ASFSODS 28

Jin Ge didn’t hear Wen Chi say anything and shouted, “Hey, hey, hey—Wen Chi, are you still there?”

Wen Chi quickly lowered the phone’s volume and glanced at the driver. The driver immediately retracted his ears like he hadn’t been listening.

“I’m here, I’m here. On the road, there’s no signal,” Wen Chi explained.

Jin Ge let out an “oh,” then said, “So are you actually dating Movie Emperor Jiang or not? You two are trending on the hot search again. Damn, the ranking just went up again.”

“We’re not dating, we’re just friends,” Wen Chi replied helplessly.

“For real? Then I’m relieved,” Jin Ge sighed.

Wen Chi, remembering the trending topic, felt a little uneasy and brought it up, but Jin Ge told him not to worry. After all, the trending topic was stirred up by fans of the “Hengwen CP” from the show. As long as both sides stayed silent, the buzz would die down after the program ended and they stopped interacting publicly.

After hanging up, Wen Chi fiddled with his phone. Just then, the driver cleared his throat like he wanted to say something, but after a while, he stayed silent.

Wen Chi’s phone chimed again, his dad messaged to ask if he had landed.

For some reason, seeing that the message wasn’t from Jiang Siheng made Wen Chi feel both relieved and… a little something else he couldn’t quite describe.

The ride from the airport back to his small hometown took over two hours. When he finally got out, his lower back was sore from sitting so long.

The drop-off was close to home. Wen Chi put on a baseball cap and dragged his suitcase toward the house.

Passing by the family restaurant, he noticed the shutters were down. A small wooden sign hung on the door: “Closed for the day.”

The town wasn’t big, and dragging a suitcase while wearing a cap made him stand out even more. Sure enough—

“Hey, isn’t that Xiao Chi?”

“Xiao Chi’s back!”

“Yo, if it isn’t our local celebrity!”

Wen Chi smiled and greeted each person politely, even though his pace gradually quickened out of secondhand embarrassment.

Inside the house, Lin Huixiu heard the door and quickly wiped her hands as she stepped out of the kitchen. “Was that Xiao Chi just now?”

Wen Zhengde was reading the newspaper and looked up. “Didn’t hear anything.”

Just as he finished speaking, the door opened from the outside, and Wen Chi rolled in his suitcase. “Mom, Dad, I’m home!”

Lin Huixiu lit up. “Xiao Chi!”

Wen Chi closed the door and gave his mom a sticky hug. “Did you miss me?”

“You’ve only been gone for two months.” Lin Huixiu gently patted his head, her voice full of affection. “Go put your stuff away. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Okay.” Wen Chi scurried off to give his dad a half-hearted hug. “Dad.”

Wen Zhengde felt the split-second hug and grunted, “Go, go, go.”

Lin Huixiu smiled helplessly at the father-son duo.

Back in his childhood room, Wen Chi collapsed onto the bed. The familiar pillow and plush cushion made all his fatigue melt away.

His phone chimed again. Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi were blowing up the group chat.

【Congnan: He’s back】
【Huo Yinshi: Midnight snack tonight?】
【Congnan: What’s the plan】

A while later, Lin Huixiu called Wen Chi out for dinner.

His mom had really gone all out. Five dishes and a soup, it’s more than enough for three people.

“Eat up.” Lin Huixiu kept piling food onto Wen Chi’s plate. “When are you going back to work?”

“In a few days.”

“How long are you staying?”

Wen Chi was chewing, so he just raised three fingers.

“Three days, huh?” Lin Huixiu sighed. “Well, that’s better than nothing. Work is more important.”

Wen Zhengde took a sip of soup. “Then just rest while you’re here. If people say any nonsense to you, just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

Lin Huixiu slapped his leg. “Shut up and drink your soup.”

Wen Zhengde: “Cough, cough—”

Wen Chi blinked. “What nonsense?”

Lin Huixiu hesitated. “Actually, your dad and I weren’t planning to bring this up, but thinking about it now… it’s not really a bad thing.”

Wen Chi’s curiosity was piqued.

She said, “It’s nothing really. Just that Aunt Chen at the veggie stall said you and your partner from the show are dating.”

Wen Chi: “…”

Help. Why does it feel like the entire world thinks they’re dating, except him and Jiang Siheng?

Seeing her son go quiet, Lin Huixiu leaned in excitedly. “Wait… you are dating him, aren’t you?”

“No!” Wen Chi put down his chopsticks, exasperated. “Teacher Jiang and I are just friends.”

“Really?” She scrutinized his expression. Seeing he met her gaze openly and sincerely, she believed him. “Alright then.”

Even though he was planning to go out for late-night snacks later, Wen Chi still ate quite a bit. He stopped just before getting completely stuffed.

Wen Zhengde did the dishes, while Lin Huixiu motioned for Wen Chi to come sit on the couch. “Xiao Chi, what’s the name of that variety show you’re on?”

“Heartbeat’s Confession 2.”

She pulled out her phone, the case already yellowing from age. “Where can I watch it?”

Wen Chi took her phone, searched for the show, and said, “The full episodes haven’t been released yet. Probably in a few days.”

“But if it’s not out yet, how did Aunt Chen’s daughter see you two being all close?”

“It must’ve been from the livestream,” Wen Chi downloaded the app for her, signed up, and followed the official account. “When you want to watch, just open this app, tap the heart icon. Third from the left and you’ll see it.”

Lin Huixiu nodded. “Got it.”

As Wen Chi watched her navigate the app, he suddenly remembered the trending topic Jin Ge mentioned. “Mom, I’m gonna head back to my room.”

“Okay.” Her eyes were glued to the phone screen.

Back in his room, Wen Chi saw that Jiang Siheng had messaged him over an hour ago.

【Jiang Siheng: Did you get home?】

The moment he saw Jiang’s name, he was reminded of all the people who had asked him whether they were together. His parents, Jin Ge… even the town veggie vendor.

It made him reflect: could it be that what he saw as a normal friendship actually looked like flirting to everyone else?

He stared at the message for a few seconds, then switched apps and logged into Weibo on his alt account. His main hadn’t been active in ages.

He opened the trending page. Thankfully, their names weren’t in the top 6. But when he scrolled down, there it was at #18.

[#NonShippersOfHengwenCPAreInTrouble]

Wen Chi winced and tapped on it. The top post was a video.

It was only two minutes long but by the time it ended, his entire face was red like a cooked tomato.

He couldn’t believe it.

That sweet, soft, occasionally shy boy doting on Jiang Siheng in the video… was that really him?

The post had over ten thousand comments, likes, and shares.

[This isn’t a dating show, it’s a married couple slice-of-life drama]

[My mom asked me why I’m smiling like a fool. I said: “Because Hengwen is real”]

[They’re killing me, I can’t handle this sweetness]

[Their interactions feel so natural]

[Wen Chi is so cute and soft, even the Movie Emperor Jiang is whipped]

[Please let Hengwen stay together in two weeks too, I’m praying]

Wen Chi wanted to scream and bury himself alive.

Of course, not all the comments were supportive. Some accused him of faking chemistry, or forcing a CP.

He quickly logged out of his alt and logged into his main. It had been dormant for days, but now, his follower count had jumped from under 100k to over 300k.

His inbox was flooded. New messages were still coming in.

NeverSeenTheWorldBefore-WenChiOVO: Help

He instantly closed the app. If he didn’t look, nothing happened. That was the rule.

Around ten o’clock, Qiao Congnan called to say he was downstairs.

Wen Chi grabbed his keys and phone, heading out. Er Qiao was waiting on an electric scooter and handed him a spare helmet. “C’mon. Let’s go mess around.”

Wen Chi swapped his cap for the helmet and hopped on. “Where are we eating?”

“Aunty Feng’s Late-Night Congee. Forever the GOAT. Old Huo’s already waiting.”

The congee shop wasn’t far. Five or six minutes later, they arrived and saw Huo Yinshi already holding a table.

“You didn’t order yet?” Qiao tossed his keys onto the table and pulled out a chair. “Xiao Chi, sit here.”

Wen Chi sat down and noticed Huo Yinshi looking like he was ready to punch the Earth. “Alright, spill. What did your boss do this time?”

Huo Yinshi gave him a haunted look. “Don’t even mention that word. It took me ten minutes to calm down.”

Qiao Congnan sighed. “Seriously, with how much overtime they make you pull, have you really not thought about quitting?”

Wen Chi glanced at him knowingly.

Sure enough, Huo Yinshi replied with the same old line, “I can’t. They pay too well.”

Qiao Congnan shrugged and turned to Wen Chi. “And what’s with the hat? Are you trying to go incognito or something?”

“Don’t worry about it, handsome.” Wen Chi replied coolly.

Qiao Congnan was speechless.

The grilled skewers arrived. Wen Chi had been full from dinner, but the smell of cumin and chili woke up his appetite all over again.

The three cracked open cold beers and chatted while eating.

At the next table, a few girls and guys sat down. One girl glanced casually to the side, then did a double take. After three seconds, her eyes snapped back like magnets.

The guy at the center wore a mist-blue tee with a tiny embroidered yellow duck on the chest. His cap was pulled low, revealing a clean jawline and delicate profile. Tousled black bangs brushed over his brows. His long lashes lowered slightly as he raised a beer to his lips. His fingers—pale, slender—were wet with condensation, exuding a subtle sensuality.

Holy. Crap.

The girl couldn’t believe it. She had just come out for a casual midnight snack and ran into Wen Chi.