FLME Ch40

The door opened, and out came Chu Han, still groggy from sleep.

He scratched his messy hair that looked like a bird’s nest and stood by the railing on the second floor, processing for a moment.

“Did a groundhog get into our house?” he asked. “I think I just heard a groundhog’s cry.”

Just then, Xi Su let out a second incredulous scream.

Chu Han was silent for a moment before realizing, “Xi Su is actually a groundhog.”

Having reached this conclusion, he turned around and went back to his room to sleep.

“Impossible, impossible,” Xi Su was taken aback by this turn of events, and after a moment, he firmly denied it, “Chu Zhiyao is a koi fish; his luck has always been great. Even if everyone else died, he wouldn’t. You must be saying this just to trick me into mopping the floor.”

Yu Wen asked, “How do you know everyone else is dead?”

“…” Xi Su’s eyes glazed over, and after taking a deep breath to feign calmness, he said, “Mopping the floor, right? I’ll go do it.”

Seeing that Xi Su was genuinely shocked, Yu Wen decided to cut him some slack, “Actually, not everyone is dead. That one person didn’t die…”

“Ahhhhh!” Before he could finish his sentence, Xi Su rushed out of the bathroom with a mop in hand and started mopping furiously while wailing, “Don’t say it! Don’t say it! I won’t believe a word!”

His voice was choked, tinged with a bit of sobbing.

Yu Wen stood where he was, watching Xi Su, more diligent than ever, clean the place, feeling quite gratified.

“I told you,” he spread his hands, speaking kindly and gently, “If you don’t clean, something terrible will happen.”

This kid is stubborn.

He just wouldn’t believe it.

Chu Han slept until the afternoon. After taking a shower in his room, he came downstairs while drying his hair. Seeing that the floor of the staircase was so shiny that it looked like even a fly would slip on it, he was stunned.

“Did the snail girl visit?” he asked in confusion.

Yu Wen was in the kitchen making himself a mixed fruit juice. When it was too sour, he’d add some watermelon; when it was too sweet, he’d add some orange. After adjusting it for a while, he finally got the taste his tongue liked.

He came out with his fruit mix and mumbled, “Xi Su mopped…”

To make Yu Wen stop talking, Xi Su ended up mopping all six floors of the villa, covering every area that could be cleaned with a mop. He was so engrossed that he even wore down the tiles a bit.

Chu Han looked over.

The person in question, with blue hair, was lying on the sofa, hands crossed over his abdomen, looking like a very peaceful corpse.

“…Teacher Yu,” Chu Han hesitated, “He seems to have died.”

Yu Wen replied, “It’s fine, just half-dead.”

In the following days, Xi Su showed an unprecedented level of diligence and cleanliness. As long as Yu Wen looked at him for a moment and opened his mouth, Xi Su would quickly jump up from anywhere to start cleaning.

During this time, Xie Heyu and Xie Jiamao came to visit. The latter was very comforted by Xi Su’s change, believing that their little Xi indeed had the potential for well-rounded development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and labor.

Xie Jiamao was there for Yu Wen’s new script.

“Since you got a little popular with that variety show, I’ve received a lot of offers for dramas and endorsements, but I don’t think the quality is very good. Although we lack exposure, it’s better to avoid low-quality exposure and cherish your reputation.”

Xie Jiamao always had a good eye, dabbling in various industries, so his knowledge base was particularly broad. Whether it was a script or an endorsement, he could instantly tell if the quality was good.

The first drama he got for Yu Wen was Legend of the Immortal Sect.

At the time, Yu Wen thought it was already hard enough to get a drama to shoot, but now looking at the online response, this script was exceptionally good.

“Xiao Xie, what do you think?”

Xie Heyu, holding a porcelain plate, leaned against the kitchen door and thought, “Let Teacher Yu pick whatever he likes to shoot.”

“…” Xie Jiamao said worriedly, “Xiao Xie, that’s not how you do your job as a manager.”

Yu Wen, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the plate held oranges he had just bought the night before, so he said, “Teacher Xie, those aren’t good. I just tried them.”

“They’re fine,” Xie Heyu showed him the peeled orange, “This one is just the right amount of sweet and sour.”

“Really?” Xie Heyu walked over, and Yu Wen took a piece from his hand, muttering, “So not all of them are bad… Teacher Xie, why don’t you try those blueberries? If they’re sweet, bring me a couple…”

Xie Heyu nodded slightly and was about to get up when Xie Jiamao, feeling left out, glanced between the two of them in confusion and said, “Hello? Are you two even listening to me?”

Yu Wen said, “We are, you were saying that a manager can’t do their job like this, but boss, I think Teacher Xie has a point. I’m not a clueless kid anymore; I won’t pick scripts randomly. The scripts I like, I can act in more earnestly and with more investment…”

Xie Jiamao sighed, “How does it feel like our Xiao Yu has suddenly grown up?”

Yu Wen chuckled, proudly puffing out his chest, “It’s different now; Xiao Yu is improving every day!”

When Legend of the Immortal Sect premiered, it started with a decent level of buzz, and the following episodes consistently maintained high-quality standards. By the tenth episode, the ratings had broken 1. The production team immediately contacted the lead cast, preparing to capitalize on the momentum with a livestreamed house tour.

Recently, Yu Wen had been feeling something peculiar—StarLight Media was becoming less and less like a small, amateur operation.

Of course, this wasn’t a bad thing; it was just that the company had become so high-end that it felt unfamiliar to him.

Especially when the styling team appeared.

“…What?” Yu Wen’s face was blank as he pointed at himself, “Me? My own styling team?”

Oh my, what’s the point of this?!

The makeup artist, holding back her laughter, used a tone like coaxing a child, “It’ll only take a moment; come on, let’s put on some cream…”

A flamboyantly dressed stylist sat in the back, hurriedly blow-drying his hair, “Teacher Yu, you’re very popular now. The netizens like you a lot, so of course, you need to pay attention to your appearance when you’re out and about.”

If Xie Jiamao were to summarize Yu Wen’s meteoric rise to fame, it would be a series of sudden bursts of internet popularity that cemented the netizens’ fondness and familiarity with him.

Yu Wen’s journey had been marked by these seemingly random bursts of fame, but without those moments, he wouldn’t have built such a strong public goodwill, leading to his current explosion and surge in popularity.

Yes, an explosion in popularity.

In Xie Jiamao’s eyes, his Xiao Yu was on the verge of becoming so popular that he’d break out of the Earth and into space.

The makeup artist quickly applied some lotion to his face without using powder, “Teacher Yu’s skin is especially good; it looks more radiant without powder.”

When there were no scheduled events, Yu Wen always went out bare-faced, prioritizing comfort. Even when there were events, the shared makeup artist for the entertainers never observed each artist’s facial expressions and features as meticulously as this one.

The makeup artist pinched his chin, scanning his face with eyes like X-rays. Finally, she applied a thin layer of lip tint, curled his lashes, and brushed on some mascara. The result was a natural and translucent makeup look.

Yu Wen smacked his lips a couple of times, spreading the lip tint, and looked at himself in the small mirror, his eyes full of curiosity.

Suddenly, he noticed that the corner of his eye was a bit red, and he quickly raised his hand. “Teacher, I think the lipstick smeared here.”

The makeup artist didn’t say anything; she just smiled, as did the stylist behind her. Yu Wen looked around in confusion, catching Xie Heyu’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Seeing Xie Heyu’s gaze freeze for a moment, then quickly avert with a slight smile, Yu Wen thought to himself, “Oh no, even Teacher Xie can’t bear to look.”

He studied the mirror carefully again, thinking that the smudged area wasn’t too large and could probably be wiped away.

“Hey—Xiao Yu, what are you doing?” The makeup artist quickly stopped him. “It’s not a smudge. Well, it is, but it’s part of the look. It makes you look healthier, more…innocent yet seductive.”

“Innocent yet seductive?” Yu Wen frowned, “I just think it looks like I’ve been punched.”

“I’m a professional; trust me,” the makeup artist said, patting her chest confidently. “You’re not used to it because you don’t wear makeup often, but your fans will definitely love it.”

“Fans?”

Yu Wen hesitated for a moment, then thought about his four million or so fans and felt a bit pleased.

“Alright then, let’s go with this look.”

At that moment, the stylist finished with his hair. Yu Wen played with the fringe above his eyebrows. Although it didn’t seem much different from before, somehow it made him look much more energetic.

After finishing his hair, the stylist evaluated his outfit for the day.

Yu Wen had decent taste in clothes. His casual wear was usually simple and comfortable but had his own style. Today, he was wearing a white hoodie with a watermelon graphic on the chest, loose jeans, and sneakers.

The stylist nodded approvingly, “Not bad, very nice, but it feels like something’s missing…”

The outfit was very youthful and energetic, but for an entertainer, youthful energy alone seemed a bit plain.

It needed some contrasting accessories…

The stylist suddenly had an idea, pulling out his accessory box and rummaging through it until he found two silver ear cuffs.

“Try these on.”

Seeing the two ear cuffs, Yu Wen immediately said, “Can I wear the one Teacher Xie is wearing on his ear? That one looks really nice.”

Xie Heyu, sitting in the front seat, opened the car door and got into the back seat.

“Which side?”

He leaned in, already removing the accessory from his right ear—a chain that clipped to both the earlobe and the upper ear. The chain draped along the ear, partially hidden in his hair, with only a small part of the silver-gray chain showing.

Yu Wen glanced at his ear and said, “I’ll wear it on the right side too.”

Xie Heyu leaned over, brushing aside Yu Wen’s hair to put the ear chain on him. Shi’s hair was long enough to half-hide the chain, but on Yu Wen, it was fully exposed.

The stylist came over to take a look and immediately understood why Yu Wen had chosen Xie Heyu’s accessory over his own.

This ear chain was intricately designed with a cold, high-end silver-gray tone. Judging by the logo on the chain, it appeared to be from an expensive niche designer brand. It wasn’t in the same league as the mass-produced accessories in the stylist’s box.

The stylist nodded approvingly, praising the choice. “Now that’s it.”

It’s all about the blend of different elements; single elements like pure youthfulness or pure coolness don’t look as good. By the way, the elements on Yu Wen and that Teacher Xie mix perfectly.

Yu Wen was also satisfied. He had borrowed several accessories from Xie Heyu before but rarely wore them because, even though they matched his taste, they didn’t quite fit his style. Today was an eye-opener; from now on, he would match his style this way!

The makeup and hair styling took about half an hour. Then assistants Xiao Zhou and Xiao Zhong arrived, and the group finally set off.

On the way, Yu Wen reviewed the scenes from the drama that had trended online. He guessed that the organizers of today’s event would likely arrange to recreate them.

The popularity of Legend of the Immortal Sect could be summarized as a three-way balance. The lighthearted tone of the drama was one of the key factors in its rating surpassing 1%. Another was the XiYue CP that Yu Wen had once shipped to death; its unique development path won over many fans. The final crucial wave of popularity came from Chu Zhiyao, who exuded coolness in the otherwise comedic xianxia drama.

When Yu Wen was acting, he didn’t expect such a great response, although his boss had always claimed that he was the most handsome and charming in the main cast.

Chu Zhiyao’s character seemed a bit naive and clueless, but there were occasional details that would suddenly give the audience a powerful realization, reminding everyone that he wasn’t actually naive—he had the heart of an innocent child.

Just like when he casually said to Pu Yangxi: “I’m just lucky, I always meet good people.”

That’s when his deep charm truly shone through.

Netizens gave him the title—”My innocent-hearted, adorable husband.”

The recent trending topics featuring Yu Wen alone include, but are not limited to: forming hand seals, blinking, sword dancing, raising an eyebrow…

Some of his unconscious little actions seemed to unexpectedly give this character a touch of effortless elegance and charm.

When they arrived at their destination, the parking entrance was a bit convoluted, so Xiao Zhong simply parked the car by the roadside, and the group got out and walked towards the building.

Seeing that Yu Wen hadn’t eaten much for lunch, Xiao Zhou bought a few cups of milk tea along the way. Yu Wen, who had no concerns about managing his figure, took the milk tea and started sipping it.

They were chatting and laughing as they entered the building, but as soon as they walked in, they were met with a chorus of screams and shouts, with light boards and banners filling their view.

“Ahhhhh Xiao Yu! Mommy loves you!”

“Teacher Yu, you’re really popular now—oh, I forgot the rest, oh, I love you so much, baby!”

“Melon King, Melon King, look over here! We’re your long-time fans!”

Yu Wen was startled by this spectacle and froze in place, watching as a massive crowd surged toward him.

He had no idea of the power of active fans.

When the King of Melons was crowned, it earned him a large group of active fans. Since then, he hadn’t had any public events, leaving these fans with no outlet, making them wait for over half a month. With the airing of the new drama, he had gained even more fans, and their desire to see him had grown stronger by the day. Finally, they got this opportunity, and it’s no exaggeration to say they came at him like a horde of zombies.

Not only Yu Wen, but even his two assistants and Xie Heyu were caught off guard.

In the blink of an eye, the crowd was right in front of them.

The girls were shouting with all their might:

“Xiao Yu, eat properly! You’re too thin!”

“Baby! Your light board! Your new light board! It’s a blue-yellow gradient! If you don’t like it, we can change it!”

And some were halfway through their sentences before bursting into tears.

“Teacher Yu, just take a look at the fan group; if you don’t, your fan name is really going to be ‘Cha’—boohoo, you look so good today, boohoo, how can you look so good, boohoo, I really like you so much—”

Xiao Zhong and Xiao Zhou were quickly overwhelmed by the crowd. Yu Wen was left alone to face the overwhelming enthusiasm, his body and mind both freezing up, unable to move.

Someone in the back was still shouting: “Ah, I can’t see, Xiao Yu, can you jump up—”

Yu Wen glanced at the dense crowd around him, thinking this was not the best time to leave the ground.

“Make way.”

Suddenly, he felt his body lift off the ground, and before he knew it, someone had grabbed his leg and hoisted him up.

Yu Wen instinctively kicked a couple of times, then looked down and realized, oh, it’s Teacher Xie.

Yu Wen felt like he was much taller now, at least two meters tall.

Sitting on Xie Heyu’s shoulders, he towered above the crowd, facing his fans.

For a moment, the crowd fell silent.

Then, from a distance, he heard a girl’s tearful voice: “Xiao Yu, you jumped so high!”

Yu Wen: “…”

Xie Heyu steadied him with one hand and called out for people to make way as he slowly carved a path through the crowd.

After the initial awkwardness, Yu Wen quickly adapted to his new two-meter height, waving to fans from all directions.

He was genuinely happy—no one could face such affection and not be pleased.

As he smiled, he made heart gestures for the fans, a new trend he had recently learned online, forming hearts with his cheeks.

Sitting high, the fans could see and take photos, so they stopped pushing forward. The crowd soon dispersed, and Yu Wen entered the building, waving goodbye to everyone as he reached the elevator.