Chapter 28

“Jiang Yi does not have cleanliness.

He just has a physical aversion to sharing utensils or straws with others, similar to indirect kissing or exchanging saliva bacteria.

Jiang Yi can accept spoons and cakes that Yang Yunran has eaten, but that doesn’t mean he can accept kissing or anything closer.

There’s only a small piece of white cream cake left, intentionally left by Yang Yunran for Harry.

Harry has even sat up, hearing Yang Yunran calling him—then both Yang Yunran and the dog see Jiang Yi with the spoon in his mouth, wrapping the white cream in a mouthful with his pink tongue.

Yang Yunran is still shocked, speechless.

Jiang Yi also looks a bit awkward. Seeing Yang Yunran’s gaze on him, he turns away and asks, ‘Do you think this cake tastes good?’

Yang Yunran looks at him. ‘…What about you?’

Jiang Yi takes the spoon out of his mouth and says, ‘It’s quite sweet.’

He only has the concept of ‘sweet’ for sweets, but the sweetness of this cream seems different, with a strange softness, both in texture and taste, unlike any sweet Jiang Yi has ever eaten…

Jiang Yi glances at him, waiting for his answer.

Yang Yunran looks at him for a while and says, ‘It’s delicious. Why are you still reading the instructions? Is it that complicated?’

Jiang Yi: ‘Hmm.’

‘Is it?’ Yang Yunran walks over to take a look. ‘Isn’t it simple? Even elementary school students can do it. It’s just a parts bag, with a few components. Have you been doing too many experiments lately and your brain isn’t working?’

Jiang Yi looks at Yang Yunran up close and says, ‘Maybe.’

Yang Yunran figures it out at a glance and sits down: ‘This piece goes on that main body, look for the screws, is it these?’

‘No.’

‘It’s not? Ridiculous! It’s these, only two screws, one long and one short, use the long one here, screw it in.’

‘…Okay.’

Yang Yunran directs him while handing him the parts, thinking that Jiang Yi might not be as smart as he thought.

How did he even get into MIT?

No wonder he couldn’t make it in academia and went into entertainment instead.

Although Jiang Yi deliberately slowed down his movements, he finished everything in twenty-five minutes. Time passed too quickly, he couldn’t find a reason to stay, but he didn’t suggest leaving.

‘Thank you for your hard work,’ Yang Yunran politely hands him a glass of water, ‘Thank you for the piano you sent, it’s not cheap, right?’

Jiang Yi says, ‘Not expensive, forget it.’ He doesn’t want Yang Yunran.”

In a deeper discussion of the matter of price, Yang Yunran said, “Do you have no class this afternoon?”

“No, why?” Yang Yunran said.

Jiang Yi: “Do you need to do something?”

Yang Yunran: “Before you came, I was planning to stay home and write songs.”

Jiang Yi: “Did my arrival disrupt your plans?”

Yang Yunran: “Yeah, because I have to entertain you as my guest.”

As he finished speaking, the doorbell rang outside.

Yang Yunran opened the video phone, and it was a delivery coming upstairs. Yang Yunran saw it was sent from England, probably a birthday gift from his mother.

They had chatted about it a couple of days ago when Chen Fangru reminded him to check for the delivery.

Yang Yunran opened the package, revealing a black luxurious velvet box inside. Jiang Yi spoke up, “Who sent this gift?”

Yang Yunran: “Oh, it’s from a noble and beautiful lady.”

Jiang Yi fell silent, looking at Yang Yunran for a moment, seeing him take out an elegant three-piece tailcoat suit from the box.

Jiang Yi’s gaze shifted from the clothes to his face. “Yang Yunran, do you have a girlfriend?”

“No, it’s a lady I really admire.” Yang Yunran’s eyes lit up, “Wow…!!”

It was a high-end tailored evening dress.

The craftsmanship was exquisite.

So, this was what Chen Fangzhou had sent him. Yang Yunran took a picture and sent it to her: “Thank you, Mom, I received it. The clothes are so beautiful! I love it!”

It was still early in Beijing, and there was no reply from Chen Fangzhou.

“I’ll go change, Jiang Yi, make yourself at home in the living room.”

Then, Yang Yunran took the box and went into the bedroom, while Jiang Yi sat on the sofa outside, seeing his dog, Harry, shamelessly licking the cake box in the trash can.

Jiang Yi’s chest rose and fell, his expression blank, but Yang Yunran’s casual words easily stirred up many emotions in him. Emotions he hadn’t experienced before.

A lady Yang Yunran really admired?

What was their relationship?

She sent Yang Yunran evening dresses for banquets and balls.

Yang Yunran spent quite some time changing in his room, not coming out to show off to Jiang Yi. After over half an hour, he came out wearing a thin hoodie. “Ah, Jiang Yi, you’re still here.”

Jiang Yi looked up from the documents on his phone screen and glanced at him.

Yang Yunran was wearing a loose gray sports hoodie, a very ordinary outfit.

Jiang Yi: “What about your evening dress?”

“Didn’t want to get it dirty, so I put it away,” Yang Yunran said.

There was no extra emotion on Jiang Yi’s face.

Jiang Yi’s expression remained neutral as he asked, “Is it nice?”

Yang Yunran didn’t quite understand, “Yeah, it’s very nice.”

Jiang Yi’s gaze started to become complicated as he scrutinized Yang Yunran, “Are you homosexual or bisexual?”

Yang Yunran chuckled, knowing he had misunderstood again, “Bro, what are you doing?”

Jiang Yi’s expression remained impassive, “Just a genetics project. Is it convenient to answer?”

“Not really,” Yang Yunran leaned against the door frame, “Unless you ask what you really want to know, stop beating around the bush. What do you want to ask?”

Jiang Yi withdrew his gaze and said, “Nothing.”

He acted indifferent, but in reality, he had thought about a lot in just a short while. At one point, he thought that the “noble lady” might be Yang Yunran’s mother or even his “fiancée” because he had heard that his family was very wealthy, and he was an only child, thus carrying the responsibility of inheriting the family’s wealth and lineage.

Yang Yunran was utterly speechless, unable to understand Jiang Yi’s thoughts. It seemed like Jiang Yi wanted to reconcile, as his actions suggested, but his words often seemed very cold.

After all, Jiang Yi had come to give him a gift, and he even ate his cake, which was quite delicious. Yang Yunran felt awkward about kicking him out, so he made an excuse that he needed a quiet atmosphere to write songs and retreated to his room.

Jiang Yi borrowed his computer and sat in the living room, reading documents.

Yang Yunran took out a few pieces of paper and buried himself in writing, feeling restless. He crumpled them into a ball and threw them into the trash can.

Actually, right after he broke up with Jiang Yi, Yang Yunran had a brief inspiration, but it slipped away before he could grasp it.

Two hours later, Yang Yunran quietly opened the door to peek inside. Surprisingly, Jiang Yi was still reading documents, his profile showing deep concentration.

He closed the door gently and planned to complain to his buddy Jimmy, who was supposed to come over for a gaming session, “Don’t bother coming, my ex-boyfriend is squatting in my house and won’t leave.”

Yang Yunran didn’t have any other friends here, only Jimmy was his close buddy.

During this solitary time after the breakup, they chatted every day, providing each other with emotional support.

Jimmy chuckled, “What’s wrong with him, man? Why is he hanging around your place? Did you two hook up?”

“…No.”

Yang Yunran: “Can you not take every conversation down that road? Nothing happened.”

It was somewhat frustrating to admit that not only did they not kiss, but they hadn’t even had sex. Yang Yunran suspected that Jiang Yi might have some issues in that department.

Jimmy: “What’s he doing there if it’s not for you? Is he just bored?”

Yang Yunran: “Enough!”

Worried that Jiang Yi might overhear, Yang Yunran leaned against the wardrobe and made a call, “He looks like he’s trying to

“I sometimes can’t help but suspect he’s a reincarnation of a clam spirit.”

Jimmy: “Do you want to get back together?”

Yang Yunran: “Kind of…”

Jimmy: “?”

Yang Yunran awkwardly explained, “Because that day, I accidentally touched his chest muscles…”

Jimmy: “I have chest muscles too, why don’t you touch mine?”

Yang Yunran didn’t respond to him, “I want to, but if he doesn’t say anything, then neither will I.”

Jimmy was silent for a moment, then gave him advice, “Cut ties with him completely. He doesn’t speak up because you’re too kind. Baby, you’re too soft. Even after breaking up, he can still linger in your house, maybe he thinks he can still get into bed with you. What’s the difference between now and when you were dating before? He’s just occupying the toilet without taking a dump. This guy is trash!”

Yang Yunran was hurt by his words.

Jimmy: “Tell him clearly to stop coming over, just go.”

Yang Yunran hesitated, “I can’t say… I just ate the little cake he brought.”

Jimmy: “Wait, I’m coming over right now.”

Yang Yunran: “No no no! I’ll go tell him now.”

Jimmy made sense…

Jiang Yi’s behavior was too mysterious. He seemed like he wanted to reconcile, but couldn’t swallow his pride. Too arrogant.

Yang Yunran discreetly peeked through the door and saw Jiang Yi wearing headphones, still engrossed in something, his profile perfectly outlined by the golden light of four o’clock in the afternoon, his deep features firm and defined.

Jimmy sent a message: “Hey, did you chase him away?”

Yang Yunran: “It’s only been three minutes since I hung up, it’s not that fast, I’m doing it now!”

Yang Yunran didn’t want Jimmy to come over, fearing a clash between the two, Jimmy had a sharp tongue, and his ex was no less fierce, plus, his ex was armed.

But Jimmy was a good buddy, already rushing over after dressing and fixing his hair.

Yang Yunran hesitated behind the door, unsure of what to say.

Jiang Yi seemed to sense something and glanced towards the bedroom door. His long, dark eyes were cold and penetrating. Yang Yunran quickly hid, unsure if he had been spotted.

“Yuran?” Jiang Yi took off one of his earphones.

Yang Yunran ignored him, leaning against the door.

Jiang Yi’s headphones played “Hey Jude” by The Beatles.

He had wanted to listen to Yang Yunran’s songs just now but felt too embarrassed to ask him to sing. So, he searched online instead.

Unexpectedly, he found singing videos of Yang Yunran that he couldn’t bear to watch.

It reminded him of the way he looked in the recording studio that day.

The difference between the two was stark. In the video, Yang Yunran’s singing skills were terrible, he had a big, loud voice.

Jiang Yi thought it was maliciously edited because Yang Yunran’s singing was actually very pleasant to listen to.

Based on the lyrics he heard in the recording studio, Jiang Yi did a quick search and soon found a broadcaster named “Harry Yeah Yeah.”

The broadcaster wore a white wolf head mask and always played the guitar while singing in his livestreams, gaining quite a bit of popularity online.

With just one glance, Jiang Yi recognized that it was Yang Yunran.

He downloaded all the songs Harry Yeah Yeah had sung in his livestreams and listened to them with his headphones. Yang Yunran’s voice sounded different in the small earpieces, like flowing water, soothing, and almost like a soul massage.

In the bedroom, Yang Yunran mentally prepared himself for ten minutes, reminding himself not to hesitate. He couldn’t let his good looks and muscular chest sway him into letting him stay overnight!

Yang Yunran opened the door.

Jiang Yi took off his headphones and asked, “Finished writing the song?”

“Not yet…” Yang Yunran had prepared a script and walked over to him, sitting down in the seat next to him with a space between them, “Are you still reading papers?”

“Yeah, we need to publish.” He closed the document and shut down the computer.

Yang Yunran had already exited all social media apps on the computer to prevent him from seeing the shameful chat records between him and Jimmy.

Yang Yunran sat upright, carefully choosing his words, “Actually, Jiang Yi… our relationship has changed now, it’s different from before. You know, right…?”

Jiang Yi’s heart warmed slightly, and he stared at Yang Yunran intently and said, “Yeah.”

Yang Yunran: “The end of one relationship marks the beginning of another. What do you think?”

Forgive his earlier attempt at writing poetic lyrics; his speech became more delicate and artistic.

Jiang Yi was smart, he should be able to understand his meaning.

Jiang Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably, his heart beating irregularly, his breathing becoming unsteady.

His gaze lingered on Yang Yunran’s face as he softly said, “I understand, I… I need to think about it.”

It felt like Yang Yunran was confessing to him. Jiang Yi was almost ready to accept, but his remaining bit of rationality pulled him back. Two conflicting emotions surged within him. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t homosexual, he was just momentarily attracted to him, and this attempt was very difficult for Jiang Yi. He needed to confirm if Yang Yunran had any other romantic involvement at the moment, and he needed to confirm who the lady was that Yang Yunran had bought the dress for…

He needed to confirm if Yang Yunran’s feelings were serious enough. Jiang Yi needed to calculate the storm this would bring.

Yang Yunran smiled, “Ah, it’s great that you understand. Then I’ll give…”

“Are you going downstairs?”

Before he could finish his sentence, he made to stand up, but Jiang Yi suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, “Yuran, you like reading the novels written by Sleeping Mang, don’t you?! Before we start, you need to tell me who sent you the evening dress. Do you like her?”

Yang Yunran: “?”

Why was he still concerned about this?!

Yang Yunran looked down at Jiang Yi’s large, knobby hand reaching out to him and said, “That was from my mom, Jiang Yi. Your hand…”

Jiang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he thought.

He still held onto Yang Yunran’s wrist, his face showing little emotion, only his eyes becoming serious as he asked deeply, “On the evening of the 5th of last month after I left, who came to your house and kissed you? Are you still in contact with them?”