FLME Ch40

The bedroom door clicked open, and a sleepy-eyed Chu Han walked out.

Scratching his bird’s-nest hair, he stood by the second-floor railing, letting his brain buffer for a few seconds.

“Did a marmot break into our house?” he asked. “I thought I just heard a marmot screaming.”

Right on cue, Xi Su erupted into a second disbelieving shriek.

Chu Han paused in silence, coming to a sudden realization. “Xi Su transformed into a marmot.”

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

“Impossible! Completely impossible!” Blindsided by this ending, Xi Su flatly denied it once he came to his senses. “Chu Zhiyao is a koi; his luck has always been godly. Even if everyone else dies, he definitely wouldn’t! You’re deliberately making this up just to trick me into mopping the floor!”

Yu Wen: “How do you know everyone else died?”

“…” Xi Su’s eyes glazed over. Forcing himself to look composed, he took a deep breath. “Mopping the floor, right? I’m on it.”

Seeing that the kid had suffered quite a heavy blow, Yu Wen decided to show a shred of mercy. “Actually, not everyone died. That so-and-so didn’t die…”

“Aaaaaah!” Before Yu Wen could finish, Xi Su charged out of the bathroom armed with a mop, burying his head to scrub two vigorous laps, wailing at the top of his lungs as he mopped: “Shut up! Stop talking! I’m not believing a single word out of your mouth!”

His voice choked up, laced with a faint sob.

Standing in place and watching him clean with unprecedented diligence, Yu Wen felt deeply gratified.

“I already told you,” he said, spreading his hands with benevolent, grandfatherly warmth. “If you don’t clean up, something horrifying will happen.”

Such a stubborn kid.

He just wouldn’t listen.

Chu Han slept straight until the afternoon. After taking a quick shower in his room, he padded downstairs drying his hair, only to freeze in his tracks at the sight of the steps and floor gleaming like a polished mirror—so slick a fly would slip if it tried to land.

“Did the Snail Maiden pay a visit?” he asked, thoroughly bewildered.

Yu Wen was in the kitchen blending a fruit medley juice. If it tasted too sour, he tossed in some watermelon; if too sweet, he threw in a few tangerines. After adjusting back and forth for ages, he finally whipped up a flavor his taste buds approved of.

Carrying his fruit medley out, he mumbled indistinctly, “Xi Su mopped it…”

In order to shut Yu Wen up, Xi Su had stubbornly mopped all six levels of the villa—every single surface a mop could physically reach. He had scrubbed with such selfless devotion that he’d practically stripped a layer off the tiles.

Chu Han looked over.

The blue-haired culprit in question was sprawled across the sofa, hands folded serenely over his stomach like a peacefully departed corpse.

“…Teacher Yu,” Chu Han ventured hesitantly, “he looks like he died.”

Yu Wen: “Don’t worry, he’s only half-dead.”

Over the next few days, Xi Su displayed an unprecedented level of diligence and tidiness. As long as Yu Wen held his gaze for a second or parted his lips, Xi Su would scramble up briskly from wherever he was lounging to start cleaning.

In between, Xie Heyu and Xie Jiamao stopped by to visit. The latter was deeply comforted by Xi Su’s transformation, believing that their Xiao Xi truly possessed the raw potential to develop across all fronts: morals, intellect, physical fitness, aesthetics, and hard labor.

Xie Jiamao was here for Yu Wen’s upcoming scripts.

“After your minor burst of popularity on the variety show earlier, my desk was flooded with offers for dramas and endorsements. But in my opinion, the quality just isn’t up to par. Even though we lack exposure, I’d rather turn down low-quality exposure. We need to cherish our feathers.”

Xie Jiamao had always possessed a keen eye. Having dabbled in various industries, his breadth of knowledge was exceptionally wide; whether it was a script or a brand endorsement, he could spot its quality at a glance.

The very first production he had secured for Yu Wen was Legend of the Immortal Sect.

Back then, Yu Wen had thought simply landing a gig was an incredible blessing, but seeing the online reception now, the script was far from ordinary—it was remarkably good.

“Xiao Xie, what do you think?”

Holding a porcelain saucer, Xie Heyu leaned casually against the kitchen doorway and considered it. “It’s up to Teacher Yu. He can just pick whatever he likes.”

“…” Xie Jiamao sighed worriedly. “Xiao Xie, that’s not how a manager is supposed to act.”

Yu Wen’s sharp eyes caught that the fruit on the porcelain saucer was the batch of oranges he had bought last night. He chimed in, “Teacher Xie, those aren’t tasty, I tried one earlier.”

“It’s decent.” Xie Heyu showed him the orange he had just finished peeling. “This one has the perfect balance of sweet and tart.”

“Really?” As Xie Heyu walked over, Yu Wen took a segment from his hand and muttered, “Guess not every single one is bad… Teacher Xie, taste that blueberry over there to see if it’s sweet. If it is, bring me a couple…”

Xie Heyu nodded slightly and was just about to get up when Xie Jiamao looked back and forth between the two with a puzzled frown, suddenly feeling completely left out. “Hello? Are you two even listening to me?”

Yu Wen: “I’m listening! You said that’s not how a manager should act. But Boss, I think Teacher Xie has a point too. I’m not a clueless kid anymore; I won’t just pick scripts haphazardly. If I genuinely like a script, I can act with far more heart and dedication…”

Xie Jiamao: “…Why does it feel like our Xiao Yu has suddenly grown up?”

Yu Wen chuckled, puffing out his chest with pride. “Times have changed! Xiao Yu is making progress every single day!”

Legend of the Immortal Sect had garnered impressive buzz from the day it premiered, and subsequent updates maintained an consistently high standard of quality. With its tight pacing and vivid character portrayals, the viewership rating broke the 1.0 mark directly by episode ten. The production team contacted the lead cast overnight, intending to strike while the iron was hot and host an in-person live-stream office tour.

Lately, Yu Wen had been feeling a strange sense of unfamiliarity—he felt that Starlight Media was looking less and less like a slapdash, amateur troupe.

Naturally, this was a good thing, but the company’s newfound high-end prestige felt rather foreign to him.

Especially the moment the styling and makeup team showed up.

“…What?” With a completely blank look, Yu Wen pointed at himself. “Me? My styling team?”

Heavens above, what is the need for this!

Suppressing a chuckle, the makeup artist coaxed him in a tone used for little kids: “It’ll just take a second. Come, let’s put on some lovely fragrant lotion…”

An extravagantly dressed hairstylist sat in the back row, hastily blow-drying his hair into shape. “Teacher Yu, you’re super hot right now! Netizens adore you; of course you need to mind your image when out in public.”

If Xie Jiamao were to summarize Yu Wen’s meteoric rise, it would be attributed to intermittent, sudden surges of internet buzz that cemented netizen goodwill and familiarity toward him.

Throughout his journey, Yu Wen had blown up inexplicably time and time again. Yet without those baffling moments, there would be no rock-solid foundation of public goodwill, and consequently, no current explosive breakthrough.

A meteoric rise—yes, a complete explosion of popularity.

In Xie Jiamao’s eyes, his Xiao Yu was on the verge of exploding straight out of Earth and shooting into the cosmos.

The makeup artist patted a light layer of toner and lotion onto his face without applying foundation. “Teacher Yu’s skin is extraordinarily good; skipping powder makes it look much more translucent.”

Whenever he had no scheduled events, Yu Wen always went out bare-faced, choosing whatever felt most comfortable. Even when he did have gigs, the shared makeup artists never bothered to observe each artist’s unique features in such meticulous detail.

Gently tilting his chin, the makeup artist scanned his face like an X-ray machine. Finally, she dabbed on a sheer coat of lip lacquer, curled his eyelashes, and brushed on a light touch of mascara, completing a natural, dewy look.

Yu Wen smacked his lips twice to spread the lacquer, staring at his reflection in the compact mirror with novelty dancing in his eyes.

Suddenly, noticing a blush of red at the outer corners of his eyes, he quickly raised his hand. “Teacher, I think lipstick smudged onto here.”

The makeup artist smiled without a word, and even the hairstylist behind him let out a soft chuckle. Yu Wen looked around in confusion and caught Xie Heyu’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Seeing Teacher Xie’s eyes freeze for a beat before his lips pressed into a tight line as he swiftly averted his gaze, Yu Wen thought to himself: It’s over, even Teacher Xie can’t bear to look.

Scrutinizing himself in the mirror again, he felt the spot wasn’t too large and could probably be wiped away.

“Hey—Teacher Xiao Yu, what are you doing?” The makeup artist caught his hand with lightning reflexes. “It’s not a smudge! Well, technically it is, but it’s part of the makeup! It gives you a healthy glow, a very pure-yet-alluring vibe.”

“Pure yet alluring?” Yu Wen pulled a long face. “I just feel like I took a punch to the face.”

“I’m a professional, trust me.” The makeup artist patted her chest with absolute confidence. “You’re just not used to it because you rarely wear makeup, but your fans are going to love it.”

Fans?

Yu Wen hesitated for a moment. Remembering his four million or so followers, he felt a modest swell of vanity.

“Alright then. Let’s keep it this way.”

Right on time, the hairstylist finished styling his hair. Yu Wen ruffled the bangs resting just above his eyebrows; while it didn’t look drastically different from before, it gave him an undeniably refreshed, vibrant energy.

Done with the hair, the stylist evaluated his outfit for the day.

Yu Wen had decent fashion sense. While his casual wardrobe leaned heavily toward comfort, it retained a distinct personal charm. Today, he was sporting a white hoodie with a watermelon graphic on the chest, paired with relaxed denim jeans and sneakers.

The stylist nodded. “Nice, very nice, but it feels like it’s missing a little something…”

The ensemble was youthful and energetic, but on an entertainer, pure youthfulness was a bit sparse on elements, bordering on plain.

It would be best to introduce some contrasting accessories…

Slapping his forehead, the stylist dug out his accessory case and rummaged around, producing two silver ear cuffs.

“Try putting these on.”

Spotting the ear cuffs, Yu Wen immediately pointed forward. “Can I wear the one in our Teacher Xie’s ear? His looks really nice.”

Seated in the front, Xie Heyu directly popped open the door, got out, and came around to the back.

“Which side?”

Bending into the car, he was already unclipping the jewelry from his right ear. It was an ear cuff chain connecting the lobe to the cartilage; the chain draped down along the contour of his ear, half-hidden beneath his hair, revealing only a faint, subtle glimmer of silver-gray.

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

Leaning in, Xie Heyu swept the stray strands around Yu Wen’s ear aside. Once it was clipped in place, he tucked the chain neatly behind his ear.

Yu Wen’s styled hair appeared noticeably shorter; while the piece had stayed half-concealed when Xie Heyu wore it, on Yu Wen, it was completely on display.

The stylist leaned over to take a look, instantly understanding why Yu Wen had turned down his cuffs.

The ear chain was exquisitely crafted, and its cool silver-gray finish radiated an effortless luxury. Judging by the subtle logo etched onto the chain, it seemed to be from an expensive niche designer brand—a world apart from the run-of-the-mill trinkets cluttering his own kit.

He nodded, singing high praises for the match: “Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

It was precisely this clash of diverse elements that worked; one-dimensional cuteness or one-dimensional edginess both lacked punch. Speaking of which, the aesthetics of Teacher Yu and this Teacher Xie really complemented each other remarkably well.

Yu Wen was thrilled too. He had freeloaded plenty of accessories from Xie Heyu before, but rarely wore them because he felt that while they matched his tastes, they didn’t suit his personal style. Today was an eye-opener—this was how he was going to style things from now on!

The styling process took about half an hour. With assistants Xiao Zhou and Xiao Zhong arriving shortly after, the entourage finally set off.

On the road, Yu Wen reviewed the trending plot points from the drama; he figured the event organizers would definitely arrange reenactments during the office tour.

The popularity of Legend of the Immortal Sect could be summarized as a tripod of three driving forces:

First, the drama’s own lighthearted, joyful tone was a key driver behind the viewership breaking 1.0.

Second, the Xi-Yue CP that Yu Wen had once shipped passionately; their unconventional dynamic had won over hordes of netizens.

And the final massive pillar of buzz was Chu Zhiyao, who radiated effortless charm and dazzling handsomeness amidst the silly xianxia setting.

When filming, Yu Wen had never dreamed it would receive such an overwhelming response, even though his boss had consistently claimed he was the handsomest and most dashing of the main cast.

The character of Chu Zhiyao seemed somewhat clumsy, innocent, and naive on the surface, but occasional subtle details struck viewers right in the soul, showing everyone that he wasn’t foolish—he simply possessed a heart pure as a newborn babe.

Just like that breezy, unbothered retort to Puyang Xi: “I have great luck, so anyone I run into is bound to be a good person.”

His deeper charm blossomed right there.

Netizens dubbed him with the title: “My pure-hearted, adorable dummy husband.”

Yu Wen’s recent solo trending searches included, but were not limited to: hand seals, winking, swordplay, arching an eyebrow…

A few of his subconscious micro-expressions had serendipitously endowed the character with an effortless, dashing swagger.

Upon arriving at their destination, finding the parking garage entrance rather convoluted, Xiao Zhong pulled over at the curb instead, and the group got out to walk to the building.

Noticing that Yu Wen hadn’t eaten much for lunch, Xiao Zhou had bought a few cups of milk tea along the way. Without a shred of anxiety over weight management, Yu Wen took the cup and slurped away.

Chatting and laughing, they stepped through the building entrance. The moment they crossed the threshold, ear-splitting screams and roars collided with an explosion of glowing LED boards and banners!

“Aaaaaah, Xiao Yu! Mama loves you!”

“Teacher Yu, you’re genuinely famous now—ah, I forgot the rest of the chant! Ah, I love you so much, baby!”

“Teacher Melon, Teacher Melon, look over here! We’re your veteran fans!”

Startled by the sheer magnitude of the spectacle, Yu Wen froze on the spot, watching helplessly as a dense, surging sea of people flooded toward him.

He had vastly underestimated the terrifying power of active, living fans.

His coronation as the Melon King had previously gathered a massive base of active followers. Since he had no public schedule afterward, those fans had nowhere to unleash their energy, bottling it up for over half a month. Now, with the new drama airing, another wave had joined the ranks. Their longing to see him had grown more urgent by the day; having finally waited for this opportunity, their fervor rivaled a swarm of unleashed zombies.

Forget Yu Wen—even the two assistants and Xie Heyu were caught completely off guard.

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

Girls were screaming their lungs out:

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

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

Someone even burst straight into tears halfway through speaking:

“Teacher Yu, please check into the fan group! If you don’t look soon, our fandom name is really going to be called ‘Zha’*—wuuu, baby looks so stunning today! Wuuuwuuu, how are you so gorgeous?! Wuuu, I really love you so much—”

(Note: “Zha” is a reference to the badger-like creature from Lu Xun’s classic story, famously hunted in a watermelon patch—a play on his “melon-eating” identity.)

Xiao Zhong and Xiao Zhou were quickly swept aside by the surge. Faced with this overwhelming avalanche of love all on his own, Yu Wen froze, body and mind paralyzed alike, unable to move an inch.

From the back, people were still shouting: “Ah, I can’t see! Xiao Yu, can you jump up—?!”

Yu Wen glanced at the packed crowd surrounding him, feeling that this was hardly an ideal moment to lift both feet off the ground.

“Make way, please.”

Suddenly, he felt his body lighten. Hands secured around his thighs, and someone hoisted him straight up onto their shoulders.

Yu Wen instinctively kicked twice. Looking down after the kicks—oh, it’s Teacher Xie.

Yu Wen felt immensely tall, towering at least two meters high.

Perched on Xie Heyu’s shoulders, he stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens, looking down upon his sea of fans.

The crowd fell into a momentary hush.

Immediately afterward, a girl’s deeply touched, tearful voice drifted from afar: “Xiao Yu, you jump so high!”

Yu Wen: “…”

Steadying him with one hand, Xie Heyu slowly parted a path through the throng while calling out for people to make way.

Once the initial awkwardness passed, Yu Wen quickly acclimated to his two-meter vantage point, waving his hands to greet fans in every direction.

He was genuinely happy; no one could remain untouched when showered with such pure affection.

Grinning ear to ear, he made finger hearts for everyone, even tossing in the cheek-heart pose he had recently picked up online.

With Yu Wen seated so high, the fans could take photos and see him clearly, naturally ceasing their push forward. The dense crowd parted smoothly, and Yu Wen safely made it inside the building, waving goodbye to everyone from in front of the elevators.