The ‘Green Tea’ Act and a Fateful Encounter

“I bear some responsibility for what happened today. It was my sudden dash that caused the accident; Driver-gege couldn’t possibly react in time under those circumstances.”

“Please don’t blame him, Driver-gege. He didn’t want this to happen.”

Little Dong’s body stiffened. He hadn’t expected the child to speak up for him, and a strange wave of emotion washed over him.

‘Had it been an unreasonable old woman who’d stumbled before his car today, they wouldn’t have been leaving anytime soon.’

‘Most would seize the chance to extort money upon seeing a luxury vehicle, not readily admit their own mistakes.’

[Ding—Green tea element detected! Green tea value +10.]

Jian Ye smirked internally.

[System 748: Driver-gege~ I’ve learned something. Taking notes now.]

[Jian Ye: There’s no need to write down even this…]

[System 748: Host, you were born with a ‘green tea’ mouth. The driver isn’t moved; he’s sinking into your repeated ‘gege’s.]

[Jian Ye: He keeps calling me ‘child’; shouldn’t I respond with something a child would say?]

[System 748: You could call him ‘uncle’.]

[Jian Ye: System 748, your emotional intelligence is too low.]

[System 748: Whimpers~]

“Hiss—” A sharp sting quickly interrupted Jian Ye’s thoughts, cutting short his ‘green tea’ remarks.

He lifted his gaze, meeting those deep, piercing eyes once more. Within them, emotions he couldn’t decipher seemed to churn.

The man’s distinctly jointed fingers held an iodine swab, disinfecting the wound on Jian Ye’s calf.

What had initially been a mere scrape now appeared rather alarming.

At the moment of impact, Jian Ye hadn’t felt a thing. Perhaps his reflex arc was too long, for only now, in hindsight, did the pain register.

“Your mouth says you’re fine, but your body is quite honest,” Yi Siyu chuckled subtly.

Jian Ye: “…”

“Be careful on the road from now on. Don’t push yourself into crowded areas with many cars,” Yi Siyu said seriously, without a hint of jest. “People aren’t always so lucky.”

This time it was just a graze, but if the car hadn’t stopped, his life could have been forfeit. That little rascal had even pleaded on behalf of the driver earlier, and the repeated ‘Driver-gege’ grated on him.

Yi Siyu would never admit he’d applied a little extra pressure while swabbing the iodine.

He needed to make the little one feel some pain to quiet that incessant mouth of theirs.

“I understand. Thank you… for the reminder and advice, sir. I will definitely be careful from now on.”

Jian Ye was still unsure if Yi Siyu had recognized him. Seeing the other party’s good attitude, it didn’t seem like he knew him from before. Unsure, he tentatively addressed him as “sir.”

Yi Siyu’s brows furrowed slightly.

‘Why is it ‘gege’ for Little Dong, but ‘sir’ for him?’

‘Did I look older than Little Dong?’

The man was inwardly displeased, yet he maintained his composure and asked, “Where do you live? I’ll send you home.”

A wounded puppy shouldn’t be bouncing around outside.

Jian Ye was shocked internally.

[Jian Ye: System 748, he asked where I live! He doesn’t know I’m a Jian, he doesn’t recognize me!]

[System 748: Oh?]

[Jian Ye: If he knew me, he wouldn’t have acted like this from the start. I deliberately didn’t call him Third Young Master Yi because I wanted to see his reaction. Now it seems he clearly hasn’t met me.]

[System 748: Oh.]

[Jian Ye: Can you stop just saying ‘oh, oh, oh’?]

[System 748: Mm.]

[Jian Ye: …]

He couldn’t be bothered to bicker with the system anymore.

Since Yi Siyu hadn’t recognized him, he would continue to feign ignorance, then subtly reveal his identity later.

He had to be pure and unpretentious.

“I can’t go home just yet. I have an appointment today,” Jian Ye replied with innocent charm.

The man pointed to his somewhat alarming calf. “Like this, and you still have an appointment? Is it your boyfriend?”

Jian Ye swallowed.

‘More significant than a boyfriend, actually. It’s my fiancé, my future husband. Can I really say that directly?’

[Jian Ye: Wait, why did he immediately assume ‘boyfriend’? He doesn’t suspect I like girls? Do I look that much like a gay man?]

[System 748: Blind one, you’ve found the key point.]

[Jian Ye: Get lost!]

[System 748: Host, do you want my honest opinion? You don’t just ‘seem’ gay; my friends and I all agree you’re a ‘perpetual bottom’.]

[Jian Ye: …]

The man could precisely say, “Is it your boyfriend?” because of what he had witnessed on the street earlier. The young man had been bullied so badly on the street, looking as wronged as an abandoned puppy. Assistant Xu had told him about Yu Wei’s sexual orientation, so he naturally understood the young man’s own.

‘Tsk, could the person the young man is meeting be his distant, barely-related, cheap cousin?’

Recalling the scene on the street that day, the man’s expression darkened slightly, a hint of inexplicable impatience stirring within him.

‘Falling for that kind of person is one thing, but then chasing after them like a puppy after being dumped. Now, with an injured leg, he’s still disregarding his wound to rush to an appointment. He’s such a good child, so young, why are his eyes so blind?’

Jian Ye was completely unaware of the man’s misunderstanding. He smiled and deftly changed the subject: “Judging by your attire today, sir, it seems you’re also on your way to meet someone, aren’t you? I’m truly sorry for having delayed you because of my incident.”

The young man knowingly inquired, touching his nose apologetically, his performance utterly natural.

Jian Ye suddenly found this quite interesting, his heart brimming with curiosity about the scene that would unfold shortly.

Yi Siyu raised his left wrist to check the time. “It’s fine; there’s still plenty of time. I do have an appointment, but you haven’t delayed me. There’s no need to apologize further.”

Had it not been for this appointment, this minor traffic incident would never have occurred.

Thinking of the person he was to meet today, Yi Siyu pinched the bridge of his nose.

‘As long as that Jian family member doesn’t cause trouble, everything will be fine.’

‘If only he could be as well-behaved as…’

The man’s heart skipped a beat, surprised by his subconscious comparison between a certain someone and the young man before him.

The young man in the car sat quietly beside him, his eyes wide and round, head tilted as he gazed at Yi Siyu. His slightly curly black hair lay obediently, looking very soft to the touch.

After listening intently to him, his eyes would curve into crescent moons: “Alright, sir, we’re even then. I won’t say any more polite words.”

“Just drop me off at the Jinghua Street intersection.”

Jinghua Street?

Yi Siyu thought to himself, ‘What a coincidence. His appointment is also on Jinghua Street, so it’s directly on the way.’

“Okay.” The man gave the driver a meaningful look, and the driver immediately understood.

[System 748: Why didn’t you just ask him to take you directly to your destination?]

[Jian Ye: That would be so boring. He’d recognize my identity in the car. I still want to give this Third Young Master a little surprise.]

[System 748: Host, your act of playing dumb is quite ‘green tea’ style. I’ve learned something.]

[Jian Ye: According to the novel’s plot, the Protagonist Gong probably won’t fall for my ‘green tea’ tactics. It doesn’t matter, I’ll just treat it as fun. What’s wrong with a date with a handsome guy?]

At the Jinghua Street intersection, Jian Ye stepped out of the car. He bent down and waved towards the window, watching the car slowly drive past him.

There was a flower shop at the intersection. The young man gazed at it deeply, a slight curve to his lips.

“Third Young Master, the underground parking lot here is completely full, and street parking isn’t convenient. The nearest parking lot is a kilometer away. What do you think…”

“Drop me off by the roadside. You go park the car,” the man said in a low voice.

“Yes, Third Young Master.” Driver Little Dong, feeling the constant threat of losing his job, wiped a bead of sweat. After circling the packed underground parking lot once, he drove out again.

It seemed that ever since that traffic incident, things had been particularly unlucky.

This situation had delayed his young master again, though thankfully, the young master hadn’t blamed him.

After getting out of the car, Yi Siyu checked the time once more—9:55. The appointment was at 10:00; everything was still within his calculations.

The man used the remaining five minutes to walk to the coffee shop.

As the glass door was pushed open, the bell hanging above it chimed crisply.

The rich, unique aroma of coffee permeated the entire space, instantly bringing a sense of calm to those entering from outside.

The ambiance of “Night of Rain” was elegant. It was undeniably a perfect spot for any kind of date.

Just as he was about to walk further inside, a furtive figure emerged, interrupting him.

“Siyu! Pfft pfft~” The voice’s owner lowered his tone, making some unintelligible vocal noises, and frantically beckoned him over.

Once the man noticed him, the other person rushed over, grabbing his arm and leaning in to ask, “Are you really planning to marry that useless young master from the Jian family?”

Yi Siyu didn’t answer that question. Instead, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

The other person said impatiently, “Who in our circle doesn’t know this is my coffee shop, Xie Fei’s?!”

The young man named Xie Fei was Yi Siyu’s childhood friend. The Xie family was in the food and catering business. They had been neighbors with the Yi family in their early years, and their business had developed well over the years, naturally benefiting from their close ties with the Yi family.

Yi Siyu, of course, knew that “Night of Rain” was Xie Fei’s establishment, but…

“I mean, you, the absentee owner, haven’t visited the shop in weeks. Why are you here today?” Yi Siyu pointed out calmly, causing the young man before him to choke on his words.

At the sight of his childhood friend, he immediately understood that news of his appointment today had spread among their circle of rich second-generation acquaintances.

Not wanting to delve into how the information leaked, Yi Siyu continued, “Did you see anyone with green hair come in?”

Xie Fei immediately knew who he was asking about.

Before coming, their group of friends had already thoroughly investigated that useless young master from the Jian family.

Now everyone knew that the little good-for-nothing had dyed his hair a ‘forgiveness green’ color.

Xie Fei waved his hand dismissively: “Hah! I’ve been squatting in the shop since early this morning. I haven’t seen a single green hair come in. I heard that little good-for-nothing has a crush on some pretty boy, and he caused a huge scene at the Jian family home before. He still hasn’t arrived, so he’s probably going to stand you up.”

“…”

“Siyu, don’t look at me like that. This isn’t a secret; everyone in our circle knows. When that little good-for-nothing made a fuss that day, the Mo family members were guests at the Jian family. One of my gaming buddies happens to have some connections with a younger member of the Mo family.”

Yi Siyu had never met anyone so gossipy. Despite having a substantial family business, how did he have so much free time to dig into such details that Yi Siyu himself hadn’t bothered to investigate?

“The Jian family said he would come today,” Yi Siyu stated.