Can You Believe It? I Ran into My Ex on a Dating Variety Show - Chapter 3

“Wow, Shi Yu! Your ex-boyfriend still speaks so boldly. It reminds me of those days and nights dominated by mosaics.”

“3875.” The voice Shi Yu used to communicate with the system could not be heard by outsiders.

The system could sense the threatening undertone in his voice and fell into a timid silence.

He Xingzhi stared intensely at Shi Yu. He spat out his last sentence with a hint of malice, hoping to see a trace of longing, reluctance, or regret on that flawless face.

Unfortunately, there was nothing.

That beautiful face remained consistently expressionless, indifferent, and distant, as if he were facing a stranger whose name he simply happened to know.

This left He Xingzhi with a profound sense of powerlessness. It felt as if he had thrown a heavy punch into a pile of cotton; the other party remained completely unfazed, making him look like an even bigger fool. From beginning to end, he was the only one performing a one-man show of internal chaos.

“Apologies, I forgot. Our relationship is not one where we can greet each other properly upon reuniting.” Shi Yu briskly packed his building blocks and stuffed them into his backpack. He then waited for He Xingzhi to leave.

His eyes were clearly urging the man to go.

No matter how thick-skinned He Xingzhi was, he could not stay and continue making a fool of himself after hearing the other party say, “This is my dressing room.”

With a dark expression, he left. As he walked out, he viciously punched the door panel. The wooden surface developed several faint indentations.

“With that arm strength, it is a pity he does not go carry bricks for a living,” the system remarked.

Shi Yu replied, “Since you are so talkative, should I give you a megaphone?”

“Awoo.”

After boarding the plane, Shi Yu turned off his phone. He took a window seat in the first-class cabin. Once his phone was off, he put on his eye mask and prepared to rest for a while. He even pulled his hat down low, covering most of his face.

Although he was prepared to sleep, he did not actually have a habit of sleeping in public, and he rarely managed to fall asleep on planes. Therefore, he was very aware when the person next to him sat down shortly after he had settled in. From the pressure in the air and the way the seat dipped, he guessed it was a tall, large man.

Shi Yu was not short himself, standing at 182 centimeters, but because he had a smaller frame, he usually wore clothes a size smaller.

The plane took off, and they encountered some turbulence during the flight, causing brief jolts. Shi Yu’s body swayed uncontrollably with the shaking, and his arm brushed against the man sitting next to him multiple times. Since it was summer, both were wearing short sleeves, and their skin made contact several times.

Shi Yu frowned deeply. He was not someone who enjoyed physical contact with others; He Xingzhi had been the sole exception in his life.

The flight attendant’s announcements continued. Suddenly, following a particularly sharp jolt, Shi Yu tumbled directly into the arms of the person sitting next to him. His hat was knocked askew by the impact and fell off his head, revealing a head of soft, messy short hair. Even with the large eye mask on, that handsome and beautiful face could not hide its striking appeal.

He Xingzhi was about to snap at the person in a fit of rage, but as he looked down and met that familiar face, his insults were swallowed back down. Those bright, beautiful red lips were right in front of him; they looked incredibly kissable.

In the past, He Xingzhi loved kissing them most, whether it was tracing the shape of the lips or possessing them roughly, they were soft and addictive. Especially when he kissed too hard, the owner of these lips would whimper and tell him to hurry up, or use watery, reddened eyes to urge him to finish.

He Xingzhi weakly swallowed his saliva. Just as he was about to lean in for a kiss, Shi Yu lifted his eye mask.

Their eyes met.

He Xingzhi was instantly overwhelmed by embarrassment. He violently pushed Shi Yu away and said sarcastically, “How long has it been since you touched a man? Do you pounce on anyone just because they are male?”

Shi Yu swallowed the apology he was about to give and said calmly, “Not that long.”

He Xingzhi: “????”

Only then did He Xingzhi realize what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot. Damn it. He was furious. Since the breakup, he was the only one living like a monk. The thought of someone else seeing the way Shi Yu looked in bed made him want to spit blood.

Unfortunately, he currently had no standing to criticize. Rage rushed to his head, and He Xingzhi said exasperatedly, “You are truly thirsty.”

He wanted to say something even more insulting, but the words reached his lips and he could not bring himself to do it. Ultimately, he was the one being pathetic.

Shi Yu deliberately said, “Yes. If I were not thirsty, I would not have actively pinned you down back then.”

He Xingzhi was both angry and ashamed, his ears turning slightly red. He glared at Shi Yu through gritted teeth. “You! You are truly shameless.”

Shi Yu replied, “Did you not like my shameless side back then?”

He Xingzhi blurted out, “What version of you did I not like?”

Shi Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.

He Xingzhi said fiercely, “I was talking about the past! Do not overthink it. I do not like you at all now. To me, you are nothing, at most, just a slightly familiar stranger.”

Shi Yu lay back down, fastened his seatbelt, and put his eye mask back on. “That is for the best.”

Once those indifferent eyes were covered, He Xingzhi could not help but stare intensely at Shi Yu again. He looked at the tip of his nose, his red lips, his slightly tilted chin, and the delicate collarbone revealed by his crooked collar. He scanned him from head to toe.

It had been three years. Since the breakup, they had not seen each other for three whole years. He was the only one being gnawed away by memories, while the person who proposed the breakup had long since stopped caring.

The more He Xingzhi thought about it, the more wronged he felt, and his eyes began to sting.

“Shi Yu, the kid sitting next to you looks like he is about to cry,” the system said.

Shi Yu reached into his pocket and pulled out a strawberry milk candy. He lifted a corner of his eye mask, revealing one eye, and held the candy out to He Xingzhi. “Want one?”

To make the gesture seem less ambiguous, he peeled a candy for himself and popped it into his mouth, even though he did not actually like sweets.

He Xingzhi stared at Shi Yu for a while, hesitating to take it. Shi Yu only waited a few seconds before making a move to retract his hand. “Forget it if you do not want it.”

He Xingzhi suddenly reached out and snatched it. When his hand inevitably brushed against Shi Yu’s, the person who was touched had no reaction, but He Xingzhi’s own heart began to throb uncontrollably.

He Xingzhi looked at the candy, feeling a bitter-sweet ache in his heart. This was his favorite flavor. Could it be? He knew he should not indulge in wild fantasies, that Shi Yu was just a heartless jerk, but he could not help but feel expectant.

“The candy,” he wanted to ask, “How do you still remember that I like this flavor?”

Before he could finish the question, Shi Yu cut him off. “A kid gave them to me before boarding. They gave me two.” As he spoke, he took the candy out of his mouth, glanced at it with a frown, and said, “Only children like this kind of sticky-sweet flavor.”

He Xingzhi: “…”

Damn it, he was being insulted for being immature again.