After the competition ended, Yue Xinghe needed to head to the lounge to freshen up before the media interview.
As he stepped off the stage, he stumbled slightly.
Although he had experience from his past life, his time since being reborn was still relatively short. He hadn’t originally planned to win the championship this time, but at the last moment, he had changed his mind.
No one knew better than him the applause and recognition that came with being the champion.
He had already received countless flowers and cheers in his previous life, and he had wanted to keep a low profile this time. However…
Suddenly, Lin Luxi’s face surfaced in his mind, and an inexplicable feeling welled up inside him.
“Yue Xinghe, why are you walking so slowly?”
A voice that had grown increasingly familiar in recent days reached his ears. Yue Xinghe lifted his gaze slightly. Not far away, Lin Luxi stood at the entrance to the stage.
“Oh, I haven’t congratulated you on winning the championship yet! Thanks to you, I just made a few million. How do you want to celebrate tonight? I’m rich, it’s on me!”
Lin Luxi chattered on excitedly. To be honest, he hadn’t been this thrilled initially, knowing the plot in advance. But the electric atmosphere of the event had infected him, and now he was buzzing with excitement.
Yue Xinghe walked toward him step by step. Just as Lin Luxi was about to ask for his thoughts on the celebration, a shadow suddenly fell over him.
Lin Luxi instinctively stepped forward, arms opening reflexively, and caught Yue Xinghe’s body, still radiating heat from the match.
Lin Luxi paused. “Hey, Yue Xinghe, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Yue Xinghe closed his eyes, his chin resting on Lin Luxi’s shoulder.
In that moment, looking at the little spy, he finally understood what had been on his mind earlier.
He wanted to win the championship and then tell the little spy that he had the strength to protect him, that he no longer needed to be a spy or an undercover agent.
After all, this “Lin Luxi” truly suited his taste. If he were the same warm, untainted Yue Xinghe from his past life, they could have become the closest of friends!
Yue Xinghe’s sudden collapse into his arms startled Lin Luxi a bit.
‘What the hell, this is the male lead we’re talking about. A small competition like this couldn’t possibly take him down.’
Despite his thoughts, Lin Luxi couldn’t help but grab Yue Xinghe by the shoulders and shake him vigorously. “No way! You’re not passing out, are you? Don’t scare me like that! Yue Xinghe?”
Yue Xinghe’s expression shifted from relaxed to slightly furrowed, then to deeply knitted. He felt like his brains were being rattled loose. “I’m fine.”
Lin Luxi immediately stopped, then gave the male lead a light tap on the head. “If you’re fine, why did you scare me like that?!”
Yue Xinghe replied, “Just tired. Needed a moment.”
Lin Luxi mumbled, “I’m not a sofa. ‘Needed a moment,’ he says…”
Even so, he kindly helped the other back to the lounge. On the way, he found walking awkward and suggested he could carry Yue Xinghe instead, a princess carry, one arm supporting his back, the other under his knees.
Yue Xinghe flatly refused.
He didn’t know why, but something told him that if he were to be princess-carried, he’d somehow end up on the losing end of the deal. What exactly he’d be losing, he couldn’t quite figure out.
No sooner had they settled into the lounge than a crowd of boys and girls arrived, led by the ever-attentive Elisa and Gao Keyun, two of the most popular female leads in the novel. One, a cool, aloof elf; the other, a proud young lady. A pretty standard pairing.
Oh, and there was also the third most popular female character, the mermaid.
Calculating the timeline, it would still be a while before she showed up in the plot, so Lin Luxi set her aside for now.
The crowd that had gathered was blocked at the door. Some tried to push through, but one look at Qin Hao’s imposing figure and fists the size of sandbags quickly changed their minds.
A few weren’t afraid of Qin Hao but chose not to force their way in, wanting to leave a good impression on Yue Xinghe.
Security arrived shortly after, ushering the enthusiastic spectators who had jumped down from the stands back to their seats. Only Elisa, Gao Keyun, and a few other contestants were allowed to stay, spared from being sent away.
Since Yue Xinghe was still changing inside, they couldn’t enter either.
Qin Hao and Chris stood guard at the door. Noticing Lin Luxi’s absence, Gao Keyun asked where he was.
She quickly learned that he was inside with Yue Xinghe.
Gao Keyun’s finely arched brows furrowed slightly. She couldn’t quite explain why, but the answer made her feel a bit unsettled.
She eventually attributed it to relief that Lin Luxi, that lunatic, had stopped pestering her.
As for anything else, if it had been a man and a woman alone, she might have had some suspicions. But two guys? What could possibly happen between them?
Inside the lounge, Yue Xinghe lay on the sofa while Lin Luxi stood in front of him, clean clothes in hand, looking mildly exasperated.
Yue Xinghe tilted his head back. His hair was messy from the fierce battle earlier, his face smudged with dust, and a deep bruise marked his cheek. Unexpectedly, he looked somewhat… docile.
He smiled gently. “I’m fine. Just need to rest a bit. I’ll have my strength back soon.”
Yes, the newly crowned champion had just admitted he was too exhausted to dress himself.
To Lin Luxi, he seemed like a child waiting to be fed, not throwing a tantrum, just quietly watching the adult, as if silently asking for attention.
Lin Luxi rubbed his forehead.
The male lead, acting spoiled? Sure, and pigs can fly.
Even so, Lin Luxi suddenly said, “Sit up.”
Yue Xinghe blinked. “What?”
But Lin Luxi was already out of patience. He grabbed the male lead’s hair, pushed his back upright, and quickly stripped off the torn clothes before slipping the fresh ones on. Even the tempting sight of Yue Xinghe’s well-defined abs failed to stir any reaction from him.
In the end, having gotten into the flow, he grabbed a wet wipe and cleaned the dust off Yue Xinghe’s face, then tidied up his hair.
After all, the media interview was coming up. The protagonist of a novel couldn’t afford to look too disgraceful.
Yue Xinghe let him work without protest, smiling the whole time, even as the occasional tug at his scalp sent a mild sting through him.
What a soft-hearted person.
Crackle, crackle—
In a hallway several corridors away, static buzzed in Zhou Ziheng’s earpiece as the signal flickered. He moved around until the sound stabilized, and once he was certain he could hear Lin Luxi’s voice, he stopped. From his pocket, he pulled out a square device that resembled a remote control, with a single red button in the center.
Sweat dripped from Zhou Ziheng’s forehead, large beads forming and rolling down. He stared intently at the red button, frozen.
When sweat trickled into his eyes, the sharp sting making him blink, a droplet fell.
His lips trembling, Zhou Ziheng whispered, “I had no choice.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the red button with all his strength.
The ground shook violently. A deafening explosion, followed by another, tore through the air. The lounge and the surrounding ten meters of the building collapsed in a thunderous roar. A piercing alarm blared across the entire venue.