FLME Ch56

Xie Jialin: “…”

He had thought of this excuse for a long time.

Xie Jialin took off his shoes and sat cross-legged on the sofa, feeling very aggrieved for a moment, like he had fired a cannon only for it to turn out to be a dud.

He pondered hard for a while and felt there was still hope; he still had a trump card left to play.

“This time, it’s real,” Xie Jialin said calmly. “There’s about to be a property auction, and right now, there’s only one way to save our family.”

Xie Heyu asked nonchalantly, “What is it?”

Xie Jialin: “Marriage.”

Xie Heyu raised his water cup to his mouth, then put it down, fearing he might choke. If he couldn’t hold back and sprayed a mouthful of water, that would truly be disrespectful.

“I’ve already arranged a marriage for you. It’s wrong of me not to have consulted you, and for that, the Xie family owes you an apology.” Xie Jialin lifted his face, gazing wistfully at the ceiling, his tone full of sorrow.

Yu Wen squatted at the corner of the second-floor staircase, resting his chin on his hands, listening with great interest.

Uncle’s story sounded quite convincing. He wondered if Teacher Xie would believe it, and if so, what kind of expression would he have.

Ah, speaking of which, when would it be his turn to appear?

He also wondered what kind of role Uncle had written for him.

Xie Heyu: “So?”

Xie Jialin: “Your fiancée is at home today. She’s a beautiful, elegant, and kind girl. You two should meet, just to get acquainted.”

Yu Wen was grinning ear to ear as he listened. Fiancée? Where could Uncle suddenly conjure up a living person at this moment? And calling her beautiful, elegant, and kind…

Wait.

As if to confirm his ominous premonition, in the next second, Xie Jialin enthusiastically declared, “Appear now! Beautiful, elegant, and kind one!”

Yu Wen: “…”

Xie Jialin stretched his hand toward the second-floor staircase, assuming a welcoming posture. Xie Heyu followed his gaze, but ten minutes passed, and the top of the stairs remained empty, devoid of anyone.

Holding his cup, Xie Heyu calmly asked, “A ghost marriage?”

No one appeared, so it must be a ghost.

Yu Wen’s expression went blank, his brain momentarily frozen. He was too embarrassed to come out and just squatted there, determined to remain in place until the end of time, like a mushroom.

“Appear now! Beautiful, elegant, and kind one!” Xie Jialin repeated his summoning spell, but he still couldn’t summon the reclusive little fish.

Xie Heyu rubbed the rim of his glass, thoughtful. He knew his father was joking. The family had often teased him about finding a partner, and they sometimes tried to match him up with someone, but he rarely paid attention. He hadn’t said anything about his s*xual orientation either, because those jokes never went too far. His family was just bored, and he let them be.

But the situation was different now. Since he had someone he liked, he had to take a firm stance on such matters to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.

Xie Heyu put down his glass and looked up toward the second floor, politely asking, “Hello, may I know your surname?”

“…”

There was no response, as expected. Xie Heyu nodded in understanding, saying, “Let’s skip the formalities for now. I apologize for any rudeness. I cannot agree to this marriage because the issue lies with me—I already have someone I like, so I wouldn’t be a suitable match for you. You will find your own fated partner. I’m sorry.”

Huh?

Both Xie Jialin and Yu Wen looked up, stunned by this explosive revelation.

Xie Jialin hadn’t expected his random fabrication to coax such a confession out of this usually reserved person. He immediately rubbed his shiny forehead, excitedly asking, “Really? Who is it? Have you confessed? Did they agree? When’s the wedding? Where’s the honeymoon?”

Xie Heyu: “A colleague at the company. I haven’t confessed. It’s too early, and it might scare him. If he agrees, we can get married. The honeymoon will be wherever he likes.”

Yu Wen no longer felt like hiding. He couldn’t help but think: A colleague at the company? Xie Heyu’s company is Starlight Media, and there are only three artists. He remembered having discreetly probed Xie Heyu before and was fairly certain that Xie Heyu didn’t have feelings for him, so he ruled himself out first. Chu Han is the main character in the original story, and there didn’t seem to be a romantic subplot involving him, so he’s out too. That leaves…

Yu Wen felt as if lightning had struck him on a clear day.

Does Xie Heyu like Xi Su?!

Oh my god! What a disaster!

Wait, that’s not right. Yu Wen suddenly recalled that Xie Heyu had once told him he was straight, assuring him not to worry. He couldn’t remember exactly when, but he was sure of it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to have physical contact with Xie Heyu…

So, could it be that Xie Heyu likes his assistant, Xiao Zhou? Or Chu Han’s assistant? … It couldn’t possibly be the cleaning lady, right?

Xie Jialin was just as clueless. He had already forgotten about summoning the fiancée and continued to press, “Who is it? I remember there aren’t many people at Xie Jiamao’s company. Is it an artist? When did this happen? How long have you been secretly in love?”

Leaning against the staircase railing, Xie Heyu lowered his head, his fringe slightly messy.

“It’s an artist. His last name is Yu.”

He was silent for a moment before quietly adding:

“It’s been a long time. I liked him from the first time I saw him. I liked him a lot.”

Love at first sight? Or just physical attraction? He wasn’t sure, and it didn’t matter. All he knew was that he liked him, and that liking couldn’t be kept silent. The feeling of his heart pounding like a drum upon seeing him was hotter than flames, urging him to get closer, to test the waters…

Sometimes Xie Heyu was grateful for his strong self-control. It at least allowed him not to say things that would surely be rejected at inappropriate times. Thanks to this rock-solid composure, he could stay by Yu Wen’s side without raising any suspicions.

But he wasn’t always so composed.

“Dad, the first time I met him, I wanted to ask for his contact information, but I didn’t. Do you know why?” Xie Heyu, usually so steady, had never shared these feelings with anyone before. Now that he had opened up, he felt like saying more, having kept it bottled up for so long.

“Because I forgot.” He glanced at the stunned Xie Jialin, smiled somewhat shyly, and rubbed his nose, as if mocking himself: “I was too nervous. I handed him an umbrella and forgot everything else.”

When they met again in the dance studio, Xie Heyu thought, fine, Xie Jiamao, you can mess around however you want. I’ll always cover for you.

“Who says your uncle has bad luck? Isn’t it actually quite good?”

Xie Heyu stopped at that point, straightened up, and said, “Still going bankrupt?”

This small revelation left Xie Jialin completely speechless, staring blankly, “Uh…”

“If we’re really going bankrupt, I support the arranged marriage. But how about switching the partner?”

Xie Heyu walked behind Xie Jialin and gave his father a casual push.

“My dad is still quite charming.”

“……”

Yu Wen, who had been listening for a while, finally snapped out of it at this joke. Like a startled corpse, he jumped up, feeling like he couldn’t listen any longer. If he kept listening, something serious was bound to happen—

Unfortunately, his legs didn’t cooperate. After crouching for so long, they were numb, and his attempt to stand up failed, resulting in an awkward fall on his backside. He accidentally leaned against the display cabinet behind him, knocking over a vase.

Downstairs, both father and son paused in their actions and looked up. Xie Heyu raised an eyebrow, glancing at Xie Jialin, “Did you actually find someone to cooperate?”

With that, he took a step upstairs. The sound just now was quite loud; it seemed like someone might have fallen, so he needed to check.

Xie Jialin hadn’t reacted at all. He was still struggling to sort out the relationships between the people involved.

Surname Yu… an artist from Starlight Media with the surname Yu… Hiss… Xiao Yu’s last name is also Yu…

Yu Wen sat awkwardly amidst the shattered porcelain pieces.

He carefully pushed the shards aside, trying not to hurt himself, then grimaced as he rubbed his sore backside, thinking bitterly: This is too dramatic! How did eavesdropping lead to something about me!

Indeed, one shouldn’t do bad things. If he hadn’t been planning to prank Teacher Xie from the start, he wouldn’t have overheard this confession. If he hadn’t heard this confession, he and Xie Heyu could still be good brothers…

Wait, Teacher Xie likes him, so they can’t be brothers. They’re going to break off their friendship… Oh no, why did this have to happen? If he’s guilty, can’t the police punish him instead of taking Teacher Xie away from him…

“…Yu Wen?”

Xie Heyu’s voice came from behind, making Yu Wen freeze. He instinctively denied, “You’ve got the wrong person; I’m your fiancée.”

Xie Heyu: “……”

With just a few steps between them, how could he possibly mistake him? Xie Heyu walked over, kicking aside the broken porcelain, “Did you fall?”

Realizing he couldn’t escape, Yu Wen slowly turned around, staring at his shoes, his eyelashes fluttering as he stubbornly refused to lift his head, his face turning red as if it might start dripping blood.

Only then did Xie Heyu remember what he’d just said, his expression freezing for a moment. He hesitantly asked, “You’re the ‘beautiful, generous, and kind-hearted’ person my dad mentioned? Were you just…”

“I wasn’t! I wasn’t!” Yu Wen lied through his teeth with wide eyes. “I just got here! I climbed in through the window! To be honest, I’m Spider-Man. Every time I go out, I have to save the world! I accidentally broke your vase. Really sorry about that. I’ll compensate you later. I’ve still got a mission to complete—”

With that, he dashed toward the window, pushed it open, and tried to jump out.

Luckily, Xie Heyu reacted quickly and grabbed him by the waist, dragging him back, unusually showing a hint of scolding, “This is the second floor.”

Yu Wen, now being held by the waist, became even more flustered, kicking his legs wildly, “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me! Careful, Spider-Man’s venom might seep into you…”

Xie Heyu: “…Since when does Spider-Man have venom?”

“Spiders bite people!” Yu Wen struggled for a long time but couldn’t break free. Instead, he ended up exhausting himself, panting heavily with a flushed face, mumbling, “I really didn’t hear anything… Teacher Xie, Teacher Xie…”

He stammered for quite a while, not knowing what else to say. Xie Heyu sighed helplessly and finally let him down.

“Can we talk…”

Before he could finish the words “talk about it,” Yu Wen automatically filled in the rest as “talk about love.” His face burned even more as he turned his head and once again tried to climb out the window.

Xie Heyu: “…Yu Wen! This is the second floor. If you jump, you’ll break a bone!”

Yu Wen: “Only two floors? Spider-Man can handle it!”

—

Yu Wen had lost it.

He insisted he was Spider-Man and tried to jump from the second floor. No matter how much Xie Heyu tried to talk him out of it, it didn’t work, so Xie Heyu simply hoisted him onto his shoulder, delivering a smack to his backside with each step.

Under the threat of more butt smacks, Yu Wen finally quieted down, hanging over Xie Heyu’s shoulder like a lifeless fish.

Xie Heyu carried Yu Wen downstairs, while Xie Jialin, utterly confused, couldn’t understand how his perfectly fine Xiao Yu had suddenly gone mad.

Xie Heyu wanted to send Yu Wen home, and Xie Jialin didn’t stop him. After all, Yu Wen’s dorm wasn’t far from here, and there was a lot to process tonight—he needed to digest it all.

That artist with the surname Yu…

As they were about to leave, Xie Jialin couldn’t help but ask, “I just asked Xie Jiamao. The only artist in the company with the surname Yu seems to be Yu Wen. Could it be that the person you like is…”

“It’s not me! It’s not me!” Before Xie Heyu could respond, Yu Wen got all worked up, practically swearing to the heavens. “Xiao Yu is Spider-Man! His dream is to save the world! Of course, he wouldn’t fall in love!”

“…Ah, okay.” Though he didn’t understand what saving the world had to do with love, Xie Jialin still politely responded, “I wish you success soon, good luck.”

Xie Heyu’s expression didn’t change, but inwardly, he let out a huge sigh.

He knew this would happen.

On the way back, Yu Wen mumbled, “Teacher Xie, I won’t jump anymore. Can you put me down…”

Xie Heyu stopped walking.

As soon as Yu Wen’s feet touched the ground, he bolted, not giving Xie Heyu any chance to speak.

Xie Heyu could only stand there and watch him run off into the distance. After a while, he rubbed his temples in frustration.

Yu Wen rushed back to the villa, went straight to his room, and wrapped himself in layers of blankets, leaving only his fuzzy head exposed.

After a while, Chu Han came knocking on the door.

“Come in,” Yu Wen mumbled from inside the blankets.

Chu Han entered, pulling the blankets off, and when he saw Yu Wen’s flushed face, he was startled. “I noticed something was off downstairs. You’re not coming down with a fever, are you? Let me get a thermometer.”

Yu Wen, too embarrassed to admit it was a “confession aftermath,” had to let Chu Han take his temperature. After checking several spots, Chu Han said, puzzled, “Your temperature’s normal… So why is your face so red?”

Yu Wen blinked his moist eyes and mumbled, “Maybe it’s just too hot…”

Chu Han: “Then why are you wrapped up like a cocoon?”

Yu Wen didn’t respond.

Seeing that nothing seemed seriously wrong, Chu Han didn’t press further and was about to leave when Yu Wen spoke up, “Chu-Chu Han, you and President Feng, you two, you…”

He stammered, unable to get the words out, so Chu Han pulled up a chair, sat by the bed, and said, “What’s going on with you today? You’re acting strange.”

Yu Wen summoned his courage, “Has President Feng ever confessed to you?”

Chu Han’s expression was like saying, “What kind of nonsense question is that?” He replied, “Are you asking about before or recently?”

Yu Wen: “Recently? There’s been more?”

Chu Han: “Yeah, just half a month ago. It was kind of annoying, but over the past couple of weeks, it’s gotten less frequent. I figured out the trick to deal with him.”

Yu Wen: “…What trick?”

Chu Han: “I pretended to send the wrong message and texted him: ‘Lately, I like silent and reserved men, preferably the ‘fishing’ type. Men who are too forward aren’t attractive.’ He hasn’t texted me at all in the past half month.”

Yu Wen: “…”

President Feng, late at night, googling: What does ‘fishing type’ mean?

Yu Wen said, “I remember you saying you still liked him… If you like him, why reject his advances?”

Chu Han’s eyes widened, “How can you not understand something so simple? I thought you were smart. Haven’t you overheated your brain?”

Why else?

“Not being together, of course, is because we’re not suitable.”

He liked Feng Chengzhou, and Feng Chengzhou liked him too, that was true; but Feng Chengzhou was young, proud, and arrogant—he didn’t know how to love. What he gave wasn’t what Chu Han wanted, and that was the more important issue.

There were only two outcomes for them: either they would stay together until their love faded away, or one of them would change and become a better fit for the other before the love disappeared.

Chu Han definitely wasn’t going to change! He didn’t do anything wrong, so naturally, it had to be Feng Chengzhou who would change.

Worst case, he could just find someone else to like.

After hearing this, Yu Wen felt it made a lot of sense. “Whether you’re suitable or not is more important than whether you like each other…”

He and Teacher Xie weren’t suitable.

After all, he had inexplicably traveled here, and if one day he inexplicably traveled back… what would happen to the person left behind?

After Chu Han left, Yu Wen stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time.

He felt that he needed to clarify things with Xie Heyu, that they weren’t suitable. But it was hard to explain his origins, especially since it was too far-fetched. It would sound even more absurd than claiming he was Spider-Man.

Where should he even start…

Wait a minute.

How did this even turn into a question of being suitable?

He was nothing like Chu Han.

He didn’t even like Teacher Xie!