FLME Ch51

There were many romantic and sentimental people on the internet; even the production crew hadn’t anticipated things developing to this extent at first.

In countless similar videos, people ran across grassy fields and anywhere they could embrace the wind. Dressed loosely and comfortably, their smiles were brighter than the sun. They used various items to capture the contour of the wind; seemingly trying to catch it, but in reality, enjoying the freedom of racing against it.

Everyone quoted the Hero’s words: “The fierce wind whipped past my ears, yet I only felt a cool breeze. I think I have conquered the wind… This bag of wind is my combat trophy.”

“Life is finite. Go conquer the wind, conquer the sky, conquer the mountains… Conquer everything you wish to conquer, and be a Hero who forges ahead unhindered, even without a sword.”

Watching these videos, even Yu Wen felt his blood pumping.

Suddenly, he felt a burning desire to act—to use his acting skills, line delivery, and expressiveness to mold a second character that could make the internet cheer. Just like Goddess Nuwa molding little humans out of clay, every inch of the character’s bones would bear his signature touch.

He finally agreed with what Chu Han had said—acting was an endeavor of boundless charm.

Yi Ming and the others discussed doing a collaboration video in the group chat, but their schedules were hard to align. After chatting for a bit, they dropped the idea.

Yi Ming said with regret, “If we could have filmed one, the fans would have been so happy.”

Yu Wen had scheduled gigs today. After blowing up, he received numerous offers for endorsements and commercials. However, the career path the company set for him was clearly focused on being an actor. He accepted commercials, but not frequently, to avoid overexposure and losing his sense of mystery in front of the public.

Today’s commercial was for a luxury streetwear brand. The brand had sent them quite a few clothes in advance, preparing outfits for his manager and assistants as well.

Xie Heyu was waiting for him in the garden downstairs, wearing that very streetwear brand. It was a simple white T-shirt with a great cut. As the wind blew, the fabric pressed against his back, outlining his clean, lean muscles.

The wind was strong today, bending the green plants in the garden. Xie Heyu had his head lowered, watching the flowers and grass sway back and forth. Passing by the second-floor staircase, Yu Wen wanted to open the window and call out to him.

Before opening the window, Yu Wen looked at the hem of Xie Heyu’s shirt fluttering in the wind. Suddenly, he remembered the videos he watched that morning and a specific phrase: Look, right now, my body is entirely the shape of the wind.

Look, Teacher Xie’s body is entirely the shape of the wind.

Yu Wen hesitated for a moment. Xie Heyu had already noticed his presence and turned around.

Their eyes met. Xie Heyu raised an eyebrow slightly, bent down to pluck something from the flowerbed, then walked up to the window and knocked twice, signaling Yu Wen to open it.

Yu Wen opened the window.

Xie Heyu cupped a dandelion in his hand. The wind blew from the right, scattering the white fluff in all directions.

The cool guy, who usually wore no expression, smiled at him and said, “Look, the wind.”

Yu Wen changed into the brand’s clothes in advance—also a white T-shirt. It wasn’t until he got in the car that he realized his outfit was very similar in style to Xie Heyu’s, giving off a bit of a “couple outfits” vibe.

Sitting in the passenger seat, he secretly stole glances at Xie Heyu’s profile.

Xie Heyu’s smile just now had been somewhat dazzling. He belatedly realized that this seemed to be the first time he had ever seen Xie Heyu smile.

It wasn’t that he deliberately kept a straight face on normal days; he just had very few expressions, giving off an aura of emotional stinginess. He also spoke very little. At first glance, he looked like a cold, aloof, and distant cool guy, but in reality, he was just a handsome guy who was a bit reserved and didn’t know how to express himself.

Xiao Zhou and Xiao Zhong had the day off today, so it was just him and Xie Heyu in the car. As Yu Wen stole his third glance, Xie Heyu accurately caught his gaze through the rearview mirror.

Yu Wen: “…”

“Is there something on my face?” Xie Heyu asked.

If it were a normal day, or if it were someone else, Yu Wen probably would have just thrown a straightforward compliment: “Hahaha, I think you look super handsome when you smile. You should smile more from now on.”

But he opened his mouth and closed it again. He felt he wasn’t as candid as usual, finding it a bit weird. He simply swallowed the words back and asked instead, “Are President Feng’s merch items not done yet?”

This speed won’t do; he won’t even catch the hot wave of making money.

Xie Heyu said, “The first batch has already been rushed out, but it’s a bit special. This batch doesn’t require your signature…”

Yu Wen asked curiously, “How special is it? I want to see.”

Xie Heyu took a paper bag out from the storage compartment.

Yu Wen opened the bag, only to find another bag inside…

“…Our merch is, uh, a bag inside a bag?”

The outer paper bag was printed with a few chibi characters of the Hero’s squad. While not exquisitely detailed, they were very cute. Considering it was rushed production, achieving this level was pretty good. However, the cloth bag inside looked rather mediocre—it had no patterns, and the shape wasn’t something you’d use daily.

Xie Heyu said, “It’s not meant to be carried.”

It was a very ordinary cloth bag, dark brown, though the material was sturdy. The opening featured a drawstring design. When filled, it would probably bulge out like a potbelly. There were no patterns on the surface whatsoever.

Yu Wen flipped it over and looked at it several times. Just as he was about to lie through his teeth and praise the bag for its large capacity and practicality, Xie Heyu told him it wasn’t meant to be carried.

Yu Wen asked, “Then what is it for?”

Xie Heyu pulled the car over to the side of the road, rolled down the window, loosened the bag’s opening, and let the wind rush in, filling the bag until it was bulging.

“It’s used to hold ‘wind’.” Xie Heyu tightened the drawstring and handed the cloth bag to him.

Yu Wen: “…”

Feng Chengzhou is crazy.

Having business acumen was a good thing, but his sense of smell was perhaps a bit too avant-garde.

Yu Wen found it hard to comprehend. But on second thought, the one bearing the risk was Huiteng Group. Even if it didn’t sell, the one losing money would be Feng Chengzhou. He instantly felt relieved, thinking to himself that since the guy was a domineering CEO, he could manufacture whatever he wanted.

Once the samples were made, the tattered cloth bag was listed on the shopping cart the very next day. Unexpectedly, sales were fantastic.

The promotional slogan read: [A bag of wind. In the Hero’s collection, there is such a bag of wind. This bag of wind is his combat trophy, and also symbolizes his poetic soul.]

Samples weren’t just sent to Yu Wen; they were also sent to countless bloggers who had filmed the “Look, this is the wind” topic videos. The day the samples were received, countless new videos popped up online. The original jackets and plastic bags were replaced by a simple, lightweight cloth bag. The lack of patterns made it even easier for people to do secondary creations—drawing their favorite designs on it, hanging their favorite little charms, and then running and laughing brightly in a place they loved.

The netizens under the videos were incredibly excited, expressing their love for the cloth bag one after another, asking about purchasing channels, when it would ship, and so on…

[Awoooo! The exact same item as the Hero! It’s identical to the bag of wind Yu Wen held up in Battle Royale!]

[Twenty years old, paid in full! No need to elaborate on my financial power.]

[The ‘bag of wind’ is out, can you release the Hero’s swords too? I like both the Cruciform Holy Sword and that notched broken sword.]

[I’m not picky, I think that weirdly shaped broken rock would be nice too…]

[And the ‘corpse’ of the Princess’s flower… I’ve always suspected, would the other party really be happy if the Princess turned her friend into a specimen? Won’t they come back and fight the Hero?]

[And dragon scales! We Evil-Hero shippers want a seat at the table too!]

Yu Wen thought they were just running their mouths, but a few days later, Huiteng Group actually listed all these “broken things” online. Clearly, they had prepared long in advance. Looking at the soaring sales figures, Yu Wen fell deep into thought.

…People actually like this stuff?

Huiteng had practically replicated the entirety of the Hero’s collection, creating samples of everything and sending Yu Wen a copy. Not only that, but Feng Chengzhou also gifted him a massive iron rack—once again, identical to the Hero’s.

Yu Wen placed this large iron rack in the living room. At first, Xi Su and Chu Han were both very disgusted by it, feeling that the deliberately distressed iron rack clashed with the villa’s opulent decor and their own refined temperaments.

Two days later, Chu Han hugged the Cruciform Holy Sword and asked Yu Wen shyly, “Can you give this to me?”

Yu Wen asked why.

Chu Han: “My fans said that when I hold the Holy Sword, I look just like one of those super-powered warriors.”

Yu Wen: “…”

Xi Su also asked, “That iron rack of yours, can you sign it and give it to me?”

Yu Wen let out a deep sigh and asked why.

Xi Su said shamelessly, “I feel like it could sell for a lot of money. I saw someone online collected the entire set of the Hero’s collection, but they’re just missing the iron rack. What does this mean? The one in your hands is the only one in existence! After you sign it, its value will double.”

Yu Wen closed his eyes.

This world has finally gone crazy in a way I cannot comprehend.

Immortal Sect continued its daily updates. The grand finale was only two days away. The updates over the past few days already carried the faint prelude of a tragedy. Every day Yu Wen opened the internet, he would see countless netizens on various social platforms asking if it was a BE (bad ending) or an HE (happy ending). Afraid that he couldn’t keep a secret and might spill the beans if questioned, he simply stayed off the internet and vanished for a few days.

In the evening, he went out for a night run.

He hadn’t run far before he ran into the familiar bald uncle. Xie Jialin was very happy to see him, waving from afar and asking why he hadn’t seen him the past few days.

Yu Wen hadn’t expected the uncle to keep him in mind so much and said bashfully, “I’ve had a lot of work lately…”

Strictly speaking, they had only met five or six times and weren’t very close. But the bald uncle seemed to have an unconstrained, straightforward personality. If he liked someone, he would bare his heart to them. Every compliment he gave Yu Wen sounded incredibly sincere, not like mere pleasantries, so Yu Wen felt a bit embarrassed every time he saw him.

They jogged two laps together. Somehow, the topic shifted to the jianbing guozi at the neighborhood gate. Xie Jialin had quite a deep knowledge of food and spoke logically and articulately, making Yu Wen hungry in the middle of the night.

Xie Jialin invited him to get a late-night snack at the gate. Yu Wen said with self-discipline, “Uncle, I’m an artist after all. If I eat late at night, my manager will scold me…”

“What kind of manager is that harsh?” Xie Jialin said. “How old are you? There’s barely two ounces of meat on your face, you’re at the age where you’re growing, you should eat good food… You can eat strawberries, right? A special variety flown in from abroad—huge and juicy. I have some at home that haven’t even been opened yet, want to go try some?”

Yu Wen was tempted.

Who could refuse a huge, juicy, special variety strawberry?

He politely and rigidly declined twice. Once Xie Jialin guaranteed, “I promise they aren’t sour,” his psychological defenses instantly collapsed, and he happily trotted along after him.

The uncle didn’t live far—just a short walk from the villa arranged by the company.

On the way, Yu Wen asked how he should address the uncle. The uncle said, “I’m the third child in my family, you can just call me Uncle San.”

Yu Wen called out “Uncle San” very sweetly.

Xie Jialin was instantly overjoyed. “Ai ai ai, Uncle San will save a portion of strawberries for you every time I buy them from now on. What a good kid. There’s only one child in our family, and he’s boring to death. My sisters teased him for twenty years, and he never called anyone like that. If he were ever as cute as you, I’d wake up laughing in my dreams.”

Yu Wen thought of Xie Heyu. Teacher Xie also had a reserved personality, but he wasn’t boring—on the contrary, he was super fun.

Yu Wen said, “My manager doesn’t like to talk either, but he’s very cute. He’s the kind where, if you tease him, he won’t get angry, but will respond to you extremely seriously. Sometimes his train of thought is very weird, and he speaks and acts differently from normal people… In short, he’s so serious it’s incredibly fun.”

Xie Jialin said, “Oh my, that’s much more interesting than the silent gourd in my house. When my silent gourd was little, he would cry if you teased him. Now that he’s grown up, he just stands there looking at you, scolding you with his face… His temper is pretty good, though, but he doesn’t talk much. If he says two extra words, I have to thank the heavens and the earth.”

Yu Wen thought to himself, That’s true, someone like that is a bit boring.

“But Uncle San is interesting! You’re so fun, so it’s complementary that your son is more steady.”

Even though he thought that in his heart, Yu Wen wouldn’t say it out loud. The bald uncle was a great person who was treating him to strawberries, after all!

Xie Jialin beamed. “You’re good, you know how to talk.”

The bald uncle’s house was decorated similarly to their company’s villa. He didn’t know if this whole area had a unified decor, but even the layout was very similar.

Xie Jialin poured him a glass of water and went to the kitchen to wash the strawberries. Yu Wen couldn’t sit still and wandered over to help. Xie Jialin chatted with him, saying, “It’s a pity my son isn’t home today, otherwise I’d introduce you two and let him hang out with you more, so he can be a bit more cheerful.”

Yu Wen blew hot air with his eyes closed. “Being steady has its perks, Uncle. People who hang out with me tend to unleash their true nature easily. Unleashing it too much isn’t good either; I’m getting headaches from it right now.”

Xi Su was a prime example.

Xie Jialin said, “He’s not steady, he’s constrained—rigid and inflexible. He always has to list an order of priorities when doing things, as if disrupting his plans would kill him… Hehe, but he seems to have made a new friend these past few months, he’s a bit more cheerful than before, sometimes even smiling at his phone. A few days ago, he took some cherries from home; I don’t know if it was for his new friend to eat… Didn’t leave a single one for me, though.”

Yu Wen said righteously, “That’s way too much! How could he not leave a single one?”

Xie Jialin said, “Right? You think it’s unfilial too, don’t you?”

Yu Wen said, “I also ate some cherries a few days ago. My manager bought them, they were very sweet.”

Xie Jialin: “You guys have a really good relationship…”

After finishing his discussions regarding the commercial gigs, Xie Heyu returned and went straight to the company villa, only for Xi Su to tell him Yu Wen wasn’t home.

He asked in confusion, “Where did he go?”

Xi Su was engrossed in playing a game with his head covered, not even looking up. “Seems like he went for a night run.”

Xie Heyu: “…When he usually goes for a night run, he wouldn’t be out this late.”

Xi Su looked up, realizing that made sense. “He didn’t run into a sasaeng fan, did he… I’ll text him and ask.”

The strawberries were super delicious.

As expected of the imported, special variety, super-large strawberries!

Yu Wen and Xie Jialin each held one. Taking just one bite, both their eyes lit up, and they said in unison: “Delicious!”

Xie Jialin turned and grabbed a bag, huffing and puffing as he packed more than half of them for him, saying, “Take these back and eat them with your friends.”

Yu Wen acted coy. “That’s so embarrassing…”

But his body was very honest. After two token refusals, he happily tucked the bag into his arms.

His phone chimed; it was a message from Xi Su.

The blue-haired guy asked him: [Where are you? Haven’t finished running yet?]

Yu Wen replied: [I’m eating strawberries at an uncle’s house. One strawberry is as big as my palm! Kitty shaking head.jpg]

“He’s eating strawberries,” Xi Su told Xie Heyu.

Xie Heyu: “Where?”

Confirming Yu Wen was fine, Xi Su couldn’t be bothered to care where he was and went back to playing his game with his head down. “Some uncle’s house… don’t know who.”

Uncle?

Xie Heyu asked, “Do you guys know him?”

Xi Su: “Don’t know him, probably a new friend.”

Xie Heyu frowned.

Security around here was strict, but it wasn’t completely risk-free. Precisely because this was a wealthy neighborhood, some people exploited the inherent perception that “everyone here is a big shot,” finding ways to move in and scam people.

Such things had happened before. And Yu Wen looked like someone who was very easy to scam…

Xie Heyu called Yu Wen.

The call connected quickly, and Yu Wen’s voice sounded very cheerful. “Hello~”

Xie Heyu’s expression relaxed a bit, his voice softening. “Where are you?”

“At a newly acquainted uncle’s house! The uncle is super nice and gave me strawberries to eat!”

Newly acquainted? And you just went to his house?

Xie Heyu: “…It’s getting late, let me come pick you up. Where is the location?”

“It doesn’t seem far from here… ah, wait, my clothes got dirty, I’ll tell you in a sec—”

Xie Heyu: ?

Staring at the disconnected call, alarm bells blared wildly in the cool guy’s heart.

Something is wrong, everything is wrong.

Inviting someone to their house right after meeting them… This uncle is definitely not a decent person!