Anchor Effect - Chapter 8.2: Nitpicking

He slightly turned his body, using his back to face them. However, the girls didn't seem to understand his intention—or maybe they did but just ignored it—approaching him from behind and gently tapping his shoulder. One of them asked, "Hello, Yu Xiu, can we take a photo with you?"

If it were any other guy being approached by girls, the classmates would've already started teasing.

However, the classmates had already anticipated the outcome and turned away uninterestedly.

"Not allowed," Yu Xiu responded without even looking back, his chin slightly turning as he uttered the three words before he gazed ahead again.

The two girls left somewhat awkwardly. Chen Lu, sitting nearby, lamented, "Those two girls were so cute. You could have been a little more accommodating."

"It's not about being accommodating," Yu Xiu stated.

"Then what is it?" Chen Lu fanned himself with his hat, looking a bit annoyed. "I haven't seen any other celebrity treat fans so coldly."

Yu Xiu didn't enjoy being the center of attention, especially during his personal time. Additionally, in his plan, after filming a few more years, accumulating experience, he would switch to working as a scriptwriter behind the scenes. Therefore, he wasn't interested in spending a lot of time building up a public image.

The instructor blew the whistle, signaling the end of the break.

The sitting students stood up and headed towards the center of the field. Just then, the girl walking beside Yu Xiu suddenly swayed, then fell forward.

Yu Xiu acted quickly, instinctively grabbing the girl's arm as she started to fall. Simultaneously, her roommate also caught her. Although the girl didn't collapse onto the ground, she still sat down weakly.

The instructor quickly jogged over, crouching in front of the girl. "What happened?"

"She seems to have heatstroke," the girl's roommate explained. "She stood up just now and then collapsed."

"It might be a bit of low blood sugar," the instructor said, looking at Yu Xiu, who happened to be nearby. "Carry her back to the dormitory and ask the dorm manager for some glucose and Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid."

"Me?" Yu Xiu didn't move. "I'm not available."

The instructor's frustration flared up. "What's inconvenient for a grown man like you?"

Yu Xiu really wasn't available.

Originally, there were already so many people paying attention to him at school. If he were to carry the girl back to the dormitory, who knows what kind of stories the media would come up with. 

"Instructor, I'll carry her," Chen Lu spoke up, stepping in to defuse the situation. He picked up the fainted girl just in time.

He gave Yu Xiu a signal, meaning to remember to invite him to dinner.

Since the beginning of military training, as the tallest person in the class, Yu Xiu had been chosen to lead the class flag-bearing team.

During the final training of the afternoon, he led the formation forward in his usual pace. However, the instructor scolded him, "Why are you walking so fast? Can't you see the others aren't keeping up behind you?"

Slowing down the second time, Yu Xiu was still met with a frowning instructor. "Are you a snail? Everyone behind you is following you!"

After a few more tries, the instructor was still not satisfied. "You're walking crooked! Don't walk anymore, run ten laps!"

Yu Xiu didn't bother to argue and simply started running laps. By the time he finished ten laps, the afternoon training was over.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm, he took out his phone to check. As expected, his refusal to carry the girl had already been posted on Tieba, and then it had been circulated to Weibo.

Although many fans praised him for adhering to gentlemanly conduct, stating that as a public figure, his handling of the situation was acceptable, there were also those who said he was being pretentious and taking himself too seriously.

Honestly, Yu Xiu disliked this feeling quite a bit. Any casual action of his would be dissected online.

His phone rang at this moment. Seeing the caller ID, Yu Xiu intended to ignore it, but the call ended and came through again. He reluctantly answered it.

"Did you see Weibo?" Yu Min asked.

"I saw it." Yu Xiu knew Yu Min would ask, so he recounted the situation.

"So, why didn't you help her up? Next time, try keep your distance." Yu Min complained and continued, "Not carrying her was the right decision. Your current fanbase is made up of fangirls. Maintain your idol image, and avoid close contact with the opposite sex."

"…Alright." As an actor, Yu Xiu also didn't like being labeled as an idol.

"Also, even though you didn't do anything wrong, there are still people criticizing you online. Have you reflected on yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiu stopped on the side of the road and his expression darkened a little. "What did I do wrong, then?"

"What did you mean by 'not available'? You could've made up any excuse, like having an injured arm or sweaty clothes, and asked a classmate nearby to carry her. Saying that made others think you were putting on airs. Remember this: think before you speak next time—"

Yu Xiu instinctively tuned out, letting Yu Min's words go in one ear and out the other. Suddenly, the roar of an engine sounded from behind him. He lowered the hand holding his phone and turned his head, noticing the familiar Bumblebee parked next to him.

"Why are you standing there like an idiot?" Ye Yuchen asked.

"Nothing." Yu Xiu pretended not to have heard and ended the call.

"Have you eaten?" Ye Yuchen asked again.

"Not yet." The phone vibrated again. Without looking, Yu Xiu was sure it was Yu Min. This time, he turned off the phone.

"Get in the car," Ye Yuchen said. "Brother will take you to eat."

Yu Xiu stood still and tilted his head slightly. "Brother?"

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