The Aftermath of a Scorned Ex

Under the pressure of the crowd, Yu Wei finally slunk away in disgrace. The stubborn man said nothing more as he left, only casting a deep, complex gaze at Jian Ye. Jian Ye, however, cared little for Yu Wei’s thoughts; his departure was the best outcome.

He sincerely thanked his classmates.

The others waved their hands dismissively, understanding his gratitude.

“It’s nothing, really. We’ve been practicing dance together for so many days; don’t you think we have that much team spirit?”
“If you ever run into trouble again, just call on us directly. Don’t think we dancers are just pretty faces!”
“With so many of us, who cares about that jerk? We could drown him with our spit!”
“Protect our Little Yezi, it’s everyone’s responsibility!”

Surrounded by his classmates, Jian Ye spotted Mo Huan standing just outside the crowd through a gap.

“Senior, my apologies. You’ve seen a spectacle, and I’ve kept you waiting for so long,” Jian Ye said, squeezing through the throng to approach the gentle young man.

Mo Huan offered a slight smile. “Junior, please don’t be so polite. This small matter is no trouble at all. And about that…”

Jian Ye tilted his head. “Hm?”

Mo Huan nervously kneaded the phone in his pocket. “Would it be convenient to exchange WeChat, Junior Jian?”

Jian Ye didn’t overthink it. “Of course.”

A surge of delight filled Mo Huan. “I just feel that Junior Jian and I are quite compatible. Your insights on performing are very similar to mine, so perhaps we could discuss these matters more often in the future.”

“Insights? Not really, I was just rambling,” Jian Ye replied modestly.

“Also…” Mo Huan took out his phone, scanned the QR code, then hesitated before adding, “If your ex-boyfriend ever bothers you again, you can always pull me out as a shield. I wouldn’t mind.”

Jian Ye’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you know he was my ex-boyfriend?”

Mo Huan looked a little embarrassed. “I can read lips. When you were talking in the gazebo, I could make out some of the words. You said… you had already broken up with him.”

“Yes, we broke up quite a while ago. I still don’t know why he suddenly came to school to find me today. I’d rather not have my classmates know about this,” the young man said, his brows furrowed, a hint of difficulty in his expression.

Mo Huan assured him earnestly, “I will keep your secret. What happened today will absolutely not spread from me, you can rest assured.”

Jian Ye curved his lips into a smile. “Senior, don’t feel too pressured. I’ve already made things clear to him today. He shouldn’t easily come to my school again, especially with so many of you backing me up. Thank you, truly.”

Mo Huan gazed at the polite and well-behaved young man before him, feeling an unprecedented urge to get to know him better. Despite having just met him, he felt more at ease conversing with Jian Ye than with old friends.

Mo Huan generally had excellent interpersonal skills at school, getting along with everyone. Yet, few people knew that very few truly reached his inner self. Those who appear to be on good terms with everyone often have the highest protective walls built around their hearts.

Jian Ye was the first person to make Mo Huan lower his guard in such a short time. Every word the other party spoke resonated deeply, easily stirring his goodwill. He had never truly believed in intuition, but this time, he was willing to trust it completely. His intuition told him that the person before him was highly compatible with him, perhaps even his fated one.

At Zheyuan Group, Yi Siyu had just finished a meeting when he received a call from his bodyguard. Ever since the unexpected incident at the Cloud Zenith Hotel, Yi Siyu had assigned two bodyguards to Jian Ye. The bodyguards were ex-military, highly capable individuals. He instructed them to follow Jian Ye, maintaining a certain distance, and not to disturb Jian Ye’s normal life unless the situation became uncontrollably dangerous. They were akin to ancient secret guards, and Jian Ye himself was unaware of his two formidable “personal protectors.”

Today, when Yu Wei pestered Jian Ye, the two bodyguards only refrained from intervening because they judged the situation not to be dangerous. However, the Third Young Master had given explicit instructions: any minor difficulty Jian Ye encountered, no matter how small, was to be reported to him. Thus, the bodyguards recounted every detail of the incident to their boss, not missing a single word.

Upon hearing the full story, Yi Siyu’s face instantly darkened, and it remained so for the entire day. Company executives who came to submit documents were all trembling, fearing they had done something wrong. Some even retreated to hurriedly revise their presentations before returning.

“Third Young Master, did something happen with Jian… with the Madam? Do you need me to handle it?” At such times, only Assistant Xu dared to speak to the CEO. He had been Yi Siyu’s assistant since his graduation, and over the years, they had developed an unspoken understanding. A single glance from Yi Siyu was enough for Assistant Xu to know what he was thinking. He had even been the one to arrange for the bodyguards. Therefore, when Yi Siyu’s expression changed after the phone call, Assistant Xu could more or less guess the reason.

“That Yu Wei,” Yi Siyu muttered, feeling a surge of irritation just by mentioning the name today. He was not only bothered by the emotional entanglement but also by Yu Wei’s ingratitude and how he had wronged Jian Ye. This had caused immense trauma to his child’s heart, making him recall the first time he saw Jian Ye.

“You mean the Yu family… Is there some old grudge?” Assistant Xu’s mind hadn’t quite caught up. It wasn’t until he received a sharp glare from his CEO that he suddenly understood. Memories flashed through his mind.

Long ago, the pitiful boy abandoned by the Yu family’s young master by the roadside was none other than their Madam! In fact, before Yi Siyu’s actual marriage, Assistant Xu had still believed that his CEO’s spouse would be the one indicated in the files. His only impression of Jian Ye had been that shock of green hair. When he first met him in person on the wedding day, he was surprised, but even then, he hadn’t connected the beautiful young man with the ‘pitiful boy by the roadside.’

Now, with all the pieces connected, Assistant Xu felt a chill run down his spine. That cursed Yu Wei, how dare he? He actually dared to be the cause of past grievances between the CEO’s wife and himself; he was truly audacious! Yu Wei had once wronged the Madam, and for the current Third Young Master, it was virtually no different from a feud over a stolen wife, even if it was in the past. Knowing Yi Siyu’s possessiveness over things he considered his own, it was entirely normal for his CEO to be angry today.

“People shouldn’t be too idle. Give him something to do,” Yi Siyu said, tapping his steel pen on the desk.

“Understood, Third Young Master. I guarantee Young Master Yu will have no time to bother the Madam,” Assistant Xu replied with a sinister smile. As far as he knew, Yu Wei changed boyfriends every so often. Among them, some genuinely loved Yu Wei, while others sought to curry favor with the Yu family for profit. With so many people in the ‘backyard,’ fires were bound to start.

The next day, Yu Wei went to school, feeling agitated. Before he even reached the campus gate, he was blocked by several boys.

“Brother Yu, you lied to me! You said there was no one else in your heart when you were with me, so who is this little slut?” Ex-boyfriend A asked indignantly.

“Who are you calling a little slut? You’re the little slut! My Brother A-Wei and I get along great. If it weren’t for you occupying his time, Brother A-Wei wouldn’t have waited so long to bring me home,” Ex-boyfriend B shamelessly retorted.

“Brother Yu Wei, are they… are they all your ex-boyfriends? Fine, I won’t pry into your past, but why did you suddenly break up with me last week? When you dated me, wasn’t it because I was better than all your exes?” Ex-boyfriend C pointed at the other two.

Ex-boyfriend A and Ex-boyfriend B simultaneously scoffed, “You think too highly of yourself!”

“Brother Yu took an interest in you because you reminded him of me. You’re just a stand-in,” Ex-boyfriend A declared arrogantly.

“Heh heh,” Ex-boyfriend B mercilessly mocked. “Aren’t you also someone else’s stand-in? You probably don’t know, but before you, Brother A-Wei dated someone a hundred times better looking than you. Even that person was dumped by Brother A-Wei. Now look at your own pathetic appearance; why would Brother A-Wei need to keep you around?”

If Jian Ye had been there, he would have recognized Ex-boyfriend A as the Little Pink-hair who used to be by Yu Wei’s side. The ‘good-looking person’ Ex-boyfriend B spoke of was Jian Ye.

After breaking up with Jian Ye, Yu Wei quickly got together with Little Pink-hair. During this period, Yu Wei was not limited to flirting with multiple other boys online. Yu Wei publicly only had one boyfriend at a time, only moving on to the next after breaking up with the current one. However, in reality, even while in a relationship, he was already ‘fishing’ for new prospects online. Those in his contact list were all his next potential replacements, who would quickly be promoted to official status after the previous one was dumped. The seamless transitions he managed were incredibly smooth, far more refined than a seasoned welder’s work.

The trio’s incessant bickering at the school gate attracted many students and passersby who stopped to watch. Yu Wei was already in a foul mood due to Jian Ye’s words yesterday, and now his head felt three times its size. He didn’t know who had exposed their relationships, causing these exes to converge. Among his past boyfriends, there were all sorts of personalities, inevitably including those who were emotional, sensitive, and suspicious. Little Pink-hair was one such example; from the start, he hadn’t recognized his place and desperately wanted to monopolize Yu Wei. After growing tired of him some time ago, Yu Wei had kicked Little Pink-hair to the curb.

Now, all the pent-up resentment from these exes erupted simultaneously, creating a fierce confrontation. Eventually, the focus of the argument turned back to Yu Wei.

“Brother A-Wei, give us an explanation. Among us, if you really had to choose, who would you pick?”

Surrounded, Yu Wei wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. ‘Damn it! You worn-out shoes I’ve used, why are you making such a scene? Jian Ye wasn’t like this at all! When Jian Ye was his boyfriend, he was so obedient, and even after they broke up, he maintained his dignity. Unlike you bunch of pathetic nobodies, each of you is no better than a shrew on the street!’

Comparing them, he suddenly felt that Jian Ye was simply the ideal dream lover. Good-looking, good-natured, and obedient—he must have been out of his mind to break up with him. Once regret set in, the longing for Jian Ye became uncontrollable.

For some time afterward, various ex-boyfriends showed up at his school every day, the ‘backyard fires’ leaving him utterly exhausted. He no longer had the energy to concern himself with other matters. This incident eventually made its way to the campus forum, becoming the most outrageous topic of conversation among students after meals. Yu Wei’s name became widely known, but also thoroughly infamous.

Unaware of these sordid affairs, Jian Ye calmly focused on his dance rehearsals, preparing for the arts gala…