TSBDRA 68: Teacher Xu, Please Forgive Me

Of course, Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan couldn’t hear Fei Yuan’s silent screams of despair. They waited in place for a bit, and in that short time, Jiang Yangze had already driven away the chaotic group of friends he had brought along to the party.

Jiang Yangze knew Yan Yushan didn’t like noisy crowds—especially not this kind of wild and disruptive scene. If it got on Yan Yushan’s nerves again, he would definitely get “handled” once more.

That said, Jiang Yangze snuck a glance at Xu Xishuang. He couldn’t help but feel like ever since Xu Xishuang came into Yan-ge’s life, Yan-ge’s temper had mellowed quite a bit. Just now, when he hit him, he had clearly held back and he didn’t even threaten to ship him off to Africa this time.

Yeah, Jiang Yangze thought, Xu Xishuang really did seem like some precious treasure carved from fine jade—something that needed to be held carefully, nurtured gently. Yan-ge probably thought the same, which is why he was toning down his temper, afraid that even a raised voice might scare him.

The more Jiang Yangze thought about it, the more he felt that with Xu Xishuang around, Yan Yushan wouldn’t dare do anything to him. Emboldened, he started getting cheeky again. Once the other guests arrived, he suddenly suggested, “Since we’re all here, why not do as the locals do? Change into floral shirts like me! If we dress like locals, maybe the elder who makes the shell necklaces will take us more seriously.”

Everyone glanced at his outrageous floral shirt. Apart from Liang Feng, they all fell silent. Liang Feng, however, was completely in sync with Jiang Yangze’s fashion sense. He looked at Jiang Yangze’s loud shirt with admiration and said enthusiastically, “Great idea! Where’d you buy that?”

Peeking at the feed, Fei Yuan saw the guests’ collective look of disdain and let out a couple of smug little chuckles. As a small act of revenge, he scribbled a line on his whiteboard, then contacted the on-site camera crew to deliver the message. The guests had just earned themselves a new check-in task.

The cameramen, being humble workers just trying to survive, trudged up to the guests and said with strained smiles, “Director Fei just said… blending in with the locals by wearing floral shirts has now become a check-in task. If you complete it today, you’ll have one less task tomorrow.”

【Wear them! Wear them now! I’ve got my screenshot button ready!】

【Help—the color combos on those floral shirts are tragically tacky】

The guests exchanged glances… and ultimately decided to follow Jiang Yangze’s lead. They headed off to the market to buy floral shirts and complete the check-in task.

Jiang Yangze did his best to ignore the cold, prickling feeling behind him and led the group into a small shop crammed with all sorts of shirts. Clearly a regular, Jiang Yangze was greeted with a beaming smile from the shop owner. When the owner heard that so many people wanted to buy shirts, he couldn’t stop grinning, and eagerly recommended the brightest, most garishly patterned shirts in the store.

There were two cramped fitting rooms in the shop, but no one used them. Everyone just threw the shirts over their T-shirts, leaving the buttons open and wearing them like light jackets.

Xu Xishuang picked a dark green shirt covered in coconut trees. The designer had made the bold choice of coloring the coconuts a reddish-brown and added bright yellow seagulls flying across the fabric. Yan Yushan wore a black shirt printed with blooming pink roses, flanked by purple leaves. The others also ended up in bizarre designs—no one could quite guess what mental state the designer had been in to come up with these colors and patterns.

Sure! Here’s the full translation of the text, including the stylized part:

【The designer is truly a genius. It’s Balenciaga’s loss they didn’t hire him.】

【Hahaha help, why is this so non-mainstream! If they dye their hair next, I’ll be instantly transported back to high school.】

【The commenter above just revealed their age. By the way, let me say: You mere mortals don’t understand fashion at all.】¹This is written in Wang Yin Ti or Internet Addiction Style. Characters are swapped out for this part, for ones that look similar but are not standard in context. That’s why there’s a let me translate part in the next comment.

【Let me translate: what they said was “You mere mortals don’t understand fashion at all.”】

【But seriously, how can the shirts be that ugly, and Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan still look so hot in them? Ugh, beautiful people really can make rags look good.】

【Hello? Nüwa? Are you there? I’m too ugly to sleep.】

Jiang Yangze held back a laugh, paid for everyone’s shirts, and led the group forward. Along the way, they drew plenty of stares—though it was hard to tell whether it was because of their eye-catching shirts, their strikingly good looks, or both.

After walking for over ten minutes, Jiang Yangze stopped beside a small hut near the sea and said to the group behind him, “This is the place.”

Shell wind chimes handmade from white shells hung from the eaves. When the sea breeze blew, the shells clinked gently together, creating a soft, pleasant sound. Everyone paused outside to admire them, then watched as Jiang Yangze stepped up and knocked on the door.

A brown-haired boy opened it. His expression shifted from wary to relaxed when he saw who it was. He took the money from Jiang Yangze and opened the door to let them in.

The inside of the hut was dim. At Jiang Yangze’s request, the brown-haired boy turned on the light. As he turned around, he caught sight of Xu Xishuang standing behind Jiang Yangze and froze on the spot, momentarily forgetting how to speak.

Yan Yushan noticed the boy’s gaze. He raised an eyebrow, then calmly took a step to the side, subtly positioning himself to block the view. His tall frame completely shielded Xu Xishuang from sight.

The brown-haired boy quickly looked away when he met Yan Yushan’s eyes and said something to Jiang Yangze. His English had a local accent and was spoken quickly. The other guests and even the livestream viewers struggled to catch what he said. Jiang Yangze understood and nodded. He turned to the group and explained, “He says making traditional shell necklaces requires hand-polishing, which can easily lead to injury. You also have to collect the shells yourself, so it’s a bit of a hassle. If it’s not absolutely necessary, he’d prefer we not bother his grandfather.”

Actually, the original list of conditions for making the necklaces included another point. “It’s also quite expensive.” Jiang Yangze, being someone who could be childhood friends with Yan Yushan, clearly wasn’t short on money. He didn’t take the price seriously and didn’t bother mentioning it.

Shen Youlian responded to Jiang Yangze, “This is one of our check-in tasks. We have to do it—sorry for the trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” Jiang Yangze grinned at her. “Lian-jie, you’re my goddess. How could serving a goddess ever be a hassle?”

【Sweet talker! I didn’t expect Yan-ge’s friend to have this kind of personality. But hey, he’s not exactly greasy either】

【Was that brown-haired foreign guy staring at Xu Xishuang just now?】

【Ugh, we have to collect the shells ourselves? What a pain. The production team really knows how to make these tasks annoying】

While the chat rolled on, Jiang Yangze had already finished negotiating with the brown-haired boy and was leading the guests toward the beach to start gathering shells. He had initially planned to stick around and act as a translator, but when he realized both Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan could understand what the boy was saying, he glanced at Yan Yushan’s expression—and decided not to push his luck. Quietly, he slipped out of frame and went back to partying.

The brown-haired boy told them that shell necklaces could be used to make wishes, so the process of making one had to be sincere. You had to personally select the shells, ideally sticking to a single color with similar sizes, then grind, thread, and assemble the necklace by hand.

None of them—especially Shen Youlian—still believed in the kind of “wish magic” talk that usually tricked little kids. Most of the shells on the beach were white or yellow, so they just casually picked one of the two. Yan Yao pulled Yu Shudie along to search for pink shells. Yu Shudie looked tempted but still insisted she didn’t care, only to be dragged off by Yan Yao anyway.

Yan Yushan turned to Xu Xishuang and asked, “What color do you want to use?”

“Red,” Xu Xishuang replied. “Red looks nice.”

Red gave off a sense of burning, of life in full bloom and motion. Xu Xishuang thought of the red scarf Yan Yushan had given him, and the word just slipped out instinctively.

Yan Yushan hooked his finger around Xu Xishuang’s and smiled. “Then I’ll pick red too.”

【So sappy! SO sappy! Yan-ge, you’ve changed!】

【It’s only day one of the show and the sweetness is already off the charts. I can’t take it—my teeth hurt from how sweet this is】

【Ughhh the stench of love is literally leaking out of my screen!】

Red shells weren’t exactly rare, but finding ones of similar size wasn’t easy. Under the blazing sun, they searched the beach for over an hour. Once they’d collected about twenty shells each, they headed back to the brown-haired boy’s hut.

This time, he opened the inner room for them. Inside, they saw an elderly man sitting by the window. His face was deeply lined, and he didn’t smile when they entered, keeping a serious expression. The brown-haired boy, clearly used to it, led the guests in and took out seven specially made knives from the cabinet beside the old man. “These are for polishing the edges of the shells,” he explained.

Shell edges are thin, uneven, and sharp. They need to be carefully sanded and then coated with protective oil. Only after that can they safely be worn as necklaces and even then, they should be taken off when sleeping or moving around. So despite being called “shell necklaces,” they were more often hung on walls as decorative pieces.

The guests took their knives and sat on the chairs in the room, quietly watching the old man demonstrate how to polish the shell edges, then carefully mimicking his technique.

They were focused and serious—but the viewers, bored since the shell-collecting segment, were now nearly dozing off. Watching people quietly sanding shells while listening to the repetitive “scritch-scritch” sounds, the bullet comments dwindled significantly.

【Guys, did you notice that brown-haired foreigner keeps looking at Xu Xishuang?】

【He even walked over to guide Xu Xishuang personally—nobody else got that kind of treatment. The intention is obvious.】

【Yan-ge is looking over! Is he jealous? He’s totally jealous!】

【I’m dying. Xu Xishuang was jealous earlier, now it’s Yan Yushan’s turn】

And yes, Yan Yushan was jealous.

He understood the look in the brown-haired boy’s eyes and the little gestures all too well because he had once looked at Xu Xishuang the same way, and tried just as carefully to get close to him. So far, the boy hadn’t openly expressed his feelings toward Xu Xishuang, so Yan Yushan couldn’t exactly call him out.

He glanced down at the shell in his hand, a thought flashing through his mind. He knew exactly what he was doing—he didn’t stop himself as his grip tightened, letting the blade shift slightly off angle. Then he pressed down on the shell’s sharp edge—

“Hiss.”

Hearing the sound, Xu Xishuang turned from his focused polishing, and the moment he looked over, he saw a bead of blood forming on Yan Yushan’s hand.

Xu Xishuang’s expression changed instantly.

He dropped what he was holding and strode straight over to Yan Yushan, grabbing his uninjured hand and pulling him up. “We’re going to the hospital.”

Yan Yushan was caught off guard. This reaction was a little more intense than he’d expected but he still let himself be pulled up obediently. “I’m not—”

He didn’t even get the words “I’m fine” out before Xu Xishuang cut him off with a frown. “You got cut by a blade, didn’t you? You have to get a tetanus shot.”

It was rare to see Xu Xishuang this firm. The Xu Xishuang in everyone’s memory had always been gentle—even when he was upset or trying to run away, he came off as cold on the outside but soft inside. For a moment, Yan Yushan was speechless, stunned. By then, Xu Xishuang had already turned to the brown-haired boy to explain the situation. “My boyfriend cut his hand. I need to take him to the hospital.”

The boy’s expression froze. He instinctively looked toward the “boyfriend” Xu Xishuang had just mentioned.

Yan Yushan gave him a smile in return but no matter how you looked at it, that smile was full of smug satisfaction.

【? Yan-ge, what are you smiling at? Wait… did you do that on purpose?】

【Ahhh I’m freaking out! Foreign hospitals are so unreliable! Will Yan-ge even get the shot today?!】

The livestream comments were in a panic, and Xu Xishuang was just as anxious. He pulled Yan Yushan out of the hut without hesitation. As soon as they stepped outside, Yan Yushan held onto Xu Xishuang’s arm, stopping him and making him turn around. His tone softened as he explained, “It wasn’t the knife—it was the shell. Don’t panic, I’m really okay.”

Xu Xishuang stared at him silently for a moment, then slowly let go of his hand.

Seeing the calm return to Xu Xishuang’s face, Yan Yushan suddenly felt things slipping out of his control. Guilt crept in, and he rushed to patch things up. “I have a private doctor. I’ll have him come over to treat the cut, don’t worry.”

As he spoke, he took out his phone to call the doctor. Then he looked back at Xu Xishuang, his throat tightening, just about to confess everything—when Xu Xishuang beat him to it.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Xu Xishuang’s voice was calm, but the redness around his eyes gave his emotions away. “Bai Keke once said, when you pretend to be weak or get hurt on purpose to get the attention of someone you like, that’s a form of emotional manipulation—you were doing exactly that just now. You think I’d start liking someone else, don’t you? You don’t trust me, is that it?”

【? No no no please don’t do this! Don’t fight!】

【Yan-ge, say something! Explain! Shuangshuang baby, don’t be sad!】

【Bai Keke, what the hell have you been teaching Xu Xishuang?! My CP can’t break up this early!!】

Yan Yushan licked his dry lips, full of regret—not just for what he’d just done, but for ever letting Bai Keke say so much back during that dating show. He knew he’d gone too far. “No… it’s my fault. I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you—I just didn’t want you around that guy any longer.”

Xu Xishuang took a deep breath.

“There’s rust on the blade. Did you know that?” he asked. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down. “I know you trust me. But you—don’t joke around with your safety like that, okay?”

God knew how many times he had panicked since getting together with Yan Yushan, terrified that one wrong move in the plot would lead to disaster.

He knew there was a high chance he wouldn’t survive childbirth. That’s why he didn’t really care about his own safety anymore. But what about Yan Yushan? If the protagonist gong and protagonist shou weren’t together, would they still have their plot armor? Wouldn’t they be in danger too?

Xu Xishuang gripped the hem of Yan Yushan’s shirt tightly, crumpling the rose pattern on the loud floral fabric. But to Yan Yushan, it didn’t feel like his clothes were being tugged—it felt like Xu Xishuang was clutching his heart.

His chest felt flooded—sour, aching, heavy. It was like his whole heart had been placed in this person’s hands, and every move Xu Xishuang made, every word he said, pulled at his heartbeat, his emotions, and his thoughts.

Yan Yushan slowly lowered his head until their foreheads touched. In a quiet, solemn voice, he promised, “Okay. I’ll never get jealous like that again. I swear. Teacher Xu, please forgive me.”

Xu Xishuang took a deep breath, then bumped his forehead against Yan Yushan’s—hard—just to let out some of his anger. “You’re forgiven. Now—when’s your medical team getting here?”

【Yan-ge, you’ve really gotten childish—and kinda green tea too. Shouldn’t you have just pulled Xu Xishuang into your arms and told that guy he’s yours? Why are you hurting yourself just to get his attention?!】

【Thank god they made up, I was so scared they were really gonna fight, sob sob sob】

【Love makes people dumb but it’s so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time, I can’t deal with this】

【Damn it, seriously… just kill me with this sugar already. Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan, how are you both so good with words?! Not even fanfic hits this hard!】

【Help, I’ve lived to see Yan-ge blush! Xu kitty’s straight-up honesty is lethal!】

【My brain’s broken—is this really a travel variety show? Or did I accidentally click on a dating show?】

Yan Yushan touched his forehead, finally reassured, and replied to Xu Xishuang, “They’ll be here soon. Teacher Xu, give me a smile, won’t you? When you’re mad, it really scares me.”

Xu Xishuang’s truly cold expression was no joke—even the livestream chat had thought they were about to break up. Thankfully, things had taken a turn for the better.

Xu Xishuang was still upset and didn’t smile. He simply said, “If you’re that scared, then don’t make me angry again.”

“I won’t,” Yan Yushan said immediately. “I wouldn’t dare.”

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  This is written in Wang Yin Ti or Internet Addiction Style. Characters are swapped out for this part, for ones that look similar but are not standard in context. That’s why there’s a let me translate part in the next comment.