Chapter 24. Jing Yitong's tone was more like demanding a formal title...

Fang Xin looked at Jing Yitong, who had just come out of the bathroom and was still steaming, and felt like his world had collapsed: "Who let you out?"

Jing Yitong glanced at the three of them and immediately understood. He deliberately said, "You've finished showering and you still won't let me out? Are you planning to make me sleep in the shower room tonight?"

It was nearly midnight, and the two men, who had just finished showering, were alone in a room in their pajamas. Something just didn't seem right.

Li Wenyu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

If it were someone else, she might not have been so shocked. It's not uncommon for women to visit each other late at night, but this was Fang Xin Gu and Jing Yi Tong.

They don't get along!

Moreover, this is clearly Jing Yitong's room, but Fang Xin subconsciously thought it was his own room. Under what circumstances would a person have such a misconception?

He must be very familiar with the homeowner, and the room must have given him a sense of belonging for him to have this misplaced perception.

Li Wenyu's expression shifted from blank to confused to astonished, and she couldn't help but scream, "Ah!"

Liang Jiyan, who was standing nearby, immediately covered her mouth to stop her scream: "Stop screaming!"

Liang Jiyan had already noticed the unusual relationship between Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong at the dinner table, so the shock she felt at this moment was not as exaggerated as Li Wenyu's.

But the soundproofing here wasn't very good to begin with. If Li Wenyu kept making such a fuss, she would eventually call out the people in the other rooms, and then things would get even more out of control.

Li Wenyu held Liang Jiyan's wrist with her eyes closed for a while, and only when Liang Jiyan saw that her emotions had finally calmed down did he let go.

Li Wenyu opened her eyes with a death-defying resolve, but the scene before her was not an illusion; Fang Xin Gu and Jing Yi Tong were still standing together in 609.

She completely broke down. She was about to yell, but then she remembered Liang Jiyan covering her mouth earlier, so she could only grimace and whisper, "What are you two doing so late at night!"

Fang Xin helplessly covered his face and slammed himself against the wall, his face turned towards the wall, unwilling to face reality, but his bright red ears and neck still betrayed his emotions at this moment.

It's over, completely over.

What secrets can Li Wenyu, with her big mouth, keep hidden?

Jing Yitong, however, wanted to add fuel to the fire. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned against the wall with only one leg for support, and casually tapped the ground with the other, saying leisurely, "Of course, I'm getting ready to sleep."

This time, even Liang Jiyan and Li Wenyu gasped. Sleep? What kind of sleep? Sleeping separately or together?

...Meat or vegetarian?

It's no wonder they had the wrong idea. After all, judging from the relationship that Jing Yitong and Fang Xingu showed them, if these two weren't enemies, then there was only one other explanation—they couldn't have talked about it, could they?!

Upon hearing their commotion, Fang Xingu knew they had misunderstood something, and his already flushed skin turned even redder, as if it were about to bleed.

He turned to Jing Yitong and said, "Don't make things worse!"

Jing Yitong feigned innocence: "I was just about to go to sleep, and now you won't let me tell the truth."

Li Wenyu's jaw almost dropped to the floor: "Wait, what exactly is your relationship?"

Upon hearing this, Jing Yitong turned to look at Fang Xingu and said pitifully, "Yes, Teacher Fang, what is our relationship?"

Fang Xin continued to face the wall in anguish, choosing to remain silent.

Looking at all this, Li Wenyu felt as if her soul had flown away. What was the difference between Jing Yitong's tone and asking for a title?

Could these two really be old flames?

The more Li Wenyu thought about it, the more convinced she was that she had guessed the truth. She cautiously probed, "You two knew each other before, didn't you?"

Jing Yitong continued to ask Fang Xin Gu, "Have we known each other before?"

Fang Xin glared at Jing Yitong: "What are you pretending for?"

Jing Yitong countered, "Am I the one who has to pretend?"

"Fine, fine, I'm the one who has to pretend. I'm the best at pretending, okay?" Fang Xingu wailed in frustration and waved his hand in despair. "Go ahead and say it."

Jing Yitong was amused by his regretful expression and explained to the other two, "Actually, it's nothing. Xin Gu and I grew up together since we were little, you could say we're childhood friends."

Li Wenyu blinked: "That's it? So you were just childhood friends?"

Fang Xingu's forehead twitched at her tone: "...What are you disappointed about?"

Li Wenyu pouted, thinking to herself, "Of course I'm disappointed. I could have imagined you two had some kind of illicit relationship, like old lovers or something, but it turns out you're just childhood friends."

Li Wenyu muttered under her breath, "What's wrong with talking about childhood friends? What were you guys pretending about the other day?"

“Hmm,” Jing Yitong turned to Fang Xingu and asked earnestly, “Teacher Fang, what were we pretending for the past few days?”

Fang Xingu couldn't take it anymore. Enraged, he punched Jing Yitong, who dodged by crossing his arms: "You gave yourself away, why are you hitting me?"

Seeing the interaction between the two, Li Wenyu felt utterly bewildered: "Fang Xingu, don't be so coquettish."

Fang Xin paused in his punching motion. Who was that coquettish rebuke? Me?

He turned around, clenching his fists, and said to Li Wenyu in a sinister tone, "You've started calling me by my full name now? Once this fist lands on you, you won't think I'm being coquettish anymore."

Li Wenyu shrank behind Liang Jiyan: "Wow, you're threatening me."

Fang Xingu sighed deeply. Why should he pretend not to know Jing Yitong? The answer to this question was too complicated. He dared not tell Jing Yitong, much less Li Wenyu and Liang Jiyan.

He stared at the ceiling and said slowly, "I just pretended not to know Teacher Jing to prevent this kind of situation from happening."

But this was clearly not a good excuse, and even Liang Jiyan couldn't help but retort: ​​"But if you had said from the beginning that you were childhood friends, we probably wouldn't be as surprised as we are now."

Li Wenyu nodded vigorously: "That's right, that's right, are you kidding me? You have to give me an explanation for this, otherwise I can't guarantee how many people will know about you two tomorrow. Senior brother, you don't want your relationship to be made public either, do you?"

Fang Xingu felt something was off about what Li Wenyu said, but he was too exhausted to pay attention to Li Wenyu at the moment: "Are you just going to block this place indefinitely?"

Li Wenyu remained unyielding: "I won't leave until you tell me."

Fang Xin shook his head, preparing to use a delaying tactic: "I'll create a group chat and talk about it on WeChat."

"Pull it out now!"

Fang Xingu picked up his phone to unlock it by scanning his face, but when the phone was held right in front of him, he realized that it was Jing Yitong's phone. He exclaimed in surprise, entered a password, and sure enough, he unlocked Jing Yitong's phone.

He gave Jing Yitong a strange look. How come this person's phone password hasn't changed in ten years? It's always been their birthdays.

Too lazy to switch back to his own phone, he simply created a group chat using Jing Yitong's WeChat account. Only then did Li Wenyu return the hat to Jing Yitong and leave with Liang Jiyan.

As soon as the two left, Fang Xingu quickly closed the door.

Jing Yitong seemed to be in a good mood and joked, "Why did you go and open the door for them? Teacher Fang's ability to react on the spot needs improvement."

Fang Xin, caught off guard, threw her phone into his arms, somewhat exasperated: "Do you give me a discount if I sign up for a class with you?"

Jing Yitong nodded generously: "Lifetime free is fine too."

"Then you just wait, I'll make you poor."

Jing Yitong chuckled softly, then heard his phone vibrate. It was from the group chat of the four people he had just added. Li Wenyu had sent a series of emojis to express her shock and anger.

Li Wenyu: I cherish you all, but you've thrown me into the gutter. I even thought you two didn't get along and tried everything to mend things, but it turns out you're already secretly pregnant!

Fang Xin Gu: [Purchase Link] Buy a dictionary of idioms. Is this how "珠胎暗结" is used?

Li Wenyu: Hmph, hurry up and tell the truth, why are you pretending not to know each other?

It was only at this moment that Li Wenyu realized that the details they had previously thought indicated discord between Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong were actually just their little romantic gestures.

The claim that Fang Xingu deliberately skipped Jing Yitong when dividing the lamb leg is simply because Fang Xingu already knew that Jing Yitong doesn't eat lamb! The claim that Fang Xingu didn't want to sit with Jing Yitong is simply because he was afraid that if they sat together, it would be exposed on camera, so Fang Xingu didn't dare to look at Jing Yitong at all!

Looking back on her experiences over the past few days, Li Wenyu felt like she had been made a fool of; she had become part of Fang Xin Gu and Jing Yi Tong's scheme!

In room 609, Jing Yitong glanced at Fang Xingu while holding his phone and saw Fang Xingu engrossed in typing. He asked curiously, "How are you going to explain this?"

Fang Xingu paused for a moment: "Just give the usual explanation, saying that you don't want to expose our relationship."

"Can she believe it?"

"Whether she believes it or not," Fang Xingu said firmly, whether he wanted to tell Jing Yitong or to remind himself, "this is the only reason anyway."

Jing Yitong felt helpless, but Fang Xingu remained tight-lipped.

Fang Xingu rattled off a long explanation in the group chat, but Li Wenyu didn't seem to believe him. Then, Fang Xingu suddenly asked in the group chat: "Do you know why we left first during dinner?"

Li Wenyu's attention was immediately diverted: Why?

Fang Xin Gu: It's all your fault because I ate the pineapple yogurt you brought, but I'm allergic to pineapples.

Li Wenyu: ?

Li Wenyu: Am I a scapegoat? I didn't know you were allergic to pineapple. Couldn't you have been more careful? You dared to eat random things even though you had an allergy, and now you have the nerve to blame me!

Jing Yitong immediately sent an approving emoji, first patting Fang Xingu's WeChat profile picture, then patting Fang Xingu's head, not missing a single one.

Jing Yitong: "In this respect, Wenyu is more sensible than you."

Fang Xin raised both hands in a gesture of surrender: "I have deeply realized my mistake and will definitely make serious corrections in the future, okay?"

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on you."

The group chatted for a while longer. Fang Xin, half pleading and half threatening, gave Li Wenyu a gag order, forbidding her from spreading the news. He said that if a fifth person knew what happened tonight, he would definitely hold Li Wenyu accountable.

Li Wen's tone was half dead, but then she thought that there are no secrets in the world, especially now that netizens have realized that something is wrong between these two and have started to dig into their relationship. Their relationship will be exposed sooner or later, and on that day she will definitely mock Fang Xingu severely and then open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

Seeing that Li Wenyu had calmed down, Fang Xingu prepared to go back to 608 to sleep. Although he didn't know why he needed to stay in 609 when it was just a phone chat, Jing Yitong didn't urge him. The two of them stayed in the same room until the chat ended.

Fang Xingu stood up and put away his phone: "Okay, I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight, brother."

Go on, goodnight.

After saying goodnight, Fang Xingu subconsciously started to walk towards the main entrance, but Jing Yitong quickly stopped him: "You brought your room key? Just go through the main entrance."

Fang Xingu paused for a moment, then slunk back to his room from the balcony.

.

At seven o'clock the next morning, a loud bang came from room 608, waking Fang Xin Gu, who was still sleeping in bed.

He groggily opened one eye to search for the source of the sound, but after looking around, he found nothing. He closed his eyes and was about to go back to sleep when he heard another bang.

This time, Fang Xin was no longer sleepy. He got up irritably and walked toward the source of the sound.

Fang Xingu stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the mess on the bathroom shower, sighed, and bent down to tidy up the things.

As he picked up the toothpaste, he simply brushed his teeth. Just then, he heard Zhou Xiaoyou knocking on the door. He looked pale and said, "Good morning, Xin Gu. Go have breakfast. Director Yan will be looking for you later."

Seeing Zhou Xiaoyou's pale face, his lips devoid of color, and his overall weakness, Fang Xingu asked worriedly, "Putting breakfast aside, are you alright? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Zhou Xiaoyou leaned against the door frame, trying to appear strong: "I'm just a little seasick."

"Just a little?"

"Uh... I get very seasick."

They were unlucky; the weather turned gloomy yesterday afternoon, and the Drake Passage was extremely rough, with waves occasionally reaching over ten meters high crashing against the Affogato. The ship's balancers and balancing devices were less effective in these waters, and the ship began to list slightly, as if the giant waves were about to swallow it whole.

Zhou Xiaoyou clung pitifully to the door frame, his expression almost tearful: "I can't take it anymore."

Fang Xingu knew how awful seasickness was, so he gave Zhou Xiaoyou a seasickness pill and helped him back to his room: "Alright, just lie down and rest. It'll take about two days to cross the Drake Passage. Sleep if you can. If you really can't get up at mealtimes, call for food delivery. If you really can't, call me and I'll bring you food."

Zhou Xiaoyou hugged Fang Xingu's arm guiltily: "I'm such an incompetent assistant, I have to make you wait on me, sob sob sob."

Fang Xingu waved his hand: "Alright, just lie down and don't make trouble. I've put the trash can by your bedside. If you really can't hold it in, just throw up."

Zhou Xiaoyou nodded twice, moved, but he did so so hard that he felt his brain was almost shaken out.

Fang Xingu held his head still: "Don't move. Who do you live with?"

"Yang, Teacher Jing's assistant."

Fang Xingu: "...Oh, is he alright? It's good that you two are living together, so you can look after each other. Don't worry about me these next few days, I can manage on my own."

After saying goodbye to Zhou Xiaoyou, Fang Xingu went to have breakfast first before heading off to find Yan Tu.

The crew of the "World Is So Big" program booked a conference room on the Affogato. Sometimes the staff would discuss things or conduct pre-recorded interviews there.

Fang Xingu pushed open the door. There were fewer staff members in the conference room today. He greeted Yan Tu: "Director Yan, you wanted to see me?"

Yan Tu pointed to a stool: "Xin Gu, please sit down first. I have a task for you today."

"What mission..."

Before Fang Xingu could finish his sentence, he caught a glimpse of a strange cameraman out of the corner of his eye.

The man, wearing sunglasses and a mask, followed him closely from the moment he entered, as if he wanted to record his every move.

Fang Xingu initially thought that his cameraman resembled Lao Wu, but this man was thinner than the tall and burly Lao Wu, and Lao Wu liked to keep a distance from him when filming, while this man almost shoved the camera into his face several times, which was very unprofessional and did not look like a professional cameraman at all.

Realizing something was amiss, Fang Xin Gu also began to scrutinize the other person closely. The person was dressed all in black, making them appear to be a staff member, but their build didn't quite match. However, they did look somewhat familiar, almost like…

Fang Xingu narrowed his eyes, and then, in a moment that caught everyone off guard, he swiftly reached out and removed the suspicious camera's sunglasses—

It really is Jing Yitong.

Looking at that familiar face, Fang Xingu rolled his eyes speechlessly: "What are you doing? Cosplaying as Lao Wu or a sasaeng fan?"

Jing Yitong smiled, took off his mask, slung the camera over his shoulder, and pointed at Yan Tu: "Director Yan gave me this task. Today, I'm your dedicated cameraman."

Yan Tu snapped his fingers: "Haven't your two fan groups been arguing fiercely online lately? Our production team and your agents had an emergency meeting yesterday and decided to show the fans some truth and beauty."

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Author's Note: Solo Stan: ...Who wants to read this? [Angry]

CP fans: If you like it, watch it more! Please, toxic fans, break down your defenses! [pat on the head]

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I'll definitely be earlier tomorrow...