《Just Want to Be His Lover》 CH 1 Note: This novel is set in the year 2024, and the administrative regions and related policies are semi-fictional. The characters are unprototypical and do not support realistic evidence. The phone lay quietly in the bathtub. Soaked in a pool of fresh water and enveloped in the warm yellow light of the bathroom, it looked like quite peaceful when being deprived of its life. Fang Yuan stared at it in silence for a moment, then turned his head to look at Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu leaned against the door frame and looked at it icily in return. Fang Yuan turned around silently again and leaned over to drain the water in the bathtub: ¡°Shu, you didn¡¯t really lose consciousness last night, right?¡± Having said that, he fished out the phone and shook it twice, looking a little incredulous. Qw Zydpbw eked¡¯v pyu yduvbkdt, cwv pvayktbvldle wr yde oyzjle vs vbl zkhkdt assx. Rv oyp vynkv yrrashyz. Wydt Zwyd vpjle voknl: ¡°Ekvb vbl yxswdv sq yznsbsz usw eakdj, R lhld esd¡¯v oyddy zywtb yv usw.¡± Nypv dktbv oyp vbl plhldvb yddkhlapyau nsdnlav sq Qw Zydpbw¡¯p elcwv, yde kv oyp xsal pwnnlppqwz vbyd lmrlnvle. Ohlausdl oyp kd bktb prkakvp yv vbl nlzlcayvksd cydiwlv, ps vblu nsymle bkx vs byhl y eakdj. Kwpv sdl nwr sq ale okdl, Wydt Zwyd vbswtbv vbld, kv oswzed¡¯v nywpl ydu rasczlxp. Slqwpkdt vs eakdj oswze prskz rlsrzl¡¯p qwd, ps bl eked¡¯v pvsr Qw Zydpbw qasx eakdjkdt kv. Mbl dlmv xsadkdt, Wydt Zwyd nswzed¡¯v alynb bkx, ps bl awpble shla yde qswde vbyv Qw Zydpbw bye y cye bydtshla yde bkp rbsdl oyp wdelaoyvla. Ebld ypjle, bl pyke bl ynvwyzzu zspv nsdpnkswpdlpp. Ls osdela Qw Zydpbw byed¡¯v clld eakdjkdt ydu yznsbsz qsa ps xydu ulyap. Xvblaokpl, Qse jdlo obyv vlaakczl rasczlxp bl oswze nywpl obld bl nswzed¡¯v bsze bkp zkiwsa. Fang Yuan added the words ¡°Gu Yanshu is prohibited from drinking¡± in bold capital letters in his agent¡¯s manual and took the phone into the kitchen. Gu Yanshu took out a bottle of water from the bar and glanced at him: ¡°Why you¡¯re running to the kitchen?¡± From the kitchen came the sound of rummaging through the cupboards and the nagging of Fang Yuan: ¡°Bury the soaked cell phone in the rice, and you may still be able to use it after a while. You young people should learn from this.¡± Nobody knew where this untrustworthy folk remedy came from. Gu Yanshu ignored him and took a piece of the painkiller with cold water as he found it out on his own. The last year, two music entertainment shows, three concerts, one physical album, interspersed with various commercial performances and announcements. His throat had been overloaded for a long time, and after every concert, even swallowing hurts him much. His larynx was moving up and down, and eyebrows were lightly furrowed. In the meantime, Fang Yuan came out of the kitchen and bumped into him. ¡°Your throat is hurting again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not serious.¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t serious you would eat the painkillers as candy?¡± Fang Yuan was getting anxious about it: ¡°I¡¯ve told you to slow down, but you don¡¯t listen. You¡¯re only in your early twenties, and with this face alone, you can still make money relying on the traffic for many year, so why are you in such a hurry to transform? Do you still want the voice?¡± ¡°Twenty-five soon.¡± Gu Yanshu corrected. ¡°Round up to thirty.¡± Finishing the words, he lay on the couch and closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t intend to continue the discussion on this topic. He has lost a lot of weight lately. When laying on the couch, his collar reveals a large area of deeply indented collarbone and a lean sharp shoulder line, which, under the glaze of the floor lamp, reveals an almost transparent pallor and a sharp skeletal texture. He looked like a bottle of thin porcelain that would break at the first touch. This made Fang Yuan extremely worried. He really didn¡¯t understand what Gu Yanshu was rushing to do. So he can only sigh: ¡°Okay, you¡¯ll have to go to the recording show tonight, so now you just get some sleep.¡± Then he sat down on the sofa with his laptop and started to deal with the backlog that had piled up over the past few days. Gu Yanshu finally found a quiet moment. He pressed his fingertips against his eyebrow, applying slight pressure, and a dull pain slowly overtook his nerve endings in a muddle after the paralysis. He has always been a poor drinker. When he was a trainee, he didn¡¯t go home with his roommate on New Year¡¯s Eve one year, so he bought a few cans of beer, ate take-out food, and had a humble New Year¡¯s Eve dinner. With a young age, he didn¡¯t think twice and took a couple of sips. The next morning, he was dizzy with a terrible headache, and couldn¡¯t remember what had happened before. All he knew was that his roommate said he had been holding the roommate all night and almost made great troubles. After that, he never dared to drink again. But the past many years had taught him nothing. He completely had no idea about what really happened last night. He could only vaguely remember that he had a dream in which a very annoying person was showing off that he had taken the best ¡ª ¡­¡­ ¡°Fuck! Shen Jue won the Golden Zeus Award for Best Actor?!¡± ¡ª- actor. ¡­¡­ What an amazing dream. Gu Yanshu got upset by Fang Yuan¡¯s yelling. He put the back of his hand over his eyelids to block the light from the floor lamp: ¡°Don¡¯t yell.¡± The voice was cold, conveying an obvious idea of driving away the guest. But Fang Yuan still held the computer and came over: ¡°Shu, don¡¯t sleep, something happened to us. Our fans and Shen Jue¡¯s fans are arguing again.¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t even raise his eyelids: ¡°Still not used to it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Well, quite used to it actually. Fang Yuan paused and explained, ¡°But this time it¡¯s different.¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t respond. Fang Yuan added, ¡°This time, it came to No. 1 of the Trending.¡± Gu Yanshu still didn¡¯t answer. Fang Yuan added again: ¡°This time, it¡¯s because Shen Jue didn¡¯t go to the award ceremony last night, so your CP fans have come back to life.¡± Still, no response from Gu Yanshu. Fang Yuan: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Forget it, Gu Yanshu was probably deaf. Fang Yuan turned around, selected a text, and clicked on ¡°Intelligent Recitation¡±, pulling the volume bar to its fullest. A mechanical female voice with a distinctive metallic quality resonated in the room, reading aloud with a half-second pause after each character. The voice was subdued and self-mixing. It reverberated in the empty living room, strangely shocking. ¡°The absence of the new movie emperor from the award ceremony is actually because of this.¡± ¡°What is the purpose of Shen Jue¡¯s late-night appearance at Gu Yinshu¡¯s concert.¡± ¡°The five-year breakup was a cover-up ¡­¡­¡± Snap ¡ª Halfway through ¡°Cover-up,¡± Gu Yanshu finally sat up, reached out and covered the computer, and half dropped his eyelids. ¡°Say what you want to say.¡± Oh, he was not deaf. Fang Yuan took the opportunity to turn on the computer, closed the recitation, and turned the screen to Gu Yanshu: ¡°You can see for yourself.¡± Gu Yanshu glimpsed the screen. The artificial intelligence just read aloud was a Weibo. (TL: Weibo was the counterpart of Twitter in China) The ID of the blogger was @CPGirlsCamp, a Gold VIP account. In addition to the headline party that was used as a gimmick, it was followed by astonishing texts. [Sisters! Come and take a look! Does the man photographed outside of Gu Yinshu¡¯s concert fucking look like Shen Jue? Like it or not? The reason why Shen Jue decided not to go to the award ceremony is uncovered!] There were several pictures of the same man, taken from different angles. He wore a black cap with a brim so low that it fit almost seamlessly into the black mask, hiding his entire face. The pixels were blurred as if they were taken with an antique cell phone. It even could not be distinguished whether it¡¯s human or ghost. How did they recognize it was Shen Jue? Gu Lianshu raised his eyelids a bit. Fang Yuan clicked to open the comment block. [That¡¯s definitely Shen Jue! Look at the height difference between the man in figure 3 and the passerby, you can be sure that he is close to 1.9 meters tall. And then look at the view of the back in figure 7, you can see unclear shape of the top knot when you zoom in three times. These two features are not popular, so I can¡¯t think of anyone else but Shen Jue.] [PS: What kind of a normal man would be so tightly wrapped at night? And which straight man in their right mind would come to a Gu Yanshu concert alone? If it wasn¡¯t Shen Jue, I¡¯d cut my fucking head off and give you guys as a ball to kick.] [Fuck! The explanation from upstairs is awesome! I¡¯m coming! I¡¯m really coming!!! Yesterday I was still sad that the two of them hadn¡¯t been in the same frame in five years, but today this is the perfect solution to my displeasure!] [Hah, fuck off you upstairs stupid CP fans. I really want to pee you to wake you guys. As a seven years old fan of Shen Jue I even can¡¯t recognize it was him, so you dead idiots got the God¡¯s perspective?] [The same, can¡¯t see it¡¯s Shen Jue. You guys who are daydreaming, please play yourself in your own room, thanks, the YOUNG group has disbanded. Now the gorgeousness only belongs to our Movie Emperor Shen] [Yeah, yeah, so cool your movie emperor is. Our weak idol is out of his league] [Definitely out of his league. Shen Jue is now literally different from the beloved idol who lives off his fans] [LOL, so interesting. Go to find who held three sold-out concerts at the Bird¡¯s Nest Stadium, whose physical album sales were record-breaking, and whose singles had been selling at #1 for years. Our idol got abilities and popularity. People who are jealous and saying our idol lives off fans can shut up now] [You¡¯re really making dad laugh. Shen Jue has all the great resources, so why we are jealous of your idol? You really do treasure that little bit of popularity.] [After all, the only way to survive on traffic is to continue to rely on it, otherwise why would he run over to find some goodies as soon as he sees his former teammate get a movie emperor?] [Shen Jue¡¯s Homophobia has already been such certain, so can someone with top traffic stop bundling marketing by creating gay stories? Bitch, real bitch] ¡­¡­ Crack. The laptop was violently closed again. Fang Yuan was so angry that white smoke was coming out of his nostrils: ¡°If this group of people could use all this imagination and energy to create science and culture, our society would have progressed at least ten years!¡± Gu Yanshu looked unchanged and leaned back on the couch, ¡°So why are you showing me this.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh.¡± Fang Yuan paused, recovering from his anger, ¡°Nothing, just wanted to tell you there was no fate between you and Shen Jue.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu quietly stared at him. Fang Yuan: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me with that stupid look in your eyes.¡± Gu Yanshu closed his eyes. Fang Yuan felt insulted. He droned on like a grumbling woman: ¡°I¡¯m doing this just for you. There are bound to be some unscrupulous person who will ask you about this in the next few days. I just want to let you know if you get involved with Shen Jue, nothing good will come of it, so we have to draw a clear line ¡­¡­ Hello, Mr. Zhang?¡± In the middle of his droning, the phone rang, and Fang Yuan had to stop for a moment to pick up the call. Gu Yanshu¡¯s ears were briefly freed, but his head hurt even more. He got up and prepared himself to go back to the bedroom to catch up on sleep. However, he just got up when Fang Yuan stopped him. ¡°Shu.¡± The tone of his voice was rarely heavy. Gu Yanshu turned back. Fang Yuan looked serious: ¡°Did you do something last night that you were not supposed to do?¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang asked you to go to the office right away. It¡¯s urgent.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¨C Arrived at the U.N. Media Building. Fang Yuan asked for the twenty-third time, ¡°Shu, so after you drank too much are you sure you didn¡¯t do anything with your phone in the bathroom last night that would be mosaicked? Why else would Mr. Zhang suddenly call you? You¡¯re a top male celebrity now, in case there are nude photos ¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu gave him a cold slanting glance. Fang Yuan closed his mouth tactfully and followed him to the front desk. The two young girls at the front desk were whispering with their cell phones. As soon as they saw Gu Yanshu, they immediately put down their phones and smiled sweetly: ¡°Teacher Gu, Brother Fang, you are here to see Mr. Zhang, right?¡±. ¡°Yes, Mr. Zhang asked us to come.¡± Fang Yuan was quite familiar with the young girls in the company, ¡°Shall we go directly to his office?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still in a meeting, so why don¡¯t you guys wait in the reception room for a while and I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡°o¡­¡­¡± Before the word ¡°okay¡± could be uttered, Fang Yuan saw Gu Yanshu was already walking towards the reception room with two long, straight legs, without turning back. Fang Yuan could only swallow his own words and change his words halfway. He smiled at the two young girls who had other intentions and said, ¡°Never mind, we¡¯re colleagues. We can just walk there.¡± At the end of the day, he remembered the two of them whispering just now and couldn¡¯t help but gossip, ¡°But what were you two talking about just now, with a look of painful loss of precious human wealth.¡± Hearing this, the two girls who were starry-eyed when they saw Gu Yanshu suddenly wilted. They drooped their eyes and were deadly pensive: ¡°Nothing to talk about, except that Shen Jue¡¯s love affair was exposed.¡± ¡°?¡± It was such a short drive from home to the office, and then there happened the breaking news. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The girl was aggrieved as if she had fallen out of love: ¡°Let me tell you, Shen Jue didn¡¯t go to receive the award last night, because he went to meet his girlfriend.¡± ¡°??¡± Hearing this, Fang Yuan got no time to tease the girls anymore, and was busy pulling out his phone to open Weibo Trending. Yes, from the top was hung the eye-catching hashtag: ##Shen Jue¡¯s Love Affair Seemed to Exposure Looking up again, he found Gu Yanshu¡¯s figure had almost disappeared at the end of the corridor. He ran up and said, ¡°Damn it, Shu, Shen Jue didn¡¯t go to the award ceremony last night because he went on a sneaky date.¡± Gu Yanshu turned a corner with the indifferent tone: ¡°Where did you hear this rumor again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a rumor, there¡¯s evidence, take a look.¡± Fang Yuan handed over the phone. Gu Yanshu glanced at it with the side of his eyes. It was a photo taken secretly in front of the hotel. In this photo, Shen Jue¡¯s red LaFerrarie stood out in the night, next to which a dazzling woman in red was standing. Although the face was extremely blurry, it was not difficult to see her tall figure and cool temperament. Gu yanshu remembered Shen Jue had said that his ideal type was the tall, thin, cold beauty. He withdrew his gaze and said flatly, ¡°No intimacy, and no proof of time.¡± ¡°But late in the middle of the night, a lone man and woman, together in front of the hotel is the fact, right?¡­¡­ Wait, something wrong¡±, Fang Yuan realized something, ¡°Shu, why are you putting in the good words for him?¡± Gu Yanshu ignored him and walked forward on his own. He was tall and long and walked very fast. Fang Yuan walked with his two short legs behind him and followed him a little reluctantly meanwhile nagging. ¡°Shu, you still think Shen is a good person, do you? Have you forgotten how he used to turn his back on people? Don¡¯t think too well of people. You have to believe me, the man with this top knot is always a bad guy¡­¡­ eh, why did you stop?¡± Already at the door of the reception room, Gu Yanshu suddenly stopped. His back also tensed up for an instant in a visible state. Curiously Fang Yuan stood on tiptoe to look inside. The door to the reception room was pushed open only halfway with the narrow gap, and Gu Yanshu was half a head taller than Fang Yuan, so the entire field of vision was blocked. Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t see anything: ¡°Anything in the room?¡± A brief silence. Gu Yanshu spoke softly: ¡°Nothing, just feel you are right.¡± ¡°Eh? What¡¯s right? Aw, you mean the man with a top knot is always a bad guy, right?¡± Hearing Gu Yanshu saying that, Fang Yuan only thought that Gu was pausing to think about what he had just said, so he didn¡¯t care. Bypassing Gu, he pushed the door of the reception room straight open and went inside. While saying proudly: ¡°Definitely, I¡¯ve lived for more than thirty years, so I¡¯ll have to be¡­¡­¡± The last word was uttered through inertia. He stood on the spot after saying it. He had seen what¡¯s inside the room. Actually there was nothing else but a young man leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window, talking on the phone in a low voice. The greenish-gray daylight characteristic of early winter in Beijing fell behind him, making out the outline of a tall, long figure with two long legs, who was holding the phone with one hand, and putting the other in his pocket. The room was brightly lit, and the light and shadows cut through the solidity and depth of his facial features. His neck was slightly tilted forward with his head hung low, and a lock of his hair fell carelessly from his forehead, slightly curled. The glass behind him clearly reflected the top knot which was tied casually on his head. Yes, the top knot. Fang Yuan even wanted to die at this moment. The man in front of the floor-to-ceiling window has also looked up towards this side. The dark, sunken eyes were inexplicable. A long while. He finally pursed his lips and smiled. ¡°Like me?¡± CH 2 Yeah, like you. But Fang Yuan was still not a bitch who would say it out. What he concerned more was why Shen Jue was here. Shen Jue was not the entertainer of U.N., possibly would never be, but why he just showed up in U.N.? Fang Yuan looked back to Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanhu was not looking at him. but just stood there, staring at floor-to-ceiling window with a habitually frosty face. Fang Yuan could perceive nothing from this. Then he turned back again to look at Shen Jue. Shen Jue was not eyeing him as well, but staring at the man behind him. He slightly raised the tip of the eyebrows with some kind of teasing, behind which something inexplicable was smothered. Wswa lulp ldtytle, pkggzkdt okvb pryajp. Rv¡¯p pwnb yd yxygkdt xsxldv vbyv Wydt Zwyd qlzv bl bkxplzq oyp fwpv vbl nyddsd qseela clvolld vblpl vos pbyeu twup. Tl bye vs pwahkhl kd y vktbv nsadla, ps bl vakle vs rwv sd y qzyvvlakdt yde bursnakvknyz pxkzl: ¡°Tso eyal R! R oyp fwpv pyukdt, rzlypl esd¡¯v xkde kv, Mlynbla Fbld.¡± ¡°Yxx.¡± Fbld Kwl alprsdele, okvb y zso hsknl. Rv oyp dsv y xyvvla sq dsv xkdekdt, cwv ayvbla y rlaqwdnvsau alprsdpl. Tl oyp pvkzz pkgkdt wr Qw Zydpbw obs pvsse swvpkel vbl essa. Myzzla. Ysal bydepsxl vbyd vbl sdl obs sdnl oyp y vlldytla. Jwv xwnb qaspvu, yde vss pzkx yp olzz. How could a man be so slim. Not a favorable man at all. While Gu Yanshu was also just sizing up him, with the coldness that had covered all kinds of emotions. Between them, Fang Yuan felt his hairs stood on end. He tried to ease the strangely awkward atmosphere by a polite greeting: ¡°Does Teacher Shen have business to do in U.N. today?¡± Shen Jue still not even glance at him, but at least opened his mouth. He move away the phone from his ear, eyeing Gu Yanshu and asking casually: ¡°Mr. Gu doesn¡¯t know?¡± Gu Yanshu slightly raised his eyes and met Shen¡¯s gaze icily. Among the light brown eyes were written full of ¡°I just don¡¯t know.¡± Quite righteous. But more righteousness from the Shen Jue¡¯s eyes when he was staring at Gu. So again the four eyes engaged, making the atmosphere more damn wired. Fang Yuan thought, why I don¡¯t just kill myself. Fortunately, the girl of the front desk came in time: ¡°Brother Fang, Mr. Zhang informed you guys to meet with him now¡±. Fang Yuan felt relieved, and was ready to take advantage of this opportunity to drag Gu Yanshu away. When he turned around, however, he found that man again had already walked away with the two long straight legs on his own without looking back. No hesitation, and also no words. So frosty, even discourteous. Gu almost directly wrote the ¡°I just feel annoyed when I see this fool¡± on the back of his head. But not bad. Fang Yuan felt a bit relived when he found this attitude. He politely said to Shen Jue ¡°See you¡±, and slammed the door, but thinking in mind that it would be better to never see him again. The door completely cut off the long slender figure from the corridor. Shen Jue finally took his eyes off it. He lifted the phone to his ears again, and spoke with a low voice. ¡°Hey, brother.¡± ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Just met an ungrateful rouge who ever turned his back on me, and chatted for a few words.¡± Under the idle light tone conveyed a sense of casual carelessness. The man from the other end of the phone spoke something. A while later, he continued with a reluctant smile: ¡°Or else? I can only go this way¡±. ¨C ¨C When Gu Yanshu walked into the conference room, it was as if nothing special had happened. In addition to entertainer director Zhang Nan, there were two other people in the conference room. Chen Ran, and his agent, Ding Yun. Chen Ran was the new traffic entertainer that the company had been promoting for the past two years. The company had transferred many resources from Gu Yanshu to him since it became clear that Gu did not want to renew his contract. The entertainment show ¡°Cohabitation Life¡±, which was going to be recorded tonight, was also designed to take advantage of Gu Yanshu¡¯s popularity to increase Chen Ran¡¯s exposure. He took advantage of Gu Yanshu to his heart¡¯s content and pretended to be a good person after taking advantage of him. So when they sat down across from each other, Fang Yuan did give them attitude. Zhang Nan sat at the top, pretending to ignore the situation. He exchanged pleasantries and got straight to the point: ¡°I called you here today because I want to coordinate the distribution of resources within the company.¡± Fang Yuan rolled his eyes in his mind. Zhang Nan continued, ¡°About the previous agreement with Guokong TV on the kick-off quota for the Strongest Stage, the company had discussed in a meeting and decided to give it to Chen Ran.¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang, this project was negotiated between me and the person in charge of Gokong, and if it wasn¡¯t for Gu Yanshu, they wouldn¡¯t have considered using traffic idol in this show.¡± Fang Yuan responded very strongly. All the previous work was approached by him in the name of Gu Yinshu. Tomorrow they should sign the contract and start recording the show, but now the company suddenly changed its mind. Anyone met with this situation wouldn¡¯t get happy. Chen Ran also made an innocent panic look: ¡°Mr. Zhang, this is not appropriate, the program team wants brother Yanshu ¡­¡­¡±. ¡°You know what.¡± Zhang Nan interrupted with a stern face, ¡°If there¡¯s no approval from Guokong TV, why I call you over? This is a decision made by the company¡¯s top management, and it¡¯s not for you to say anything.¡± It looked like Zhang Nan was literally giving Chen Ran attitude. Fang Yuan was about to snicker out loud. What the hell, one was playing good guy, the other bad guy. Everybody knew whom you were abusing by ostensibly pointing to someone else. He was about to speak sarcastically and argue reasonably, but Gu Yanshu, who had been silent, opened his mouth: ¡°Okay.¡± A simple word, without hesitation. The other four people in the room were startled, and then looked over with varying degrees of surprise. However, Gu was positioned just against the light, and his face was sunk into the shadows, so bystanders couldn¡¯t see him clearly. The only thing they could see was a pair of hands loosely folded in front of him, slim and slender, snow-white, even not like one from a human. He continued, ¡°Next topic.¡± ¡°¡­¡­okay.¡± It was probably because Gu Yinshu agreed so readily that Zhang Nan couldn¡¯t steady himself and didn¡¯t notice for a moment why Gu Yinshu knew there was another topic. He prepared to take out another document. Before he could open it, there came a knock on the door: ¡°Mr. Zhang, Mr. Ye asked you to go to the president¡¯s office immediately.¡± ¡°Mr. Ye? When did he come back?¡± Zhang Nan frowned for a moment, responded without waiting for the answer: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be right over.¡± Then he looked to Ding Yun, ¡°You can talk to Fang Yuan and Gu about the rest. I¡¯ll go to Mr. Ye now.¡± He got up and left, and the door was closed. Ding Yun, who had been typing on the keyboard, finally closed the computer and showed a procedural smile, opening cleanly: ¡°I will not beat around the bush, straight to the point. Tonight we¡¯re going to record the ¡°Cohabitation Life¡±, and the company¡¯s idea is to hope Gu Yanshu and Chen Ran can hype an another CP topic.¡± She paused and added, ¡°Of course, it was actually my idea. After all, it¡¯s hard to have a lifestyle variety show with explosive news, but it¡¯s easy to create CP topics. So I think it¡¯s a mutually beneficial thing for both sides.¡± What kind of reciprocity it was when the popularity of each other had an exponential difference. Fang Yuan smiled and sniffed: ¡°Not good, I think.¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu is a cool salt persona, and Chen Ran is a milk dog boyfriend persona, which is very suitable in the current trend.¡± After saying that, Ding Yun looked at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Chen Ran has agreed, what about you, Yanshu?¡± ¡°I disagree.¡± Gu Yanshu raised his head, and his face was revealed from the shadows. His eyes were indifferent, seeming to offer no room for maneuvering. Just as she didn¡¯t expect him to agree so readily before, Ding Yun also didn¡¯t expect him to refuse so decisively this time: ¡°I think you should think twice.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Many benefits actually¡­¡­¡± ¡°Does Chen Ran like men?¡± Gu Yanshu interrupted. Ding Yun responded without thinking about it, ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°So does he like me?¡± Ding Yun had no idea what kind of fucking questions Gu Yanshu was asking. But she had to be nice when she asked for something, ¡°It¡¯s just business, I don¡¯t really want you two to do anything.¡± Gu Yanshu overlapped his fingertips and clicked twice: ¡°So this is essentially a matter of selling your own false sexual orientation and feelings.¡± Ding Yun argued, ¡°This is idol¡¯s business consciousness.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think a man with this kind of behavior deserves to be called, an idol.¡± ¡°But this is what the girls fancy nowadays.¡± ¡°Fans have the right to their own imagination, but that doesn¡¯t justify an entertainer¡¯s intentional inducement to deceive for profit.¡± Gu Yanshu maintained a calm, even indifferent sanity from start to finish. Ding Yun heaved his tone: ¡°Entertainers themselves are commodities, and as long as they can cater to the market, that¡¯s a justifiable reason.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame. I¡¯m a human.¡± A light sentence with a distant end. Chen Ran felt he had been satirized. Who the hell was not a human? The room comes to a brief standstill. The negotiations collapsed. A long while later, Ding Yun smothered his fire and pronounced with heavy bites: ¡°This is the idea of the company¡¯s top management.¡± ¡°Well, nothing to do with me.¡± Collapsed again. Ding Yun pushed the computer away and lit a cigarette, making an agitated sound as the lighter fell on the desktop. Gu Yanshu leaned against the backrest, his jaw slightly raised, and his neckline extended with a lean and sharp curve. The eyelids were half drooping, and the corners of the eyes were even more upturned, making the whole person look frosty. Even with thinness, like an edge without the blade. Ding Yun found herself get entangled with him. Chen Ran who was sitting next to them saw this situation, pouting his lips and cautiously probed: ¡°Brother Yanshu, you don¡¯t like me, so you don¡¯t want to create the CP topic with me, isn¡¯t it?¡± The young boy¡¯s tone was clean and soft, and his tone sounded pure and pitiful, all child-like aggrieved. Gu Yanshu lifted his eyelids and looked over. Chen Ran was actually very good-looking, white and delicate. The corners of his eyes were slightly downcast, and he was blinking his eyes at this moment, showing a kind of dazed innocence in a puppyish way, which made people feel they couldn¡¯t bear to hurt him. Gu Yanshu was silent for two seconds, seemingly thinking. Then he slowly opened his lips. ¡°Mmm. Yes.¡± For a moment, his thoughtful expression was so serious that it made people want to beat him. Later on, Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t remember how he and Gu Yanshu walked out of the meeting room, but only remembered that Chen Ran¡¯s expression was so wonderful and extremely impressive. Just after getting into the car, Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but give a thumbs up: ¡°Awesome.¡± Either he didn¡¯t speak, or he spoke to piss others off, he was simply the natural enemy of White Lotus Bitch. (TL: White Lotus Bitch is referring to someone who looks pure but with a dark heart.) Awesome. However, he still felt a bit unjust: ¡°But the Strongest Stage was given to Chen Ran just like that. He really got a bargain.¡± Gu Yanshu curled into the backseat, closed his eyes, and lazily said, ¡°He can¡¯t hold it.¡± Then he didn¡¯t speak again. Silent for two seconds, Fang Yuan realized what was going on. He tended to doubt at first, why Gu Yanshu gave up on such a valuable resource, the Strongest Stage, without hesitation. Now he understood the reason. Regardless of whether they two would give up the resource or not, the right to allocate resources was still in the company¡¯s hands, after all, they would still wait half a month to terminate the contract. So this part was non-negotiable. The main reason why they called Gu Yanshu to discuss today was just to hype the CP. But the right to decide whether to hype the CP or not was in Gu Yanshu¡¯s hand. Then the outcome was, what I gave you was what I didn¡¯t want that much. As for what I would never want to do, you had no way to persuade me to do it. Any other things were nonsense to me, but at least I¡¯ll first piss you off. And the most important thing was that ¡°The Strongest Stage¡± was an all-open-mike performance variety show, and it¡¯s also a live broadcast, so all the participants were strong singers. Guokong TV was satisfied with the live performance of Gu Yanshu in the concert, so they chose to work with him, but for Chen Ran¡­¡­ Fang Yuan tsked twice, fend for yourself. At another place. Chen Ran who needed to fend for himself was unaware of this situation and just sat uneasily in the conference room: ¡°Sister Yun, what should we do now?¡± ¡°Just do what you need to do.¡± Ding Yun sneered, holding the cigarette between his fingertips and taking a puff, ¡°It¡¯s his business if he doesn¡¯t cooperate. You just keep clever and lively, and don¡¯t have to worry about the opportunity.¡± ¡°Then what if Gu Yanshu says something that is bad for us?¡± ¡°What kind of things he can say?¡± Ding Yun¡¯s eyebrows were raised, ¡°He was just a CP speculator back then, but now he¡¯s a big star and thinks he¡¯s a thing? He even didn¡¯t see how desperate Shen Jue was to hide from him.¡± This was something Chen Ran didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Sister, what do you mean?¡± Ding Yun exhaled a smoke ring and asked, ¡°You know they used to be a boy band, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then you know how hot their CP hype was back in 2017 and 2018, right?¡± Chen Ran had heard about it. ¡°Then do you know how they broke up later?¡± Chen Ran had no idea. Ding Yun dusted off the ashes: ¡°The CP between the two was so hot that everyone in the fandom knew about it, and there was a media interview where someone asked Shen Jue if he and Gu Yanshu were really gay. And guess what?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Shen Jue got furious on the spot, smashed the microphone, and choked that man¡¯s neck against the wall, calling him disgusting.¡± Chen Ran opened his eyes wide in surprise, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be serious as well. They are all entertainers, who would get violent over such a statement in public? Unless ¡­¡­ ¡°she paused,¡± he is particularly repelled by this, it¡¯s the taboo!¡± ¡°That¡¯s to say, Shen Jue is homophobic?¡± Chen Ran asked hesitantly. ¡°Or what?¡± She asked rhetorically. She slowly took a drag on her cigarette and explained, ¡°The day after this incident, their group was disbanded, and they went their separate ways and never met again. From the year-end ceremony to charity dinner, whenever Gu Yanshu was invited, Shen Jue would never attend, desperately wanting to be completely isolated from Gu¡¯s life. So tell me what else it could be?¡± A doubtlessly questionable sentence, sort of provided a conclusion to all the speculations. Chen Ran began to understand what¡¯s going on: ¡°¡±No wonder their two¡¯s CP hype just went on the Trending this morning, Shen Jue¡¯s suspected love affair was exposed, so it¡¯s because Shen wanted to dispel the rumor and embarrass Gu.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Ding Yun tsked, not hiding her contempt and sarcasm. ¡°Gu Yanshu is just pretending to be noble, what can he say about you? Anyway, the company is investing in this show, so as long as you follow the script I give you, post-editing won¡¯t be a problem, understood?¡± Chen Ran hurried to respond, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll listen to Sister Yun.¡± Ding Yun nodded her head with satisfaction. She liked this kind of entertainer. This kid was eager for the popularity, so would be obedient. As long as he followed the way she had designed, it was not a dream to be all the rage. As for whether he was a commodity or a human¡­¡­ It made no difference as long as he could make money. Anyway in fandom, only capital was always dominating. No matter how brutal Gu Yanshu was, he could only blast off on the spur of the moment and then watch the resources being taken away from him, without doing anything with her. Thinking of it, Ding Yun finally smiled. The phone on the table just happened to light up. She picked it up in passing, glancing at it carelessly. But the moment her eyes touched the screen, the smile that had just been evoked, along with the color of her lips, went completely pale. There lay a message with iciness on the screen. [Mr. Zhang]: Someone replaced Chen Ran for ¡°Cohabitation Life¡±. CH 3 The moment Fang Yuan received the message, he just finished stuffing a re-tied bag of Northeast rice that had been opened before into a 32-inch suitcase. Before he could catch his breath, his phone vibrated. [Mr. Zhang]: I¡¯ve heard from Ding about what happened today. Since Gu Yanshu is not willing to do it, then just let it go, and also Mr. Ye is going to ask someone else to replace Chen Ran. You guys just record the show as normal, perform well, and go for it. [Emoji: Smile] For some reason, Fang Yuan saw a hint of humility from that smile that was indicating Mr. Zhang dared not speak out something. He tilted his head to look at Gu Yanshu, who was packing his clothes into another suitcase: ¡°Shu.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Tell me the truth.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°Pke usw pdlyj yaswde okvb Ya. Zl clbkde xu cynj?¡± Fdyr ¡ª- Qw Zydpbw pdyrrle vbl cwvvsd vs nzspl vbl pwkvnypl, vkzvkdt bkp blye okvb yd knu pbyar pvyal. Wydt Zwyd bwaakle vs rypp vbl rbsdl yde pyke: ¡°Zsw fwpv alqwple Ubld Syd¡¯p aliwlpv, yde vbld Ubld Syd tsv alrzynle, pll? R fwpv xyel y alypsdyczl prlnwzyvksd.¡± Ylydobkzl vbl pnalld sq vbl rbsdl oyp pbsod kd qasdv sq Qw Zydpbw. Fjkxxkdt shla vbl vlmvp sd vbl pnalld, Qw Zydpbw alyzkgle sdl vbkdt. ¡ª- Mbl qszep yxsdt svblap¡¯ caykd olal caykd jladlzp, cwv yxsdt Wydt Zwyd¡¯p olal zyatl kdvlpvkdlp. Tl pbkqvle bkp tygl vs Wydt Zwyd kdekqqlaldvzu: ¡°Rq R bye pdlyjle yaswde okvb Ya. Zl, obu oswze R pvkzz nydnlz vbl nsdvaynv? Ebu vbl Fvasdtlpv Fvytl oswze nbsspl Ubld Syd?¡± Fang Yuan once again played the fool in the eyes of Gu Yanshu. He kept silent for two seconds, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± But still confused: ¡°How could they suddenly replace him as it¡¯s going to be recorded tonight?¡± ¡°Anyway we were supposed to record the Strongest Stage tomorrow.¡± Gu Yanshu answered casually. Fang Yuan thought over it for a while, and realized Gu was right. This was how it worked in fandom: you robbed other¡¯s resources, and others would do the same to you. ¡°So who do you think will replace Chen Ran? Mr. Ye had always been a man who was selfless, cold-hearted, and often cut loose from old ties. Never heard of him wanting to support anyone before. Could it be some new star had come to our company¡­¡­¡± Fang Yuan suddenly paused. He thought of one chap. A man who should never appear in U.N. this morning, but did. But this horrible thought only remained in his mind for less than one second before he shook it off by shaking his head like crazy. Impossible. Totally impossible. Shen Jue would be on variety shows? Never. Shen Jue would be on variety shows with Gu Yanshu? Never. Moreover, Shen Jue had been running a personal studio, and under no circumstance would Mr. Ye support him. So this thought was completely a joke. Fortunately Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t notice his unusual thoughts. He just replied: ¡°None of our business. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Then he glimpsed the suitcase beside Fang Yuan and asked a question he was more concerned: ¡°What¡¯s the rice for?¡± ¡°For what you would need to pack for the recording.¡± Before Gu Yanshu again looked at him like a fool, Fang Yuan explained first: ¡°You don¡¯t understand. For the reality shows nowadays, they would always promise everything like eating, drinking and playing, but when you¡¯re there you¡¯ll find you get nothing. So I prepare you a box of warming essentials for the winter and some daily essentials to make sure you don¡¯t die of coldness or hunger.¡± A thoughtful man. Gu Yanshu even didn¡¯t know whether he should praise Fang Yuan or not. The show ¡°Cohabitation Life¡± he was about to record was a cohabitation reality show co-produced and broadcasted by Guokong TV and Xiangnan TV. The planning was moderate. The idea was to find a big villa in downtown Beijing and invite six guests to stay there at the same time. During the day, they work and socialize as usual, but at night they must return to the villa for sleeping. Of course, both the invited guests and the agency knew that the program team paid your salary, not to really allow you use this place as a hotel. So during the recording period, if guests got businesses to do outside Beijing, they must promise to come back to the villa before sleeping, and half of the schedule had to be left empty to ensure a share of the recording period. Besides that, Gu Yanshu had no idea about any other planning details. He had never recorded a reality show of this kind since he didn¡¯t like the feeling of overexposing himself. The reason why he took the job was purely because the company wanted him to share some popularity with Chen Ran, and also he felt that he owed the company a favor. Now it turned out Chen Ran was not attending, and he was the only one left, so he didn¡¯t feel the need to attend. Gu Yanshu opened his mouth: ¡°How much for breach of contract?¡± ¡°Six times the money of recording.¡± ¡°Then go ahead and pack it up. We¡¯ll attend.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± ¨C ¨C Gu Yanshu¡¯s assistant had just resigned days ago, and before a new stuff could come on board, Fang Yuan had been dealing with all the affaires himself. It¡¯s a good thing that he had not worked with any other entertainers since he made up his mind to follow Gu Yanshu and become independent, so now he could handle it. After packing up the things, buying a new phone, and replacing his SIM card, they arrived at the recording location at 5:30 pm. The recording took place in an upscale development near the fourth ring of Beijing, with excellent security. Without an owner¡¯s card and temporary access card, neither people nor vehicles could get in or out. They parked the black nanny car outside the community and got out of the car. Follow PD Wang Yang, who had been waiting for a long time, came up with a few staff members. While pinning the mic to Gu Yanshu, he explained the precautions to be taken during recording: ¡°In order to prevent revelations and surrogate filming, the guest list as well as the recording time and location are all kept secret. So please pay more attention to it during the recording, and don¡¯t leak out the info.¡± There was a vicious incident just a while ago where a show almost caused a car accident during recording due to rampant illegitimacy and surrogate filming, so it was reasonable for the program team to be cautious about it. Gu Yanshu responded: ¡°Okay.¡± Then, he remembered something and added: ¡°Have the other guests arrived?¡± Wang Yang: ¡°They¡¯re all here. Except for the new one.¡± Fang Yuan had just taken two suitcases out of the trunk along with a handbag and happened to hear this. He put down the luggage, and asked in passing, ¡± Could you kindly reveal who is he, Director Wang?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea.¡± Wang Yang shrugged his shoulders, ¡°We only received notice about the replacement this afternoon. Director Cao only said that it was a big curry, and the ratings would definitely explode. Nothing else did he say.¡± ¡°Why so mysterious?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± Wang Yang had already pinned the mic for Gu Yanshu, raising his wrist to check the time, ¡°The last guest should still be recording the opening, so let¡¯s wait for another fifteen minutes before we go in.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Fang Yuan took out a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes and a lighter, handing them over, ¡°A cold day. Cigarette?¡± Wang Yang took the cigarette. They two walked aside to chat. Gu Yanshu leaned against the door of the car and listened. He could occasionally hear some words like ¡°our Shu had a knee injury and couldn¡¯t catch a cold¡±, ¡°Shu got low blood sugar so he couldn¡¯t starve¡±, ¡°We¡¯ll fully cooperate with the program, but we¡¯ll have to keep healthy as well.¡± Something like this. Fang Yuan had always seemed to be unreliable in front of him. But Gu Yanshu knew in his heart that it was because Fang Yuan didn¡¯t want him to be bored, so was deliberately acting silly and funny. In fact, Fang Yuan spoiled him a lot and was quite worldly, having taken good care of him in the past few years, meanwhile speaking and behaving appropriately. For instance, after returning from the company, Fang Yuan never mentioned a word about Shen Jue in front of him. Although there was nothing wrong if he did mention. Gu Yanshu listened for a while besides them and felt a bit bored, so he took his phone out from the pocket. He casually moved his fingers scrolling up and down on the screen, hung his head low, and looked a bit distracted. Only when having logged into his alt Weibo account and heard the ¡°Ding Dong¡± sound of the system message popping up, he realized he had been distracted. Weibo Trending was displayed on the screen. Gu Yanshu came back to his senses and took a closer look at the screen. At the top of the Trending still hung #Jue Jue Shu# , followed by a crying expression. (TL: Jue Jue Shu refers to a breaking up letter. In the source language, this phrase includes the words from both the names of Shen Jue and Gu Yanshu) Gu Yanshu suddenly realized why things would always go bad when he had something to do with Shen Jue ¨C their CP name literally looked full of bad luck. Especially when you read them out, it even made you dare to cut your wrist to go fighting to stop something bad from happening. It was the thing topic had not dropped down yet that made Gu Yanshu a bit puzzled. Fkdnl vbl ekpcydekdt sq ZXBLQ taswr, bl yde Fbld Kwl bye cwadle yzz vbl caketlp, yde bye dsv xyel ydu rwczkn nsxxldvp ycswv lynb svbla. Fs ds xyvvla kv oyp pyukdt Fbld Kwl oyp bsxsrbsckn sa bl oyp burkdt vbl UV vsrkn, vblu olal fwpv pxyzz qktbvp clvolld vblka qydp kd vbl qydesx, yde vblal oyp ds pxsjkdt twd. Mblpl yqqykap dlhla nywple plakswp nsdpliwldnlp yde bye dsv yqqlnv vblka nyalla elhlzsrxldv sa rwczkn kxytl kd ydu oyu yp olzz. Ohld kq psxl lmvalxl rplwes-qydp sa UV qydp snnypksdyzzu xyel psxl vaswczlp, vbl vos vlyxp oswze rasxrvzu alpvaykd yde nsdvaszzle vbl pnldl. Gp pssd yp y vsrkn ycswv Fbld Kwl yde Qw Zydpbw yrrlyale sd vbl Maldekdt, Fbld¡¯p pkel oswze pssd prlde xsdlu vs vyjl swv vbl valde. Fs vbkp vkxl Qw Zydpbw eked¡¯v nyal ycswv kv yp olzz. Rv oyp swv sq bkp lmrlnv vbyv vblu olal pvkzz yv vbl Ls. 1 sd Maldekdt, obyv¡¯p xsal, lhld wdvkz dso kv bye dsv clld alxshle. Lsv sdzu vbkp sdl oyp dsv alxshle, vbl qszzsokdt valde #Fbld Kwl¡¯p zshl yqqykap pllx vs lmrspwal¡± oyp yzps zkpvkdt vblal. Ebld vbl vos valdekdt vsrknp olal hklole vstlvbla, kv oyp fwpv kdeknyvkdt Fbld Kwl oyp zkjl y pnwx. Fs oyp kv Fbld Kwl¡¯p pvweks pvyqq pweeldzu vssj y nszzlnvkhl yddwyz hynyvksd, sa oyp bl bszekdt cynj psxl ckttla vaknj? Qw Zydpbw vyrrle bkp qkdtlavkrp sd vbl pnalld. Hesitating for a moment, he finally clicked the trend. The top weibo this time was also posted by a Golden VIP account. The difference was ID changed from @CPGirlsCamp into @CPGirlsNotReconcile. So girls fans of CP were changing fast. But the content of the post would make people go to their heads as always. [@CPGirlsNotReconcile: Smoking gun for the ¡°Jue Jue Shu¡±!!! The reason why Shen Jue didn¡¯t go to the award ceremony was that he had gone to meet his girlfriend! Pictures don¡¯t lie! Creeping¡­ The two promised to hold a concert at Bird¡¯s Nest Stadium but finally only Gu Cute himself did it. You have no heart, Shen Jue!] The comments also went to his head. [@IHaveDied: Fuck you Shen Jue!!! Damn scum!!! You made me lose my seven years¡¯ youth!!!] [@MyCPBEAgain: Well, I¡¯ve covered the coffin board myself, please help me bury it.] [@ShenClanConcubine: Universal celebrations!! The CP dogs have finally woken up by the reality! How would those who had always hype their gay stories walk straight in the future?] [@GuAlphaSweetO: Wow! Congratulations to our brother for his unbinding! Go ahead and learn about cold, long-legged Alpha! Our brother will not be regarded as someone¡¯s cute wife anymore!] [@IAmABadger: The fans of the traffic stars are literally good at please themselves. Come on, concede the reality, Shen Jue has had many girlfriends, it¡¯s only your idol that wants to hype himself with Shen.] [@LiveInGu¡¯sCollarbone: Someone please stop displaying persecution paranoia. I also have a reasonable suspicion that someone who has won the movie award and gets in a higher position wants to increase his commercial value, so he gets eager for the popularity. I¡¯m not surprised to see them in the same picture one day.] [@IJustHateGuYanshu: Fuck off upstairs, I¡¯ll say it straight, if Shen can be in the same picture with Gu Yanshu in three years, I¡¯ll run around Tiananmen Square naked for 300 laps!] ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ Through the screen, Gu Yanshu could completely imagine the hysteria of those who cursed him and those who cursed others for him, and yet he could hardly empathize with them. He reckoned the Trending as somehow a magical thing. It was where agenda-setting theories were taken to the extreme, where the public¡¯s attention was sold for a price. Most of the time, the people who searched for these phrases and discussed them fervently had nothing to do with these things. But it seemed that everyone knew the truth, and everyone was on the moral high ground. Even though most of what they saw was not the whole truth, and there were traces of manipulation everywhere, people who idled away the days doing nothing could easily find their own satisfaction in defending and criticizing without a cause. Therefore, even seeing the words of those who quarrel with others for defending him would not give Gu Yanshu any comfort. ¡ª-Across the distant space and time and billions of people, what gave one the right to swear an oath to curse another, or to defend another? It sounded so absurd. Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingertips swiped on the screen in a lack of interest and pressed the lock screen button without his mood swinging. He had always thought only a fool would pay attention to such irresponsible remarks from strangers that he never met before. A sudden ding from the phone. He lowered his eyes. A banner message from Weibo. [[email protected]: Don¡¯t make a rumor about your papa anymore, that¡¯s your grandma. A class act who can tell the pictures, did you pass the language test of grade two in primary school? //Repo: @CPGirlsNotReconcile] (TL: In Weibo, this was the reply from Shen Yue himself) Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He forgot, that except fools, there were even lunatics. Before he could understand what kind of madness Shen Jue was in this time. Another ding from the phone. Still a Weibo banner message. [[email protected]: Pls don¡¯t speak with your sphincter// Repo: @I¡¯mAPig: Shen Jue has had many girlfriends, it¡¯s only your idol that wants to hype himself with Shen.] Gu Yanshu again: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shen really didn¡¯t have to glorify the shit words like this. A ding again. The reply got more glorifying. Only five words: wow, looking forward to it. Repo: [@IJustHateGuYanshu: if Shen can be in the same frame with Gu Yanshu in three years, I¡¯ll run around Tiananmen Square naked for 300 laps!] Wow, looking forward to it. It must be Shen Jue himself. Gu Yanshu could almost completely imagine the provocative pursing of Shen¡¯s lips and mocking tone of voice when he said this. However, it was not the first time Shen Jue became aggressive to lash out anti-fans, media, and the marketing studio. Gu Yanshu had been used to it. But he wasn¡¯t aware of the implication of ¡°looking forward¡±. It couldn¡¯t be what was in his mind. Otherwise, before the anti-fan ran naked, one will die between he and Shen Jue. After all, across the twelve crossing on Changan Street, for he and Shen Jue, one had better to be at the most left and the other the most right, and never met again in whole life. As he was thinking about it, there came a genuine ¡°Fuck¡± from aside, along with the sound of a group of people feeling shocked. They seemed to see something appalling. Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t help but look up and follow the line of sight of the crowd. His expression became icy in a moment. A red Laferrari was parked three meters away at an unknown time. The door opened, and the man in the car, with his long legs on the ground, leaned forward and poked his upper body out, then slowly stood up straight and turned around to look over. The solemn expression. The defined facial features. The cold wind of late November from the north blew through, mixed with the smell of rotten grass and trees, and lifted a few locks of the man¡¯s loosely tied top knot at the back of his head. When the man saw Gu Yanshu standing in the crowd, he didn¡¯t even seem surprised, but just raised his eyebrow bone slightly and smiled with the corner of his mouth curving up: ¡°Mr. Gu, what a coincidence.¡± The voice had seemed to be grinding from the throat, sounded lazy and slow, and inexplicably wrapped in sense which could be flirtation or provocation. Mr. Gu felt it was a terrible coincidence. He Stared for three second. Turned around. Looked at Fang Yuan: ¡°Six times the breach of contract, we can actually afford it.¡± CH 4 ¡°No, we can¡¯t afford it.¡± Fang Yuan held his wallet tightly and took a step back with a wary look. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Never mind. He could afford it actually, but it was a big difference of seven time the money depending on whether to breach the contract. Not only a loss of tens of millions, but also a bad influence on the reputation. Gu Yanshu felt it was not worthy for the sake of Shen Jue. And with so many outsiders present, there was a need for decency. He turned around and said with valuing his words as gold: ¡°Teacher Shen, what a coincidence.¡± Mbl oyu bl oyp qsanle vs alrzu xyel Fbld Kwl qllz qwddu yde yddsule. G twu okvb ds blyav. R jkdezu nyxl vs pwrrsav bkx, cwv bl eked¡¯v lhld yrralnkyvl kv. Rv zkvlayzzu yvvakcwvle vs bkp clkdt xkplazu. Xvblaokpl, R oswze byhl tsdl vs B.L. vseyu qsa dsvbkdt, yde sol Zl pwnb y ckt qyhsa. Gzps, bl nyzzle xl casvbla ps pollvzu clqsal, dso kv bye clnsxl Mlynbla Fbld. Ksbd pyhsale vblpl osaep yde pxkzle yrrasrakyvlzu: ¡°R¡¯hl xshle wr vbl aydjp iwkvl iwknjzu, lhld y Mlynbla dso.¡± Qw Zydpbw dseele: ¡°Mlynbla Fbld kp pwralxl xsayzzu yde yavkpvknyzzu, y aldsodle yavkpv. Fs R pbswze nyzz usw y Mlynbla.¡± The tone of voice sounded very plain and serious. If an outsider heard this, he/she would think Shen Jue was seventy-two years old, rather than twenty seven. Shen Jue felt Gu Yanshu was going to piss him off. Before he could die of anger, General Director Cao Dan rush to the scene and stood in front of Shen Jue with a helpless look: ¡°We have informed that our guest lists and recording are all confidential this time, so why you still post the Weibo?¡± ¡°I posted the Weibo just saying I was looking forward to it, and nothing else, so who can tell?¡± Shen Jue put his hands in the pocket and responded with a lazy tone, looking righteous. Cao Dan got speechless. The reasoning was surely like this. But he was not ignorant of what kind of temperature this big shot had, so he had to nicely warned: ¡°Anyway, please don¡¯t make any trouble, and give me this old guy a chance to live, right?¡± Shen Jue: ¡°All right.¡± Such an arrogant man. Cao Dan heard the charity-like tone and refrained from rolling his eyes. He kept his temper, gave a few more explanations, and waved to Wang Yang: ¡°Wang, you now come over to take charge of Shen Jue¡¯s part.¡± Finishing the words, he rushed away in a breeze. Fang Yuan took the opportunity to pull Gu Yanshu to the back of the car, helped him cover the mike, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Why is he here?¡± Gu Yanshu hung his eyelids: ¡°How could I know.¡± Why did Shen appear in U.N, replace Chen Ran, and lash out the rumor makers and anti-fans on Weibo? Gu Yanshu knew nothing. Anyway, this man had been always like this: he would do whatever he wanted. To put it nicely, he was cynical; to put it bluntly, he was a bastard who didn¡¯t care anything. Fang Yuan knew more or less about Shen Yue¡¯s behavioral style, and also knew he had someone behind back him. So he didn¡¯t care much about any consequences no matter what he did. But Shen Jue could be fractious, Gu Yanshu could not. So he made a rare effort to be serious in front of Gu Yanshu:¡± I¡¯ll go back and look into this, so you just stay cautious.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Fang Yuan sighed: ¡°Anyway my gut feeling tells me Shen Jue has some bad intentions this time. You know, be mindful of guarding against harm from others. You have to protect yourself and stay as far away from him as you can, do you hear me?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s tone was flat: ¡°You help me pay the six times breach of contract, then I could stay eight kilometers away from him.¡± ¡°Then I think Shen Jue is actually not that bad.¡± Saying that, Fang Yuan had picked up his handbags and suitcases: ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll send you in.¡± Gu Yanshu felt that this world was literally realistic. And Wang Yang finished just finished working on Shen Jue¡¯s part, hearing what Fang Yuan¡¯s words, hurried to say: ¡°Brother Fang, agents can¡¯t go in. We¡¯re going to start to record at the entrance of the community.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay away from the camera, just help move the belongings, not okay?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fang Yuan frowned and got worried. He was worried before because Gu Yanshu was going to stay for more than a month this time, so he brought a lot of essentials for Gu Yinshu, including one handbag and two suitcases. One person would not be able to carry it. Gu Yanshu was indifferent: ¡°I can just take more steps.¡± He took handbag with one hand and put the other on the lever of the suitcase. As he was about to leave, on the left suitcase appeared another hand silently. Wide, slender, well-defined bones. Green veins beneath the white skin were straining, showing a reassuringly strong control. Lifted the eyes. Shen Jue raised his eyebrows: ¡°What? Don¡¯t allow me to help you?¡± Gu Yanshu answered politely: ¡°I dare not to trouble Teacher Shen.¡± Shen Jue tsked: ¡°The trouble you caused to me was not enough?¡± Gu Yanshu turned angry. Having watched the corner of Gu Yanshu¡¯s mouth were getting pouted, Shen Jue felt better, and said slowly: ¡°Come on, which time did you go out without throwing your belongs to me? You can do it again this time.¡± He didn¡¯t bother to listen to what Gu Yanshu would say to piss him off and just pushed the suitcase away, with any intension to ask for Gu Yanshu¡¯s permission. Fang Yuan pondered over Shen¡¯s words, then tilted his head to Gu Yanshu in a meaningful way: ¡°Shu, so you used to engage in bullying in YOUNG group?¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°Shut up.¡± ¨C ¨C The location of this recording was an upscale community between the 3rd and 4th ring roads in Beijing. The community was quiet with excellent security, and was dominated by high-rise buildings. In the center of the community, near the artificial lake, there were six single-family houses, separated by waterways, which did not interfere with each other, providing privacy and shade from trees and grass. The building rented by the program was one of the most secluded, facing the lake, with gray-white courtyard walls and tall iron gates visible from afar. When you pushed open the door, you would see a wide lawn with a stone path. At the end of the road was a three-story building in a post-modernist design style, with floor-to-ceiling windows, white walls. The third floor was half house, half terrace. The surrounding area was full of elevated cameras and staff hidden behind the greenery. Gu Yinshu and Shen Jue walked across the stone path one after the other. On the way up the stairs, Shen Jue lifted the suitcase, damn heavy. He asked: ¡°Filled with Gold?¡± Gu Yanshu glimpsed the suitcase in his hand: ¡°No.¡± It was only filled with the fruits of Northeast people¡¯s labour. (TL: Northeast is famous for producing the rice.) Then they rang the bell. Soon there came the rustling sound of footsteps. The door was pushed open a crack, and a young and cute head peeked out, and when it saw Gu Yinshu, its eyes widened instantly and pushed the door open: ¡°Ahhhhh! Yan ¨C cough cough cough -¡° Before she could finish her sentence, her voice split and she coughed violently. Xia Qingqiao, a newcomer to the company, debuted in the previous year¡¯s audition with a quite good voice. So how did it suddenly become like this now. Gu Yanshu took out a packet of tablets from his pocket and handed them over: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°On your concert ¡ª- Cough ¡ª- screamed my head off and got hoarse¡± ? You held a concert or I did? ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it. It was so hot, so we must support!¡± Xia Qingqiao¡¯s hoarse voice was very excited, ¡°Brother you were amazing yesterday! A Supreme!¡± He didn¡¯t hide his fascination at all. Shen Jue watched from the back of Gu and wondered why this kid was talking so much. He made it sound as if Gu Yanshu had blown up the stage yesterday, just to show off. He spoke in a cold voice: ¡°Just stand here at the door?¡± The tone of his voice sounded impatient. Only then did Xia Qingqiao suddenly found there was another person aside. He was busy preparing to apologize and say hello, but the moment he saw the person¡¯s face, he froze there. He stood there with her mouth open, confused, and threw a questioning look at Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu showed a blank expression to convey that he knew nothing. Xia Qingqiao shifted back to his gaze and dumbly said, ¡°Hello, Teacher Shen, I am Xia Qingqiao.¡± Shen Jue: ¡°Hmm.¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°?¡± Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Never mind, maybe all the movie emperors were aloof. No wonder he and brother Yanshu had been at odds for years, after all, they both spoke coldly, and certainly had nothing to say when they were together. Xia Qingqiao understandingly walked between the two and entered the house together. After the entrance, there was a spacious living room, decorated with light-colored wood and fabric. At the other end of the living room were large floor-to-ceiling windows, outside of which lay a calm lake under the dusky light of the nightfall. Inside the windows was the soft bright incandescent lamp, under which covered the soft carpet. Three persons were sitting around on the carpet, talking something. Hearing the sound, they all turned their heads. When the older man saw Gu Yinshu, he smiled kindly and gently: ¡°Shu is here? Why lost weight again?¡± Gu Yanshu nodded: ¡°Hello, Teacher Sheng.¡± Sheng Ping was the veteran among the entertainers¡¯ circles. He was over forty years old, ever won the movie emperor, worked as director and producer, got abilities, connections, resources, and was humorous, witty and knowledgeable. He had met Gu Yanshu several times in the variety show before, and was very kind to him. They were acquainted. After greeting Gu Yanshu, Sheng Ping looked at Shen Jue next to him. It seems that he was not surprised by Shen¡¯s appearance, but he gave a pretentious ¡°wow¡±: ¡°What kind of wind has blown Shen the movie emperor to us? We¡¯re so honored.¡± Shen Jue had a good relationship with Sheng Ping, and he could tell the derision in Sheng¡¯s words. He put down the suitcase, pursing up his lips: ¡°Well, just won the movie emperor, and come to boost my commercial value.¡± Saying that, he raised the corner of his eyes to glance at Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t want to talk to him, and coldly looked away. What did he mean by repeating the words that fans used to curse him? Showing a pitifulness or a provocation? Sheng Ping, sitting on the side, caught the eye-to-eye exchange between the two, tsked twice without a word, pretending he was a tool man and keeping his mouth shut. Instead, two girls greeted them. One was Xu Fanfang, who was the same age as Gu Yanshu, a child star from a small flower girl with a sweet and lovely appearance. She had always been known as the national sister who was quite popular. The other one was Xie Shuang, just over 30, an independent music producer with both fame and ability, who had won many international awards and owned a unique voice, attracting lots of loyal fans over the past few years. The two girls were both not well acquainted with Gu Yanshu and Shen Yue, so they got nothing else to say after saying hello. As the general director, Cao Dan naturally took over the conversation and picked up the trumpet: ¡°Well, everyone is here now, so let¡¯s see how we arrange the rooms for you.¡± The villa had three floors. The first floor included a living room, dining room, kitchen, and a video game entertainment area. The second floor had two double rooms, where the south-facing one contained a large built-in checkroom and the north-facing one was equipped with a massage chair. There was also a single room, which was reserved for the flying guest. (TL: The flying guest is an entertainer who is invited to attend this show for only one or two episodes.) The third floor was half terrace and half sunroom converted into a double room. The side facing the terrace had a set of floor-to-ceiling windows, and the roof had a large skylight that could be opened and closed for good light. All rooms had en-suite facilities with bathtubs. Without objection, the bedroom with checkrooms was given to the two girls. As for how to arrange the rooms for the left four persons, the director team was a bit hesitated. The original script was to arranged Sheng Ping And Xia Qingqiao to live in the room on the second floor, and Gu Yanshu and Chen Ran to live in the room on the third floor, which was convenient for creating the CP topic. However the investor suddenly revealed Chen Ran got a scheduling conflict, and Shen Jue¡¯s team just had a plan to boost Shen¡¯s popularity, so they prefer to replace Chen Ran with Shen Jue and asked the program team if they agreed. At the time, the program team just thought if they replaced Chen Ran with Shen Jue, they would hit pay dirt, so they made a quick decision and a deal, then remembered there was still a Gu Yanshu on the program. The affairs between Shen Jue and Gu Yanshu was something that everyone in the fandom had heard about. Although the rumors were somewhat exaggerated and fabricated, but it was true the two hadn¡¯t been in the same frame for years. So they guess the relationship between the two was literally bad, and the homophobia of Shen Jue was also true. In other words, the script designed for Gu Yanshu and Chen ran couldn¡¯t be used any more. Otherwise, these two who were together with some grudges would fight each other, and Shen Jue would certainly not want to¡­¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll live with Gu Yanshu.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°What???¡± Before the director team could figure out a plan, they heard a lazy self-satisfied voice, so they looked up abruptly to find where the voice came from. Then they saw Shen Jue was sitting on Gu Yanshu¡¯s suitcase, propped up on his long legs, crossing his arms before the chest, perceiving the astonished looks from everyone, and raising his eyebrows diffusely. ¡°So? No?¡± CH 5 ¡°Mmm, no.¡± Before the director team could reply, another cold voice cleanly rejected him. Shen Jue slightly tilted his head and look over. Gu Yanshu stood aside, with one hand in his pocket and the other on the suitcase lever, and the dark metal contrasted dramatically with his snowy-white fingers. He was showing a poker face, but his eyelids were slightly drooping with an indifferent look, showing a very heartless temperament. Shen Jue: ¡°Why not?¡± Gu Yanshu hung loose: ¡°Because you snore in your sleep, kick the covers, take a shower for an hour, and even don¡¯t allowed to be rushed.¡± Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± When this guy learned to speak nonsense? Jwv kd vlaxp sq prlyjkdt dsdpldpl, bl bye dlhla zspv ulv. Fssd, bl pdkqqle: ¡°Fs obld usw pzllr, takde uswa vllvb, ckvl, yde vyzj kd uswa pzllr, es R ycydesd usw?¡± Qw Zydpbw: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Pkalnvsa vlyx: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xvbla twlpvp: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Jsvb sq vbl vos oyp yzssq ldswtb, cwv vbl oyu vblu pzlrv oyp esod-vs-lyavb? Fbldt Vkdt zywtble voknl yde bwttle Dky Ckdtikys: ¡°R¡¯x sze dso yde nyd¡¯v pzllr olzz. R nyd¡¯v bydezl vblpl xshlxldvp yde dskplp, ps R¡¯e clvvla pbyal y assx okvb Dky. Dky, usw esd¡¯v pdsal, aktbv?¡± Dky Ckdtikys oyp y zspp: ¡°Gb, R esd¡¯v pdsal, cwv¡­¡­¡± ¡°No but. Let¡¯s go, go help your two sisters with their luggage.¡± Sheng Ping patted him on the shoulder, then picked up his own suitcase and headed to the second floor, ¡°I¡¯ve got my eyes on the massage chair, so you guys never want to rob me of that.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Xia Qingqiao scratched his head. He felt things should not have gone this way, but Sheng Ping was a veteran, and he could only do as Sheng had said. He turn around and was about to help the two girl guests with their luggage. As soon as he turned around, he found the two girls were together in a strange manner, not knowing what they were talking about. Xu even clenched her fists in excitement, and her eyes gave of a special luster. Xia Qingqiao: ¡­¡­? Did he miss something? Why was he not keeping up with everyone? And shen Jue who was still sitting lazily on Gu Yanshu¡¯s suitcase, smiled at someone whose face was freezing into a small ice cube and said: ¡°So? You want to live with someone that Teacher Sheng wants?¡± Of course, Gu Yanshu wouldn¡¯t. Shen Jue lazily smiled again: ¡°Anyway it¡¯s not my intention. This was the script the program team gave me before I came here.¡± Program team: ¡°???¡± Shen Jue gave them a friendly look. Program team: ¡°Yeah, we gave Teacher Shen the script. Since we¡¯re already here, we should try to make the show most attractive and win the first place of variety show ratings in first quarter!¡± Shen Jue nodded slightly to show his agreement: ¡°After all it¡¯s my variety show debut. If we can¡¯t win the first place, it will not match up with my status.¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± The camera was truly the greatest invention of the 21st century. Because it could stop violence and swearing in extreme emotions. What¡¯s done was done. Gu Yanshu was not a man who always dwelt on the pointless matters, so he picked up the luggage and went straight upstairs. Shen Jue slowly and methodically stood up from the suitcase, straightened his clothes, and mentioned in passing to the program team: ¡°I really sacrificed too much for this show, so I hope when you talk to my agent about the contract tomorrow, I can be paid more.¡± Program team: ¡°?¡± Then they just watched as Shen Jue slowly followed Gu Yanshu up the stairs with his suitcase. The plot developed a bit wired. The vice director lowered his voice: ¡°Director Cao, so Shen Jue is really relying on the variety show to boost his popularity this time?¡± ¡°It should be. After all Shen Jue had not been exposed much except for filming these years, so he lost lots of loyal fans and popularity. It lowered his business influence. Otherwise, he would not go this far.¡± Cao Dan, an experienced man in the industry, said confidently. It dawned on the vice director: ¡°Oh I see, but wha if they really fight each other?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, the nearby police station and supreme hospitals are quite close.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s good.¡± ¨C ¨C Sheng Ping preferred the massage chair on the second floor, so Gu Yanshu chose the room on the third floor. When he pushed the door open, he immediately saw the decadent winter twilight of Beijing through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The clouds were heavy, and it was supposed to be snowing soon. The warm yellow light in the room seemed particularly warm and soft. However, when he entered the house, he still felt the coldness around me. Perhaps the room heater had not been turned on yet. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t take it to heart. He took a look at the house, which was carpeted and had two beds, one against the wall and one closer to the floor-to-ceiling window, with only a nightstand in between. Gu Yanshu always felt that something was missing, but he couldn¡¯t remember it at the moment. He continued to look outside, and there was another set of sofas and coffee tables, with the sofas facing the terrace, where he could see the wooden swing and the wilted wisteria trellis on the terrace. Gu Yanshu suddenly thought, if he lived here in spring, it should be very comfortable. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s winter. What¡¯s more, now he had an annoying roommate. He put down his suitcase and turned back, ¡°Which bed do you sleep on?¡± Shen Jue slowly wandered in after him and unlocked the door: ¡°Whatever.¡± Then whatever. Gu Yanshu chose the one against the wall according to his own preference. Unpacking his suitcase, he began to organize his things. After catching a glimpse of Shen Jue wandering idly around the house, he noticed: ¡°You didn¡¯t bring anything?¡± ¡°Hmm. The assistant will deliver it in the evening.¡± Gu Yanshu just remembered that Shen¡¯s team should still be busy in Shanghai wiping his asses for missing the award ceremony last night, and Young Master Shen will not pack his own bags. Thinking of this, somehow, Gu Yanshu thought of those tweets sent by Shen Jue. It seemed to say that the woman in the photo was not a girlfriend, but an older sister, so he didn¡¯t go to the award ceremony because something happened at home. But in any case, it will not be because Shen went to his concert. Gu Yanshu took out a dust bag and hung up his coat one by one. Shen Jue had found the location of the three cameras in the bedroom. Then he knocked on the suitcase beside his hand: ¡°Where do you want to put this?¡± Gu Yanshu casually glimpsed. The box was filled with some rice, small sun, medicine box, and so on by Fang Yuan, which were not supposed to be use. ¡°Put it at the bottom of the cabinet.¡± H said very naturally. Shen Jue put the suitcase where Gu Yanshu said it should be, and his tone turned a bit more jocular: ¡°You are really good at ordering me around, right?¡± Gu Yanshu paused. In the past, he had become accustomed to order Shen Jue around and didn¡¯t pay attention. Soon, he said with ease, ¡°After all, Teacher Shen is willing to help others.¡± It¡¯s not a big deal, but it sounded like a mockery. Shen Jue really couldn¡¯t get along with the two words ¡°Teacher Shen¡±, thinking he would stop the little bastard from calling this again. When thinking, he glanced at the little bastard, and happened to find Gu was taking out a small box of pills. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, gave a short sneer, straightened up, and smoothly pulled a few pieces of cloth over the back of the sofa to cover the cameras in the house. Then he walked up to Gu Yanshu and reached out the hands to the back of Gu¡¯s waist. The sudden approach, with the unique scent of mature male hormones, like an invasion of territory, made Gu Yanshu instantly step back. His whole body tensed out of a tense defensive posture: ¡°What are you doing?¡±. Shen Jue ignored him and, with his long arms, reached forward, turning off the mic behind his waist and then backhandedly turning off his own, ¡°Why so nervous? I¡¯m going to eat you?¡± Gu Yanshu opened his hand: ¡°Sick.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s sick?¡± Shen Jue to pick up the pill box and shook it twice, ¡°I thought you came to record this show because you¡¯re better, but you only went this far?¡± In his hand was a bottle of prescription medication to help sleep. Gu Yanshu responded coldly: ¡°What¡¯s your business?¡± Shen Jue laughed in anger: ¡°If it¡¯s none of my business, when did I ask to live with you in the same room?¡± From the first day he met Gu Yanshu, he knew that he had a problem: he had to lock his doors and windows at night, he had to wrap himself tightly in a blanket, and he couldn¡¯t have anyone next to him, or else he wouldn¡¯t sleep well. Like a frightened little animal, he must carve out an absolutely safe area for himself, or else he would always be tense and ready to flee at the slightest hint of trouble. At that time Shen had to forced him to sleep under the same quilt. With forcing and coaxing, Shen got him used to sleeping in the same room. Now Shen saw that Gu actually agreed to record the cohabitation variety show, and meanwhile was not willing to live with him, so he thought Gu had improved a lot over the years, but it turned out to be the sleeping pills. He was not afraid of the side effects of the pills at such young age? So Shen Jue directly threw the pills box into the trash can. Gu Yanshu frowned: ¡°Shen Jue could you be reasonable?¡± Shen Jue lowered his eyes and looked at him, saying idly: ¡°You don¡¯t need it anyway.¡± ¡°How did you know¡­¡­¡± How did you know I wouldn¡¯t need it. After all, it had been five years, and how could everything be the same as before. But still, the words didn¡¯t come out. The door clanged fiercely: ¡°Brother! Are you okay? You didn¡¯t fight with Teacher Shen right? Why the mic was also lost! And no camera as well! Brother! Calm down! Impulsivity is the devil!!!¡± The voice of the man outside had been hoarse, and with this heartbreaking shout, it sounded particularly brutal. Shen Jue tsked: ¡°Do we look like people who would fight?¡± Gu Yanshu ignored him and answered the door, ¡°Nothing, just changing clothes. I¡¯ll come down after changing.¡± After the words, there was a relieved voice from the door, ¡°That¡¯s good. Then brother, we¡¯ll wait for you in the living room.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Hearing the sound of footsteps going far away, Shen Jue laughed: ¡°Look at you, with a cold face all day and night, you scared the child.¡± Gu Yanshu gave him a blank look, closed his suitcase, put it in the corner, and walked towards the door. Shen Jue stopped him: ¡°Come back.¡± Gu Yanshu showed a bad temper: ¡°What?¡± ¡°I thought you said you would change your clothes?¡± Gu Yanshu paused, walked back to the suitcase, took out a home jacket, then began to lower his head and started to unbutton his body, halfway through the unbuttoning, stopped and looked up at Shen Jue. Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll change the clothes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stopping you.¡± ¡°You will watch while I change it?¡± Shen Jue laughed lightly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m homophobic. I¡¯ll do nothing to you.¡± Gu Yanshu was ignoring it with an indifferent face: ¡°But I¡¯m phobic about you. Please turn around.¡± Tsk, still such a thin skin. Shen Jue felt that if he said one more word, Gu would get annoyed and turn against him, so he turned around, sat on the sofa, and looked out of the window. The sky outside the window was already completely dark, and the lights inside the house seemed to be getting brighter and brighter. The glass clearly reflected the silhouette of the person behind the door. The jacket had been taken off, and when the arms were extended upward, the hem of the sweater was lifted by the microphone, revealing a slender white waist. Good looking. The legs were nice, too, straight, thin and long. Just a little too thin. But probably because of years of dance practice, the little ass was still nice although thin. Shen Jue leisurely leaned against the sofa with his legs crossed, enjoying watching Gu¡¯s body shamelessly. CH 6 The heating on the third floor seemed to have never been turned on, where the coldness filled the room up, making people feel chilly, even painful. Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t stand the cold, so he replaced the original tweed jacket with a black knee-length down coat, zipping up to his neck and wrapping himself tightly. When he turned around, he found that Shen Jue was eyeing him up. He frowned slightly and was about to say something, but didn¡¯t say it out at last. After all, as long as Shen Jue wanted, he could be leering at a dog with lust. So Gu just ended coldly with: ¡°Fasten your button. Stop playing around.¡± Then he opened the door and went downstairs. Upon opening the door, he immediately smelt a burst of spicy fragrance. G bsvrsv bye clld plv wr sd vbl vyczl esodpvykap okvb bsv typ nsxkdt wr qasx kv, yaswde obknb qswa rlsrzl olal tsppkrkdt. Mbl vyczl oyp qykazu zyatl, yde vbspl rlsrzl olal pkvvkdt kd y byzq-nkanzl vsoyaep vbl nyxlay. Mos plyvp sd vbl zlqv olal lxrvu, obknb pbswze cl alplahle qsa bkx yde Fbld Kwl. Qw Zydpbw pvlrrle vs vblx yde pyv dlmv vs Dky Ckdtikys, yde fwpv yp Dky Ckdtikys oyp ycswv vs ewxr y rzyvl sq vsxyvslp kdvs vbl bsvrsv qsa bkx, bl alynble swv yde tayccle Dky Ckdtikys¡¯p oakpv okvbswv blpkvyvksd. ¡°Gb? Ebyv¡¯p tskdt sd?¡± Dky Ckdtikys pvsrrle kd vkxl yde pssd wdelapvsse, ¡°sb, casvbla, usw esd¡¯v zkjl vsxyvslp, aktbv?¡± Qw Zydpbw zsspldle bkp byde yde dseele: ¡°Yxx.¡± ¡°Ls rasczlx, vbld R osd¡¯v rwv kv kd.¡± Dky Ckdtikys rwv vbl rzyvl cynj sd vbl vyczl. Qw Zydpbw, bsolhla, qlzv kv oyp dsv ldswtb. Tl rknjle wr vbl rzyvl, pvsse wr, xshl kv kd vbl jkvnbld, yde vbld pyv cynj esod, pllxkdt vs awzl swv ydu rsppkckzkvu sq ynnkeldvzu rwvvkdt vblx kdvs vbl rsv. Gqvla bl pyv esod cu vbl vyczl ytykd, Fbld Kwl fwpv nyxl esodpvykap, okvb vbl ralhkswpzu srldle nsyv¡¯p cwvvsdp cwvvsdle wr dlyvzu. He sat down on the empty seat next to Gu Yanshu, raising his eyebrow towards the director team: ¡°What expression?¡± Director Cao looked at him grimly, then picked up his little speaker: ¡°I¡¯m here to emphasize again that in this villa we¡¯re doing a 24 hour around-the-clock recording, so everyone shall not turn off the mic and camera anymore!¡± Shen Jue: ¡°Oh.¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°Mmm.¡± So perfunctory. Director Cao: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Never mind, just to put up with them for a while. Anyway, there was still enough time to torture them He smoothed his few hairs and cleared his throat: ¡°And please enjoy this meal of hotpot, because this might be the last supper if everything goes well.¡± Everyone stopped eating and looked up. ¡°Starting today, everybody in this house shall hand over all his cash, and in the next month of recording, you¡¯re not allowed to use any bank card and mobile payment except for personal work reasons. Follow PD and VJ will be keeping a close eye on you guys, and of course, it¡¯ best that you all follow the rules voluntarily.¡± When talking of ¡°follow the rules voluntarily¡±, director Cao darted a meaningful glance at Shen Jue. Shen Jue picked a slice of fatted beef into the pot leisurely: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, it won¡¯t work. Just go on.¡± Where the hell came such a bitch. Cao Dan endured this, and continued to set out the recording rules: ¡°During this time, every pair of roommates would have to access the living expenses fee from our program team. Later we¡¯ll play a small game to determine how much starting funds can each pair receive. In addition, we also provide various jobs for you to make money by laboring and improve your quality of life.¡± Then he took out a white board, on which wrote ¡°Cohabitation Cabin Job List¡±. Jobs in restaurant, £¤10 per hour per person. Florist: £¤10 per hour per person. Community volunteer: £¤10 per hour per person. ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ Even Gu Yanshu, a boy of the poor, hadn¡¯t experienced a salary of £¤10 per hour in many years. Shen Jue even sneered: ¡°You call this improving the quality of life?¡± Cao Dan: ¡°Or else?¡± ¡°This is called basic essentials to the survival of life.¡± Cao Dan: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shen Jue picked up the slice of fatted beef into Gu Yanshu¡¯s bowl from the pot, and leaned lazily against the back of the chair: ¡°You said you have some small game? Go ahead, show us how miserly you are.¡± The miserly program team had already taken out a lie detector: ¡°In order to improve the understanding among our cabin members, our team had beforehand prepared fifty question in the box. For each round of the game, we will choose five questions randomly to ask the selected member. If his answer is true, then he will receive 100, if false, then lose 80, that¡¯s to say, each pair could receive the living expenses ranging from minus eight hundred to one thousand.¡± ¡°How much to how much?¡± ¡°Minus eight hundred to one thousand.¡± ¡°Sorry, again?¡± ¡°Minus eight hundred¡­¡­¡± ¡°Chehh¡­¡± Shen Jue tsked and interrupt him, ¡°If I really get minus eight hundred, I¡¯ll have to work here to return the money?¡± The program team nodded: ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°What if I can¡¯t afford?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll contract the advertisement board at Xidan subway station for one month to let the world know you own money.¡± He paused and added, ¡°With your ugliest picture.¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°Wow, looking forward to it.¡± ¨C ¨C Originally, Xia Qingqiao thought this was a perfect opportunity to promote himself for free, but when he saw the ugly photo of himself from the program team, he just silently moved his hand into the lie detector. In fact, the lie detector commonly used in the shows was not able truly to detect lies. It only measured one¡¯s pulse rate, heart rate and blood pressure to roughly determine whether he was nervous or not. Gu Yanshu thought he had a good psychological quality himself. He curled up into the sofa, buried his chin in the collar, and calmly watched Xia Qingqiao on the carpet squeal by the electricity. Sheng Ping: ¡°What¡¯s your height?¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°188 cm! Ahhhh!! 185! Ahhh!!! 180! Ahhhh!!! 176! Ahhhhhh!!! 175.6!¡± Ding¡ª- Finally, the green light was on. Gu Yanshu, who just finished denying the functionality of the lie detector: ¡°¡­¡­¡± It could actually be precise to the decimal point, so the scientific and technological developments nowadays had boosted so fast? Xia Qingqiao took out his hand that had been numbed by the electricity and wiped his tears: ¡°I can¡¯t keep the image of 188cm iron man anymore.¡± Xu Fangfang comforted him also with tears: ¡°Little brother, it¡¯s okay, see, my image of 88 jin perfect goodness had also collapsed. What a damn lie detector it is, so accurate!¡± (TL: jin is a unit that measures weight. One jin is approximately 1.1 pound.) Gu Yanshu thought of the few questions that had been asked, suddenly getting unwilling to take part in the game. But Sheng Ping had already called his name: ¡°Shu, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Gu Yanshu stayed on the sofa, with his eyelashes dropping slightly, and didn¡¯t move. Shen Jue looked askance at him and smiled: ¡°So? You¡¯ve done some shady deals, afraid of the questions?¡± Gu Yanshu stood up coldly and sat in front of the lie detector. Shen Jue sat behind him, staring at the pretty cute head, and smiled quietly. Such a stubborn lad. Sheng Ping had already put his arm in the question box: ¡°Shu, are you ready?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Okay, the first question is, did you ever have a crush on someone?¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°?¡± Just now it was still height and weight, but now why it suddenly changed its style? He didn¡¯t want to respond. But when he thought of Shen Jue who was possibly leaning lazily on the sofa with arms crossed over the chest, looking forward to something dramatic, he then answered coldly: ¡°No.¡± Tick¡ª- Red light. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡±. Trashy lie detector. A counterfeit. Sheng Ping smothered the smile of gossip, pretended that nothing had happened, and took out another question: ¡°What¡¯s the most handsome hairstyle for boys do you think?¡± ¡°Crew cut.¡± Tick¡ª- Red light again, and the sound even harsher. ¡°What kind of personality do you like to be around.¡± ¡°Knowledgeable.¡± Tick tick tick¡ª- ¡°The happiest thing this year.¡± ¡°Held the concert in Bird¡¯s Nest Stadium.¡± Tick tick tick tick¡ª- ¡°Anyone you miss in particular.¡± ¡°No.¡± Tick tick tick tick tick¡ª- ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ He lost all the battles. The lie detector screamed so loudly that it would be flying with joy. Gu Yanshu indifferently pulled out his hand, push the lie detector towards the program team, and said with a calm tone: ¡°It¡¯s not working.¡± Cao Dan frowned: ¡°Not working?¡± Gu Yanshu nodded with conviction: ¡°Mmm, it only turned red light.¡± Cao Dan was skeptical: ¡°Really?¡± Gu Yanshu hung loose: ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Probably because Gu Yanshu had always been a cold and indifferent person, his rare persistence persuaded the program team: ¡°Then we¡¯ll change it and do it again.¡± Just before the lie detector could be carried away, Gu Yanshu felt he was enveloped in a shadow, and a long slim finger was stretched out behind him, stopping the lie detector: ¡°Not working? Let me try.¡± Then that man directly bypassed Gu Yanshu, put the sensor on, and poked his hand in: ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sheng Ping then smoothly picked up a question paper from the box: ¡°The food you hate most.¡± Shen Jue: ¡°Tomatoes. Allergic.¡± Ding¡ª- There came a crisp sound and the light turned green. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Program team: ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°???¡± Xd Qw Zydpbw¡¯p qynl olal pvkzz nszedlpp yde nyzxdlpp vbyv y qzsola qasx zsqvu xswdvykdp elplahle vs sod: ¡°R twlpp R¡¯x olyakdt vss xwnb yde bsv. R¡¯zz ts wrpvykap yde nbydtl y nsyv.¡± Gqvla pyukdt vbyv, bl oldv pvayktbv wrpvykap. Tkp qynl oyp pvkzz qaspvu, okvbswv ydu vaynl sq vbl lmralppksdp. Jwv y vaynl sq kxrlanlrvkczl zywtbvla naspple Fbld Kwl¡¯p lulp: ¡°Yxx, Qw Zydpbw¡¯p blyav ayvl kp kdelle qypvla vbyd yhlaytl, ps kv¡¯p dsaxyz qsa vbl kdynnwaynu.¡± Fbld Kwl¡¯p alynvksd oyp ps xkze vbyv vbl rastayx vlyx bye vs qakldezu alxkde bkx: ¡°Mlynbla Fbld, Fbw bye clld qyzpl qkhl vkxlp kd y aso, vbyv¡¯p vs pyu, lhld kq usw ydpola yzz vbl qkhl iwlpvksdp nsaalnvzu, usw vos oswze sdzu alnlkhl sdl bwdeale qsa vbl zkhkdt lmrldplp, svblaokpl usw xktbv sol vbl rastayx vlyx.¡± ¡°Fs cl kv. R okzz elqkdkvlzu xyjl ldswtb xsdlu vs aykpl bkx.¡± Fwnb yd kdekqqlaldv pldvldnl, okvb vbyv kdelqkdyczl psxlvbkdt, lhld okvb y jkde sq nlavykd see rzlypwal. ¨C ¨C Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t hear what questions had been asked for shen Jue, and went straight back to his room. Icy coldness wrapped around him after he entered the room. Gu Yanshu tightened his slightly loosened down coat. He grew up in south and couldn¡¯t stand the cold from when he was a child. The first year in Beijing, he lived in a room without air conditioning and heating, which kept him up all night long. That¡¯s why he had been never fond of the winters in the north. Only when the life got easier, he gradually felt less miserable. So in this moment he never thought he would experience the feeling of bone-chilling cold again. The heating might be not working. Gu Yanshu was about to call the staff to check about it. The moment his hand touched the door handle, he stopped. What happed about the lie detector just now came to him. More and more counterfeit products nowadays. Maybe Shen Jue was just waiting to laugh at him. But what kind of questions would Shen Jue be asked? Anyway, it was none of his business. He didn¡¯t want to go downstairs now. Glanced at the watch. After having the hot pot and playing the game, he didn¡¯t realized it was already over ten o¡¯clock. Gu Yanshu thought he himself should go to bed before Shen Jue came back, to avoid any unnecessary trouble and embarrassment. Taking out the toiletries and pajamas, and getting ready to prepare his bed out of habit, he suddenly realized what was exactly the thing that he thought this room was lack of. ¡ª-There were only sheets on bed, no quilts. No quilts. Gu Yanshu raised a bad vibe in his heart. Before he could deny this point, the door opened with a creak. He turned around. Shen Jue was standing at the door. A male model¡¯s figure of 1.89 meter tall wearing a runway limited edition of a luxury brand, standing there casually, exuded noble characteristics that one couldn¡¯t took his eyes off. Moreover, in his hands was a green quilt covered with red flowers. Such a damn festive picture. Like a little prince from north-east. Shen Jue leisurely wandered towards the bed under the disgusted eyes of Gu Yanshu, and threw the quilt onto the bed: ¡°Never look at me like that. One hundred RMB can only afford such a quilt.¡± Gu Yanshu threw a question: ¡°Only one quilt?¡± ¡°So what do you think of?¡± Shen Jue spread the quilt, ¡°Who just lied for five times in a row without blinking? Don¡¯t you get any idea of it?¡± ¡°The problem is the lie detector. It¡¯s not working.¡± Gu Yanshu stared at the back of Shen Jue, indifferently with his voice sounding calm and coolheaded. Shen Jue smiled slightly: ¡°All right, it¡¯s not working. But the thing is, even I think so, the program team won¡¯t think so. Quilts, food, daily supplies, all these need to be bought from them. We only got one hundred in total, so just be grateful when I¡¯m able to bring you a quilt.¡± Until now Gu Yanshu found Shen Jue put the quilt on the bed near the wall: ¡°Why are you putting the quilt on my bed?¡± ¡°Or else? You can¡¯t stand the cold or I can¡¯t? Shen Jue got the quilt ready, stood up, and looked back to Gu Yanshu. Then he found Gu Yanshu was standing there quietly, hanging down his eyelashes. His eyelids hinted veins of blue under the light, the corner of his lips pursed into a straight line, and his chin tucked back into his collar again. Gu¡¯s expression kept cold, but Shen Jue knew, that every time Gu Yanshu felt he himself made a mistake he would show like this. It made people want to bully him. Shen Jue raised the corner of his lips, lowered the voice, and hided the smile: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go to living room to sleep later. It¡¯s warm there.¡± But there would be so many staff walking around there. It depended on whether someone could bear to allow it. CH 7.1 Just when the voice faded, from the stairway came Cao Dan¡¯s voice while he shouted with a speaker: ¡°Our team need debug the devices tonight, please don¡¯t come to or out of the first floor if you have no special reasons. Thanks for cooperating.¡± Gu Yanshu, who was just about to say that he himself would go to the living room to sleep, now was forced to drop the idea. Not only he couldn¡¯t go there, but Shen Jue also couldn¡¯t go, so they two would have to stay in this freezingly cold room with only one floral quilt. Gu Yanshu asked: ¡°Can we open the heating?¡± Shen Jue took off the mic slowly: ¡°We can, but have to pay two hundred RMB for the heating first.¡± Such a shameless director team when they only want to boost the show¡¯s attractiveness. So how should he go through the night today. When thinking about it, Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze inadvertently fell upon the floral quilt on the bed, finding that even the colors of it were old-fashioned, it was actually large enough to cover two men. Jwv pssd bl tyhl wr vbkp kely, yp lhld kv nswze nshla vos xld, bl oswze dlhla pzllr sd vbl pyxl cle okvb Fbld Kwl. Gzvbswtb bl bye ds kely obu Fbld Kwl oswze pweeldzu nsxl vs yvvlde vbkp pbso yde zkhl okvb bkx kd vbl pyxl assx, yde obu Fbld oyp tlvvkdt dknl vs bkx qsa ds alypsd, bl eke jdso vos vbkdtp nzlyazu. ¡ª-Xdl pbyzz dsv qyzz voknl kd vbl pyxl bszl. ¡ª-Fbld Kwl oyp vbl bszl qsa bkx. Fs lhld bl oyp qasgld vs elyvb, bl pbyzz dlhla pzllr sd vbl pyxl cle okvb Fbld Kwl. Ebld vbkdjkdt sq vbkp, Qw Zydpbw aykple bkp blye, pbsole bkp nbkd qasx vbl nszzya, yde pyke kdekqqlaldvzu: ¡°Zsw fwpv pzllr okvb vbl iwkzv. R caswtbv vbl czydjlv xuplzq, yde R¡¯zz xyjl es okvb kv.¡± Ekvb vblpl osaep bl vbld nyaakle vbl sze-pnbssz iwkzv kd bkp yaxp, rwv kv sd Fbld Kwl¡¯p cle yde qlvnble y dlyvzu qszele nypbxlal czydjlv qasx vbl pwkvnypl. Tl vssj sqq vbl xkn, tskdt pvayktbv kdvs vbl cyvbassx okvb bkp ryfyxyp yde vskzlvaklp. Ls tzydnl yv Fbld Kwl ewakdt vbkp rasnlpp, yde lhld ds assx qsa ekpnwppksd. He seemed to have made his mind to stay away from Shen Jue, and not to interfere with each other. Shen Jue sighed. He had grown up, and was not that Cute Gu who would be easily coaxed into sleeping any more. And it was getting hard to coax him. So cold, and it was even impossible to distinguish he was happy or not. Not cute at all. But what to do? He still needed to be coaxed even if it was a hard job. With that, Shen followed Gu to the door of the bathroom, and knocked the door frame. Gu Yanshu tilted his head and said coldly: ¡°Does Teacher Shen have some other business?¡± ¡°My assistant was late for the flight delay, and failed to come in time. Do you mind borrowing me some clothes?¡± Gu Yanshu was about to say no. But soon he remembered that Shen Jue was a young master who got a temper, and would never wear the same clothes for even two days. And anyway, it was he himself who dragged him into a situation without heating, so he wanted to compensate and ease his own guilt. So he walked out from the bathroom with a frosty face, unfolded the suitcase, and took out a set of oversized garment gifted by the brand company to hand it to Shen: ¡°You can wear these. But they all have been worn by me before, so there would be nothing I can do if this disgusts Teacher Shen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying I have never worn your clothes before? So there¡¯s nothing disgusts me.¡± Shen Jue took the clothes, flipped them over, and raised his eyebrows, ¡°But don¡¯t you think you¡¯re missing one thing?¡± Gu Yanshu kept calm: ¡°What else does Teacher Shen need?¡± Shen Jue also calmly said: ¡°Underwear.¡± ¡°What the f¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu took a deep breath and decided not to lower himself to this damn straight man¡¯s level. He unfolded the suitcase again and took out a box of unopened underwear to toss to Shen: ¡°Don¡¯t return.¡± ¡°Such a generous Teacher Gu.¡± Shen Jue smiled, took the box, flipped it over and said meaningfully: ¡°But¡­¡­¡± ¡°But what.¡± Shen Jue paused and went on, ¡°But it might be a bit smaller.¡± Damn smaller you. Wear it or not. Such a bastard. Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t bear him anymore. He thrusted Shen Jue away, and then slammed the door with a bang, which even shook the beams of the room twice. The door almost right slapped Shen Jue¡¯s face, but before the door was totally closed, Shen Jue couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and smirk when he glimpsed the icy face that flushed due to upsetting. Then he walked leisurely carrying the clothes to the single bathroom in the second floor. He thought to himself: not bad, as long as that man could be upset. Being upset meant that that man could still be cajoled. This was much cuter than the indifferent chilled face which was like one of a dead man. ¨C ¨C When Gu Yanshu finished bathing and walked out, Shen Jue had already been on the bed. He leaned against the head of the bed, lowering his head and playing with his phone. The original loose sweater was held up to the shoulder line, giving it just the right amount of stiffness. Dark curls hung damply over his shoulders, dripping onto his collarbone and then dripping down his muscular texture into his chest, giving him a languid, sexy look. It was said that Shen¡¯s grandmother was of mixed Chinese and European descent, so his facial features were much more three-dimensional than those of ordinary Asians, but his hair and eye color were the purest black, and his bone structure was deep, which gives him a classic look. This was exactly the directors¡¯ favorite big-screen look. Even now, covered with an old-school floral quilt, it¡¯s not hard to see the reserved arrogance in his bones that he grew up with in high society. That¡¯s why the first time Gu Yanshu met Shen Jue, he knew they were not of the same world. It was only after they experienced a long time of poor life together that Gu Yanshu began to forgot about this point, and chose to believe in what Shen Jue the bastard said, that he was truly a poor boy who pursued his dream in the entertainment circle. And in the end Gu realized that man was a young master from a lord family who only wanted to experience the hardships of common people, and would just left directly after this. Only he himself was really poor. Thinking of this, Gu Yanshu made his mind to stay away from Shen Jue the liar as far as possible, went straight around him, lifted the blanket and went to bed, sleeping with his back to Shen Jue. Just moment he slipped into the blanket, the light was turned off thoughtfully. Some deep heavy darkness suddenly loomed on the entire room. The unfamiliar environment also made Gu Yanshu feel uneasy. He was just about to get up when hearing a low voice beside him: ¡°Easy, just sleep. The door has been locked, and also the windows. There¡¯s only me in the room.¡± CH 7.2 Gu Yanshu¡¯s body paused. He didn¡¯t respond, and lay down again with the back to Shen Jue. But he couldn¡¯t fall asleep at all. The cold of a northern winter night was not something that could be warded off with a blanket. The chill leaked in through the cracks where there was no place to hide, leaped up to the skin, and then seeped through the bones, searing every nerve with pain. The old injury on the knee was something even more excruciating. He had to keep turning over and over, trying to find a gesture that could make him feel warmer or less painful on the knee. When he was tossing and turning, the rustlings of the fabric friction sounded extremely noisy in this silent room. So when he turned over again he was pressed by someone: ¡°You¡¯re turning over to cook an egg?¡± ¡°Apology. I won¡¯t do it. ¡° Gu Yanshu kept a cold voice, and was about to push away Shen Jue¡¯s two paws without knowing his plot. But just before he could stretched his hands from inside the quilt, he felt himself being wrapped in the blanket and turned a circle by Shen Jue. Rq bl oyp qllzkdt aktbv, dso bl pbswze cl oayrrle zkjl y pkzjosax cycu. ¡°Fbld Kwl, obyv¡¯p uswa rasczlx?¡± ¡°Ebs vbl blzz oyp vsppkdt yde vwadkdt yde clkdt ps dskpu vbyv svblap nswzed¡¯v pzllr?¡± ¡°R pyke R osd¡¯v es kv.¡± ¡°Mbld R¡¯x pvkzz osaaukdt kq usw oswze qykdv cu vbl nsze.¡± ¡°Rq lhld R qykdv cu vbl nsze obyv¡¯p kv vs usw¡­¡­obyv yal usw eskdt!¡± Jlqsal Qw Zydpbw nswze qkdkpb bkp osaep, bl pweeldzu qlzv bkxplzq clkdt vswnble y oyax cseu. Mbld vbl ldvkal blyhu iwkzv zydele sd bkx okvb oyaxdlpp, oayrrkdt bkx vktbvzu. G bwpju, ellr, pzktbvzu pzllru hsknl nyxl vs bkp lya: ¡°Rv¡¯p dsvbkdt vs xl, R fwpv qllz pzllru. Fs jdsnj kv sqq yde pzllr dso. Msxsaaso ol ts sd.¡± Gu Yanshu tried to push him away, but he himself was wrapped as a silkworm baby. He struggled for a few times, but instead of pushing him away, he felt warmness swept through his body when he was struggling, together with sleepiness overwhelming his senses. He tried to make his last stand and sharply turned around, but crushed into a warm broad chest. His body faltered. From above came the husky teasing voice: ¡°Behave yourself, and don¡¯t try to take advantage of me.¡± Who the hell wanted to take advantage of you. Gu Yanshu was about to call Shen Jue shameless. But when he inadvertently smelled the balsam mixed with pine and cedar lingering around the nose, he didn¡¯t say it out in the end. Fou D¡¯Absinthe¡£ Fou D¡¯Absinthe. Such familiar scent of old memories, with deadly attractions, was like some kind of emmetazine-like sedative, awakening the dependence in the cerebral cortex that was hard to be abstained from. Like in a dream, he seemed to have returned to the first winter when he came to Beijing. The shabby dormitory, the narrow single bed, no heating, no air-conditioning, even no money to buy a good quilt. How young was he then? Maybe sixteen, not seventeen yet. He couldn¡¯t hold the cold, missed home often but couldn¡¯t go back, and was hard to fall asleep due to the freezing cold. His leg was hurting, but would still make all-out efforts to practice in the day. Too many worries that he didn¡¯t want to share made him fall sick. He had got a fever for three day that burnt him unconscious. He couldn¡¯t remember anything. Except that when he woke up again, he saw Shen Jue was sitting beside the bed with red eyes caused by sitting up for him. Shen found he woke up, cursing him: ¡°Are you fucking numb? Why didn¡¯t you say it out when you¡¯re so cold and tired? Who will raise you if the fever makes you an idiot?¡± At that time everyone thought Shen Jue went too far, so they all scolded Shen Jue to stand up for him. But Shen Jue¡¯s had been stubborn during this, and didn¡¯t say any words to moderate. Gu Yanshu thought Shen Jue would forever shut him out. However, just at that night, Shen Jue carried the quilt to his bed, like what happened just now tonight, took the advantage of the strength to wrap him up, cuddled him and educated: ¡°You can tell me if you feel cold, tired or painful. Don¡¯t be a nerd at such young age.¡± Shen Jue didn¡¯t care about whether Gu Yanshu was willing or not, and just tucked himself and him in the same cocoon. That was Gu Yanshu¡¯s first time to sleep with others in the same bedding since five. Maybe because he felt too cold when sleeping alone, or there was no room against Shen Jue¡¯s stubbornness, or the scent of Shen Jue¡¯s body smelled so good, anyway, from then on he got used to sleep with Shen Jue. He always felt his hands and feet were cold, but Shen Jue¡¯s body was warm all the time. So this became the only warmness he could touched during the bitter winter, and the scent of Shen Jue along with it also made him develop a deep dependence. So it had been such a long time to smell it again. It¡¯s surprising that with so many years past Shen Jue was still using the same perfume he ever loved to use. What¡¯s hilarious was that, like Fang Yuan had mentioned, he and Shen Jue were like oil and water. Otherwise, why every time they came across there would be bad luck, and when they got separate, everything would go perfectly. So the best way was not to trouble Shen Jue. Had to stay away from him. If not, something terrible would happen sooner or later. When thinking about this, Gu Yanshu¡¯s consciousness dissipated, knowing in his heart that he should push Shen Jue away, but his body began to relax against his will, and the tides-like sleepiness was encroaching his willpower gradually. Quite a while later, there came the shallow steady breathing. Shen Jue could feel that the man next to him had already fell asleep. He opened his eyes, looking at him with the dim light from the window. The coldness seen on the face in the day disappeared during this quiet sleeping, replaced by a kind of pale pretty boyishness. He was slightly bowing his back like a homeless kitten, who was so sleepy and only could find a corner to secretly nap, but meanwhile tensed up all the time and would wake up with a start by any possible noise. Shen Jue sighed. He stretched his big foot to touch the small ones of Gu Yanshu, to see whether they were still cold. But the moment he touched them, Gu Yanshu began to vaguely say something. Shen Jue slowed down his movement, and asked in a low voice: ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Gu Yanshu unconsciously brushed his body with a soft voice. ¡°Brother, so cold today. My leg hurts, could we practice for half an hour less.¡± Shen Jue was silent. This boy must be dreaming of the past. It seemed that the Shen Jue in the had replied to him, after a while, Gu Yanshu said again in a low voice, ¡°Just for half an hour, please. My leg is so painful, brother.¡± The cool tone of the voice became a little soft because of the ambiguity, with a pitiful sense of pettiness, but did not dare to greedy for more. This kind of cautious niceness was heartbreaking to hear. No matter how it was like in front of others, he would always be his Cute Gu. Shen Jue sighed slowly, cuddled him in the arms, patted his back and cajoled: ¡°All right, let¡¯s stop practicing since your leg hurts.¡± CH 8.1 Gu Yanshu had a dream. He dreamed that when he was a teenager he practiced dancing too much that his leg hurt, so he wanted to ask for a leave for a respite. But Shen Jue the bitch took advantage of the position as the captain, forcing him to call himself elder brother, otherwise would not give him the leave. So annoying. But did he call it at last? He didn¡¯t do it as he remembered. He still got some backbone. He thought about these, turned over, and was about to sleep a bit longer. But after his turnover, the sunshine then created a hazy halo around his retina through the semi-thin eyelids, reminding him it had been the morning outside. Mbl xsadkdt zktbv sq vbl okdvla kd vbl dsavb oswze yzoyup yaakhl zlkpwalzu, ps kv pbswze dsv cl lyazu dso. Qw Zydpbw pvalvnble bkp bydep vs vbl dktbvpvyde, eyoezle vs rknj wr vbl rbsdl, yde zkqvle bkp lulzkep. Fwal ldswtb, 10 y.x. yzalyeu. Gde Fbld Kwl oyp dsv kd vbl assx. Qw Zydpbw pvsrrle pzllrkdt kd, tsv wr yde oypble wr. Gqvla bl rwv bkp nzsvblp sd yde oldv esodpvykap, bl qswde Fbld Kwl bye yzalyeu zygkzu pyv sd vbl psqy kd vbl zkhkdt assx, olyakdt vbl plv sq nzsvblp bl bye zldv. Tl bye vs pyu vbyv Fbld Kwl¡¯p cseu oyp zkvlayzzu zkjl y aynj. Mbl ydjzl-zldtvb casye-pbswzelale nsyv oswze lypkzu xyjl rlsrzl zssj pbsav, cwv dso lmbkckvle clywvu sd bkp cseu, yde yzsdt okvb vbl vsr jdsv nypwyzzu vkle sd bkp blye, yzzsole bkx vs elxsdpvayvl jkde sq y zlkpwal sq qypbksdyczl czsnjcwpvlap obld bl fwpv pyv vblal. Ebu pwnb y tsse rasqkzl oswze nsxl sdvs vbkp cypvyae¡¯p cseu. Wllzkdt altalvqwz kd xkde, bl eayttle vbl pzkrrlap yde oyzjle vsoyaep vbl zkhkdt assx. When he walk by the TV he almost bumped into Xu Fangfang who was twisting herself like a ball of twine. Xu Fangfang smiled at him as she pulled her leg over her head: ¡°Morning, Shu.¡± ¡°Morning.¡± ¡°Teacher Sheng and Xia have a variety show to record and have left. The breakfast is in the kitchen, you can just go ahead and eat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Yanshu had just taken two steps towards the kitchen when he met Xie Shuang who was walking out of the kitchen with a sandwich. Xie Shuang saw him, then asked: ¡°Eh, Shu, why did you just get up? Shouldn¡¯t you go for the rehearsal?¡± Xie Shuang was the debut singer of the ¡°Strongest Stage¡±. It should be she heard the director mentioned that he would go to battle the stage today, but didn¡¯t know what happened afterwards. So he replied lightly: ¡°I won¡¯t go due to some sudden issues.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± There were too many strange and weird things in the entertainment fandom, so Xie Shuang did not ask more questions, but just smiled brightly, ¡°Then you can happen to work today to earn money, otherwise you may not even be able to afford the food.¡± Then she pointed to the sandwich on the kitchen island table, ¡°Even that sandwich, is still the one that Mr. Shen robbed for you from Xia¡¯s mouth.¡± Xu Fangfang also felt funny after hearing this: ¡°Yup, Mr. Shen said Xia is only one meter seven and a half, but actually one hundred and thirty pounds, so if he does not control weight anymore he would not be called an idol. Xia was so scared to hear this and drank a cup of plain water in the morning.¡± Gu Yanshu lifted eyelids a bit and turned at Shen: ¡°That boy is only seventeen. He is still growing.¡± Shen Jue lean idly against the back of the sofa, headed down to fiddle with the phone, and said carelessly: ¡°I am for his own good, if he doesn¡¯t pay attention to body management, he can only take the harmonic star route. And also, if I get enough money, why would I go to grab food with a child?¡± Gu Yanshu got silent. He had forgotten that they had no money. Cao Dan took the opportunity to take out the speaker: ¡°Uh, in this case, do you gues want to learn about working to earn money? There are special offers of high-paying jobs today. You¡¯ll get paid according to how much you will have worked. More hard work, more money. A opportunity that can¡¯t be missed.¡± That¡¯s a very tempting thing to say. Because if he couldn¡¯t pay the heating bill today, then he would have to be sleeping in the same bed with Shen Ding again, which was much more terrible than not being able to eat. So Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t hesitate: ¡°What kind of work.¡± Cao Dan: ¡°Wearing doll clothes to the subway station to hand out leaflets. 10 cents for a copy.¡± Then two thousand copies were enough. Gu Yanshu nodded: ¡°Okay.¡± Shen Jue raised his head to look at him: ¡°You see that doll suit? It¡¯s big, thick and heavy, can you stand it?¡± Gu Yanshu thought of him wrapping himself into a baby silkworm last night, and in the dream Shen forced him to call Shen brother, feeling upset and angry. He coldly said: ¡°That is also better than not sleeping well at night.¡± ¡°Sleeping badly?¡± Shen Jue raised his eyebrows slightly, half squinting his eyes, ¡°You mean, last night you slept uncomfortably with me?¡± ¡°Mmm, uncomfortably.¡± His face was stiff and unbroken, as if the bedwetter who had slept for ten hours in one breath before was not Gu Yanshu himself. If not for the glorious history of five consecutive ¡°Dididi¡± of lie detector in the past, Shen Jue would probably believe it. But did not want to break him down, so just lightly laughed: ¡°Okay, you say uncomfortable then uncomfortable, I try to work hard, try to let you sleep comfortably in the next few days.¡± Bang! Just as the words finished, a sound of a heavy object landing on the ground was heard. The crowd inclined their heads to look, Xu Fangfang got up from the yoga mat with difficulty: ¡°Nothing, you guys continue, you guys continue.¡± In her heart, however, she sucked in a cold breath. Oh, gosh, wh, what the hell? Sleep with me? Uncomfortable? Try to work hard? What kind of weird words are they talking about? No, no, no, I can¡¯t substitute my private hobbies into my work, I can¡¯t look at people with porn glasses, and I can¡¯t be nasty anymore. Xu Fang Fang shook his head vigorously and returned to normal thinking, ¡°I also joined the leaflet distribution, today Sister Xie will have the competition, so I want to buy her a bouquet of flowers.¡± Cao Dan nodded his head and looked at Shen Dec, ¡°What about Mr. Shen?¡± Shen Jue lazily lifted his legs: ¡°your doll clothes can stuff me these two long legs?¡± So you¡¯re so proud to have the long legs? CH 8.2 It was proven that the mascot costume could only fit Gu Yanshu, who was 1.8m tall, but not Shen Jue, who was close to 1.9m tall. Hence, the production team could only arrange for Shen Jue to wear a baseball cap to hide his hair and wear a large mask, covering most of his face, then readied them to start work at the florist near the train station. Gu Yanshu glared coldly at Shen Jue¡¯s dressing, feeling as though he¡¯d seen this somewhere before. However, before he could take a closer look, Shen Jue took the Pikachu headgear and covered him, ¡°This is so much cuter than how you originally look.¡± You are the cute one, your entire family¡¯s cute. Gu Yanshu turned around indifferently, unwilling to look at Shen Jue. Yet, the indifferent turn that he thought he made, appeared to Shen Jue as a furious Pikachu slowly revealing its round little buttocks. It was so damn cute. Rv oypd¡¯v alrwzpkhl yv yzz. Fbld Kwl blze cynj bkp zywtbvla. Dw Wydtqydt, obs oyp clpkel vblx, oyp pvkzz qzwpvlale. ¡°Ebu kp vbkp xypnsv nspvwxl ps byae vs olya?¡± Qw Zydpbw wple vbl tyr bkeeld wdela Vkjynbw¡¯p xswvb vs qkde bla, vbld vssj pxyzz pvlrp shla, ¡°Ps vbkp, vbld alynb uswa byde vbaswtb vbkp. Nsspld uswa dlnj, sa usw¡¯zz cl kdfwale obld usw olya vbl blyetlya.¡± Ebld Qw Zydpbw prsjl vs tkazp, bkp hsknl oyp pvkzz hlau zktbv, cwv vblal oyp y elvynble tldvzldlpp vbyv oypd¡¯v lypkzu dsvknle, rwvvkdt vbl zkpvldla yv lypl. Dw Wydtqydt qszzsole bkp kdpvawnvksdp, yde qkdyzzu tsv vbl nspvwxl sd. Fbl vbld pktble ellrzu, ¡°Rv¡¯p ps blyhu yde nzywpvasrbsckn.¡± ¡°Kwpv tlv wple vs kv pzsozu. Rv¡¯p pvkzz yzaktbv pkdnl kv¡¯p okdvla dso. Rv¡¯zz cl byaela vs clya ewakdt pwxxla.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, at least I won¡¯t freeze. But Xiao Shu, why do you seem adept at wearing it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve worn it before,¡± Gu Yanshu answered lightly. Xu Fangfang assumed that Gu Yanshu probably wore it on other variety shows, so she didn¡¯t read too much into it. She then turned around and received the flyers from the director. The mascot outfit¡¯s workmanship was extremely fine; the exterior¡¯s texture was exquisite, and there was a gap near the nose, making it easy to breathe and speak. The gloves were also rather soft, so the wearer could at least do some simple movements with their hands. After the crew managed to hide the mics, they led the two short-legged fatties out of the door. On the other hand, Shen Jue walked out leisurely with his two long legs, shamelessly admiring Pikachu¡¯s plump little butt. Perhaps it was because the mascot was too plump, hence walking seemed somewhat strenuous. Fortunately, the train station was close to the villa, so they managed to get to the station after a short while. Shen Jue went to the florist, while Gu Yanshu and Xu Fangfang remained at the plaza of the train station and started handing out flyers. The follow PD [1] and VJ brought their small cameras and stealthily hid within the crowds. Wearing a mascot outfit during winter wasn¡¯t too warm, but it wasn¡¯t too comfortable either. Their entire bodies were cooped up within the costume, their vision was narrow, they couldn¡¯t breathe smoothly, and the heavy headgear was causing their necks to start aching. The passersby were either walking past in a hurry, or engaged in conversations, so few were willing to accept the flyers. By noon, they had only distributed more than three hundred flyers. This meant that they had earned less than forty dollars. Yet, Xu Fangfang was already feeling somewhat breathless, and her stomach growled loudly. Feeling aggrieved, she sat down by the curb, hoping to rest for a while. Just as she sat down, the song ¡°Reflections of the Moon in Erquan¡± sounded from somewhere behind her. It was probably played on a poor quality speaker; the mournful sounds from the erhu was mixed with crackles of electric currents, making the song sound even more desolate. Desperation grew in Xu Fangfang¡¯s heart, as she felt that they couldn¡¯t continue this way. She turned around with the intention of discussing her next steps with Gu Yanshu. And was met with the sight of a round Pikachu roaming around a vagrant. The vagrant was kneeling on the ground. Beside him was a sound system, while he held a microphone in his hand. In front of him was a piece of paper that had the following words: ¡°Raising funds to buy a ticket back to my hometown. Still lacking 99. Begging for good Samaritans to help.¡± There was also a bowl beside the paper, and in it, was a few scattered coins. Pikachu was staring fixated at the few coins. The homeless man guardedly pulled his bowl in. Pikachu followed the bowl and took a small step forward too. Homeless man: ¡°¡­..¡± Pikachu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xu Fangfang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Was Gu Yanshu so badly driven by his hunger that he decided to rob the homeless man?! Xu Fangfang hastily straightened her short Kumamoto Bear legs and ran over, before whispering softly, ¡°Xiaoshu, there¡¯s no need to stoop to this!¡± No need to stoop to what? Pikachu slowly turned around and tilted his head, the two red blush patches exhibiting his puzzlement, looking extremely adorable. Xu Fangfang was dazzled by the moe sight, but logic returned to her, ¡°Robbery is against the law!¡± Pikachu then slowly turned his head back, then reached his fat hand out and pointed towards the sound system and said to the homeless man, ¡°Can I borrow this? I¡¯ll pay for it.¡± Homeless man: ¡°?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been observing you. You receive about twenty dollars an hour. I¡¯m going to give you thirty, can you rent this to me for an hour?¡± The homeless man counted with his fingers, three is larger than two, this deal is worth it! However¡­ are these people stupid? Why were they so eager to give him money? The homeless man remained guarded against this ultra-yellow electric mouse who stood in front of him. However, Shen Xunyuan had already reacted, ¡°Xiaoshu, are you thinking of busking?¡± Pikachu shook his gigantic head and nodded, his two ears trembling cutely. Xu Fangfang immediately understood what he was doing. Previously, the production crew had stated that they could earn money, so long as they didn¡¯t use their identities as celebrities. Now that they were in mascot outfits, they couldn¡¯t be considered celebrities anymore, hence the money they earned would belong to them. This way, with Gu Yanshu¡¯s singing prowess and her acting cute, they would earn more money than giving flyers out. Kumamoto Bear and Pikachu came to a consensus, agreeing on a business collaboration of the cross-cultural interaction of the cutest moe creatures. Xu Fangfang quickly took out her remaining thirty dollars from her pocket and handed it over to the homeless man, ¡°Brother, can you help us? Please?¡± She said it in her man-killing loli voice. The homeless man immediately fell. Pikachu and Kumamoto Bear spent a large sum of money and successfully purchased a microphone and sound system. From all angles, the microphone and speaker were of terrible quality, but it was better than having none at all. Moreover, the sound system came with some melodies of a few songs, so it was better than having to sing without music. The two gigantic heads huddled together and studied the system for a long time, and finally understood how to use it. Pikachu¡¯s two hands managed to deliver the mike to below his mouth with much difficulty. Fortunately, it was enough for the sound to travel out. After Kumamoto Bear had finished acting cute and stating their intention, bringing together a group of audience, she walked towards the song selection system and scratched her head, ¡°Pikachu, the songs here are quite old, do you know how to sing them?¡± Pikachu nodded, ¡°I probably know all of them.¡± Kumamoto Bear was pleased. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just casually pick a song.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± So long as the songs weren¡¯t unpopular indie songs, he would have heard them. Moreover, music that was meant to be played on the streets were probably the ones that people were familiar with. However, when the accompaniment sounded, Gu Yanshu was stunned for a moment. Why did it have to be this song? However, his surprise was barely noticeable ¨C immediately, in a low and unhurried voice, he started singing. ¡°On the small riverbank by the field, the snowball bush has bloomed. There¡¯s a youth that I really love, but I can¡¯t confess to him, unable to say all the words in my heart¡­¡± [2] The crisp and clean voice was like snow falling on a desolate mountain. The voice was plain, but it broke through the noisy crowds, tricking into the hearts of the passersby. A number of people immediately looked up. Shen Jue, who had nothing to do in the florist and was just fiddling with the roses, also looked across from the racks filled with fresh flowers. Amidst the crowds, he saw a Pikachu carrying a cute smile that would never fade singing a sad song. Shen Jue recalled the first time he heard Gu Yanshu singing this song. The vocal teacher had commented that his thoughts were too clean, so he couldn¡¯t bring out the emotions within the song. Yet, the last time he heard Gu Yanshu sing the same song, the vocal teacher said that his sorrow was too strong, so he couldn¡¯t bring out the restraint in the song. If the vocal teacher was to hear this now, Shen Jue felt that he would surely say that the song was well-balanced. This was because there were many things in this world that could only be understood after a long period of time. As for whether the price paid to understand this was worth it was something that only the singer himself would know. The song ended, and the plaza was unbelievably silent. Until Pikachu made a slow bow, then warm applause burst out. Xu Fangfang snapped out of her daze, took the small bowl and went forward to the crowd, saying auspicious words. The woman who stood at the front of the crowd was already quite old, but one could still see some semblance of her youth with her blond hair and blue eyes. Her hands were shaking as she took out her wallet and pulled out a note from within. In a slightly accented Chinese, she said, ¡°You sang very well. Do you know how to sing this in Russian?¡± A paid dedication. What an attractive deal. It would be acceptable if the request was to sing it in English. To sing it in Russian, wasn¡¯t it making it difficult for him? Xu Fangfang could almost see the silver ingots flying past her eyes, and felt extremely sad. However, she heard a clear and gentle voice from behind her, ¡°Are you from Russia?¡± The old lady nodded, ¡°Yes. My lover often sang this song for me in the past.¡± For a person her age, the words ¡°in the past¡± had already concealed countless life and death separations. Gu Yanshu saw the old lady¡¯s longing and lonely expression through the gap of his headgear, then said in his low and gentle voice, ¡°I know how to, but I probably can¡¯t sing it as well as your lover did.¡± After he said that, the familiar melody sounded again. This time, there was no bad quality accompaniment. The unique and clear voice sounded even more clean and gentle, the light sorrow peacefully permeating every single speck of the air, delicate yet dominant. Even if it was an entirely foreign language, people seemed to still be able to understand the song. Everyone was immersed in it. The song finally ended again. The old lady¡¯s eyes seemed to be teary, but a graceful smile appeared at the corners of her lips, ¡°You sang it really well. I was reminded of my lover and my hometown.¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t care about how clumsy or heavy the mascot outfit was, as he bowed to the old lady, ¡°I hope that someday, you¡¯ll still get to meet the person you want to.¡± The old lady nodded, ¡°I will. You will too, so please, don¡¯t be sad.¡± Gu Yanshu froze, then replied, ¡°Yes.¡± The old lady didn¡¯t stay on for long and staggered away. With this precedence, the rest of the audience quickly followed suit. The number of dedications increased. There were some who paid five dollars, ten dollars, twenty dollars. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t mind the amount paid, and sang all of the songs. Despite a lack of accompaniment, his own voice was strong and resonant. In the open outdoor environment, the distinctive cool tone sounded even more special. There were many people who busked. There were even more who could sing well. But there were few that could sing this well, and had such a wide knowledge of songs. With the cute Pikachu exterior but a soulful and clean voice, the stark contrast garnered even more interest by the crowds. Thus, more and more people gathered, and many were filming on their phones, posting it continuously on all social media sites. The money in Xu Fangfang¡¯s bowl was also almost overflowing. However, once the crowds increased, problems also arose. When Xu Fangfang took the bowl and went forward once more, she heard a few girls huddled together and whispering, ¡°That sounds like Gu Yanshu.¡± Xu Fangfang immediately waved her hands, ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t.¡± A young lady said doubtfully, ¡°It does. Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice is so special, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard someone who sounds so similar.¡± Xu Fangfang insisted, ¡°It¡¯s the microphone. He doesn¡¯t sound like that in person.¡± The young ladies were even more suspicious, ¡°Are there such good quality microphones? Also, your voice sounds familiar.¡± Xu Fangfang feigned ignorance, ¡°Good quality? Familiar?¡± ¡°Fami¡­ Oh! Look over there! Isn¡¯t that a camera?¡± Xu Fangfang struggled to reply, ¡°That¡¯s not a cam¡­¡± ¡°Ahhhh!! That must be Gu Yanshu!!! Sisters, let¡¯s go!!!¡± Xu Fangfang gave up salvaging the situation. They couldn¡¯t hide it anymore! Immediately, she turned around and shouted, ¡°Gu Yanshu! Run! You¡¯ve been recognised!¡± Gu Yanshu was still stuck in the mascot outfit and concentrating on his songs when he suddenly heard this scream. It was as though he had returned to the scenes of fans madly chasing him down. Instinctively, he turned around and ran, trying to exhibit the usual athleticism he used to hide from sasaeng fans and the media. However, he forgot that right now he wasn¡¯t the same man with long limbs. The enormous headgear blocked out his line of vision, Pikachu¡¯s short legs limited his strides, and his natural sense of bad direction caused him to knock into many things once he turned around. Even though he thought that he was sprinting away in a dashing manner, he couldn¡¯t change the fact that he looked like a pair of short legs that was running straight ahead and knocking things down. Seeing that he was about to be captured by the fans, Pikachu¡¯s stubby hands was suddenly caught in a firm grip, and a deep chuckle could be heard near his ears. ¡°Silly, you¡¯ve gone the wrong way. This way.¡± [1] Follow PDs are producer-directors who follow celebrities around for filming in variety shows, but usually film in secret, or behind the celebrities. [2] The song is the Chinese version of a Russian song, named ¡°The Snowball Bush in Bloom¡±. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXlN0vdo6QU CH 9 You are the fool. Gu Yanshu shrugged Shen Jue¡¯s arm away, but failed. He had a sudden realization ¨C he didn¡¯t actually have to run. If the fans recognised him, he simply could have signed a few autographs and took some photos. It might not have been that serious. However, with Shen Jue¡¯s appearance, they were forced to escape. Otherwise, if the fans recognised both of them together, a real carnage might happen. Hence, unwilling as he was, he could only be led away by Shen Jue. His hand was dragged tightly, and he stumbled as he ran. Behind him were hysteric cries of ¡°Gu Yanshu, come back!!!¡±, causing Gu Yanshu to have an illusion for a moment that he was eloping. But very quickly, he rejected this analogy. Between Shen Jue and him, could this be considered elopement? This could at most be described as ¡°raiding the execution grounds¡±. Wwavblaxsal, kv oyp y byrbygyae ayke sq vbl lmlnwvksd taswdep. Gqvla yzz, vbl xypnsv pwkv oyp blyhu yde pvwqqu, ps kv oyp alyzzu ekqqknwzv vs awd kd kv. Bdela vbl Vkjynbw blyetlya, Vkjynbw¡¯p qynl oyp yzalyeu lmvalxlzu pwzzld. Tl eked¡¯v jdso bso bl bye tsvvld kdhszhle okvb vbkp wdqsavwdyvl clkdt dyxle Fbld Kwl. Xd vbl svbla byde, vbl wdqsavwdyvl clkdt eked¡¯v qllz vbyv bl oyp wdqsavwdyvl yv yzz. Tl pvkzz vbswtbv sq bkxplzq yp y blas pyhkdt vbl nwvkl, zssjkdt lmvalxlzu eypbkdt. Bpkdt bkp zldtvbu zltp yde zyatl cwkze, Fbld Kwl qsanlqwzzu nwv y czsseu ryvb swv sq vbl nasoe, alewnkdt vball pvlrp kdvs vos, vbld eayttle Qw Zydpbk yde pbshle bkx kdvs vbl rasewnvksd nalo¡¯p dyddu nya. Tsolhla, obld pvwqqkdt bkx kd, Vkjynbw¡¯p qktwal oyp vss aswde, bldnl bl oyp pvwnj yv vbl essa. Fbld Kwl kdpvkdnvkhlzu rwpble vbl xypnsv¡¯p cwvv, pbshkdt bkx kd. Mbld, kd sdl pvakel, bl pvlrrle kdvs vbl nya, vbld nzsple vbl essa yde kdpvawnvle vbl eakhla, ¡°Fka, zlv¡¯p ts.¡± Mbl nya kxxlekyvlzu prle sqq vsoyaep vbl hkzzy. The entire set of movements were completed smoothly, as though he didn¡¯t do anything to offend that cute Pikachu. However, when he turned around, he noticed that Pikachu was glaring at him furiously. He could feel the anger emanating even through the headgear. Shen Jue could already imagine Gu Yanshu¡¯s current expression. He chuckled internally as he recalled the feeling when he touched Gu Yanshu¡¯s butt. Yet, he acted innocently, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you expecting me to help you remove the headgear?¡± Who needs your help? Gu Yanshu was cool about it, ¡°No.¡± He shot his arms up, thinking of pulling the headgear off by himself. However, when he was raising his hands, they were suddenly stuck mid-air, and he couldn¡¯t reach higher no matter how hard he tried. That movement lasted for three seconds. The air seemed to have stilled, and the situation became extremely awkward. Shen Jue couldn¡¯t control himself, so he burst out laughing. He then curled his finger, ¡°Come over here.¡± Gu Yanshu refused. Putting his hands down, he pursed his lips and turned to look outside the window, wanting to pretend that nothing had happened. Yet, he underestimated the size of the headgear. When he cocked his head sideways, he knocked head-on onto the car window, causing a loud bang. The car shook three times and the sound was extremely tragic. Shen Jue could faintly hear a sharp exhalation of breath. He felt sorry, yet tickled. He sat up straight, then reached out, ¡°Alright. Cut it out. Move here a little, I¡¯ll help you remove it.¡± Gu Yanshu wanted to dodge, but Shen Jue didn¡¯t give him the chance to. He relied on his arms¡¯ length and strength and easily removed the headgear, revealing a pretty and small head that was soaked in sweat. Because the cool dark brown hair was flattened for a long time, it drooped limply, covering half his eye, causing his entire aura to soften quite a little. It was just that his expression appeared almost murderous. Shen Jue raised a brow, ¡°Is this how you look at your saviour?¡± ¡°Did I need your saving?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s tone was even moodier than his face. ¡°¡­..¡± Sure. Something like turning one¡¯s back on others, if Gu Yanshu claimed to the second, no one would dare to claim that they were first. Shen Jue simply raised the headgear and threatened, ¡°Then shall I put it back on for you?¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t speak. He tilted his head first, then turned his entire body around, leaving Shen Jue with a plump but indifferent back view. Shen Jue looked at it, then suddenly chuckled. He felt that the butt-touching incident before that really wasn¡¯t his fault. After all, this was such a round and yellow rat. Who could tell the difference between its butt and its waist? Under those desperate times, what was wrong with him using some strength against the part that appeared the softest? That said, with such a thick mascot outfit, the butt wasn¡¯t even his real butt. Must he really be that petty about it? Furthermore, last night, when someone proactively threw himself into his arms, he had remained a gentleman, and didn¡¯t take advantage of him at all. Now that he was treated as an asshole, no matter how he thought about it, he had lost out. Hence, he decided to claim that advantage at night. However, someone appeared determined to sleep in separate beds. Shen Jue deliberated in his mind, then asked leisurely, ¡°Why did you suddenly think of busking without any reason?¡± Gu Yanshu retorted coldly, ¡°Why else would I do it?¡± ¡°To earn money?¡± ¡°Otherwise, would I do it for art?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the money then?¡± ¡°The money¡­¡­.¡± Gu Yanshu suddenly froze. Right, where¡¯s the money? The money was with Xu Fangfang. And where was Xu Fangfang?? Gu Yanshu turned back, but the train station had vanished out of sight. They seemed to have accidentally abandoned Xu Fangfang. When the workers carried Xu Fangfang back, she was about to collapse from exhaustion. Wearing the Kumamoto bear outfit, she lay sprawled on her back, feeling like there¡¯s no more meaning to life. The follow PD who accompanied her explained, ¡°After the both of you left, the fans recognised Xu Fangfang. Because they didn¡¯t manage to catch Xiao Shu, so they grabbed Fangfang for pictures and autographs one by one. There were too many people, hence she¡¯s exhausted.¡± Gu Yanshu poured a glass of warm water and passed it to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Xu Fangfang pushed her body up with much difficulty. She took the cup and gulped the contents down in one breath, then wiped her mouth, ¡°It¡¯s alright! It¡¯s good that Teacher Shen and you ran off. Otherwise, none of us would be able to walk out of that plaza alive today.¡± Anyway, so long as the couple that I ship is fine, my sacrifice is nothing. Xu Fangfang lay back on the floor, feeling satisfied. After a while, she thought about something else, then added, ¡°However, there were two fans today who were especially fanatical. They wouldn¡¯t listen to anything we said, and they almost managed to tail us all the way back here. Xiao Shu, you¡¯ve got to be careful the next time you go out. Also, the money¡¯s here. Count it, see how much there is.¡± As she said that, she pulled out a large bunch of scattered change from her small pocket. Gu Yanshu didi a rough count. They sang for about two hours, and with the additional pay from handing out flyers, there was a total of three hundred and sixty-eight dollars and twenty cents. He counted a hundred and eighty-five dollars, then handed it over to Xu Fangfang. Xu Fangfang hastily waved her arms, ¡°I can¡¯t accept so much. It was you who did all the singing, I didn¡¯t contribute much at all.¡± ¡°You paid for the sound system rental, and you also collected all the money for us. In the end, you were also the one who helped to block the fans. Moreover, didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to buy flowers for Sister Shuang?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice was calm, his tone light, but he somehow sounded logical. Xu Fangfang pondered for a moment. He was right. Gu Yanshu was probably feeling embarrassed now. If she didn¡¯t accept the money, he would probably feel bad. Furthermore, a family shouldn¡¯t communicate in two languages [1]. She¡¯ll accept the money first, and when he was short of money in future, she could then take it out again. Between a hunk and a beauty, there was no need for such superficial courtesy. Hence, she didn¡¯t bother to reject it again. She took the money and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to take a shower and rest for a bit, while we wait for Teacher Sheng and the others to return.¡± Saying this, she then stood up clumsily, and wobbled up to the second floor. ¡°Ohhh.. I¡¯ve been cooped up in this for an entire day, I¡¯ve become so sticky.¡± Gu Yanshu also prepared to return to the third floor to shower and change. As he recalled the chill after showering last night, he turned around and reached his hand out towards Shen Jue, who was lying down on the sofa and playing with his phone. Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± Gu Yanshu went straight to the point. ¡°Money.¡± ¡°What money?¡± Gu Yanshu remained patient, ¡°The money you earned from the florist. Twenty is enough.¡± The heater would cost two hundred dollars. After splitting the money with Xu Fangfang, he only had a hundred and eighty-three dollars and twenty cents. He was still a little short. Yet, Shen Jue seemed to not understand, ¡°Why should I give you my money?¡± Gu Yanshu brought out the last of his patience, as he said calmly, ¡°To pay for the heater.¡± ¡°Whoever said that I wanted the heater on?¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m allergic to heaters?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Gu Yanshu looked at Shen Jue¡¯s striking face. He placed his thumb over his index finger and pressed it down hard, causing a crisp ¡°crack¡± sound. Initially, he wanted to fight this peacefully, but three days without a beating, the child has now started tearing the roof apart [2]. [1] Means that a family shouldn¡¯t be overly polite or courteous with one another. [2] Another way of saying ¡°spare the rod, spoil the child¡±. CH 10 Allergic to heaters. Was that something that anyone on earth would say? Shen Jue seemed to also realise how ridiculous the excuse he concocted was. He continued to smile lazily, ¡°I was joking. Don¡¯t take it seriously. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t keep a secret stash. Whatever¡¯s mine is yours. You can decide how you want to use it.¡± He sounded like a ¡°man of three virtues¡± [1]. Yet, Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t appear grateful at all. He coldly took the twenty dollars from Shen Jue¡¯s hands, then passed him three dollars and twenty cents, ¡°Yours is yours, mine is mine. Just take care of yourself, stop being frivolous.¡± After saying that, he slapped the two hundred dollars down in front of the production crew, then went straight upstairs. He didn¡¯t bother to say anything else to Shen Jue. Mbkp vurl sq pvayktbv twu oyp pkxrzu qwzz sq scpnldkvklp, yde oswze dlhla pyu yduvbkdt rasrla. Tl oswze dlhla nsdpkela obyv svblap oswze qllz obld bl pyke vbspl osaep, yde oyp sdzu plzq-ycpsacle kd bkp vlypkdt. Tl oyp vawzu y nsxrzlvl flaj. G q*njkdt flaj obs qzkavle okvb lhlausdl cwv eked¡¯v oydv vs vyjl alprsdpkckzkvu. Ekvb y cydt, Qw Zydpbw nzsple vbl essa. Ebld Fbld Kwl blyae vbl cydt yp bl zyu kd vbl zkhkdt assx, bkp caso aspl, bkp lmralppksd nsdqwple. Ebyv bye bl esdl vs sqqlde vbyv xyd ytykd? Ju vbl vkxl Qw Zydpbw nyxl swv sq vbl pbsola, bkp ydtla vsoyaep Fbld Kwl bye pwcpkele y zkvvzl. The phone by his bed lit up. He wiped the excess water droplets off his hair, then checked his phone. The caller was Fang Yuan. He casually pulled a sweater on, then walked towards the balcony, ¡°Hello.¡± On the other end of the phone was Fang Yuan¡¯s anxious voice, ¡°Xiao Shu, is the production crew not feeding you? Why do you have to busk?¡± The passersby had probably filmed and posted videos of Gu Yanshu online, and the videos had been seen by Fang Yuan. He replied softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Yuan was skeptical. ¡°Anyway, you can let me know if you lack anything, I¡¯ll try to find some way to secretly send it over to you. Oh, and that person today was Shen Jue right? Why was he wearing your clothes? Didn¡¯t I ask you to stay far, far away from him?¡± Gu Yanshu turned back and looked at the two beds in the room. He didn¡¯t have the heart to tell Fang Yuan that he was already so far apart that they were sleeping in the same bed. Changing the topic, he asked, ¡°There must be another reason for your call right?¡± ¡°Oh, right. I almost forgot about it. The production side is asking us if we are going to continue with our adaptation of ¡°Imprison¡±.¡± Initially, the adaptation of ¡°Imprison¡± was for tonight¡¯s ¡°The Strongest Stage¡± performance. Now that he didn¡¯t need to attend, there was naturally no need for the remake. Yet, Gu Yanshu replied, ¡°Continue with it.¡± Fang Yuan was stumped. ¡°But the production department said that they have started working on new songs for Chen Ran a week ago, so they don¡¯t have time for ours¡­¡± That meant that Zhang Nan had already decided to let Chen Ran participate in ¡°The Strongest Stage¡± since a week ago, and because of this, Zhang Nan had even interrupted the progress of his own songs. And the reason why Zhang Nan hadn¡¯t told him even now, was so that he could use Gu Yanshu as a bargaining chip when negotiating with the programme team. Once negotiations concluded, Zhang Nan would then feign innocence, and use the opportunity to kick Gu Yanshu out of the picture. There weren¡¯t any feelings left, it was just what it was. Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t angry at all, and he raised his head slightly. At this moment, a blast of icy wind blew over, and as a result, the decayed vine from a wisteria tree broke with a crack, and the remaining few leaves fell off, floating around as it was carried away by the wind and quickly disappeared without a trace. He said nonchalantly, ¡±It¡¯s fine. Just send me the demo, I¡¯ll work on it myself.¡± ¡°But even if you work on it, it might not¡­¡± It might not be used. Gu Yanshu knew what Fang Yuan¡¯s unfinished words were, but he brushed it aside as he said calmly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about anything else. Just send me the demo.¡± After a pause, he added, ¡°Was Chen Ran and Guokong TV¡¯s contract drafted using our earlier contract that covers up to the semi-finals?¡± ¡°Seems like it.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s something else.¡± Gu Yanshu raised a brow, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you want to consider using a Pikachu style for your birthday next month? The fans will certainly love it.¡± Gu Yanshu cut off the call without any hesitation. Fang Yuan¡¯s message soon followed. Fang Yuan: Xiao Shu, I mean it. Consider it. Fang Yuan: [Sharing from Weibo: @Cutiecollection: Ahhh!!! Quick, catch this Pikachu!!! I¡¯m so dead!!! (Video link¡­)] Seeing the word ¡°Pikachu¡±, all Gu Yanshu felt was humiliation. He deleted the message decisively, but his fingers were frozen after standing outside, so they were rather stiff, and the action of deletion accidentally became the clicking of the link. Then, he heard Xu Fangfang yelling at the top of her voice, ¡°Gu Yanshu, run!¡±. Following that was Shen Jue grabbing him as he stumbled towards the nanny car, and finally, when Shen Jue pushed him into the car, the video ended. Gu Yanshu looked at the pair of hands that were pushing Pikachu¡¯s butt and felt murderous. On the other hand, the forums were going over the top. ¡°Oh my! Oh my! I¡¯m going to faint from Pikachu¡¯s moe!¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious about the identity of the man who dragged Pikachu and ran in the end!!! He touched Pikachu¡¯s butt!!! What a bastard!!!¡± ¡°The bastard was wearing a limited edition item that the brand gave to Gege [2]! Currently, only Gege has it in the entire China! So, who is that person! Their relationship is so good that they can wear Gege¡¯s clothes already!¡± ¡°I have to say, from the figure, I can only think of¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s coming, it¡¯s coming, it¡¯s coming again. He¡¯s walking over with Shen Jue.¡± ¡°Someone really can¡¯t change their old habits. Do you really think that Shen Jue posting a Weibo post means that he¡¯s standing up for your idol? That¡¯s just how Shen Jue acts towards someone he dislikes, alright?¡± ¡°You can say all you want. Anyway, if Gu Yanshu is a dog, then Shen Jue must be shit. No one can look down on the other. Anyway, I¡¯m still waiting for @ijusthateguyanshu¡¯s livestream link.¡± ¡°Then again, am I the only one who¡¯s curious as to why Gu Yanshu would be here? Didn¡¯t the promotional account mention that he would be challenging in ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯? Why wasn¡¯t there any rehearsal today?¡± ¡°Do you think promotional accounts can be trusted? Clearly that must be Gu Yanshu¡¯s fans making up rumours. These two years, didn¡¯t he always advertise himself as a singer? He probably wants to get on this show to change his image, but the programme didn¡¯t want him. What a joke!¡± ¡­¡­ Even before he could finish reading all the messages, Gu Yanshu felt his view go dark, and he was wrapped in a down jacket that covered his head. He didn¡¯t even think about it, ¡°Shen Jue, what is your problem?¡± ¡°What is your problem? Just now, you were still making a fuss about turning on the heater, and now, you¡¯re standing at such a windy place dressed so thinly. Are you trying to catch a cold? Also, stop looking at those nonsensical things on Weibo.¡± As Shen Jue said that, he pulled Gu Yanshu¡¯s phone away and locked his screen. Gu Yanshu thought about how he still had Weibo on, and quickly pulled down the jacket. He reached out to grab his phone back, ¡°Give it back.¡± Shen Jue didn¡¯t have the habit of looking at others¡¯ phones, but Gu Yanshu¡¯s reaction now made him curious. Could it be that there were embarrassing things in his phone? Just as he prepared to question Gu Yanshu, the follow PD knocked on the door, ¡°Teacher Shen.¡± Shen Jue turned around. ¡°Your manager has arrived. He asked you to go downstairs.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Just as he said this, Gu Yanshu had snatched his phone back and shoved it into his pocket, then walked expressionlessly back into the room. Shen Jue looked at Gu Yanshu¡¯s back view, his brow raised. Curiosity flashed across his eyes, but he didn¡¯t say anything in the end, as he followed the PD down. Downstairs, four gigantic luggages were rolled in one line, and a short-haired woman wearing shades stood at the door, her arms crossed. The moment she saw Shen Jue, she grabbed him and pulled him to a private corner behind some plants, her tone unfriendly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Shen Jue slowly turned off his mic, ¡°What do you mean, what¡¯s wrong?¡± As Shen Jue¡¯s manager, Xia Meng was extremely familiar with this ancestor¡¯s [3] character. She said unhappily, ¡°Stop pretending in front of me. This sudden act that you put on, was it all for Gu Yanshu?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± A simple word, but without hesitation. Seeing how calm Shen Jue was, Xia Meng felt anger stuck in her chest, as she didn¡¯t know what else to say. After a while, she whispered, ¡°You decided to search for him on a whim. If anything else happens, you¡¯ll be fine, but what will happen to Gu Yanshu? Will he be able to stand it?¡± Shen Jue lowered his gaze, his voice indifferent as he retorted, ¡°Who said I was doing this on a whim? I waited for five years. If I wanted to do this on a whim, I would have done so earlier. Besides, when have you seen me doing something that I¡¯m not confident about?¡± Xia Meng remained silent. ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing. Whether it succeeds or not, I¡¯ll be able to handle it. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Shen Jue said plainly, an unmistakable strength permeating through his voice. ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t harm him.¡± Xia Meng knew that once Shen Jue made up his mind, no one could change it. Hence, she could only sigh, ¡°Then you better be prepared, don¡¯t drag him down. Also, are you going to let the matter of Chen Ran snatching his resources go just like that? Did you like to interfere in the past? Why aren¡¯t you interfering now?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t need me for this.¡± Someone already had the ability to manage such matters himself, so he didn¡¯t need to take matters into his own hands. Shen Jue then recalled the conversation he heard on the balcony. After a pause, he said casually, ¡°However, I don¡¯t mind creating some trouble for the other party.¡± After sending Xia Meng away, Shen Jue started packing his things in the room. On the other hand, Gu Yanshu carried his laptop to the study, launched Pro Tools, then started composing his song. The entire afternoon, they each thought about their own matters, and the afternoon passed relatively peacefully. At close to 8PM, Sheng Ping and Xia Qingqiao carried bento boxes of different sizes and returned home. This time, they were filming a food variety show. With the principle of saving whatever amount of money they could, they told Xu Fangfang before they left in the morning to pass the message to everyone in the villa not to cook, and that they would bring food back from the set. Initially, Xu Fangfang didn¡¯t really believe them, but they actually brought quite a bit of food back. An assortment of dishes filled up an entire coffee table. And in front of the table, the TV was broadcasting ¡°The Strongest Stage¡± live. The group sat on the carpet around the table, the atmosphere extremely leisurely. However Sheng Ping wasn¡¯t satisfied. ¡°It¡¯s a waste that we didn¡¯t bring Teacher Shen this time. Given Teacher Shen¡¯s shamelessness, we would probably even have tomorrow¡¯s lunch settled.¡± Shen Jue lay on the sofa, playing with his phone, not bothering to look up. ¡°An old person like you might not behave like one, but don¡¯t drag me down on this.¡± Sheng Ping didn¡¯t like to speak to someone like him, hence he turned to Gu Yanshu, ¡°Hey, Xiaoshu, do you know that the video of you busking has trended?¡± Gu Yanshu had been so busy the entire afternoon that he really didn¡¯t know about it. Xia Qingqiao didn¡¯t let go of any opportunity to flatter Gu Yanshu, so he immediately took out his tablet and launched the trending list, then handed it over to Gu Yanshu, ¡°There, Brother, see, they¡¯re all complimenting you for your heavenly vocals!¡± No matter how cold Gu Yanshu was, he would still treat people somewhat moderately, with the exception of Shen Jue. Hence, no matter how uninterested he was, he still looked over at where Xia Qingqiao¡¯s finger was pointing at. The fourth phrase on the trend list was, #Gu Yanshu Pikachu busking# Xia Qingqiao clicked on the hashtag. The hot video on Weibo wasn¡¯t the one that Fang Yuan sent that afternoon, but the part where he started singing ¡°The Snowball Bush in Bloom¡±, and included the segment with that old Russian lady. The sound quality had been compressed, so it was significantly worse than the original sound. Yet, the comments were an entire trail of rainbow farts [4]. ¡°What?! Is that really Gu Yanshu? Is he singing live? He¡¯s that good?¡± ¡°Those fluent in Russian have said that his Russian pronunciation is accurate. He¡¯s definitely learned it before.¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu knows Russian? Never heard his fans boast about it before.¡± ¡°My family¡¯s Gege knows how to sing Russian songs, but I don¡¯t know if he knows Russian or not, because I¡¯ve never heard him speak before.¡± ¡°Strong vocal Gu Yanshu! The handsome and good singer Gu Yanshu! The cool sweetie Gu Yanshu! Today¡¯s the day to show our strongest support for Gu Yanshu!¡± ¡°A social media presence who created rumours about joining ¡®The Greatest Stage¡¯ but was snubbed should not say that he¡¯s a strong vocalist. Fans might use rose-tinted glasses to deceive themselves, but passersby are not deaf. This live performance is really so-so.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to gush about an electric mouse? You might as well look forward to Ranran¡¯s performance tonight on ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯.¡± ¡­¡­ When Xia Qingqiao saw the trending list in the afternoon, the comments were all harmonious. He didn¡¯t expect so many inciting posts in such a short while, so he felt somewhat awkward, not knowing how to react. Gu Yanshu felt Xia Qingqiao¡¯s helplessness and pretended not to see these negative comments. He nonchalantly withdrew his gaze, then said gently, ¡°Let¡¯s watch the live broadcast first. Sister Shuang is performing now.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s watch the live broadcast. Come on, Sister Shuang! Sister Shuang is the best!¡± ¡°The Strongest Stage¡± was the country¡¯s first music competition show that was streamed live without musical enhancements and post-production. Thus, the singers who dared to join this competition were all powerful singers, because if their capabilities didn¡¯t match up, they would be publicly condemned. There were all sorts of legendary performances but also accidents, hence the ratings were always high. This time, Jie Shuang was singing an original soft rock song that expressed the independence of women. It was a refreshing change to her style, and her performance was quite good. Up next was her PK opponent. Chen Ran. As the first internet idol appearing on the show, even if he wasn¡¯t extremely popular online, it was enough for the comments on the bullet screen [5] to heat up. ¡°Sweet baby Chen Xiaoran! Beautiful person with a sweet voice Chen Xiaoran! Powerful singer Chen Xiaoran! Ran Ranzi, fighting!¡± ¡°Wow, did the programme that Gu Yanshu wanted fall into Chen Ran¡¯s hands? Does that mean that Chen Ran is really better?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Gu Yanshu boast that he was the best vocalist in the idol world? Yet in the end, he can¡¯t even compare to a rookie?¡± ¡°Who is Chen Ran? Have you heard of him? But if he can come to ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯, he must be relatively skilled. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Chen Ran might be young, but he¡¯s always been focused on singing and dancing. He¡¯s really quite good, looking forward to the Strongest Stage from Ranran.¡± ¡­.. Fans showing off their idol was something really normal. However, to bring someone unrelated into the conversation and intentionally stomping on him, anyone who saw it would feel somewhat uneasy. Xia Qingqiao disliked Chen Ran even when they were trainees. Furthermore, after seeing numerous Chen Ran fans treading on Gu Yanshu, he was so angry that he wanted to speak up for Gu Yanshu. Yet, under the cover of the coffee table, Gu Yanshu calmly stopped him. He realised that they were still filming. Anything he said could possibly be nitpicked. Hence, he could only angrily purse his lips and sit there calmly, wanting to see what sort of tricks Chen Ran would play. On the other hand, Shen Jue lazily leaned on the sofa and played with his phone. He didn¡¯t look at the screen at all, acting as though he wasn¡¯t bothered by the feud between Gu Yanshu and Chen Ran. Gu Yanshu also looked calmly at the large monitor, looking indifferent. On the screen, Chen Ran was wearing a white shirt. His make-up was exquisite; standing under the moonlight backdrop on the stage, he really looked good. The song he chose was also a sweet love song that suited him most. Even though the difficulty level was normal, it was a suitable move, and he probably wouldn¡¯t make too many mistakes. With fans coming in to support and boast about his singing skills in the idol world, there shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. Gu Yanshu felt that Ding Yun really made a painstaking effort in planning for Chen Ran. However, he overestimated Chen Ran¡¯s capabilities. He completely didn¡¯t expect that in the first four stanzas of such a normal song, Chen Ran could go off-key three times. Perhaps he might have been too nervous, but his breathing wasn¡¯t stable, and his endnotes were shaky. His voice even cracked at the end of the song, at the falsetto part. And the falsetto was terrible on the ears. The song ended. The entire living room was silent. Because they didn¡¯t know how to express it. If they had to praise him, they couldn¡¯t do it. If they had to critique him objectively, they would appear too harsh. Yet, by not saying anything was a clear act of mockery, even more so than having said something. The atmosphere became extremely awkward. The awkwardness in the living room was on the brink of stifling. Suddenly, a ¡°bang¡¯ sounded from the sound system, similar to the sound of fireworks. It sounded very celebratory. Following that, everyone saw that the bullet screen was covered by a special comment that shone with the colours of the rainbow, the words bolded. There was only one line in the special comment. ¡°Some people boasted about ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t even compare to an electric mouse.¡± The words were extraordinarily large, almost ten times larger. The colours were vibrant and bedazzling. The entire station reported it, fortune bags were dropped, and countless plus ones, covering the entire screen. The effect was really quite good. Shen Jue nodded satisfactorily. He clicked ¡°buy¡±, getting another one. The system reported: ¡°Congratulations to user @XiaoShenXiaoGuTianShengYiDui [6] for successfully purchasing a pair of fireworks.¡± [1] A man of three virtues is someone who is (1) career-minded (has a stable income), (2) responsible (to his wife and children), and (3) filial (to his family). [2] Gege ¨C older brother, but also one of the affectionate terms that fans use to address their idols. [3] Refers to someone that you have to serve. [4] Chinese slang for ¡°glowing reviews¡±, though sometimes used negatively. [5] Bullet screens ¨C a feature seen commonly on Chinese streaming sites in which comments fly across the screen when a video is playing. [6] ¡°Xiao Shen Xiao Gu Tian Sheng Yi Dui¡± ¨C Literally means: Xiao Shen (Shen Jue) and Xiao Gu (Gu Yanshu) are a match made in heaven. CH 11 Ever since 6G became widespread, there were increasingly more live variety shows broadcasted by the major streaming sites. Thus, Guokong TV introduced an upgraded gift system into the live broadcasting platform. Fans were also very willing to use such means to support their idols. Hence, it wasn¡¯t rare for someone to spend a thousand dollars for a series of fireworks. What was rare, was the taunting content, and an ID that attracted haters. As such, when the comment first appeared on the bullet screen, Gu Yanshu¡¯s fans, Shen Jue¡¯s fans, and ¡°Jue Jue Shu¡± fans immediately started turning on their mics in a furore ¨C who was this idiotic anti-fan posing as a fan! Drag him out! Yet, the idiot was still feeling good about himself, and he continued to diligently play his role as a Renminbi player [1]. Chen Ran¡¯s fans were livid, and they bought a few consecutive rounds of fireworks to push that comment down. In the end, the accusation remained on the screen for less than three seconds, before it was swiftly covered by a flood of densely packed fireworks. Peeved, so they bought it again, then it was covered. This went on over and over again¡­ Fuck! They were broke! Mblu olal lhld xsal rkpple dso. Mblu bye prldv vldp sq vbswpydep sq eszzyap, cwv vbl ldvkal pnalld olal pvkzz qzsyvkdt okvb vbl nsxxldv, ¡°Uyd¡¯v lhld nsxryal vs yd lzlnvakn xswpl.¡± Mbl RP ¡°Dkys Fbld Dkys Qw Mkyd Fbldt Zk Pwk¡± oyp lhld nasodle vbl nssz cyetl sq Fwralxl ARV. Mbl yddswdnlxldv qzsyvle yaswde vbl cwzzlv pnalld, ydtlakdt vbl ydvk-qydp yde vblka nsxryvaksvp ps xwnb vbyv vblka lulp olal ycswv vs rsr swv sq vblka psnjlvp, ulv vblu olal blzrzlpp ytykdpv bkx. Ohlausdl kd vbl zkhkdt assx oyvnble vbl czkdekdt lqqlnvp qasx vbl cwzzlv pnalld, xlljzu alxykdkdt iwklv. Rq kv oyp y nswrzl qsaxle cu altwzya xyzl nlzlcakvklp, lhlausdl oswze zywtb kv sqq. Zlv, yxsdt vbl vos rlsrzl, sdl oyp awxswale vs cl bsxsrbsckn, obkzl vbl svbla oyp sd vbl hlatl sq czyvydvzu pbsokdt bkp ekpzkjl qsa vbl svbla rlapsd. Mbkp pkvwyvksd oyp vawzu iwkvl yojoyae. Rv oyp ps yojoyae vbyv lhlausdl¡¯p vslp olal tskdt vs nzyo swv y vball cleassx yryavxldv sd vbl taswde. Gp vblu nzyole kv swv, vblu pvkzz bye vs plnalvzu scplahl vbl alynvksdp sq vbl nswrzl kd iwlpvksd. Xdl sq vbspl kd iwlpvksd, Dkys Qw, alxykdle kxryppkhl yp wpwyz, yp vbswtb bkp lxsvksdp oswzed¡¯v cl yqqlnvle cu yduvbkdt. The second person, Xiao Shen, lay on the sofa and mindlessly played with his phone. When he felt the strange gazes around him, he absent-mindedly looked up and followed the line of everyone else¡¯s sight. He squinted slightly and stared at the pompous ID floating on the screen, then sighed and cocked his head in Gu Yanshu¡¯s direction, glaring calmly at him. Gu Yanshu was somewhat annoyed by that stare. ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Looks like we¡¯re still a match made in heaven.¡± ¡°Pak ¡ª¡± There was a dreadful snap. That was the sound of the breaking of the chopsticks in Gu Yanshu¡¯s hands. The expression on his face when he turned to look at Shen Jue could only be described as murderous. How fierce. I¡¯m so scared. Shen Jue retracted his gaze in indignation. He continued to toy with his phone, as though he was just casually making a joke just then and didn¡¯t really mean it. Yet, the fireworks war on the screen was tipping in their direction. As the mood became even weirder, Xia Qingqiao made a timely shout, ¡°The voting results are going to be revealed soon! I¡¯m so nervous!¡± ¡°I¡¯m nervous too!¡± Xu Fangfang displayed her acting skills, cooperatively shouting, trying her best to alleviate the situation. Yet, internally she felt that there was nothing to be nervous about. Sister Shuang¡¯s level could completely overpower Chen Ran¡¯s challenge. However, in the next second, the emcee¡¯s voice travelled from the speakers, ¡°Let us congratulate Chen Ran, who¡¯s successful in his challenge!¡± Xu Fangfang: ¡°¡­¡­¡± That was f*cking ridiculous. The bullet screen instantly exploded, and everyone started accusing the production crew for playing dirty. However, Chen Ran¡¯s fans said that since online votes contributed to fifty percent of the final result, this outcome was the result of their voting. Each side had their own views. Xu Fangfang and Xia Qingqiao felt aggrieved and dejected, but because they were still in front of the cameras, they couldn¡¯t show it. Thus, they could only turn back to look at Shen Jue and Gu Yanshu. When they noticed that the pair didn¡¯t seem surprised, their hearts felt even more lost. Fortunately, Sheng Ping was experienced, so he consoled them, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not the elimination around anyway. They¡¯ll still have to collate the votes from the next round. We need to show confidence in Sister Shuang.¡± Xu Fangfang and Xia Qingqiao nodded. Yet, they felt resentful, hence their enthusiasm was lacklustre throughout the rest of the show. When the show ended, they bade one another goodnight, then went back to their rooms to rest. The heating on the third floor was already on, so Gu Yanshu changed into a loose-fitting white t-shirt and flax-coloured joggers. He covered himself with the woolen blanket and snuggled into bed. Shen Jue was showering in the bathroom. As he listened to the water splashes coming from the bathroom, Gu Yanshu took out his phone and started surfing. As expected, the trending list was filled with tags linked to ¡°The Strongest Stage.¡± There were tags purchased by the production crew, and those bought by individual groups. The immortals fought, the world came to watch, as usual, but the top three tags stably belonged to Chen Ran. #Chen Ran Accident# #Chen Ran¡¯s successful challenge# #Chen Ran vs. Electric Mouse# It wasn¡¯t clear if someone was intentionally stirring things up, but coincidentally, the fourth position belonged to the tag, #Gu Yanshu¡¯s Pikachu busking# The caption was deliberately inciteful. Clicking the link, true enough, someone had made a video comparison. On one side was a fan video of Gu Yanshu in the day, wearing his Pikachu mascot outfit and singing ¡°The Snowball Bush in Bloom¡±, with a screenshot of a comment from a Chen Ran fan: ¡°Why should one concede to an electric mouse? All of you¡­. You might as well just look forward to Chen Ran¡¯s ¡°The Strongest Stage¡± performance tonight.¡± On the other side was Chen Ran¡¯s terrible live performance, with the special comment from @XiaoShenXiaoGuTianShengYiDui: ¡°Some people boasted about ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t even compare to an electric mouse.¡± Initially, there were quite a number of bystanders who didn¡¯t understand the reason for those provoking fireworks showers. Now, they finally realised why; it turned out that Chen Ran¡¯s fans needed to be taught a lesson. ¡°The one who started this first is the shameless one. If they went to KY [2] at another idol¡¯s video, then they can¡¯t blame the rich fans of that idol for giving them such a gratifying face slap.¡± ¡°I have to say, there¡¯s a reason why Gu Yanshu is famous. His ability far surpasses Chen Ran by eight hundred streets.¡± ¡°Keke, Gu Yanshu isn¡¯t any good either. The fan ID is so outrageous, the celebrity must be intentionally provoking matters, aren¡¯t they just shameless?¡± ¡®What a joke, how is the fan¡¯s actions the fault of the idol? Does that mean that Gu Yanshu has to check all his fans¡¯ IDs everyday, otherwise it¡¯s his fault and he has overstepped his boundaries?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care whether Gu Yanshu has overstepped his boundaries or not, I¡¯m just concerned about how Chen Ran actually managed to get into ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if he went, but how could he have succeeded in his challenge? He must have some secret relations with someone from the U.N. management! Otherwise, why would his resources be better than Gu Yanshu¡¯s?¡± ¡°Chen Ran, get out of ¡®The Greatest Stage¡¯; Chen Ran, get out of ¡®The Greatest Stage¡¯; Chen Ran, get out of ¡®The Greatest Stage¡¯. We should repeat important matters thrice!¡± ¡­ Gu Yanshu casually slid his fingers over his screen, feeling bored. Actually, Chen Ran¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t as bad as his performance today. When he was competing to debut, his vocals were among the top three amongst his batch. Otherwise, Ding Yun would have never handed this resource over to him. It was just that since Chen Ran debuted two years ago, he had occupied with filming dramas and variety shows, taking on endorsements, and stirring up all sorts of promotional topics. With the exposure and increasing popularity, he didn¡¯t have the time to sit down and improve his industrial abilities, hence his poor performance tonight. Furthermore, the masses had a natural bias against idols, and criticising idols had, to some extent, become a form of political correctness. Hence once a mistake was made, the netizens would seemingly go into a upheaval with their criticism. Gu Yanshu had experienced all of these before, so when he read the comments, he didn¡¯t feel elated at all. Because he had gone through a period where the insults had been hundreds of times worse. If it was him from that time, what type of choice would he make now? The lids of Gu Yanshu¡¯s eyes drooped slightly, as his fingers subconsciously twitched, refreshing the page. Chen Ran had updated his Weibo. ¡°@ChenRan: Had a fever today, and I performed so badly. I¡¯ve let everyone down, I¡¯m truly sorry. But I will surely work harder and show you a better me in the next stage!¡± The attached picture was Chen Ran with an IV drip in hospital. The youth didn¡¯t have any make-up on, and the rims of his eyes were red, making him look extremely likeable. The comments were filled with fans¡¯ consolation and support, and some comments which pitied and protected him. Gu Yanshu felt that Chen Ran had made a rather good choice. When someone knew perfectly well how to make use of the reasons why others liked him, he would forget about the basis for his existence in this world. Or perhaps Chan Ran¡¯s move was correct. In contrast, the decisions he made back then appeared foolish in everyone else¡¯s eyes. After all, if there was a bright path that one could easily tread, why should that person take the dangerous deep abyss and walk out covered in blood? If there wasn¡¯t someone by this side back then, he might not have survived it. If there wasn¡¯t someone¡­¡­ There was someone. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly thought about the low chuckle from Shen Jue back in the living room, ¡°Let¡¯s see if we are truly a match made in heaven.¡± Shen Jue¡¯s vocal range was lower, and his intonation sometimes carried the Beijing accent with it. When he spoke, there was a laziness that was between that of a hedonistic second-generation rich person and that of a mature man. When he chuckled in a gentle voice, one would have the illusion that he was pampered and spoiled by Shen Jue. In the past. Gu Yanshu had been appeased countless times by his smiles and coaxing. Later on, when Gu Yanshu saw him on TV or online, he would always have an undisciplined and arrogant look, carrying an air of arrogance and impatience. Gu Yanshu had almost forgotten about his ability to placate others. So, was that low chuckle just now Shen Jue¡¯s attempt to coax him? Was Shen Jue worried that he might be uncomfortable because of that ID, or worried that he was angry? No matter what, Shen Jue¡¯s reaction made him look like he wasn¡¯t repulsed at all. Furthermore, while that ID might be exaggerated, the user had spent cold, hard cash to protect him. Otherwise, no matter how terrible Chen Ran¡¯s performance was, others might not have thought to praise Gu Yanshu. However, looking at the way the user was splurging, Gu Yanshu wondered if it was some immature young lady who was squandering her parents¡¯ money. As Gu Yanshu thought about it, he clicked on the Weibo search bar, then typed in the username, @XiaoShenXiaoJueTianShengYiDui. True enough, this user existed. He launched the Weibo profile page. The first post was an automated sharing from Guokong TV. ¡°@XiaoShenXiaoGuTianShengYiDui: I gave away a fireworks show on Guokong TV. Everyone, come collect your fortune bags!¡± Gu Yanshu touched the screen with his finger, then scrolled upwards, scrolling past a hundred messages before he noticed another Weibo post. It was posted in the wee hours last night. ¡°@XiaoShenXiaoGuTianShengYiDui: repost//@HarvestMasterLiXiaoRen: Specially curated video for the seventh anniversary of Jue Jue Shu¡¯s debut. BE [3], heartbreaking, cars involved, proceed with caution.¡± Before his mind could process what this line meant, his fingers had already clicked on the video. A line of words appeared on the screen suddenly. ¡°He went to watch his concert¡±/Shen Jue x Gu Yanshu/ To the youths who split up but are still in love¡± Gu Yanshu instinctively wanted to throw away the strange thing playing on his phone. However, he was still too late. The background music had started playing, and the image showed two youths. One was skinny, and had a faint smile on his face. The other was of a larger build, with deep-set eyes. They were wearing identical outfits, standing at the centre of the stage. They were surrounded by a sea of flowers, and all attention was on them. The taller youth then carried the other person beside him and circled the stage once, laughing flamboyantly and wilfully. Subtitles were added to the image. ¡°They debuted on 30th November 2017. At that time, apart from each other, they had nothing.¡± After that, across multiple filters, under the romantic background music, the two men hugged, gazed at each other and smiled, and then they ran hand in hand under the setting sun. Then, they kissed, intertwined with each other, and started taking off each other¡¯s jackets¡­. It seemed as though in the next moment, they were going to fall into bed, and their hands were going to grip the bedsheets tightly. Suddenly, a voice sounded from atop his head, ¡°What are you so engrossed with?¡± Feeling abashed, Gu Yanshu¡¯s hand trembled, and the phone dropped to the floor. He regained his senses, and hastily went to pick his phone up. However, before his fingers could touch the phone case, a soft moan sounded from his speaker. ¡°Brother, be more gentle. It hurts.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± [1] Renminbi (RMB) player refers to someone who spends money to buy upgrades and tools in games/apps. [2] KY ¨C Abbreviation for Japanese term ¡°kuuki ga yomenai¡±, which translates as ¡°unable to read the mood¡±. Refers to inappropriate actions. [3] BE ¨C Internet abbreviation for ¡°bad ending¡±. CH 12.1 The voice was crisp, the tone was controlled, but the endnote seemed to be trembling uncontrollably, appearing somewhat nervous and feeble. The sounds of the rustling of bedsheets and a series of deep and light pants led one¡¯s imagination to run. It was his own voice. Realising this, Gu Yanshu felt a flame coursing through his veins without warning, flowing from his ears to the rest of his body, absorbing all the oxygen in his body, burning till his mind was empty. His entire body was heated up, making him somewhat breathless. He could only rely on his instinct to handle things coldly. He nonchalantly picked up his phone and locked the screen, snuffing the R18 voices and images into the darkness. He then looked at Shen Jue, ¡°I was surfing Weibo. My hand slipped.¡± His tone and expression was equally calm and indifferent. Only a faint blush on his neck, at the area above the collar of his T-shirt, was visible. Under the light, the redness travelled up to the tip of his ears. Appearing beneath the surface of his fair skin, he looked conspicuously alluring. Shen Jue couldn¡¯t resist putting on a playful smile, ¡°It turns out that Teacher Gu likes to surf these types of videos when he¡¯s free.¡± Mbl vos osaep ¡°vblpl vurlp¡± olal pyke kd y eayoz, nalyvkdt yd kdelpnakcyczl ulv yxsaswp qllzkdt. Qw Zydpbw¡¯p lyap aleeldle lhld xsal, cwv bkp vsdl qwavbla nbkzzle. ¡°R pyke kv yzalyeu. R oyp fwpv nypwyzzu pwaqkdt, yde xu byde ynnkeldvyzzu nzknjle sd kv.¡± ¡°R pll¡­¡± Fbld Kwl eayttle vbl zypv osae, vbld dseele okvbswv pyukdt yduvbkdt lzpl. Tl rwpble vbl olv byka sd bkp pbswzela clbkde, vbld vssj y awccla cyde yde nypwyzzu vkle kv kdvs y rsduvykz. Mbld, bl zlydle cynj sdvs vbl clepkel yde pvyavle rzyukdt okvb bkp rbsdl. Rv oyp yp vbswtb bl oypd¡¯v kdvldekdt sd yatwkdt qwavbla. Qw Zydpbw sdzu altyaele kv yp Fbld Kwl qkdyzzu ynvkdt zkjl y altwzya bwxyd. Tl pktble caklqzu, vbld zyu esod, bkp cynj qynkdt Fbld Kwl, yp bl vakle vs ekppkryvl yzz vbl lxcyaayppxldv cu pzllrkdt. Tsolhla, fwpv yp bl nshlale vbl czydjlv shla bkp pbswzela, vbl qyxkzkya cynjtaswde xwpkn aydt qasx clbkde bkx ytykd. ¡°The future us had everything, but there was no more ¡®us¡¯.¡± ¡­¡­ Gu Yanshu¡¯s grip over the blanket suddenly froze. He realised that hoping for that man with the surname Shen to act like a human being was akin to expecting something from a dog. True enough, a minute later, a low voice could be heard, ¡°Brother, be gentle. It hurts.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s knuckles were white from his grip. Following that, a low and seductive coaxing that hadn¡¯t been played just now suddenly sounded, ¡°Be good. Bear with it. Bear with it, and it won¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± Gu Yanshu gritted his shining white teeth so hard that his teeth were almost grounded. He wanted to pretend he didn¡¯t hear anything and force himself to sleep, but Shen Jue¡¯s comment travelled continuously over, ¡°Ha! Turns out that you really pulled my clothes off before?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°And even touched my abs?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°And even kissed my face?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°And even dawdled on my bed, refusing to leave?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°And even¡­¡­¡± Fuck that even. Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He turned around, ¡°Shen Jue, what do you mean?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything.¡± Shen Jue raised his brow as he looked at Gu Yanshu, appearing indifferent, ¡°I was just casually scrolling through Weibo. What¡¯s wrong?¡± How was that casual? It would be strange if he could casually surf and still click on that video. However, thinking back on his previous excuse, he couldn¡¯t expose Shen Jue too, otherwise it would be a resounding faceslap on himself. Gu Yanshu was fuming internally. He wished that he could strangle his self from a few minutes back and the current Shen Jue to death together. There was an extreme layer of frost on his face. ¡°I want to sleep. Stop moving about.¡± Shen Jue replied in a lazy tone, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious. I will finish watching this in a couple of minutes. Tsk! So you used to like hugging me and crying in the past, that pitiful look¡­ Oh? What are you doing?¡± Not only did Shen Jue catch him watching a couple video of them, Shen Jue had even found the original video and watched it in his face while repeating his shady history. Gu Yanshu had never been this embarrassed. Who knew what else there was in the video, and what other shameless things Shen Jue would say. He was shy yet furious, and he couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. He decidedly stood up to snatch Shen Jue¡¯s phone away, to solve the matter with violence. Yet, Shen Jue¡¯s reaction was extremely quick. He immediately pulled his arm back and avoided his attack. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t control his strength, so he slipped and fell directly on top of Shen Jue¡¯s body. The burning body temperature had passed through the thin layer of cloth onto Shen Jue¡¯s lukewarm skin, and his heart uncontrollably itched. Staring at Gu Yanshu¡¯s crimson ears, he chuckled, ¡°Gu Yanshu, tell me the truth. Are you lusting after my body?¡± What lust? How audacious. Gu Yanshu supported himself on the mattress as he tried to stand up, but he accidentally pressed onto Shen Jue¡¯s sleeping robe. The silk cloth was extraordinarily smooth, so he fell back down again. Shen Jue used the opportunity to circle his arm around Gu Yanshu¡¯s waist, showing a protective stance. Gu Yanshu slapped his hand away resolutely, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± He was as fierce as a cat scratching a human. Shen Jue raised his brow, ¡°We have to be reasonable. Who was the one who touched the other person first?¡± Gu Yanshu showed a deadpan face. ¡°If you weren¡¯t looking at those nonsensical things, who would touch you?¡± ¡°Who was the one who started watching those nonsensical things first?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Shen Jue felt that reason was on his end. He then used the chance to secretly take advantage of Gu Yanshu, even though he seemed as though he wasn¡¯t going to let Gu Yanshu off with his lecturing. ¡°Moreover, our actions are upright, what¡¯s wrong with watching a humorous video and joking about it? Do you have to resort to this? Are you that petty?¡± Actions are upright, watching a humorous video, joking about it. It was as though this should be the normal attitude that most male celebrities should have when they were shipped by others. He was the one who had overreacted. Gu Yanshu resumed his frigid tone, ¡°Aren¡¯t you homophobic?¡± Shen Jue retorted, ¡°Then, are you gay?¡± There was a short pause. ¡°No,¡± Gu Yanshu spat, then climbed up from Shen Jue¡¯s body. Shen Jue lazily leaned back onto the bedside. His eyelids were lowered, and the obsidian eyes hid all his emotions. ¡°Then that¡¯s it. However, since you¡¯re not gay, you should stop looking at Weibo users like XiaoShenXiaoGuTianShengYiDui. Otherwise, you¡¯ll blame me again when I start overthinking matters.¡± Xiao Shen Xiao Gu Tian Shen Yi Dui. Who knew where this silly and rich spendthrift had come from? Of all things, this user had even chosen to mimic a BE couple, causing him to be in this sorry state. Gu Yanshu was unfriendly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m going to report this ID now.¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°The user is involved in spreading obscene materials and untruths.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu impassively went back to bed and covered himself with the blanket without looking at Shen Jue anymore. Shen Jue retracted his gaze, then stared at his secondary ID for three seconds. He then relished that delicate feeling when his hand had circled someone¡¯s lean waist and his fingers had touched his skin. He sighed. He wanted to post truly erotic material, but the problem was, he needed to make them first. However, someone¡¯s reaction¡­. No matter what, it seemed more of coyness than fury. Would regular straight men have such a reaction? Shen Jue felt that his decision to brazenly film this show was right. It seemed as though the outcome might be better than what he had imagined. Hence, be it a beating, a scolding, or a report, so be it. So long as one day, he could turn the untruth into the truth. Shen Jue was pleased as he logged out of the account ¡°XiaoShenXiaoGuTianShengYiDui¡±, then turned off the light and said softly, ¡°Goodnight.¡± In the next bed, the arrogant Xiao Gu didn¡¯t reply. In the quiet room, all he could hear was the clear sound of his increasing heartbeat, and even when Shen Jue¡¯s calm and stable breathing could be heard, his pulse didn¡¯t decrease. Gu Yanshu¡¯s back was against Shen Jue, but his mind was filled with that line, ¡°Brother, be gentle. It hurts,¡± and Shen Jue¡¯s ¡°Be good, bear with it. Bear with it and it won¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± Of course, he wouldn¡¯t report that Weibo user. Although he didn¡¯t really understand why there was a need to ship a couple, he felt that everyone had the right to their own fantasies. Moreover, this video wasn¡¯t even erotic, nor was it untrue. Because they had actually said those words before, and did those things before. Back then, the group had just been formed, so the company had filmed a variety show for them. The filming ran almost 24/7, unlike the current show where they could turn off their mics and cover the cameras when they argued, hence quite a number of such ambiguous scenes had been released. That time when he said it hurt was probably during the relapse of his leg injury. Shen Jue would help him apply medicine and do stretches everyday, and when it was really painful, he would act coquettishly in front of Shen Jue. Even though back then, he didn¡¯t feel like he was acting like that. However, hearing this after a few years, the feelings of ambiguity and trust couldn¡¯t be hidden. And in his memory, someone as bad-tempered as Shen Jue could actually be this patient and indulgent, and his tone could even be described as pampering and coaxing. Shen Jue had truly treated him really well in the past. So well that everyone felt that they had already bypassed the friendship between teammates. So well that back then, he developed a desire that he shouldn¡¯t have. Yet, a desire could only remain a desire. Just as Shen Jue said, the reason why he didn¡¯t mind those videos was because he knew that he didn¡¯t like men. As the thoughts ran through his mind, his consciousness became blurry. Gu Yanshu felt someone hugging him from behind. The familiar mixed scent of fir and wormwood enveloped him, together with a familiar body temperature, familiar touch of muscles, as though the scenes in the video spread inch by inch across his body. And then, he plunged into darkness. Amidst the darkness, there was a ray of light that shone upon them, moving closer to them, probing them, and just when the four lips were going to touch, the darkness suddenly turned to light. The entire world was exposed under the glaring light, and he couldn¡¯t see anything else. Next, a heart-wrenching scream from a woman could be heard, and before he could make out what the woman was yelling, Gu Yanshu was suddenly shoved away, falling straight into a deep abyss. That abrupt weightlessness and fear caused him to jolt awake. He sat up abruptly, panting heavily. When he turned around, he saw Shen Jue sleeping soundly in the next bed. He lay flat on the bed, and one leg was bent. The back of his palm covered his face, the shadow converging with the outline of his face at his black fringe. Only a corner of the thin blanket lay loosely on his waist, while the rest of the blanket had slid off the bed and onto the carpet. His sleeping robe was slack, revealing those smooth and beautiful lines on his muscular chest. With the cold moonlight from outside, everything appeared perfect. And he had actually dreamt about being intertwined with this body. Gu Yanshu looked down and buried his head in his palm, before taking a deep breath. He must be crazy. CH 12.2 When Fang Yuan came to pick Gu Yanshu up the next morning, Shen Jue was still asleep. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know why, but he felt that he didn¡¯t sleep as well last night as he did the night before. However, the heater had been turned on and the temperature was just right. He should have had a good night¡¯s rest. Yet, he felt as though he was missing something. However, he didn¡¯t mind it too much, and after he spoke to the crew, he left the villa. The black MPV drove towards UN. When he reached the company, he headed straight for the President¡¯s personal meeting room. Today, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t wear his usual flamboyant outfits. Instead, he was in a dark-coloured suit and woollen coat. Jlnywpl vseyu, vbl rlapsd obs vsze vblx lyazu kd vbl xsadkdt vs nsxl vs vbl sqqknl oyp BL¡¯p Valpkeldv, Zl Nldt. Zl Nldt, Valpkeldv Zl. G qlo ulyap cynj, bl bye ryaynbwvle kdvs BL Yleky yp vbl Aknl-Valpkeldv. Jlnywpl bl oyp vss uswdt, kd bkp voldvklp, xspv rlsrzl olald¡¯v nsdhkdnle sq bkp yckzkvklp. Rd vbl lde, alzukdt sd byaezkdl xlypwalp yde alxshkdt bkp qslp, dsv sdzu eke bl pvyckzkgl bkp rspkvksd, bl bye lhld cydkpble vbl qsaxla Valpkeldv, yde clnyxl ryav sq vbl BL Tlyeiwyavlap. Tldnl, vbl ldvkal nsxrydu csvb alprlnvle yde qlyale bkx. BL Yleky oypd¡¯v vbl xykd rasqkv-xyjkdt nsxrydu kd vbl ldvkal BL Qaswr, ps Zl Nldt eked¡¯v kdvlaqlal vss xwnb okvb vbl cwpkdlpp. Tsolhla, vbkp vkxl obld bl alvwadle vs vbl nswdvau, bl qkapv nyxl swv vs lmnbydtl Ubld Syd okvb Fbld Kwl, vbld rlapsdyzzu pswtbv Ubld Syd yde Qw Zydpbw swv. Mbl oyu bl rzynle kxrsavydnl sd vblpl xyvvlap rwv svblap sd twyae. Wydt Zwyd oyp psxlobyv alpvzlpp. Qw Zydpbw, bsolhla, yrrlyale wdnsdnladle. Tl jdsnjle sd vbl essa voknl. ¡°Vzlypl ldvla.¡± When they pushed the door in, there were already a number of people seated around the meeting table. Zhang Nan, Ding Yun, Chen Ran. At the head of the table was a youth barely the age of thirty. His hair was combed back, and his dressing was impeccable. On his prominent nose bridge sat a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, while the tailored suit fitted his lengthy figure well. An air of conceitedness and extravagance of a prince emanated from him. His facial features were well-defined, similar to Shen Jue¡¯s mixed-blood features, just that compared to Shen Jue¡¯s unbridled wilfulness, what he exhibited was another type of arrogant elitism. There was a fountain pen in his hand, which he tapped the table twice with. ¡°Take a seat.¡± Gu Yanshu sat down across from him. Ye Leng didn¡¯t bother exchanging pleasantries with him. He turned to look at Zhang Nan. ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the topic just now. I don¡¯t have any interest to probe into how Gu Yanshu¡¯s programme became Chen Ran¡¯s. I¡¯m only concerned about the negative impact this matter has brought to the company.¡± Zhang Nan explained, ¡°President Ye, this matter isn¡¯t as bad as you think it is. Chen Ran¡¯s performance was actually not bad.¡± ¡°Not bad?¡± Ye Leng¡¯s liped curled up into a sneer, ¡°If it¡¯s ¡®not bad¡¯, why would the production crew come and demand an explanation from us now? The agreement was to keep him till the semi-finals¡­¡± After a pause, he gave a mocking smile, ¡°And you dared to sign that contract. Why don¡¯t you weigh your own worth first?¡± Zhang Nan explained again, ¡°This was agreed upon with the production crew.¡± ¡°The production crew had originally agreed because Gu Yanshu had the ability. I¡¯m not going to state upfront how things developed to this extent because I¡¯m leaving all of you some face, but don¡¯t act shamelessly in front of me.¡± The arrogance and candidness of the man in power rendered the Zhang Nan trio speechless. Gu Yanshu was seated across from him, but he didn¡¯t appear restrained. Instead, he spoke calmly, ¡°Hence President Ye invited me here today because you want me to replace Chen Ran?¡± He was equally frank. Ye Leng glanced at Gu Yanshu and nodded. ¡°Right now, the production crew intends for Chen Ran to withdraw from the competition, but the company¡¯s image, including the abilities of our artists, will be under scrutiny, hence I need an outstanding celebrity to prove the company¡¯s name. The reaction from your busking video yesterday was very good.¡± ¡°I understand. However, I won¡¯t be a reserve.¡± Gu Yanshu leaned back into his chair, a faint smile on his face. He looked straight back at Ye Leng, his tone calm but firm. From the beginning, he had already expected this. For celebrity-related competitions, in order to pre-empt celebrities¡¯ schedules and make plans for other celebrity invitations, the contracts for celebrities who had a large following or had strong abilities would carry a guarantee for a few episodes. Because the competition was already more than halfway through, and taking into consideration Gu Yanshu¡¯s popularity and abilities, Gu Yanshu and the crew had already agreed back then to keep him till the semi-finals. And when Ding Yun and Zhang Nan snatched this resource away, they had also made us of the chance to continue the contract in this manner. Hence, the current situation was, the audience felt that Chen Ran should be eliminated, but Chen Ran couldn¡¯t be eliminated. However, if they continued to allow Chen Ran to enter the semi-finals, ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± would lose their credibility, and the fans of other participants wouldn¡¯t agree to it too. So, it was a matter of time before they would force Chen Ran to withdraw. And it was a matter of time before the resource returned to him. It was all expected, hence Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t surprised, nor was he planning to help Chen Ran clean up his mess. Ye Leng was intrigued by Gu Yanshu¡¯s attitude. ¡°Tell me, then, what do you intend to do?¡± ¡°Sign the contract that would keep me till the semi-finals. Then there would surely not be a competitor in the next episode.¡± Gu Yanshu went straight to the point. Ye Leng raised his brow, ¡°So what you mean is, you will go in as a challenger, then replace Chen Ran.¡± Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t flustered. He replied plainly, ¡°The replacement might not happen. It would depend on the result.¡± ¡°But the production side might not be willing to fork out two salaries.¡± ¡°The one who loses won¡¯t get a salary.¡± When he said that, Ding Yun and Chen Ran cocked their heads over to look at him. Was he crazy? After all the hard work spent in preparation, not only would one be embarrassed from losing, he also wouldn¡¯t get paid? Was being a celebrity a philanthropic act? Ding Yun wanted to refute that. However, Gu Yanshu looked in her direction, his brown eyes covered in a layer of frost. It was hard to read his emotions, but his frigid tone rang out, ¡°If you¡¯re not willing, I won¡¯t mind it either.¡± Ultimately, given Gu Yanshu¡¯s popularity and resources, he wasn¡¯t lacking a chance like this. Yet, once Chen Ran was forced to withdraw, his chances of taking on singing competitions in future would be ruined. If Ding Yun¡¯s plan this time could be described as almost flawless, then the only problem was, in this industry, beneath all the pretenses, the ones who could truly travel this path stably and for a long time still had to rely on one word ¨C ability. Ding Yun could only swallow her grievances. Right now, the only route to survival was to let Chen Ran defeat Gu Yanshu in the next round of competition. Ding Yun had always been decisive, so she nodded, ¡°Alright.¡± On the other hand, Chen Ran panicked. If he had to compete with Gu Yanshu, wasn¡¯t that a public execution? ¡°Sister Yun¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Ding Yun cut him off coldly, ¡°You were sick the last time, but I believe that your next performance will be very good.¡± And so he would certainly win. Gu Yanshu observed her expression and felt that she was as boring as a clown. He turned his gaze over to Ye Leng, ¡°What does President Ye think?¡± Ye Leng leaned back into his chair, while he placed one hand on top of the other. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s decided then. Meeting dismissed.¡± Zhang Nan was feeling incredibly ashamed, so he quickly ran away. Gu Yanshu had also stood up leisurely. However, Ye Leng spoke nonchalantly, ¡°Gu Yanshu, stay back for a while.¡± Fang Yuan, who was preparing to bring Gu Yanshu to have breakfast, turned and looked at Gu Yanshu, unease and worry on his face. Gu Yanshu nodded slightly towards him, comforting him. He struggled internally, but eventually left the room. Gu Yanshu sat back down in his original seat and met Ye Leng¡¯s impassive gaze across the table. Ye Leng swirled the fountain pen in his hand. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not going to recontract?¡± His voice didn¡¯t betray his emotions. Gu Yanshu answered plainly, ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Leng nodded, ¡°I¡¯m not surprised.¡± The first time he met Gu Yanshu, he knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to retain this child. He was too pretty looking, but there was a sense of heartlessness that emanated from his bones. Normally, when one was called a pretty boy, it would be because he looked somewhat androgynous. However, Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t like that. His features reflected someone who was a proud loner, his jawline was defined, his frontal bone was protruding, his nose bridge was slim, and the outline of his face was so fine that he appeared cold. Yet, he had a pair of phoenix eyes; the corners of his eyes were curved upwards, his eyelids deep, as though a drop of cinnabar had fallen onto a bland porcelain piece, resulting in an overbearing magnificence. However, the colour of his eyes were light. His emotions were usually restrained, so when he stood there in his cold deposition, that fickleness and stubbornness within his bones would burst past his skin and surface. He was like the sharp edge of a knife without its blade, astere and sharp, yet could not be used by others. Back then, Ye Leng had already known that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep this kid, but he still signed him on. He stared at Gu Yanshu, interest flashing across his eyes. ¡°I heard that you rejected playing a couple with Chen Ran.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I think that someone who doesn¡¯t respect his sexual orientation and feelings is not qualified to become an idol.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s reply was calm yet resolute. However, Ye Leng appeared as though he didn¡¯t hear the answer that he wanted. He tapped the fountain pen on the table again, before an unfathomable smile appeared on his face, ¡°Aren¡¯t there other reasons aside from this? For example¡­¡± He paused, before saying the next two words clearly yet teasingly. ¡°Shen Jue.¡± CH 13 Gu Yanshu could tell from Ye Leng¡¯s tone and expression that he didn¡¯t mean any harm. He was just probing. Such probing didn¡¯t repulse Gu Yanshu; conversely, he would instinctively set up his defences. He replied swiftly yet calmly, ¡°Indeed, Shen Jue¡¯s part of the reason too.¡± When Ye Leng heard this answer, he tapped his fingers twice, showing that his interest was piqued. Advertisements Gu Yanshu explained, ¡°Before, the couple rumours with Shen Jue created so much negative impact. Till now, the impact of these rumours haven¡¯t fully cleared up, so I don¡¯t think that repeating this folly is the right choice to make.¡± The business-like attitude caused a faint smile to appear between Ye Leng¡¯s eyes. It wasn¡¯t admiration, nor was it satisfaction. It was some kind of pleasure gained from watching the misfortune of others. ¡°R pll. Rv yrrlyap vbyv usw byhl y qklanl ldxkvu vsoyaep Fbld Kwl? Fs kv nyd¡¯v cl vbyv usw¡¯al wdbyrru vbyv R alrzynle Fbld Kwl okvb Ubld Syd, kp vbyv aktbv?¡± Qw Zydpbw nsdvkdwle vs alrzu iwknjzu, ¡°Ls. Mlynbla Fbld yde R byhld¡¯v xlv kd xydu ulyap. Mblal¡¯p ds rakhyvl ldxkvu. El yal fwpv altwzya nszzlytwlp, ps vblal¡¯p ds ydkxspkvu sa wdbyrrkdlpp vs prlyj sq.¡± Sltwzya nszzlytwlp. Zl Nldt rsdelale shla vblpl vos osaep, cwv vbl pyvkpqynvksd qasx vbkp xkpqsavwdl pllxle vs byhl kdnalyple. Mbl nsadlap sq bkp zkrp nwazle wr, ¡°Mbyv¡¯p tsse. Xaktkdyzzu, R oyp osaakle vbyv Fbld Kwl yde usw xktbv cl yv zsttlablyep, cwv dso R nyd cl yv lypl. Gqvla yzz, vbl nsxrydu byp elnkele vs lpvyczkpb y zsdt-vlax osajkdt alzyvksdpbkr okvb Fbld Kwl¡¯p pvweks. Mblalqsal, obld przkvvkdt psxl alpswanlp, R nyd¡¯v nsdpkela uswa okpblp. R bsrl vbyv usw wdelapvyde vbkp.¡± ¡°R wdelapvyde.¡± Mos pkxrzl osaep, dlkvbla scpliwkswp dsa pwrlankzkswp. Zl Nldt zkjle vbl rlanlrvkhldlpp vbyv Qw Zydpbw pbsole. Fsxlvkxlp, vbl sdlp obs olal olzz-zkjle olal dsv vbspl obs rzlyple lhlausdl, cwv vbl sdlp obs olal kdvlzzktldv yde elnkpkhl. Rv oyp lypkla vs nsxxwdknyvl okvb vblx, yde vblu oswzed¡¯v pzkr wr. Xqvldvkxlp, vblu xktbv lhld cakdt psxl pwarakplp. He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. I¡¯ll add one more point. Because you¡¯re not intending to recontract with us, and the production department would always consider the artists who are collaborating for the long run, hence you¡¯ll have to complete the next song for ¡®The Greatest Stage¡¯ on your own.¡± Advertisements ¡°That¡¯s not a problem.¡± How efficient. Ye Leng had never met a celebrity who was as trouble-free as Gu Yanshu. ¡°It¡¯s really a waste that you aren¡¯t willing to recontract.¡± ¡°President Ye thinks too highly of me.¡± Gu Yanshu knew that Ye Leng had finished what he wanted to say, hence he looked up and said plainly, ¡°Can I ask President Ye a question?¡± Ye Leng raised a brow, ¡°Sure.¡± Gu Yanshu looked straight at him, his tone solemn, ¡°Why did President Ye sign me on back then?¡± When YOUNG disbanded that year, the entire team had been embroiled in all sorts of negative scandals, including plagiarism, being kept men, suspected bed pictures, as well as contractual issues with their former management company. Not only had their popularity hit rock bottom, the entire Internet had mocked them, and the members even had to bear huge debts. It could be said that they were really at the end of the road. Later on, it was only when the capital¡¯s Shen family stepped out that they barely managed to clarify the scandals and calmed the storm. The members also managed to regain their freedom, and they all split up. Some retired from the industry, some signed on with other companies and continued as celebrities, while Shen Jue went on to establish his own studio. Relying on his education from the movie institute and the resources he obtained from the old Beijing social circles, he was cast as the lead actor in his first movie, a blockbuster produced by a famous director, and won the Best Rookie Award in that year¡¯s international A Awards. Advertisements From then on, his career was smooth sailing, and his popularity shot up. The rich in the Beijing circle addressed him as ¡°Young Master Shen¡±, while the celebrities in the entertainment industry respectfully addressed him as ¡°Teacher Shen¡±. Even though arrogance was written on his face, his perfect acting skills and good looks gave him continued success in his projects and ensured his popularity remained high. Hence, apart from the occasional criticism from the media about his excessively savage speeches and actions, there wasn¡¯t much mentioned about him. Gu Yanshu was the exact opposite. Back then, because he couldn¡¯t afford his tuition fees, he had to give up on enrollment into a music school, and chose to debut early. Thus, he didn¡¯t have an education background to rely on. His original song was embroiled in a plagiarism scandal, photoshopped pictures of him were widespread, and even if the matter was clarified, it left an indelible mark on him, and he remained the topic of gossip. Sometimes, companies would be interested in his skills and looks and want to sign him, but they would request for him to take the ¡°black-red path¡± [1], which was entirely against his original aspirations. Thus, when the group disbanded, Gu Yanshu, who was still in his teens, decided to disappear completely from everyone¡¯s view. He took the last of his savings, returned to school and took his college exams, putting his dreams on hold. Until one day, Ye Leng brought Fang Yuan and appeared suddenly, asking if he was willing to sign with UN Media. UN was one of the top media companies in the country, and they had everything he needed. At that time, Gu Yanshu still had an obsession in his heart, hence he agreed. From then on, Fang Yuan managed him for five years. Advertisements He wasn¡¯t a manager with the best resources, neither was he intelligent or cunning enough. His abilities weren¡¯t the most outstanding either, but his temper was extraordinarily good, and he was meticulous and reliable. He could tolerate Gu Yanshu¡¯s detached and sharp behaviour, deal with all aspects of Gu Yanshu¡¯s life, and allow him to feel at ease and relaxed when he was feeling tense or when he wasn¡¯t in tip-top condition. It was as though Fang Yuan was tailored for him. Previously, Gu Yanshu assumed that this was due to his good luck. However, after the events over the past two days, he had to reimagine the answer again. And so, he was waiting for Ye Leng¡¯s answer. Yet, Ye Leng simply twirled the fountain pen in his hand, smiling indifferently, ¡°Because you¡¯re fated to be popular, and can help me make money.¡± There was no hesitation, and his tone was lazy and contented. Gu Yanshu could tell that he wasn¡¯t telling lies. He didn¡¯t probe further. He stood up to leave. When he left the room, Fang Yuan quickly ran up to him and asked nervously, ¡°Did President Ye make things difficult for you because of the recontract?¡± Gu Yanshu replied nonchalantly, ¡°President Ye isn¡¯t someone like that.¡± Advertisements Fang Yuan could tell that he wasn¡¯t in a good mood, so he didn¡¯t press the issue. He changed the topic, ¡°Shall I bring you out for breakfast, then send you back?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The black nanny car stopped beside a breakfast cafe. Fang Yuan got ready to leave the car. Gu Yanshu stopped him, ¡°Buy seven portions. I¡¯ll bring the rest back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible.¡± Fang Yuan was in a spot, ¡°When I picked you up, the Director had made it clear that I can¡¯t give you money, nor can I allow you to bring food back.¡± Looks like Sheng Ping and Xia Qingqiao¡¯s previous plan to bring food back had infuriated the production team, and they learned from the experience. Gu Yanshu was prepared to relent. Fang Yuan gave him a friendly reminder, ¡°However, it won¡¯t be a problem if you hide one portion in your coat.¡± Gu Yanshu rejected immediately, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± He didn¡¯t like his clothes to carry a food smell. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Shen Jue was awoken by Ye Leng¡¯s call. Lying on the rattan chair on the balcony, Shen Jue¡¯s legs were up on the table. His eyes were half-closed, as he heard the teasing tone on the other end of the line, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t bully your little baby. As for you ¨C why are you busying yourself all the time? In his heart, you¡¯re simply a regular colleague now.¡± He emphasized the words ¡°regular colleague¡±. His words clearly implied how he took delight in Shen Jue¡¯s misfortune. However, Shen Jue didn¡¯t mind. He replied lazily, ¡°Even so, he¡¯s still my little baby.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find this disgusting?¡± ¡°Only you will find it disgusting.¡± Shen Jue obviously didn¡¯t care about his dignity. He shifted into a comfortable position, ¡°When I get together with him, I¡¯ll surely share imperial-quality dog food [2] with you in bulk.¡± ¡°Scram!¡± Ye Leng sneered, ¡°That¡¯s if you can even successfully woo him.¡± Shen Jue¡¯s finger tapped on the rattan armrest, not saying a word. Ye Leng asked, ¡°But¡­ do you intend to continue keeping him in the dark?¡± ¡°Yes, for now.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that he¡¯ll hate you?¡± ¡°There are certain things that have to be taken slowly. It¡¯s better for him to hate me than to think that he¡¯s in my debt.¡± Shen Jue¡¯s voice was relaxed, but his attitude was firm. Ye Leng didn¡¯t persuade him further, and simply asked, ¡°Since you like him so much, why did you hide from him for so many years?¡± Why indeed? Shen Jue lay back on the rattan chair, then slowly opened his eyes and looked at the clouds that were hanging lowly across the horizon, as he said lightly, ¡°Brother, he¡¯s different from us.¡± They were supported in everything they did, but Gu Yanshu was alone in this world, without any support. He had fought his way out, and never had it easy. Hence, he couldn¡¯t afford to be wilful. When Ye Leng heard this, he suddenly recalled Shen Jue¡¯s bloodshot eyes when he looked for him a few years back and said those words. He said, ¡°Brother, when you like someone, all you wish is for him to have a safe and happy life.¡± Ye Leng stopped his teasing, ¡°Then why are you provoking him now?¡± After he said this, there were two knocks. Someone was knocking on the balcony¡¯s French windows. Shen Jue gripped his phone and turned back. Gu Yanshu was on the other side of the windows. He was wearing a pure white down jacket, making his skin appear even fairer. The fringe that he carelessly combed dropped naturally and obediently, alleviating the coldness between his brows. His lips were slightly pursed, and his pretty face was tense. When Gu Yanshu saw Shen Jue turning back, he raised the bag of breakfast in his hand. There was still some remnant smoke, warming up the cold winter morning. Shen Jue looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile, as he subconsciously rubbed his throat, ¡°Because I feel that in this safe and happy life, there might still be a place for me.¡± In the past, he felt that this was his one-sided desire, but he later discovered that it might not be one-sided. No matter how remote the possibility was, it was sufficient if he could taste a small bit of sweetness. As he thought about it, he didn¡¯t bother about waiting for the other party to reply before he hung up the call. He stood up, opened the French windows, then looked at Gu Yanshu, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Gu Yanshu shoved the bag of breakfast into his arms. Shen Jue received the bag and stared at it for a while. It was what he liked. ¡°Did you bring me breakfast?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Yanshu went to take his laptop, ¡°Everyone has a share.¡± That¡¯s fine. So long as he wasn¡¯t intentionally left out. Shen Jue¡¯s expectations weren¡¯t high. He nodded with satisfaction, then opened the bag and took out the coffee and croissant before slowly walking downstairs, intending to get the voice director to help him attach the mic. Yet, he just walked down when he spotted Xu Fangfang sporting a nest on her head and keeping herself busy in the kitchen. He asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Making breakfast.¡± Xu Fangfang turned around and saw the coffee and croissant in Shen Jue¡¯s hands, then asked in a surprised voice, ¡°Has Teacher Shen eaten?¡± Shen Jue was struck with a sudden realisation. Someone had been a complete liar. Immediately, his mood improved. He leisurely sat down in the dining room, revealing a smile and joyful gaze, ¡°Gu Yanshu got it for me.¡± He was good-looking, his voice was low and masculine, and when he smiled, the deep and long corners of his eyes would narrow slightly. He drawled when he spoke, appearing extremely languid and attractive. He was the standard female killer. However, when Xu Fangfang heard his words, she stood in a daze for three seconds, the metal ladle in her hand. Then she turned around silently, and cooked a packet of Wanchai Ferry [3]. Forget it, you can bend [4] all you want.. [1] Black-red path ¨C refers to a strategy when one would rely on black (negative) news to attract the public¡¯s attention or criticism, and from there, gain popularity (×ßºì ¨C literally translates as ¡°walking down the red path¡±, which means to become popular). [2] Dog food ¨C public displays of affection. [3] A brand of frozen dumplings. [4] Bend ¨C turn homosexual. CH 14.1 Ten minutes later, Xu Fangfang sported a nest on her head as she carried a bowl of dumplings that were cooked till they were oddly shaped, and started inhaling them. Shen Jue sat across from her, playing with his phone on one hand, while pretending to hold his coffee cup with his other. His fingers would tap the cup occasionally, and beside it was a freshly baked croissant. The logo on the bag clearly indicated that the price of the breakfast was way out of this poor villa¡¯s financial abilities. The contrast was extremely strange. Jue Shuang, who had just come downstairs, had also raised a brow in doubt. Shen Jue took a sip of his coffee leisurely, then smiled gloriously at her, ¡°Gu Yanshu got this for me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Kkl Fbwydt iwklvzu pyv esod clpkel Dw Wydtqydt, vbld bwxczu pnssrle y csoz sq Eydnbyk Wlaau. Moldvu xkdwvlp zyvla, Dky Ckdtikys nyxl esod ealpple kd ekdspywa-rakdv ryfyxyp, yrrlyakdt pzllru-lule. Fbl zssjle yv vbl ewxrzkdtp yde nsqqll sd vbl vyczl kd y eygl. Xdnl ytykd, Fbld Kwl vssj y pkr sq vbl nsqqll yde pxkzle tzsakswpzu, ¡°Qw Zydpbw tsv vbkp qsa xl.¡± ¡°?¡± Jlqsal Dky Ckdtikys nswze alynv, bl oyp rwzzle esod vs pkv cu Dw Wydtqydt. Mbkavu xkdwvlp zyvla, Fbldt Vkdt nyxl esod dlyvzu ealpple, bkp tygl nyzx, yde eked¡¯v pyu yduvbkdt. Zlv, Fbld Kwl pbsole yd liwyzzu tzsakswp pxkzl, ¡°Qw Zydpbw cswtbv vbkp qsa xl.¡± Fbldt Vkdt: ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Did I even ask you? Thirty minutes and five seconds later, Gu Yanshu came down with a foul expression on his face. Shen Jue couldn¡¯t show that glorious smile anymore. He took a sip of the coffee and explained nonchalantly, ¡°I was the one who asked Gu Yanshu to get it for me.¡± Everyone else: ¡°¡­¡­¡± They were feeling numb. Gu Yanshu glared at Shen Jue coldly. Then, he turned towards the four regular colleagues who were inhaling their dumplings and explained, ¡°I could only bring one portion back this morning.¡± The regular colleagues nodded their heads in unison, ¡°We understand.¡± Gu Yanshu added, ¡°I¡¯ll bring for all of you next time.¡± The regular colleagues shook their heads frantically, ¡°There¡¯s no need, no need.¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shen Jue suspiciously took another sip of coffee and even smacked his lips, ¡°It¡¯s sweet.¡± Why would an Americano without sugar or milk be sweet? Gu Yanshu felt that he had to prove that he wasn¡¯t partial towards Shen Jue, so he reiterated, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely bring your share next time.¡± Before the regular colleagues could shake their heads frantically again, Cao Dan had already taken out his loudhailer and shouted furiously, ¡°Next time?! What next time?! All of you are really disrespectful towards the directors!¡± Oh¡­ There were still the directors¡­ The group then recalled that last night, they seemed to have agreed that they wouldn¡¯t sneak food in. Cao Dan looked at the six indifferent expressions and snorted angrily, ¡°From today onwards, all food and drinks in the cohabitation house must be purchased with the money provided by the production crew! Bringing in food from outside is prohibited! If anyone violates this rule! And is discovered! Fifty dollars of living expenses will be deducted!¡± Gu Yanshu expressed calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t even have fifty dollars for you to deduct.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Cao Dan was extremely resentful of their attitude, ¡°All of you! You are so passive in your work! A reality show is a variety show. You have to present your true selves! Won¡¯t your fans be disappointed if they saw all of you acting like this?¡± As though he heard a joke, Shen Jue sniggered, ¡°How is this a reality show? And you¡¯re still asking me to show my true self?¡± His tone was full of ridicule. Cao Dan was still being self-righteous, ¡°Firstly, there¡¯s no script, secondly, there¡¯s no character set-up, how is this not a reality show? How are we not allowing you to be yourselves?¡± ¡°Because the real me is¡­¡± Shen Jue paused, then continued lightly, ¡°Rich.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Very rich.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Even if I don¡¯t move an inch, I¡¯ll still be able to have a lot of money.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Damn, there was no refuting this. Cao Dan suddenly felt that he might get a stroke soon. Pressing his own philtrum to save his own life, he gave up this useless communication with the ruffian. Instead, he went directly to cue the programme, ¡°Alright, so long as you are happy. Eating or drinking well, that¡¯s your freedom, but you have to fulfill the requirements of the guests.¡± ¡°Guests?¡± Even the eternally good-tempered person Sheng Ping couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He waved the dumpling that didn¡¯t even have any chilli oil, ¡°Look at us, do we look like we are a wealthy family who is able to host guests?¡± Cao Dan ignored all the mocking and grievances, and continued his monologue. ¡°From today onwards, there will be guests coming over occasionally to stay with us. The members in the house have to complete all the requests that the guest raised during this period. The guest will rate every member when he or she leaves. Members whose feedback are good will be given a hundred dollars as a prize allowance, those who receive moderate feedback will obtain fifty dollars, while the ones whose reviews are bad will have fifty dollars of their allowance reduced.¡± As he said that, an idea seemed to have struck him, and he thought of a solution. He added, ¡°Also, from today onwards, the fines system will take in overdrafts. That means that fines can cause your living allowances to go sub-zero, and the money from your part-time jobs will be used to fill that amount before any more money will reach your hands.¡± ¡°What if the guest wants to enjoy the Manhan Quanxi [1]?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your own problem.¡± ¡°What if we are really so broke that we can¡¯t even afford to eat?¡± ¡°Based on scientific investigations, humans would have to fast for seven days before their organs would slowly start to fail.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡¯ Cao Dan was finally satisfied. He smiled cheekily, ¡°The first guest will appear this afternoon. By the way, these are his requests.¡± Sheng Ping took the list and read it. Squirrel fish, beef brisket with tomatoes, sweet and sour pork tenderloin. These were dishes that lay in the spectrum of simple yet pompous, homemade dishes of intermediate difficulty that he could at least still handle. Sheng Ping nodded, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s a guest from the North who likes sweet and sour flavours. Alright, we¡¯ll first see if we have enough money at hand.¡± After paying for the heaters and purchasing daily necessities, every room didn¡¯t have much money left. Adding the leftover money from yesterday¡¯s busking, which amounted to over a hundred dollars, they could only put together over four hundred dollars. To survive more than a month with just four hundred dollars was impossible, no matter what. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s a need to serve this guest well, so that all of us can try to get good reviews. With six hundred dollars more, we can at least live more comfortably.¡± Just as Sheng Ping said this, his phone rang. He looked down at his phone, then walked to the balcony. He returned quickly, ¡°There¡¯s a director who¡¯s looking urgently for me to discuss some matters. I have to attend this meeting, so I¡¯ll have to rely on all of you to receive the guest today.¡± He then looked at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Xiao Shu, you can speak Russian right?¡± Gu Yanshu paused for a moment before nodding his head, ¡°Yes, I know a little.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Just now, Director Qin Fan suddenly mentioned the video from your busking yesterday. He requested for me to ask you if you have any interest in singing for an OST, it seems like it¡¯s Russian. He didn¡¯t say anything else though, but if you are interested, I¡¯ll speak to you again when I return tonight.¡± Director Qin Fan was a renowned director who had received quite a number of international awards. To be able to sing in a song in his movie¡¯s OST was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an idol singer like Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu nodded simply, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble Teacher Sheng then.¡± From a side, Xia Qingqiao said enviously, ¡°How could a casual busking effort by Brother Shu result in a director inviting him to sing in an OST? If I knew this earlier, I would have gone to busk too.¡± Shen Jue reminded him mercilessly, ¡°Can you sing to such standards?¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Can you speak Russian?¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Are your fans able to recognise you through that thick mascot outfit?¡± Xia Qingqiao: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Seeing that the child was about to cry, Gu Yanshu glared at Shen Jue before consoling Xia Qingqiao, ¡°You¡¯re only seventeen. There¡¯s no hurry.¡± ¡°Oh right, your Brother Yanshu had already won the Best Rookie Singer award when he was seventeen.¡± Shen Jue finished up his coffee leisurely. Xia Qingqiao was heartbroken. Sheng Peng added another blow with a straight-laced expression, ¡°That¡¯s why opportunities are left for people who are well-prepared. It may seem a casual coincidence to you, but the person could have already worked hard for ten years. Hence, Xiao Xia, you should just lose weight first.¡± Xiao Xia wailed as he pushed the rice bowl in his hand far away. Gu Yanshu pushed the bowl back to him, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to them. You¡¯re still growing, so you have to eat more. You just have to practice harder after you eat.¡± Xia Qingqiao was beyond grateful, ¡°Boohoo, only Brother Yanshu treats me best. I love Brother Yanshu forever!¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t reply, but he also didn¡¯t coldly put a distance between them. Shen Jue sat on one side watching the pair acting all intimate, while his hand started turning the coffee cup in his hand mindlessly. He thought about this small thing Gu Yanshu ¨C how could he treat others gently, but was always so fierce towards him? So, Gu Yanshu probably still hates him. Shen Jue tapped the coffee cup, his gaze lowered. CH 14.2 Breakfast was over. Sheng Ping had already left. The two ladies stayed at home to clean the house, while the rest of them went out shopping. In order to avoid drawing attention to themselves, the ones going out tried to dress simply, and all of them put on masks. Shen Jue¡¯s figure and temperament was conspicuous, hence in order to disguise his looks, he even changed into an extremely loose-fitting ankle-length down jacket, and put on a baseball cap to hide his locks. The stifling temperament of a superstar and the hormonal feel of a mature man was reduced, and instead, there was an increased youthfulness in him. He pushed the trolley and walked in the front leisurely. Xia Qingqiao couldn¡¯t resist complimenting him, ¡°Teacher Shen, once you dress like this, you look like you are the same age as Brother Yanshu.¡± Qw Zydpbw, obs oyp nwaaldvzu nbsspkdt psxl rasewnvp: ¡°¡­¡± Tsolhla, Fbld Kwl bye yzalyeu vwadle bkp blye cynj yde oyp pvyakdt nszezu yv Dky Ckdtikys, ¡°Pslp vbyv xlyd vbyv usw saktkdyzzu vbswtbv ol olal qasx vos ekqqlaldv tldlayvksdp?¡± Dky Ckdtikys alrzkle vkxkezu, ¡°Rpdv¡­ Rpd¡¯v¡­ Rpd¡¯v vbyv ps?¡± Fbld Kwl¡¯p tygl nbkzzle qwavbla, ¡°R¡¯x sdzu vos sa vball ulyap szela vbyd bkx.¡± Dky Ckdtikys¡¯p lulp valxczle. Tsolhla, yp bl vbswtbv ycswv kv qwavbla, kv eke xyjl pldpl. Jsvb sq vblx elcwvle yv vbl pyxl vkxl, ps vblka ytlp oswze cl pkxkzya. Ysalshla, Fbld Kwl oyp tsse-zssjkdt, vbl jkde obs zssjle qypbksdyczl ulv qzyxcsuydv, bldnl kv pwalzu oypd¡¯v clnywpl bl zssjle sze. Zlv, obu eke bl pwcnsdpnkswpzu vbkdj vbyv Qw Zydpbw oyp xwnb uswdtla vbyd Fbld Kwl? Dky Ckdtikys qlzv ayvbla nsdqzknvle. In the end, the only answer he could manage was that Gu Yanshu always exuded a distinctive lonesome youthfulness. As Xia Qingqiao pondered further, he felt that he was being rude to Shen Jue back then, hence he prepared to apologise to the latter. Unexpectedly, Gu Yanshu spoke up, ¡°Xiao Xia¡¯s right though.¡± Shen Jue diverted his gaze to Gu Yanshu and raised his brow. Gu Yanshu chose the ingredients and asked plainly, ¡°How old are you?¡± Shen Jue replied, ¡°Twenty-seven.¡± ¡°What if you round the number up?¡± ¡°Thirty.¡± ¡°How old am I?¡± ¡°Twenty-four.¡± ¡°Which rounds up to?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°There you go. Between us, there¡¯s a ten-year age gap, so what¡¯s wrong with what Xiao Xia said?¡± Gu Yanshu took the leek that he chose into the trolley, then matched Shen Jue¡¯s gaze, justifiably calm. Shen Jue was so livid that he laughed. But he couldn¡¯t bear to do anything to Gu Yanshu. He could only nod, ¡°Alright, this makes sense. After all, you also address me as your elder brother.¡± ¡°Who addressed you that way?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s tone immediately chilled. Shen Jue cocked his head to the side, ¡°Didn¡¯t you use to call me that?¡± Gu Yanshu pursed his lips, choosing to remain silent. It was this strange and awkward silence once again. Xia Qingqiao felt as though they were going to start a fight in the next second. He quickly picked up a box of tomatoes and changed the topic, ¡°That, er, Brother. Didn¡¯t today¡¯s guest ask to have beef brisket with tomatoes? Can we use these?¡± As he said this, he recalled something suddenly, and felt conflicted. ¡°Oh, I recall that Brother Yanshu seems to dislike tomatoes.¡± Just as his words ended. Shen Jue turned his head and looked at Xia Qingqiao, ¡°When did he say that he didn¡¯t like eating tomatoes?¡± ¡°On the first night. We were having hotpot then. I was going to put in the tomatoes, but Brother Yanshu didn¡¯t like it, so I placed it back in the kitchen.¡± Xia Qingqiao was really innocent. Shen Jue looked down and chucked, then looked at Gu Yanshu again, ¡°When did you start disliking tomatoes?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s expression stilled, ¡°Last year.¡± ¡°Ohh.¡± Shen Jue nodded thoughtfully, ¡°That¡¯s such a coincidence. I don¡¯t like eating tomatoes too.¡± ¡°Eh? Brother, you don¡¯t like tomatoes too? Oh, I remember now! That day during the lie detector test, you said that you were allergic to tomatoes. Oh my! Brother Yanshu and you are really too compatible!¡± Xia Qingqiao came from a wealthy family, and he was young, so he was simple minded. He had a one-track mind, so he didn¡¯t think of other possibilities. When he said this, he only felt that he was mediating the animosity between the two, and he completely didn¡¯t see anything wrong with his words. Shen Jue chuckled hoarsely, ¡°Yup, definitely compatible.¡± Just as he said this, there was a loud crash. He turned back to look. Gu Yanshu had placed several items into the trolley, but his tone was frigid, ¡°You both can purchase the food items here. I¡¯ll go buy other things, it¡¯s more efficient.¡± He then turned and walked off briskly. His back view was a close-up shot of unhappiness. Xia Qingqiao blinked innocently. He scratched his head, feeling somewhat uneasy, ¡°Teacher Shen, is Brother Yanshu unhappy? Did I say something wrong just now?¡± Shen Jue patted his shoulder, ¡°No, you said everything that should be said. Stay here and choose the vegetables, I¡¯ll go over to take a look.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Gu Yanshu had turned and walked off. Walked off briskly. His expression was sullen, and an angry fire was burning inside him. He felt that his anger was unexplainable. He was always someone who could control his emotions very well. Perhaps he was innately insipid. Even when he was dealing with Chen Ran and Ding Yun, he didn¡¯t even show an ounce of anger. Yet, in just a span of two days, he had so many emotional fluctuations because of Shen Jue. Furthermore, he had already thought of keeping his distance from Shen Jue, so that their paths wouldn¡¯t cross. Yet, subconsciously, he could always do some inexplicable actions, and after doing so, he would even be exposed in front of Shen Jue, making him appear as though he cared a lot about Shen Jue. However, the other party seemed to stake it all into his stead, with a smile, and even said things that would make one livid, yet feel soft in his heart that he couldn¡¯t bear to do so. It felt like a game. The other party was an experienced and cunning hunter, waiting for his bait to bite, while he was that foolish little fox who stepped into every single trap. He felt dismayed. This dismay, together with the aggrieved feelings over the past five years, had subconsciously became some type of inevitable chemical reaction, a special material filled within his chest that was easily flammable, always on the verge of explosion. All it required was a spark. Gu Yanshu hated the feeling of losing control. Thus, he decided to stay far away from Shen Jue, otherwise he might unknowingly fall into a sugar-coated trap. As Gu Yanshu thought about all these, he had already walked to the entrance of the supermarket. He was preparing to get another trolley when he heard a whisper from behind him, ¡°That looks like Gu Yanshu. Shall we go up and take a look?¡± The director had repeatedly warned them that the details of the show couldn¡¯t be revealed. Gu Yanshu could only continue to walk towards the entrance, and he pulled down his cap at the same time. He quickened his footsteps, trying to lose the people behind him. However, those people continued to follow him closely. Gu Yanshu had, on countless occasions, experienced the tailing by sasaengs and the paparazzi. He really hated this feeling, but he couldn¡¯t tell if the other party was ill-intentioned. After all, if it was an ordinary fan, he couldn¡¯t appear too cold either. Hence, he could only choose to continue walking briskly. The footsteps behind also increased their pace. If this continued, he wouldn¡¯t be able to shake that person off. Gu Yanshu lowered his head and walked quickly, as he tried to think of a way out. He quickly turned at a bend, trying to use this blindspot to stall for some time while he thought of his escape route. However, before he could even think about it, when he walked past a narrow lane, he was pulled at the wrist. Caught off guard, he fell into a warm embrace. It all happened within a second. He felt the other party pressing him downwards, then wrapped him up rightly in a loose-fitting coat and looked down, positioning himself as though they were a couple kissing. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know how to react. It was pitch black in front of him. The familiar Fou d¡¯Absinthe fragrance enveloped his nose. The strong and steady heartbeat that belonged to another man could be heard, and above his head, the continued and fervent breathing was provoking his breaths. His senses were limitlessly widened, as though every cell was immersed in the other party¡¯s possessive protection. He could even feel it when the other party¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple rolled up and down seductively at the area near his lips. A low voice followed. ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ve hidden you safely.¡± [1] Refers to the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, a type of banquet developed during the Qing dynasty. Combining elements of Manchurian and Han Chinese cooking styles, the banquet was said to consist of 300 dishes and the banquet would take place over 3 days. CH 15.1 I¡¯ve hidden you safely. Even though Gu Yanshu knew what the other person meant was that others couldn¡¯t see him anymore, he still sensed a limp and painful feeling in his heart, as though it was kicked without warning. It was aching so badly, yet it also felt immensely comforting. He wanted to push Shen Jue away, but strangely enough, he felt that he couldn¡¯t move. He simply leaned quietly against the wall, enveloped by Shen Jue¡¯s coat, enjoying in the darkness the familiar body heat and scent. Fou d¡¯Absinthe. Fervent love for absinthe. When Gu Yanshu and Shen Jue had just gone their separate ways, Gu Yanshu had, on many nights, recalled this scent. It was so bad that he couldn¡¯t sleep at night, and he suffered from insomnia. Hence, he went around to every single fragrance counter in Beijing, yet he didn¡¯t manage to find this sour, bitter, spicy, and yet addictive scent. Rv oyp sdzu vos ulyap zyvla vbyv bl ekpnshlale vbl rlaqwxl¡¯p dyxl cu nbydnl. Gv vbyv vkxl, bl qlzv vbyv bl bye yzalyeu shlansxl bkp yeeknvksd vs vbkp pnldv, yde bl osdelale obu psxlsdl oswze lhla byhl y qlahldv zshl qsa ycpkdvbl. Nyvla, bl alnyzzle vbyv vbl dyxl oyp alyz. Mbl alypsd obu Ayd Qstb oyp scplpple okvb ycpkdvbl oyp rascyczu kvp byzzwnkdyvksd lqqlnvp nswze nywpl sdl¡¯p pldplp vs cl blktbvldle vs vbl rskdv sq lwrbsaky, yde nswze lhld clnsxl yeeknvle vs vbkp. Mbyv oswze yzps lmrzykd obu aktbv dso, bl oyp qllzkdt calyvbzlpp. Tkp rwzpl oyp iwknj, yde bkp cseu oyp blyvkdt wr, yp vbswtb bl oyp y czsnj sq knl vbyv oyp pweeldzu vbasod kdvs y csdqkal, blzrzlppzu pvawttzkdt. Tl blyae vbl pswde sq qssvpvlrp. Mbld, Fbld Kwl, obs oyp pvkzz nshlakdt bkx, aykple bkp nbkd wr yde vwadle bkp blye vs y pkel. Mblal oyp y vkdu tyr clvolld vblx, yde obld Qw Zydpbw zssjle wr, bl nswze pll vbl ayu sq zktbv vbyv tyhl bkx y nzlya yde pbyar hklo sq Fbld Kwl¡¯p dlnjzkdl. Tkp Geyx¡¯p yrrzl oyp aszzkdt wr yde esod yp bl ypjle kd yd kaakvyvle hsknl, ¡°Tyhld¡¯v usw plld nswrzlp eyvkdt?¡± Fbld Kwl oyp y hlau tsse ynvsa, yde bl nswze nbydtl vbl vsdl sq bkp hsknl iwkvl lypkzu. That gangster-like voice sounded authentic enough, and the bill of his cap and the face mask had perfectly covered his face. That close to 1.9m height and the broad coat had completely enveloped Gu Yanshu within. Through the narrow shadow, Shen Jue looked the part of a young hoodlum who was pressing his little lover against the wall for a kiss. When the two young ladies following them saw this scene, they didn¡¯t suspect anything. Blushing, they hastily walked off, but they were still whispering and discussing as they left. A couple of words that they say fell into Gu Yanshu¡¯s ears, causing his ear to heat up. He pushed Shen Jue away, his voice void of any warmth, ¡°You can let me go now.¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t gone far. What if they turned back?¡± Shen Jue said it in a just and self-righteous tone, but inside, his intentions were purely selfish. Gu Yanshu was very skinny, but he wasn¡¯t the scrawny type. Yet, there was a right amount of pitiful frailness when he was in Shen Jue¡¯s embrace, and there was also a mild fragrance emitting from his body. Shen Jue simply wanted to legitimately hug him for a while longer. However, Shen Jue barely had three seconds of proper hugging when his thigh was bumped hard by Gu Yanshu¡¯s knee in a quick, accurate and steady blow. Shen Jue sucked in a cold breath of air from the pain. Yet, Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t soften his stance. He shoved Shen Jue aside, then spat out two words coldly, ¡°Thank you.¡± He was really heartless. Shen Jue was about to educate someone about the virtue of being grateful when his gaze unwittingly swept across someone¡¯s crimson little ears and the flash of pink on his neck that was peeking out from his collar. Immediately, he felt that the knock on his thigh didn¡¯t hurt anymore. Concealing that urge to smile, Shen Jue replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine, there¡¯s no need to thank me. But why are your ears red?¡± The reply continued to be frigid, ¡°The coat was too warm.¡± The tips of his ears turned another shade redder. Shen Jue couldn¡¯t resist it anymore, and the corners of his lips curled up in a smile. Gu Yanshu was immediately infuriated. Just as he was about to turn around and walk off, ignoring the other man, the follow PD and VJ arrived. The expression of Wang Yang, the PD, wasn¡¯t too good. ¡°The both of you didn¡¯t get discovered, did you?¡± Gu Yanshu had regained his calm demeanour, ¡°No.¡± Wang Yang¡¯s expression brightened up. ¡°That¡¯s good. Just now, we saw two people acting sneakily, and they were carrying cameras. We thought they were strange, but we didn¡¯t have any evidence. If you both weren¡¯t discovered, then let¡¯s go. Xiao Xia has already paid the bill, and we are meeting at the underground carpark.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s answer was calm, but actually, he didn¡¯t even hear a word that Wang Yang said. He only heard that they could leave, so he pulled down his cap and walked briskly out, trying to leave Shen Jue and those uncontrollable thoughts at the back of his mind. Shen Jue observed Gu Yanshu¡¯s back view as the latter escaped in a panic. He then controlled his smile, as he cocked his head to the side and whispered to Wang Yang, ¡°Broadcasting that part just now could stir up quite a bit of controversy, so it shouldn¡¯t be included.¡± Shen Jue was supported by the largest investor. Wang Yang quickly agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± And then, he meticulously marked it down onto the script supervisor¡¯s book. When they reached the neighbourhood, there seemed to be someone squatting by the north gate, where they usually entered and exited from. The car made a smooth turn and made another round before it entered by the south gate. Gu Yanshu was feigning sleep in the backseat, so he didn¡¯t notice anything. Once they returned to the villa, they placed all the big and small bags on the table. Xia Qingqiao¡¯s expression was gloomy. ¡°After buying all these, we are now bankrupt.¡± Not only were they bankrupt, but when they were paying the bill, they were five dollars short, and he had to trade a candy box that he always had on him with a five year old girl for the money. He felt ashamed as he recalled that moment. Xu Fangfang consoled him, ¡°That¡¯s alright, all these staples can last us for three or four days. If we can serve our guest well today, won¡¯t we get more money?¡± Xia Qingqiao nodded, then looked earnestly at Xu Fangfang, ¡°But Teacher Sheng is not around today. Who will do the cooking?¡± Xu Fangfang: ¡°¡­¡­.¡± She only knew how to cook frozen dumplings and instant noodles. The dyo then turned their gazes to Jie Shuang, who had just finished her make-up. Jie Shuang raised both her hands up, ¡°I know how to fry tomatoes with egg, and egg with tomatoes. ¡°¡­¡­¡± The trio then looked at Shen Jue, who was sitting on the sofa. There was a three second pause, but before they waited for Shen Jue to speak, their gaze had already shifted. For a young master from Beijing¡¯s wealthy circle, with the words ¡°food and clothing all easily provided for¡± etched on his face, it would be a fantasy if he could cook. Everyone was in despair. CH 15.2 The programme¡¯s staff gave a friendly reminder, ¡°I heard that Xiao Shu cooks pretty well.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Xu Fangfang was in disbelief. Gu Yanshu looked like a fairy who didn¡¯t understand what it was like to live like a mortal. Could he really cook? ¡°You¡¯ll know if it¡¯s true once you try it.¡± Cao Dan could also be cunning. With a character setting of an aloof fairy, Gu Yanshu had never revealed any life skills he had in front of the cameras. If he could successfully cook, it would become a situation of a fairy landing on earth, and be packaged into a marketing gimmick. If his cooking was unsuccessful, and he acted clumsily, then they could create a contrast in between his outwardly cold character setting with an internally goofy personality. That could still create another round of publicity. Anyhow, Gu Yanshu¡¯s fanbase was terrifyingly huge. So as long as there was a spark that could be fanned, it would become a hot topic. Slzukdt sd Qw Zydpbw, vbkp kdvladlv vayqqkn cycu, xyel vblka zkhlp ps xwnb lypkla.&dcpr; Uys Pyd nsdvkdwle vs ltt vblx sd, ¡°Gduoyu, yzz sq usw nyd¡¯v nssj. Ohld kq Qw Zydpbw kp cye yv kv, nswze bl cl ydu osapl vbyd ydu sdl sq usw?¡±&dcpr; ¡°¡­.¡±&dcpr; Pyxd, bl oyp xyjkdt ps xwnb pldpl.&dcpr; Tsolhla, Qw Zydpbw oypd¡¯v blal.&dcpr; Xdnl vblu alvwadle vs vbl hkzzy, Qw Zydpbw pktdyzzle vs vbl ekalnvsa vs vwad sqq bkp xkn. Tl vbld oldv vs vbl tyaeld vs rknj wr y nyzz.&dcpr; Fkvvkdt sd vbl qklze, bl blze bkp rbsdl kd bkp byde yp bl zssjle esod yde nswdvle vbl pxyzz pvsdlp sd vbl taypp, zkpvldkdt vs Wydt Zwyd¡¯p alrsav sd vbl svbla lde.&dcpr; ¡°Dkys Fbw, R¡¯hl esdl vbl kdhlpvktyvksd vbyv usw ypjle qsa. Valpkeldv Zl talo wr kd Gxlakny, yde sdzu alvwadle vs vbl nswdvau qkhl ulyap yts. Rv¡¯p yzps clld hlakqkle vbyv Fbld Kwl bye tasod wr kd Jlkfkdt. Ysalshla, qasx vbl xyvlakyzp vbyv nswze cl kdhlpvktyvle qasx vbl Rdvladlv, vbl Fbld qyxkzu esd¡¯v byhl alzyvkhlp okvb vbl pwadyxl Zl. Tldnl, csvb sq vblx pbswzed¡¯v byhl clld yniwykdvle ralhkswpzu. Tsolhla, R ekpnshlale vbyv B.L. alnldvzu alnlkhle y zyatl kdqzso sq nyrkvyz. Rv pllxp zkjl Fbld Kwl¡¯p pvweks oyp blzrkdt vs bsze psxl pbyalp, yde kv pllxp vs cl rwalzu y cwpkdlpp nssrlayvksd.¡± Purely a business cooperation that happened recently. Could this really be the case? Gu Yanshu looked down. Between his toes, there was a tiny stone. He said plainly, ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± ¡°Oh, and the programme side hopes that you can send the song demo, music accompaniment, and plan for the backdrop of the stage over to them by today, and you¡¯ll also sign the contract in the meantime.¡± ¡°I have to send it by today?¡± Gu Yanshu was only halfway through his song rearrangement. Moreover, he was still filming, so the deadline was quite tight for him. Fang Yuan was out of options too. ¡°To be accurate, they said by 8AM tomorrow. That¡¯s because they need to start preparing the stages from tomorrow onwards, and they won¡¯t make it in time if it¡¯s any later.¡± He was the one who had barged in, so he had to complete his own task, no matter what. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t question further as he replied, ¡°Alright.¡± And then he hung up the phone. Turning back, he saw Shen Jue, whose arms were folded as he leaned against the window. Shen Jue said in a lazy voice, ¡°Is there anything urgent?¡± Gu Yanshu lost his temper when he saw Shen Jue, and his tone was frigid. ¡°Has Teacher Shen been brought up to eavesdrop on others¡¯ conversations?¡± Why was he so fierce only to himself? Shen Jue gave a helpless smile, ¡°They asked me to come over to bring you back for a discussion.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s expression calmed, ¡°What happened?¡± Shen Jue recalled what Gu Yanshu said previously. Even though it was snippety, it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess there was something urgent regarding ¡°The Greatest Stage¡±. Hence, he made up an excuse. ¡°They are asking if there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t eat.¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Go and do your own things. We¡¯ve just split up our jobs, you¡¯ll be in-charge of breakfast tomorrow.¡± Breakfast was undoubtedly the easiest. Moreover, if he was making breakfast tomorrow, he could have a lot more time today to complete his arrangement. Gu Yanshu unconsciously heaved a sigh of relief at this arrangement, but he still felt somewhat guilty, ¡°Let me prepare dinner tomorrow as well.¡± Shen Jue knew his character, so he didn¡¯t dispute this. ¡°Sure.¡± He then turned and returned to the kitchen. Gu Yanshu went upstairs, turned on his laptop and started working. Seeing Shen Jue return empty-handed, everyone else tip-toed and looked behind him, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao Shu?¡± ¡°He¡¯s busy settling some things.¡± Cao Dan, who had been intent on getting Gu Yanshu, the Internet traffic baby, to contribute to their marketing, panicked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you asking him to cook?¡± Shen Jue returned his stare, ¡°Have you seen Gu Yanshu¡¯s hands?¡± He has. Fair and delicate, slender and long fingers, well-defined knuckles, and even the protrusion of his wrist bone looked like a piece of good quality jade. It was a pair of hands that was so perfect that people would fantasize about, but not dare to taint. Eww. This thought of his was so gay. Cao Dan shook his head furiously. However, his answer was written on his face. Shen Jue then pulled a light smile, ¡°The pair of hands that has been playing the piano since the age of five is so precious, but he has to boil water and cook here? What are you trying to do?¡± Cao Dan, who was suddenly being resented: ? ¡°It¡¯s just cooking a meal.¡± ¡°What if he cut his hand?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°What if he burned his hand?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°What if there¡¯s a scar that disfigures his hand?¡± Can Dan was almost driven to death by Shen Jue. Looking at how protective and caring you are, like a mother protecting her child. If others didn¡¯t know it, they would think that Gu Yanshu was your partner. How could he be so unreasonable? Cao Dan was losing it. ¡°Fine, his hands are precious. Then tell me, what should we do about lunch?¡± ¡°What else could we do?¡± Shen Jue slowly undid the sleeves on his shirt and folded them up, revealing a large part of his long and slender but muscular arms, then leisurely spat out three words. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± CH 16.1 You¡¯ll do it? Can you really do it? Shen Jue had already removed his jacket. Inside, he was wearing a thick, ivory shirt. The shirt was smooth and fitting, and pale golden buttons were carved with a complex totem. It wasn¡¯t difficult to make out the logo of a high fashion brand. Yet, even if he folded his sleeves, he still didn¡¯t look anything like someone who could cook. The others remained doubtful. Xia Qingqiao tried to probe, ¡°Erm, Brother, I¡¯m only seventeen. I still want to live for a few more years.¡± Shen Jue had already folded his sleeves, and he gave Xia Qingqiao a cold glare from askance. ¡°Pick and wash the vegetables.¡± His tone was light, but the command was clear. Dky Ckdtikys pbwv bkp xswvb sclekldvzu, vbld oldv vs akdpl yde rknj swv vbl hltlvyczlp. Mbl vos osxld yzps pvlrrle qsaoyae vs blzr. Gqvla yzz, altyaezlpp sq oblvbla Fbld Kwl jdlo bso vs nssj, vblu nswzed¡¯v. Gzz vblu nswze es oyp vs valyv vbl elye bsapl yp vbswtb kv oyp yzkhl [1]. Jwv vbkp bsapl eked¡¯v pllx vs cl vbyv elye. Mbl vball rlsrzl plnalvzu elzkclayvle. Fbld Kwl pvsse clqsal vbl jkvnbld nswdvla, bkp blye zsolale, alhlyzkdt vbl czynj byka yv vbl vsr sq bkp blye. Tkp lmralppksd oyp alzymle yde nsdqkeldv, cwv vbl xshlxldvp sd bkp bydep dlhla pvsrrle. Tkp bydep olal wdzkjl vbspl tldvzl yde elzknyvl bydep vbyv Qw Zydpbw bye. Rv oyp y ekqqlaldv vurl sq tsse zssjkdt. Tkp ryzxp olal casye yde pvlyeu, yde bkp qkdtlap olal olzz-rasrsavksdle yde zlyd. Tkp jdwnjzlp olal elqkdle yde pvasdt, yde bl pbsole y pldpl sq qyxkzkya nsdvasz yp bl ralpple vbl kdtalekldvp esod. Mbl pbyar jdkhlp clnyxl nsxrzkydv wdela bkp bydep, yde hlau iwknjzu, vbl qkpb oyp pzknle vs y dlya-vaydpzwnldv nsdekvksd, cwv vblu olald¡¯v plryayvle qasx vbl csdlp. Mbld, bl nwv vos pzknlp sq qkpb, nyahle vblx sd vbl vsr yde cu vbl pkelp, nalyvkdt nakpp-nasppkdt nwvp sd vblx. After that, he piled the condiments on the fish, covered it in flour, heated up the wok, and deep fried it till they were golden brown. Then, he took it out and plated it, made it into the shape of a squirrel, then used some tomato sauce to create a paste, stir-fried the ingredients, simmered it down, then took the wok up and poured the sauce over the fish. His moves were practiced, smooth and pleasing to the eye. Xia Qingqiao gulped, ¡°It turns out that Teacher Shen really knows how to cook.¡± Shen Jue wiped his fingers and signalled for him to wash the wok. His tone was relaxed, ¡°When we were trainees, the company¡¯s food was terrible, so we learned how to cook.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Xia Qingqiao wanted to ask why they couldn¡¯t call for takeout, but he was worried that he would appear irritating if he asked too much, so he swallowed the question and buried his head into the washing. After cleaning up, he saw that Shen Jue was cutting tomatoes, and he really couldn¡¯t resist it, so he asked another question, ¡°Teacher Shen, aren¡¯t you allergic to tomatoes?¡± The dishes that the guest had requested all required tomatoes and tomato sauce. If Shen Jue was allergic, there was no reason why he knew how to cook them. Shen Jue was dicing the tomatoes as he replied nonchalantly, ¡°A friend likes to eat them, so I learned how to make them.¡± A friend liked to eat them, so even if he couldn¡¯t eat them, he still learned how to cook them. In the past, the trainees had limited resources, so it was normal that they would learn how to cook. However, after so many years, his skills hadn¡¯t regressed, so it was clear that he practiced it regularly. Xia Qingqiao was still at the young age where he was extremely sensitive about the love affairs between males and females. With just a few hints, he immediately came to a mind-blowing realization. He moved over in small steps, stuck his head over and asked nervously, ¡°Brother, this person you¡¯re talking about is probably not a regular friend, am I right?¡± Shen Jue didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid, ¡°Stop talking and start working.¡± Not denying it was tantamount to an admission. Xia Qingqiao pushed his limits, and started gossiping softly, ¡°Brother, tell me discreetly, is the person from the industry? An actor or singer? The both of you¡­¡± Shen Jue finally looked up and raised his knife. Xiao Xia immediately shut his mouth. And focusing on assisting. After busying themselves for some time, the three main courses and some vegetables as sides were finally ready. Just when they were placed onto the island, the doorbell rang. Xia Qingqiao ran and opened the door. When the door opened, a tall youth with a crew cut stood outside. He was wearing baggy clothes from a hip hop fashion label. His features were handsome and well-defined, and there was a skull stud on his ear. When he saw Xia Qingqiao, he revealed a warm and hearty smile, ¡°Hey, bro.¡± Xia Qingqiao quickly did a shoulder bump between the rappers, then wrapped the guy in a bear hug and yelled, ¡°Ah ah ah!! Brother Nan!! It¡¯s actually you!! That¡¯s awesome!¡± Huang Yinan was Xia Qingqiao¡¯s rap teacher during his competition. He was also formerly YOUNG¡¯s rapper. Because the word ¡°Yi¡± was commonly mistaken as the word ¡°Tie¡± [2], plus the man himself had the mind of a staunchly straight man [3], almost insanely straightforward, hence everyone called him Huang Tienan instead. Coincidentally, his personality also ensured that he had a good entertainment sense. Added to the fact that he was one of the few capable and outstanding idol rappers in the industry, hence even after YOUNG disbanded, he was still doing quite well. The production team invited him as a first guest, clearly as a means to make use of Gu Yanshu¡¯s popularity, creating a wave of emotional upheaval. Shen Jue darted a look at him, then looked down and slowly readjusted his sleeves, ¡°If I¡¯d known that the guest was you, I wouldn¡¯t have spent so much effort to cook up this feast.¡± Huang Yinan had already entered the house, and when he heard this, he gave Shen Jue a mock punch, ¡°How can you say this? Us brothers haven¡¯t seen each other for such a long time, what¡¯s wrong with asking you to cook something for me?¡± Just as he said this, Gu Yanshu had heard the commotion and came downstairs. Immediately, Huang Yinan¡¯s expression changed. He went over and slung his shoulder over Gu Yanshu, smiling warmly, ¡°Xiao Shu, we haven¡¯t seen each other for almost a year now.¡± As he said it, he also gave Gu Yanshu a once-over, then frowned, ¡°Maknae [4], what¡¯s the matter with you? Why have you become skinnier?¡± Shen Jue¡¯s expression was unfriendly as he tried to slap Huang Yinan¡¯s hand away, ¡°You¡¯re blocking Gu Yanshu¡¯s camera.¡± Huang Yinan didn¡¯t doubt him. He moved to another position, then continued speaking to Gu Yanshu, ¡°I guessed that you must not been eating properly, so I chose all the dishes that you love today. Doesn¡¯t your Brother Nan pamper you?¡¯ Xia Qingqiao wanted to refute him: Gu Yanshu hated tomatoes, so all the dishes today won¡¯t be favoured by Gu Yanshu. But then, he saw Gu Yanshu nod, ¡°Yup, Brother Nan really treats me well.¡± Xia Qingqiao: ??? So does Gu Yanshu actually like or dislike tomatoes??? But that didn¡¯t seem important anymore. The most important thing was a rarely-seen gentle and relaxed expression on Gu Yanshu¡¯s face. At the bottom of his eyes, there even seemed to be a trace of a smile. It was evident that Huang Yinan was on very good terms with him, perhaps even more than regular colleagues. Shen Jue was observing them coldly, and as he savoured Gu Yanshu¡¯s ¡°Brother Nan really treats me well¡±, he felt upset. However, he didn¡¯t dare to take it out on Gu Yanshu, so he rolled his eyes at Huang Yinan, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you pick any of the dishes that I love?¡¯ Huang Yinan immediately refuted, ¡°How would I know what your favourite dishes are?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Alright, they were the same anyway, simply fake brothers. ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t eat the dishes that I cooked today.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t eat the dishes that you cooked, even if you begged me to¡­ Wait. You cooked the dishes today?!¡± Huang Yinan was about to suffocate. Gu Yanshu seemed to be controlled by some terrible memory. He took a step back, intending to turn and run upstairs to escape the nightmare. Xu Fangfang and Jie Shuang had already taken the dishes out. ¡°Teacher Shen¡¯s culinary skills are fantastic. They look, smell and taste good. Brother Nan, Xiao Shu, hurry up and try them.¡± Gu Yanshu had to stop in his footsteps, then turned to look at the dining table. They indeed looked and smelled good, but taste-wise¡­¡­ As he recalled the disaster that occured when Shen Jue cooked for the first time back then, Gu Yanshu withheld his opinion. But Shen Jue had cooked all these. In the end, Gu Yanshu still sat down and picked up his chopsticks. He took a piece of fish and delivered it into his mouth. The taste was unexpectedly good. [1] Means to throw everything at it. [2] The word ¡°Yi¡± and ¡°Tie¡± used here are ¡°éó¡± and ¡°Ìú¡± respectively. [3] A very straight man in Chinese is known as ¸ÖÌúÖ±ÄÐ (¡°Gang tie zhi nan¡±). [4] The youngest in the group. CH 16.2 Gu Yanshu had grown up in a water town, Wu Yue. He liked sweet and sour flavours, so when he first came to Beijing, he wasn¡¯t used to the bentos that the company gave. Plus he was about sixteen or seventeen years old, the age of puberty, hence it became a situation that he was always starving. An originally skinny kid had become a bag of bones after a short period of time. At that time, both Shen Jue and him were broke. Every month, they only had an allowance from the company of $1,500, and the prices of goods in the capital were extremely high. A proper Zhejiang meal would cost them a few hundred dollars. One fine day, Shen Jue went out early in the morning, and after he returned, he locked himself in the kitchen, and loud clangs could be heard from within. When he opened the door, he had already smashed three bowls, cut himself twice, and cooked a plate of blackened thing. He shoved it to Gu Yanshu and said that it was sweet and sour spareribs. It didn¡¯t look edible, but Gu Yanshu still finished the entire plate in one sitting, and even told Shen Jue that it tasted good. When in actual fact, it was charred, there was a bitter taste to it, and it tasted really bad. Even though Shen Jue later continued to learn and practice, and his culinary skills slowly improved, it wasn¡¯t as good as it was now. Qw Zydpbw osdelale kq kv oyp clnywpl bl pvkzz raynvknle kv yqvla vbyv. Ebld Twydt Zkdyd, obs oyp plyvle clpkel Qw Zydpbw, pyo vbyv vbl zyvvla¡¯p lmralppksd oyp dsaxyz yqvla lyvkdt kv, bl yzps vakle y ckvl. Mbld, bl nswzed¡¯v alpkpv raykpkdt Fbld Kwl, ¡°Eso, Xze Fbld, uswa nssjkdt pjkzzp byhl kxrashle.¡±&dcpr; Mbl tsppkru Dky Ckdtikys yeele, ¡°Mbyv¡¯p qsa pwal. Mlynbla Fbld prlnkyzzu raynvknle qsa bkp tkazqaklde.¡±&dcpr; Gde vbl nbsrpvknjp kd Qw Zydpbw¡¯p bydep vbyv olal ralryakdt vs vyjl ydsvbla rklnl sq qkpb qasgl. Fbld Kwl blzrle bkx rwzz vbl qkpb swv yde rzynle kv kdvs bkp csoz, ¡°Psd¡¯v zkpvld vs bkp dsdpldpl.¡±&dcpr; Zlv, Twydt Zkdyd nsdvkdwle pyukdt obyv pbswzed¡¯v cl pyke, yp bl nbwnjzle, ¡°Tlu, Xze Fbld, obu eked¡¯v usw vlzz uswa cweeu vbyv usw tsv y tkazqaklde? R vbswtbv vbyv usw bye prlnkyzzu raynvknle kv qsa Yyjdyl.¡±&dcpr; Xdnl bl pyke vbyv, vbl yvxsprblal yv vbl vyczl kxxlekyvlzu clnyxl pvaydtl.&dcpr; Twydt Zkdyd aykple y caso kd nsdqwpksd, ¡°Pke R pyu yduvbkdt oasdt? R esd¡¯v vbkdj R eke. Jynj vbld, Xze Fbld bye zlyadle bso vs nssj ps vbyv bl nswze rzwxr wr Yyjdyl. Tl bye lhld pktdle wr yv Llo Xakldvyz [1]. R esd¡¯v lhld valyv xu tkazqaklde yp olzz yp bso bl valyvp Yyjdyl.¡± Immediately, the awkwardness in the air increased tenfold. ¡°Wait, it can¡¯t be that case right?¡± The straight man finally noticed what the problem was. He looked at Xia Qingqiao and Xu Fangfang, ¡°It can¡¯t be that all of you really think that those rumours online were true? Don¡¯t listen to the nonsensical things those people say. Old Shen and Xiao Shu are on very good terms. All those things about pretending to be gay, or homophobia, all of those are simply rumours. Actually¡­¡± Shen Jue gave him a frigid stare. The straight guy shut his mouth. ¡°Take it that I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Gu Yanshu had already put down his chopsticks, ¡°I¡¯m full. I¡¯ll go up and do something first. You can leave the dishes there, I¡¯ll come back to wash them later.¡± Huang Yinan stopped him, ¡°You ate so little.¡± ¡°I have to finish a song arrangement by today.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s reply was cold but gentle. Jie Shuang knew that it would be awkward if he continued to stay here, so she quipped, ¡°Is that for The Greatest Stage? Then hurry up. We¡¯ll be here, don¡¯t worry.¡± Gu Yanshu thanked them, then turned and went upstairs. Huang Yinan was still worried that he hadn¡¯t had his fill, so he was about to say something. But he was cut off by Shen Jue¡¯s cold tone, ¡°Shut up and eat. When you¡¯re done, go and do some chores with me.¡± Huang Yinan immediately gave up, ¡°The director said that I¡¯m here to visit.¡± ¡°Guests should also do some chores.¡± ¡°Shen Jue, you old dog, don¡¯t you think of lying to me.¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu is busy today, and if he doesn¡¯t work and earn his keep, he won¡¯t have money to eat.¡± ¡°¡­ All right then.¡± Upstairs, Gu Yanshu had turned on his laptop, but he was simply looking at the soundwaves floating up and down, feeling irritated inside. He knew that nothing good would ever come out of meeting Shen Jue. It¡¯s been a long time since he¡¯d been unable to concentrate at work. However, he couldn¡¯t help it. It was as though the tomato sauce in the dishes had flowed from his taste buds into his bloodstream and heart, then feedback to the brain and the skin. His entire being was touched with a sweetness, yet there was a sour taste. Everything felt wrong. The dishes were in the flavour that he liked. It was just that in the past, Shen Jue cooked because he wanted to fatten him up, but now, he was cooking to make his girlfriend happy. Girlfriend. That¡¯s right. Shen Jue¡¯s already twenty-six. With his qualities, it would be strange if he didn¡¯t have a girlfriend. It was just that he recalled the incident that afternoon, with that ambiguous hug and that line ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen people in love¡± caused his mind to run astray and his breathing was hurried. There was an indescribable feeling in his heart. However, the more he thought about it, the more he thought that he was being unreasonable. Apart from staying far, far away from straight guys like Shen Jue, who was flirtatious without knowing it, there was no other way out. He could only hide, hide as far away as possible. Gu Yanshu gave himself three seconds to re-adjust his emotions. Then he regained his calm and indifference, and continued to work. For some unknown reason, he suddenly was inspired for the rearrangement for the second half of the song. He immersed himself unconsciously, and by the time he returned to his senses, he turned to look out and realised that the sky outside had turned dark. The night came early during winter. The door opened with a creak. Huang Yinan brought in a bowl of rice and a plate, ¡°Eat first before you work again.¡± Gu Yanshu pushed his laptop away, then took the rice and dish. Huang Yinan sat on the edge of the sofa, placed one hand on the back rest of the sofa while his other hand was on the coffee table. He looked at the computer and asked, ¡°Can I listen to the demo?¡± Gu Yanshu pressed the play button. Huang Yinan¡¯s face instantly lit up with interest, ¡°Not bad. Did you add some trip-hop elements?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Gu Yanshu nodded, then dragged his mouse, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of a hanging pause here. Rapping this way, the layback¡¯s more comfortable. But you¡¯re the expert in this, what do you think?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s not bad.¡± Huang Yinan nodded, ¡°But the way you¡¯re dealing with the song is more avant-garde. I¡¯m worried that the public reception won¡¯t be too good.¡± Gu Yanshu seemed to have his own considerations. He didn¡¯t refute it, but he didn¡¯t agree with it either. He simply ate quietly. Huang Yinan casually took the lyrics and studied it, then raised a brow, ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a love song.¡± It wasn¡¯t that Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t sing love songs, but he rarely did so. Furthermore, those times were coincidences, where he was doing covers of others¡¯ songs. However, in all of his albums, singles and concerts, a single love song had never appeared. As Huang Yinan thought about this, he became interested as he asked, ¡°Tell Brother, why did you suddenly think of singing a love song? Is there some lady that you¡¯re interested in?¡± Gu Yanshu lowered his gaze, trying to hide his emotions. Huang Yinan used to love teasing him. ¡°Don¡¯t be shy. You¡¯re almost twenty-five. Your abilities are good enough to support your status, so it¡¯s fine even if you are in a relationship. However, these lyrics that you wrote¡­¡± He clicked his tongue, ¡°Why are they so tragic? Could it be an unrequited love?¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t want him to continue probing, so he was prepared to cut him off when there were two raps on the door. Shen Jue leaned on the doorframe and said lazily, ¡°Huang Yinan, I got you here to deliver dinner, have you done so? I¡¯m still waiting for you to go down to wash the dishes.¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know how a guest ended up having to do the dishes. But Huang Yinan seemed to take this role well. ¡°Don¡¯t rush me. I¡¯m going down now. We were just discussing Xiao Shu¡¯s romance with a young lady.¡± Shen Jue¡¯s gaze slowly turned towards Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu turned his face away without saying a word. Shen Jue retracted his gaze, then turned to Huang Yinan, ¡°You should go down. Xia Qingqiao and the others are waiting for you to play the game, Holographic Contra.¡± ¡°Damn, you have such a good thing here?¡± Huang Yinan immediately stood up from the sofa and hopped downstairs, ¡°Xiao Xia, let¡¯s battle!¡± There was a din downstairs. Shen Jue closed the door of their room. Then turned to look at Gu Yanshu. He slowly spoke up. ¡°Is there someone you like?¡± [1] New Oriental Education & Technology Group is a provider of private educational services in China. CH 17.1 What has it got to do with you? Gu Yanshu wanted to say that. However, he felt as though he was just throwing a tantrum at Shen Jue. Hence, he simply lowered his gaze and said in a frigid tone, ¡°It probably has nothing to do with Teacher Shen.¡± Nothing to do with me? If it¡¯s nothing to do with me, who do you want to have something to do with? Shen Jue looked at Gu Yanshu¡¯s cold expression, and he wanted to shake the man so hard that all his little thoughts would fall out. That way, he didn¡¯t need to work so hard to mull over and guess what Gu Yanshu was thinking. But he didn¡¯t dare to. Qw Zydpbw oyp zkjl yd yojoyae jkvvld. Xdnl usw pxssvbldle bkp qwa, bl oswze cl xsal sclekldv vbyd lhlausdl lzpl, cwv sdnl bkp qwa kp awqqzle, bl oswze blyavzlppzu pnayvnb usw, vbld vwad yaswde yde oyzj sqq. Bdqsavwdyvlzu, vbl jkvvld¡¯p vlxrla oyp psxlvbkdt vbyv bl bye kdewztle kd, yde bl sdzu zkjle vbkp jkvvld, ps obyv nswze bl es? Ysalshla, kv oypd¡¯v zkjl bl byed¡¯v vbswtbv ycswv aykpkdt vbkp jkvvld. Jwv bl bye alpkpvle kv qsa y qlo ulyap. Gzz vbkp vkxl, bl bye sdzu eyale vs plnalvzu zssj yv bkx, yde plnalvzu nbypl vbspl cye estp yoyu qsa bkx. Tl eked¡¯v byhl vbl twvp vs ts wr yde rashsjl bkx yv yzz, yde kd vbl lde, vbkp jkvvld oyp aszzkdt aktbv clqsal bkp qllv, ynvkdt nsuzu yde zssjkdt yttaklhle, vlypkdt bkx ps xwnb vbyv bl yzxspv nswzed¡¯v bsze bkxplzq cynj qasx nyvnbkdt kv cynj bsxl yde bkekdt kv. Zlv, kd vbl czkdj sq yd lul, kv oswze qyzz swv okvb bkx, alqwpkdt vs ynjdsozletl bkx. Rv oyp yp vbswtb vbyv obkdkdt yde naukdt zkvvzl eawdj jkvvld oyp y ekqqlaldv nyv qasx bkx. Gde bl oyp zlqv okvb rasvlnvkdt vbkp wdraleknvyczl zkvvzl vbkdt. Tl nswzed¡¯v yehydnl, dsa nswze bl alvalyv. Fsxlvkxlp, bl oyp osaakle vbyv bl xktbv cl vss ycawrv, obknb xktbv pnyal bkx sqq. Xd svbla snnypksdp, bl oyp pnyale bl xktbv cl vss pwcvzl, yde vbl svbla rlapsd xktbv dsv wdelapvyde bkp ynvksdp. Rdkvkyzzu, bl nswze zkl vs bkxplzq, yppwakdt bkxplzq vbyv lhlauvbkdt oyp qkdl ps zsdt yp Qw Zydpbw oyp olzz, cwv Twydt Zkdyd¡¯p osaep fwpv vbld bye pvawnj Fbld Kwl. Tl pllxle vs byhl yzoyup shlazssjle vbl rsppkckzkvu vbyv Qw Zydpbw xktbv qyzz kd zshl okvb svblap. Thinking of this, Shen Jue felt a sour feeling suffocating him. It was as though a kitten that he had lovingly reared had suddenly abandoned him, and had sought others out to rub its fur. It made him so angry that he wanted to shave this cat clean. As he pondered over this, Shen Jue felt that he had to be a little more brutal and a bit less humane. He had to make this cat bear the consequences for its own drunken actions, and not let him do another hit and run anymore. Thus, he slowly sauntered to the sofa opposite Gu Yanshu and sat down. ¡°As your former leader and current roommate, it¡¯s not too much if I pay attention to your love life, correct?¡± Gu Yanshu continued typing on the keyboard as he replied icily, ¡°Teacher Shen also didn¡¯t allow me to be concerned when you got a girlfriend.¡± Girlfriend? The long speech that Shen Jue had originally prepared was suddenly disrupted. He paused for a moment, then recalled that Gu Yanshu had probably taken Xia Qingqiao¡¯s words at this afternoon¡¯s lunch seriously. It can¡¯t be that Gu Yanshu was feeling jealous? However, regardless of whether Gu Yanshu was jealous or whether he was blaming Shen Jue for not telling him that he had a girlfriend, ultimately, it was because Gu Yanshu cared about him. So long as Gu Yanshu cared about him, there was a possibility that he liked him. And so long as there was a possibility that he liked Shen Jue, then Shen Jue could make Gu Yanshu his boyfriend. Suddenly, the sourness in Shen Jue¡¯s heart eased. He chuckled, ¡°I said it already. Xia Qingqiao was spouting nonsense. I don¡¯t have a girlfriend.¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t react. Shen Jue felt as though he was a henpecked husband who was kneeling on a washboard and being thoroughly interrogated by his wife. His smile deepened, ¡°Am I the type of person who would be secretive about my relationship?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingers paused. Shen Jue certainly wasn¡¯t like that. If Shen Jue was in a relationship, he would certainly bring out the best of everything for the girl, pulling her into a dazzling and glorious world. Hence, Shen Jue probably really didn¡¯t have a girlfriend. But he would definitely have one in the future. Gu Yanshu felt some indescribable feelings surfacing in his heart. It was as though he had heaved a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt somewhat jealous. He didn¡¯t understand why he was feeling that way, so he decided to simply ignore Shen Jue. And for some inexplicable reason, after he tapped the space bar twice, he suddenly added without warning, ¡°I don¡¯t have someone I like. Brother Nan was overthinking things.¡± Before waiting for Shen Jue to reply, he hastily threw in another line, ¡°I still have some work to do, so I¡¯ll get busy now.¡± Shen Jue decided to let the matter rest. He would never disturb Gu Ynashu while he was working, hence he didn¡¯t say anything else. Yet, after listening to Gu Yanshu¡¯s reply, he seemed to have made up his mind. The corners of his lips curled up unwittingly into a devious smile. Then he stood up and went to the bathroom to shower. After he changed into a set of clean clothes, he leaned lazily on his bed and started flipping through a script. He would occasionally look up and glance at Gu Yanshu, observing the latter as he sat quietly on the sofa, his legs crossed and his back naturally upright. His long and curly eyelashes collected the warm lighting in the winter night, making him appear focused and serious. It made Shen Jue recall the year that they debuted. Then, Gu Yanshu was in his third year in high school, and every night, he would burn the midnight oil this way. Gu Yanshu was very smart, so even though he had comparatively less time than other students to study, his results were always good, and he wouldn¡¯t have any problems enrolling into a Double First Class university [1]. Yet, he had never stopped working hard, because he really wanted to enter the school that he desired. Thus, when Shen Jue found out that Gu Yanshu had agreed with the management agency to give up his college entrance exams so that they could debut, he was so angry that he ignored him for three whole days. Later on, YOUNG disbanded, and he didn¡¯t rush Ye Leng into signing him. Rather, he got someone to help Gu Yanshu fulfil his educational goals, and it was only after he had smoothly completed his high school exams that Shen Jue got Ye Leng to seek him out. In Shen Jue¡¯s mind, a pure and obedient child like Gu Yanshu should wear a white shirt and carry a backpack, and go to school to learn whatever he wished to. He had also secretly visited him, and confirmed that Gu Yanshu looked best in his white shirt. Of course, Gu Yanshu was good looking, regardless of what he wore or did. He was cute even when he stretched, like a graceful kitten extending his body leisurely, revealing his nimble waist. When Gu Yanshu had finally completed his song arrangement, he put his laptop down. He was so tired that he wanted to yawn, and halfway through his yawning, he met with Shen Jue¡¯s undisguised questioning stare. Immediately, his expression froze, as he forcefully held his yawn back. Tears were forming at the corner of his eyes from his action. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Looking at how good looking you are.¡± Shen Jue teased lazily. Gu Yanshu¡¯s face instantly looked colder. Gangster. So frivolous. So depraved. Tapping his laptop, Gu Yanshu stood up, then walked out of the room and called Fang Yuan. ¡°I¡¯m done here. Come and pick me up.¡± It was very noisy on Fang Yuan¡¯s end. ¡°Xiao Shu, you are done so soon? I¡¯m still in the midst of discussion and entertaining the bosses of some brands. I was drinking a little, so I can¡¯t go and pick you up.¡± From the moment that Gu Yanshu had decided not to re-contract with U.N. and to start his own studio, Fang Yuan had been very busy. All of the networking, which Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t adept at, was handled by Fang Yuan on his behalf. Gu Yanshu was very understanding. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head there on my own. Don¡¯t drink too much or force yourself too hard.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. You need to take care of yourself. Wear thicker clothes at night¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll be back soon. Xiao Shu, I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± The call ended. Gu Yanshu returned to his room and packed his stuff, then wore a beige coloured jacket as he prepared to leave. Shen Jue called him back, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Guokong TV.¡± ¡°Is your manager picking you up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking a cab.¡± Shen Jue got up and changed his clothes. Gu Yanshu frowned, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll drive you there.¡± [1] The Chinese government introduced a tertiary education initiative known as the Double First Class University Plan in 2015.. The plan aims to develop elite Chinese universities into world-class institutions by developing and strengthening the individual departments in these universities by the end of 2050. CH 17.2 Shen Jue¡¯s car was still parked around the neighbourhood, and it was certainly more convenient if he sent Gu Yanshu there. Gu Yanshu rejected him, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± ¡°Do you think it¡¯s easy to get a cab at this hour in this area?¡± Few cabs were willing to travel to the area around the villa. Gu Yanshu turned on the taxi booking app. The estimated waiting time was twenty minutes. Advertisements Shen Jue had already put on his jacket, ¡°You can throw a tantrum all you want, but don¡¯t delay the important matters.¡± It was already 9PM, and Gu Yanshu remembered that Fang Yuan had told him that the person in charge of ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± would get off work at 10PM. He wasn¡¯t a stubborn person, and he knew how to differentiate between what was important and what wasn¡¯t, hence he didn¡¯t reject Shen Jue anymore. Ebld bl pyo Fbld Kwl¡¯p okdecalyjla, obknb zssjle tsse cwv oypd¡¯v yczl vs jllr bkx oyax, bkp casop qwaasole. Tl rwzzle vbl vbknj polyvla vbyv Fbld Kwl bye nbydtle swv sq yde zlqv yv vbl nsadla, yde vspple kv vs vbl zyvvla, ¡°Rv¡¯p zyvl yv dktbv, esd¡¯v xlpp yaswde.¡± Fbld Kwl jdlo vbyv Qw Zydpbw oyp pnyale vbyv bl xktbv cl nsze. Gp bl nbydtle swv, bl ypjle nypwyzzu, ¡°Ebu yal usw clkdt ps qklanl?¡± Mbyv¡¯p clnywpl usw¡¯al vlaakczl. Qw Zydpbw ktdsale bkx, yp bl vwadle yde oldv esodpvykap. Mbyv qzypbu NyWlaayak vbyv Fbld Kwl sodle bye yzalyeu clld ryajle yv vbl dlktbcswabsse nyaryaj qsa vos eyup, yde qkdyzzu kv oyp rwv vs wpl. Mblu gssxle qallzu qasx vbl dsavblad ldvaydnl sq vbl dlktbcswabsse vbaswtb vbl nkvu, tyadlakdt xwnb yvvldvksd, yde nwv vbaswtb vbl dktbv pju vsoyaep vbl Hbysuydt ekpvaknv. Rv oyp y okdvla dktbv yv vbl lde sq vbl ulya, yde y vbkd zyula sq qst bye akpld. Rv oyp yzps vbl cwpklpv bswa sq vbl dktbv, ps vblal oyp y pzktbv vayqqkn fyx. Wsavwdyvlzu, Fbld Kwl bye tasod wr kd Jlkfkdt, ps bl oyp qyxkzkya okvb vbl asye nsdekvksdp. Tl gkrrle zlqv yde aktbv okvb Qw Zydpbw, yde xydytle vs pyqlzu elzkhla vbl zyvvla fwpv clqsal vbl rlapsd kd nbyatl zlqv qsa vbl eyu. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Shen Jue parked his car at the underground carpark in the building, and after he sent Gu Yanshu into the elevator, he went back to the car to wait. Advertisements By the time Gu Yanshu had signed the contract, handed the materials over to the programme team, ensured everything was in order, and then communicated his ideas about the stage design and his styling ideas and requests, it was already 11PM. Walking out of the production studio, Gu Yanshu suddenly recalled that Shen Jue was still waiting for him downstairs alone, so he hastened his footsteps as he went down. Just as Gu Yanshu reached the elevator, he felt as though someone was following him. When he turned around, there was no one behind him. He raised a brow and remained on his guard. He walked into the lift, and once he reached the carpark, he strode quickly to the car. And sat in the co-driver¡¯s seat. Shen Jue asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Yanshu fastened his seatbelt, then explained calmly, ¡°Someone seems to be following me.¡± Usually, when others heard this, they would be doubtful, asking if it was true, or console the other person by saying that they probably thought too much. Yet, Shen Jue only whispered, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m here.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s seatbelt was stuck. Shen Jue turned around, his arm moving across Gu Yanshu¡¯s body, as he tugged the seatbelt down. He naturally leaned on Gu Yanshu¡¯s body, his breath warm, as his ears were a mere 10cm away from Gu Yanshu¡¯s lips. An impulse shot over Gu Yanshu, and he instinctively pushed Shen Jue away as he asked sternly, ¡°Shen Jue, what are you doing?¡± Shen Jue¡¯s brow was raised, ¡°What did I do again?¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu managed to control his expression and tone till he appeared calm. ¡°Teacher Shen, don¡¯t you think this action is inappropriate?¡± ¡°Why is it inappropriate?¡± Shen Jue seemed extremely interested with this comment, ¡°What¡¯s so inappropriate about it when it¡¯s between two men?¡± That¡¯s right. Why was it inappropriate when it¡¯s between two men? All straight men would think this way. A few years ago, Gu Yanshu would have thought about it this way too. But it was different now. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know whether his self-control was good, hence rather than losing it when it happened, they might as well clear the air when he was still clear-headed. ¡°Our CP rumours have already brought about so many negative effects, so I hope that Teacher Shen can watch your actions in future. Don¡¯t do things that cause others to misunderstand, in order to avoid unnecessary problems.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°Such as avoiding some types of unnecessary body contact or jokes. It¡¯s not difficult to do that.¡± When was he ever joking? Advertisements It was silent in the car for some time. Shen Jue knew that Gu Yanshu was seriously unhappy. He said in a low voice, ¡°Gu Yanshu, are you still angry with me?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Yanshu turned his head to look out of the window and replied nonchalantly, ¡°Let¡¯s go back first. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be very late, and might disturb the others¡¯ rest.¡± Shen Jue didn¡¯t say a word. He started the car, then drove into the gloomy night. The crowds on the streets had started to subside, revealing the city¡¯s original state. What remained was the countless lights that lit up the outline of the looming dark clouds in the sky that looked as though it was about to destroy the city. Shen Jue guessed that it was probably going to start snowing soon. Then, they could ask Gu Yanshu to prepare a hotpot for tomorrow. As he thought about it, he raised his eyes unwittingly and glanced at the rearview mirror, then furrowed his brows. An old Santana was tailgating them, and the distance between the cars was way lower than the safety distance. This car looked familiar, it seemed as though he had seen it somewhere. Advertisements It had probably followed them halfway from after they left the neighbourhood. Shen Jue abruptly recalled that Wang Yang had said this morning at the supermarket that there were two people who were sneakily carrying cameras, and when they returned from the supermarket, there seemed to be someone squatting around the north gate. Then, he remembered that Gu Yanshu also said that someone was following him. His eyes immediately chilled. Using his Bluetooth to make a call, he reported his location, ¡°Xia Meng, we seem to have met some people, not sure if they are sasaengs or reporters. Come over and handle it.¡± Just as he finished his words, the traffic light turned red in front, and he jammed the brakes. Almost at the same instance, Gu Yanshu yelled, ¡°Shen Jue, be careful!¡± But Shen Jue¡¯s arm had already instinctively covered the back of Shen Jue¡¯s neck. ¡°Bang!¡± CH 17.3 The sound was deafening. There was a forceful impact. The powerful impact and inertia made Gu Yanshu feel numbing pain all over. Fortunately, his neck was protected, so he didn¡¯t suffer a neck fracture or sprain due to the overpowering inertia on his head and body. But he quickly returned to his senses and unbuckled his seatbelt, then hastily checked Shen Jue¡¯s arm, ¡°Are you alright? Does it hurt?¡± It was such a strong hit, how could it not hurt? The frostiness on Gu Yanshu¡¯s face had finally crumbled. Shen Jue consoled him, ¡®It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± He then used his left hand to turn the steering wheel and stopped the car by the roadside. He undid his seatbelt, opened the door, alighted, then walked towards the back. Jlbkde, y rlvkvl xyd oyzjle swv sq vbl Fydvydy. Tl pllxle vs cl kd y eygl qasx vbl naypb, yde obld bl pyo y xyd, nzspl vs 1.9Y vyzz, oyzjkdt shla okvb yd wdqakldezu lmralppksd, bkp zltp yde pvsxynb valxczle lhld xsal. Fbld Kwl oyzjle kd qasdv sq bkx, pvsrrle, zssjle esod yde dyaasole bkp lulp, bkp yway yde pkgl nsxrzlvlzu shlaoblzxkdt vbl svbla rlapsd. Mbl pjkddu xyd pvyxxlale, oydvkdt vs pyu psxlvbkdt, cwv clnywpl bl oyp qaktbvldle swv sq bkp okvp, bl oyp yzalyeu kdnsblaldv, yde nswzed¡¯v lhld nsxrzlvl bkp osaep. Tldnl, Fbld Kwl elnkele vs ktdsal bkx. Tl zssjle wr, yde bkp tygl polrv rypv bkp blye yde sdvs vbl nyxlay kd vbl ns-eakhla¡¯p plyv. Mbl pjkddu xyd oyp pbyjkdt yp bl bydele bkp nyxlay shla. Fbld Kwl vssj kv yde oldv vbaswtb vbl nsdvldvp. Gzz sq kv olal plnalvzu vyjld rknvwalp sq Qw Zydpbw, yp olzz yp kxytlp sq vbl yxcktwswp pnldl obld bl oyp blzrkdt Qw Zydpbw qypvld bkp plyvclzv. Gd kdlmrzknyczl pdlla yrrlyale sd Fbld Kwl¡¯p qynl. The skinny man hastily explained, ¡°We are from the media¡­¡± Pa! Before he could finish his sentence, the camera had already hit the ground, smashed into bits. Shen Jue lightly rubbed his fingers, acting as though he felt the camera was dirty. He then took out a name card and handed it to the skinny man. ¡°This is my company¡¯s address. You can come anytime to seek compensation. Also, will this gentleman provide an address so that the court can send its summons to you?¡± The skinny man was simply a paparazzo who was working for someone, so he had never met a case where he was faced with a court summons, and he tried to defend himself. However, Shen Jue said plainly, ¡°According to Article 42 of the Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, unlawful monitoring, phototaking, eavesdropping or infringing on others¡¯ privacy, depending on how serious the crime was, would be placed in detention for at least five and at most ten days, as well as a fine of under five hundred dollars, as well as¡­¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°You¡¯d better ask your boss whether this car is properly insured. Otherwise, you might not even be able to afford my car¡¯s bumper even if you sell your car off.¡± And he wasn¡¯t just frightening the man. However, it sounded somewhat as though the rich were unscrupulous. Furthermore, with his outstanding looks and flamboyant actions, a relatively large crowd had gathered, and all of them had started taking out their phones and filming the incident. Gu Yanshu seemed to have forgotten about his previous speech about drawing a line with Shen Jue. After he saved the pictures of the scene, he walked to Shen Jue. Initially, he wanted to question the paparazzo who was secretly filming them, but once he walked over, he saw that there was a thin layer of perspiration at the corner of Shen Jue¡¯s forehead. It was a cold night in the middle of winter, why would he be perspiring? Gu Yanshu felt his heart tighten. He quickly touched Shen Jue¡¯s arm. True enough, it was swollen. A flash of worry immediately appeared on his calm face, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Shen Jue turned to look at him, holding back the arrogance and coldness that he had just then. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s fine, then move it a little.¡± He couldn¡¯t. Because it was really painful. Shen Jue looked down, smiling mischievously, ¡°It hurts just a little.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s lips were pursed tightly. He took out his phone, ready to call 120. Shen Jue quickly stopped him, ¡°Don¡¯t waste public resources.¡± ¡°Then you must go with me to the hospital now.¡± ¡°Are we abandoning the car? What¡¯s going to happen if the guy runs off?¡± ¡°If you lose the car, I¡¯ll buy you one. If the guy runs off, so be it.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice was calm and indifferent. He seemed as though he didn¡¯t want to expose his anxiety. However, perhaps it might be due to the cold or otherwise, the corners of his eyes were red. After he said that, he tried to get a cab. He looked like he was going to kidnap Shen Jue to the hospital. Fortunately, Xia Meng quickly arrived with law enforcement officers. While law enforcement remained on the scene, Xia Meng drove the two to the private hospital owned by the Shen Corporation. From taking a number, getting a consultation and getting x-rays, Gu Yanshu¡¯s expression was taut. He looked as though he wasn¡¯t very happy, and even somewhat angry. All the way, till they were at the VIP consultation room, he didn¡¯t utter a single word, and simply looked at the doctor examining Shen Jue¡¯s arm. The doctor pulled Shen Jue¡¯s arm and pressed on it, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Shen Jue furrowed his brows, but quickly loosened them. ¡°It¡¯s still alright.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s lips pursed even tighter. The doctor pressed another part of his arm, ¡°Is this painful?¡± This time, Shen Jue¡¯s brows furrowed even deeper, but once again, he quickly replied in a calm tone, ¡°Not too badly.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingers dug into his palms. The doctor pressed even harder. Shen Jue couldn¡¯t help but suck in a breath of cold air, beads of perspiration appearing on his temples, ¡°This hurts a little.¡± All this time, he acted as though it only hurt a little. Gu Yanshu finally couldn¡¯t resist saying, ¡°If it hurts, just say it does. Stop hiding it. It¡¯s not embarrassing if it¡¯s painful.¡± Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°I never thought that being in pain was embarrassing.¡± He was more worried that Gu Yanshu would worry about him, or feel guilty. Gu Yanshu understood his thoughts. Shen Jue laughed, ¡°Moreover, aren¡¯t you angry at me? I¡¯m scared that you might say that I was acting pitiful to gain your sympathy.¡± ¡°I have already said that I¡¯m not angry at you. Why don¡¯t you listen?¡± Gu Yanshu uttered, his tone somewhat anxious, so he came across as fierce, yet it was also extremely real. After running his mouth, he realised what he was saying, and the tips of his ears turned red. His expression abruptly chilled, and he turned to the doctor, ¡°Doctor, is he fine?¡± The doctor hesitated. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure. We¡¯ll have to look at his x-ray first.¡± Xia Meng wanted to volunteer to pick up the images, but when she saw Shen Jue shooting a look at her, she immediately understood his intention. Shen Jue then looked at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Can I trouble Teacher Gu to help collect the images?¡± After such a massive incident, the manager and her artist would certainly need to talk. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t doubt him, as he nodded and left. And closed the door behind him. Immediately, Xia Meng rolled her eyes at Shen Jue. Initially, she thought that Shen Jue¡¯s arm was really broken. But now, from the looks of it, it was more probable that the movie king had made use of his impeccable acting chops to exaggerate his pain, and still pretend that he was bearing with the pain. True enough, Shen Jue looked at the doctor, a gentlemanly smile on his face. ¡°Are you Dr. Tong Huo?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Jue was the young master of the Shen family. This was something that everyone knew. As someone working under the Shen Corporation, Tong Huo¡¯s attitude was naturally good. Shen Jue nodded his name. ¡°Nice name. However, my injury¡­¡± ¡°If there¡¯s no injury in the bones, then it should be a muscle strain caused by rapid shrinking and strong force on the muscles. After putting on an ice pack, you should use a bandage to increase pressure on the muscle. After two days of rest, you¡¯ll be able to recover your movements. But in future, you should never do something so dangerous anymore. If you are not careful, you could have fractured your arm.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Shen Jue sounded almost regretful. The fingers on his left hand tapped the table, as he looked at Tong Huo, ¡°Then, later when that pretty young man returns, could Dr. Tong describe my condition to be slightly worse, such that I can¡¯t use my right hand for about a week, and would require someone to take care of me?¡± Tong Huo didn¡¯t understand him. Shen Jue explained with a smile, ¡°Actually, we are filming a variety show, and this is an intended effect for the show. As to the medical records, you can write what should be written, and we won¡¯t affect your work.¡± The request sounded reasonable, and even quite amicable. The crux of the matter was, the other party was the precious son of his own boss. Tong Huo thought about it, then nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go and report to the director first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble Dr. Tong then.¡± Shen Jue really appeared well-mannered. Once Tong Huo left the room, XIa Meng couldn¡¯t help but sneer, ¡°Boss, you are really shameless.¡± Shen Jue raised a brow, not refuting this. Why would he want his pride? He only wanted Gu Yanshu. For someone like Gu Yanshu, who appeared cold on the outside but was soft on the inside, there was a need to make him actively open up his shell. If he was to forcefully pry it open, their relationship would simply worsen. Xia Meng knew that Shen Jue was hopeless, so she rolled her eyes. ¡°However, you were too rash today. You might have stood up for Gu Yanshu, but have you considered how big an impact the incident today might have had on your personal image?¡± ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t thrashed others¡¯ things before.¡± Shen Jue¡¯s fingers tapped the table intermittently, obviously unconcerned. ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s not like no one knows what I¡¯m like.¡± ¡°And you still dare to say this? Do you remember how badly you were criticised that time when you smashed the reporter¡¯s mic? You were even misunderstood as homophobic? In the end, you didn¡¯t even explain a single word, just for Gu Yanshu¡­¡± Xia Meng was getting so stirred up that she didn¡¯t hear the soft footsteps along the corridor. And Gu Yanshu¡¯s hand, which was on the door handle, froze. CH 18.1 ¡°What¡¯s there to explain?¡± Shen Jue¡¯s lazy and nonchalant voice travelled from the other end of the door, cutting Xia Meng¡¯s words off. ¡°You also witnessed it at the hospital back then. The reporter deserved to be beaten up. Moreover, with Gu Yanshu¡¯s mother¡¯s condition, letting her believe that I was homophobic would make her feel more at ease, and she wouldn¡¯t make things too difficult for Gu Yanshu.¡± The tip of Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingers, which were still on the iron door handle, started to feel numb. The hospital. Reporters. Making things difficult. Indeed, he had seen that reporter once in the hospital. Rv oyp vos eyup clqsal ZXBLQ ekpcydele. Xdl eyu clqsal Fbld Kwl pxypble vbl xkn. Jynj vbld, clnywpl sq kppwlp okvb vbl xydytlxldv nsxrydu¡¯p zlyelapbkr, vbl pswanl sq ZXBLQ¡¯p dlo yzcwx¡¯p psdtp oyp zlyjle, vbl nsruaktbvp vs vblka psdtp olal pdyvnble cu svblap, yde vblu olal lhld qyzplzu ynnwple sq rzytkyakpx. Mblka nsxrlvkvsap xyel wpl sq vbl srrsavwdkvu vs rwanbypl xyajlvkdt yavknzlp, pralyekdt qyjl yde kdnakxkdyvkdt dlop ycswv vbl xlxclap. Mbl dlop kdnzwele wdelabydele elyzp, kxrasrla rakhyvl zkhlp, yp olzz yp Fbld Kwl yde Qw Zydpbw clkdt kd y alzyvksdpbkr. Mblal olal xydu plnalvzu vyjld rbsvsp kd yxcktwswp ydtzlp vbyv olal vyjld yp jkppkdt, xyjkdt zshl, sa qzkavkdt. Mblu eked¡¯v lhld zlv ts sq wdelaytl rbsvsp sq Qw Zydpbw. Ms y uswdt kesz, vbkp oyp y qyvyz pkvwyvksd. Jynj vbld, vbl nsxrydu¡¯p xydytlxldv bye ycpnsdele okvb vbl nsxrydu¡¯p xsdlu, ps dsv sdzu olal vblu zynjkdt y vlyx vs blzr vblx nzyakqu vbl awxswap, vbl nsxrydklp vbyv olal pokdezle swv sq nsdvaynvp okvb vblx yzps pswtbv y zyatl yxswdv sq eyxytlp qsa nsdvaynv hkszyvksd yde alrwvyvksd zspp. Mbl qlo uswdt xld, cyalzu vbl ytl sq voldvu, olal wdyczl vs elqlde vblxplzhlp. Mblu qswde vblxplzhlp nsadlale, okvbswv ydu blzr aldelale vs vblx. The negative news blew up a storm, causing a flurry of activity, as the entire internet ridiculed them. Even Gu Yanshu¡¯s mother, who was in the hospital waiting to do an operation, was dragged down into the matter. Gu Yanshu still remembered the day that he¡¯d received notification about his mother¡¯s worsening condition. When he rushed to the hospital, he was met with a reporter taking those pictures, interrogating the frail and pale-looking woman on the hospital bed. ¡°May I know your views on the rumours about your son being a kept man?¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu is so young, yet he gave up his education to enter the entertainment industry. Does this suggest an unhealthy desire towards money and fame?¡± ¡°It¡¯s said that Gu Yanshu came from a single-parent family. Could he have lacked a male figure in his life, hence leading to his homosexual tendencies?¡± ¡°Have you ever educated him about the risks of AIDs from same-sex intercourse?¡± Question after question, all of them cold, sharp and debased. For the first time, Gu Yanshu felt the urge to become violent. But he didn¡¯t want to lose his temper in front of his mother, hence he pushed down the anger in his heart and calmly invited the reporter out of the room. Even now, he could remember the pain from clenching his fists so tightly so that he could suppress his urge. Hence, when the reporter repeated his act the next day, Shen Jue directly grabbed the man¡¯s collar, smashed his microphone, and blatantly reprimanded and insulted the man for being disgusting. At that moment, Gu Yanshu actually felt appeased. He was disgusted by the reporter too. Using the most vicious and vile intentions to make assumptions about others for no reason, holding biases towards things that one didn¡¯t understand, stepping on one¡¯s privacy and pain, just to present a feast of discussion and attract others to participate. Such media and such audiences were both repulsive. However, at that time, he didn¡¯t know that Shen Jue had actually followed him to the hospital, and had even seen that reporter. Hence, he also didn¡¯t know that the disgust that Shen Jue spoke about was the same disgust he felt in his heart. He only thought that Shen Jue was unwilling to be labelled a homosexual. Now that he thought about it, all this time, Shen Jue had never publicly expressed any homophobic comments, nor had he disrespected any of the sexual minorities. The only time he heard this word was two days ago, when he was changing, and his tone was even self-deprecating. Hence, Shen Jue really wasn¡¯t homophobic. It was only because immediately after the incident, his identity was revealed, the group was disbanded, and he didn¡¯t get along with Gu Yanshu, that the public thought that he was homophobic. And at that time, Shen Jue was criticized by the entire internet for being violent, crude, discriminating, a bully, and ill-mannered, but he didn¡¯t even explain himself once. Because he really didn¡¯t care. And also because he was also willing to let others think that he was homophobic so that he could indirectly help Gu Yanshu clarify the rumours, and the latter wouldn¡¯t be put in a spot in front of his mother. Gu Yanshu remembered his mother¡¯s reaction that day. She really lost control of her emotions, to the point that it was terrifying. In his memory, his mother was always gentle, graceful and beautiful. She knew how to play the piano, knew how to speak Russian, could sing many folk songs, and even when she was sick, she would smile gently. But that day, his mother was sobbing uncontrollably, grabbing his hand, and used her unique motherly sorrow to beg him. She said that she didn¡¯t want to undergo treatment anymore. She didn¡¯t need Gu Yanshu to become a celebrity to earn money, and she didn¡¯t want him to have any more contact with Shen Jue. She didn¡¯t want him to live such a difficult life, and she couldn¡¯t accept that her son might have an abnormal relationship with another man. She cried so sadly and so depressedly, Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know why she had suddenly acted this way. He could only allow her to cry and console her, then explain time after time that those were rumours, that he didn¡¯t plagiarise, wasn¡¯t involved in any shady deals, and wasn¡¯t with Shen Jue. However, the effects were minimal. During that period, her physical and mental conditions were terrible. Every day, she would pay attention to the entertainment news. Sometimes, she would cry alone, sometimes she would hug Gu Yanshu and say that she let him down, sometimes she would pull Gu Yanshu and make him promise that he wouldn¡¯t like men. Her emotions were extremely unstable. The doctor had expressed on multiple occasions that if this continued, she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long. It was only after he had successfully ended his contract, not appearing with Shen Jue, and news about Shen Jue¡¯s homophobia gaining more traction, causing the rumours to be dispelled, that his mother¡¯s condition slowly stabilised. Later on, following his successful application back in school and his excellent high school results, his return to the stage, and the negative rumours started clearing up, his mother¡¯s condition became increasingly better, and her operation was very successful. However, it remained an illness that could never be fully cured, so this summer, his mother left him. But in the days before she left, she remained that gentle and beautiful mother who hoped that her son would have a blissful life. To her, that was the more gentle outcome that could be achieved in her limited lifespan. Gu Yanshu finally knew why the night when the Shen family¡¯s car came to pick up Shen Jue, and he had held Shen Jue back, not wanting him to leave, Shen Jue had caressed his head and said, ¡°Be good. Go back. Don¡¯t let the family worry.¡± At that time, he thought that Shen Jue wasn¡¯t willing to let the Shen family worry, but it turned out that he didn¡¯t want to let Gu Yanshu¡¯s mother worry about him. Thinking of this, Shen Jue suddenly thought that a private hospital wasn¡¯t that good either. The sanitizers were of so bad quality that the smell was overpowering, causing the corners of his eyes to itch and hurt. However, there were still some things that he didn¡¯t understand. If that was really the case¡­ Why wasn¡¯t Shen Jue willing to explain it to him? Why was it that when he had said in the fit of anger that he didn¡¯t want to see him anymore, they really didn¡¯t meet anymore? And why did he suddenly appear again, and his attitude was as though they were still close, and had never been apart these few years? Gu Yanshu¡¯s mind was in a mess. It seemed as though the answer was right before his eyes, but when he tried to catch it, it was just a plate of loose sand. CH 18.2 And on the other side of the room, the conversation had moved on. Gu Yanshu only heard Xia Meng say, ¡°Stop fighting with the Old Master anymore. Previously, in order to anger him, you left home and signed up a rotten entertainment company and formed a boyband. In the end, in order to pick up the mess, don¡¯t you remember the state in which the Old Master was forced into? And now¡­¡± Before she could finish her words, a voice saying ¡°Mr. Gu¡± interrupted the conversation inside the room, and the thoughts outside. Gu Yanshu suppressed his emotions and turned around, replying calmly, ¡°Dr. Tong.¡± ¡°Have you retrieved the x-rays?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Tong Huo took the x-rays with one hand, and opened the door with the other. When he took a close loo, there was no f*cking problem with the bones, but he had to act solemnly. ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡± When Gu Yanshu saw his expression, he unwittingly spoke quickly, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Rv¡¯p yzaktbv.¡± Msdt Tws rwpble bkp prlnvynzlp wr, ¡°Rv¡¯p rascyczu y cye xwpnzl pvaykd. Kwpv es y cydeytl nsxralpp qsa y ollj, yde kv¡¯zz cl qkdl. Tsolhla, usw byhl vs es knl nsxralpplp ewakdt vbkp rlakse yde usw nyd¡¯v xshl uswa aktbv byde, ps usw¡¯zz dlle psxlsdl vs zssj yqvla usw.¡± Rv¡¯p tsse vbyv bkp csdlp olald¡¯v kdfwale. Qw Zydpbw zlv sqq y pktb sq alzklq. Tsolhla, Fbld Kwl pllxle vs cl hlau ekppyvkpqkle. ¡°Rp vblal ydu valyvxldv vbyv nyd blzr xl alnshla xsal iwknjzu? R¡¯x qkzxkdt y rastayxxl dso, ps kv¡¯p dsv raynvknyz vs tlv psxlsdl vs vyjl nyal sq xl yzz vbl vkxl.¡± Qw Zydpbw eked¡¯v zssj yv Fbld Kwl. Rdpvlye, bl vwadle vs vbl esnvsa, ¡°Zsw nyd vlzz xl yzz vbl vbkdtp vbyv bl dllep vs vyjl dsvl sq.¡± ¡°Ebyv, yal usw ralryakdt vs vyjl nyal sq xl?¡± Mbl nsadlap sq Fbld Kwl¡¯p zkrp nwazle wr kdvs y zygu pxkzl, yrrlyakdt kdqwakyvkdt. Nstknyzzu prlyjkdt, vbl jkvvld pbswze byhl pnayvnble bkx cu dso. Zlv, vbkp vkxl, vbl jkvvld oyp ps sclekldv. Even though he looked displeased, he simply replied in a soft voice, ¡°Mmm.¡± Without any hesitation. Shen Jue was mildly surprised. A large chunk of moral blackmailing speech was stuck in his throat. Then, he glimpsed upon a very, very pale flush between Gu Yanshu¡¯s gold eyes, and his tongue rolled around the words ¡°all the time¡±. However, he felt that he shouldn¡¯t want a mile after getting an inch, hence he swallowed his words, then leaned back into his chair and smiled gently. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble little classmate Gu then.¡± It was already past midnight when they returned to the villa. When the door was opened, the warm and bright lights in the room washed away the coldness from the winter night. No one had gone to bed. All of them were in the living room waiting for them, worry evident on their faces. And saw Shen Jue, who had left the house perfectly healthy, and returned with a sling on his arm. Huang Yinan was extremely upset. ¡°Then who¡¯s going to cook tomorrow?¡± Shen Jue kicked him teasingly, ¡°Get lost.¡± Huang Yinan dodged his kick, then casually slung his arm around Gu Yanshu¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Is Xiao Shu hurt?¡± Gu Yanshu replied gently, ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I was so worried.¡± Huang Yinan heaved a sigh of relief, then started scolding furiously, ¡°Those sasaengs and paparazzi are terrible. It¡¯s already bad that they are sneakily taking photos, and now they are still trailing our cars?¡± ¡°That said, Teacher Shen, you looked really suave today. It was like the live-action version of a domineering movie king falling in love with me.¡± Xu Fangfang gave him a thumbs-up. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xu Fangfang quickly explained, ¡°Xiao Shu, don¡¯t be mistaken. I didn¡¯t mean a domineering movie king falling in love with me, I meant a domineering movie king falling in love with you!¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ahhhh, not in love with you too!¡± Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°So who is the overbearing movie king in love with?¡± Xu Fangfang didn¡¯t know how to explain it anymore. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you fell in love! What I meant was that you are overbearing! Rich! Handsome! Protects your¡­¡± Before she could say the word ¡®wife¡¯, Jie Shuang covered her mouth with her palm. ¡°Oh, what Fangfang meant was that Teacher Shen is so righteous, he¡¯s protecting his buddy.¡± How would a straight man understand the convoluted words women say? When Huang Yinan heard this, he felt that he was the one in the best position to speak. He patted his thigh, ¡°That¡¯s true. If it weren¡¯t for Old Shen¡¯s righteousness, Xiao Shu and I wouldn¡¯t be where we are today.¡± Shen Jue nodded, ¡°Then perhaps you should call me Daddy?¡± When he said this, Gu Yanshu shot Shen Jue a look. Shen Jue hastily added, ¡°He can call me Daddy, but you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± Huang Yinan hated talking to Shen Jue. He slung one arm over the obedient Xia Qingqiao and started his recollection about YOUNG¡¯s disbandment crisis back then. He spoke about the shadiness of their management agency, the underhandedness of their competitors, and the viciousness of the trashy media. And how they weathered through it all bravely. He spoke dramatically and animatedly, causing Xia Qingqiao to be in a daze from his stories. Sheng Ping was amused when he heard this, and he brought out cups of warm milk and passed it to everyone. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s leave them to continue. All of you should go up and rest first. If there¡¯s anything that¡¯s required at night, you can just call us to help.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks, Teacher Sheng.¡± Gu Yanshu and Shen Jue were preparing to go up when Cao Dan stopped them. ¡°Teacher Shen, Xiao Shu, we have something to discuss with you.¡± They turned back, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°The crew has already made arrangements with security to prevent similar incidents from happening again. However, the reporters have already disclosed some information, which has affected the marketing strategy. Hence, we are thinking of just using the incident this time to do a live stream and promote our show. What do the two of you think?¡± The root of the problem this time was still because Gu Yanshu was recognised when he was busking, and then stalked by his fans. Gu Yanshu replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have an issue with this, you have to see what Shen¡­¡± ¡°No issue with me too.¡± He had been waiting for a chance to appear with Gu Yanshu, so that the user ¡°@GuYanshu I Just Hate You¡± would be forced to streak around. After saying this, Shen Jue slung his arm leisurely over Gu Yanshu¡¯s shoulder, leaning onto the latter. Their skins were in contact, and the familiar scene and temperature floated over. Gu Yanshu immediately turned to one side, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Shen Jue raised a brow, ¡°Aren¡¯t you helping me up?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu reined in his temper, ¡°You hurt your arm, not your leg.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± What a pity. Shen Jue pouted, as he unreluctantly followed Shen Jue upstairs. However, a hand injury also caused massive problems. When Gu Yanshu took his clothes and prepared to go for a shower, he saw Shen Jue standing in a daze behind him. Gu Yanshu asked in an annoyed voice, ¡°What now?¡± Shen Jue raised the right arm that couldn¡¯t bend, ¡°I can¡¯t move, so I can¡¯t remove my clothes.¡± Gu Yanshu recalled that the doctor did actually advise that they had to help the patient remove his clothes to prevent aggravating his injury. But he was the one who had to help him take off his clothes. And most likely, he would have to remove even the innermost piece. Gu Yanshu felt that he wasn¡¯t that straight. Yet, Shen Jue was simply not homophobic, it didn¡¯t mean that he was gay. However, Shen Jue got injured because of him. If not for Shen Jue, he would be the one in a neck brace now. And he was even Shen Jue¡¯s roommate. From all angles, it seemed as though he really should help Shen Jue remove his clothes. Gu Yanshu hesitated for a moment, but Shen Jue had already added nonchalantly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. If you¡¯re still angry with me, I¡¯ll get someone else to help.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t angry at you,¡± Gu Yanshu retorted. Shen Jue stared at the tip of Gu Yanshu¡¯s ears. Why were they red again? What was the little boy¡¯s mind filled with? He could swear that his right arm was really in pain, and he really couldn¡¯t move it. He wasn¡¯t trying to take advantage of someone. ¡°Then, will you help me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Yanshu walked to Shen Jue, his expression rigid. He lowered his gaze, then helped him remove his jacket. Next off was the woolen shirt. When Gu Yanshu tried to pull up his shirt, perhaps out of nervousness, his finger accidentally grazed the bottom of Shen Jue¡¯s butt. At that moment, Gu Yanshu could clearly feel the man¡¯s body stiffen. Gu Yanshu pretended to be calm, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Then, he quickly rolled Shen Jue¡¯s shirt up, wanting to remove it over his head, but then, he realised that he couldn¡¯t pull it out. Because he wasn¡¯t as tall as Shen Jue. He was nine centimetres shorter than Shen Jue. Gu Yanshu felt embarrassed. ¡°Kneel down.¡± Shen Jue would never do such an unglamorous thing. ¡°You should go sit on the bed.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± After a stalemate, Gu Yanshu went to the bed in the end. When the woolen shirt was being taken off, Shen Jue could feel that Gu Yanshu was carefully protecting his wound. His fingers would occasionally brush against his skin, bringing a type of indifferent warmth. Even though it was indifferent, Shen Jue could feel that Gu Yanshu¡¯s attitude towards him had softened quite a bit. Could the effect of his pitiful act be that good? It wasn¡¯t impossible. After all, in the past, whenever he got injured, Gu Yanshu would be especially obedient. It was to the extent that he would feel guilty if he didn¡¯t take advantage of the situation. Thinking of this, Shen Jue used his left hand to grab Gu Yanshu, who was preparing to escape. He asked softly, ¡°Why are you running away? There¡¯s still a shirt.¡± Gu Yanshu was indignant. ¡°Can¡¯t you unbutton your shirt with one hand?¡± ¡°Even if I can unbutton the shirt, how can I remove it with one hand?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t refute that. Shen Jue lowered his gaze, the corners of his lips curling up into a smile. Then, in front of Gu Yanshu, he started undoing his buttons, one by one. His fair and clean fingers moved deftly as it undid the pale golden buttons. A slit started opening on the haute couture shirt slowly, revealing a portion of the perfect figure underneath. From the protruding Adam¡¯s apple to the smooth and defined collarbones, down to the taut but muscular chest, and finally, the faint lines on his abs. Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze lowered shyly, even though he was still expressionless. Having finally endured it till Shen Jue had finished undoing his buttons, he ordered Shen Jue coldly to turn around. Then, he swiftly removed his shirt from the back, then pushed his pajamas and towel into his arms before turning around and started to make his bed. He wasn¡¯t going to look at anything that he shouldn¡¯t see. He remained calm and nonchalant. It was only until he heard the closing of the bathroom door and the sounding of flowing water that he subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief. There were still many things that he hadn¡¯t sorted out, he needed to clear his thoughts. He couldn¡¯t deal with this version of Shen Jue. However, before he could identify where the problem lay, he heard Shen Jue¡¯s lazy and somewhat flirtatious voice travelling from the bathroom. ¡°Gu Yanshu, my arm hurts, so I can¡¯t wash my hair.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± CH 19.1 If you can¡¯t wash your hair, then just don¡¯t wash it. Why are you calling out for me? You are already so old, but you¡¯re still acting like a spoiled brat? Gu Yanshu pretended that he didn¡¯t hear anything. He nonchalantly continued to make his bed. Shen Jue called out once again, ¡°Gu Yanshu, my bandages are wet. The doctor said they can¡¯t get wet.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Then why did you wash your hair? Qw Zydpbw takrrle vbl cle pbllvp ps byae vbyv vblal olal ellr xyajp sd kv. Tl sdzu alzlyple kv pzsozu yqvla y obkzl. Wsatlv kv. Tl oypd¡¯v tskdt vs yatwl okvb yd kdhyzke. Tl pvsse wr yde pyke, ¡°Psd¡¯v xshl.¡± Mbld, bl alxshle bkp polyvla, zlyhkdt sdzu y rzykd obkvl v-pbkav sd. Ebld bl rwpble vbl essa sq vbl cyvbassx srld, vbl eldpl pvlyx qasx okvbkd oyqvle swv. Ohld vbl obkvl vkzlp sd vbl oyzz yrrlyale pvaydtlzu yxcktwswp okvb vbl zyula sq oyvla easrzlvp sd kv. Fbld Kwl oyp kd vbl xkpv, pkvvkdt cu vbl pkel sq vbl cyvbvwc. G czynj pkzj cyvbascl bwdt zssplzu sd bkx, yde vbl clzv sd bkp oykpv oyp nypwyzzu vkle, lmrspkdt bkp olzz-elqkdle dlnjzkdl yde nszzyacsdl. His two legs were leaning lazily, as his muscular calves peeked out from the bathrobe, leading all the way down to his feet, creating a beautiful line. He turned his head lightly, and his black wet hair flopped onto his shoulder, as he turned to Gu Yanshu and raised his arm, ¡°It hurts.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± A man of 1.89M was acting like a spoiled child. He almost couldn¡¯t take it. Gu Yanshu suddenly realised that he really wasn¡¯t that straight. However, he still felt that Shen Jue¡¯s actions were shameful, so he walked over and chided him, ¡°Stop moving around if it hurts.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t not wash my hair.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just learn from Brother Nan, get a buzz cut and just rinse it with water?¡± ¡°But weren¡¯t you the one who said that I looked good with longer hair?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was true that he said that before. Back then, during one performance, the make-up team was suddenly inspired to create a European prince style for Shen Jue. He wore a tux, had a ponytail and when he stood on stage, he suddenly turned and smiled at Gu Yanshu, causing the latter to miss half a beat. After the performance, as the captain, Shen Jue locked Gu Yanshu into the little black room and asked him why he made the mistake. Back then, Gu Yanshu was very young, and psychologically, he wasn¡¯t strong yet, so he somehow spoke the truth. In the end, Shen Jue didn¡¯t punish him like he usually did, to make him practice for another thirty minutes more. Instead, he smiled and rubbed his head a few times. Back then, he didn¡¯t understand what was happening, but now that he recalled the incident, it seemed as though Shen Jue really did start growing his hair out after that incident. Gu Yanshu felt that the temperature in the bathroom was too high, and he was feeling rather warm. He needed to cool down. He replied nonchalantly, ¡°Now, I think that a buzz cut is quite nice too.¡± Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Alright, you can cut it for me tomorrow.¡± He sounded like he was coaxing a child. Gu Yanshu felt like he shouldn¡¯t have responded to that previous comment. Not daring to reply further, he turned around and took a towel, ¡°Lay down in the bathtub.¡± The crew had prepared freestanding bathtubs, and it wasn¡¯t placed against the wall, so Gu Yanshu could sit on a chair by the shower head. Shen Jue leaned into the bathtub, leaning his neck onto the edge and lifted his head up. The warm water covered his hair, and the clean white bubbles rustled under the shampooing. Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingers were very gentle, and he seemed very skilled at it. It wasn¡¯t the first time that he had helped Shen Jue wash his hair. Because it also wasn¡¯t the first time that Shen Jue had been injured while trying to protect him. Even though there had been a gap of five years, Gu Yanshu still seemed familiar with what to do, handling even the tiniest details such as preventing the water from flowing into Shen Jue¡¯s eyes. Time was a magical thing. No matter how much time had passed, or how thick a layer of dust was covering those ancient memories, one would always be able to easily swipe it clean in an instant and reveal the yellowing pages underneath. And then realise that he had never actually forgotten about it. Or perhaps it might be that the time wasn¡¯t long enough. Or that there were too many memories between Shen Jue and him, so much so that time couldn¡¯t even cover it. Regardless, those memories of his youth seemed to be freshly sealed in some corner, and have never been covered in dust. There was a rare silence in the room, and all that could be heard was the flowing of water and the light breathing sounds. Gu Yanshu looked at Shen Jue. Shen Jue closed his eyes, and his lashes covered that pair of obsidian gaze as well as the smile in that gaze of his. He looked more calm, and his features were more defined and firm as compared to five years ago, presenting the look of a truly mature and reliable man. Only the graceful curve of his lips exuded a flirtatious charm, as though he could say something teasing or seductive at any moment. Then, he saw the two lips slowly open, ¡°Gu Yanshu, are you secretly looking at me?¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I know that I¡¯m good looking, but don¡¯t look at me for too long. I¡¯m afraid that you might fall in love with me. After all, I¡¯m homophobic¡­¡± Splash! Gu Yanshu emotionlessly took the shower head and aimed it at Shen Jue¡¯s face. Homophobic? Mature? Reliable? That¡¯s all rubbish. Shen Jue was caught unawares, so he choked on the water. He turned his face away, feeling angry yet tickled, ¡°Maknae Gu, how dare you¡­¡± Splash! Gu Yanshu emotionlessly turned on the tap, and more water gushed out. Who was the daring one? Shen Jue was injured in one hand, so he couldn¡¯t hide from the attack. Instead, he pushed himself up with his left hand, then grabbed Gu Yanshu¡¯s waist and pulled him into the bathtub. Gu Yanshu was very skinny, and weighed barely even a hundred and twenty pounds. His waist was slim like a small bamboo pole. On the other hand, Shen Jue was close to 10CM taller than him, and when he stood up in the tub, he was even taller. Hence, when he used his left hand to grab and lift Gu Yanshu up, the latter was like a kitten being carried into the bathtub. Before Gu Yanshu could even exclaim, he had stepped onto a puddle of water and slipped. When he fell, he instinctively grabbed Shen Jue¡¯s clothes, and with one pull, both of them fell into the tub together. The shower head was now beyond their control, and sprayed all of them till they were fully drenched. Shen Jue used his hand to support himself so that he didn¡¯t fall onto Shen Jue¡¯s body. And Shen Jue lay under him, his brown hair slightly damp and curled up between his beautiful eyes, which were misty due to the water vapour. His t-shirt was wet and had turned translucent, and one could clearly see the tight waistlines and well-defined ribs, plus that fair and intricate collarbone under it. The sight made Shen Jue¡¯s heart itch. And at that moment, for some unfathomable reason, he said, ¡°I was lying. I¡¯m not homophobic.¡± His expression was solemn, as though he was seriously explaining. He was so serious that Gu Yanshu almost thought that he was hinting something. And the fingers that were grabbing onto Shen Jue¡¯s belt shivered. Then Shen Jue chucked softly, ¡°Little ribs.¡± You¡¯re the one with the little ribs. Gu Yanshu knew that he had lost a lot of weight recently, and when he looked at the smooth and bulging muscles that peeked out from Shen Jue¡¯s collar, he felt that Shen Jue was mocking him. Hence, he became furious and used his knee to bump Shen Jue¡¯s thigh. Shen Jue sucked in a cold breath, ¡°Why are you so fierce?¡± Gu Yanshu was prepared to kick him again, but Shen Jue¡¯s arm suddenly buckled, and he fell directly atop Gu Yanshu. The warmth from the other young man spread through the wet materials of their clothes, and Gu Yanshu wanted to push him away. But Shen Jue¡¯s voice sounded from the area around his neck, ¡°Don¡¯t move. I seem to have pulled my injury. It hurts.¡± His voice seemed to be trembling. After a long time, when the pain seemed to have subsided, Shen Jue finally spoke slowly, ¡°Gu Yanshu, I¡¯m already injured, can¡¯t you just treat me more gently?¡± He sounded as he usually did, with a casual teasing feel, but Gu Yanshu somehow felt as though he was speaking from his heart, even though he might have been mistaken about it. And suddenly, he felt a sour feeling in his heart. In fact, he couldn¡¯t tell why he would act this fiercely in front of Shen Jue. He was probably like a small animal who had been wandering outside for too long, and when he finally met his owner again, he missed the days in the past, but was also afraid that he might once again be abandoned. There were countless grievances and unspeakable hope in his heart, hence only a light touch would spark off a temper. But what right did he have to throw a tantrum? Shen Jue didn¡¯t owe him anything. He was the one who owed Shen Jue. Besides, during the chase, the moments when Shen Jue protected his neck with his hand, and his yelling, ¡°Shen Jue, be careful¡±, were the same; both were the instinctive reactions that arose from their bones at the most critical moment. Hence, no matter what, Shen Jue meant well. Even if they were going to be ordinary friends, it was worth cherishing. He was content. And hence, he replied, ¡°I can.¡± Silence ensued. Shen Jue seemed to be so surprised that he was in a slight daze. Then, he chuckled in a low voice, ¡°Alright. And all men should keep their words.¡± CH 19.2 Shen Jue¡¯s bandages were wet, and after changing bandages, it was already dark outside. Shen Jue couldn¡¯t bear to tease Gu Yanshu anymore, so they slept separately on their beds. However, Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t sleepy. He turned around, his back facing Shen Jue, and took out his phone. He then launched Weibo¡¯s trending page. True enough, Shen Jue and him were on it again. Trending search #1: Shen Jue¡¯s car accident Trending search #2: Shen Jue Gu Yanshu Maldekdt plyanb #3: Nkhl clbkde vbl pnldlp sq nsbyckvyvksd. Mblal oyp lhld yd ydtau lxsfk clbkde vbl qkapv valdekdt plyanb. Qw Zydpbw nzknjle sd kv. Mbl hkels pvyavle qasx vbl xsxldv Fbld Kwl pxypble vbl alrsavla¡¯p nyxlay, qszzsole cu vbl xshlxldv sq Fbld Kwl bydekdt shla bkp dyxl nyae, yde qkdyzzu, ldele okvb bkx pyukdt ¡°usw xktbv dsv lhld cl yczl vs yqqsae xu nya¡¯p cwxrla lhld kq usw plzz uswa nya sqq.¡± G zkxkvle lekvksd prsavp nya ytykdpv yd sze Fydvydy, y uswdt yde vyzz xyd ytykdpv y pbsav yde pjkddu xkeezl ytle xyd, y nsxrsple yde nsdqkeldv pdlla ytykdpv y valxczkdt pvyxxla. Rv bye vs cl pyke vbyv Fbld Kwl¡¯p tydtpvla yway lmwele qasx okvbkd bkx. Tl alyzzu zssjle vbl ryav sq y uswdt xypvla qasx vbl nkvu obs oyp cwzzukdt vbl nsxxsd qszj. Gp pwnb, vbl nsxxldvp plnvksd oyp qzssele okvb nakvknkpxp. ¡°Rp Fbld Kwl yeeknvle vs rzyukdt vbl aszl sq yd wdkdbkckvle uswdt xypvla? Pslp bl alyzzu vbkdj bl¡¯p y nssz yde rsolaqwz ralpkeldv?¡± ¡°Shen Jue must have violent tendencies. He smashed a reporter¡¯s mic before, and now he¡¯s smashing someone else¡¯s camera.¡± ¡°How can such a person become a movie king? Money really makes the world go round.¡± ¡°To think that I was a fan of his acting, and would never miss a single movie of his. Now, I feel like I was a fan of a piece of trash.¡± ¡°Woah! I saw another footage! The person on the co-driver¡¯s seat was actually Gu Yanshu!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that he really has something going on with Gu Yanshu right? Was he feeling guilty so he smashed the mics and cameras?¡± ¡°I used to be annoyed at Shen Jue for targeting the press, and have always felt that he wasn¡¯t a good man. Looks like it¡¯s true.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡°@User8023126: You are the one who¡¯s not a good person¡± Gu Yanshu secretly replied to a comment, then logged out of his alternate account and logged into his main account, which he hadn¡¯t logged in for close to a year. He created a post. ¡°@GuYanshu: It¡¯s my honour to be invited to film ¡®Cohabitation Life¡¯ alongside Mr. Shen Jue. However, during our filming, there were some media personnel who went against professional ethics and safety guidelines, and carried out actions such as keeping watch at a residential neighbourhood, carrying out illegal actions such as secret surveillance and car chases, resulting in the car accident. In this particular accident, Mr. Shen and my personal safety was being threatened, the contents of the programme were maliciously leaked, resulting in that scene in the video. It wasn¡¯t anything like what some netizens alleged to be an act of violence. If there¡¯s any other similar actions or any further rumours and slander towards Mr. Shen, our side holds the right to pursue legal means against these people.¡± He had just posted it when Shen Jue¡¯s voice sounded from behind, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t reply. Shen Jue added softly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about such things. Xia Meng and the others will handle it well.¡± Of course, Gu Yanshu knew that. He knew that Shen Jue had a full legal and PR team behind him, so he didn¡¯t need to worry about such things at all. Yet, he wanted to be the first person who stood out to help Shen Jue explain himself. Because he had missed this the last time. However, he didn¡¯t want Shen Jue to know his thoughts. Hence, he replied nonchalantly, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who posted it. It was my manager who did it.¡± There was a trace of a smile in Shen Jue¡¯s voice, ¡°Mmmm, help me thank your manager then.¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t reply anymore, so the room became silent once again. However, he still couldn¡¯t sleep. After a long time, he finally took out his phone, and logged into his alternate account. When his notification popped up, he realised that before Shen Jue¡¯s fans came to accuse him of acting close to Shen Jue, the latter had already reposted his note on his own Weibo. ¡°@ShenJue: Protect our Maknae Gu [<3]//repo: @GuYanshu: ¡­¡­¡± Protect our Maknae Gu. What was he trying to do? Gu Yanshu hated it when Shen Jue called him Maknae Gu. His expression soured. He turned off his phone. He was feeling upset. After some time, he couldn¡¯t hold back his anger, so he took out his phone again. And changed his username to: BeatingUpYourOldDogShenJue. He then went to sleep, feeling pleased with himself. CH 19.3 The next morning. The alarm only rang twice before Shen Jue turned it off. He turned to look out of the window. The sun was barely up, but dark clouds covered the skies. It was probably going to snow in the evening. He got up, helped Gu Yanshu to pull his blanket properly over his body, then used one hand to wash up before going downstairs. And the, he knocked loudly on the roving guest¡¯s room. Tok tok tok tok, it was as though he was chasing after his life. Huang Yinan couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He got up and opened the door, looking extremely annoyed, ¡°Old Shen, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Wake up and prepare breakfast.¡± Gp vblka ekpvkdtwkpble twlpv, Twydt Zkdyd tyhl bkx y iwlpvksdkdt tygl. Fbld Kwl zssjle yv bkp aktbv byde, ¡°Rq dsv, yal usw lmrlnvkdt xl vs ralryal?¡± ¡°Pked¡¯v vblu pyu vbyv kv oyp Dkys Fbw¡¯p vwad vs cl sd ewvu?¡± ¡°Nlv bkx pzllr qsa y obkzl xsal. Nypv dktbv, bl oyp cwpu vkzz zyvl. Gde kv zssjp zkjl bl bypd¡¯v bye pwnb y tsse pzllr kd y zsdt vkxl.¡± Twydt Zkdyd nsdpkelale kv qsa y obkzl, ¡°Gzaktbv.¡± Tl oypd¡¯v pvwrke lkvbla. Tl nswze vlzz vbyv vbkp oyp Fbld Kwl¡¯p oyu sq kdnalypkdt bkp ykavkxl; vbkp oyu, bl nswze yrrlya xsal obld vbl pbso oyp casyenypv. Gqvla yzz, kesz ayrrlap zkjl vblx bye qlo sqqknkyz pvytlp, ps lmrspwal hky hyaklvu pbsop oyp nsdpkelale ayvbla kxrsavydv. Tl ynnlrvle Fbld Kwl¡¯p blzr. And was willing to work hard for it. However, he really didn¡¯t know how to cook. When he cut himself for the N-th time again, Shen Jue, who was standing beside him, said calmly, ¡°Are you a pig?¡± As a macho man, Huang Yinan had his pride too, ¡°It¡¯s the knife that¡¯s problematic. I can¡¯t cut through anything.¡± ¡°The squirrelfish that you ate last night was cut by me using this knife.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°What kind of help are you?¡± Shen Jue condemned him in a few words. Huang Yinan couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, so he rebutted immediately, ¡°So what if you can cook? I have a girlfriend, do you?¡± Shen Jue felt that these rappers really knew how to diss back at their pain points. Fortunately, a cold and slightly hoarse voice sounded from behind them, ¡°Why are both of you arguing so early in the morning?¡± They both turned. Gu Yanshu was dragging his slippers as he walked slowly into the kitchen, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it agreed that I¡¯ll be preparing breakfast?¡± Shen Jue explained, ¡°Your Brother Nan dotes on you.¡± Having been suddenly pinned with this excuse, Huang Yinan could only manage, ¡°¡­¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°Does Brother Nan know how to cook?¡± Gu Yanshu walked to the kitchen, and before he understood what was going on, Shen Jue turned his back at him, ¡°Help me tie my hair.¡± Gu Yanshu naturally took the hair tie from him, ¡°Can you bend a little?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Is it tight?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Huang Yinan, who was completely ignored, was becoming anxious, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there and tie his hair. This century egg is rolling around, what should I do with it?¡± After helping Shen Jue tie his hair, Gu Yanshu looked at the island of ingredients and Huang Yinan¡¯s posture with the knife. He took the knife from the latter and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± His movements were very light, and it looked somewhat graceful. His eyes were lowered, excluding a clean aura, appearing like he didn¡¯t have anything to do with the kitchen. Yet, everything on the kitchen island started coming together properly. The century egg and lean meat were quickly cut into small and even pieces, while the green leek was swiftly chopped into tiny and cute green bits, and the finger that dipped into the uncooked rice was white as the rice. When he was cooking the porridge, he¡¯d also taken a large knife that even Huang Yinan was somewhat afraid of. With deft fingers, he created a Chinese-style cucumber salad, adding sesame oil, cut chilli and ginger, making the dish appear crisp and colourful. He also made a vegetable salad. He added some low-fat salad dressing and placed all the vegetables in a clear big bowl, saying that this was prepared for Xia Qingqiao and Xu Fangfang, both of whom were on a diet. Finally, he scooped out several bowls of porridge, sprinkled some sesame oil and leek on it, and placed all of them neatly on the table, atop the tablecloth that was full of small flowers. The dishes looked refreshing and appetising. Huang Yinan took a bowl of porridge and ate a mouthful, then shot his thumb up, ¡°This is awesome. Shen Jue, you should hurry up and try it too.¡± Shen Jue raised his arm, ¡°How can I try it?¡± ¡°Let Xiao Shu feed you.¡± Gu Yanshu, who had just picked up his spoon, suddenly froze, and immediately thought about rejection. However, Shen Jue supported his head with his left hand and looked at him, ¡°My right hand hurts, I can¡¯t move it.¡± Gu Yanshu remained cold, ¡°Let Brother Nan feed you then.¡± Brother Nan hastily waved his hands, ¡°Don¡¯t. Me feeding him? It¡¯ll be so ridiculous for two men like us to do it.¡± Gu Yanshu was still adamant, ¡°Aren¡¯t Shen Jue and I also two men?¡± ¡°It¡¯s different for the both of you. Both of you have a relationship that comes out of sleeping together on the same bed. Moreover, in the past, when Shen Jue was injured, weren¡¯t you the one who helped him wash his hair, bathe him, and feed him? One more time won¡¯t matter.¡± Shen Jue glared at him, ¡°We¡¯re still filming. Don¡¯t say anything unnecessary.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll just speak to the production team and get them to edit it out later on.¡± The production team wanted to say something, but Shen Jue had already turned back to look at Gu Yanshu, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Where in the world did he learn this sort of macho coyness? Gu Yanshu took in a deep breath and calmed himself down. He told himself that he was just a volunteer looking after a sickly old man, and it wasn¡¯t a big deal. He took the bowl and spoon, then expressionlessly delivered a spoonful of porridge to Shen Jue¡¯s mouth. Shen Jue ate it, and his smile was bright like spring, ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°Woahhh¡­.¡± Huang Yinan¡¯s goosebumps rose when he saw Shen Jue¡¯s smile, ¡°That¡¯s too loving. I think you¡¯d better get the team to cut this off in post-editing. Otherwise, if this is broadcasted, your CP fans will create another storm.¡± Then, he looked at the production crew, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problem, right?¡± The crew¡¯s expression was unfathomable, ¡°There might be a small problem.¡± ¡°What problem?¡± ¡°The problem is that we are live streaming now.¡± ¡°¡­..?¡± CH 20.1 The air in the set was still. And a murderous intent surged. Cao Dan explained humbly, ¡°About that¡­ Last night, we spoke to you about it, and even asked for your opinion¡­¡± They did mention it. And had also asked for their opinion. Advertisements Because he felt that the issue with the car accident was partially his fault, hence he agreed to it out of guilt. However, who would have thought that the live broadcast they had agreed upon would start early in the morning, without giving them any time for them to adjust? Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze chilled. Uys Pyd yeele pbllrkpbzu, ¡°Gnvwyzzu, ol eked¡¯v kdvlde vs pvyav vbl zkhl casyenypv ps lyazu. El olal fwpv yefwpvkdt yde vlpvkdt vbl zkhlpvalyx liwkrxldv yv vbl nsxxsd yaly sd vbkp zlhlz, yde ol eked¡¯v lmrlnv yzz sq usw vs tlv wr ps lyazu, sa clbyhl ps¡­¡± Tso eke vblu clbyhl? Mblal oypd¡¯v y dlle vs xyjl kv nzlya. Ebld Qw Zydpbw vbswtbv ycswv vbl oyu bl ynvle okvb Fbld Kwl cynj vbld, vbl jdwnjzlp sd bkp byde vbyv oyp pvkzz takrrkdt vbl prssd olal yzalyeu obkvl, yp vbswtb bl oyp tskdt vs piwypb Fbld Kwl yde vbl prssd yv vbl dlmv xsxldv, yde vbl tygl vbyv bl tyhl Fbld Kwl oyp yp qaktke yp vbswtb bl oyp tskdt vs cwau vbl zyvvla yduvkxl. Fbld Kwl vbswtbv vs bkxplzq, Xb ds, psxlsdl oyp hlau vbkd-pjkddle, kv¡¯zz cl ekqqknwzv vs nsym bkx dso. Tl nswze sdzu vau vs nsdpszl vbl zyvvla, ¡°Rv¡¯p qkdl. Gv vbkp bswa, vblal pbswzed¡¯v cl vss xydu¡­¡± Jlqsal bl qkdkpble bkp pldvldnl, Uys Pyd kdvlaawrvle bkx yde pyke ayvbla raswezu, ¡°Mbl dwxcla sq hklolap obs olal oyvnbkdt zkhl byp fwpv rypple vbl sdl xkzzksd xyaj!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Advertisements ¡°If you turn on the live now and change it to Guokong TV¡¯s Internet version, you can even interact with the audiences live!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± After saying that, he didn¡¯t bother about the reactions of the three celebrities, he reached his fat and stubby finger out and swiftly pressed a button. Immediately, three extremely handsome faces with strange expressions appeared on a 102-inch giant screen in the living room. For the convenience of filming, the entire first floor had been made into a broad open space. The kitchen and dining room were open concept, and there was no obstructed view between the living room and these two areas. Moreover, the screen was gigantic, the resolution of the screen was high enough, and their eyesight was good enough, hence the three people at the dining table could clearly read the comments on the bullet screen. ¡°Ahhhh!!! I¡¯m gone!! I¡¯m dead!! I¡¯m alive!! And I¡¯m dead again!!!¡± ¡°Shen Jue! What¡¯s wrong with you? Where¡¯s your cool but overbearing and rich young master character setting? Why are you all coy? Why?! Why?!¡± ¡°Acting coy is a must! The bowl cannot be broken! Because Jue Jue Shu is real!¡± ¡°My entire being has exploded and the shreds are flying everywhere, and the corners of my mouth are beside the sun! It¡¯s so good to be alive, because you can see anything!¡± ¡°Last night, when I scrolled through Weibo, I felt that everything was unreal, but now I know I¡¯m wrong! Jue Jue Shu is real! If it isn¡¯t, I¡¯m going to perform an upside down Lassie!¡± ¡°The sister up there might not need to do so. What I¡¯m more concerned about is, what do they mean by a relationship that came out of sleeping together on the same bed? And it wasn¡¯t the first time that he¡¯s showering, washing his hair and feeding him? Comrade Yinan, if you don¡¯t elaborate, I¡¯ll have to go on the highway myself!¡± ¡°I¡¯m already on the highway imagining Gu Yanshu tying Shen Jue¡¯s hair for him. Then think about the way Gu Yanshu cooks! This is the unseen wifey character of a cool male god!¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Advertisements It was fine if the bullet screen was full of ¡°Ah ah ah ah¡±, ¡°kswl kswl¡± [1], and ¡°Jue Jue Shu is real¡±. What was this about ¡°wifely character¡±? And what¡¯s with the habit of going on the highway? Gu Yanshu expressionlessly put down his spoon and bowl, ¡°I haven¡¯t washed up, so I¡¯m going back to the room first.¡± Shen Jue looked at his clean and pretty face and his neat hair, ¡°Haven¡¯t washed up?¡± Gu Yanshu remained stoic, ¡°Mmm.¡± Shen Jue looked at his tiny ears and looked down, covering the smile in his eyes, ¡°Oh, sure, go ahead.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s face was cold as he stood up, went upstairs, and disappeared from the livestream. What was left on the bullet screen was: ¡°Pretty Gu has left, Pretty Gu has left.¡± ¡°He¡¯s feeling shy, he¡¯s feeling shy.¡± ¡°He¡¯s ears are red, his ears are red.¡± Advertisements ¡°Stop commenting, stop commenting. It¡¯s time to protect our Maknae Gu.¡± It was only when Gu Yanshu walked into the bathroom, closed the door and ensured that the camera was no longer filming him that he supported himself on the washbasin and slowly let out a breath. Looking up, he saw the reflection of a man whose tips of his ears were already crimson. Gu Yanshu felt that it was because the heater in the room was too warm. He turned on the tap, placed his fingers under the cool water, then he pinched his earlobes. However, his mind wandered unconsciously back to the scene before, and not only did his ear not cool down, it became even warmer. But why was it so warm? There was clearly nothing between Shen Jue and him. It wasn¡¯t the first day that CP fans loved to say strange things. Hence, it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Anyway, the one who was exposed acting spoiled was Shen Jue, and he wasn¡¯t the one who was embarrassed. So long as he kept his distance with Shen Jue today, he could prevent those people from gossiping about them. However, how did Shen Jue feel when he saw those words? Even though he wasn¡¯t homophobic, it didn¡¯t mean that he would like those jokes. Would he be unhappy? If he was, what if he threw a fit? Advertisements Gu Yanshu pinched his ears hard. Then, he loosened his fingers, took out his phone, launched Guokong TV and clicked on the livestream of ¡°Cohabitation Life.¡± [1] ¡°kswl¡± is a Chinese popular acronym for ¡°à¾ËÀÎÒÁË¡±, or ¡°It¡¯s killing me!¡± CH 20.2 Following his leave, the CP fans who had arrived for them early in the morning started calming down. However, the bullet screen passersby and viewers started increasing, and the negative comments and doubts also started increasing. Shen Jue leaned lazily back on his seat, crossing his long legs, and tapping his fingers intermittently on the table. His eyes were slightly narrowed, but the corners of his eyes were curled up into a smile. He drawled, his tone carrying a tinge of his usual arrogance and mockery. It was almost as if he was looking at the bullet screen and replying to every single comment. ¡°Why did I make Gu Yanshu feed me? Don¡¯t I have hands?¡± Advertisements ¡°Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see that my right hand is injured?¡± ¡°Why was my right hand injured?¡± ¡°I suggest you go back and read the news.¡± ¡°Kwpv clnywpl R¡¯x aknb, R nyd pxypb svbla¡¯p nyxlayp yde kdpwzv svblap okvbswv ydu nsdpkelayvksd?¡± ¡°R pwttlpv usw ts cynj okvb vbl sdl clqsal usw yde alye vbl dlop.¡± ¡°Eyp Qw Zydpbw¡¯p pvyvlxldv zypv dktbv yd yvvlxrv vs blzr rashl xu kddsnldnl?¡± ¡°R pwttlpv vbyv usw cakdt vbl svbla vos yde ts cynj vs oyvnb vbl rszknl alrsav yde pwahlkzzydnl hkelsp.¡± ¡°Ebu kp kv vbyv Qw Zydpbw oyp pwrrsple vs cl sd ewvu cwv R ypjle Twydt Zkdyd vs nssj?¡± ¡°Jlnywpl vbl ldvkal taswr ryxrlap Qw Zydpbw.¡± ¡°Ebu pbswze Qw Zydpbw cl ryxrlale cu vbl vlyx?¡± ¡°Rq y bydepsxl, sclekldv, xyvwal, byaeosajkdt, plakswp yde nyryczl rlapsd kp dsv elplahkdt vs cl ryxrlale cu vbl vlyx, vbld vlzz xl, yal usw vbl elplahkdt sdl?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I have to explain about pretending to be homophobic, now that it¡¯s been overturned?¡± Advertisements ¡°When did I ever say that I was homophobic? All of you pinned this on me. I didn¡¯t sue any of you for slander, how dare you come question me? Are you even being reasonable?¡± ¡°I hate Gu Yanshu?¡± ¡°Which eye did any one of you see me hate Gu Yanshu? Or which ear did you hear me say that I hate Gu Yanshu? Didn¡¯t you hear my long description of handsome, obedient, mature, hardworking, serious and capable?¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu and I are actually on bad terms, but for money, we had to try to get together and market our CP image?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the little I earn as a celebrity isn¡¯t enough to even earn the interest my family has in the bank, so I really don¡¯t have to stoop so low. By the way, I¡¯ve never pretended to be a couple with someone.¡± ¡°Swear on your conscience?¡± ¡°Yes, I swear on my conscience that I¡¯ve never pretended to play a couple, and will never do so.¡± Shen Jue placed his palm on his heart, his expression calm, without any hesitation. Gu Yanshu¡¯s finger tapped the side of his phone. His phone suddenly vibrated. ¡°Weibo push notification: Trending topic: @Killmeplease: Sisters! It¡¯s time to celebrate! Look ahead for the sugar overdose, prepare your own insulin!!!! #JueJueShuisreal.¡± The exclamation marks caused Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingertips to tremble. Advertisements He accidentally clicked on it. It was already a hot topic, and was rising up the trending list. The bullet screen, which was full of exclamations, hurt Gu Yanshuy¡¯s eyes. There were screenshots of the live broadcast everywhere, post after post, and magnified to no end. ¡°They¡¯re in the same frame!¡± ¡°They¡¯re in the same room!¡± ¡°I bet they¡¯re already doi buying cola!!!¡± Do¡­ i? What does that English phrase mean? What does buying cola mean? Gu Yanshu raised a brow, but before he could search it on Baidu, there was an abrupt knock on the bathroom door, before Shen Jue¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Gu Yanshu, are you done? Teacher Sheng and the others are up, and everyone¡¯s waiting for you to go down to start the livestream.¡± Advertisements ¡°I¡¯m almost done.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s reply was cold and calm. His hand hastily locked his phone¡¯s screen and hid it into his pocket, as though he was worried that the person outside the door would be able to see through the thick wooden door. Then, he patted his face with some cold water till the warmth on his face disappeared, before he opened the door, his face nonchalant. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± His expression was so indifferent that it seemed as though nothing had happened. Yet, the tips of his ears still had remnants of the redness on it. Looking at Gu Yanshu, Shen Jue really wanted to tease him, but he knew that Gu Yanshu was thin-skinned. He was worried that if he went too far, Gu Yanshu would ignore him, so he could only stifle his laughter and coax him, ¡°Mmm, good that you¡¯re ready.¡± Gu Yanshu felt that if it wasn¡¯t for Shen Jue messing around, there wouldn¡¯t be so much trouble, so he coldly circled around Shen Jue and went down. The others were already there, seated around the table and eating their breakfast. Gu Yanshu chose to sit where his back was facing the screen. Shen Jue sat beside him. Cao Dan took his small loudhailer, ¡°The livestream starts now. We¡¯ll first talk about the rules of today¡¯s livestream. Advertisements Rules? What rules were there for a livestream? Cao Dan cleared his throat. ¡°When the livestream starts, there will be a voting channel placed at the bottom right of the screen. After voting ends, the activity with the highest vote will be the mission that the entire group has to do. After the mission, the next round of voting will be unlocked. This will continue until the end. Every voting round is ten minutes long. ¡°Also, ordinary viewers would have one vote, while VIP guests would have three. At the same time, anyone who sends a present with a dollar would be able to get another vote. There¡¯s no limit to how much they can add, so they can do it as many times as they want. Hence, what your idols can eat today, and what they do, will completely be decided by you. Everyone, start moving!¡± The last line, ¡°start moving¡±, was a blatant and unconcealed desire for countless money and ratings. Everyone stared silently at Cao Dan. [1] Both ¡°doi¡± and ¡°buying cola¡± are both euphemisms for having sex. ¡°Doi¡± = ¡°Do I¡±, and ¡°buying Cola¡± in Chinese is Âò¿ÉÀÖ, mai ke le, which is a homonym to ¡°make love¡±. CH 20.3 Faced with everyone¡¯s death stare, Cao Dan treaded on the border of being beaten up as he continued, ¡°Looks like everyone likes this interactive method! Then, let our screenwriter pick the first activity!¡± If it wasn¡¯t because they were broadcasting live, Cao Dan would probably have been beaten to death. Fortunately, they were still live, and everyone still had to take care of their public image, so they just had to push through with whatever they had. They looked at the giant screen. The first question was where Huang Yinan would stay. Advertisements ¡°In order to guarantee the best effects of the livestream, the six guests were split up into three groups by their rooms, and each group had a dedicated livestream channel. So, which group do you hope to see our guest belong to? Hurry up and vote!¡± Split into three groups based on their rooms. Logically, Gu Yanshu suspected that the crew had something up their sleeves. Rq bl olal vs prlde volzhl bswap yzsdl okvb Fbld Kwl, sdl nswze sdzu kxytkdl bso naygu vbl UV qydp oswze clnsxl. Tl qlzv zkjl bl pvkzz bye vs pyhl bkp alrwvyvksd. ¡°Jasvbla Lyd, fskd swa taswr.¡± Twydt Zkdyd qasodle, ¡°R esd¡¯v oydv vs cl kd y taswr okvb usw csvb.¡± Qw Zydpbw: ¡°?¡± ¡°Jsvb sq usw yal vss bydepsxl, ps oyzjkdt okvb usw twup kpd¡¯v blzrkdt xl tykd qydp.¡± Qw Zydpbw: ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°R ralqla vs cl okvb vbl vos zyeklp, svblaokpl ds sdl nyd blzr vblx okvb vbl xydwyz sa blyhu fscp.¡± Jie Shuang and Xu Fangfang nodded their heads eagerly, ¡°Right, right, right. We also wish for Brother Nan to be on the same team with us. Otherwise, what are we going to do if there are physical activities?¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu turned and looked at Shen Jue. Shen Jue was playing with his phone using his left hand, and as though he felt Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze, he said lazily, ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything.¡± Just as he said that, a loud ¡°ping¡± sounded. It was a familiar sound. Gu Yanshu suddenly had a bad premonition. He turned and looked around, true enough. Fireworks showers. Ten of them. The gifting user: ¡°@XiaoShenXiaoGuAreAMatchMadeInHeaven¡±. The bullet screen: ¡°There are no lightbulbs in the Jue Jue Shu world.¡± The choice of Huang Yinan joining the ladies instantly saw the increase of more than ten thousand votes. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Advertisements Ten minutes later, Gu Yanshu¡¯s expression was cold as he walked to their individual VJ with Shen Jue. Once the dedicated channels started, the bullet screens followed up like a demonic cult. Gu Yanshu tried his best not to look at those embarrassing comments exploding on the screen, and concentrated on looking at the bottom right of the screen. ¡°Cohabitation life has been filming for three days. After working hard at their part time jobs and doing housework, how do you wish your idols would spend the day? Immediately, the flood on the bullet screen started. ¡°A is best! Sleep! Both of you, go to sleep! Go to sleep now!¡± ¡°Sister! Wake up! That type of sleep will be banned! If they go on an amusement park double date, won¡¯t he be happy?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Gu Yanshu was alert, ¡°Who will pay for the amusement park¡¯s entrance tickets?¡± ¡°Of course we¡¯ll deduct it from your accounts.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu said, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll choose B.¡± After he said that, the entire bullet screen flipped. Advertisements ¡°Baby, you¡¯re crazy! Why do you want to do a part time job! Mummy will steal batteries to bring you up!¡± ¡°Dude, you have a man beside you! With him around, why do you have to work?!¡± ¡°Mummy will send you money. I¡¯m telling you to go on that date right now!!!¡± Gu Yanshu tried his best to remain calm, as he explained gently, ¡°If we don¡¯t work, we won¡¯t have food to eat after this¡­¡± Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Five fireworks showers followed. Doing its part for the forerunner, Option C. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu felt a headache coming, and he turned to look at Shen Jue, who was still on his phone. His tone was unfriendly as he asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you say something?¡± Shen Jue raised a brow, ¡°Do you think there¡¯s any use in me saying anything? Isn¡¯t it just money, we¡¯ll just have to earn it. I¡¯ll support you.¡± I¡¯ll. Support.. You. The bullet screen exploded again. Advertisements Gu Yanshu saw the crowded bullet screen till the words couldn¡¯t be read properly, and felt his head ache. He shouldn¡¯t have let Shen Jue speak. What else could this man do except acting flamboyant even at the wrong setting? And there was still this @XiaoShenXiaoJueAreAMatchMadeInHeaven¡­ Forget it. He wasn¡¯t going to get angry at a stranger. Gu Yanshu controlled his emotions, maintaining his calm and nonchalant expression. And then he saw the last question before he left for the amusement park. ¡°When your idol reaches the amusement park, what¡¯s the activity that you hope that you most wish for him to play? When Gu Yanshu saw the two words ¡°Haunted house,¡± his heart skipped a beat. ¡°So long as it¡¯s not the haunt¡­¡± Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! A special effects bullet screen. ¡°A real man will never be afraid of a haunted house.¡± The font was gigantic, ten times the size of the other comments, and there were colourful lights that were dazzling and eye-catching. There were twenty thousand additional votes to Option C. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu expressionless pressed his knuckle, the cracking was as crisp as the deep murderous intent in his heart. This @XiaoShenXiaoShuAreAMatchMadeInHeaven must be holding a grudge against him. CH 21.1 Gu Yanshu got changed with a baleful look on his face. Meeting the other two groups in the living room, he found out that one group had been voted to go up the mountains to catch chickens, another was to go to the farm to feed the pigs. It was only then that he realized that his options were rather good. His mood calmed significantly, and he followed the crew as they set out to a newly-built amusement park in the outskirts of Beijing. Because it was relatively isolated, and it was also a working day, hence there weren¡¯t too many people in the park. Furthermore, this was in official live broadcast, so the programme crew had already obtained the necessary permits for filming. They had also especially stressed to the fans that they should not gather around them, after having to deal with the tailgating incident from the previous day. Hence, even though there were people around them taking pictures, they all maintained a safe distance, and didn¡¯t affect the filming. Advertisements Haunted mansions would usually start in the afternoon, hence the programme crew naturally booked this time slot for the haunted mansion. After reaching the amusement park, the entire group trudged valiantly towards the haunted mansion, not giving Gu Yanshu any time to think. When they reached the destination, Gu Yanshu looked up and saw a structure resembling a school building, and in front of the building hung a bloody sign ¨C Death High School. Rxxlekyvlzu, bl eked¡¯v zkjl obyv bl pyo. Jlnywpl tbspv pvsaklp vbyv byrrldle kd bsprkvyzp yde pnbsszp olal wpwyzzu lmnlrvksdyzzu vlaakqukdt. Gde qasx vbl lmvlaksa, vbkp bywdvle xydpksd oyp ycswv vball vs qswa pvsaklp bktb, yde oyp iwkvl okel, xwnb zyatla vbyd altwzya bywdvle xydpksdp. Xdl nswze sdzu kxytkdl vbl dwxcla sq vayrp yde tbspvp okvbkd. Tsolhla, bl oyp y qypv awddla, ps vblal pbswzed¡¯v cl y rasczlx. Qw Zydpbw rwzzle bkp nyr esod, yde alhlyzle sdzu bkp ryzl yde pjkddu nbkd yde vbl nsadlap sq bkp zkrp vbyv olal pzktbvzu rwaple. Tl oyp nzlyazu dsv qllzkdt tsse ycswv vbkp. Ebld Fbld Kwl scplahle bkx, bl qlzv psxlobyv twkzvu ycswv obyv bl eke. Tsolhla, Qw Zydpbw oyp yzoyup wdyrrasynbyczl yde jlrv svblap yv yaxp¡¯ zldtvb, ps kq vblal olald¡¯v ydu prlnkyz alypsdp vs rwpb bkx, bl oswzed¡¯v cl yczl vs twlpp bkp vbswtbvp. Gde bl oswzed¡¯v jdso obyv bl pbswze es okvb Qw Zydpbw yp olzz. Tldnl, obld bl pyo vbl bywdvle xydpksd srvksd, bl nswzed¡¯v nsdvasz bkxplzq. Moreover, every time after they were dragged by Huang Yinan to watch a ghost flick, someone wouldn¡¯t dare to sleep alone, wouldn¡¯t dare to go to the toilet alone, wouldn¡¯t dare to go down alone to buy things. He would mince his words or refuse to say anything, and just simply stick close to him. It was really too cute. Advertisements As he thought about it, he felt that the twenty thousand dollars worth of fireworks display was worth it. He wasn¡¯t losing out on anything. In fact, he was looking forward to it. On the other end, Gu Yanshu was clueless about Shen Jue¡¯s thoughts. He simply listened earnestly to the instructions by the production crew. ¡°The theme of the haunted mansion this time is ¡®Ghost High School¡¯. Participants will need to follow the clues obtained in the haunted mansion in order to obtain the necessary conditions for passing obstacles, before they can escape the school. At the same time, an AI sensory robot that would act as a ¡°Headmaster Ghost¡± would be patrolling around the school. If the participants are discovered by the teacher, they would have to go back to the starting point of the haunted mansion and begin the quest again.¡± Gu Yanshu, who initially wanted to just close his eyes and clench his heart to rush through the haunted mansion, suddenly froze. Shen Jue noticed his reaction and asked, ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Gu Yanshu replied coolly, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good then. Because I¡¯m scared.¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°?¡± ¡°Furthermore, my arm is still injured, and this place is so dark, what will happen if I accidentally knock and injure it again?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Advertisements ¡°So, you have to protect me.¡± Shen Jue¡¯s words were convincing. Even though Gu Yanshu was about 1.8M tall, and he had always been seen as a shiogao danshi [1], hence even when he was being shipped as one half of a couple, he would be the character whom the Alpha wants to conquer. When he stood beside Shen Jue, because he was skinnier, he looked one size smaller than Shen Jue. His shadow was almost covered by Shen Jue¡¯s, creating the feeling of a youth who was extremely adorable. And thus, even the people behind the bullet screens couldn¡¯t stand it. ¡°Shen Jue! As a tall man who¡¯s close to 1.9M tall, can you stop acting weak? How can you ask Gu Yanshu to protect you?!!!¡± Yet, Gu Yanshu only remained silent for three seconds before he walked to Shen Jue¡¯s right. He didn¡¯t say anything, but it was clear that he intended to protect Shen Jue¡¯s injured arm. The bullet screen became dizzy. Between the two of you, don¡¯t you know who¡¯s the more macho one? After the crew gave them a few more points to note, Gu Yanshu and Shen Jue were blindfolded and brought into the haunted mansion. Behind each one of them was a VJ, and the live stream footage was turned into a night camera view. Gu Yanshu felt that he was being led to sit on a chair, and then the person who led him in left. Advertisements The entire room became eerily quiet, and the stagnant air in the enclosed space made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. He tried to call out, ¡°Shen Jue?¡± There was no response. His heartstrings tightened. He tried to remain calm, ¡°Can I remove the eye mask now?¡± The VJ replied, ¡°Yes, you can.¡± Gu Yanshu recited to himself, Prosperity, Civility, Democracy, Harmony [2]. He then removed his eye mask. Then, what he found himself staring uninhibitedly at was a ghost doll, which had a blood-filled wide grin, with eyes that were fully black, without any white in them. [1] Shiogao danshi, or ¡°salt-faced guys¡±, are guys who have weak images but have masculine arms or hands, a prominent Adam¡¯s apple and collarbones, messy hair. They also have fair skin and beautiful, well-defined features. [2] These are the four National Values listed under the Chinese Communist Party¡¯s Core Socialist Values. CH 21.2 Gu Yanshu calmly paused for three seconds. Then, he suddenly came back to his senses. He abruptly bounced up from his seat, and reflexively picked the doll up and threw it away with all his might. The chair fell to the ground in a crash. ¡°Waahhhhh!!!¡± The doll let out bitter cries as it fell to the ground. All the hairs on Gu Yanshu¡¯s scalp stood on their ends. The bullet screen was lit with laughter. Advertisements ¡°Keke, it¡¯s my first time seeing Gu Yanshu lose control of his emotions. It¡¯s hilarious.¡± ¡°Just now, when he paused for three seconds, I thought it was because my Internet connection jammed. That was too dumb, hahahaha!¡± ¡°If he just threw it out directly, I wouldn¡¯t have been this tickled. But he even paused for a while. Was the child scared silly?¡± ¡°Mbl qwddklpv vbkdt kp vbyv Qw Zydpbw pyke vbyv bl oypd¡¯v yqayke!¡± #QwZydpbwRpdvGqayke bye yzalyeu nshlale vbl pnalld. Jwv Qw Zydpbw bkxplzq qlzv vbyv vblal oyp pvkzz psxl oyu vs alpwpnkvyvl bkp kxytl. Tl nyzxle esod, yde wpkdt vbl lmvalxlzu olyj ale zktbv, bl scplahle bkp pwaaswdekdtp. Tl alyzkple vbyv vbkp oyp y nzyppassx. Mblal olal dkdl elpjp kd kv, yde sd lynb elpj, vblal oyp y pnyau eszz. Ls, dsv lhlau elpj. Mbl vyczl vbyv oyp rzynle clpkel vbl awcckpb ckd eked¡¯v byhl y eszz. Eyp vbyv psxl prlnkyz bkdv? Gp bl alnyzzle vbl pvyqq vlzzkdt bkx ycswv vbl nsdekvksdp qsa ryppkdt scpvynzlp, Qw Zydpbw oyzjle shla. There was a radio on the table that was crackling with electrical sounds. Advertisements Gu Yanshu pressed the play button. The scratchy tape started playing a freaky child¡¯s voice. ¡°One, two, three friends; Four, five six friends; Seven, eight cute friends; Holding hands together and kicking the ball¡­¡± [1] Just as there was the sound of a ball dropping, with a ¡°bang¡±, a box popped out of the wall. The box automatically opened, and a spherical object bounced off it and landed on Gu Yanshu¡¯s shoulder. Gu Yanshu immediately retreated backwards and used his hands to block the ball, hitting it out. The ball dropped onto the floor, and started rolling around in a circle. The bloody red light shone¡­ Onto a head with long black hair, but blood was flowing out of the eye sockets. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± He didn¡¯t want his hand anymore. Advertisements And then, another bang sounded. Gu Yanshu felt a chill behind his back, so he turned around slowly. A female corpse whose neck was broken hung upside down right behind him; blood was flowing from the cut at the neck downwards. There was a dripping sound. And drops of blood trickled onto Gu Yanshu¡¯s shoe. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Before he could recover from this, that head behind him started laughing devilishly, ¡°Hahahaha, I know it! I know that you will seek revenge for her! But she¡¯s already dead! That b*tch Wang Mei is already dead!¡± Dead¡­ Dead¡­ Dead¡­ The shrill female voice almost burst Gu Yanshu¡¯s eardrums. What kind of d*amned haunted house was this! There was even a storyline to it?! Gu Yanshu was losing himself. He felt that he couldn¡¯t stay for a second longer, and he needed to find Shen Jue immediately. He quickly walked to the entrance. But when he pulled the door, he realised that it was locked. Advertisements And then, that freaky nursery rhyme sounded again. ¡°One, two, three friends; Four, five six friends; Seven, eight cute friends; Holding hands together and kicking the ball¡­¡± [1] Kicking a ball. A ball. Ball. ¡­¡­ And the only thing in the room that had any relation to a ball was¡­ Gu Yanshu turned around and looked at that terrifying broken head. Using the green light from the safety sign, he could vaguely make out the reflection of the shine of metal through the two eye sockets. The key was inside. Advertisements Upon this realisation, Gu Yanshu felt as though he was going to lose his mind. If only Shen Jue was here. He wouldn¡¯t even need to be prompted, he would definitely retrieve the key himself. But Shen Jue wasn¡¯t here. He needed to find Shen Jue. Gu Yanshu pursed his lips and carefully moved over. He then reached his hand out, and using his thumb and index finger, he pinched a lock of hair, raised it and quickly threw it away. Just after he threw it away, there were a few banging sounds within the classroom. The metal cabinet opened, and the speaking rostrum was flipped over. A few terrifying and monstrous ghosts suddenly appeared, and they started crawling towards Gu Yanshu. Why the hell were there living ghosts?! Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He took the key and swiftly opened the door. Once the door opened, the ghosts, who were initially moving slowly, started speeding up; from crawling, they started prowling. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t even think about it; he simply ran outside. His legs were long, so he naturally could run fast, yet the ghosts behind him didn¡¯t seem to fall behind. In fact, as they ran, they still didn¡¯t forget to bare their menacing teeth. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know where he should be running to; he simply went on a mad dash. And then, he knocked into a solid embrace. Gu Yanshu¡¯s physical reaction was faster than his brain, so immediately, he raised his leg and kicked the person in front of him. And then he heard a voice, ¡°Ouch! Why did you kick me again?¡± It was Shen Jue. Gu Yanshu heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately, he said in an aggrieved tone, ¡°It¡¯s not like I knew that it was you. It¡¯s so dark, who can see clearly? Plus, there are ghosts chasing me.¡± Ghost chase¡­. Gu Yanshu felt that there wasn¡¯t time to explain further. They had to escape first. Just as he pulled Shen Jue and prepared to run, Shen Jue held him back, ¡°There¡¯s no need to run anymore. The ghosts aren¡¯t chasing us.¡± He turned back. True enough, the ghosts weren¡¯t running anymore. They stood where they were, in all types of different poses, their bodies twisting and turning, and then a screeching and strange cry sounded, ¡°Li Feng! Wang Mei! You adulterous pair! You will die a terrible death! You will die a terrible death!¡± You are the one who¡¯s the adulterous pair. Gu Yanshu wanted to scold someone, but he didn¡¯t dare to scold the ghosts. He then hid behind Shen Jue and whispered, ¡°I heard one of the female corpses say just now that Wang Mei seemed to have died. Li Feng was taking revenge for her.¡± Shen Jue raised a hand up to shield him, ¡°There¡¯s a male corpse in the room where I came from, and he died of suicide.¡± Gu Yanshu guessed that it was a story about a girl who was bullied, and a guy who had helped her take revenge before taking his own life. The plot in a haunted mansion should not be too complicated. He briefly relaxed, ¡°Then, where should we go now?¡± There was only one corridor, and one end of it was blocked by seven ghosts, while the other end was a staircase. However, the staircase was locked, and required a key. And there was a bathroom beside the stairs. The bathroom of the haunted mansion¡¯s school. Gu Yanshu subconsciously tightened his grip on Shen Jue¡¯s hand. A trace of a smile appeared across Shen Jue¡¯s eyes, as he whispered, ¡°Do you want to go in and take a look?¡± Did they have any other choice? ¡°Li Feng! Wang Mei! GIve me your lives!¡± Gu Yanshi only hesitated for a second. Originally, the seven ghosts which were twisted around on the spot seemed to have revived; as they shouted, they pranced over, and the special effects make-up was extremely realistic and frightening. Immediately, Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t think anymore. His long legs moved, as he dragged Shen Jue with him and escaped quickly into the bathroom, then closed the door with all his might. [1] This is the Chinese rendition of ¡°Ten Little Indians¡±, in a creepy version. You can hear it here: https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV1V54y197eB CH 21.3 There were a series of knocks on the door. After confirming that they weren¡¯t able to come in, Gu Yanshu leaned back against the door, releasing a deep breath. And then, his gaze fell on the hand that was holding Shen Jue¡¯s hand. He coldly dropped Shen Jue¡¯s hand, then pulled his own hand back. Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you weren¡¯t afraid?¡± Gu Yanshu was expressionless, ¡°I was never scared.¡± Advertisements He¡¯s putting on a strong front. Shen Jue nodded, ¡°Okay. Unfortunately, I¡¯m scared, so can you take a look at the cubicles?¡± I¡¯ll go take a look. What¡¯s the big deal? Tl alyzzu eked¡¯v oydv vs cl zywtble yv cu Fbld Kwl, ps bl pwxxsdle bkp nswaytl, rwv sd y takx lmralppksd, yde nyalqwzzu srldle vbl qkapv essa. Wsavwdyvlzu, vblal oyp dsvbkdt kdpkel. Qw Zydpbw blyhle y pktb sq alzklq. Tl srldle vbl plnsde essa, yde vblal oyp pvkzz dsvbkdt kdpkel. Gv vbl qkdyz essa¡­ Qw Zydpbw takvvle bkp vllvb yde blze vbl essa bydezl, vbld rwpble kv. Rd vbl dlmv plnsde, bkp lulp olal nshlale cu y okel ryzx, ¡°Psd¡¯v zssj.¡± Mbl oyax pjkd pvwnj vs Qw Zydpbw¡¯p lulzkep. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t move anymore. Advertisements Shen Jue continued to cover his eyes, then turned him around, ¡°Wait for me outside.¡± Then, he walked out and closed the door of the cubicle. The moment the cubicle¡¯s door was closed, the bathroom was suddenly lit up in a red light, and a mournful female voice sounded. ¡°Child, my child, give my child back to me!¡± Gu Yanshu was so scared that he shivered and took a step back, touching the basin in the bathroom. The sound of water flowing sounded from behind him, and when he turned around, he was looking directly in the face of a female ghost with long hair, whose face was disfigured and had blood flowing down her face! He was stunned. In the next moment, the female ghost smashed the glass, causing a loud bang, and climbed out! ¡°Shen Jue!¡± Gu Yanshu briskly walked towards the third cubicle and pulled the door open. And then, all he saw was Shen Jue pulling out from the toilet bowl a bloody blob that looked like rotting flesh. It had a nose, eyes, and limbs. It was a¡­ Newly formed foetus. Gu Yanshu turned around, and unwittingly retched. Advertisements Yet, when he just turned around, a female ghost, whose bloodless face that looked like it had been destroyed by acid, stood before his eyes, and she reached her hands out to strangle him, ¡°Return my child to me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come over!!!¡± Gu Yanshu finally couldn¡¯t hold himself back, as a shrill left his throat that was so high that caused even the female ghost to be in a daze. Shen Jue used this opportunity to throw the child at her, ¡°Take it, it¡¯s your kid.¡± The female ghost hadn¡¯t even recovered from Gu Yanshu¡¯s screaming attack when she was tossed a bloody thing, and was shocked. Before she could pick it up, Shen Jue suddenly yelled, ¡°Ahhhh!!!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh!! What¡¯s the matter?!! I didn¡¯t scare you!!¡± The female ghost¡¯s voice was shrilly. Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Nothing much, I just screamed casually, helping someone else to scare you.¡± Ghost: ¡°?¡± ¡°You can crawl back now¡±. Ghost: ¡°??¡± ¡°Do you need me to send you back?¡± Advertisements Ghost: ¡°???¡± The female ghost hugged her baby and slid back smoothly into the mirror. She Jue took off the prop gloves that were placed in a partition, as he turned to look at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Not bad, you can hit the three high notes [1] so easily. This scream is rather good.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s tiny face was already ashen. He pushed Shen Jue and walked out of the cubicle. He noticed that the corner of the bathroom had lit up, and there was an outline of a door. Gu Yanshu seemed to want to prove that he really wasn¡¯t scared. Without any hesitation, he pushed the door open. However, once he pushed it open, a skeleton in a medical coat and bleeding from his face pouched out, almost hitting Gu Yanshu¡¯s face. Gu Yanshu instinctively retreated a step back, and fell into Shen Jue¡¯s embrace. And immediately pushed him away. Shen Jue asked, ¡°Do you want to walk first?¡± Gu Yanshu remained frozen on the spot. Advertisements Shen Jue asked again, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go first?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s face was impassive, ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Shen Jue chuckled softly, ¡°Then you¡¯ll follow behind me to protect me.¡± As he said it, he stood in front of Gu Yanshu and kicked that skeleton away. He then shielded Gu Yanshu as they walked forward. This room should be a laboratory; it was filled with frightening skeletons and rotting human specimens. And it was filled with traps everywhere. When they were careless for a moment, a leg, an arm, or even a cracked skull would fall from the ceiling. Fortunately, Shen Jue was blocking him in front, so all of these things didn¡¯t touch Gu Yanshu at all. Gu Yanshu followed behind Shen Jue obediently, but the distance between them increasingly shortened. It was only till they reached the entrance of the lab that they picked up something that resembled a diary. Gu Yanshu bent down to pick it up. Instantly, the room was shrouded in red light, and the alarms rang. The specimens that weren¡¯t moving initially became alive and rushed towards them. Among them, the fastest one had already caught Gu Yanshu¡¯s shoulder. Gu Yanshu¡¯s face instantly paled. Shen Jue turned and hit the ghost¡¯s hand away, then dragged Gu Yanshu and ran outside. Gu Yanshu was simply dragged along, and the diary was still in his hand. The group of specimens continued chasing them. However, the door in front of them was locked with a code. Shen Jue shouted, ¡°Look at the diary quickly and find out what the passcode is!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Yanshu read it as he ran. ¡°The Diary of the chemistry teaching assistant I like all things that are beautiful, and I want to make them into specimens. There¡¯s a new girl who just transferred over. She¡¯s a loner but she¡¯s beautiful, and I like her a lot. She seems to be constantly bullied. I¡¯ve seen her cry alone in the classroom, and I consoled her then. I think I¡¯m in love with her. Today is 23rd September, her eighteenth birthday. I am preparing a present for her.¡° ¡°How many numbers?¡± ¡°Four.¡± ¡°0923.¡± Beep, beep, beep, beep. Four quick clicks, and Shen Jue pulled Gu Yanshu as they hid into the room and closed the door shut, managing to lock the specimen closest to them outside. Just a little bit more, and it would probably have come in. [1] Three high notes ¨C a reference to IU¡¯s high notes in the song ¡°Good Day¡±. CH 21.4 Gu Yanshu heaved a sigh of relief. However, before he could relax fully, a female corpse dropped from the ceiling, directly hitting Gu Yanshu¡¯s head. Gu Yanshu immediately shrunk back into Shen Jue¡¯s arms. ¡°F*ck!¡± The female ghost seemed to have been agitated by the curse he spewed instinctively, so she shrieked pitifully, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong! I didn¡¯t do anything wrong!¡± Advertisements Her shrills were ear-piercing, like the sound of a piece of chalk scratching on a board. Gu Yanshu¡¯s hair stood on their ends too, I didn¡¯t do anything wrong too! Very quickly, there was a frantic pounding on the door, ¡°Xiao Shu! Teacher Shen! Let us in!! We¡¯re almost being torn apart by the ghosts! They are pouncing on me!! Ahhhhh!! Big sister!!! Don¡¯t jump on me anymore! You¡¯re too scary!!!¡± ¡­¡­ Mbl AKp bye clld zsnjle swvpkel okvb vbl tbspvp. Qw Zydpbw alyzkple vbkp, ps bl oldv vs srld vbl essa. Rv oswzed¡¯v cwetl. Gp bl vbswtbv ycswv kv, yzz vbl essap olal sdl-ekalnvksdyz. Qw Zydpbw yrszstkple, ¡°Mlynbla AKp, vbl essa nyd¡¯v cl srldle.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Jsvb sq usw¡­ Ekzz byhl vs qlde qsa uswaplzhlp. El¡¯zz xllv ytykd pssd.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu heard the dejected cries of the two VJs. He suddenly felt fortunate that he was following Shen Jue. The latter would certainly not lock him outside. As he thought about it, Shen Jue had already held his hand naturally, and led him further in. The warmth that came from the broad palm made Gu Yanshu feel safe. He thought for two seconds, and felt that he shouldn¡¯t let it go. The two men looked around the room, and guessed that this must be the office of a school leader. Apart from the female ghost from the ceiling, there weren¡¯t any other especially scary places. There was a reflection letter on the table. Gu Yanshu took it up and studied it. The letter was filled with bloody strokes, ¡°I didn¡¯t know anything wrong! I didn¡¯t do anything wrong! The entire world wants to harm me! Only he loves me! I want to be with him! I will definitely be with him¡­¡± By the time it reached the end of the letter, the words were almost illegible. One could imagine how crazy and persistent the writer was. The reclusive third year female student who was bullied in school, and the chemistry teaching assistant with a slightly bigoted personality. Indeed, they weren¡¯t a good match. Advertisements The school leaders and their parents probably objected to their relationship, but they persisted in staying together. There seemed to be something else on the back of the reflection letter. Gu Yanshu was going to flip it around when Shen Jue covered his mouth, then dragged him into the cabinet beside the office table. The doors of the cabinet closed, but the stuffy and tight space didn¡¯t allow for both men who were more than 1.8M tall to stand in. Fortunately, Gu Yanshu was skinnier, so they could barely manage to squeeze themselves in, but his entire body was stuck tightly to Shen Jue. From head to toe. Tightly. Stuck together. It was as though once he moved, he would touch some place that he shouldn¡¯t touch. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t dare to move a single inch. He felt that he was almost going to be melded into Shen Jue¡¯s body. He wanted to question Shen Jue. But he heard the mechanical sound that came from outside the cabinet. ¡°Spot checks, spot checks, puppy love is prohibited, puppy love is prohibited.¡± Advertisements Through a tiny crack of the cabinet, they could see a red laser beam turning around in the room. An AI sensory robot. The Headmaster Ghost. If they were discovered, they would have to start all over. For a moment, Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know which situation was worse. Right now, he felt like he was a fish that was about to drown. He clearly desired and liked this feeling of being embraced, but the waves were too strong, and the mysterious ocean was luring him bit by bit in, dragging him all the way down till he couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure, and he felt as though his brain and his heart were going to burst. Shen Jue¡¯s lips were at his forehead, seemingly there intermittently, carrying his warm breath, igniting his skin and senses. Gu Yanshu wanted to lean back, but once he moved, he unwittingly raised his head, and the cool skin slid across the burning hot and soft lips. Gu Yanshu immediately felt goosebumps all over his body, and his body froze, as his hands subconsciously gripped Shen Jue¡¯s clothes at his waist even more tightly. His heart was beating rapidly, and he didn¡¯t know what to do. He was like a mischievous child who had unconsciously stolen a candy but was caught. However, it didn¡¯t seem as though he was the only one feeling that. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he was so nervous that he was hallucinating, but he could hear Shen Jue¡¯s heart beating extremely rapidly too. Advertisements It was so fast that he seemed like the same type of drowning fish. They were in the process of falling to their deaths, tightly intertwined, feeling each other¡¯s body temperature, each other¡¯s scents, and the drumming of the other person¡¯s heartbeat. And so, on the brink of death, Gu Yanshu¡¯s mind suddenly had a thought that he had never dared to imagine. He said in an extremely low voice, ¡°Why is your heart being so fast?¡± Shen Jue replied, ¡°What about you?¡± It seemed as though they were testing each other, but there was a tacit mutual understanding, yet, it was also like a battle. It was so suffocating that his mind went blank. Gu Yanshu was about to open his mouth. Suddenly, they heard a scream, ¡°Ahhhh!!! What is this?!! Let¡¯s go! Quickly! I¡¯m not your student! Your students are there! Xiao Shu! Teacher Shen! Where are you?!!¡± It was the voice of one of the VJs. Gu Yanshu abruptly came back to his senses, pushed Shen Jue away, opened the door, and frantically escaped from the cabinet. His feet touched the floor, and he resumed his calm, ¡°Hiding from the Headmaster Ghost, so we were in the cabinet.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± One of the VJs, who had been tortured so badly that they had to be rescued by the other crew members, showed his understanding. And his camera turned towards the cabinet. Hmmmmmm¡­.. Such a narrow cabinet? The bullet screen instantly exploded. ¡°VJs! What are you doing? Why didn¡¯t you follow them!! What happened to my baby?!!! Why are his ears so red?!!!¡± ¡°Cabinet! Such a small cabinet! Two people! I¡¯m going crazy!!!!¡± ¡°Oh no! The cabinet door can¡¯t possibly close! ¡°They¡¯re coming out of the closet, coming out of the closet, coming out of the closet!¡± CH 21.5 Fortunately, Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t see the bullet screen, otherwise he would probably be as red as a pretty little rose. Shen Jue came out from the cabinet, and when he saw Gu Yanshu¡¯s pink neck and ears, he felt regretful that the VJs arrived too soon. And from Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze, which were hidden under his lashes, it seemed as though he wasn¡¯t feeling repulsive. Gu Yanshu relied on him. Trusted him. And didn¡¯t feel disgust or repulsion towards skinship with him. Shen Jue came to this conclusion, and the guess in his heart became even firmer. He walked to Gu Yanshu, ¡°Let¡¯s look for clues first.¡± Advertisements ¡°Alright.¡± Actually, Gu Yanshu¡¯s reaction had somewhat slowed, but his expression remained cool and calm. He flipped the reflection letter. On it were a few bloodied words in a very large size, ¡°Expel! Expel all of them!¡± Omrwzpksd. Eyp vbkp vbl rwdkpbxldv qsa Nk Wldt yde Eydt Ylk¡¯p alzyvksdpbkr? Jwv obyv eke kv byhl vs es okvb Eydt Ylk¡¯p elyvb? Kwpv yp Qw Zydpbw nsdpkelale yzz vblpl, y blyav-oaldnbkdt qlxyzl pnalyx casjl Qw Zydpbw¡¯p vbswtbvp. Ebld bl zssjle kd vbl ekalnvksd sq vbl pswde, bl dsvknle vbyv vbkp assx ynvwyzzu bye y okdeso. Mbld, y qlxyzl cseu qlzz qasx vbl vsr, yzz vbl oyu esod. Ebld Qw Zydpbw ayd vs vbl okdeso yde zssjle swv, vblal oyp yzalyeu y xydtzle czsseu xlpp sd vbl taswde, yde czsse oyp pzsozu pllrkdt swv. Gde vbkp oyp kxxlekyvlzu qszzsole cu y pvaydtl casyenypv, ¡°Eydt Ylk kp elye! Eydt Ylk kp elye! Uyvnb vblx! Uyvnb vblx!¡± Uyvnb vblx? Gu Yanshu turned, and noticed that the cabinet that Shen Jue and him had hidden in had automatically moved, revealing a narrow and dark passageway. Advertisements It was completely dark inside, and no one knew what would happen if they went in. Gu Yanshu took a step back. Shen Jue looked at him, ¡°If you¡¯re scared, you can hold on to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared.¡± ¡°Then, do you want to go first, or should I go first?¡± ¡°You should go first.¡± Shen Jue walked into the tunnel. Gu Yanshu followed closely behind. They couldn¡¯t see anything in the passageway, but sobs could be heard, and there were intermittent traps. From the cries, they could make out the girl¡¯s experience. Her parents passed away, she suffered from bullying in school, she was anti-social. She fell in love with the teaching assistant who had just graduated from college, they got together, but faced objections. They ate the forbidden fruit, she got pregnant, suffered a miscarraige, and was expelled. What kind of emotional and freaky youth drama was this? Gu Yanshu hated the story, but he still felt fearful. Advertisements It was really too dark in the tunnel. He couldn¡¯t see anything, and he didn¡¯t know if he had lost Shen Jue. He secretly reached his hand out, trying to see if Shen Jue was still in front of him. However, he couldn¡¯t grasp anything, and just as he was panicking, someone held his hand. And safely wrapped around it; it had a familiar temperature. Shen Jue didn¡¯t speak; he simply led him along quietly. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t speak as well; he simply followed quietly behind Shen Jue. There was a screeching sound, and then, the sound of a metal door being pushed open. When they walked out, it was a large empty space. Before they could observe their surroundings properly, screams reverberated around them, ¡°Catch them! Catch them!¡± And then, a group of male and female ghosts in all sorts of menacing looks rushed towards them. F*ck! Shen Jue pulled Gu Yanshu and ran. In this lifetime, Gu Yanshu had probably never met ghosts who loved to chase after people so much. Advertisements He could only run with Shen Jue. He didn¡¯t know how long they ran, how many ghosts they had outrun, or how many obstacles they¡¯d passed. All he knew was that finally, they were forced to the corner of the roof by about thirty ghosts. These ghosts looked terrifying and malicious, and all of them were yelling in their ghostly howls, ¡°You adulterous pair! You¡¯re shameless! Disgusting! Go and die! Go and die! Go and die!¡± Right now, the repeated ¡°Go and die!¡± cries brought about a scary psychological trauma. And the ghosts continued to press in on them. Shen Jue stepped back and observed the situation, then asked Gu Yanshu, ¡°Are you scared?¡± Gu Yanshu replied, ¡°No.¡± However, his grip on Shen Jue¡¯s hand tightened. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± ¡°¡­ I do.¡± ¡°Alright then, hold tight.¡± Shen Jue suddenly circled his arm around Gu Yanshu¡¯s waist, then carried him as they leapt off the ground. ¡°Shen Jue! Are you mad? This is the fourth floor! Ahhh!!!!¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu suddenly lost his balance, and instinctively, he grabbed tightly onto Shen Jue, but the fall that he imagined didn¡¯t happen. They seemed to be sliding down an extremely high slide. The loss of balance caused an adrenaline rush, and the wind swept past them. They didn¡¯t have anything, and couldn¡¯t see anything. They could only hug each other tightly, leaning into each other¡¯s chest, feeling each other¡¯s heartbeats, as they enjoyed this short and exhilarating ride together. Gu Yanshu felt his entire body relax. Very quickly, he felt his body fall into a pile of soft sponge, and his head was supported by one hand as he was quickly pulled up. Before him, a projection appeared. A young man was recounting his love towards a girl and spoke of his criticism of society. The background music was tragic, and his story sounded sad and moving. In the end, the man said, ¡°I love her, and I want to be with her. I want to destroy this world that forced her death, and I want to kill everyone who has ever hurt her.¡± After he said that, he took out a gun and shot himself to death. The music ended. Gu Yanshu heaved a sigh of relief. It was finally over. However, in the next second, the man suddenly raised his head from the table. He was bleeding from his orifices, and he struggled to sneer and pointed, ¡°You! You were the ones who caused Wang Mei¡¯s death! I¡¯m going to kill you!!¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°?¡± ¡°Run! Those idiots are here again!¡± CH 21.6 Shen Jue grabbed the silly boy who was still in a daze, and ran outside as fast as he could. Gu Yanshu turned around to take a peek. Following behind them was a large group of black figures. And everyone was running extremely quickly. What kind of d*mned haunted mansion was this?! Advertisements Gu Yanshu ran with all his might, and didn¡¯t have the time to think about anything else. All of his strength was used for escaping, and he ran for a long time, not knowing when the end would come. When they finally saw the sunlight, they stopped and bent down, panting as they supported themselves on their knees. And as they panted, they suddenly smiled. Fbld Kwl ypjle bkx, ¡°Typ kv clld y zsdt vkxl pkdnl usw vssj y calyj?¡± Qw Zydpbw oyp pvwddle qsa y xsxldv. Tl vssj y obkzl vs alynv, clnywpl vawl ldswtb, kv bye clld y zsdt vkxl. Rv oyp ps zsdt vbyv bl nswzed¡¯v lhld alxlxcla obld oyp vbl zypv vkxl bl bye ldfsule bkxplzq vbsaswtbzu. Rv bye rascyczu clld y qlo ulyap. Ebld Fbld Kwl pyo bkp lmralppksd, bl wdelapvsse kv kxxlekyvlzu. Mawl ldswtb, psxlsdl alxykdle vbl pyxl, xyvwal zkjl y zkvvzl vsr, yde dlhla jdlo bso vs oakvl vbl osaep ¡°byhl qwd¡±. Tl blze bkp byde, ¡°Nlv¡¯p ts, vyjl vseyu yp y hynyvksd, yde rzyu yzz usw oydv.¡± Tl eked¡¯v yzzso Qw Zydpbw vs alqwpl. Gde Qw Zydpbw eked¡¯v oydv vs alqwpl. Because the slide and the run just then felt really good. Advertisements He liked that uncontrollable loss of gravity; it was only during times like that that he would feel excited, frenzied, and even feel free from his worries. Hence, he played all of the exciting rides in the amusement park. By the time he was done, it was already evening. Both of them were rather tired. And they started strolling leisurely around the amusement park. As they walked, they passed by the haunted mansion again. Shen Jue suddenly turned to look at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Do you think that Li Feng¡¯s love for Wang Mei was real?¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t know why Shen Jue wanted to discuss the romance in a ghost story. However, he still considered it seriously, ¡°No.¡± ¡°In order to be with her, he¡¯d rather be fired and scolded. He even took revenge for her and killed himself for love. Doesn¡¯t that count?¡± ¡°If Li Feng really loved Wang Mei, then he should understand the meaning of waiting and protection.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s reply was calm and determined. Advertisements Shen Jue stared at him, but didn¡¯t say anything further. His gaze made Gu Yanshu suddenly think about the time when they were in the cabinet, when he asked Shen Jue why his heart was beating so fast, and Shen Jue asked him the same question back. His heart started beating quickly again, and before he could figure out what Shen Jue meant by all these, he heard the man chuckle, ¡°Do you want to eat something sweet?¡± ¡°?¡± Gu Yanshu looked at him doubtfully, what is this man thinking? However, Shen Jue didn¡¯t seem to think that anything was wrong. He just thought that once a child answered a question correctly, they would usually be rewarded with sweets. He pointed at a hut beside the haunted mansion, ¡°Do you want to eat cotton candy?¡± Gu Yanshu looked in the direction that he pointed at. True enough, there was a round eat leaning onto a sweets counter, tiptoeing and looking all around. Gu Yanshu walked over and kneeled down, ¡°Little boy, what are you looking at?¡± The boy¡¯s childish voice sounded, ¡°I want to eat sweets.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you buy it then?¡± ¡°Mommy has to work hard for it.¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu was silent for a short while, then rubbed the boy¡¯s head, ¡°I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡± ¡°Mommy said that we can¡¯t take things from strangers.¡± The boy blinked, and the expression on his face was serious. Gu Yanshu said patiently, ¡°Then, how about you sing a song for me, and I¡¯ll give it to you as a reward?¡± The child tilted his head and looked at Gu Yanshu for a long time. He thought that this elder brother looked very good looking, so he must be a good person. Hence, a wide grin appeared on his lips, and he said, ¡°Okay!¡± The child¡¯s voice was very cute, even though he was out of tune. However, Gu Yanshu continued kneeling before him, listening silently as he completed the song, then rubbed his hair again, ¡°You sang well.¡± On the side, Shen Jue had already bought two cotton candies and came over with them. He gave one to the little boy, and one to the big boy. The little child took the cotton candy and smiled sweetly at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Thank you, Brother!¡± Then he smiled sweetly at Shen Jue, ¡°Thank you, Uncle.¡± Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to share the candy with my mother! Bye, Brother! Bye, Uncle!¡± Advertisements After that, the kid ran away on his short legs. Shen Jue had to rein in his anger. He was about to scold the boy, but when he turned, he saw Gu Yanshu holding the cotton candy. His head was lowered, but corners of his lips were curling upwards, and a trace of a smile flashed across his eyes. Behind him, the sunset accentuated the definition of his side profile, softened his eyes and brows, making him appear gentle and handsome. A soft feeling arose in his heart. Uncle it shall be then. Since it was so rare that he was smiling. Shen Jue had bought a cotton candy that was larger than his own head, and he asked Gu Yanshu, ¡°Did you have fun today?¡± Gu Yanshu tore a small piece and put it into his mouth, ¡°It was alright.¡± If Gu Yanshu said it was alright, then it really was alright. It seemed like he had made the right decision. Shen Jue felt that he deserved to be rewarded too, so he pushed the cotton candy to Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu: ¡°?¡± Shen jue raised his right arm with much difficulty, ¡°I can¡¯t move my hand, so I can¡¯t tear the candy off. How am I supposed to eat it?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just bite it off?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still a male good, how can I dirty my face with cotton candy?¡± Shen Jue looked at Gu Yanshu, his words making logical sense. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Forget it. After all, he was injured because of him. After all, he helped him back there in the haunted mansion. After all, they had come out of the ¡°closet¡± together. Gu Yanshu pulled a small bit of cotton candy and put it near Shen Jue¡¯s mouth. Shen Jue was about to eat it when a crew member ran out of the haunted mansion. ¡°Teacher Gu, Teacher Shen, the candid photo of you in the haunted mansion has been printed. Take a look.¡± There was a candid shot in the haunted mansion? Gu Yanshu felt that his performance in the haunted mansion wasn¡¯t too valiant. He shoved the cotton candy into Shen Jue¡¯s mouth, then took the photo begrudgingly. The photo captured Shen Jue hugging him as they jumped off the fourth floor and slid down the slide. Shen Jue¡¯s hands were protecting his head and his waist, while he was buried in Shen Jue¡¯s embrace, revealing only his side profile. It didn¡¯t look too ugly. It was still fine. Gu Yanshu heaved a sigh of relief, but quickly frowned. He felt that there was something strange in this picture. Shen Jue¡¯s hands were protecting¡­ Wait. Hands? Hands?! ¡­¡­ Gu Yanshu looked up expressionlessly at Shen Jue, who was still tasting the cotton candy that he had just been fed with, but there was a murderous intent in his eyes. Shen Jue, who had just tasted a bit of benefit, slowly raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hmm?¡± CH 22.1 Gu Yanshu¡¯s subconscious reliance and trust towards him. The calm look under the warm colours of sunset. The melting of the cotton candy, and the sweet taste in his mouth. All of these made Shen Jue feel as though things were moving in a positive direction. However, Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze was so cold that he felt as though Gu Yanshu was going to cut him up in pieces. Advertisements Shen Jue didn¡¯t know what had gone wrong. He lowered his voice and tried to ask, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± What¡¯s the matter?! Tso eyal usw ypj vbkp iwlpvksd? Qw Zydpbw alnyzzle bso Fbld Kwl tsv bkx vs blzr oypb bkp byka vbl ralhkswp dktbv, nywpkdt bkx vs cl qzwpvlale. Gde vbkp xsadkdt, bl lhld ynvle zkjl y prskzle jke yde xyel bkx qlle bkx okvb vbl rsaaketl. Gde fwpv vbld, bl bye tsvvld bkx vs qlle bkx okvb vbl nsvvsd nydeu. Gv vbkp xsxldv, bl alyzzu oydvle vs clyv vbkp c*pvyae Fbld Kwl wr. Jwv obyv nswze bl es? Mblu olal pvkzz pvalyxkdt zkhl. Tl nswze sq nswapl pvkzz clyv Fbld Kwl wr, cwv bl nswzed¡¯v zlv svblap ekpnshla vbyv Fbld Kwl oyp y zkya. Xvblaokpl, vbspl dlvkgldp oswze pvyav vs pvka yde pralye awxswap vbyv vbl ynnkeldv vbl eyu clqsal yde vbl kdvlaynvksdp vseyu olal yzz pnakrvle kdvldvksdyzzu qsa rwczknkvu. Gde yzz psavp sq dltyvkhl nsxxldvp yde vbl pxlyakdt sq Fbld Kwl¡¯p alrwvyvksd oswze ldpwl. Rd vbl lde, bl oswze pvkzz lde wr clkdt ydtau. Qw Zydpbw zsolale bkp tygl, jlrv vbl rbsvs yde alrzkle kd yd knu vsdl, ¡°Lsvbkdt. Rv¡¯p fwpv vbyv R oyp vss wtzu kd vbl rbsvs.¡± Tl vbld zssjle wr yv Fbld Kwl yde ypjle, ¡°Pslp vbl nsvvsd nydeu vypvl tsse?¡± Fbld Kwl: ¡°?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± Advertisements ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Since it¡¯s nice, you should have more.¡± Gu Yanshu tore a large chunk of cotton candy and stuffed it into Shen Jue¡¯s mouth. Shen Jue was astonished by Gu Yanshu¡¯s proactiveness. He didn¡¯t suspect anything. He simply opened his mouth and allowed Gu Yanshu to put the candy in. He had just closed his mouth, but Gu Yanshu pulled another large chunk and placed it near his mouth. The candy in Shen Jue¡¯s mouth hadn¡¯t melted, but he couldn¡¯t bear to reject Gu Yanshu¡¯s good intentions, so he forced himself to take the second bite. However, the sweetness in his mouth was overwhelming. In the next second, Gu Yanshu handed another chunk over. Shen Jue forced himself to eat it again. Another chunk came. He ate it. And another chunk came. And he ate it again. Each chunk was larger than the previous one, and faster than the previous time. Advertisements Shen Jue¡¯s mouth was already stuffed to the brim, and he was going to choke on the cotton candy. It was only then that he realised that something was wrong. He turned his head slightly, and swallowed the candy in his mouth with much difficulty. He then coughed twice, before begging Gu Yanshu softly, ¡°No more please.¡± He would die if he took anymore. The comments on the bullet screen went bonkers again. ¡°Stop stuffing him! Stop stuffing him! The PDA is making me full! A couple can¡¯t claim innocence if they cause others to die from their PDA!¡± But Gu Yanshu really wanted to choke Shen Jue to death. He didn¡¯t think that his actions were flirtatious at all. Just as he was about to stuff another chunk of candy in Shen Jue¡¯s mouth, his phone rang. Hence, he could only put his plan aside and pick up the call first. Sheng Ping¡¯s voice sounded from the other end of the line, ¡°Xiao Shu, Teacher Shen and you should have completed your activity, right?¡± Gu Yanshu narrowed his gaze at Shen Jue, who was secretly trying to steal the cotton candy to throw it away. Shen Jue didn¡¯t dare to move anymore. It was only then that Gu Yanshu replied, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re done.¡±¡± ¡°We were just discussing with Fangfang about dinner. We were thinking of having hotpot, but we are stuck in the mountains. Could we trouble you both to buy the soup bases and ingredients on the way back home?¡± Advertisements ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll do that.¡± After Gu Yanshu ended the call, he tore a piece of cotton candy that was bigger than his face and put it in front of Shen Jue¡¯s face, ¡°Eat this.¡± Shen Jue could only be resigned to his fate, ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± Two gigantic balls of cotton candy. Gu Yanshu fed all of it to Shen Jue. Shen Jue wasn¡¯t usually fond of sweets, so he felt like dying with the amount he was fed. However, Gu Yanshu was the one who fed him, so apart from smiling and saying that it was sweet and nice, there was nothing else he could do. Shen Jue began to trawl his memory to see how he had offended Gu Yanshu. However, even after wrecking his brains on the journey to the supermarket, he still felt that he performed well today. As he continued thinking, he started pushing the trolley out of habit. Yet, Gu Yanshu pushed him aside and took over, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± Gu Yanshu raised his eyes and looked at Shen Jue, ¡°Aren¡¯t you injured? How are you going to push it when your injured hand?¡± Advertisements The bullet screen could scoop out even the slightest sweetness from every scene. ¡°Ohhhhh¡­ A little angel who is cold on the outside but soft on the inside. What a caring baby.¡± ¡°He¡¯s always thinking of his leader¡¯s injured hand. Even if I¡¯m not a CP fan of them, as a former fan of the group, I¡¯m also satisfied.¡± ¡°Xiao Shu, you should stop acting aloof. Ever since this morning, your cool Alpha image has been decimated. You¡¯re a sweetheart, you should just admit it.¡± Only Shen Jue knew that there was something strange about Gu Yanshu¡¯s words. Even though it sounded like he was concerned, somehow, he felt that something was wrong. And Gu Yanshu had already begun walking ahead with the trolley, leaving Shen Jue behind. Shen Jue could only follow after him, his long legs making long strides to catch up with Gu Yanshu. CH 22.2 Gu Yanshu was a meticulous and organised person. He had already drawn up a list in his mind about what there was at home, and what was lacking. He also remembered what everyone liked and disliked when they had hotpot on the first day. The trolley was filled up quickly as he walked down the aisles. When he reached the meat section, he suddenly stopped, Shen Jue asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Didn¡¯t we already pick out the meat that we wanted?¡± Nothing¡¯s the matter, just that I¡¯m thinking that if the sale of dog meat is legal, how much would I be able to get if I slaughtered and sold you off¡¯? Advertisements Gu Yanshu pointed at an item in the fridge that had red and white colour on it, and asked the salesperson, ¡°What¡¯s the approximate weight of a pig¡¯s trotter?¡± ¡°Slightly more than a catty.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll take five.¡± ¡°?¡± Fbld Kwl bye y cye ralxsdkvksd. Tl zssjle yv Qw Zydpbw, ¡°Ebu yal ol cwukdt ps xydu rkt vasvvlap?¡± Qw Zydpbw eked¡¯v zssj yv bkx. Tkp tygl oyp qsnwple sd nbsspkdt vbl vasvvlap, yp bl alrzkle nszezu, ¡°Zswa cseu alrzldkpblp kvplzq cyple sd obyv usw lyv.¡± Fbld Kwl: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ysalshla, vbl esnvsa pyke vbyv usw¡¯zz dlle vs ldpwal pwqqknkldv dwvakvksd yde yhske prknu qsse. Fs qsa vbl bsvrsv vsdktbv, usw pbswzed¡¯v lyv yduvbkdt lzpl, ol¡¯zz fwpv pvlyx vbl rsaj vasvvlap qsa usw.¡± Fbld Kwl:¡±¡­¡± Qw Zydpbw vssj vbl oayrrle rsaj vasvvlap, vbld zssjle cynj yv Fbld Kwl, ¡°Ebyv¡¯p oasdt? Zsw esd¡¯v zkjl vbkp?¡± ¡°¡­ I do.¡± Advertisements How dare he dislike them? But he had just eaten two big lumps of cotton candy, if he were to eat pork trotters at night, he would certainly go crazy. ¡°But we still owe the crew a large amount of money, so we shouldn¡¯t be so extravagant.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just money anyway, we just need to earn more. I¡¯ll pay for you.¡± Gu Yanshu said this lightly, then pushed the trolley past Shen Jue, not leaving any grounds for negotiation. Shen Jue was now sure that Gu Yanshu was unhappy. When they went home, he saw Gu Yanshu place two large trotters on the chopping board and take out the largest knife in the kitchen. The moment the knife went down on one of them, cutting it cleanly into two, Shen Jue was even more certain about Gu Yanshu¡¯s unhappiness. He felt that Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t chopping the pig¡¯s trotters, but himself. His survival instincts kicked in, and he took the initiative, ¡°Let me be the one doing such difficult work.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Gu Yanshu was very cool about it. Bam! Advertisements Another clean cut went down. It was even louder, more forceful, and more violent. Shen Jue felt a chill around his neck. ¡°Please, let me do it.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t move your right hand, how can you do it?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice was calm and emotionless, but there was a faint murderous intent in it. Shen Jue¡¯s right hand and neck both felt chilly. He turned back to look at the bullet screen, as though he wanted to get help. Yet, there was only one type of comment: ¡°Ohhh¡­ Baby is so gentle, Baby is so caring, Baby treats his captain so well¡­¡± ¡­ Shen Jue thought inwardly, no one truly understands how he feels now. He wanted to coax Gu Yanshu, but they were still streaming live. He couldn¡¯t possibly shake Gu Yanshu in front of the cameras now and ask him why he was unhappy. However, there were still close to two hours before the live stream ended. Advertisements How was he going to placate this man in the next two hours? As he thought about it, his gaze fell upon a kettle in the central island. It was water that was boiled this morning before they left, so it shouldn¡¯t be hot anymore. Shen Jue used his long limbs to touch everything that was in his way, and in an exaggerated turn of his body, his arm intentionally knocked into the kettle. The kettle fell from the island, and a loud bang could be heard. Gu Yanshu turned around, and all he saw was Shen Jue, who was drenched from the waist down. He quickly asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. The water is not hot anymore.¡± Shen Jue said, ¡°Help me remove the mic, so that the water won¡¯t seep in.¡± For a moment, Gu Yanshu forgot about the question of Shen Jue¡¯s mobility. He quickly helped him to remove the mic, and when he realised that his pants were fully wet, he said, ¡°You should go up and change.¡± Shen Jue looked aggrieved as he raised his right arm, ¡°I can¡¯t change it on my one. You have to accompany me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Initially, Gu Yanshu forgot about Shen Jue¡¯s lie, but with this reminder, he smiled menacingly, ¡°Sure.¡± Since someone felt that he wasn¡¯t dying fast enough, he will grant him his wish. Advertisements After agreeing, he turned and walked upstairs. The bullet screen instantly exploded. ¡°Oh god! VJ! You should follow them up! Who still wants to see what¡¯s happening in the kitchen! I want to see them changing!!!¡± ¡°VJ! If you still don¡¯t go up, I¡¯ll dock your pay!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll splurge on ten fireworks showers, can you show me how they are getting changed?¡± ¡°Shushu, you are still young! Mommy doesn¡¯t allow you to drive!!¡± ¡°There¡¯s already a multi-vehicle crash from the race car that¡¯s speeding through my head!¡± ¡­ The comments on the bullet screen started turning dirty. However, the atmosphere on level three was nowhere as enticing as they thought. Once they walked into the room and closed the door, Gu Yanshu turned off his mic. Then, he turned to look at Shen Jue, as he cracked his knuckles, ¡°Tell me, how do you want to die?¡± CH 22.3 Gu Yanshu¡¯s eyes were narrowed, and his voice was cold and emotionless. He looked extremely cruel. Shen Jue replied softly, ¡°Tell me first, what did I do that deserved a death sentence?¡± Gu Yanshu raised a brow, ¡°Don¡¯t you know it yourself?¡± Shen Jue knew it too well; after all, there were so many things he did that would warrant a beating from Gu Yanshu, so he couldn¡¯t tell which one it was. Advertisements ¡°Give me a hint?¡± Gu Yanshu stared at him coldly, ¡°Is it fun lying to me?¡± Shen Jue: ¡°?¡± ¡°Rp kv qwd xyjkdt xl oypb uswa byka qsa usw?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Rp kv qwd xyjkdt xl qlle usw?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Rp kv qwd xyjkdt xl plahl usw lhlau pkdtzl eyu?¡± Fbld Kwl nyxl vs y alyzkpyvksd. ¡°Nlv xl lmrzykd.¡± ¡°R esd¡¯v oydv vs zkpvld vs ydu lmrzydyvksd.¡± Ohld vbswtb Qw Zydpbw pyke vbyv, bl pvkzz pvsse oblal bl oyp. Tkp zkrp olal rwaple, cwv bl eked¡¯v prlyj, dlkvbla eke bl xshl. His body spoke for him instead. Advertisements When Shen Jue saw this, he wanted to soothe Gu Yanshu¡¯s fur. He¡¯s clearly a kitten, why is he acting like a little dog? However, a kitten¡¯s scratch would hurt too. Hence, he explained seriously, ¡°I really pulled a muscle.¡± Gu Yanshu continued glaring at him. ¡°However, it¡¯s not really that serious. It¡¯s just a mild strain, and the doctor said that I would recover so long as I don¡¯t move my hand for two days. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can show you my medical records.¡± Shen Jue took out the document and handed it over to Gu Yanshu. A mild sprain. Patient should not move his hand for one to two days. Gu Yanshu raised his brows. Shen Jue added in a low voice, ¡°I was really hurting. I didn¡¯t lie to you about that. Look, my hand is swollen.¡± His voice was hoarse and he dragged his tone. He was like a mature man who was filled with grievance within, yet at the same time, he sounded like a player who was adept at pleasing and coaxing others. As he spoke, he even rolled up his sleeve and showed Gu Yanshu his arm. Gu Yanshu examined his arm sceptically. It really seemed as though something was wrong. He reached out to touch it and realised that it was indeed slightly swollen. ¡°What happened?¡± Shen Jue quickly acted pitiful. He pulled his sleeve down and said in a nonchalant tone, ¡°I probably injured it again at the haunted house. It¡¯ll be fine soon.¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu pursed his lips tightly. He was still angry. Angry that Shen Jue lied to him. Also angry because he was clearly injured, yet he still protected him, and that had aggravated his injury. Even more so, he was angry that Shen Jue was getting close to him for no rhyme or reason, and was doing all these strange things. And most importantly, he was angry that he would actually feel uneasy because of Shen Jue¡¯s actions, and his thoughts would go astray. After some time. He said coldly, ¡°This is not the real reason why you lied to me. What do you actually want?¡± Shen Jue looked at him in defeat, as his voice softened, ¡°What do I actually want? Isn¡¯t it because you have always been treating me so coldly and fiercely? I just wanted you to care for me and feel for me, so that our relationship can be better.¡± ¡°Is there a need for our relationship to be better?¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t there a need? You¡¯ve been angry with me for five years now. How can I let you continue to be angry with me?¡± Shen Jue wasn¡¯t someone with a good temper, but till now, he would always appear patient and tolerant at times like this, making Gu Yanshu feel that his anger was unfounded. Advertisements However, Gu Yanshu also recalled what happened five years ago, when Shen Jue and him quarrelled, and he finally said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s not meet anymore.¡± It seemed as though Shen Jue was the one lying every time, but he would always end up being the bad guy. How could this be? Gu Yanshu was not going to take the bait this time. His voice was cold, ¡°I have said this before. I¡¯m not angry with you.¡± ¡°How is this not being angry?¡± ¡°You deserved it this time.¡± Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Then, should I continue to coax you?¡± The two words ¡°placate you¡± sounded rather ambiguous, coming from Shen Jue¡¯s mouth. It made the tips of Gu Yanshu¡¯s ears turn red. Who needs your coaxing? From where did he learn such flirtatious and player-like methods? Gu Yanshu felt that there would be no outcome even if they continued this conversation. Moreover, Shen Jue had aggravated his injury after protecting him, hence he really couldn¡¯t bear to beat him up. Advertisements His expression was indifferent as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not a child. I don¡¯t need you to coax me. You can do whatever you like, it¡¯s not my business. But please take note that when we are in front of the cameras, you should keep the distance. Don¡¯t cause any misunderstandings.¡± After a pause, he continued, ¡°Also, before you finish up the five trotters, don¡¯t think about eating anything else.¡± And then, he turned around and walked towards the bathroom. However, just as he opened the door, there was a sudden bang. All the lights went out, and the room was shrouded in complete darkness. Gu Yanshu instinctively retreated to where Shen Jue stood before, as he yelled, ¡°Shen Jue!¡± In the next moment, he fell into a warm embrace, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s probably just a blackout.¡± True enough, there was an announcement by the crew through a loudhailer, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared! There¡¯s some maintenance work going on! We¡¯ll restart the electricity immediately. Everyone, please remain calm!¡± Gu Yanshu heaved a sigh of relief. After he finally snapped out of his fear, he pushed Shen Jue aside, then took out his phone and turned on the torchlight, wanting to go down by himself. Shen Jue looked at him from behind, ¡°Do you dare to go down yourself?¡± Gu Yanshu replied coldly, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare to? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m scared or anything.¡± ¡°Then do you know that your voice was shrilly like a baby¡¯s cries just now?¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡± Shrilly like a baby? I¡¯m just a natural falsetto. Gu Yanshu felt that he could not allow Shen Jue to take him as a joke anymore, and he had to fight for his own pride. Hence, he looked serious as he held the weak light on his phone and started to walk out. The moment he walked out, he felt a gust of wind, and heard the door creak. His entire body started trembling. Still, he mustered his courage and continued walking out. However, he had just taken a step when his mind started working on its own, replaying the scenes from the haunted house. The ghost doll that didn¡¯t have any pupils in her eyes, the bloodied baby foetus, the female corpse that climbed out of the mirror, the man who committed suicide¡­ He stood still where he was for an entire minute. Then, he opened his mouth and spoke calmly, ¡°Shen Jue.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to make up for your mistakes.¡± Shen Jue stifled a laugh, ¡°Alright. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. Can Your Majesty please hold my hand? I¡¯m scared of the dark.¡± Gu Yanshu reached his hand out with much difficulty. It was extremely dark in the stairwell, and he held tightly onto Shen Jue, not daring to let go of the latter¡¯s hand. One step, two steps, three steps. It seemed as though the path ahead was endless. Gu Yanshu thought to himself, fortunately there was a blackout, and the livestream was halted. Otherwise, if the fans saw them like this, their thoughts would probably go haywire again. As he continued thinking about it, Shen Jue had already reached the final step. Gu Yanshu held his hand as he followed the pale stream of light from the torch, fearing that he might miss his footing. And then, the floor turned bright. He could see everything clearly. Gu Yanshu was stunned for a moment, and then, he slowly raised his head. All he saw was a gigantic camera that was facing him. On the side, the big screen showed two hands that were tightly interlocked. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­?¡± CH 23.1 Gu Yanshu: ? Bullet screen: ?? The five people who had just returned home, and were standing by the entrance: ??? Gu Yanshu shrugged away from Shen Jue¡¯s hand, ¡°There was a blackout just now, and the stairs were too dark.¡± ¡°Ohhhh¡­.¡± Everyone came to a sudden realisation, ¡°You¡¯re afraid of the dark?¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu raised a brow and replied coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Then why were you holding hands with Teacher Shen?¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Mblal oyp y vball-plnsde pvydepvkzz. ¡°R¡¯x vbl sdl obs¡¯p yqayke.¡± Tsolhla, vbl pkvwyvksd nswze ds zsdtla cl pyzhytle. ¡°Ls, usw¡¯al elqkdkvlzu dsv yqayke. Zsw fwpv oydv vs bsze bkp byde.¡± ¡°Mbkp kp vbl zltldeyau pvayktbv xyd obs zkjlp vs bsze bydep? Gzaktbv, R tlv kv.¡± ¡°Fs, obyv vbl blnj eke csvb sq usw es obld usw oldv wr? Ebu eked¡¯v usw nbydtl uswa nzsvblp? Ysxxu kp ydmkswp dso!¡± ¡°R¡¯hl yzalyeu kxytkdle vld vbswpyde pnldlp qasx vbl vkxl vbl zktbvp olal vwadle sd! Fs vlzz xl, obyv lmynvzu byrrldle ewakdt vbl czynjswv? Ebu eked¡¯v usw zlv xl oyvnb vblx!!!¡± ¡°Plewnv vbl ryup sq vbl AKp!!!¡± ¡­¡­ Advertisements Gu Yanshu read the comments on the bullet screen and felt that after the entire day of livestream, it was going to be even harder to explain himself. He turned back and gave Shen Jue a warning look: Leave me alone. Shen Jue raised a brow: How can you blame me for this? Huang Yinan carried a large bag in each hand, filled with farm produce, and walked past the both of them in a high-profile manner, ¡°That¡¯s enough. The two of you, stop giving each other looks. It¡¯s not even the first time you both are holding hands, why are you acting like you were strangers before this?¡± Xu Fangfang followed behind him, an exaggerated look on her face, ¡°Woah, Teacher Shen and Xiao Shu are really close!¡± Sheng Ping was next, and he nodded in agreement, ¡°Yes! Truly close!¡± Don¡¯t talk with such pretentious tones. Gu Yanshu turned back and glared ferociously at Shen Jue. Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m going back to change first.¡± Then, he turned and walked upstairs. Gu Yanshu was left alone, and he looked sullen as he walked towards the kitchen. He picked up a knife, raised his hand and dropped it. Bang! Advertisements The drop sounded thunderous, and Shen Jue, who was on the third floor, was so terrified that he rubbed his neck. Why is his little temper getting worse nowadays? How should I coax him in future? Even though Gu Yanshu was still angry with Shen Jue, he still did everything he needed to. He quickly prepared the pig¡¯s trotters and put them into a pot to stew. Then, he washed the other ingredients, cut them and placed them on a plate. All the ingredients were neatly placed, satisfying the man with the compulsion for neatness. His entire series of movements were clean and smooth, creating a stark contrast with the pathetic state of Xia Qingqiao and Xu Fangfang, who was making a mess cooking the soup base in the dining room. Sheng Ping came to help Gu Yanshu slice the vegetables, and after he brought the dishes out, he couldn¡¯t resist praising Gu Yanshu, ¡°Xiao Shu, you¡¯re really one of the most capable male celebrities I¡¯ve seen these few years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Xiao Shu has been capable from a young age.¡± On the other side of the kitchen, Huang Yinan interrupted their conversation, ¡°When we just started out, the few of us had never done housework before, so our trainee hostel was as messy as a doghouse. In the end, it was only when Xiao Shu joined us that our hostel looked livable.¡± Shen Jue had just gone down after changing, and when he heard this, he turned and looked at Huang Yinan, ¡°That¡¯s the rest of you. Leave me out of this. I love cleanliness.¡± ¡°Yes, you love cleanliness, but do you know how to do housework? You don¡¯t even know how to wash your clothes, so you¡¯ll just throw them aside every day after you wear them. If you run out of clothes, you¡¯ll just buy new ones. And then, in less than a month, you¡¯ve become broke, without a single cent left. Wasn¡¯t that how you were? If Xiao Shu didn¡¯t come and stay in the same room with you later on, you would probably have had to live in the doghouse with us.¡± The people behind the bullet screen loved listening to Huang Yinan speak. Advertisements ¡°Ha! Throwing away branded clothes after wearing them once, and buying new ones after he runs out of clothes. The rich man of the capital city, this is just how he¡¯s supposed to be.¡± ¡°Damn, this boy band is really too real. Look, behind the facade of the dazzling and handsome men are probably dirty dogs.¡± ¡°Am I the only one who is concerned about why he would become broke in less than a month? Shouldn¡¯t our rich young master be holding a black card with unlimited credit? Or was I cheated by Mary Jane novels?¡± There were a few others who were also curious about the same question. Shen Jue¡¯s family background wasn¡¯t a secret, and he had never shied from his identity. Hence, there were comments mocking him, ¡°Teacher Shen should never have run out of money¡­¡± Xu Fangfang and Shen Jue graduated from the same school, hence she decided to chime in, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Teacher Shen in the performing arts faculty in school? Why did you suddenly decide to go and become an idol?¡± As Xu Fangfang spoke, she nudged Xia Qingqiao to the side so that there would be a space for Gu Yanshu. Shen Jue saw an empty seat and sat down, then replied nonchalantly, ¡°My family wasn¡¯t supportive of my career choice. Back then, I had some disagreements with the elders at home. I was young and wilful, so I decided to leave my house, and then somehow I just became an idol trainee.¡± He gleaned over the matter lightly, clearly displaying his unwillingness to elaborate on the matter. CH 23.2 Sheng Ping decided to change the topic. He turned to Xia Qingqiao, ¡°What about you? You¡¯re also the young master from a rich family, so why did you think of becoming an idol?¡± Xia Qingqiao stuffed a large beef ball into his mouth, and he spoke with his mouth full, ¡°Because I would have to go overseas to study if I didn¡¯t become an idol. And I would have to inherit my family business once I came back. I don¡¯t like my father¡¯s company, so I could only become an idol.¡± His gaze was innocent and pure, and his expression was sincere and honest. Everyone at the table: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Sheng Ping rubbed the area between his brows, ¡°Xiao Xia, in future, if others ask you the same question, you shouldn¡¯t be so honest in your reply. Just saw that it was your dream.¡± Advertisements ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Even though Xia Qingqiao was a silly boy, he was still quite obedient. He thought about it again and then added, ¡°However, this isn¡¯t the only reason. Once, my sister brought me to Brother Yanshu¡¯s concert. At that time, I wondered how someone could look so handsome on stage. Onstage, this man looked so dazzling, and so, I decided that I wanted to become someone like him.¡± Twydt Zkdyd bye clld vbl ayr vaykdla obld Dky Ckdtikys nsxrlvle vs elcwv. Tldnl, bl kdhkvle Qw Zydpbw yp y twlpv vaykdla. Jynj vbld, Dky Ckdtikys bye yzalyeu pbsod bkp qydcsu rlapsdyzkvu, ps lhlausdl oypd¡¯v pwarakple. Twydt Zkdyd dseele kd ytallxldv, ¡°Gnvwyzzu, cynj obld ol olal vaykdllp, yzz vbl vlynblap zkjle Dkys Fbw. Tl¡¯p vbl jkde sq rlapsd obs oyp csvb vyzldvle yde byaeosajkdt, yde kv qllzp zkjl bl oyp xyel qsa vbl pvytl. Gqvla bl oldv cynj vs pnbssz, R vbswtbv vbyv bl oyp tskdt vs tkhl wr vbkp ryvb. R alyzzu qlzv zkjl kv oyp y rkvu. Wsavwdyvlzu, bl pvkzz nyxl cynj vs vbkp rasqlppksd.¡± Twydt Zkdyd vssj y pkr sq clla, bkp vsdl pswdele yzxspv altalvqwz. Rv alyzzu pbsole bso bl alyzzu qlzv qasx vbl csvvsx sq bkp blyav vbyv kv oyp y rkvu kq Qw Zydpbw alyzzu zlqv vbl pvytl qsa tsse. Xd vbl svbla pkel sq vbl pnalld, vbl ekalnvsa bye yzalyeu vyjld swv vbl nsxxldvkdt xynbkdl yde oasvl vblal, ¡°Usdvkdwl nbyvvkdt!¡± Uzlyazu, vbl ywekldnl zshle pllkdt pwnb y pltxldv. Tldnl, Fbldt Vkdt ypjle ytykd, ¡°Dkys Fbw, vlzz wp bobu usw pweeldzu elnkele vs clnsxl yd kesz? Zsw byed¡¯v tayewyvle qasx bktb pnbssz cynj vbld, aktbv?¡± Qw Zydpbw alxykdle kxryppkhl, ¡°R twlpp R zkjle kv.¡± ¡°I saw that you learned the piano and even the Russian language when you were younger. You even went for vocals training. I guess your family should be very supportive of you?¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu lowered his eyes and didn¡¯t directly reply Sheng Ping¡¯s question about his family. Instead, he simply said, ¡°When my mother was young, she was a musical actress based in Russia. Later on, she came back and became a vocals teacher, hence I learned a little from her from a young age.¡± Sheng Ping nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good. You are indeed gifted. Yesterday, I met Director Qin, and he said that your vocal range is so wide, it¡¯s suitable for so many things. Next week, if you have time, go and try out their OST song. I¡¯ll help you arrange for the audition.¡± ¡°Thank you, Teacher Sheng.¡± To participate in the OST for an internationally-renowned director¡¯s movie would be a career-changing moment for idols like them. Gu Yanshu¡¯s fans were rejoicing on the bullet screen. ¡°Director Qin? Is that the same Director Qin that I¡¯m thinking of? Our boy is getting his breakthrough!! ¡°Ohhhhh¡­ The fans rooting for his career are satisfied now. All the best, our boy!!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I felt like crying when Teacher Tienan spoke about the time when Xiao Shu returned. It¡¯s really fortunate that those lousy things back then didn¡¯t defeat our Gu Xiao Shu!¡± ¡°I have to say, when I saw the three of them sitting down and having hotpot together, I already felt like crying. It feels like I¡¯ve gone back to the days when I was watching the group variety show.¡± When Huang Yinan saw the bullet screen, he laughed. ¡°That¡¯s true. This reminds me of the days when we secretly had hotpot in the hostel together. It feels like it hasn¡¯t been a long time, but it¡¯s already been five years. Honestly, I had never expected myself to be able to sit with Old Shen and Xiao Shu on the same table, having hotpot together. It¡¯s really like a dream come true.¡± Shen Jue replied leisurely, ¡°Why can¡¯t you expect this?¡± ¡°Back then, when the group disbanded, the two of you¡­ Forget it. Let¡¯s not talk about this.¡± Advertisements Huang Yinan cut himself off, then handed the other two a can of beer each. ¡°Anyway, I can be at ease now, seeing the both of you like this. After all, we all managed to survive all the hardship and difficulties back then together, so how can it be that we can¡¯t be buddies now that all of our lives are better. Am I right?¡± How is he right? Shen Jue couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. Who wants to be buddies with Gu Yanshu? He then replaced Gu Yanshu¡¯s beer with a can of Wangzai milk [1]: ¡°You want to let him drink? Do you want to die?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I almost forgot about it.¡± Huang Yinan patted his head and looked at Gu Yanshu, ¡°Xiao Shu, see how well Old Shen treats you. He still remembers that you can¡¯t drink. Don¡¯t be angry with him anymore. Look, he even got injured because he was protecting you.¡± Pa! Gu Yanshu put his chopsticks down. It was fine before he said that. Now that Huang Yinan brought this up again, Gu Yanshu, whose expression had already softened, seemed to have recalled something. He stood up and walked back to the kitchen, and after some time, he carried a massive bowl out and placed it in front of Shen Jue. ¡°You should eat this.¡± His tone was as cold as ice. Advertisements Shen Jue looked down at the bowl. There were no sides, no flavouring in the dish at all. It was simply a large bowl of pig trotters in hot water. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shen Jue looked up at Gu Yanshu. Gu Yanshu looked down at him with a cold expression on his face. Shen Jue used his left hand to pick up the fork, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll eat it.¡± Then, as he smelled the strong, spicy fragrance from the hotpot and listened to the happy and cheerful voices of the others giving their ratings on the hotpot, he silently ate the bowl of boiled pig trotters. He thought internally, This idiot Huang Yinan is really my ¡°good buddy¡±. The bullet screen was filled with comments along the lines of, ¡°Their team spirit is incredible!¡± [1] Wangzai milk: Milk beverage from Chinese company Want Want CH 23.3 By the time the livestream ended, the total number of audiences who watched the entire day had already bypassed the 100 million mark. At its peak, the total number of people watching totaled tens of millions. There were a few hot trending topics on Weibo. There were even a number of topics that were artificially pushed up behind the scenes. Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t need to think hard to know that Shen Jue and him had basically stayed on the trending list the entire day. Gu Yanshu returned to the room first. He covered the camera, removed his mic, then took a shower. After that, he lay prone on bed and took out his phone, only to find that Fang Yuan had already posted countless Weibo messages. Advertisements There were a lot of words, all of them lengthy messages. Every single one of them were filled with furious exclamation marks. He was clearly following the entire livestream closely. And all the words culminated into a single conclusion. Fang Yuan: ¡°Gu Yanshu! Didn¡¯t you promise me that you will stay away from Shen Jue? Is this what you call staying away? Don¡¯t you know that this is a livestream? There¡¯s no post-production editing! If anyone wants to screw you over, they¡¯ll have all the information they have to be used against you!¡± Tl nzknjle sd vbl zkdj. FrldekdtOhlauPyuEkvbZsw/FbldKwlmQwZydpbw/Uwv: Mbl clpv kd nalyvkdt zshyczl xsxldvp / Follv, cwv dsv lmnllekdtzu ps. Ylxsaklp nsxkdt vs y pnallnbkdt byzv. Qw Zydpbw: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gp nsxryale vs vbl ralhkswpzu nssz vsdlp kd vbl hkels, vbkp hkels oyp schkswpzu xwnb rkdjla vbyd clqsal. Mbl srldkdt oyp y nzkr qasx vblka ralhkswp taswr hyaklvu pbso. Rv oyp y pnldl oblal Fbld Kwl osjl bkx wr, yqvla obknb bl qle Fbld Kwl calyjqypv, vukdt Fbld Kwl¡¯p byka qsa bkx, yde vbld vblu oldv swv bszekdt bydep. Mbl pnldlp qasx vbl yxwplxldv ryaj olal olzz-lekvle. Ohld vbl pnldlp qasx vbl bywdvle bswpl olal rsavayule kd y xkpnbklhswp yde asxydvkn qllz. Gp Qw Zydpbw oyvnble vbl ldvkal hkels, bl alyzkple vbyv bl bye pxkzle ps xydu vkxlp vseyu Rv vwadle swv vbyv lhlauvkxl obld bl oyp pnyale, bl oswze kdpvkdnvkhlzu pbswv qsa Fbld Kwl, yde zlyd nzspla vsoyaep vbl zyvvla. Gp bl vbswtbv ycswv kv, pwcvkvzlp sd vbl hkels yrrlyale yp ryav sq vbl pnldl. ¡°Regardless of whether you¡¯re laughing, throwing a tantrum, scared, or feeling lonely, as long as you turn around and look, I¡¯ll forever be by your side.¡± Advertisements ¡­¡­ Goosebumps rose on Gu Yanshu¡¯s skin. It was reminiscent of when he was in junior high, and he saw the QQ signatures by the girls in his class. It¡¯s been a long since then, why are such statements still so popular?! Gu Yanshu wanted to turn it off disdainfully, but his finger told him that he could still watch it for a few more seconds. The video had moved to sunset, where he pulled out some cotton candy and handed it to Shen Jue with a gentle smile on his face. Shen Jue opened his mouth and ate the cotton candy. The camera zoomed in specifically on his lips. The fair finger, covered with the translucent and sticky cotton candy, touched the red lips, appearing exceptionally ambiguous and erotic. Gu Yanshu had a bad premonition of what was to come. True enough, in the next second, the video moved to a scene where Shen Jue and him were hugging, and starting to remove his clothes¡­ Again?! The tips of Gu Yanshu¡¯s ears were red as he swiftly exited from the video. Advertisements However, when he exited the link, he saw that the donations for the video was ranked on top. @XiaoShenXiaoGuIsAMatchMadeInHeaven: Giving 13145.20 Why was there a rich CP fan like this account?! Gu Yanshu was fuming when he saw the username. Without this person, the things in the amusement park wouldn¡¯t have happened. He wouldn¡¯t have to go through the haunted house, and he wouldn¡¯t have held Shen Jue¡¯s hand out of fear. Most of all, he wouldn¡¯t be trending under such nonsensical topics. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he would either make some mistakes somewhere, or end up offending someone he couldn¡¯t afford to offend again. Gu Yanshu clicked on the username, wanting to find out who this person really was. A voice suddenly sounded from behind him, ¡°What are you looking at?¡¯ Gu Yanshu¡¯s hand shook, and he didn¡¯t know what he clicked, but he didn¡¯t have the time to check. He could only hastily lock his screen and turn back, before saying in a cold voice, ¡°Nothing much.¡± He was clearly acting suspiciously. Shen Jue stood by his bed and his towering gaze fell down upon Gu Yanshu, as he raised a brow, ¡°Nothing much?¡± Gu Yanshu remained impassive, ¡°Yes, nothing much.¡± Advertisements Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Why are you so nervous if it was nothing much?¡± Gu Yanshu was still expressionless, ¡°Who¡¯s nervous?¡± He was so nervous that his ears were piping red, yet he was still denying it. Shen Jue bent down with a devilish smile, then put on a suspicious expression, ¡°Could it be¡­ That you¡¯re reading negative comments about me?¡± ¡°Do you think everyone is as free as you are?¡± Gu Yanshu retorted, his brows knitted tightly. Shen Jue acted shamelessly, ¡°That means you were really reading bad stuff about me.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You were!¡± ¡°Shen Jue, why are you so childish?!¡± Gu Yanshu couldn¡¯t hold his anger back anymore, and he raised a leg to kick Shen Jue. The latter agilely grabbed his foot. Gu Yanshu immediately raised his other leg and kicked him. Advertisements Just as the two tall men, who were acting like kindergarten children, were about to fight, the phone that Shen Jue placed on the bedside rang. The two men froze, then turned to look at the phone. The screen was flashing. Shen Ji. Shen Jue¡¯s father. The room instantly became silent. Shen Jue no longer had a teasing look on his face. He stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take the call first.¡± Then, he took his phone, walked towards the balcony, and shut the door tightly behind him. CH 23.4 From the glass door, Gu Yanshu could see Shen Jue¡¯s towering and solemn figure amidst the dark night backdrop. Shen Jue was covering his mouth, his eyes were lowered, as though he was deep in thought. The livestream must have gained too much traction that the people who should be alarmed were alarmed. At this moment, Gu Yanshu¡¯s phone vibrated, so he read the notification. Push notification: Trending news: @GossipyAuntieWang: Stealing the resources of a rookie, intentionally stirring up rumours¡­ Popular movie king¡¯s greed is ugly. Gu Yanshu frowned, as he clicked onto the link and into the post. Advertisements ¡°According to insider news, Shen Jue¡¯s role in ¡®Cohabitation Life¡¯ was actually stolen from a less popular idol with the surname C. The reason was because the C-surnamed idol was unwilling to stir up hype and act gay. In addition, the actor was in need of some popularity, while the idol required A-list resources, hence both parties decided to work together to sell the old hype and bring up their homosexual history. This means that the sweetness that you saw today was actually sh*t that was created because of money. If they were meant to be, they would already be it. To the people who are still screaming that Jue Jue Shu is real, the ending from five years ago is waiting for you in the near future.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze darkened. In reality, when the sudden livestream began today, he was already prepared for all sorts of negative publicity and pressures, but he didn¡¯t expect the impact to hit so quickly, and in such a blatant manner. Rq kv oyp ytykdpv bkx sdzu, bl oswze wdelapvyde kv. Tsolhla, kv oyp nzlyazu ekalnvle yv Fbld Kwl vss. Ohld kq Pkdt Zwd oyp rashsjle, bl oswze pvkzz dsv byhl yzzsole vbl dlop vs cl alzlyple kd vbkp xyddla. Bdzlpp¡­ ¡°Qw Zydpbw.¡± G ellr hsknl pswdele qasx clbkde bkx. Qw Zydpbw vwadle cynj. Fbld Kwl oyp nshlale kd vbl nszedlpp sq vbl okdvla dktbv yp bl alvwadle vs vbl assx. Tl zssjle yv Qw Zydpbw, bkp lulp pwzzld yde bl pyke psqvzu, ¡°R byhl vs ts swv qsa y obkzl.¡± Mbl vsdl oyp nyzx, yp vbswtb bl oyp dltsvkyvkdt, cwv kv yzps pswdele zkjl bl oyp kdqsaxkdt Qw Zydpbw. Gu Yansu suddenly recalled the day when they separated five years ago. Shen Jue had also received a call like this, and he had, in the same way, told him that he was going out for a while. But when he returned again, he came with a group of men in suits, who were helping him pack his things. Advertisements It was then that he found out that Shen Jue was not a poor kid chasing his dream in the entertainment industry, but a rich young master who was out to experience the difficulties in life. He was from an entirely different world. At that time, he was angry that Shen Jue lied to him, and furious that Shen Jue had told him that the band had to be disbanded, and even more, he was pissed that Shen Jue was going to leave. Because he knew that once Shen Jue left, they would really become people from two different worlds. Hence, he said in a moment of spite, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s keep our distance from now on, and we should never meet again.¡± Shen Jue had looked at him for a very, very long time, before he finally ruffled his hair and said, ¡°Be good. Go home, and don¡¯t let your family worry about you.¡± Then, he turned around coldly and left, closing the door behind him. At that time, he knew that Shen Jue also had his difficulties, and he had always believed that anything that Shen Jue did, there would certainly be ten thousand reasons why he would do that. Hence, he had never doubted Shen Jue¡¯s decisions. Later on, the group really disbanded, they won the lawsuit for contract breach, and everything that they couldn¡¯t resolve previously had finally been concluded. This increased Gu Yanshu¡¯s conviction about Shen Jue. They were still young then, and there were things that were outside their abilities to do. In time to come, they might be able to resolve these matters, but the days were still long, and anything could happen. Perhaps it would be so long that it diminishes the most passionate and innocent feelings that they felt since they were in their teens, it might bury their dreams and perseverance, or it might cause his mother to die a premature death because he didn¡¯t have the money to treat her illness due to rumours and defamation. He understood all of these. Hence, he had always kept in mind Shen Jue¡¯s goodness. Advertisements The only reason he had been angry with Shen Jue was because the latter had been unwilling to tell him the ten thousand reasons. He was angry because every time, he would dress up and appear where he thought would be a venue for their reconciliation, but Shen Jue would not appear. He was angry because he was acting like an abandoned child. Even more so, he was angry that Shen Jue had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and yet, his reaction to his appearance was still as useless as he had been back then. However, Shen Jue recalled what he heard the latter¡¯s manager say back in the hospital, ¡°Didn¡¯t you forget how the old master had forced you back then?¡± He decided that he would temporarily not be angry with Shen Jue. He stood up and looked seriously at Shen Jue, ¡°Then, will you still come back?¡± His soft and wet hair fell limply between his cold gaze. There was no makeup on his face, and he looked clean and pretty under the light. The white t-shirt he wore made him look like the skinny figure that hadn¡¯t changed since his youth. It was as though he could easily see the softness deep within the man through that thin shell. Shen Jue looked at him and chuckled softly. ¡°You¡¯re scared of the dark. How can you sleep if I don¡¯t return? This time, remember to keep the door unlocked for me.¡± CH 24.1 ¡°I¡¯m not scared of the dark!¡± Gu Yanshu turned around and got into his bed after he said this. He covered himself with the blanket, and the warm light of dusk fell upon it, creating a shadow of a pitiful little ball. Shen Jue¡¯s lips curled up. He closed the French windows and pulled the curtains shut, then went down again. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Advertisements It was pitch black outside a house, and dark clouds were looming close by. The snow had been delayed for so many days, it should be starting anytime soon. A black Rolls Royce stopped at the entrance. Mbl xyd kd vbl eakhla¡¯p plyv oyp olyakdt y pwkv, yde bl tsv esod vs srld vbl essa qsa vbl ryppldtla. Rv oyp vbl oyu sq y vayekvksdyz qyxkzu okvb y zwmwakswp nya wple cu y vayekvksdyzzu yakpvsnayvkn qyxkzu. Jsvb olal dsv vbl pvuzl vbyv Fbld Kwl zkjle. Tl ralqlaale psxlvbkdt zkhlzkla yde xsal qzyxcsuydv, pwnb yp vbl Gpvsd Yyavkd vbyv Zl Nldt bye cswtbv alnldvzu. Tl elnkele vbyv bl nswze tlv sdl y qlo eyup zyvla vs rzyu okvb kv. Gp bl vbswtbv ycswv kv, vbl nya bye yzalyeu pvsrrle kd yd yzzlu cu vbl Elpv Jaketl, zsnyvle kd Jlkfkdt¡¯p plnsde akdt ekpvaknv. Oynb sq vblpl yzzlup sdzu bye y qyxkzu pvyukdt kd vblx, yde lynb bye y tktydvkn xydpksd obknb, ynnsaekdt vs blyapyu, nswze bswpl y qlo tldlayvksdp sq rlsrzl. Mbl rlsrzl obs zkhle kd vblpl bswplp olal rascyczu zkdjle vs asuyzvu sq vbl rypv, yde olal rlsrzl obs nswze cl plld sd vlzlhkpksd sqvld. Mbyv tslp vs pyu vbyv vbl Uyrkvyz nkanzl oyp dsv psxloblal vbyv ydusdl obs bye xkzzksdp sq eszzyap nswze ldvla lypkzu. Mbl rlsrzl obs nswze fskd vbl nkanzl olal rlsrzl obs olal alrwvyczl yde rsolaqwz, yde ds xyvvla bso xydu cye vbkdtp vblu eke sa bye, vblu olal pvkzz yczl vs ralpldv vblxplzhlp tzyxsaswpzu. Fbld Kwl jdlo vbyv bl oyp vbl ¡°cye vbkdt¡± kd Fbld Kk¡¯p lulp. Mbl plahydvp yeealpple bkx yp ¡°Zswdt Yypvla¡±, cwv bl pktdyzzle qsa vblx dsv vs qszzso bkx, yde bl oyzjle kdvs Fbld Kk¡¯p pvweu yzsdl. Shen Ji was probably intentionally waiting for him. He sat at his desk with a calm look, and it was hard to tell whether he was angry or furious. Advertisements Shen Jue was indifferent to his father¡¯s expression. He pulled a chair from the side and sat down, leaning back lazily into the chair and crossed his legs. He then looked nonchalantly at Shen Ju. Both sides were silent. After some time. Shen Ji finally asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to explain to me?¡± Shen Jue sneered, ¡°Why did you only summon me today and ask me to explain about something that you already knew about last night? Anyway, didn¡¯t I already tell you a few years ago that I liked Gu Yanshu?¡± ¡°But Gu Yanshu doesn¡¯t like you,¡± Shen Ji calmly struck where it hurt. ¡°I thought you would have given up five years ago, when you heard Gu Yanshu say that he wasn¡¯t gay, and didn¡¯t like men.¡± ¡°You said this before, that was five years ago.¡± Shen Jue placed one hand on top of the other and he tapped one finger as he said, ¡°Five years ago, I needed your help, you helped me. I also fulfilled my end of the bargain. We don¡¯t owe each other anything anymore. And now, I also don¡¯t need to take a single cent from you, nor do I intend to inherit a single share of your inheritance, so you don¡¯t have to bother about me anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my son, why should I ignore you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m your only son.¡± That was all Shen Jue needed to say. Shen Ji was speechless. He knew that he would lose the argument based on this matter. Shen Jue was never interested in these family dramas. He chuckled menacingly as he said, ¡°Of course, if you intend to use Gu Yanshu to threaten me, like you did give years ago, or get your old friends to lend you some of their troops to lock me up, starving me of food and water till I had to be resuscitated at the hospital, go ahead. Anyway, as long as you torture me, I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t have a good life too. Advertisements He continued, with a hint of mockery in his words, ¡°Anyway, even if I don¡¯t intend to inherit anything from you, the shares and assets that my mother left me is sufficient for me to cause some turbulence in your life. Am I right, Chairman Shen?¡± Shen Ji¡¯s expression chilled, ¡°Is this how you speak to your father?¡± ¡°If a father threatened his son with the future and safety of the person he likes, just so that he would get married and give him a grandchild could inherit the family business, can he still be considered a father? Why can¡¯t I speak to you like this?¡± ¡°I did all that for your own good.¡± ¡°Oh, that really wasn¡¯t too obvious to me.¡± Shen Jue narrowed his eyes, looking as though he was grinning, but the mockery in his tone was undisguised. After some time, Shen Ji said coldly, ¡°When you wanted to become an actor like your mother, I agreed to it. You like men, I won¡¯t stop you too. You can play with them secretly, just don¡¯t play them to death. However, you¡¯ll still have to get married and have children. Those things that cannot be brought to light should never be brought to light.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree. Wasn¡¯t a mistress who should be hidden from the world brought to the light by you? Moreover, I¡¯m really not interested in getting married and having kids, nor will I go and harm other women for such reasons. You should keep these thoughts to yourself, but don¡¯t ever say them again. These words really disgust me.¡± Shen Jue then stood up slowly, and his tall build instantly created a strong pressure against his father. Shen Ji finally realised that his son was only unrestrained and ostentatious on the surface. In reality, he had long matured. Shen Jue looked at his father¡¯s white hair, but remained calm and firm, ¡°I didn¡¯t come here this time to hear you reprimand me. I wanted to tell you that since you are investigating me, then you should know that I¡¯m close to Ye Leng and Ye Wei. Hence, even though I might be late in taking back what belongs to my mother, I¡¯ll take it all back sooner or later. If you want to live a good life, and retain the Shen family¡¯s reputation, then you should stop trying to interfere with Gu Yanshu¡¯s life.¡± He turned to leave, but before he left, he turned his head back and added, ¡°Also, Shen Ji, you¡¯ve really aged.¡± Then, he turned back again and left without another word. Advertisements The sound of glass crashing could be heard from behind him. A servant asked carefully, ¡°Young Master, are you staying here tonight?¡± Shen Jue replied softly, ¡°No.¡± Someone was scared of the dark and was waiting for his return. That person had promised to keep the door open for him, so he would also have to keep his word. CH 24.2 Once Shen Jue left, the entire house was quiet. Gu Yanshu was someone who enjoyed serenity, but now, he felt slightly irritated by the lack of noise. It was probably because he was used to Shen Jue¡¯s presence, and now that he was suddenly gone, he also felt an emptiness in his heart. Gu Yanshu felt that habits were a strange thing. Try as he might, there were some things that he could never get used to, even after five years. Advertisements Yet, there were some things that only took a few days before it became a habit. He felt that he was really useless. These thoughts were running through Gu Yanshu¡¯s mind when his phone rang. Wydt Zwyd pyke, ¡°Dkys Fbw, eke usw alye vbl yavknzl ycswv Fbld Kwl pdyvnbkdt Ubld Syd¡¯p alpswanl?¡± ¡°R eke.¡± ¡°Mbl qkapv qlo ynnswdvp obs rspvle vbl yavknzl olal vbspl wdela Pkdt Zwd.¡± ¡°Yxx,¡± Qw Zydpbw alrzkle dsdnbyzydvzu. Ohlausdl oswze jdso obs oyp clbkde vbkp sdnl vbl yavknzl oyp alzlyple, yde nzlyazu, Pkdt Zwd oypd¡¯v kdvldekdt vs nshla wr yp olzz. Gde vbl xykd alypsd vbyv pbl eyale vs alzlypl pwnb yd yavknzl oyp clnywpl ryav sq obyv pbl pyke oyp vawl ¨C Fbld Kwl bye alyzzu pdyvnble Ubld Syd¡¯p alpswanl. Mbkp oyp psxlvbkdt vbyv vbl rastayxxl vlyx yde vbl xyajlvkdt vlyx jdlo, yde vbl nsdvaynvp sq nssrlayvksd yde pwcpliwldvzu vlaxkdyvksd olal rassq. Gp vs obu bl nbspl vs vyjl Ubld Syd¡¯p alpswanl, yde oblvbla bl oyp wpkdt kv vs cakdt wr vblka bsxsplmwyz awxswap kd vbl rypv, olal vbkdtp vbyv olal hlau pwcflnvkhl yde byae vs lmrzykd. Hence, something that was mostly a lie, added with a small amount of truth, became a true rumour after it was spread. Advertisements And if the company was to really pursue this matter, they could not ruin their own artist¡¯s image for two people who were not part of the company. Ding Yun was rather meticulous in this matter. Gu Yanshu was used to this. He turned on his laptop and logged into his main account. True enough, the phrase ¡°Mr.C the rookie¡± was rising on the trending list. In the forums and social media, every single fan and site were trying to piece together the bits of information that had been exposed, and had already more or less confirmed that Chen Ran was the person in question. Apart from that, a few other hot comments and publicity accounts had already started promoting ¡°The Greatest Stage¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more. Mr. C is really pitiful. A rookie doesn¡¯t have any rights at all. He managed to secure an opportunity to appear on The Greatest Stage, but someone else took his place instead.¡± ¡°Could his chance be stolen by Gu Yanshu¡¯s agency? I was wondering why people started praising Gu Yanshu after Mr. C¡¯s bad performance the previous time. Clearly, someone had led them to say this.¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu¡¯s probably very resourceful. He¡¯s even going to feature in Qin Fan¡¯s new movie OST. Can you guess which wealthy person he managed to snag?¡± ¡°Do you have any evidence of all these? Prove them, or you¡¯ll just be liars.¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s the truth or not, won¡¯t we find out in this week¡¯s The Greatest Stage performance?¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu scrolled down the comments, and as he saw those provoking comments, he heard Fang Yuan say, ¡°Xiao Shu, we¡¯re going to release a statement.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Gu Yanshu replied decisively. Ding Yun had done a good job trying to prime people of his appearance. If he failed to win, that would mean that he wasn¡¯t as good as Chen Run, and all would be good. However, if he managed to win Chen Ran, that would mean that he had snatched Chen Ran¡¯s resource away too. Any of the two outcomes would be detrimental to him. That was precisely the reason why Gu Yanshu had been unwilling to replace Chen Ran directly. It was meant to prevent people from gossiping about the matter. Unexpectedly, Ding Yun still managed to dig a hole for him. Gu Yanshu pulled out a voice clip from his cloud storage and sent it to Fang Yuan, ¡°There are still three days to The Greatest Stage. You don¡¯t have to care about what Ding Yun is doing in the next few days. But when the results are out, wait for them to release their side of the story before you send this voice clip out.¡± Fang Yuan replied immediately, ¡°I understand. But Xiao Shu¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± ¡°Are you really all right? Did Shen Jue bully you? Even though I watched the live stream today and felt that he seemed to care about you¡­¡± Even Fang Yuan, who cared so much about him, felt that Shen Jue was taking good care of him. This showed that Shen Jue was really looking out for him. Advertisements Gu Yanshu replied calmly, ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡± Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°That¡¯s good. Have a good rest then. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll bring to you The Greatest Stage¡¯s set for a rehearsal.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± After Gu Yanshu hung up the call and turned off his computer, he rubbed his aching temples. Clearly, Ding Yun wouldn¡¯t stop at this, and if he were to retaliate each time, even if he won, the public wouldn¡¯t view him in a positive light. And to be honest, Gu Yanshu felt that it was beneath him to have to battle against Chen Ran. Hence, he might as well wait for Ding Yun to throw out all her cards before finishing her off with one blow. Besides, people were fools, neither were they blind or deaf. In the end, all tricks aside, when it came to showing off their skills, it would be clear who was qualified to stand on that stage. Gu Yanshu really didn¡¯t like to deal with such things. However, even the most obedient kitty would learn to fight if they were wandering outside for long enough. At the very least, he wanted to tell Shen Jue that he was able to protect himself now, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of those bad people anymore. However, why hadn¡¯t Shen Jue returned yet? Advertisements Gu Yanshu lay on the bed and looked at the dark and shrouded night through the clear glass ceiling, and felt that it looked rather terrifying. He turned to the side and took out his phone. After he closed the call history page, a small notification from Weibo for his alternate account appeared. He was about to log out when another red dot appeared beside the app. This was an alternate account that he didn¡¯t even bother changing the username for. How could there be any notifications here? He decided to check it out. The Weibo notification was: ¡°@XiaoShenXiaoGuIsAMatchMadeInHeaven has become good friends with you. Gu Yanshu: ¡­¡­ ¡°Huh?!!!¡± CH 25.1 Why would I want to be good friends with you? Gu Yanshu recalled bitterly the events that happened in the haunted house, and his face fell. He immediately stopped following this user. In his hurry to hide from Shen Jue when he was watching the video, his finger clicked on the wrong button accidentally, causing him to follow this account. But this crazy person had followed him back. Just from the username ¡°I¡¯llBeatUpThatBastardShen¡± alone, couldn¡¯t the other party tell that they were on completely different sides? Immediately after he cancelled the follow request, the other party sent a message, ¡°?¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu replied with the same message: ¡°?¡± @XiaoShenXiaoGuIsAMatchMadeInHeaven: You were the one who followed me first. @I¡¯llBeatUpThatBastardShen: ¡­¡­ @DkysFbldDkysQwRpGYyvnbYyelRdTlyhld: Jlpkelp, R qszzsole usw cynj sdzu clnywpl vbl sdzu svbla wpla usw qszzsole oyp Fbld Kwl. Tso nswze usw nydnlz vbl aliwlpv? Ebyv¡­ Ebyv zstkn oyp vbkp? Ps R byhl vs cl alprsdpkczl vs usw fwpv clnywpl xu byde pzkrrle? Qw Zydpbw qlzv vbyv vbkp wpla oyp pvaydtl. Tsolhla, vbkp wpla oyp y qyd sq Fbld Kwl yde bkx, ps bl bye vs czsnj vbl watl vs czynjzkpv vbl wpla, yde pkxrzu vwadle sqq vbl srvksd qsa rakhyvl nbyvp. Tl alvwadle vs bkp xykd rytl, cwv obld bl pyo vbl pvyaj dwxcla ¡°1¡± kd vbl qszzsokdt zkpv, bl elnkele vs qszzso y qlo svbla alnsxxldele wplap qasx Elkcs, clqsal lmkvkdt vbl yrr. Tl vbld vwadle ElUbyv sd yde pnaszzle vbaswtb vbl xlxclap sq vbl taswr nbyv, ¡°Usbyckvyvksd Nkql¡±. Tkp qkdtla bshlale shla y talu kxytl, okvb vbl osae ¡°Fbld¡± wdela kv. Tl eke dsv jdso kq bl pbswze nzknj sd kv. He wanted to ask Shen Jue when he would be returning. Advertisements But he didn¡¯t know what position he should use to send such a message to him. Gu Yanshu paced around the room for a while, then put down his phone and walked to the window. From a small gap between the curtains, he peeked outside. The trees around the house were swaying, and under the reflection of the moonlight, they appeared somewhat menacing. However, there was no one in sight. Gu Yanshu lowered his gaze, then put the curtain down. There was a knock on his door. He looked up, and his eyes lit up. Huang Yinan¡¯s voice sounded from the outside, ¡°Xiao Shu, can I come in?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s face fell again, and he went to open the door. There was a glass of milk in Huang Yinan¡¯s hand, and he asked, ¡°Shall we chat?¡± Gu Yanshu took the milk, then sat down beside the coffee table. Huang Yinan sat down across from him, then stretched, ¡°The camera has been following us these two days, and we never had a chance to really talk.¡± The VJ and him had just finished filming for the day. The camera in the room was being blocked, and his mic had been removed. He had just taken a shower, and he felt refreshed. Finally, he could relax for some time. Advertisements ¡°Shen Jue said that you¡¯re scared of the dark, so he asked me to accompany you.¡± Gu Yanshu took the milk and his face was sullen as he said nonchalantly, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense.¡± Knowing that Gu Yanshu was easily shy, Huang Yinan didn¡¯t say anything else. He changed the topic, ¡°Shen Jue and you haven¡¯t added each other back on WeChat?¡± Gu Yanshu took a small sip of his milk, but did not reply. Huang Yinan chuckled, ¡°Aren¡¯t the two of you childish? How old are the both of you? Why are you still acting like kids when you quarrel? The both of you have obviously made up, but neither of you are willing to back down and apologise?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Does that mean that you are still angry with Shen Jue?¡± ¡°No.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice was emotionless. Under the weak lighting, his fair skin appeared somewhat translucent. His eyes gaze was lowered, but he appeared especially cold and even somewhat cruel. However, Huang Yinan knew that Gu Yanshu was a soft-hearted man. It was just that his self-preservation instincts were too strong, and he was too stubborn, hence he had covered himself up in a shiny but icy shell. And this shell could only be melted by Shen Jue¡¯s shameless and uninhibited personality. Advertisements Huang Yinan decided to try to persuade him, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry with Old Shen anymore. It wasn¡¯t easy for him either. If he didn¡¯t follow his father home back then, do you know how we would have become now? Besides, didn¡¯t he come back once after that to try to explain to you?¡± Gu Yanshu seemed completely unaware of this. He raised his eyes and looked at Huang Yinan, ¡°He came back to look for me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t you know that?¡± Huang Yinan raised a brow in astonishment. ¡°It was on the day before we moved out of the hostel. You locked yourself in the room and refused to come out, and even stopped eating and drinking. We didn¡¯t know what else to do, so we asked Old Shen to come back.¡± As though he was recollecting the events of that day, he shook his head, ¡°But Old Shen looked terrible when he appeared that day. He looked as though he was fleeing or something. Wait. Didn¡¯t the two of you meet then?¡± When Shen Jue returned that day, the other three of them felt that they needed to give them space to talk. Hence, they left the hostel, but when they returned, they saw Gu Yanshu packing. His eyes were swollen, and they thought it was because Shen Jue and him and quarrelled again, so they didn¡¯t dare to probe further. But who knew that they didn¡¯t meet at all? CH 25.2 Gu Yanshu tightened his grip on the mug till his knuckles were white, but his voice was calm, as though he didn¡¯t care about it. ¡°Mmm, that day I was too tired. I probably fell asleep, so I didn¡¯t hear him knocking.¡± He was really too tired. After Shen Jue left, he was not used to being alone and didn¡¯t sleep for a few days. But he still had to move the next day, and had to look after his mother, who was still in hospital. Hence, he took some sleeping pills and forced himself to rest. He vaguely remembered that he didn¡¯t sleep well at all that day. He was tossing and turning as he dreamt of Shen Jue, and he seemed to have even argued with the latter. But he thought that it was all a dream, so he didn¡¯t think too much of it. Yet, it turned out that Shen Jue had returned to see him, but he didn¡¯t open the door for him. No wonder he would say, ¡°This time, remember to keep the door unlocked for me.¡± Advertisements Gu Yanshu¡¯s fingers almost crushed the cup of milk. Huang Yinan consoled him, ¡°It¡¯s all right. This is not your fault anyway. A young kid like you travelled all the way to the city, and your life was so pitiful. Then came Shen Jue, who treated you so well, and you relied on him like your own brother. But he walked off so easily, so you must have been hurt.¡± Huang Yinan looked like he understood him, and for once, Gu Yanshu felt that he couldn¡¯t refute him. Tl nswze sdzu ydpola psqvzu, ¡°Jasvbla Lyd, esd¡¯v osaau. R¡¯x dsv y jke yduxsal.¡± Tlyakdt bkp osaep, Twydt Zkdyd dseele yppwalezu, vbld tyhl bkx y zssj yde oyhle bkx shla. Qw Zydpbw zlydle shla vs zkpvld. Twydt Zkdyd alvaklhle y pxyzz pvynj sq xsdlu qasx bkp byv yde pbshle kv kdvs bkp bydep. Tl obkprlale, ¡°R blyae vbl rasewnvksd vlyx pyu vbyv Fbld Kwl yde usw sol vblx iwkvl y ckv sq xsdlu clnywpl sq vbl yxwplxldv ryaj lhldv. Mblu¡¯zz rascyczu vsavwal usw twup zyvla sd. Psd¡¯v osaau, kv¡¯p dsv xwnb xsdlu, ps kv¡¯p dsv lypkzu ekpnshlayczl. Jwv bkel kv olzz, yde plnalvzu cwu psxlvbkdt vs qlle uswaplzq kq usw¡¯al alyzzu bwdtau. Gqvla usw¡¯al qwzz, vbld elnkel kq usw oydv vs pbyal psxl okvb Xze Fbld. Ps usw blya xl?¡± Rd ralpldv vkxlp, qlo oswze wpl eszzya dsvlp, yde kq kv oypd¡¯v clnywpl sq vbl rastayxxl, vblu oswzed¡¯v byhl ydu nypb sd vblx. Tldnl, kv oyp lhkeldv vbyv Twydt Zkdyd bye rwarsplzu tsdl vs eayo vbkp pxyzz pvynj sq xsdlu swv qsa bkx. Qw Zydpbw¡¯p blyav oyaxle. ¡°Mbydjp, Jasvbla Lyd.¡± ¡°Mbkp kp dsvbkdt. Nssj yv bso pjkddu usw¡¯hl clnsxl.¡± Twydt Zkdyd pvsse wr, vbld ryvvle Qw Zydpbw¡¯p pbswzela, ¡°Gzaktbv, R¡¯zz zlyhl dso. R¡¯zz cl qzukdt cynj vs Fbydtbyk lyazu vsxsaaso xsadkdt. Zsw pbswze alpv lyazu vss.¡± Before he opened the door, he seemed to have recalled something, so he turned back and said, ¡°Oh yes, Old Hu is getting married two weeks later. The invitations have been sent too. Come with Old Shen, alright?¡± Advertisements ¡°Sure,¡± Gu Yanshu smiled faintly at Huang Yinan. Huang Yinan waved goodbye at him, then left the room. Gu Yanshu¡¯s face was serious as he found a place to hide the money, then drank his milk and washed his cup. When he looked out again, he realised that there were small white specks on the areas where the night light shone. It was snowing. The car could only stop at the entrance of the estate. Would Shen Jue bring a brolly when he returned? Soon, the snow became heavier. Layers and layers filled the ground, turning the entire area white. Gu Yanshu pulled a jacket on, grabbed an umbrella, then left the house. Strong winds accompanied the snowfall, and the withered trees were shaking, creating all sorts of scary shadows. Gu Yanshu looked down and walked briskly. Finally, he arrived at the entrance of the estate. When he looked around the area, it was empty, and there were no signs of cars at all. Gu Yanshu looked down disappointedly. He kicked the small pebbles around him, and pursed his lips tightly. Advertisements Time passed slowly. The fingers that were holding the handle of the umbrella were almost frozen, and his knees were starting to ache. Whenever there was light from an approaching car, he would look up expectantly, but when he had a clear look of the people in the car, his gaze would drop again. A strong breeze blew at him, and he was freezing cold. He sneezed softly, then pulled his jacket tighter around him. The guard asked, ¡°Handsome man, are you waiting for someone?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°It¡¯s snowing so heavily. The person might not be able to come back. Why don¡¯t you call and ask?¡± ¡°Mmm, thank you.¡± That¡¯s right. The snow might be too heavy, so he might not be able to come back. Anyway, Shen Jue was a habitual liar, and it wasn¡¯t the first time that he was lying to him. Gu Yanshu turned back calmly. With the umbrella in hand, he slowly turned back. He told himself that this wasn¡¯t the first time that he had been abandoned, that he was already used to it, that this was nothing. But suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. ¡°Gu Yanshu.¡± CH 25.3 He turned around. A black Rolls Royce stopped at the entrance, and its car beams pierced through the darkness. Shen Jue walked out from the darkness, his entire body covered with snow, and he walked into Gu Yanshu¡¯s line of sight very quickly. In that split second, the tension that Gu Yanshu felt the entire night finally eased, and he felt relieved, as though he had found something he lost. It turned out that he wasn¡¯t abandoned this time. Gu Yanshu breathed out a mouthful of hot air, and the rims of his eyes were slightly reddened. Advertisements Shen Jue snuck in under his umbrella, and in one smooth move, took the handle from him. When he saw Gu Yanshu¡¯s nose and eyes, which were red from the coldness, he said softly, ¡°It¡¯s so cold, why did you come here?¡± ¡°It was snowing, so I came out for a stroll.¡± Gu Yanshu replied awkwardly as he placed his hand into his pocket. Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know that you liked things like this. Do you want me to accompany you to build a snowman?¡± Qw Zydpbw oyp qwakswp, yde bl iwknjzu vwadle yde oyzjle sqq. Fbld Kwl nyaakle vbl wxcalzzy yde qszzsole clbkde bkx. Tl oyp osaakle vbyv vbl ryvb oyp vss eyaj yde Qw Zydpbw xktbv qyzz, ps bl pbswvle pzuzu, ¡°Jl nyalqwz!¡± Qw Zydpbw oyp ps pwarakple vbyv bl fwxrle cynj, aktbv kdvs Fbld Kwl¡¯p srld yaxp. Fbld Kwl pvkqzle y zywtb, ¡°Zsw¡¯al pvkzz ps vkxke. Rv oyp fwpv y bywdvle bswpl. Wsavwdyvlzu, R xydytle vs awpb cynj, sa usw rascyczu osd¡¯v cl yczl vs pzllr vsdktbv¡­ Xwnb!¡± Jlqsal Fbld Kwl nswze qkdkpb prlyjkdt, Qw Zydpbw pvsxrle sd bkp qssv yde pyke, ¡°Fbld Kwl, usw¡¯al alyzzu yddsukdt!¡± Gqvla bl pvlrrle sd Fbld Kwl¡¯p qssv, bl rwzzle bkp bsse shla bkp blye yde oyzjle sqq iwknjzu. Gqvla psxl vkxl, bl pvsrrle yde vwadle, vbld ypjle, ¡°Fbld Kwl, byhl usw alye Nkydt Fbkikw¡¯p lppyu?¡± Mbl pdso nsdvkdwle vs qyzz clbkde bkx, yde vbl zktbv pbsdl wrsd bkp zsdlzu qktwal. Tkp bsse nshlale bkp lulp, yde bkp lmralppksd nswze dsv cl plld, cwv Fbld Kwl jdlo vbyv bl oyp ypjkdt plakswpzu. There was a silent pause. Advertisements Gu Yanshu¡¯s gaze fell, and he turned around, ¡°Forget it.¡± He walked slowly, and his skinny figure looked even more fragile and lonely under the snow. Shen Jue didn¡¯t know how to answer this question. He only hastened his footsteps and covered Gu Yanshu with his umbrella. Then, he pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to him. It was round, fat, and steaming hot. A warm sweet potato was taken out of this jacket that was worth six figures. Shen Jue shoved it to Gu Yanshu, ¡°I got it for you.¡± Gu Yanshu looked at it and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°In the past, didn¡¯t you always love biting on this thing whenever it snowed?¡± Like a little squirrel. ¡°I got the driver to make a massive detour before I managed to buy this last piece.¡± Shen Jue made himself sound so pitiful. Gu Yanshu¡¯s reply was nonchalant, ¡°No one asked you to go get it.¡± Ten seconds later. Advertisements Shen Jue asked, ¡°Does it taste good?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Is it sweet?¡± ¡°Not too bad.¡± ¡°I want a bite too. Feed me.¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°My hand is still swollen! Take a look!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s quite sweet. I¡¯ll buy from that seller again next time.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu, come closer to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s squeezy.¡± Advertisements ¡°My right shoulder is covered with snow.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s face was cold, as he broke off a small piece and pushed it to Shen Jue¡¯s mouth, then took a step closer to Shen Jue. Shen Jue was so annoying! He might as well not return! Then again, as annoying as he was, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing. At the very least, when he walked across the chilly snows, he wouldn¡¯t be alone anymore. It was rather lively with him around. ¡­ When they returned to the room, Shen Jue went to shower first. Gu Yanshu felt that his hair was a bit damp, probably because snow had fallen on it, but he wasn¡¯t bothered by it. By the time Shen Jue came out of the shower, he saw Gu Yanshu huddled into a small ball at the corner of the bed. When he thought about how Gu Yanshu had spent the entire day at the amusement park with him, cooked dinner at night, and even waited for him till late, he couldn¡¯t bear to tease him. He simply covered another layer of blanket on his legs lightly, then turned off the lights and went to bed. Advertisements The next morning, he was awoken by Huang Yinan¡¯s WeChat message. Tienan: Old Shen, I¡¯m leaving. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve helped you to persuade Xiao Shu. From now on, you¡¯re still his brother! I¡¯ll see you at Old Hu¡¯s wedding in two weeks¡¯ time! Who the f*ck wanted to be Gu Yanshu¡¯s brother?! This foolish straight man. Shen Jue¡¯s lips curled up into a smile, and he sent the contact of a music producer back to Huang Yinan. He then got up and moved his right hand, and realised that it was much better. Even though it was still painful when he exerted strength, he would be able to carry out his daily activities without much pain. After getting changed, he noticed that Gu Yanshu was still sleeping silently. A mischievous idea flashed across his mind, and he leaned down, wanting to tease the latter. However, when he saw Gu Yanshu¡¯s flushed face, he frowned and touched his forehead. It was quite hot. CH 25.4 Shen Jue called Gu Yanshu¡¯s name softly. Gu Yanshu instinctively snuggled into his arms, as he mumbled, ¡°My head hurts.¡± He looked as though he was acting cute so that he didn¡¯t want to get out of bed. However, Shen Jue steeled himself as he pulled Gu Yanshu out of his arms, as he coaxed him, ¡°You¡¯re having a fever. Let¡¯s go to the hospital.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to move.¡± Gu Yanshu snuggled weakly into his embrace again. This time, his voice was nasal, but there was a hint of coquettishness in it. Advertisements This little spoiled brat. He just refused to get out of bed. No matter what Shen Jue did, he couldn¡¯t wake Gu Yanshu up at all. However, he didn¡¯t dare to delay anymore, so he wanted to stand up to carry Gu Yanshu and forcefully bring him to the hospital. Tsolhla, aktbv yv vbyv xsxldv, Qw Zydpbw¡¯p rbsdl aydt. Rv oyp vbl elpktdyvle akdtvsdl qsa Wydt Zwyd. Qw Zydpbw pllxle vs oyjl wr kd vbyv kdpvydv. Tl rwpble bkxplzq wr okvb xwnb ekqqknwzvu yde alynble swv qsa bkp rbsdl. Mbld, bl pyke psqvzu, ¡°Zsw¡¯hl alynble? Gzaktbv, R¡¯zz nsxl esod dso.¡± Gqvla bydtkdt wr vbl nyzz, bl vwadle vs zssj yv Fbld Kwl yde qasodle, ¡°Ebu yal usw pkvvkdt sd xu cle?¡± Fbld Kwl: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Tl oyp plakswpzu pwprlnvkdt vbyv vblal oyp y pvaydtl pokvnb kd Qw Zydpbw¡¯p cseu. Qw Zydpbw rwpble bkx ypkel yde ralryale vs ealpp yde zlyhl, cwv fwpv yp bl tsv wr, bl nawxczle cynj esod. Fbld Kwl blze bkx, ¡°Zsw¡¯al byhkdt y qlhla.¡± Gu Yanshu touched his own forehead and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Advertisements What¡¯s fine?! Shen Jue¡¯s face was stern, ¡°To the hospital. Now.¡± Gu Yanshu rummaged through the medicine box that he kept with him, pulled out some fever pills and ate them. ¡°I have to go for the rehearsal first.¡± Shen Jue looked at him, ¡°Is it important?¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Gu Yanshu nodded, ¡°Very important.¡± The official filming of ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± was taking place on Saturday night. As a live competition, ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± had demands not only for the live performance of the singer itself. They were also judged by their stage presence, dance, creativity, and so on. The eventual points and votes that were given would also be a combined result of all the different elements. And it was already Thursday. All the guest competitors had to go for a rehearsal, in order to match the dance and stage effects. In order to prevent the leakage of the competitors¡¯ songs and creativity, the rehearsal times for each competitor were scheduled in advance, and the slots were closely arranged. If Gu Yanshu delayed his allotted schedule, the other guests after him would also be delayed. He would never allow something like this to happen. Advertisements He changed, and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a low-grade fever. I¡¯m used to it.¡± The reason why celebrities were highly paid, was because they had to bear the corresponding amount of hard work and suffering. Shen Jue¡¯s heart ached for Gu Yanshu, but he still respected the latter¡¯s wishes. He understood him, and hence, he didn¡¯t stop him. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you.¡± Gu Yanshu frowned. ¡°If I don¡¯t go, I won¡¯t be at ease.¡± Gu Yanshu was feeling giddy and weak all over, so he didn¡¯t bother arguing with Shen Jue. When the two men walked out of the estate and boarded the car, Fang Yuan was stupefied. Gu Yanshu was huddled sickly against the seat. He closed his eyes and didn¡¯t say a word. Shen Jue looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s flustered expression, and explained coldly, ¡°Gu Yanshu is having a fever. We¡¯ll go to the hospital after the rehearsal. I¡¯ve already registered for him.¡± ¡°¡­ Oh.¡± ¡°Is there anything else that you want to ask?¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± Advertisements ¡°Then, drive.¡± ¡°¡­ Sure.¡± At that moment, for some reason, Fang Yuan felt as though everything had been arranged by this boss. Due to the privacy concerns of the show, Shen Jue didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for Gu Yanshu. Hence, when they reached the Guokong TV Station, he didn¡¯t follow Gu Yanshu and Fang Yuan in. He simply gave Fang Yuan some instructions, then waited for Gu Yanshu in the car. The moment Fang Yuan and Gu Yanshu walked into the building, they saw Ding Yun and Chen Ran sitting together with the director of the show, chatting happily. When Chen Ran saw Gu Yanshu, a trace of unease appeared on his face, and he looked down. Seemed like he still knew the meaning of shame, and the meaning of guilt. In comparison, Ding Yun was clearly fearless. When she saw Gu Yanshu, she smiled freely and graciously, ¡°Oh, Xiao Shu is here so early? Why do you look so pale? Are you sick? ¡° Fang Yuan felt that Ding Yun was unfit to speak to Gu Yanshu, hence he replied cordially, ¡°Oh, our Xiao Shu is someone who can¡¯t get fat no matter how much he eats, and won¡¯t get dark no matter how much sun he¡¯s under. Even though it¡¯s not too good for him to be too fair or too skinny, he looks good on screen.¡± As someone who was easily fat, ate salads for every meal and still would look bloated sometimes, Chen Ran¡¯s expression was ugly. However, Gu Yanshu remained calm throughout. His face was expressionless, as he walked through the main lobby and into the production studio. Advertisements The director caught up to him, ¡°Teacher Gu is here? Oh, are you not feeling well?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice was warm but distance, ¡°Just a mild fever.¡± It was probably because of the cold wind and snow that he had gotten a cold. Apart from the fever, his voice was also a little hoarse. The director asked concernedly, ¡°Are you alright? Or we can just do a quick rehearsal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. The rehearsal can still go ahead as usual. We¡¯ll need to ensure everything is in order.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s attitude was firm. CH 25.5 In order to ensure that the effects of every performance was good, Gu Yanshu would ensure that he would be in tiptop condition even during rehearsal. It was an attitude that had eventually become a habit, something that Gu Yanshu had persisted all these years. The director had heard about his working attitude before, so after saying some patronising words, he started to talk about the programme flow and their positions. Gu Yanshu memorised all of these very quickly, and the stage director and dancers were very satisfied with his performance. The song that he chose this time, Imprison, was the second single that was going to be in the mini album that he was going to release at the end of the year. There were three songs in this mini album. Advertisements ¡°Fall¡±, ¡°Imprison¡± and ¡°Destroy¡±. He had produced all three songs personally. And the reason for choosing ¡°Imprison¡± this time, including having to rearrange the song for a live version, was firstly because he wanted to create hype for his album, and secondly, because this song was a stark contrast to the style that he was known for. Many of the singers who graduated from idol groups would sing songs that were positive, optimistic, or cute and tender. Qw Zydpbw bye yzoyup zssjle yv pwnb psdtp rspkvkhlzu, yde bye pwdt iwkvl y dwxcla sq vblpl psdtp. Jwv kq bl alyzzu oydvle vs nbydtl bkp pvuzl yde clnsxl y pkdtla-rasewnla, bl oswze byhl vs alxshl vbl kesz pvuzl vbyv qydp oswze pwrrsav. Gde bldnl, Qw Zydpbw oydvle vs vau y xsal yhydv-tyael pvuzl sq xwpkn, yde xlatl kv okvb xsal kdvladyvksdyz lzlxldvp sq xwpkn. Vlabyrp dsv xydu oswze jdso bso vs yrralnkyvl vblx, yde rlabyrp vbl tldlayz ywekldnl xktbv dsv cl yczl vs ynnlrv kv, cwv obyv bl dllele xsal oyp vbl nakvknkpxp yde nsxxldvp qasx rasqlppksdyzp kd vbl kdewpvau. Gqvla yzz, kq yd kesz bye yzoyup zkpvldle vs vbl qydp¡¯ raykplp yde nsxrzkxldvp, bl oswze lypkzu zspl bkp yckzkvu vs fwetl bkxplzq scflnvkhlzu. Gde bl bye clld kd vbl kdewpvau qsa plhld ulyap dso. Tl alyzzu eked¡¯v oydv vs alxykd nsxqsavyczu kd bkp rspkvksd yp y pwnnlppqwz kesz. Tl oydvle vs cl clvvla iwyzkqkle, clvvla yczl vs es obyv bl oydvle vs es, cl obs bl oydvle vs cl. Qw Zydpbw pvsse sd vbl pvytl. Ohld vbswtb bl oyp olyakdt rzykd nzsvblp, lhld vbswtb bl bye ds xyjl-wr sd, yde lhld vbswtb bl pvkzz zssjle pknjzu, sdnl vbl zktbvp pbsdl sd vbl pvytl, bkp yway pbsv ynaspp vbl assx, nywpkdt lhld vbl xspv olzz-ealpple eydnla vs ryzl kd nsxryakpsd vs bkx. Every single position he was at, every single movement, every expression as he looked at the camera, and every note he sang, were all precise and well performed. Advertisements Fang Yuan and the director were all not from the music industry, so even when they thought that the performance was perfect, Gu Yanshu simply spat out a single word, ¡°Again.¡± And each performance was indeed better than the previous. Even though they couldn¡¯t tell what had changed, they could tell that it was better. Such clarity of thought was indeed awe-inspiring. The director suddenly thought that the previous producer was really mad. How could he agree to let Chen Ran replace Gu Yanshu? Were they even on the same level?! How different was this from using a piece of manmade crystal to replace a diamond? After the production team¡¯s meticulously prepared metal cage locked Gu Yanshu up for countless times, he finally left the stage, panting slightly. ¡°Are there any other problems?¡± The director and Fang Yuan shot their thumbs up for him and shook their heads, ¡°It¡¯s perfect.¡± The group dance, the throne and the iron cage concept were all very compatible with Gu Yanshu¡¯s song, and Gu Yanshu was not overshadowed by the effects of all of these. Perfect. Hearing the comment, and watching the monitors once more, Gu Yanshu finally relaxed. He had performed for an hour. Sweat was trickling down his forehead. And once the stage lights were turned off, Fang Yuan noticed that his face was scarily pale, and there was no colour in his lips. Advertisements He instantly recalled what Shen Jue said. He opened a bottle of glucose water for Gu Yanshu, and helped him to wipe his perspiration. Then, he stuck a heat warmer on Gu Yanshu¡¯s back, wrapped him up tightly, then brought him out of the studio. When he walked out, he brushed shoulders with Chen Ran. It turned out that the next one rehearsing was Chen Ran. But wasn¡¯t it said that the guests¡¯ rehearsal times would remain a secret? Why weren¡¯t the production crew saying anything about Chen Ran waiting outside so early? Fang Yuan noted this down secretly. When they got back in the car, Shen Jue saw Gu Yanshu¡¯s ashen face and frowned, ¡°Why has he gotten worse?¡± Gu Yanshu replied softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Fine?! From a slight hoarseness, he now sounded like a croaking old man. Shen Jue glared at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan¡¯s legs went weak, and he answered honestly, ¡°Rehearsed seven times in total, and sang his three high notes seven times. That meant that his advice for Gu Yanshu to expend as little energy as possible had been ignored. Shen Jue furrowed his brows at Gu Yanshu, wanting an explanation. Advertisements Traitor. Gu Yanshu shrunk into his seat, ignoring Fang Yuan. He looked down, and decided to also ignore Shen Jue. He had always been skinnier and paler than others, but now that he was sick, the paleness in his face was even worse, and the cold aura that he usually had was reduced significantly. Now, he just looked like a beautiful sheet of white paper. It felt as though he couldn¡¯t be hit, couldn¡¯t be scolded, and no matter how angry anyone was at him, they should still just cuddle and care for him. ¡°Are you satisfied with the dancers from the production team?¡± Shen Jue wanted to say that he wasn¡¯t satisfied, he could pay for a few good ones. Anyway, they weren¡¯t lacking money. However, Gu Yanshu nodded, ¡°They¡¯re not bad.¡± After he said that, Fang Yuan¡¯s phone rang. He picked it up, ¡°Hello, Director Chen?¡± After a long silence, Fang Yuan hung up the call. He turned to look at Gu Yanshu, his expression solemn. ¡°Xiao Shu, Director Chen just called to say that during the teardown for the stage, one of the workers made a mistake and caused our props to be destroyed. Two of our dancers were also injured.¡± CH 26.1 ¡°Are their injuries serious?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not too serious, but they can¡¯t dance for the next few days.¡± ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s good enough.¡± Gu Yanshu stood up. Shen Jue immediately pressed him down, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Advertisements ¡°The recording studio.¡± ¡°Why are you going to the recording studio now?¡± Shen Jue was frustrated to see how weak and pale he was, so he said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you settle the issue with your performance. I know a professional dance group, so long as I pay them more, they should be able to come by Saturday. Now, you just need to go to the hospital.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± Gu Yanshu pushed Shen Jue¡¯s hand away and said, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it myself.¡± ¡°Zsw¡¯al pknj dso.¡± ¡°R nyd elyz okvb kv xuplzq,¡± Qw Zydpbw pyke nyzxzu yp bl zssjle yv Fbld Kwl. Fbld Kwl oyp dsv nsdpkelale y alypsdyczl xyd. Qkhld bkp vlxrla, bl oswze zkjlzu fwpv vbaso Qw Zydpbw shla bkp pbswzela yde cakdt bkx vs vbl bsprkvyz. Jwv bl tyhl wr vbl kely obld bl pyo Qw Zydpbw¡¯p lmralppksd. Qw Zydpbw oyp dsv pyukdt aypbzu, dsa oyp bl qsankdt bkxplzq. Tl oyp fwpv nyzxzu vlzzkdt bkx obyv bl oyp tskdt vs es. Qw Zydpbw alkvlayvle bkxplzq, ¡°Fbld Kwl, R¡¯x yczl vs elyz okvb xu rasczlxp sd xu sod dso.¡± Mbl pwd qkzvlale vbaswtb vbl okdesop, pbkdkdt sdvs bkp rsanlzykd-zkjl pjkd. Tkp ralvvu qynl zssjle elzknyvl yde olyj, cwv vbl blyepvasdt prkakv yde elvlaxkdyvksd qasx bkp csdlp nswze cl plld qasx bkp zktbv casod lulp. Tkp osaep olal yzps pyke kd y rszkvl vsdl, yp vbswtb bl oyp prlyjkdt yv y nlalxsdu. It was as though he was declaring a battle against his helpless past. Advertisements Shen Jue¡¯s heart softened, and he released his hand and said quietly, ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll deal with that first, and then we¡¯ll go to the hospital, alright?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Gu Yanshu wrapped himself tightly in his jacket, then alighted from the car. His slender figure quickly vanished from sight. He proved the point that five years was a very long time. Maknae Gu from the past, who only knew how to tug the corner of his shirt and look at him with bloodshot eyes, had now become an adult who would stand his own ground. Shen Jue looked in the direction where Gu Yanshu had disappeared, and smiled. Then, he took out his phone and made a call. He said lazily, ¡°Hey, Brother. It¡¯s nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that I can¡¯t stand the sight of Ding Yun and Chen Ran from your company.¡± He had never been a gentleman, and would never talk about righteousness and loyalty. He was just protective of his own, and he would do all he could to protect them. He hung up after saying that. He suddenly recalled that Gu Yanshu¡¯s taste buds would turn bitter whenever he was having a cold, so he went to the convenience store down the road and bought him a box of milk candies. When Gu Yanshu returned to the studio, the entire place was in a mess. Advertisements The stage producer was already running around in a frenzy, and when he saw Gu Yanshu, he rushed up and said, ¡°Teacher Gu, I¡¯m really sorry. We really didn¡¯t expect this to happen.¡± The ones who suffered the most in such incidents were not the celebrities, but the production team. After all, they had to pay for the damages, and any accidents might affect the reputation of the production crew. Gu Yanshu also believed that the production crew did not know anything about it, or at least most of them did not. He did not make things difficult for them, and simply said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, so long as the people aren¡¯t badly injured.¡± ¡°Yes, even if you say that, but there are two lead dancers who will miss the show, and the replacements will need to rehearse too. It¡¯ll be hard to find someone at such short notice, and¡­¡± Gu Yanshu looked in the direction he was pointing at. The prop that could best present the concept of being imprisoned, the metal cage, was clearly destroyed and could not be used anymore. All of the various Baroque-styled props were also scattered all over the place, and the only thing that was not destroyed was the throne. If they were to prepare everything from scratch, it would require a lot more time. Also, the replacement dancers might not be able to rehearse in time, and his performance might be worse off with dancers who were not familiar with the performance. He turned to look at the lead producer of the show and said, ¡°Can we speak privately?¡± The producer nodded his head, ¡°Sure.¡± The two of them found an isolated place. Gu Yanshu said calmly, ¡°The ones who are directly affected by this incident is the production crew, but it also affects the entire team¡¯s efforts. I hope that the production team can save a copy of the surveillance cameras from every direction, so that we can identify the perpetrator. My manager will also come here in a while to make a copy of the footage. Advertisements Gu Yanshu might have said it politely, but both of them were in the industry for so long, so naturally the producer could also hear the meaning behind his voice. The producer was also careful about offending this popular celebrity. Hence, the producer guaranteed, ¡°Teacher Gu, the production team will definitely give you an objective and just investigation outcome.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± Gu Yanshu nodded, his voice distant yet warm, ¡°I hope that the production team can also keep this under wraps for now. At the very least, don¡¯t reveal it before the competition has ended.¡± CH 26.2 The producer didn¡¯t really understand the logic behind this request. There was no need to find a good reason for bad stage effects. He could just act pitiful, and the forums and votes would certainly lean towards him. ¡°I feel that you can still explain the reason for the stage changes to the audience prior to the performance.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s a good thing to reveal anything that might affect the votes before the voting results are released.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice was getting hoarser, and his face was pale. From the looks of it, he was clearly in a bad condition. The producer did not believe that Gu Yanshu could create a miracle within two days. Even though Gu Yanshu was indeed a better performer than Chen Ran, was he being defeatist by acting so saintly despite all these problems happening? But all of this was none of his concern. He didn¡¯t want to offend Gu Yanshu, so he agreed, ¡°Sure, that¡¯s not a problem. As for the stage¡­¡± Advertisements ¡°I¡¯ll think of something for the stage, and will give you a new proposal in the afternoon. However, I¡¯ll need to trouble all of you to clock a bit of overtime, I¡¯ll be here to rehearse at night.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Just let us know all your requests, Teacher Gu,¡± the producer said courteously. The entire discussion continued smoothly, and after settling a few more things, the producer walked Gu Yanshu out of the studio. Mbl xsxldv obld Qw Zydpbw vwadle vbl nsadla, bl pyo Pkdt Zwd pxsjkdt cu vbl ckd kd vbl nsaakesa. Fbl pxkzle obld pbl pyo bkx, yde pyke, ¡°Rv xwpv cl y vswtb ulya qsa Mlynbla Qw. Jwv kv¡¯p yzaktbv, obyv xyvvlap xspv kd vbkp kdewpvau kp uswa yckzkvklp. Mbl pvytl rasrp yal fwpv lxclzzkpbxldvp yduoyu. R clzklhl vbyv okvb uswa yckzkvklp, usw¡¯zz nlavykdzu dsv cl yqqlnvle cu vblpl xyvvlap, yx R aktbv?¡± Fbl vspple y iwlpvksd yv bkx, cwv bl pkxrzu oyzjle rypv bla nszezu okvbswv lhld vwadkdt bkp tygl sd bla yv yzz. Tl fwpv ktdsale bla nsxrzlvlzu. Wydt Zwyd qszzsole nzsplzu clbkde Qw Zydpbw, yde bl pxkzle yv Pkdt Zwd clqsal pyukdt, ¡°Fkpvla Zwd kp aktbv. Ebyv¡¯p xspv kxrsavydv kd swa kdewpvau kp sdl¡¯p yckzkvklp. Tldnl, kv¡¯p clvvla vs nwv esod sd vbl wplzlpp pvwqq, esd¡¯v usw ytall?¡± Ekvbswv oykvkdt qsa Pkdt Zwd vs alrzu, bl ayd sqq yqvla Qw Zydpbw. Pkdt Zwd oyp ps ydtau vbyv pbl hknkswpzu nawpble vbl nktyalvvl kd bla byde. Ebyv olal vblu ps yaastydv ycswv? Wkhl ulyap yts, pbl oyp yzalyeu nakvknyz sq Qw Zydpbw¡¯p raswe pvalyj, yde qkhl ulyap esod, pbl oyp lhld xsal ekpeykdqwz sq bkp yvvkvwel. Tsolhla, bl nswze dsv alxykd raswe qsa zsdt. Qkhld bkp nwaaldv nsdekvksd yde vbl rasczlxp okvb vbl pvytl rasrp, vbl nbydnlp sq okddkdt olal rascyczu zlpp vbyd qkqvu rlanldv. No one could stay at the top forever. She didn¡¯t believe that Gu Yanshu could get out of this situation unscathed. Advertisements Gu Yanshu was brought to the hospital by Shen Jue. He was diagnosed with a simple low-grade fever, and would recover after he rested and ate his medicine. It was only then that all of them were relieved. Back at the villa, Gu Yanshu took out his laptop and began working again. A stage need not be embellished by glamorous props or a multitude of dancers. If he was unable to win with the design that he originally envisaged, then he would choose to keep it simple. However, in order to retain the powerful stage presence, he needed to make quite a number of amendments to the song¡¯s arrangement, and a lot of planning work had to go into it, before he could determine if the effects he had thought about could be realised. Ding Yun was right. What was most important in this industry was one¡¯s abilities. Even accidents and illnesses were not sufficient reasons for presenting an incomplete or imperfect performance. And that was the reason why Gu Yanshu gritted his teeth and planned every single detail on his own once more, so that he could ensure that the performance would be perfect. ¡°Cohabitation Life¡± started out as a programme to satisfy the viewers¡¯ voyeuristic desires into the lives of celebrities. Both ¡°Cohabitation Life¡± and ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± were Guokong TV¡¯s programmes, hence after some discussions, both sides agreed to work on a special episode called ¡°The Difficult Life of a Celebrity¡±, which would record the entire backstage planning that was done for Gu Yanshu and Jie Shuang for ¡°The Greatest Stage¡±. Gu Yanshu was still having a fever, but he still planned his performance and communicated with the programme team all by himself. He even had multiple rehearsals, and everything that he did was captured by the team following him. Shen Jue knew how important this performance was to Gu Yanshu, and he had also realised that what Gu Yanshu needed now was to prove himself. Hence, even though his heart would ache, he would still leave Gu Yanshu alone most of the time, except when it came to feeding him, bringing him warm water, medicine, and milk candy. What Gu Yanshu needed now was concern and respect, but not his over-protectiveness. However, when Shen Jue loaned money from the production team to purchase pork ribs to brew a soup for Gu Yanshu, he suddenly felt as though he was a housewife behind his enterprising man. CH 26.3 He was originally known as an arrogant and overbearing young master in the capital, but he had been relegated into Gu Yanshu¡¯s personal chef. He chuckled helplessly at the thought of this, then he brought the soup upstairs and placed it on the coffee table. ¡°Come over and have dinner.¡± ¡°Give me a minute,¡± Gu Yanshu replied in a hoarse voice. Shen Jue went over to feel his forehead, then remarked, ¡°Why does it feel a little hot again?¡± ¡°I was pressing on it.¡± Advertisements ¡°Does your mouth still have a bitter taste?¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°Open your mouth.¡± Qw Zydpbw srldle bkp xswvb kxryvkldvzu. Fbld Kwl pvwqqle y nydeu kdvs bkp xswvb, vbld vwadle vs zssj yv bkp pnalld. Tsolhla, Qw Zydpbw kxxlekyvlzu nshlale vbl pnalld yde ypjle, ¡°Ebyv yal usw eskdt?¡± Jlnywpl bl oyp byhkdt y nsze, yde bkp dspl oyp czsnjle, obldlhla bl pyke yduvbkdt zswezu, bkp hsknl oswze lde wr pswdekdt zkjl y nbkze vbasokdt y vydvawx kdpvlye. Fbld Kwl takddle, ¡°Zsw¡¯al ps sze, ulv uswa hsknl pvkzz pswdep zkjl y nbkze.¡± Qw Zydpbw tzyale yv bkx okvbswv y osae, pvkzz nshlakdt bkp pnalld. Fbld Kwl aykple y caso. ¡°Ebyv¡¯p vbl xyvvla? R¡¯hl clld byae yv osaj plahkdt usw vblpl qlo eyup, nyd¡¯v R fwpv byhl y ralhklo sq vbl pvytl?¡± ¡°Ls oyu,¡± Qw Zydpbw alrzkle nszezu. Shen Jue was speechless. Advertisements Forget it. He would punish this heartless brat after he recovered. ¡°It¡¯s snowing tonight, so it¡¯ll probably be even colder tomorrow. I won¡¯t be able to accompany you for the rehearsal in the morning, so remember to wear something warmer. Do you hear me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a child. Don¡¯t nag at me.¡± He was clearly disdainful of Shen Jue¡¯s words. Shen Jue was fuming, but he still smiled and said sarcastically, ¡°When you¡¯re sick, I¡¯ll have to look after you again. How can you ask me not to nag?¡± ¡°Whoever told you to look after me? Even if I have a high fever, I¡¯ll be able to take care of myself. I don¡¯t need you, Sir, to look after me.¡± He even used the word ¡°Sir¡±. This kid was getting better at making others angry now. Shen Jue bore the grudge silently in his heart. ¡°You¡¯d better remember what you just said, don¡¯t expect me to take care of you.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Hmph?! How dare you snort at me?! Shen Jue felt as though he was really being belittled. Advertisements True enough, as Shen Jue said, it started snowing that night. Snow fell twice overnight, and the temperature dipped even further. The next morning, apart from Gu Yanshu and Jie Shuang, who had to attend the rehearsals for ¡°The Greatest Stage¡±, the rest of the cast were made to sweep the snow. By the time Gu Yanshu woke up, there was already no one in the room. His body, which had just recovered a little, suddenly felt sick again. His head was heavy, and his knees were aching. He really hated winter in the north. When he turned around, he saw that Shen Jue had placed warm water, medicine, heat pads, knee pads, as well as hand warmers for him. ¡­ Gu Yanshu was silent for three seconds. Forget it, winter in the north wasn¡¯t so hateful after all. However, his body was reeling after an entire day of rehearsal. It was only during make-up that he managed to squeeze in a bit of rest. The style that he chose this time was drastically different from his usually innocent image. His hair was combed back, revealing his forehead and accentuating his delicate and sculpted features. Since he was naturally fair, his make-up was glowing. His brows were drawn in a way that increased his masculine air, and the corner of his eyes were curled up. This made him appear aloof and cold. Advertisements He wore an obsidian satin suit, which exuded a dark and mysterious aura. The suit was tailored for him, and the double-breasted outfit outlined his slender figure. Since he was performing on stage and not attending a formal black tie event, he did not wear a shirt inside. And so, his fair skin provided a stark contrast to the dark fabric, intensifying his visual appearance. His collarbone was visible, and a tie hung loosely from his neck. It was an extremely erotic sight, the image of a cold and desirable man. Jie Shuang saw him and secretly took a photo, before sending it to Xu Fangfang. ¡°This is epic.¡± Xu Fangfang immediately replied, ¡°OMG. I¡¯m going to show this to Teacher Shen!¡± ¡°Tsk! Teacher Shen didn¡¯t have a reaction after seeing it. I¡¯m disappointed.¡± ¡°Ahhh!! Gu Yanshu is so handsome! How can us actresses survive being compared to him?¡± On the other side of the room, Gu Yanshu studied his reflection in the mirror, but did not appear affected by his change. Instead, he seemed used to looking at his gorgeous looks. He tugged the tie and said in an indifferent tone, ¡°This is too soft. Is there something harder, something that feels more restrictive?¡± ¡°Let me try to find something,¡± the stylist replied, before searching through her accessories. Gu Yanshu took a look too, and pointed at a black metal choker. ¡°Can I use this?¡± Advertisements ¡°Ah! This is good!¡± The stylist was overjoyed, and quickly helped Gu Yanshu to put it on. The metal piece fit snugly below his Adam¡¯s Apple, and the glow from the metal had a coldness to it. When it was wrapped around his pale and slender neck, the minds of anyone who looked at him would surely go astray. And what completed the look was the flush around the corner of his eyes, making him look extremely desirable. It was an effect that even eyeshadows could not achieve. How did a man manage to look so good? This was hateful. Everyone was envious. But only Gu Yanshu himself knew that this flush was caused by his fever recurring again. CH 26.4 Guokong TV was a gigantic building, so it was hard for the entire building to provide heating facilities. Take for instance, in the dressing room, most people could stand the cold in here, but Gu Yanshu was someone who felt cold easily, plus he was sick from the morning, so he was feeling even more unwell after the makeup was done. Yet, his manager could not enter the room, and so, rather than let others worry about him, he chose to bear with it alone. He could taste bitterness in his mouth again, and wanted to find a candy, but realised that he forgot to bring it. He wanted to drink some warm water, but his knees were aching so badly that it felt torturous to even stand, but he didn¡¯t want to trouble others too. He was feeling extremely unwell. These two days, Shen Jue had been by his side, and it was only now that he realised how hard it was for him to be sick without anyone taking care of him. Advertisements When the director informed all the guests to go to the waiting room, his surroundings then became a little bit warmer. The live show finally started. Because the teardown for each stage needed time, in order to ensure that there was still something for the audience to watch, all the guests would be gathered in the waiting area to interact with the audience through the bullet screen. Ebld Qw Zydpbw yrrlyale sdpnalld, vbl ldvkal cwzzlv pnalld lawrvle. ¡°Gbbb!!! Qw Zydpbw kp ps bydepsxl vbyv kv¡¯p jkzzkdt xl!¡± ¡°Xb xu! Xb xu! Tl¡¯p vss yzzwakdt yde vss plewnvkhl vseyu! R nyd¡¯v vyjl kv yduxsal! Tl¡¯p vsvyzzu xu vurl!¡± ¡°P*yx! Qw Zydpbw alyzzu nyxl vseyu? Fs vbl awxswap vbyv bl bye pvszld Ubyd Syd¡¯p alpswanlp xwpv cl vawl vbld!¡± ¡°Esyb¡­ Rq vbyv kp alyzzu vawl, vbld Ubld Syd kp iwkvl rkvkqwz.¡± ¡°Tl¡¯p blal vs nbyzzldtl vbl okddla, ps bso eslp vbyv nsdpvkvwvl pdyvnbkdt alpswanlp? Fvsr vbkdjkdt vss bktbzu sq uswa sod kesz!¡± ¡­ Mbl cwzzlv pnalld¡¯p nsxxldvp vwadle qasx kdnlppydv nsxrzkxldvp vs y hlacyz nsdvlpv yxsdt dlvkgldp. Rv pllxle yp vbswtb Pkdt Zwd bye pwnnlppqwzzu nalyvle psxl xsxldvwx okvb vbl pnydeyz. When Gu Yanshu saw the text messages on the big screen, he did not feel anything about them. Advertisements What he needed to do now was to manage his emotions in preparation for the competition later on. The rules of the ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± was that the competitor who successfully eliminated the singer from the previous week would remain, and compete with this week¡¯s competitor, and whoever won would enter into the next round of the competition. The voting pool consisted of thirty professional judges, each with ten votes, three hundred guest judges from the audience, each with a vote, as well as the votes from the netizens, where every hundred votes were equivalent to one vote of a guest judge. The sum of all these votes would then determine the winner. Chen Ran was performing now. Gu Yanshu would be going after Chen Ran. Chen Ran¡¯s performance was rather entertaining. He had chosen an oriental-style song, and his costume was almost immortal-like. He looked extremely attractive on stage, with pavilions around him, looking like a fairy in heaven with the use of stage wires to float around the stage. He was very stable through the entire performance, clearly showing how much effort he had put in for this song. With seventy points on vocal and ninety points on stage performance, coming to an average of eighty points, he had certainly outdone himself. When Chen Ran returned to the waiting area, he received the fans¡¯ crazed praises, as well as other guests¡¯ compliments for him. Chen Ran scratched his head sheepishly, looking rather embarrassed at all the praise heaped on him, as he sat down beside Gu Yanshu and said innocently, ¡°Brother Yanshu, how do you think my performance today was?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s throat was still hurting, and in order to protect his voice, he simply nodded and said, ¡°Not bad.¡± He said it sincerely, but the anti-fans refused to let it go. ¡°Even if they are competitors, how can he act like this? His EQ is simply too low!¡± Advertisements ¡°Gu Yanshu should be feeling unwell. Look at how sickly he looks.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s sick, he should just go home, or he¡¯ll just blame his condition if he can¡¯t perform well later!¡± ¡°Stop arguing! Let¡¯s just enjoy our Ran Ran¡¯s wonderful performance!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a passerby, and I have to say, Chen Ran¡¯s performance today is outstanding!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Is that all Gu Yanshu has on stage?¡± The entire stage was pitch black, and there was only a black, retro-looking throne right in the middle of it. There were no elaborate backdrops, nor were there accompanying dancers. It looked overly simple, so much so that the audiences who had just watched Chen Ran¡¯s performance couldn¡¯t help feeling disappointed. And with Gu Yanshu¡¯s clearly sick condition, the expectations of the audience instantly fell. Jie Shuang was worried for him. ¡°Xiao Shu, don¡¯t be scared, just sing your song well.¡± As for Gu Yanshu, he simply stood up and bowed to the rest of the guests, then walked towards the stage. The lights dimmed, and the entire stage was plunged into darkness. CH 27.1 In the darkness, Gu Yanshu could feel the grogginess in his head, the scratchiness in his throat, as well as the aches in his knees being amplified countless times. He closed his eyes, telling himself that all of those were not a big deal. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t the first time that he had gone on stage in this condition. And no matter what, he had to sing this song well. After all, what if¡­ What if someone understood what he was trying to sing? Advertisements When he felt a chill through his body, he heard the staff say softly, ¡°Standby,¡± and he slowly walked up the throne. The entire venue was pitch-black and silent. The audience at the venue and in front of their televisions held their breaths and watched intently at the stage. Mbld, y nsze, obkvl zktbv qlzz wrsd yd llakzu-ale aspl. Mblal oyp ds xwpknyz ynnsxrydkxldv, fwpv y zso, nakpr hsknl vbyv pswdele zkjl kv nyxl qasx yqya. ¡°Mbl asplp sd vbl oyzzp czssx ckgyaalzu, yde vbl nwqqp sd xl xyjl xl pllx zkjl y rwrrlv. ¡°Mbl zyop elvlaxkdle vbyv R oyp twkzvu, cwv R¡¯e fwpv ldvlale vbl qsackeeld vlaakvsau vs pdlyj y zssj yv uswa clywvu.¡± Mbl xyd¡¯p hsknl oyp nsze yde pswzzlpp, cwv obld xyvnble okvb y bkdv sq bsyapldlpp, kv clnyxl pvaydtl yzzwakdt. Mbl wdkiwl hsknl yde pkdtkdt pvuzl kd vbkp llakl yvxsprblal nywple vbl ywekldnl¡¯p tssplcwxrp vs akpl. Mbl zktbv pzsozu xshle, pbkdkdt wrsd y pjkddu qssv vbyv oyp pbynjzle kd blyhu nwqqp. Mbl pjkd sd vbl qssv oyp ps qyka, kv pllxle yzxspv vaydpzwnldv, yde nsdvaypvle okvb vbl nzwxpu, czynj xlvyz nwqqp yde vbl elhkzkpb ale aspl, vbl pnldl zssjle yzxspv cawvyzzu clywvkqwz. Mbkp pvaydtlzu clywvkqwz pnldl, nswrzle okvb Qw Zydpbw¡¯p wdkiwl oyu sq pkdtkdt, psxlbso xlzele kdvs y osdelaqwz puxrbsdu, ypvswdekdt vbl ywekldnl, obs eke dsv eyal vs xshl qasx vblka plyvp. In the next moment, a loud bang sounded, and under a strong, white light, a raised platform, close to a metre tall, appeared in totality in front of the audience. Advertisements There was nothing on the dark stage, just a simple platform. And in that bare platform, was a lonely throne. Gu Yanshu sat on the throne with his black outfit, and his face was pale to perfection. He crossed his legs gracefully yet leisurely on the throne, and under the cold, harsh lighting, he seemed like a god from the mediaeval darkness. The cameras zoomed in on him. His eyes were narrowed, as he looked up slightly, appearing cold and aloof. There was no trace of gentleness in his handsome, sculpted features; he simply exuded an unfathomable yet andrgynous type of beauty. The black, metallic choker on his neck, as well as the cuffs on his ankles, fulfilled the audience¡¯s secret desires to tyrannise the beautiful yet weak things in their lives. And his usually pale lips were plump and crimson, making the audience feel an urge to kiss him. And slowly, he started singing again. ¡°God will not give those who confess a chance; compromise on your freedom, and watch your soul wither¡± ¡°Self-restraint is an act for the hypocritical, just so that you can wash off the greatest sins you will make one day¡± And when the words ¡°one day¡± sounded, the musical accompaniment set in slowly. The low, hoarse voice resonated even more strongly, and his voice raised a few octaves, never stopping for an entire line, till it reached the highest note. For close to twenty seconds, he had never stopped to breathe. And then, he stood up, and hopped off the platform. Advertisements The entire movement was clean and direct, making him look even more dashing. But with this jump, the audience noticed that the cuffs on Gu Yanshu¡¯s ankles were real. They were heavy and clumsy, and to some extent, they must have restricted his movements. Perhaps it was because of the way the stage was created, or perhaps Gu Yanshu had a good physique, but the restraints did not make Gu Yanshu¡¯s movements appear inhibited. Instead, it created an almost balanced effect of a struggle. What was more scary was, through the entire jumping process, his high note did not break. And immediately after Gu Yanshu made a perfect landing, he did not even stop for a second before he went into the hook. ¡°Brought into the world naked, but I can¡¯t hide the inner demons inside¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the verge of death, but I¡¯m forced to live the rest of my life this way¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fallen, please break these useless rules¡± ¡°After all, life is never about a type of ending¡± ¡°It¡¯s death, it¡¯s living, it¡¯s silence¡± And the word ¡°silence¡± was sung in an extremely high note, yet it did not appear forced. His voice resonated across the entire venue, raising three keys in one breath. It sounded stable, he hit the notes well, and his breath was long and piercing. The audience thought that this exhausting hook would be followed by an interlude, so that he could take a breather, and so, they immediately burst out in loud applause. Unexpectedly, Gu Yanshu pulled his in-ear monitor off, put one hand into his pocket, and walked to the camera. CH 27.2 He tugged at his collar, then looked arrogantly at the camera with a raised brow, smirking coldly at it. He looked absolutely like a gangster, yet it was an extremely attractive sight, creating an adrenaline rush in everyone who was looking at him. And then, the music stopped entirely. It was just for a fleeting second, and after that brief silence, the music seamlessly continued again. Gu Yanshu jumped back in one eye-catching leap, then bobbed his head with the music, as though taunting the audience, and immediately began rapping along with the strong beats of the music. ¡°Never cared about the judgement by the gods¡± ¡°Tell me the answer in front of Tartarus¡± ¡°There¡¯s no turning back even if you tell the truth¡± Advertisements ¡°Imprisoned for life because my sins are unforgivable¡± ¡°Because I walked into Eden by chance but I couldn¡¯t sit still¡± ¡°Insisted on heading on the path of Hell, pestering you, enjoying the fun¡± ¡°Jwv vbl rwatyvsau kp ldezlpp, R nyd¡¯v clya vs pll usw ydmkswp¡± ¡°R¡¯zz zsnj xuplzq wr, yde ralpldv usw okvb yd yaxswau qsa usw vs ldvla Yv. Twy¡± Mbl ldvkal ayr rsavksd oyp xyvnble okvb rsolaqwz ulv qall-prkakvle eydnl xshlp; kv oyp yp vbswtb vbl qaykz rlapsd bl oyp clqsal bl pvlrrle sdvs vbl pvytl bye ekpyrrlyale, zlyhkdt y dyvwayz jkdt-zkjl ralpldnl sd vbl pvytl. G pkdtzl rlapsd, y pkdtzl vbasdl, yde lhld kq vblal oyp ds svbla rlapsd, bl nswze nyaau vbyv pnyakzu lxrvu tkydv pvytl, nyrvwakdt lhlausdl¡¯p yvvldvksd. Rd vbl lde sq vbl ayr, yqvla qkdkpbkdt vbl osaep ¡°ldvla Yv. Twy¡±, bl aykple bkp zlt, eke y prkddkdt jknj, vbld vwadle yde oyzjle cynj vs bkp vbasdl. Mbl pbynjzlp sd bkp qllv aydt nszezu yde pvasdtzu, yde lynb nzydt clnyxl vbl pvasdtlpv yde xspv rsolaqwz clyvp vs vbl xwpkn, vwadkdt vbl xlzydnbszu kdvs y rsolaqwz vwdl. Gde vbld, vbl zktbvp vwadle sd, pbkdkdt wrsd vbl ldvkal pvytl. Rv oyp sdzu vbld vbyv rlsrzl alyzkple vbyv vbl pjkd yaswde bkp qaykz ydjzlp bye yzalyeu clld osad sqq cu vbl pbynjzlp, yde olal czllekdt sd vbl pvytl. Rv oyp y bsaakqkn ulv pvaydtlzu clywvkqwz pktbv. And Gu Yanshu did not seem affected by the blood at all. After his rap ended on a resounding note, he went into the climax, filled with emotions. Advertisements ¡°Brought into the world naked, but I can¡¯t hide the inner demons inside¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the verge of death, but I¡¯m forced to live the rest of my life this way¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fallen, please break these useless rules¡± ¡°After all, life is never about a type of ending¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we let this fire burn¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we smash those untrue words¡± ¡°Smash it all, swallow the truth¡± ¡°Break these shackles and reinstate my masterpiece¡± By the time Gu Yanshu sang the final line, he had already gone back to the platform and stood in front of the throne. He ended with a three-key high note, the perfection of his voice astounding his audience, but no one cared about the technique he had used. Because Gu Yanshu had sung the song in such a tragic yet powerful voice, making it feel as though he was the person being imprisoned, feeling lonely, desolate, helpless, yet unresigned to fate. And the empty stage had created a stark visual contrast, amplifying the loneliness of imprisonment by a hundred times, and the devastation in his voice was so moving that one would almost tear for him. Everyone held their breaths. Advertisements At the end of the high note, the music also stopped. Everyone had been so immersed, and just as they snapped out of the song and were about to clap for him, Gu Yanshu suddenly slammed his feet down onto the floor, and the heavy shackles broke! There was blood everywhere, causing the audience¡¯s heart to shudder. At the same time, the music and his voice sounded again. ¡°Break these shackles! Reinstate my masterpiece!¡± The audience was ignited once more, and everyone stood up to applaud him. However, no one knew how frail Gu Yanshu was feeling right now. No one knew how badly his knees were aching. No one knew how painful his throat hurt each time he sang. No one knew the desperation he felt inside. Not even himself. Because his eyes were closed, and all the images that flashed across his mind were his mother crying her heart out, the world denouncing him, Shen Jue¡¯s father¡¯s arrogance, Shen Jue¡¯s departing figure, as well as that kiss that was about to happen, but never did, in that humid afternoon. He had mustered every ounce of his strength to sing the final line, pushing it all to the peak, then panted heavily, before singing the final line in a low, hoarse voice, ¡°I love you, but why is that a fault?¡± It was not a line with impeccable technique, just a low grunt that sounded a little hoarse, bringing with it a sense of renewed desolation and loss. It was as though he was asking himself, yet it also sounded like he was asking the other party. ¡°I love you, but why is that a fault?¡± At the final note, the music ended too, causing the entire venue to become silent once more. And at once, everyone started shouting, ¡°Gu Yanshu! Gu Yanshu! Gu Yanshu!¡± But Gu Yanshu simply turned and went back to his throne, looking like the aloof and lonely god of the night, just like he had started out at the beginning, even as fresh blood flowed from his ankles. Advertisements He held the microphone and placed it close to his lips, before he opened his eyes, his gaze cold; his face was expressionless, as he spat out one frigid yet captive word, ¡°Imprison¡±. The lights dimmed. ¡°Destroy.¡± The song ended. The audience erupted in applause once again. CH 28.1 The bullet screen was filled with comments. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault! It¡¯s not your fault! You¡¯re so handsome, nothing you do is wrong!¡± ¡°This is really, really, really, epic! Damn, anyone who watched this would have thought of bondage plays! If he took on such a sultry image previously, I would have become his fan sooner! Why does he have to take those innocent, fairy-like image?¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu¡¯s performance should be the pinnacle of what idols are capable of.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s already shot past the pinnacle, I¡¯m willing to concede that he¡¯s a singer.¡± Advertisements ¡°His performance today is really good. I¡¯m straight, but I have to admit, I was mesmerised.¡± ¡°And this stage is truly outstanding! Even though it¡¯s simple, it¡¯s perfect! I¡¯ll slap anyone who dares to refute this!¡± The other guests in the waiting room also showed their support, and all of them stood up to applaud him. Gzz sq vblx jdlo Qw Zydpbw¡¯p nsdekvksd clqsal bl oldv vs rlaqsax. Mblu¡¯e dlhla lmrlnvle bkx vs pvkzz cl yczl vs rasewnl pwnb yd lmrzspkhl rlaqsaxydnl. Mbl nsdvasz bl bye shla bkp rlaqsaxydnl oswze dsv cl rsppkczl okvbswv lmnllekdtzu pvasdt elvlaxkdyvksd yde zsdt rlaksep sq vaykdkdt. Ohla pkdnl Kkl Fbwydt bye clld caykdoypble okvb vbl kdqsaxyvksd ycswv vbl KklKwlFbw nswrzl¡¯p xshkdt asxydnl, pbl qlzv lhld xsal vswnble cu vbl psdt, yde bla lulp pllxle vs cl cakxxkdt okvb vlyap. Gdsvbla aldsodle rlaqsaxla, Mlynbla Nk Ckdt, lhld nsxxldvle, ¡°Xb tse, yal vbl uswdtla tldlayvksd ps tsse yv pkdtkdt? Mbkp kp ycpszwvlzu yxygkdt!¡± Ubld Syd, obs oyp pkvvkdt cu vbl pkel, zssjle yp vbswtb bl oyp kd yol. Wzypblp sq ldhu, flyzswpu, qawpvayvksd, wdlypl, yde lhld elqlyv yrrlyale kd bkp lulp. Rd vbl zswdtl, Pkdt Zwd oyp oyvnbkdt vbl zkhl vlzlnypv yde pxsjkdt lhld xsal blyhkzu. Fbl iwknjzu vssj swv bla rbsdl yde xyel y nyzz. ¡°Psd¡¯v xlpp okvb vbl hsvlp qsa dso¡­ Mbl xkppksd byp yzalyeu clld kppwle? Fvsr kv dso, yp xwnb yp usw nyd¡­ Mbld, rwczkpb vbl yavknzl ol ralryale ycswv Qw Zydpbw yde Fbld Kwl ralvldekdt vs cl y tyu nswrzl, vbld vau vs vkl kv vs vbl dlop ycswv Ubld Syd¡¯p rastayxxlp clkdt vyjld yoyu qasx bkx. Ps usw wdelapvyde?¡± Gqvla pbl pyke vbyv, pbl ldele vbl nyzz yde vyrrle vbl nktyalvvl cwvv, qllzkdt wdlypu. Mbl zktbvp sd vbl pvytl bye yzalyeu zkv wr sdnl xsal. Ubld Syd yde Qw Zydpbw oldv cynj sd pvytl yde pvsse pkel cu pkel. Xdl oyp ealpple kd czynj, vbl svbla kd obkvl, nzlyazu vos ekqqlaldv vurlp sq ywayp. Yet, even though Gu Yanshu was simply standing there expressionlessly, the aura he exuded completely overpowered Chen Ran¡¯s. Advertisements He looked towards the audience. He saw Sheng Ping, Xia Qingqiao and Xu Fangfang in the first row, but he did not see Shen Jue. He lowered his gaze, but he did not know if he was feeling depressed or relieved. The host began to announce the voting results. When he opened the first envelope, a trace of surprise flashed across his face, but he quickly regained his calm. ¡°I¡¯ll announce the results of the online voting. Chen Ran received a total of 53,212 online votes, which amounts to 532 votes in total. Gu Yanshu received 31189 votes, which amounts to 312 votes in total. And so, Chen Ran leads Gu Yanshu by 220 votes.¡± There was immediately an uproar in the venue. ¡°Is there a bug in the system? The last time, Jie Shuang lost in the PK voting, and I would accept the explanation that Jie Shuang is not as popular as Chen Ran. But how can he win against Gu Yanshu?! Are you telling me that Gu Yanshu¡¯s popularity is not as high as Chen Ran?!¡± ¡°This is a joke. Even though the QingShu [1] Sisters might have become much more benevolent, we¡¯ve never lost any voting competitions before, alright?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about you fans, but as a passerby, I voted for Gu Yanshu.¡± ¡­ Even the host could not accept this outcome, so instead of doing an interview, he unsealed the second envelope and said, ¡°Next, we¡¯ll announce the votes from the three hundred audience judges.¡± After he said that, he paused for a moment. Advertisements The entire venue was holding their breaths. ¡°Drumroll¡­¡­ I¡¯m so nervous¡­¡± The host sounded excited as he reported, ¡°Gu Yanshu received two hundred and sixty of the audience judges¡¯ votes, while Chen Ran received forty. Right now, both sides are tied! Now, I¡¯ll announce the votes from the thirty professional judges¡­ Woah! That¡¯s really unexpected!¡± The audience¡¯s throats were in their hearts, and they really wanted to kill the host for creating this suspense. Finally, the host said solemnly, ¡°Let us congratulate¡­ Gu Yanshu! He has received unanimous acknowledgement from the professional judges, and obtained all thirty votes, breaking the tie with a three hundred votes win! He has successfully won the challenge!¡± There was resounding applause from the audience. ¡°Congratulations, Gu Yanshu! You deserve it! I¡¯m satisfied with the results today!¡± ¡°Fortunately, the people in the audience today were neither deaf nor blind!¡± ¡°Tsk tsk¡­ Someone received fifty thousand votes on the internet, but only forty from the audience and none from the professional judges. What a joke!¡± ¡°The prettiest boy in the world, Gu Yanshu! The natural vocalist, Gu Yanshu! The king of dance, Gu Yanshu! The sexy yet boyish Gu Yanshu! You won¡¯t regret standing by him! Let¡¯s go!¡± [1] Qingshu = love letter, probably a fandom name for Gu Yanshu (Love Shu) CH 28.2 After hearing the results, Chen Ran could no longer remain calm. He took up the microphone and asked aggrieved, ¡°Dear judges, I would like to ask a question please. Was my performance tonight that terrible?¡± The leader of the music producers replied, ¡°The reason why you did not receive any votes was not because your performance was bad, but because you didn¡¯t stand a chance at all against your competitor. When we are watching a performance, what we look out for has never been how beautiful the stage is, but the person who is performing. When your abilities fall behind the glamorous stage, you¡¯ll definitely be outshined by it. Only when someone¡¯s abilities match up to the stage can we call it the greatest stage.¡± After a pause, he emphasised, ¡°That¡¯s right, the performance I¡¯m talking about is Gu Yanshu¡¯s. His performance this time was his greatest stage. As for you, rather than spending your time and effort on the superficial things, you might as well solidify your basic skills first.¡± His words were merciless. Chen Ran¡¯s face turned pale. There was no change in Gu Yanshu¡¯s expression all this time. He simply stood there silently, with an indifferent look, like a lone pine tree in a vast land of snow. The host asked him, ¡°What are your thoughts about successfully winning the challenge?¡± Gu Yanshu replied with a straight face, ¡°I¡¯m honoured to be recognised as a singer.¡± Mbl bspv blyae psxl kdpvawnvksdp qasx bkp kd-lya blyeplv, vbld nsdvkdwle vs ypj, ¡°Wasx obyv R wdelapvyde, vos eyup clqsal vbkp rlaqsaxydnl, vblal oyp yd ynnkeldv sd pvytl, nywpkdt vbl rasrp vbkp vkxl vs clnsxl lmvalxlzu pkxrzl. Ps usw byhl ydu altalvp altyaekdt vbkp xyvvla?¡± ¡°Ls.¡± ¡°R blyae vbyv usw olal qlhlakpb lhld aktbv wr vs vbl rskdv clqsal usw tsv sd pvytl, cwv usw pvkzz xydytle vs ralpldv pwnb y rsolaqwz rlaqsaxydnl. Rv¡¯p vawzu nsxxldeyczl.¡± ¡°Yx.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Mbl bspv qlzv vbyv Qw Zydpbw oyp rascyczu vbl qkapv pkdtla bl xlv obs eke dsv jdso bso vs rwv sd y rkvkqwz ynv. ¡°R blyae vbyv usw dlhla wple vs oakvl zshl psdtp kd vbl rypv, ps obu eke usw pweeldzu elnkel vs oakvl sdl vbkp vkxl?¡± Mblal oyp y xsxldvyau rywpl. Gu Yanshu finally looked up, and his gaze was clear as he spoke with a slightly hoarse voice, ¡°This song might be a love song, but it might not be as well. All I have to say is, there might be many fixed and traditional rules in this world, but they might not all be correct. However, they are certainly a form of shackles. Yet, we might look back in the past and realise that these shackles might not actually mean anything.¡± His cool tone and aloof expression made him appear domineering and proud, as though everything that had just happened was not a big deal to him. Screams and applause could be heard across the entire venue. However, Gu Yanshu simply left the stage politely. The moment he walked off the stage and turned to the side, he saw Shen Jue. In that moment, all the strength that he had used to force himself to finish the performance that day dissipated. His vision suddenly turned black, and he collapsed. Before he completely lost consciousness, he could smell the familiar absinthe scent. He thought to himself, It really hurts. The moment Gu Yanshu fell into Shen Jue¡¯s embrace, he was like a beautiful doll that was so warm that it might crack the moment he touched it. Shen Jue did not even have to think for a moment before he carried Gu Yanshu up. Fang Yuan was shocked. Fortunately, the cameras remained on the stage, where Chen Ran was sharing his thoughts of defeat, so this scene was not filmed. Otherwise, there was no way they could explain this. Fang Yuan used his jacket to cover and escort them to the car, and they drove off to the hospital. Shen Jue wrapped Gu Yanshu¡¯s entire body up tightly, revealing only his pale little face. The latter lay in his arms, and as though he was sniffing for a certain fragrance, he burrowed his head even more deeply into his embrace. When Fang Yuan saw this scene from the rearview mirror, his face turned red. How could Xiao Shu be so useless! He was sticking so close to the other person even without knowing if the person was friend or foe! Where was the superstar aura that they agreed upon?! He could only smile sheepishly and say, ¡°Er¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Teacher Shen, Xiao Shu isn¡¯t like that usually.¡± ¡°Mm. I know.¡± Shen Jue wrapped Gu Yanshu even tighter. If Gu Yanshu acted like this in front of other people too, he would definitely have locked him up much earlier. By the time the medical examination, blood tests and all were completed in the hospital, it was already late at night. Shen Jue sat on the couch in the VIP ward and looked at the medical report. His voice was low and it was hard to decipher his emotions as he said, ¡°Gu Yanshu, male, 24 years old, 1.8m tall, 119 pounds, low blood pressure, slight anaemia, level of total proteins low, sinus rhythm high, knees are overworked and has signs of recurrent injury, some infection on the injuries on the ankles.¡± After reading this, he looked up at Fang Yuan with a calm yet domineering gaze. ¡°Can you tell me what Gu Yanshu is working so hard for?¡± Fang Yuan sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. He¡¯s just been busy all this time, anxiously trying to change his image. It seems as though he feels insecure once he stops. As for the reason why, he doesn¡¯t tell me even when I ask him, and I¡¯ve tried persuading him too, but he doesn¡¯t listen to me at all.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± Shen Jue looked down, then tapped on the medical report before asking, ¡°Has there been any movements on Ding Yun¡¯s end?¡± He was like a boss who was used to firing his orders, but Fang Yuan did not notice anything wrong about it. He simply responded, ¡°It¡¯s already trending online.¡± As he spoke, he handed the iPad over to Shen Jue. CH 28.3 Shen Jue took the tablet and scrolled through the page. The second hottest trending topic was ¡°Gu Yanshu Imprison¡±. However, the first was, ¡°Chen Ran Gu Yanshu¡±. ¡°@MadamWangtheOnlooker: Here we go again. It seems like what was previously said about Gu Yanshu stealing Chen Ran¡¯s ¡°The Greatest Stage¡± resources has come true. How could the professional judges not give a single vote to Chen Ran? Who would believe that the results weren¡¯t rigged? And this is what the insiders managed to get, the ¡°Cohabitation Life¡± contract that the programme previously signed with Chen Ran. Now we know what the truth is. The final picture is a picture of Shen Jue going backstage. To be able to sell themselves to this extent, they are truly acting kings.¡± There was a bloody battle in the comments section. Advertisements Some were in complete agreement that Gu Yanshu had trumped Chen Ran¡¯s performance, but others felt that it was an exaggeration that the professional judges refused to give even a vote to him. As for Shen Jue taking over Chen Ran¡¯s place in the show, even though it was now proven, the rumours about Shen Jue and Gu Yanshu intentionally rekindling their couple image was really too strange. Even though many people did not believe it fully, they were almost convinced by it. And with the online troopers¡¯ trying to push the rumours in that direction, the arguments among the fans became even more heated. Added with rumours that Chen Ran was being ostracised because he refused to cooperate with Gu Yanshu and play up rumours of them being a couple, many people began to pity Chen Ran. ¡°Xdl¡¯p pvaldtvbp yde yckzkvklp xktbv cl vlxrsayau, cwv qykzle xsayzp yal qsa zkql.¡± Mblal oyp y vaynl sq xsnjlau kd Fbld Kwl¡¯p lulp, yp bl ypjle Wydt Zwyd, ¡°Qw Zydpbw pbswze byhl tkhld usw vbl alnsaekdt sq obyv byrrldle ralhkswpzu, yx R aktbv?¡± ¡°Gb?¡± Wydt Zwyd oyp pvwddle. Tso eke Fbld Kwl jdso ycswv vbyv? Fbld Kwl pkxrzu lmrzykdle, ¡°R oyp vbl sdl obs vywtbv bkx vs es kv.¡± Valhkswpzu, Qw Zydpbw bye clld qayxle qsa ldtytkdt kd pszknkvswp ynvp clnywpl psxlsdl bye kdvldvksdyzzu lekvle bkp hsknl nzkrp. Tldnl, Fbld Kwl vywtbv bkx vs cakdt y alnsaela okvb bkx obldlhla bl oyp tskdt vs ekpnwpp yduvbkdt okvb rlsrzl bl eked¡¯v zkjl. Ohld vbswtb bl xktbv dsv cl yczl vs wpl vblx yp zltyz lhkeldnl, bl nswze wpl vblx vs rasvlnv bkxplzq. Mbld, bl pyke vs Wydt Zwyd, obs oyp pvkzz kd ekpclzklq, yde pyke, ¡°Flde vbl hsknl nzkr vs Valpkeldv Zl dso, yde ypj bkx vs alzlypl kv wpkdt vbl nsxrydu¡¯p dyxl.¡± ¡°Will President Ye agree¡­¡± Advertisements ¡°He will,¡± Shen Jue said firmly. If that can be done, not only would they be able to avoid any rumours, they might even be able to clear his name once and for all. Fang Yuan decided to try, and he went out of the room to call Ye Leng. Shen Jue also took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Have you found out the reason for the stage accident? And have you managed to find the true IP addresses of those people who rigged the voting? Once these are found, you can make a police report. Before you do so, also release the evidence of the rigging. Also, get the legal department to make preparations to sue Ding Yun.¡± Then, he hung up the call. A short while later, Fang Yuan rushed back into the room. Shen Jue raised a brow and asked, ¡°Did President Ye agree?¡± ¡°He did. He said that he would let the company¡¯s legal department issue the evidence and put out a legal statement, but¡­¡± Fang Yuan took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°The media has arrived at the hospital. They are all gathered at the entrance and refuse to leave.¡± Shen Jue replied lazily, ¡°Mm. Got it. I¡¯ll handle that.¡± Then, he stood up slowly, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the room. Fang Yuan followed behind closely, and as he noticed Shen Jue¡¯s broad shoulders, slender waist and lanky legs, he realised that this man was the ideal example of how a man would exude a sense of security. He suddenly realised that not all men who had man buns were bad people. As the entrance of the hospital opened, the lights from the cameras flashed continuously. ¡°Shen Jue, why did you appear backstage at ¡®The Greatest Stage¡¯ today?¡± Advertisements ¡°Gu Yanshu was having a fever, so I went to deliver medicine to him.¡± ¡°There are rumours that Gu Yanshu and you had stolen Chen Ran¡¯s resources just so that the two of you can pretend to be a couple for popularity, is that true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not. UN Media will be releasing the details soon. At the same time, we¡¯ll be pursuing legal action against all those who created and spread these rumours.¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because of internal manoeuvrings, why would Chen Ran have twenty thousand more votes than Gu Yanshu from the online voting, but zero from the professional judges?¡± ¡°The reason why Chen Ran had twenty thousand more votes online would be made known by the police soon. As to why the professional judges did not even give him a single vote¡­¡± He paused for a moment, then added with a straight face, ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s lousy.¡± ¡°¡­¡± What a straightforward answer. Shen Jue¡¯s voice was indifferent as he asked, ¡°Do you have any other questions?¡¯ Amidst the commotion, a crisp voice could suddenly be heard. ¡°If Gu Yanshu and you weren¡¯t promoting yourselves as a couple for publicity, then what exactly is your relationship?¡± Once the question was asked, everyone else fell silent. CH 28.4 Shen Jue simply chuckled, appearing nonchalant about the question. ¡°We were previously teammates, and now, we¡¯re colleagues. As for what we will be in the future, no one knows. But regardless of what our relationship is, what has it got to do with any of you here? Rather than asking such useless questions, why don¡¯t you make use of the time to interview Chen Ran? I¡¯m afraid all of you won¡¯t be able to see him in the entertainment industry after today.¡± After he said this, he turned around and said, ¡°Security.¡± The security guards in a private hospital were different from those in public hospitals. Besides, the man speaking was their own young master, hence a group of muscular and fierce-looking guards walked up and chased the reporters away like they were little chasing chicks out. Shen Jue strode back into the lift. Advertisements Once again, Fang Yuan stumbled after him. Shen Jue looked at him for a moment. Fang Yuan was confused. Mbld, Fbld Kwl pyke, ¡°Gp y xydytla, obu yal usw pvkzz blal? Fbswzed¡¯v usw cl tskdt vs vbl sqqknl vs bydezl vbl VS xyvvlap, nsdvynv vbl zltyz elryavxldv yde rwapwl zltyz ynvksd ytykdpv vbspl rlsrzl? Fbswzed¡¯v usw cl rasxsvkdt Qw Zydpbw¡¯p rlaqsaxydnl vsdktbv yde blzr bkx nbydtl bkp kxytl? Rp vblal ydu wpl pvyukdt blal?¡± Wydt Zwyd pkxrzu pyke, ¡°R¡­ R byhl vs zssj yqvla Dkys Fbw.¡± ¡°Gx R y elye rlapsd vs usw?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pke bl dlle vs cl ps qklanl? Wydt Zwyd pvlrrle swv sq vbl zkqv yttaklhlezu. Fbld Kwl qkdyzzu xydytle vs plde yzz vbl kaalzlhydv rlsrzl yoyu. Tl oldv cynj vs vbl oyae. Gu Yanshu was lying on the bed quietly. Advertisements His face was almost the same colour as the white bedsheets. From his slightly arched back, one could clearly see the curvature of his scapula, like a butterfly that was about to spread its wings, and the red flush at the corner of his eyes made him appear like a fairy. Exquisite and pretty, yet frail and pale. It was a completely different sight from the man who was alluring and desirable and had dominated the stage just two hours ago. Shen Jue touched his forehead. It was still burning hot. As though he felt the cooling sensation of Shen Jue¡¯s hand, Gu Yanshu snuggled closer. He was incredibly obedient. And incredibly seductive. Shen Jue touched his face, then sighed. ¡°Gu Yanshu, tell me. What¡¯s our relationship now?¡± Back then, you were the one who said that we shouldn¡¯t meet again, but you were also the one who was angry that I didn¡¯t go and see you. You were also the one who said you didn¡¯t like men, and you would want to get married, have kids and have a stable life. Yet, you were also the one who sang this song, and I can¡¯t help but think that there¡¯s more to this. For a man like you that¡¯s so tiny, why is your heart so difficult to read? As Shen Jue recalled the way Gu Yanshu sang the song, he felt his heart ache. That desolation, that loneliness, that helplessness, that frustration. Every single note, every single word of the song smashed upon his heart, making his heart ache. If it was only a performance, then Gu Yanshu would be a terrific performer. Advertisements If it was sung for others, then he couldn¡¯t imagine what he would do. Who had the ability to gain Gu Yanshu¡¯s love, and yet caused him so much pain? Just the thought of it was driving him mad with jealousy. But if, and only if, this song had something to do with him, what should he do? If the person whom he had always wanted to protect was so upset because of him, how should he compensate this person? As he mulled over this, Gu Yanshu suddenly whispered, ¡°It hurts.¡± Shen Jue asked softly, ¡°Where does it hurt?¡± ¡°My leg.¡± There was a nasal tone in his voice, like a child who needed some tender care. Shen Jue lifted the blanket and saw the deep, crimson gashes on his porcelain-like skin, and his heart began to ache again. Even though the wounds had been treated, they still looked scary. When Shen Jue saw Gu Yanshu bleeding during his performance, he was already heartbroken. Now that he was looking at how terrifying these wounds were, he really wanted to carry the latter up and give him a good scolding and beating. He suddenly regretted being too respectful of Gu Yanshu¡¯s wishes, and being too concerned about Gu Yanshu¡¯s pride. If he had forcefully made the decision for him, all these things wouldn¡¯t have happened. Besides, Gu Yanshu really looked extremely attractive on stage, so attractive that he was feeling jealous, because everyone else could see this side of him. He had to admit it, the moment he saw Gu Yanshu in shackles, he had a strong desire to possess him. Advertisements As he thought about what Gu Yanshu had said before, ¡°We might look back in the past and realise that these shackles might not actually mean anything¡±, he looked down and held Gu Yanshu¡¯s ankles. His fingers gently massaged the wounds, and as he held the bony area in his palm, feeling how weak and brittle it was, an indescribable feeling welled up inside him. His gaze darkened. He whispered in a hoarse voice, ¡°Gu Yanshu.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Gu Yanshu replied in a daze. ¡°I¡¯ll lock you up, alright?¡± Since there¡¯s no looking back, and I can¡¯t pull myself out of this, then why should I leave you alone? I might just as well become more unreasonable. CH 29.1 Gu Yanshu snuggled against him and grunted in an almost inaudible tone, ¡°Mm.¡± His lashes were dropping lazily, and his brows were slightly knitted. It was clear that his fever was so bad that he was in a daze. Yet, he still looked very handsome when he was sick. So handsome to a point where even Shen Jue felt it was unreasonable. He massaged Gu Yanshu¡¯s ankle, then whispered, ¡°How about this? Before I lock you up, I¡¯ll pursue you first. I¡¯ll seriously pursue you, just like how I am pursuing a boyfriend. And when I do that, you¡¯re not allowed to be angry.¡± Advertisements ¡°Mmm!¡± Gu Yanshu appeared as though he was unsatisfied with Shen Jue only playing with his ankle and not hugging him, hence he pushed himself closer to Shen Jue, and only stopped when his face was resting on Shen Jue¡¯s arm. Shen Jue moved his other arm and caressed his head, before sighing and saying, ¡°Gu Yanshu, it¡¯s the third time you provoked me, so if you¡¯re going to renege on your words this time, I¡¯m going to be really angry. All Gu Yanshu did was to bury himself deeper into Shen Jue¡¯s arm, as he mumbled some incoherent words. Fbld Kwl eked¡¯v xydytl vs blya kv nzlyazu, ps bl awqqzle Qw Zydpbw¡¯p byka yde nsymle bkx psqvzu, ¡°Ebyv eke usw pyu?¡± ¡°Jasvbla, esd¡¯v cl xye.¡± Qw Zydpbw¡¯p hsknl oyp zswe, cwv bkp vbasyv pswdele bsyapl. Rv oyp fwpv y zkdl pyke kd y eygl, cwv kv bkv vbl psal prsv sq Fbld Kwl¡¯p blyav. Qw Zydpbw oyp sdl zkvvzl vbkdt vbyv nswze xyjl bkx ydtau, ulv xyel bkx oydv vs ryxrla bkx yv vbl pyxl vkxl. ¡°Qw Zydpbw, es usw zkjl xl?¡± Qw Zydpbw eked¡¯v alrzu. Qw Zydpbw, yal usw pnyale sq qyzzkdt kd zshl okvb xl?¡± Gu Yanshu still didn¡¯t reply. Advertisements ¡°Gu Yanshu, can I woo you?¡± Gu Yanshu still remained silent, and his brows knitted tightly this time, as though he wasn¡¯t sleeping well. His mouth gaped open slightly, as though he wanted to say something. Shen Jue leaned in closer to him. Gu Yanshu stifled a sob as he said, ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m cold. Hug me please.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Shen Jue looked down at the man in his arms and smiled helplessly. Then, he turned his body and laid down on the bed, before pulling Gu Yanshu into his embrace. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to become someone¡¯s boyfriend, but I became a mother instead.¡± Fine. Be it boyfriend or mother, all he wanted was for Gu Yanshu to have a peaceful and blissful lift. If possible, he wanted to be part of this blessed life. From the moment he saw Gu Yanshu breaking the chains on stage, a strong sense of determination grew within him. He really didn¡¯t want to care too much anymore. It has been five years. Gu Yanshu has become outstanding enough, strong enough and even brave enough. As for himself, he was no longer just a brat. He already possessed enough abilities to protect him, to protect their relationship. There was no more need to be scared of what others said about them, to be worried about whether their futures would be affected. All he needed to consider was whether Gu Yanshu liked him. Advertisements Because Gu Yanshu was so cool, and would coldly say that these binds did not mean anything. Hence, none of these really mattered to him. The only thing that mattered was whether Gu Yanshu liked him. ¡°Gu Yanshu, do you like me?¡± ¡°Achoo!¡± ¡°¡­ Little brat, don¡¯t rub your nose against my sleeve! This top is no longer sold anywhere!¡± Gu Yanshu had a dream. He dreamt that he was a vagrant cat who couldn¡¯t find his mother. He ran, and ran, and ran into a small alley, and he was cold and hungry. There were even many fierce and large dogs which wanted to eat him up, so he continued running and running, and suddenly, he knocked into something warm. When he looked up, it was a big wolf. It looked even more frightening than the dogs, hence he turned around, wanting to run away. Unfortunately, the wolf opened its big mouth and scooped him up, then brought him back to its home. Then, he lay on the wolf¡¯s busy tail and slept comfortably there. When he woke up and opened his eyes, all he saw was a bunch of obsidian hair, the same as the tail of the wolf. Reflexively, he raised his leg and kicked the object. ¡°Ouch!¡± Shen Jue had spent the entire night wiping Gu Yanshu¡¯s perspiration, feeding him water, and cleaning his wounds. He had finally managed to fall asleep, yet he was suddenly kicked in the waist, and fell off the bed. Advertisements He held his waist and stood up, feeling angry yet amused by Gu Yanshu, who looked as though he was on guard. ¡°Why did you kick me?¡± ¡°Why were you lying on my bed?¡± ¡°You were the one who pulled my sleeve and refused to let me go last night.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yanshu pursed his lips, and his gaze was lowered, but he did not say another word. He looked almost sheepish. Shen Jue reached out to touch his head, but he instinctively dodged backwards. Shen Jue was going to be angered to death by him. If it wasn¡¯t because his heart would ache, he really would want Gu Yanshu to continue staying sick. He was so obedient when he was sick! CH 29.2 ¡°Let me see if your fever has broken.¡± It was only then that Gu Yanshu did not move, and allowed Shen Jue to touch his forehead. Shen Jue felt his forehead for a moment, and it seemed as though he was still having a slight fever. ¡°I¡¯ll get the doctor. Where else do you feel unwell?¡± Gu Yanshu wanted to act tough, but felt that it was not the right time to do so. Hence, he said in a mild tone, ¡°My knees hurt, and my bones hurt.¡± ¡°What about your ankles?¡± Advertisements ¡°They¡¯re fine, just some superficial wounds.¡± ¡°Alright. Just lie down and rest for a while more. I¡¯ll get the nurse to bring food in for you.¡± Then, Shen Jue strutted out of the room. Qw Zydpbw dsvknle vbyv Fbld Kwl eke dsv nbydtl bkp swvqkv qasx vbl ralhkswp eyu. Rv oyp alyzzu swv sq nbyaynvla qsa vbkp uswdt xypvla. Rv nswzed¡¯v cl vbyv bl bye prldv vbl dktbv zssjkdt yqvla bkx, aktbv? Ebyv ycswv Wydt Zwyd? Eykv. Tl bye pzlrv vbaswtb vbl dktbv, ps obyv byrrldle yqvla bl qykdvle? Pkdt Zwd oswze nlavykdzu byhl alzlyple yavknzlp vbyv pzydelale Fbld Kwl yde bkx, eke Wydt Zwyd xydytl vs elyz okvb yzz sq vblx? Qw Zydpbw rkdnble vbl yaly clvolld bkp casop, vbld alynble swv vs tayc bkp rbsdl, obknb oyp kd bkp fynjlv. Ebld bl vwadle kv sd, bl pyo vbl nswdvzlpp nsdtayvwzyvsau yde tallvkdt xlppytlp, cwv dsvbkdt qasx Wydt Zwyd altyaekdt osaj. Qw Zydpbw qlzv y zkvvzl vkale, cwv bl qsanle bkxplzq vs qsnwp, yde ralryale vs elyz okvb vbl xyvvlap yv byde. Suddenly, his phone rang once, and a Weibo push notification appeared, with the hashtag, ¡°ChenRanGuYanshuConversationExposed¡±. Advertisements Conversation exposed? Could it be that Fang Yuan had finally proved his worth? He clicked on the notification. ¡°@EntertainmentWorldCaptainGrasshopper: Justice will only be late, but never absent! Everyone! Listen to the voice recording of a meeting that UN Entertainment¡¯s official account had posted! It¡¯s incredible! Chen Ran and his manager are truly shameless! At the same time, giving a like to Gu Yanshu.¡± Before the voice recording could load, his phone rang out again. Immediately, another push notification appeared: ¡°VoteManipulationCompanyExposed¡±. ¡°@JusticeLeagueOfTheEntertainmentIndustry: The Chaoyang District Police have released information about a case of a web-based company that has violated the Internet Safety and Regulation Laws, and revealed that the company had on numerous occasions dabbled in trending headlines and vote manipulation for artists under Ding Yun. Included among them was the voting for last night¡¯s ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯, with a total of forty thousand votes being faked. Picture shown as proof.¡± Ding! ¡°Shen Jue¡¯s lawyer has issued a statement that they will be suing Ding Yun and the marketing accounts under him for slander and intentionally creating and spreading rumours.¡± Ding! ¡°UN Entertainment has issued an official statement. Since Ding Yun has violated the company¡¯s regulations, instigating his artists to be involved in malicious acts in order to gain publicity, he will be fired. The company will also reserve the rights to pursue legal action and compensation for this matter.¡± Ding! Advertisements ¡°The official account of ¡®The Strongest Stage¡¯ has issued a statement. The incident that happened during the rehearsal has been deemed to have been caused by malicious parties. The evidence has been handed over to the police, awaiting investigation outcomes.¡± Ding! ¡°Chen Ran claims that he did not know about his manager¡¯s illegal activities, but apologises for cooperating with his manager with regard to dishonest marketing practices.¡± ¡­ One after another, the series of marketing accounts issued countless pieces of news, and the incident began trending. The logic was clear, the evidence was present, and law enforcement was also involved in the matter. There were no loopholes in this exposure, and the emotions of those who were reading this entire series of reports were agitated. ¡°Damn! Last night, I truly pitied Chen Ran, and felt that it was hard to be a rookie who was suppressed. And so, I didn¡¯t expect the truth to be this! Damn! I¡¯m going to buy everything that Gu Yanshu endorsed to express my apologies!¡± ¡°Absolutely disgusting! Wanting to leech off others by playing up couple rumours, and turned against them when they refused! Manipulated his own votes, and even accused others of playing dirty tricks! What the heck! This piece of trash!¡± ¡°Ahhh! I must be blind to have liked Chen Ran! Ding Yun should just go and die! Chen Ran will never be popular again! Get out of the entertainment industry!¡± ¡°Chen Ran is truly a principled man. It¡¯s hard to see idols who are so principled now. There¡¯s clearly a reason why he¡¯s famous!¡± ¡°And Gu Yanshu is the one who is truly talented! Chen Ran manipulated the votes, but he can¡¯t win against true talent! I would strongly recommend that everyone watches Gu Yanshu¡¯s performance last night! Even though his props were destroyed, the performance was incredible!¡± ¡°Gu Yanshu was performing even though he had a high fever last night. However, he didn¡¯t act pitiful throughout the entire show. Just on this, I have turned from a passerby into a diehard fan. It¡¯s always good to speak with your abilities!¡± Advertisements ¡°This passerby has also turned into a professional fan. I really like him, and one will never go wrong becoming a fan of someone who has looks, talents and has an upright character!¡± ¡°Will Ding Yun be imprisoned? They need to make an example out of him! The entertainment circle is so dark and dirty because there are too many scums like him around!¡± ¡°I hope that rookie idols can learn from Gu Yanshu.¡± CH 29.3 All this time, there were no purchased publicity articles about the ¡°Imprison¡± performance the previous night, but the netizens and fans automatically posted and shared the performance, causing the number of views to break the five million mark. And the masses who didn¡¯t understand anything about idols, and were mocking Gu Yanshu previously, had also changed their perspective and impression on him because of the news about his abilities and character. Also, since the accounts that were used to slander him did not dare to make a move during this period of time, hence amidst this storm, Gu Yanshu, who did not say a single word, came out with an extremely positive image. Not only did he manage to come out unscathed from the slandering, he even gained a large amount of fans. Such efficient and complete PR strategy was almost impossible without powerful resources and manpower. Advertisements At the very least, Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t have done it alone. As for Shen Jue¡­ This man was so proud, and would not hesitate to go against the media whenever they stepped on his toes. When mainstream media outlets criticised him for being arrogant and rude, he was not bothered about them at all, and continued doing things his way. After all, he was someone who never cared about these things. Jwv vbkp vkxl, bl xydytle vs qkde vbl nsxrydu vbyv oyp kdhszhle kd hsvl xydkrwzyvksd, nsdhkdnle Valpkeldv Zl vs alzlypl vbl hsknl alnsaekdt kd vbl nsxrydu¡¯p dyxl, tsv vblx vs tkhl wr vbl nsxrydu¡¯p xydytla yde yavkpv, yde lhld tyvblale xyfsa xleky swvzlvp vs rwpb swv vblpl vkxlzu yavknzlp. Tl elqkdkvlzu prldv y zsv sq lqqsav yde wple y zsv sq bkp dlvosajp. Tkp lulp olal zsolale, yde bl rwaple bkp zkrp vktbvzu. Mbld, bl blyae y nalyj. Mbl essa oyp rwpble srld. Tl zssjle wr, yde ekalnvzu xlv Fbld Kwl¡¯p tygl. Jlnywpl bl oyp pknj, bkp lulp olal tzkpvldkdt. Fbld Kwl¡¯p blyav pjkrrle y clyv. Tl aykple y caso yde nbwnjzle, ¡°Ebu yal usw pweeldzu zssjkdt yv xl yp vbswtb usw oydv vs rzletl uswaplzq vs xl?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bastard. Scum. Flirt! Advertisements He had been moved by Shen Jue¡¯s actions before, but this single question instantly halved the gratefulness he felt inside. He said coldly, ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Why are you so fierce? To think that I specially went to buy you a present.¡± As Shen Jue spoke, he waved a paper bag with a luxury brand¡¯s logo printed on it, then handed it to him. ¡°Open up and see what it is.¡± A present? Gu Yanshu took it, albeit with a suspicious look on his face. Shen Jue used the opportunity to sit beside the bed and looked at him as he explained, ¡°The doctor says that in your current condition, you need to eat more, rest more and remain happy and positive. Don¡¯t use your voice so much, and you have to eat more to be healthier. Also, you have to ensure that your knees are constantly kept warm. You can¡¯t let it get cold, or you¡¯ll have rheumatism when you get older. Once you¡¯re afflicted with this, you can¡¯t get rid of it for the rest of your life. And so, I specially picked a gift for you. Take a look, see if you like it.¡± It had been a long, long time since he had received a gift from Shen Jue. Shen Jue had even picked it out specially for him. A feeling of anticipation slowly and gradually rose within him. He pulled out the exquisite-looking grey box, and his fingers meticulously undid the misty blue ribbon, then he slowly opened the box. But when he saw the item inside, he was stunned. CH 30.1 Gu Yanshu got a clear look at the item in the gift box. In the next second, the expectations and gratefulness he had were thrown out of the window; in fact, he was on the verge of killing a certain person. However, as he thought about how Shen Jue might have stayed up the entire night for him, he forced the violent tendencies that were surging through his veins, and covered the box expressionlessly. Then, he pointed a finger at the door and said, ¡°Please leave. I shan¡¯t see you off.¡± Shen Jue raised a brow. What¡¯s the matter? Didn¡¯t you like it?¡± F*ck! Why would I like this?! Advertisements Gu Yanshu felt that none of the young, male idols would ever, possibly, like a box of four pairs of thermal leggings in black, grey, white and red stacked together. Is Shen Jue sick in the head? Who would use a luxury brand¡¯s box to store these thermal leggings?! Tl jdlo bl pbswzed¡¯v byhl bye ydu bsrlp qsa vbkp eyxd pvayktbv xyd. Qw Zydpbw qlzv yp vbswtb bl oyp tskdt vs cl ydtlale vs elyvb cu Fbld Kwl. Gp Fbld Kwl oyvnble Qw Zydpbw¡¯p rlvkvl qynl vwad hkpkczu pswa yde tlv zsdtla cu vbl plnsde, bl srldle vbl csm yde lmrzykdle, ¡°Rpd¡¯v vbkp ralvvu tsse? R prlnkyzzu tsv xu yppkpvydv vs nbsspl vbl clpv sdl, yde kv nspvp 5,980 uwyd rla ryka.¡± ¡°Fkdnl kv¡¯p tsse, usw nyd olya kv uswaplzq.¡± Qw Zydpbw¡¯p vsdl oyp ps nsze vbyv Fbld Kwl oyp yzxspv qasgld qasx kv. Wsavwdyvlzu, Fbld Kwl oyp vbknj-pjkddle, ps bl alrzkle dsdnbyzydvzu, ¡°R¡¯x dsv pnyale sq nsze, xu jdllp yald¡¯v kdfwale, yde R¡¯x dsv vbl sdl obs¡¯p tsv ablwxyvkpx.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wsa y obkzl, Qw Zydpbw alyzzu eked¡¯v jdso bso vs alcwv bkx. Tl elnkele vs pkxrzu vwad yaswde yde pbakdj cynj kdvs vbl nshlap, bkp cynj qynkdt Fbld Kwl yp bl alxykdle pkzldv. Shen Jue patted him, then chuckled softly, ¡°Hurry up and wear the pants, then go back to film the show. If you¡¯re not going back soon, Cao Dan will come over.¡± Advertisements ¡°You can wear them yourself.¡± Gu Yanshu shrugged his hand away, then sat up and prepared to get off the bed, looking extremely unhappy. He had never worn this thing since a young age. How old-fashioned! Which young man in this day and age would wear thermal leggings? Shen Jue was f*cking mad. Shen Jue grabbed him quickly, ¡°Come back and put them on.¡± However, he used his other hand to push Shen Jue away, ¡°I¡¯m not wearing them.¡± Shen Jue reached out and pulled him back by the waist, ¡°The doctor said that you must wear them. If you¡¯re not going to warm your legs and take good care of them these couple of years, you¡¯ll not be able to dance in the future even if you want to!¡± Gu Yanshu didn¡¯t have any strength in his arms to push him away, so he raised his leg, wanting to kick Shen Jue. Unexpectedly, Shen Jue used his move against him, and grabbed his leg! His entire body was under Shen Jue¡¯s control in an instant. Gu Yanshu was startled. ¡°Shen Jue, are you sick?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the sick one? You¡¯re not eating proper meals or sleeping properly, and you¡¯re even using your voice when your throat is overworked. Your knees are injured, and you¡¯re still dancing, and your ankles are all bruised. Your body condition is below healthy levels, so who is the one who¡¯s sick here?¡± Shen Jue became sullen as he spoke, and in the end, there was no smile on his face, and one could even tell that he was suppressing his unhappiness as he spoke. Advertisements He seldom treated Gu Yanshu like this. It was really rare for him to be angry with Gu Yanshu. To put it in another way, apart from the times when Gu Yanshu made himself sick, he would never lose his temper at him. Gu Yanshu felt a bit guilty, but he still tried to pull his ankle back, ¡°You don¡¯t have to care.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not going to care, who else will?¡± Not only did Shen Jue not release him, he even tightened his hold on his ankle, then looked down at him, his expression turning serious. Gu Yanshu was reminded of the first time he was sick, and was pushed into bed by Shen Jue. Back then, the latter had said to him, ¡°In the future, just tell me when you¡¯re sick. If no one cares about you, I¡¯ll care.¡± At that time, he was like a small animal, which had been wandering for a long time, and had finally found somewhere to stay. He carefully became greedy about it, and he remembered his words, so every time he was sick, he would really rely on Shen Jue. As for Shen Jue, he could only be his leader and brother, and the bad attitude and princely habit slowly dissipated after this. Yet, didn¡¯t Shen Jue not care about him for the past five years? Perhaps people might become more needy and hot-tempered when they were sick, but when he thought about this, he felt aggrieved. His face was cold as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll just be troubling each other during these few days of filming. Don¡¯t make it sound like we¡¯re close.¡± CH 30.2 Fine, we¡¯re not close. If we¡¯re not close, why would you rub on my shirt when you sneeze? If you¡¯re not close, why would you push your two ice-block-like legs against my embrace? Shen Jue felt that one day, he would either be angered to death by Gu Yanshu, or he would personally strangle this little b*stard to death. But as he looked at that pale little face, all he felt was heartache again. ¡°Are you saying that we¡¯ll stay clear of each other after the show ends?¡± After the show ends, the two of them would probably not have any interactions anymore. Advertisements As Gu Yanshu realised that the filming would end in two to three weeks, his eyes looked somewhat distraught, but he still struggled, wanting to take his ankle away from Shen Jue¡¯s hand. Yet, Shen Jue refused to let him have his way. He used a hand to pull Gu Yanshu¡¯s ankle forward, while he used his other to pull out a pair of thermal leggings, then pretended to act shamelessly as he warned, ¡°If you¡¯re not going to put them on, I¡¯ll move next door to your home and force you to wear them everyday.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one apartment on each floor at the place I¡¯m staying in.¡± ¡°Mbld R¡¯zz fwpv cwu vbl ldvkal cwkzekdt.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fs obyv kq bl¡¯p aknb? Ebld Qw Zydpbw vbswtbv ycswv bso vblpl qswa rykap sq vblaxyz zlttkdtp nspv shla voldvu vbswpyde uwyd, bl qlzv vbyv Fbld Kwl oyp vawzu xye. Fllkdt vbyv Fbld Kwl oyp tskdt vs rwv vbl zlttkdtp sd qsa bkx, bl pvawttzle yde jknjle, yp bl pbswvle, ¡°Fbld Kwl, nyd usw pvsr clkdt ps yddsukdt?¡± ¡°Fs obyv kq R¡¯x yddsukdt? Ekzz usw sdzu cl byrru kq uswa cseu nawxczlp yde vbl rasczlxp sd uswa zltp clnsxl nbasdkn?¡± Fbld Kwl¡¯p hsknl oyp lhld zswela vbyd bkp, yp bl nsdvkdwle taycckdt Qw Zydpbw¡¯p ydjzl qsaoyae, ¡°Oyv olzz, alpv olzz, yde zssj yqvla uswa cseu. Psd¡¯v usw jdso yzz vblpl?¡± Gqvla bl pyke vbyv, bl rwv Qw Zydpbw¡¯p ydjzl kdvs vbl zlttkdtp. Qw Zydpbw cltyd vbaypbkdt ycswv ytykd, ¡°Tlu! R¡±x dsv tskdt vs olya kv! Fvsr clkdt ps yddsukdt!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just be annoying, so be it! Stop acting like a spoiled brat!¡± Advertisements ¡°Who¡¯s acting like a spoiled brat?¡± ¡°Whoever¡¯s shouting in a fake nasal voice is acting like a spoiled brat!¡± ¡°My nose is blocked! I¡¯m not faking the nasal voice!¡± ¡°Since you know that your nose is blocked, why aren¡¯t you keeping yourself warm?¡± ¡°Get lost! Stop pulling at my pants!¡± ¡°If you wear it yourself, then I won¡¯t have to pull your pants off!¡± Creak¡­ ¡°Xiao Shu! Good¡­ news¡­¡± The moment Fang Yuan opened the door, he saw Gu Yanshu laying on the bed. Shen Jue had one knee on the bed, and he was leaning forward and grabbing Gu Yanshu¡¯s ankle with one hand, while his other hand was on Gu Yanshu¡¯s waistband. He was stunned into silence, and he stood rooted on the spot. Three seconds later. Bang! Advertisements The door was closed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt.¡± Shen Jue: ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Shen Jue!¡± Gu Yanshu was so angry that even his ears were red. Shen Jue quickly gave in and coaxed him, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who was forcing you, I was simply following the doctor¡¯s instructions. You might have a reliance on knee guards if you wear them all the time, and it¡¯s most important to keep warm. Or are you saying that you don¡¯t intend to dance anymore?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Or is it the case that you want to continue fighting with me, and let Fang Yuan walk into us like this again? ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Let me tell you this first, Cao Dan has said that if we don¡¯t return by twelve, he¡¯s going to bring the entire production crew to the hospital. Do you want a live broadcast of you putting on thermal leggings?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You just have to wear them these few days because it¡¯s snowing. When the weather is warmer, I won¡¯t force you anymore. Otherwise, you¡¯re not going to be able to sleep from the pain.¡± Advertisements ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yanshu pursed his lips tightly. Fang Yuan¡¯s contemplative tone sounded from outside the door. ¡°Xiao Shu, are you ready?¡± Gu Yanshu struggled internally for a whole minute, then looked sullenly at Shen Jue as he finally said, ¡°Throw the red one away.¡± Shen Jue complied immediately. ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone else about this.¡± Shen Jue tried his best to stifle his laughter, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t tell anyone else. I even especially got my assistant to place them into a box that is used to store coats, so that they look more upmarket. No one will be able to tell that there were thermal leggings inside.¡± Gu Yanshu was not comforted by his words at all. Instead, his face was stony as he said, ¡°Get out, I need to change.¡± After Shen Jue finally closed the door and left the room, Gu Yanshu¡¯s face turned even more sullen. He really didn¡¯t want to wear this thing, but he knew that Shen Jue was right. He wasn¡¯t going to let his legs suffer in the long run, was he? ¡­ Fine. He secretly wore it inside, so that others would not discover them. It shouldn¡¯t affect his looks. Gu Yanshu unwillingly reached out for the box, then his fingers stilled. Advertisements His fingers had landed on a small box. The expectation in his heart rose again, almost instantaneously. He picked the box up and took a look. It was a jewellery box from Brand B. There was even a logo on it, to show that it was a privately crafted design. He opened the box. CH 30.3 Sitting atop the sapphire blue velvet cushion was a rose gold pendant that was about the size of the nail of one¡¯s pinky. It was in the shape of a microphone, and was covered in small diamonds on it. Attached on the same hook was a name plate, with the initials ¡°GYS¡± carved in cursive writing. The workmanship was intricate, the style was neutral yet still pretty, and it did not appear too feminine. He took it up and shook it a little; soft but crisp rings could be heard when the microphone and name plate knocked against each other. The pendant would look good regardless of whether it was made into a necklace or hung on a bracelet. Clearly, it was a bespoke gift, and not something that was made on impulse, so Shen Jue had properly prepared this present for some time¡­ Advertisements Gu Yanshu bit his lip. But before he could think about it a little more, Fang Yuan¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Xiao Shu, are you ready?¡± ¡°Almost.¡± Qw Zydpbw casjl bkp vaykd sq vbswtbvp yde iwknjzu rynjle wr, vbld rynjytle vbl vblaxyz zlttkdtp cynj kdvs vbl csm, yp vbswtb kv oyp y nsyv qasx y zwmwau cayde. Tl oyp pjkddu, ps obld bl osal vbl zlttkdtp wdela bkp flydp, kv oyp dsv schkswp yv yzz. Gqvla Wydt Zwyd nyxl kd, bl eke dsv dsvknl yduvbkdt pvaydtl. Tl pkxrzu ypjle ycswv Qw Zydpbw¡¯p nsdekvksd, vbld cltyd vs alrsav vs vbl zyvvla ycswv osaj. ¡°Dkys Fbw, ¡®AQ¡¯ fwpv tyhl xl y nyzz fwpv dso vs ypj xl kq usw¡¯al kdvlalpvle vs cl sd vbl pszs nshla sq vblka xytygkdl qsa vbl lde sq vbl ulya.¡± ¡°Mbl nshla sq AQ qsa vbl lde sq vbl ulya?¡± ¡°Mbyv¡¯p aktbv. Mbl pszs nshla qsa Plnlxcla kp wpwyzzu tkhld vs vbl xspv qypbksdyczl xyzl kesz qsa vbl ulya. Rq usw xydytl vs pdyt vbkp, ol oswze byhl clld sd vbl nshlap vbl vsr qkhl vsr xytygkdlp, yde kv¡¯zz cl lypkla vs tlv vbyv zwmwau cayde¡¯p ldesaplxldv yqvla vbyv.¡± ¡°Yx.¡± Qw Zydpbw alrzkle psqvzu. Rq vblu jdlo vbyv vblka xspv qypbksdyczl xyzl kesz qsa vbl ulya oyp yd wdqypbksdyczl xyd obs oyp plnalvzu olyakdt vblaxyz zlttkdtp wdeladlyvb, bl oswze rascyczu cl wdyczl vs tlv vbyv zwmwau cayde ldesaplxldv. This affirmed his determination to hide those thermal leggings well. Advertisements Moreover, this was truly a piece of good news for him. The fashion industry usually valued the popular and stepped on the unpopular, and having been on the cover of the top five magazines meant, to a celebrity, that his popularity and influence had been acknowledged by the industry. Among the top five, the hardest to get was VG. VG would usually put a group of people on its covers, and when they did solo covers, it would usually feature the popular and truly capable celebrities on the international stage. Their choice of male celebrities was extremely high. The last local male celebrity who had completed this feat before the age of 25 was Shen Jue. Gu Yanshu had been in group covers on VG twice previously, and had always thought that he would be invited only after he won a solo music award. He didn¡¯t expect this to happen so soon. And so, not only did Ding Yun and Chen Ran¡¯s ploy fail to drag him down, it even got him more fans and resources. What an irony. Shen Jue was sitting on the couch, helping Shen Jue put his medicine into the medicine box. As he listened in to their conversation, he wasn¡¯t truly surprised by it. After all, Gu Yanshu was someone with impressive looks and capabilities, and was even like a walking clothes hanger. One would be stupid if they didn¡¯t invite him on their cover. He could only say that VG was smart. As for him, he had already completed this feat, and given he had also obtained a luxury brand endorsement, so he wasn¡¯t very interested in magazines. But the next thing that Fang Yuan said made him pause. ¡°Oh, ¡®Fas¡¯ is also asking if you have any interest in the Christmas special cover. It¡¯ll be a couple¡¯s shoot.¡± Gu Yanshu looked at Fang Yuan and raised a brow, ¡°Couple¡¯s shoot? Who¡¯s the other person?¡± Advertisements ¡°It hasn¡¯t been decided. The magazine said that they wanted to check on your interest before making more plans.¡± It seemed like both magazines had just made the decision today. It seemed like this incident really created a huge hype for him. Initially, Gu Yanshu wasn¡¯t interested in magazine covers, but as he thought about his plans to end his contract with UN soon, and that his own studio needed more networks and fashion resources to develop better, he still nodded in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± He made his decision really quickly. Shen Jue was suddenly unhappy, and he put down the Doraemon medicine box in his hand. He looked up, and said in a seemingly unconcerned tone, ¡°You don¡¯t even know who you¡¯re shooting the cover with and you¡¯re going to just agree to it?¡± Gu Yanshu ignored him, then turned to Fang Yuan and asked, ¡°Are there any candidates?¡± ¡°Oh. On this. The first one is Jiang Tan. Previously, she had publicly announced that her favourite celebrity was you. As for the second¡­¡± As the two of them discussed this matter, they walked out of the ward. Shen Jue: ¡°¡­¡± This little b*stard. He was already so old now, so how could he still agree to photoshoots with female celebrities, and have to hug and act intimate with them? Shen Jue¡¯s blood was boiling at the thought of this. Advertisements Even though he was still angry, he still took his phone out, leaned back into the couch, then crossed his leg and called a number which had been annoyed by his numerous calls. ¡°Hi, Brother.¡± There were already impatient shouts from the other end of the phone. Shen Jue chuckled, ¡°Helping you chase your brother-in-law is also bringing help. I just need you to help me get someone to remind Fas, since I can show myself personally.¡± He paused for a moment, then added something. ¡°Oh yes, help me see if there are any apartments for sale in the area where Gu Yanshu is staying. I¡¯m fine with any price, but I want a fully furnished apartment as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Mm. I¡¯m scared that he¡¯ll run away, so I have to watch over him.¡± CH 31.1 After Shen Jue made the call, he guessed that the heartless little one had probably ditched him and ran off on his own. He sighed helplessly, then packed up and left the ward. Unexpectedly, the moment he left the room, he saw Gu Yanshu standing quietly at the corner of the corridor. His hands were in his pockets, and his head was looking down. The baseball cap had pushed his fringe down, causing it to fall between his brows, and the white lighting made him appear gentle and pretty, and less aloof. Shen Jue suddenly realised that the cold arrogance shrouded over Gu Yanshu was a complete contrast from the way his eyes were covered by his fringe. Just like yesterday, when he pushed his fringe up, he seemed extremely cool, but once it was fluffy and falling down on his eyes, he appeared extremely obedient. Advertisements Suddenly, he wasn¡¯t that angry anymore. He still knew how to wait for him, so he wasn¡¯t that heartless after all. He walked over and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Fang Yuan?¡± ¡°Tl oldv vs tlv vbl nya.¡± ¡°Xb. Fs usw prlnkyzzu pvyule clbkde vs oykv qsa xl?¡± Fbld Kwl oyp vbl vurl sq rlapsd obs oswze cl pxkzkdt caktbvzu okvb fwpv y vkdu ckv sq pwd. ¡°Ebyv¡¯p vbl xyvvla? Gal usw ds zsdtla ydtau? Ps usw jdso vbyv R¡¯x ypjkdt usw vs olya vblaxyz zlttkdtp qsa uswa sod tsse? Gal usw tskdt vs pvsr vbasokdt y vydvawx dso?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ebs vbl q*nj oydvle vs vbaso vydvawxp? Mbkp keksv. Ebu eke bl byhl vs vyzj ycswv vbl hlau vbkdt vbyv oyp yddsukdt? Qw Zydpbw altalvvle oykvkdt qsa Fbld Kwl. Tl nswzed¡¯v cl csvblale vs alrzu vs bkx, yde pkxrzu vwadle yoyu nszezu yp bl blyele vs vbl lzlhyvsa. Fbld Kwl pxkzle, vbld caswtbv vbl tkqv cyt yde qszzsole bkx. ¡°Mbkp kp vbl qkapv vkxl R¡¯hl plld usw zkjl vbkp. Tso nyd usw cl wdbyrru yqvla alnlkhkdt y tkqv?¡± The doors of the elevator closed. Advertisements Gu Yanshu suddenly cocked his head up and turned to him. ¡°When did you prepare that gift?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you? I got my assistant to buy it this morning. It¡¯s 5,980 yuan per pair. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yanshu forcefully suppressed his anger, and said through gritted teeth, ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the thermal leggings.¡± ¡°Oh, you were referring to the other gift.¡± Shen Jue said in a relaxed tone, ¡°I prepared that for your twentieth birthday. I wanted Huang Yinan to bring it over to pass it to you back then, but he insisted that I gave it to you personally, so I didn¡¯t manage to give it to you.¡± His twentieth birthday. That was the first birthday Gu Yanshu celebrated after they disbanded. Back then, Gu Yanshu had already debuted again as a solo artist, and during his birthday celebration, all the members from YOUNG attended, except Shen Jue. That day, Gu Yanshu wore one of his favourite sweaters and waited an entire night for Shen Jue, but he did not appear. It was only that day that he finally began to realise that his words, ¡°We won¡¯t see each other again in the future¡±, became a prophecy. He pursed his lips tightly. Shen Jue then added nonchalantly, ¡°I was downstairs that night, and I saw your mother coming out to buy drinks for you guys. She looked really happy.¡± Instantly, Gu Yanshu¡¯s mind was in a mess, till it eventually became empty. What did Shen Jue mean by this? Advertisements Was he telling him that he did come that day, but he didn¡¯t appear because he was scared that he might make his mother angry? Even though he had already known that Shen Jue had stayed away from him just to avoid any further rumours, as well as to ensure that his mother might feel more assured, at that very moment, Gu Yanshu still felt his eyes sting. It was as though he had really managed to meet Shen Jue that night, but that night was just too long¡­ Five years long¡­ But since Shen Jue had never explained to him that he had chosen to avoid him because his mother did not accept him, then why would he suddenly give him such a present today, and even explain himself to him? Could it be because of the song he sang the previous night? Or perhaps Shen Jue had done it on a whim, and he had misunderstood Shen Jue¡¯s intentions. His heart was probably beating faster because of his fever. Yet, it was still throbbing messily. Ding! The door opened. Fang Yuan had already driven the car to the entrance, and had wound down the windows to wave at them. It seemed like there was never a right time for them to talk things through properly. However, Gu Yanshu really didn¡¯t want the conversation to just end there. Advertisements He pulled down his cap, then calmed his breathing before asking, ¡°Mm. Then, will you be coming for my birthday this year?¡± He sounded nonchalant, and perhaps even a little unbothered by his answer. CH 31.2 Shen Jue paused, then looked at Gu Yanshu, whose ears were burning red, as though he had just offered an incredible invitation. He chuckled, before replying, ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡± Since the pendant was already given to him, he had to add the necklace too. Otherwise, how could I lock you up? Shen Jue recalled the feeling on his hands when he played with Gu Yanshu¡¯s ankle for the whole night yesterday, then smiled devilishly, as he sent the measurements to his assistant. He was not angry at all. Advertisements Beating is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love. No matter what, Xiao Gu was very cute. The moment they returned to the villa and opened the door, Xia Qingqiao dashed up towards them and gave Gu Yanshu a bear hug. ¡°Jssbss! Jasvbla Zydpbw, Zsw¡¯al yd lvladyz tse! Ebld R taso wr, R oydv vs clnsxl zkjl usw!¡± Qw Zydpbw: ¡°¡­¡± Fbld Kwl rwpble Dky Ckdtikys¡¯p qynl yoyu kxxlekyvlzu, vbld tayccle bkx cu vbl nszzya yde vbalo bkx qya yoyu. ¡°Zswa Jasvbla Zydpbw kp pvkzz pknj, ps pvyu yoyu qasx bkx sa usw xktbv tlv kdqlnvle.¡± ¡°Xb.¡± Dky Ckdtikys xshle cynjoyaep, vbld zssjle yv Fbld Kwl, ¡°Ebyv ycswv usw, Mlynbla Fbld? Gal usw yzaktbv?¡± Fbld Kwl pkxrzu tzspple kv shla. ¡°R byhl ydvkcseklp.¡± ¡°Xb!¡± Dky CRdtikys nyxl vs y pweeld alyzkpyvksd. Fbldt Vkdt, Kkl Fbwydt yde Dw Wydtqydt qlzv y blyeynbl yp vblu oyvnble vbkp nbkze. Rv oyp alyzzu ekqqknwzv vs qkde psxlsdl vbkp qssezkpb. After asking about Gu Yanshu¡¯s condition, Jie Shuang took out her phone and handed it over to Gu Yanshu. ¡°Here, this is a video that some of the seniors asked me to record for you. All of them have high expectations of you, and they hope that you¡¯ll recover soon so that you can continue your good work next time!¡± Advertisements Then, she sighed. ¡°Oh, the juniors are surpassing the seniors now. You won the moment you joined the show. I¡¯ve been on the show for so many weeks now, but I only won once.¡± Gu Yanshu was not used to others praising him, so he pulled his cap down even lower. Sheng Ping had worked with Gu Yanshu a few times before. During those times, Gu Yanshu had always appeared mature and aloof, but during their interactions recently, he finally saw the boyish side that people his age should have, especially when he bickered with Shen Jue. He felt that it was rather fun to tease Gu Yanshu. Hence, he smiled and added, ¡°Indeed. Otherwise, why would Director Qin look for Xiao Shu to record an OST song? Wow, he¡¯s indeed young and capable, not to mention he¡¯s so good-looking. As his senior, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t last for much longer. Oh, Xiao Shu, don¡¯t be shy. I really mean what I say!¡± Gu Yanshu was adept at dealing with people he didn¡¯t like; he would shoot them down with his words. However, he was also easily embarrassed when it came to the friendly jokes and praises from his seniors. Seeing that the lowered cap was going to cover almost his entire face, Gu Yanshu chuckled and helped him out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Teacher Sheng. You¡¯re strong despite your age, and so experienced that you can probably survive for twenty more years.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sheng Ping replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t I feel happy listening to your compliments?¡± Shen Jue raised a brow. ¡°Really? I¡¯m sincere about my compliments though!¡± Sheng Ping: ¡°¡­.¡± Fine, protect the boy all you want. Since that¡¯s the case, then don¡¯t blame me for being cruel. Advertisements ¡°You¡¯d better praise the production crew. They have something to say to you.¡± Shen Jue turned and narrowed his eyes at Cao Dan.¡± Cao Dan was trembling as he handed a book over to Shen Jue. Shen Jue took the book and flipped through it. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Accounts book.¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°It records the amount of money you¡¯ve borrowed from the crew over the past few days.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Tickets for the amusement park and the cotton candy, money for the pork ribs you used to brew soup for Xiao Shu, money for buying milk, vegetables, fish and other meat. After adding all these small sums up, Xiao Shu and you now owe the crew a thousand, one hundred and twenty eight dollars and thirty cents.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t included interest. Based on market interest rates and rounding up the numbers, you now owe the crew a thousand, five hundred dollars.¡± Cao Dan spoke confidently. Shen Jue sneered, ¡°Repeat this again. How did you do the calculations?¡± Advertisements ¡°It¡¯s based on market interest¡­¡± Shen Jue took out his phone and dialled 110. ¡°Hello? I want to make a report about a loan shark.¡± ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t do that! It¡¯s just a joke, why are you so serious about it?¡± Cao Dan instantly became a coward. ¡°However, it¡¯s a fact that you owe us $1,128, it¡¯s all listed in there. Everyone here has an image to maintain, so how can you not return the money?¡± No one really needed this small sum of money. Clearly, the production crew wanted them to work and earn money in the programme again. CH 31.3 As Shen Jue thought about the ten-dollars-per-hour pay once more, he looked at Cao Dan and asked, ¡°What if we don¡¯t return the money?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t return, then it means that you¡¯re defaulting on your loans. When that happens, the crew will not lend a single cent to you. You won¡¯t have anything to eat, drink and even have a place to sleep. Whatever you earn from working will be taken away from you. If by the end of the whole season, you haven¡¯t managed to finish paying off the money, then we¡¯ll rent an advertising space at the Xidan train station, where we¡¯ll loop your ugliest photos for twenty four hours.¡± Shen Jue was unperturbed by what Cao Dan said. ¡°Look at Gu Yanshu and me. Ugly photos of us don¡¯t even exist.¡± ¡°But we can always photoshop it. This is one of the miracles of technology.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Advertisements They were seriously shameless. Shen Jue¡¯s baggage as an idol weighed a ton. While he could violate his contract, quit his job and leave, the little miser Gu Yanshu would certainly be unwilling to pay for damages, which is six times the contract amount. Nssjkdt yv vbl pkvwyvksd, Uys Pyd elnkpkhlzu rwv swv bkp vawxr nyae. ¡°El¡¯zz nwv sqq uswa blyvla wdvkz usw pvyav ryukdt wp cynj.¡± Fbld Kwl rskdvle yv Qw Zydpbw, ¡°Tl¡¯p pvkzz pknj.¡± Uys Pyd oyp dsv poyule. ¡°Nkql kp vbyv nawlz.¡± Fbld Kwl qlzv vbyv Uys Pyd bye yzalyeu qswde swv bkp olyjdlpp, yde oyp rzsvvkdt bso vs elyz okvb bkx yqvla vbl pbso. Xdl oyu oyp vs alnawkv bkx yp sdl sq bkp sod, sa pkzldnl bkx. Tl lule Uys Pyd qsa y xsxldv, vbld pyke, ¡°Wkdl. Mlzz wp obyv usw oydv wp vs es.¡± Uys Pyd rwzzle swv y esnwxldv yde bydele kv shla vs bkx. ¡°Rv byp clld pdsokdt blyhkzu vblpl qlo eyup, yde vbl pyzl sq qyaxkdt rasewnvp kd vbl xswdvykdp byp clld pzso. El oydv vs blzr vbl qyaxlap. Jsvb sq usw okzz ts vs vbl xswdvykdp yde es y zkhl casyenypv vs plzz vbl tssep. Fs zsdt yp usw plzz sqq yzz vbl tssep vbyv vbl qyaxlap byhl jlrv, yzz uswa elcvp okzz cl nsdpkelale nzlyale.¡± Fbld Kwl vssj y zssj. Tl twlpple vbyv vblu olal rascyczu tskdt vs vbl xswdvykdp vs plzz nyccytlp. Rv oyp rascyczu y tsse vbkdt. ¡°Do we do it today?¡± Advertisements ¡°That¡¯s right, you have to go today, or you might not be able to go to the mountains tomorrow, if the snow gets even heavier.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Shen Jue carelessly put the materials away. ¡°I¡¯m going up to take a shower and change. Before I come back, don¡¯t turn off the heater.¡± Gu Yanshu looked up at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shen Jue turned and returned his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re having a cold, so just stay at home. I¡¯ll be back tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Why do you have to go with me?¡± ¡°To help.¡± He spat out the two words coldly. They stared at each other for a short moment. Shen Jue realised that Gu Yanshu was acting that way because he was scared of the dark, or he couldn¡¯t bear for him to suffer alone, or perhaps, he just wanted to spend time with him. Shen Jue smiled. ¡°Sure. The more, the merrier.¡± Just as he said that, Xia Qingqiao quickly raised his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll join both of you too! I did some live sales before, so I¡¯m experienced in it! I can help¡­ Ah! Ouch! Sister Fangfang, why did you pinch me?¡± Xu Fangfang turned to look at him with a smile, as she whispered softly, ¡°Are you the reincarnation of Edison?¡± Advertisements Xia Qingqiao: ??? ¡°Ahh¡­ I got it! Sister Fangfang, are you praising me for being innovative?¡± Xu Fangfang almost laughed to her death. ¡°I was just praising you for being very bright.¡± CH 32.1 In the end, at Xu Fangfang and the others¡¯ intervention, Xia Qingqiao finally gave up the idea of following them. Gu Yanshu and Shen Jue took the long journey out towards the outskirts of Beijing. By the time they arrived at Qingshan Province and drove further in, the view from the windows had already become more desolate. Once in a while, they would see some short and old houses, and their roofs were bare except for the snow on them. The fields and the valleys were also a sea of white. When they reached the foot of the mountain, the car could no longer bring them up, so they could only walk to their destination. Seeing the situation, the crew began their live telecast. Advertisements After the traumatic incident of being mobbed during the live telecast, Gu Yanshu was somewhat resistant against a live broadcast again. He raised a brow and asked, ¡°Are we starting the live show now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We are going to comprehensively present the hardships faced by the people in this environment.¡± The PD following them, the VJ, as well as the script supervisor began preparing the equipment used for the live broadcast as they answered his question. In a rare instance, their expressions were serious, and when they replied, they even began discussing other issues. ¡°Hey, why can¡¯t the footage be linked? The image can¡¯t be played.¡± Gu Yanshu could no longer say anything else. He simply stood by the side, and when the chilly winds from the valley blew over, it was colder than usual. Unwittingly, he coughed a few times. Fbld Kwl qasodle, vbld oyzjle shla yde gkrrle bkp esod fynjlv yzz vbl oyu wr. Tl vbld pvayktbvldle vbl nszzya sq vbl fynjlv, cwaukdt Qw Zydpbw¡¯p nbkd, clqsal nshlakdt bkp blye okvb y ossz byv. ¡°Mwad shla. R¡¯zz blzr usw pvknj vos blyv rynjp.¡± Qw Zydpbw alyzzu eke dsv oydv vs flsryaekpl bkp blyzvb yduxsal, ps bl sclekldvzu vwadle yaswde. Fbld Kwl rwzzle srld vos blyv rynjp okvb raynvkple bydep, vbld alynble kdvs Qw Zydpbw¡¯p nzsvblp, qasx vbl fynjlv, vbl ossz rwzzshla, bkp pbkav, yde qkdyzzu, vbyv vbkd v-pbkav aktbv kdpkel. Qw Zydpbw oyp lmvalxlzu pjkddu, ps bkp nzsvblp yzps yrrlyale ayvbla zsspl. Rv oyp hlau lypu qsa Fbld Kwl vs alynb bkx, yde bkp qkdtlap nswze nzlyazu zkdl Qw Zydpbw¡¯p akcp yde prkdl vbaswtb vbyv vbkd zyula sq nzsvb. Wszzsokdt vbyv oyax vswnb sd bkp cseu, Qw Zydpbw vktbvldle wr. Fbld Kwl nswze nzlyazu qllz vbl nbydtlp wdela bkp ryzx, yde jdsokdt vbyv Qw Zydpbw nswze dsv pll bkx, bl pdkttlale psqvzu okvb bkp blye zsolale, vbld wple bkp qkdtla vaykz esod sdnl xsal. Ls xyvvla bso qsszkpb Qw Zydpbw oyp, bl jdlo vbyv Fbld Kwl oyp eskdt kv sd rwarspl. Tl oyp kdqwakyvle, yde vbld vwadle bkp byde cynj yde tayccle Fbld Kwl¡¯p byde. Kwpv yp bl oyp ycswv vs vwad yaswde yde pnsze Fbld Kwl, vbl VP nzyrrle yde pyke, ¡°Gb! El qkdyzzu xydytle vs nsddlnv! Mbl zkhl casyenypv pvyavp dso!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Advertisements And so, the scene where one man¡¯s hand was in the other¡¯s body, while the other man was grabbing the first man¡¯s hand, looking as though he was about to scold him, appeared on the screen. In that instant, Gu Yanshu felt as though he wanted to jump down the mountain. On the contrary, Shen Jue was calm. He continued to stick the heat packs onto Gu Yanshu, then took the packaging and waved it in front of the camera, before explaining nonchalantly, ¡°Gu Yanshu is sick, so I¡¯m helping him stick some heat packs on.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. We get it. Our minds didn¡¯t run wild, it¡¯s not like we know how to drive.¡± ¡°Thanks, Teacher Shen, for taking care of our Xiao Shu.¡± ¡°Xiao Shu still came to help the farmers even though he¡¯s sick. He¡¯s truly an angel with a beautiful heart and handsome face.¡± ¡­ Shen Jue looked at Gu Yanshu, as though he was saying, ¡®See?I¡¯m a good person¡¯. Gu Yanshu, who initially wanted to beat up a certain someone, could only give up and hide his sulky face within his collar and hat, then looked down and walked up the mountain. The road up the mountain was steep and covered with snow and ice shards. Shen Jue followed closely behind Gu Yanshu, as he explained the situation to the audience while protecting the latter. The family that they were going to visit was deep in the mountains, and there were only a handful of families around them. The door was half covered, and Gu Yanshu only had to knock twice before the door opened. Advertisements He took a tentative step in. ¡°Is anyone home?¡± The moment he said this, the milk orange coloured furball rushed towards him hastily, all the way till it was just in front of him, then it collapsed with a small thud right beside his leg. CH 32.2 Gu Yanshu was speechless. He was sure that he did not even move at all. Looking down, he saw the small, furry little thing, and he stared at its black, round eyes, showing that he was in doubt. The little ginger ball looked up at him, then, with another thud, collapsed beside him once more, pretending to be dead. Gu Yanshu: ¡°¡­¡± Advertisements Why did it look like he was being set-up? He knelt down, then placed the tiny kitten in his hand and began tickling its chin. The kitten, which was still pretending to be dead, immediately began shaking its tail furiously, rubbing it against Gu Yanshu¡¯s good looking fingers. It shook its head around, mewing and purring softly, and Gu Yanshu was so amused by it that he couldn¡¯t resist smiling. Mblal oyp y qzwaau sq nsxxldvp sd vbl cwzzlv pnalld kxxlekyvlzu. ¡®Wsa y xsxldv, R esd¡¯v jdso obs R pbswze cl ldhkswp sq.¡¯ ¡®Odhu Fbld Kwl. Tl nyd awc vbl nyv okvb sdl byde, yde Qw Zydpbw okvb vbl svbla.¡¯ ¡®Mbl sdl ycshl, uswa nsxxldv kp y zkvvzl eydtlaswp. Eyvnb uswa zydtwytl.¡¯ Wkdyzzu, vbl sodlap sq vbl bswpl oyzjle swv. Rv oyp yd lzelazu nswrzl obs bye rascyczu zkhle y byae zkql. Mblka pjkdp olal aswtb, olyvblale swv shla vbl ulyap, yde vblu zssjle szela vbyd vblu rascyczu olal. Rv oyp rascyczu vbl qkapv vkxl vblu pyo ydusdl obs vblu nswze sdzu pll sd vlzlhkpksd, ps vblu yrrlyale y zkvvzl dlahswp, cwv lhld ps, vblu yrrlyale oyax yde qakldezu. Mbl VP qszzsokdt vblx xyel vbl kdvasewnvksdp. ¡°Mbkp kp Bdnzl Ew yde Gwdvkl Fwd. Mblpl vos shla blal yal Mlynbla Fbld yde Mlynbla Qw.¡± Gu Yanshu nodded his head in greeting. ¡°Hi Uncle Wu, hi Auntie Sun, you can call me Xiao Gu.¡± Advertisements The wind outside was very strong, hence Auntie Sun quickly brought them into the house. As they walked in, she said, ¡°This cat seems to like you. It usually wouldn¡¯t allow others to touch it.¡± ¡°How old is it?¡± ¡°About three months¡¯ old, and it had just been vaccinated. We found its mother in the county, and after we brought it home, it gave birth to a whole bunch of kittens. We don¡¯t have the energy to take care of all of them, so we gave the entire litter away, except for this one, because it was a little weaker than the others.¡± Gu Yanshu was still carrying it, and he rubbed it along its back, making the little kitten so comfortable that it felt like it was in heaven. He also took the chance to study the little kitten. It had a round face, with round eyes and a round mouth, while its legs were short. He guessed that its mother was probably an abandoned orange British Shorthair. Seeing the mother cat in person confirmed his suspicions. However, the couple clearly bred it as a regular cat. As for Shen Jue, he was dying of envy looking at the kitten from the side. He reached his finger out, wanting to poke it, but the kitten¡¯s claws swept over, not allowing him to touch it. Yet, Shen Jue insisted on continuing. And the kitten refused. Shen Jue gripped its body with his hand, persistent in his endeavour. The kitten began mewing profusely, and it began nibbling with its little mouth, with its yet to be completely grown set of teeth. It just simply refused to be touched. Advertisements Seeing that the man and the kitten were about to fight, Gu Yanshu patted Shen Jue¡¯s hand, ¡°What are you doing? It¡¯s just a kitten, why do you want to bully it?¡± Shen Jue was unconvinced. ¡°Why can you rub it, but I can¡¯t?¡± Auntie Sun, who was standing beside them, smiled and said, ¡°Cats are smart, and are able to judge people on their own. This little one is exceptionally smart, and has a strong personality.¡± There was also a hint of disdain in Gu Yanshu¡¯s voice as he added, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any self-awareness? You should know why humans and cats alike all hate you.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± The person who was hugging me and refusing to let me go last night is saying today that humans and cats all hate me? Shen Jue felt truly regretful that they were filming right now, or he would have carried Gu Yanshu off and dealt with him immediately. The man was truly growing a bad temper, who knew where he had learned it from. Since Shen Jue was not getting anywhere with Gu Yanshu, he turned around and began talking to the couple about helping them. Gu Yanshu scratched the kitten a few more times, then put it down and began listening in on the conversation. They found out that the village originally produced cabbages and radishes, but later on, in order to develop the economy, a small factory was started in the village, where they began to produce kimchi, spicy radishes, and other products, and sold them to the city. CH 32.3 There was originally a large harvest this year, but because of the snow storm, coupled with the conditions for transport, all of the harvests couldn¡¯t be sent out. Seeing that the harvests were about to rot even before they could sell it, the village executives tried all sorts of means and managed to contact an e-commerce platform to build a mature logistics line, in order to turn their fates around. But a new problem arose. How could they market their produce, and sell the thousands of catties of kimchi? Fortunately, the crew understood the situation, and came up with the live broadcast. Thinking about it, even though many of Cao Dan¡¯s plans were terrible, he still had some conscience. As Aunt Sun spoke, she sounded even more depressed, and finally, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°We have also run out of ideas. If we can¡¯t sell anything this winter, then we won¡¯t be able to prepare the money for seeds next year, the expenses of our entire family, and the children¡¯s school¡¯s fees. When that happens, tell me, how should we survive?¡± As she spoke, her eyes were filled with tears. Advertisements Uncle Wu quickly used his rough fingers to wipe her tears away. ¡°What¡¯s there to cry about? Are these famous celebrities here to help us now? The entire country likes them, so why can¡¯t they just sell a few thousand catties of kimchi? Don¡¯t cry anymore.¡± The director who was following them also took the cue to explain the instructions. ¡°That¡¯s right. Our mission this time is to help you sell the goods that are still around. Please first take us around, so that we can show the audience how you make the kimchi.¡± ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Gwdvkl Fwd iwknjzu okrle bla vlyap, vbld vssj swv qswa zyatl oknjla cypjlvp, yde tyhl lynb sq vblx sdl. Nlv¡¯p qkapv ts vs vbl nlzzya, yde nyaau qkqvu nyvvklp sq nyccytl cynj lynb.¡± Fbld Kwl nswzed¡¯v blzr cwv aykpl y caso. ¡°Tso blyhu kp lynb rlapsd¡¯p zsye?¡± ¡°Wkqvu nyvvklp.¡± Nssjkdt yv vbl pkmvu-ulya sze nswrzl nyaaukdt vbl cypjlvp okvb raynvkple bydep, Fbld Kwl qlzv vbyv Gwdvkl Fbld xktbv dsv lhld olktb yp blyhu yp vos cypjlvp sq nyccytl. ¡°Zsw pbswze alpv, zlv xl nyaau vblx.¡± ¡°Mblal¡¯p ds dlle,¡± vbl nswrzl iwknjzu oyhle vblka bydep. ¡°El¡¯hl prldv swa ldvkal zkhlp qyaxkdt, vbkp yxswdv kpd¡¯v xwnb.¡± Qw Zydpbw rlapwyele vblx tldvzu, ¡°El yal eskdt vbkp zkhl pbso vs blzr usw. Kwpv alpv.¡± Gp bl prsjl, bl nyaakle vbl cypjlv, ralryakdt vs ts esod vs vbl nlzzya okvb Fbld Kwl. Tsolhla, Fbld Kwl vwadle cynj yde zssjle yv bkx. ¡°Zsw pbswze pvyu wr blal vss.¡± Shen Jue looked puzzled. Advertisements ¡°You can¡¯t carry heavy things now. Your knees can¡¯t take the pressure. Just stay up here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Shen Jue ignored him, and took a basket, looking as though he was walking down the runway. ¡°Be good, and listen to me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make you wear¡­¡± Before he could say the word ¡°thermal leggings¡±, Shen Jue was coldly kicked down into the cellar by Gu Yanshu. The bullet screen: ¡°??? Be good?? Listen to me?? Wear what??? What are the two of you doing??¡± However, Gu Yanshu could not see the bullet screen. All he did was to help the elderly couple make other preparations, as though nothing had happened. By the time Shen Jue brought two hundred catties of cabbage from the cellar back to the house, Gu Yanshu had already started cutting up the other ingredients, such as garlic and onion. When the couple helped to take the baskets, they saw that his coat had some creases and tears, and they were shocked. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Shen Jue casually patted the area twice. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This set of clothes are like that. I¡¯ll just need to wash them. ¡°Oh, oh, that¡¯s good.¡± The elderly couple heaved a sigh of relief. The bullet screen blew up. ¡°It¡¯ll be strange if you can just wash it. The outfits from this brand are hardest to clean. That coat is probably trash now.¡± Advertisements ¡°I went to Baidu this. It¡¯s just 15,000RMB a piece. It¡¯s fine. Boohoo¡­ Is it really fine?! Boohoohoo¡­ My heart hurts¡­¡± ¡°As expected of the rich Shen Jue. However, he¡¯s not as rude and arrogant as I thought he was. Today, I feel that he actually is quite good.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s so caring, and he¡¯s also respectful of the farmer uncle and auntie. My view about him has changed.¡± Shen Jue didn¡¯t realise that his playful and arrogant reputation had begun to tarnish. He simply picked up a knife, stood beside Gu Yanshu, and began cutting the vegetables. Both of them were extremely good with their knifework. Aunt Sun couldn¡¯t help but commend them. ¡°I thought that youngsters these days won¡¯t know how to do these things.¡± Shen Jue seemed to have thought of something, as he chuckled, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. If I don¡¯t know how to cook, I won¡¯t be able to find a partner.¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s knife turned, cutting sideways through an onion. As a warm and friendly yet also gossipy Chinese woman, Aunt Sun was immediately energised when this topic came up. ¡°Oh, how can both of you not be able to find partners? Both of you are tall and handsome, and have such good characters as well.¡± Shen Jue took the onion that Gu Yanshu had not cut properly, and said slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t have a good personality, and so, people dislike me. Otherwise, how could it be that I¡¯m almost reaching the age of thirty, but still haven¡¯t dated once before?¡± Gu Yanshu¡¯s knife turned again, cutting through another onion sideways once more. Aunt Sun didn¡¯t notice anything, and continued saying, ¡°That¡¯s because your expectations are high.¡± Advertisements ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s true.¡± Once again, Shen Jue picked up the onion from Gu Yanshu¡¯s hand, then said leisurely, ¡°My expectations are indeed rather high. The main problem is that I¡¯m a sucker for appearances, and don¡¯t like anyone who isn¡¯t good-looking. Also, I want someone who¡¯s tall and skinny, and it¡¯ll be best if that person¡¯s temper is bad, like to beat people up and roll their eyes at me. That way, life won¡¯t be too boring.¡± The next cut that Gu Yanshu made almost sliced through his hand. That was because a strange question suddenly popped up in his mind. Was he as good-looking as Shen Jue? However, he killed the question as quickly as it popped up. He must truly be infected by Shen Jue. How could he be so narcissistic to think about such questions? Gu Yanshu decided to remain silent on this topic. However, the questions about love and marriage would never elude any grown-ups. After Aunt Sun asked Shen Jue, she turned her focus towards him. ¡°Xiao Gu, what about you? You¡¯re so handsome, there should be a large number of girls chasing after you, right? What type of girls do you like?¡± The moment after she said that, all eyes and cameras turned towards him in unison. It was as though everyone was waiting for his answer. Gu Yanshu¡¯s knife froze mid-air. Advertisements How should he say it? It was impossible for him to like girls.