Yu Xi’s condition clearly worsened.
——He had never imagined he would run into Yu Wan at a time like this.
His head hurt, his chest hurt, his stomach hurt.
Flashes from the past surged through Yu Xi’s mind without logic, impossible to control.
He was locked in the room, with Yu Wan reverse-locking the door, not allowing him to come out, not allowing him to make a single sound.
But he heard Yu Wan’s voice.
She was eating at home with another person—a man. She was gentle, considerate, refined, her words carrying the elegance and knowledge that emanated from her very bones.
“Why won’t you let me go out?” Yu Xi had asked her later.
“You’re embarrassing, and you’ll embarrass me.” Yu Wan removed the accessories from her hair, smoothed it out, without even looking at him. She was in a good mood and willing to say more. “He has a very outstanding child. You can’t compare to his child—that’s a very excellent boy.”
Yu Wan looked at Yu Xi seriously, asked him seriously, and pondered seriously: “Why isn’t he my son?”
“Come on in!” Liang Shuo waved to the guests and said to the camera, “Welcome to my home! I’ll give everyone a tour first!”
He had already discussed the fifth episode’s content with Yu Wan during the show’s announcement, so she naturally led the guests inside. Yu Xi lagged at the end, his movements slow, his hands trembling. He couldn’t even pick up the prepared slippers—it was Yi Chen who handed them to him.
Yu Xi kept trying to calm himself down, but he truly couldn’t. His heart felt like it was soaking in ice water, chillingly cold, his breathing rapid, so rapid that his windpipe nearly spasmed. His stomach hurt; he clutched it tightly as a churning nausea surged up, making him utterly miserable.
This misery peaked when he heard Yu Wan’s voice.
“Little Xi, long time no see,” she said.
Little Xi.
Little Xi.
Little Xi——
That was how Yu Wan used to call him.
Past memories crashed into his forehead. Yu Xi’s gaze sharpened instantly, filled with repulsion, his eyes brimming with hate.
——Yi Chen had seen that look before.
During the time they were about to break up, when things ended on a sour note, Yu Xi had looked at him with eyes just like that.
So, what exactly had happened back then?
Yu Wan seemed a bit at a loss, but she suppressed it, maintaining a perfectly polite smile on her face.
Yi Chen felt Yu Xi trembling, felt his breathing grow unsteady.
Yi Chen reached out and covered Yu Xi’s eyes.
Something must have definitely happened between Yu Xi and Yu Wan.
With this motion, Yi Chen unobtrusively shielded Yu Xi behind him.
“Little Chen.” Yu Wan said to Yi Chen, “You two are still on good terms. You’ve grown up.”
After hearing Yu Wan’s voice, Yu Xi’s muscles visibly tensed. Yi Chen gently stroked his back and looked at Yu Wan. “Aunt Wan.”
Liang Shuo took the camera on a tour, introducing his room, his parents’ room, flipping through some photos, and interacting with the live comments for a good while. When he came back out, he found Yu Xi, Yi Chen, and his mom still at the door.
Liang Shuo asked in confusion, “Teacher, aren’t you coming in?”
“I’ll go in first.” Yu Wan said, “You all sort yourselves out.”
Yi Chen didn’t remove his hand. Yu Xi’s view was blocked; he only heard the footsteps gradually receding, along with the lively chatter from the living room.
He took a deep breath.
“I’m fine,” Yu Xi said.
“Mm, I know.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“No, I want to sneak a hug while no one’s paying attention.”
“…” Yu Xi fell silent for a moment. “I probably won’t be able to control my emotions later.”
“That’s okay.”
“Stay away from me. Don’t get dragged into it.”
“No one online will curse you out.”
Yu Xi looked at Yi Chen, his brows slightly furrowed. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Then it doesn’t matter.” Yi Chen didn’t press, nor did he mind. “You can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, ask whatever you want.”
Yu Xi lowered his eyes and took another deep breath before walking into the living room.
It was mealtime, and Liang Shuo and Yu Wan had prepared a feast, the entire dining table packed full.
The eating segment was simple: the guests chatted freely. When the group grew quiet amid the crowd, the host would promptly cue a new topic to keep things from going cold.
The production team had also prepared plenty of material for this “home visit.”
The host tossed the topic to Yu Wan several times.
Host: “You were already a somewhat accomplished dancer when you were young. I heard you retired because of childbirth, raised the child alone until they were grown, and only then chased your dreams again by entering competitions and starting over. That’s truly impressive.”
Fang Peng sincerely praised her too: “What a great mother.”
Great?
Yu Xi unconsciously scratched at his arm, over and over.
Very great?
His stomach hurt so much.
Really that great?
The fully healed wounds on his body felt like they were being ripped open again, burning like fire, aching.
His ears hurt too, so much.
Pain could be forgotten, wounds could heal, but the scars from harm would forever remain on medical reports.
A buzzing rang in his ears.
Yu Wan was her mother.
His mother had a new student, and he didn’t know.
His mother won a competition abroad and started a new life, and he didn’t know.
His mother was returning to the country to develop her career, and he didn’t know.
They were clearly mother and son, yet their first words upon reunion were “long time no see.”
He was no longer the same as before.
He was clearly different now, wasn’t he?
Then why was “You’ve grown up” said to Yi Chen?
Why could she be so good to Liang Shuo?
He was going mad.
But why could his mother wear such a gentle, refined smile in front of the camera?
His stomach hurt so much.
Yu Xi curled up.
His stomach should have been fine; the pain was just a physical manifestation of his mental state.
“Little Xi.” Yu Wan turned her gaze to Yu Xi. “I want to ask how you’ve been too. Have you been taking good care of yourself? What do you think of this spread we’ve prepared?”
Yu Xi stared straight at Yu Wan, desperately holding back the torrent of intense emotions surging in his brain. “I have nothing to say to you.”
His expression was dark, the whole person shrouded in shadow, clashing completely with the harmonious, joyful atmosphere at the table.
The host was a bit stunned. Liang Shuo started to panic too, worrying if some dish had caused Yu Xi an allergy or upset stomach.
The live comments were shocked as well.
【What’s up with Yu Xi?】
【He looks in a really bad mood? Like he’s about to explode but holding it back desperately.】
【What happened? He was fine the whole way, no issues at Fang Peng’s or Wen Yimeng’s. Something’s off as soon as he gets to Liang Shuo’s.】
【Does Yu Xi have a problem with Liang Shuo?】
【They got along great earlier. No way it’d turn sudden. Even if he did, Yu Xi would confront directly, not take it out on Yu Wan.】
【Yu Xi’s stubborn temper acting up again? Isn’t Yu Wan a dancer? They both have the surname Yu…】
【Oh yeah, they both have the Yu surname.】
【Yu Xi, Yu Wan… They couldn’t be…】
Fang Peng smoothed things over from the side: “Our Yu Xi doesn’t look so good. Carsick maybe? We’ve been in vehicles a lot these past couple days.”
Liang Shuo worriedly asked, “Teacher Yu Xi, are you allergic to any dish?”
Yu Wan said with concern, “If you’re not feeling well, I can help you inside to rest, okay, Little Xi?”
Yu Wan’s hand rested on Yu Xi’s wrist, trying to help him up.
Yu Xi: “???”
It had been years since they’d last seen each other.
Why was she suddenly acting so concerned?
Because of the cameras?
Yu Xi wanted to shake off Yu Wan’s hand.
But his stomach hurt, his ears hurt, his head hurt—his whole body had no strength. He had just started to stand when he went limp; it was Yi Chen who supported him, barely keeping him upright.
His condition was too poor.
Mental breakdowns often manifested physically.
Yu Wan also stood quickly, hurriedly reaching to check Yu Xi’s forehead for fever.
Her fingers were slender and beautiful, but seeing that hand made Yu Xi’s ears throb with intense pain, like a steel needle scraping inside, emitting sharp, piercing buzzes nonstop.
She had pinched him with that hand, hit him with it, tried to push him down the stairs, locked him in the room with it, pointed at him with those fingers, questioning: “Why are you my son?!”
The heart-wrenching screams from before, the roars and sobs echoed in his ears—angry, grief-stricken, disgusted… All sorts of expressions from memory overlapped with the current Yu Wan. Yu Xi instinctively recoiled, instinctively rejected her touch. He completely exploded, bristling all over with thorns: “What are you to me? What relation do you have to me? Why are you pretending to care?”
Yu Wan stood frozen in bewilderment. The other guests at the table, the host, and the production team were shocked. The live comments exploded.
【??】
【No, is Yu Xi crazy today?】
【What’s the deal between Yu Wan and Yu Xi? What happened before?!】
【Yu Xi really has beef with Yu Wan? Wait, didn’t he know she was Liang Shuo’s teacher?】
【Feels like a stress response. Look, he instinctively recoiled from her touch.】
【Never seen Yu Xi like this… Kinda scary…】
Yu Xi had no attention for anyone else, nor did he care what the live comments were saying or speculating.
He wanted to calm down. His matters with Yu Wan shouldn’t be seen by so many people.
But he couldn’t. He really couldn’t. He was going insane.
He hadn’t imagined reuniting with Yu Wan, let alone in a setting like this.
His thoughts tangled, all surrounding sounds blending into chaos.
“Teacher Yu Xi? What’s wrong?” That was Liang Shuo’s voice.
“If there’s some conflict, we can talk it out properly. We’ll judge for you.” That was Fang Peng’s voice.
“You and Teacher Yu Wan knew each other before? Conflict between you?” That was Wen Yimeng’s voice.
“I… Little Xi, I…” That was Yu Wan’s voice.
“A-Yu, A-Yu.” Familiar warmth on his hand. Yu Xi was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace, the faint scent of peppermint pomelo filling his nose.
Yu Xi lifted his eyes and saw Yi Chen, saw his dark eyes, heard his voice: “It’s okay, A-Yu. I’m here. It’ll all be fine.”
Yi Chen comforted him like this, soothing his emotions.
But Yu Wan was behind Yi Chen, right in his sight.
Gentle now, out of control once.
“If only he were my son!!”
“Why aren’t you him?”
“Why can you never measure up to him?”
“He’s so outstanding—why is my son you?”
“I wish he could be my son.”
Past and present scenes repeated endlessly.
Yu Wan’s repeated belittling, the cramped dark room, the tightly locked door, the cheerful conversation outside, the other person constantly mentioned in Yu Wan’s mouth.
Yu Xi looked at Yi Chen again, his gaze devoid of light, only cold indifference.
Yi Chen’s breath hitched, a chill creeping up his spine, a heart-pounding fear.
——During that time, Yu Xi had looked at him like that—no trace of emotion, only hate.
“You and her are in on it together.” Yu Xi had wanted to ask before, but back then he hadn’t.
But now he couldn’t control himself. Yu Wan’s appearance stripped away his last shred of reason on this matter.
Not the right occasion, not the right time, but with the same cold gaze and tone as before, Yu Xi asked Yi Chen: “Why… did you appear?”
