YABE - 48

After her confinement was lifted and she returned to school, Wen Siyu had become a celebrity of sorts—a completely different kind of celebrity from before.

This newfound fame manifested in many ways, the most obvious being that after three years of schooling, she had never felt such genuine enthusiasm from her classmates.

Even though it was exam week, and everyone was busy as dogs, her kind-hearted classmates still managed to “accidentally” bump into her at various places, greet her warmly, and take precious time out of their schedules to chat with her and ask about her well-being.

While doing so, they also expressed their long-standing admiration for her.

“Siyu, ever since the start of the semester, I’ve thought you were beautiful and approachable. I’ve always wanted to get to know you, but I never had the chance,” said Female Classmate A.

“Ayu, you haven’t been coming to class these past few days, right? Here, let me lend you my book—I’ll mark the key points for you!” added Female Classmate B.

“Ho ho.” Xiang Ge laughed and rolled her eyes.

Wen Siyu: “….”

The two of them sat on the steps outside the back entrance of the school library. The girl wore a short black down jacket, unzipped and left open, leaning casually toward Wen Siyu with a mischievous smirk. She winked flirtatiously: “Miss Wen, are you looking for a girlfriend? The kind that involves monetary transactions?”

“Yes, yes!” Wen Siyu nodded eagerly. “Why wait for another day? Why don’t you come home with me tonight?”

Xiang Ge was shocked: “Keeping a college student at your boyfriend’s place? Miss Wen, are you this bold?”

Wen Siyu waved her hand dismissively: “Invite Gu Yao along, we’ll make it a threesome.”

Xiang Ge: “….”

That afternoon, after the last exam of the semester, Wen Siyu really did drag Xiang Ge and Gu Yao to Jiang Xu’s house.

The three of them arrived laden with ingredients and a box of alcohol, claiming it was to celebrate the arrival of winter break. Wen Siyu pointed to the kitchen and looked at Gu Yao: “Feel free to use whatever you need. Show off your culinary skills!”

Gu Yao: “….”

Xiang Ge watched her flaunt her hostess demeanor and shook her head repeatedly.

Arrogant, so arrogant. Women who go public with their relationships truly are something else.

The three girls threw a little party at Jiang Xu’s place, sprawling lazily across the soft carpet in the living room. Wen Siyu couldn’t hold her liquor well—after a few cans of beer, she was already feeling dizzy. Cradling an unopened Wangwang Snack Pack in her arms, she began counting on her fingers: “You guys have already stripped me bare. Gu Yao is my childhood friend—you all know how boring my life has been.” She paused, raising her head and speaking in a daze: “Classmate Xiang Ge, I’ve always thought you have a lot of stories.”

The person mentioned was still quite sober. She sat on the carpet, leaning against the sofa with her elbow resting on her bent knee, holding a can of beer between her fingers.

Her dark eyes sparkled as she asked: “What kind of story do you want to hear?”

Wen Siyu thought carefully: “Just tell me one I can handle.”

Xiang Ge’s lips curved into a smile: “I don’t have any stories you can’t handle.”

Wen Siyu straightened her tilted head, adopting a serious expression as she gestured toward Xiang Ge: “Classmate Xiang Ge, tell me your story.”

The girl shrugged innocently: “I really don’t have any stories.”

Gu Yao, whose life had been deemed utterly boring by Wen Siyu, tore open a pack of Want-Want Milk Candy and popped it into her mouth: “Why does my little Ge want to be an actress?”

“I didn’t want to be an actress—I just took the exams casually,” Xiang Ge replied. “If I had to say why… maybe it’s because I’m pretty.”

She spoke with utter confidence.

Gu Yao: “….”

Unable to refute her.

At 8:30 PM, Wen Siyu sobered up and emerged, bewildered, from the corner of the living room.

Xiang Ge and Gu Yao were playing chess. Gu Yao glanced at her, her expression tinged with disdain: “Sober now?”

Wen Siyu walked over and saw their middle-aged-and-elderly activity. She wrinkled her nose in distaste: “It’s prime time at 8:30! Is this really what you’re doing?”

“Oh, then what should we do?”

Wen Siyu: “Stream!”

Xiang Ge: “….”

And so, at 8:30 PM, the current girlfriend of the Shadow Emperor, the exposed gaming streamer Si Yu, went live for the first time since her identity was revealed—and brought two friends along. Her fans went wild, and even those who weren’t fans joined in the excitement.

Since her cover had already been blown wide open, Wen Siyu didn’t bother being coy and confidently turned on the camera. Behind her, Xiang Ge and Gu Yao stood watching with great interest as the barrage of comments flooded in.

[Here for the sightseeing tour!]

[WIFE! WIFE! Are you really married?! Tell me this isn’t true!!!]

[LIVING! MOVING LIVING SI YU!!!]

[I heard Ah Xu got married; I came to check it out.]

[Little sis, I love you so much! Ever since you went public, I’ve unfollowed Jiang Xu!]

[Who are the two girls behind you? Who’s the one on the left? HOLY SHIT SHE’S SO PRETTY!]

[Beautiful girls can only be friends with other beautiful girls! WHO IS THE GIRL IN BLACK?! SHE’S GORGEOUS!]

[HOLY SHIT I CAN’T EVEN HANDLE THIS BEING JIANG XU’S ROOM. MY MIND IS BLOWN.]

[The first thing I see is Jiang Xu’s Hello Kitty carpet. My eyes hurt.]

[Didn’t expect you to be like this, Jiang Xu.]

[True aesthetic of a man nearing thirty? HAHAHAHAHA.]

[SHOCK! The real-life Shadow Emperor is actually a cute girl?!]

[BIG DICK CUTIE JIANG XU HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.]

[Upstairs commenter, report to the marketing department tomorrow.]

The little assistant who was recording the livestream for Jiang Xu, far away in another part of China, contemplated whether or not to cut this segment out.

After some thought, he decided to respect the facts and maintain the authenticity of the video. After all, even if he did cut it, there would inevitably be commentary on Weibo later.

Sure enough, that night after Wen Siyu’s livestream ended, many people on Weibo posted screenshots of Jiang Xu’s pink Hello Kitty carpet. For several days, his feed was flooded with posts about the Shadow Emperor’s unexpectedly girly tastes. After scrolling through Weibo, Jiang Xu fell into a deep silence.

He wanted to fly back and kill the culprit.

But the culprit had already started winter break and was sitting cross-legged on Wen Siyuan’s bed, digging into an exorbitantly priced winter watermelon.

On the day Wen Siyu returned home for the holidays, it was Wen Jingyao himself who came to pick her up.

When Wen Siyu saw the person sitting in the car, her expression froze.

She obediently tossed her luggage into the backseat, climbed in, and smiled sweetly with squinted eyes: “Dad.”

Wen Jingyao grunted in acknowledgment and spoke the first words between them after their long separation: “When are you breaking up with that guy Jiang Xu?”

Wen Siyu: “….”

Her lips pursed slightly: “I’m not breaking up with Teacher Jiang.”

Wen Jingyao’s tone remained calm: “He’s practically buried in dirt already.”

“…Why don’t you just say he’ll be 80 next year?” Wen Siyu muttered.

“Is that so?” Wen Jingyao feigned surprise. “Then he’s aging quite well.”

Wen Siyu panicked: “Dad, Jiang Xu is really, really nice!”

“I don’t know if he’s nice or not—I just know his acting is good.”

“He treats me so well! Whatever I want to do, he lets me!”

“A man his age finally finds a girlfriend—wouldn’t he treat her well?”

Wen Siyu protested: “He’s not that old! He’s only seven years older than me!”

“When you weren’t even born yet, he was already at an age where he could flirt with young girls,” Wen Jingyao said dismissively.

Wen Siyu took a deep breath: “Mom likes Jiang Xu a lot too!”

“…”

Wen Jingyao fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand: “We’ll talk about this later.”

Wen Siyu: “???!!”

Was the gap in status between wives and children really this significant?

After returning home and recounting the incident to Wen Siyuan, she received a look of calm indifference from him as if to say, “How have you not gotten used to this after all these years? Haven’t you realized the truth yet?”

“I previously mentioned Madam Xu, and only then did he reluctantly consider Jiang Xu acceptable,” Wen Siyuan explained.

Wen Siyu scooped a spoonful of watermelon and rolled her eyes: “From what he said to me and how he said it, it doesn’t sound like he thinks Jiang Xu is acceptable at all.”

“That’s because he was talking to you,” Wen Siyuan replied, typing rapidly on his phone. “Mr. Wen Jingyao has previously expressed to me that once Jiang Xu finishes filming this movie, he should come over to our house for a visit.”

Wen Siyu: “….”

Wen Siyu: “?!!!”

With a loud “AHHH,” the girl leapt up, her eyes practically glowing as she stared at him: “REALLY?! IS THIS TRUE?!”

Wen Siyuan quickly picked up the watermelon: “Wen Siyu, if you dare jump again and spill this watermelon on my bed, I’ll lock you in the wardrobe today and let you live like Auntie Harry Potter.”

Completely unaffected by his threat, Wen Siyu bounced over and hugged him tightly: “Big Brother is the best!”

Her brother strained to free himself from her embrace, holding the watermelon at arm’s length: “Let go of me! The watermelon! The watermelon!”

Finally releasing him with a delighted grin, Wen Siyu abandoned her watermelon, sat back on the bed, pulled out her phone, and sent Jiang Xu a WeChat message.

[To Mr. Jiang: Hehehehehehehehehehe.]

A moment later, the man sent back a question mark.

Then he asked: [Did you take the carpet away?]

[To Mr. Jiang: No, why would I take it away? I’m not taking it away. Absolutely not. You can’t make me. Why don’t you want to use the carpet I personally laid down for you? Don’t you love me anymore?]

Jiang Xu: “….”

Thinking about the overwhelming flood of Weibo posts tying his name to girly aesthetics, Teacher Jiang sighed in despair.

In the end, he had no choice but to give up.

Meanwhile, Wen Siyu, having learned of Wen Siyuan’s revelation, was ecstatic. Unable to wait for the man’s reply, she directly asked:

[To Mr. Jiang: Around when will you wrap up filming, Teacher Jiang?!]

Jiang Xu calculated for a moment and replied: [Probably early February. My scenes should be finished by then.]

He added: [Why do you ask?]

The man sat lazily on the edge of his bed, wiping his hair with a towel while his phone rested on his lap. Feeling a vibration, he glanced down.

[To Mr. Jiang: Oh, my dad said to come over for dinner after you wrap up. [Smiling face]]

Jiang Xu’s hand slipped, and the towel fell to the ground.

Stunned for three seconds, he suddenly stood up, causing the phone on his lap to fall with a muffled thud onto the carpet. Without bothering to pick it up, he strode over to the wardrobe and opened the doors.

After looking around for a bit, he walked back to the bed, bent down to retrieve his phone, and opened Baidu to search:

—What should I wear when meeting my girlfriend’s parents?