Not silent.

Frozen.

Even the air seemed to stop moving.

Tang Miao’s smile remained on his face, but his eyes slowly widened.

The director closed his eyes for half a second.

The assistant director gripped the filming plan like a life-saving document.

The academy liaison teacher, who had clearly expected this, calmly drank tea.

Then the bullet comments exploded.

【HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA】

【It happened! It happened again!】

【That is a statement. What is the question?】

【Tang Miao was defeated in one sentence.】

【No, but isn’t Mu Xiyu being rude?】

【Tang Miao said “you don’t seem happy to see us.” That’s also kind of awkward.】

【It’s normal social speech!】

【Normal social speech is Mu Xiyu’s natural enemy.】

【He really doesn’t answer emotional guesses.】

【I would be embarrassed if someone said this to me.】

【I would be grateful. Please stop making me respond to vibes.】

【Cold beauty? No. Customer-service nightmare.】

【Query-system Omega strikes again.】

Tang Miao recovered with professional speed.

He laughed, though his ears were a little red.

“I mean… are you happy to meet us?”

This time, the question was direct.

Mu Xiyu answered immediately.

“Neutral.”

Tang Miao: “…”

Mu Xiyu added, “This is the first formal joint meeting. Emotional evaluation requires additional data.”

Tang Miao’s smile became fragile.

The bullet comments became even louder.

【Neutral.】

【Additional data.】

【Tang Miao asked for this.】

【At least he answered honestly.】

【I’m crying. This is so awkward and so funny.】

【Mu Xiyu has the social warmth of a laboratory instrument.】

【But he didn’t lie.】

Yin Canglan finally spoke.

His voice was warm and elegant.

“Xiyu means he does not dislike meeting everyone.”

Mu Xiyu turned his head slightly.

“Dislike is also unsupported by current data.”

Yin Canglan nodded smoothly. “Exactly.”

The audience went silent for half a second.

Then:

【His Highness translated neutral into diplomatic language.】

【Mu Xiyu corrected the translation.】

【The Crown Prince accepted the correction.】

【Why are they like this?】

【This couple is impossible.】

【No, they are perfect. One outputs raw data, one converts it into human speech.】

Ji Ran sat on the A-Class side, watching the laughter and fascination roll across the bullet comments.

His face still held a warm expression.

But his heart slowly sank.

This was wrong.

This line was the same.

Mu Xiyu’s directness was the same.

The awkwardness was the same.

Even the cold, almost inhuman way he refused emotional implication was the same as Ji Ran remembered.

In the story, this kind of reaction had made people uncomfortable.

It had confirmed their impression that Mu Xiyu was arrogant, cold, and emotionally detached.

People had whispered that he looked down on others.

That he did not care about classmates.

That he treated social interaction as a waste of time.

But now, under the livestream, the audience was not moving in a single direction.

Some did call him rude.

Some did feel embarrassed on Tang Miao’s behalf.

But more people were laughing.

Repeating his words.

Turning his directness into jokes.

Comparing him to a query system.

Calling Yin Canglan his translator.

Finding the Crown Prince’s indulgence amusing.

Even those who criticised him were being challenged by others.

Why?

Ji Ran’s fingers tightened slightly.

Was it because Yin Canglan sat beside him?

Because S-Class treated him naturally?

Because the first scene the audience saw of Mu Xiyu had not been isolation, but competence?

Because Bai Suling had just thanked him?

Because the staff member in the S-Class building had nearly been injured, and Mu Xiyu had warned him before anyone else noticed?

Small details.

Too many small details.

They were changing the frame before Ji Ran could guide it.

The director, meanwhile, decided that the ice-breaking segment needed immediate rescue.

He clapped his hands.

“Very good. It seems everyone’s communication styles are already becoming clear.”

The assistant director looked at him with admiration.

To describe this as “communication styles becoming clear” required professional courage.

The director continued, “For the next segment, we prepared a simple mutual-impression board. Each guest can choose one word for another guest.”

Mu Xiyu raised his hand.

The director’s heart jumped. “Student Mu?”

“Is the word required to be emotionally positive?”

The director paused. “Preferably friendly.”

“Friendly is subjective.”

Yin Canglan smiled and translated, “He is asking whether accurate but unpleasant words are prohibited.”

The director immediately said, “Yes. Prohibited.”

Mu Xiyu nodded.

“Understood.”

Luo Jingshen said, “This reduces available vocabulary.”

He Lianzhou laughed. “For you.”

Qi Nian hugged his bear and said lazily, “For all of us.”

Wen Shuo added, “Human social harmony often depends on controlled vocabulary.”

Han Yue whispered to Bai Suling, “Are they always like this?”

Bai Suling whispered back, “I think so.”

Xu Cheng, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, “They were like this when they were children.”

Everyone looked at him.

The director’s eyes lit up again.

Childhood material.

Elite circle material.

Old acquaintance material.

Ji Ran’s heart tightened.

Xu Cheng’s expression remained straightforward. “Not exactly the same. But similar.”

Tang Miao immediately asked, “You knew the S-Class seniors when you were young?”

Xu Cheng nodded. “Some interest classes. Beast-form control. Military family events. Palace public lessons occasionally.”

The room shifted again.

The audience also noticed.

【Wait, Xu Cheng knew them outside school?】

【So A-Class and S-Class aren’t complete strangers.】

【Ruan Qingyao also knew them, right?】

【The elite circle is smaller than I thought.】

【No, maybe the original public information just didn’t include all this.】

Ji Ran kept smiling.

But something cold crawled up his spine.

These details.

Again, these details.

The parts outside the classroom.

The parts outside the teacher’s perspective.

The parts outside the story.

Xu Cheng continued, “Senior Mu was quiet then too.”

Ji Ran almost relaxed.

Then Xu Cheng added, “But not hostile.”

The sentence was blunt.

Simple.

Difficult to twist.

Ruan Qingyao lowered her eyes.

Tang Miao looked thoughtful.

Bai Suling wrote something in her notebook.

Han Yue, eager to participate, said, “Then maybe Senior Mu is just… very focused?”

Mu Xiyu looked at him.

“Current statement is closer to fact.”

Han Yue brightened. “See? I understood!”

Luo Jingshen looked at him. “A rare event.”

Han Yue: “Senior Luo!”

The room finally laughed naturally.

Even the director laughed.

The first joint meeting, which could have become stiff after Mu Xiyu’s sentence, somehow turned into a strange rhythm of awkwardness, correction, and unexpected humour.

A-Class was polished.

S-Class was bizarre.

A-Class knew how to face cameras.

S-Class did not seem to care whether cameras existed.

Ji Ran knew how to guide emotions.

Mu Xiyu did not follow emotional guidance.

Yin Canglan translated.

He Lianzhou joked.

Wen Shuo annotated.

Qi Nian threatened people with a teddy bear.

Luo Jingshen calculated everyone’s social failure.

And the audience, instead of uniformly rejecting the chaos, began watching with growing fascination.

By the end of the meeting, the director’s notebook contained only one underlined sentence:

Do not force S-Class into ordinary variety-show logic. Use their natural abnormality.

When the filming paused, the students began leaving in groups.

Yin Canglan stood first and took Mu Xiyu’s data ring from his wrist, glancing at the readings.

“You skipped the second rest reminder,” he said.

Mu Xiyu replied, “The meeting contained unexpected social variables.”

“That is not a reason to skip water.”

“I drank water.”

“Half the required amount.”

Mu Xiyu considered this.

Then he accepted the cup Yin Canglan handed over.

Ji Ran watched from several steps away.

Yin Canglan’s tone was not public performance.

Mu Xiyu’s obedience was not fear.

The familiarity between them was quiet, seamless, and impossible to insert himself into.

On the livestream, the final comments before the pause were still moving.

【That is a statement. What is the question?】

【I’m using this next time someone says “you seem upset.”】

【Please don’t. Not everyone has a Crown Prince translator.】

【Mu Xiyu is rude.】

【Maybe. But he is also weirdly funny.】

【I want to see more.】

【Same. I can’t tell if I like him yet, but I definitely want to watch him.】

Ji Ran lowered his eyes.

His smile remained gentle.

But his thoughts were no longer calm.

Mu Xiyu’s directness was still the same as in the story.

Cold.

Literal.

Difficult.

Unchanged.

But the public reaction was not following the path Ji Ran remembered.

The audience was supposed to feel alienated.

Instead, they were becoming curious.

And curiosity was dangerous.

Because once people became curious, they would not be satisfied with conclusions.

They would start looking for facts.