By the time they reached the hotel, it was already dawn. The news couldn’t be kept secret; soon, well-informed fans learned that Skye had rushed to Mong Kok overnight.
“Challenge the Impossible” had already announced that it would be filming in Mong Kok. Coupled with the fact that the original guest, Nan Yu, had an accident on set and Skye changed their schedule, fans easily drew a conclusion—a new variety show was coming soon!
The production team gave them a day and a half to rest; Berlin finally got a good night’s sleep. He slept from dusk till dawn and from dawn till dusk, like someone who had walked through the desert for days, finally finding an oasis, sleeping soundly.
Berlin specifically told his teammates not to wake him unless necessary; he missed three meals in his sleep and woke up hungry.
When he first woke up, he was a little disoriented, groping for the bedside lamp to check the time and opening WeChat to see if there were any work issues, which helped him regain clarity.
It was too early for takeout at 4 AM, so Berlin, unable to sleep, got ready.
He got up, splashed cold water on his face, and looked in the mirror with a refreshed expression.
He looked bright and refreshed, not much different from his 18-year-old self in his ID photo. His muddled mind cleared; the backache and soreness from staying up late disappeared; he bounced in place, did some simple stretches, and opened a video of a Shaolin master demonstrating the Eight Brocades exercise on Bilibili.
This Shaolin master was quite popular on Bilibili; last year, he was selected as one of the top 100 up-and-coming creators and had many netizens who would routinely “one-click three-consecutive” (like, favorite, and follow) to keep fit with him.
Berlin had been practicing dance for years; he had solid basic skills and had been practicing with the uploader for a while; he felt that the exercise was indeed effective.
Of course, there weren’t many people like Berlin who actually took action; the top comment was often: “Watching is the same as doing it; going into my collection to gather dust!”
The netizens watching the video weren’t entirely sincere; some opened it to “scare their body fat,” others opened it for the aloof master’s otherworldly looks and figure, constantly trying to tease the uploader in the comments; particularly skilled fans would get a speechless response from the uploader: “.”
Berlin did the exercise to soothing music, sweating profusely, and feeling warm from the inside out.
Comfortable!
Just as he was catching his breath, Berlin grabbed the hem of his T-shirt to lift it and take a shower.
As if perfectly timed, a knock came at the door.
…At this hour, who?
Berlin paused, quickly lowering his shirt. After thinking for a moment, he quietly approached the door and looked through the peephole.
Berlin held his breath, just in time to see an enlarged eye—the dilated pupils were pitch-black, long, thick eyelashes blinked slowly, like a classic horror movie scene.
Berlin jumped; the person pressing their face to the peephole took half a step back and tilted their head, shaking the bag in their hand, as if able to see Berlin through the door: “It’s me, Han Yu Zhe.”
Berlin’s breath hitched; he scratched his hair and opened the door. “…Why are you here?”
Han Yu Zhe’s gaze paused for a moment on the sweat-soaked collar of his shirt, slowly raising the bag. “Brought you food.”
Berlin looked over, smelling the aroma of the food; his stomach grumbled involuntarily.
In the quiet corridor, this sound was truly “soul-stirring,” exceptionally loud.
Berlin’s face flushed: “…”
Han Yu Zhe calmly looked at him, without any sign of embarrassment, calmly stating, “See? You’re hungry.”
Berlin calmly took the bag, speaking quickly. “…Come in.”
He opened the door for Han Yu Zhe, peered into the corridor, making sure no one else saw him suffer social death before confidently closing the door.
As soon as Han Yu Zhe entered the room, he found a sofa and settled in, his voice lazily husky. “Sleep enough?”
“Mm-hmm.” Berlin expectantly opened the takeout box; inside were three dishes and a soup, pasta, and tiramisu, all his favorites.
The food was steaming hot. The tiramisu was ice-cold, not melted at all.
Berlin subconsciously thought logically, his mouth faster than his brain. “Wow, how did you get it? It should be hard to find delivery services now.”
“Mm.” Han Yu Zhe looked at him, his lips slightly curled, casually saying, “I went out for a bit.”
Berlin belatedly realized something, slightly widening his eyes, tentatively asking, “You wouldn’t have…?”
Han Yu Zhe propped himself up, half-closing his eyes to rest. “Mm, I heard you wake up, and I went to Italy.”
Berlin: “…!!!”
Although he knew his teammates weren’t ordinary humans, casually going back and forth between two places thousands of miles apart still shocked Berlin’s worldview.
He silently bit his fork, glancing at Han Yu Zhe, searching for words. “Uh, you didn’t have to go that far to buy food. Wouldn’t that drain your energy?”
Han Yu Zhe lazily replied, “No. The round trip only took twenty minutes; nineteen minutes and fifty-nine seconds were spent waiting for the takeout to be prepared and packaged.”
Berlin was dazed, showing a hint of envy. “…Ah, such a convenient ability.”
“Want to go?” Han Yu Zhe silently watched him, smiling and promising, “Wherever you want to go, I can take you. Anytime, anywhere.”
Berlin snapped out of his thoughts, immediately burying himself in his meal. “No, I’ll wait until the company gives me a vacation and go by myself.”
He silently thought, making a deal with a devil, who knows what kind of price you’ll have to pay.
Moreover—what Han Yu Zhe had just revealed confirmed Berlin’s guess: His teammates’ five senses were on a different level than his; even if they slept in different rooms, as soon as he woke up, Han Yu Zhe immediately noticed.
Berlin had no secrets he couldn’t share, but when he realized that his every move was being constantly observed, his joy in eating was diminished.
He visibly wilted, looking worried. Han Yu Zhe, not stupid, watched him for a moment and lazily said, “Don’t worry; what you’re worried about won’t happen; we have a three-article agreement.”
Berlin looked up at him with puffed cheeks, repeating indistinctly, “Three-article agreement?”
“Not the one between you and me.” Han Yu Zhe shook his head, not elaborating, slightly narrowing his eyes, casually saying, “It’s an agreement between me and the others; we won’t pry into your private life.”
As if unwilling for Berlin to feel pressured or distrustful, Han Yu Zhe’s eyes deepened, and he calmly added, “The promises and agreements made by devils are absolute and inviolable. So don’t worry.”
“I knew you were awake; I heard the background music of the Eight Brocades exercise,” Han Yu Zhe found a comfortable position on the sofa. “You listen to this every morning.”
Berlin completely relaxed, humming, without doubting Han Yu Zhe’s words, happily focusing on his food.
Han Yu Zhe raised an eyebrow slightly. “I could also be lying. You believe me so easily?”
Berlin wiped the tomato sauce from his mouth, counting on his fingers. “You came to bring me food the moment you sensed I was hungry, and you even went all the way to Italy to buy takeout. You know how much you hate moving around. You also remember that I like pasta and tiramisu…I can’t think of any reason for you to lie to me about this.”
Han Yu Zhe seemed to be in a good mood, silently watching Berlin finish the last sip of soup, sighing contentedly, like a cat satisfied after sunbathing.
Berlin ate the tiramisu after the meal; the happy emotion radiated from his soul, making him shine brightly in Han Yu Zhe’s eyes, like a brilliant sun.
From the moment he first saw Berlin, Han Yu Zhe had noticed his difference.
Among countless dim souls, he was eternally hot and bright, always pure, exuding an unparalleled attractiveness.
To Han Yu Zhe, it was like…the cake in Berlin’s hand. Exquisitely sweet and tempting, constantly swaying before Han Yu Zhe’s eyes.
Han Yu Zhe, lazily lounging on the sofa, lowered his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing; his dark, impenetrable eyes were like a deep whirlpool. He stared at Berlin for a while, then casually looked away.
He lazily whispered, “There’s a little mouse at the door.”
Berlin looked up, confused, biting his spoon. “Huh?”
Han Yu Zhe didn’t speak; Berlin quickly understood—it wasn’t their first time encountering this.
Berlin stood up, cautiously telling his teammate, “Don’t do anything; I’ll handle it.”
Han Yu Zhe seemed to obediently agree. “Oh.”
Berlin walked to the door and saw a person wearing a mask and a baseball cap, furtively checking something at the door—then, after looking around to make sure no one was there, he squatted down ungracefully, trying to peek through the crack in the door.
Skye’s schedule couldn’t be kept secret; sasaengs (obsessive fans) followed the trail.
Berlin helplessly thought for a moment, sat down cross-legged on the rug at the door, and took out his phone.
Han Yu Zhe remained motionless on the sofa, silently watching Berlin’s actions with interest, wanting to see what he would do.
The sasaeng outside seemed sure that this was one of Skye’s rooms, and after unfortunately finding that they couldn’t see anything through the crack, knocked lightly on the door.
Knock knock. A subtly excited voice came through the door: “Berlin, are you in there?”
The sasaeng’s heart beat faster, a sense of intoxicating excitement.
The sasaeng imagined whether Berlin might be asleep, if he would be scared when he heard the sound, if he would open the door and gently persuade her “not to do this”…certainly, Berlin was such a good person; no one had ever seen him angry; he wouldn’t even scold her.
Confident of what Berlin was like, the sasaeng was fearless, full of anticipation.
The next second, the sasaeng heard a knock from inside the room.
Knock knock. The rhythm was exactly the same as her knock, as if they were exchanging signals.
Then, Berlin’s voice came, light and cheerful. “I’m here.”
The sasaeng’s wildly beating heart slowed for half a beat: “…?”
…What’s going on? This is a little different from what she expected.
Why isn’t he afraid??
The sasaeng’s prepared words were all jumbled; she had imagined many possible reactions from Berlin, but not this—he didn’t open the door; he seemed to know someone was outside, and he was quite calm.
This unexpected response made her hesitate for a long time before she reorganized her language system. “Berlin, why aren’t you sleeping at this hour?”
Berlin replied quickly, through the door. “You aren’t sleeping either.”
Sasaeng: “…I came to see you.”
Berlin: “You shouldn’t have come to find me.”
Hearing this, the sasaeng was relieved, feeling that it finally made sense; somehow, she felt much more at ease. “But I want to see you.”
There was silence in the room for a while; the sasaeng patiently waited, imagining Berlin’s expression, and her heart began to beat faster again.
She had spent a lot of money searching for information, just for this moment of secret excitement.
Berlin: “Sorry, I can’t meet you.”
Berlin: “I’ll play you a song. I hope after listening to this song, you’ll decide to only meet in public places.”
The sasaeng’s eyes widened: “Are you going to play me your new song? Wow!”
Just as the sasaeng was getting excited, trying to say a few more words to tease him, music suddenly came from the room—she had pressed her ear against the door to hear Berlin clearly; he seemed to have pressed his phone directly against the door and turned up the volume.
She listened carefully; when she heard what was playing, her expression became strange.
Berlin played her the Great Compassion Mantra.
At 4 AM, sitting in the empty corridor, listening to her idol playing the Great Compassion Mantra through a door: “…???”
Berlin patiently played the music with his phone against the door, keeping the volume low to avoid disturbing the neighbors.
After several attempts, Berlin knew that sincere requests and persuasion were useless; he had tried.
He hoped that after the Great Compassion Mantra finished, the sasaeng would change her ways and stop doing this.
If the sasaeng didn’t want to leave, Berlin planned to spend the day with her; he had set it to repeat, not knowing how many times she would be able to listen.
To listen to the song online, Berlin temporarily bought a membership.
These days, it’s so realistic—even Buddhism’s salvation of all beings requires incense money; the new-era Buddha only saves VIPs.
Half an hour later.
Han Yu Zhe’s expression was unusually subtle; he quietly informed, “…She’s gone.”
She left decisively, her expression distraught, running away without looking back.
During this time, she had tried to talk to Berlin several times and tried to get him to turn off the music several times, but she got no response.
Later, Berlin listened to it many times and gradually memorized some of the lyrics; he happily sang along.
Han Yu Zhe relayed, “The moment you sang along was when she stormed off.”
Berlin: “…”
He scratched his head. “Ah. I thought I sang pretty well?”
Meeting Berlin’s expectant gaze, Han Yu Zhe paused and calmly nodded. “Mm, it was good. If you like, you can sing it again.”
Berlin smiled foolishly and touched his brow, in a good mood. “No, I’ll save it for when I need it next time.”
Author’s Note:
Berlin: The sasaeng’s love for me didn’t last half an hour (.)
Thank you to the little angels who threw me king bombs or irrigated nutrient solution between 2022-11-16 00:09:04 and 2022-11-16 23:16:31!
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: ORZ 14 bottles; Iron pot stewed sweet potato 10 bottles; lsp 2 bottles; garbage truck, Keyi, Zeroth Law, 11 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support; I will continue to work hard!
