Found Him! My 'Glass-Hearted' Ex is a Pop-Up Star - Chapter 19

Night had fallen, and the old alleyway was narrow and cramped.

Wu Tao’s ears were ringing from the beating. Gripping the muddy ground, he struggled to prop himself up. “Darn it! What kind of lunatic are you? Who the heck is your partner!”

Duan Zhuyan tilted his head slightly. His left hand seized Wu Tao’s collar, hoisting him directly off the ground before delivering several more punches. The entire process was devoid of extra noise, save for the light scrape of shoe soles over crushed gravel.

Wu Tao was in too much pain to make a sound. He felt as though he was about to vomit the alcohol he had consumed.

“My goodness! How can you just hit people like this!” Wu Tao shouted, his words slurred as he saw stars. “I am going to report this to the police! This is intentional assault!”

“Take a guess as to why I did not call the police to arrest you first,” Duan Zhuyan let out a cold snort. He slapped Wu Tao’s face to wake him up. “Because the British police are useless, you idiot.”

Wu Tao was speechless.

The beating had sobered Wu Tao up. Hearing those words, it was as if he suddenly remembered something. He lifted his head with difficulty, and his blurry eyes finally regained some clarity. When he saw the person in front of him, he froze in shock.

Duan Zhuyan brushed the dust off his clothes. His bangs were scattered, and the lines of his face looked cold and hard in the shadows. The man’s expression was incredibly arrogant and indifferent. The corners of his mouth pressed downward as he let go of the man he was holding and fished a cigarette pack out of his pocket.

As soon as he let go, Wu Tao slid back down against the wall.

Duan Zhuyan bit down on a cigarette and lowered his head to shield the flame as he lit it. He checked his phone casually.

Song Chengxu: I found him. The person who sent your wife to the hospital was just a kindhearted passerby, but I asked around to find out where he was picked up from and checked the surveillance footage.

Song Chengxu: Hey, Old Duan, guess who I finally tracked down?

Song Chengxu: It is Wu Tao from the Zongyu Group. He is a regular PDF in the UK district!

Duan Zhuyan’s brows furrowed tightly. Seeing Wu Tao trying to crawl up from the ground, he stepped on him and pushed him back down.

Wu Tao screamed in pain. Just as he was about to curse, Duan Zhuyan threw a picture at him. “Do you remember this?”

Wu Tao stared at the image for two seconds. “Wait, this place.”

“Ah, so you remember,” Duan Zhuyan slowly lifted his eyelids. “Was the hookup worth it?”

Cold sweat began to pour down Wu Tao’s face. What? Duan Zhuyan was the boyfriend of that boy from that day?

A few days ago, Wu Tao had gone out for a hookup, only for his partner to check up on him. He had rushed to the balcony to answer a call and accidentally knocked a plastic flower pot off the first floor, hitting a passerby. He had been in a foul mood at the time and simply shouted, “Are you blind?”

A moment later, that person actually fainted. Wu Tao was afraid his location would be discovered and his infidelity exposed, so he ignored it and ran away. He never expected that person to be related to Duan Zhuyan.

“I, I, I did not do it on purpose!” Wu Tao’s voice had clearly lost its momentum, but he still shouted guiltily, “It was an accident! Who told him to be right under the balcony! It was not my fault! It is his own fault for being there!”

Before he could finish, Duan Zhuyan silenced him with a punch.

“Do you want to die?” The darkness in Duan Zhuyan’s pupils was deep. His knuckles were clenched, and veins bulged on the back of his hand.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His jaw was set tight, and the force of his blows grew heavier. His voice sounded like it was being ground out from deep within his throat, hard and clipped. He growled, “Even you can remember it.”

After finishing the beating, Duan Zhuyan still felt frustrated. The anger had not fully dissipated. He seemed to recall something and slowly crouched down. “You know who I am, right?”

How could Wu Tao not recognize this wealthy young master?

Duan Zhuyan took a pen from his pocket, bit off the cap, and grabbed Wu Tao’s collar to write a string of letters and numbers on it.

“One million pounds. Transfer it to this account.”

“One million pounds!” Wu Tao gasped. “You are robbing me!”

“As if you lack this bit of money? If I sued you, this would not even be enough for your lawyer fees,” Duan Zhuyan said coldly. “If you do not want to give it, that is fine. I will just tell Chairman Wu about your mess and those PDFs.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Wu Tao hurriedly stopped him. His father had already warned him that if he kept messing around, he would truly be sent back home. “Fine, one million pounds it is. But my card is frozen right now, and I cannot give it to you immediately.”

“That is your problem,” Duan Zhuyan said.

Wu Tao did not understand. Why would someone as rich as Duan Zhuyan want money? “Darn, is your card frozen too? I cannot believe you actually want money.”

Duan Zhuyan gave him a look as if he were a moron. “You pissed me off this much. I need to make my wife happy somehow.”

Wu Tao was speechless.

The thought of Ying Ruo, and the fact that he had lost his memory and broken up with him because of such a stupid incident caused by such a loser, made Duan Zhuyan’s anger flare up again. He looked at Wu Tao’s sickly face and wanted to hit him again. In the end, he beat the man until he was completely sober, and Wu Tao fled in terror.

The rain had stopped completely.

Duan Zhuyan held a cigarette between his lips and flicked his lighter. The light illuminated his lowered brows for a moment before fading into darkness. The more he thought about it, the more insane it seemed. To think the memory loss was caused by such a simple and ridiculous reason.

Still, it was for the best. It was not a complicated situation, and it was good that Ying Ruo was not involved in anything messy. To be honest, when Duan Zhuyan saw the PDFs Song Chengxu sent him regarding Wu Tao, he was almost ready to grab a knife. Fortunately, it was just a coincidence.

Fortunately.

But looking at that surveillance footage, Ying Ruo was clearly holding his phone and messaging him at the time. What did he want to say? Why did he send those words? Why did he want to break up?

The smoke drifted down. Duan Zhuyan leaned against the wall. He did not smoke much, just letting it burn on its own. The sparks flickered, and the smoke veiled his expressionless face, making his features look both clear and distant.

At that moment, his phone vibrated. Duan Zhuyan took it out and was slightly taken aback. It was a message from Ying Ruo.

Ying Ruo: Oh my god! The heating in my house is actually fixed! Ying Ruo: It is so warm! Ying Ruo: [Spinning around.jpg] Ying Ruo: [Photo]

Duan Zhuyan clicked on the photo. It showed Ying Ruo’s small white hand pointing at the radiator. He had accidentally caught the nearby mirror in the shot. Duan Zhuyan zoomed in and saw the person in the mirror looked as if he had just finished bathing. His hair was fluffy, and he was wearing pajamas, standing there quite seriously pointing at the radiator.

Duan Zhuyan thought he was incredibly cute. His tightened jaw relaxed slightly, and his expression softened. The corners of his mouth could not help but curve upward. Duan Zhuyan zoomed in and out, looking at it carefully for a long time, before saving the photo.

Then, he saw his own unfamiliar, smiling face in the reflection of the phone screen.

Duan Zhuyan was speechless.

Darn it.

Duan Zhuyan only then realized he was smiling, and such a “disgusting” smile at that. He immediately turned his face away and covered the lower half of his face with the back of his hand. He put the phone down and waited a long while for his mouth to return to a straight line. But a lingering pink heat remained on his ears.

Duan Zhuyan put on a stern face again, acting as if he did not care.

Duan: Oh. Duan: How does it compare to my house?

The reply came quickly.

Ying Ruo: It definitely cannot compare. Ying Ruo: Your house is big and clean. Ying Ruo: And the owner is so good at decorating and tidying up. It really feels like a home.

Duan Zhuyan stared blankly at the word “owner.” His heart rate involuntarily quickened, and his body felt a bit hot. He could not take it anymore. His head was filled with impure thoughts.

Duan Zhuyan’s Adam’s apple rolled slowly. With a slight flush on his face, he looked at the message Ying Ruo sent him. He must still like me, right? He still cares about me, right? Why else would he send such a cute message and such a cute photo?

Duan Zhuyan pressed his lips together tightly. He lowered his head to scratch his hair and stared at the screen for a long time before typing.

Duan: Ying Ruo. Ying Ruo: Hmm? Duan: If you care about someone, you should be proactive. First, you have to let them know. Duan: Do you understand?

Ying Ruo was crouching in front of the radiator to keep warm. Seeing such a message from Duan Zhuyan left him a bit confused. “What is wrong with him now?”

Ying Ruo did not really understand, but he was respectful. So he replied.

Ying Ruo: I understand.

Two days later.

Duan Zhuyan was staring so hard he almost burned a hole through his phone.

The laboratory was extremely quiet. There had been many experiments lately, and everyone was busy with their own work. More importantly, no one dared to disturb Duan Zhuyan.

Liu Jing had originally wanted to ask him if any professor’s lab still had openings because he wanted to submit his CV. But when he saw Duan Zhuyan’s gloomy face, looking as if he were about to explode at any second, he quickly turned and ran.

Duan Zhuyan’s eyelashes were lowered, and he radiated a hostile aura as he stared at the chat interface with Ying Ruo. Two days. Exactly two days, nine hours, and fifty-four minutes. Ying Ruo had not sent him a single proactive message.

It had been so long. Why had this guy not taken any action? He even said he “understood.” He did not understand a thing!

Duan Zhuyan could not hold back any longer. He picked up his phone and sent a fierce message.

Duan: Hey. Duan: Did you actually understand what I said?

The reply came ten minutes later.

Ying Ruo: Sorry, I have been a bit busy lately. Ying Ruo: QAQ Ying Ruo: You talk a lot every day. Ying Ruo: Which thing were you referring to?

Duan Zhuyan was speechless. He was going to die of anger. What “every day”? They clearly had not spoken for two days.

Ying Ruo: How about, how about we have dinner together in a while? Ying Ruo: Let me see. I do not have much free time lately. I have group discussions today and tomorrow. I also have classes. I have to submit an essay the day after tomorrow. And the day after that, I have a presentation. Ying Ruo: How about the day after the day after the day after the day after tomorrow?

Duan Zhuyan was at a loss for words. Looking at this schedule, he thought, What the heck? Would it kill you to have a meal in between? He bit his lip and sent an annoyed message.

Duan: I am not eating! Duan: Eat with whoever you want.

After sending it, Duan Zhuyan slammed his phone onto the table. He stood up irritably, wanting nothing more to do with him. The phone vibrated again. Duan Zhuyan shot it a glance but did not want to deal with it. Then it vibrated again.

Duan Zhuyan eventually gave in and picked up the phone.

Song Chengxu: Old Duan, look how pretty my girlfriend is! Song Chengxu: She is so clingy. She wants to see me every day. Hehe!

Duan Zhuyan: (▽皿▽##)

Without a second thought, he blocked and deleted him.

Duan Zhuyan threw his phone aside. Fine. Playing hard to get, are we? This is so annoying. We are broken up. Why do I care so much about my ex-boyfriend?

Duan Zhuyan clicked his tongue and typed out word by word.

Duan: Fine. Good. Duan: Then make sure you do not let me see you for the next few days.

That evening, at a Western restaurant.

Ying Ruo was speechless. Duan Zhuyan was also speechless.

The two of them sat opposite each other at the same table, staring at each other. Ying Ruo felt incredibly guilty. His lips were pink and moist, and his round eyes were bright. He stole glances at the man sitting across from him, but quickly looked away when their eyes met, pretending he did not know him.

The restaurant lighting was very dim, with candles on the table. Duan Zhuyan’s stern face was cast in shadows by the flickering candlelight. He was wearing a shirt and tie, his powerful muscles restrained within the fabric. He looked cold and aloof.

In reality, he was almost grinding his molars to dust. His restrained, cold gaze traveled along Ying Ruo’s face, slowly moving down to the pale, pink-tinged skin exposed at his collar.

Ha.

Duan Zhuyan displeasedly pushed his tongue against his cheek.

Did you not say you were not free?