The Price of a Breakup

Little Pink-hair also possessed a delicate, ‘little white flower’ appearance, somewhat similar to Jian Ye’s.

Yu Wei had a particular fondness for this type; once he tired of one, he would simply move on to the next, much like changing clothes daily to avoid repetition.

Having finally latched onto the wealthy Young Master Yu, Little Pink-hair’s innate hostility towards Jian Ye, his predecessor, was a mere reflex.

Upon seeing Jian Ye’s innocent attire today, a spark of jealousy ignited within Little Pink-hair.

No matter how much he denied it verbally, he still inwardly felt that Jian Ye’s looks were undeniably captivating. This was especially true for someone like Yu Wei, who changed partners as often as he changed clothes.

Such individuals were most prone to rekindling old flames.

Thus, the moment Jian Ye appeared, Little Pink-hair’s alarm bells rang out.

Knowing Jian Ye’s soft and timid nature, he deliberately chose words that would pierce his heart and strike at his rawest pain.

His tongue was sharp, unlike Jian Ye’s clumsy speech. He believed these words would be enough to shatter Jian Ye’s resolve. Just as he prepared to deliver the final blow, the boy before him suddenly lifted his head.

He revealed a pair of misty, tear-filled eyes, as if they held a pool of water on the verge of spilling. The glistening droplets clung to the edges, a sight that would break anyone’s heart.

The young man clutched the handbag in his hands, his lips tightly pressed together.

His hoarse voice was squeezed out little by little: “You… you’re right. My parents are dead, my relatives don’t like me, and I truly have no money now. This impoverished appearance will probably never catch Brother Yu’s eye again…”

Jian Ye sniffled, purposefully averting his gaze, as if afraid they would witness his tear-streaked, pathetic state.

“I sold all my old clothes for some money to buy cheap ones. I absolutely wasn’t following you, brothers; it was really just a coincidence! I…”

“I’m not worthy of being Brother Yu’s person anymore. Whatever Brother Yu liked before, I’d dress to be exactly what he wanted. I was afraid he’d look down on me, so I deliberately used my meager savings to buy luxury items.”

The young man sighed softly. “There’s no need for that now. Indeed, those things were never meant for me to aspire to. I should recognize my true self and live like a pauper.”

Little Pink-hair: “…”

Little Blue-hair: “…”

Little Yellow-hair: “…”

Little Red-hair: “…”

Yu Wei: “…”

They had expected Jian Ye to react with anger, rebuttal, or even a complete breakdown after hearing those words.

But none of that happened.

Jian Ye admitted to everything they had mocked and insulted.

They called him poor, said he was unworthy, and he actually… accepted it all?

This left the members of the ‘Rainbow Group’ feeling as though they had punched cotton.

Yet, it wasn’t over.

Jian Ye feigned wiping his eyes, pretending to be deeply distressed, and said, “Brother Yu, this is the last time I’ll call you that…”

“This morning, I already deleted your WeChat. You no longer need to worry about me pestering you.”

Jian Ye turned to glance at Little Pink-hair, then smiled with a sense of release. “I wish you both happiness.”

Yu Wei listened to these words, breathing heavily through his nose.

The moment Jian Ye mentioned deleting his WeChat, he immediately grabbed his phone to check. The result, of course, was exactly as Jian Ye had stated.

Yu Wei’s sent message turned into a red exclamation mark.

Jian Ye actually dared to actively delete his WeChat?

During his time dating Jian Ye, he understood his weaknesses all too well.

Cowardly and soft-hearted, starved for love and utterly insecure, Yu Wei himself was Jian Ye’s sole reliance.

‘He was so desperately in love with me, wasn’t he? How could he suddenly make such a drastic decision, choosing to give up?’

Yu Wei found it unbelievable.

Before, Jian Ye had clung to him desperately, but now that he was suddenly letting go, Yu Wei couldn’t quite pinpoint his feelings.

A surge of frustration brewed within him, with nowhere to be released.

“Why?” Yu Wei asked. “Why delete WeChat? Even if we broke up, being friends isn’t impossible.”

Jian Ye frowned sorrowfully, biting his lower lip with a mournful expression.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be friends with you; it’s that I can’t…”

“I know you don’t like me anymore. What isn’t mine, I cannot force. When I decided to let go of the past, I looked down at your WeChat profile picture, and I… I…”

“My heart ached beyond measure, and the scenes of our breakup replayed in my mind again and again.”

“Yu Wei, I simply cannot calmly treat you as a friend, nor can I bear to see you intimately embracing your new boyfriend on WeChat Moments!”

The young man’s tone suddenly became resolute, his words sharp, as he formally called out Yu Wei’s name.

“These past few nights, I haven’t been able to sleep, nor can I eat. Only by deleting you do I find a sliver of courage… to move forward.”

Little Yellow-hair, standing nearby, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy, his nose stinging. He tugged at Yu Wei’s clothes.

“Brother Wei, let it go. This kid is already so miserable because of you. Let’s… let’s not push him too hard.”

Little Red-hair chimed in, “That’s right, Brother Wei. Losing one poor guy from your contacts isn’t a big deal. It saves trouble later.”

Yu Wei: “…”

‘Damn it! I hadn’t even said anything yet! These idiots have already blocked all my words!’

In truth, Yu Wei’s heart had softened the moment Jian Ye mentioned his ‘heart aching at the sight of his WeChat profile picture.’

Indeed, he knew Jian Ye still loved him. It was precisely because he loved him so much that he deleted his WeChat.

‘This poor wretch simply can’t live without me!’

‘He’s forcing himself to delete me now, but won’t he beg me to add him back later? What’s the point?’

‘Sigh, the young man is in such a plight. As his ex-boyfriend, if I don’t help him now, how classless would that make me seem?’

Whoosh—

A bank card flew in an arc, landing in Jian Ye’s lap.

“Take it. There’s 100,000 inside, no password. Use it for now, at least get yourself some decent clothes. This… consider it a breakup fee.”

Jian Ye held the card, and mist seemed to well up in his eyes once more.

“Don’t cry, and don’t think about buying me anything with this money. I don’t need it; spend it on yourself.”

Jian Ye: “…”

‘Excuse me, I never intended to buy you anything. A card that flies into my hand is mine!’

‘Moreover, 100,000 is nowhere near the amount the original owner wasted on this scumbag.’

‘Every luxury item casually gifted to him cost six or seven figures.’

‘Still, something is better than nothing. To gain something for nothing today is an unexpected bonus.’

Across from them, Little Pink-hair noticed Yu Wei’s softening attitude and his heart tightened again. He quickly tugged at Yu Wei’s arm and said, “Brother Wei, weren’t we going to the bar for drinks? Let’s not waste time here.”

The other colorful-haired youths all agreed: “That’s right, Brother Wei, let’s hurry up and go.”

Yu Wei was pulled forward a few steps. As he passed Jian Ye, he looked back. “You…”

He hesitated, words caught in his throat, and ultimately said nothing, allowing himself to be led away by his entourage of cronies.

In that brief moment, seeing Jian Ye’s pitiful, obedient head bowed, Yu Wei had wanted to pull him into an embrace and stroke his hair.

Jian Ye had dyed his hair back to black and was dressed so innocently in a hoodie; his entire demeanor was far softer than before.

‘Never mind. He still has me in his heart anyway. Whenever I want him again, I’ll just snap my fingers, and Jian Ye will come running.’

Yu Wei thought, utterly confident, as he continued his carefree revelry with his group of subordinates.

Jian Ye, however, let out a long sigh of relief only after the group had completely disappeared from sight.

At this moment, the system’s voice began to sound in his mind.

[Ding—Green tea element detected! Green Tea Value +45.]

[Jian Ye: Oh, wow, that just added 45? Earning Green Tea Value isn’t that hard, after all.]

[System 748: The system had a slight delay just now, so the settlement is only happening now. My apologies, Host.]

[Jian Ye: No big deal, no big deal. Didn’t I say there’s no need to get angry with people like them? They practically walked right into my trap. Not only did I not lose anything, I even conned a card out of them.]

[System 748: Host has quite a talent for being a green tea, which is somewhat unexpected.]

[Jian Ye: You’re joking! I was a legitimate actor, after all, and I graduated from a famous film academy in the country. It would be disgraceful for a trained professional to not even be able to play a green tea character.]

[System 748: …]

Jian Ye was inwardly basking in self-satisfaction when rain suddenly began to fall.

It was early spring in March, and Yunjing’s temperature was much lower than the south. Most pedestrians on the street were still wearing autumn and winter clothing.

Jian Ye had only changed into a hoodie when he left the clothing store. With the sudden rain, the cold seeped into his neck, chilling him to the bone instantly.

‘Hiss—So cold!’

Across the road, a black Lexus had been parked for a long while.

Inside the car, young Assistant Xu held a document stiffly, having held it in the same position for ten minutes.

“Third Young Master, this document requires your signature,” Assistant Xu murmured, repeating what he had said earlier.

By the car window, the man, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, rested his right elbow on the sill. His gaze, however, did not linger on the document handed to him but focused through the rain curtain outside, fixed on a spot beneath a certain eaves.

Assistant Xu had not failed to notice what his CEO was looking at, but… he hadn’t expected the CEO to watch for so long.

Ten minutes prior, when a colorful group of young people gathered across the street, Assistant Xu had casually remarked, “Isn’t that Young Master Yu from the Yu family? I heard he changes boyfriends every so often. Judging by the scene, it looks like that white-clothed kid was dumped by Young Master Yu?”

Assistant Xu had only said it offhand, but he hadn’t expected the CEO to respond.

“Which Young Master Yu?”

Assistant Xu naturally answered earnestly, “That’s the Yu family, a distant branch of Madam’s maternal family. Their business has flourished in recent years. That family has an only son, named Yu Wei, who is currently studying at Yunjing University. If you count it, Yu Wei should be your cousin, Third Young Master—”

“What ‘fish tail’?” The man’s stern face showed a trace of surprise.

He had been inexplicably distracted just now and hadn’t clearly heard Assistant Xu’s introduction. After snapping out of his daze, only the last few words echoed in his ears.

Assistant Xu: “…”

As a professional assistant trained by the Yi family since childhood, he not only needed to be intimately familiar with the internal affairs of the Yi Group but also had to be aware of the business connections and personnel composition among Yunjing’s major affluent families.

It was perfectly normal for Assistant Xu to know about the Yu family’s situation.

Moreover, this Yu family had a familial connection with Madam Yi.

“Third Young Master, I was referring to the young man in black, named Yu Wei, who is your cousin—”

“Don’t know him,” the man interrupted indifferently and languidly. “Whether he’s ‘fish tail,’ ‘fish scales,’ ‘fish head,’ or ‘fish fin,’ our family doesn’t have such a cousin.”

Assistant Xu swallowed. “…”

Since the CEO didn’t want to acknowledge this relative, Assistant Xu had nothing to say and dared not interject further.

A distant cousin, unacknowledged if he was unacknowledged. With the Yi family’s current soaring prestige, they could do as they pleased.

Not to mention disowning a blood relative, even if they wanted to claim a stranger as kin, no one could say anything.