand…
“I wish they’d just say it. Just admit it! Give us an idea of what’s going on there and what to expect. Hell, I’d thrown them a party.”
“Maybe that’s why they’re staying quiet,” Ye Xiu said wryly.
“Oh, shut up. I’d throw a great party. Isn’t love supposed to be a happy occasion?
“Sure, but do either of them strike you as the kind of people who’d celebrate their own dating life?”
Chen Guo chewed on that for a moment.
Unfortunately, she would not be deterred. “I know I could convince them.”
Ye Xiu looked at her and pursed his lips.
“What?”
“Do it, then. Go on and surprise them. Just make it happen before the season starts, because I don’t want any distractions at that point.”
Ye Xiu may as well have told her she won the lottery, the way she lit up. “Really?!”
He jumped in his chair.
“Really,” he said, wincing. That exclamation had drawn everyone’s attention. So much for the surprise…?
Chen Guo squeaked excitedly and lowered her voice. “I swear, this will be amazing. And you’ll help, right?”
Ye Xiu had not been planning to help, not even a little bit. But Chen Guo’s earnest eyes were too much to resist.
Also, she might actually kill him if he didn’t back her up. That wouldn’t be any help in winning a championship.
“Right.”
Chen Guo clapped, again capturing every eye in the room.
“Guys, I’m gonna throw us a party!”
Wei Chen, whose head had been bent over his keyboard, jerked to attention. “What for? Will there be alcohol?
“No alcohol! We’re celebrating love!”
“All of a sudden?” Luo Ji asked, wide-eyed.
Su Mucheng nudged Tang Rou, whose reaction to this news was a skeptical tick of the eyebrow.
“No, are you blind?” An Wenyi gestured at the lovebirds.
Qiao Yifan coughed delicately.
“Ohhh,” Bao Rongxing gasped out.
Mo Fan didn’t pay them any attention.
Ye Xiu covered his face with his hand. No subtlety whatsoever…
Ah, well. It’d be fine.