Yunyu returned back to his small rented apartment after a gruelling hour using a taxi. He immediately slumped on his bed and closed his eyes since his body would give up on him anytime soon.
Pupa materialized again and nudged Yunyu, "You haven't set up your alarm. You'll be late tomorrow. Do you remember that Long Shen hates laziness? He might fire you if you're late."
"Aish, I have you, Pupa! You can just sit on the table silently, and you'll look like a table clock made by an art student! Wake me up at four!" Yunyu yelled, and he closed his eyes immediately.
Pupa stared at Yunyu and rolled its eyes, "Should I tell him that I have maintenance to do for about six hours?" Pupa wondered. It seemed impossible for Yunyu to wake up earlier, knowing his body was at its limit.
Pupa sighed and went to the alarm clock. It used its magnetic ability to set the alarm at four and then disappeared to do its six-hour maintenance.
Yunyu slept like a log for a long time until he was awakened by the sound of two things ringing inside his room at once. His alarm had been ringing for three hours straight, and his phone had been ringing continuously for an hour.
Yunyu stretched his body and opened his eyes. He yawned as he checked the unanswered phone call. His eyes widened instantly when he saw so many missed phone calls from Long Shen.
"Fuck! 51 missed calls?!" Yunyu's heart jumped when he got so many calls. He checked the alarm on the table and saw that it was already seven in the morning. And Long Shen's morning interview began at seven!
Yunyu turned on the TV, and the first channel already had Long Shen with his thin smile at the camera while the morning talk with Long Shen had started. Although people would think that Long Shen was just being his cool self.
While Yunyu knew well that Long Shen was angry. Working with Long Shen demanded him to be on guard every minute and study Long Shen's facial expression whenever he was angry, tired, or annoyed.
And Long Shen was furious right now.
"Pupa!" Yunyu yelled, and Pupa appeared from a portal.
"What?"
"Why didn't you wake me up?! I'm so late now!" Yunyu said.
"Don't blame me. I've set up your alarm, but you're lazier than a buffoon," Pupa replied.
Yunyu panicked. He wanted to call Long Shen to apologize, or better, he should go to the tv station to apologize to him. But then, he realized that it was quite far from his place, and during this rush hour, it would take at least two hours to arrive there.
"S—Should I call Aunty Yuanjun then?"
"Aunty Yuanjun already told you that she will go on a family trip with her family for three days, right? You're the only one who should handle Long Shen's schedule today," Pupa said, ruining his only hope.
"S—Should I go there and apologize to Long Shen?" Yunyu imagined Long Shen's angry face, and his leg trembled instantly. "Yeah, I guess not."
"You can't afford to get fired. It'd be almost impossible to get entangled with Long Shen without working with him. He has zero friends, let alone lovers," Pupa warned.
Yunyu was thinking hard. He was thinking what good plan to fool Long Shen into forgiving his tardiness. Since at this point, the moment he met Long Shen, that guy would throw him from the eleventh building out of rage.
An idea popped out in Yunyu's head. This was a very primitive idea. But it worked when he was just an elementary student. This was what he called as, 'The Guilt Tripping Justu.'
Yunyu hurriedly went to the kitchen and opened the freezer. He put his head on the freezer and stayed like that for a while. Which made Pupa wonder.
"What are you doing? I know you are panicked, but being a comedian won't help you," Pupa said.
"What comedian? I'm trying to make it looks like I have a fever! Long Shen knows my address, right?" Yunyu asked Pupa, with his head still inside the freezer.
"Yes, he knows."
"Good, I will make it sounds like I'm working hard!'
After a while, Yunyu pulled his head out, and his face was pale and reddish at some spot. He did look like someone who was very sick, "Okay, the first stage accomplished. Now, the second stage, no eat!"
Yunyu's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, "Okay, perfect! The third step is…"
Yunyu wore a plaid shirt and his jeans. He carried his backpack full of notes and Long Shen's things and put on his shoes. After he was ready, he jogged a few times to make himself sweaty.
Pupa watched Yunyu doing all these things like a madman and started to wonder if Yunyu had truly become stupid, "Are you okay? Hey, when I said that you are a butt brain, it doesn't mean that you have to throw away your brain. I still need it to escape your transmigration hell."
"Ish, Pupa! This is an emergency situation!" Yunyu checked his phone, which rang again, and saw that Long Shen was calling him again. Long Shen should've finished his interview just now and was heading to his apartment since Yunyu carried Long Shen's stuff, like his notes, daily schedule, and many more.
After that, Yunyu put the sticky notes on the wall and wrote many good things on them, and it was visible enough for someone else to see.
Yunyu waited for almost an hour, ruffling his hair, making him looked like he almost died out of exhaustion. He unlocked the door, so Long Shen can open it later. And when the doorbell rang, Yunyu hurriedly laid on the floor, scattered Long Shen's schedule and his phone, then closed his eyes.
Pupa turned invisible while silently judging Yunyu, who acted as if he hadn't slept like a log for the whole night.
[Pupa: Do you really think that Long Shen will fall for your elementary school trick? Do you think he is your mother or what? He is a coldhearted movie emperor. I bet he will kick your head for being late!]
[Shush! This is my only chance to get redemption!]
***
Long Shen was raging right now. He was ready to kill that ugly guy who dared to ignore his calls fifty-one times! And to make it worse, that guy was the only one who knew his daily schedule. Thus, except for that morning talk show, he didn't know his schedule for the rest of the day.
Long Shen went to Bai Yunyu's apartment, with his phone clenched in his hand, still calling Bai Yunyu. He pressed the doorbell many times to no answer. Annoyed, Long Shen pushed the door and was surprised that the door wasn't locked.
When the door opened, Long Shen saw Yunyu fainted again on the floor, still clenching his phone, and Long Shen's daily schedule was beside him. He wore a plaid shirt, jeans, and shoes, and also with his backpack. It showed that Bai Yunyu was about to go to work until he suddenly fainted again before he went out.
Long Shen frowned, "Don't try to act like this. I know you're fine."
Long Shen walked towards Yunyu and nudged his body with the tip of his shoes, "Don't pretend. Wake up."