FLME Ch43

Yu Wen didn’t have the guts to lecture his Spicy Teachers. He closed his eyes at the passionately chatting group messages, pretending these home-wreckers didn’t exist.

Then he went online and opened the drama’s Super Topic, thinking they must be shipping the official CP, right? After watching for a while, he realized the Super Topic was hyping up the friendship dynamic.

Right.

Our Xi-Yue is a super shippable official CP, okay!

You leave such a delicious meal aside; what are you all cooking up instead?!

That night, Yu Wen fell asleep harboring a grudge. He swore that when he made it big in the future, he would throw everyone who didn’t ship the official CP into prison!

This is a crime!

A heinous crime!

Legend of the Immortal Sect had premiered with four episodes and updated daily for seven consecutive days, landing exactly at episode ten. With updates paused over the weekend, tonight would mark the release of episode eleven.

Although viewers had their complaints about this update speed, Legend of the Immortal Sect only had twenty-four episodes in total. To maintain exposure, they could only release it slowly.

Fortunately, even though it was only one episode a day, each episode was an hour long and packed with solid content. When viewers had nothing new to watch, they could re-watch and savor the details.

Today’s plot centered exactly on Chu Zhiyao. Starting from this episode, the story began to deeply analyze, flesh out, and unfold the past of each character. This was precisely the charm of an ensemble drama.

[—The weather is very good today.

Chu Zhiyao patrolled the dense forest as usual, happily writing this sentence down in the logbook.

He returned to the sect gates and ran into Er-shixiong on the way. Er-shixiong was weaving a new fence for the chicken coop, his sleeves rolled up, his expression cold and stern.

Er-shixiong was the most reliable person on Mount Yunxiao. He knew how to do everything—raising chickens, ducks, and fish were all his forte. When he had free time, he could even craft tables, chairs, and benches. Outwardly, he could fend off the Demon race; inwardly, he could secure the sect. He was as steady as a mother.

Chu Zhiyao felt very close to him today and couldn’t help but lean in, “Er-shixiong~”

“Scram.”

“…”

Chu Zhiyao didn’t dare say another word and handed the logbook to him—Er-shixiong was as meticulous as a hair, keeping almost all the documents of Mount Yunxiao in his custody.

Taking the logbook, Er-shixiong didn’t spare him a second glance.

Chu Zhiyao looked at him eagerly. “Shixiong, aren’t you going to check it?”

If he checked it, he would find that the record he wrote today was “The weather is very good.” If Er-shixiong asked him why he thought the weather was good, he would tell Er-shixiong: Today is my birthday!

“If you’re so bored, go practice your martial arts.”

Er-shixiong was unsmiling.

Sob.

Returning to the courtyard, Si-shixiong was cooking in the back kitchen. Chu Zhiyao walked in with a few brisk, light steps.

“Si-shixiong, what are we eating today?” Leaning on the edge of the stove, he rolled his eyes and asked pointedly.

Si-shixiong was an eight-foot-tall beautiful man, romantic and suave, but unfortunately, no one on Mount Yunxiao had any talent for cooking. Si-shixiong had no choice but to take up the spatula with the hand meant to hold a folding fan. Once he picked it up, he held it for many years, always harboring quite a few complaints about it.

He cast a light glance at Xiao Liu, took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat from the pot, blew on it, and brought it to Chu Zhiyao’s mouth. “Here, eat.”

…Chu Zhiyao opened his mouth in bewilderment.

After he finished eating, Si-shixiong waved him away, telling him to go play somewhere else.

“Shixiong,” Chu Zhiyao mumbled, “I don’t want to eat rice today, I want to eat…”

Si-shixiong: “What?”

“…Noodles.”

He wanted to eat longevity noodles.

Si-shixiong scooped the dish out of the pot and said perfunctorily, “The rice is already steamed, we’ll talk about it next time… Bring a bowl over, let’s save a bowl for Jiang Qiuyue, so she doesn’t go stealing Lao Er’s chickens again tonight.”

Chu Zhiyao did as he was told. Walking out of the kitchen, he immediately deflated, looking listless.

San-shijie walked past the back kitchen door. His eyes lit up, he held his head high, and was just about to greet her.

“What a broken sword! It scratched my newly painted nail polish… I’m not practicing anymore, whoever wants to practice can practice!” San-shijie walked over cursing and swearing. As she passed by him, her face was still somewhat ferocious. “What? Did Lao Er assign me another task?!”

Chu Zhiyao hurriedly shook his head, not daring to speak further.]

Today was Xiao Koi’s birthday, but today was also an eventful period.

A village about twenty miles from the sect suffered a natural disaster, and Er-shixiong took Lao Si and Lao Wu down the mountain to help; just past noon, the defensive formation north of the sect was triggered, and San-shijie, who was just worrying about having nowhere to vent her anger, sneered, snatched Chu Zhiyao’s sword, and went to fight; Puyang Xi was trying to contact his left and right guardians, found a random excuse, and disappeared.

Xiao Koi sat on the edge of the stone cliff in the back mountain, looking at the distant scenery, and sighed melancholically.

Today, he was the only one left to guard the mountain gates.

The first half made the audience incredibly anxious, afraid that everyone really forgot Xiao Koi’s birthday, but as soon as night fell, Jiang Qiuyue, who slept during the day and came out at night, stood behind him, her expression cold, and handed him a plump peach.

[“Longevity peach.” Jiang Qiuyue introduced it like this.

Chu Zhiyao: “…”

After giving the longevity peach, Jiang Qiuyue gently raised her hand, signaling him to follow.

Arriving at the chicken coop, Jiang Qiuyue stared at the plump and fleshy old hens and told him to pick one.

Chu Zhiyao was uneasy. “Er-shixiong said the chickens for this month have already been eaten, we can’t kill anymore…”

Jiang Qiuyue: “It’s not for us to eat.”

Chu Zhiyao: “Then who—”

Jiang Qiuyue: “A ghost.”]

Lao Er was not in the mountain, and the eldest and Xiao Liu wreaked havoc. Not only did they stew an old hen, but they also roasted a goose.

[The starry sky in the mountains was always beautiful, and tonight it was even more so. Chu Zhiyao drank the hot, rich, and delicious chicken soup while admiring the dazzling canopy.

Jiang Qiuyue asked him how he spent his birthdays in the past.

These disciples were all picked up outside by Liu Zhenzi in the early years. Most of them were orphans, and some had never even seen their parents. Chu Zhiyao actually remembered his birthday, but he was too young at the time and didn’t remember many things.

“I don’t remember.”

Jiang Qiuyue didn’t ask further. After eating and drinking her fill, she returned to the peach forest.

Chu Zhiyao sat by the cliff, watching the night view and drinking chicken soup.

San-shijie arrived and was extremely shocked to see the chicken soup in his hands. “You stole Lao Er’s chicken?”

Chu Zhiyao sold Jiang Qiuyue out without a second thought. “No, Da-shijie stewed it and left a bowl for me to drink.”

“…She’s dead.” San-shijie shook her head, casually stuffed a jade pendant into his arms, and said, “Happy Birthday. I confiscated this from those idiots who broke in. Koi, it suits you, keep it safe and don’t lose it.”

After speaking, she hurried away, obviously the fight wasn’t over yet.

Chu Zhiyao patted his chest, rejoicing at his quick reaction.

After a while, Puyang Xi popped out from the bushes, looking utterly disheveled. “Cough cough, Liu-shixiong, almost forgot… Wishing you a Happy Birthday, may you have this day every year… cough cough cough.”

Chu Zhiyao was very moved, but he felt like the guy had just been chased and was still wearing a night-stalking outfit.

San-shijie’s clear and bright voice came from the north: “Fuck! Where do you think you’re running, you little thief in black?!”

Chu Zhiyao: “…”

Puyang Xi: “…”

Chu Zhiyao was quiet for a long time, then carefully said, “Did you wear night clothes to go steal things? That’s not good.”

Puyang Xi had no choice but to tearfully admit it and swore he would never do such petty theft again.

A bit later, Er-shixiong returned with Lao Si and Lao Wu. With one glance, Er-shixiong saw the half-finished bowl of chicken soup, cold light flashing in his eyes. “Where did that come from?”

Chu Zhiyao didn’t even think about it: “Da-shijie said a ghost stole it.”

Er-shixiong shoved a few packets of candied fruit he brought from the foot of the mountain into his arms, hurriedly wished him a Happy Birthday, and the moment he turned around, his face twisted as he roared: “Jiang Qiuyue, you are dead!”

Si-shixiong stretched and said it was still early, so he would go to the kitchen to make him a bowl of longevity noodles, asking if he wanted to add an egg.

Chu Zhiyao said yes.

Sounds of fighting came from the mountain. Chu Zhiyao had good hearing and heard the clashing of weapons from at least three places. He took a bite of a sweet and crisp red peach, stuffed a piece of candied fruit into his mouth, and sighed with emotion:

Today’s Mount Yunxiao is another day of flying chickens and jumping dogs.

The stars flickered in the sky, a meteor streaked across. Chu Zhiyao watched for a long time, forgetting to make a wish.

When he came to his senses, he remembered something else.

He remembered how he used to spend his birthdays in the past.

That was a long, long time ago. There was a period when the village was starving everywhere. His father and mother worshipped a Buddha statue at home. They had to bow to it every day when they got up. On his birthday, they pulled him to kneel before the Buddha statue, asking the Bodhisattva to bless him with food to eat, clothes to wear, smooth sailing, and freedom from disease and disaster in the future.

He would kneel for a long time, and his father and mother would accompany him to kneel for a long time.

He didn’t remember what that Buddha statue looked like; he only remembered that the Bodhisattva never manifested.

The food they ate was brought back by his father, the salt was exchanged by his mother’s labor, his grandmother took him to the mountain to pick salty tree bark as a snack…

None of these things were bestowed by deities.

The gods never manifest.

The people of the world only have their beloved family.]

This episode updated, and the internet was full of wailing.

[??? What the hell, aren’t we a goofy comedy drama?]

[I surrender, it’s so funny yet it makes me want to cry.]

[How am I supposed to look at Chu Lao Liu’s koi constitution straight ever again after this?]

[Don’t use the family knife to kill me…]

[I never expected in my life that a koi constitution could be justified this way!]

[It’s actually quite elevating… This dowager suddenly grew a brain…]

[My mom asked me why I was crying, I said I watched a goofy drama and cried (smile)]

Probably seeing that the audience’s reaction was quite intense, the official account released a behind-the-scenes video of about four minutes, filled with all sorts of Yu Wen’s goofy moments.

[You guys were so happy on set? You’re only releasing this good stuff now?!]

[I knew it, the private atmosphere of a comedy crew wouldn’t be bad at all.]

[Grabbing the official account and shaking it, is there more, is there more…]

[Motto motto (More more).]

Less than half an hour after episode eleven aired, related topics hit the trending searches. Yu Wen wasn’t sure if it was the crew’s marketing, but there were many active real people under the trending topics, discussing it quite enthusiastically.

After the initial shock, most viewers accepted today’s plot well and even praised it highly.

[I thought it was an ordinary goofy drama, but that line at the end really hit me.]

[“The gods never manifest, the people of the world only have their beloved family”, oh my god, what a powerful sentence.]

[I declare it has gone from my annual meal-time drama to my annual top 1.]

[Going off-topic for a sec, the first half of this episode was really hilarious, Xiao Liu didn’t get beaten up for nothing hhh]

[My idiot husband, I thought he was just innocent, I didn’t expect him to be so reckless. Even selling out Da-shijie, does he have a death wish?]

[Halfway through, I was really worried Xiao Koi was forgotten by everyone. Seeing everyone feeding him while chaotic things were happening, my heart completely softened.]

[So cute, so cute, so cute idiot husband, so cute Mount Yunxiao.]

Scrolling through the trending searches, Yu Wen suddenly saw a new Weibo post from the female lead, Zhu Xinyi.

Jiang Qiuyue: [How did Lao Er know I was the one who stole the chicken? Folding arms in thought.jpg]

The emoji following it was a chibi character hand-drawn by drama fans, super cute.

The lead actors all followed each other, and everyone was paying attention to the feedback on the new plot. Less than ten minutes after this Weibo was posted, the lead actors’ comments had already occupied the front row.

Puyang Xi: [It wasn’t me, I was stealing things. Righteous.jpg]

San-shijie: [It wasn’t me, I was catching a thief. Sprinting.jpg]

Si-shixiong: [It wasn’t me, I was cooking longevity noodles for Xiao Liu. Poaching an egg.jpg]

Wu-shixiong: [It wasn’t me, I was… pretending I didn’t exist. Honest and obedient.jpg]

Er-shixiong: [Fury fury fury.jpg You should reflect on what you’ve done!]

Yu Wen happily joined in on the fun.

Chu Zhiyao: [It wasn’t me, I was drinking chicken soup. Resting chin on hand.jpg]

At first, the comment section didn’t notice what was wrong with his words; netizens were all “hahahahaha”. A while later, the netizens who realized it wandered under his comment.

[Won’t this let Da-shijie see it?! If she remembers you’re the only insider, you’re doomed!]

[Calling Koi, calling Koi! Recall it, recall it! Hurry up and unsend it!]

[Balala energy—Netizen amnesia spell!]

[Stop drinking, stop drinking! Da-shijie is already at your door and you’re still drinking!]

[As expected of my idiot husband… It’s okay, let your wife protect you!]

[Da-shijie, if you must kill, kill me, don’t kill my Koi baby!]

Yu Wen was stunned for a moment, then understood what they were anxious about, and fell back on the bed laughing.

He posted another one.

Chu Zhiyao: [Koi possession. Praying.jpg]

After interacting with the netizens, Yu Wen changed clothes and went downstairs for a night run.

The doctor didn’t recommend him to do anaerobic exercises, but proper aerobics was beneficial to the body. Yu Wen believed that only lasting fifteen minutes on the treadmill last time was definitely not his problem. Either the treadmill wasn’t suitable for him, or the indoor feng shui was wrong. In short, the fault couldn’t possibly lie with him.

So this time, he deliberately changed the venue, changed the time, and was determined to conquer the sport of jogging.

He went downstairs full of energy. Chu Han and Xi Su were not in the living room, hiding in their rooms doing who knows what.

The new aunties hired by the boss were already in place—two of them, in fact. The villa had recently become clean and tidy again, spotless, and Yu Wen felt very comfortable every time he saw it.

He stepped out of the house comfortably, his back disappearing into the vast night.

The greenery in the villa area was very well-constructed. About a hundred meters outside the gate was a small park and an artificial lake. Jogging two laps around the artificial lake in the evening, with the fresh and cool wind on his cheeks, was extremely pleasant.

Yu Wen wore headphones, enjoying the scenery while jogging.

A figure came towards him. The other party was also dressed for a night run. From a distance, he couldn’t see clearly; Yu Wen only felt that the brightness of the other party’s head was astonishing. Only when he got closer did he realize the other party had shaved a refreshing bald head, the shiny scalp reflecting the streetlights.

Although he was bald, this bald man had regular features and perfect proportions. He must have been a rare handsome man in his youth.

The bald uncle smiled genially. As he passed by, he nodded slightly as a greeting.

So Yu Wen also curved his eyes and nodded to him in greeting.

Those who lived in this neighborhood were all big shots. Yu Wen thought to himself, the big shots in this neighborhood are quite approachable.

After jogging three laps and sweating a lot, Yu Wen returned to the villa with a sense of accomplishment, only to see Chu Han sitting in the living room, motionless like a sculpture.

“What’s he doing?” Yu Wen asked the restrained Xi Su next to him.

Although they were rivals, Yu Wen believed himself to be beautiful and kind-hearted, and wouldn’t ignore Chu Han just because he shipped some tasteless CP.

He was always a magnanimous person, unlike some tasteless people.

Xi Su turned his head, shot him a glance, looked guilty, and didn’t dare to speak.

Based on Yu Wen’s understanding of the blue hair… he probably caused trouble.

Yu Wen hurried over to the two of them. He didn’t know until he looked, but when he did, he was shocked. Chu Han was like a puppet whose soul had been extracted, sitting sluggishly on the sofa. His eyes were a little red, as if he had just cried.

Yu Wen mouthed to Xi Su: What did you do?

Xi Su hesitated for a long time again. Finally, under Yu Wen’s warning gaze, he told the truth: “I, I told him about… Chu Zhiyao’s ending…”

Yu Wen: “…”

Xi Su had calculated this yesterday. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have deliberately dragged Chu Han to chase the drama. Dragging others to chase the drama only had one purpose—to make others share his pain!

He was just such an evil blue-hair!

But he was temporarily interrupted by Chu Han’s random CP shipping yesterday. Thinking about it today, with new grudges and old hatred mixed together, he deliberately waited until Teacher Chu finished watching the latest episode, and when he was glowing with shipping joy, he told him this bad news.

Chu Han didn’t say anything at the time. He silently went back to his room, and when he came out ten minutes later, Xi Su found him crying all the way as he walked.

Xi Su: ?

Hah?

Are your feelings really this genuine?

“It’s okay, I’m fine.” In the gap of Yu Wen and Xi Su’s eye communication, Chu Han suddenly spoke, his voice flat, his expression calm.

Yu Wen and Xi Su both looked at him.

Chu Han took a pillow from the sofa, handed it to Yu Wen, and told him to hold it up steadily.

Yu Wen did so, completely baffled.

In the next second, with the posture of hitting a wall, Chu Han smashed his head hard onto the pillow!

Then his body tilted, and he fell peacefully onto the sofa.

“…” Xi Su didn’t understand what he meant. After a long while, he poked his arm and asked, “Teacher Chu, are you okay…”

“I’m fine.” The person on the sofa closed his eyes tightly and said calmly, “I am being buried with my CP.”