Looks like you're not afraid I'll misunderstand...

"God Yun, don't do this. I'm scared. That's Yu Dog!"

"Excuse me while I go have a smoke."

"I'll join you, person above."

"Let's all go."

"Are all the people above male fans? This feels a little odd."

"Don't panic, everyone. God Yun definitely doesn't know what kind of scum Yu Dog is! It's perfectly normal to be a little interested in a pretty boy who can transform."

"Exactly! God Yun wouldn't know some bottom-tier nobody with no work to his name."

"Exactly, exactly! That scared me to death! False alarm. I hope God Yun sees Yu Dog's true colors soon."

"Paging God Yun's manager! Hurry up and tell him the truth!"

After finishing a round of his game, Yu Xiuyuan turned to look at Yun Chuan.

The nation's favorite best actor certainly lived up to his reputation. That face was ridiculously handsome.

His lashes were long, casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

His skin was fair, with barely a pore in sight.

His lips were rosy and looked soft, like they'd be lovely to kiss.

His shoulders were broad, too, and his arms looked strong. Yu Xiuyuan wondered if he could lift him up...

Stop!

He was going to be Wen Lin's brother-in-law!

Wen Lin had failed to win over Best Actor Yun. Later, he met Yun Chuan's older brother, Yun Ji, and happened to discover that Yun Ji was the CEO of the Yun Group. Only then did Wen Lin switch targets.

He ultimately got his happy ending with Yun Ji, becoming the conglomerate's "young madam" and climbing into a higher social class.

Years of reading webnovels had taught Yu Xiuyuan that protagonists all had plot armor. As Wen Lin's designated stepping stone, nothing good could come from getting too close to his circle.

This man was off-limits.

Since flirting wasn't an option, he'd better keep his distance and spare himself the temptation.

Yu Xiuyuan looked away and went back to playing on his phone.

Huh? His phone?

This director wasn't doing his job. He hadn't even confiscated their phones!

Should he check how the livestream was going?

Forget it. He was too thin-skinned. Seeing people insult him would hurt his feelings, so why upset himself?

He shifted into a more comfortable position and switched to Snake.

In the livestream chat, Yun Chuan's fans were on an emotional roller coaster, terrified out of their minds.

"Help! Yu Dog looks like he wants to eat God Yun alive."

"That's what you get for flirting with random people! Serves you right for catching his eye!"

"He already had his eye on him, okay?"

"Yu Dog is disgusting! The moment God Yun falls asleep, he stops even pretending!"

"God Yun, wake up!! Yu Dog is about to pounce on you!!"

"Where are Yu Dog's eyes wandering? Stop looking!"

"That scared me to death. Thank goodness he didn't have the guts to actually pounce."

After he'd died in the game eight hundred times, someone knocked on the door. Yun Chuan was sleeping soundly, with no sign of waking up.

Yu Xiuyuan got up to answer the door and found Wen Lin outside.

Wen Lin had apparently developed amnesia again, acting as though they were the best friends in the world. "Xiao Yu, come downstairs for dinner. I made your favorite dishes."

"Got it." Yu Xiuyuan moved to shut the door, but Wen Lin put out a hand to stop him.

Wen Lin poked his fingertips together and said timidly, "I haven't called Best Actor Yun yet. It wouldn't be good if he thought I'd forgotten him. You won't stop me from coming in, will you, Xiao Yu?"

Now he got it.

This was when Wen Lin was single-mindedly trying to win Yun Chuan over. He'd come to make his presence felt.

Might as well let him in and let him hit a wall.

Yu Xiuyuan let go of the doorknob, stepped around him, and headed downstairs in a rather good mood.

With livestream cameras around, Wen Lin wouldn't dare do anything out of line.

After entering the room, Wen Lin stood quietly beside Yun Chuan's bed for a moment, then gently patted the back of his hand.

"Wake up, God Yun. Dinner's ready. You can come downstairs to eat." His voice was soft and sugary.

Yun Chuan slowly opened his eyes. He'd been sleeping so deeply that he wasn't fully awake yet.

He raised his other hand and rubbed his eyes with its back. Once he saw who was in front of him, his brows knitted.

He withdrew his hand, sat up, and put some distance between them, thanking him politely. "Thank you. I'll wash my face and come down. Go on ahead."

After Wen Lin left, Yun Chuan went into the bathroom. He didn't emerge for a long time, and the back of his hand was a little red. He gave his face a quick wipe before heading out.

His steps were unhurried, but he shut the door a little harder than necessary.

Everyone was already seated when he reached the dining table. Lin Qingnuan patted the chair beside her and called him over. "Yun Chuan, come sit here. I saved you a seat."

Yun Chuan nodded politely. Once he sat down, Lin Qingnuan naturally used the serving chopsticks to put some food on his plate. "Try my braised pork. It turned out pretty good."

"Thank you." Yun Chuan nodded his thanks, but that piece of braised pork remained untouched through the end of the meal.

Perhaps because they'd cooked together, everyone had quickly grown familiar with one another and was chatting away. Yun Chuan was the biggest star among them, so someone was always striking up a conversation with him.

Only one particular fickle person sat alone in the farthest corner, ignored by everyone and almost out of frame.

Yun Chuan glanced at him and found his bowl piled high with food. He was eating without even lifting his head, utterly absorbed in his meal.

Hah.

He needn't have bothered paying attention to him.

After dinner, Yu Xiuyuan volunteered to gather the dishes and take them into the kitchen.

Those who cooked didn't wash dishes. International law.

But just as he started washing, Best Actor Yun came in too. Yu Xiuyuan hurriedly turned around to block the sink. "No, no, no. Go get some rest, Best Actor Yun. You were sleeping pretty deeply earlier. You must be tired, right? I can wash these myself."

Yun Chuan ignored him, put on an apron, and started tidying up.

Since the actor wasn't responding, Yu Xiuyuan couldn't very well keep talking.

After a while, he heard Best Actor Yun ask, "You saw I was sleeping soundly, so you went off to dinner without waking me?"

His tone was calm, as though it was just a casual question.

Only then did Yu Xiuyuan remember that Best Actor Yun had asked him to wake him for dinner.

He hurried to explain. "No, no. Wen Lin said he wanted to wake you himself. Otherwise, he was afraid you'd think he'd forgotten to call you for dinner."

"Mm, so that's how it was..." Yun Chuan nodded, his voice taking on a plaintive note. "Looks like you're not afraid I'll misunderstand..."

Yu Xiuyuan was utterly baffled.

Wait, what? Was this right?

Why did this conversation feel so strange, a little... suggestive?

Why did he feel like he was being a bit of a jerk?

He didn't know what to say. In any case, this was Wen Lin's future brother-in-law. If he didn't want to die, keeping his distance couldn't hurt.

At a complete loss for words, he could only chuckle foolishly a couple of times and scrub away at the dishes. Washing dishes made him happy!

When no answer came after a long while, Yun Chuan paused.

What was wrong with him?

It seemed to have started when Yu Xiuyuan changed into that matching outfit...

No, even earlier. Something had felt off back when he'd huffed and puffed his way up the stairs with his suitcase, looking at him with those bright eyes.

He seemed to be paying him a little too much attention.

Had he really been drawn in by his tricks?

Had he been played?

Luckily, he'd realized it early.

Yun Chuan shook his head, stopped dwelling on it, and focused on cleaning.

Both men considered themselves to have come to their senses. They would stay away from each other and lock their hearts against love, but the viewers knew nothing of that.

"Yu Dog is leeching off God Yun again! Get lost!"

"Just quietly pointing out that Yu Dog went to the kitchen first... and he wasn't there when God Yun said he'd do the dishes... and... it seems like God Yun is always the one who talks to Yu Dog first..."

"You and all your 'ands' up there, shut up!"

"Yu Dog sure knows how to play his cards."

"What's gotten into God Yun? Don't tell me he's really fallen for a disgraced celebrity like Yu Dog. Just because he's good-looking? Does character not matter at all?"

"Wow, even a hater has certified that Yu Dog is good-looking!"

"You sure know how to pick out the important part! But are you sure you're not a hater yourself?"