FLME Ch74

Xie Heyu used concise wording, yet Yu Wen understood his meaning.

When one wholeheartedly loves and dedicates themselves to something, they become different from their usual self, shining brightly. That kind of objectively powerful presence is enough to draw the attention of everyone around them.

It was like glowing.

Yu Wen had seen many such people, each shining in their own field of expertise and passion. He admired them but never thought he could become such a person.

It was too exhausting. He just wanted to be a laid-back slacker.

“Hmm…” Yu Wen pondered for a moment, then proudly shook his head. “I like all the roles I’ve played, but Mingzhu was the first role I fought for myself. I want to perform it well.”

Xie Heyu adjusted Yu Wen’s collar and said, “You’ve performed very well.”

As if to validate his words, they ran into Chu Han as soon as they stepped out. Teacher Chu, freshly done with makeup, brought up the earlier scene with a particularly serious expression and said, “Yu Wen, if there’s an opportunity in the future, I hope to act opposite you.”

Recognition from the protagonist of the career-driven entertainment industry.

Instinctively, Yu Wen glanced at Xie Heyu. Teacher Xie raised his eyebrows at him: See?

Yu Wen was delighted.

Filming continued until noon, and President Feng ordered a food truck for everyone. Although Yu Wen found Feng Chengzhou’s constant presence on set illogical, wherever President Feng stayed, conditions always improved significantly—because he was rich.

The nickname “Generous Wealth Dispenser” was well-deserved.

Everyone ate a five-star seafood buffet in a temporarily cleared-out room. Yu Wen didn’t have much of an appetite, so Xie Heyu selected fresh fruits for him. With nothing else to do, Yu Wen busied himself peeling shrimp. After peeling them, he didn’t eat any but gave them to Xie Heyu.

Yi Ming noticed and said, “Disciple, if you’re not eating, give them to me. Your manager hasn’t even touched the pile on his plate.”

Just as she finished speaking, Xie Heyu returned with a plate of carefully chosen fruits. He sat down, heard what she said, and immediately tipped an entire plate of peeled shrimp into his mouth, chewing with an impassive expression.

Yi Ming: “…”

Xie Heyu took a sip of water to wash it down. Yu Wen stared at his constantly moving jawline and thought that Teacher Xie could be surprisingly childish at times.

“Here, Master.” Yu Wen begrudgingly placed a single shrimp on Yi Ming’s plate and said, “I have to peel more for him; if I don’t, he’ll starve.”

Yi Ming glanced at Xie Heyu’s physique in disbelief. He didn’t look like someone on the verge of starvation.

…Are lovers in each other’s eyes starving ghosts?

She silently mocked them, then lowered her head to continue eating. After a few bites, a realization hit her. She looked up, her gaze shifting between the two.

First, Yu Wen had a boyfriend.
Second, Yu Wen and his manager shared an ambiguous vibe.
Therefore… there was only one truth—

The manager was Yu Wen’s boyfriend!

Yi Ming felt like she had just turned into Detective Conan.

Excitement surged within her, the urge to confirm her deduction swelling in her chest. She quickly picked up her bowl and plate and sat beside Yu Wen. “Hey, you and your manager…”

“Yu Wen—”

Yi Ming, interrupted, turned around angrily to see which idiot had ruined her fun. She twisted her head and locked eyes with Feng Chengzhou, who was standing behind her.

With a serious expression, Yi Ming asked, “President Feng, do you need something?”

Respect for money is innate.

She watched helplessly as President Feng called her “melon king” away. Internally, she screamed “Swallow, don’t leave!” a thousand times, but outwardly, she remained indifferent and didn’t even dare to utter a word to stop him.

In a relationship involving three people, the one without money is always the extra.

Feng Chengzhou said he had something to discuss. Yu Wen, utterly confused, followed him out while still holding an unfinished plate of sweet melon.

Outside, they found Chu Han standing in a shaded corner, his expression cold and unpleasant.

Yu Wen wondered what was going on.

Had they rekindled their old flame yesterday, only to break up again today?

“I didn’t interfere in this matter—it wasn’t necessary. It’s just a cameo, insignificant to your career. Why would I go out of my way to make trouble for myself?” Feng Chengzhou’s face was expressionless, his sharp brows furrowing impatiently. He added, “If you don’t believe me, ask Yu Wen.”

Yu Wen bit into his melon, crunching away as he listened to the scattered information in their conversation. Slowly, he pieced things together.

Chu Han’s reaction mirrored his own at the time: suspecting that Feng Chengzhou had secretly arranged the cameo for him. Chu Han could tolerate Feng Chengzhou’s presence in his life but drew the line at interference in his work.

Yu Wen thought for a moment and said, “It probably has nothing to do with President Feng.”

Feng Chengzhou: “See?”

Yu Wen: “President Feng only acts foolishly when it comes to you. In other matters, he’s very shrewd. This deal is clearly unprofitable, so he wouldn’t bother.”

Feng Chengzhou: “…”

Yu Wen considered further, then turned to Chu Han. “Why don’t you just tell him what you like about him?”

Feng Chengzhou, catching the key phrase, perked up his ears.

Chu Han was puzzled. “What do I like about him?”

Yu Wen: “You like his body.”

Feng Chengzhou: “?”

Chu Han panicked, nearly lunging to cover Yu Wen’s mouth. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Yu Wen sighed.

He said to Feng Chengzhou, “Our Teacher Chu may seem aloof, but deep down, he’s a man of passion. Maintaining a good physique has already earned you half his favor. The remaining half? Learn to respect and communicate. If you’re still clueless, ask Bian Ce for advice.”

Then he turned to Chu Han. “Life is short; enjoy it while you can. Treat it like training a dog… Not that President Feng is a dog—it’s just a metaphor. Anyway, relax. Don’t hold yourself to such high moral standards.”

When he finished, both men stared at him, dumbfounded.

Yu Wen felt he was a rare, kind friend.

A matter that could have been resolved with a few words was unnecessarily dragged out like a tangled mess. Only he, benevolent as he was, would stoop to offer guidance. Anyone else wouldn’t bother with such chaos.

“Engrave my words in your hearts and reflect on them when you have time,” Yu Wen said, pointing at them. “As the saying goes: respect, bless, and lock it down. Normally, I’d advise breaking up in such situations. If you drag me into this again, you’d better break up. At least then I can enjoy your drama every day—it’s quite entertaining.”

Having said his piece, Yu Wen turned on his heel, exuding an air of dominance. He felt incredibly cool.

As he reached the door, he bumped into Xie Heyu, who was holding a second plate of fruit, looking for him. “Where were you?” Xie Heyu asked.

“Watching the show,” Yu Wen replied.

He glanced back to see Feng Chengzhou and Chu Han talking. Their long-standing conflict wasn’t easily resolved. The muffled sound of their conversation drifted over; both spoke calmly, but there was a faint undertone of gritted teeth. It almost sounded like they were arguing.

Yu Wen decided not to go back inside. Instead, he said to Xie Heyu, “I just gave them some wise advice. Let’s stay here and see whether they break up or make up.”

There was a flowerbed outside the door. They sat on its edge, each holding a plate, eating while listening.

After a while, Yi Ming showed up.

The lineup on the flowerbed grew to three people.

A little later, the male lead of Moon Harbor came out for a post-meal stroll.

Another spot was added to the flowerbed.

As everyone gradually finished eating, passersby stopped to watch for a moment before moving on.

By the time Chu Han, parched from a philosophical discussion about personality ideals and life philosophy, decided to return inside for a drink, he turned around to find a row of spectators sitting by the flowerbed.

Yu Wen even had a handful of sunflower seeds.

“Go on, we can’t hear clearly. We’re just here for the vibes.” Yu Wen cracked open a sunflower seed with a snap, urging them on with great interest.

Chu Han: “…”

The conversation ended inconclusively, leaving Yu Wen feeling regretful.

Xie Heyu didn’t stay long and had to return to S City. Though Yu Wen was reluctant to part with him, there wasn’t much time for them to spend together anyway. Yu Wen himself was the busiest, barely able to keep his feet on the ground every day.

He said to Xie Heyu, “After this shoot, you need to give me a vacation.”

Xie Heyu agreed.

Yu Wen added, “Why not give the entire company a vacation? We can all go to the beach together.”

Xie Heyu raised his eyebrows slowly. “Just the two of us isn’t enough?” he asked.

“It’s livelier with more people,” Yu Wen said enthusiastically. “But you don’t have the authority for that. I’ll butter up the boss later…”

“…Livelier?” Xie Heyu found it hard to understand.

Yu Wen could tell from his tone what he was thinking. “Two people or a group—it doesn’t matter,” Yu Wen said. “By then, the company should already know about our relationship. I mean, it’s time to find an opportunity to go public, starting with those around us…”

Xie Heyu was stunned for a moment.

“Vacation,” he said decisively.

Yu Wen laughed. “Haha, go work on convincing the boss.”

“No need,” Xie Heyu said. “I can take time off.”

___

In mid-October, Yu Wen got a two-day break and returned to S City.

Xie Heyu’s new house was only 200 meters from the company dormitory, all within the same area. Xie Heyu had spent some time redecorating the villa’s interior and was preparing to move in.

Yu Wen’s timing wasn’t great. Xie Heyu had just moved his belongings in and was in the middle of unpacking.

The basic cleaning had already been done by a service, but Xie Heyu was organizing his personal items himself—he didn’t like others handling them.

Xie Heyu told Yu Wen to rest in the guest bedroom, which was quiet and had a freshly made bed.

Yu Wen said, “Hmm… I’m not tired.”

He had napped on the plane and was now full of energy.

“Tell me what to do. Teacher Yu is feeling generous and will help you out.”

Seeing Yu Wen restless and fidgety, Xie Heyu said, “There are a few boxes in the living room. The one near the stairs has old items. Help me put it in the storage room.”

Yu Wen, brimming with energy, rushed downstairs. Sure enough, there were several large cardboard boxes in the living room. He found the one Xie Heyu mentioned, picked it up, and found it wasn’t very heavy.

When he opened it, he saw it was full of clothes.

Clearly, Teacher Xie had deliberately chosen a light one for him.

“Can you carry it?” Xie Heyu called out from the room, his voice distant.

Yu Wen shouted back, “I’m not useless! It’s not even that heavy.”

In the storage room, there was an old wardrobe. Yu Wen took the clothes out of the box and sorted them by season.

The clothes were clearly old but had been preserved exceptionally well. Among them, Yu Wen spotted a few sets of school uniforms, obviously items of sentimental value that Xie Heyu had carefully kept.

A thought suddenly struck Yu Wen. His eyes lit up, and he rummaged through the box until he successfully found a middle school uniform.

Got it.

From the design, it was the same set in Xie Heyu’s photo album. Yu Wen eagerly turned it over, and on the lower right corner near the pocket, sure enough, there was a yin-yang fish design.

In blue.

Beautifully drawn.

Yu Wen decided to ask Xie Heyu to draw a few designs on his clothes tomorrow. Back in his rebellious phase, he had used a sketch of this design as his signature. Now that he was past that phase, seeing such a well-drawn version still made his fingers itch.

This symbol had an indescribable significance to him. After all, he had once used its simple sketch as a stand-in for his name. In a sense, “Little Fish (Xiao Yu)” = Yu Wen.

With this in mind, he unfolded the uniform. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of some writing. Turning the uniform inside out, he found, just behind the blue yin-yang fish, on a thin layer of fabric, a few words written in elegant handwriting.

Yu Wen focused on the text.

“Xiao Yu Gege…”

Who wrote this?