Found Him! My 'Glass-Hearted' Ex is a Pop-Up Star - Chapter 6

Ying Ruo looked up, dazed for two seconds. Then, he decisively chose to turn around and run.

He had not taken more than a few steps before the hood of his sweatshirt was snagged by a firm force. His waist tightened suddenly as the soft skin of his abdomen was easily grasped, and he was hoisted back with one hand as if being pulled up by the roots. This time, his back collided with a solid chest. The impact was not light. His waist was held firmly, leaving no gap, and he could feel the slight contraction of the other man’s muscles.

Then came a descending darkness as a tall shadow completely enveloped Ying Ruo. The proximity of the other man’s breath carried a strong sense of aggression.

“Why are you running again?”

Duan Zhuyan’s voice came from behind him, sounding extremely displeased. “Am I a ghost? You run the moment you see me.”

Ying Ruo nodded instinctively, then shook his head frantically upon realizing his mistake.

Duan Zhuyan was silent.

In that moment, Ying Ruo felt the large hand around his waist tighten even more. Fingertips brushed against the sensitive area of his waist, covering the small of his back. It felt itchy and hot, making it impossible to ignore.

Ying Ruo was afraid of being strangled to death by Duan Zhuyan and did not dare to move much. He could only say timidly, “Did you not say you did not want to see me again? I am just keeping my word. But I swear, I did not meet you on purpose, nor did I expect to see you again. It is a complete coincidence.”

At this point, he could not help but remark, “It seems we are quite fated.”

Duan Zhuyan remained silent for a long duration.

Duan Zhuyan looked down at the person in his arms who was looking up at him. After a few seconds of silence, the hand on Ying Ruo’s slim waist nudged him outward, turning him around on the spot so they were face to face. The man did not lower his head but looked down at the youth, his eyelids drooping lazily with a faint, relaxed expression.

Unlike their meeting at noon, he had taken off his coat and was holding it loosely in one hand. His physique was several sizes larger than Ying Ruo’s. His black, tight-fitting sweater outlined his lean, powerful muscles with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and exceptionally well-trained chest muscles. No wonder the physical contact had been so palpable earlier.

Furthermore, Ying Ruo stared at Duan Zhuyan’s earlobes for a long time. Where did all those earrings go?

“What are you looking at?” The overhead light reflected dimly on Duan Zhuyan’s face, with the shadow of his brow bone covering his eyes. His gaze was extremely displeased. “Are you my boyfriend? Why are you staring?”

Ying Ruo was speechless.

He was genuinely curious. Ying Ruo could not help but take a few more glances. Under the threat of Duan Zhuyan’s terrifying gaze, he pointed a small finger toward his own ear and said timidly, “I am looking at your ears.”

Duan Zhuyan frowned. “Ears?”

Ying Ruo touched his own ear to demonstrate. “Where did the earrings on your ears go?”

“I took them off,” Duan Zhuyan looked at him. “What? Do you have a problem with that too?”

“No,” Ying Ruo replied. “I just feel like you are more recognizable with the earrings.”

Duan Zhuyan was confused.

Duan Zhuyan’s face darkened. He leaned down toward him, narrowing the distance. His aura became forceful and intense. “What do you take my earrings for? Can you not remember my face? Do you need earrings to recognize me?”

“No, no, no.” Ying Ruo took half a step back, shaking his head like a rattle. He hurriedly said, “I just think you look quite handsome now that I am used to the earrings.”

Duan Zhuyan gritted his teeth. “You.”

Duan Zhuyan, who was about to get angry, paused.

Ying Ruo continued, “I said you are very handsome.”

Duan Zhuyan was completely speechless.

The air was quiet for a moment. Then, Ying Ruo watched as this tall, imposing man turned his head away. His facial expression did not change much, but the tips of his ears, now without the earrings, turned visibly red.

Duan Zhuyan coughed unnaturally and tugged at his collar. Even his aggressive tone seemed to soften. “Do not think that saying such things will make me forgive you.”

Ying Ruo was puzzled.

Though he did not understand how this related to forgiveness, it seemed Duan Zhuyan enjoyed being praised. It was true that he was handsome, but was he perhaps a bit too easy to coax?

Duan Zhuyan’s mood improved significantly. He ran a hand through his hair and awkwardly changed the subject. “What did you buy?”

Ying Ruo looked down at the items in his hand. “Oh, my dinner.”

“This is your dinner?” Duan Zhuyan asked. “Do you have no sense of taste?”

Ying Ruo was silent.

What did this guy mean?

“This is actually quite delicious.” Ying Ruo thought that a young master who swiped his card without blinking probably never had a meal deal. In a way, it was quite pitiful. Thinking of the milk tea Duan Zhuyan bought him earlier, Ying Ruo looked around and handed the cheaper, less filling biscuits to Duan Zhuyan. “This is for you. Give it a try.”

Duan Zhuyan held the pack of biscuits and paused for a long time. Ying Ruo did not even have enough to eat, yet he was sharing his precious biscuits?

Seeing that Duan Zhuyan remained silent, Ying Ruo thought he was disgusted and did not want them. Just as he was about to say he would take them back, Duan Zhuyan stuffed the biscuits into his coat pocket with lightning speed.

With reddened ears, Duan Zhuyan said awkwardly, “Fine. Since you want to give them to me so badly, I will reluctantly accept them.”

Ying Ruo nodded. It seemed the young master still craved commoner food.

Duan Zhuyan’s expression relaxed, though he remained somewhat cold. He stood there silently for a moment before speaking with red-tipped ears. “Wait a moment.”

At that moment, his phone rang unexpectedly. Interrupted, Duan Zhuyan clicked his tongue and reluctantly checked the caller. He hung up without a second thought. He looked back at Ying Ruo and began to speak again. “You.”

It rang again. Duan Zhuyan hung up again, clearly annoyed. As soon as he cut the call, another one came in immediately.

Finally, on the fourth call, Duan Zhuyan answered it. His face was grim, and his expression was cold. His opening words were sharp. “Do you want to die?”

Liu Jing replied, “I am sorry.”

Duan Zhuyan was in no mood for pleasantries. He dropped a single word: “Speak.”

It seemed there was an issue with the data in the lab. After hearing Liu Jing’s explanation, Duan Zhuyan’s tone became slightly less fierce, though it was still not pleasant. His voice was cold and flat. “I understand. Check the neural network and the circuit calculation models for errors again. If there are no issues, run the machine one more time. Tell Kevin to record the status fluctuations every ten seconds. Send the electronic imaging to my phone. I will come over to check the rest later.”

This was the first time Ying Ruo saw Duan Zhuyan in a professional or academic setting. He was completely different. Usually, he seemed emotionally unstable and quick to anger, but once he entered work mode, he became a different person; logical, calm, and highly capable.

It reminded Ying Ruo of what Bai Fangqi said earlier that day. No matter how bad Duan Zhuyan’s personality was, he was essentially a brilliant scientific genius.

Duan Zhuyan finished giving instructions and hung up. He turned back to Ying Ruo, but his mind went blank for a moment, and he forgot what he was going to say.

Ying Ruo spoke first. “Um, why do you not get to work? I should leave as well.”

Duan Zhuyan wanted to ask where he was going, but then he thought that asking would make it seem like he cared too much. He pulled a long face and replied pretentiously, “Suit yourself.”

Ying Ruo did not leave immediately but stood there for two seconds before calling him. “Duan Zhuyan.”

Duan Zhuyan looked up. “What?”

Ying Ruo praised him sincerely from the bottom of his heart. “I just think you are really handsome, especially when you are working seriously. You are very charismatic.”

The youth tilted his head up, his neck looking slender and fair. When he said this, his round eyes curved up in a very well-behaved, bright smile. After saying this, he politely said goodbye and walked away.

Duan Zhuyan froze on the spot. His mind was filled with the image of those bright, round eyes and the movement of those plump lips, as well as the fair neck and collarbones slightly exposed by the large collar. After a long while, he slowly processed it. Ying Ruo had praised him again. Why was he being so cute and praising him after they had already broken up? What did this person mean?

U-University Laboratory

Duan Zhuyan ended up going back to work overtime. He had just finished a project, and Wyatt had actually given him some time off. However, Duan Zhuyan could not stand watching idiots work. If other project groups called for help, he would grumble but still show up.

Wyatt was the head of their lab and also his doctoral supervisor. Recently, they were considering a project regarding genetics, which might involve international cooperation with a Chinese university lab once progress was made.

“Thanks, Brother Duan. I thought we would have to start over,” Liu Jing said, nearly bowing to him.

Duan Zhuyan was wearing a white lab coat and had not yet removed his mask. He balanced the electrophoresis solution and the precast gel to room temperature, ignoring Liu Jing’s words. Liu Jing swallowed and observed him secretly. He could tell Duan Zhuyan was not in a great mood, but he still asked tentatively, “Um, if you have time, could I ask you to evaluate our MVPA analysis of the EEG data to see if there are any other problems?”

Upon hearing this, Duan Zhuyan lifted his eyelids impatiently. His fierce gaze seemed to say, “Are you blind? How dare you bother me now?”

Liu Jing broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, after a long pause, Duan Zhuyan lowered his head again and adopted a professional attitude. He frowned and said coldly, “Send it to my email.”

Liu Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was so moved he almost shed tears. Not daring to provoke him further, he bowed several times in thanks and ran off.

No one knew what this big shot had experienced on his way here. His face was terrifyingly grim when he stepped into the lab, as if he had just come back from a fight. The whole room went silent the moment he entered. He said nothing and started working immediately, only finishing just now.

Duan Zhuyan had not been that angry initially. It was all because of what Ying Ruo had said. He felt like his heart had been scratched several times. Why say those things after a breakup? He must still really like him; otherwise, how could he say such things? To confirm his judgment, he started searching online for phrases like:

• • What does it mean when an ex-boyfriend keeps praising my looks?

• • What does it mean if I keep running into my ex-boyfriend?

• • Ex-boyfriend says I am charismatic.

• • What does it mean if an ex-boyfriend gives me his precious belongings?

• • What does it mean if an ex-boyfriend always smiles so cutely? Is he regretting the breakup?

The comments below were all similar:

How can someone be this narcissistic?

If you are too in love, just admit it. Do not drag your ex into this.

You need to fix your love brain.

Your imagination is quite rich. I guess love really does depend on fantasy.

Are you being used as a backup option?

Duan Zhuyan was fuming. He almost threw his phone. The atmospheric pressure in the lab reached its lowest point. It was late, and since a Great Demon King was sitting there, everyone quickly packed their things to head home.

Duan Zhuyan continued to read the search comments, his expression growing colder and darker. Naturally, someone chose this moment to get in his way.

Song Chengxu: Old Duan! Want to go out and play? Halloween party, the atmosphere is great, and there is a dress code tonight!

Duan: Get lost.

Song Chengxu was Duan Zhuyan’s childhood friend and a standard playboy. He had never been without a partner since high school.

Song Chengxu: Oh right, you do not like participating in these things anyway. You are a married man now, and your wife keeps you in check, right? Speaking of which, when are you going to introduce your boyfriend to us? You have been hiding him for so long. Are you unwilling to let anyone see him? Forget it, I know you will not come. Just admire my handsome face then. [Image]

Every word hit Duan Zhuyan’s nerves. Song Chengxu sent a selfie showing off his smug face, along with many people in costumes at the bar.

Duan Zhuyan wanted to block him immediately. But as he glanced at the photo, he suddenly saw a familiar figure. Immediately afterward, Song Chengxu received a new message.

Duan: Give me the address.

Song Chengxu: Old Duan, you are not actually coming, are you? I was just joking. Wait, your partner will not be unhappy about this, right?

Duan Zhuyan ignored him. His Adam’s apple bobbed. His deep gaze was locked onto a little wizard in the corner of the photo.

In the photo, the little wizard was wearing black stockings with a small cloak trailing behind him. His shorts were extremely short, making his thighs visible. His face was pale and delicate. He was passing by in the background holding a tray, looking both pure and provocative.

Ha. How could he not be unhappy?

Duan Zhuyan’s lips were pressed thin, and his face was grim. The veins on the back of his hand bulged. His thumb pressed so hard on the screen while zooming in that it turned white, as if he were about to crush the phone.

His partner was right there.