The Ex's Tears Are So Hot - Chapter 25

On the ride back, Xie Zhixin had a cast on his arm and couldn’t move easily. He nudged Guan Jinnian’s waist with his elbow.

“You still mad?”

Guan Jinnian was leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed, trying to rest. He didn’t even twitch at the sound—completely ignoring him.

“Are you cold? Take a hot shower when we get back. We were in the rain today—I don’t want you catching a cold.”

Guan Jinnian couldn’t help but snap, “Worry about yourself.”

But even as he said it, he reached over and turned the car’s heater up two degrees.

Xie Zhixin caught the gesture and felt secretly delighted. His tail, if he had one, would be wagging.

When they returned to the house in Zhounan Village, the other guests came over one by one to check in—they had all heard about Xie Zhixin falling down the slope.

Even Lin Qi dragged He Chengcheng along. Say what you will about him—he at least knew how to put on a good public face.

Lu Yue looked at Xie Zhixin’s arm with concern. “Is it serious? You two want to take a few days off?”

“Minor fracture. The doctor said just to be careful,” Guan Jinnian replied, glancing at Xie Zhixin. He did want him to take time off, but he already knew that was wishful thinking.

Sure enough, Xie Zhixin, sitting off to the side, waved it off casually. “Nope. Not taking time off.”

As they chatted, two staff members came over carrying insulated containers. Behind them were the director and Xie Zhixin’s agent, Qin Li.

The assistant greeted everyone, then approached Guan Jinnian and Xie Zhixin. “The director asked one of the village aunties to make some pork rib soup—brought it here to help you recover.”

Director Wang, sweating under Qin Li’s intense gaze from behind, offered some apologies. “We really didn’t plan the schedule well. So sorry this led to an accident.”

“Xiao Xie, would you prefer to go home and rest? You can come back for the next episode.”

“I’m fine.” Xie Zhixin once again turned down the offer.

Qin Li had been dealing with online backlash all afternoon and had rushed over without a break. Now she was absolutely fuming.

“Why not take a break?!” she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She didn’t mince words. “Let’s not even talk about your health—you can’t even take care of yourself right now. Are you expecting Mr. Guan to look after you?”

Xie Zhixin froze, stunned. He instinctively turned to Guan Jinnian, his eyes full of helplessness—afraid that Guan might think the same.

Right now, he couldn’t bear to be separated from Guan Jinnian even for a second. Just the thought of not seeing him made his heart panic.

But Guan Jinnian wasn’t thinking that at all. Even though the director had taken responsibility, Guan still blamed himself for Xie getting hurt. There was no way he’d leave him alone.

“Do you want to go back?” Guan Jinnian asked.

Xie Zhixin immediately grabbed his wrist as Guan leaned in—as if afraid he’d run away.

“I don’t want to go. I want to stay and film with you!”

His tone had a bit of a pout. After saying it, he glanced at Qin Li like a mischievous kid who’d found someone to back him up.

Qin Li was about to cough up bl00d from rage.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and silently repeated, Don’t get mad—he’s the boss. Then she thought about her salary, and managed to suppress the fire in her chest.

“Li-Jie, I’m fine. Let him decide,” Guan Jinnian said gently.

“You spoil him too much!” she huffed.

Director Wang, thinking of the show’s ratings, also hoped Xie Zhixin wouldn’t drop out. Seeing the tension rise, he jumped in to smooth things over.

“How about this: Until Xiao Xie recovers, we’ll skip any physical challenges for your group. We’ll just assign the average score for those tasks. Does that work for everyone?”

“Hmm…” Qin Li hesitated. “That’s a bit unfair to the others.”

The other guests, who had just been watching the drama unfold, suddenly found themselves involved. They all quickly shook their heads or waved their hands.

“I don’t mind,” Lu Yue said first.

“This isn’t a competition show. Given the situation, it’s understandable.”

Everyone nodded in agreement—except for He Chengcheng, who looked like he wanted to object, but Lin Qi clamped a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

Director Wang, trying to be fair, added, “In exchange, we’ll double the points for other groups who still complete their tasks. Of course, ingredient exchange prices will stay the same.”

“Well, that’s even better! Xiao Xie should take a few more episodes off, don’t you think?” Qi Ming joked, making everyone laugh.

“Alright, let’s go with that for now. I’ll leave you two to rest. Let me know if you need anything,” Director Wang said before leaving with the assistant.

The other guests also excused themselves, leaving the room to the three of them.

In the living room—

Xie Zhixin and Guan Jinnian were practically glued together. Qin Li stood across from them, arms crossed, face cold.

The atmosphere was… odd.

Guan Jinnian had wanted to step away a little, but Xie Zhixin was holding onto his wrist like he was welded on. Couldn’t be pried off.

He gave up and stared silently at the floor, too embarrassed to meet her eyes.

“Alright. Time for the serious stuff.”

Qin Li hadn’t just come to drag Xie Zhixin home. She had another reason.

She glanced toward the GoPro on the table and gave a signal with her eyes.

Guan Jinnian understood. “It’s off already. And the room cameras are off too. No filming tonight.”

“Good. Then I’ll begin.”

Qin Li pulled out a thick stack of documents and handed them to Xie Zhixin.

“The evidence you sent me has been sorted. I also used my own channels and found a lot of stuff you can’t get through official means.”

Her tone was grim. “He… just read it yourself.”

“Thanks.”

Xie Zhixin flipped through quickly, then stopped on a particular page.

“All of this is Lin Qi’s doing?” Guan Jinnian leaned in and frowned. “He forced minors into…?”

The page was full of damning evidence. Just glancing at the photos was enough to make one feel sick.

“These girls are barely ten years old! How can he be so vile?!” Guan Jinnian couldn’t comprehend it.

“He put on a good mask. Who would’ve guessed?” Qin Li, as a woman, felt this deeply. “He had big money backing him. If this hadn’t come up through our situation, the truth might’ve stayed buried forever.”

“This is huge—and implicates a lot of people. We can’t handle it alone,” Xie Zhixin said seriously. “Please take this to Chairman He. Get two bodyguards for yourself ASAP, and stay out of the rest.”

Guan Jinnian instinctively clenched the hem of Xie Zhixin’s shirt, tense with worry.

Xie Zhixin noticed and released his wrist to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him close.

“It’s okay. Don’t be scared. Just a precaution.”

Qin Li had been in the industry for years. She wasn’t some naive rookie—she understood what had to be done.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Guan. They won’t trace it back to me. And we can’t let these monsters keep getting away with this. Justice will be served. The victims deserve it.”

She suddenly remembered something and pulled out another file.

“Oh right—almost forgot about Wu Zhaoyan.”

Xie Zhixin didn’t have a free hand, so Guan Jinnian took it and skimmed through.

“He was the one supplying the drugs?”

“Yep. But he wasn’t aware of Lin Qi’s larger crimes—just sold him drugs and helped him find people.”

After explaining, Xie Zhixin clicked his tongue in regret. “Tsk. What a pity.”

Guan Jinnian blinked. “Pity what?”

“He’s the one who drugged you, remember? I wanted to make him pay, but if he didn’t know about the other crimes, his sentence won’t be that heavy.”

“…”

Guan Jinnian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But his heart warmed.

He leaned a little closer into Xie Zhixin’s arms.

Xie Zhixin noticed, stayed still on the surface, but the corner of his mouth curled ever so slightly.

Once they finished discussing, Qin Li handed over some work details, then got up to deal with Lin Qi’s case.

Guan Jinnian walked her out. When he came back, his head was spinning—he didn’t feel well.

He figured it was just fatigue and didn’t think too much. He ate dinner with Xie Zhixin and got ready to shower and sleep.

Then, staring at Xie Zhixin’s arm in a cast, he suddenly realized—

“How are you going to shower? Can you do it yourself?”

Xie Zhixin was wrestling with his shirt. Instinctively, he was about to say Of course I can, but caught himself just in time.

“Uh… not really.”

“…You want me to help you shower?”

Xie Zhixin perked up instantly. “Can you?”

Guan Jinnian fell silent. He knew this guy was up to something—but seeing how hard it was for him just to undress, he didn’t bother nitpicking.

“Fine. Come on, then.”

He walked into the bathroom first.

Xie Zhixin lit up with joy, immediately yanked his stuck shirt and tore it clean off, then trotted in shirtless, tail wagging.

Inside the bathroom—

Xie Zhixin stepped in just in time to see Guan Jinnian rolling up his sleeves, revealing toned, slender forearms. Under the warm light, his whole silhouette looked soft and ethereal.

Xie Zhixin swallowed.

“I’m here,” he said, voice suddenly hoarse.

Guan Jinnian turned back. “Shirt’s already off?”

“Mm…”

Honestly, Xie Zhixin could barely hear what he was saying anymore. His gaze kept drifting to those slightly wet lips.

After all, they’d dated for years. They’d seen everything. Done everything.

As Guan Jinnian calmed his initial awkwardness, he asked, “Well? Take off your pants too. You plan on showering in them?”

“Pants? Oh, right. Pants.”

Xie Zhixin snapped out of it and scrambled to peel off his pants, stripping himself down completely.

Guan Jinnian adjusted the water temperature, then glanced up—and froze mid-movement, holding the showerhead.

His gaze slowly lowered. He raised a brow.

Xie Zhixin followed his line of sight and looked down.

“?!”

“Sorry—I didn’t mean to!”

He quickly covered himself and peeked at Guan Jinnian’s face, relieved to see no disgust there.

Guan Jinnian silently raised the water temperature and sprayed him with the showerhead.

“Ah—!”

Xie Zhixin yelped and jumped back.

“You trying to kill me?!”

“Reminder: I’m your ex-husband now.”

Guan Jinnian smiled sweetly—like a knife.

“I’m deaf now. Didn’t hear a word.”

Xie Zhixin clutched his ear with his good hand, sulking.