Lunch was halfway through when Wen Yimeng finally arrived late.
His condition looked very poor. Even though he had applied light makeup, his underlying pallor was still visible, and his eyes lacked any energy, as if he had been exhausted from staying up all night.
He walked toward the visiting group (live stream) with an expressionless face and greeted them formulaically. “Why are you all here?”
His tone was as cold and detached as ever, as if he did not want to have too much contact with them.
Fu Le was somewhat intimidated by Wen Yimeng’s expression.
Wen Yimeng did not know they were live streaming right now, but Fu Le did.
He was afraid that if Wen Yimeng got upset and targeted him, he would get scolded in front of the live stream camera.
The backlash from the previous false accusation incident had not fully subsided yet. He needed to handle it coldly now and avoid any new negative comments. If some busybodies dug into it and uncovered any clues, it would be bad.
Fu Le chose not to make eye contact with Wen Yimeng and kept his head down, eating.
“Mengmeng, what’s wrong? You don’t look well. Have you been to the hospital?” Wu Zhiqi asked with some concern. She wanted to reach out and touch Wen Yimeng’s forehead to check if he had a fever, but he dodged.
“I’m fine.”
The table was square, with room for two people on each side. Fu Le and Wu Zhiqi sat on the same side, while the other guests each occupied one side alone.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, even choosing a seat for lunch required careful consideration.
Fang Peng was a senior, so Wen Yimeng, as a junior, naturally should not sit on the same side as him.
Yi Chen was a program mentor. Sitting next to him now would give the trainees something to gossip about.
The best spot was next to Yu Xi.
Wen Yimeng sat down beside Yu Xi.
Yu Xi did not react much and even shifted over a bit to make room for him. However…
Why, when Wen Yimeng sat down, did he smell pheromones?
There was a faint apple scent.
Previously, as an Alpha, Yu Xi had applied many layers of Pheromone Blocker Patches every day, carried them with him, and sprayed Pheromone Blocker Mist at regular intervals. Through various means, he minimized his sensitivity to pheromones. Except in extremely close situations—like last time when he and Yi Chen were squeezed behind the changing room door, completely beyond normal social distance—he normally could not smell pheromones at all.
But now, during his Secondary Differentiation, heading toward Omega.
Although the differentiation was not complete and he still maintained Alpha habits, Yu Xi clearly noticed that he had become much more sensitive to Omega pheromones.
He smelled the faint apple scent coming from Wen Yimeng.
But Wen Yimeng was clearly a Beta?
And strangely, after spending the whole morning with Fu Le, Yu Xi had not sensed any pheromones from him at all, nor had he seen him carrying any pheromone-blocking items.
During the meal, Wen Yimeng’s complexion remained poor.
In truth, if he did not need to maintain appearances, he would not have come out at all. His body hurt a lot and felt very uncomfortable.
“Why did you all come suddenly?” Wen Yimeng asked. Today was not a scheduled recording day.
“We’re here for a special episode recording of Chase Dream Star. There are many young people here, and it makes us feel younger too,” Fang Peng said. “Plus, we wanted to check on you. I heard you’re taking leave this episode.”
“Yeah, health reasons,” Wen Yimeng replied coldly. Everyone was used to his demeanor of not wanting to engage with anyone, so no one said anything.
The live stream comments were somewhat unhappy.
【Why is Wen Yimeng like this? They came to see him, and he’s so cold.】
【What’s he acting all aloof about? Can’t even crack a smile?】
【LOL, when voting for him, you said his brooding face was cool. Now that he’s not chatty, you call it fake aloofness. Such double standards!】
【Pure passerby. Only watching Chase Dream Star live streams—Wen Yimeng practices dance every day with that brooding face, super cool and handsome! Who knew he’d have a debt-collector face when talking to others…】
【But he really doesn’t look well. Maybe he’s genuinely unwell? I heard he’s been going to the hospital frequently lately.】
After lunch, it was free activity time.
“Everyone, head back for now,” Yi Chen said to the group. “We’ll resume recording in the afternoon. Rest well at noon.”
The cameras that had been filming everyone were dismantled—except for the mini cameras pinned on the guests.
The morning’s interactions were just an appetizer for this visit. What came next was the real highlight of the live stream.
【It’s finally here!】
【What to do? Excited and nervous.】
【Nervous about what? Worst case, unfollow. Just enjoy!】
The trainees gradually returned to their dorms or headed to practice rooms.
Wen Yimeng wanted to leave too, but Fang Peng stopped him. “Yimeng, we want to stroll around. Won’t you join us?”
Wen Yimeng was part of the team. Although he did not know about the live visit, it was better to act with them.
The Castle had been a famous attraction before being lent to the program for recording, drawing tourists daily for photos. It was not strange for guests to wander and sightsee during breaks.
Wen Yimeng did not suspect anything but still refused. “No, I don’t feel well. I need to go back and rest.”
“Come with us anyway,” Wu Zhiqi said. “Just for a bit. Don’t give others reason to talk, okay?”
She was a former trainee and understood Wen Yimeng’s situation somewhat.
All undebuted trainees fought fiercely even for a single line of dialogue. Why should Wen Yimeng get extra variety show exposure?
If Wen Yimeng appeared on the variety show but was “on bad terms” with the other guests, what would the other trainees say about him?
Public opinion could be magnified or minimized. A word from a former teammate could become an indelible black mark later.
Wen Yimeng paused, thought for a moment, and then said, “Okay.”
The five finally gathered in the live stream.
Yu Xi asked, “What are everyone’s plans?”
Wu Zhiqi: “Just wander around. Who knows, maybe there’ll be surprises?”
“How about we split up?” Yi Chen suggested.
“Sure, sure.” Fu Le looked up at Yi Chen. “Then I want to team up with Yi…”
Before Fu Le could pull another emotional blackmail in front of the live stream camera with a hard-to-refuse team-up invite, Yi Chen interrupted promptly. “Then Yu Xi and I are a team.”
Fu Le: “?”
Yu Xi: “?”
Without giving Yu Xi a chance to refuse, he pushed his shoulder and headed down the right side of the corridor. “We’ll go explore first. You guys keep planning.”
Yu Xi: “…”
He had no idea what had gotten into Yi Chen. He did not want to share space with him at all, let alone have their live streams only showing each other, only to be edited into endless CP videos. He twisted his shoulder, trying to break free.
Yi Chen leaned to his ear, lowering his voice so the mic would not pick it up. “Busi-ness.”
Yu Xi: “…”
Damn it.
The other three grouped up quickly.
Wu Zhiqi and Wen Yimeng went to the field and photography studio.
Fang Peng and Fu Le headed to the practice room.
The visit live stream officially began.
The initial content was quite normal.
The trainees were basically the same off-camera as on.
There were arguments, apologies, reconciliations, standoffs—raw, passionate intensity from eighteen- or nineteen-year-olds.
When they spotted Yu Xi and Yi Chen passing by, the trainees greeted them enthusiastically.
Yi Chen introduced each trainee to Yu Xi.
“Lin Xi—good guy, great dance talent. Heard he had no training before the competition.”
“Wu Qin—already a bit famous for composing before coming.”
“Chen Linlin…”
“Yan Shang…”
Yu Xi listened attentively and asked, “What about Geng Nian? His name rings a bell. Geng Corporation?”
“Yeah.” Geng Nian had never hidden his identity publicly. Yi Chen said, “Only son of the Geng Corporation.”
Yu Xi nodded, recalling Geng Nian’s performance that morning. “He has strong leadership.”
As expected of the contestant leading the real-time rankings by a wide margin.
“Indeed.” Yi Chen did not deny it. “Even disputes mentors can’t intervene in need him to mediate. If a mentor sides with one, the other complains. The trainees prefer Geng Nian’s judgment.”
He wanted to say more, but Yu Xi’s leg suddenly gave way. He lost support instantly and pitched forward, only steadied by Yi Chen’s hold.
His right calf and ankle throbbed with pain.
Fortunately, the Infirmary was nearby. Yi Chen helped him in. The doctor was out for lunch, so Yi Chen directly lifted Yu Xi’s pant leg to check.
The Infirmary had several temporary beds separated by white curtains. Yu Xi and Yi Chen were in the innermost one.
As Yi Chen suspected, it was from the sprain a couple days ago.
Though the swelling had gone down after his massage that day, Yu Xi clearly had not applied medicine properly these past days or rested it. With high-intensity work, the muscle had twisted again.
Luckily, the Medical Office stocked sprain liniment. Yi Chen opened the bottle and naturally squatted down to massage the re-sprained area for him.
Yu Xi shrank back entirely. “No! I’ll be fine after resting. No need to massage!”
Yi Chen: “If you don’t treat it properly, it’ll become habitual. It’ll hurt more if you don’t rub it.”
In front of the camera, Yu Xi refused no matter what. “No need! If it needs rubbing, I’ll do it myself. No help!”
“It has to be me.” Yi Chen looked up, staring seriously at Yu Xi.
Yu Xi saw the big words on his face.
Business. Cooperate.
When Yi Chen’s oiled hand touched the sprained calf, Yu Xi’s body stiffened bit by bit.
In private, he could brainwash himself to forget Yi Chen’s ex status and face him more relaxedly. But on camera, everything felt unnatural. He understood business and had seen others do it, but had no clue how to business with Yi Chen.
He must look ridiculous, hilarious, utterly awkward right now.
【Such white legs! Such pretty fingers touching—I’m writing a novel!】
【First-person view of Fish Fish Teacher getting his leg massaged (not really)】
【Whimpering—switching between Yu Xi and Yi Chen’s live perspectives, real candy!】
【Quick, check Yi Chen’s perspective for Yu Xi’s face hahaha, so tsundere!! Acts like he doesn’t want Yi Chen touching, but stretches his leg when told. Mouth says no, body says yes hahaha!】
【They must be fated real CP. Enemies-to-gentle is too shippable!!】
“Why didn’t you refuse?” Yu Xi could not hold back and asked.
“Refuse what?” Yi Chen countered, asking Yu Xi. “Relax, or it’ll hurt.”
He could not say “business” outright. Yu Xi racked his brain. “That thing!”
“You couldn’t even refuse, so how could I? We’re in the same boat.” Yi Chen said, “Don’t dodge. Yeah, relax. This liniment smells strong.”
“Same? How are we the same? I sprained it—you didn’t.”
Yi Chen caught what Yu Xi meant.
Before their breakup, Yu Xi’s emotions had become very unstable.
Something must have happened, making Yu Xi want to give up on the relationship.
And that thing, the reason Yu Xi had “sprained” into, was something Yu Xi did not know how to tell him.
“I can help rub it.” Yi Chen looked at Yu Xi earnestly. “Don’t always reject me.”
The Infirmary had no AC on when they entered, making the air stuffy and hot.
The white curtain partitioned the space into a cramped nook. Yu Xi wanted to look away, but his gaze had nowhere to land.
He did not know what to say or how to respond. With his personality, he should say “None of your business” and leave.
When at a loss with Yi Chen, avoidance was always the best and most effective solution.
But the gentle pressure on his sprained calf muscle and that sudden, overly serious gaze acted like a soft lock, invisibly chaining him.
Right now, he could not escape Yi Chen’s eyes.
Just as Yu Xi was at a loss, there was a sudden “bang” by his ear.
The Infirmary door was kicked open, followed by the clatter of glass bottles falling and colliding. Someone seemed to be shoved in forcefully, stumbling and crashing heavily onto a simple sickbed.
Behind him came the sound of about three or four footsteps. One of them advanced a few steps, their shadows outlined on the white curtain. Someone squatted down and pinched the chin of the fallen person.
“Hey, what right did you have to steal my shot just now?”
