Chapter 7

【Hahahahaha, I’m dying of laughter!】

【No way, are these two enemies or lovers? Hahahaha!】

【They finally started arguing, hahahaha, but I never expected it to be over something like this!】

【This is too funny!!】

【Thinking of them as elementary school kids, but they took it to a whole new level, hahahahaha!】

【It’s actually kinda shippable!!】

【I came up with a million reasons for them to argue, but I didn’t expect this one.】

【Love it, keep it coming!】

Yu Xi’s eye corner twitched nonstop. He laughed out of sheer anger. “And you still claim you haven’t been paying attention to me?”

Yi Chen turned off the screen. “You’ve been paying plenty of attention to me too? Fifteen whole posts, not a single one unrelated to me.”

Yu Xi: “So what? What’s in it for you analyzing my personality?”

Yi Chen smiled. “Of course, so I can argue with you more effectively.”

Yu Xi: “You prepared so thoroughly, so why didn’t you follow my account? Why didn’t you ask me about it to my face?”

Yi Chen: “Isn’t it a bit presumptuous to ask that of someone who doesn’t even dare to make their blacklist public?”

Yu Xi: “Didn’t you add me with a burner account?”

Yi Chen: “The burner is just a stand-in. The main account is the real me.”

The barrage grew even livelier.

【Hahahahaha!】

【Blacklist? What blacklist? Is there any story I can’t hear?】

【What’s this about a burner account and a main account?】

【Did Yu Xi block Yi Chen? And Yi Chen added him with a burner?】

【Mommy! I ship it first!】

【I’m never leaving their livestream!】

【Help me lock this ship in, I love this type!】

【I thought they’d actually fight, but it’s so elementary school level, hahahaha.】

Yu Xi stopped bothering with Yi Chen and snatched the phone back.

The vehicle continued driving.

The sun blazed overhead. On the highway with no cover, the road scorched hot in the increasingly stuffy air. The guests arrived at their destinations one after another.

For entertainers in the industry who spent most of their time traveling, home was a rare sight. Wu Zhiqi stared blankly for a long time after stepping onto her hometown soil.

“It’s been so long since I came back.”

After getting out, to make livestreaming easier, the production team switched each guest to a handheld camera.

Wu Zhiqi turned the lens around to film the street scene of her hometown for the viewers.

It was a small town. There were few pedestrians at noon. It was neat, clean, and pretty. The sky was very blue, without too many tall buildings—a cozy vibe like a town from an anime.

She leaned close to the lens again, cradling the camera, and introduced enthusiastically, “This is my hometown! I’ll take you around!”

After getting out of the car, Yu Xi’s complexion had improved a lot. The fresh air outside the window greatly dispelled his motion sickness. The discomfort in his gland, which had started from the changing room, had also eased considerably.

He fully regained his energy, held the handheld camera, and interacted with the fans. “It’s been a long time since I came back. Yeah, usually no one’s home, and I don’t like coming back. The changes are huge.”

“Wow, so enthusiastic. Introduce it to everyone?”

Yu Xi aimed the lens at a tree by the roadside.

The trunk was thick, the roots twisted and sprawling, the shade blocking out the sun.

Yu Xi: “See this tree?”

Yu Xi: “Yi Chen once crashed his bike into it, hahahaha!!”

Fu Le stopped on a very bustling street.

Skyscrapers lined the area, glass reflecting the fierce sun. People bustled about.

Fu Le led the livestream viewers to pause at the entrance of a luxury neighborhood. “Look, I’m home. A bit further in is where my mom and dad live, but I can’t go in yet. We still have stuff to do, right? Next time, I’ll take you inside, okay~”

Yi Chen and Yu Xi got out at the same place. They walked in the same direction, but their cameras pointed completely differently. At that moment, Yi Chen stopped in front of a red fire hydrant.

“Let me introduce something. Our Teacher Yu Xi once fell here, splitting his pants right open. The rip went up to here on the leg.” Yi Chen gestured to mid-thigh level.

Fang Peng removed the handheld camera pole and clipped it to his chest. He strolled leisurely along a stretch of bluestone path. “This place is now a cultural preservation district. Look at this persimmon tree. It was with me when I was little—a longtime companion. We’re both getting old, buddy.”

Yu Xi swayed along, aiming the lens at a roadside fence. “Back in the day, there were lots of stray dogs around here. New neighborhoods got built nearby, but they didn’t chase the dogs from this spot. The dogs gradually gathered here. One day as I passed by, I saw our dear Teacher Yi Chen being chased by the dogs. He must’ve tried to climb the fence? Who knows, but when I saw him, he was hanging off it like this! Hahahaha!”

Song Xuan was surrounded by a pack of dogs. He enthusiastically introduced them to the viewers. “Big Yellow, Er Huang, Big Black, Little White.”

“We built a stray dog adoption and rescue station here before. Later, when I went out to work, I handed it over to Xiao Lin here to manage. Look, this is the sunroom I built back then. The dogs are living very comfortably!”

Yi Chen wandered around and arrived at the mouth of an alley. A bent bicycle tire lay abandoned in the corner.

“I remember one time, Yu Xi’s bike got stolen. He’d locked it super securely to the railing with a heavy lock and even took a smug photo. He found a prime parking spot, but when school ended, the bike was gone—only the tire remained.”

Yu Xi had actually been listening to Yi Chen the whole time. He hadn’t wanted to engage, but when the bike came up, he couldn’t hold back.

Yu Xi turned his head. “Hah, when your leg was injured, it was me who used that bike to take you to and from school. And now you’re burning bridges after crossing the river, huh?”

Yi Chen: “Back when you had your appendectomy, it was me! I waited for you outside the operating room, ran around handling paperwork, buying supplies, getting time off. And you? The first thing you said after surgery was about the bike?! I’m burning bridges? You’re the ungrateful one.”

【Hahahahaha!!!】

【Tell more, I love hearing it!!!】

【Real talk, I knew going back to our hometowns would involve reminiscing, but I thought it’d be boring, hahahahaha, I’m dying.】

【Why do they remember each other’s embarrassing stories so clearly?! Not true love, I don’t buy it!!】

【Aaaahhh, why does this argument feel so sweet, so sweet, so sweet!!!】

The production team had staff positioned by each guest. When the time was right, the staff tossed out a topic. “In your hometown, what’s the place that left the deepest impression?”

Wu Zhiqi stopped. “If I have to pick one, for me, it’s this beef noodle shop. The last thing I ate before leaving home was noodles from here. The lady boss is great, the taste is really good—highly recommended!”

Fu Le: “This corner—everyone see it? The first time I drove out, my car got a huge scratch right here. And that was the new car my dad bought me!”

Fang Peng: “My favorite is still this tree. Cooling off under it and moon-gazing on summer nights—pure bliss.”

Song Xuan: “This question… right here. This is the intersection where I met my love.”

Yu Xi and Yi Chen stopped at the same time.

In front of them was a high school honor roll. The top thirty names from each grade were printed on it.

The first-place names stood out most prominently.

It was as if Yu Xi suddenly remembered something. Yi Chen’s eyes lit up. They spoke at the same time.

Yu Xi: “I remember now—you still owe me thirty cups of milk tea, unsettled!!!”

Yi Chen: “By the way, don’t you owe me a cross-dressing?”

Yu Xi: “?”

Everyone: “?”

Barrage: 【?】

Yu Xi didn’t want to recall it at all, but the buried memories suddenly assaulted him.

Yi Chen’s transfer had been a big deal. He hadn’t even arrived, but his placement test scores had.

When Class 1 saw Yi Chen’s scores, they let out a collective gasp of shock and admiration. Then, all eyes turned to Yu Xi.

Yi Chen’s scores were outrageously high. He might actually dethrone Yu Xi from first place.

Yu Xi waved it off fearlessly. “It’s just a transfer student. You think I’d lose to him???”

“His name’s Yi Chen, right? If I don’t beat him on the monthly exam, I’ll cross-dress!!!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a phone was silently placed on his desk from behind.

Slender, clean fingers tapped lightly, and Yu Xi’s voice played from the speaker.

“His name’s Yi Chen, right? If I don’t beat him on the monthly exam, I’ll cross-dress!!!”

“His name’s Yi Chen, right? If I don’t beat him on the monthly exam, I’ll cross-dress!!!”

“His name’s Yi Chen, right? If I don’t beat him on the monthly exam, I’ll cross-dress!!!”

Yu Xi turned his head.

It was Yi Chen.

That was their first meeting.

The damp chirping of cicadas rang out in the suddenly quiet hallway. The muggy air surged through the back door into the classroom.

Some nasty, childish, bored guy leaned against the doorframe with a playful smile, looking at him. “Yu Xi, right? Cross-dressing. I’m waiting.”

Reality and memory overlapped. In that brief daze, Yi Chen’s voice reached his ears again.

“Since no one’s begging me not to say it, I’ll share it with everyone.” Yi Chen smiled at the camera. “I still have that recording on my phone. I just need to find…”

Yu Xi clamped his hand over Yi Chen’s mouth.

【???】

【Nooo! Don’t stop!!!】

【What can’t I hear!!!】

【Tell us now!!!!】

【Keep Yu Xi away from our Yi Chen!!!! (Mainly cuz I wanna hear!)】

【Hehehe, Yu Xi won’t let him tell? Must be guilty… No worries, he can make up for it with cross-dressing now… hehe…】

The police station wasn’t far. Yu Xi dragged Yi Chen inside, hand still over his mouth.

To avoid disrupting public order, the production team didn’t let the guests bring cameras into the business hall. Instead, they set them up across the street.

In the hall, Yu Xi and Yi Chen—fully geared with hats, sunglasses, and masks—sat on benches, waiting for their number.

Yu Xi lowered his voice. “Please don’t blab everything.”

Yi Chen: “Which one? The blacklist, the bike, or the cross-dressing?”

Since implementing one-window service, more and more people came to the station for business. The hall bustled with people and noise.

Yu Xi shot Yi Chen a fierce glare and ground out, “Every. Single. One.”

His phone vibrated. It was a message from Guan Zifan.

Guan Zifan was genuinely worried Yu Xi might snap. Though he was out of town on business, he kept tabs on the preview livestream constantly.

Guan Zifan: 【I won’t interfere with whatever you and Yi Chen have going on privately.】

Guan Zifan: 【But at least fake it for the show?】

Guan Zifan: 【Look at how much he’s aired about you on the program. It’s funny now, all haha, but if someone twists it, rumors spread fast—one mouth starts it, legs run ragged debunking.】

Yu Xi: 【What’s there to twist?】

Guan Zifan: 【Yu Xi blacklisting Yi Chen? Arrogant diva or blood feud?】

Guan Zifan: 【Blacklist? Worth cooperating with someone who blocks at whim?】

Guan Zifan: 【Small details reveal character.】

Guan Zifan: 【Adding Yu Xi with a burner? Even aloof and cold needs limits.】

Guan Zifan: 【I won’t let anyone miss the blacklist drama about Yu Xi!】

Yu Xi: 【…】

Guan Zifan: 【Keep up appearances during the broadcast period.】

Yu Xi: 【…】

He glanced sideways at Yi Chen.

Yi Chen was also tapping away on his phone, messaging some friend. His typing speed was lightning-fast, smashing send viciously, like he wanted to devour the person on the other end.

Yu Xi looked away.

It was Guan Zifan who made him remove Yi Chen from the blacklist.

For work. A compromise he had to make for work.

Yu Xi steeled himself mentally and tapped “Remove from blacklist.”

Before his finger could leave the screen, the phone vibrated again. A message from Yi Chen popped up.

Yi Chen: 【Yu Xi, oh Yu Xi, you really are such a coward. Don’t I know you inside out? Tsundere maniac, arrogant weirdo!! Don’t you miss me? You miss me like crazy! You’re obsessed with following me—what’s so hard about saying ‘long time no see’?!! Hurry up and pull me out of there aaaaaah! Is it illegal to remove someone from your blacklist? Am I gonna get arrested?!】

Yi Chen: “Holy shit?”

Yi Chen: “Did it send?!”

Yi Chen withdrew a message.

Yu Xi: “……?”

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Song Xuan met up with his agent in the service hall.

Song Xuan asked his agent, “You ready? We have to show the clean criminal record proofs at the same time later—no slip-ups.”

“Relax.” The agent flashed an OK sign and narrowed his eyes. “I’ve had it prepared for ages.”

“Absolutely no one will find out about your thing.”