If only He Xingzhou could lose his memory right away.
Or if the police computer suddenly caught fire, burning the hard drive and data clean.
Xiao Can pinched the pendant and bit his lip, filled with unrealistic thoughts.
“I can’t hide in the bathroom forever,” Tan Zhen said, “If he really intends to go, then I… I can only tell him in advance that I lied.”
“Did you tell him about the breakup?” Xiao Can asked.
“I did. Right after I said it, he received the call,” Tan Zhen said.
Xiao Can thought for a moment and asked, “Is it convenient for him to go check the surveillance? Doesn’t he need to fly over?”
Tan Zhen paused. “Right, he initially reported the case there.”
“Since it’s so troublesome, is there any way to persuade him not to make this trip?”
“I… I can try, but… I can’t guarantee the effect,” Tan Zhen said after a moment of silence.
“Please!” Xiao Can begged.
Tan Zhen’s tone sounded almost tearful. “Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Can felt uneasy, pacing in the room.
If Tan Zhen told the truth, He Xingzhou would definitely go check the footage. But if he didn’t, and He Xingzhou still went, the nature of voluntarily admitting versus being exposed was completely different.
If He Xingzhou were to angrily reveal something after finding out, Tan Zhen would inevitably face terrible repercussions.
Xiao Can couldn’t persuade Tan Zhen to hide the truth for his sake.
After about ten minutes, he couldn’t help but message Tan Zhen, asking about the situation.
Tan Zhen didn’t reply.
Xiao Can wished he could rush to He Xingzhou’s house immediately.
After a while, his phone rang. When he picked it up, it wasn’t Tan Zhen but his acting teacher, asking why he hadn’t arrived yet.
Xiao Can remembered he forgot about the class and hurriedly apologized and left.
The location of the class was very close to his residence, only ten minutes away by car.
After arriving at the destination and parking his car, Xiao Can finally received a call from Tan Zhen.
Pressing the answer button, he heard the heartbreaking sentence.
“I’m sorry,” Tan Zhen’s voice sounded dejected.
Xiao Can took a deep breath and asked, “What’s the situation now?”
“One good news and one bad news,” Tan Zhen said, “The good news is, we broke up.”
Xiao Can thought, that’s it, both are bad news.
“The bad news is, the police told him that more than one person had been to his room, and he feels it’s necessary to confirm,” Tan Zhen said, “I tried to persuade him, told him the other person must be you, and you’ve admitted to sneaking in, so there’s no need to make another trip. But then he said he wanted to see what you look like when you’re sneaking around.”
“…”
“I couldn’t stop him, and it just made him more determined,” Tan Zhen said.
“Um… what reason did you use for the breakup?” Xiao Can tested.
“Incompatible pheromones,” Tan Zhen said.
Knowing that Tan Zhen didn’t sacrifice him to save himself, Xiao Can breathed a sigh of relief.
“He’ll know I was lying as soon as he goes,” Tan Zhen said, “What should we do now?”
“Don’t worry,” Xiao Can said, “Let me think of a solution.”
“Do you have a way?” Tan Zhen asked.
“I haven’t figured it out yet,” Xiao Can said, “But rest assured, even if he gets angry after finding out, I’ll hold onto him and prevent him from saying anything reckless to the public.”
This reassurance lacked persuasiveness but became Tan Zhen’s lifeline.
“Counting on you,” Tan Zhen said, “I think he will listen to you.”
Xiao Can nervously chuckled twice and asked, “By the way, how did he react when you mentioned breaking up?”
“He was very silent,” Tan Zhen said, “and even apologized to me, saying he hadn’t been doing well lately. I felt guilty, so I had to praise him and say it was just not compatible.”
“No attempt to reconcile?” Xiao Can asked.
“None,” Tan Zhen said, then seemed to catch something and his tone became a bit livelier than before, “Why, are you very concerned?”
“I’m just curious,” Xiao Can said, “This guy has always been abnormal, so self-absorbed, I’m curious to know what he looks like when he’s dumped.”
“Oh, just curious, huh?” Tan Zhen repeated.
“What about you? Not in a hurry anymore?” Xiao Can asked.
“I am,” Tan Zhen quickly wilted, “Please, help me.”
Xiao Can sighed. “I’ll do my best.”
After hanging up the phone, he sat in the car for a while, until he received another call from his teacher, which snapped him out of his reverie, and he hurriedly went upstairs.
The teacher was not pleased, not because he was severely late, but because during class, he was absent-minded, unable to focus, and constantly distracted.
“You have great talent, arguably the most promising student I’ve had in recent years,” the teacher gently encouraged, “But even if luck falls into your lap, you still need to hold onto it tightly.”
Seeing Xiao Can sincerely apologize, she asked, “Is something bothering you?”
Xiao Can forced a bitter smile.
A super difficult-to-deal-with Alpha left a broken and chaotic mark on me, and soon he might come over to demand responsibility.
Oh, right, he’s impotent.
Xiao Can suddenly felt a bit dizzy.
Although he didn’t want to face this development, solving it might be troublesome, but it wasn’t an insurmountable obstacle. Since Tan Zhen could ask for a breakup, he could also firmly refuse.
It’s not like it would affect his career, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Why was he so nervous?
Seeing him silent, the teacher sighed and said, “It must be something serious. In that case, you must savor your emotions at this moment. For a good actor, this is also a valuable experience.”
Xiao Can nodded. “Okay, I understand, thank you, teacher.”
“Let’s stop here for today,” the teacher said, “Forcing it any further would just waste both our time.”
Back home, Xiao Can was surprised to find that Mu Nianwen wasn’t streaming.
“You’re back, why so early?” Mu Nianwen was excited to see Xiao Can, “I ordered some food, let’s watch TV together later!”
“Huh?” Xiao Can was puzzled, “Is there a special program today?”
“The variety show you recorded last time!” Mu Nianwen said, “This is your first time on TV, and you don’t even remember?”
“Oh, right!” Xiao Can suddenly remembered.
He had remembered it, but it was all thrown out of his mind by He Xingzhou’s scene.
“It’ll probably stir up controversy when it airs,” he told Mu Nianwen, “I hope the editing team shows some conscience.”
“What controversy?” Mu Nianwen was curious, “What did you do?” After asking, he quickly guessed the answer, “It must be related to He Xingzhou!”
Xiao Can’s gaze shifted. “You’ll see when you watch it.”
There was no television at home, so Mu Nianwen’s computer screen was bigger. They moved chairs and food into Mu Nianwen’s room, waiting in front of the screen.
While chatting with Mu Nianwen, Xiao Can pondered, and after careful consideration, he took the initiative to send a message to He Xingzhou.
He needed to test if He Xingzhou would check the surveillance. He had to engage in conversation first.
“The show will be on today,” he sent, his heart beating rapidly.
Considering the awkward end of their last conversation, his opening now seemed too nonchalant.
He hoped He Xingzhou had some basic social skills and could understand his intention to turn over a new leaf, instead of bringing up past grievances.
Two minutes later, Xiao Can’s phone rang.
Surprisingly, He Xingzhou called him back.
Xiao Can hesitated for a moment before rejecting the call.
“I’m not available to talk right now.”
Mu Nianwen was sitting right next to him. Xiao Can didn’t hide anything from him, but he was also afraid that certain topics would make Mu Nianwen uncomfortable.
He Xingzhou replied quickly.
“Wanna watch it together?” he said.
Xiao Can was stunned. He had prepared for the worst, but he never expected He Xingzhou to be a hundred times more natural than him.
“How do we watch together?” Xiao Can asked.
“Voice chat,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can glanced at Mu Nianwen beside him.
“Not very convenient,” Xiao Can said.
He Xingzhou was silent for a moment before replying:
“Oh.”
Shortly after, he sent another message.
“I broke up with Tan Zhen.”
Xiao Can was dumbfounded, thinking, why is he telling me this?
For a moment, he didn’t know how to reply, and He Xingzhou’s message came again.
“Did he tell you?”
Finally, Xiao Can could answer.
“Yeah.”
He Xingzhou asked again:
“Did you contact me because you found out we broke up?”
This question sounded strange.
After hesitating for a while, Xiao Can replied.
“Because the show is airing today!”
A faint voice came from beside him. “Why are you so excited talking to someone?”
Xiao Can panicked and instinctively put the phone screen against his chest. “Huh? What?”
“Pretending,” Mu Nianwen looked him up and down, “Do you have something going on?”
“What’s going on?” Xiao Can put down his phone, “What could be going on, I don’t have anything going on.”
“Whoa,” Mu Nianwen pursed his lips, “Nervous, huh?”
They were too familiar with each other. Xiao Can found it hard to hide things from him and had to confess honestly.
“It’s He Xingzhou. Do you remember the surveillance issue you mentioned last time?”
Mu Nianwen nodded, “Yeah, did you ask him about it?”
“The hard drive storing the surveillance footage was broken at the time, so he didn’t see the video,” Xiao Can said, “But it’s fixed now, and he plans to watch it.”
Mu Nianwen raised his eyebrows in surprise, “So you mean…”
“I hope he doesn’t go,” Xiao Can said, “I don’t want him to know.”
“Why?” Mu Nianwen was excited, “Let him know! Let him see it clearly! After watching it, he should think about taking responsibility properly!”
“I don’t want him to take responsibility,” Xiao Can said.
Mu Nianwen stared at his face for a while, “I want to scold you a bit.”
Xiao Can could tell he was genuinely unhappy.
“Xiao Can, you shouldn’t be the kind of person who hides and suffers alone like this,” Mu Nianwen said, “He has made you suffer so much, why endure it?”
“It’s useless for him to know,” Xiao Can explained, “I don’t want to have anything to do with him.”
“Pfft,” Mu Nianwen said, “I see you seem pretty happy chatting with him. Is it because of that Tan Zhen that you’re enduring?”
Obviously, he had already crafted a whole melodramatic storyline in his mind.
Xiao Can didn’t know how to explain everything without revealing Tan Zhen’s privacy. Meanwhile, his phone, feeling left out, vibrated again.
Xiao Can turned the screen on, and Mu Nianwen stretched his neck to look.
He Xingzhou had sent a new message.
—Didn’t have a chance to say.
—Thank you for being so gentle with me that night.
Mu Nianwen’s voice came softly into Xiao Can’s ears as he inhaled sharply
