Yu Chen gave a few more reminders to Yu Yan, telling him to stay safe, before ending the video call.

Yu Yan ignored his phone and continued looking at the game on the screen, picking a high-speed racing game with a two-player mode.

Since it was for de-sensitization, he decided to start with the simplest one.

Yu Yan set up the two controllers and said, “Shen Yuming, come play the game.”

“Play by yourself.”

Shen Yuming’s voice came from the bathroom, sounding irritated and suppressed.

Yu Yan sensed something was off and went to the bathroom, where he found Shen Yuming’s fingers were red from the burn and he was rinsing them with cold water.

“How did you burn yourself?”

Shen Yuming remained expressionless. “The water dispenser broke.”

“Wait, I’ll have someone bring some burn cream and replace the water dispenser.”

They still had to stay here for three more days.

Yu Yan called room service to bring the burn cream and change the water dispenser, and he also ordered lunch to be delivered.

Shen Yuming’s fingers were long, with defined joints, and the back of his hands had slightly raised veins, resembling the ribs of an inverted fan, making them very attractive.

After drying his hands, Yu Yan blew on the reddened pads of his fingers a couple of times. Shen Yuming’s fingertips curled twice before he awkwardly straightened them.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Not really.”

Yu Yan responded with an “oh,” squeezed some burn cream onto Shen Yuming’s fingertips, and carefully applied it.

His movements were gentle, and he occasionally blew on the burns, trying to ease the pain. It took him a full fifteen minutes to finish applying the cream.

“I can’t play the game with you anymore,” Shen Yuming said, his gaze fixed on the TV.

Yu Yan didn’t mind. “It’s fine, we can watch a movie.”

He originally wanted to say that the game had a single-player mode, but then he realized that since Shen Yuming had hurt his hand, he couldn’t do anything and would just be watching Yu Yan play. That seemed too pitiful.

“What kind of movie do you like?” Yu Yan exited the game and opened the movie app.

“Anything.”

Shen Yuming lowered his eyes, clearly not focused on the movie.

The burn still ached slightly, and the sticky feeling on his fingertips was uncomfortable, followed by a strange sensation that spread through his limbs, eventually gathering in his chest, almost like a faint, unnoticed energy powering his heartbeat.

“How about a domestic movie?” Yu Yan browsed the selections and added, “I don’t understand English.”

“Sure.”

“Wow, there’s even a big movie starring He Zhiyu? Is there really someone who would pay to watch this? This has to be fake, right?”

Curious, Yu Yan clicked on the movie that had tormented him for a whole day.

“Even 1,589 people bought it? Are these all his relatives and friends?”

Shen Yuming’s brows furrowed slightly. “Do you want to watch this?”

“No, no, no,” Yu Yan shook his head vigorously.

He finally chose a highly rated art film, which seemed like the kind of movie Shen Yuming would like based on its title.

After the movie started, Yu Yan closed the curtains and left only a small wall light on.

Shen Yuming sat on the sofa, holding a spoon, eating. Yu Yan sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the sofa.

The art film didn’t have any dramatic plot twists, but it was smooth and pleasant to watch overall.

As the movie neared its end, Yu Yan’s phone, which was propped up against the tissue box, suddenly started vibrating intensely.

Yu Yan diverted a little attention away from the movie and saw that the screen displayed He Zhiyu’s name.

As soon as the call was answered, He Zhiyu’s panicked voice came through the speaker. “Xiaoyanyan, help me! There’s someone hiding in my room!”

When Yu Yan and Shen Yuming arrived, they ran into the police taking the man away.

The man had snuck in two days ago, hiding on the air conditioning unit to avoid detection. Today, he had been hiding in the wardrobe and only moved under the bed after hearing He Zhiyu’s voice.

Fortunately, He Zhiyu’s phone had an emergency alert button, which could be triggered by pressing it five times, allowing him to call the police and avoid further danger.

“You’re not hurt, right?” Yu Yan carefully inspected He Zhiyu, relieved when he saw him standing in front of him, unharmed.

“It’s hard to explain.” He Zhiyu sighed deeply, pointing to the cut on his forehead. “This small wound is nothing compared to the sadness in my heart.”

“Is he the pervert who sent you those messages?” Yu Yan frowned.

He Zhiyu nodded vigorously. “That’s him! I won’t mistake his voice!”

“What about the person you chased into the river before? He seems to have been caught too?”

He Zhiyu nodded. “That person was indeed a girl. The police said she had been stalking me for more than half a month, selling my photos, my schedule, and even disposable chopsticks I had used. My movements and phone number were sold to that pervert just now.”

“She even had the nerve to beg for mercy, saying I didn’t lose much. I almost lost my innocence!”

“The most outrageous part is that her illegal earnings reached five digits—five digits! If I had known it was this easy to make money, I would have sold it myself!”

Yu Yan: “…”

Luckily, He Zhiyu was cautious, which helped him avoid this disaster.

The remaining matters were handled entirely by the police, so they didn’t need to worry about it.

Being famous also came with its own problems—more stalkers and antis, and it was hard to predict what extreme fans might do.

Yu Yan noticed He Zhiyu wasn’t in a good state and offered a few words of comfort.

He Zhiyu took a deep breath, gripping Yu Yan tightly. “My soul has been seriously injured, Xiaoyanyan, stay with me.”

It was normal for a child to want comfort after feeling wronged.

Before Yu Yan could respond, Shen Yuming suddenly spoke, “Has the room been checked?”

“No.” Jian Ran answered in response.

“Is there something wrong with the room?”

Yu Yan surveyed the room and didn’t find anything unusual.

Shen Yuming’s gaze sharpened slightly. “That person stayed in the room for a whole day. It’s best to have someone check for any dangerous items or hidden cameras.”

“Hidden cameras? Ah—” He Zhiyu cried out dramatically, “I’ve already taken a shower in the bathroom, my innocence is ruined!”

Yu Yan: “…”

“It’s fine, there might not be hidden cameras. This is just our guess.” Yu Yan’s eyelids twitched.

“He’s already been caught, so even if there are any, they wouldn’t be leaked.” Jian Ran tried to reassure him.

“Even if, in the worst case, something gets leaked, you can just claim it’s AI face-swapping. If anyone accuses you, just sue them. You might even make some money.” Song Yunjing added quickly.

After a brief silence, He Zhiyu began crying even louder.

Because of the company’s team-building event, there weren’t enough hotel rooms. After Shen Yuming made some adjustments, only a spare standard room was available, which lacked an extra bed.

After discussing it with Shen Yuming, Yu Yan decided to stay in Shen Yuming’s room since there was a small bed in the study.

However, He Zhiyu, possibly scared, refused to sleep in the standard room with Jian Ran. He clung to Yu Yan, insisting on staying with him.

Yu Yan took a deep breath. “There are no extra rooms. How about I ask around to see if anyone has a suite, and you can squeeze in with them?”

“I don’t want to, I want to stay with you!” He Zhiyu wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face. “You promised my dad that you would always protect me, is this how you’re protecting me?”

?

???

Is this right?

Yu Yan immediately widened his eyes. “No… you… I… What are you talking about? Are you… are you out of your mind?”

The other three exchanged awkward glances, looking as if they wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start.

Yu Yan instinctively glanced at Shen Yuming, but the latter didn’t respond, only lowering his gaze slightly.

He Zhiyu seemed to be oblivious to the strange atmosphere, almost clinging to Yu Yan. He angrily spoke, “Have you forgotten our vows? Our promises?”

“That year, in the light spring rain, we wore matching outfits. You promised my dad that you’d always protect me!”

“Now, you’re going to leave me and run off with another man?”

Matching outfits?

The ridiculous, suffocating fencing gear they wore?

Another man? Shen Yuming?

Yu Yan’s eyelids twitched, and he tried to peel He Zhiyu’s hands off, but failed. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to curse.

“I was talking about protecting you in the entertainment industry! The entertainment industry!”

Yu Yan’s voice was loud, echoing through the hallway.

“That’s close enough, I really have PTSD now. Xiaoyanyan, help me out,” He Zhiyu sighed.

Ten minutes later, He Zhiyu was taken to Shen Yuming’s suite, where his bed was in the corner of the living room.

Thick blankets were laid on the carpet, with two new pillows. Apart from being on the floor, it wasn’t too bad for sleeping.

He Zhiyu, acting comfortable, sat cross-legged on the couch and reconnected Yu Yan’s game console to the TV.

Yu Yan rubbed his forehead and apologized to Shen Yuming, “Sorry, he got scared today. The company sent over some bodyguards, and someone will stay with him tomorrow.”

“It’s fine.”

Shen Yuming’s voice lowered as he stared at the racing game on the screen, the same one Yu Yan had opened hours earlier.

He Zhiyu, looking addicted to the game, controlled two controllers at once in a two-player mode.

Both brand-new game controllers had been used by him.

Yu Yan followed his gaze and sighed almost imperceptibly. “I asked his cousin, He Xuan. He was kidnapped when he was young, so he’s sensitive about these things.”

Perhaps in He Zhiyu’s mind, Yu Yan was a reliable person, which is why he chose to call him when this happened.

“Mm.”

Shen Yuming was a person with a strong sense of personal boundaries. He wouldn’t voluntarily share his private matters with others, nor would he allow strangers to intrude on his personal space. Yu Yan had experienced this before, and it was only recently that they became friends.

He Zhiyu suddenly staying in the suite was understandable, and it wasn’t surprising that Shen Yuming was unhappy about it.

Yu Yan licked his lips, thinking for a moment before asking, “Do you want to continue watching the movie? I brought my tablet.”

The call had come unexpectedly, and the movie still had about ten minutes left.

“Let’s watch it.” Shen Yuming had no expression.

Yu Yan gave an “OK” gesture and took the tablet from his suitcase, handing it over. “You find the movie.”

“You have a membership?” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Uh, yeah, I share the membership with my mom.” Yu Yan chuckled and pulled out a tangled mess of headphone wires. “Want to use headphones?”

“No need.”

The movie ended in a few minutes, and they didn’t continue with another one.

The resort had hot springs, and Yu Yan had originally planned to go soak in the springs to relax, but after all this trouble, he lost the interest.

Shen Yuming, with his strong sense of personal boundaries, returned to his room after the movie and didn’t come out again.

“Xiaoyan, wanna play a game?” He Zhiyu threw him a wink.

Yu Yan shot him a cold glance. “Not playing.”

“Hey, come here, I need to tell you something.”

Yu Yan sat on the couch. “What is it?”

“Does President Shen have something against me?” He Zhiyu rubbed his chin, “I feel like he has a lot of hostility toward me. He gave me several death stares just now. If his glare were a knife, I’d be a pile of holes by now.”

Yu Yan thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s because he’s never seen a man in his twenties who’s too scared to sleep alone. He might find that hard to believe?”

“No, it’s just… it’s hard to explain, it’s like… it’s like he…”

“Bang—”

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and Yu Yan froze for two seconds before instinctively turning around, just in time to catch the lingering hostility in Shen Yuming’s eyes as he looked at He Zhiyu.

He Zhiyu’s words, “He’s treating me like a hypothetical enemy,” were swallowed before he could say them out loud. He quietly turned back and lowered the volume to play the game.