After Breaking Up, I Married A Top Alpha Movie Star And Fell In Love - Chapter 29

Inside the medical tent temporarily set up by the production crew.

The team doctor was treating a shallow scratch on He Yuchen’s arm.

An iodine-soaked cotton swab slowly wiped across his skin, bringing a slight stinging sensation.

He Yuchen’s brow furrowed slightly. His gaze was locked tightly on Qiu Ye, who stood to the side. His voice was hoarse and carried a tone of entreaty: “Don’t go. Stay and keep me company, alright?”

“Just… just do it for the sake of our past feelings.”

Qiu Ye stepped a few paces closer, looking expressionlessly at the doctor disinfecting the wound on He Yuchen’s arm, but he did not respond.

Thinking that his “selling misery” tactic was working, He Yuchen steeled his heart. He lowered his eyelashes, his tone becoming dejected and fragile: “I know I was a bastard before.”

“…But I… I’m sick.” He Yuchen paused, appearing as if the words were difficult to voice.

Qiu Ye’s eyelashes flickered, and his lips pressed into a straight line.

“It’s Pheromone Disorder. It’s very serious. The doctor said… said it might never get better in this lifetime. I’ll need to rely on medication long-term.”

Qiu Ye sat down, still remaining silent.

He Yuchen looked up, trying his best to make his gaze appear both sincere and pained: “I don’t know why I was so muddled back then, but in my heart, from beginning to end, there has only ever been you!”

After the team doctor finished bandaging the wound, he lifted the tent flap and hurried out.

“Qiu Ye, seeing how miserable I am now, give me another chance. I can’t be without you…”

Outside the tent, Lu Mingchuan walked over quickly. He trusted that Qiu Ye could handle it, but he felt a faint, lingering unease.

How did that arrow happen to be blocked by He Yuchen so perfectly?

Through a corner of the lifted tent curtain, he saw Qiu Ye sitting beside He Yuchen.

He Yuchen was gazing at Qiu Ye with a look that bordered on begging. The distance between the two was close enough to be an eyesore.

Lu Mingchuan’s footsteps halted. His deep grey eyes darkened instantly, and the surrounding air pressure dropped silently.

He pursed his lips tightly and did not take another step forward.

Just then, Liu Mian appeared out of nowhere and quickly noticed Lu Mingchuan’s displeased expression.

Liu Mian’s eyes darted around, and he spoke softly: “Teacher Lu, don’t mind it too much.”

“After all, they have so many years of history between them; it’s not something that can be broken just because they say so. Look, as soon as Young Master He got injured, didn’t Mr. Qiu stay behind to take care of him out of heartache?”

“Feelings like these can’t be hidden. At critical moments, they always come rushing out.”

Lu Mingchuan did not speak; he merely clenched his fists.

He hated the idea of anyone other than himself being by Qiu Ye’s side.

Once the seed of jealousy was planted, it spread like a floodgate being opened.

Inside the tent.

He Yuchen’s eyes grew moist, a mix of true and false emotion. He reached out, attempting to grab Qiu Ye’s wrist.

Qiu Ye dodged to the side and spoke in a heavy voice: “What exactly do you want to do?”

He Yuchen was now at his wit’s end and could only stake everything on one throw. If Qiu Ye still didn’t soften his heart, what would he do?

“Can we reconcile? Just like at the very beginning—I liked you, and you liked me.”

Qiu Ye looked at the bandage on He Yuchen’s arm. For a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything too harsh.

Did He Yuchen like him?

Probably not very much, but there was likely some sentiment there.

“I used to think that just a little bit of liking was enough,” Qiu Ye said. “But now, I want someone who is wholehearted and gives their all.”

He Yuchen clutched his aching wound and promised loudly: “For you, I can do it.”

Qiu Ye shook his head. Looking into He Yuchen’s eyes, he delivered a calm verdict: “You can’t do it.”

“And even if you could, I don’t want it anymore.”

Having finished, Qiu Ye ignored He Yuchen’s pleas and walked straight out of the tent.

Lu Mingchuan was standing not far away, looking up at him. His eyes were churning with emotions that were hard to decipher.

For some reason, Qiu Ye felt a bit guilty. He tilted his head slightly and said, “I just said a few words to him.”

Lu Mingchuan did not look happy.

“Really, just a few words.”

Qiu Ye felt he should coax the other man, but he was so clumsy he didn’t know how.

The sun set in the west, dyeing the clouds at the horizon a warm orange-red.

The production crew had arranged a new experience project: helping the local herdsmen catch sheep and shear wool.

A dozen or so plump sheep were strolling leisurely inside the fenced area, looking very docile.

This matched the image of sheep in Qiu Ye’s mind—always quietly eating grass and letting people pet them.

Standing by the fence, Qiu Ye looked at the fluffy balls of wool and said softly to Lu Mingchuan beside him: “They look very well-behaved.”

Lu Mingchuan’s gaze was fixed toward the medical tent. He gave a distracted “Mm,” his fingers unconsciously twirling a stalk of grass.

An Yilun rolled up his sleeves, full of confidence: “Here I come, little lambs!”

A moment later, An Yilun stumbled, having lunged at nothing. “How did it run away?!”

Qiu Ye walked into the enclosure. As soon as he got close to a sheep, it kicked its back legs, nimbly darted away, and even turned back to snort at him.

Qiu Ye and An Yilun exchanged a look, realizing that things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

Just then, a stray lamb wandered near Qiu Ye.

Learning from the herdsmen, Qiu Ye slowed his pace and approached cautiously, reaching out his hand to stroke its back.

In the next second, as if triggered by something, the lamb suddenly leaped straight up from its spot!

With all four hooves off the ground, a giant, bouncy, fluffy mass launched upward, reaching a height almost level with Qiu Ye’s face!

Startled by this sudden “flying lamb,” Qiu Ye’s pupils shrunk. He let out a cry and instinctively jumped back half a step.

“Ah!”

This move, in turn, startled An Yilun beside him.

“Aah—”

The sheep discovered two humans they could toy with. Several sheep began to “fly” back and forth incessantly.

“Don’t! Ah—”

The post-production team added captions to the shots of the two screaming and intentionally enlarged their terrified expressions. The entire scene was full of “variety show” humor.

[Wait, why didn’t anyone say these sheep could fly before we started? Who wouldn’t be stunned…]

[The naughty sheep are chasing these two and teasing them, haha. This is too funny~]

[Why isn’t He Yuchen in this segment? There was very little footage of him during the archery part too.]

[I’m watching this clip on loop. Qiu Ye’s expression is incredibly cute. Lu Mingchuan, come quickly and help your bunny-wife catch the sheep!]

Qiu Ye composed himself and finally spotted a sheep that looked a bit dazed.

He seized the opportunity. While the sheep was bowing its head to graze, he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around it and dragging it backward.

Qiu Ye was practically hanging onto the sheep’s back, being dragged several steps before he managed to hold on: “I… I caught it!”

Lu Mingchuan stepped in to secure the sheep’s neck. Controlling his strength, he straddled the sheep and took the shears.

His eyes were focused on the sheep. With a swift movement, the blades moved, and the wool fell away in clumps—his actions were fast, accurate, and ruthless.

A large patch of wool fell away neatly, revealing the pink, soft skin underneath.

Zhou You was the first to notice the atmosphere between the two wasn’t quite right. He clicked his tongue. “The way Xiao Lu is shearing that wool… it looks like it’s laced with killing intent.”

“Look, that little sheep is so scared it doesn’t dare move.”

“Hey, did you guys have a fight?” An Yilun pulled Qiu Ye toward him and Xin Ye, asking in a low voice away from the cameras.

Qiu Ye shook his head.

An Yilun had a sudden realization and whispered a reminder: “I get it. It looks like someone is jealous.”

Qiu Ye froze and looked toward Lu Mingchuan.

The sunset was burning behind him.

Lu Mingchuan held the large shears. Although his movements looked fierce, he didn’t hurt the animal. He quickly began shearing the next sheep.

He felt that he was becoming more and more greedy. He wanted more than just to have Qiu Ye by his side.

The prairie night was hazy, and the camp lights were sparse.

Qiu Ye walked alone toward the small shop lit with a warm yellow glow. On the bottom shelf, he found a box of sparklers.

“Excuse me, can I buy these?”

The shopkeeper was a cheerful man. He smiled as he took the sparklers from the cabinet. “You certainly can!”

“These have been sitting here for a long time. Young people these days don’t really care for them anymore.”

Qiu Ye paid and walked back to the camp holding the box.

From a distance, he saw Lu Mingchuan sitting alone on a far-off grassy slope. He sat down beside him and handed the box over: “Here.”

Lu Mingchuan glanced sideways but didn’t take it. His voice was deep and muffled: “What is it?”

Qiu Ye opened the packaging, pulled out a long, thin sparkler, and lit it with a lighter.

Sizzle—

The orange-red flame ignited the sparkler.

In the next second, dazzling golden sparks erupted, carving bright and fleeting arcs of light into the ink-like night, illuminating their tiny world.

He took this burning, warm little star and pressed it into Lu Mingchuan’s slightly cool palm.

Qiu Ye watched the dancing firelight flicker in those deep grey eyes. His voice was very soft: “I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

Lu Mingchuan was stunned. He instinctively gripped the thin iron rod.

A slight vibration was felt in his palm, and the scorching sparks lit up the early spring night, which was just beginning to warm.

Qiu Ye then lit another one, holding it in his hand and waving it gently, drawing ephemeral circles of light.

“He Yuchen’s wound… the doctor handled it very well. He didn’t need me to stay and take care of him.”

Qiu Ye paused. He himself didn’t know why he felt the need to explain this to Lu Mingchuan.

“Between him and me, it ended a long time ago.”

“Whether it’s now or in the future, there won’t be anything else.”

Realizing that Qiu Ye was coaxing him, the corners of Lu Mingchuan’s lips quirked up, and the gloom in his eyes slowly dissipated.

He watched the sparkler in his hand burn, turning from the most brilliant gold to a gentle orange-red.

Finally, the sparks grew weak until they were completely extinguished.

“Qiu Ye, you’re trying to coax me with just this?”

“Mm,” Qiu Ye answered softly.

“Does this count as having coaxed you successfully?” Qiu Ye reached up to push his glasses. He looked even more dazed than the sheep he had caught.

Lu Mingchuan couldn’t help but chuckle. He pulled the person closer to him until their shoulders were pressed tightly together, allowing them to exchange body heat.

“It doesn’t count.”

Qiu Ye felt a bit dejected. After thinking about it very seriously, he replied: “Then I will keep trying harder.”

On Weibo, several entertainment gossip accounts with millions of followers simultaneously posted a video.

In the video, He Yuchen threw himself forward recklessly to block the arrow for Qiu Ye. There was even a close-up highlighting his bleeding arm, set to a “tragic love” background music. The atmosphere was dialed to the maximum.

The titles were each more exaggerated than the last:

SHOCK! Huanhe CEO risks his life to protect an old flame; years of deep affection never regretted!

EXCLUSIVE: He Yuchen and Qiu Ye are more than just ex-boss and subordinate; “Crematorium” trope comes to life!

Various water armies (paid posters) began to drive the narrative, and the heat of related hashtags continued to climb.

[Wangchuan Qiu Shui is definitely a script. They’re just a contract couple on a variety show to make money. A bunch of idiots are shipping them so hard!]

[OMG! Using his body to block an arrow! How much love does it take to jump out instinctively like that!]

[No wonder it felt like He Yuchen was annoyed by Lu Mingchuan. Whatever, I’m just passing by and shipping it…]

[Gosh! I feel so bad for Liu Mian now. Who knew Qiu Ye was so calculating?]

Liu Mian turned off his phone and looked at He Yuchen sleeping beside him, a smile touching the corner of his mouth.

“When the time comes to dump Young Master He legitimately, I can sell the ‘independent Omega’ persona again.”