After the Straight Male Incubus Became a Heartthrob - Chapter 21

It was the weekend, and the park was crowded. Families of three had picnics on the grass, elementary students played with water guns, and young people went for jogs. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the holiday atmosphere.

Only Ye Lin walked along with a deathly gloom. He kicked pebbles by the roadside from time to time, muttering curses under his breath. He kept checking his phone to see if Gu Jiazhi had called or messaged him.

After waiting for over half an hour with no word from Gu Jiazhi, he saw a friend request from Shen Shao instead. This time, Shen Shao’s request reason was extremely threatening: “You have not forgotten what kind of audio I have on my phone, have you?”

Damn it. He just remembered that this lunatic Shen Shao held leverage over him! The man was incredibly hypocritical, using a throwaway account to add him, clearly planning to scam him and then vanish.

After a moment of hesitation, Ye Lin accepted the request.

[Shen Shao]: Finally willing to agree? I thought you were going to hold out until the end.

[Ye Lin]: What do you want?

[Shen Shao]: You know exactly what.

Shen Shao sent a hotel location along with a room number; his filthy intentions were crystal clear. Thinking of that hateful face made Ye Lin’s skin crawl. He absolutely refused to do such a thing with Shen Shao.

[Ye Lin]: I am busy today. I am with Wenle.

[Shen Shao]: Fine. What about tomorrow?

[Ye Lin]: Still busy. Wenle is very clingy; I cannot get away.

[Shen Shao]: Is that so? I heard you two have been in a cold war lately. Are you lying?

It was true; Liang Wenle had not come to see him recently. This was distressing, as it not only meant losing a large source of income but also gave Shen Shao a chance to intervene.

[Ye Lin]: Not at all. Those are just rumors. I will come find you when I have time.

[Shen Shao]: You had better be quick. I do not have much patience.

Shen Shao sent a short audio clip as a warning. Ever since the last banquet, this guy had stopped pretending altogether! Ye Lin had to find a way to deal with him, or he would surely ruin everything.

Ye Lin began to recall Shen Shao’s character arc, searching for a breakthrough. He remembered that Shen Shao was currently twenty-two. When he turned twenty-three, his family’s fortunes would decline, and the Shen family would fall out of the top-tier wealthy circles, making it difficult for them to rise again.

In the original story, Shen Shao was a minor antagonist with some early-stage power who was quickly humiliated by the protagonist. He was nothing to fear. If there were a way to accelerate the Shen family’s downfall, Shen Shao would not have the energy to mess with him.

The Shen family was obsessed with real estate and had invested massive resources into it, but the market would eventually collapse, leading to their total ruin. If Ye Lin could trick Shen Shao into purchasing more junk assets, it would likely speed up their decline. Ye Lin did not fully understand the complexities of investment, but he remembered the basic logic and optimistically believed he could fool Shen Shao. For now, he pushed that thought aside.

The most important task at hand was to keep the cash cow, Liang Wenle, firmly in his grasp. He had to restore their previous clingy relationship to keep the money flowing and deny Shen Shao any opportunity. Originally, he had sincerely wanted to help Liang Wenle pursue Shen Shao, but after being disgusted by Shen Shao and falling in love with Liang Wenle’s money, he had long since abandoned that intention.

Ye Lin immediately called Liang Wenle. It took three attempts before the call was answered. He guessed that Liang Wenle was angry but that there was still room for maneuver.

“You actually remembered to call me!”

“Wenle, I am sorry. If I did something wrong, you can tell me.”

“I hate you. Get lost!”

Liang Wenle had sent someone to investigate Ye Lin and found that although he had lived a hard life, he did not frequent messy places like bars and had no dating history. He was supposedly clean and pure. Looking at Ye Lin’s detailed profile, Liang Wenle imagined him in tattered clothes, begging on the street with tears in his eyes, looking incredibly pitiful.

Actually, he did not mind Ye Lin anymore, but as Gu Jiazhi had said, he was just playing around and did not truly like Ye Lin. If he took the initiative to be intimate, would it not make him look cheap? So, he intentionally avoided contacting Ye Lin, waiting for the other to come and flatter him. Receiving the call made him happy, but he still wanted to string Ye Lin along.

Beside him, Yuan Yuan heard Ye Lin’s voice over the phone and began to bark.

“Wenle, please do not be like this. Talk to me. I have been thinking about you these past few days. I feel like I am going to die from crying because I cannot see you.”

“Get lost! I never want to see you again!”

Although the call was cut off quickly, Ye Lin could hear Yuan Yuan barking. Liang Wenle was likely at the villa. Answering the phone meant he was still willing to acknowledge him, so if he went there now, it might not be too late.

When facing a boss who gave him money, Ye Lin’s emotional intelligence was quite high. Even if he did not know what he had done wrong, a sincere apology in person should earn him forgiveness. Ye Lin immediately hailed a taxi to the villa, even enduring the pain of spending a large sum of money on snacks and a stuffed toy that Liang Wenle liked.

The villa gates were tightly shut. Through the bars, he could see the lush green grass and the white villa building flanked by expensive flowers. It looked like an oil painting. There were no servants or housekeepers around, but he could vaguely see Liang Wenle’s silhouette in a second-floor window.

Ye Lin had to shout at the top of his lungs, “Wenle! I came to apologize! Please open the door!”

A voice message from Liang Wenle arrived on his phone: “Get lost! I do not want to see you right now. You are so annoying!”

Ye Lin continued to shout, “Do not be like that! I bought your favorite snacks and a toy to apologize. Please forgive me!”

Liang Wenle replied with another voice message: “I just do not want to see you. If you are so capable, then stand there until it gets dark.”

Ye Lin gripped his phone, wanting to scream “idiot.” But he knew Liang Wenle was watching from the second floor to test his attitude. He could not back down now.

“Wenle, these past few days when you would not let me accompany you to school, I have been wondering what I did wrong to make you unhappy. Thinking it over, maybe it is because I am a terrible person, which is why you dislike me. But even though I know I am not good enough, I still want to be with you. You are so wonderful. You are like a flower, and I am the leaf that supports you.”

Liang Wenle was amused by his limited vocabulary. He crouched down to joke about it with Yuan Yuan, but he did not reply to the message. He felt his cousin was right; Ye Lin was simple and clumsy, but he had a unique charm that was very likable. He decided to let him wait a bit longer before going down; he could not make it too easy for him.

The sky gradually darkened as heavy clouds drifted in. A strong wind blew through the grass, and it looked as though it were about to rain. Ye Lin stared at the second floor, still receiving no response. He desperately wanted to leave. But he could not give up now; he had to win over this cash cow!

Soon, rain began to fall, hitting his body with a chill. Before Ye Lin could move, he was soaked through. He shouted toward the second floor, “Wenle, if you do not come out, I will not leave! I will stay here until you are willing to see me!”

After shouting, he was nearly moved to tears by his own dedication. Truly, with this level of perseverance, he would succeed in anything he did. This damn Liang Wenle might be a pampered young master now, but in the future, he would be nothing but a sidekick and a stepping stone for his career!

The more Ye Lin thought about it, the more determined he became. Most billionaires in the world only made their fortunes after enduring hardships. What was a little rain? His health was good anyway. Ye Lin kept giving himself psychological hints, encouraging himself to endure even as he shivered from the cold.

After a long time, Liang Wenle finally came out of the villa with an umbrella, his pace light. Upon opening the gate and seeing Ye Lin’s pale face and trembling body, he quickly held the umbrella over his head and scolded him, “You are so stupid! Could you not find somewhere to hide from the rain?”

Ye Lin grabbed his wrist. “Wenle, you are finally willing to see me.”

Liang Wenle felt the coldness of his palm and quickly swiped it away. “I only came out because I was afraid you would freeze to death and pollute the environment! I was not worried about you!”

Ye Lin smiled helplessly. “It is fine. As long as you are willing to see me, it is enough.”

With that, Ye Lin opened his jacket to reveal the snacks and the toy hidden inside. “Wenle, I kept them covered, so they are not ruined. I know you have many nice things and might not care for these, but they are the best things I could buy, and I still wanted to give them to you.”

His hair was completely wet and plastered to his scalp. He should have looked ugly, but his eyes were so sincere that they were like diamonds in a desert; one could not look away.

Although Liang Wenle had been pampered by his family since childhood, it was always within certain boundaries. They required him to study hard, to be a polite child, and to keep his emotions stable. No one had ever indulged him without limits like Ye Lin did. With Ye Lin, he could lose his temper without reason and scold him however he liked without worrying about hurting his feelings.

Liang Wenle’s breath hitched, and the umbrella nearly fell from his hand. He stared blankly at Ye Lin. Ye Lin was so lowly, yet he offered up a burning, sincere heart for him to trample on without a word of complaint. Could such a person actually exist in real life, as if born only for him?

“Wenle, are you still angry?”

Ye Lin’s arm was getting sore from holding the items up. He cursed Liang Wenle internally for being so difficult to coax, but he maintained a sorrowful expression.

Liang Wenle dropped the umbrella, lowered his head to kiss him, and pulled him into a tight embrace, no longer caring about the rain. Even as the downpour soaked him, he felt no chill. His rapidly beating heart radiated an intense joy that almost consumed him. In this moment, even if Ye Lin were a deep ocean, he would ignore the danger of suffocation and jump in to enjoy the happiness.

“Wenle, let us go inside. It is so cold out here.”

Ye Lin finally found a chance to speak, but Liang Wenle gripped his hand, making it hard to move. After standing in the rain for a long time, Liang Wenle finally let go and laughed, leaning his forehead against Ye Lin’s.

“Ye Lin, you are so funny! I have never seen such a stupid person!”

“Hahaha, as long as you are happy, Wenle. Your heart is my heart. I am most afraid of you being angry or sad; that makes me suffer too.”

“You are so annoying!”

Liang Wenle scolded him, but he was very happy. He dragged Ye Lin into the villa and told him to take a hot bath. Once Ye Lin was in the bathroom, Liang Wenle personally dried the snacks and the toy and placed them prominently on a shelf. He looked at them for a long time and then took a photo to post on his Moments.

His caption: “A gift from a certain idiot. So ugly!”

Many people below asked who the idiot was, and he replied to all of them: “My boyfriend.”

Not long after, Ye Lin’s phone rang. Liang Wenle picked it up and saw it was a call from Gu Jiazhi. A message also popped up.

[Gu Jiazhi]: Answer the phone. Did you run off to find Liang Wenle again?

[Gu Jiazhi]: What exactly do you mean by this?