Chapter 4

It seemed that this way of getting along was right.

Yang Yunran felt relieved, thought for a moment, and said, “I’ll return it.”

Jiang Yi agreed, checked the spine number, and went to return the book to him. Yang Yunran followed him, asking, “Why didn’t you send me a message when you came over?”

The two walked out of the library, and Jiang Yi replied to him, “You might have blocked me.”

He had just sent a message to Yang Yunran, but it didn’t go through. Six months ago, the two were still friends.

Yang Yunran touched his nose. No wonder he couldn’t find any contact information or chat records about this boyfriend.

He had actually blocked him.

“Then add me back… Give me your QR code.” Yang Yunran took out his phone, searched all day for words, and the battery was almost dead. He just scanned to add Jiang Yi as a friend, and the phone’s battery was critical, so it shut down automatically.

Boston wasn’t like China, where you could borrow a power bank anytime and anywhere.

Jiang Yi took him out, stopped, and turned to look at Yang Yunran.

Yang Yunran stood behind him, very close to him: “Where are you taking me?”

Jiang Yi lowered his head: “To eat.”

Yang Yunran: “What are we eating?”

Jiang Yi: “You decide.” His gaze lingered briefly on Yang Yunran’s two eyes. His observation skills were strong and meticulous. Although Yang Yunran’s artificial eye was made very realistic, even simulating nearly one hundred percent of normal eye movement patterns, Jiang Yi could still discern that his right eye was a prosthetic and not functional. Yang Yunran’s head would unconsciously tilt to the right because of the inertia caused by usually looking at things with one eye.

“And this inertia often makes him appear to have habits similar to those of small animals.”

Jiang Yi’s gaze was focused, his long eyelashes drooping slightly, analyzing his situation.

Yang Yunran felt a bit embarrassed under his scrutiny, closed his eyes, and said, “Jiang Yi, I want to have Chinese food.”

Jiang Yi: “Okay.”

He seemed to accommodate everything, a type of service that didn’t usually offer opinions to others, despite his somewhat cold attitude, which Yang Yunran liked. If it were someone overly sticky, he wouldn’t know how to handle it; he might just lose his temper.

Right now, he felt it was okay, walking with Jiang Yi, unsure of where they were going.

Finally, Jiang Yi took out his car keys and opened the door of a black Honda Accord.

The car was a bit old, but the interior was very clean, spotless, without any unnecessary clutter. It was clear that the man liked cleanliness.

From what he had heard in the novel, Yang Yunran already knew that Jiang Yi came from a poor background and was quite smart, which later led to his becoming a star and understanding how to leverage connections, thus doing well.

However being able to work in an MIT laboratory definitely meant he was exceptionally intelligent.

Such a smart man wouldn’t expose himself easily, right?

Yang Yunran didn’t speak while sitting in the passenger seat, frequently glancing at him. Jiang Yi remained silent under his gaze, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his profile casting high and low shadows in the dimly lit car cabin, his brow bone sharp. He unbuttoned his coat, revealing a gray-blue shirt and vest underneath, his Adam’s apple protruding.

Arriving at Chinatown, Jiang Yi parked the car and asked him, “What do you want to eat?”

Yang Yunran conservatively replied, “Anything is fine.”

Chinatown at night was outlined in black buildings, dotted with red neon lights, with signs mixing Chinese and English. Snow accumulated on the ground, and pedestrians wearing thick clothing passed by on both sides. Jiang Yi led him across a street and casually entered a small restaurant named “Xiao Taoyuan.”

Yang Yunran ordered a few dishes, while Jiang Yi chose only the cheapest option: two servings of plain rice.

While waiting for their food, Yang Yunran found a topic, “I’m on vacation now, what about you?”

Jiang Yi replied, “In a few days.”

Yang Yunran asked, “Is the lab very busy?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Yi said softly, lowering his head to drink water, his eyelashes resembling crow feathers.

Yang Yunran pondered, “…”

Why did he feel like he and his boyfriend weren’t very familiar? Could it be an illusion? Do other families date like this?

The two ate their meal politely and quietly.

They ordered quite a few dishes, not expensive, but with generous portions. Jiang Yi packed up the leftovers and paid with a credit card.

Before leaving, Yang Yunran glanced at the bill, over seventy dollars, roughly five hundred RMB. He glanced at the takeaway box in Jiang Yi’s hand, thinking he lived frugally and budgeted carefully, probably not wealthy, relying on scholarships. After all, his clothes looked inexpensive, but they complemented Jiang Yi’s noble and handsome appearance.

Yang Yunran thought to himself, Jiang Yi came to the United States to study through hard work and frugality, and later broke up with the original owner, not necessarily because he disliked poverty and loved wealth. After all, the original owner wasn’t a good person.

People aim for higher things, aspiring for beautiful things, not the smelly old mouse in the gutter.

Jiang Yi’s actions were understandable.

Yang Yunran felt even more fond of this boyfriend who had dropped from the sky, deciding not to bring up breaking up today.

The two walked through the cold streets in the chilly wind. Jiang Yi turned on the car’s heater, drove away from the parking spot, and asked him, “Where do you live?”

Yang Yunran was taken aback, “Don’t you know?”

Jiang Yi replied, “I do.”

Professor Chen just sent it to him.

Yang Yunran then smiled, his eyes curving. “My phone’s dead, and I can’t remember the way. Can you find it?”

Jiang Yi simply said, “Hmm.”

He opened his phone and found the address Professor Chen had sent, roughly knowing the location, and said, “I’ll take you back.”

There was silence on the way, and Jiang Yi dropped him off downstairs. When Yang Yunran got out of the car, Jiang Yi rolled down the window and said, “Message me if you need anything.”

Yang Yunran nodded in agreement, and then Jiang Yi drove off without getting out to see him off.

Yang Yunran felt a bit unfamiliar with the way they interacted.

Upstairs, a dog barked.

Yang Yunran looked up. A Samoyed’s head faintly appeared on the third floor. The lights were on, and someone ran down, calling out to him, “Roy!!”

Yang Yunran: “Zhao Youmo?”

Zhao Youmo ran up to him, panting, “Oh my God, you’re finally back! You didn’t call me to pick you up, and your phone was off. I almost called the police.”

Yang Yunran looked apologetic, brushing his face to enter the apartment, “My phone died. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.”

Zhao Youmo waved his hand, “I figured you were on a date. Couldn’t reach you and got a bit worried. Next time, bring a power bank with you.”

After all, in the United States, incidents involving nearby Asian students were not uncommon, and Yang Yunran, dressed in designer clothes with a fat wallet, clearly stood out as an easy target.

Zhao Youmo asked, “Did you eat? Did your boyfriend leave?”

“I ate, and he left.” Yang Yunran nodded, entered the apartment, and crouched down to pet the dog. The Samoyed was very affectionate; Yang Yunran held it in his arms and asked him, “Do you want to come in for a drink?”

“…No, no thanks,” Zhao Youmo hesitated, finding it completely out of character for Yang Yunran! Uncomfortably, he said, “I won’t drink. What time will you be up tomorrow?”

“Still getting up at eight, you come by at nine to walk the dog for me, and grab some coffee for me on the way. The one you got today was really good.” Yang Yunran took out another hundred-dollar bill and handed it to him.

He intended to give Zhao Youmo as much money as possible so that he could fulfill his dream of applying to Harvard. After sorting things out later, he would bring him back to the Yang family.

“Th-thank you…” Zhao Youmo looked overwhelmed and left.

Yang Yunran turned on the light, removed his prosthetic eye for cleaning, sat on the floor and petted the dog, and charged his phone.

He saw the newly added friend on his phone, his boyfriend’s WeChat ID was simply ‘Jiang Yi’, quite mundane.

Yang Yunran simply didn’t change the contact name.

Jiang Yi didn’t send him any messages. Yang Yunran thought for a moment, then sent him a text: “Have you arrived home?”

Jiang Yi didn’t reply, so Yang Yunran went to take a shower.

This house was bought by Professor Chen and registered under Yang Yunran’s name. Although the apartment was not large, in the prime Boston real estate market, it was quite expensive.

The developer, with some perverse taste, had installed a large mirror in front of the bathtub.

So Yang Yunran saw in the mirror two eyes, one large and beautiful, bright and clear, while the other had eyelids turned up, showing a bit of white, disrupting the overall beauty and harmony of his face.

He was somewhat scared to see himself like this, so he closed his eyes, and soon the mist covered the entire mirror.

Before crossing over into this world, in his previous life, Yang Yunran had lived like this for a long time—going to elementary school, his mother taking him to sleep overnight in hospitals to secure an appointment with a specialist.

Due to his disability, Yang Yunran had been solitary since childhood, his lifestyle somewhat similar to Zhao Youmo’s. He maintained a precarious sense of dignity, diligently studying while helping his mother run the shop, always finding time to go to the hospital.

At sixteen, he posted an original song online where he played and sang with his eyes closed, which went viral on the internet.

Some talent agencies contacted him, but upon discovering Yang Yunran’s eye disability, nearly all of them backed out and didn’t sign him.

Only one agency, after the agent examined Yang Yunran’s small and thin appearance and discovered the star hidden within him, said, “Yang Yunran, can you sing another song for me?”

Yang Yunran sang, and the agent went out to make a phone call. When he returned, he said, “Do you have a passport? I’ll take you to Germany to get a customized prosthetic eye made from advanced biotechnology. It’s lifelike, hardly distinguishable from a real eye. It’ll cost around three hundred thousand, and you’ll work for me for the next twenty years to pay it off before you start earning. Can you accept that?”

Without hesitation, Yang Yunran sold himself to him: “I can.”

The agent’s judgment was correct; Yang Yunran was indeed a star. Dim and unnoticed at the edge of the universe, once he erupted, he could shine eternally.

The next year, he earned the money for the prosthetic eye, but unfortunately, before he could repay his mother, she passed away from cancer due to years of overwork.

In the bathtub, Yang Yunran pulled his hair back and let the shower head rain down on his face like a deluge.

The phone screen lit up.

Jiang Yi had replied: “I’ve arrived.”

Yang Yunran didn’t know how to respond, so he typed: “Okay, I’m showering.”

Jiang Yi said, “Rest early.”

Yang Yunran replied, “You too, good night.”

Jiang Yi didn’t reply further, ending the chat.

Before going to bed, around 9 AM Beijing time, Professor Chen called Yang Yunran via video.

Yang Yunran lay in bed reading, with only half of his face visible in the video.

“Uncle,” he greeted.

Professor Chen, in his early fifties, looked gentle and scholarly, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. “Are you studying, baby?”

“Yes, textbooks,” Yang Yunran replied, flipping the book cover to show Professor Chen.

Professor Chen noticed, “Oh, you’ve dyed your hair back?”

“Yeah, decided to make a fresh start,” he gave himself a reason for the change.

“Very good… very good, that’s great,” Professor Chen’s tone was happy, yet somewhat melancholic. Young Yunran had been very smart when he was young, but due to his own mistakes, he had been injured in a car accident, injuring his eyes.

Later, Yunran’s personality had changed somewhat, and although Professor Chen had earned a lot of money from his scientific research, most of it had been spent on Yang Yunran, even more so than on his own children.

Because he was involved in major scientific research projects and couldn’t easily leave the country, Professor Chen used his connections and resources to find treatment options for Yang Yunran.

But the best medical solution currently available was to use regenerative artificial crystals to make a fake eye.

Professor Chen spoke gently, “Baby, you don’t need to worry about the hearing. Uncle will handle it for you, so rest assured. If necessary, you can transfer to another school; there are plenty of good universities out there.”

No wonder the original owner had engaged in academic misconduct; he had been indulged.

Yang Yunran didn’t know the reasons behind this; he hadn’t inherited any memories from the original owner.

He said to Professor Chen on the phone, “Uncle, I know how to handle the hearing myself. My English has improved a lot, and I’m studying hard. There won’t be any problems. You don’t need to help me.”

“Well… that’s good,” Professor Chen suddenly felt Yang Yunran had become independent. He wasn’t used to it yet, “If you have any trouble over there, find Jiang Yi. He may seem cold, but he’s reliable.”

“Jiang Yi…” Yang Yunran speculated on Jiang Yi’s relationship with his uncle and tentatively said, “Okay, good. Jiang Yi is very smart.”

Professor Chen agreed, “Yes, he’s very clever. Spend more time with him. He can cook; if you want to eat hometown dishes, let him cook for you. Eat out less; it’s not clean. And spend less time online; don’t let online opinions influence you.”

Professor Chen believed Jiang Yi had strong academic talents, possibly even surpassing his own. At a young age, Jiang Yi had contributed to the development of new gene editing tools, distinguishing himself internationally.

Therefore, Professor Chen recommended him to pursue a PhD at MIT. On one hand, this was to cultivate Jiang Yi, and on the other hand, it was to ensure he could access the latest research progress immediately, allowing Yang Yunran to undergo stem cell regeneration and eye reconstruction surgery as quickly as possible to restore his vision.

Despite his efforts, Yang Yunran didn’t manage to extract any useful information. He only learned that Professor Chen knew Jiang Yi well and understood him.

Professor Chen urged him to sleep soon and hung up the call.

Yang Yunran continued reading and studying until around midnight.

After spending a few days, he more or less accepted his current situation: he was in Boston, layered with a minor celebrity status and no savings. Online trolls were eagerly waiting for his hearing to go awry, expecting him to apologize and leave the entertainment industry.

“I strongly recommend that during the hearing, we have all the alumni from Deberman help us livestream the test results to all netizens! Let’s set off fireworks to celebrate the failure of Leaky Fish!!”

“Haha, Yang Yunran must be freaking out right now. He couldn’t even read such a short English sentence on the show. How dare he boast about graduating from a top university and flaunting his diploma!”

“Congratulations, it’s a joy to see!!”

Yang Yunran didn’t have many fans originally, and he’s never been this famous before. The whole internet is waiting to see him mess up at the hearing.

Three minutes ago, Yang Yunran received a message from his management company.

“Yang, now both the brands and the entertainment side feel we’ve damaged their image and are demanding compensation for breach of contract, totaling five million. We negotiated down to three million, payable in one lump sum. Do you have that much? Remember, the company can’t advance it for you.”

Three million was a lot for the old Yang Yunran.

He could have just asked his parents or his uncle for it, but now he couldn’t do that.

“What’s the deadline?”

Yang Yunran looked at the contract, the terms were clear, failure to pay would lead to enforcement measures.

The company replied, “Three months, March 22 is the deadline. If not paid, it might go to court and freeze your assets.”

“March? Okay.”

Yang Yunran calculated that he could sell his car first. He bought the car with money earned from acting and variety shows, worth over 1.5 million RMB. With some borrowing and earning, he should be able to fill the gap by March.

Suddenly, he remembered that he also needed to send money for Zhao Youmo’s tuition.

Thinking of this, Yang Yunran called Zhao Youmo and asked him to accompany him to the computer city to buy a microphone and other livestreaming equipment.

After that, he had Zhao Youmo drive to the car dealership, where he sold the car on the spot and bought a low-key, cheap second-hand car.

Zhao Youmo almost dropped his jaw in shock. “Roy… Why did you suddenly sell the car?” And buying a microphone, what are you going to do at home?

Yang Yunran didn’t tell him about his debt situation and replied, “I saw the news and thought the old sports car was too flashy, so I got a cheaper one.”

It made sense.

The new second-hand car was a step down in every aspect.

Zhao Youmo was used to his sports car and didn’t quite adapt.

But Yang Yunran adapted well, lying back in his seat and asking, “Have you applied to Harvard?”

“I… I have,” Zhao Youmo replied.

“And MIT and Cornell?”

“I applied to those too,” Zhao Youmo didn’t know why he was being asked this, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

Yang Yunran looked relaxed in the old car, with a soft and comfortable face, saying, “How much more do you need for tuition?”

For some reason, Zhao Youmo felt that Yang Yunran now looked very handsome, both in temperament and appearance, shining so brightly that he couldn’t look away. He replied softly, “Still lacking about four to five hundred thousand RMB.”

“Not much left,” Yang Yunran said.

Zhao Youmo’s heart skipped a beat.

Yang Yunran looked at his phone. “Hmm, I’ve got the money from selling the car. I’ll lend it to you.”

Zhao Youmo: …?

He suddenly hit the brakes and stared at Yang Yunran as if he had seen a ghost.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Just drive properly,” Yang Yunran said without looking up. “It’s not like I’m lending it to you for nothing. We can settle it with an IOU on WeChat. Pay me back after you graduate; I’m not short of this money.”

Seeing an extra hundred thousand dollars in his account, Zhao Youmo felt like he was dreaming and found it somewhat ironic. The unbridgeable class gap forced him to look up to Yang Yunran.

For Yang Yunran, casually offering hundreds of thousands was like making a fuss. For him, it meant hard work like an ox or a horse. The tuition fee that kept him awake at night, Yang Yunran had resolved with just a few words…

He felt both grateful and complex inside.

“Go back first today. Let me know when you hear about your application,” Yang Yunran bid farewell to Zhao Youmo, took the car keys, and prepared to walk the dog at home, coincidentally receiving a message from a netizen.

“Bro!! I’ve taken those two pairs of Paris shoes and the Prada coat. Can we negotiate a discount? All together for 18,000, okay? If so, I’ll transfer you directly on WeChat instead of going through Idle Fish?”

Yes, Yang Yunran had started selling second-hand items online.

He couldn’t bear to see the original owner’s clothes, some of which hadn’t even been worn. It would be better to sell them.

He replied, “Sure, where in Boston are you? Let’s meet up.”

Buyer: “Near Cambridgeport, and you?”

Yang Yunran checked the map and replied, “Not far, I should be there around 5:30, let’s meet at Boston University Bridge.”

Yang Yunran put the two pairs of shoes in a bag and separated the coat in his backpack, packed a power bank, turned on the navigation, and took the dog out.

These days, Zhao Youmo had been helping him walk the dog. Yang Yunran and Harry spent every day in the same space, where things he couldn’t tell others could be spoken to his pet.

At first, every time he woke up, he would suspect he was dreaming. Then Harry would happily run to his bed, chin resting on the bedstead, looking at him with eyes as clear as obsidian.

“Are you real, Harry,” Yang Yunran would pat the dog’s head, “Are you real or not? Am I dreaming? How did I end up in a novel…”

Harry would shove him back into reality, leaving Yang Yunran’s face covered in dog drool, the scent somewhat difficult to describe.

“Okay, it’s probably not a dream.”

That’s how quickly their relationship was built.

The owner went out to walk his own dog rather than paying someone to do it, and Harry was very happy. Once outside, he treated himself as a sled dog, crashing through snowdrifts.

Yang Yunran held the leash, patting the snow off Harry’s body. “Harry, Harry, don’t dive into the snow, aren’t your feet cold? Slow down, slow down!”

Stopping to walk every now and then, the Samoyed sniffing around, it made the walk a bit more troublesome than Yang Yunran had imagined.

He had to send a message to the buyer: “I’m sorry!! I’ll be late!! It might be six o’clock!”

What was supposed to be a 20-minute walk took twice as long.

This body’s previous owner clearly hadn’t liked exercise, so his stamina was poor. Carrying two pairs of shoes and a piece of clothing, he was drenched in sweat after fifty minutes.

The buyer sent him a message: “Hey bro, are you here?”

Yang Youran: “I’m here, and you?”

Buyer: “I’m wearing a yellow parka, how about you?”

“I’m in a grey coat, walking a Samoyed.”

They found each other as if following a secret code. The buyer, a stylishly dressed young man, claimed to be studying at Boston University. Upon meeting, he exclaimed, “Bro, that dog is awesome!”

Yang Youran took out shoes and a coat from his backpack, and the buyer crouched down to pet the dog.

Harry smiled at everyone, happily sticking out his tongue.

Yang Youran said, “Check the goods, the shoes are unworn, and the soles are still white.”

The shoes were in a white bag. The buyer noted, “You don’t have the shoebox.”

Yang Youran replied, “The box is lost.”

Inspecting further, the buyer asked, “What about the receipt?”

Yang Youran said, “That’s lost too, but these are genuine. You can verify them at a store. I don’t deal in fakes.”

Buyer: “I can tell they’re genuine. How about a discount, 12,000?”

Yang Youran was about to refuse when two black men approached.

The black men greeted the buyer as they knew him, rapping style, and all three looked at Yang Youran.

Yang Youran became wary. “15,000, no less. Take it or leave it.”

Buyer: “Hold on, bro, let’s discuss…”

With little money involved, Yang Youran prepared to drop the items and run if they turned violent—glancing at the Charles River nearby.

Jiang Yi, a single graduate student at MIT, could see the Charles River from his dorm. On his way back from buying groceries, he glimpsed four people standing at the edge of Boston University Bridge.

All four were men, one of whom seemed slim and small, walking a dog and standing between two black men, holding a suspicious white bag.

Jiang Yi frowned. Were they buying marijuana?

Approaching Yang Youran, Jiang Yi intervened as he sensed a conflict. One of the black men reached for something from Yang Youran, but Yang Youran pulled it back.

Jiang Yi quickly stepped forward. “Yang Youran!”

He pulled Yang Youran behind him, his arm outstretched protectively. He stood tall and imposing, saying coldly, “What are you doing? Stay away from him!”

Buyer: “Uh, we’re just buying shoes… You’ve got it wrong.”

“…Jiang Yi?” Yang Youran looked up, still dazed. Jiang Yi’s grip was strong, making him wince.

Jiang Yi turned his head, frowning deeply. “Did they lay hands on you?”

Yang Youran, still behind him, suddenly felt like he had a boyfriend. He quickly shook off Jiang Yi’s hand and explained, “No, no, I’m selling shoes. We agreed on a price, they wanted to inspect, I said I’d take a photo, and there was a little tug-of-war. It’s nothing serious, you’ve misunderstood.”

Jiang Yi stared at him for two or three seconds, still shielding him.

The two black men across them saw Jiang Yi suddenly rush out and reacted strongly, arguing with him loudly. They felt Jiang Yi was rude and discriminatory, and launched a series of aggressive “Fuck you” attacks.

Jiang Yi’s face remained cold and firm. “Fuck yourself.”

Yang Youran: “…”

The black men’s tirade grew louder, pointing fingers at Jiang Yi’s nose.

Buyer interjected, “Alright, alright! It’s a misunderstanding. Forget it, I’m not buying anymore! Bro, let’s talk next time!” Worried, the buyer pulled his two black friends and left.

Yang Youran’s white bag with the shoes fell to the ground.

Jiang Yi bent down to pick it up, seeing two pairs of shoes inside. He realized he might have delayed Yang Youran’s sale of second-hand goods.

But he wasn’t overreacting. Three years ago, he had encountered many similar situations when he arrived, and Yang Youran was being careless doing such deals on the street.

“Sorry,” Jiang Yi said to him again. “They smelled like weed. Where did you meet them?”

“Online… I don’t know,” Yang Youran lifted his head, walking his dog away from the bridge with Jiang Yi, feeling a bit frightened. “Thank goodness you came over. But why did you dare to argue with them? What if they had a gun?”

Jiang Yi withdrew his hand, not letting Yang Youran hold it. “I have one too.”

Yang Youran: “???”

Jiang Yi: “You came out by yourself?”

Yang Youran nodded, seeing they were near MIT. Facing the cold wind by the desolate Charles River, he saw the glittering lights on the opposite shore and guessed Jiang Yi might live nearby. So he said, “I was walking the dog, selling shoes, and then came to find you.”

Jiang Yi looked at him. “To find me?”

Yang Youran turned his head slightly. From his lower angle, he could see Jiang Yi’s clear, well-defined jawline, lips neither thick nor thin, perfectly colored, tempting to touch.

Yang Youran was a bit distracted. After a while, he said, “I’ve been busy studying these days, didn’t message you. Why didn’t you message me either?”

This didn’t sound like a typical love conversation.

Yang Youran asked what was on his mind, “Don’t you like me?”

Jiang Yi remembered Professor Chen’s commitment and fell silent for a moment, saying, “Sorry, I’m too busy.” Then he explained, “It’s not that I don’t like you.”

Yang Youran quickly smiled, “Alright then, I like you too.”

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow, looking at Yang Youran carefully for the first time. Contrary to his expectations, Yang Youran seemed innocent, not bad-tempered.