Unexpected Encounters and Hidden Charms

“Siyu-gege… is something wrong?” Jian Ye asked timidly.

He wasn’t quite sure what he had done to make the man stare at him so intently. He remained utterly oblivious to the alluring charm he currently exuded.

“Drink some water, and wipe off your sweat. You don’t want to catch a cold,” Yi Siyu said, his gaze softening as he feigned normalcy.

“Oh.” Jian Ye stepped out of the dance studio. For some reason, he still felt compelled to explain. “Our school is holding a cultural and arts festival, and I was chosen by the teacher to perform in a group dance.”

The man’s lips curved into a slight smile. “You’re the lead dancer,” he stated with certainty.

“How did you know? With my skill level, I don’t know what the teacher was thinking,” the young man mumbled.

A large hand settled on his head, ruffling his hair. “Don’t be so unconfident. Your charm is far greater than you imagine. Your teacher simply has good taste in choosing you.”

The young man’s face flushed crimson. ‘Why is this man speaking so sweetly today?’

“I’ve already packed everything for you. From now on, after class, Little Dong will pick you up directly from your school gate. Tomorrow, a housekeeper will come here to take care of the chores and cooking. Just tell them anytime what you’d like to eat.”

“The password for this card is your birthday. Use it whenever you want to buy something. If the funds run low, I’ll see it in my messages and deposit more money periodically.”

Yi Siyu had meticulously prepared every single detail. There was absolutely no need for him to worry about anything!

This was vastly different from the married life he had imagined. Not only was there no conflict with a mother-in-law, but he didn’t even have to do housework. He could simply relax as the spouse of the Yi family, living a pampered, carefree life.

Holding the black card given by the domineering CEO, Jian Ye felt as though he had reached the pinnacle of his life. In front of this man, he truly only needed to pursue his passions, free from the burdens of mundane life and financial worries.

He was now part of the Yi family, a family worth untold billions. The other man gave him money and a house, yet he couldn’t offer a gift of equal value. He could only reciprocate through his spirit and sincerity.

“Is this place close to your company?” Jian Ye’s eyes darted, and he asked with a smile.

“About fifteen minutes by car. Why? Do you want to visit my company?”

The young man’s large, grape-like eyes held a glimmer of longing. “Can I?”

How could Yi Siyu refuse? “Of course you can. My current workplace is on the same street where we had our first date.”

“Jinghua Street?”

“That’s right.”

Jian Ye thought about the most iconic office building there and ventured a guess. “Are you at Zheyuan Group?”

“My wife is so clever.”

Jian Ye was suddenly flustered, his cheeks burning. ‘Your real wife isn’t even online yet, don’t call me that!’

“Zheyuan Group is under the Yi family. Its name was taken from my two elder brothers. I used to work at the headquarters, but later my brothers had me manage this company independently.”

“If you want to come over, just text or call me. If I’m in a meeting, you can contact Assistant Xu. I’ll give you his contact information.”

Jian Ye replied, “Okay, I’ll find time to observe your big company.”

Yi Siyu countered, “It’s not particularly big. I’ll take you to the Yi Group headquarters sometime; that’s the scale you’re talking about.”

Managing a company was an incredible feat in the eyes of ordinary people, but for the Yi family, these were merely everyday occurrences. Jian Ye deeply understood the concept of being born in Rome.

His current situation was similar. How many people desperately tried to marry into the Yi family, only for him to get there first.

If this weren’t a novel, if there were no so-called Protagonist Gong and Protagonist Shou, and he had simply followed the life trajectory of ‘Jian Ye,’ naturally meeting and getting to know the man before him, and then marrying him… He truly couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t fall in love with this person in the future.

After all, a charmingly handsome man was right in front of him, now his husband, seen daily, and endlessly considerate. It would be difficult not to succumb to such affection.

[System 748: Host used to say you’d only focus on the mission, not feelings. Are you going to go back on your word?]

The system unexpectedly interrupted his fantasy, and Jian Ye felt a momentary panic.

[Jian Ye: What going back on my word? I’m just simply imagining the possibilities! Can’t a lifelong virgin fantasize a little?]

In his previous world, Jian Ye hadn’t even had a first love. He had never met anyone he truly liked, from childhood to adulthood. He had yearned for romance, but reality had always defeated him. He had no house, no car, so how could he date? Later, he focused on academics and career, no longer having the mind for such impractical things.

After the vacation ended, Jian Ye returned to school, attending classes, training, and preparing for the performance as usual.

One day, after a group dance practice, they collectively ordered takeout. It was supposed to be delivered to the Dance Academy, but the careless delivery driver took it to the adjacent Performing Arts Academy instead.

By the time they realized, the delivery driver was already on another order and couldn’t return right away.

“I’ll go get it. It’s not far,” Jian Ye offered.

Li Xiangchi said, “I’ll go with you.”

The other students expressed their gratitude. After so much practice, they had developed a strong camaraderie. As the center for the group dance, Jian Ye had no airs at all. He humbly asked other students for guidance when he didn’t understand something. Coupled with his handsome looks, everyone genuinely liked him. Good-natured handsome guys were rare, and Jian Ye was certainly one of them.

The Performing Arts Academy was separated from the Dance Academy by just a road and a flowerbed. Jian Ye occasionally heard performing arts students practicing lines by the flowerbed, something he himself had done thousands of times.

As he walked closer, that familiar feeling returned. The ground floor layouts of the two buildings were quite similar, which explained why the delivery driver had made a mistake.

The driver said he had left the order by the door of Classroom 104. It was a large classroom. When Jian Ye arrived, he noticed people rehearsing a play inside. The students were engrossed in their lines, not noticing Jian Ye and Li Xiangchi’s arrival.

“It’s our takeout anyway; let’s just grab it and go,” Li Xiangchi said. He was starving and only wanted to eat immediately.

“It’s fine. You wait at the door. I’ll go in and tell them. If we just take it, and they realize their food is missing, we won’t be able to explain ourselves.”

“Ah Ye, you always think things through,” Li Xiangchi exclaimed, clicking his tongue. ‘Married people really are different.’

Jian Ye walked into the classroom and immediately spotted several takeout bags piled on a table. He had only taken a few steps in that direction when a male student suddenly cut in front of him, knelt on one knee, and took his hand.

With deep emotion in his eyes, he declared, “My dearest Mikhail, can you still not forgive me?”

Jian Ye: “…”

The student saw Jian Ye’s lack of reaction and continued, “I know it was wrong of me to deceive you, but I’ve repented. Can you give me another chance?”

‘What kind of play are they rehearsing? These lines are typically those of a scummy man, aren’t they?’

‘Alright, you want to act, huh? I’ll play along.’

The young man looked at the student with a complex expression, then pulled his hand away. “I’m sorry, but I’m already with Vladimir.”

“Your deception once made me want to end my own life. It was he who gave me warmth.”

With tears in his eyes and a smile, the young man continued, “Vladimir and I just got married. If you truly love me, let me go.”

The student: “…”

Jian Ye added, “In the future, I’ll bring our child to see you. Then I’ll have my son recognize you as his godfather.”

Everyone around them: “………………”

“Pfft!” Li Xiangchi, waiting at the door, frantically covered his mouth, bending over like a shrimp, clearly struggling to stifle his laughter.

Seconds later, the entire classroom erupted in laughter.

“Pffthahahahahahahaha!”
“Godfather, my ass!”
“Zhong Xiaobin, that’s what you get for flirting with a junior! You crashed and burned, hahaha!”

The student laughed and cursed, “Damn it, get lost!”

Watching the group’s playful antics, Jian Ye remembered how their performance class used to be—they’d be acting, then suddenly break character. Some people just seemed to have a natural comedic effect. He was infected by the youthful energy of these male students, and a slight smile touched his lips.

At that moment, a male student emerged from the crowd. He was handsome, wearing glasses that gave him a refined air.

“Hello, junior. My name is Mo Huan. I’m a senior in the performing arts department, and we’re preparing for our graduation performance.”

“The student who was just joking with you is Zhong Xiaobin. Please don’t take it too seriously; he’s just a mischievous and playful person.”

The male students in the performing arts department were all good-looking, but the one who spoke now was clearly the most striking, seeming to be the leader of the group. His speech was clear and logical, polite and gentle, suggesting a cultured upbringing and an approachable demeanor.

“My name is Jian Ye. I’m a first-year in the classical dance department. I came to pick up our takeout that was mistakenly delivered here.”

Someone nearby interjected, “Ah, we already knew it was your takeout! We were about to send it over. It was Zhong Xiaobin, that mischievous guy, who just had to… Mmmph!”

Zhong Xiaobin desperately clamped his hand over the other student’s mouth, then looked apologetically at Jian Ye. “Sorry about that, junior. You know how easily we performing arts students get carried away. I just couldn’t help myself earlier…”

Jian Ye chuckled. “It’s fine. I also enjoy acting. Your facial expressions were quite good while you were performing, but your tone was a bit overly dramatic when delivering the lines. Keep practicing, senior!”

“Pffthahahahahahahaha!”

The people around them burst into laughter again.

“Zhong Xiaobin, look at you! Aren’t you embarrassed? Even a junior from a non-performing arts department noticed your problem!”
“The junior looks far more professional than you. You were showing off in front of him!”
“Oh, I can’t! I’m still laughing thinking about how stunned Xiaobin looked when the junior delivered those lines!”

Zhong Xiaobin’s face turned bright red, and he quickly made an excuse to leave.

Mo Huan helped Jian Ye carry the takeout bags. “They’re a bit heavy, junior. Can you manage them by yourself?”

Li Xiangchi ran in. “He’s not alone; I came with him. Senior, just let me carry them all.”

Everyone thought Jian Ye looked quite delicate with his slender arms and legs, and they didn’t want him to carry heavy items.

Mo Huan simply offered, “I’ll help you carry them to your classroom.”

Jian Ye tried to insist for a while, but neither of them would let him carry anything. Thinking about the large group waiting to eat, he no longer argued. He thanked them politely. “Then thank you, Senior Mo.”

“Don’t mention it. Consider it my last contribution to the juniors at my alma mater. I’m graduating soon, and I’ll truly miss it.”

“Did you take on any acting roles during university, Senior Mo?” Jian Ye asked.

“You certainly understand things well. I did take on a few roles, mostly bit parts, just to train myself. Actually, some agencies are already contacting me, but I want to finish my graduation performance before I consider anything.”

“Keep up the good work, Senior Mo. You’ll definitely shine in the entertainment industry in the future.”

Jian Ye felt that Mo Huan’s attitude towards acting was very similar to his own. They easily connected during their conversation, feeling as if they had found a kindred spirit. He sincerely encouraged everyone who loved acting.

“I’ll take your auspicious words, Junior Jian. I think with your looks, entering the entertainment industry wouldn’t be a problem for you either.”

Li Xiangchi listened to their conversation from the side, unable to interject. ‘Such a wonderful Ah Ye is actually getting married so early!’

As the three of them approached the main entrance of the Dance Academy, a shout came from behind them.

“Jian Ye!”

The young man instinctively turned his head, his steps freezing. He saw the one person he least wanted to encounter.

His “ex-boyfriend,” still looking like a swaggering, cool street punk, gazed at him with a complex expression.

Jian Ye: “…”

‘Damn it, didn’t we break up? Why is he still here?!’