FLME Ch78

Chu Han asked, baffled, “Why should I apologize to you? It was just an ordinary farewell kiss, not some French kiss in the middle of the street. But you—you came rushing out, yelling like a ghost, and scared me half to death.”

Xi Su retorted, “Have you ever considered that your dear colleague might go for a walk in the garden after work? Do you know how shocking it is for him to see such a scene? He’s practically scarred for life.”

Yu Wen couldn’t help but interject, “If you’re so scarred, why didn’t you knock before barging into my room? If you’d come in a little earlier, you really would have—”

“Stop! Stop!” Xi Su waved his hands frantically to cut him off, pointing at him sternly. “I don’t want to hear any details about you and your boyfriend. I’ll deal with you later.”

Perhaps the shock had toughened him up because Xi Su suddenly seemed to grow wings, taking on the air of someone in charge.

Yu Wen wanted to retort, but since this was the company dormitory and bringing Teacher Xie here was indeed a disruption for Xi Su, he swallowed his words.

Meanwhile, Xi Su continued bickering with Chu Han.

Chu Han thought Xi Su was overreacting, but Xi Su simply couldn’t accept that their dormitory, once home to three single men, now had only him left. Both had their points, but their arguments didn’t align. Eventually, Feng Chengzhou couldn’t take it anymore and said to Chu Han, “Why don’t you move to my place? It’ll be more convenient to see each other…”

“Godfather!” Xi Su immediately changed his tone upon seeing him. “This has nothing to do with you. Please don’t worry about it. Let us handle this internally.”

Yu Wen thought to himself, Someone’s been watching too many dramas. Even their speech has become all flowery.

The blue-haired teacher suddenly sounded cultured, which felt oddly out of place.

After a bit more back-and-forth, Chu Han finally relented. “Alright, I’ll be more mindful next time.”

Though he didn’t get an apology, Xi Su, being a contented person, was satisfied with Chu Han’s concession and nodded in relief before turning to Xie Heyu and Yu Wen.

Yu Wen felt particularly wronged. “You barged in on your own. I didn’t flaunt anything in front of you.”

Xi Su was indignant. “And you’re still trying to argue—”

At that moment, Xie Heyu, resting his head on his hand, asked thoughtfully, “Do I need to apologize too?”

Xi Su replied with perfect fairness, “Of course. At Starlight Media, we don’t play favorites. Even though you’re not an artist, you did steal the company’s prized cabbage…”

“…” Xie Heyu nodded. “But I’m the company owner.”

Yu Wen: “What?”

Xie Heyu explained, “The person who holds the most shares in the company is me. Xie Jiamao is the manager. Based on corporate management structure, he’s the CEO, but I should be… the chairman.”

Yu Wen was astonished. “Weren’t you just brought in to help out?!”

Xie Heyu rubbed his nose sheepishly. “Yes and no. Xie Jiamao needed investment, so he brought me in. I don’t handle much, but the shares are in my name, and the company building is mine too…”

Seeing everyone’s shocked expressions, Feng Chengzhou leaned toward Chu Han and whispered, “Has he always been this low-key at your company?”

Chu Han replied, “This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

Yu Wen was the most shaken. He had often worried about Teacher Xie not having a salary, even considering when to brainwash Xie Jiamao into giving his hardworking nephew some benefits…

Turns out he had shares. He was living off dividends!

“Even if you’re the boss, you haven’t given me a raise. I, Xi Su, have a cooperative relationship with Starlight Media—” While everyone else was stunned, Xi Su quickly regained his composure. When it came to matters of personal interest, his calculations were always sharp.

At this moment, his mental abacus was clicking furiously. He said, “Of course, money can make people forget grievances. If you’re willing to consider giving me a bonus…”

“I can give you time off,” Xie Heyu said calmly. “A company-sponsored vacation, paid leave.”

Xi Su froze for a second before dramatically changing his tone. “Godfather.”

Xie Heyu: “…”

Xi Su stepped forward to shake his hand, his demeanor pious and humble. “When does it start, and how long will it last?”

Xie Heyu replied, “Once Teacher Yu finishes filming this project. As for how long… that depends on him.”

Xi Su then turned to Yu Wen with an expression of deep affection.

Yu Wen had a subtle sense of foreboding, suspecting that nothing good would come out of this. Sure enough—

“Godmother.”

Yu Wen: “…”

That evening, when seeing Yu Wen and Xie Heyu off, Xi Su was still rambling on blissfully. He said, “Godfather, Godmother, you two must stay together, okay? You absolutely cannot break up. If you do, what will happen to me?”

Feng Chengzhou was also about to leave, and Chu Han stood at the door to see him off.

Xi Su scanned the room—still two couples and one single dog—but his attitude had completely changed.

He said emotionally, “Stay well, all of you. Don’t get divorced… We’re just one big happy family of five.”

After taking a shower, Xie Heyu carried Yu Wen to the table, and Yu Wen was still mulling over the shareholder revelation.

“You’re the chairman… The boss wouldn’t just assign you things you dislike…” Yu Wen’s breathing was uneven, and his words came out in fragments. His legs were wrapped tightly around Xie Heyu’s waist, pulling him closer, only to push him away when it felt too deep.

“You… you said becoming my agent was a position assigned by the boss… but actually, it was your own idea… You just… came for me…”

Xie Heyu tightened his grip on Yu Wen’s waist.

When Yu Wen could no longer speak, Xie Heyu leaned close to his ear and teased slowly, “Hmm, you’ve uncovered another thing I kept from you. Should you punish me?”

“Punish… punish…”

Yu Wen repeated vaguely, unable to say more, leaving it at that.

Xie Heyu shifted positions and carried him to the bed.

His lower abdomen was sticky. Xie Heyu dipped a finger into the liquid, rubbed it between his fingertips, and raised an eyebrow. “You’re so sensitive, Xiao Yu.”

Work kept them busy, and they didn’t get to meet often. Plus, they were newly intimate. Yu Wen felt he could understand his boyfriend’s strong needs.

But clearly, his boyfriend wasn’t as understanding as he was.

Books had plenty of advice on precautions, but none of them taught him how to adapt to such intense experiences—especially since, just when he adjusted, Xie Heyu would up the ante with something even more thrilling. Who knew how many tricks Teacher Xie had up his sleeve? Yu Wen certainly couldn’t predict.

The problem was, the moment they got into bed, Xie Heyu became utterly shameless.

Just listen to him—he didn’t even bother pretending. He outright admitted he did it on purpose.

Yu Wen said, “You… need to admit your mistake…”

This wouldn’t do. Certain principles couldn’t be compromised, even in bed. Right and wrong needed to be clarified.

Xie Heyu replied earnestly, “I’m sorry. I used a little trick, but I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

Yu Wen’s nerves finally relaxed.

Xie Heyu then asked, “Can you forgive me?”

Yu Wen: “…”

Forgiving was one thing, but why were his hands wandering there?

His hips were particularly full, and Xie Heyu seemed to have discovered a new toy, unable to stop himself, kneading with considerable force.

Yu Wen felt like a lump of clay, being molded and reshaped…

The next afternoon, Yu Wen had a flight to catch to return to the set. Before boarding, he calmly said goodbye to Xie Heyu, then turned around and blocked him.

This time, his memory was crystal clear. He vividly remembered Xie Heyu whispering in his ear while he was dazed: “Wear a little dress, okay? Just once, Xiao Yu.”

In his haze, he had foolishly cried out, “Wear—wear—”

Because every time he said “wear,” Xie Heyu would mercifully pause, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

Xie Heyu then asked when he would wear it.

Yu Wen had dug his own grave, replying, “Next time…”

Xie Heyu had agreed, “Alright, next time we meet.”

Recalling this, Yu Wen first felt shy, then clenched his teeth, a hint of murderous intent rising.

Xie Heyu, you’re utterly lawless…

He had been dizzy at the time, not suffering from amnesia!

Don’t even think about getting your way!

He decisively blocked Xie Heyu. For the rest of the month, he didn’t want there to be a “next time.”

On the other side, as Xie Heyu left the airport, he stared at the glaring red exclamation mark in the chat window, lost in thought.

“?”

As for Feng Chengzhou and Chu Han’s relationship, Yu Wen hadn’t paid much attention. But every time he saw the online gossip, he’d think about how they were already together and feel that it wouldn’t be long before they were exposed.

There were simply too many nosy onlookers following their love-hate drama online. Even the slightest movement would cause an uproar, let alone something as significant as being in a relationship.

Not long ago, his second mentor had deduced, with her extraordinary reasoning skills, that Yu Wen was dating his agent. Lately, she’d been trying various ways to probe the matter. Her interest in this relationship was unusually high.

Yu Wen said, “We divorced. We loved. No kids.”

Yi Ming: “…”

“I wasn’t asking that.” Yi Ming chuckled. Anyone could hear the petulance in Yu Wen’s tone. Of course, she didn’t believe they’d actually “divorced.” Even if they had, it would only mean one thing—they had been married.

It seemed the couple was having a little tiff. If that was the case, she decided to curb her curiosity for now.

“Are Feng Chengzhou and Chu Han really together? There are so many candid photos of them online.”

Feng Chengzhou and Chu Han were under much more public scrutiny. Chu Han’s approach seemed similar to Yu Wen’s—not deliberately publicizing but admitting it if caught.

The problem was, their chances of being caught were far higher than Yu Wen and Xie Heyu’s.

Barely half a month after reconciling, candid photos of them were everywhere online.

Even Chu Han’s brief two-day guest appearance on the set of Moonlight Harbor had been dug up.

Some busybody had even snapped a photo of Yu Wen and others sitting by a flowerbed, watching Chu Han and Feng Chengzhou argue. Now, that photo had become a popular meme online.

[Eating Melon.jpg]

“You have Chu Han’s contact info. Why not just ask him directly?”

Yi Ming showed him the meme and said meaningfully, “You probably know more inside information than the person involved.”

Yu Wen: “…”

They were photographed, but they couldn’t be bothered to explain and decided to go public. Recently, the PR department of Huiteng Group had been working overtime to prepare their PR strategy.

Yu Wen found it hard to explain how he knew about Huiteng Group’s movements. All he could say was that while he didn’t know much about Chu Han and Feng Chengzhou’s romantic journey, he always seemed to be present at critical moments.

For example, when President Feng disguised himself as an old man to attend Chu Han’s roadshow, Yu Wen had been there.

Bian Ce joked that Yu Wen was the “chosen host” and sincerely invited him to appear on the live stream with the couple to witness their love story.

Yu Wen: … Thanks, but no thanks.

Going public was one thing, but Chu Han didn’t like people excessively prying into his private life. He hoped to keep the hype to a minimum.

To truly reduce the buzz, suppressing trending topics wasn’t enough. The PR department proposed the most crucial point: reducing the audience’s curiosity.

If netizens remained as highly interested in this couple as they had been for the past decade, suppressing trends would be useless. The key was to make people lose interest.

This was certainly an innovative approach. It was the first time the PR department had received such a task, and they spent days discussing and revising countless scripts.

As a mere onlooker, Yu Wen didn’t need to know all the details. Bian Ce gave him a heads-up, summarizing the plan.

On the day of the reveal, Yu Wen had a schedule with his film crew, but Feng Chengzhou and Chu Han flew in from different locations to join him.

Yu Wen wasn’t sure whether to feel honored or just think these two had too much free time.

That evening, the live stream began. Chu Han and Feng Chengzhou brought chairs and sat upright in front of the camera. Yu Wen sat on the sofa behind them, positioned perfectly between the two.

Since he couldn’t see the live chat clearly, he assumed no one was paying attention to him. So, he reached for the snacks on the coffee table and began munching.

The coffee table had a few packs of biscuits, and Yu Wen, feeling a bit hungry, stuffed his mouth full.

Ignoring him was impossible—his presence was simply too strong.

—“What’s Yu Wen’s role here? A watermark?”

—“Hahaha, this is great. Everyone already remembers my baby’s name instead of just calling him ‘Gossip Teacher.’ I’m so moved…”

—“Let him go eat properly. Look at how hungry the poor kid is.”

Yu Wen had placed himself in a very neutral position, thinking of himself as a mascot. All he needed to do was clap along with the audience and cheer at the end. So, he hadn’t been paying much attention to what Chu Han and Feng Chengzhou were saying.

After finishing two packs of biscuits, a few strange phrases reached his ears. He frowned, sensing something wasn’t right.

Chu Han: “I rarely argue with Chengzhou. In a relationship, mutual understanding is key.”

Feng Chengzhou: “He’s very gentle and never speaks harshly to me.”

Yu Wen: ?

Feng Chengzhou: “I’ve always been the one pursuing him. There’s no drama between us. Our love is pure.”

Chu Han: “Yes, I’m drawn to his noble and melancholic soul.”

Yu Wen: Huh?

Chu Han: “There’s no barrier between us, only two years where work kept us apart.”

Feng Chengzhou: “Exactly. If it weren’t for being so busy, we might have been together much earlier.”

After this lengthy dialogue, the two exchanged a knowing smile. Feng Chengzhou raised his hand, and Chu Han leaned in, forming a harmonious heart shape.

When they parted, Yu Wen’s incredulous face appeared in the frame.

—“Yu Wen is cursing them with his expression…”

—“Yu Wen: (picks up the mic) (puts it down)”

—“Yu Wen: If what you’re saying is true, then I must be fake.”

—“Initially, I thought it was boring, but seeing Yu Wen’s expression, hehe, things just got interesting.”

Chu Han glanced at Yu Wen out of the corner of his eye. With millions of viewers watching, he couldn’t conspire with Yu Wen directly, so he subtly said, “Teacher Yu, you’ve witnessed our journey to this point. Don’t you think what we’re saying is true?”

This was part of the PR team’s strategy.

To make netizens lose interest, they portrayed the relationship as bland as possible. A dramatic and turbulent love story would only attract more attention. The less exciting, the better.

This public reveal emphasized three points: First, we’re doing great. Second, we don’t argue. Third, there’s no gossip—none before, none in the future.

The PR team had written lines for Chu Han and Feng Chengzhou but forgot to provide a script for the host.

Yu Wen, the host, was now struggling to control his facial expressions.

He looked at Chu Han, then at Feng Chengzhou, and, still in shock, took another bite of his biscuit.

What on earth…