I'll take responsibility

"Does it hurt that much?" Yun Chuan asked, as though he hadn't just poked someone else's wound with an alcohol swab.

"The cut doesn't hurt. The alcohol stings."

"Sorry, my fault. I'll take responsibility."

Yu Xiuyuan pulled away and eyed him suspiciously. Something was off about this guy.

Wasn't that a line reserved for flirting with girls? Was he trying to mess with me? Why?

He tapped his head. Why wasn't his brain working properly today? He couldn't figure it out.

Yun Chuan calmly put the Band-Aid on him and packed away the First Aid Kit. Seeing him frown without answering, he asked:

"I didn't get enough to eat outside. Mind if I join you?"

Yu Xiuyuan nodded hesitantly. "Well, sure, but..."

"I'm going to wash my hands." He turned and left without waiting for him to finish.

"Oh, right. You're a clean freak, God Yun."

When Yun Chuan returned after washing his hands, he picked out the largest mantis shrimp, peeled it, and put it in Yu Xiuyuan's bowl.

"I made you drop one earlier. Here's a replacement."

"At least you know how to behave." Yu Xiuyuan accepted it happily and dug in.

Yun Chuan worked deftly, extracting the crab leg meat and arranging it on a plate, scraping the crab roe into a bowl, and peeling the mantis shrimp beautifully without breaking them. In the end, everything went into Yu Xiuyuan's bowl.

Yu Xiuyuan ate to his heart's content.

The viewers went wild shipping them.

"Has God Yun been possessed?"

"Yu Dog put a spell on him."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What attentive service."

"God Yun's flirting is so stiff. Yu Dog hasn't even noticed."

"What could a drunk like him notice?"

"Is God Yun jealous? He's practically rubbed the skin off the wrist Li Rou touched."

"I can't take this. Of all the people he could like, why Yu Dog? I'm quitting the fandom."

"Yu Dog isn't that bad. At least he's pretty enough, sings well, and some of the dirt on him has been cleared up. I guess he's acceptable."

"Don't be so pessimistic. Nothing's certain yet! God Yun is such a gentleman. He startled Yu Dog into cutting his hand, so it's normal for him to look after him!"

"True. God Yun has always been a good person."

"Exactly! He's just taking responsibility!"

"A clean freak? One who only knows how to peel shrimp for someone else?"

Once Yu Xiuyuan had eaten and drunk his fill, he headed straight outside instead of returning to his room. Yun Chuan followed.

Only when Yu Xiuyuan wandered over to the rocking chair did Yun Chuan realize he had no intention of resting in his room.

He caught his arm and hauled him back inside. "Sleep in your room. It's windy outside."

Yu Xiuyuan was unusually obedient. He stayed meek all the way into bed and went to sleep.

After settling Yu Xiuyuan in, Yun Chuan left the room.

Once he was out of camera range, he removed his microphone equipment and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

His mind was a mess. He didn't know what was wrong with him either.

He knew perfectly well that Yu Xiuyuan was playing hard to get, yet when he saw him laughing happily with Li Rou in the gazebo, his feet carried him over before he could stop himself.

When he heard him teasing someone else, saying, "I like big ones," his mouth spoke of its own accord.

He had shocked himself with what he'd said.

The feeling was utterly unfamiliar. He had never experienced anything like it.

After thinking it over, he called his therapist.

"You're saying you've been unable to control your behavior?" his therapist asked excitedly.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiuyuan slept until four in the afternoon. He stretched luxuriously and noticed the Band-Aid on his finger.

His memories came flooding back. "You're the scaredy-cat. Yours is the smallest." "You're the problem." "I'm the one who got scared. What's he angry about?" "At least you know how to behave."

One shameless remark after another echoed in his ears.

He had even made the award-winning actor peel all those crabs and mantis shrimp for him...

I'm dead...

The Clouds are probably going to skin me alive, aren't they?

Yu Xiuyuan pulled the covers over his head. Let him be dead for a little while first.

Unfortunately, no matter how long he hid, he still had to go downstairs.

Yu Xiuyuan dawdled his way downstairs and found everyone chatting in small groups. The atmosphere wasn't particularly friendly.

Yun Chuan was busy off to one side by himself, seemingly dealing with work.

Fang Yi was saying something gently to Wen Lin. Apparently, the lapdog had returned to his post.

The power of the plot really was formidable. Or perhaps lapdogs simply weren't very bright.

The moment Wen Lin saw Yu Xiuyuan come downstairs, his expression changed, filling with sorrow and pain.

With tears brimming in his eyes, he asked Yu Xiuyuan, "Xiao Yu, how could you do this to me? I've been so good to you, yet you... you actually accused me falsely?" As he finished, great teardrops fell like pearls from a broken string.

Yu Xiuyuan frowned. So he wasn't going to admit it.

Seeing Wen Lin crying so bitterly, Fang Yi burned with anger. He supported the swaying Wen Lin and shouted at Yu Xiuyuan:

"Linlin is so kind. He even saved you when you were being bullied, yet you bought trending spots to smear him and tried to use him as a stepping stone? How can anyone be as disgusting as you?"

Yu Xiuyuan was bewildered. "I bought trending spots to smear him?"

"Stop playing innocent! Who else could it be?"

He opened the trending list. Sure enough, it was bustling.

The video revealing the truth about the bullying back then was already the top trending topic.

#Wen Lin's slip of the tongue exposes Yu Dog's school bullying#, #Wen Lin exposed as a bully-enabling friend, his persona crumbles#

Those two topics also ranked near the top. The netizens had come through.

Yu Xiuyuan put his phone away and explained, "I didn't buy those trending spots."

Wen Lin cried so hard he couldn't stand. Fang Yi helped him sit back down on the sofa, and he sobbed, "You're still denying it? Xiao Yu, don't keep going down the wrong path. Explain everything to everyone. It wasn't me... as long as you explain, I'll forgive you."

"I really didn't buy them. I couldn't bear to spend that kind of money."

As though he had been hurt beyond repair, Wen Lin wiped away his tears and said resolutely:

"I didn't want to expose you... but I can't... I can't disappoint the people who like me and love me. I have to let them know the person they like deserves to be loved. I'll release a statement and tell everyone the whole truth. Xiao Yu, don't blame me."

Just then, Director Liu appeared. "Since everyone's here, let's start the next segment. Please don't do anything unrelated to our Dating Reality Show." As he spoke, he secretly gave Yu Xiuyuan meaningful looks.

Yu Xiuyuan pondered this. Was Director Liu worried Wen Lin might actually reveal something damaging about him?

Xiao Liu is such a stand-up guy.

"Director Liu, there's no rush. I'd like to know what the truth is too," Yu Xiuyuan said nonchalantly.

Seeing that his kindness wasn't appreciated, Director Liu left in a huff. Whatever. They could do as they pleased.

Soon, Wen Lin posted a lengthy response on Weibo:

"Yes, Yu Xiuyuan and I were classmates in high school.

Once, I saw him being bullied and saved him. After that, we became friends.

After graduating from high school, he didn't continue his education, but I still kept in regular contact with him and helped him.

Later, we entered the entertainment industry together. I was luckier and gained more fans.

He asked me to help him, saying he wanted to 'put his fans through emotional torment.'

If his fans knew he had been bullied, they would feel sorry for him, and he could attract more fans.

I agreed. But then he changed his mind.

He said that would only generate limited attention and wouldn't gain him many fans.

It would be better to tell a different story. Bad publicity was still publicity, and it would generate far more attention. He could quickly become more widely known and clear his name later.

I didn't want to help him deceive people, but he kept begging me.

I failed to stand by my decision. That was my fault.

But ultimately, I didn't want to lie and was ashamed to say it, which was why it looked as though I had accidentally let it slip and then tried to cover it up.

In short, he got what he wanted in the end, and the attention he received increased rapidly.

When I said I was urging him to change, I meant that I had been urging him to tell everyone the truth. I didn't want to keep lying to everyone. It put me under a great deal of pressure.

After all, he had said at the time that he would clear things up.

I never expected him to clear things up in this way.

No wonder he kept insisting that I be the one to reveal his school bullying...

Had he planned this all along?

And he said he insulted people for my sake, but I was clearly the one trying to talk him out of it. He was the one who...

I don't understand what I did wrong for him to treat me like this."