No Time

To be honest, the Shui family was nice.

I never had parents or siblings and the people I knew at the lab were and weren't like family.

It was complicated.

They didn't fawn over me like a child.

Of course, they tried, but I wouldn't give them any hints or answers, so they gave up in the end.

I was more of a professor you have a decent relationship with but is less than a friend.

But watching the Shui family and other families living around made me realize that everyone was really close.

In my lab, nobody was really focused on romance.

Or building a family.

Many were single or divorced because they wanted to focus on their work.

The rare occasional married people were couples in the lab itself, or they could only send out video calls and go visit once in a while.

So there wasn't much love in the labs, more of a friendly colleague situation.

Maybe the factor that most kids who were my age were at most assistants.

I was the only one considered a genius.

Only because I knew what my past self had experienced or found out.

But actually, the kids my age were geniuses. Real ones.

At most, I was a prodigy through suspicious means.

My past self, they had made a lot of friends, some rivals, teachers.

I wondered what went wrong, as I never made a friend properly in this life.

"Xia Jiayi!"

I bolted up right away.

"You aren't paying attention, are you? We've got a show to get going and you've got to present yourself properly!"

Di Li Feng scolded sharply and knocked his rolled paper script onto my head 3 times.

"So, what should I do again?"

"Sigh, be grateful I'm such a magnanimous person. If I were anyone else, they'd have thrown you out of the crew already! No, In the first few episodes! No, even before the show started!"

"Thank you, Director."

He liked being called that, or Director Di.

Director Di gave a satisfied grin and asked me, "All right, will you listen this time?"

"Yes, Director."

"Good! Ok, so this time, it'll be a simple game. Truth and dare, heard of it?"

"No."

"You get to choose truth or dare. Truth, somebody asks you a question and you've got to answer it truthfully. Dare, you have to do something somebody tells you to do."

"Is there a prize?"

"Err..." Director Di looked around and found something that caught his eye.

"I'll give you a deluxe lunchbox! We've got more in today as a bonus, we'll give you two sets even!"

"Deal."

I was quick to take it because... well, our normal lunches were bland, sometimes had disgusting vegetables and mushrooms. I hate mushrooms.

The deluxe lunchbox was way bigger than ours, had meat in it, more side dishes, and soup too.

And if I went through it well, I'd get two sets!

What a great deal!

I ate a lot and a normal lunchbox was never enough for me. I was a growing boy!

I got serious.

"Do I have to play with the other contestants?"

"No, solo play. The staff are going to ask and you choose whichever; truth or dare."

Ok. I could do this. I'd only choose truth. That seems to be the easiest way out... right?

But noo, they just had to make it difficult.

"To be sure that you're speaking the truth, we'll have this liar zapper attached to your left hand."

My plan to BS everything... cut!

"Here are the options! For truth, answer a question nicely! For dare, you've got to go through a bowl of ghost peppers!"

Evil staff members! They'd planned this!

"Sigh, we racked up a lot of ideas to make this Q & A session possible. This was the only way."

"..."

"Anyways, contestant Xia Jiayi, what's your sexual orientation?"

"Uhh."

Zap!

"Not an answer, reply quickly!"

My hand was still stinging from the electric zap, but since I didn't want to experience that again, I complied.

"I guess gay?"

"Ok, pass. Then, are you a dog person or a cat person?"

"Neither."

"Le gasp, you don't like animals?"

"I don't know what they're like. They're both ok?"

"Hm, suspicious, but we'll let that pass."

"Thank you?"

"Next question! ...hey, who put this here?!"

The staff snickered. What was it?

"Sigh, well, we have to go through it I guess."

No, you don't!"

"There's been many a fanfiction floating around with contestant and chief pairings. And your pairing is among the most popular."

"There's fanfiction of us?!"

"Yes, and due to your age and stature being smaller, they've deemed you as..."

"As what?"

"Haizz, it's too embarrassing to say."

Director Di passed the script to his assistant director, a lady who was known to fangirl a lot.

"They've deemed you as a bottom!"

"...What does that mean?"

She looked shocked. The staff too. Director Di as well.

"On a second thought, let's skip that one."

"Ok?"

What was that just now?

Bottom?

I'll ask Shui Yu what that is later.

We went on with more weird and strange questions, filled with words I didn't know.

It was indeed strange, I had all of my past life and this life to find out more about the world and learn of its mysteries, but how could I not know what these people considered "simple terms"?

Was it some sort of slang?

Were they pronouncing the words wrong?

Who knows?

This crew is a bunch of weirdos after all.

"Last question."

Whew!

"Do you like Shui Yu?"

"Of course!"

I mean, I do, but like you have to if you want to participate in this show.

"Romantically?"

"Uhh."

Zap!

"Ow!"

"Oho, are you too embarrassed to say? I see what's going on. I'll let you off then. Sigh, I'm too gracious, aren't I?"

This assistant director sure was a narcissist.

In the end, through a series of questions. I got my two sets of deluxe lunchboxes.

Immediately, I forgot my worries and dug in.

How delightful!

No mushrooms!

More meat!

Delicious sauce!

Even soup!

And it actually filled me up for once!

My stomach wouldn't go growling now, haha!

But really, what were those words?

Bottom?

What's that?