After a day of rest and treatment, Xie Wanxing’s body had recovered almost completely. So after they had breakfast, Fu Wenshan took him back to Cuhe Bay.

However, because there were still matters to attend to at Fu Wenshan’s company, he couldn’t stay at home to accompany Xie Wanxing. So, Wang Xiaoming, the assistant who seemed unemployed at home, finally received the call and had the chance to come over to take care of his boss.

When Wang Xiaoming arrived, Fu Wenshan hadn’t left yet. After explaining to Wang Xiaoming which medicines the hospital had prescribed and when to remind Xie Wanxing to take them, Fu Wenshan walked to the sofa, kissed Xie Wanxing on the cheek, and said, “I’ll go to the company first. Jiang Han has something to discuss with me.”

Xie Wanxing’s ears turned red involuntarily. He and Fu Wenshan had almost never been intimate in front of others. Although Wang Xiaoming had long known about their relationship, he still felt embarrassed as if he was being watched by a crowd, wishing he could find a hole to hide in.

Watching Xie Wanxing’s embarrassed expression, Fu Wenshan cursed Jiang Han a hundred and eighty times in his heart. What urgent matters did he have to go to the company for?

He couldn’t help but say to Xie Wanxing again, “If I come back early, I’ll come to see you again.”

Xie Wanxing responded modestly with a “Hmm.”

However, once Fu Wenshan left and heard the sound of the door closing, Xie Wanxing couldn’t help but bury his face in the pillow. With both feet propped up on the sofa, he looked like a curled-up shrimp, his cheeks flushed.

Wang Xiaoming watched the scene from the side and felt like he had been fed a mouthful of dog food, and it was the deluxe version. There was even more to come.

He followed Xie Wanxing around, so naturally, he often saw Fu Wenshan. But their private interactions were rarely seen by him.

Seeing them together today, his heart couldn’t help but burst out with “yoooooo” barrage.

As he handed Xie Wanxing the hot fruit he had just cut—also at Fu Wenshan’s instructions—he couldn’t help but gossip, “Xie Ge, why do I feel like you two aren’t like… you know…”

Xie Wanxing lifted his head from the pillow, his dark and moist eyes looking at Wang Xiaoming. “Like what?”

Wang Xiaoming cut the apple in half with a swift motion. “Just… friends with benefits. You two don’t seem like it at all.”

He dropped out of college to work in the entertainment industry, and he had been in this circle longer than Xie Wanxing. He had even been with several celebrities before. He had seen plenty of things in this industry.

He had never seen friends with benefits like this before.

He thought they seemed a bit ambiguous at the studio.

Continuing to gossip, he said, “Xie ge, does he like you?”

Xie Wanxing glanced at him. “How is that possible?”

“Why not?” Wang Xiaoming argued, “Xie ge, you’re so good-looking and kind. If he didn’t like you, would he go out of his way to take care of you? Just now, when he was leaving, he even kissed you.” After thinking for a moment, Wang Xiaoming finally remembered why that scene just now felt so familiar.

“It’s just like a husband reporting his schedule to his wife before going out to work.”

Xie Wanxing was taken aback by his words. After thinking about it, it did seem a bit like that.

In his mind, he complained, who would want to be Fu Wenshan’s wife? But his lips couldn’t help but curl up slightly.

After Wang Xiaoming finished cutting the fruit, he brought it over to Xie Wanxing. Xie Wanxing glanced at it, and the apples in the bowl were all cut into slices. He frowned, “The apples you cut don’t look good. Fu Wenshan would cut them into apple rabbits for me.”

Wang Xiaoming was speechless. “Ge, you’re already an adult. Why do you still like apple rabbits?”

Isn’t that something only kindergarten kids like?

“I just like them,” Xie Wanxing said confidently. “Fu Wenshan always cuts them for me.”

Wang Xiaoming pondered. If Fu Wenshan continued to take care of him like this, he would be out of a job sooner or later.

It’s true, comparing oneself to others leads to discontent, and comparing goods leads to throwing them away.

But he was more convinced now, “Ge, Fu Wenshan definitely likes you. I swear on my years of experience pursuing girls. If he doesn’t like you, would he cut apple rabbits for you? I’m not even that attentive to my girlfriend.”

Xie Wanxing glanced at him, “Then maybe you should reflect on yourself? You can’t even match up to a friend with benefits.”

Xie Wanxing didn’t want to listen to his babbling anymore. He kicked him away, “Alright, alright, go do your own thing. I’m going to play games.”

Wang Xiaoming was forced to stop gossiping and went to the kitchen to cook soup for his boss.

Having driven away this noisy gossip machine, Xie Wanxing lay on the sofa playing mobile games, but he was absent-minded. After playing for twenty minutes, he was killed by his opponent.

But he didn’t care about the defeat notification on the screen; instead, he raised his hand and touched his cheek.

That was where Fu Wenshan had just kissed him.

Fu Wenshan’s lips were warm and dry, and along with that kiss, they became infinitely gentle.

Could it be that Fu Wenshan really likes him?

Just thinking about it, Xie Wanxing, lying on the sofa, couldn’t help but kick his legs in the air involuntarily, his face also getting a bit hot.

He had never been in a relationship, and the last time he felt moved was back when he was a teenager.

But after thinking about it, if Fu Wenshan really liked him and confessed to him…

He pondered… would he accept it?

---

Xie Wanxing had a light dinner of small dishes and a small bowl of soup in the evening.

Wang Xiaoming stayed in the guest room that night, in case Xie Wanxing felt unwell in the middle of the night.

But after eating a few bites, Xie Wanxing glanced at the door.

He remembered that Fu Wenshan had said if he returned early tonight, he would come over.

But it was already past eight o’clock, and there was no sign of him.

He took a bite of asparagus, feeling a bit bitter and not tasty.

Wang Xiaoming was also eating with him, but as a healthy adult, he ate an extra dish of stir-fried pork slices compared to Xie Wanxing.

He was eating and scrolling through his phone. Suddenly, he saw Fu Wenshan’s name on the hot search on Weibo and casually mentioned, “Ge, it seems like Fu ge is trending.”

Xie Wanxing replied with an “Hmm?” and curiously picked up his phone to take a look.

Sure enough, Fu Wenshan’s name was trending on Weibo.

But there was another name behind it.

“Fu Wenshan Yao Ren.”

Xie Wanxing’s eyebrows twitched.

Wang Xiaoming also muttered in confusion, “Who is this Yao Ren…”

Xie Wanxing’s eyebrows raised slightly. He remembered clearly that the former teammate who had called Fu Wenshan yesterday was named Yao Ren.

He immediately clicked on it.

On the Weibo page, as he scrolled down a few posts, they were all the same video clip.

The person in the video was Yao Ren. Judging from the video quality and background, it seemed to be from some interview he had participated in before.

In the interview, Yao Ren wore a black T-shirt, making his fair skin look even whiter. He wore a distinctive necklace around his neck, and his makeup was done, with a bit of eyeliner, making his innocent face appear seductive.

It seemed like he was being asked about his debut experience. He paused for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, he suddenly smiled and said, “Actually, I didn’t debut as a solo artist. Originally, I was supposed to debut as part of a group with my teammates, but due to some unexpected circumstances, we couldn’t take the stage together.”

He said this with a hint of sadness, involuntarily sinking into memories. He added, “Actually, I really miss the time when we were in a team together.”

The host timely asked why.

Yao Ren smiled at the camera, but there was a hint of complexity in his eyes. “Because my former teammates were really good. They seemed indifferent at first, but after spending time together, I realized they were good people. They were also very caring and thoughtful, and they cooked really delicious meals.”

He laughed heartily after saying this, but after a while, he added, “He’s really good.”

The video ended there.

But soon, there was a link below.

Clicking on it revealed that marketing accounts had dug up who Yao Ren’s former teammate was.

It was Fu Wenshan.

This wasn’t some evidence dug up by random passersby.

Apart from some textual and pictorial clues, there were also many videos of Fu Wenshan and Yao Ren as trainees.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a deliberate attempt to stir up attention, most likely to forcibly create a popular pairing.

Fu Wenshan was currently at the peak of his career, having released three albums, each with skyrocketing sales and reputation. You could hear his songs playing in malls just by walking around.

He was about to release his fourth album.

Meanwhile, Yao Ren was almost nonexistent now.

It was obvious who wanted to capitalize on this wave of popularity.

Unfortunately, many people fell for it.

Because there were too many pictures and videos released by these marketing accounts, it was evident to everyone that Fu Wenshan not only was Yao Ren’s former teammate but also had a good relationship with him.

This kind of ambiguous relationship from their youth, once intimate teammates but now familiar strangers, even if it was a marketing ploy, many people still bought into it.

Xie Wanxing casually clicked on one of the videos.

Wang Xiaoming naturally noticed that someone was up to no good with this move. His eyes widened. “Damn, who’s this? This is too low, can my Fu Ge be taken advantage of like this?!”

He was Xie Wanxing’s assistant, and now that Xie Wanxing and Fu Wenshan were in an ambiguous relationship, Fu Wenshan was naturally part of their inner circle.

Wang Xiaoming had very clear standards. He wished he could put on eighteen layers of armor right now and engage in heated debates with people online.

But Xie Wanxing couldn’t hear what he was saying.

His gaze fell on the video playing on his phone, an old video with poor quality, and it was unclear who had filmed it, most likely one of Fu Wenshan’s other former teammates.

In the video, Fu Wenshan was using a fruit opener to peel a Hawaiian fruit, with a small bowl of already peeled pieces next to him.

Yao Ren was sitting beside him, one of his hands seemed to be injured, wrapped in gauze.

In the video, they both looked very young, probably not even twenty years old. Fu Wenshan hadn’t yet become the mature and charismatic figure he was now. He was wearing a black headband, looking like the bad boy in the campus who made girls’ hearts flutter.

But this “bad boy” had peeled most of the Hawaiian fruit and pushed it to Yao Ren’s side. “Here, have some.”

Yao Ren smiled and took it, putting a piece into his mouth.

The person filming protested loudly, “Why does Yao Ren have one, but I don’t?”

Fu Wenshan glanced at the camera. “If you had a broken hand, I’d peel it for you too.”

The video ended there.

But there were swathes of comments below, and the popularity remained high.

After reading two of them, Xie Wanxing felt annoyed. He closed his phone and decided not to look anymore.

He naturally knew that this was definitely Yao Ren’s attempt to stir up attention.

But the videos weren’t fake.

Fu Wenshan’s smile in front of the camera wasn’t fake.

He remembered Wang Xiaoming’s solemn assurance earlier that, judging by Fu Wenshan’s attentive care, Fu Wenshan must definitely like him.

He had felt proud of himself, even considering whether or not to accept Fu Wenshan’s confession.

But now, looking at it again, what did apple bunnies and considerate care mean? Fu Wenshan had also taken care of others like this before.

He wasn’t that special, not the only one.