FLME Ch49

Xi Su’s reaction took not only Yu Wen by surprise, but also left the viewers in the livestream bewildered. After a moment’s pause, they burst out laughing.

「Hahahahahaha, what a state of confusion.」

「Help him! He really looks like he’s about to lose his mind!」

「What a beautifully chaotic mental state…」

「I was feeling emo, but seeing Teacher Xi acting so bizarrely suddenly made me feel a bit calmer.」

「I remember Xi Su used to be quite mature? He even had a CP (couple pairing) with Chu Han on a show where he was totally dominating.」

「That was the past; now he’s just unhinged.」

「Ahhhhh What is this…」

「He’s playing so well with Xiao Yu, his essence is just like Yu’s—a cute baby. What’s wrong with that? Hmm, nothing wrong at all (Mom fans’ doting love).」

「I told you, StarLight Media is just a huge mental asylum…」

“Injustice, my lord! Our company is made up of serious people. Xi Su’s always had this kind of personality. He’s just a bit shy and reserved in front of the camera, but in private, he’s quite lively…”

Yu Wen racked his brains to find the right words to smooth things over for Xi Su.

In the middle of this, Xie Heyu received a call from Xie Jiamou. It was rare for the boss of StarLight Media to have some free time today, so he thought he’d check out the reviews of Yu Wen’s new variety show. But before he could scroll down on the trending list, he saw another artist from his company going nuts in a livestream, right at the second spot on the hot searches.

The hashtag #YuWenLivestream# was trending with a lot of discussion. It happened to be right below the trending topic of the “Battle Royale” show. Naturally, viewers attracted by the trending topic would take a peek at this livestream. Once they entered, they would see a blue-haired guy running around everywhere.

“Yu Wen, I feel like our friendship has come to an end. Let’s leave it at this. I won’t support any more of your shows. If I watch another, I’m a dog.” Xi Su calmly stood in the living room with a small suitcase he had brought down from upstairs, bidding farewell to Yu Wen. “Goodbye, Yu Wen. Goodbye, entertainment industry.”

Yu Wen: “…”

After a moment, he dragged his suitcase back from the doorway, picked up a broom that he accidentally left on the sofa, and said calmly, “I almost forgot my cannon.”

Yu Wen: “…”

When Xie Jiamou entered the livestream, Xi Su was opening his suitcase, trying to pack up a box of cherries from the kitchen, while saying, “I’m leaving, but I’ll take a keepsake. I’ll think of you when I eat them, Yu Wen.”

Yu Wen: “…”

After watching, Xie Jiamou almost fainted.

He had only given Xi Su half a month off, but somehow this guy had managed to cause such a huge mess?!

Xie Jiamou hurriedly called Xie Heyu.

“Xiao Xie… Yes, yes, yes, you need to make him go back to his room. Tell him to stop messing around in front of the camera… I wasn’t planning on creating a persona for him, but he can’t just let himself go like this! My god, he’s going to scare away all his female fans! How’s he supposed to act in idol dramas in the future? His acting skills are terrible—I mean, not the point—he needs to keep a bit of charm, got it? He probably won’t understand if you explain it to him. Xiao Xie, just tie him up…”

After hanging up the phone, Xie Heyu put his phone back in his pants pocket, feeling a bit troubled.

Tie him up? How exactly?

Xie Heyu went to the bathroom and found two unused towels. When he came out, he saw Xi Su trying to pack Yu Wen into his suitcase and saying that this was his retirement fund for the second half of his life…

Xie Heyu went over and instinctively intervened. Somehow, they started pushing each other, and Xie Heyu, with a swift motion, pinned Xi Su to the sofa.

Yu Wen, who had narrowly avoided being kidnapped, angrily threw a cushion at the blue-haired guy.

Chu Han moved from the corner of the sofa, scrambling away from the chaotic battlefield.

It was complete mayhem.

The livestream chat also became chaotic. Everyone was watching the drama, not knowing where to focus first. Eventually, they all sighed and agreed with the comment above: StarLight Media really is a giant mental asylum.

Fifteen minutes later, Xi Su was tied up with a blanket and towels in the corner of the sofa.

Right across from him was the TV. He looked like he wanted to die. “Did I commit murder or arson, Teacher Xie? Why are you subjecting me to this cruel torture?”

「Xi Su, just confess, hhhh.」

「Fifteen minutes have passed, and he still refuses to confess?」

「Blue-haired teacher must stay here and watch this episode of ‘Battle Royale’ with me today! His reactions are my perfect recovery tonic!」

「Tying Blue-haired teacher here is a wise decision. Who supports and who opposes?」

「Support!」

The variety show was already in its final segment, with only half an hour left.

Without purchasing a spot on the trending list, the hype for “Battle Royale” almost crashed Weibo’s servers. Naturally, the director wasn’t going to miss such a good promotional opportunity, and immediately contacted other guests, inviting them to join a live broadcast link-up.

Yi Ming was still on set, with her makeup and costume still on. The background was a bit foggy. She smiled and greeted the viewers in Yu Wen’s livestream room, “Hello everyone, I’m the Elf, here to hitch a ride on Teacher Yu’s popularity, hahaha.”

There weren’t many guests who could join the live broadcast at the moment—only Yi Ming and Jian Heng. Over at Jian Heng’s side, as soon as he turned on the TV, his expression became serious.

The comments asked him what was wrong.

“The upcoming plot doesn’t seem very happy. Personally, I’m a very fragile little boy who can’t handle this kind of thing. Sorry, I have something to do and need to go.” With that, he was about to disconnect the link, but his manager grabbed him and pinned him down in place, looking very resistant.

The Bard’s storyline is independent, so Jian Heng doesn’t know much about the bonds between the other characters. He might even understand less than the viewers who have been following along in the comments. But this last scene he knows very well because he was on set when it was filmed.

He cried immediately after seeing it, without any context.

[“Young man, where are you going?”

Darkness, a silent space shrouded in endless black. Somewhere, the sound of water dripping slowly, like the passage of time.

A young man with a long sword is walking forward.

He walks steadily, but his eyes are blank. A wisp of black mist wraps around his ankle. He instinctively slashes it away with his sword, so skillfully it seems he’s done it a million times.

The road ahead stretches into the infinite distance, with no end in sight.

“…Find the curse’s core and cut it down.” He replies mechanically. These few words seem to be etched into his bones, spoken without thought. Yet, after he finishes speaking, he blinks, and a bit of clarity appears in his nearly empty eyes.

“Who are you?” he asks the voice.

The voice does not answer.

“Young hero, you’ve done well. You’ve already cut down countless curse spells, weakening the power of the magic… Now, you should rest a bit.”

The hero raises his head. His lips are dry, his voice hoarse.

“…Can I rest?”

“Of course. Your sword is already so damaged. Even if you keep going, you won’t be able to gain any more victories. Why not end it here and rest?”

The hero looks at the sword in his hand—so broken and full of nicks. It’s no longer sharp enough, needing four or five swings to cut through a single curse spell.

“It’s fine…” He mumbles with his dry lips. “A chipped sword is still a weapon. Even without a weapon, I will continue forward.”

The voice goes silent.

After a moment, it says, “You no longer need to go further. You have cut through the Demon King’s seven-day limit, buying enough time for your companions. The dwarf and the princess have left the castle, returned to the palace, and are living happily ever after with the dragon…”

Seven-day limit, dwarf, princess, dragon… These words evoke distant memories in the hero.

He slowly starts to become clear-headed, his brain, rusty from time, slowly beginning to function.

“…Is that so?” he says, “But I have not completely severed the curse…”

“It is enough, child.”

Under the persistent persuasion of the voice, the hero’s eyes gradually waver, and he reveals a relieved expression. “I can rest.”

The voice says, “Yes, you can rest now.”

Suddenly, a small house appears before him. Bright sunlight spills over it, shining on freshly baked buttered bread and red tea on the windowsill. Birds in the woods are singing; everything seems so beautiful.

The voice says, “Go in, go in, enjoy the food and the warm blankets.”

The hero murmurs, “Go in…”

A deep, resonant dragon’s roar echoes from a distant place, the roar seemingly carrying a sense of fury.

The hero pauses in his steps.

The voice becomes urgent, “Quickly, young man, inside there are freshly baked bread and tea…”

He lowers his head, listens to the dragon’s roar in his ear, and looks at his chipped sword, pondering something.

“Dragon roars sound similar, but they’re not the same… There is a dragon whose roar I can understand.” He mutters to himself.

“This dragon is calling for me, telling me to wake up, to come home.”

He takes a deep breath, lifting his eyes to gaze into the brilliant sunlight.

“My friend.”]

This scene was a later reshoot by Yu Wen. Many guests shot a lot of extra footage during the post-production phase. At the time of filming, it was hard to determine where it would be used, and even they themselves weren’t sure what the final product would look like.

When Yu Wen was shooting this segment, the other guests were watching from the side.

At the beginning of filming, Jian Heng was in high spirits, but as it went on, he and the emotionally sensitive Daniel Li hugged each other and cried, tears streaming down their faces.

Daniel Li: “So touching…”

Jian Heng: “What scene is this? Boohoo, I don’t understand, but it’s so sad…」

In this scene, the darkness symbolizes the endless curse magic, and the persuasive voice is the Demon King. What is being filmed is the hero lost in the magic.

The hero hears the call of the evil dragon but doesn’t turn back immediately; instead, he keeps moving forward.

He grips the broken sword tightly and marches steadily onward, ultimately finding the core of the curse and cutting it with one swing amid the Demon King’s wailing screams.

At the end of this scene, Yu Wen kneels on one knee, head bowed in exhaustion.

The darkness dissipates, he is bathed in sunlight, lifts his face, and his eyes are slightly red.

“I can go home now.”

Jian Heng and Daniel Li clung to each other, howling.

When Yu Wen found the mechanism and confirmed the storyline, he stabbed his sword into the black mist, which transitioned into this shot.

Jian Heng cried once while filming it. After the editing, soundtracks, and everything came together on TV, he cried again.

“He was trapped in the magic and forgot the passage of time, but he still remembered the dragon’s call of ‘my friend.’ He forgot everything else but still remembered to cut the curse magic. It wasn’t until the Demon King lied to him, saying the dwarf and princess had already escaped, that he agreed to rest… boohoo…”

He was crying so sincerely that he could barely speak. Yu Wen initially felt a bit sad, his eyes secretly reddened at the corners, but after listening to Jian Heng’s sob-filled lament, he suddenly didn’t feel so sad anymore.

The other people in the live stream room were more or less in a similar state.

Yi Ming had initially taken a tissue, secretly wiping away tears. After Jian Heng’s rant, her mood was immediately gone. She rested her chin on her hand, watching Jian Heng’s sorrow.

Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “Brother Jian, so many people are here. Could you… stop blowing your nose?”

Jian Heng was too deep in his emotions for anyone to stop him. Speaking nasally, he said, “What? Which living person doesn’t blow their nose? This is hypocrisy.”

The barrage unanimously supported him.

「Support Brother Jian’s right to blow his nose freely!」

「The plot is so tearful, but Brother Jian is so funny.」

「A live stream with two comedians? You two and Xiao Yu, could you three live stream together more often?」

Yu Wen instinctively looked at the other comedian, Xi Su, who was slumped half off the couch, already motionless, unsure if he was dead or alive.

Yu Wen poked him, “Teacher Xi?”

Xi Su jerked back to life like a corpse, inhaling deeply through his nose.

“Give me a tissue,” he said.

Yu Wen: “What for?”

Xi Su looked calm, but he had clearly lost it, “My eyes are peeing.”

“…”

Yu Wen handed him a tissue and glanced at him while doing so, noticing his face was already covered in tears.

“Give me another one,” Xi Su said.

Yu Wen: “One’s not enough?”

Xi Su sniffed, “My nose is peeing too.”

Yu Wen: “…”

Holding the tissue, Yu Wen hesitated, feeling a bit repulsed and unsure of what to do. Xie Hanyu noticed his hesitation, grabbed Xi Su’s towel from the bathroom, and directly slapped it on Xi Su’s face.

Xi Su wriggled his face against the towel, cleaning it up quite gratefully, “Thank you, kind person.”

The barrage suggested that Xi Su and Jian Heng must have a lot to talk about and recommended that Yu Wen take this opportunity to introduce them. They suggested that if there were new dramas in the future, the two should live stream and binge-watch together.

Yu Wen repeated this suggestion to Xi Su, who shook the towel off his face, glanced at Jian Heng, and said unhappily, “He’s a bad guy; my grandma won’t let me play with bad guys.”

Yu Wen: “… You really are crazy.”

His surprising statement caused the live stream room to explode with laughter. Jian Heng choked for a moment, even stopping his nose blowing, and said, “Buddy, that was a variety show role. As for me, I am… passionate, cheerful, generous, graceful, sunny, positive, optimistic, and upward—a treasure of the universe and a masterpiece of Nüwa…”

Xi Su slumped back on the sofa, eyes closed, looking half-dead, “Whatever, I still hate him.”

Now he didn’t even feel like shipping the ‘Xi Yue’ CP.

Yu Wen was worried that his public image would collapse entirely, so he exchanged a glance with Xie Hanyu.

Teacher Xie nodded, understanding the message. He took Xi Su’s face-wiping towel, balled it up, and stuffed it in Xi Su’s mouth.

Xi Su: “?”

At the end of the first episode, the worldview is introduced.

Because Yu Wen was the only one who cleared the level, his official portrait was the first to be displayed on TV, alongside his basic information such as height and weight.

[The beginner’s instance has ended. The number of players who cleared the level: one.

Yu Wen, registered ID xyum667, your beginner’s gift package has been bound. Please choose your clearance reward—

The second instance will begin soon, and the ultimate mission of this season: Revive the dead and reorganize the hero team.]

The information of the other four regulars followed closely behind, displayed on a blue electronic screen with their cold, official portraits, giving a taste of a mechanical future.

[Thank you to all players for helping the system collect soul energy. There is only one path to escape, and failure means death.

Immerse yourself and revel.

Welcome to the Battle Royale.]

This is the worldview that runs through the first three seasons of Battle Royale—the purpose of the Battle Royale system is to collect soul energy. Players are placed into various characters to explore storylines, with only one chance to escape; failure means death.

The final mechanical voice evoked a sense of familiarity among viewers.

「Yo, System Bro, long time no see.」

「System Bro, I want to play too. Let me in.」

The binge-watching ended, but Yu Wen’s live stream wasn’t over yet; he hadn’t given out his koi prize yet. However, he was also very concerned about the reaction to the first episode, so he took some time to check online.

As he expected, it was dominating the trending searches.

Out of the top ten, nine were about Battle Royale, and the discussions were extremely high. Even his live stream made it to three or four trending topics, one of which was about Xi Su and another about Jian Heng.

＃XiSuWentCrazy＃

＃JianHeng ried＃

One was at number twelve, and the other at thirteen. Quite harmonious.

Yu Wen’s Weibo followers increased rapidly, and under his post promoting Battle Royale, netizens kept leaving comments expressing their love for the hero.

Character filters are really powerful, especially since Yu Wen’s personality is about 60-70% similar to the character.

In conclusion, the first episode of Battle Royale Season 3… was a huge success.