Rain poured down in the mountains.
A crew member gently opened the car door. Wen Yanyu woke from his sleep and looked at the umbrella the crew member offered him.
Wen Yanyu took the umbrella and asked groggily, "Are we there?"
"We're here..."
"Thank you." Wen Yanyu rubbed his eyes and thanked them quietly.
"Mm... no problem." The crew member had not liked him much to begin with, but after watching him whimper softly in discomfort the whole way, their face now looked like a spilled palette, their expression distinctly odd.
After hesitating a few times, they finally extended a hand toward him inside the car.
"It's slippery outside. Let me help you over."
Without hesitation, Wen Yanyu took the crew member's arm and got out. He looked up at the mountains shrouded in rain and mist not far away, opened the umbrella to shelter the person beside him, and disappeared into the rain with them.
At the filming location, everyone had been temporarily settled in the main room of a courtyard house because of the rain.
Jiang Keyan, her hair in a half-up style adorned with a bow, sat beside Jiang Wanrou, who wore a gentle smile, chatting and gossiping with her.
Sang Yu sat quietly in a corner of the room, occasionally glancing at Lu Mingxu out of the corner of her eye.
Noticing this, Duan Mufeng teased Lu Mingxu, "Hey, Lu, when am I getting an invitation to your wedding?"
As he spoke, he raised his eyebrows and glanced toward Sang Yu.
At his words, Sang Yu immediately looked up at Duan Mufeng. When she met the look he was directing between her and Lu Mingxu, she quickly averted her gaze as though she had been burned, a blush involuntarily spreading across her cheeks.
Lu Mingxu frowned and shot him a displeased glance, his tone cold and stiff. "Don't talk nonsense."
"Tsk." Duan Mufeng clicked his tongue. "I was just joking. Do you have to get so worked up?"
"I'm not planning to date," Lu Mingxu replied flatly, his expression still cold, then stopped speaking to the man.
Seeing this, Duan Mufeng could only back down, but his eyes shifted, and he turned to Sang Yu instead.
A mischievous smile surfaced in his eyes. "Hey, little Sang Yu, let me tell you, if you ever look for a boyfriend, don't pick someone like Lu. He's so damn dull. No fun at all."
A trace of helplessness crossed Sang Yu's face. She glanced at Lu Mingxu, who offered no reply, then lowered her head and dejectedly smoothed the loose strands of hair by her ear, saying nothing either.
[I'm dying, hahaha. What a flimsy friendship.]
[Lu Mingxu! You're going to end up without a wife like this, you know! Sooner or later, you'll be groveling to win her back!]
[Can you stop forcing that couple of yours on everyone? They're impossible to ship. Fine, promote them when the drama finishes airing, but how many years has it been now? I seriously can't watch this anymore. How many times has Lu looked pissed because of this ship? Didn't you read that statement back then? Are you illiterate? Isn't it disgusting to keep forcing them together?]
[It's been over two years since we last saw Wanrou. I thought she'd retired.]
[That's normal. She's over forty, after all, and doesn't push herself as hard as when she was young. She probably saw that Keyan was here and came along for some fun.]
[Why isn't Wen Yanyu here yet?]
[Please don't mention him. Just seeing him sets me off.]
Time ticked by, and the sound of rain outside the window gradually softened.
Duan Mufeng narrowed his eyes and casually crossed his legs.
There seemed to be another guest named Wen Yanyu who had yet to arrive. Having just returned from abroad, he had only caught the gossip about the man's love life, and was about to take out his phone to look up what he looked like.
A crew member opened the front door.
The crew member's voice rang out. "The last guest is here."
Everyone turned to look at once.
"Sorry I'm late."
The fine rain formed a hazy mist around the newcomer, whose slender, pale hand held a black umbrella.
Politely declining the towel a crew member offered him, Wen Yanyu closed his umbrella, stepped into the room, and quickly took off his slightly damp jacket.
He untied his long hair and let it fall loosely over his shoulders. Moistened by the mist, his fair skin now looked so soft that water might seep out with a pinch, and the red mole beneath his eye was the perfect finishing touch.
His peach-blossom eyes, normally a shape full of tender affection, held an inexplicable coldness, distance, and lifelessness, yet the mist lent them a shimmering quality that sank into the heart like a hook.
Every part of him came together just right, making it impossible to look away.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Wen Yanyu."
For a moment, the room fell briefly silent.
Duan Mufeng's mouth hung slightly open as a herd of alpacas stampeded through his mind. He jolted, quickly uncrossed his legs, smoothed his hair, and straightened in his chair.
Sang Yu stared at the newcomer, a flash of amazement passing through her eyes.
Lu Mingxu was also momentarily stunned by the sight.
"Wow, he really is prettier than on a phone screen." Jiang Keyan's eyes shone as she rubbed her hands together excitedly.
Jiang Wanrou glanced at the young man's pale complexion. Thinking of those things online, she frowned almost imperceptibly.
[I'm dying. Sure, Wen Yanyu is a simp, but his looks really are top-tier.]
[Obviously. How else did he get famous in the first place? Aren't most of the people trashing him now former fans whose love turned to hate? Hahaha, I feel bad for his fans.]
[He's lost so much weight.]
[So celebrities react to beautiful people just like I do.]
[Did you see Duan Mufeng instantly sit up straight just now? Hahahaha, he even fixed his hair. This guy's falling in love again.]
Duan Mufeng was the first to recover. He abruptly stood up, strode over to Wen Yanyu, and held out his hand.
The man's blond hair was swept back, revealing his handsome features. Dressed in a simple, clean white T-shirt, he wore a bright, sunny smile.
"Hewwo! Hewwo! My name's Duan Mufeng. I'm a singer, my family's pretty rich, and I'm an only child. My parents live overseas year-round. They're very open-minded and don't interfere in my life. I'm not stingy. I'm generous with both friends and partners. I like traveling together, though of course it's fine if the other person doesn't. It's just that I like traveling."
Wen Yanyu paused, somewhat puzzled by this strange introduction, and politely reached out to shake his hand.
"Hello, Duan Mufeng?" He instinctively repeated the man's name.
"Yes, right, right, right. I'm Duan Mufeng. Hehehehe."
Looking at the long, pale fingers before him, Duan Mufeng suddenly had all sorts of bizarre images surface in his mind, and his face flushed scarlet.
"Ahem..." Duan Mufeng turned his head aside and coughed softly, trying hard to maintain a proper smile. "Nice to meet you. We'll all be looking after each other for the next month or so."
Wen Yanyu gave a slight nod and released his hand.
[Bro, are you on a blind date here? Bro.]
[Hahaha, I can't breathe. Look at Duan being such a pushover. Hahahaha, wheeze.]
[Right, Duan Radish just got back from abroad. Has he not caught up on the gossip yet? Don't let that face fool you. You really shouldn't fall for this guy.]
[Didn't Wen Yanyu say he doesn't like Fu Hanchuan anymore? And Duan Radish seems pretty open-minded from being abroad. He's into both men and women. These two could work.]
[You believe it just because he said it? Hahaha, he's not the only person who's ever played hard to get.]
[What's the joke behind Duan Radish?]
[He's a womanizer. He changed partners like clothes overseas, but he's genuinely talented, and his reputation's been in ruins forever, so nobody cares and everyone just memes about it.]
[Stay away from our Duan, thanks. No obsessive, clingy simps, please.]
"Hello!" Jiang Keyan also rose from her chair and ran over to Wen Yanyu in a few quick steps, a cheerful smile on her face. "I'm Jiang Keyan. Just call me Ke Yan. Can I call you Yanyu?"
Wen Yanyu nodded.
With his permission, Jiang Keyan happily took Wen Yanyu around and introduced the others one by one.
Lu Mingxu and Sang Yu came back to their senses and each nodded to him.
Jiang Wanrou put down her palm-leaf fan and walked over to the young man. "I'm Jiang Wanrou. Just call me Aunt Jiang."
"You got wet on the way, didn't you? Don't stand in the draft. You'll catch a cold." Jiang Wanrou reached out and took his arm. The feeling beneath her palm made her instinctively glance back at him.
Wen Yanyu paused slightly, thanked her, and obediently let her lead him to a seat furthest inside.
Before you continue