ABOES 4: Who do you think you are

Ye Xinian stared at his phone for two seconds before answering the call.

He didn’t even need to ask to know what Song Jing wanted to say.

After all, aside from Ye Xinian himself, Song Jing was the most “concerned” person about him. This call was clearly because Song Jing couldn’t sit still after seeing that video.

Sure enough, as soon as the call was connected, Song Jing’s probing voice came through, “Xinian, did you see that video?”

The disgust in Ye Xinian’s eyes was undisguised but his tone didn’t change, “I just watched it.”

Song Jing’s pitch immediately rose, “What’s going on? Xinian, didn’t you promise Xia Ge¹Brother Ge that you wouldn’t enter the entertainment industry? So how come you’re suddenly mixed up with Chu Wen? If Xia Ge finds out, how are you going to explain yourself?”

Ye Xinian let out a cold laugh. What did he mean by “mixed up with Chu Wen”?

Song Jing really had a way with words. Just a few sentences and he had twisted the facts, making Ye Xinian the cheater and even using Xia Huaiming to threaten him.

In his past life, Ye Xinian had genuinely cared about Xia Huaiming. It was exactly because of that vulnerability that Song Jing had been able to manipulate him.

Too bad Song Jing didn’t know that Ye Xinian was no longer that fool he could push around.

Ye Xinian’s tone remained steady: “I’ll tell him myself. You don’t need to worry about it. I have something to do, hanging up now.”

With that, Ye Xinian didn’t bother wasting another word and hung up.

Song Jing’s eyes were full of disbelief while hearing the busy tone from the phone

Ye Xinian actually hung up on him?

Song Jing’s face turned ugly. He replayed the conversation in his head and confirmed he hadn’t said anything wrong. So why did Ye Xinian hang up so decisively?

Ye Xinian never would’ve done that before. He even brought up Xia Huaiming this time. Judging from Ye Xinian’s words, he didn’t care at all? That wasn’t right.

Could it be that Ye Xinian had really overheard that phone call with Xia Huaiming the other day? Otherwise, how could he explain Ye Xinian’s unusual behavior today?

A chill crept through Song Jing’s heart but he quickly dismissed the thought. Impossible. He had to be overthinking it.

Ye Xinian wasn’t the type to hide things. Anything on his mind was written plainly on his face.

If he had really figured something out, he would’ve already come to confront him. There’s no way he’d just let it slide.

If that wasn’t the reason, then what was it?

No matter how much Song Jing thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out. After hesitating for a moment, he simply picked up his phone and called Xia Huaiming.

If he couldn’t get the answer, Xia Huaiming definitely could.

After all, Xia Huaiming was a frighteningly possessive man. Last time Ye Xinian and Chu Wen filmed a video together, Xia Huaiming had gone into a rage. If he found out that Ye Xinian not only filmed another video with Chu Wen but even went out to eat with him…

A flicker of mockery passed through Song Jing’s eyes. He suddenly couldn’t wait to watch the drama unfold.

…

After hanging up, Ye Xinian still hadn’t calmed down completely.

Thanks to Song Jing’s interruption, he remembered that he did need to inform Xia Huaiming about this.

Ye Xinian had no intention of making the first move; he was waiting for Xia Huaiming to come to him.

He didn’t dwell on it. He sent his newly registered Weibo account and password to Xie Yi.

Xie Yi was fast. First, he helped Ye Xinian complete his Weibo verification, then casually followed Chu Wen’s Weibo on his behalf.

After that, Xie Yi logged out of Ye Xinian’s account and sent him a draft post to use when reposting Chu Wen’s Weibo the next morning.

Ye Xinian didn’t ask questions and replied with an “OK.”

After sending the message, he closed WeChat and couldn’t resist logging into Weibo with his alt account.

He didn’t even need to search his name. He opened the trending list and scrolled down a bit, he saw his and Chu Wen’s names.

#ChuWenYeXinianShopping#.

Clicking into the hashtag, the top post was the video a netizen took today.

The post had already been reposted over twenty thousand times, with more than a hundred thousand likes.

The comments were nearly all about how good-looking the two were.

【Holy crap, they’re both so handsome!】

【They look kind of familiar… have I seen them somewhere before?】

【The one in the white T-shirt is Chu Wen! He was in Voice of the New Star, top ten finalist!】

【Isn’t the guy on the right Ye Xinian?】

【Ye Xinian?】

【Holy crap! It really is Ye Xinian!】

Soon, netizens started asking who Ye Xinian was.

Others quickly answered:

【Ye Xinian is the official campus heartthrob at Nanda University! No exaggeration—go check out the Nanda forum, the matchmaking section is almost entirely anonymous confessions to him. Oh, and the campus confession wall too, there’s a new confession to him every day.】

【Nanda? Damn, smart and handsome? I’m jealous!】

【These two walking together is seriously eye candy! Are they really not a couple?】

【Don’t look at it with shipping goggles!】

…

Ye Xinian scrolled through the comments, then liked the video post using his alt account before logging out.

After a moment of thought, he used the same account to post a new Weibo:

@LovesRiceCakes: Guess I got a little popular out of nowhere. I’m officially stepping into the industry now. Hope Mr. Xia won’t be too jealous.

After posting, he logged out.

Just as he was about to wash up and rest, his phone rang again.

Ye Xinian glanced at the caller ID and let out a cold laugh—it was Xia Huaiming.

He picked up the phone and walked to the balcony. “Hello?”

Xia Huaiming had just gotten off the phone with Song Jing and was furious after learning that Ye Xinian had filmed another video with another man. His tone carried a hint of accusation, “What did you do today?”

Ye Xinian had already predicted that Song Jing would run to Xia Huaiming and tattle. That was exactly what he wanted.

He deliberately softened his tone, sounding innocent, “What’s wrong? Are you mad I didn’t call you?”

That was part of it but what really bothered Xia Huaiming was the video with Chu Wen.

Ye Xinian’s slightly aggrieved voice came through the phone before he could speak, “I actually had something really exciting I wanted to share with you… but since you’re in a bad mood, I guess I won’t.”

Xia Huaiming frowned and the words at his throat were swallowed back. He changed his approach, “What did you want to tell me?”

Ye Xinian raised an eyebrow, sounding considerate, “Aren’t you in a bad mood? I shouldn’t say anything then.”

Xia Huaiming said, “Maybe if you tell me, I’ll feel better.”

Ye Xinian resisted the urge to gag and told him about signing with Yunxing Entertainment.

Xia Huaiming’s expression darkened. “You signed with an entertainment company? Why didn’t you talk to me about it first?”

“You’re not happy?” Ye Xinian feigned surprise. “I thought you’d be happy for me…”

When the prey wasn’t in hand yet, Xia Huaiming always showed patience. He forced down his irritation and said, “Didn’t I tell you? You don’t need to work. I can take care of you completely.”

Ye Xinian almost laughed out loud.

He would take care of him? Take care of him until his lover, Song Jing, ran him over with a car?

Ye Xinian clenched his jaw as his hand balled into a fist on the side.

“But I can’t use the money you give me to buy you a gift,” he said softly after a deep breath.

Xia Huaiming paused, his anger subsiding. “You want to buy me a gift?”

Ye Xinian replied, “Yeah. Isn’t your birthday in a month? I signed because there’s a variety show looking for a guest. Once I get paid, I can buy your birthday present.”

This would be the first time Ye Xinian ever gave him a gift.

Xia Huaiming had used some tricks to get Ye Xinian to agree to an engagement. He could tell Ye Xinian hadn’t been entirely willing. But so what—he liked him, that was enough.

Over the past six months, Ye Xinian had always treated him with indifference. Xia Huaiming had definitely felt frustrated. He hadn’t even held his hand.

He even started to wonder if Ye Xinian felt anything for him at all.

Now, Ye Xinian suddenly said he wanted to buy him a gift, did that mean he was finally starting to care?

With that thought, Xia Huaiming felt a surge of joy, and his tone softened, even carrying a trace of laughter, “Just because of my birthday?”

Ye Xinian could tell he had bought it, so he followed through, “What else could it be?”

Xia Huaiming chuckled twice, clearly in a good mood.

Ye Xinian chatted with him a little longer and mentioned that he would be filming after exams so he wouldn’t be able to meet.

Since Xia Huaiming was in a good mood, he only grumbled a bit before agreeing.

After hanging up, Ye Xinian downed half a bottle of mineral water as soon as he got back to the dorm.

Zhou Ping looked puzzled. “What’s up?”

Ye Xinian said casually, “Nothing, just felt a little sick.”

Old Wei turned over in bed. “You okay? Catching a cold?”

Ye Xinian gave them a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Let’s sleep, we’ve got exams tomorrow.”

Tomorrow’s test was the last one and the most important.

So the roommates didn’t press him further. Before bed, they just chatted briefly about the trending post and helped Ye Xinian imagine a bright future.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Song Jing figured enough time had passed and called Xia Huaiming again.

As soon as the call connected, Song Jing’s voice turned soft and gentle: “Huaiming? Still mad?”

Xia Huaiming didn’t reply.

Song Jing knew his temper wouldn’t cool so quickly and felt a bit smug. He continued, “Come on, don’t be upset with Xinian. I don’t think he did it on purpose. It was probably Chu Wen trying to stir up drama.”

“But Xinian really went too far this time! Even I misunderstood when I saw that video. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him and make him come see you—”

“Song Jing.” Xia Huaiming suddenly cut him off. “How long have you been with me?”

Song Jing froze, then answered, “About six months,” he paused, thinking Xia Huaiming was finally seeing his worth, and smiled, “What, are you starting to realize how good I am?”

Xia Huaiming let out a heavy snort, then said after a moment: “Six months, and you still haven’t figured out your place?”

Song Jing’s smile froze on his face.

“Who do you think you are, trying to stir up trouble in front of me?”

Xia Huaiming’s tone was calm, but it made Song Jing feel like he’d fallen into an ice pit.

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