The Ex's Tears Are So Hot - Chapter 30

#Xie Zhixin the Welder#

Xie Zhixin managed to hold himself back. He only kissed Guan Jinnian’s eye. Even though he really wanted to go further, he was afraid Guan Jinnian would get upset.

He sat back up and removed his hand. The livestream finally returned to the light.

【What happened?! What happened?!】
【Aaaaaah did they kiss?!】
【Ugh, why cover the camera? We want to see too!!】
【It was bad enough when you banned us from calling him “wifey,” now you won’t even let us see a kiss? Stingy men are the worst! /angry】
【Is this a romance show? It has to be a romance show! They’re so sweet already, and they’re not even officially back together yet. Once they do get back together, I’m going to die from sugar overload! /cry】

Guan Jinnian instinctively glanced at the camera, then awkwardly cleared his throat. He picked up his water glass, took a sip, set it down again—his hands full of nervous fidgeting with no real purpose.

“Ahem, let’s do a giveaway first.”

He elbowed Xie Zhixin.

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.” Xie Zhixin’s eyes were full of laughter as he leaned toward the phone and tapped a few buttons to start the giveaway. “Everyone, type ‘Happy New Year to the most perfect match—wishing you a lifetime of love together’ in the chat. The system will pick a winner randomly.”

Guan Jinnian almost choked on his water. “What kind of ridiculous phrase is that?!”

【Alert! Someone is sneaking in a personal agenda!】
【LOL this sentence is so long! If we couldn’t copy-paste, I wouldn’t even bother. Typing it would take forever just to enter a giveaway!】
【So all your brainpower is used to mess with your fans now, huh, kid? /finger wag】

Everyone grumbled, but their fingers moved fast. The next second, the entire livestream chat was flooded with that absurdly long giveaway phrase, leaving Guan Jinnian red in the face.

A minute later, the giveaway result popped up.

Guan Jinnian opened the list and read out the winner’s name.

“Congratulations to the user ‘The Moon Is So Round, I’m So Sweet’—you’ve won a cash prize of 8,888 yuan. Please DM us your address, and we’ll send you a gift too.”

【Whoa! Over 8k yuan?! Damn, why couldn’t that be me?!】
【All hail the lucky one. Winning this is like hitting a one-in-a-million chance! Unreal!】
【‘The Moon Is So Round, I’m So Sweet’: Aaaaahhh oh my god I actually won!! Thank you, thank you!! I’m your fan! I’m sending all my good luck to you—please be happy forever!!!】

Reading this message, Guan Jinnian’s nose stung, and his eyes moistened. “I should be the one thanking you…”

“Thank you all for loving Jinnian this much,” Xie Zhixin said seriously to the camera. “Don’t believe those rumors from marketing accounts. He really is an amazing person…”

“That’s enough already!” Guan Jinnian quickly covered his mouth before he went into a full-on speech.

Xie Zhixin had to give up reluctantly.

“Let’s do one more giveaway.”

Guan Jinnian initiated another draw.

“Okay, let’s congratulate this user named—Xie Zhixin’s…” He stopped mid-sentence, ears and neck flushing red in a matter of seconds.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Zhixin leaned over to look, and finished reading the name out loud: “‘Does Hubby Nian’s Abs Feel Good to Touch’”

He blinked, then burst out laughing.

【Honestly, I’m constantly amazed by the creativity of internet users…】
【LOL delete that username and let me use it!】
【You’re a national treasure, master of usernames. We are truly blessed to have you for New Year. /hearts】
【So… do they? /troll】
【Official response please. No dodging allowed!!】

“Alright, enough teasing him,” Xie Zhixin tried not to look too smug. He definitely didn’t want to actually make Guan Jinnian angry—he knew he’d be paying for it later tonight.

“Let’s go back to the Q&A.”

He smoothly steered the conversation away from the rapidly spiraling topic.

The next batch of questions were a lot more normal. Xie Zhixin handpicked them, skipping anything too heavy or invasive—just light and easy ones that could be answered casually.

During the Q&A, Xie Zhixin kept sneaking little touches: brushing against Guan Jinnian’s hand, casually resting his leg against his, small affectionate gestures nonstop.

He thought he was being subtle, but with millions of viewers watching, it was very obvious.

【Oi, crybaby, what’s with all the touching? Why are you glued to him? Is the air over there sweeter or what?】
【“That Crybaby” lol, he’s lost his name. Not even nicknames anymore, just straight-up descriptors.】
【I went back to the last few livestream recordings—this guy never stops clinging. Go check the fan forums!】
【Ma’am, you’ve missed your true calling. The archaeology fandom needs you.】
【Oh crap, it’s true! I never noticed before!】

CP fans’ eyes narrowed. Their sugar-radar activated. They rushed to Weibo.

On the fan forums, people had compiled numerous screenshots of them appearing on camera together. Without exception, if Guan Jinnian was next to Xie Zhixin, Xie Zhixin would always be touching him—holding his hand, leaning his leg against his, brushing against his shoulder.

It was like he had to be touching him somehow, or he wasn’t comfortable.

Even casual onlookers were floored.

【I remember someone joked that maybe he had glue on his hands. Now I think it’s his whole body.】
【Never thought I’d see “clingy” become a verb. He might as well weld himself to Guan Jinnian. /tongue】
【The entertainment industry has its own welder now! /hearts】
【HAHAHAHA I’m dying. “The Welder” is killing me!】

In their CP tag, things were on fire.
#XieZhixinTheWelder# quickly climbed to the bottom of the trending list—and then shot up to the top in no time.

By the time Guan Jinnian and Xie Zhixin switched from phone livestream to the indoor camera, the hashtag had already reached #1 on the trending page, attracting even more curious viewers.

【Came to see the welder in action】
【Welder Watch +1】
【LOL I give up. It’s only been a few days of streaming and Xie Zhixin’s picked up so many ridiculous nicknames. How are his fans doing?】

【…sigh】

Xie Zhixin’s fans were silent.

Ever since the relationship went public, he’d been shattering their image of him—his mysterious aura was long gone, and now he had zero idol mystique.

But they had nothing to say.

He didn’t care about his image at all, so what was the point of them stressing over it?

Originally, they had all fallen for his cool, aloof, and abstinent public persona—but now, seeing this real, lively version of him… they couldn’t deny it. They still liked him.

Like Guan Jinnian once said: someone who seemed so far above, turned out to have flaws too.

He was clingy, emotional, and a bit careless—someone you could actually reach. Someone real.

That kind of stark contrast… that was Xie Zhixin’s charm.

Even some of the former skeptics were changing their minds:

【Honestly, people should stop criticizing Guan Jinnian like he’s some servant. If I were in his shoes, I’m not sure I could do better…】
【Right? A top-tier celeb—handsome, rich, and cold to everyone else—but soft for you? Full-on lover mode? Who wouldn’t fall for that?】
【Okay… now that you put it like that, I finally get why Guan Jinnian spoils him so much. Who could resist…】
【Everyone has flaws. When you’re in the public eye, those flaws get magnified. Real-life couples have way worse problems. /sigh】
【So haters, stop nitpicking every little thing. Once these two finish adjusting, they’ll be just fine.】

…

Guan Jinnian and Xie Zhixin didn’t know any of this was going on.

The other two groups had returned from rehearsal in the nearby town, and everyone gathered for dinner.

They pooled their points together to get skewers and a charcoal grill—planning to have a backyard BBQ.

Just as the production team finished prepping the ingredients, a police car suddenly pulled up outside.

Two uniformed officers entered, showed the director their IDs, then walked up to Lin Qi.

“Mr. Lin, you are suspected of involvement in a major criminal case. Please come with us to assist with the investigation.”

The lively courtyard fell instantly silent.

Wu Yi and Qi Ming quietly huddled in a corner, watching the drama unfold.

Clang—Lu Yue knocked into the table out of shock.

“Sorry,” Qin Jin reacted quickly, pulling Lu Yue behind him and apologizing to the officers for the disturbance.

One officer nodded at him, then turned back to Lin Qi. “Please.”

Guan Jinnian and Xie Zhixin exchanged a glance—neither expected Director He to move so fast.

“What?! There must be some mistake!” He Chengcheng was stunned, completely clueless.

Apparently, he hadn’t taken Guan Jinnian seriously when he told him to contact his family earlier that afternoon.

Even though the livestream had been cut off when the officers presented their IDs, rumors had already spread online.

Lin Qi, despite the pressure, kept up his fake smile. “There must be some misunderstanding. But I’ll cooperate with the investigation.”

In truth, the evidence against him was airtight. But as law enforcement, the officers couldn’t just blurt that out. Their expressions turned cold, and they wasted no more words.

The older officer pulled out handcuffs, cuffed Lin Qi’s wrists, blindfolded him, and led him away.

He Chengcheng tried to follow but was blocked by staff.

“Let me go! How can they just arrest someone like that?!” He Chengcheng struggled hard—two staffers barely held him back.

The director was on the verge of collapse. Not only had he brought in this walking PR disaster, but Lin Qi exploded on his show. Furious, he snapped, “Calm down!” and stormed off to make phone calls.

Qin Jin, seemingly already aware of what was coming, quietly explained things to Lu Yue. Her face turned grim.

Seeing He Chengcheng still putting up a fight, she sighed and showed him the trending topics.

Every headline was about Lin Qi.

#LinQiSexualAssaultOfMinors
#PopularActorHostsIllegalParties
#LinQiUsesDrugsToExploitUnderageGirls

He Chengcheng glanced over the headlines, then slumped to the ground, face ashen. “How could this happen…”

Qin Jin called Mr. He and asked him to come pick up his son.

In the courtyard, no one spoke.

Faintly, they could still hear the director’s furious voice making calls outside.

Once He’s men came and took He Chengcheng away, the silence lingered. The earlier laughter had vanished.

Eventually, a staff member asked, “Are we still filming?”

The assistant director snapped back to attention and tried to lighten the mood: “No filming tonight. Everyone relax and have fun. We’ll update tomorrow’s schedule.”

Lu Yue led the way back to the grill. “Come on, Chef Guan! Teach us how to barbecue without turning everything into charcoal!”

“Let her cook it herself! Don’t boss Jinnian around.” Xie Zhixin grabbed Guan Jinnian’s wrist and stopped him from going.

“Xie Zhixin! Getting cocky, huh? That’s how you talk to me now?!”

Lu Yue picked up the tongs like a weapon, but Wu Yi laughed and held her back. Xie Zhixin seized the chance to flee—dragging Guan Jinnian with him.

“Hey! Why are you dragging Mr. Guan along? He didn’t make Moon-jie mad!”

Qi Ming egged it on, laughing. “Getting popular really does make people forget where they came from. Moon-jie, punish him!”

Qin Jin leaned against the pavilion post, sipping wine, quietly watching them fool around.

Everyone ate and drank like normal, carefully avoiding the earlier incident.

By 10 p.m., Lu Yue and the others—tired from a full day of rehearsal—wrapped up for the night.

Guan Jinnian and Xie Zhixin strolled back slowly, letting the breeze air out the smell of charcoal on their clothes.

“About earlier…”

“My off-key singing…”

They spoke at the same time.

Guan Jinnian paused, then followed Xie Zhixin’s topic instead—choosing not to dwell on unrelated people.

“I’ll practice more harmonies. Try to balance out your pitch, so it won’t sound that off.” He turned to Xie Zhixin and added, “Don’t worry. I won’t let you embarrass yourself.”

Xie Zhixin stared at him, dazed and a little dumbfounded.

“What?” Guan Jinnian took a step closer. “What are you thinking?”

Just as he was about to ask, Xie Zhixin suddenly lunged forward and hugged him tightly.

“Jinnian… why are you always so good to me…”

Xie Zhixin bent down, burying his face in the crook of Guan Jinnian’s neck, his voice muffled and full of longing.

Guan Jinnian’s hands froze mid-air, then slowly came down to rest on Xie Zhixin’s back.

“Come on, get up. You smell awful.”

“…Don’t say I stink!”

“But you do—it’s all BBQ smoke.”