The air froze for a moment. Mu Heng’s face was filled with confusion, not even having time to utter an “ah” before Song Xun grabbed him and pulled him in front of Yan Jiayu, while also nudging An Chu aside.
Song Xun winked at Mu Heng. “Oh, don’t be shy. If you have something to ask, just ask openly. An Chu, come with me to the restroom.”
Without waiting for An Chu’s reply, Song Xun dragged him out of the room.
Left alone, Mu Heng and Yan Jiayu stood there awkwardly. Mu Heng had no choice but to admit honestly that he had nothing to ask—he had already studied the script thoroughly, and Song Xun was just making things up. Yan Jiayu had guessed as much. After all, he and Mu Heng were merely acquaintances, and given Mu Heng’s talent, there was likely nothing Yan Jiayu could help him with.
At the end of the hallway, outside the restroom, An Chu rested his chin on his hand, waiting impatiently for Song Xun.
Why is he acting like a little girl, needing someone to accompany him to the restroom? I really can’t stand this guy.
After what felt like forever, Song Xun finally emerged.
“Sorry for the wait, hehe.”
Seeing his grinning face, An Chu rolled his eyes discreetly. “Brother Song, why do you need someone to accompany you to the restroom?”
“Because I like it. And I’m sure you don’t mind, right?”
An Chu muttered under his breath, “Then why didn’t you ask Mu Heng? It seems like you two are closer.”
“Hey, don’t say things that aren’t good for team harmony. Besides, isn’t he having an academic exchange with Teacher Yan right now? Let’s not disturb them.”
An Chu couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.
Over the past few days on set, Yan Jiayu had visited their group several times and tried to strike up conversations with Song Xun. But every time, Song Xun either called Mu Heng over or steered the conversation toward him, leaving Yan Jiayu utterly frustrated.
“How is this place? Pretty comfortable, right? It’s private, quiet, and perfect.”
Xiao Chenglin wrapped an arm around Yan Jiayu and pulled him to sit beside him. Yan Jiayu disliked noisy bars, and as a public figure, it wasn’t appropriate for him to be seen in such places anyway.
But this quiet bar played soothing jazz music, and the dim lighting was comfortable rather than oppressive. It was indeed a pleasant spot.
Noticing Yan Jiayu’s lack of enthusiasm and his preoccupied expression, Xiao Chenglin asked suspiciously, “Is your dad bothering you again?”
Yan Jiayu shook his head. A moment later, Xiao Chenglin’s phone rang, and his voice immediately brightened. “Okay, okay, I’ll be back soon. No, I’m not fooling around. Honey, you’ve got me all wrong.”
Hearing that sickeningly sweet “honey,” Yan Jiayu felt goosebumps rise all over his skin.
After Xiao Chenglin hung up, Yan Jiayu asked, “Another new one? When did you start dating?”
“Don’t say that in front of my partner, okay? This one is the real deal.”
“Haven’t you said that every time?”
Xiao Chenglin declared resolutely, “This one is absolutely different!”
“Alright, alright.”
Remembering Xiao Chenglin’s rather colorful romantic history, Yan Jiayu suddenly cleared his throat. “Um, well, I have a question I want to ask you.”
Xiao Chenglin waved a hand dismissively. “Ask away. I’ve seen a lot in my time. Even if I don’t know the answer, I won’t pretend I do. Honesty is my motto.”
“I have a friend. Someone was pursuing him before, but he didn’t like that person and even found them annoying. Then one day, that person said they wouldn’t bother him anymore. But later, my friend realized he might, possibly, have developed a bit of a liking for them. However, that person doesn’t seem interested in him anymore and even keeps trying to set him up with others. What do you think is going on?”
A classic “I have a friend” story, but Xiao Chenglin didn’t realize that this “friend” was actually Yan Jiayu himself.
He stroked his chin, thinking seriously—the last time he was this focused was when he was writing his graduation thesis and got scolded by his advisor.
Seeing his furrowed brows, Yan Jiayu knew his childhood friend wasn’t reliable. Just as he was about to give up, Xiao Cheng suddenly slapped Yan Jiayu’s thigh. “I’ve got it!”
“Huh?”
“Your friend must have fallen in love with that person!”
Thanks, but that much was obvious.
“But it seems like your friend is a bit of a jerk. When someone liked him, he didn’t like them back and even found them annoying. Now that the other person has given up, he’s chasing after them like a fool.”
“It’s not me, it’s my friend.”
Xiao Chenglin said he understood—it was just a metaphor.
A waiter brought over two glasses of champagne. Xiao Chenglin picked one up and handed it to Yan Jiayu. “But what does your friend think now? Does he want to win them back?”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t really considered that question yet.
Song Xun had changed too quickly, and he hadn’t had time to process it. Xiao Chenglin’s words made sense—he really was a bit of a jerk. Taking the glass of champagne, he had just taken a sip when he heard Xiao Chenglin stroke his chin again.
“I think instead of figuring out how to win them back, your friend should first test whether that person still likes him. Maybe they’re trying to set him up with others to push him into realizing his own feelings.”
That sounded somewhat reasonable.
Seeing that Yan Jiayu was listening intently, Xiao Chenglin gave his shoulder a firm pat. “Don’t worry, I’m here for you. Your friend is my friend too—tell him to come to me if he doesn’t understand anything!”
“Okay.”
“But why haven’t I heard you complaining about that Song Xun lately, the annoying one?”
Yan Jiayu cleared his throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He used to complain about Song Xun to Xiao Chenglin all the time. If he admitted he liked Song Xun now, he’d be laughed at for the rest of his life.
“Why do you call him that? It’s really rude.”
“Huh?”
Xiao Chenglin looked utterly confused. You were the one who started calling him that in the first place, okay?
Song Xun thought Yan Jiayu had been acting strange lately.
It wasn’t just one thing—everything about him seemed off.
They had been recording a show together recently. Apart from preparing for the grading assessments, most of their time was spent chatting with the other trainees, or filming segments where the mentors checked in on their progress and offered encouragement.
But Yan Jiayu kept inexplicably appearing by his side. He used to be quite aloof, but now it was like he was a completely different person.
Just after finishing the grading recordings, Song Xun was about to head to dinner. He planned to stop by the dorm to grab Mu Heng—he always felt Mu Heng wasn’t actually that fond of being alone, he just didn’t know how to interact with others.
Before he could step into the dorm, Song Xun received a message from Yan Jiayu.
【Yan Jiayu: Want to grab a meal together? There’s a newly opened Sichuan restaurant nearby, and the reviews look pretty good.】
Song Xun could handle spicy food quite well and had always been particularly interested in Sichuan and Hunan cuisine—the spicier, the better.
He was about to agree immediately, since he didn’t know what else to eat anyway, but then he suddenly remembered that he had originally planned to invite Mu Heng. Since the protagonist pair was already gathering, he might as well ask Mu Heng to join them.
Song Xun walked over to Mu Heng, patted him on the shoulder, and noticed he was lost in thought. He crouched down, looking up at him.
“What’s on your mind? You seem so absorbed.”
Mu Heng snapped back to reality and saw Song Xun gazing up at him, his beautiful glass-like eyes sparkling with a bright, smiling expression.
He shook his head. “What’s up?”
“Let’s go eat together.”
Mu Heng instinctively wanted to refuse, but he was afraid of upsetting Song Xun. He didn’t want to see even a hint of gloom on such a radiant face.
“Sure.”
Song Xun happily sent a message.
【Song Xun: Teacher Yan! Can I bring someone along? Mu Heng—let him join us. He’d be lonely eating alone.】
After a while, a reply came.
【Yan Jiayu: That’s fine.】
Turning back, Song Xun asked Mu Heng if he could handle spicy food. Mu Heng hesitated for a moment before nodding woodenly.
The two of them walked out one after the other. Just then, An Chu entered, beaming with joy. He had just been praised by his advisor and was practically floating on air, walking with a spring in his step.
“Where are you two headed?”
Mu Heng and Song Xun exchanged a glance. Neither of them wanted to go with An Chu, so they tactfully changed the subject.
“We’re going to the restroom. Want to come?”
Hearing this, An Chu’s expression changed. He didn’t want to reenact the whole “girls holding hands to go to the bathroom” routine, and Song Xun tended to dawdle, making others wait forever. That kind of suffering was better left for Mu Heng alone to endure.
Waving his hand, An Chu said he wanted to take a nap and wouldn’t join them.
Having achieved their goal, the two naturally left without looking back, even considerately closing the door behind them for An Chu.
The Sichuan restaurant was exquisitely decorated. As soon as they entered, Song Xun caught the aroma of hot pot—ah, authentic enough.
He pulled Mu Heng along as they walked forward, spotting Yan Jiayu and greeting him.
Yan Jiayu’s lips twitched slightly as he saw the two holding hands, looking quite intimate.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Mu Heng hadn’t expected Yan Jiayu to be there either; he thought it would just be him and Song Xun.
The two men exchanged a glance, an inexplicable sense of rivalry lingering in the air.
“No problem. Order whatever you’d like.”
Song Xun was always enthusiastic about food. After confirming that both of them could handle spicy food, he didn’t opt for the split pot but instead chose the restaurant’s signature beef tallow hot pot.
When the broth arrived, Song Xun was immediately drawn to its vibrant color—gleaming with oil, steaming with white mist, and emitting an enticing fragrance.
The pot was filled to the brim with chili peppers, and the server brought over the special dipping sauce.
Yan Jiayu and Mu Heng were both taken aback by the lethal amount of spice. Song Xun urged them to start adding ingredients, but neither was willing to back down, pretending they could handle it just fine.
Song Xun picked up food with his chopsticks, his lips turning bright red from the spice, vividly colored. The other two, however, ate slowly and deliberately, taking their time, and occasionally even served him more food.
After a moment, Mu Heng’s face flushed bright red. Unable to bear it any longer, he gulped down a large glass of water, nearly choking, and coughed a few times. Song Xun considerately patted his shoulder and handed him a tissue.
Yan Jiayu sneered, “If you can’t handle spicy food, don’t force yourself.”
His tone was dripping with disdain.
Mu Heng looked up, glanced at the dishes in front of Yan Jiayu, and immediately understood. “Teacher Yan, you should take care of your health too. At your age, don’t push yourself too hard.”
Yan Jiayu narrowed his eyes slightly. He wasn’t even thirty yet, and here he was being mocked by someone he once admired. He let out a cold laugh. “Thanks for your concern.”
Listening to the back-and-forth “concern” between the two, Song Xun wondered what he had missed. Had the relationship between the male lead and the male lead’s love interest already deepened?!
“So it turns out neither of you can handle spicy food very well.”
Mu Heng and Yan Jiayu were reluctant to admit it. “Actually, that’s not it. We just haven’t had spicy food in a while.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Song Xun marveled, truly a perfect match—even their tastes were so similar.
Before he could tease them further, his phone rang at an inopportune moment.
Seeing the caller ID, Song Xun’s face darkened, and he immediately hung up. But to his surprise, the phone rang again just a few seconds later.
With no other choice, Song Xun reluctantly answered.
His phone’s volume wasn’t particularly high, but the voice on the other end was loud and carried an extremely flirtatious tone, sparking endless imagination.
“Darling, have you missed me?”