ABOES 3: Viral Video

When Ye Xinian returned to the dorm, his roommates weren’t around. He didn’t have much luggage, it’s just enough to fill a small suitcase.

Xie Yi looked surprised to see him with only that. “That’s all you’re bringing?”

Ye Xinian smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m just bringing a few things over for now. I still have an exam tomorrow, so I’ll sleep at school tonight. I’ll bring the rest after it’s over.”

Xie Yi nodded and opened the trunk. He loaded the suitcase and got in the car.

As they drove, his phone chimed with a special WeChat notification. He pulled it out and saw a red “1” next to a pinned contact.

Ye Xinian’s pupils shrink as his fingers whitened around the phone. After hesitating a few seconds, he opened the message.

[Xia Huaiming: Finished your exams? I miss you.]

This bastard had just slept with his bestfriend yesterday, and now he was back pretending to be all loving and devoted.

Ye Xinian let out a cold sneer. It wasn’t time yet, he couldn’t rip off the mask just yet.

After a moment of thought, he replied as usual.

[Not yet, I’ve got one more day tomorrow. If you miss me, just look at my photos.]

[Xia Huaming: Photos can’t compare to the real thing.]

In the past, Ye Xinian would’ve been swooning from that line and rushing to see him. Now, all he felt was disgust. The love he once had was gone, replaced by seething hatred.

Just thinking of Xia Huaiming and Song Jing in that bed made Ye Xinian’s stomach churn. He forced a deep breath, pushing back the wave of nausea.

His hand clenched into a fist beside him. He took another breath and put the phone away. He unpinned the chat with Xia Huaiming and didn’t reply again.

Sensing his mood, Xie Yi changed the subject. “By the way, Xinian. Did you tell your family about signing with the agency?”

Ye Xinian pulled himself out of his thoughts and shook his head lightly. “No. I’m not planning to tell them for now.”

Xie Yi looked puzzled. “Hm?”

After a pause, Ye Xinian asked, “What do you think my family background is like?”

She glanced at him and smiled. “Honestly, when we first met, I thought you came from a tough background—that’s why you were always working part-time. But then yesterday, you told me you were engaged to the heir of the Xia family…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Ye Xinian understood the implication.

Xie Yi didn’t know much about the Xia family, but anyone with internet access could find out that they were one of Haishi’s rising powerhouses. Several of the city’s big real estate developments were under their name, and they had been making business headlines recently.

Even if times had changed, prominent families still paid attention to social standing when it came to marriage.

If Ye Xinian came from an average family, how could he have gotten engaged to someone like Xia Huaiming? But if he was rich himself, why would he work to pay for his tuition?

Word had it that Ye Xinian earned all his own living and school expenses.

Ye Xinian didn’t explain further. “My situation is a little complicated. But don’t worry, they won’t interfere with me.”

“Good,” Xie Yi said with a smile, then moved the conversation to lighter topics.

An hour later, the car pulled into a high-end residential complex. Yunxing Entertainment had purchased the complex to house its artists. Almost every resident here was a celebrity under their label.

As they went upstairs, Xie Yi gave him a quick tour of the area.

The complex had its own fresh food market, and a large shopping mall that was just a five-minute walk. It was close to the company, had excellent security, and only artists lived here.

Ye Xinian was assigned to a duplex with two bedrooms and a living room. The space is more than enough for one person.

Xie Yi had already arranged for someone to clean in advance. The place still carried a faint scent of disinfectant.

Ye Xinian had just stepped in and hadn’t even looked around when a cheerful male voice called out behind him—

“Xie Yi Jie!”

“Oh, isn’t that Xinian?”

On the way here, Xie Yi had mentioned that the person living next door was Chu Wen—the same guy Ye Xinian had filmed a video with not long ago.

Ye Xinian had a good impression of Chu Wen and smiled. “Long time no see.”

“It hasn’t been that long,” Chu Wen grinned. He had a baby face and was two years older, though you’d never guess. “Thank god—I finally have company!”

Xie Yi chuckled. “Since you know each other, I won’t bother with introductions. Take care of each other.”

“Of course,” Chu Wen said quickly.

Xie Yi has work to get back to. She handed over the keys and access card, gave Chu Wen a few work-related reminders, then left.

Chu Wen couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to join the entertainment industry? What changed your mind?”

Ye Xinian knew Chu Wen meant no harm and replied while unpacking, “Guess I had an epiphany.”

That made Chu Wen burst out laughing. “You’re really something.”

Ye Xinian smiled helplessly.

Chu Wen studied his face for a few seconds, then sighed, “Joking aside, with your looks, I really think you’ll be a star.”

“I’ll take that as a blessing,” Ye Xinian said with a grin.

Since he had just moved in, the place was still missing some daily necessities. Chu Wen volunteered to take him shopping.

After buying what they needed, they grabbed dinner together. Ye Xinian returned to the apartment, did some light organizing, and then went back to school.

At the gate, he bought chicken leg rice boxes for each of his three roommates. On his way back to the dorm, he noticed a few people eyeing him.

He figured they had seen the video he filmed earlier and didn’t think much of it.

Back in the dorm, just as he walked in with the food, Zhou Ping rushed over excitedly. “Xinian! You’ve made it big!”

Ye Xinian blinked in confusion.

The other two roommates excitedly jumped up too. “Ye Xinian! You went shopping with Chu Wen today, right? Someone filmed it!”

Zhou Ping thrust his phone into Ye Xinian’s hands. “Look! A fan caught you two out shopping. The video has already over 300,000 likes!”

Ye Xinian quickly checked the phone.

The video was clearly filmed by a passerby, slightly shaky but clear. It showed Ye Xinian and Chu Wen walking out of a mall together, chatting and laughing, then heading into a restaurant.

He opened the comments section, it was full of praise for their looks.

【OMG! So handsome! Who are these two?】

【Are they celebrities?】

【Aaaaaa it’s Ye Xinian from our school! That’s Chu Wen next to him, right?!】

【Yes! Definitely Ye Xinian! That video they did was amazing. Were they out shopping together?】

【So handsome!! I’m in love!】

In today’s internet-driven world, even a video without any content could go viral. Views were skyrocketing, and the video had already reached the trending list on the app.

In just the few seconds Ye Xinian watched it, the like count had jumped by another 10,000.

He hadn’t even handed the phone back when his own started ringing—Xie Yi was calling.

He gave Zhou Ping the food and stepped out to the balcony to answer.

“Hello, Xie Yi Jie.”

“Did you see the video?” Her voice was excited.

“I just saw it,” he said, still feeling a bit surreal.

Xie Yi laughed—clearly thrilled. “This was a stroke of luck. Free publicity! I’ve already called the team in. Don’t worry, it’s your first time going viral, but we’ll handle everything.”

In today’s industry, many washed-up stars had clawed back into relevance through viral clips but public attention was short-lived—without proper PR guidance, the hype would fade fast.

That’s what Xie Yi was preparing for.

Ye Xinian had expected as much. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“Of course,” she said approvingly. “Register a new Weibo account. I’ll send you a draft. All you have to do is repost Chu Wen’s Weibo.”

“Got it,” he replied.

“Oh—and I found you an assistant. He’ll come to campus tomorrow. Keep a low profile during your exam. If you can, wear a mask.”

Ye Xinian agreed to everything.

When he returned, his three roommates were staring at him, eyes full of gossip.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Ping asked.

Ye Xinian smiled. “Exactly what you think.”

“Damn!” Lao Wei exclaimed. “Xinian’s really becoming a star!”

“You better treat us to a meal!” Lao Zhang chimed in.

Ye Xinian was in a good mood and said boldly, “Of course!”

The room erupted in cheers.

He used the moment to register a new Weibo account. He had an old one, but it had been used for personal posts.

He planned to delete it, but when he scrolled through the feed, he noticed a couple of posts still related to Xia Huaiming.

He immediately changed his mind.

He logged out and used another phone number to create a new account.

Just as he finished, his phone rang again.

This time, it was Song Jing.