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Task 6 was unexpectedly completed.
Xia Yan pondered task 7. Exiting the entertainment industry was easy to understand, but “being abandoned” meant that Tu Xi had to initiate the breakup.
So far… it seemed like the protagonist gong and shou hadn’t shown any emotional changes. Was the catalyst still insufficient?
[You’re just a small character, focus on completing your own tasks,] the system said. [Once you’ve completed all the tasks and exited the protagonist’s world, the two of them will have their romantic storyline.]
Xia Yan nodded in half-understanding. [I see.]
After thinking it through, it made sense. As the protagonist shou, Tu Xi had to be a positive figure; he couldn’t develop feelings for another person while already in a relationship. And as for Xia Yan… well, being a scummy lover was just part of the routine.
After waking up, Xia Yan remained seated on the bed, motionless and silent.
Zhao Wenxiu hesitated, “Xia Yan, what’s wrong?”
“Ah… nothing.” Xia Yan snapped out of his thoughts, waving a hand casually, with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. “I just suddenly remembered how cute you were yesterday.”
“!!!”
Instant social death.
A blush crept up from Zhao Wenxiu’s neck to his ears. He felt like a boiled duck, with his body temperature rising rapidly. Awkwardly, he changed the subject, “I bought lean pork and vegetable porridge. Come out and eat.”
“I’m really hungry.”
“I’ll wait for you outside.”
Zhao Wenxiu walked out stiffly, obviously still embarrassed.
Xia Yan blinked, his eyelashes fluttering lightly like butterfly wings. He lazily stretched out his words, “Wait, are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you afraid of me?”
“…”
“Clearly, just last night—or rather, this morning—you were still clinging to me, insisting on coming along.” Xia Yan let out a long sigh. “Fickle man.”
At that moment, Zhao Wenxiu wished he could dig a hole and bury the drunk version of himself from the night before. Even though he knew Xia Yan was teasing him for fun, he couldn’t brush it off. Trying to maintain composure, he turned back, unable to look directly at Xia Yan, and focused his gaze on the gray bedsheets.
Then, a thought flashed through his mind.
Xia Yan was sleeping in his bed.
The same bed and sheets he had slept in the night before were now tightly wrapped around Xia Yan’s body, as if… as if he was hugging him.
A pure, inexperienced man couldn’t handle such thoughts.
Zhao Wenxiu instantly forgot what he wanted to say. He instinctively took a few steps back, accidentally stepping on the curly-haired boy still asleep on the floor. The boy groaned in pain, his green eyes filled with confusion.
“Huh?”
“Accident,” Zhao Wenxiu replied calmly, his expression composed, but his actions were swift as he fled the master bedroom, his retreat hasty and flustered.
Curly-haired boy: “What’s wrong with him?”
Xia Yan: “No idea.”
He had only intended to stay in character and ask Zhao Wenxiu to fetch him some toiletries. Who knew that just speaking would scare him off?
Uh… was his reputation that bad now?
Finally, Xia Yan couldn’t resist anymore and powered on his phone.
Countless calls and comments flooded in. He first logged into his secondary Weibo account—his main account was controlled by his agent. Opening the trending list, he found that he alone occupied five trending topics.
Clicking on one randomly, he saw people digging into his dark past. Some even accused him of being promiscuous, claiming he loved group activities and, after being with three men yesterday, was indeed feeling weak today. Halfway through their scolding, they suddenly switched gears and started fantasizing.
Many people proudly boasted about having slept with Xia Yan, and one even wanted to join the club, casually flaunting his eight-pack abs and nine-figure bank account.
Xia Yan: “…” Ridiculous.
Without hesitation, he blocked the person, took a deep breath, and continued scrolling. When he stumbled upon a video of himself and Zhao Wenxiu, he paused, surprised.
Blurry whispers.
Ambiguous push-and-pull.
It was… quite damning evidence!!!
Xia Yan’s eyes lit up, and he gave the video a thumbs up.
He silently thanked the person who recorded the video for helping him complete his task.
“What are you looking at, brother?” The curly-haired boy, noticing that Xia Yan had been glued to his phone without sparing him a glance, ground his teeth in jealousy and nuzzled closer like a fluffy puppy.
Xia Yan swiped down forcefully, refreshing the page. The Weibo post he had just liked vanished without a trace. However, the heated discussions about his scandals continued to dominate the refreshed page.
The curly-haired boy’s emerald eyes stared intently at the screen, his lips tightening into a line as he growled, “How dare they insult you.”
Uh… why wouldn’t they dare?
Just a scumbag like him—should they be praising him instead of criticizing him?
But… as a scummy lover, he couldn’t say that out loud. Xia Yan had to feign anger, speaking in a way that completely defied moral standards, “I just committed the mistake that every man in the world would make, that’s all.”
“Yeah, you did nothing wrong.”
“…”
The curly-haired boy encouraged him, “Loving someone is never wrong.”
Xia Yan started questioning his life choices.
Could it be because he was playing the role of a scumbag? Was that why he was attracting such strange people?
“Don’t worry, brother. Worst-case scenario, you leave the entertainment industry. I’ll take care of you.” The curly-haired boy leaned against the bed, widening his eyes to look cute, his expression of an innocent youth. “My family owns a castle in Europe. Whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you.”
Xia Yan hesitated.
The boy looked at him obediently, hiding all the sharpness in his demeanor.
Of course, he knew that cheating was wrong, but if Xia Yan didn’t cheat, where would that leave him? First, he needed to trick Xia Yan into coming with him to Europe, where he’d be unfamiliar with his surroundings and have no one else to rely on but him.
Give it a year or two—he was confident that, with his charm, Xia Yan would eventually fall in love with him.
“…”
What could Xia Yan do?
Act, of course!
Xia Yan’s expression darkened as he lifted his head, his voice cold as he questioned, “Are you looking down on me?”
“Huh?” The curly-haired boy was dumbfounded.
“What I want, I can buy for myself. I don’t need your help.” Xia Yan clicked his tongue and, without mercy, ordered, “Get out. You’re an eyesore.”
“???”
Chu Zizhe was innocent! He had been trying to please his crush, yet he ended up stepping on a landmine.
No matter how mature or cunning he tried to appear, he was still just a nineteen-year-old boy. Flustered, he couldn’t explain himself clearly and was kicked out of the room. In the living room, he and Zhao Wenxiu exchanged annoyed glares, mutually displeased with one another.
Having a good grasp of the situation online, Xia Yan logged into his social media accounts.
Messages had come in from Tu Xi, Wang Dazhuang, and Liu Jinhao. Xia Yan responded to each one vaguely, doing his best to cover up the scandal.
As for the others he wasn’t familiar with, he didn’t bother replying.
Then, suddenly, a message from an unfamiliar sender caught his attention.
[Video.mp4]
[As long as you refuse the Beaufort endorsement, this video won’t spread.]
The message was sent at 11:53 PM yesterday. He was at a bar at the time and hadn’t checked his phone.
Half an hour later, when Xia Yan still hadn’t replied, the person messaged again, threatening him: [Zhao Wenxiu gave you a hundred million. That should be enough to pay off the penalty, right?]
Another hour and a half passed.
Still no response from Xia Yan. The sender’s patience finally ran out: [Xia Yan, you leave me no choice.]
At 2:30 AM, the video was posted, the hired trolls went to work, and the situation was solidified—Xia Yan was nailed to the pillar of shame, facing a full-scale boycott online.
Perhaps some people didn’t despise Xia Yan’s behavior. On the contrary, they might have felt a desire to reach out and claim this beautiful moon for themselves. But deep down, their selfish desires made them want to lock this treasure away, preventing others from seeing it. So, they were all too happy to join the chorus of condemnation online.
A person who held a grudge against him, who could have taken such a video at ‘Love Island’… Xia Yan’s mind raced, and he already had a suspect in mind.
—Fang Xihua.
Aside from him, Xia Yan couldn’t think of anyone else.
In a way, Xia Yan was grateful to him. Without his stirring things up, who knew when he would have completed his tasks?
Mentally, Xia Yan gave him a thumbs up, then promptly blocked his WeChat account and deleted the chat history to prevent anyone from finding evidence that might clear his name.
Yesterday, Xia Yan spent over an hour at the bar and had close contact with Zhao Wenxiu, the drunkard.
Xia Yan lowered his head and sniffed himself, catching a faint scent of alcohol.
Feeling uncomfortable, he wanted to take a shower and change his clothes.
Zhao Wenxiu’s room was spacious, with a walk-in closet on the side. On the left hung an array of neatly organized suits, while on the right were simple, comfortable loungewear.
Xia Yan picked out a deep brown pure cotton loungewear set that still had the tags. He felt a bit guilty, thinking to himself that as a scumbag, it was perfectly normal to take the owner’s clothes without asking.
And at worst, he could pay him later.
In the bathroom, he found disposable toothbrushes and towels.
Turning on the shower, hot water poured from above, washing away the smell of alcohol. Xia Yan squeezed out a pump of body wash, and the scent of bitter tea filled the air, lifting his spirits.
Men tend to shower quickly, and within ten minutes, he was out of the bathroom.
Zhao Wenxiu was 1.89 meters tall, eight centimeters taller than Xia Yan, and more muscular. Naturally, his clothes were too big for him.
When Xia Yan walked into the living room wearing slippers, the two silent men were stunned.
The loose V-neck loungewear exposed a large area of fair skin. His neck was slender, and his pale cheeks were tinged with a faint pink from the steam, making him look irresistibly enticing.
At that moment, only two thoughts raced through Zhao Wenxiu’s mind:
He’s wearing my clothes.
Boyfriend style.
Help!!! His heart is pounding like crazy!!!
