FLME Ch57

On the other side, no matter how Xie Jialin thought about it, he felt the reactions of those two were just too weird. So, he called Xie Jiamao. After just a few words, Xie Jiamao asked, “Brother, why are you always asking about Xiao Yu? You’re not trying to poach him, are you?”

Xie Jialin: “…Why would I poach him?”

Xie Jiamao: “That’s a question for you. Put your hand over your conscience and tell me what you’re trying to do.”

Xie Jiamao couldn’t help but be vigilant. Ever since Xiao Yu blew up, people were trying to poach his golden goose every single day. Who knew if his brother suddenly wanted to enter the entertainment industry and was also eyeing his golden goose?

“…Sometimes I really want to crack your head open and see what’s inside,” Xie Jialin grumbled. He then recounted what had just happened, skipping over a few details and only mentioning that Xie Heyu seemed to have someone he liked, but the other person seemingly didn’t like him back.

Just as he was about to ask how Xiao Xie usually interacted with Xiao Yu, the person on the other end hung up without a single word.

Xie Jialin: ???

[Starlight Media Core Team Group Chat]

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

[Xie Family Group Chat]

Xie Jiamao: [Good news, good news! Xiao Xie has finally awakened! He has a secret crush! Bad news! The other person doesn’t like him back! Truly a tragedy that makes listeners weep and onlookers mourn… hahahaha.]

In less than an hour, the whole world knew Xie Heyu was suffering from unrequited love.

Yu Wen thought long and hard about it, eventually deciding to comfort Xie Heyu and gently reject him while he was at it. He felt his subconscious reaction earlier was a bit hurtful. If Teacher Xie really liked him as much as he said, he was definitely very sad right now.

He didn’t want Teacher Xie to be sad.

However, the moment he opened WeChat, the Starlight Media Core Team group chat popped up with over a hundred new messages. Clicking in, he saw the group was discussing someone’s secret crush.

Having just suffered a critical hit in the romance department himself, Yu Wen instinctively paid attention to all relationship-related issues. Seeing the keywords, he immediately scrolled up.

As he scrolled, he felt something wasn’t quite right.

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

Xi Su: [??? Has our relationship with Teacher Xie reached the level where we can talk about this? Isn’t this a bit too intimate? I thought we were just normal colleagues.]

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

Despite what they said, everyone’s interest in the cool guy’s unrequited love was clearly massive. Chu Han claimed he didn’t understand, but in reality, he was tossing out terrible ideas more enthusiastically than anyone else.

Chu Han: [Does he have abs and pecs? What about an Apollo’s belt? If he does, just flash them in front of his crush once. No man can resist that kind of temptation.]

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

Chu Han: [Impossible, my intuition is razor-sharp. The first time I saw Teacher Xie, my gaydar was ringing off the hook. It’s just a pity Teacher Xie isn’t my type.]

After a brief tangent discussing the gender of Teacher Xie’s crush, Xie Jiamao stepped in to correct their course. He sent a voice message: “Let’s just brainstorm ideas first. I’ve watched Xiao Xie grow up, and I’ve never seen him care so much about anything before hahahaha…”

If the boss could have suppressed the laughter at the end, that sentence might have sounded a bit more sincere.

Xi Su: [Alright then, but this kind of thing needs to be analyzed case by case. Who should we use as an example?]

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

Xi Su: [Hypothetically, if Teacher Xie’s crush is Yu Wen… just confess directly. They’re already super clingy with each other normally, it’ll work out.]

Chu Han: [Wrong. Teacher Yu thinks he isn’t gay; a direct confession might scare him. He should boil the frog in warm water. First, show off the abs. Then, show off the superb body lines. Then, toss and turn in the throes of passion until they lose all sense of heaven and earth… After completing the whole routine, they can start dating.]

Xi Su: […]

Toss and turn in the throes of passion… lose all sense of heaven and earth…

Yu Wen’s face exploded in red, turning into a little tomato.

Chu Han, you.Apologize to the me who once thought you were a decent person.Immediately.

The further down he read, the more unbearable it became. Chu Han used the most serious tone to convey the most uninhibited views on love, and the other protagonist he used for his examples was Yu Wen.

Thousands of words were condensed into one sentence: As long as the bodies are compatible, everything else is negotiable.

Staring out the window, Yu Wen thought to himself that he should just become Thanos instead. He didn’t want to be Spider-Man and save the world anymore; he was going to be Thanos and destroy this messed-up world.

The moment Xie Heyu walked through the door, Xie Jialin—who had been waiting for ages—immediately leaned in and said, “I just called Xie Jiamao to verify again… No matter how I look at it, it sounds like you were talking about Xiao Yu. Is it really him? It can’t be such a coincidence, right?”

Xie Heyu was currently scrolling through the “advice” in the group chat. Not knowing whether Chu Han’s rapid-fire suggestions were useful or not, he simply screenshotted and saved them all.

“Yes,” Xie Heyu tossed out a single word cleanly and decisively.

Xie Jialin mulled over the whole situation, suddenly unsure if he was an ultimate wingman or if he had just created a massive disaster. As Xie Heyu walked upstairs, Xie Jialin strained his neck and yelled, “What’s the situation now? Is there still a chance Xiao Yu becomes my daughter-in-law?!”

Xie Heyu said flatly, “I’m working hard to salvage it.”

His figure slowly disappeared around the corner. Recalling his complexion just now, Xie Jialin hissed sharply.

How strange, why were Xiao Xie’s ears so red?

Closing the bedroom door, Xie Heyu leaned against it, lowering his gaze to calm his emotions. After a long while, he slowly smoothed back the hair on his forehead and let out a soft exhale. The lights weren’t on, the dim lighting concealing his equally flushed ears and neck.

It was lucky that Yu Wen was too busy being shy; otherwise, he would have noticed that Xie Heyu’s expression had been pulled tighter than ever, stiff as a board.

Goddamn it.

Accidentally confessing in front of your crush—nobody could stay calm after that.

Turning on the lights, Xie Heyu covered his eyes, lying flat on the bed, silently pondering his next step…

He couldn’t think of one.

He was already terrible at this kind of thing. He had only survived this long thanks to his meticulous observation skills, catching subtle hints along the way. Now that the paper window had been pierced… no matter how he looked at it, it was a dead end.

How about… I just go for a straightforward attack?

Scare him a few more times. Maybe if he gets scared enough, he’ll get used to it and accept it.

Xie Heyu felt this was a terrible idea, but he couldn’t think of a better one for the time being. Eventually, he got up from the bed, grabbed some clothes, and headed for a shower. Opening the wardrobe, he noticed that one of the sections meant for less frequently worn clothes was a mess, looking as if someone had rummaged through it.

“Dad.” The good son, having returned to his room, came back out again. Standing by the second-floor railing, he asked Xie Jialin: “That pale yellow short-sleeved shirt Yu Wen was wearing, was it mine?”

Xie Jialin: “…Yeah. I remembered you never wore anything in that closet, so I grabbed one for Xiao Yu.”

Xie Heyu stared at him silently.

Xie Jialin: “What’s wrong? Did you want that one?”

Xie Heyu: “Nothing.”

If I had known, I would have worn them all at least once.

With that, he turned and went back to his room, leaving Xie Jialin standing there, thoroughly baffled.

For several days in a row, Yu Wen played the ostrich, hiding at home. Xie Heyu couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him at the dorms. It wasn’t until the recording day for Battle Royale that Xie Heyu finally seized a chance for them to be alone. Unfortunately, they hardly spoke on the way there; Yu Wen kept his eyes shut the entire time, pretending to be asleep.

His disguise was incredibly clumsy. His eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings—exceptionally beautiful, but Xie Heyu could probably startle him with a single word. Eventually, Xie Heyu stopped talking, only occasionally scrutinizing Yu Wen’s nervous profile during red lights.

Humans are like that. When someone else is more nervous than you are, your own nervousness suddenly seems insignificant.

This recording was open to the public. Many fans had gathered outside the abandoned campus. From afar, Yu Wen could see his light boards—blue and yellow, very eye-catching.

Today’s guest star was the Best Actor who had recently swept various awards. The day after Yu Wen’s audition, Director Miao officially cast him as Song Mingzhu. With the male lead, second male lead, and female lead all finalized, they could start promoting early. Since Yu Wen and Yi Ming happened to be regulars on a variety show, Huiteng Group coordinated with the production crew to have the Best Actor appear as a guest for an episode.

The Best Actor’s full name was quite a mouthful, so people didn’t like using it. On set, everyone called him Teacher Zhuang or Best Actor Zhuang, and even the fans followed suit. Over time, even Yu Wen forgot what his actual name was.

Before entering the venue for the recording, Yu Wen was handed a delicate little bag by one of the Best Actor’s fans. Inside were some small gifts—chocolates and a little comb. Not overly expensive, but clearly prepared with great care.

To his surprise, the fan who handed him the gift was a prominent male fan.

The male fan pursed his lips and smiled shyly. “This is Teacher Zhuang’s first time on a deduction variety show. Please take good care of him, Teacher Yu.”

Yu Wen was taken aback and hurriedly replied, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”

The managers escorted them into the venue. The sun was scorching today. Yu Wen stood under the shade of a tree while Xie Heyu held an umbrella for him. The moment the two of them were alone, Yu Wen couldn’t help but feel flustered. Thankfully, he was wearing shoes; otherwise, people would see his toes curling hard enough to dig a hole in the ground.

He kept his head down, pretending to inspect the small gift from the Best Actor’s fan.

“Yu Wen.”

Xie Heyu suddenly spoke up, startling Yu Wen so badly he shivered, dropping a chocolate onto the ground. Just as he bent down to pick it up, a pair of hands beat him to it.

Xie Heyu picked it up, put it back into the bag, and then took the bag from Yu Wen’s hands.

Great, now Xiao Yu had nothing to stare at except the tips of his own shoes.

“There are some things I want to say to you…” Xie Heyu considered his words carefully. “Everything I said that day was the truth. But you don’t need to take it to heart, you don’t need to respond, and you don’t need to reject me. I know your answer. You can treat my feelings like… a gust of wind. If you don’t like it, just let it blow past. Don’t feel pressured, don’t feel guilty, and don’t wrong yourself. Give me some time, and I will hide it well.”

Yu Wen dragged his shoe tips on the ground. He roughly understood what he meant—he wanted Yu Wen to play deaf and dumb, and then he would play deaf and dumb too.

But…

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

Knowing the other person likes you but playing deaf and dumb… isn’t that just like a scumbag stringing someone along…

Xie Heyu let out a soft chuckle. “Teacher Xiao Yu, this is perfectly fair. If you play deaf and dumb, I can continue to stay by your side and secretly like you.”

Yu Wen: “…”

What do you mean secretly?! Where is the secrecy in this?!

You’re practically announcing it with a megaphone!

Where is the spaceship? Come pick me up and take me out of the solar system!

Yu Wen pushed the handle of the umbrella, saying haphazardly, “I’m going in, you keep the umbrella, hold it so you don’t get sunburned.”

The sun was glaring. Before entering the school building, Yu Wen couldn’t resist glancing back at Xie Heyu.

Teacher Xie stood under the shade of the tree, tall and lean, standing out from the crowd. Seeing Yu Wen look his way, he offered a smile.

Teacher Xie had been smiling more and more lately.

Yu Wen turned his head back, thinking gravely: This is not a good sign.

His heartbeat had actually skipped a beat just now.

During a break in the recording, Yu Wen’s mind relaxed, and he thought of the matter again. Sitting in the temporarily erected break room, unable to wrap his head around it, he decided to seek help.

He went to find Yi Ming. His Second Master had a blank romantic history, but she had read countless books. Whenever she talked about gossip regarding relationships in the circle, she would talk endlessly, appearing extremely experienced.

He wandered around two or three times before finding Yi Ming behind a bush behind the teaching building.

His Second Master was secretly eating the chocolate gifted by the Best Actor’s fan.

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

Yi Ming said, “My manager bribed the production crew. I can’t be caught on camera, otherwise I’m dead if it gets reported to my manager. There are no cameras here, you want one?”

Yu Wen shook his head in refusal. He watched her eat for a while, then carefully opened his mouth: “Master, has anyone ever liked you…”

“Shh.”

Yi Ming had sharp ears and caught the sound of footsteps not far away. She immediately signaled Yu Wen to duck. The two of them crouched behind the bushes, the foliage concealing their figures completely.

After waiting for a moment, the footsteps didn’t approach, seemingly stopping a distance away. Yu Wen parted the grass to take a look; it was two people talking.

Since they were quite far away and the other party likely couldn’t detect them, Yu Wen breathed a sigh of relief and continued, “Master, has anyone ever liked you?”

“Which kind of like? Lusting after my body or lusting after my money?” Yi Ming buried her head in her chocolate, fully concentrated.

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

Yi Ming: “Generally it’s one of those two, or both. Oh, you’re different, you have an interesting soul, so maybe someone lusts after your brain. Hiss… or maybe someone lusts after your melon-eating constitution.”

…They all sound terrifying.

Yu Wen’s face was full of conflict. Just as he was about to ask his Second Master to analyze which category Xie Heyu fell into, Yi Ming suddenly “shushed” him again.

He watched her part the bushes. Not knowing what she saw, her face suddenly burst with excitement.

“The Best Actor! The Best Actor…” She pointed frantically outside, lowering her voice: “They’re hugging!”

Yu Wen poked his head out to take a look and vaguely saw two men. The taller one was obviously the Best Actor. They were only halfway through the recording; Yu Wen was still wearing the exact same school uniform costume as him.

Yi Ming said, “I squatted here for half an hour and no one came. Xiao Yu, the moment you arrive, there’s gossip!”

At first, they thought it was a studio assistant and didn’t pay much attention, until the two hugged. It was clearly the posture of lovers. This didn’t look like a work discussion; it was obviously a secret rendezvous.

Yu Wen pondered for a moment. Best Actor = Gay. Observing the Best Actor = Observing the world of gay men. This was research material delivered right to his doorstep!

Yi Ming pulled out her phone, wanting to take another picture. After thinking about it, she switched to selfie mode, just “accidentally” capturing the two people in the distance as her background.

She said cautiously, “This way, there’s no moral controversy.”

They watched for a while. The two didn’t have any overly passionate actions, just a brief kiss from the slightly shorter one to the Best Actor before parting. Yu Wen couldn’t see his face clearly, but something about his attire felt vaguely familiar.

Returning to the rest area, the way Yu Wen looked at the Best Actor had completely changed. He thought to himself that you really can’t judge a book by its cover. The Best Actor looked so rugged and frequently appeared in fan-made “boyfriend material” edits, boasting a massive female fanbase. Who would have thought he actually had a same-sex lover?

After maintaining his reserve for a while, Yu Wen couldn’t hold back and went up to ask for advice.

“Teacher Zhuang,” he said nervously, “Um, it might be a bit presumptuous to say this, but regarding the story of you and your lover…”

“Hmm? You’re curious too?” Best Actor Zhuang laughed heartily, pulling out his phone to show him the lock screen. “It was on the trending searches a couple days ago, didn’t expect so many people to be paying attention… This is a photo of me and her. Don’t worry, we’re doing great, and we’ll keep walking forward carrying everyone’s blessings.”

Yu Wen had been playing the ostrich lately and hadn’t kept up with the trending searches. Hearing him say this, he was a bit bewildered, but since the other party handed over the photo, he took a look.

One look, and his expression crumbled.

For no other reason than the fact that the photo showed a woman, while the person hugging the Best Actor just now was clearly a man.

In an instant, terms like ‘two-timing’ and ‘scumbag’ flashed through Yu Wen’s mind. He offered a polite smile and walked out of the rest area.

Yi Ming had been looking for him for a while. Seeing his complexion looked off, she asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Wen hesitated, then recounted what had just happened.

Yi Ming: “…You just found out? Why do you think I was taking pictures earlier?”

Yu Wen: “I thought he was a gay man worth learning from.”

Yi Ming: “Why are you trying to learn from gay men?”

Yu Wen: “To understand them.”

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

Yu Wen: “…I don’t know.”

Xie Heyu already confessed to him… he should probably learn a bit about this area of knowledge, right?