FLME Ch24: Program Broadcast

Yu Wen didn’t use double speed. After spacing out and watching for over half an hour, he actually felt a bit more awake.

Once awake, hunger spread from his stomach. He got up and wandered over to the kitchen, preparing to forage for food.

The kitchen was completely empty, with hardly any food stored away—only a few bottles of milk and a couple boxes of fruit.

He cast a lazy glance over it all and pulled out a tomato. The tomato had sat in the fridge until it was ice-cold; just as he was pondering whether to scald it with hot water, he caught sight of the bowl of ginger milk curd sitting beside it.

The porcelain bowl held a milky-white solid, its surface smooth and flat, looking as enticing as set yogurt.

A battle between heaven and humanity raged inside Yu Wen.

He thought of Xie Heyu again. He remembered that when he was woozy with fever, Teacher Xie had mentioned he’d make him something else to eat later. Now that he was clear-headed, that sentence felt as hazy as a dream in his memory, but he still felt it probably wasn’t a dream.

Too bad Xie Heyu had things to do and left.

Yu Wen picked up that bowl of ginger milk curd; the bottom was still warm. Like a little cat sniffing at food, he lowered his head and took a whiff. The ginger scent wasn’t strong, seemingly quite tolerable.

He turned his head and sniffed the tomato again. Ew, freezing cold.

In the end, he still chose the ginger milk curd.

He curled back onto the sofa, wrapped his little blanket tightly around himself, and enjoyed his brilliant performance in the variety show while eating.

After the points were announced at noon, Chu Han exercised a team swap right, forming a new team between Yu Wen and Xi Su.

He hadn’t noticed while recording, but watching on screen now, he and Xi Su looked harmonious and occasionally chatted, yet their expressions from time to time always betrayed several degrees of mutual disdain.

Not only did he look down on Xi Su, but Xi Su also looked down on him.

In one scene, they were squatting on the ground digging for wild mushrooms. Yu Wen was sucking on a popsicle, gesturing grandly: “You’re digging the wrong one, that’s an egg mushroom… dig that one…”

Xi Su: “Oh.”

Turning around, he buried the egg mushroom back, dug up the one Yu Wen specifically pointed out, and casually quipped: “Master, is it this one?”

Master Yu looked closely to distinguish it, gave a wave of his small hand, and nodded with satisfaction: “That’s the one.”

[Little Yu looking at Little Xi: Idiot. Little Xi looking at Little Yu: Nitpicker.]

[Master?]

[Hahahahaha what is wrong with you two, this is so hilarious hahaha…]

[He’s the Master, then who am I?]

[Assign me a role, I want to join you guys.]

[These two have an aesthetic charm of mutually despising each other.]

[Can you let them queerbait a bit? Nothing else, I just love seeing the vibe where they’re annoyed to death by each other yet have no choice but to get along nicely.]

In front of the television, Yu Wen choked immediately upon seeing this part.

Holding his ginger milk curd, he was so mad smoke practically poured from all seven orifices. After a bout of heart-wrenching, tearing coughing, malice sprouted from his gut. Grabbing his phone, he fired off a message to Xi Su: [Stupid Blue Hair!]

The word “Stupid” attacked his intelligence, “Blue Hair” was an unmistakable identifier, and if deeply interpreted, it could even be a jab at his aesthetic taste. In just three short words, it packed immense destructive power.

Xi Su, just you wait to get brutally wounded, Yu Wen thought with satisfaction.

Tossing his phone aside, he saw that in just a brief moment, the ginger milk curd in the bowl had already hit bottom. Scraping the very last residue from the rim, he stared wide-eyed at the empty bowl, pursing his lips.

So little.

All finished.

Being sick, his sense of taste was dulled, so he actually didn’t find the ginger flavor overpowering. It was probably suppressed by the milk and sweetness; on the tongue, it just tasted sweet, with only a slight peppery warmth in the aftertaste.

Yu Wen temporarily added ginger milk curd to his “edible list.”

One bowl of ginger milk curd clearly wasn’t enough to fill his starving stomach. He went back to the kitchen, took out the tomato from the fridge, and set it in warm water to take off the chill.

The TV reached the confrontation where his and Tong Li’s teams crossed paths on the mountain road.

With just a few brief sentences, he dragged Tong Li straight into a trap of assumptions.

“…Can’t really remember. I was wearing white shoes, so maybe I wiped them myself.”

There was good reason for Tong Li to demand the director loop his micro-expression from that moment three times.

On screen, Yu Wen briefly lowered his eyelashes, then suddenly lifted his eyes to look at Tong Li, meeting her gaze with zero guilt. After just two or three seconds, the corners of his lips curved up, revealing a sliver of a smile. The teardrop mole at the corner of his eye made his sincerity appear all the more vivid.

“…Can’t say for sure.”

In the viewers’ eyes, this was him using quick brainstorming after understanding Tong Li’s underlying implication, turning the trick back on her and muddying the waters.

Yet in Tong Li’s eyes back then, it seemed her partner had caught her probing after a brief hesitation, accepted the hint, and signaled his identity.

Hence, she put on a knowing, intrigued smile and left with Cao Lingyun.

[Ah, my heart…]

[Teacher, for you I’m willing to marry Chu Han.]

[This expression… if I were Tong Li, I’d find it hard not to believe him too.]

[When smart people connect, sometimes it only takes a single glance.]

[It actually developed like this???]

[Who is tricking whom in this episode (looks up at the sky)]

[This teacher shouldn’t be here, he should go debut in the C-position next door on Battle Royale, they need talent like you over there]

[My heart that was suspended all episode suddenly lay flat in peace.]

[God looks down on humanity, and all living beings are fools. Amen.]

[Thank you Teacher Yu for letting me experience a high-IQ perspective, that was so satisfying…]

[Is this kind of brain even allowed to exist in the human world? Feels like AI evolved and left me behind.]

[Fine, next time I take an exam I won’t pray to Sun Simiao, I’ll pray to you.]

[What’s his name again? State your grand name, from now on he is this sister’s religion.]

[Yu Wen! Yu Wen! What’s wrong with you guys, a whole episode and you still haven’t memorized his name!]

[Hahahahaha I remembered it]

[I remembered it too.]

[I’m not a shallow face-chaser, but with this performance, it’s really hard not to remember him.]

Yu Wen hadn’t opened the trending searches again since last night, so he had no idea that his solo trending topic had actually hung on Weibo for a day and a night, sitting in sixth place—a genuine breakout moment.

However, since his actual name wasn’t in the tag, neither he nor that gossip hound Xie Jiamao had noticed it.

#God looks down on humanity, and all living beings are fools#

Below it was a featured comment:

“A breath of fresh air in the entertainment circle with both EQ and IQ on point. Neither arrogant nor self-deprecating, neither stiff nor rowdy. Beneath the surface of quickly blending into his surroundings lies a composure and benevolence toward everything. Young people call it being a salted fish, but in my eyes, it is divinity. He will fall in love with every circle he touches—that is the common plight of earnest people. Looking forward to his performance. Even in an unfamiliar entertainment industry, please shine brightly.”

His Weibo followers skyrocketed overnight, with plenty of people jumping in early to invest in him, and even more netizens genuinely looking forward to his new dramas and variety shows.

For no other reason than he was simply that good-looking.

The high-energy analysis mid-episode had shifted the viewers’ perspective to Yu Wen’s, making the final voting segment that night less about suspense and more about drama. The viewers who joined late already knew the outcome from the trending searches, yet they couldn’t resist dropping by to join the fun.

[Checking in for the classic scene of undercovers backstabbing each other!]

[Came here from the trending search, let me see how ridiculous it gets first.]

[Sister Tong trusted Little Yu right until the very end…]

[Even as she was voted out, her eyes were still saying: this round is an easy win.]

[Hahahaha someone make a meme of Sister Tong, dying of laughter.]

[While they’re arguing here, Yu Wen and Chu Han are eating in the back.]

[Yu Wen (munch munch munch): I don’t know anything.]

[You little punk, playing the pig to eat the tiger comes as second nature to you.]

[Tell me (munch munch munch) who on earth invented (munch munch munch) such a smart and cute boy like Yu Wen (munch munch munch)]

[What is the commenter above chewing on?! I’m asking you, what are you chewing on! Spit this pretty teacher out!]

The final scene featured all the cast members sitting side by side at the mountain peak. The sunrise glow spilled across the edge of the sky, the entire frame bursting with vibrant warmth as the morning sun rose like hope itself.

On the new day, Yu Wen and Chu Han were still conjoined twins.

Bulky down jackets enveloped their bodies, their pointed chins tucked into their collars. Like two half-asleep roly-poly dolls, you bumped me, I bumped you, dazed and groggy, shoving against each other while leaning on each other for support.

In the final easter egg, Yu Wen poked Chu Han awake and dropped a completely baffling sentence.

“There’s no Ultraman in this world, and I don’t have superpowers. It’s all fake, don’t believe it.”

Immediately following that, the production team’s stylized font appeared: For more exciting content, please stay tuned to the spin-off show “Fun in the Mountains”…

[???]

[Ha, it’s not like I really want to watch it anyway. Did you think I’d get VIP just for this little bit of content? Ha, I’m totally not losing my mind…]

[Damn it all, I’m going to whip the director like a spinning top through three lives and three worlds!]

[I knew it, there’s no free lunch in this world, and no free pretty boys on the internet.]

[There are bad actors among the masses!]

No one could resist this kind of temptation. Grumbling and cursing, the audience bought memberships and migrated to the spin-off show.

Yu Wen didn’t have a video VIP either, so he pulled out his phone and bought one.

The spin-off was split into part one and part two. Part one contained some warm little outtakes not featured in the main cut, while part two was only thirty minutes, serving as Yu Wen and Chu Han’s home turf.

Without watching the spin-off, Yu Wen wouldn’t have known he and Chu Han talked this much in private.

“Teacher Chu, a shiitake mushroom was walking down the road and got bumped by an orange. The mushroom was furious and shouted: Go die! And then the orange died. Why?”

“Why?”

“Because jun yao cheng si, cheng bu de bu si—the mushroom/ruler wills the orange/minister to die, so the orange/minister must die.”

“…”

“Do you know why peerless martial masters always die in the Sutra Depository?”

“…Don’t know.”

“Because they have miji (dense / martial secret manual) phobia.”

“…”

Regrouped in the afternoon, Yu Wen and Chu Han became teammates once again and were roped in by a local farmer to pull weeds. While weeding, Yu Wen kept cracking bizarre cold jokes.

He delivered them with utter seriousness, which led Chu Han to listen just as earnestly.

[Chu Han: (Attempts to understand) (Fails to understand) (Starts cursing under breath)]

[Someone save our Teacher Chu, he looks like he’s about to shatter!]

[A new CP has appeared! How can we stay stagnant!]

[Upstairs, between these two, who is top and who is bottom?]

[…They both look like they’re suited to be tenderly cherished in bed…]

[Forget it, this old man will let them off once, let’s ship them as a platonic CP (benevolent smile)]

[Yay! Yu-Chu platonic CP is the best under heaven!]

That night, after listening to Yu Wen’s deduction, Chu Han asked him if he had superpowers.

Failing to deny it, Yu Wen simply rolled with it and admitted it.

Chu Han cycled through a whole series of emotions: “I knew it,” “basking in the glory,” “immensely thrilled,” and “trying hard to contain himself.”

He quietly told Yu Wen: “Remember to tell the production team to edit this part out, don’t let it leak…”

Yu Wen answered him: “It’s fine. Whatever should be aired will be aired; whatever shouldn’t be aired naturally won’t be.”

Chu Han once again showed a relieved expression of a boulder finally rolling off his chest.

[Chu Han watching the episode: Relieved too early.]

[The production team leaked the superpower secret that saves the world, what if an evil syndicate sees it?!]

[Chu Han: Am I the only one who knows this secret, or can everyone in the country know? If everyone can know, I’m not listening.]

[Wuwuwu, such cute babies, munching away in the corner, mama could kiss you to death!]

[Report! Yu-Chu platonic CP hit the trending list!]

[Nice, nice, everyone come ship our kids’ wholesome friendship!]

Not even ten minutes later.

Yu Wen leaned into Chu Han’s ear: “There’s no Ultraman in this world, and I don’t have superpowers. It’s all fake, don’t believe it.”

[Great, just great, our Yu-Chu platonic CP is broken.]

[Damn! Another trending tag, #Yu-Chu platonic CP broke up#]

[The key point is that Chu Han actually believed him! How is that not fun to ship!]

[Fine, count it as food, I’ll take a bite.]

The final shot was Chu Han’s supplementary post-interview filmed after recording wrapped up. A staff member asked him: “Teacher Chu, regarding the topic of superpowers, there’s a lot of online discussion. What were your thoughts at the time? After finding out Teacher Yu didn’t have superpowers, were you feeling down?”

Chu Han stayed silent for a moment, then offered a polite smile. His smile held three parts sorrow, three parts resentment, and four parts embarrassment turning into anger, resulting in an exceptionally stiff grin.

Chu Han (Fake Smile Edition): “No, I didn’t believe it either. It was just a joke between colleagues, I wouldn’t take it seriously, hahaha.”

[<I believe didn’t either it>]

[ <I either it seriously take wouldn’t>]

[]

[It’s over, one look and you know he genuinely believed it]

[How can he be this cute!!!]

Having finally caught up on the show, Yu Wen let out a long breath.

He got up to grab his little tomato. Just as he stood up, the door opened, and Xie Heyu stepped in, changing his shoes in the entryway while carrying bags full of groceries.

Yu Wen: “…”

Xie Heyu looked up. Seeing him frozen in place, his cool gaze swept over him, his phoenix eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Not wearing shoes?”

With delayed realization, Yu Wen wiggled his toes and looked down. He had only gotten up to fetch a tomato, just a matter of a few steps, and thinking he’d be right back, he hadn’t put them on. Right now, he was stepping on the freezing tile floor wearing nothing but white socks.

Sensing Xie Heyu’s gaze sweeping over, he primly curled his toes, feeling an inexplicable twinge of guilt. He quickly sat back down on the sofa, wrapping his feet up tight with the blanket in a few brisk motions.

“An accident. I heard a noise, thought it was a burglar, and stood up in a hurry…”

He felt guilty about being sick, but didn’t feel guilty about lying.

Xie Heyu said nothing. Pinning him to the sofa with a calm gaze, he carried the groceries into the kitchen.

Yu Wen noticed his motion of placing the keys back into the small basket on the shoe cabinet.

When did he take them? Yu Wen wondered.

Having taken the keys, he naturally hadn’t intended to leave for good. Realizing he had misunderstood Xie Heyu’s departure, Yu Wen spaced out in his blanket for a moment, whispering softly: “Getting sick really does make you stupid…”

“Not sleepy?” Xie Heyu appeared silently before him again, holding a plastic bag. “The medicinal drink has sedative ingredients. If you want to sleep, go to bed; don’t stay on the sofa, you’ll catch another chill.”

“…” Yu Wen looked up at him, blinking sluggishly.

Xie Heyu: “I brought wontons. Want some?”

Two minutes later, the two sat side by side on the sofa. The wontons were portioned out into a small bowl, just convenient for Yu Wen to cradle with one hand while eating. Taking a couple of bites, he subtly peeked at the person beside him from the corner of his eye.

Xie Heyu had his head down typing on his laptop, the glow of the screen illuminating his focused profile.

Teacher Xie just spoke twenty-nine words. Does that mean the cold war is over?

Yu Wen wracked his brains, analyzing for a full half-minute—longer than his total thinking time on the show.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Heyu was actually the first to break the silence. Yu Wen’s seemingly discreet gaze was simply too intense to ignore. Xie Heyu typed the final character of the paragraph, clicked save, and turned to look at him.

“Wontons don’t taste good?”

Yu Wen subconsciously nodded, then shook his head. “The wontons are good, I just don’t have an appetite.”

In truth, he thought this bowl of wontons was awful. Even though neither scallions nor chili were added, thick oil slicks floated on the soup, and the wrappers were thick with tiny fillings…

Yet from long ago, he knew there was no need to voice these genuine thoughts. Except for parents and family, other people would only think you were being overly finicky, not to mention that this had been bought out of kindness.

Feigning casualness, Yu Wen set the bowl down and asked, “Isn’t it the weekend today? Why are you still working on your project proposal? That urgent?”

Xie Heyu looked at him sideways, his phoenix eyes long and deep, yet the light gathered beneath his lashes was as tranquil as a deep spring, brimming with a faint glint that saw through everything.

He lowered his gaze, his eyes brushing past that bowl of wontons as if by accident.

“End of term, lots of tasks. I’m taking next year’s third-year courses at the same time, so I’ll probably be busy for another half month.”

“Is that so? Then you don’t need to keep me company, go back to school.” Yu Wen sat up with a grin. “I’ll take good care of myself.”

Xie Heyu slowly drew his gaze back from his face and snapped the laptop shut.

“No.”

He stood up. “Your fever hasn’t gone down, so I’m not at ease. Someone has to keep an eye on you; I’m staying until your fever breaks.”

“If you don’t want to eat it, don’t. Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it.” Xie Heyu bent down to take the bowl of wontons and turned toward the kitchen. His polite voice could vaguely be heard drifting out through the glass door: “Pardon the intrusion today.”

Yu Wen: “…”

It wasn’t an intrusion, but, how should he put it…

Yu Wen picked up the thermometer gun and aimed it at his forehead with a pew.

37.8°C.

Hadn’t dropped at all.

He was forced to abandon the idea of using “I’m already better” as an excuse to convince Xie Heyu to leave.

While he was busy with his minor illness, a storm of blood and gore was brewing on Weibo.

There had already been hints last night, with quite a few marketing accounts quietly reposting and even fueling the flames, but there was no concrete evidence. It happened to coincide with this episode of Mountain Courtyard blowing up in popularity, so all discussions related to Xi Su were suppressed by the show, and not many netizens paid attention to these rumors.

However, early this morning, the related topic stubbornly clawed its way up the trending list.

#Huiteng Group Illegitimate Child#

The whistleblower claimed to hold solid proof of Huiteng Group Chairman Feng Mingjie’s marital infidelity and messy private life, dropping the bombshell that Feng Mingjie had an affair with a company employee within a year of his political marriage to the Xu family heiress twenty-two years ago, fathering a son the same age as Feng Chengzhou.

The whistleblower specified that this illegitimate child was currently an artist in the entertainment industry and that their identity would be revealed at noon, along with the evidence in hand.

Calling it a monumental piece of gossip was an understatement.

If the leak were true, Huiteng Group’s stock price would take a massive hit, and that exposed entertainment artist would also be dragged into the vortex, making it difficult to ever achieve anything on screen again.

Instantly, half the entertainment circle panicked. Netizens collectively began scouring for twenty-two-year-old male artists. In just one morning, dossiers tracing the lives of male artists from top tier down to eighteenth tier were compiled into neat documents, simply waiting for the leaker to drop a few more details to match the seat.

If a seasoned fox like Xie Jiamao saw this, he would immediately realize the leaker’s goal wasn’t just exposing gossip, but extortion—letting rumors run wild was simply a way to drive up the price and squeeze substantial benefits out of Huiteng Group.

Whether it would ultimately be exposed depended on whether both sides could reach a deal.

If Yu Wen had seen it, based on these simple details alone, he would have instantly deduced that the illegitimate child referred to Xi Su. Out of a meager shred of sympathy, he might even have given a friendly heads-up so Xi Su could prepare.

Unfortunately, Yu Wen was sick today and in no mood to surf the web.

Xie Jiamao didn’t know Xi Su either.

While the online clamor raged, Blue Hair was at home playing video games. Seeing the trending tag, he merely skimmed it, sneering in his heart: Feng Mingjie’s retribution is finally here.

Past noon, he looked at the glaring tag on the trending list—#Xi Su Illegitimate Child#—in sheer disbelief.

Me???

Who aired my family’s dirty laundry all over the internet?

He finally pulled off his headphones and rapidly browsed every single post under the trending tag. After confirming that the person involved was indeed himself—

He slowly shut his eyes.

Feng Mingjie’s retribution hadn’t arrived…

His, Xi Su’s, retribution had.

At twelve o’clock, Xie Heyu prepared a simple meal of two dishes and one soup. Moving the coffee table aside, he set up a folding table so Yu Wen could eat while facing the TV.

Yu Wen was catching up on the variety show Battle Royale; the more he watched, the more his head throbbed.

“I don’t want to go on this variety show,” he said aggrievedly.

Xie Heyu glanced at the screen, understanding immediately. “Because it’s exhausting?”

Battle Royale had broken into mainstream popularity thanks to its interlocking plots, tight scripts, and intricate mechanisms. Audiences in front of the screen mostly felt the brain-burning suspense, but with deeper thought, one would realize these stages required not just brains, but stamina.

The guests inside were worn down like dogs.

After a brief thought, Xie Heyu said, “If you really don’t want to go, just mention it to Xie Jiamao. He won’t force you.”

“Forget it.” Yu Wen was just venting casually. In truth, he was quite tempted by the gorgeous outfits on the show; plus, his heart had high endurance and he wasn’t afraid of ghosts, making him practically born for this sort of program.

To take a step back, his boss was currently bustling around securing this resource. If he just backed out on a whim, it would be belittling someone else’s hard work.

He leaned forward, picked up his chopsticks, and discovered a fried egg resting over his rice.

A gentle poke, and golden yolk flowed out.

“Soft-boiled egg!” Yu Wen cheered with delight.

Xie Heyu brewed a cup of cold medicine powder and set it aside to cool. “Eat while it’s hot. There’s nothing on the table today you dislike, so don’t pick through your food until everything goes cold.”

Yu Wen recalled for a moment. “I didn’t…”

Xie Heyu: “On the show.”

Yu Wen shut his mouth.

Both lunch and dinner during the recording of Mountain Courtyard had been barbecues. Unfortunately, things were overcooked. Having the guests grill everything themselves was sheer hell for a picky eater. As a result, despite a table full of food, he picked and prodded until it went cold without ever eating his fill.

Chu Han had also asked if he was a picky eater.

Pushing aside the scallions on his food, he had replied: “No, just don’t have an appetite.”

In the end, Chu Han had mixed a small plate of the best pork belly for him, and he finished every bite. But in reality, he found it unpalatable; the meat wasn’t fresh.

One shouldn’t be overly finicky, Yu Wen always warned himself.

And at this very moment, Yu Wen finally understood why his first reaction upon opening the door to Xie Heyu this morning had been guilt.

Because Teacher Xie was the very first person to figure out he was a picky eater based merely on a bag of oranges. This person was sharp, just like him.

“…Teacher Xie watches my show too?” He peeked out from behind his rice bowl.

“Mhm.”

“How far did you watch?”

“Finished it.”

“Hahaha, it was only updated last night. Haven’t you been super busy lately, Teacher Xie? How did you still have time to watch the show?”

“If I can find time for a project proposal, why couldn’t I find time to watch the show?”

Yu Wen was rendered speechless. “Are those two things… equally important?”

“Mhm.” The simple folding table didn’t have much room. It was only because Yu Wen wanted to eat while watching TV that Xie Heyu had set it up. Right now, Xie Heyu sat sideways beside him; his 1.9-meter frame occupied only a small corner, looking quite cramped.

He said, “I am your assistant, even if an incompetent one.”

Xie Heyu as a person was gentle, attentive, yet harbored a bizarre sense of morality and responsibility—anything that fell under his purview had to be done to perfection.

Sometimes Yu Wen felt he strove for perfection to an excessive degree.

Yu Wen spaced out, his gaze landing on the side of Xie Heyu’s neck. A prominent Adam’s apple, leading up to a sharp, well-defined jawline. Looking only at his profile, this twenty-year-old young man was actually quite lean.

Yu Wen said softly, “Your studies are more important, there’s no need to let other titles overshadow yourself. I’ve always taken good care of myself, it’s fine without an assistant. You’ve been so busy lately yet still carved out time to watch the show, this will affect your—”

“Eat first,” Xie Heyu interrupted him.

“…Oh.”

Yu Wen had no choice but to swallow his long speech.

Only after watching him eat nearly half a bowl did Xie Heyu speak: “I’m used to finishing coursework for the next two years ahead of schedule. The main reason this semester’s finals are so busy is that I want to clear out my schedule for the second half of the year, so I temporarily bumped many tasks forward.”

“In the second half of the year, you’ll have a packed itinerary. You can’t keep running around all by yourself like you do now. Xie Jiamao will certainly hire new assistants for you, but you need someone trustworthy by your side.”

Yu Wen subconsciously said, “Isn’t that the manager’s job?”

Xie Heyu paused in subtle silence for a moment. “You think he’s reliable?”

“…Point taken.”

His boss’s daily schedule was busier than his own as an artist.

Their Starlight Media truly was a ragtag troupe!

Recalling his words, Yu Wen habitually counted, suddenly realizing that after coming back from buying groceries, Xie Heyu had spoken far more than usual—even more than during his normal days.

Yu Wen set his bowl down and leaned forward to peer at Xie Heyu’s expression.

“Teacher Xie, you’re not angry anymore?”

Xie Heyu’s eyes paused.

“Angry? I’m not.”

“Stop lying to me.” Yu Wen wagged his finger with confidence. “You were definitely angry, I could tell in one glance.”

When it came to powers of observation, he wasn’t one bit inferior to Xie Heyu.

Two people this perceptive shouldn’t bother lying to each other.

Yu Wen’s gaze was blaring with the words: Spill the truth.

Xie Heyu watched him for a long time, pressing his lips together. “I’m sorry.”

Yu Wen couldn’t help his curiosity: “Why were you angry? Because I got sick? But it’s not like I wanted to get sick.”

“…That’s not it.” Xie Heyu looked away. Only after a moment did he let out a soft breath and say: “When you came to open the door, your voice was hoarse, and your face was flushed red with fever. Yet you were only wearing a single thin shirt; the computer was still on, with slippers scattered beside the desk chair; the blanket on the bed hadn’t been unfolded. Clearly, you didn’t sleep in bed last night, but fell asleep at your desk, which is why you fell sick.”

Yu Wen: “…Are you actually Conan?”

Xie Heyu: “The most crucial part is, you were so dizzy with fever that your expression was totally dazed, yet you didn’t wear shoes, nor did you wear socks.”

Yu Wen: “…”

I shouldn’t have asked.

Great, now he was feeling guilty all over again.