Chapter 30: The Senior from the Acting Department

**Chapter 30: The Acting Department Senior**

"Siyu... did you need something?" Jian Ye asked timidly, unsure what he had done to warrant such an intense stare from the man.

He remained completely oblivious to how irresistible he looked right now.

"Have some water and wipe off your sweat. Be careful not to catch a cold," Yi Siyu said, adopting a casual tone.

"Oh." Jian Ye stepped out of the dance studio and, for some reason, felt the need to explain. "My teacher picked me for a group dance performance at the school's cultural arts festival."

The man's lips curved slightly as he added with quiet confidence, "You're the lead, aren't you?"

"How did you know? With my skill level, I don’t even know what the teacher was thinking," the boy muttered.

A large hand landed on his head, giving his hair an affectionate ruffle. "Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re far more captivating than you realize. Your teacher knows talent when she sees it."

The boy turned scarlet.

Since when did this guy get so smooth?

"I’ve arranged everything for you. From now on, after class, Xiao Dong will pick you up directly from your school gate. A live-in housekeeper starts tomorrow to handle chores and cooking—just let her know what you’d like to eat."

"This card’s password is your birthday. Buy whatever you want with it. If the balance runs low, I’ll get a notification and transfer more funds periodically."

Yi Siyu had meticulously prepared every detail, leaving nothing for Jian Ye to worry about.

This was nothing like the married life he had imagined—no mother-in-law conflicts, no household duties. Just the carefree existence of *Mrs. Yi*, living like a spoiled kept man.

Holding the black card given by the tycoon, Jian Ye felt like he had hit life’s jackpot.

In front of this man, he truly only needed to focus on what he loved, untouched by life’s mundane hassles or financial concerns.

The other was already the young master of the Yi family, born into obscene wealth, worth billions. While Yi Siyu provided money and a home, Jian Ye couldn’t offer gifts of equal value—so he could only make it up to him with heart.

Jian Ye’s eyes lit up with playful curiosity as he smiled. "Is this place close to your company?"

"About a fifteen-minute drive. Why? Want to visit my office?"

His doe eyes were shining with excitement. "Can I?"

Yi Siyu would never refuse. "Of course. I work right where we had our first date."

"Jinghua Street?"

"Right."

Jian Ye thought of the most iconic office building in that area and took a wild guess. "Are you at Zheyuan Group?"

"My wife is so clever."

Jian Ye’s cheeks burned at the sudden flirtation.

Your actual wife hasn't even shown up yet—stop calling me that!

Zheyuan Group is a Yi family subsidiary. The name comes from my two older brothers. I was at corporate before, but they spun me off to run this division separately.

"If you want to come, just shoot me a text or call. If I’m in a meeting, you can hit up Special Assistant Xu—I’ll give you his number."

Jian Ye: "Alright, I'll swing by to see your big company when I have time."

Yi Siyu: "It's nothing special. I'll take you to Yi Group headquarters someday—that's the kind of scale you're talking about."

Managing a company is such an impressive feat in the eyes of ordinary people, but for the Yi family, it's just routine.

Jian Ye got a real taste of what it meant to be born into privilege.

His current situation was practically the same—countless people were fighting tooth and nail to marry into the Yi family, yet he had scooped them all.

If this weren't a novel, if there were no so-called protagonist gong or protagonist shou, and if he had simply followed the natural progression of "Jian Ye's" life—meeting, getting to know, and marrying the man before him—

Then he really couldn’t guarantee whether he might fall head over heels for him in the future.

After all, having a handsome, considerate man right in front of him as his husband, seeing him every day—it was hard not to become completely smitten.

"System 748: Host once said you’d stick to the mission, not emotions. Are you about to eat your words?"

The system abruptly interrupted his daydream, startling Jian Ye for a moment.

"Jian Ye: What do you mean ‘eat your words’? I'm just playing with ideas! Can't a perpetually single guy have some wishful thinking?"

In his previous world, Jian Ye had never even had a first love. He'd never met someone he truly liked.

He dreamed about love, but real life kept smacking those dreams down.

With no house, no car—what could he offer in a relationship? So he poured everything into academics and career, leaving no room for impractical thoughts.

...

After this break period, Jian Ye returned to his regular schedule—attending classes, training, and preparing for the show.

One day, after dance practice, the group ordered takeout together.

It was supposed to be delivered to the Dance Academy, but the delivery person accidentally delivered it to the neighboring Acting Department instead.

By the time Jian Ye and the others realized, the delivery person was already on another delivery run and couldn’t return immediately.

Jian Ye simply said, "I’ll go get it. It’s not far."

Li Xiangchi: "Then I’ll come with you."

The others thanked them. After days of practicing and eating together, they'd become close.

As the center of the group dance, Jian Ye had no attitude—he humbly sought advice from others when unsure, and with his good looks, everyone liked him.

Handsome guys with great personalities were rare, making Jian Ye the class favorite.

...

The Acting Department was just past the road and across the flower bed from the Dance Academy.

Occasionally, Jian Ye could hear Acting Department students running lines by the flower bed—something he'd done countless times before.

With every step closer, the more familiar it felt.

The layouts of the first floors of both buildings were quite similar, hence the wrong delivery.

The delivery person said it was left outside Classroom 104.

It was a huge classroom. When Jian Ye arrived, he noticed that people were rehearsing a theater piece inside.

The actors were so into their lines they didn’t notice Jian Ye and the others arriving.

“That’s our food anyway,” Li Xiangchi said. “Let’s just take it and bounce.”

He was famished and just wanted to eat already.

“It’s fine. You wait by the door—I’ll go in and let them know. If we just grab it and something goes missing later, we won’t be able to explain ourselves.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Li Xiangchi clicked his tongue. “Married guys really change.”

Jian Ye walked into the classroom and immediately spotted several takeout bags stacked on a desk.

He hadn’t taken more than a few steps toward them when a drama kid suddenly cut him off, going down on one knee and grabbing his hand.

[stage direction] With puppy-dog eyes, the actor said dramatically, “Dearest Mikhail, can you still not forgive me?”

Jian Ye: “…”

Seeing no reaction, the drama kid continued: “I know deceiving you was wrong, but I’ve repented. Can’t you give me another chance?”

What kind of play were they rehearsing?

Weren’t these classic toxic ex-boyfriend lines?

Oh, we’re doing this?

Jian Ye looked at the actor with a complicated expression. He shook off the other’s hand. “I’m sorry, but I’m already with Vladimir.”

“Your lies once drove me to consider ending my life. It was he who gave me warmth.”

Fake tears welled up in Jian Ye’s eyes as he smiled. “Vladimir and I just got married. If you truly love me, let me go.”

The drama kid: “…”

Jian Ye: “Later, I’ll bring our baby to visit you. Maybe even let my son call you godfather.”

Everyone around them: “……………………”

“Pfft!” Li Xiangchi, waiting by the door, desperately covered his mouth, bending over like a shrimp, clearly struggling to hold back his laughter.

A few seconds later, the entire classroom erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

“Holy shit, ‘godfather’?!”

“Zhong Xiaobin, flirting with the underclassman—Owned! HAHAHA!”

The drama kid laughed and cursed, “Ah fuck you guys!”

Watching the roasting session unfold, Jian Ye was reminded of his own days in the Acting Department, where rehearsals would often go completely off-script. Some people just had a natural gift for comedy.

He found himself infected by the energy of these young college boys, fighting a smirk.

Then, a handsome guy wearing glasses stepped out from the crowd, giving off scholar vibes.

“Hey there, underclassman. My name is Mo Huan. I’m a senior in the Acting Department—we’re preparing for our graduation performance.”

"The classmate who just joked with you is Zhong Xiaobin. Don’t mind him—he’s a jokester who loves stirring things up."

The boys from the Acting Department were all good-looking, but the one who stepped forward to speak was clearly the most striking, seemingly the leader of the group.

He carried himself with polish—his speech clear and logical, his manner polite and gentle. He came across as well-mannered and approachable.

"My name is Jian Ye, I’m a freshman in the Classical Dance Department. I’m here to pick up our takeout that got delivered to you by mistake."

Just then, someone nearby cut in: "Oh come on, we already knew it was yours! We were about to bring it over, but Zhong Xiaobin here with his schemes insisted on—mmph!"

Zhong Xiaobin desperately clamped a hand over the boy's mouth and shot an apologetic look at Jian Ye. "Sorry, little junior. You know how we in the Acting Department can’t resist hamming it up sometimes. I just couldn’t help myself earlier..."

Jian Ye smiled. "It’s fine. I actually enjoy acting too. Your facial acting was on point, though your line reading was a tad over-the-top. Keep practicing, Senior."

"Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!"

The crowd broke into fresh laughter.

"Zhong Xiaobin, look at you! How embarrassing—even a non-acting junior can spot your flaws!"

"This junior comes across as way more legit than you, and you still tried to show off in front of him!"

"Man, I can’t! Just thinking about how Xiaobin got schooled by the junior’s critique has me dying!"

Zhong Xiaobin flushed bright red and bolted.

Mo Huan carried the takeout bags over to Jian Ye. "These have some weight to them. Can you manage alone, junior?"

Li Xiangchi rushed in. "He’s not alone—I came with him. Senior, let me take them."

Everyone thought Jian Ye’s slender arms and legs looked too fragile for heavy lifting.

Mo Huan cut to the chase. "I’ll help carry them to your classroom."

After insisting for a while and being refused by both, Jian Ye gave up, thinking of his starving classmates waiting for their food. He thanked them politely.

"Then thank you, Senior Mo."

"Don’t mention it. Call it my parting gift to the juniors before graduation. I’m really going to miss this place."

"Did you take on any roles during college, Senior Mo?" Jian Ye asked.

"You’re quite sharp. I booked some bit parts to gain experience. Actually, I’ve got some agency interest, but I want to focus on our graduation performance first."

"Keep it up, Senior Mo. You’ll shine brightly in the entertainment industry someday."

Jian Ye felt Mo Huan’s passion for acting mirrored his own. They clicked instantly, as if they were on the same wavelength. He genuinely wanted to encourage everyone who loved performing.

"Thanks for the kind words, Junior Jian. With your looks, you’ve got the chops to make it in the industry too."

*Li Xiangchi listened to their exchange*, unable to get a word in.

The two of them were weirdly in sync. A Ye could charm anyone—he’d already befriended a senior from another department in no time.

Such a wonderful guy, tied down so early!

As the three neared the dance building, a voice called out from behind.

"Hey, Jian Ye!"

The young man instinctively turned around, his steps froze.

He saw the one person he least wanted to run into.

His "ex-boyfriend," still rocking that wannabe gangster vibe, was staring at him with a complicated look.

Jian Ye: *…*

What the hell? Aren’t we broken up? Why are you here?!

*A/N:*

(QAQ): Report! Boss Yi! Your #1 rival has appeared!

Boss Yi: And then?

(QuQ): Before he could even make a move on your wife, that loser Fish Tail showed up!

Fish Tail: Why not call me Rival #2?!

Boss Yi: You don’t even rate.

(QvQ): You were eliminated from the start.

Boss Yi: My wife’s not going blind twice.

Fish Tail: !!!

Jian Ye sighed. *(I wasn’t the blind one the first time either!)*