WUYVHFO 4

He Yuan was utterly confused.

He had initially expected his apprentice to be an honest and serious individual. It didn’t matter if they weren’t particularly bright or even a bit foolish—so long as they were diligent.

But now, faced with reality, his only reaction was that something utterly bizarre had slipped into the apprenticeship team. And he had picked it up.

Was it too late to throw it away now?

The other party, at least, was polite. With a tone full of rationality, they explained in excruciating detail how they had stupidly clicked on the event by mistake and even managed to submit the wrong name.

He Yuan frowned deeply, read through the explanation with uncharacteristic patience, leaned back in his chair, and took a long breath.

Very good. At least his apprentice met one of his expectations.

They were even stupider than he’d imagined.

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: I just received this [screenshot] ]

He Yuan clicked on it and took a look. It was a message from the system:

[From V Station: Congratulations! “What Should Xixizi Eat Today,” you have been successfully swept away by the tall and handsome “Wall” and bound to him in a master-apprentice relationship! Please work harder and hold on to the lion and tiger’s thighs tightly! >w< ]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: I’m really sorry, big brother. Do you think we can untie this now?]

He Yuan glanced at the details of the event. To prevent casual master-apprentice pairings, unbinding wasn’t allowed until the event ended.

[Wall: It’s too late.]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: [Little yellow bird throws a rope to hang itself.jpg] ]

[Wall: [Big white bear hugs its arms and looks at you.jpg] ]

Although the other party seemed pretty offline, their homepage submissions suggested they were at least diligent. He Yuan decided to give it a chance. Raising his hand, he typed:

[Wall: Can you participate in the event?]

[Wall: It’s not difficult. I can take you.]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: How can I be embarrassed [Little yellow bird scratches its head.jpg] ]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: Big brother, let me tell you the truth. I don’t know anything. I’m just a chicken QAQ.]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: I’m sorry, I really can’t participate in this event. If you need help with anything else, I’ll definitely be there at your call!]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: How about this—I’ll give you gifts later to get you to the top of the list! [Little yellow bird with strong muscles.jpg] ]

[Wall: No need.]

[Wall: I am already number one.]

[What Should Xixizi Eat Today: [Little yellow bird with dementia.jpg] ]

He Yuan suddenly felt like laughing, but he pursed his lips to hold it back.

He wasn’t unreasonable. If the other party had no intention of participating in the event, he wouldn’t force them.

[Wall: Forget it.]

[Wall: You don’t have to do anything special.]

After sending that, He Yuan closed his notebook without waiting for a reply.

Thinking about it, he felt a bit melancholic. His apprentice had turned into a little yellow bird and flown away.

Well, the event would be held again in the future. He could always find a new apprentice after unbinding.

—

Just after eight in the evening, the V Station forum was at its busiest.

Today marked the first day of the official trial for the “Mutual Help” event. Scrolling through the homepage, the entire forum was filled with complaints about the event planning.

The trial period for this event was set to one month. Once participants were bound as master and apprentice, they couldn’t change partners at will.

It was simply like locking the key and tossing it into the Pacific Ocean.

However, the most popular posts weren’t the quarrels but the flood of gossip and melon-sharing threads.

[Breaking News—The Beauty Boss from the Life Zone Has Accepted an Apprentice!]

Main post: Let’s not say anything unnecessary. I’ll just drop the screenshots—tonight’s truly wild [Picture].

1L: Front-row seat! I always thought someone like him wouldn’t accept apprentices.

2L: It’s normal to accept an apprentice. Maybe the boss is in it for the money or fun. But why would a beauty boss accept a food creator?

3L: Why is this suddenly pinned to my wall? Isn’t my wall usually low-key enough? QAQ

Host replied to 3L: This isn’t targeted at you. Whoever accepts an apprentice will have it displayed in the event hall. I just reposted it.

4L: What’s this Xixizi’s background? I’ve never seen their videos on the homepage.

5L: Just checked the homepage. This apprentice isn’t new. They’ve been squatting on V Station for three years, but their videos haven’t improved much. I don’t understand why the boss picked them up.

6L: Maybe the boss wants a challenge. Non-newcomers have set styles, and they’re harder to lead than fresh faces. The boss probably enjoys the thrill of taming [dog head].

7L: Hahahahahaha, this cracked me up!

8L: Next event, please take a look at my wild horse [dog head].

…

21L: Blind guess—it’s a three-dimensional friend. Makes collabs easier.

22L: Li Tao, since when are 50k fans enough to call someone a boss?

23L replied to 22L: If you can go from 0 to 50k fans in one year, we’ll call you a boss too.

24L: This? [email protected]

For the next commenter—if the apprentice you picked isn’t you, just admit your face hurts.

25L: I smell a melon. Can someone show me the way? [Come with a bowl.jpg]

26: Call me Lei Feng. Post title: [“Mutual Help” Just Dropped—Here to Reserve My Spot on the Wall]

In a dark, single apartment, Xiao An sat with his back against the wall, wrapped in a thin blanket. The light from his phone screen illuminated his face, his long, soft lashes casting faint shadows on his cheeks.

He clicked on the forum post for details and saw that the poster was a male beauty content creator named “Wanshi Keai”. This person was loudly declaring that they had already reserved Wall as their master.

Post owner: Everyone knows I’m not only the content creator Wanshi Keai but also one of Wall’s first die-hard fans. I know him so well. If he were to pick an apprentice, he’d definitely look at me first.

Post owner: I have over 10,000 followers. To sign up as an apprentice, you must have between 5,000 and 10,000 fans. I even asked some of my fans to temporarily unfollow me tonight. The little girls cried, but if I miss out on this event, I’ll cry [crying emoji].

Xiao An thought this guy seemed like a lunatic. His antics were both outrageous and a bit pitiful.

Relieved to see the comments below were all roasting the poster, Xiao An felt better.

What an unexpected turn of events. Wall actually seemed to be a popular master.

Too bad he was just a placeholder trustee for the account. According to its actual owner, Pan Xi, the account would be abandoned as soon as the rewards were distributed. It wasn’t suitable for participating in events like this at all.

Xiao An found this melon unremarkable. Just as he was about to leave the post, a GIF caught his attention.

This was posted by the owner of the account, “Wanshi Keai”.

Post owner: I admire my wall every day. I have “serious lack of wall syndrome” [GIF].

Comment 1: This is the only time in the whole post that I appreciate the sb post owner.

Comment 2: Although I am very happy, I still hope that sb will not follow my wall.

In the GIF, the boy was holding a tube of round lipstick. His plain black T-shirt made his skin appear even whiter.

It was hard to guess his age. A cloth-shaped special effect obscured his eyebrows and eyes, leaving only part of his tall nose and thin lips visible.

Xiao An had never seen such beautiful lips before.

Everyone’s lip color was different, but in the GIF, the lips were a soft, light pink—healthy and natural, without a trace of sickliness.

The lip shape was flawless, like it had been drawn with precision. The thin lips exuded a cold charm, but the upper lip’s delicate lip bead gave the entire mouth an unexpectedly… sensual allure.

Xiao An pursed his lips, subconsciously moving his phone closer to scrutinize the small GIF.

The animation, of course, was silent. The boy’s lips opened and closed as if he were speaking. After the lipstick cap popped open, the lipstick was applied to his lips with smooth precision.

The boy’s technique was mesmerizing. He started by outlining his lips in one fluid motion, then filled them in with careful strokes, like painting on a canvas.

Xiao An couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t know much about applying lipstick, but even he could tell this beauty app wasn’t particularly professional.

Judging by the smoothness of the movements, the boy was likely a seasoned expert—an old hand at this.

The lip-painting scene slowed to 0.5x speed, emphasizing every detail. The lipstick glided over his upper lip, pressed against the lip bead, then released, leaving the lips in perfect form once more.

Xiao An felt a strange tickling sensation in his chest, and the room around him seemed to grow warmer.

By the time he snapped out of it, he realized he’d watched the animation more than a dozen times.

Kicking the quilt aside, Xiao An chuckled softly, propping his head up with one hand, his fingers resting lightly on the pulse of his neck.

After a moment, he let out a faint whistle.

That 0.5x speed was downright dangerous.

It was like discovering a new world—even straight men wouldn’t be able to resist this.

Xiao An rubbed the tip of his nose, his gaze drifting back to the word “wall,” which “Wanshi Keai” had obsessively repeated throughout the post.

By sheer coincidence, it seemed that this “wall” had indeed been taken in today.

As Xiao An slowly processed the implications, a chill ran down his spine. Snapping back to reality, he quickly returned to the WeChat interface, replying to Pan Xi, who had sent him the forum’s melon post.

[Xiao An: !]

[Pan Xi: Back already? I thought you fell asleep.]

[Pan Xi: Did you see the post? You said you’d take over my account for just one day, and look at you now—so popular! I’ve been at this for two years, and nothing remotely exciting has ever happened to me [Melancholy]. ]

[Xiao An: Brother, can I use your account to do some social networking?]

[Xiao An: Don’t worry, I’ll never reveal your real identity.]

[Pan Xi: …Do you like making friends that much?]

Xiao An had always been good at making connections. He dabbled in a bit of everything and had unknowingly gathered friends from all walks of life.

But this time, even he wanted to extend his network to V-station.

Pan Xi couldn’t think of a reason to refuse, so he relented:

[Pan Xi: Okay, but if anyone asks, make sure to say you’re a high school student]

[Xiao An: Why a high school student?]

[Pan Xi: [Awkward] When I first joined the site, I told people I was in the second year of junior high. Now I’m in the second year of high school.]

[Pan Xi: I wonder if they still remember. What if?]

[Pan Xi: I need to stick to the persona I’ve established. [Like] ]

[Xiao An: [Falling into silence.jpg] ]

[Xiao An: You are shameless. [Like] ]

After exchanging a few more lines, Xiao An returned to the V-site forum, now feeling completely different.

Just moments ago, he’d been an observer, casually scrolling through posts. Now, it felt like he was a part of it all.

It was almost midnight, yet people were still busy posting jabs at “Wanshi Keai”.

For a moment, Xiao An actually felt a little sorry for him. On a whim, he clicked into the input box and left a reply.

999L: sblz, don’t sleep, it’s already dawn—your wall has been warmed by me!

Just as he sent that message, a reply from the forum administrator appeared below:

[Administrator]: This post has been reported for containing vulgar replies. The thread is now locked.

The last thing frozen at the end of the thread was Xiao An’s line—bold, conspicuous, and downright cocky.

On the V-site forum, users could choose whether or not to display their “vests” (alternate usernames). When Xiao An logged in for the first time, the default setting had his vest displayed.

The passers-by, who were half-asleep from eating melons all night, were instantly refreshed.

Almost immediately, new posts flooded the forum homepage:

【The little apprentice of the beauty boss declares sovereignty!】

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