Anchor Effect - Chapter 5.2: Annoyingly Handsome

"Have you ever seen someone wearing a basketball uniform practice dancing?" Ye Yuchen walked over to the pile of chairs where his bag was placed and sat down. He put on his basketball shoes again.

However, what he didn't expect was that Yu Xiu followed him, sitting down next to him as if they were old friends. He even took off his mask without any guard.

The atmosphere became somewhat subtle for a moment.

As soon as Ye Yuchen came in, he threw a sarcastic remark at Yu Xiu. But Yu Xiu acted all innocent, as if he thought it was a friendly greeting.

... How could Ye Yuchen still manage to keep a straight face?

He sneakily glanced at Yu Xiu. Up close, the light and shadow accentuated the contours of Yu Xiu's face, and compared to their earlier conversation, he didn't seem as annoying, to be honest.

"You've changed a lot," Ye Yuchen said, struggling to find words.

"Is that so?" Yu Xiu asked.

"Brother watched you grow up, you know." Ye Yuchen gestured with his hand, indicating height, "Weren't you only this tall when you filmed 'Father, Please Love Me Again'?"

Yu Xiu fell silent for a moment, his expression lightened a bit, "That movie was called 'Father Don't Leave Me’."

"Oh."

Indeed, Ye Yuchen hadn't watched many of Yu Xiu's works. If it weren't for Du Rui and Gong Hao mentioning him, Ye Yuchen wouldn't have been able to match the name to the face.

Yu Xiu didn't continue the conversation, lowering his head to focus on his phone, and the rehearsal room fell quiet again.

Suddenly, Ye Yuchen realized that this was the place he used to kill time. How could Yu Xiu be so comfortable intruding like this?

"Hey," Ye Yuchen called out.

"Yeah?" Yu Xiu looked up, meeting Ye Yuchen's gaze.

"Do you know you're supposed to give a speech for the school anniversary?"

"Yeah, the instructor just told me."

"It was supposed to be me going."

Yu Xiu tilted his head slightly, studying Ye Yuchen's expression. He seemed to sense that Ye Yuchen was unhappy about this.

"Then I won't go," Yu Xiu said, looking back down at his phone.

"No," Ye Yuchen suddenly became annoyed, "Who asked you to back down?"

A while ago, Yu Xiu had been searching online and finally found a magazine cover they had shot together several years ago.

It was a cover featuring two children, both dressed in festive red Tang suits, symmetrically standing on either side with a piece of spring couplet in their hands. One of them was, of course, Yu Xiu. As for the other one...

Yu Xiu looked up again at the person beside him, confirming that he was right.

Though their facial features had matured, the thin upper lip and slightly thicker lower lip remained unchanged.

When he had called himself a "big star" earlier, Yu Xiu had thought it was just a joke between acquaintances.

But now... it seemed like he genuinely hadn't recognized him.

Yu Xiu picked up his phone, intending to show it to Ye Yuchen, to remind him that they had shot a magazine cover together. Just then, footsteps approached from down the hallway.

"Did Yu Xiu really enter this building?"

"I saw him come in just now."

"We're on the fourth floor and still haven't seen him."

Ye Yuchen mocked again, "The big star is quite popular, huh?"

This time, his mockery also went unanswered. Right after Ye Yuchen's words, his wrist was grabbed by Yu Xiu. Before he could react, Yu Xiu had pulled him into the corner behind the rehearsal room's door.

Pinned against the corner, Ye Yuchen couldn't help but ask, baffled, "What are you..."

His words were muffled by Yu Xiu's hand.

The temperature seemed to rise instantly. The sudden close contact left Ye Yuchen a little dazed.

—Were he and Yu Xiu really this close?

Footsteps reached the door, a shadow passing by.

Yu Xiu continued to hold Ye Yuchen in place while keeping an eye on the outside. Only after the footsteps had moved away did he release him, saying, "They've left."

Ye Yuchen finally regained his breath and frowned unhappily, "Why did you pull me over?"

Yu Xiu thought carefully for a moment and said, "I don't know."

He couldn't explain why he had pulled Ye Yuchen over. It was like an instinct to protect him.

"Weirdo," Ye Yuchen muttered under his breath, pushing Yu Xiu away and going to pick up his sports bag. He then walked towards the door.

Yu Xiu knew he was leaving and asked, "What's your name?"

Ye Yuchen didn't answer. He opened the rehearsal room door, leaving with a final remark, "Figure it out yourself," and walked away.

The rehearsal room door closed slowly, and Yu Xiu stood there, slowly realizing that his first attempt at making a friend seemed to have failed.

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