FLME Ch41

After finally waiting for Xiao Zhong and Xiao Zhou to squeeze their way out and into the elevator, Yu Wen took a sip of his milk tea, feeling like the survivor of a catastrophe.

It was only then that he realized, amidst such a chaotic scene, his milk tea miraculously hadn’t been dropped.

He hastily took two more sips. “Teacher Xie…” he said dizzily. “I just saw the tops of everyone’s heads.”

Xie Heyu: “…Mm.”

Yu Wen recalled the view from just now, feeling a lingering sense of novelty. He was just about to ask if they could do it again on the way back when Xiao Zhou spoke up, “Teacher Yu, today was really too dangerous. Next time, let the boss assign two bodyguards. In a situation like today’s, if not handled properly, a stampede could have occurred.”

Xiao Zhong nodded along, “Good thing Brother Xie reacted fast; a step later and something bad might have happened. Next time we definitely need to take the VIP channel. After all, our Teacher Yu is genuinely famous now.”

“…” For a moment, Yu Wen felt strangely unfamiliar with himself. “Bodyguards… genuinely famous…”

It truly filled one with an overwhelming sense of trepidation.

Arriving on the sixth floor, the other actors were basically all present. The moment Jian Heng saw him, he exclaimed, “Teacher Yu! You look so Xiao Bootiful today!”

Yu Wen released his milk tea straw. “Teacher Jian! Straighten out your tongue before you speak!”

“Okay, Xiao Pretty!”

“…”

Having said his piece, Jian Heng slipped away. Passing by the reflective coating next to the elevator, Yu Wen took a glance, suddenly stopped in his tracks, and a bold idea rose within him.

He turned around to ask Xie Heyu for a mirror.

Xie Heyu had a backpack slung over one shoulder, filled with assorted items they might need. Xiao Zhou was originally carrying it, but seeing that she was a girl, Xie Heyu had taken it upon himself.

Yu Wen held up the mirror, scrutinizing his reflection left and right, and declared, “I want to wipe this thing off.”

Xie Heyu tilted his head, seemingly puzzled. “You don’t think it looks good?”

“No.”

The villain in Director Miao’s new drama, which he wanted to audition for next, was a role brimming with sexual tension. Catching that brief glimpse just now, he realized that the upturned corners of his eyes paired with a faint smear of red could add just the perfect touch of allure.

This was a style he had never presented in front of the camera before. If he could trend on social media and be seen by Director Miao, it might prove very helpful for the upcoming audition.

But he felt that the widespread smudging of the color made him look a bit too tender and youthful. To achieve the exact vibe he wanted, he needed to wipe some of it away.

Yu Wen shared his idea with Xie Heyu, pinched a tissue, and carefully rubbed at his lower eyelid.

“…Hmm.” Xie Heyu murmured thoughtfully, “I understand.”

He raised his hand and pushed aside the tissue that Yu Wen had been rubbing with for ages without daring to apply actual force. His fingertips quickly swiped near the outer corner of the eye a few times, blending that pale crimson tint and lifting it away.

On a face without foundation, wiping off color was incredibly simple.

The makeup artist had excellent aesthetics, but in her pursuit of a specific atmosphere, she had inadvertently masked some of Yu Wen’s natural features. For instance, his teardrop mole had grown muted under the wash of color.

Xie Heyu wiped away all the blush on his cheeks, and with a light flick of his fingernail, he dragged the final streak of pale red at the upper corner of the eye sharply upwards.

Yu Wen raised his eyes and blinked. “How is it?”

Curled eyelashes, flirtatiously upturned eye corners. Xie Heyu considered it for a moment and said, “Your expression could be a bit colder.”

The more alluring the color, the more a cold, aloof expression was needed to force out that sharp contradiction and contrast.

Yu Wen cooled his expression, the corners of his eyes lifting faintly along with the tilt of his eyebrows. Eventually, he couldn’t hold it back and burst into laughter. “Hahahaha, I’m doomed, I can’t suppress it. Let’s just leave it like this, Teacher Xie. It’s passable, right? It doesn’t look ugly, right?”

Teacher Xie said, “It looks good.”

Fatally good.

Yu Wen gave a small cheer, turned his head, snapped a selfie, and sent it to Yi Ming with the caption: If this doesn’t capture Director Miao!

Yi Ming replied: [Looks good, looks good! Song Mingzhu in the flesh!]

The office tour routine wasn’t complicated. It was nothing more than taking some small gifts, distributing them to the staff, engaging in some interaction, and handing out a few personal autographs.

Halfway through, a staff member excitedly sidled up to him and whispered, “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, I’m a fan of yours.”

Yu Wen glanced at her, his eyes curving in pleasant surprise. “Thank you for your support.”

After he signed the autograph, the staff member added, “I just saw in the group chat that you got swarmed in the first-floor lobby. You didn’t get hurt, right?”

Yu Wen shook his head and offered a couple of comforting words.

“Then…” she hesitated slightly, but curiosity clearly won out over her other emotions. Pausing for only a second, her eyes burned brightly as she asked, “Who was the person that hugged and carried you up?”

Hugged and carried up? That’s called hoisting over a shoulder, thank you very much.

Yu Wen smiled. “That’s my assistant—no wait, my manager.”

Halfway through, he remembered that Xie Heyu had received a recent promotion and hastily corrected himself.

The staff member didn’t notice his momentary slip of the tongue. Covering her mouth, she giggled, “We all thought he was a bodyguard. So handsome, so manly. Hoisting you onto his shoulder like that—it’s absolutely one of a kind in the entire domestic entertainment industry. I bet it’ll be on the trending searches later.”

Yu Wen had nothing to say to that. Ever since the netizens had cheered on his coronation as the Melon King, he had realized that everyone genuinely loved focusing on the weirdest, quirkiest things.

The moment Yu Wen walked away, the staff member immediately unlocked her phone and began typing furiously into the fan group:

[Sisters! I got the intel! He’s the manager!]

[Damn, this physique, this arm strength, this height… Not a bodyguard, but a manager?!]

[Aaaaah, Mama worries every day about Xiao Yu getting tricked and snatched away by some blond punk!]

[Xiao Yu wouldn’t kiss his manager, right… wuwuwu…]

[There’s something I want to say, but I don’t know if I should…]

[I know what the person above wants to say. Actually… it’s pretty shippable…]

[Xiao Yu has been with Starlight Media since his debut. This rundown company is virtually unknown, but they’ve always taken great care of him. The manager must have known him since he was a nobody, supporting him every step of the way.]

[Isn’t this infinitely more shippable than CEO romance literature?!]

[Old rules: whichever pair we scroll past, that’s the pair we ship.]

[Xiao Yu has always taken the wild, unconventional route; we fans don’t need to be so restrained either. If you want to ship, just ship. Back when Xiao Yu wasn’t that famous, everyone was making crack-ships out of him. Why act all tied up now?]

[Determined to be the mudslide of the entertainment circle! Let’s go crazy, everyone! Don’t act too normal, it makes me uncomfortable!]

[Zhas! Resume the music, resume the dance! Let’s turn the domestic entertainment industry upside down!]

[Are we definitely settling on Zha? Are we really not changing it? (Crying)]

Yu Wen was completely unaware that his fan group had undergone yet another evolution, fully letting themselves loose once again. He was currently sitting with the other lead actors on the sixth floor, doing an interview.

The livestream was rolling. The actors sat in a row with the host standing to the side, smiling as they asked, “Our Legend of the Immortal Sect has aired up to episode ten, earning unanimous love from netizens. But recently, there’s been a certain rumor online. Some veteran drama fans have dug up subtle clues in the show and believe it’s very likely heading for a tragic ending. What do the lead actors think?”

Yu Wen smiled in surprise.

He was fairly composed, but beside him, Jian Heng had practically welded on his fake-smile mask—this question was genuinely difficult to answer.

They couldn’t say yes, and they couldn’t say no. Being overly vague would just make it obvious that they were hiding something…

Zhu Xinyi hesitated for a moment and said, “I suppose it depends on how you define it. I don’t think it counts as a tragedy. At least, they all fulfilled their missions…”

Host: “Does fulfilling their missions mean they died?”

Many of the staff present were also huge fans of Legend of the Immortal Sect. Just a week or so into its broadcast, everyone had genuinely fallen in love with these chaotic, affectionate, and deeply loyal youths.

These vastly different young people coming together was like countless streams of beauty converging into a river, washing over the audience’s hearts again and again with their warm, peaceful daily antics.

They already had their own Super Topic; Bilibili fan edits were popping up endlessly, and fanfiction was experiencing explosive growth… Everyone genuinely cared about their ending and their future.

“Actually, it could be interpreted as having no ending.” At the critical juncture, Jian Heng jabbed Yu Wen hard in the waist, tossing the topic right onto his lap. Yu Wen shot him a speechless look before choosing his words carefully: “Rather than calling it an ending, it’s more of a fated new chapter.”

In the end, Mount Yunxiao fell into Puyang Xi’s hands, and the sacred relic remained a thing of legend.

All the disciples of Mount Yunxiao died. This fake disciple, who had harbored ulterior motives, inadvertently inherited the will of his fellow sect members through a twist of fate.

Under the table, Jian Heng discreetly flashed him a thumbs-up. What is the art of speaking? This right here!

A few more inconsequential questions followed.

The male and female leads began reenacting a famous CP scene. With nothing left to do, Yu Wen sat off to the side, clapping politely. Bored, his gaze wandered.

Huh?Feng Chengzhou?

He watched helplessly as the Crown Prince strode over with long, sweeping steps, followed by a new secretary who immediately began communicating something with the livestream crew.

Xie Heyu was standing not too far away, leaning somewhat lazily against the wall. Upon seeing Feng Chengzhou appear, he frowned and straightened up in confusion.

Judging by Teacher Xie’s expression, Yu Wen knew this segment was definitely not part of the original itinerary.

While the production company behind Legend of the Immortal Sect wasn’t Huiteng Group, the broadcasting platform belonged to them, which was why Huiteng’s headquarters had been chosen for the office tour. Generally speaking, the big boss wouldn’t personally show up for this kind of promotional event—it simply wasn’t necessary.

Yu Wen pressed the corners of his mouth together slightly to keep himself from smiling too obviously.

He had a gut feeling. There was going to be a show to watch.

Feng Chengzhou had been in exceptionally high spirits lately.

His cold war with Chu Han had persisted for roughly half a year now. Chu Han had blocked his number and deleted his WeChat. But starting a month ago, the friend request Feng Chengzhou sent faithfully once a week had finally received a response.

Though it was only a single word: Scram.

But over the past two weeks, things had become even more monumental! Chu Han’s reply transitioned from “Scram” to “…”

This was a “…”! A full six dots! Calculated by character limits, that was two characters—double the length of “Scram”!

What did this signify?! It signified that the cold war was on the verge of ending! Chu Han’s affection for him had recovered by six points! In six days, he would be removed from the block list! In six months, they would get married! In six more months, they would go abroad for their honeymoon—!

Last night, upon receiving those six dots, Feng Chengzhou had tossed and turned, completely unable to sleep. He got up in the middle of the night and finalized both the auspicious wedding date and the names of their future children.

When he was happy, he wanted others to be happy too.

After mulling it over, he concluded that nothing made people happier than money. Thus, he decided to randomly select a few lucky individuals to rain wealth upon.

Since there happened to be artists doing an office tour downstairs, he decided to swing by and casually drop 500,000 under the pretext of a livestream giveaway.

It wasn’t until he came down that he realized it was the cast of Legend of the Immortal Sect, and among them was a familiar face. Looking at the young man with the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye, Feng Chengzhou vaguely recalled that this person was quite close to Chu Han.

He remembered now. This guy seemed to be the entertainment industry’s Melon King, always lurking in the corners on the front lines of gossip. During that livestream where his identity was exposed, this guy had been standing right next to him.

But since they hadn’t interacted much afterward, the impression had faded.

What was his name? Yu Wen, right.

Feng Chengzhou also recalled that Chu Han was now signed to the same company as this Yu Wen.

Thinking about this made him incredibly frustrated. It was understandable that Chu Han was giving him the cold shoulder and refusing to sign with Huiteng, but did he really have to choose such a rundown little workshop?! What if they went bankrupt one day?!

A trace of irritation crossed the Crown Prince’s face. Staring at Yu Wen, a brilliant, foolproof idea suddenly blossomed in his mind.

Feng Chengzhou sat himself right down between Yu Wen and Jian Heng.

The male and female leads, who were just about to shift away to make room, exchanged a glance and sat right back down in perfect unison, pretending absolutely nothing had happened.

Seeing the figure written on the cue card, the host let out an audible “Holy shit,” the corners of their mouth flying high enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun. “To give back to our audience, President Feng has specially brought along a welfare red envelope! A total of 500,000 to be split among fifty lucky winners. It’s time to test your hand speed—is everyone ready?!”

An uproar swept through the venue. The number of bullet comments in the livestream exploded exponentially, and even the staff hastily whipped out their phones. The lead actors crowded around the monitor to watch the chat, leaving Yu Wen nestled in the corner, largely ignored.

“Ahem.” The Crown Prince spoke up. “Your company… how has it been doing lately?”

Yu Wen blinked his dark, lustrous eyes.

The moment Feng Chengzhou parked himself next to him, Yu Wen had guessed with eighty percent certainty that the man was here to fish for updates on Chu Han’s current situation. This opening line proved his prediction perfectly. Asking about the company? Please. He was asking about the company’s artist.

Yu Wen pressed his lips tightly together, feigning utmost seriousness.

“Pretty good. Is President Feng interested in collaborating with us?”

Feng Chengzhou shot him a sidelong glance, as if entirely disgusted by his lack of tact.

“Are you interested in Huiteng? If you ever consider terminating your contract with Starlight Media, Huiteng can cover the penalty fees for you and guarantee a price tag that will leave you satisfied.”

That’s right, this was his brilliant master plan! Chu Han was a highly emotional person; his decision to join Starlight Media was eighty percent because Yu Wen was there. If Feng Chengzhou managed to poach his best friend over, it wouldn’t be long before Chu Han eagerly followed suit.

Yu Wen opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Suddenly, he asked, “President Feng, you seem to be in a very good mood today.”

The corners of Feng Chengzhou’s mouth curved up subtly before he forced them down with sheer restraint. “I’m getting married soon.”

Yu Wen: “…???”

Since Feng Chengzhou wasn’t particularly close to him, he naturally wouldn’t spell out his internal psychological gymnastics. But alas, Yu Wen was someone who had read the original novel. With just a second of thought, he knew exactly what kind of delusional leaps the man had just taken.

Who knows what the hell he imagined to be so overjoyed that he’s handing out 500,000 in red envelopes.

“Has anyone in your company… mentioned me recently?” The Crown Prince resumed his probing.

Yu Wen lifted his eyes to glance at him, his wicked impulses stirring. A moment later, he replied, “No. You are a ‘taboo word’ in our company.”

Feng Chengzhou froze.

A taboo word.How solemn.What does this imply?It implies that Chu Han must use severe restrictions like a ‘taboo word’ just to temporarily force himself to forget me!

“Congratulations to the following fifty users for winning today’s surprise red envelopes!” the host announced gleefully amidst a thunderous applause in the livestream. Massaging his forehead to steady his surging emotions, Feng Chengzhou waved his hand grandly. “Add another 500,000!”

The host blanked for a second before bursting into cheers: “Adding another 500,000! Adding another 500,000! Let us thank President Feng!”

Turning his head back, Feng Chengzhou asked again, “Does he… miss me?”

Playing along, Yu Wen arranged his features into a melancholic expression. “He’s always staring out the window, lost in a daze…”

Feng Chengzhou: “Add another 500,000!”

The livestream was losing its absolute mind.

[LMAO, what on earth is the Melon King saying to him?! One sentence equals 500,000 being tossed out!]

[Holy crap hahahahaha, what kind of wealth-scattering deity is this…]

[Thank you President Feng, thank you President Feng! I am willing to crown you the number one Domineering CEO of the entertainment industry!]

[I told you guys to keep your eyes glued to the Melon King, there’s always a spectacular show!]

[Not only is there a show to watch, there are red envelopes to grab!]

[Let’s all say thank you to the Melon King together.]

[Thank you, Melon King.]

[Thank you, Melon King.]

…

[Wait, am I the only one dying of curiosity to know what the two of them are actually saying?! I don’t want the red envelope, I want to eat melon!]

[+1! Just what is it that we esteemed viewer-lordships are not allowed to hear?!]