FLME Ch57

On the other side, Xie Jialin felt that the reactions of the two were strange no matter how he thought about it, so he called Xie Jiamao. After just a few words, Xie Jiamao asked, “Bro, why do you keep asking about Xiao Yu? You’re not thinking of poaching him, are you?”

Xie Jialin: “…Why would I poach him?”

Xie Jiamao: “That’s for you to answer. Look into your conscience and tell me what you’re planning.”

Xie Jiamao couldn’t help being wary. Ever since Xiao Yu became famous, people had been trying to poach his golden egg every day. Who knew if his brother was also thinking of getting into the entertainment industry and drooling over his golden egg?

“… Sometimes I really want to crack open your head and see what’s inside.” Xie Jialin then recounted what had just happened, glossing over some details and only saying that Xie Heyu seemed to like someone, but the other person didn’t seem to like him back.

Just as he was about to ask about how Xiao Yu and Xiao Xie normally interacted, the other side went silent and hung up the phone.

Xie Jialin: ???

In the Starlight Media core group chat.

Xie Jiamao: [Big news today: Our Xiao Xie has someone he likes, but the other person doesn’t like him. Please, everyone, use your wisdom to help Xiao Xie out. Hahaha…]

In the Xie family group chat.

Xie Jiamao: [Good news, good news! Xiao Xie has finally developed feelings! He has a crush, but the bad news is that the other person doesn’t like him. Truly heartbreaking… Hahaha.]

In less than an hour, the whole world knew that Xie Heyu had fallen in love but couldn’t get the other person.

Yu Wen, after much thought, decided to comfort Xie Heyu and gently reject him at the same time. He felt that his instinctive reaction earlier might have hurt Xie Heyu, and if what Teacher Xie had said was true—that he liked him that much—then Xie Heyu must be feeling heartbroken.

He didn’t want Xie Heyu to be sad.

However, when he opened WeChat, the Starlight Media core group chat showed over a hundred new messages. He clicked in and saw that they were discussing some crush.

Since he had just been hit by an emotional blow, Yu Wen naturally paid more attention to any emotional topics. As he read the key phrases, he scrolled back up.

The more he read, the more something felt off.

Chu Han: [Teacher Xie has a crush? Hmm… is he planning to pursue them? I don’t really get these things, next person.]

Xi Su: [??? Are we close enough with Teacher Xie to be talking about this? Isn’t that a bit ambiguous? I thought we were just colleagues.]

Gao Kaiyu: [What kind of nonsense are you guys up to again?]

Despite the complaints, it was clear everyone was still highly interested in the cool guy’s unrequited love. Chu Han claimed not to understand, but he was offering more bad advice than anyone else.

Chu Han: [Does he have abs and pecs? What about a V-cut waist? If he does, show them off in front of the crush. No man can resist that kind of temptation.]

Xi Su: [??? I’m just pretending to be a gay guy, but Teacher Chu, you’re the real deal, huh? What if Teacher Xie’s crush is a woman?]

Chu Han: [Impossible. I’m really good at reading people. The first time I met Teacher Xie, my gaydar was going off like crazy. Too bad he’s not my type.]

The conversation diverged for a bit on the topic of “Teacher Xie’s crush’s gender,” and Xie Jiamao finally stepped in to straighten things out by sending a voice message: “Everyone, please focus on giving suggestions. I’ve watched Xiao Xie grow up, and I’ve never seen him so serious about anything before. Hahaha…”

If the boss had held back his laughter at the end, the message might have seemed more sincere.

Xi Su: [Fine. This kind of thing requires analysis, right? Who should we use as an example?]

Chu Han: [Yu Wen isn’t here; let’s use him.]

Xi Su: [Let’s assume Teacher Xie’s crush is Yu Wen… Just confess directly. The two of them are pretty close; it could work.]

Chu Han: [Wrong. Teacher Yu doesn’t think he’s gay. If he confesses directly, Yu Wen might get scared. He should take it slow—first show the abs, then the perfect body lines, then things will naturally heat up… After going through the whole process, they’ll be dating.]

Xi Su: […]

“…Heat up… until they don’t know where heaven and earth are…”

Yu Wen’s face turned bright red, like a little tomato.

Chu Han, you…

Apologize to the me who once thought you were a decent person.

Hurry up.

The further down he scrolled, the more inappropriate it became. Chu Han, in the most serious tone, was conveying the most unrestrained views on love, and the other main character in the example was Yu Wen.

All his words boiled down to one message: Once the bodies click, everything else will fall into place.

Yu Wen stared out the window, thinking to himself that maybe he should become Thanos instead. No more being Spider-Man and saving the world—he was going to become Thanos and destroy this ridiculous world.

As soon as Xie Heyu walked in the door, Xie Jialin, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately rushed up and said, “I just called Xie Jiamao to confirm… No matter how you look at it, the person you mentioned seems like Xiao Yu. Is it really him? Could it be that much of a coincidence?”

Xie Heyu was scrolling through the group chat “suggestions,” unsure whether any of Chu Han’s ideas would actually work. He saved the screenshots just in case.

“Yes,” Xie Heyu answered crisply with a single word.

Xie Jialin mulled over the whole situation and suddenly didn’t know whether he’d helped or made things worse. As Xie Heyu headed upstairs, Xie Jialin shouted, “What’s the situation now? Is there still a chance for Xiao Yu to become my daughter-in-law?”

Xie Heyu responded calmly, “I’m working on it.”

His figure slowly disappeared around the corner. Xie Jialin recalled his earlier expression and let out a hiss.

Strange, why were Xiao Xie’s ears so red?

Closing the door, Xie Heyu leaned against it, lowering his gaze to calm himself. After a long while, he slowly pushed back the hair from his forehead and let out a gentle breath. The room was unlit and dim, and the faint light couldn’t reveal his similarly flushed ears and neck.

Fortunately, Yu Wen was too caught up in his own embarrassment; otherwise, he might have noticed that Xie Heyu’s expression was even more tense than usual, stiff to the point of awkwardness.

Damn it.

Accidentally confessing in front of his crush—who could stay calm after that?

Turning on the light, Xie Heyu covered his eyes and lay back on the bed, silently pondering his next move…

He couldn’t come up with anything.

This sort of thing wasn’t his strong suit to begin with. He could only rely on his previously detailed observations to notice some clues. Now that the metaphorical “paper window” had been pierced, no matter how he thought about it, it all seemed like a dead end.

Maybe… he should just go straight for it?

If he startled him a couple more times, maybe Yu Wen would get used to it, and then he might accept it.

Xie Heyu felt that this idea was unreliable, but he couldn’t come up with anything better for now. Finally, he got up from the bed, grabbed some clothes, and headed to take a shower. Opening the closet, he noticed that one of the sections where he kept rarely worn clothes was a mess, as if someone had rummaged through it.

“Dad.” His son, who had just returned to his room, came back again, standing by the railing on the second floor and asking Xie Jialin, “That pale yellow T-shirt Yu Wen was wearing—was it mine?”

Xie Jialin: “…Yeah, I remember you hadn’t worn anything from that closet, so I just took one for Xiao Yu.”

Xie Heyu silently stared at him.

Xie Jialin: “What? Do you want that shirt?”

Xie Heyu: “No.”

I should’ve worn them all at least once.

After saying that, he turned back to his room, leaving Xie Jialin standing there, utterly confused.

For several days in a row, Yu Wen stayed home, hiding like an ostrich. Xie Heyu even went to the dorm but couldn’t find him. It wasn’t until the day of the Battle Royale recording that Xie Heyu finally got a chance to be alone with him. Unfortunately, they barely spoke the whole way there, as Yu Wen kept his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep.

His pretense was terrible—his eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, particularly beautiful. Every time Xie Heyu spoke, it startled him. Eventually, Xie Heyu stopped talking, only occasionally studying Yu Wen’s nervous profile during red light stops.

People are like that—when someone else is more nervous than you, your own nervousness becomes insignificant.

This time, the recording was open to the public, and outside the abandoned school, a large crowd of fans had gathered. From afar, Yu Wen spotted his own fan sign—blue and yellow, very eye-catching.

Today’s guest star was a recently acclaimed movie emperor who had won several awards. The day after Yu Wen’s screen test, Director Miao cast Song Mingzhu in the role, and the male lead, male second lead, and female lead had already been confirmed, allowing them to start promoting. Since Yu Wen and Yi Ming were regulars on a variety show, Huiteng Group arranged for the award-winning actor to guest star for one episode.

The actor’s full name was quite a mouthful, so people didn’t like calling him by it. On set, everyone just called him “Teacher Zhuang” or “Movie Emperor Zhuang.” Even the fans called him that. Over time, Yu Wen forgot his actual name.

Before the recording started, Yu Wen was handed a small, delicate bag by one of the actor’s fans. Inside was a small gift—some chocolates and a comb. It wasn’t expensive, but it was thoughtfully prepared.

What surprised him was that the fan was a tall, male fan.

The male fan smiled shyly, pressing his lips together, “It’s Teacher Zhuang’s first time on a detective variety show; please look after him, Teacher Yu.”

Yu Wen was taken aback and quickly replied, “Oh, no, no, I wouldn’t dare.”

The manager escorted them into the venue. The sun was blazing, and Yu Wen stood in the shade of a tree. Xie Heyu held an umbrella for him. Whenever they were alone, Yu Wen couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Fortunately, he was wearing shoes, so no one could see how his toes were curling into the ground inside them.

He kept his head down, pretending to examine the small gift from the fan.

“Yu Wen.”

Xie Heyu suddenly spoke, startling Yu Wen so much that he jolted, causing the chocolate to fall to the ground. Just as he was about to bend down to pick it up, a pair of hands moved faster than him.

Xie Heyu picked up the chocolate, put it back in the bag, and then took the bag from Yu Wen’s hand.

Now Yu Wen had nothing left to focus on but the tips of his shoes.

“There’s something I want to tell you…” Xie Heyu began carefully, “What I said the other day—it was all sincere. But you don’t need to take it to heart. You don’t have to respond, and you don’t have to reject me either. I already know your answer. You can think of my feelings as… a breeze. If you don’t like it, just let it blow by. Don’t feel pressured, don’t feel guilty, and don’t force yourself. Give me some time, and I’ll hide it away.”

Yu Wen fidgeted with the tips of his shoes. He more or less understood what Xie Heyu meant—that he wanted him to pretend to be deaf and mute, and he would do the same.

But…

He mumbled, “Isn’t that… unfair to you…?”

Knowing that the other person liked you and pretending to be deaf and mute—that’s no different from being a jerk, just stringing someone along…

Xie Heyu let out a laugh, “Teacher Xiao Yu, this is very fair. If you pretend to be deaf and mute, I can stay by your side and secretly like you.”

Yu Wen: “…”

Secretly? Secretly?!

You’re practically shouting it with a loudspeaker!

Where’s the spaceship? Get him out of the solar system, quick!

Yu Wen pushed the handle of the umbrella and hurriedly said, “I’m going inside. You can keep the umbrella; don’t get sunburned.”

The sun was a bit harsh. Before entering the school building, Yu Wen couldn’t help but glance back at Xie Heyu.

Teacher Xie stood in the shade of a tree, tall and lean, standing out from the crowd. When he saw Yu Wen looking, he smiled.

Lately, Teacher Xie had been smiling more and more.

Yu Wen turned his head away, thinking seriously: This is not a good sign.

His heart had actually skipped a beat just now.

During a break in the recording, Yu Wen’s mind wandered back to the situation, and he found himself puzzling over it in the temporary resting area, unable to make sense of it. He decided to seek help.

He went to find Yi Ming. Though Yi Ming had no romantic experience, he had read countless books and always seemed quite knowledgeable when it came to gossip about relationships in the entertainment industry.

After circling around two or three times, Yu Wen finally found Yi Ming behind a bush at the back of the school building.

Master Yi was secretly eating the chocolate given by the actor’s fans.

Yu Wen wandered over and casually handed over the chocolates from his own gift box to Yi Ming, asking, “Why are you hiding here to eat?”

Yi Ming replied, “The manager bribed the production team. I can’t be caught on camera eating, or I’ll be in trouble if they report me to the manager. There’s no surveillance here. Want one?”

Yu Wen shook his head to decline, watching her eat for a while before carefully asking, “Master, has anyone ever liked you…”

“Shh.”

Yi Ming’s sharp ears caught the sound of footsteps nearby. She immediately gestured for Yu Wen to lower his head. The two of them crouched behind the bushes, their figures completely hidden by the foliage.

After a while, the footsteps didn’t come closer but seemed to stop in the distance. Yu Wen peeked through the bushes and saw two people talking.

They were far enough away that it was unlikely the pair noticed them. Yu Wen breathed a sigh of relief and continued, “Master, has anyone ever liked you?”

“What kind of liking? Are they after my body or my money?” Yi Ming continued munching on chocolate, completely focused.

Yu Wen: “… Are those the only two options?”

Yi Ming: “Usually, it’s one of those two. Or maybe both. Oh, but you’re different. Your soul is interesting. Someone might be after your mind. Or maybe… your knack for gossip.”

…That all sounds terrifying.

Yu Wen’s face twisted in confusion. Just as he was about to ask Master Yi to analyze what kind of person Xie Heyu was, Yi Ming suddenly shushed him again.

She peeked through the bushes, and whatever she saw made her face light up with excitement.

“The movie emperor, the movie emperor…” She pointed outside enthusiastically, lowering her voice, “They’re hugging!”

Yu Wen peeked out for a look and could vaguely make out two men. One of them, the taller one, was clearly the actor. They were only halfway through recording, and Yu Wen was still wearing the same school uniform as the actor.

Yi Ming said, “I’ve been crouching here for half an hour with no one in sight. Xiao Yu, as soon as you show up, there’s gossip!”

At first, they thought it might be an assistant from the studio, so they didn’t pay much attention. But when the two hugged each other in an obviously intimate way, it was clear this wasn’t a work-related conversation—it was a private meeting.

Yu Wen pondered for a moment. Movie Emperor = gay. Observing the Movie Emperor = observing the gay world. This is prime research material, delivered right to him!

Yi Ming took out her phone, intending to snap a photo, but after some thought, she switched to a selfie mode instead, “accidentally” capturing the two people in the background.

She cautiously said, “This way, there’s no ethical issue.”

They watched for a while. The two didn’t engage in any excessive behavior, just a brief kiss from the shorter one before parting ways with the actor. Yu Wen couldn’t make out his face, but the outfit felt oddly familiar.

When Yu Wen returned to the rest area, his perspective on the actor had completely changed. He thought to himself, “You really can’t judge a book by its cover.” The Movie Emperor appeared so rugged and manly, often featured in fan edits showcasing his boyfriend-like charm, with a huge female fan base. Who would’ve thought he had a male lover?

After holding back for a while, Yu Wen couldn’t resist asking for advice.

“Teacher Zhuang,” he nervously said, “Um, this might be a bit presumptuous, but about you and your lover’s story…”

“Hmm? You’re curious too?” Movie Emperor Zhuang laughed heartily and took out his phone, showing him the lock screen. “We were trending a few days ago. I didn’t expect so many people to be interested… Here’s a picture of us together. Don’t worry, we’re doing great and will continue on with everyone’s blessings.”

Yu Wen had been avoiding the trending topics lately, so he was a bit confused, but when the actor handed over the phone, he glanced at the photo.

Just one look, and his expression collapsed.

It was nothing special—the photo was of a woman, while the person hugging the actor earlier was clearly a man.

Instantly, words like “two-timer” and “jerk” flashed through Yu Wen’s mind. He forced a polite smile and left the resting area.

Yi Ming, who had been looking for him, noticed his strange expression and asked with concern, “What happened?”

Yu Wen hesitated for a moment before recounting what had just happened.

Yi Ming: “…You just found out? Did you think I took that picture for fun?”

Yu Wen: “I thought he was a role model for me as a gay man.”

Yi Ming: “Why would you need a gay role model?”

Yu Wen: “To understand them.”

Yi Ming: “Why do you need to understand them?”

Yu Wen: “…I don’t know.”

Since Xie Heyu had already confessed to him… he figured he should probably learn about this stuff.