Found Him! My 'Glass-Hearted' Ex is a Pop-Up Star - Chapter 27

Ying Ruo rubbed his eyes.

He stared at the pop-up advertisement for a long time and repeatedly compared it with the face of the man sitting across from him. He discovered with astonishment that his eyes had not deceived him. It was, without a shadow of a doubt, Duan Zhuyan’s face.

Not only that, but this adult pop-up advertisement actually cycled through different images. It was even an animated graphic. The version of Duan Zhuyan who was originally lying down now sat upright. His expression was incredibly flirtatious, and his chest was draped with several silver chains that spread outward from the center. He wore a collar around his neck and was performing suggestive thrusting motions.

The accompanying text even had a Chinese version in a riot of gaudy, dancing colors. Pulsating along with the rhythm of those abdominal muscles, the words “Gay Paradise: The World’s Best Uncensored Platform” were clearly and prominently displayed. Beside Duan Zhuyan’s face was a Fan Club name tag. Aside from some aggressive foreign text he could not understand, the only recognizable Chinese characters were far too impactful: “I am very well-endowed.”

Ying Ruo was speechless.

The phone on the table rang incessantly as the WeChat chat box continued to spit out messages without pause. This built man, who had no idea his face was being sold, was still frantically typing away.

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Is it because I am wearing glasses?]

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: You really like this style! That is why you let that nerd touch your arm the other day!]

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Your taste has gotten worse and worse since we broke up!]

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: You will not even accept the money I transferred to you.]

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: For the record, I only told you to buy some supplements because I was afraid you would starve yourself to death while studying all day. It is not because I am worried about your stomach or afraid you will get sick.]

The more Ying Ruo read these messages, the more confused he became. He had no idea how to explain the situation he was currently facing, and Duan Zhuyan was not giving him a chance to speak at all. The messages were coming in thick and fast. He simply had no way to intervene.

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Why are you not replying?]

It was not that Ying Ruo did not want to reply. He finally saw an opening and was about to organize his thoughts to respond, but the other party beat him to it again.

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: If you like glasses, I will wear them from now on, okay?]

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: If you will not take the money, fine. I will cook for you.]

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Or you can come to my place. The password has always been your birthday.]

Ying Ruo wondered what was wrong with him now.

Ying Ruo frowned in distress, his soft cheeks puffing out. The pop-up advertisement was still dancing before his eyes. He could not help but look around at the reactions of the people nearby, but everyone seemed buried in their studies. There appeared to be no unusual commotion.

Ying Ruo glanced at the face in the advertisement again. This time, the image switched back to the version of Duan Zhuyan lying down, only instead of the abs, it was the pectoral muscles that were twitching. He wondered if he was the only one who could see this.

As luck would have it, Pei Yuan sat down right across from him at that moment.

“Have you seen the tutor’s feedback?” Pei Yuan still wore his dull glasses and plaid shirt. He opened his laptop, his tone as devoid of emotion as a robot’s. “Our mock trial scores were quite good. You just need to sign this document.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ying Ruo whispered in a low voice. “Hey, if you open your browser right now, do you see anything?”

Pei Yuan complied without understanding. After looking for a moment, he asked, “See what?”

Ying Ruo closed the window and opened it again. The pop-up advertisement was stuck to his browser like glue, yet it did not appear on anyone else’s computer.

Good heavens. Had his computer caught a virus? But that was not right either; the person in the advertisement was clearly Duan Zhuyan. This was a violation of portrait rights, was it not?

However, once Pei Yuan sat down, the phone on the table vibrated even more violently. Messages crackled like fireworks.

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Hey. Why is that nerd back again? Is he blind? With so many empty seats, he chooses to sit right across from you. What are you saying to him? Is the group project not over? What else is there to talk about? Why are you leaning so close? Are the glasses on his face better-looking than mine? Are you blind too?]

The frequency was becoming too much. Ying Ruo hurriedly covered the incessantly vibrating phone. He caught a quick glimpse of the chat box. Duan Zhuyan had already started spamming emojis.

Pei Yuan adjusted his glasses and said, “What is wrong? Your face looks a little red.”

Upon hearing this, Ying Ruo immediately reached up to cover his face. Sure enough, his cheeks were warm and tinged with a delicate pink. His soft lips were pressed tightly together, and his ears felt hot.

The scale of this adult advertisement was quite large, and he felt embarrassed watching it. Ying Ruo coughed to compose himself and said, “No, it is nothing.”

Because the phone was vibrating too frequently, he turned on Do Not Disturb, but the WeChat messages on his laptop continued to fly across his vision.

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Why are you blushing? Who told you to act so cute in front of that nerd?]

Ying Ruo truly did not know what to say. He was being completely misunderstood.

“You seem quite busy.” Pei Yuan noticed Ying Ruo kept staring at the computer. “How about you sign this first? I have other things to do later.”

“Oh, okay.” Ying Ruo took the document, signed it, and thanked him for his hard work.

“It is nothing.” Pei Yuan took the document back, paused for a few seconds, then pulled a bottle of a drink from his bag. “Here, have this.”

For some reason, Ying Ruo felt a sense of guilt, as if he were being watched. Indeed, he felt like two versions of Duan Zhuyan were staring at him. The one on the computer looked provocative, yet his face was clear. Those eyes stared straight at Ying Ruo, adding a sense of competition to the eroticism. As for the real one in the distance, it felt like he was about to come running over any second.

“No, thank you,” Ying Ruo hurriedly pushed the drink back. He instinctively glanced at the real-life version of Duan Zhuyan behind him and said, “Thank you, but since I have already clearly rejected you, please do not do this anymore. I will not take the drink.”

He looked at the naked man on the computer, wiped away some sweat, and said, “I seem to have more important things to confirm right now.”

Pei Yuan remained silent for a while before saying, “Fine, I understand.”

However, he did not take the drink back. Instead, he stuffed it into Ying Ruo’s hand and said, “I have already bought it, so just take it.” With that, he packed up his things. He glanced at Ying Ruo, then looked back at Duan Zhuyan. “I will not bother you two anymore.”

Ying Ruo held the bottle, feeling a bit dazed by those words. Meanwhile, Duan Zhuyan was about to explode with rage. He wondered why that nerd gave Ying Ruo a cheap drink and if that final look was a provocation. He grabbed his phone and typed:

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Answer me. Do not play hard to get with me. I do not fall for that.]

But Ying Ruo still did not reply. Seeing from a distance that he had even accepted the drink, Duan Zhuyan suddenly felt a bit aggrieved. He wondered if the nerd had actually confessed and if Ying Ruo had accepted.

When Ying Ruo looked at the WeChat interface again, the messages had reached a state of utter confusion.

[University BMS Duan Zhuyan: Acknowledge me. Baby, I know you still love me. Were you looking at me just now because you wanted to make up? I miss you too, baby. I am more important than the law books in your hand, right?]

Ying Ruo did not know where to start explaining. He took a photo of the pop-up advertisement on his screen and sent it over.

[Ying Ruo: (Image of the advertisement)] [Ying Ruo: I just wanted to confirm if your portrait rights have been infringed upon.]

Suddenly, the world went quiet. As soon as that message was sent, the other side stopped talking.

Seeing this, Ying Ruo looked up. He saw Duan Zhuyan in the corner, clutching his phone tightly. His head was bowed low, his ears were burning hot, and his shoulders were trembling slightly. His face was completely hidden.

Ying Ruo turned back to re-examine the face in the advertisement. He zoomed in and realized the clarity of the face was lower than that of the body. It was clearly an AI composite. Furthermore, the physique in the image was not as good as Duan Zhuyan’s own. Duan Zhuyan’s skin was fairer, his arms were thicker, and the shape of his abs was better in reality. Additionally, the editor had forgotten his iconic earrings.

A sudden sound made Ying Ruo jolt. A bottle of expensive apple juice suddenly appeared before him, pushing Pei Yuan’s drink aside. Holding the bottle was a large hand with distinct knuckles. The joints were white and the veins on the back of the hand were bulging as if he were about to crush the bottle.

Ying Ruo timidly raised his eyes and immediately met Duan Zhuyan’s gaze. The man’s expression was cold and displeased, tinged with embarrassment. He let out a heavy breath and spoke in a low voice, “You, come outside with me.”

After speaking, Duan Zhuyan walked out. Ying Ruo grabbed his phone and laptop and followed him. The man had a long stride. Ying Ruo was following behind while lost in thought, and when the person in front stopped, he accidentally bumped into the man’s back.

His head hurt a bit from the impact. Before he could even cover it, Duan Zhuyan lifted his chin, pinching his cheek to check for a bruise. After finding everything was fine, he let go of Ying Ruo and continued to stare at him with a stern face. Duan Zhuyan folded his arms and asked sullenly, “What did that guy in glasses want with you just now?”

Ying Ruo blinked. He thought Duan Zhuyan would ask about the advertisement, so he was surprised he brought up Pei Yuan again. This attitude was completely different from the person who was calling him “baby” just a moment ago.

“Oh, Pei Yuan came to ask me to sign for the mock trial. He confessed to me before, and I…”

“What?” Before he could finish, Duan Zhuyan took a step forward. “That madman confessed to you? He actually dared to do that. When did this happen? Did you actually agree? Does he have no common sense? Does he not know you have an ex-boyfriend?”

Ying Ruo was silenced by the face that had suddenly moved close to his. Duan Zhuyan’s handsome face was flushed, but his gaze was urgent and fierce. Ying Ruo instinctively raised his hand in a rebuffing gesture and finished his sentence. “I rejected him.”

Duan Zhuyan’s anger subsided a little. Seeing this, Ying Ruo continued, “How could I have agreed? I have only known him for a few days. On the other hand, when did you change your style? I actually prefer your old style. It suits you better.”

Duan Zhuyan froze. After a few seconds, he pretended as if nothing had happened. He took off the glasses, removed the plaid shirt, and smoothed back his hair to reveal his earrings. He feigned composure and said in a small voice, “I was just trying out a different look occasionally.”

Ying Ruo truly thought this person was very interesting and could not help but laugh.

“Did you see the photo I sent you?” Ying Ruo asked.

Duan Zhuyan took a deep breath. Knowing that Ying Ruo had rejected the nerd made him feel much better. He leaned down to look at Ying Ruo’s phone and asked, “Where did this come from?”

“This pop-up advertisement just appeared in my browser,” Ying Ruo said. “This face is yours, right?”

Duan Zhuyan glanced at it. The vulgar English surrounding the image made him feel disgusted. “Who made this?”

“These images are AI-generated,” Ying Ruo said. “Check your browser to see if you can see this. It seems like only I have seen it so far. It is definitely a violation of your portrait rights. In the United Kingdom, I feel this is more akin to civil torts like defamation or misuse of private information.”

Ying Ruo looked at the advertisement thoughtfully. “We do not know the extent of the distribution or who the infringer is. Do you want to take legal action?”

Duan Zhuyan gazed deeply at Ying Ruo’s face, thinking he looked very attractive when analyzing things seriously.

“I just checked, and the police in England have a specialized cybercrime unit. If we provide evidence, they should handle it,” Ying Ruo said. “But regardless, I think it is best to first report the platform to have the advertisement removed.”

Ying Ruo paused. He did not know how to report to such a platform. He was an innocent boy and was completely unfamiliar with these adult websites.

At that moment, he heard Duan Zhuyan say, “Just click it directly. The link will redirect.”

Ying Ruo clicked on the advertisement. In the next second, the webpage redirected to an interface full of explicit content. He was greeted by the sight of two men entangled with each other. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and their actions were incredibly steamy.

Ying Ruo’s eyes widened suddenly, and he slammed his laptop shut. His lips parted in a daze. He had never experienced such a shock before. His cheeks instantly flushed a deep red.

“Wait, how am I supposed to find it?” He was incoherent.

“Click the three bars on the side, scroll down, and select Get In Touch. There should be an email address there,” Duan Zhuyan said.

Ying Ruo’s heart was pounding. He catching sight of the naked version of Duan Zhuyan on his phone again and felt flustered. “Heavens, why would a site like this use your face? Did they steal photos from your social media?”

Then he realized something was off. “Wait a minute, how do you know where the contact information is? Have you used this website before?”

Duan Zhuyan went silent. His jawline tensed, and the studs on his ears glinted. He turned his face away and spoke in a low voice. “I have.”

Ying Ruo was shocked. Duan Zhuyan had actually used this website. A dozen possibilities flashed through his mind, causing his fair cheeks to turn pink.

“You have used it? Heavens, have you joined the industry? Are you actually an adult star?”

“Do not be ridiculous. No way,” Duan Zhuyan quickly stopped Ying Ruo’s wild imagination. “I only clicked in once or twice to learn.”

“To learn?” Ying Ruo asked.

Duan Zhuyan rubbed his neck. His ears were burning red, and his breathing was heavier than usual. He spoke awkwardly. “You know, to learn techniques for making love and such. There are some positions I was afraid I would not get right and might hurt you. After all, I am your boyfriend.”

The man’s eyes were dark. His ears and neck were covered in a deep flush, creating a massive contrast. He eventually pulled his collar up until it completely covered the lower half of his face. Then, while maintaining that forced cold expression, he said in a small voice, “I wanted to make you more comfortable.”