FLME Ch13: Wrap-Up

Jian Heng claimed he was mentally and physically traumatized and overwhelmed, and only gossip could soothe his soul.

Yu Wen said if he wanted to hear gossip, just say so directly without all the preamble.

“Then hurry up and tell me,” Jian Heng urged.

Yu Wen rested his chin on his hands and furrowed his brows in deep thought, looking like a troubled dumpling. After a while, he muttered, “I can’t think of anything else.”

Jian Heng was certain he was being perfunctory.

Yu Wen, having no other option, said, “Okay, okay, the next time I hear any gossip, I’ll tell you immediately, alright?”

“Next time?” Jian Heng asked in surprise, “Is acting just a side job for you, and being an FBI agent your main job?”

Yu Wen thought of the labor agreement at home and pretended to be profound, “Perhaps it’s destiny; I am naturally suited for gossip. Wherever I go, gossip follows.”

He used a very ridiculous explanation, and even more ridiculous was that Jian Heng actually believed it.

“Hello, Gossip King.” Jian Heng solemnly shook his hand, “If I become wealthy, I won’t forget you.”

Yu Wen pouted.

After bothering him, Jian Heng turned to leave, but Yu Wen quickly grabbed him and said, “Wait, help me shoot a video.”

“What video? A vlog?”

Jian Heng took his phone, skillfully found the perfect angle with excellent lighting, and just as he clicked record, he saw Yu Wen take out several bottles of vitamins from his bag, pouring a few from each. The pills formed a small pile in his palm. Facing the camera, Yu Wen spread his hand and said, “Teacher Xie, I haven’t forgotten.”

He poured the pills into his mouth, swallowed them with warm water, and proudly flashed a peace sign at the camera.

Yu Wen took the phone back. Jian Heng asked, “…Who’s Teacher Xie?”

Yu Wen: “My assistant.”

Jian Heng leaned over to take a look and saw a few chat records, falling silent.

“Aren’t you homophobic?”

Yu Wen: “Yeah.”

Jian Heng opened his mouth but then closed it again.

Yu Wen: [Teacher Xie, do you think this sweatshirt would look good on me?]

Yu Wen: [Link.]

Xie Heyu: [I have this one. Do you want it? I can bring it to you this weekend.]

Yu Wen: [That’s not good, haha. I’ve already taken many of your accessories, and besides, your size might be too big for me.]

Xie Heyu: [You can wear it; boyfriend style is trendy now.]

After five minutes.

Xie Heyu: [Not saying I’m your boyfriend.]

Yu Wen: [Goose laugh.jpg]

Yu Wen: [Teacher Xie, sometimes you are really cute.]

Xie Heyu: [Hm.]

After another five minutes.

Xie Heyu: [Thank you.]

Jian Heng carefully analyzed this chat and concluded, “You’re not homophobic at all.”

You clearly like him a lot!

Yu Wen was busy typing on his phone, sending the video to Xie Heyu, so he absentmindedly replied to Jian Heng, “Mmm-hmm.”

Yu Wen: [Today’s vitamins; I took it!]

Yu Wen: [I am eating well; don’t listen to the boss. I know health is important; I won’t slack off.]

Yu Wen: [Angry kitten with hands on hips.jpg]

Xie Jiamao had ordered Xie Heyu to supervise Yu Wen daily, often making surprise video calls, treating Yu Wen like a preschooler unable to care for himself.

Yu Wen found it quite bothersome.

He was just a picky eater, not suicidal. Occasionally, he would force himself to eat a few bites, and he never skipped essential vitamins.

No matter how much he disliked fruit, he would still buy some oranges from street vendors.

Xie Heyu, a sophomore with a heavy course load, often helped out at the fledgling StarLight Media. How could he have the energy to constantly watch over him?

Adults just don’t understand!

The other party didn’t reply, probably in class, so Yu Wen switched back to the main screen and saw Chu Han’s last message.

[How do you know?]

Yu Wen thought, it’s really hard to explain this briefly.

So he honestly replied: [Strangely enough, I was there when he was looking at the paternity test results.]

After replying to all the messages, Jian Heng was still there, crossing his arms and scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Yu Wen belatedly turned to him and asked, “Mr. Jian, is there anything else?”

Mr. Jian pushed up imaginary glasses and said, “The truth is out—”

Yu Wen adopted a listening posture.

“You are gay.”

Yu Wen’s brain froze for a second.

“Stop being ridiculous,” he said.

“Alright, alright, just kidding.” Jian Heng shed his Conan skin and leisurely asked, “Is your Teacher Xie handsome?”

Yu Wen’s newly settled heart instantly became alert, “Why? Our Teacher Xie is still a pure university student; don’t you dare have designs on him!”

Jian Heng: “I don’t go for guys…”

Yu Wen: “Who knows?”

In the entertainment industry, homosexuality wasn’t uncommon. In recent years, with the legalization of same-sex marriage, more artists were coming out. Yu Wen didn’t discriminate against gay people, but he felt that Xie Heyu didn’t seem to be gay and didn’t want to cause trouble for Teacher Xie.

Jian Heng met his gaze, and under Yu Wen’s firm look, he gave up on communication.

“Alright, let me ask it differently, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your own looks?”

Yu Wen thought for a moment.

“Seven.”

He knew he looked pretty good, but his appearance didn’t align with his own aesthetic preferences.

Jian Heng: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate Teacher Xie’s looks?”

Yu Wen, full of energy: “Ten!”

Jian Heng: “If you guys get married, can I sit at the main table?”

Yu Wen: “…”

–

Jian Heng gained some joy from teasing his colleague, but soon he wasn’t happy anymore.

The next few scenes were his hell.

Pu Yangxi carried Jiang Qiu Yue’s body up the mountain for burial. Familiar faces appeared one after another. Those who had once laughed and joked with him and caused trouble together had all turned into cold corpses, soaked in blood, like rigid sculptures drawn with oil paint and red ink, silently exuding the aura of death.

The Yunxiao Sword Sect had no survivors, which was an expected outcome.

But when this moment really came, Pu Yangxi still felt dizzy, and the sunlight was extraordinarily glaring.

During the three short months of lurking in Yunxiao Mountain, how much of it was genuine feelings and how much was pretense, only the demon lord himself knew.

Those who attacked the mountain began to ravage it, intending to turn the entire Yunxiao Mountain upside down, digging three feet deep to find the sacred artifact. Only Pu Yangxi quietly collected the bodies of his old companions, tidied their appearances, and sought a feng shui treasure spot on Yunxiao Mountain to bury them.

Finding each corpse was like a dull knife cutting through a memory.

The final outcome was that the sacred artifact was not found on Yunxiao Mountain. Pu Yangxi took over Yunxiao Mountain as a matter of course, buried his old companions, and stationed heavy troops to guard it.

A few years later, the sacred artifact remained missing. One theory was that it had been destroyed during the war between immortals and demons, and all the rumors over the years were just smokescreens. Another theory was that the demon lord had hidden in the Yunxiao Sword Sect for several months and now heavily guarded Yunxiao Mountain, not allowing anyone in, so the sacred artifact must still be hidden there, just hard to find.

As a result, Yunxiao Mountain became a target again, and Pu Yangxi became the new target.

He accidentally inherited the will of the Yunxiao Sword Sect and perhaps became the new savior.

…

Did that seventh junior brother really leave the sect?

Who knows.

After finishing this scene, Jian Heng asked the costume teacher for three feet of white silk and threw it onto a tree.

Yu Wen: “Teacher Jian, what are you doing?”

Teacher Jian: “Hanging myself.”

Yu Wen: “…”

Teacher Jian, feeling like dead wood without any will to live, calmly tied the white silk into a knot, stretched his neck, and placed his head on it.

Yu Wen extended his hand dramatically: “No! Teacher Jian!”

Jian Heng, in pain, said: “You all are gone, and I’m left alone in this world. It’s so meaningless. Let’s meet in hell…”

Zhu Xinyi, still in costume, stood nearby eating a popsicle while watching them act.

Yu Wen tried hard to persuade him, but Jian Heng wouldn’t listen, angrily saying: “You only lost your life, but I lost all of you!”

Yu Wen: “No—”

The cameraman, quick on his feet, captured this moment and stored it in the blooper reel.

After finishing the grand finale, Yu Wen still needed to go to the adjacent set to shoot a few segments about his character’s background, adding some details to Chu Zhiyao’s mysterious koi persona.

Before being picked up by Liu Zhenzi at the mountain gate, he had a happy and complete family. Later, a severe drought struck his hometown, and his relatives died one after another, leaving him a wandering orphan.

Whenever a natural disaster struck, people habitually prayed to the gods and Buddha. Everyone in Chu Zhiyao’s family was devout, praying daily, but it seemed that the gods did not alleviate their suffering, never hearing their pleas.

His grandmother, on her deathbed, held his hand, muttering: “Good grandson, good grandson, grandma is dying, don’t be afraid, grandma will bless you, bless my good grandson with smooth sailing…”

His relatives watched over him, blessed him.

The gods did not favor mortals, but mortals had loved ones.

That night, Yu Wen wrapped up his part.

The director gave him a bouquet. Yu Wen lingered on the set, taking countless wrap-up photos. It was his first time joining a crew, his first time experiencing the charm of being an actor, and he felt a bit reluctant to leave.

Chu Zhiyao’s character arc wasn’t fully developed, but it was complete, with various details worth savoring from beginning to end. Yu Wen felt deeply connected to this role, taking many selfies and being unable to resist posting on Weibo.

[Yu Wen: Xiao Chu, there will always be someone blessing you [pic] [pic]…]

Fans gradually responded, with some asking about the genre of the drama. Yu Wen carefully replied, earnestly promoting: The script is very good; everyone can look forward to it.

He hadn’t watched many dramas and didn’t know the current market standards, but for a low-budget web series to contain such a mix of comedy and tragedy, he thought it was already very impressive.

The wrap party was scheduled for half a month later because Jian Heng’s scenes weren’t finished yet. The crew needed to change locations to shoot Pu Yangxi’s scenes in the demon realm. Since they had scenes to shoot that night, the director didn’t let them drink, but Jian Heng still clung to Yu Wen’s leg, crying and snotty, “My Xiao Yu is leaving me…”

Yu Wen suspected he had sneaked a drink but had no evidence.