After this set visit, Fu Wenshan became busy again. He had originally planned to release a single, but now the company had decided to release a mini-album instead. Additionally, after his appearance as a guest on the variety show, although he maintained a serious demeanor throughout, his handsome appearance and good temperament, coupled with his professional commentary and occasional on-stage demonstrations, gave him a cold and aloof yet captivating aura, unexpectedly attracting a group of female fans.

Seeing the positive response, the program invited him to participate in the final as a special mentor.

So, in the short term, he couldn’t visit XieWanxing’s filming set again.

Xie Wanxing wasn’t particularly disappointed when talking to Fu Wenshan. The work of entertainers was busy, and Fu Wenshan couldn’t always be around him.

But out of curiosity, he casually searched and found that the program had invited two special mentors for the final, one male and one female. Naturally, the male mentor was Fu Wenshan, and the female mentor was Su Yan, the leader of the currently popular girl group, Loveline.

Xie Wanxing: “…”

He had never had any hobbies that he couldn’t bear to show, but although he looked serious on the surface, he secretly adored the leader of the girl group and even secretly called her “daughter goose.”

But as a low-key loyal fan, and being in the entertainment industry along with his idol, he generally wouldn’t actively expose this matter to avoid unnecessary trouble.

A caring old father who cared about the growth of his daughter goose would definitely not cause any trouble for his idol.

But now, Fu Wenshan was actually going to share the stage with his idol, the daughter goose he secretly admired.

Xie Wanxing looked sadly at the list of program guests, not knowing which one to be concerned about. My casual partner is about to perform on the same stage as my idol. According to the program’s style, they might even hype up their relationship.

The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt. 

Fu Wenshan was originally puzzled why Xie Wanxing suddenly went silent, but the next moment, he heard a faint voice from his phone, “You stinky man, you’re lucky to be able to share the same stage with my daughter in this life.”

Fu Wenshan was utterly baffled.

Raising his eyebrows, he quickly reviewed all the finalists in his mind.

He asked, “Who are you calling your daughter?”

Xie Wanxing was silent for a moment, but the desire to get an autograph overwhelmed his shame.

“I’m talking about Su Yan. Calling her my daughter is just a nickname; we have no relationship whatsoever. But I’ve been her fan for several years. I’ve basically watched her debut, and I made a significant contribution to her votes back then,” Xie Wanxing said as he hugged his blanket, curling up into a ball on the bed. Whenever he thought of his darling goose, he couldn’t help but smile, and he tried to promote her to Fu Wenshan, “Have you heard their group’s new song? It’s super cute, called ‘Sweet Bubble.’ It’ll make you want to fall in love as soon as you listen to it.”

Fu Wenshan: “…”

In his heart, he thought, what kind of song is ‘Sweet Bubble’? It’s just the same few melodies throughout. Except for being cute, it’s simply lowering the threshold of the music industry.

But he just casually responded, “Hmm, I listened.”

Xie Wanxing was very dissatisfied with his response, but forcing recommendations never ended well.

He glanced around and added, “But since you’re on the same program with her, could you get me an autograph? I missed out on the previous special signed album.”

He still regretted it to this day.

Getting an autograph wasn’t a big deal.

But Fu Wenshan was puzzled, “I remember they’re a girl group under your company. You’re considered their senior, why didn’t you get an autograph?”

Xie Wanxing sighed deeply and wiped his face, “Don’t mention it. I just showed a little enthusiasm towards them before, and rumors started flying in the company that I was trying to hit on my junior sisters, it was blown out of proportion. Some even indirectly asked if they should help set me up. It made me have to avoid them. Forget about getting autographs, I don’t even dare to walk down the same corridor as them now.”

Thinking of this, Xie Wanxing wanted to roll his eyes. As a gay man, why would he hit on his junior sisters?

If he were to hit on anyone, it would be his junior brothers!

Fu Wenshan was quite satisfied with Xie Wanxing’s disinterest in hitting on his junior sisters. “Alright, I’ll get you an autograph and you can pick it up when you come back.”

The second week when he went to record the program, Fu Wenshan brought a Loveline album to get Su Yan’s autograph. Truth be told, as the leader of a girl group, Su Yan had both looks and figure, especially her sweet and innocent face, which looked particularly pure when she smiled. Her singing and dancing skills were also top-notch, otherwise she wouldn’t have been invited as a special mentor.

But Fu Wenshan looked at her with a critical eye, unable to understand why Xie Wanxing was so excited about her.

However, he politely asked if she could sign it for his friend.

“I have a friend who really likes you. He’s not from the industry, so he entrusted me to get your autograph. Would you mind?” Fu Wenshan asked Su Yan.

Xie Wanxing, to avoid gossip, didn’t even dare to appear in person, let alone ask for an autograph.

Su Yan was surprised but very accommodating. She immediately took it and asked with a sweet smile, “Sure, who should I make it out to?”

Fu Wenshan thought for a moment, then smiled, “Could you make it out to Xing Xing, and the message is up to you.”

While Su Yan signed, she glanced curiously at Fu Wenshan. She had recorded two shows with him, but it was the first time she had seen him smile so gently.

Looking at this “Xing Xing,” why did it sound like a girl’s name? Hmm, it could be his girlfriend outside the circle.

After more than half a month, Fu Wenshan finally squeezed out three days and went to visit the set again, bringing Su Yan’s autograph to Xie Wanxing.

Xie Wanxing happily rolled on the bed with the autograph in his arms.

“Why would she sign ‘Xing Xing’?” Xie Wanxing looked up at Fu Wenshan, his eyes shining, but also a bit wary, “You didn’t tell her it was me who wanted the autograph, did you?”

Fu Wenshan glanced at him, “No, I just said it was for a friend named Xing Xing. She probably thought it was a girl.”

Xie Wanxing bit his lip, then giggled again.

Fu Wenshan initially had some complaints about the autograph, especially since Xie Wanxing didn’t get this excited when seeing him. However, he soon felt the benefits of the autograph because that night Xie Wanxing was very proactive and gave him several passionate kisses.

Fu Wenshan held Xie Wanxing’s slender waist, kissing his lips, and wondered if Xie Wanxing liked any other girl groups. He didn’t mind asking for autographs one by one.

But after this set visit, Fu Wenshan never found time to come again.

Fortunately, Xie Wanxing’s filming went smoothly, and they finished shooting a month ahead of schedule.

When Xie Wanxing returned to Jiangcheng, Fu Wenshan went to pick him up at the airport.

Wang Xiaoming helped Xie Wanxing with his luggage and, glancing at Fu Wenshan standing nearby, dutifully said to Xie Wanxing, “Ge, I’ll head off first. Don’t forget to call Lian Jie when you get home.”

Fu Wenshan was quite satisfied with Xie Wanxing’s assistant, much more sensible than Jiang Han.

As Xie Wanxing got into his car and fastened his seatbelt, Fu Wenshan asked, “Are we going to eat first or go home?”

He asked very insincerely because he didn’t feel like eating dinner at all, just Xie Wanxing.

Xie Wanxing glanced at him from the corner of his eye, as if he had seen through his thoughts, and chuckled softly, “I’m actually very hungry right now.”

Fu Wenshan dryly replied, “Oh,” and opened the navigation to find a place to eat.

But then he heard Xie Wanxing say something else.

“But I can eat at home.”

Fu Wenshan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

Without another word, he turned the steering wheel and headed for Cuhe Bay.

When they arrived at Xie Wanxing’s home, Fu Wenshan couldn’t help but press Xie Wanxing against the door and kiss him before reluctantly letting go and heading to the kitchen to cook dinner.

However, Xie Wanxing followed him in. He hadn’t felt the urge to do so before, but after Fu Wenshan kissed him a few times, he felt a slight itch in his heart and still wanted Fu Wenshan to hug him. But since he had said he wanted to eat first, he couldn’t back out now.

So, while Fu Wenshan was cooking, Xie Wanxing teased him, sometimes hugging his waist, sometimes reaching out to touch his biceps, behaving like a little rogue.

Fu Wenshan grabbed his hand, warning him, “If you keep doing that, your dinner will burn.”

Xie Wanxing thought for two seconds, then daringly did it again.

Fu Wenshan immediately turned off the stove and carried him to the bedroom.

In the end, Xie Wanxing only ate a simple mixed fried rice. The pan-fried cod that was supposed to be ready ended up being thrown away because it had been left out for too long and wasn’t good anymore.

But mixed fried rice was much better than boiled broccoli, and Xie Wanxing ate it happily.

After a while, his phone rang. Looking at the screen, he saw Zhou Ying’s name.

Since the finale of “Unexpected encounter,” the six of them had formed a group chat and stayed in touch, although they hadn’t met up much due to conflicting schedules and could only rely on WeChat to maintain their relationship.

He put it on speakerphone.

“Hey, Xie ge, is that you?” Zhou Ying’s lively voice came from the phone.

Xie Wanxing smiled, “Yes, why do you have time to call me today?”

He remembered that Zhou Ying and Wu Ran seemed to have gone out of town for a performance.

Zhou Ying also laughed, “Wu Ran and I just finished our performance and are back in Jiangcheng, hanging out in the dorm. I was wondering if you’re free next Sunday? I just asked Yuan Xier and Xiao Jia, and they’re both free too. Do you want to go out for a meal together? ‘Unexpected encounter’ will be airing its second episode next week, so we can watch it together. I miss you guys.”

Xie Wanxing thought for a moment and realized he didn’t have any work arrangements next week. He glanced at Fu Wenshan with a spoon in his mouth, and Fu Wenshan nodded, indicating that he didn’t have any work either.

“I’m free next Sunday, where should we meet?”

Zhou Ying got excited, “That’s great! Let me ask Fu ge if he’s free.”

Fu Wenshan instinctively spoke up, “I’m free, just tell me the location.”

Zhou Ying hesitated for a moment, sounding confused over the phone, “Fu ge, how come you’re with Xie ge? Are you two having dinner together today?”

There was a brief silence in the air.

Xie Wanxing bit down on the spoon, realizing that he had forgotten that he and Fu Wenshan were still pretending to have a plastic relationship and shouldn’t be meeting frequently.

But Fu Wenshan remained calm, “I moved next door to Xie Wanxing a few months ago, so we’re neighbors now.”

“Sometimes he comes over to my place to mooch off my food.”

“Oh, I see,” Zhou Ying didn’t suspect anything, “Then let’s meet at six next Saturday. I’ll post a few addresses in the group later to see what everyone wants to eat. Well, Xie-ge, I’ll hang up now. Wu Ran and I are going out for supper.”

Xie Wanxing finally spoke up, “Okay, see you later.”

…

On Sunday, Fu Wenshan and Xie Wanxing drove to the destination.

The dinner venue turned out to be a Japanese restaurant. The owner was a friend of Yuan Xier’s, and he had reserved a secluded private room for them. Upon entering, there was a long corridor, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a typical Japanese courtyard, quite secluded so they were not afraid of being photographed.

When Xie Wanxing and Fu Wanshan entered, everyone else had already arrived, and they greeted each other enthusiastically.

It had been several months since they had last seen each other, but there hadn’t been much change. Xiao Jia had lost weight due to being busy filming and appearing on shows.

She tossed her phone onto the table, chopsticks already eager to try, “Don’t stop me, I’m going to eat ten pieces of meat today.”

Zhou Ying looked at her sympathetically, “Jie, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Now that you’ve said it, I feel even worse for you. You can only eat ten pieces of meat even when you’re allowed to eat freely.”

Xiao Jia was silent for two seconds, then nodded, “You’re right, we actresses really have it tough.”

Zhou Ying felt something strange about this “we.”

The dishes soon arrived, and as they ate and chatted, they ordered a lot of sashimi and a bottle of Chiroru. Xie Wanxing took a sip secretly since Fu Wenshan was driving that day, but he felt dizzy after just one sip and quickly put it down.

At eight o’clock, Zhou Ying turned on the TV in the private room and tuned it to the channel airing “Unexpected encounter,” just in time for the opening theme song.

This was already the second episode of “Unexpected encounter,” the one set in the haunted school. Although the first episode didn’t have any particularly explosive moments, the ratings were still good. When the second episode, “Exploring the Haunted School,” was released, the number of viewers skyrocketed.

However, the trio of ghost-fearing individuals in the private room showed expressions of concern, instantly recalling the fear of being controlled by the haunted school.

Zhou Ying grabbed onto Wu Ran’s arm and leaned against him, “I’m still scared.”

Wu Ran teased him, “Are you scared?”

Xie Wanxing remained relatively calm, perhaps because he had experienced it before and felt like he had been spoiled.

But after watching for a while, he suddenly felt uncomfortable in his stomach.

At first, he could endure it, but the more it went on, the more his stomach churned painfully, and he felt like vomiting.

The TV was playing scenes of everyone nervously entering the haunted school, with the editing creating a suspenseful and thrilling atmosphere, but also making everyone’s unfortunate expressions quite humorous. All eyes were glued to the TV.

Xie Wanxing stood up, his face showing no abnormality, and said to everyone, “I’ll go to the restroom.”