After Dumping the Scumbag Top, I Was Relentlessly Chased by a Top-Tier Idol - Chapter 16

The guests followed Director Tu’s pointed finger and saw two staff members in the ocean waving at them.

The seawater reached the staff members’ chins; as waves rolled in, the water would periodically submerge their noses or even the tops of their heads.

It was clear that the water there was quite deep.

Shen Xu glanced at Lin Yizhou. Behind the sunglasses, Lin Yizhou’s face was flushed red by the sunset, making it impossible to read his expression.

But Shen Xu could make a rough guess.

He looked at the director and quipped naturally, “Why must the captains be the ones to do it? Is it that we team members aren’t worthy of sacrificing for the team?”

The blue-haired singer chimed in, “Exactly! I want to go play in the ocean, too.”

Director Tu scanned the guests one by one. Seeing that no one objected, he compromised: “…Alright then, let the captains of each team freely choose one member to take on the challenge. You have two minutes to discuss.”

Shen Xu turned an inquiring gaze toward his teammates. The members began stating their breath-holding records.

Wen Yue: “One minute.”

Pei Yutai: “Three minutes.”

Jiang Siyuan: “Zero minutes.”

Shen Xu’s gaze finally landed on Lin Yizhou: “Then I’ll go.”

Jiang Siyuan interjected, “Aren’t you going to ask the captain’s time?” He paused, casting an investigative look at Lin Yizhou. “Or is it that the captain is afraid of the sea?”

Lin Yizhou’s fingers at his side curled slightly. He replied calmly, “I’m only about 30 seconds.”

Hearing this, Pei Yutai looked at Shen Xu. Although he didn’t make it obvious, his expression betrayed his lack of trust: “Senior Shen?”

Shen Xu shrugged indifferently: “In any case, it’s definitely longer than three minutes.”

Pei Yutai:

Lin Yizhou urged, “Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Shen Xu touched two fingers to his temple and swept them outward in a salute, a clever smile on his face: “As the captain commands.”

On the other side, Nan Qiguang also consulted his teammates. The blue-haired male singer raised his hand, and after the two whispered together for a few moments, they decided the blue-haired singer would take the challenge.

The two competing guests swam to the designated spot. The second the whistle blew, they both plunged into the sea.

Five minutes passed without any movement from the two guests in the water. The guests on shore had been waiting; after a while, some ran to the shoreline to splash in the water while they waited, and some just hopped into the sea to soak. Only Jiang Siyuan and Lin Yizhou remained in their original spots on the sand.

As evening approached, the sea breeze carried a slight chill.

Jiang Siyuan walked over and sat down next to Lin Yizhou, watching the people in the sea. “Why aren’t you going over?” Suddenly realizing something, he looked at the man beside him in disbelief. “Don’t tell me… you can’t swim either?”

Seeing that the person beside him just stared at the ocean with zero reaction to his words, Jiang Siyuan reached out and snatched the sunglasses off Lin Yizhou’s face. Beneath the shades, Lin Yizhou’s eyes snapped open, filled with a hazy confusion, as if he had just woken up.

Lin Yizhou took a few quick breaths to control his emotions, pulled his hands out from under the sand, and looked at the man beside him in bewilderment.

Jiang Siyuan didn’t sense his mood at all. He hooked the sunglasses by the arm and spun them around his finger, smiling. “Tired?”

Lin Yizhou reached out to take the glasses back but didn’t put them on. He answered with a question: “What do you want?”

Jiang Siyuan shrugged. “What could I want? Just chatting.”

He repeated the question from before.

Lin Yizhou said flatly, “I don’t know.”

Jiang Siyuan’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He chuckled, “What do you mean ‘I don’t know’? If you went to learn and you learned it, then you can swim. If not, then you can’t.”

Lin Yizhou was silent for a moment before saying succinctly, “I learned it.”

Jiang Siyuan teased himself, “Hiss, looks like I’m the only ‘landlubber’ here. I went to learn and still didn’t get it.”

Lin the Vase is certainly having a cozy time as captain. He lets his teammate act like a fish in the sea while he plays Sleeping Beauty on shore. Shen Xu said we’d know why he chose Lin Yizhou after watching the show—now I see why. It’s because he’s irresponsible enough, and as a vase, he’s at least decorative.

Ugh, to the person above: if you’re going to talk about Lin Yizhou, talk about him, but don’t start the comparison/shaming game. Also, why such a rush to judge? You in a hurry to get to the afterlife?

Though, to be fair, when the sunglasses were taken off just now, Lin Yizhou’s mood seemed off. Didn’t feel like he was sleeping.

Tsk, some idiots are already rushing to defend the Vase.

The two on shore were quiet for a moment, but Jiang Siyuan soon found something else to say: “You didn’t answer me earlier. Why aren’t you going over there to watch them compete?”

Lin Yizhou glanced at him, then shifted his gaze toward the spot on the horizon where the two were competing. But in reality, his gaze was fixed on the long table holding tools in the same direction.

When he was wearing the sunglasses earlier, he had tried to face the ocean directly. But what flashed repeatedly through his mind was the image of Gu Lan screaming and dragging him toward the city moat.

That day was one week after Gu Lan and Lin Shaode’s divorce. Gu Lan seemed to have suddenly changed her temperament; she took him and Lin Yidan to a high-end restaurant for dinner. Afterward, the three of them strolled along the city moat. Gu Lan walked while promising Lin Yidan that she would be a good mother from now on, that she would pull herself together and make Lin Shaode regret divorcing her.

Lin Yizhou followed a step behind them, walking in silence.

He had felt Gu Lan was acting far too strangely all day, and his heart had been in his throat. Hearing those words, he relaxed slightly. But before he could fully let his guard down, Gu Lan suddenly grabbed his hand and jerked him toward the river.

“I became like this because of you! Let’s die together, be reincarnated together—in the next life, you must continue to make it up to me!”

Lin Yidan ran up behind him, pushing him toward the moat with all her might. “Brother, let’s go together! Mommy says we’ll become very happy this way!”

He didn’t know what was happening. Gu Lan’s strength had become terrifyingly immense. He struggled desperately but couldn’t break free from her grip.

As they reached the edge of the moat, Lin Yidan seemed to realize something. She suddenly ran in front of Gu Lan, crying and shouting, “Mommy, no! I’m scared!”

Gu Lan said nothing. She grabbed the girl’s collar and, with her own strength, dragged both of them down into the water…

Everything happened like a nightmare in a hallucination.

Lin Yizhou struggled with everything he had, trying to bring Gu Lan back to the shore. But Gu Lan never let go; she gripped his hand in a death vice, dragging him down, down, down…

Finally, Gu Lan lost consciousness and let go of him. But his own consciousness was fading, his strength spent. He could only watch hopelessly as his body plummeted toward the riverbed…

Since that day, he had never stepped into the water to swim again. He didn’t know if his swimming skills had vanished; he only knew that he couldn’t leave his life to chance. He had to be responsible for the lives of Gu Lan and Lin Yidan.

“Hey?” Jiang Siyuan waved a hand in front of him, teasing, “Did you fall asleep again?”

Lin Yizhou used the frame of his sunglasses to nudge the hand away. He was about to speak when Jiang Siyuan added: “Or do you have that ‘deep-sea phobia’ everyone talks about?”

“My vision is good,” Lin Yizhou said in a shallow tone. “I can see clearly from here.”

Jiang Siyuan lightly rubbed the spot on his arm where the glasses frame had touched him. His casual voice drifted into the wind: “Is that so?”

An unknown amount of time passed, and the two in the sea still hadn’t surfaced. Lin Yizhou looked at the nearby cameraman. “How long has it been?”

Cameraman: “Ten minutes.”

Lin Yizhou was slightly shocked. Realizing the danger, he immediately asked, “Could they be—”

“They won’t be.”

Before he could finish, a voice answered his question from ahead. Lin Yizhou turned his head to see Nan Qiguang walking toward them, soaking wet. Water was dripping from his body; the collar of his white shirt was slightly askew, revealing the smooth lines of his collarbones, which were still adorned with a few trembling droplets of water. His tight abdominal muscles were faintly visible through the wet white fabric.

Every inch of him exuded a sense of allure.

Nan Qiguang!!! Put your clothes on for Mommy!

Nan Qiguang, hubby! Are you dressing like this to seduce me?! Well, let me tell you—it worked!

Wet collarbones, translucent abs… slurp slurp, Bodhisattva Nan!

Hello, take it off! I love to watch!

Jiang Siyuan watched him approach with a meaningful look.

Nan Qiguang nodded to him as a greeting, then immediately explained to Lin Yizhou: “The staff are watching them.”

Lin Yizhou nodded and said no more, turning his gaze back toward the long table.

Nan Qiguang sat down to his right and suddenly asked, “Does Teacher Lin know who I am? Do I need to introduce myself?”

Lin Yizhou’s voice was gentle: “No need, I know you, Teacher Nan.”

“That’s good then.” Nan Qiguang covered his heart with his hand. “Otherwise, I would have been heartbroken.”

Lin Yizhou returned a polite smile.

The atmosphere among the three fell into a temporary silence.

The sunset glow left long, brilliant shadows across the sea, creating a kaleidoscope of colors.

Nan Qiguang stared at the horizon for a moment, his eyes shifting as he continued to search for a topic: “Teacher Lin, I’ve seen your movies. You performed excellently in every one of them.”

Lin Yizhou replied politely: “Thank you.”

Nan Qiguang asked again: “Does Teacher Lin like watching movies?”

Before Lin Yizhou could say anything, Jiang Siyuan, sitting to the side, let out a light chuckle.

Nan Qiguang caught the mockery in that laugh—it was a jab at his blatant attempt to find conversation topics—but he didn’t care. He only cared about Lin Yizhou’s reaction.

Lin Yizhou nodded: “I do.”

Nan Qiguang struck while the iron was hot: “What kind of movies do you like?”

Lin Yizhou answered honestly: “I like watching suspense movies and TV shows. I like novels of that genre, too.”

Nan Qiguang’s eyes widened slightly, filled with delight: “It seems we have the same taste! Do you have any recommendations? Movies, shows, or books are all fine. I’ve actually been running low on things to watch and read lately.”

Hearing this, Lin Yizhou thought seriously, not noticing the cheers coming from the distance. After a moment, something came to mind, and he said to Nan Qiguang: “Have you seen Director Wen Yika’s series? I really like the movies he directs.”

“There probably aren’t many people who haven’t seen Director Wen’s movies,” Nan Qiguang agreed. “In fact, I first learned about you through Director Wen’s films. Your performance in—”

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a slightly cool voice: “What are you chatting about? You seem so happy.”

The two looked up at the same time. They saw Shen Xu standing against the afterglow of the sunset. His floral shirt was soaked and clinging to his body, revealing the well-defined lines of his abdominal muscles. His expression was difficult to make out.

Lin Yizhou blinked and answered his question: “I’m recommending some movies to Teacher Nan.” He paused slightly, then asked, “How are you feeling?”

Shen Xu’s gaze drifted, glancing at Jiang Siyuan and then at Nan Qiguang. He ground his molars with the tip of his tongue before finally fixing his eyes on Lin Yizhou. In the blink of an eye, his gaze dropped and his expression became obscure, looking like someone enduring great pain.

Seeing this, Lin Yizhou stood up and stepped forward to check on him, his voice tinged with worry: “Is something making you uncomfortable?”

Shen Xu closed his eyes and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. His body swayed unsteadily, the picture of weakness: “It’s nothing… maybe I held my breath for too long. My brain is a bit low on oxygen, and I’m feeling dizzy.”

Jiang Siyuan, who had watched him walk over with large, vigorous strides just moments ago: “…”

Lin Yizhou went over to support him. “Why don’t you sit down and rest for a bit?”

Shen Xu nodded obediently, but then shifted the topic: “Could the Captain help me over there to sit? There are too many people here, and the oxygen feels thin…” As he spoke, he leaned toward Lin Yizhou in a “about to collapse” posture.

Lin Yizhou did as he wished, supporting him as they walked to the side.

Watching their retreating backs, Jiang Siyuan turned his gaze toward Nan Qiguang, who was also watching them. Jiang Siyuan smiled and said, “Teacher Nan, I think you could learn a thing or two from him.”

Nan Qiguang:

So this is a story about a four-way relationship between one man and three other men?

Guang-guang, take notes! Asking about hobbies to find common ground is outdated. If you want a wife, you have to have schemes! SCHEMES!!

Ahhhhhh, Shen Xu and Lin Yizhou! I don’t care, I’m starting to ship them! My CP brain is acting up, leave me alone! ‘Xu Ri Xiang Zhou’ (The Rising Sun toward the Boat) is real!

Xu Ri Xiang Zhou! Xu Ri Xiang Zhou! Xu Ri Xiang Zhou!!!

Lin Yizhou helped Shen Xu sit down further away from the shoreline.

Shen Xu leaned unceremoniously against Lin Yizhou’s shoulder: “Captain, I’m a bit dizzy. Let me lean on your shoulder for a bit.”

Lin Yizhou frowned slightly. “Do you need the team doctor to take a look?”

To be safe, the production team had hired three professional doctors to follow the group.

Shen Xu: “No need. The Captain is more effective than anything else.”

Lin Yizhou was speechless for a moment but still reminded him: “If you feel unwell, tell me immediately.”

Shen Xu said obediently: “Okay, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”

On the other side, the blue-haired singer took a moment to recover after coming ashore before finding his way to Shen Xu. Although he had lost the competition, he was very optimistic and asked humbly: “Teacher Shen, you are truly amazing. My personal record for holding my breath is thirteen minutes, and no one around me has ever beaten me. I didn’t expect you to hold it for fifteen minutes.”

Shen Xu raised an eyebrow slightly: “It was alright. My personal best is twenty-five minutes…” He felt the gaze from the person beside him and immediately raised his hand to press his temple, feigning dizziness. “I just feel like my brain is still a bit short on oxygen.”

The blue-haired singer laughed: “I practiced holding my breath so I’d have enough breath control for singing. Why did you do it, Teacher Shen? I want to know how you trained!”

Shen Xu’s hand pressing his temple paused. The high-spirited look on his face vanished in an instant, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

Lin Yizhou noticed his mood shift and asked, “Is your head still very dizzy?”

Shen Xu snapped back instantly. Though there was a trace of loneliness in the depths of his eyes, the corners of his mouth curled upward: “It’s much better now.”

He then looked back at the blue-haired singer: “I just… sometimes when I’m thinking about messy things, I like to submerge myself underwater. There isn’t really a specific method; if you keep holding it, the time just gets longer.”

The blue-haired singer nodded understandingly: “I also got longer gradually through practice. I guess I just have to practice more.”

Shen Xu nodded in agreement.

As he watched the blue-haired singer leave, the corners of Shen Xu’s mouth dropped instantly. His eyes reflected the rosy clouds over the sea, yet they seemed to contain an endless, gray desolation.

Just as Lin Yizhou was about to turn his head to look at him, his shoulder grew heavy. Shen Xu’s head leaned against it, but he said nothing.

Because Lin Yizhou had grown up reading people’s faces, his emotional perception was always very accurate.

He could sense that Shen Xu’s current mood was extremely low, and it wasn’t because of oxygen deprivation or physical discomfort.

He frowned slightly, starting to speak several times before finally managing to stammer out: “How are you… so amazing, being able to hold your breath for that long.”

At those words, Shen Xu’s body stiffened instantly.

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