Chapter 24

As he spoke, he reached out and grasped Yang Yunran’s soft wrist, his breathing unsteady, the thick eyebrows trembling under his dark lashes.

Yang Yunran stared at him intently, “Jiang Yi, do you know that you always give me the wrong signals?”

“Wrong signals?” Jiang Yi gently lifted his eyelids.

Yang Yunran said, “I often wonder if you still like me, but you don’t want to be with me like there’s something unspeakable. So…” He paused.

A conflicted expression appeared on Jiang Yi’s face; he liked Yang Yunran a lot, that was for sure, otherwise, he wouldn’t consider using alumni resources to introduce a boyfriend to him. And what Yang Yunran said could indeed coexist.

“Liking you and not being with you isn’t contradictory,” Jiang Yi said, bowing his head, “There’s nothing unspeakable.” He just didn’t like guys, that’s all. But after spending a few years in the US, he wasn’t inclined to emphasize this “discriminatory” difference.

“I don’t understand you.” Yang Yunran could tell he didn’t seem drunk like the last time they talked, at least he was sober, maybe just a bit less aloof.

“So I’ve decided, um… Jesse told me there was a ball at your school recently, right? I’m planning to go.”

To Jiang Yi, it sounded like Yang Yunran liked Jesse and wanted to pursue something with him despite his midlife crisis of hair loss.

“Sorry…” Jiang Yi apologized to him, “I spoke out of turn just now.”

He had said a lot of bad things about Dutch people behind their backs.

“It’s okay.” Yang Yunran withdrew his hand, the burning emotion in his eyes cooling down, his voice still gentle, “I’ll call a car to take you home. Can you manage alone?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yi nodded.

Yang Yunran ordered a car with his phone and handed Jiang Yi the packed little cake, “Do you want it?”

Before Jiang Yi could refuse, Yang Yunran took it back, “I almost forgot, this is a rum cake, you’re not allowed to eat it.”

“You keep it, goodnight.” Jiang Yi got into the car, realizing he forgot to give him the electric piano.

Forget it… he’d mention it another day.

Sitting in the car, Jiang Yi felt empty inside, the warmth of Yang Yunran’s fingers still lingering on his cheek. The change in Yang Yunran’s gaze when he let go just now was quite obvious. It’s as if he had been categorized from “someone I like” to “just some acquaintance” in an instant.

Jiang Yi pressed the window button, but the cold wind didn’t clear his mind, instead leaving him more confused.

Yang Yunran, Yang Yunran…

He closed his eyes and leaned against the headrest of the taxi.

Lately, this name has been appearing in his mind too frequently.

The driver stopped, Jiang Yi swiped his card, got out of the car, and returned to his apartment. After exchanging a few words with his roommates, Jiang Yi went into his room and checked his phone.

Yang Yunran: “Did you get home safely now that the ride’s over?”

Jiang Yi replied: “Yes, I’m home.”

Yang Yunran sent an “OK” emoji and didn’t engage in further small talk, or updates, or bid him goodnight.

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment, then typed: “Get some rest soon, I’m going to take a shower. Goodnight, little brother.”

After waiting for ten minutes without a response from Yang Yunran, Jiang Yi went into the bathroom.

Jiang Yi came out of the shower, and opened his computer, but stared blankly at the browser page for a long time.

He had always been a calm and composed person, emotionally stable, yet somehow stumbled with the idea of teaching his professor’s nephew.

Jiang Yi typed “homosexuality” into the search bar, intending to download some literature for analysis. However, his browser recommended some links to adult sites and even displayed some rather shocking animated gifs, which he inadvertently saw!

Jiang Yi quickly closed the page and then searched for literature related to homosexuality on the PubMed website, downloading more than a dozen documents in one go.

Jiang Yi made himself a cup of instant coffee, turned on his desk lamp, and started silently studying. He had a fast reading speed, with the ability to absorb information and retain it instantaneously, far beyond that of an average person.

So, even with several hundred pages of PDFs, he managed to sift through and extract important information, completing his reading in just an hour.

From the perspective of biology and genetics, sexual orientation is a complex topic that the scientific community has not yet fully understood in terms of its formation mechanisms.

Since he had never worked on such a topic, Jiang Yi was not familiar with it. He believed that sexual orientation could be influenced by multiple factors, including genetics, physiology, psychology, and the environment. So, some people were naturally born with it.

The literature suggested that genes might influence sexual orientation to some extent, but there wasn’t a single “gay gene” or “straight gene.”

In summary, after more than an hour of reading, Jiang Yi summarized his answer:

He wasn’t normal.

Having physiological responses to men confirmed that he was “abnormal” – using that term might be too sweeping, perhaps “having a sexual orientation towards men” would be more direct.

As for whether this situation was congenital or influenced by exposure to homosexuality later in life, he couldn’t determine.

Jiang Yi sat in the chair for a long time.

The words on the screen and the brightness reflected in his eyes.

It seems like there’s no reaction, but there’s a complete mind map in the mind, analyzing all the situations.

Yang Yunran said he liked it. Is his liking uncertain, one in a million, or indispensable?

The former is more likely.

His liking is only temporary, like a bubble. He likes himself and Jesse.

Obviously, Yang Yunran has already started to like Jesse now, just over a meal, so casually, fickle.

“My chances of winning over Jesse are greater because I have known him for two months. It is not ruled out that he likes me, Jesse, the dog walker, and another Evan.”

Jiang Yi analyzed the probability of each contestant, including himself, and the final situation.

If he is out of control and tries to date Yang Yunran, the result can only be a rupture, with Chen Fangzhou and Yang Yunran eventually not liking him anymore.

Because he’s not faithful.

If the result is Jesse, Yang Yunran and Jesse are in a relationship, the final outcome might be getting a green card in the U.S., Yang Yunran joining a high-knowledge family, raising a few cats and dogs, and having a decent job locally.

If it’s the dog walker…

Jiang Yi, who walks the dog for Yang Yunran, doesn’t understand. He seems to be a poor guy who can’t even get something as simple as an offer from Harvard.

The most likely outcome would be Yang Yunran supporting him through school until he finally gets into Harvard, with no hair left on his head by then.

As for accompanying Evan with drinks…

Well, that’s too bad, he’ll definitely be dumped by Yang Yunran.

Oh, there’s also Jimmy.

Jimmy might drag Yang Yunran into the abyss. In about half a year, Jiang Yi thinks, he might just see the news of the international student Yang being imprisoned or deported back to China for reckless driving/drug abuse/partying on online news.

In summary:

Jesse is a good option, but there might be better ones.

In the next few days, Yang Yunran didn’t come to him for dinner.

Jiang Yi lived a routine life, occasionally sending messages to Yang Yunran, asking what he was doing.

Yang Yunran’s answers fall into four categories:

Attending class, doing homework, walking the dog, and having dinner with Jimmy.

Thinking about the terrible consequences of him being with the dog walker and Jimmy.

Jiang Yi asked, “Why not contact Jesse?”

And then Yang Yunran ignored him.

Yang Yunran was eating Vietnamese noodles and saw the message for real.

Couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Jimmy, sitting beside him, asked, “Why are you rolling your eyes? Who’s bothering you?”

Yang Yunran replied, “Just see for yourself.”

Jimmy glanced over. “Is your ex-crazy?”

Jimmy spoke frankly, “Hey, tell me! Do you think he wants a threesome? You, the Dutch guy, him. Perfect three. Since you guys are already three, can I join too?”

Yang Yunran: “…”

“Forget it, just take me home. I have to go to the recording studio tomorrow. Remember to wake up early and accompany me.”

Yang Yunran went home.

In the absence of Jiang, his nanny, he had developed an inexplicable bond with Vietnamese noodles near the school.

Meanwhile, Zhao Youmo found a job in an investment bank through a professor’s recommendation and didn’t have time to come and walk the dog for him. He also returned the $100,000 tuition fee Yang Yunran had lent him, intact.

So, Yang Yunran was in urgent need of selling the copyrights of his music in TV dramas and movies for the $600,000.

Because in a few days, he had to repay the debt to the original owner’s endorsement company.

The condition given by Wan Entertainment was that as long as he finished recording the song that day, and they found no problems with it, they would immediately remit the money.

In the evening, when Yang Yunran returned from walking the dog, he took out his glass eye and soaked it in saline solution, filled the bathtub with water, and then went to the wardrobe to find appropriate clothes to wear.

Then, Yang Yunran went into the bathroom and shooed Harry out, “Go drink water outside, don’t drink water in the bathroom, I’ve put water for you outside.”

Yang Yunran relaxed in the bathtub for a full fifteen minutes.

But when he stepped out of the bathtub, he was dumbfounded.

There was nothing on the washbasin, only scattered overturned small boxes, and a small puddle of saline solution on the floor. Yang Yunran immediately picked them up and checked, but his glass eye was nowhere to be found!

Yang Yunran’s brain crashed, and he immediately knelt on the ground, feeling around the crevices of the sink with his hands. He turned on the flashlight on his phone and searched carefully, but the bathroom was not big, every corner had been meticulously inspected, and there was nothing at all!

Yang Yunran was in a panic, and he fished around in the bathtub again.

The drainage hole of the washbasin was very small, and the size of the glass eye could not have fallen in!

Where, where was it? He was so anxious that he felt like he was on fire. Just then, he suddenly remembered the scene of Harry coming in to drink water.

“Harry!!!” Yang Yunran ran out barefoot and saw his big dog, who was busy chewing on a plush toy in his kennel. The Samoyed raised its head when it heard Yang Yunran’s shout and stuck out its tongue, looking carefree as it watched its frantic owner.

This dog had a habit: anything that fell on the ground if it stayed there for more than three seconds, it considered it its own.

“All belongings.”

Yang Yunran’s face was full of horror when he saw the spherical beads in the dog’s nest: “Harry!! What have you done!!!”

Yang Yunran pushed it away, kneeling on the ground in distress, holding up his precious glass eye.

It had been gnawed and was smoking.

“I forgot… you’re a dog. Or a dog that likes marbles and tennis balls.”

Before, Yang Yunran had been very careful with his glass eyes, but he had never owned a dog and overlooked this possibility.

Three minutes later, Yang Yunran calmed down and glanced at the dog hiding in the corner, looking somewhat scared and guilty.

Yang Yunran called his professor’s uncle and described the situation as calmly and briefly as possible.

Professor Chen asked, “Is it broken already?”

“Uncle, it’s been chewed flat… What should I do?” Yang Yunran stood up, tears welling up from frustration.

Professor Chen comforted him, “It’s okay, it’s okay. These things are meant to be replaced every two years. It’s almost time for a replacement. I previously customized two pairs for you. Look for them, there should be one pair left at home.”

“There’s still one pair?” Yang Yunran breathed a temporary sigh of relief, “Then I’ll look for it.”

Professor Chen said, “Find it and call me back. I’ll call the eye hospital in Germany now to customize the latest model for you. They have your data there, so the production will be quick.”

After hanging up the phone, Yang Yunran began to rummage through every drawer, cabinet, box, and even suspicious little boxes in his home.

Three hours later, he found many unexpected things, such as novelty underwear, supplies… but there were no spare glass eyes.

Yang Yunran looked at his chaotic home and at Harry, who was still pretending to sleep in his dog’s nest, sneaking glances at him.

He was in a mess and couldn’t possibly get angry at his pet.

To pets, beads on the ground were their food or toys.

He could only blame himself for not being careful enough to close the bathroom door.

Professor Chen called him back.

“Darling, did you find it?”

“No…” Yang Yunran guessed it might have been used by the previous owner or damaged.

Professor Chen: “I’ve already called Germany to make one. It will take at least a week, and then I’ll send someone by private jet to deliver it to you in Boston, which will be eight days.”

“Tomorrow, I have to go to the recording studio to record songs, I must go, Uncle, I…” Yang Yunran took out several pairs of sunglasses from the wardrobe, and put on the darkest pair, “I can only wear sunglasses, but I’m still afraid of being recognized.”

He was incoherent, putting on the sunglasses, and

He took off the sunglasses. He didn’t like seeing his true self, with one eye socket sunken because it was usually supported by the glass eye, and his brow ridge not very high, so the degree of sunkenness wasn’t deep.

Putting on the jet-black sunglasses, even in bright light, there were still some abnormalities visible.

It was even more obvious from the side.

Professor Chen comforted him, “You’re just too concerned about it, that’s why it feels very noticeable. Actually, when you wear sunglasses, no one will pay attention.”

Yang Yunran felt restless, afraid, and at a loss, unable to reply.

“…Darling,” Professor Chen worried about him, but there was only so much he could do from afar, “Listen to your uncle. Can you cancel tomorrow’s recording session? Stay home for a few days, I’ll help you get a leave from school, ask your classmates to send you videos of the classes, you can study at home.”

“I can’t cancel, I can’t,” Yang Yunran muttered lowly, his mind uneasy, “I have to wear sunglasses and go… It should be okay.”

Professor Chen said, “In Jiang Yi’s lab, they can use a 3D printer to make a temporary soft tissue prosthetic eye for you. Shall I ask him…”

“No!” Yang Yunran interrupted without thinking, “Don’t tell Jiang Yi! Don’t let him know about this, Uncle.”

Professor Chen hesitated for a moment, then said, “Alright…”

Yang Yunran said softly, “I’ll manage with sunglasses.”

Professor Chen pondered for a moment, “I’ll think of something.”

Yang Yunran turned to comfort him, “It’s okay, sunglasses will do, no one… no one will notice.”

Professor Chen told him to go to sleep because it was already midnight.

Yang Yunran couldn’t sleep, so he searched again. At this time, Harry nervously paced at the door, probably wanting to go out, whimpering.

Before, Zhao Youmo came every day to help him walk the dog. Yang Yunran hadn’t felt this way before. Keeping a dog was a very troublesome thing, and because he had just done something wrong, Harry looked uneasy.

Yang Yunran pinched his brow, put on his sunglasses, and came over to put the leash on him, then opened the door and took him out.

“I’m not blaming you,” Yang Yunran said to the dog.

Harry lifted his leg and urinated at the tree root, watching his owner, who wore sunglasses in the early hours, furtively.

Yang Yunran couldn’t see the road clearly with the sunglasses on. On his way back, he tripped on a staircase and scraped his knee.

He grimaced as he returned home, treating his wound with iodine, while Harry came over to comfort him.

Yang Yunran sighed, pulled down his pants leg, and rubbed the dog’s head, “You go to sleep, I still need to search.”

Yang Yunran continued searching.

Half an hour earlier.

Jiang Yi, who was drifting off to sleep, received an urgent call from Professor Chen, who quickly explained the situation to him.

Jiang Yi got up, put on his pants, mismatched his shoes in color, and hurriedly grabbed his car keys and headed out.

Professor Chen said, “I’ll tell Yunran that it was Professor Alex who made it, he doesn’t know this person. This won’t cause any unnecessary psychological effects on him. Either you or someone else can deliver it tomorrow. He has a very important recording session tomorrow, he lacks confidence, and he doesn’t want you to know.”

But in fact, Jiang Yi already knew about this matter. Professor Chen didn’t keep his promise to Yang Yunran and chose to ask Jiang Yi for help.

“Do you have access to your lab? Can you use the equipment at this time? I’m almost at the research institute, I’ll send you the information,” Jiang Yi said while driving.

After receiving a call from Yang Yunran, Professor Chen quickly arranged for someone to drive him to the research institute to extract accurate information about Yang Yunran’s eye socket shape and size.

Jiang Yi spoke on hands-free mode while driving, “The building is already locked, I’ll ask William to grant me temporary access.”

William was the boss of the research institute, and by this time, he was already asleep.

Jiang Yi came up with a random excuse, obtained access, and swiped his card to enter the building.

It was impossible to make an eye as sophisticated as the one Yang Yunran currently used in just one night. Also, time didn’t allow Jiang Yi to use liquid crystal materials; he could only use bio-mimetic soft materials or nanomaterials to make an eye that wouldn’t be noticeable when wearing brown sunglasses.

In order to ensure natural movement, Jiang Yi added small electronic components and sensors at five in the morning to simulate the natural movement of the eyeball.

The first rays of morning sunlight cast through the glass onto his focused, slightly furrowed, handsome face.

When the electronic components were connected, there was a “sizzle.”

It failed.

Jiang Yi’s fingers trembled slightly, and his brow furrowed.

At seven-thirty in the morning, Yang Yunran got up from the sofa, with disheveled hair, holding a stuffed camel in his arms.

He rubbed his eyes, heartbroken by the sensation of his sunken right eye. He washed his face without daring to look in the mirror and put on his sunglasses.

“Jimmy, my recording session for today is canceled. You don’t need to pick me up,” Yang Yunran messaged him.

Jimmy replied in a voice message, his tone muffled, “Oh, that’s great. Then, brother, go back to sleep. Goodnight.”

Yang Yunran took the dog for a walk.

Ten minutes later, he hailed a taxi.

In the cab, Professor Chen called, “Darling, I asked Professor Alex to make a pair of ordinary prosthetic eyes for you last night.”

Yang Yunran, anxiously searching for his reflection and flaws on the window glass, replied, “Professor Alex? This is…”

Professor Chen explained, “He’s my friend, someone you don’t know. He has a lab and equipment. If your schedule can be delayed a bit, he’s already done most of it, and he’ll bring it to you soon.”

Anyway, Alex was a common name, there could be dozens of professors named Alex in Boston.

Yang Yunran felt somewhat relieved and whispered, “Thank you, Uncle.”

Ten minutes later, Yang Yunran arrived at the recording studio.

His appointment was at nine, but he arrived twelve minutes early. Upon entering, he turned his face slightly, trying to prevent people from seeing the defective eye from the side.

Then he called the “agent” sent by Wan Yan, who was coming to see him record.

“You are… L… Levi.” Yang Yunran recognized him; he stood in the backlight, minimizing the light on his face as much as possible, “You’re Wan Yan Entertainment’s agent?”

Levi, dressed casually in a three-piece suit, looked visibly close in age to Yang Yunran.

And he was a Harvard professor’s student, how could he be Wan Yan Entertainment’s agent?

Levi answered in a gentle tone, “I’m Lin Wei. Hello, Roy, nice to see you again. Mr. Lin asked me to bring you to the recording.” Lin Wei reached out and shook his hand.

Yang Yunran shook hands quickly and stepped back hastily, looking like a peculiar person with an aversion to contact.

Yang Yunran felt it was better to keep his distance to minimize the chance of being discovered.

But Lin Wei didn’t seem to notice anything wrong at all. It was sunny in Boston lately, so it was normal for him to wear sunglasses.

Professor Chen was right; no one would actually care, but Yang Yunran cared too much about it.

For a long time, he had lived under the strange or surprised gaze of others. Perhaps some were not malicious, but it still hurt him.

Yang Yunran felt uneasy, “Is the recording studio… inside?”

“Yes,” Lin Wei led him inside, “It’s over here. I rented it for two days. We should be able to get a good version. You don’t have any plans for the next two days, do you?”

“I’m free,” Yang Yunran nodded. Inside, he saw the familiar recording equipment and cameras, a Caucasian sound engineer, and a bearded man wearing a baseball cap standing behind the camera, recording him.

Yang Yunran subconsciously reached out.

Yang Yunran blocked his eyes and asked, “Do we need to film as well?”

“Yes,” Lin Wei said, “It’s a requirement from the company.”

Lin Wei knew the reason; it seemed that Harry Ye was a masked singer with outstanding singing skills, unlike Yang Yunran.

It was because of this suspicion that Lin Wei came to confirm in person and they needed to broadcast it live.

Yang Yunran closed his eyes; he was pretty sure his sunglasses were completely black and unlikely to let light through.

Looking around, Yang Yunran lowered his head and asked, “Can I wait a moment before recording?”

Lin Wei nodded, “Whenever you’re ready.”

He glanced at Yang Yunran; the impression Yang Yunran gave him today was different from the last time he saw him at the professor’s house. He looked very pale, and his tone lacked confidence.

Yang Yunran asked a staff member, “Where is the restroom?”

Yang Yunran planned to stall for time in the restroom. He didn’t know who Professor Alex was, but he followed Chen Fangzhou’s instructions and chose to wait.

However, after waiting for more than twenty minutes, no one showed up.

Lin Wei waited in the recording studio for a long time.

On the other side of the live streaming camera, Wan Yan Entertainment’s agent, Zhou Kai, and the boss, Lin Ye, were also waiting.

Zhou Kai said, “What’s wrong with Yang Yunran? Is he constipated?”

Lin Wei replied, “He seems to be uncomfortable, resting on the side. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Lin Ye said, “He hasn’t done a live stream tonight.”

Normally, Yang Yunran was as regular as clockwork, singing a few songs in the morning New York time and in the evening Beijing time. For him, this was like practicing plus earning money, so he never missed it.

Yesterday morning, Yang Yunran asked for leave during the live stream, saying he had something to do today.

Zhou Kai suggested, “Should someone go to the restroom to check on him? He didn’t run away, did he?”

After about ten minutes, Yang Yunran came out. He couldn’t stall any longer.

Yang Yunran sat in the recording studio and said, “I just had eye surgery, so I can’t handle bright lights. Can I keep my sunglasses on?”

Lin Wei asked him to wait for a moment. Zhou Kai commented, “What a weird excuse. His eyes were perfectly fine during the live stream last night. Why did he suddenly have surgery before recording today?”

Yang Yunran kept his eyes closed and even used one hand to shield half of his face.

Boss Lin Ye said, “Let’s start recording.”

Yang Yunran wasn’t in good condition; his voice was trembling, and he had pitch issues.

Lin Ye remarked, “His voice sounds like Harry Ye Ye’s, but why is he in such a bad state? Wearing sunglasses and wearing a mask are two different things. What’s going on? Let him record it again.”

Zhou Kai said, “I think it’s strange for him to wear sunglasses. Mr. Lin, asked Lin Wei to dim the lights in the recording studio and let Yang Yunran take off his sunglasses. If he can’t handle bright lights, can’t he just sing with his eyes closed? These sunglasses almost cover his entire face!”

Yang Yunran had a small face, and the sunglasses covered half of it. They requested a live recording to clearly see that it was Yang Yunran singing, not someone impersonating Harry Ye Ye.

The current situation contradicted the original intention.

After thinking for a moment, Boss Lin said to his son, “Lin Wei, ask him if he can sing with his eyes closed?”

Lin Wei lowered his head and spoke into the microphone, “Roy, can you take off your sunglasses and sing with your eyes closed? This might help you relax a bit.”

The voice from the microphone transmitted to Yang Yunran’s ears through the speakers, but Yang Yunran hesitated.

To avoid disrupting the equipment, his phone was muted and placed outside.

Lin Wei had already seen his phone screen light up a few times.

“Someone is calling you.” Lin Wei saw the words “Ex-husband” and spoke to Yang Yunran through the microphone, “Do you want to come out and take it?”