Help! My Fanservice Partner is Looking at Me Differently Lately - Chapter 20

“Why do you say that?” Fang Jin asked, instinctively looking toward the bedroom door.

“What the two of you want is different,” Chi Li said. He set his water aside, stood up, and walked over to a poster of the band Skeleton. “You are destined to go your separate ways.”

He was not making this up; he sincerely felt this was the case. Gu Nan had once mentioned that Fang Jin absolutely loathed fanservice. Joining this show was, in a sense, a roundabout way of saving his career. Only by gaining popularity here would people notice him, understand him, and eventually listen to his music. His heart had always belonged to the music and the stage.

Xie Weishui was different. Rather than music or the stage, he enjoyed being the center of the world. Debuting as an idol was merely one of his backup routes to achieving that status. Now that he had found an easier path in the Growth House, he naturally no longer cared about music or the stage.

Fang Jin knew this too, but he did not like bringing such matters into the light in front of the cameras. So, he simply smiled. “Life is very long. Those who can accompany you through the entire journey are always few and far between.”

“Well, you have a point,” Chi Li said, gazing quietly at the poster. “But does that Skeleton song not go like this? No matter the distance, do not force yourself. Walk with someone suitable, someone you like.”

Fang Jin also looked at the poster on the wall. “But in life, things rarely go exactly as one wishes.”

“I have noticed that you are a pessimistic person.” Chi Li shifted his gaze to Fang Jin. “Have you become accustomed to compromising, Fang Jin?”

Fang Jin stared back at him, stunned. He wanted to deny it, but his throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, and he could not make a sound. The truth he had been avoiding acknowledging was finally laid bare by this rude fellow.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, though whether it was a lifeline or a death knell was unclear. Chi Li raised an eyebrow and reminded Fang Jin, “Someone is here for you.”

Fang Jin took a light breath, turned to the door, and pulled it open.

“Fang Jin,” Xie Weishui’s somewhat arrogant voice sounded from outside. “You really are something. Even if we are fighting, you cannot just stop eating, can you? Here!”

Just as he reached the end of his sentence, Chi Li strolled over to the door. He lazily greeted Xie Weishui, “Hello, Senior Xie.”

Xie Weishui’s expression froze, and his eyes darkened. “Why are you here?”

“Can I not be here?” Chi Li’s lips curled into a half smile, as if asking what Xie Weishui planned to do about it.

“Why is he here?” Xie Weishui asked, switching his target to Fang Jin.

Fang Jin took the lunch box from Xie Weishui. “He came to chat with me.”

“Chatting,” Xie Weishui said, nodding slightly as if he were a bit jealous. He gritted his teeth and asked, “Well, are you finished chatting now?”

The upcoming scene did not allow for a third person to be present.

“No,” Chi Li answered first. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled it inward, making a move to close the door. “But you must be done delivering the food. Goodbye.”

Chi Li thought to himself, “You like writing scripts in advance? What happens when things change and you cannot follow the original script?”

“Wait!” Xie Weishui squeezed through the door and began to drive Chi Li out directly. “I have something to say to Fang Jin. Could I trouble you to leave first?”

“I also have things I have not finished saying to him,” Chi Li said with an innocent expression. “Could I trouble you not to interrupt us?”

“Fang Jin!” Xie Weishui switched targets again. “Tell him to leave.”

Before Fang Jin could speak, Chi Li cut in again. “He is currently angry with you. Why would he listen to you and kick me out?”

Fang Jin was speechless. Indeed, not listening to Xie Weishui was the more logical behavior. However, they had already agreed to act out a scene where he was reluctant but unable to stay truly angry.

“Chi Li,” Xie Weishui said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to control his emotions. “I am begging you, please do not cause trouble.”

“You have truly misunderstood me,” Chi Li said, putting on a hurt expression. “Actually, I knew you two were fighting, so I came here to be a mediator.”

Fang Jin and Xie Weishui were both silent. Xie Weishui found it laughable. “What?”

“Alright, come in,” Chi Li said, pulling the door wide open and gesturing like the host of the room. “Come in and tell me what the fight was about.”

[Chi Li, are you trying to annoy Xie Weishui to death? Hahaha!]

[Hey! You really have no sense of boundaries.]

[Chi Li looks like a mediator from an emotional talk show. I am dying of laughter.]

[Chi Li: I forbid you from performing your sugary drama in front of me.]

Fang Jin looked at Xie Weishui, then at Chi Li, and finally chose to speak. “An outsider sees things more clearly. Perhaps his perspective on the problem will be clearer than ours.”

Xie Weishui was stunned. He had never expected Fang Jin to turn against him at this moment. No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to enter the room.

“Speak up,” Chi Li said, sitting upright. “What was the fight about?”

Xie Weishui began reluctantly. “Yesterday, I was feeling a bit down, and Zhou Yang comforted me. Fang Jin saw us. He feels that I need Zhou Yang more than him right now, so he got angry.”

“Is that so?” Chi Li asked the other person for confirmation.

Fang Jin nodded and added, “A friendship between three people is too crowded. I just told him to focus on Zhou Yang from now on and stop coming to see me.”

Chi Li thought the plot was well arranged. He nodded to show he understood. “Looking at it this way, Zhou Yang is truly a troublemaker.”

Annoying Xie Weishui was only a side effect; he had not forgotten that the person he most needed to deal with was Zhou Yang.

Xie Weishui had not expected him to suddenly start insulting Zhou Yang. “It does not have much to do with him.”

Fang Jin immediately utilized his extensive fanservice experience to join in. “See? He is protecting him already.”

Xie Weishui was speechless. It was the first time he realized Fang Jin had so much drama in him.

“Weishui, you are wrong,” Chi Li said seriously. “When you two fight, the problem usually lies with the third party. Otherwise, why were there no problems before the third party appeared? Let me ask you, after Fang Jin got angry yesterday, did Zhou Yang say anything?”

“Zhou Yang,” Xie Weishui began to write a script on the spot. “He said he did not want our relationship to become awkward because of him.”

“Green tea. That is pure green tea,” Chi Li said, immediately labeling Zhou Yang. He then offered a kind reminder. “When you go back, give that bag of large green tea to him.”

Xie Weishui’s mouth twitched. “That is not necessary.”

He knew Zhou Yang was playing a green tea persona. Not only did he know, but the audience knew as well because that was the persona Xie Weishui had assigned to him.

“So, Zhou Yang is the biggest problem between you two!”

Chi Li hit the nail on the head.

“As long as he continues to exist, the two of you will continue to have conflicts because of him. To completely eliminate the gap between you, the only way is to make Zhou Yang disappear.”