Chapter 39

Yu Xi forced himself to calm down.

First, the surroundings felt familiar—he had been here before. This was Yi Chen’s home.

Second, since he was at Yi Chen’s place, it at least meant he hadn’t ended up in a police station for beating up Ruan Yan Shan the night before, and nothing major had gone wrong.

So why was he wearing women’s clothes?

With a click, the door opened.

It was Yi Chen.

Hearing the noise from the room, Yi Chen came over to check.

He saw Yu Xi’s utterly bewildered, shocked expression that bordered on dazed. “What’s wrong?”

Yu Xi looked up. “A supernatural event? My clothes turned into a skirt?!”

Yi Chen showed no reaction, his face full of exhaustion. “Yeah, a zero-spill incident.”

Yu Xi: “?”

Yi Chen yawned and, amid Yu Xi’s bewildered expression, unlocked his phone and held it up in front of him.

The screen was paused on the photo album interface.

Yu Xi glanced at the thumbnails and froze completely.

Ignoring whether Yu Xi’s mind had taken a hit or not, Yi Chen expressionlessly swiped through the album.

All! Of! Them! Were! Couple! Photos!

The cross-dressed Yu Xi had clearly been in full control of the phone, every single one a selfie he had taken. He chose the angles, hugging Yi Chen, nuzzling his ear, cheek pressed to cheek—each photo, every pose radiated undisguised possessiveness.

Yu Xi felt like he was suffocating.

Yi Chen let out a cold chuckle and swiped further down, tapping on a video recording.

“Come here.” It was Yu Xi’s voice. “Show that woman—we’re the world’s best couple.”

He dragged Yi Chen over, held up the phone, and nibbled on his earlobe, kissing him, hooking him with his stockinged leg. Midway through filming, he suddenly paused, awkwardly smoothing out the wrinkled skirt with his other hand. “Yi Chen, I think I…”

Yu Xi snatched the phone away and forcefully turned off the screen, tossing it far away like it was a bomb about to explode.

What kind of educational film was this?!

Yu Xi’s ears instantly turned red enough to bleed. “D-delete it!”

Yi Chen picked up his phone. “Not deleting.”

Yu Xi’s tongue trembled at the root. “Th-that was me not in my right mind!”

Yi Chen’s expression turned aggrieved. “Why should I pay for what you did when you weren’t in your right mind?”

Yi Chen… had been teased multiple times the night before.

He had mostly calmed down after using the bathroom and wanted to continue looking after Yu Xi.

But Yu Xi insisted on rubbing up against him for kisses and hugs, clinging bonelessly to his body, biting his ear, endlessly kissing his gland, and recklessly releasing his own pheromones—the sweet gardenia scent filling the entire room.

Yi Chen’s susceptible period nearly got kissed right out of him.

Worried he’d do something overboard, he retreated to another room, but it was no use. He tossed and turned all night without sleeping.

Yi Chen’s eyes were full of the fatigue from a sleepless night. “Need me to keep swiping?”

Yu Xi knew he was in the wrong. “…No need. You keep it for now. Let me think of a way.”

Yu Xi closed his eyes, breathing steadily, trying to sort out his thoughts.

The top priority was getting out of this women’s outfit.

“Where are my clothes?” Yu Xi asked Yi Chen.

Yi Chen replied, “Washing. Not dry yet.”

“Doesn’t your place have a dryer?”

“I was going to.” Yi Chen said, “But as soon as I tried to leave, you hugged me. Couldn’t get away. It’s still in the washing machine. Want to wear it?”

Yu Xi: “…”

“Wear mine.” Yi Chen opened the closet. To avoid misunderstandings, he didn’t open the side with the women’s clothes but pulled a set from the side cabinet. “Clean ones. Make do for now. Yours are drying here. Come pick them up later.”

After changing clothes and having a simple breakfast, Yu Xi had a live interview to attend. Guan Zifan was already spamming him on WeChat like a grim reaper. Luckily, the venue wasn’t far from Yi Chen’s place, so Yi Chen drove him straight there. As he got out of the car, Yu Xi put on a fierce glare. “No one hears about last night!”

“Got it.” Yi Chen’s eye curved slightly as he smiled. “I definitely won’t tell that woman.”

Yu Xi: “…”

Bang—

Yu Xi slammed the car door shut with a blank expression and walked off without looking back.

Yi Chen didn’t drive away immediately.

Once he was sure Yu Xi wouldn’t turn back, he opened V Blog and logged into his alt account.

[Geng Shanglou: Commission art! Commission art! Commission art! Any artists taking commissions!!]

[Geng Shanglou: Want to see our Fish Fish Teacher in drag! Want to see so bad! Artist, I’m starving, feed me!!!]

Meanwhile, Yu Xi saw the V Blog notification pop up on his phone and nearly choked on his water.

He was waiting in the makeup room.

This live interview had multiple guests, and the makeup artist was currently working on another one, so he had to wait a bit. He wasn’t in a hurry anyway, and right then his phone vibrated with a push notification.

[V Blog Alert: The user you’re following posted~]

Yu Xi tapped the notification, and his eyes suddenly widened.

[Geng Shanglou: Fish Fish in drag is so damn sexy!! Want to see, want to see!]

[Geng Shanglou: One blood book begging Fish Fish Teacher for drag (no need to post publicly, just show me)]

Yu Xi: “?”

The rich fan Geng Shanglou’s call got an instant response. The post hadn’t been up long, but comments were already piling up.

[Agreed!!]

[Yu Xi’s looks and figure would be perfect for drag! His legs are amazing—if he wore a mini skirt and heels, I can’t even imagine the godly result!]

[Stop, ever since Piao Liang Zuichun decoded their bet, I’ve already picked out drag outfits for Teacher Yu Xi. Here for everyone to choose [image][image][image]]

[I pick pic three. Any Photoshop pros wanna edit it? Thirst relief first]

[Wahhh, edited pics are fake after all. Teacher Yu Xi, you lost the bet—honor it!]

Bet? What bet?

What gossip about himself had he missed yesterday?

Yu Xi scrolled down the comments and found Piao Liang Zuichun’s lip-reading decode. The lip-reading master had exposed the bet from when he and Yi Chen played tennis. #YuXiInDrag had trended all day, only dropping off that morning.

No wonder the CP fans’ kinks had shifted overnight.

“Teacher Yu Xi.” The makeup artist hurried over. Seeing Yu Xi’s less-than-great expression, she assumed she’d kept him waiting too long and apologized quickly. “Sorry for the wait.”

“Didn’t wait long.” Yu Xi keenly sensed the makeup artist’s unease and adjusted his expression into a gentle smile. “My turn now?”

“Yeah.” The makeup artist relaxed and nodded. “Sit there first. I’ll bring my stuff over—be quick.”

“No rush.” Yu Xi sat in front of the mirror and waited a moment.

Speaking of which, Ji Ruiou had said yesterday that the director called him in for a talk, but there’d been no update since.

Yu Xi opened his chat with Ji Ruiou.

Yu Xi: [How’d it go yesterday?]

Yu Xi: [Where’s my good news?]

Ji Ruiou was probably busy and didn’t reply right away. Yu Xi wasn’t urgent and opened V Blog instead.

The hot searches had changed again, with a Ruan Group headline near the top.

Ruan Group—Ruan Yan Shan had lost several big contracts overnight, taking a heavy hit. When he woke up, the stock price had tanked.

Yu Xi forwarded the hot search to Yi Chen.

[Yu Xi: You did this?]

Yi Chen didn’t deny it.

[Yi Chen: Who else?]

[Yu Xi: [teary-eyed.jpg]]

[Yu Xi: [sobbing.jpg]]

[Yu Xi: Not my good bro for nothing.]

[Yi Chen: We can’t be bros anymore]

[Yi Chen: ]

[Yi Chen: Good what?]

The video thumbnail was pitch black, so Yu Xi had no idea what it was. He tapped play.

His cross-dressed self appeared abruptly on screen, wrapped around Yi Chen: “Tell that woman—who’s really your good baby!!”

The video was short and ended before he could react.

Luckily, he had earphones in—no sound leaked.

Yu Xi slammed the video closed and deleted the chat record in a flash.

[Yu Xi: At work, talk later bye bye good luck happy new year happy mid-autumn]

At that moment, Yi Chen stared at the chat on his phone, his lips curving upward uncontrollably.

He could practically see Yu Xi fleeing in panic from the text alone.

Cute.

Sending the video to Yu Xi was both to shut down the “good bro” nonsense and to test the waters.

What did Yu Xi really feel for him?

If Yu Xi saw him as a stranger or mortal enemy, given his personality, Yi Chen approaching him last night would’ve gotten him a savage beating—maybe even a two-for-one with Ruan Yan Shan straight to the hospital.

But last night’s Yu Xi had obediently leaned into his arms, let him lead him home, no fuss.

Unconscious actions didn’t count, but sober reactions were solid reference material.

He hadn’t denied that line in the video.

No denial meant there was still a chance.

“Teacher Yi Chen, ready! You can continue!” A staff member pushed open the door and called to Yi Chen. “Leave the phone—no water damage!”

“Got it.” Yi Chen locked his phone, set it on the table, and followed the staff to the shooting site.

The room door closed, but five minutes later, it cracked open.

A man—duckbill cap, dark vest, mask, clutching a camera—sneaked in furtively.

Clearly a paparazzo sent by some company.

Yi Chen was off shooting, no other staff around. Time to dig for gossip through his personal items.

With that thought, the paparazzo slipped into the room.

He didn’t dare touch Yi Chen’s stuff, tiptoeing carefully, just filming everything meticulously with the camera.

He spotted Yi Chen’s phone still on the table.

Phones revealed the most—even the case might hint at romance.

He aimed the camera at it, zooming in as much as possible, scrutinizing every inch.

Buzz.

The phone vibrated with a new message.

Yi Chen’s message display didn’t show content, but incoming texts lit up the lock screen, exposing it right in the high-def lens and the paparazzo’s eyes.

Woman! A woman?!

Yi Chen’s lock screen: an intimate couple photo with a woman?!

She was sexy, cheek pressed to his, pretty curls falling on Yi Chen’s shoulder.

Utterly ambiguous.

The paparazzo’s eyes lit up.

Holy shit!!!

Big scoop!!!

Yi Chen!! In a relationship!!!