My Boyfriend is the Heartthrob, and I’m Just a Passerby.

The trip wasn’t a last-minute decision.

So, Yan Mei had already bought tickets for both of them in advance.

However, perhaps to enhance the visitors’ experience, the aquarium limited the number of people allowed at each time slot. Even with tickets, they couldn’t immediately enter; they had to go to the ticket verification area first and wait until their number appeared on the screen before entering.

Ye Jishu’s gaze fell on the area ahead.

There were two lines for ticket verification.

Although it was moving fairly quickly, it seemed like they would still have to wait for quite a while.

At times like this…

It felt like he should do something.

However, before Ye Jishu could speak, the person beside him had already said, “I’ll go stand in line.”

“Last time, you went to the front desk to exchange game tokens, and more people were crowding the place. I wasn’t familiar with it, so I just stood aside and let you do all the hard work. This time, I won’t make you do it.”

Though it sounded like a suggestion, there was a tone that made it hard to refuse.

Ye Jishu: “…”

It was just standing in line. It wasn’t really hard work.

He was about to say, “I’ll do it instead.”

But the moment he saw Yan Mei’s dark eyes staring at him, the words got stuck in his throat.

“I want to do this.”

“As long as I’m with you, even standing in line is fun.”

“…”

Maybe it was just polite talk, like last time when he said, “Let’s go to a place you often go to,” just out of courtesy.

But he had to admit, hearing those words from him definitely made anyone’s heart race, making them feel special — especially when it was coming from [Yan Mei.]

The person who was admired by countless people, who would be willing to give up everything just to hear a single word from him.

Ye Jishu had to be very careful.

He had to escape from this “unique presence.”

Don’t let yourself become too ordinary.

Think of those who admired Yan Mei.

Even though they were so obsessed, so immersed in their admiration, willing to dive into cold lake waters just to talk to him, they were still mercilessly cast aside. When their name was mentioned, a mocking, contemptuous smile appeared on his lips.

How did those people get captured by him?

Was it his face?

Or his attitude?

Or perhaps it was those misleading words.

After a few seconds, Ye Jishu finally spoke, “Mm.”

Yan Mei reached out his hand.

The next moment, his right cheek was covered with warmth as the other person gently rubbed it for a moment.

“I’ll go now. Don’t talk to strangers.”

“Mm.”

After getting the assurance, Yan Mei released his hand.

Ye Jishu silently watched him walk away.

But just before he disappeared, Ye Jishu suddenly remembered something and called out to him.

“Yan Mei.”

His voice wasn’t loud, just a normal speaking volume.

But Yan Mei still heard him immediately, stopped in his tracks, and turned around.

“What is it?”

Ye Jishu lowered his head and fumbled in his coat for a while.

Keychain, dormitory key card… Where had they gone?

He looked up and met Yan Mei’s eyes.

Ye Jishu couldn’t help but stare at his face.

It turned out that while he was searching with his head down, Yan Mei had only been looking at him, his lips curled into a subtle smile, patiently waiting for his actions, without showing any impatience or urging him to hurry.

“Did you find it?”

He had.

Ye Jishu’s fingers touched something.

He then lifted his eyes and passed the item to Yan Mei.

Ye Jishu saw the person in front of him take it and then shift his gaze to the item.

It was—

[A mask].

Yan Mei’s presence was so conspicuous.

In a crowd, the attention from others would become even more intense.

Even now, those passing by him, whether alone or with companions, couldn’t help but cast greedy, lingering glances toward him, their eyes almost sticking to his back.

After all, this was [Yan Mei.]

But thinking about the sticky, obsessive gazes on him made Ye Jishu uncomfortable. It felt as though something irrational and strange was coveting him, surrounding him. He had the impulse to stand in front of him to shield him, so he had deliberately brought this mask this morning.

[He didn’t want so many people looking at Yan Mei.]

This was his straightforward thought, without overanalyzing the reason.

However, Yan Mei looked up at him and stared for a few seconds, not saying anything.

The air was quiet.

The noise of others filled the space between them.

The previously ignored announcements started again, “239,” 

“240”…

Bang bang, bang…

Ye Jishu’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated when the loudspeaker announced the next number.

Wait, hold on.

Did he just overstep?

Now that he thought about it, his words had sounded like a demand: “Don’t let anyone else look at you,” or “Only I can.”

Someone walked past him from behind. The sound of their shoes scraping against the floor disturbed him with an uncomfortable squeak.

Ye Jishu said, “…Never mind.”

He tried to take back the mask, but Yan Mei suddenly moved, blocking his hand and rejecting it. “No.”

“…”

Unable to retrieve the mask, Ye Jishu thought about how frustrating height differences could be.

But Yan Mei, standing in front of him, just kept staring at him intently, his dark eyes unreadable, holding the mask in his palm. Slowly, he tightened his fingers, the crinkling of the cheap plastic bag echoing in the quiet space, making Ye Jishu’s heart feel like it was being squeezed.

Suddenly, Yan Mei spoke softly.

“So cute… I really like you, Jishu.”

Taken completely by surprise, Ye Jishu froze for a moment.

What?

Suddenly saying something like that…

Yan Mei didn’t offer an explanation, as if it was just something he had casually said. Then, without putting on the mask, he tucked it into his coat and turned to walk toward the queue.

Ye Jishu was left staring at Yan Mei’s retreating back, confused.

“……”

But—

Forget it.

He was used to it by now.

“Like” was a word Yan Mei often said, just like his physical gestures, essentially without any real meaning.

[He still didn’t wear the mask.]

[Maybe having such a possessive boyfriend will lead to annoyance.]

It was probably crossing a line…

Ye Jishu expressionlessly twitched his fingers by his side, then shifted his gaze away from Yan Mei.

Given that it was still early, the aquarium wasn’t very crowded yet. Aside from the queue area, which was a bit cramped, the rest of the place was fine. The central hall had rows of seats for visitors to rest.

A seat was vacant just a few steps away.

However, someone suddenly sat down beside it, causing Ye Jishu to halt mid-step.

He stood still, not moving further.

Then, his gaze passed over the empty seat, scanning the crowd.

The number of people around him gradually increased. After half a minute, he finally spotted a quiet corner with no one around. Even though it was a bit far and against his usual nature of avoiding unnecessary effort, he walked over and sat down without hesitation, his stiff body finally relaxing.

Then—

Ye Jishu pulled out his long-unused phone.

This was the typical way a solitary person passed the time with no surprises or social distractions.

But this time was different.

Ye Jishu didn’t open his usual game. Instead, he went back to the campus forum.

[Still curious about the results of the mathematical modeling competition.]

Even though he was out with Yan Mei, he hadn’t forgotten about it.

It was supposed to be announced by the end of May, but his project advisor had yet to provide any updates.

The competition was an individual contest, meaning Ye Jishu was the only one in his project group. So, aside from his advisor, no one else could be asked about it.

Did he not win…?

But at the very least, they should have informed him.

There wasn’t even any mention of it in the forum.

He asked his advisor two days ago, but got no response. He asked the counselor, and was told that Professor Chen was attending an off-campus meeting and wouldn’t return until the day after tomorrow, so he couldn’t ask in person.

Guess he would have to wait until the day after tomorrow…

But if he could resolve it on his phone, he really didn’t want to meet with Professor Chen alone. Every time he went to his office, it felt uncomfortable. Despite the desk between them, the way he was looked at—his mocking, sniffing sneer, and greasy body—always made the air feel polluted.

Suddenly, Ye Jishu felt a wave of frustration rising in his chest.

He regretted wearing a jacket this morning because of the potential rain. The jacket’s collar felt rough against his neck, making him feel sharp discomfort, and his fingers, still holding the phone, unconsciously tightened.

His living expenses were running low.

As usual, his parents almost forgot about him, and it would take a long time before they sent any money.

In about half a month, around the end of June, it might be Yan Mei’s birthday.

He needed to think about a gift.

But how to prepare for it was the most practical concern, given his lack of money.

Ye Jishu wasn’t sure when exactly Yan Mei’s birthday was because he had learned about it by accident. Yan Mei hadn’t told him directly, probably hoping he’d figure it out. The safest bet was to prepare in advance, just in case. He couldn’t predict how Yan Mei would react if he didn’t.

But what if they broke up before then? Then there’d be no need for a gift…

“…”

No, forget it.

Rather than worrying about that, it would be better to focus on his money situation.

Ye Jishu posted again on the forum, asking about the competition.

There were very few replies.

Nothing useful.

This time, he checked again, and it was the same—no new replies.

Since there was still no news from others, he’d have to wait until the day after tomorrow to see the advisor.

Ye Jishu’s life philosophy was simple—if something couldn’t be solved now, leave it for tomorrow. There was no point in worrying if it wasn’t something he could handle at the moment, so he pushed his worries aside and decided to play a game.

But just as he was about to close the forum—

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

Ye Jishu glanced at the bottom right corner of the forum.

A small red dot appeared above his profile picture.

Someone had sent him a private message.

He paused and clicked to open it.

[You have a message from a stranger.]

He clicked again.

[I saw your post. Sorry, after we met last night, I couldn’t help but search for your account on the forum. I was surprised to see you posted this. Are you still following that competition? I have something to tell you…]

The stranger’s profile picture immediately caught his eye, giving a strong visual impact.

It was an image of two eyeballs.

Freshly severed and bloody.

From the size, they didn’t look like human eyes, probably from some small animal, and the nerves attached to them hadn’t been severed. The background was a typical medical student’s experimental table.

And the words above the image were in large white bold font—

[Study and die like me.]

“……”

It was easy to judge that this was another medical student who had been driven insane by their studies.

So, this must be an internet meme, right?

Ye Jishu thought, uncertain.

[Oh! Right. Sorry, I was in a rush and ended up sending you a bunch of messages, but I forgot to introduce myself…]

I’m a medical student.

I like bloody things.

We met last night.

All the clues point to one person.

 [Wen Yuhe.]

Ye Jishu typed.

 That was the senior from the film club, who seemed all neat and fresh but remained unflinching while watching The Human Centipede.

 Last night, at the club’s restroom, he accidentally witnessed Wen Yuhe being encouraged by others to chase after Yan Mei. At that time, the people around him kept praising him, mentioning that his parents were well-known doctors in a private hospital, so he was probably from medical school.

[Just remember my name.]

Ye Jishu didn’t reply immediately.

 It seemed that Wen Yuhe also knew that Ye Jishu was more concerned about the modeling competition, so he didn’t waste time and quickly said:

 [I’ve heard your name before, I just couldn’t put it together. It’s because, when Professor Chen’s child was hospitalized, my parents were invited to dinner, and I was there. They talked about the modeling competition…]

Ye Jishu paused for a moment.

Suddenly, he had a feeling of what was coming next.

[Professor Chen’s son, who’s in junior high school, doesn’t usually do well in school, but unexpectedly won the national modeling competition’s youth training group championship.]

 [He might get a direct entry into our university’s affiliated high school.]

[Hmm… I don’t know how to say this. So I just sent you a message. If you need anything, you can call me. My number is below… I appreciate that you didn’t laugh at me for liking Yan Mei. If you need anything, I can accompany you.]

There was a string of numbers below.

 After a moment, Ye Jishu moved his fingers.

 [Thank you.]

He thanked him first.

Then, Ye Jishu stared blankly at the screen.

 Actually…

 He hadn’t completely dismissed this possibility.

Although there had been no scandals about Professor Chen, when he was writing the modeling competition paper that night, he accidentally played out a voice message from Professor Chen. At that time, his usually quiet and socially anxious roommate had suddenly reacted violently, breathing in and out sharply —

 “Gooji, gooji…”

 The sound was distorted, like it was stuck in a water pipe.

 The bed felt like it was filled with discarded kitchen waste, giving off a rotten and damp smell.

 Ye Jishu couldn’t ignore it. But when he stopped and asked, “What’s wrong?” his roommate just kept repeating in an obstinate tone: “I remember, I remember… Professor Chen… he made me—”

It seemed like his roommate realized he wasn’t alone in the room, so the sentence abruptly stopped.

 He didn’t get an answer.

 But from that day on, the tightly closed bed curtain finally had a small gap.

 Through the gap, his roommate’s eye turned and stared at Ye Jishu with a confused gaze, finally able to communicate normally.

 Although no further questions were asked, all the strange behaviors back then were now confirmed.

It wasn’t just him.

 Maybe his roommate had experienced the same.

 No wonder he had been so unusually anxious, constantly asking about the modeling competition’s results.

 When Ye Jishu returns, his roommate will definitely ask again.

 [It can’t end like this.]

 Ye Jishu’s eyes turned cold.

 He was definitely not the type to be weak and endure silently.

“Jishu.”

 He was lost in thought when suddenly a shadow blocked his view.

 The next moment, a cold sensation touched his cheek, as someone pressed a bottle covered in condensation against his skin.

[…So cold.]

All his thoughts flew away, immediately pulling his attention back.

“Are you thirsty? I got you a fruit tea and already opened it for you.”

Ye Jishu looked up and met the gaze of the person in front of him.

 It wasn’t until their eyes met that Yan Mei smiled and withdrew his hand holding the drink, casually asking, “What were you thinking about just now? You were so focused on your phone, you didn’t even notice when I arrived. Did something happen? You can tell me.”