TSBDRA 64: I Love You Too

Upon hearing that Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan would be coming back today, Xiao Wang waited anxiously in the living room, glancing toward the door every few seconds.

The last time they had a cold war, it had scared him half to death. He was terrified they would come back the same as before—cold, distant, looking like they were on the verge of a divorce.

When the car pulled up outside the lawn, Xiao Wang immediately jumped up from the sofa and stared nervously out the floor-to-ceiling windows. But when he saw the two of them getting out, holding hands affectionately as they walked toward the house, his heart finally settled. Smiling with relief, he went back to the kitchen to prepare a warm sweet soup for Xu Xishuang.

Carrying the soup out and hearing from Xu Xishuang himself that he and Yan Yushan were now together, Xiao Wang was stunned for quite a while. His surprise was a little different from everyone else’s—he had long assumed the two were already dating and now Xu Xishuang was telling him they just made it official today?

Then what had they been doing before this? Flirting through a prolonged ambiguous phase?

Still, the outcome was what mattered. Since everything had worked out in the end, there was no need to fuss over what came before. As long as Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang were sweet and loving, not breaking up anytime soon, and there would be no custody battle over the child—and, most importantly, no more suffering in silence from not being able to tell Zhao-jie about the relationship—Xiao Wang could finally relax.

While they were enjoying the sweet soup, Yan Yushan received a call from Cheng Tianwen. Over the phone, Cheng Tianwen excitedly said, “Who’s Standing Behind the Door just passed review! We’ve finalized the deal with a streaming platform. It’s going to air on Animal TV, the biggest web drama platform. Two episodes a night, and it’ll finish airing in just over two weeks—right during the Spring Festival holidays. That’s prime New Year’s season, haha!”

Given how much buzz Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan had right now, Animal TV had originally only promised a standard recommendation slot for the drama. But now, seeing the skyrocketing interest, they upgraded it to a full week of center-stage promotion. It was a massive exposure.

Cheng Tianwen was full of confidence, already imagining the view count hitting the hundreds of millions. He shouted, “If this show really blows up, we have to meet up again and go out for a celebratory meal!”

Yan Yushan agreed, and Cheng Tianwen continued, “It’s probably going to start airing next week. You and Xiao Xu remember to repost the announcement on Weibo to help with the promo. Oh, and the platform originally wanted you two to do a few offline appearances to promote it, but since Xiao Xu just woke up and isn’t fully recovered, they have dropped that. Instead, they’re planning to have you both join a livestream together.”

After ending the call, both Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang received messages from their managers. The platform had scheduled a livestream group chat three days after the show aired, featuring them, Yan Yao, and a few of the other cast members. They’d chat together and interact with the live comments. If the promo went well, Animal TV was even considering giving Who’s Standing Behind the Door an extra week in the main promotion slot.

Both Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan agreed without hesitation.

After finishing the sweet soup, Xu Xishuang went upstairs to rest. As he opened Weibo, he hesitated for a moment but still clicked into the app. To his surprise, the number of people who disapproved of his relationship with Yan Yushan had noticeably dropped, and the hate comments had mostly disappeared.

He was using his alt account. Scrolling through, he saw that one of the accounts he followed,【I Can Be Single But My CP Must Go On For Three Days and Three Nights】hadn’t posted any new edit videos for quite some time. Just as he was about to exit, a freshly updated post appeared on the screen. The caption read: “Click to watch two dumb lovebirds fall in love!”

The video featured him and Yan Yushan, using the latest clips from their travel variety show—including the moment Yan Yushan publicly declared his pursuit, and both of their intimate interactions. It also mixed in some behind-the-scenes footage from Bitter Summer, showing Yan Yushan quietly watching him from afar.

Cute pink subtitles accompanied the scenes, offering imagined “inner thoughts” for both of them. In the video, they were portrayed as clumsy and clueless, both trying awkwardly to confess their feelings—failing again and again, until through a string of misunderstandings and coincidences, they finally realized the other felt the same.

Though the imagined “inner dialogue” didn’t exactly reflect reality, Xu Xishuang had to admit—he and Yan Yushan really had stumbled into their relationship through a series of little misunderstandings and happy accidents.

His ears warmed slightly as he scrolled down to the comments.

【It’s fine if Xu Xishuang doesn’t know how to date—so long as Yan-ge does～ Real-life Yan-ge is totally a top-tier romance master!】

【Editing really is magic!! Just start dating already, Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang! I’ll be the first to chip in for the wedding gift!】

【That little detail of his ears turning red was too cute, sobbing—who dares say Xu Xishuang doesn’t like Yan Yushan? Who dares say they’re not totally in love and meant to be?!】

【Weren’t you a multishipper before? Are you only into YanXu now?】

【I think the blogger’s been shipping YanXu since Bitter Summer, and later went full-on YanXu only. By the way, their edits are so good—Xushuang is such a baby, love him!】

Xu Xishuang read through the first comment again. A lot of people had agreed with that user.

He pressed his lips together, reflecting on himself, and realized… Maybe he really didn’t know how to be in a relationship. At least not the way Yan Yushan did.

He had never dated before. His experience with romance was almost entirely theoretical—mostly from books and film. The only so-called firsthand experience… well, not even really firsthand. Before transmigrating, he had acted in an idol drama that had a romance plot with the female lead. In that show, he had played a gentle, dreamboat upperclassman—completely different from who he was in real life. So whatever romantic “experience” he gained in that role wasn’t exactly applicable now.

Bitter Summer was even more of a stretch. His character, Yu Xiang, was nothing like him. No lessons to borrow from there either.

After a few seconds of thought, Xu Xishuang gave that Weibo post a like. Then he exited the app, opened his browser, and began searching: How to be in a relationship.

He spent some time going through the search results, and after reading them, he felt a bit more grounded. Then he got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. 

As usual, Yan Yushan pushed open the door to Xu Xishuang’s bedroom at the same familiar time. He paused in the doorway—something about Xu Xishuang felt a little different today, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

He walked over, sat down at the edge of the bed, and, like always, pulled out his phone to read a story aloud.

When he finished the story and saw that Xu Xishuang was still awake, clearly trying to stay up, he got ready to read another one. Just as he lowered his head, Xu Xishuang rubbed his eyes, sat up from under the blanket, quickly kissed him on the cheek, and mumbled, “Goodnight kiss,” before retreating back under the covers and shutting his eyes to sleep.

Yan Yushan sat there, stunned for a few seconds, then let out a helpless laugh as he looked at Xu Xishuang sleeping peacefully. He reached out and gently rubbed the side of Xu Xishuang’s face, then turned off the light and quietly left the room.

When Xu Xishuang got up the next morning, he was quite pleased with his performance from the night before. During breakfast, he followed the relationship tips he had read online the previous night. He gave Yan Yushan his favorite sugar dumpling, handed him a towel during his workout, and even helped wipe his sweat.

But when Xu Xishuang’s fingers brushed over Yan Yushan’s abs, it was the last straw. Yan Yushan couldn’t hold back anymore. He cupped Xu Xishuang’s face and gave him a deep “reward,” kissing him until his eyes turned red at the corners, and he nearly shredded the yoga mat he was sitting on. Yan Yushan himself ended up reacting as well.

The end result was that Yan Yushan had to take a freezing cold shower in the middle of winter, while Xu Xishuang fled the gym with a flaming red face—and never dared show up during Yan Yushan’s workouts again, much less try to “impress” him.

After his shower, still damp and cool from the cold water, Yan Yushan found Xu Xishuang curled up on the couch watching a drama. The warmth of the room quickly chased away the chill clinging to him. He leaned against the couch beside Xu Xishuang, and seeing his slender back, he reached out and gently hooked an arm around his waist.

“You don’t have to go out of your way to do anything for me,” Yan Yushan said softly, as Xu Xishuang immediately tensed. “This is my first relationship too… I think it’s fine to just take things naturally. If there’s anything we need to learn, let’s learn together. And if I mess up somewhere, just tell me—I’ll try to fix it.”

Xu Xishuang slowly relaxed his back and leaned against Yan Yushan’s outstretched arm, letting out a soft “mm.”

In truth, Song Yao’s view of Xu Xishuang wasn’t entirely accurate. Xu Xishuang had indeed grown up getting everything he wanted and never bothered competing with others. But when it came to love—when it came to Yan Yushan—he suddenly developed a strange sense of competitiveness.

You could think of it like a cat establishing its place in the household. In Xu Xishuang’s mind, Yan Yushan was already his, firmly within his territory. So it was up to him to bestow affection and to give “favor. Yet, Xu Xishuang soon realized that when he gave too much of this “favor,” the one who ended up overwhelmed was himself.

After hearing what Yan Yushan said, Xu Xishuang suddenly remembered something—

“Yan Yushan,” Xu Xishuang turned to him, “when you kissed me just now, you didn’t ask for my permission. Your words don’t really—mm… mmph…”

Yan Yushan gave his lips a gentle bite. “Teacher  Xu, did I not do well?”

Then another bite. “Should I correct myself?”

In the end, the fact that he kissed without permission was tacitly accepted, because Xu Xishuang was kissed into silence. Yan Yushan nearly had to go back to the bathroom for another cold shower.

…

Xiao Wang had left the villa two days ago to return home for the New Year. Yan Yushan, on the other hand, had dragged his feet until New Year’s Eve before finally packing his things. Only after repeatedly confirming with Xu Xishuang that he could eat the food he made—and tactfully suggesting that ordering takeout was also an option—did he finally leave the villa with his bag in hand.

Before going, Yan Yushan gave Xu Xishuang, who had walked him to the door, one last kiss. “I’ll be back soon.”

Xu Xishuang glanced over at the driver to make sure he hadn’t seen the kiss, then gave Yan Yushan’s chest a light, half-hearted punch. “It’s fine if you stay with your family a bit longer. I can take care of myself.”

Dissatisfied with this “heartless” response, Yan Yushan clung to him for a while longer before reluctantly letting go and getting in the car. Once he was gone, Xu Xishuang returned to the villa— and suddenly, the place that had been lively for days now felt… empty.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t miss his own family. But Xu Xishuang knew that ever since he had been electrocuted in his original world and transmigrated into this one, he had lost the chance to see his family again.

That was why he’d insisted so much on Yan Yushan going back to visit his parents—because he knew how important it was to cherish the time you still had with your loved ones.

Xu Xishuang glanced at the withered little garden outside. He knew the plants out there weren’t truly dead. When spring comes, they will bloom again with fresh life. Quietly retracting his gaze, he settled back into his usual routine, curling up on the couch to watch some television.

Who’s Standing Behind the Door had already begun airing. The view count on the first day had been decent. Just last night, Cheng Tianwen had bombarded the group chat with a string of voice messages in excitement and no one replied. Only after he sent out a large red envelope did people start responding, one by one.

The screen was flooded with bullet comments like 【Yan Yushan is so hot】, 【Yan Yushan is my husband】, 【Officer Yan, arrest me please】 and so on. Xu Xishuang expressionlessly filtered them all out.

Halfway through the episode, he suddenly realized he had been staring at Yan Yushan the whole time and hadn’t absorbed a single bit of the plot.

Resisting the urge to message him, Xu Xishuang turned off the TV and began wandering around the villa.

Come to think of it, despite living here for quite some time, he hadn’t explored all the rooms. Before leaving, Yan Yushan had handed over all the keys, telling him he was free to go wherever he liked. So Xu Xishuang didn’t stand on ceremony—he started patrolling his new “territory.”

On the third floor, one of the rooms held a piano—and right beside it, a drum set that completely clashed with the room’s overall decor. Xu Xishuang recalled that Yan Yushan had a friend named Liang Feng, a well-known figure in the country’s rock scene, so it wasn’t too surprising that Yan Yushan played drums.

He walked over and sat at the piano, testing a few keys. It had been a long time since he had played, and his fingers felt stiff, almost unfamiliar. It took him two tries before he could finally play a clean and fluid version of Mariage d’Amour.

He had learned that piece when he was very young. Wanting to avoid being a clumsy little ring bearer at his aunt’s wedding, he chose instead to perform a piano piece for her—and not long after that, his younger cousin was born.

Once the memories passed, Xu Xishuang stood up and quietly left the room.

What he forgot, however, was that for safety reasons, the entire villa was under surveillance. The footage and sound of him playing the piano had already been sent, in full, to Yan Yushan’s phone as he sat in the car.

Having studied piano since childhood, Yan Yushan instantly recognized the piece as Mariage d’Amour. He ran his fingers over his phone and fell into thoughtful silence.

Why did Xu Xishuang choose to play Mariage d’Amour specifically? Was he trying to hint at something?

Then… When should he propose? What kind of ring should he have custom-made? What should the wedding look like? Where should it be held? Who should be on the guest list?

Still wandering casually through the villa, Xu Xishuang had no idea that his impromptu piano performance had already sent Yan Yushan into full-on marriage planning mode. By the time the song ended, Yan Yushan had mentally planned their honeymoon, chosen destinations for future anniversaries, and was even weighing between a seaside or garden ceremony.

Back in the villa, Xu Xishuang pushed open the door to Yan Yushan’s art studio.

The first thing he saw was a framed watercolor painting hanging on the wall opposite the door. In the painting, he himself was wearing a white shirt, head slightly lowered as he watered the plants.

Sunlight spilled over his figure in the painting, and at his feet bloomed a riot of colorful flowers. The whole piece radiated brightness, rich in color and warmth—just one glance was enough to lift anyone’s spirits.

The person who painted this must have held a deep, unmistakable affection for the one in the frame. Every stroke poured into capturing the beauty of the subject’s face was soaked in tenderness, in quiet, unspoken love.

Xu Xishuang found himself unconsciously stepping closer until he was standing still before the painting.

For a long moment, he just looked. Then, slowly, he lowered his head, took out his phone, and typed a message to Yan Yushan.

Xu Xishuang: ”I love you too.”