A Calculated Rescue

Jian Ye stepped out, only then clearly seeing three figures gathered before the urinals.

It seemed these three could spend an eternity chatting while simply relieving themselves.

He worried they would grow increasingly boisterous, perhaps even divulging deeper secrets, and he would inadvertently become entangled in their mess.

Even if he covered his ears and feigned deafness, who would believe him?

As he prepared to walk past them, he found his path blocked.

The three men’s expressions suddenly turned menacing. Jian Ye reluctantly put on a show of fear, retreating half a step. “What do you want?”

Naturally, the three immediately recognized that the person emerging from the stall was one of the very individuals they had just been badmouthing.

One of them threatened, “What happened today, you’d better bury it deep inside. If you dare to breathe a word of it, and we cross paths in this circle again, you’ll understand…”

“We’ll make your life a living hell!”

Jian Ye pursed his lips. “I told you, I didn’t hear anything.”

“Do you take us for fools?” another man roared, his voice sharp and aggressive.

‘That’s certainly true,’ Jian Ye thought.

He watched as the young man recoiled slightly, making the trio even more arrogant and smug.

“This kid truly is just a pretty face, a mere ornament. He wouldn’t dare to speak out!”

“Still, we should be careful. My family worked hard to get this invitation; we’re counting on leveraging the Yi family’s influence to expand our network. If this kid messes things up…”

“To ensure this kid keeps his mouth shut completely, that’s easy enough,” the tallest and most lewd of the young masters suddenly said, his eyes raking over Jian Ye from head to toe.

He continued, “You strip off all your clothes, we’ll take a picture, and then this whole thing will be as if it never happened.”

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, kid, hahaha!” A skinny fellow beside him chuckled, patting the young master’s shoulder.

Jian Ye suddenly curved his lips into a smile, his expression turning dangerously alluring. “Alright.”

The three men froze simultaneously. The turn of events was unsettling. Was he not going to resist at all?!

The young man’s slender, elegant fingers touched the buttons of his suit, unfastening them one by one…

After seeing off the guests, Yi Siyu returned to the lounge, only to find no trace of the young man.

He asked Assistant Xu, who had been waiting there diligently, “Has he been here?”

Assistant Xu shook his head. “No, Third Young Master. Since you arranged for me to come, I’ve been the only one here.”

‘Could he still be in the restroom?’ he wondered. He recalled the young man saying he was going to the restroom. ‘He hasn’t returned after so long. Is he feeling unwell? Did the drinks upset his stomach?’

He decided to check the restroom.

Just then, his phone chimed with a message notification.

Yi Siyu received a WeChat message from Jian Ye.

The sender had sent an audio recording.

Assistant Xu watched as his CEO’s face visibly darkened after listening to the recording, his brows furrowed, his expression chilling.

He then strode purposefully out of the lounge.

“Hey, Third Young Master!” A gut feeling told Assistant Xu that something had definitely gone wrong. He quickly followed his CEO’s footsteps.

In the restroom, Jian Ye calculated the timing. The protagonist should be making his entrance soon.

He could begin his performance.

Before the three men, he deliberately crumpled the groom’s suit he had taken off and tossed it at their feet.

“Don’t dawdle! Hurry up and strip!” The tall, lewd man, fearing someone might arrive, closed and locked the restroom door while urging him on.

Jian Ye lowered his head, his bangs obscuring his gaze.

A playful curve appeared on his lips. “I’m really taking it off. Do you have the guts to watch?”

He then abruptly raised his hand, grabbing his shirt collar, and ripped it downwards with force.

‘My apologies, master designer’s clothes, million-dollar shirt. You must be sacrificed.’

In an instant, several exquisitely crafted buttons popped off, scattering across the floor.

The shirt’s collar hung askew, revealing the young man’s pale collarbone.

The lower half of the shirt was also pulled free from his waistband, instantly creating a disheveled aesthetic.

When the young man next raised his eyes, they were rimmed with red.

“Please, just let me go, okay? I won’t say a single word about what I heard today,” Jian Ye pleaded, his lips trembling, his voice laced with a sob.

His upper body trembled in sync, his fingers curling into fists.

“You…”

The three men were stunned by how quickly the person before them changed expressions, faster than turning a page. A strange unease began to creep into them.

One of them was already wondering if their earlier demand for the young man to strip was too impulsive.

Sometimes, anger could make one’s brain short-circuit.

But then, they reconsidered. There were no surveillance cameras in the restroom. If someone did see, they could all deny it together.

As they mulled this over, the restroom door was pounded forcefully several times.

A voice from outside called out, “Yeye!”

“Are you in there?!”

‘Damn it, it’s Third Young Master Yi!’

The men had just taken a few steps back, pondering how to distance themselves from the situation, when the young man suddenly lunged at them.

Jian Ye casually grabbed two of their hands, one left and one right, placing them on his belt buckle and the opening of his shirt.

Then, he cried out loudly, “Siyu-gege! Siyu-gege!!”

Boom—

The door burst open.

The moment the door opened, Yi Siyu saw the young man, disheveled and tear-streaked, being roughly pulled at his clothes and pants by three men.

His eyes instantly burned with fury, and he charged forward without hesitation.

Jian Ye, naturally unaware of the exaggerated effect, continued to act with professional dedication and abandon.

Perhaps his acting moved the heavens, for at the crucial moment, he slipped on a wet tile, making his fall appear utterly natural.

Now, his shirt didn’t even need his forceful tearing; it was completely ruined.

The young man, sprawled on the floor, had his collarbone and one shoulder exposed to the air, revealing a hint of pink skin on his chest.

However, the tiles were truly hard; the impact stung a little.

By the time Jian Ye looked up again, he found the three men sprawled on the ground, each felled by a single punch from the domineering CEO.

Yi Siyu was consumed by an indescribable rage at that moment.

He was furious at these scoundrels for bullying his ‘little puppy’ and also angry at himself.

He had personally chosen the venue, so why were there still such fearless individuals?

What these men had done today was not merely offending the Yi and Jian families; it was trampling on the dignity of both clans.

If anything truly untoward had happened to Jian Ye today, the Yi family would ensure these three vanished from Yunjing that very night.

“Third Young Master, please listen to my explanation, he… Ah!” The tall, lewd man tried to explain, only to be kicked in the face by Yi Siyu.

“We didn’t do anything, this kid set it all up himself!” The skinny man, unafraid of death, continued to protest.

Yet, he could not outwit a certain ‘green tea puppy’.

“Siyu-gege, they’re lying. I recorded it,” Jian Ye said, then played the recording aloud from his phone.

Thus, those unspeakable sentences played on a loop.

– “You strip off all your clothes, we’ll take a picture, and then this whole thing will be as if it never happened.”

– “Don’t dawdle! Hurry up and strip!”

These were their own words. Even if professional evaluators were brought in, the content of the recording could not be faked.

The three men instantly realized why the young man had smiled so fearlessly in front of them earlier.

It was the smile of a victor gazing upon defeated dogs.

Third Young Master Yi hadn’t married a delicate white flower at all; he had married a black-hearted lotus!

Yi Siyu had no interest in listening to these scoundrels’ pathetic excuses. Regardless of the circumstances, he only acknowledged the facts of what had occurred.

The fact was, his spouse had been forced to strip on their wedding day, on the Yi family’s territory, and right in front of him, the legitimate husband.

Every action they took danced on Yi Siyu’s last nerve. He was already exercising immense restraint by not strangling them on the spot.

One rumor from the outside world was true: he did possess a violent and ruthless side.

This side only surfaced when someone important to him was harmed.

The commotion from Yi Siyu’s assault was not small; guests outside the restroom were already curiously peering in.

They were blocked by Assistant Xu, who had followed closely behind.

As the Third Young Master’s personal assistant, quick thinking in a crisis was an absolute necessity.

Assistant Xu simultaneously held back the guests outside and called for security.

He understood the situation clearly; his CEO would certainly not let those three men off easily.

Inside the restroom.

Jian Ye was now enveloped in Yi Siyu’s large suit jacket, which carried the man’s pleasant scent.

The ‘green tea puppy’ curled into a ball, cradled in the man’s embrace.

He buried his head into the man’s chest, trembling with feigned fear.

The domineering CEO’s heart ached. Seeing the Yi family’s private bodyguards arrive, he spoke coldly, “Take these three away and hand them directly to the police.”

“Third Young Master, I’m sorry, we were wrong, please don’t send us to the police station!” the tall man pleaded.

“I… I wasn’t even involved, it was all him!” The skinny man pointed at the tall man. “He was the one who started badmouthing you and coveting your loved one!”

“What a load of crap! You’re slandering me! When did I covet anyone?”

“You know what you were thinking in your heart, don’t you? Oh, right! He was also the one forcing your loved one to take off their clothes, saying he’d take pictures to threaten them!” The third man joined the verbal brawl.

“Shut your damn mouths! I’ll fight you!” The tall man was completely enraged now and lunged to attack the other two.

The three men twisted into a brawl, ultimately all being led away by security.

Jian Ye had intended to walk on his own, but the man protecting him scooped him up into a horizontal carry.

He let out a soft gasp, and the other man whispered in his ear, “Close your eyes, be good. I’m taking you back to rest.”

The man thoughtfully used his jacket to cover the young man’s head. As they exited, they were escorted by bodyguards, ensuring no one saw Jian Ye’s disheveled appearance.

Outside, the Yi family’s eldest and second young masters had already stabilized the situation. Hearing that something had happened to Jian Ye, they too were furious and anxious.

Yi Xiangcheng and Yu Xinran continued to greet guests in the main hall, everything proceeding smoothly and normally.

Only a very small number of people knew about the restroom incident, and those who did were all silenced by Assistant Xu through financial means.

Those unaware could only speculate based on rumors.

All in all, no major incident occurred.

After being covered by the jacket, Jian Ye found himself in a dark space. When his eyes couldn’t see, his other senses became exceptionally sharp.

He could hear the man’s strong heartbeat, and his faint gasps as he walked quickly while carrying him. His nostrils were filled with a cool, pleasant scent.

Jian Ye felt himself almost drowning in the sensation.

He had to admit, this position was incredibly intimate, yet it also provided a profound sense of security.

Yi Siyu’s anger earlier had not escaped Jian Ye’s notice. ‘It must have been for the Yi family’s reputation,’ he thought. After all, if the matter escalated, it would indeed be an insult to both families.

‘It couldn’t possibly be… for me, could it?’

Jian Ye didn’t forget the original plot and shook off those unrealistic thoughts. Perhaps because he had transmigrated, changing the original host’s fate, some butterfly effects had occurred. The current Yi Siyu didn’t seem to loathe him.

But he certainly couldn’t be in love with him.

Jian Ye didn’t want to follow the original host’s cannon fodder destiny. The changes in attitude from the Yi family and Elder Master Jian showed that his efforts were working.

He might no longer be cannon fodder in the future, but he couldn’t become the protagonist either.

The Protagonist Gong would only end up with the Protagonist Shou; he, as a supporting character, was merely there to advance the plot.

However, today’s Yi Siyu…

He was truly touching.

Even if it was all an act, the tenderness with which he had protected him felt remarkably real.

For a moment, Jian Ye was lost in the illusion that he was truly the man’s beloved.