I Became a Heartthrob After Marrying in My Sister's Place - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The early summer breeze wafted in through the window, making the blinds rustle.

Ming Huaizhi gently opened his eyes and met Sang Yu’s gaze.

This sudden encounter made Sang Yu a bit embarrassed; he quickly stood up, balled his hand into a fist, and coughed twice against his lips.

“How old are you, and you still don’t know how to take care of yourself? Going to sleep without a blanket if you don’t get sick, who will?”

Ming Huaizhi had just woken up from a dream and was still a bit dazed. He gave a tiny yawn and turned his sleepy, curved eyes toward Sang Yu: “Thank you, Sang Yu.”

The warmth of deep sleep still seemed to swirl around them. Ming Huaizhi was nestled into the sofa, like the sweet, ethereal fragrance of warm tea in the dappled light of a lazy afternoon.

Seeing this scene, Sang Yu averted his gaze: “I’m leaving now.”

Ming Huaizhi said dizzily: “Bye-bye.”

That night, Sang Yu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Although logic told him to stop thinking about things related to the other man, he couldn’t control himself and searched for high-definition photos of Ming Yantang.

There were many online. His focus was primarily locked onto the area below the collarbone, but it was generally impossible to see the details clearly.

For a moment, Sang Yu even felt he was being a bit perverted. If anyone else saw his search history, they would surely think he was a creep.

Because of this, he didn’t delegate this task to his assistant.

It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that he finally found a series of photos taken by Bazaar for Ming Yantang on their official website. This set of photos was quite bold, even including one of Ming Yantang’s abdominal muscles.

Sang Yu let out a “tsk” and then zoomed in on the photo.

Sure enough, in the photo, below Ming Yantang’s collarbone, the position of that mole was exactly the same as the one in the magazine he had seen in the car.

Sang Yu frowned slightly, recalling the issue date of the magazine.

The magazine was published last month, but the shoot might not have been recent—though it wouldn’t be too long ago. Moreover, since a mole in that position was allowed to be shown, it at least meant he wouldn’t have it removed for the sake of his idol image.

Now, he found it even harder to sleep.

In fact, before searching for the magazine photos, he had considered a question: if Ming Yantang did indeed have that mole on his body, then what?

Would that prove this person wasn’t Ming Yantang?

Once this thought surfaced, Sang Yu startled himself. There could only be two reasons for such a situation.

First, someone had undergone plastic surgery to look like Ming Yantang.

Second, Ming Yantang had a twin brother.

Sang Yu’s brow furrowed. He felt the person in front of him didn’t seem like someone capable of killing the original person to take his place. Furthermore, when the elder Mr. Ming was nearly imprisoned, the other’s worry was so genuine it made him sick; clearly, there was a father-son bond.

Therefore, only the second possibility stood to reason.

Of course, it was also possible his deduction was wrong. It was possible the mole had been temporarily added for artistic effect.

All night, Sang Yu had a splitting headache and didn’t fall asleep until 4:00 AM. He felt it would be better to have his assistant thoroughly investigate the Ming brothers.

…

The weekend slipped away quietly, and Ming Huaizhi began his routine life of clocking in for work.

The advertisement promotional video filmed last week was being rushed through production. During a meeting, the director laid out the tasks for the week.

The sections of the app had been tentatively decided, and personal accounts for the five stars were being opened one after another.

Among them, niche categories under the arts section such as dance, traditional opera, calligraphy, zither, and tea ceremony needed promotional videos uploaded to the homepage. Once the app launched, these could inspire more like-minded people to join, functioning somewhat like short-video traffic drivers.

As soon as the director finished speaking, Lu Zilin was the first to say: “I’ll choose the tea ceremony.”

Gu Ci smiled upon hearing this.

Although the tea ceremony was the easiest to pose for, the name itself was a bit uncomfortable, especially when associated with a person like Lu Zilin.

“I’ll choose the zither,” Xie Jingsheng said softly. “I can play the piano, and I learned the guqin while filming a drama. I can demonstrate both.”

Gu Ci also hurried to choose: “Then I’ll choose traditional opera. A teacher taught me while I was filming Secret History of the Capital Gates.”

Now, only the last two remained: dance and calligraphy.

Jing Lan wasn’t good at either. She looked at Ming Huaizhi with a troubled face: “Brother Ming, which one do you want to choose?”

Ming Huaizhi rested his cheek on his hand, a smile dancing in his eyes: “Ladies first.”

Jing Lan: “Then I’ll choose calligraphy.”

She could manage to write one character after a few days of cramming, but she really couldn’t handle dancing.

“It seems Yantang knows how to dance,” Xie Jingsheng recalled from the side. “That classical dance in Ode to the Red Cliff back then was legendary.”

The Ode to the Red Cliff Xie Jingsheng mentioned was a movie Ming Yantang acted in when he first debuted. The film swept through various film festivals that year, and one of Ming Yantang’s solo dances became a classic in film history.

However, back then, many insiders leaked that Ming Yantang used a body double for that dance. Yet, Ming Yantang had explicitly stated in an interview that he performed the entire dance himself, leading to a tidal wave of abuse.

Lu Zilin knew about that incident and took the opportunity to say: “If Brother Tang can recreate that classic, it will definitely create a viral moment for the app.”

The director nodded in agreement: “Indeed.”

[That was five years ago. Does Ming Yantang even remember it?]

[He definitely doesn’t remember, right?]

[Didn’t they say he lied about using a double back then?]

[I don’t think Ming Yantang dares to dance.]

[Even if he didn’t use a double, without constant practice, anyone would have forgotten it long ago.]

Everyone thought Ming Huaizhi would politely decline, but to their surprise, he didn’t hesitate: “I can do it.”

Lu Zilin was quite surprised and raised an eyebrow slightly: “Then we look forward to your performance.”

…

The manor at night was brightly lit. Inside the bright and luxurious hall, a faint aroma of tea lingered.

Ming Huaizhi had already brought his performance costume and was practicing intently. The reason this dance was etched in film history was because of its immense difficulty.

Fortunately, Ming Yantang had once taught this dance to Ming Huaizhi. Years ago, after Ming Yantang became famous for Ode to the Red Cliff, he had a short break. He chose to spend it accompanying his younger brother, who was far away abroad and couldn’t fly home.

At that time, Ming Huaizhi’s health was very poor, but he couldn’t engage in strenuous exercise. So, their grandmother chose a gentler classical dance to help strengthen his body. It was during this time that Ming Yantang taught the dance to Ming Huaizhi.

Ming Huaizhi had already drunk many cups of tea.

Wearing a light, lake-blue silk robe, he gently touched his stomach, feeling a bit regretful that he had no room for meat tonight.

This dance required drinking tea while dancing; the goal was to capture the free-spirited charm of a refined scholar.

Although it was practice, to be authentic, Ming Huaizhi continued to drink cup after cup of tea.

Just then, the sound of Sang Yu’s car echoed outside.

As soon as Sang Yu entered the house, he smelled the faint tea fragrance, and then Ming Huaizhi came running over.

Seeing Ming Huaizhi today, Sang Yu froze for a moment.

Unlike before, the person in front of him was wearing a lake-blue silk robe, with a jade belt wrapping around his straight, slender waist, looking as elegant and gentle as a snow-covered pine or a slender bamboo.

“Didn’t you take off your makeup after filming today?” Sang Yu’s expression was slightly unnatural as he averted his gaze.

Ming Huaizhi looked up: “I’m practicing the dance from Ode to the Red Cliff.”

At the mention of that movie, Sang Yu had heard of it.

Years ago, he had accidentally seen a clip, which happened to be Ming Yantang’s solo dance.

He couldn’t help but look at Ming Huaizhi again.

Standing under the light, the other man was as pure as ice and jade, his long, thick eyelashes lowered as he smiled obediently at him.

Just moments ago, his assistant told Sang Yu that the information on the Ming brothers seemed to have been intentionally hidden. He had encountered significant obstacles while gathering it and needed one more day.

Now, Sang Yu was debating whether he should continue the investigation.

He even knows the dance; it seems he really was just overthinking things.

“Sang Yu, do you want to watch me dance?” Walking up to Sang Yu, Ming Huaizhi looked up slightly, his eyes filled with anticipation.

This sincerity made it impossible for him to say no.

Besides, he actually really wanted to see Ming Huaizhi dance.

“Alright, I’ll manage to spare some time.”

Ming Huaizhi ran off to prepare with happy steps.

At this moment, his head felt a bit dizzy.

He couldn’t help but frown, worried he might be getting “tea drunk” from drinking tea on an empty stomach.

Before long, the melodious and long-drawn sounds of silk and bamboo instruments echoed in the living room. The fresh and elegant young man used his slender right arm as an axis, easily lifting his right leg to his ear.

At that moment, Ming Huaizhi slowly looked up and met Sang Yu’s eyes.

His beautiful and quiet eyes were filled with gentleness.

Sang Yu’s fingers gently tapped the armrest, then suddenly stopped.

The other man’s temperament was truly something that struck his heart.

The music grew slightly faster. Ming Huaizhi looked away and performed a turn with a raised leg. With a flick of his sleeve, the hot tea next to Sang Yu vanished. In a daze, Sang Yu saw the teacup was already in Ming Huaizhi’s hand.

Such excellent skills showed that he had practiced diligently for a long time.

Sang Yu gave a faint smile, his eyes revealing an unprecedented admiration.

He found that Ming Huaizhi’s temperament changed quite a bit when he danced; he was more confident, and every movement drew Sang Yu’s full attention.

By now, the music had reached its climax.

The person before him, who looked like he had stepped out of a painting, slightly tilted his slender, white swan-like neck. With only two crisp jumps followed by a backbend, Ming Huaizhi drank the tea in one gulp.

In an instant, the dashing young man had hidden the teacup in his sleeve. As the melody played out, his arms alternated in a graceful dance through the finale.

Sang Yu put down his tea, gradually becoming mesmerized.

But during the next movement, Ming Huaizhi clearly lost his rhythm. After a small spin, he swayed like a broken doll.

Sang Yu noticed something was wrong and rushed forward to catch him.

In an instant, Sang Yu was half-kneeling on the floor, his broad chest protecting the other in his arms as he held that slender waist.

Sang Yu initially thought the other had fainted from exhaustion, but to his surprise, those shimmering eyes were even clearer and brighter, though they held a hint of intoxication.

“Ming Yantang?”

“Ming Yantang?”

Sang Yu looked at the butler: “How much tea did he drink?”

Butler: “A lot. Probably about twenty cups.”

Sang Yu now understood.

This was tea drunkenness.

Drinking too much tea on an empty stomach can easily overstimulate the central nervous system, much like being drunk on alcohol.

“Have the kitchen make some hawthorn juice to help him flush out the theophylline.”

“Understood.”

At this moment, Ming Huaizhi was dazed and blurry-eyed.

Although he could hear the two talking, he couldn’t understand the specific meaning.

Seeing him like this, Sang Yu gathered him into his arms.

Ming Huaizhi was very obedient; his arms naturally hooked around the other’s neck, and his head slumped obediently.

“You’re certainly making yourself at home.”

Ming Huaizhi stared blankly at Sang Yu, trying his best to show a smile.

“Mm.”

Sang Yu was amused. As he stood up holding Ming Huaizhi, the other felt light-headed and his head naturally leaned toward Sang Yu’s.

A momentary softness suddenly landed on his face.

Sang Yu couldn’t help but freeze.

Meanwhile, the culprit who had kissed him had already closed his soft lips and fallen into a peaceful sleep.

The butler quickly looked down, pretending not to have seen what just happened.

Sang Yu looked panicked, his voice stiff: “You saw it, he’s the one who kissed me.”

The butler kept his head down: “I didn’t see anything.”

…

In the room, Ming Huaizhi finished the hawthorn juice and fell fast asleep.

But Sang Yu couldn’t sleep.

Now, he was essentially certain that the person was Ming Yantang. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to perform such an exquisite dance, and he wouldn’t… stir his heart so much.

Therefore, the results of the investigation were, to him, dispensable.

In his bedroom, his pulse was racing.

The emotions he had finally managed to calm would flare up again the moment he thought of the dance.

Sang Yu felt he had definitely been bewitched by Ming Yantang.

Otherwise, why would he have the thought of becoming Ming Yantang’s 109th suitor? Or start calculating the probability of not being dumped in the future?

Unfortunately, considering multiple factors, the probability of him not being dumped was 10%.

Young Master Sang had been the pride of heaven since he was a child.

Accepting being dumped was harder for him than climbing to the sky.

It wasn’t until the early morning that Sang Yu, sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window and looking at the dark, empty manor lawn, made an important decision.

At 3:00 AM, he took his luggage and boarded his private jet to go abroad, planning to take a business trip to clear his complicated mind.

He didn’t want to meet the other for a while.

Six hours passed in a flash, and the journey was half-over.

At this time, his dedicated computer on the plane received an email from his assistant.

Enduring his sleepiness and irritation, Sang Yu clicked on it.

When he saw the title about the Ming brothers, he didn’t feel much interest.

Basically, he was already sure that the twin theory was absurd.

Sang Yu clicked on a file at random. The first line inside was highlighted in red.

The Ming brothers are indeed identical twins. Below is all the information on Ming Yantang and Ming Huaizhi over the last 24 years.

The mouse scrolled down slowly, and two ID photos gradually appeared…

One was vibrant and lively, the other youthful and obedient.

Sang Yu’s heart raced uncontrollably.

At the same time, in a hospital room on the other side of the globe, Ming Yantang, wearing a respirator, opened his weak eyes.