YABE - 43

Wen Siyu’s mind was a tangled mess, far too complex to be summarized in just a few words.

She stared blankly at her phone screen, caught in a dilemma: either confront him and risk exposing her secret identity as the streamer or keep her little disguise tightly buttoned up and silently endure the humiliation. She had no idea how to navigate this situation.

If it were simply a matter of discovering her boyfriend secretly flirting with a female streamer, implying infidelity, that would’ve been one thing. But the real issue was that the streamer in question was her —and she absolutely didn’t want him to know about this side of her.

This made things incredibly complicated.

Wen Siyu pondered whether she could post an anonymous thread on some online forums like Zhihu or Douban, titled something along the lines of: [My Boyfriend Secretly Messaged a Female Streamer; The Worst Part Is That It’s Me. Does This Count as Cheating? Urgent Help Needed.]

Based on her years of experience observing internet users, Wen Siyu figured she’d probably receive replies like: “Dump this guy immediately!” “No way, I can’t tolerate this—break up with him!” “OP, I’ll send you fireworks to blow him sky-high.”

She imagined tying Jiang Xu to a skyrocket and launching him into the sky—it actually sounded pretty satisfying.

But fantasies aside, reality was much harsher. The girl curled up awkwardly, hugging her knees, staring at the WeChat chat window with Jiang Xu. She agonized over what to say, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to send anything.

What should she do? Should she ask him about it?

But how could she even bring it up?!

If she said anything, wouldn’t her cover be blown?

If she spoke, wouldn’t her secret be exposed??

But if she stayed silent, was she just going to let herself be metaphorically cheated on?

What choice did she have? Forgive him??

Forgive my ass! How could she possibly forgive something like this?!

Ughhh, Jiang Xu, you bastard—I never thought you’d stoop so low!

Clearly, there wasn’t a single decent man in this world!

—At this point, Wen Siyu’s train of thought had completely derailed into another dimension.

She raised her head, pouted, picked up her phone, unlocked it, and quickly typed out a message.

[To Mr. Jiang: You’ve got someone else on the side.]

—Who’s the dog here?!

After sending it, she suddenly panicked and hastily recalled the message.

Then, heart pounding, she stared at the screen, terrified he might have seen it.

After waiting for a while, there was no response.

Wen Siyu breathed a sigh of relief, but almost immediately felt inexplicably upset—look, he didn’t even reply on WeChat! This man must have already changed his feelings for her!

Frustrated, Wen Siyu scratched her head and tossed her phone aside to focus on editing a video instead.

Once the video was done, she stretched lazily and rubbed her shoulders, only to realize that night had fallen without her noticing.

Hesitating for a moment, Wen Siyu reluctantly picked up her phone again.

There were two new messages on WeChat.

[Boyfriend: ?]

[Boyfriend: What did you recall?]

Wen Siyu’s previously calmed emotions flared up again. Her anger surged as she glared at the screen, as if her fiery gaze could pierce through and burn him alive. She began typing furiously.

[To Mr. Jiang: Teacher Jiang.]

This time, he responded quickly with a “Hmm?”

Wen Siyu took a deep breath.

[To Mr. Jiang: Do you have someone you like now?]

On the other end, Jiang Xu, who had just finished filming and was sitting in the backseat of the car, was momentarily confused.

He tilted his head, trying to decipher the meaning behind this sudden, seemingly dangerous question from the girl. After failing to come up with an answer, he hesitated and decided not to respond.

His silence only confirmed Wen Siyu’s suspicions—this man was clearly guilty!

The girl blinked, trying to calm her chaotic emotions, and was about to continue when Jiang Xu finally replied.

[Boyfriend: Yes.]

[Boyfriend: I’m chatting with her right now.]

Wen Siyu: “….”

I’m here to accuse you! Stop flirting with me, damn it!!

Biting the soft flesh inside her mouth, Wen Siyu decided to take a more roundabout approach.

[To Mr. Jiang: Teacher Jiang, it seems like livestreaming has become really popular lately, especially food or gaming streams. Some streamers are getting a lot of attention.]

Jiang Xu, lounging in the backseat of the car, paused for a moment before understanding dawned on him.

He had initially used his main Weibo account to contact her precisely to make her aware that he knew about her secret. However, Wen Siyu hadn’t caught on at all and seemed to have misunderstood something entirely.

Did she really have such confidence in the secrecy of her alternate identity?

Jiang Xu wanted to laugh. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, gradually widening until he couldn’t suppress it anymore. He replied:

[Yeah, there’s one female streamer whose videos I watch often.]

After a pause, he added:

[She’s really good-looking.]

Once he hit send, he held his phone expectantly, waiting for her reply. The more he thought about it, the funnier it became, and soon he chuckled aloud.

His deep, low laughter echoed continuously from the backseat. The assistant driving the car glanced back and saw Jiang boss lying there, laughing eerily at his phone, the glow of the screen casting a strange, unsettling light on his face.

The assistant shivered slightly, turned back to focus on driving, and prayed silently for whoever was on the receiving end of those messages.

Unaware of how creepy he appeared, Jiang Xu continued holding his phone high, eagerly awaiting his girlfriend’s reply.

Two minutes passed. Jiang Xu thought she should’ve replied by now.

Five minutes passed. Why was she taking so long?

The car arrived at the hotel entrance, but she still hadn’t replied.

Jiang Xu grew puzzled. This wasn’t like her. Was she taking a shower?

He clicked on her profile and discovered that her WeChat name had been changed to—All Men Named Jiang Are Bastards.

Jiang Xu: “….”

Jiang Xu: ???

Jiang Xu stepped out of the car, phone in hand, walking zombie-like into the elevator without looking where he was going. Frowning, he sent her several more messages in quick succession.

She didn’t reply to any of them.

Wen Siyu was ignoring him.

Jiang Xu scrolled up, reread their chat history a few times, and then fell silent.

Letting you dig your own grave.

The Shadow Emperor was filled with deep regret.

He long-pressed on his previous two messages, attempting to recall them in a futile effort to cover up the damage, but it had been too long—there was no way to retract them now.

Jiang Xu sent a period mark over, only to be met with an eerie, deathly silence of no response.

At that moment, the man had just walked back to his room. He swiped open the door, leaned against the doorframe, and called Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi answered quickly, saying “Hello?” after picking up.

Jiang Xu remained silent.

Zhou Yi held the phone up to confirm the caller ID, his tone tinged with astonishment, as if he were witnessing some rare animal: “You’re actually calling me voluntarily? Say something!”

Jiang Xu thought carefully about his words: “Zhou Yi.”

Zhou Yi coughed twice in an exaggerated manner, clearing his throat: “Speak freely, Your Majesty.”

Jiang Xu pursed his lips, speaking slowly: “If you upset your girlfriend and she stops replying to your WeChat messages, what should you do?”

Zhou Yi cursed under his breath and proceeded to mercilessly mock him.

In the darkness, Jiang Xu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. For the first time, he didn’t retort, quietly waiting for a solution.

After Zhou Yi finished mocking him and felt satisfied, he bellowed: “Call her!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xu abruptly hung up.

Zhou Yi: “….”

Could this guy prioritize romance over friendship any more?!

Ten minutes later, Jiang Xu proved to him that yes, he absolutely could.

After hanging up with Zhou Yi, the man sank into deep thought for eight excruciating minutes in the dark. With great difficulty, he pieced together a lengthy speech and then dialed his girlfriend’s number.

After three rings, Wen Siyu hung up.

Jiang Xu: “….”

Teacher Jiang couldn’t figure out where exactly the problem lay.

Thus, Zhou Yi received another call from his only artist and longtime friend—the overly romantic and friendship-neglecting Jiang Xu.

This time, the man didn’t stay silent. As soon as the call connected, he bombarded Zhou Yi with questions: “She hung up on me! Why? What should I do? How can I fix this?”

Zhou Yi: “….”

Zhou Yi took a deep breath: “Film Emperor Jiang, I’m here to help you handle scripts or PR crises. Emotional issues like this generally fall outside my responsibilities.”

Jiang Xu: “Oh, then I’ll post a Weibo asking my fans for advice.”

“….”

Zhou Yi wanted to strangle him.

Suppressing the urge to storm to his hotel room and beat him senseless, Zhou Yi gritted his teeth: “May I ask why the young lady is mad at you?”

Jiang Xu fell silent.

“Because…” After a pause, he admitted, “I teased her. I thought it was funny at the time.”

His deep, magnetic voice carried a hint of dejection.

Zhou Yi: “….”

Replaying the man’s words—”I teased her” and “I thought it was funny”—the top-tier agent’s inner thoughts were screaming: What else can I even say.jpg

Zhou Yi was utterly speechless and even contemplated quitting his job.

Pressing his temples, he sighed wearily: “Start by addressing the root of the problem. If you did something wrong, buy her a gift. If you said something wrong, buy her a gift. There’s nothing that can’t be solved with gifts. If there is, buy her an apartment. If all else fails, use your ultimate weapon—buy her a diamond ring.” Pausing, Zhou Yi added, “But I’d advise you to think carefully before resorting to the last option.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xu fell into deep contemplation, finding the advice surprisingly reasonable.

After hanging up, he carefully reviewed the situation. The problem seemed to stem from this female streamer.

But wasn’t the female streamer none other than Wen Siyu herself? Why was she getting jealous?

Jiang Xu chuckled bitterly, finding women’s logic utterly incomprehensible.

After some thought, he called his assistant. The poor assistant had just parked the car, returned to his room, played a couple rounds of mobile games, and was about to take a shower when he received a call from his troublesome boss, instructing him to get the car ready and wait downstairs immediately.

Assistant: ???

Thus, the next afternoon, shortly after finishing class, Wen Siyu received a delivery call.

The courier’s tone was oddly subtle, repeatedly confirming that it was indeed her. Puzzled, Wen Siyu ended the call and went to pick up the package.

When she arrived, she finally understood why the courier’s tone had been so peculiar.

She received an express delivery—a whopping twenty boxes of Wangwang Snack Packs.

Wen Siyu: “….”