TSBDRA 32: There’s Something Off

…

Xu Xishuang felt that things between him and Yan Yushan were going surprisingly smoothly under the same roof.

He and Yan Yushan had never argued, never gotten angry, never bickered or snapped at each other. He had even bossed Yan Yushan around a few times, asking him to fetch things, and Yan Yushan always did it without a word—completely different from the foul-tempered, sharp-tongued top-tier devil the book had made him out to be

If Yan Yushan didn’t insist on supervising his yoga every single day, and making sure every move was done to perfection, Xu Xishuang thought their relationship might be even more harmonious.

With no work lined up, Xu Xishuang was both mentally and physically relaxed. Of course, he had no work because no high-quality jobs were offering, while Yan Yushan had no work because he refused to take high-quality jobs.

You really can’t compare yourself to other people.

“Xiao Wang,” Xu Xishuang finally couldn’t take it anymore when Xiao Wang shot him and Yan Yushan another strange glance, “do you have something you want to say to me?”

Xiao Wang immediately straightened up, sneakily glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window to make sure Yan Yushan was still outside watering the plants with his back turned, and then quickly walked over. He lowered his voice and said, “Xishuang, if you’re…”

Xiao Wang hesitated. “If you’re in a relationship, you have to tell Zhao-jie, okay? Otherwise she’ll be angry, and it could affect your career.”

“No need,” Xu Xishuang replied offhandedly.

He wasn’t planning to date anyone in this world—not yet. Surviving came first. He would think about things like love after giving birth. For now, there was no point telling Zhao-jie anything. There wasn’t going to be a relationship.

Xiao Wang misunderstood, thinking Xu Xishuang was secretly dating Yan Yushan and just didn’t want Zhao-jie to know.

Xiao Wang started sweating. He remembered his last employer—a retired idol who left the industry to take civil service exams. Back then, he had kept it a secret, and Zhao-jie had been furious and made him reflect for two months. If he hid another scandal like this, would she fire him outright?

Xiao Wang was in deep inner conflict when Yan Yushan suddenly pushed open the side door and walked in, glancing in their direction.

Meeting Yan Yushan’s gaze, Xiao Wang jolted—right, how could he forget about the 5 million hush money Yan Yushan had given him?

His heart instantly calmed down. He silently apologized to Zhao Jie. I’m sorry, but the price was just too high.

Xu Xishuang had been watching Xiao Wang’s expression shift rapidly when he suddenly heard Yan Yushan calling his name. He turned his head. “What is it?”

“Come out and get some sun,” Yan Yushan said, holding up the watering can. “Want to water some flowers?”

Xiao Wang took one look at the two of them and sensibly exited.

Xu Xishuang lazily replied, “Sure.”

He got up from the sofa, and as he did, the hem of his loose loungewear lifted slightly, then slid back down, neatly covering what had momentarily been exposed.

Yan Yushan didn’t look away, but his grip on the watering can tightened slightly.

Xu Xishuang stepped outside through the side door onto the lawn. Sunlight spilled over him, and he squinted, raising a hand to block the light.

His complexion has improved in recent days. The two months of harsh sun during Bitter Summer’s filming hadn’t tanned him at all as if he were favored by the sun. While the rest of the cast turned several shades darker, he remained fair as snow, even appearing more delicate and luminous under the sun.

It was the first time Xu Xishuang had taken a good look at the garden. He glanced at the flowerbeds and paused for a moment before commenting, “It’s… very unique.”

From Yan Yushan’s bedroom decor alone, it was clear he wasn’t someone obsessed with aesthetics. The shrubs along the edge of the lawn were generic—probably thrown in as part of a landscaping package. The only outliers were these vibrant wildflowers, blooming wildly and untrimmed.

Xu Xishuang crouched slightly and touched a petal. The flowers came in three colors: pale yellow, soft white, and deep reddish-purple. They grew freely, unshaped by pruning, carrying a kind of untamed beauty.

Seeing his interest, Yan Yushan explained, “I dug these up from a mountain when I was filming out there.”

“I originally only brought back a small clump, but before I knew it, they spread all over the place,” he said with a laugh. “They’re just common mountain wildflowers, but they’re tenacious. As long as the conditions are right, they’ll root down and break through the earth no matter what.”

Xu Xishuang nodded, taking the watering can from him and following his instructions to water the unsoaked patches.

They fell into a comfortable silence.

Listening to the soft hiss of the water, Xu Xishuang finally couldn’t hold back. He turned and asked, “What made you want to bring wildflowers home from the mountains?”

These wildflowers felt completely at odds with Yan Yushan’s image. Xu Xishuang just couldn’t picture him staring tenderly at a flower. The thought alone gave him goosebumps.

He added, “If it’s something private, you don’t have to answer.”

What if Yan Yushan was secretly someone who loved cute little flowers?

“It’s not really private,” Yan Yushan said lightly as he stepped closer. “When we were filming in the mountains, there was a sudden rainstorm. A landslide hit, and a few of us from the crew got buried inside a cave. Those flowers were growing right by the entrance.”

He looked down at the flower swaying from the water droplets. “We were rescued later. When we left the cave, I brought them back with me as a keepsake.”

He spoke casually, brushing past a near-death experience like it was no big deal. He smiled as he told Xu Xishuang about the flowers but didn’t mention how hard the rain had poured, how they couldn’t see anything, how he’d been trapped in that cave for over five hours, or how desperate everyone had been. Everyone else had cried, thinking they would die there except him.

With no signal, no way to call out, not even a final goodbye to family, Yan Yushan had sat silently against the rock wall, listening to the sobbing around him, staring at the wildflowers at the entrance—completely calm.

The only thought in his mind was, If I make it out, I’ll take this broken, wind-beaten little flower with me and raise it.

In the end, they had all survived and that tiny, wilted plant had grown into this bold, blooming patch.

Xu Xishuang said nothing, turning to look at his profile.

Yan Yushan was gazing down at the wildflowers, his eyes soft, full of nostalgia. His side profile was perfect—deep features, a sharp nose, every bit as striking as his full face. Especially when he lowered his eyes—anyone he looked at like this would feel like they were being seen as a lover.

No words were needed. Xu Xishuang could picture how terrifying that moment must have been. He completely understood why Yan Yushan brought the wildflowers home.

Xu Xishuang picked up the watering can and moved to another spot, thinking to himself—someone like Yan Yushan, even as a paper-thin fictional character, was already hard to resist. Now that he had become real, it was even harder not to be moved by him. The more he got to know him, the more he wanted to draw closer.

Noticing Xu Xishuang had moved, Yan Yushan pulled himself out of his memories and asked, “Tired? Want some water?”

“Not tired,” Xu Xishuang replied. “But I am a little thirsty.”

“I’ll get you some,” Yan Yushan said, turning to go inside.

He poured warm water into a ceramic cup and returned to the side door, only to stop in his tracks.

There in the sunlight, Xu Xishuang stood watering the flowers while bathed in golden light.

He recalled what people online said about Xu Xishuang—most agreed that his most beautiful feature was his eyes. His lashes were long and thick, like tiny brushes, and his irises were a lighter shade, clear and bright. Yet those same eyes were also the coldest—unless he was acting, he looked at everyone as if they were nothing more than irrelevant objects.

The Xu Xishuang he knew was nothing like that.

He had beautiful eyes, yes—but his whole being was beautiful. When he looked at someone, there was light, there was emotion. He had a sweet tooth, a soft side, sometimes acted spoiled, needed to be cared for like a delicate thing—like a cat that needed gentle and patient love to ever let down its guard.

Just standing there, Xu Xishuang looked like a painting.

Yan Yushan suddenly wanted to capture that moment. He took out his phone, quietly opened the camera, and took a photo. Then he put the phone away and walked over.

Xu Xishuang, still focused on watering the flowers, didn’t notice. When Yan Yushan handed him the cup, he took a sip, then casually placed it back in his hand as if expecting him to take care of it.

“I’m heading upstairs,” Yan Yushan said. “If you’re tired, come rest.”

Xu Xishuang lifted the watering can. “Okay. I’ll finish watering first.”

Yan Yushan turned to leave, placed the cup on the coffee table, and took the elevator upstairs to his studio.

He pulled out two boxes of unopened paints and brushes, set up a canvas, and was just about to sketch what he had seen when his phone rang non-stop.

Frowning slightly, he picked it up. “Is it done?”

“All done, Boss,” the voice replied quickly. “That little celebrity Tang Min you asked us to investigate? Super easy. Just the statutory rape of underage fans could get him years in prison. He’s got an alt account too—full of misogynistic posts. We also dug up dirt on him hiring bots to smear other artists.”

“And yeah, when he first joined the industry, he tagged along to a drug party to get in with his current sugar daddy. That one’s a bit tricky because everyone there had connections. If we expose Tang Min, the others will definitely try to cover it up.”

“His sugar daddy’s no saint either. He’s got a record, once delayed wages until someone died, even trended on Weibo, but it was all suppressed,” The man flipped through some files. “Boss, if you want to take him down, it won’t be easy.”

Yan Yushan rubbed his temples. “Anything else?”

“…Boss, I’m not sure if I should say this,” the man hesitated. “But you mentioned Xu Xishuang before, right? I looked into him too. He’s clean, no issues. I still feel like him finding Tang Min’s victim was just… too convenient. It’s almost like he already knew.”

“But Xu Xishuang had no prior connection with Tang Min at all, and the kind of stuff Tang Min did is actually pretty common in the industry. If Xu Xishuang was really willing to risk his entire future just out of a sense of justice—that’s honestly way too strange.”