Chapter 10 Public Confession

Chapter 10: A Public Confession

"Try calling me that one more time." Pei Zhi kept his face stern, but his reddening ears completely betrayed his feigned composure.

Lin Xishan knew when to stop, smiling as he tucked his phone back into his pocket: "Alright, alright, I'll stop. I'm hungry, Boss Pei. You buying breakfast?"

Pei Zhi glanced at him, then turned to grab his jacket draped over the chair back: "Let's go, head down and grab something."

Ten minutes later, the two sat at a breakfast stall at the mouth of the alley, under a plastic awning.

The table surface had a layer of grease built up over years of use, and the folding chairs had wobbly legs of uneven length.

The owner was a plump, cheerful woman who plopped down two steaming bowls of soy milk and a basket of freshly fried youtiao.

"Seven yuan total!" she called out cheerfully.

Lin Xishan instinctively reached for his phone, but Pei Zhi had already scanned the stall's QR code first.

"Beep—Alipay received, seven yuan."

The mechanical female voice rang out amid the noisy alley entrance.

Lin Xishan watched Pei Zhi slip his phone back into the pocket of his faded jeans, the gesture completely natural.

He lowered his head and bit into a crispy youtiao, the aroma of soy milk mingling with it, and felt something faint and strange stir in his chest.

What was this?

A seven-yuan "sugar daddy" package?

To be honest, Lin Xishan had never eaten at such a grimy street stall in his entire life.

But there sat Pei Zhi across from him, and when he lowered his head to drink his soy milk, his messy black hair fell forward, hiding those sharp, aggressive phoenix eyes. He looked almost peaceful, which was strange.

"What, too fancy for the young master?" Pei Zhi looked up, catching Lin Xishan's gaze immediately.

The term "young master" was purely teasing, but Lin Xishan couldn't stop his eyelid from twitching when he heard it.

"No," Lin Xishan said without missing a beat, taking a big gulp of soy milk. "Just thinking you sure spend your money freely."

Pei Zhi's hand holding his chopsticks paused, and he gave Lin Xishan a cold look: "Seven yuan counts as spending freely?"

Lin Xishan smiled and let it drop.

After finishing breakfast, the two stood at the mouth of the alley. The morning rush had already filled the streets with noise, bicycle bells and scooter horns going off nonstop.

"I need to head back to school." Lin Xishan checked the time. "Hit me up if you need anything later."

Pei Zhi stood in front of him with his hands in his jacket pockets, those eyes fixed on him as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, he just grudgingly spat out a few words: "How you getting back?"

"There's a bus stop at the intersection ahead." Lin Xishan pointed in the direction.

"I'll give you a ride."

"No need," Lin Xishan waved his hand. "Your bike's way too flashy. If anyone sees us, I'll never hear the end of it. Didn't you just say I shouldn't cause trouble?"

Pei Zhi's brow furrowed. He was clearly annoyed, but since it was indeed his own rule, he had to swallow his own words.

"Fine." He took half a step back, creating some distance, but his eyes still stuck on Lin Xishan. "Text me if anything comes up."

"Got it." Lin Xishan waved and turned, walking toward the bus stop.

After walking a short distance, Lin Xishan couldn't help but look back.

Pei Zhi was still standing by that greasy breakfast stall, tall and lean, quietly watching him walk away.

He stood out from the crowd. Even though Lin Xishan wasn't really into looks, he had to admit that face was genuinely easy on the eyes—like it belonged on a stage.

Seeing him turn back, Pei Zhi's shoulders stiffened a little. Lin Xishan couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips, and he turned his head forward, quickening his pace.

On the rattling bus, Lin Xishan found a seat in the back by the window.

The bus was packed with students and commuters.

He leaned back against the seat and pulled the matte black bank card out of his pocket.

One million.

Lin Xishan held the card between his fingers, studied it for a moment, and let out a quiet scoff.

Was one million a lot?

For the former top heir of the Lin Group, Lin Xishan, this was just the cost of some add-ons for one of the supercars in his old garage, or a watch he'd casually bought to go with an outfit.

But for the Lin Xishan of today, it was a lot. And it weighed on him.

Lin Xishan thought of that twenty-square-meter rental apartment; of Pei Zhi's old T-shirt, washed until it was pilled; and of the calmness in Pei Zhi's voice when he said "This is all my savings."

"What a lunatic." He muttered the words under his breath and tucked the card into the deepest pocket of his wallet.

This money—he wouldn't touch a single cent of it, of course.

He might be a "broke bastard" scraping by every month now, but deep down, he still had the pride of a rich kid.

He needed Pei Zhi's help to break free from the story's control, but he didn't need his million.

When this whole thing was over, he'd give that million back to Pei Zhi, every last cent.

"Just think of it as me, your young master, doing you a favor and setting up a trust fund for you." Lin Xishan leaned against the bus window, watching the scenery fly past outside, in an excellent mood.

He no longer had to be that pathetic simp, completely controlled by the plot.

Just then, his phone vibrated.

Lin Xishan pulled it out and saw a new WeChat message.

"Pei Zhi: Let me know when you arrive."

The message was painfully short, but the punctuation was perfect, giving it a stiff, overly serious vibe.

Lin Xishan stared at the screen, picturing Pei Zhi typing with a cold face, and couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.

He typed back with one hand: "Almost there. Any plans today, Lord Patron?"

The "typing..." indicator flickered for a full half minute before three dry words came back: 【Rehearsal.】

Lin Xishan raised an eyebrow and tapped out a reply: "Alright, make that money. Otherwise how will you support me in the future."

After sending it, he locked his screen with satisfaction and slipped the phone back into his pocket, leaving Pei Zhi on the other end to stare at the screen, ears burning and heart racing.

Completely unaware of how flirty he sounded.

The bus rolled up to the stop, and Lin Xishan stretched lazily before stepping off, striding toward the school gates in the morning sunlight.

Today was shaping up to be another good day.

—At least, that's what Lin Xishan thought, until he spotted the huge crowd packed into the central plaza.

His gut told him to take a detour, but unfortunately, his eyes were too sharp. Through the sea of people, he spotted the two figures at the center right away.

It was Lin Jichuan and Ye Jiaonan.

Those two together? Nothing good ever came of that.

Lin Xishan knew he should get the hell out of there, but he couldn't resist the most basic human curiosity—gawking. Especially when it was his own brother's drama.

Ye Jiaonan stood dead center, clutching a giant bouquet of red roses, his face set in grim determination, like a man walking to his own execution.

Lin Jichuan, meanwhile, had one hand in his pocket, his face screaming "I'm annoyed" in big bold letters. He wasn't even bothering to look at Ye Jiaonan.

Ye Jiaonan's voice was thick with tears, but he spoke each word slowly and deliberately:

"Lin Jichuan, I like you!"

"I've liked you since the very first time I saw you freshman year!"

"I know you probably think I'm not good enough, but I have to say it. I like you. I've liked you for two whole years!"

A wave of muffled gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd.

"Oh my god, that's so brave..."

"Isn't that Ye Jiaonan from the art school? I heard his family's not well-off. How does he have the guts to go after Young Master Lin?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, brave move, but the outcome..."

Lin Xishan's jaw dropped.

Wait.

Hold up.

In the original book, Ye Jiaonan had always—well, he'd always had a thing for Lin Jichuan, but he'd never been this direct.

But now, in front of everyone, he was just confessing outright?

Lin Xishan's brain went into overdrive, and he quickly figured it out.

In the original plot, he was the one who devoted himself to Ye Jiaonan heart and soul, silently giving and giving, until the "second male lead gets his shot" arc.

But now that Lin Xishan had bailed on his role, the plot was broken, and it needed to rebalance itself.

And since Ye Jiaonan was the protagonist of the original book, the plot naturally had to redirect the emotional support that "Lin Xishan" the backup was supposed to provide—to somewhere else.

Like, straight to chasing after Lin Jichuan.

"Interesting." Lin Xishan muttered under his breath, a sly smirk curling at the corner of his lips.

He'd just sit back and watch how this whole thing played out.

Lin Jichuan finally bothered to look at Ye Jiaonan's face. "Done?"

Ye Jiaonan's lips were trembling, but he nodded stubbornly anyway.

Lin Jichuan said "Oh," then walked around him and kept walking.

Smooth as silk, without so much as a second glance.

The crowd went wild.

"Whoa—rejected, just as expected..."

"That's so cold. He could at least say something, damn."

"First day knowing Young Master Lin? When has he ever been nice to a single soul?"

Ye Jiaonan stood frozen in place, the bouquet of red roses in his hands looking painfully ridiculous in the sunlight. His face went from white to red, then from red back to white, and the tears that had been welling up in his eyes finally spilled over.

But he didn't walk away.

He spun around and shouted at Lin Jichuan's retreating back, his voice already cracking with sobs: "Lin Jichuan! Stop right there!"

Lin Jichuan kept walking.

Ye Jiaonan chased after him with the flowers, stumbling and staggering until he got in front of him, throwing his arms out to block his path.

"At least give me an answer!" Ye Jiaonan's tears fell in big fat drops. "Do you like me or not? Give me a straight answer, and I'll back off!"

Lin Jichuan finally came to a stop.

He looked at Ye Jiaonan, his brow knitting slightly.

"I don't like you." Lin Jichuan said, his tone as flat as if he were talking about the weather. "Clear enough?"

Ye Jiaonan's face went completely pale. His lips moved a few times, like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Lin Jichuan waited two seconds. Seeing that Ye Jiaonan wasn't moving, he sidestepped around him and kept going.

Ye Jiaonan spun around and shouted at the back that showed no hesitation:

"You'll regret this!"

"Lin Jichuan! You'll regret this!"

Lin Jichuan's steps stuttered for just a moment.

But he didn't look back. If anything, he quickened his pace, as if afraid of being latched onto.

Lin Xishan clicked his tongue in amazement. No wonder in the original book, Lin Jichuan's redemption arc failed completely and he got swapped out as the male lead.

He really was that cold.