ASFSODS 42

Wen Chi’s fans and Xu Yuqing’s fans had started arguing.

At first, both sides were minding their own business and everyone was enjoying a peaceful day. But around noon—right when people were getting off work or out of class—a trending topic suddenly shot up into the top ten of Weibo’s entertainment hot list.

Wen Chi’s fans were stunned when they saw the headline.

What the hell?? Wen Chi bullying Xu Yuqing??? EXCUSE ME?????

[@ChiSugarMoonlight(SameNameVersion): Just woke up and saw someone saying Wen Chi is bullying others. Unreal.]

[@AChiSugarDuck: …Huh? Wen Chi’s that small and skinny and he’s the one bullying people?]

[@BossOneRoundofMilkTeaPlease: Not a fan. I’d never even heard of Wen Chi before Confession 2. I had at least seen Xu Yuqing in a historical drama before. Does Wen Chi really have that much backing to bully someone more famous than him?]

[@DoraReMiFaSoLa777: I swear, I could smash a gas canister over this nonsense! Been a fan of Wen Chi for over a year, even ran into him once. He’s the kind of guy who blushes whenever a girl talks to him—he’d bully someone??]

[@Don’tLaughtoDeath-er: Wait… it seems like… that blogger was talking about Wen Chi’s fans bullying Xu Yuqing’s fans? (whispers)]

Wen Chi’s fans bullying Xu Yuqing’s fans? That made even less sense.

In no time, the Weibo plaza was a battleground. Xu Yuqing’s fans were spreading a video posted by a marketing account and it showed people in the main live room of Heart’s Confession 2, with some users wearing Wen Chi’s fan tags posting insults about Xu Yuqing.

Xu Yuqing’s fans said.

[Typical. Fans from the boonies are just brainless. #sweating#]

[I was speechless watching the stream yesterday. Ah Yu just wanted to take everyone out to have fun, and Wen Chi’s fans twisted it into saying he was being extra and had nothing better to do.]

[Poor Ah Yu. Let’s just ignore Zhou Ruoyao and Wen Chi. If it comes to it, dropping out of the show wouldn’t be the end of the world.]

[Exactly. We don’t need this variety show to gain fans anyway. I became a fan of Ah Yu after his role as Senior Brother Chang’an.]

Wen Chi’s fans were absolutely furious. They had never seen such clueless fans either.

[You serious? Anyone can send a one-yuan gift and get a fan tag. Anyone can pretend to be a fan.]

[Come on, just wearing a fan tag doesn’t mean you’re really a fan. Use your brain, please?]

[To be honest, based on what Xu Yuqing said, even my roommate—who’s not into fandoms—asked me if that guy was looking down on someone. Think about it. Think carefully.]

[Xiao Chi’s from the south, but it’s not like he’s never seen snow. If you check his Weibo, you’ll find a post from last December with a photo of him standing in the snow.]

The argument escalated. The assistant director closed Weibo with a worried expression and looked at the director. “Director Ma, if this keeps going, the show might take a hit.”

The director had also just checked Weibo. He simply said, “Ignore it.”

“Ignore it? Both sides are dragging the production team into this now,” the assistant said.

The director replied, “Is this your first day in entertainment? Every show has people who like it and people who don’t. We can’t control all of that. Besides, getting flamed isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it still brings traffic to the show.”

Honestly, the assistant director was worried about the online drama because he feared Heart’s Confession would suffer. The first season had also seen fans of different celebs clashing online, but season two was turning out even more chaotic.

Nervously, the assistant clicked back into Weibo—only to find that Xu Yuqing’s fans had dragged Zhou ruoyao into the mess too. “?”

His vision went black. He immediately pinched his philtrum. What kind of madness is this ahhhhh!

Back in the country, the trending topic hit Weibo’s hot list while Y Country was still in the middle of the night. If not for the sudden snowstorm that came out of nowhere, Wen Chi might’ve slept straight through till morning.

The weather had been calm, but then in the middle of the night, strong winds picked up and started slamming against the windows with loud bangs.

Woken by the noise, Wen Chi groggily opened his eyes and glanced out the window. Realizing it was just the wind, he relaxed and went back to sleep.

With no idea of how much time passed, but in his sleep, Wen Chi felt colder and colder. Even wrapped in blankets, even with the inn’s heating on, he curled up tightly from the chill.

His hands and feet were ice cold. Finally, he woke from the cold, sat up, and the movement caused the blanket to slip off his shoulders. The exposed skin instantly broke out in goosebumps as it hit the cold air.

“Why is it so cold…” he muttered. Just then, he heard voices coming from the hallway. Though they were speaking quietly, in the dead silence of the night, it was still noticeable.

Wen Chi grabbed the jacket next to him, slipped it on, and shuffled in his slippers to open the door. That’s when he saw the hallway lights on and Jiang Siheng, Qin Xiyu, and several crew members standing there discussing something.

Jiang Siheng turned at the sound of the door and saw the boy—who should’ve been fast asleep at this hour—standing there in his hoodie, hands tucked in like a little old man, his eyes dazed and drowsy as he looked at them.

“Why are you awake?” Jiang Siheng walked over and naturally reached out to smooth the boy’s sleep-mussed hair.

“Got woken up by the cold,” Wen Chi said. That’s when he realized it wasn’t just his room—even the hallway was filled with icy air.

“It’s windy, raining, and snowing outside—this whole area’s had a power outage,” Jiang Siheng explained.

“Holy crap, it’s freezing.” Another door opened, and Tian Yang came out wrapped in a blanket. “No more heating?”

Wen Chi said, “The power’s out.”

Tian Yang asked, “Doesn’t the inn have a backup generator?”

The staff member shook his head. “I just talked to the landlord’s son. He said there isn’t one.”

“So when will the power come back?” Wen Chi asked.

“Around nine, probably,” the staff member replied.

With no electricity and no heating, everyone found themselves gathered in the living room at just before five in the morning for the first time. The only source of light was a large flashlight provided by the production team. They stood it upright so the beam bounced off the ceiling and illuminated most of the room.

Wen Chi sat cross-legged on the sofa, wrapping a blanket over his jacket just like Tian Yang had done. He resembled a little triangle-shaped zongzi with the way he looked.

Jiang Siheng leaned sleepily against Wen Chi. In everyone else’s eyes, he was just closing his eyes to rest, but only Wen Chi, who was sitting so close, knew that Jiang Siheng was quietly fidgeting with the corner of his blanket.

“It’s seriously freezing,” Zhou Yunbai muttered, pouring herself a tiny cup of hot water. Thankfully, she had the habit of boiling a kettle every night before bed and keeping it warm in a thermos.

With the chill in the air right now, a sip of hot water really helped.

Zhou Ruoyao was mindlessly scrolling through his phone. It was so cold that his fingers had gone numb, and even playing on his phone felt like a challenge.

Back home, it was nearly noon. Zhou Ruoyao looked at the group chat where his university roommates—now proper working adults—were posting pictures of their lunch.

Young Master Zhou let out a snort, raised his phone, and snapped a photo of the dimly lit living room. He hadn’t turned off the shutter sound, so everyone turned toward him at the sound of the camera click.

Zhou Ruoyao casually said, “Just documenting the moment.”

Then, out of nowhere, Tian Yang suggested watching a movie. He had a ton downloaded on his tablet.

Since there was nothing else to do and no way to fall asleep, everyone agreed.

Zhou Ruoyao lowered his head and sent the photo to the dorm group chat.

【Roommate 1: Are you guys on a survival show?】

【Roommate 2: This doesn’t feel like a romance show at all—it’s giving horror vibes??】

【Roommate 3: Xiao Yao, isn’t it the middle of the night over there? What are you all doing in the living room at this hour】

【Zhou Ruoyao: Power outage in the area. No heating, can’t sleep. We’re gonna watch a movie.】

【Roommate 1: Awww! Hey, is that guy across from you that Xu-something? His fans are insane.】

【Roommate 1: Wait no, do you know you guys are trending on Weibo?!】

【Zhou Ruoyao: ? What trending? I mean, I am handsome—it’s not weird for me to trend, right?】

【Roommate 1: No, it’s a hate trend this time. Though you’re just caught in the crossfire. The real trending topic is that Xu-something guy and your idol.】

Zhou Ruoyao really had no idea about the trending topic. He clicked the link his roommate sent, read the whole post from start to finish, and was so furious he nearly smashed his phone.

A moment later, Wen Chi’s phone buzzed. He glanced down and saw a WeChat message from Zhou Ruoyao—who was seated less than three spots away.

Wen Chi looked over at him, confused. Zhou Ruoyao pointed at his phone, signaling him to check the message.

So mysterious.

Meanwhile, Tian Yang was scrolling through his tablet, discussing movie choices with the others.

Messages from Zhou Ruoyao kept popping up rapidly in the chat window. He typed so fast that new ones were piling up before Wen Chi could even finish reading the earlier ones.

【Zhou Ruoyao: I’m seriously pissed off. What kind of dumbass is this.】

【Zhou Ruoyao: Anyone with eyes and ears can tell he was taking jabs at you, and now his fans are out here saying he’s kind and good-hearted?】

【Zhou Ruoyao: That trending topic’s already a total mess. Want me to go up there and fight back?】

【Zhou Ruoyao: I’m amazing at flaming people!】

Wen Chi looked up at Zhou Ruoyao after reading the last message, staring at that seemingly well-behaved face.

Jiang Siheng, noticing how long Wen Chi had been on his phone, reached out and gently covered the screen with his hand. Looking at him, he didn’t ask what Wen Chi was doing, he just said, “The lighting’s bad. Don’t look at your phone too long.”

“Oh, okay.” That was a line Wen Chi had heard from his mom since childhood—though back then it was about the TV.

Tian Yang and the others had settled on a movie. In the dim light, Wen Chi caught a glimpse of the mischievous grin on Tian Yang’s face.

A second later, he understood why.

With so many people watching a movie on one tablet, the screen was already going to feel a little small.

The screen went dark, then with a loud thud, four blood-red characters popped up—complete with dripping blood effects. The horror movie atmosphere hit instantly.

Wen Chi was stunned. “Aren’t we cold enough already?”

“Don’t worry,” Tian Yang said. “By the time it ends, it’ll be morning.”

Xu Yuqing chuckled. “It kinda reminds me of watching horror movies in the dorms during college.”

Zhou Yunbai nodded. “Yeah, same vibe.”

Xu Yuqing continued, “I remember back in college, if we didn’t have night classes, our dorm would always—”

Qin Xiyu cut him off, “The movie’s starting.”

The unspoken message was, quiet down, stop talking.

Zhou Ruoyao quietly gave Qin Xiyu a thumbs up.

As for being interrupted, Xu Yuqing just gave an awkward smile and didn’t say anything more.

Jiang Siheng noticed Wen Chi hugging a pillow to his chest and thought he was scared. He whispered, “If you don’t want to watch, we don’t have to.”

But the boy turned to him with eyes bright and expression thrilled, though he tried to keep his voice down, “Of course I want to watch! I love watching horror movies with friends, but Er Qiao and the others are total cowards so they won’t.”

“…Alright, then.”

Since there was no power, the living room cameras weren’t working. In the end, three camera operators carried their rigs in and took positions that wouldn’t block the guests’ view while still getting their shots.

The horror movie was a domestic production. Wen Chi guessed the ending from the very beginning, but it wasn’t too bad—he didn’t mind as long as the plot wasn’t totally nonsensical.

Tong Xian’en wasn’t really interested in the movie. He kept glancing at his phone from time to time—probably spending more time on that than actually watching.

Maybe it was the movie, but Wen Chi genuinely felt like it wasn’t so cold anymore. A couple of jump scares with the ghost popping up right in his face even got his adrenaline pumping. In fact, now he was feeling kind of warm.

“Teacher Jiang, did that part just now scare you?” Wen Chi took advantage of a quiet moment to turn and ask his best friend.

Jiang Siheng had been looking at the tablet with a blank expression. Even when the ghost jumped out right in front of the screen, he felt nothing inside. But when the boy he liked asked if he was scared, he had two options. He could play it cool and say “not at all,” or act a little shaken and maybe get some comforting from Wen Chi. Between the two…

“Mhm, I almost died from fright just now.”

His voice was sincere, with a hint of grievance.