Chapter 28

“Lin Si,” Xu Xiangyang called him with a smile, “Your fans are reporting that you’re distracted.”

Qin Xiao’s questions should have ended by now. Lin Si quickly hid his phone, leaned over to glance at the bullet comments on the screen, and didn’t say much. He just looked briefly to show he was paying attention.

Lin Zisong often teased him, saying, “You can fool your fans, but you can’t fool life.” At the very least, Lin Si wanted to maintain the parts he was already doing well in.

The host casually cued Lin Si with a question: “Lin Si, are you full?”

“Yes, I’m full,” Lin Si replied, pushing his empty meal box closer to the camera to show it. “Completely finished.”

[“Hahaha, when will my husband ever get sharper during interviews?!”]
[“I’m already jealous of the Omega who’ll end up with 4-Treasure in the future. Cold and unapproachable to strangers on the outside, but unbelievably sweet at home. Waaah, where can you find such a perfect Alpha? I’m crying QAQ.”]
[“What are you doing? Hahahaha, we’re not here to check your homework!”]
[“Well done on the clean plate initiative!”]
[“Ahhhh! Husband, my ears are pregnant just from hearing you talk!”]
[“Baby still doesn’t like to talk much. Mom-fans are in tears.”]

With Lin Si’s participation, the live stream instantly became livelier. The host simply handed Lin Si the question cards, asking him to pose a question to Xu Xiangyang.

Most promotional campaigns for movies and TV shows rely on generating buzz—creating topics and fanning subtle romantic tension between the Alpha and Omega leads to build anticipation for the work. A few of Qin Xiao’s earlier questions had touched on Lin Si’s feelings about collaborating with Xu Xiangyang.

Lin Si took the question card and read the next question aloud: “In real life, whose personality do you prefer more—Wei Qian’s or Huo Li’s?”

After finishing the question, his phone vibrated again. Lin Si instinctively glanced at his pants pocket. After a quick look, he returned his gaze to Xu Xiangyang.

Inwardly, he thought, If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have replied to Y earlier. Now that I’ve said something, Y might worry again.

Xu Xiangyang, unperturbed, gave a flawless response. “I actually haven’t decided on my ideal type yet. Nobody is perfect. Whether I prefer Wei Qian’s or Huo Li’s personality might only become clear after the movie is released. I’ll need to view them as a bystander to truly distinguish which one I like better.”

Lin Si read the next question as soon as Xu Xiangyang finished answering: “Do you prefer someone older or younger?”

Xu Xiangyang smiled and pointed at the bullet comments. “Your fans are saying you have zero interview skills. After I answer, you don’t even follow up to keep the banter going.”

Lin Si curved his eyes into a smile at Xu Xiangyang. “My bad.”

If he hadn’t smiled, it would have been fine. But that one smile sent the bullet comments into a frenzy.

[“Wuwuwu reporting Lin Si for taking my life online!”]
[“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Baby smile… Tonight, my tears will flood the northern city.”]
[“AWSL! AWSL! AWSL!”]
[“The answer is obvious! Younger partners are the best! Lock it down, lock it down right now!”]
[“What’s wrong with you all? He smiled once, and you’re locking it down? Last time during a variety show, he smiled so hard he fell off his chair. Were you using a lock to smash it shut back then?”]
[“Let’s be honest, the first co-star 44 ever followed was Xu Xiangyang!”]
[“Alpha King of the Universe^^ Lin Si / Heavenly Voice^^ Lin Si / All-Round Performer^^ Lin Si / Walking Aphrodisiac^^ Lin Si / Sweet or Cool^^ Lin Si!”]

Xu Xiangyang was about to tease Lin Si a little more. Skipping over Qin Xiao in the middle, he noticed Lin Si bowing his head, holding the question card in one hand while the other tightly gripped his pocket, revealing a rectangular outline.

“I can’t anymore! The moment your Lin Si-gege smiles, I can’t even see the bullet comments. I had just thought of how to respond to this question, but you all completely interrupted me.” Xu Xiangyang took the question card from Lin Si’s hand. “Why don’t we leave it to the host to ask me? Lin Si, maybe after eating, you should stand up for a bit.”

Lin Si turned his head slightly, glanced at him, and wanted to give Xu Xiangyang a big thumbs-up from under the table. “Alright.”

He handed the question card back to the host, stood up, and walked out of the camera’s view. Taking a few steps toward the outdoors, he made sure there were no staff members around before quickly pulling out his phone.

---

Top floor of Shengshi Group’s office building.

As soon as the voice call connected, Lu Wei ended it immediately.

On his computer screen, the live broadcast of Missing You 66’s production team was still running, but the person from earlier had already left the camera.

Lu Wei gripped his phone, his knuckles white.

Half an hour ago, he had opened the live stream on his computer, hearing Qin Xiao calling Lin Si over to the camera for lunch.

Regardless of how it looked, eating on camera during an interview—unless it was a specific eating broadcast—would undoubtedly give anti-fans ammunition to attack. However, if Lin Si didn’t come over, he’d also be accused of acting arrogant in front of his seniors. No matter how carefully Lin Si balanced it, there was no way to win.

Lu Wei narrowed his eyes, watching as Lin Si finally appeared on camera, slowly carrying his box meal.

He was different from usual, barely curving his lips into a smile and waving briefly at the camera. He played the role of “Lin Si” well, instinctively hiding his emotions the moment the camera was on him.

The bullet comments flooded the screen, filled with things like “Ahhhhh!”, “Husband, husband!”, and “I love you!”. Lu Wei immediately shut them off, staring at the screen, focusing on the sound of Lin Si’s voice.

“Good evening, I’m Lin Si.”

“My part hasn’t come yet, so please don’t spam. It’s hard to see the questions now.”

“I’ll head outside to eat my meal.”

Lu Wei’s breath was quiet but heavy with the weight of his thoughts. In the chat window with ‘Forget Love,’ he slowly typed out a probing question: [Are you eating?]

After sending the message, he raised his eyes back to the screen.

In the live stream, Lin Si’s hand, holding the chopsticks, paused. He placed them on top of the meal box, reached out just outside the camera frame, glanced at something briefly, and then calmly resumed eating, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Wei sent another message: [What are you having for dinner?]

Lin Si, who had just picked up his chopsticks again, set them down once more. Without betraying any emotion, he turned slightly, casually taking his phone out of his pocket. Holding it vertically, he angled the screen toward himself to avoid it being captured on camera.

Moments later, Lu Wei’s chat window displayed a new message: [A box meal.]

Lu Wei pushed back his chair and stood up, turning away from the screen.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling city below. The vibrant lights and endless traffic reflected the city’s lively pulse. Yet something within him felt like a chaotic entanglement, clouding his vision. No matter how hard he tried to focus, his thoughts drifted, leaving his eyes unfocused and blurred.

Suddenly, he understood the emptiness he felt.

The reason he couldn’t connect “Forget Love” with Lin Si was simple: Lin Si had never, not even once, shown him the kind of affection or reliance “Forget Love” had.

At that moment, he heard Lin Si’s voice.

“In real life, whose personality do you prefer more—Wei Qian’s or Huo Li’s?”

“Do you prefer someone older or younger?”

Both questions were delivered in a straightforward, emotionless tone, but what made Lu Wei frown was Lin Si’s reaction. Holding the question card, Lin Si smiled at Xu Xiangyang, who was sitting far away, and said, “My apologies.”

That smile was calm, devoid of Lin Si’s usual feigned indifference, and oddly reminiscent of “Forget Love.”

For a moment, Lu Wei couldn’t clearly make out Lin Si’s face. The screen seemed to be shrouded in a faint, warm mist, hiding Lin Si away, as if declaring that Lu Wei was not allowed to see him.

Forget Love should be like this, Lu Wei thought, smiling like that on the other end of the bubble. Maybe even brighter, more radiant.

But that beautiful smile—Liao Ji could see it, Xu Xiangyang could see it, and fans could see it.

Lu Wei, however, was not allowed.

He turned around and sent a few more messages to “Forget Love” on his phone, watching from afar as Lin Si clenched his phone tightly at the notification from “Y.”

The difference was—

The side of Forget Love that no one else could see was reserved for Y alone.

The drinks regularly introduced in Forget Love’s café menu were custom-made for Y, and no one else could order them.

Finally, Lu Wei called Lin Si.

When he saw Lin Si get up and leave the screen, Lu Wei could feel his heart thump with a rare sense of joy.

---

Y’s call had already been disconnected.

Lin Si stared at the string of messages Y had sent:
[Just eating a box meal?]
[Finished yet?]
[Want to play games in the relationship system tonight?]

He ruffled his hair, feeling that Y was acting especially different today. Usually, if Lin Si didn’t reply, Y would understand he was busy. But today, Y kept sending messages and even called him directly.

Lin Si didn’t call back. Instead, he sent a concise reply:
[I’m busy with something. I’ll call you later.]

Y responded almost immediately: [Okay.]

He sat back down quietly, just as Xu Xiangyang finished sharing a funny story from the theater. Qin Xiao glanced at Lin Si and teased in a not-so-loud voice, “Checking in with someone?”

Lin Si looked at him, confused. If no one else had been around, he might have responded with a puzzled “Huh?” since the idea of “checking in” was completely baseless.

Qin Xiao waved his hand with a laugh, brushing it off as if nothing had happened, then turned his attention elsewhere.

Lin Si’s interview was the finale. Xu Xiangyang and Qin Xiao scooted over to give him more space. Lin Si sat up straight, nodded to the host, and prepared himself.

After a brief introduction, the host asked the first question: “What was it like filming your first movie?”

Lin Si gave a simple answer, but the next question came with a mischievous smile from the host: “Can you sing a few songs for everyone?”

“What do you want to hear?” Lin Si asked calmly.

A staff member handed him a tablet. Lin Si took it with his right hand and looked at the fans’ requests flooding the live stream comments.

[‘Unfixable’!!! I need to hear this one!]
[Sing ‘Alone’! ‘Alone’! ‘Alone’!]
[‘Unconventional’! Go, go, go!]
[I want to hear a sweet song from my brother! 1551!]

The flood of comments moved so quickly that Lin Si couldn’t immediately tell which song was the most requested. Meanwhile, he felt a distinct soreness in the crook of his arm, where Lu Wei had injected the suppressant earlier that morning.

He pressed the spot lightly through his shirt and then shifted the tablet to his left hand.

“As a fan, do I have the right to make a request from my idol?” Xu Xiangyang chimed in. “I’d like to hear a song too.”

Lin Si turned his head slightly. “What do you want to hear?”

“Drifting Back to Youth, is that okay?” Xu Xiangyang requested.

As soon as he said it, the comment section went wild.

This song was one that Lin Si hadn’t performed in years—neither at concerts nor on any shows.

Lin Si lowered his gaze, contemplating for a long time before responding, “Alright.”

Clearing his throat, he prepared to sing. Just then, a staff member appeared with a guitar, seemingly out of nowhere.

Lin Si tested it, tuning the strings while softly remarking, “I might not be able to sing this song well anymore, so just listen casually.”

“I saw in the comments—it says this song is from four years ago?” Qin Xiao asked.

Lin Si gave a soft “mm” in response.

This was a song he had written four years ago, during his differentiation.

Closing his eyes briefly, he pressed down on the chords and played a gentle prelude. Then, he began to sing:

“White walls, where should I look

If I could lift my arms at all

There’s someone here, who refuses to be a warm corpse

The world is unreasonable, destiny riddled with clues

A life too expensive for him to choose

Caught in fate’s grip, I can’t return to the youth I once knew

Comparing with the past, millions of miles apart

I can’t even see my own funeral’s start

But still, I want to drift back to youth

To live forever in winter’s embrace.”

Four years ago, Lin Si disappeared from the public eye for nearly six months, citing glandular differentiation as the reason. He reemerged with the album ‘Drifting Back to Youth’, and its title track quickly topped major music charts.

This song, with its hauntingly desolate intro and lifeless tone in the verses, ends with a loud, defiant cry in the chorus—a desperate desire to stay and witness the world.

Everyone speculated that the lyrics were Lin Si’s way of mourning his pre-differentiation self or his first bold response to the immense pressure from long-time haters after becoming an Alpha.

Lin Si neither confirmed nor denied these interpretations, offering no direct explanation.

He performed the song only during the six months following the album’s release and never again in any public setting.

As the sound of the guitar faded, Lin Si looked into the camera and smiled faintly. “I can’t sing this song well anymore. It probably didn’t sound great.”

The flood of comments overloaded the live stream, causing it to crash entirely. The official account couldn’t recover it in time, so the broadcast concluded with Lin Si’s performance of ‘Drifting Back to Youth’.

Standing up, Lin Si returned the guitar to a staff member and tidied up his table, throwing his empty meal box into the trash. He suddenly turned around, looking at Qin Xiao, who wasn’t far away. “What did you ask me earlier, Xiao-ge?”

Qin Xiao looked puzzled. “What?”

“Never mind.” Lin Si turned away and went to find Liao Ji in the lounge. Coincidentally, Liao Ji was already watching him, his brows furrowed. Lin Si walked over quickly, nudging his arm. “I’m feeling a bit sleepy. Let’s head back so I can rest.”

Liao Ji bid farewell on his behalf, then shut the door of the van after Lin Si got in.

“That comment Qin Xiao made—it was recorded in the live stream,” Liao Ji said.

---

Author’s Note: The [heart] symbol isn’t working, leaving me deep in thought…

It was supposed to be something like A Universe of Alpha Awesomeness [heart] Lin Si / Heavenly Voice [heart] Lin Si and so on, haha!

T/n: The small Villains are really trying to jump out But…Yeah, FINALLY!!! Lu Wei got the shock of his life, he’s very cunning though, Our poor Si cub😂🤩 he’s really got get eaten thoroughly in future Oops ITS NOT A SPOILER!! I haven’t even read it yet you guys lol. We are in this together!😂🙃. If you want to support me you can buy me a Ko-Fi or go to my paypal page. Happy Reading! ❤️🥳