My Possessive Boss Is Unexpectedly Needy - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Li Yiyang hadn’t even finished today’s filming when his manager, Liu Momo, rushed onto the set in a panic.

“Li Yiyang! What on earth happened?”

Li Yiyang, who was still in the middle of removing his makeup, saw his furious manager reflected in the mirror behind him. “What’s wrong?” he asked nonchalantly.

“You’re asking me what’s wrong? Look at the trending searches!”

Startled, Li Yiyang wondered if he’d done something wrong. He grabbed his phone and opened the headlines. The number one trending topic hit him like a brick: Is Li Yiyang really like this in private?

He clicked the link. Inside was a video from the gala—the exact moment a girl had splashed wine in his face. The comments from netizens were a mess:

• “Is this my god? No way, he’s a pickup artist in private? My image of him just collapsed.”

• “Master of time management? I thought he was busy filming, where does he find the time for this? Speechless.”

• “This definitely isn’t him. You trolls shut up.”

Li Yiyang slammed his phone face-down on the table. “These people really love making something out of nothing!” He huffed, crossing his arms. As an idol, being photographed was normal, but he never expected a paparazzi troll to sneak into Lu Yeyan’s private gala.

“I specifically warned you that day to be careful, and you still gave me this mess,” Liu Momo scolded. “The company is already suppressing the comments. Here are some solutions, look at them!”

Li Yiyang muttered under his breath, “It’s all because of that mysterious Lemon-laoshi…”

“What did you say?” Liu Momo hadn’t heard him clearly.

“Nothing, nothing!”

…

At the Villa

The events at YIY had left a weight on Yu Zining’s heart like a heavy stone. He entered the house, ignoring the maids’ greetings. They could tell he was in a foul mood.

He placed the thermal lunch box in the kitchen. “The soup?” a maid asked cautiously.

“Pour it out,” Yu Zining replied coldly before heading to his bedroom.

He had just walked in when his phone buzzed. It was a message from Li Yiyang: Lemon-laoshi, you’ve really ruined me!

Confused, Yu Zining replied with a question mark. An audio message came back immediately: “There was a misunderstanding at the gala. I thought some of those girls were you, so I said some weird things, and now the trolls have written it up like this…”

Yu Zining clicked the link Li Yiyang sent. Seeing the harsh words from keyboard warriors, he felt a surge of indignation on Li Yiyang’s behalf.

Li Yiyang followed up: This is tricky. I’m mainly worried that if this affects my reputation, it might impact my drama and our song.

Yu Zining replied: What should you do then? Do you need me to do anything?

Seeing this, Li Yiyang felt a secret spark of joy. He messaged back: Are you worried about me? [Animated “touched” emoji]

Yu Zining shook his head helplessly. He was just worried about the song—what was this silly kid thinking?

Li Yiyang: It’s fine, you don’t need to do anything. I’ll settle this as quickly as possible.

Only then did Yu Zining breathe a sigh of relief. He then typed out his lingering doubt: Why are you so sure I’m a girl?

Li Yiyang: I just know. Aren’t you?

Yu Zining: What if you find out I’m not what you imagined?

Li Yiyang: It couldn’t be that different, right?

Yu Zining stared at the screen. Even a stranger he’d never met in person paid him this much attention and believed him unconditionally. Yet the man he shared a bed with was so cold-hearted.

His mind was filled with Li Ruixi’s triumphant smile, Lu Yeyan’s complicated final look, and his own pathetic retreat into the car. He had overestimated his importance to Lu Yeyan.

…

Downstairs, Lu Yeyan had returned and walked into the kitchen. “Where is the soup the Madam brought back?”

Knowing Yu Zining was angry, the maid hadn’t actually poured the soup out. She brought the container out, poured it into a bowl, and handed it to him. Lu Yeyan drank it all without a word.

“Where is the Madam?”

“He hasn’t come out of his room since he got back.”

Lu Yeyan went straight upstairs to Yu Zining’s room. Yu Zining was sitting there, lost in thought, and stood up as Lu Yeyan entered. Despite the anger simmering inside him, he didn’t lash out. Instead, he forced a small smile.

The next second, Lu Yeyan pulled him into a hug. “You don’t blame me?” Lu Yeyan whispered.

Yu Zining gave a bitter laugh. “What are you saying? Our marriage was a performance from the start. Besides, Li Ruixi is great, and she’s… actually a woman. But Lu Yeyan, promise me: if you really decide to be with her, please let me go, okay?”

His voice began to crack. Was he aggrieved? Yes, deeply. Even if his world was falling apart, he wanted to maintain some dignity.

Lu Yeyan felt a sharp pain in his heart. He panicked at the misunderstanding. Yu Zining was willing to step aside? He wanted to leave?

Lu Yeyan cupped Yu Zining’s tear-stained face. “A-Ning, what am I to you?”

What am I? Someone you can leave at any time and never see again? Someone you can just give away?

“Lu Yeyan, then what am I to you?”

Lu Yeyan found himself speechless at the counter-question. This only fueled Yu Zining’s frustration, and he shoved Lu Yeyan away.

“You can’t say it, can you? I’m your fake wife, a pawn for your business ladder, the ‘face’ you call upon whenever you need it! I’m a man, yes, and maybe I don’t have a woman’s tenderness, but my feelings for you… there hasn’t been a hint of fakeness in them lately.”

“A-Ning, that’s not what I meant. If I cared about you being a man, I wouldn’t have…”

“Lu Yeyan! Just let me go.”

Lu Yeyan looked into Yu Zining’s eyes. They were filled with a terrifyingly firm resolve. For the first time, Lu Yeyan was afraid—afraid of the misunderstanding, and afraid that Yu Zining would truly walk away.