The Ex-Boyfriend’s Reckoning

“Who’s that?” Li Xiangchi couldn’t help but ask.

Here, besides Jian Ye himself, no one else should have recognized Yu Wei. When the original host was dating Yu Wei, he always went to Yu Wei’s school to find him. Yu Wei, however, never came to Jian Ye’s school. Moreover, the original host often skipped classes last semester, disappearing without a trace. No one knew who Jian Ye spent his days with. Even if they knew Jian Ye had a boyfriend, they had never actually seen him.

This matter had always remained a mystery within their dorm. Now that Jian Ye was married to the Third Young Master of the Yi family, ex-boyfriends were a thing of the past. There was no need to bring them up again; wouldn’t that just invite bad luck?

“Just a stranger. Let’s go,” Jian Ye replied, having no desire, nor any need, to acknowledge the original host’s ex-boyfriend. He was a married man now; getting entangled with an ex-boyfriend was simply inappropriate.

Hearing Jian Ye’s dismissive tone, Li Xiangchi and Mo Huan naturally didn’t press further, turning to leave with him. However, the person behind them covered the distance in a few quick steps, grabbing the young man’s arm. He didn’t control his strength, causing Jian Ye to stumble.

“Ah Ye!”

“Junior Jian!”

Li Xiangchi and Mo Huan reacted swiftly. One helped steady Jian Ye, while the other blocked the aggressive Yu Wei.

“Hey! Are you sick? Ah Ye said he doesn’t know you, yet you just grabbed him! If he fell and got hurt, would you take responsibility?”

“Sir, your emotions are a bit excessive right now. You can speak directly, but please do not lay hands on our junior.”

“Exactly! Are you trying to bully our Ah Ye because you think he has no one to protect him? If you dare to rush him again, I’ll call for help!”

Yu Wei was left speechless by the barrage of accusations from the two. He hadn’t intended for things to escalate this way. He merely wanted to ask Jian Ye a few questions, not to bully him! Yu Wei admitted he felt a surge of anger when Jian Ye ignored him. Jian Ye loved him so much; how could he possibly act this way? It must be because he had neglected Jian Ye for too long recently, and the other party was simply throwing a tantrum.

Yu Wei attempted to step forward again but was promptly blocked by Li Xiangchi.

“Hey! Don’t move! You just stand there! No closer!”

Yu Wei, a man accustomed to being praised, had never been spoken to in such a manner. His temper, which he had just reined in, flared up once more. He cursed, “Who the hell are you? I’m looking for Jian Ye. What’s it to you?”

Li Xiangchi’s temper also ignited. He rolled up his sleeves. “I’m Ah Ye’s roommate, his brother! And also your grandpa!”

Yu Wei spat, “Damn it!”

Fearing the commotion would only grow larger, Jian Ye quickly stepped forward to intervene. He worried that if this continued, all the students from the dance academy would be drawn over to watch the spectacle. ‘How could the rotten romance left by the original host linger so deeply? Can’t this NPC just go offline?’

“Yu Wei, if you have something to say to me, let’s go over there,” Jian Ye said, pointing to a resting pavilion beside the teaching building.

“Fine, but don’t let these two follow us!”

“All right,” Jian Ye agreed.

“Hey, Ah Ye, are you really going to be alone with that scoundrel?”

Jian Ye softly reassured Li Xiangchi, “It’s fine. He wouldn’t dare to do anything reckless.”

Li Xiangchi glanced at the open-air pavilion. ‘I’ll watch from nearby,’ he thought. ‘If anything seems amiss, I’ll rush over to help Ah Ye.’ ‘My little brother is still too naive, daring to interact with any kind of villain.’

Mo Huan, standing nearby, also frowned, a look of worry etched on his face. He watched Jian Ye follow Yu Wei, his grip tightening on the takeout bag he was holding. He didn’t know Yu Wei, but from their awkward exchange, he could vaguely infer the relationship between the man and Jian Ye. ‘I wonder how Junior Jian came to know such a ruffian. They clearly don’t seem to be from the same world.’

Jian Ye and Yu Wei stopped in the resting pavilion. Yu Wei wanted to step closer, but Jian Ye took a step back, maintaining a two-meter distance. “Let’s just talk like this.”

Yu Wei was stunned into silence. Jian Ye feared the man might suddenly go mad and lunge at him again. He needed to preserve some reaction time to spare himself any physical pain. His arm, which had just been gripped by Yu Wei, was still throbbing faintly. It wasn’t that the other party was too strong; it was simply that his own body was too delicate.

“Jian Ye, can you stop being temperamental? I came all the way to your school to find you, and you treated me like that in front of your classmates. How can I not be angry?”

Jian Ye simply blinked. ‘Who exactly is being temperamental here? We’ve broken up, so why should I treat an ex-boyfriend well?’

“Why did you come to find me? We broke up; there’s no need to meet again,” Jian Ye stated calmly.

“I…” Yu Wei wanted to retort but found himself unable to.

He had been the one to dump Jian Ye. For a period after their breakup, Jian Ye had constantly sought him out, but Yu Wei had found it annoying, wanting no further entanglement, and had even said many hurtful things. Now, with Jian Ye no longer seeking him out, he felt uneasy.

Recalling what he had heard recently, Yu Wei posed his question. “Jian Ye, are you with someone else?” He didn’t ask too directly, opting for a more indirect approach. It would have been strange to ask outright.

“Huh?” Jian Ye hadn’t quite processed the question. ‘This person went through all the trouble to come to Yunjing Media University just to ask if I’m with someone else? This ex-boyfriend is meddling far too much…’

Seeing Jian Ye’s bewildered expression, Yu Wei’s heart swelled with joy. Could it be that he had misunderstood? Was the Yi family’s marriage partner not Jian Ye after all? It made sense. What kind of family was the Yi family? They wouldn’t casually marry a poor student. He told himself he was overthinking, yet he still yearned to hear the answer directly from Jian Ye’s lips.

While Yu Wei was lost in his various conjectures, Jian Ye was also contemplating how to respond. He certainly wouldn’t expose his marriage to Yi Siyu at this point. He feared this ‘loudspeaker’ might accidentally blurt it out, making it known to the entire school. Drawing too much attention could be troublesome, and he didn’t want to be so high-profile at school.

Jian Ye didn’t answer directly. Instead, his eyes, shimmering like autumn water, fixed on Yu Wei. “Why are you asking such a question? Don’t you already know whether I’m with someone else?”

This ambiguous reply invited endless speculation. Yu Wei breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had indeed misunderstood. With that burden lifted, Yu Wei began to fret over other matters. From the moment he came to find Jian Ye today, he had noticed the young man looked even more handsome than before. A dancer’s physique was both tall and graceful. A swan-like neck, perfect right-angled shoulders—every feature was exquisite and alluring.

The young man seemed to have just finished dancing, as beads of sweat clung to his fringe, and his skin, under the sunlight, appeared fair and translucent, like a lustrous pearl. His small mouth was exceptionally rosy, opening and closing as he spoke, both adorable and captivating. Yu Wei barely registered what Jian Ye was saying after a while, his gaze fixed solely on the other’s face.

“Yu Wei? Are you listening?”

“Ah! Uh… yes, I’m listening,” Yu Wei said, guiltily touching his nose. ‘How could I have kicked such a beautiful boyfriend away?’ he thought. He suddenly realized that this unparalleled beauty surpassed even the best among his entire ‘boyfriend roster’ by a thousandfold.

“Then, do you agree with what I said?”

The young man gazed at him again with those watery eyes, a look Yu Wei found utterly unbearable. He instinctively nodded. “Y-yes, I agree.” Though he wasn’t entirely sure what he was agreeing to.

Jian Ye suddenly smiled. “Then it’s settled. You’re not allowed to come looking for me again. We’ll go our separate ways and start new lives.”

Yu Wei gasped. “No!” He had never imagined he’d be agreeing to that statement. He felt like a hungry man who had just found a piece of fresh meat; merely catching its scent had invigorated him. How could he let the meat fly away before even tasting it?

Just as Yu Wei prepared to assert himself, the young man before him suddenly burst into tears. Yu Wei was dumbfounded.

Jian Ye bit his lower lip, as if trying to suppress his sobs. “I said so much, and you agreed just now, didn’t you? Now… are you going to go back on your word? Right, you always loved to go back on your word. You said you’d love me for a lifetime, but then you got tired of me and dumped me. Just when I finally managed to crawl out of that dark, endless period, you come looking for me again.”

“Ye Ye, I didn’t mean…”

“Don’t call me that. You’re not my boyfriend anymore. Sometimes, I don’t even know what I am to you. Just a toy you can casually discard and then pick up again?”

“Jian Ye, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way…”

“Yu Wei, I’m a person, and I have feelings. Please, stop provoking me, okay? Every time I see you, I suffer immensely.”

[Ding—Detected green tea element! Green Tea Value +20.]
[Ding—Detected green tea element! Green Tea Value +25.]
[Ding—Detected green tea element! Green Tea Value +30.]

[System 748: Those few words hit him hard. He’s already regretting it.]

[Jian Ye: It’s time for the final blow.]

Jian Ye sniffled, then stated firmly, “To be honest, I have depression. After we broke up, I tried to leave this world many times, but someone stopped me.”

Yu Wei was utterly stunned. He knew nothing of this. In his mind, it was just a breakup, something he did every now and then.

“My condition is much better now than before, but I can’t guarantee it won’t relapse in the future,” Jian Ye said, casting a faint, lingering glance at Yu Wei.

Yu Wei felt a pang of guilt under his gaze. In that instant, he deciphered the unspoken meaning in Jian Ye’s eyes: ‘You are the source of my illness. Your appearance will only make me sicker. If you truly care about me, then disappear as soon as possible. Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda!’

[Ding—Detected green tea element! Green Tea Value +50.]

[Jian Ye: I need an internet meme here.]

[System 748: Arranging it.]
[System 748: “I have depression” .jpg]

[Jian Ye: Your image gallery is truly rich and colorful.]

[System 748: Regularly updating memes is my habit.]

[Jian Ye: …]

“Ah Ye! We’re here!”

Jian Ye looked up to see Li Xiangchi and the others, a group from their class, approaching. The cavalry had arrived just in time. ‘Quick, charge!’ He really didn’t want to talk to this idiot anymore! It was so exhausting! ‘I even had to fake an illness to keep this ghost of an ex in check!’

“Hey, you scoundrel! Are you bullying Ah Ye again? What kind of deep-seated grudge do you have against him that you must treat him like this?”

Yu Wei was so angry he stammered, “I-I didn’t bully him!”

Li Xiangchi scoffed. “Pah! Your grandpa here saw everything clearly! You barely said a few words, and Ah Ye burst into tears.”

The other classmates chimed in, echoing his sentiments.

“Exactly! You’re not from our school, are you?”
“Coming to our school to bully people? You’ve got some nerve!”

Yu Wei was left speechless, unable to defend himself. He wanted Jian Ye to explain, but then he noticed the young man’s eyes were red-rimmed, and his nose was flushed. If he hadn’t known what had just transpired, even he would have believed the boy had been severely bullied by him.

‘Damn it! So I came here today just to be abused!’
‘What terrible luck!’