Chapter 50

Duan Zhao paused mid-sentence, his expression darkening.

Over the phone, Jiang Yaolin could only sense Duan Zhao’s silence; he couldn’t see the man’s face. A twinge of regret stirred in his heart.

But Duan Zhao recovered quickly and spoke up. “Then your perspective really is quite limited.”

“Instead of chasing after Xiao Zhi, you should spend your time studying and focusing on your acting career…”

Jiang Yaolin interrupted impatiently. “Do all old folks love saying that? The last ones to spout that nonsense were my parents.”

Duan Zhao ignored the jab at his age in Jiang Yaolin’s words and chuckled lightly. “At your age and with your mindset, all you’ve got going for you is your face—and that’s one of the easiest things to lose, right alongside your career.”

“If you can’t figure it out, maybe ask your parents and your agent to help you think it through.”

Jiang Yaolin caught the veiled threat in Duan Zhao’s tone and let out a scoff. He was already fed up with the entertainment industry anyway; if Duan Zhao could force him out, that might actually be a blessing.

His parents, however, wouldn’t let him quit so easily. He wasn’t sure whose connections ran deeper—Duan Zhao’s or those his parents had built up over the years.

He was about to fire back when Duan Zhao, as if done with the conversation, promptly hung up.

Jiang Yaolin didn’t mind the abrupt end; he figured Duan Zhao had been rattled. Besides, if it weren’t for Ji Zhi, he wouldn’t have bothered talking to the man at all.

He didn’t put his phone away. Instead, he sent another message to Ji Zhi, but still received no reply.

A bad feeling gnawed at him. Was it like Duan Zhao had said—had Ji Zhi already gone off with him and was ignoring Jiang Yaolin’s messages? Or was he just too busy to respond?

Anxiety churned in Jiang Yaolin’s chest. When his agent asked why Duan Zhao had called out of the blue and what they’d talked about, his responses were distracted and half-hearted. Fortunately, the agent had worked with him long enough to notice the odd look on his face and decided to shelve her questions for now.

Especially after overhearing his personal assistant mention that Duan Zhao’s visit to A University had trended online. Jiang Yaolin wouldn’t have cared about Duan Zhao’s news on its own, but he latched onto one crucial detail—

A University.

He remembered Ji Zhi attended A University.

His heart sank. He quickly asked for more details on the matter. He’d been too busy filming and waiting for Ji Zhi’s replies to check the trends himself. Luckily, though the hot search had been taken down fast, the screenshots his friends had shared in their group chat were still there. Jiang Yaolin pulled them up.

The side profile of the figure next to Duan Zhao—it only took one glance for Jiang Yaolin to recognize Ji Zhi. He couldn’t see Ji Zhi’s expression, but he could see how the man trailed close behind Duan Zhao, step for step. They were so near that if Duan Zhao just tilted his head down a little, their lips would meet.

Jiang Yaolin’s anxiety hit its peak.

He didn’t look any further. After handing the phone back to his assistant, he shot to his feet, determined to head to A University.

His two assistants exchanged alarmed glances as he suddenly stood and made for the door. Normally, after pulling an all-nighter on set, Jiang Yaolin would go straight home to rest.

They didn’t have time to alert the agent or stop him. All they could do was help him with a quick disguise before piling into the car with him.

The personal assistant had intended to drive, but Jiang Yaolin was more impatient than they’d realized. By the time they grabbed the keys, he’d already bolted from the room.

Jiang Yaolin arrived at A University in record time.

He knew Ji Zhi’s major, so following directions from some students, he made his way to the Foreign Language Department’s building. But with so many classrooms, no one could pinpoint the exact one.

Just as he was about to check them one by one, a fan recognized him and approached for an autograph. Under normal circumstances, he’d have obliged patiently, but his mind was a whirlwind, so he instinctively denied it was him.

His focus was locked on the teaching building ahead—and on the silhouette leaning against the railing on one of the upper floors.

Just as Ji Zhi could pick Jiang Yaolin out of a crowd, Jiang Yaolin spotted him too. He noted the floor number in an instant. Though he’d still need to peek into classrooms, the search area had shrunk dramatically, making it easy to find Ji Zhi’s class.

The tears he shed upon seeing Ji Zhi were partly to evoke sympathy and pity, but also genuinely from the heart.

Though deep down he told himself not to believe Duan Zhao, the thought of Ji Zhi abandoning him for someone else was enough to make the tears flow uncontrollably.

He told Ji Zhi about Duan Zhao’s call, hoping for a firm denial.

What tightened his chest instead was Ji Zhi’s silence after hearing him out.

Since Duan Zhao had already brought it up earlier, Ji Zhi wasn’t surprised to learn Jiang Yaolin had called him. But he hadn’t expected the man to show up here.

Hesitating, Ji Zhi spoke. “I am with Duan Zhao now…”

As he spoke, tears welled up, and he watched Jiang Yaolin’s face carefully.

Before he could finish, he felt Jiang Yaolin’s grip tighten on his wrist. At the same time, tears spilled from Jiang Yaolin’s eyes, harder than before.

Jiang Yaolin didn’t make a sound, but each tear seemed to hit like a hammer.

Ji Zhi had planned to use this chance to cut ties for good, but seeing this reaction choked the words in his throat.

He reached out to wipe Jiang Yaolin’s tears like before, but the moment he did, Jiang Yaolin seized his wrist.

“Bro… don’t leave me…”

He deliberately lowered his voice, the usual upbeat lilt turned soft and plaintive, as if to convey every ounce of his grievance and make Ji Zhi feel it too.

And Ji Zhi did. A pang of guilt hit him, like he’d just dumped a lover and was the worst kind of scumbag.

But he snapped back to reality—

Wait, no—he didn’t want to dump Jiang Yaolin at all!

Seeing the tears flowing even more freely now, as if Jiang Yaolin might drain himself dry, Ji Zhi backpedaled. “Don’t cry. Duan Zhao and I aren’t lovers…”

Jiang Yaolin’s tears stopped instantly. “He really was lying to me.”

Ji Zhi: “…”

How did he turn it on and off like that?!

Even knowing Jiang Yaolin was an award-winning actor, and even after those very real-looking tears earlier, it was hard to chalk it all up to performance.

Realizing he’d reined it in too abruptly, Jiang Yaolin quickly shifted gears to distract him. “Bro, so he’s threatening you into being with him? Forcing you?”

Ji Zhi: “…Not exactly. How do you know so much about this?”

Jiang Yaolin: “I’ve done scripts like that.”

“Bro, what did he use to threaten you?”

Ji Zhi: “…My enrollment status?”

Jiang Yaolin: “Bro, I’ll help you.”

“Come with me first…”

As he spoke, he tugged at Ji Zhi’s wrist, trying to pull him away.

But Ji Zhi didn’t budge. He tried to wrench his arm free while saying, “Stay out of this. It has nothing to do with you anyway, and things between Duan Zhao and me are… fine…”

Having learned his lesson about their strength difference, Ji Zhi wrapped his other arm around a nearby pillar.

No matter how strong Jiang Yaolin was, he couldn’t drag Ji Zhi—and the pillar—away with him. He had to pause.

Ji Zhi didn’t want Jiang Yaolin getting involved.

He was worried the guy wasn’t a match for Duan Zhao and might end up hurt.

Mentioning his enrollment was meant to make Jiang Yaolin back off, not have him jump in headfirst—especially since enrollment fell under the education bureau’s jurisdiction.

Jiang Yaolin’s pupils trembled, fresh tears welling up. “Bro, how could I abandon you?”

“If you stay with him, how will you ever get away? Or… have you developed feelings for him?”

He’d already figured Ji Zhi responded better to soft pleas than force. When he cried, Ji Zhi moved faster, so he kept tugging while letting the tears fall.

Seeing Jiang Yaolin on the verge again, Ji Zhi softened a bit but still wouldn’t leave. “Not the kind of feelings you’re thinking!”

“I just think we get along okay. In time, he’ll lose interest and let me go…”

Jiang Yaolin frowned, utterly serious. “But how long will that take? Ten years? Twenty? Thirty?”

“Bro, I can wait for you. But will he drop dead that soon?”

Ji Zhi: “…Huh?”

Wait—what? Why was Jiang Yaolin already assuming Duan Zhao had to die before he’d be free, and acting like he was ready to wait it out?

Ji Zhi had figured a few years at most, but now it sounded like a life sentence.

Ji Zhi: “Don’t wait for me. Go do what you need to. This is between Duan Zhao and me…”

Jiang Yaolin ignored him. “And if you stick around him, who knows what over-the-line things he’ll do to you?”

“People like that always have weird kinks. He’s probably just pretending to be normal now, which is why it feels okay…”

Jiang Yaolin had nailed it in a way—Duan Zhao did have particular tastes—but what right did he have to call out others?

That thought dragged up some unpleasant memories from the past few days in Ji Zhi’s mind.

Yet under Ji Zhi’s exasperated gaze, Jiang Yaolin showed no guilt, still speculating wildly about Duan Zhao.

Ji Zhi hurriedly cut him off. “Stop, stop, stop. I really don’t need help.”

“I’m very sorry for hiding Duan Zhao’s existence. At that time, because I needed money, I was live streaming on multiple platforms, and that’s how I met him. I didn’t expect this matter to turn out like this now, causing you trouble, but I really think you don’t need to have anything to do with me anymore. Very sorry…”

“You’ve already seen through my lies from before, so forget about me…”

Seeing Jiang Yaolin lower his gaze, like an abandoned puppy, Ji Zhi’s voice grew softer and softer. But upon thinking of the other’s persistence toward him, he still gritted his teeth and finished speaking.

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