Chapter 3
Ji Yunian was driving an Aston Martin today. It didn’t have a back seat, so Yan Shiqiu had no choice but to sit in the front passenger seat.
There was a faint scent of mint in the car.
After fastening his seatbelt, he said, “Thanks.”
“It’s not for you.” Ji Yunian said flatly, eyes on the road.
Having a high fever was miserable. Yan Shiqiu felt like his head was about to explode, and his whole body was exhausted. He leaned his head against the window, turned his face slightly, and said, “I know, but I still want to thank you.”
Ji Yunian glanced at him but didn’t respond. After that, neither of them spoke again.
Ji Yunian was an excellent driver. He drove down the mountain smoothly, without the slightest bump. Feeling unwell, Yan Shiqiu closed his eyes and, before he knew it, drifted off to sleep.
An hour later, the Aston Martin pulled up outside the hospital, and Ji Yunian woke him up.
Yan Shiqiu had only slept for a short while, but his illness had worsened. His vision was blurry with double images, and his head felt like it was going to explode.
It took him a while before he could even ask, “We’re here?”
“We’re here.” Ji Yunian confirmed, then added, “Get out.”
Pressing hard on his temples to ease the headache a little, Yan Shiqiu opened the car door and stepped out. The moment his foot touched the ground, his knee buckled, and he wobbled unsteadily.
Grabbing the car door for support, he barely managed to steady himself. He was beyond frustrated—why was this body so damn weak?!
He’d definitely have to add working out to his schedule from now on!
Ji Yunian had originally planned to just drop Yan Shiqiu off and leave. But seeing him like this, unable to even stand properly, he sighed and stepped out of the car.
Walking up to him, Ji Yunian asked, “Can you walk?”
Yan Shiqiu blanked for a moment before lifting his head. “Huh?”
Realizing what was being asked, he quickly nodded and thanked him again, “Thanks.”
Ji Yunian just gave a low “Mm” and reached out to grab Yan Shiqiu’s arm. His skin was burning hot from the fever—even through the thin fabric of his shirt, Ji Yunian could feel the heat.
Glancing down at him, Ji Yunian simply said, “Let’s go.”
The sun was still hanging in the sky even though it was already past six in the evening. The sky was painted in soft shades of blue and violet—it was breathtakingly beautiful.
At this hour, the regular outpatient services had already closed, so they had to register for emergency treatment instead.
The emergency room was crowded, but since everyone there was either a patient or a concerned family member, and the doctors and nurses were busy, no one paid attention to anyone else. Ji Yunian was only wearing a mask, yet no one recognized him.
After registering and seeing the doctor, it was confirmed that Yan Shiqiu’s fever had reached nearly 40°C (104°F). If he let it drag on any longer, it could get dangerous, so the doctor prescribed an IV drip.
Once the nurse had set up the IV and left, Yan Shiqiu turned to Ji Yunian and said, “I’ll be fine on my own. You should go.”
“Thanks for the trouble.”
Ji Yunian hadn’t planned on staying anyway. Hearing this, he simply responded, “Mm, I’m leaving then.”
With that, he turned and left without hesitation.
The IV room was empty. The moment Ji Yunian walked out, Yan Shiqiu was alone.
Adjusting to a more comfortable position, he started thinking about his next steps.
Earlier, he had looked through those secretly taken photos. Aside from the difference in clothing style, the “him” from the book looked almost exactly like him—just a little paler and skinnier.
There was no way for him to return to his original world. He could only survive in this new one.
Fortunately, he didn’t have any real attachments in his past life.
His parents had passed away five years ago. He had no siblings, no partner, and in the eyes of his fans and friends, he wasn’t irreplaceable. They’d get over it soon enough.
He just regretted not saving enough money to buy back the house that had been sold to pay off debts… or his mom’s paintings. Now, he’d never get the chance.
And he’d never get to see his home, filled with memories of his parents, or his mother’s paintings ever again.
A wave of sadness washed over Yan Shiqiu.
Tilting his head back, he raised an arm to cover his eyes, blocking out the sour sting welling up in them.
He let himself wallow in the feeling for a few minutes before patting his face and pulling himself together. He had to keep thinking.
The “him” in this world was only 20 years old. He barely managed to graduate high school and didn’t even get into a technical college.
His mother had wanted him to repeat a year and try again, but he refused. Instead, he stole a sum of money and ran away to B City to seek refuge with his cousin, Wen Chen. Through Wen Chen, he met a bunch of rich second-generation heirs—including Ye Peiyuan.
And from the moment he met Ye Peiyuan, it was love at first sight.
From then on, he became an absolute fool for love, chasing Ye Peiyuan obsessively and throwing his life away for him.
After arriving in B City, he had been scouted by a talent agent and signed with Heng Xing Entertainment. But because of his high-profile relationship with Ye Peiyuan, he actually believed Ye Peiyuan truly loved him.
He had already begun the process of terminating his contract with the company—only the final paperwork was left.
The more Yan Shiqiu thought about it, the angrier he got.
Why was he so dumb?! So, so, so dumb!!
When he was just reading the book, he could laugh it off.
But now that he had to live in this idiot’s body? He couldn’t stand it!
Didn’t money smell nice?!
Didn’t earning your own money give one a sense of accomplishment?!
Fuming, Yan Shiqiu grabbed a cup of water and gulped down two full glasses.
Once he calmed down, he pulled out his phone, trying to find his agent’s contact information.
But after searching for a while, he realized—he had no clue what his agent’s name even was.
“……”
Yan Shiqiu frowned, frustrated.
Just then, his phone rang. The sudden sound startled him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the caller ID.
It was Ye Peiyuan.
Taking a deep breath, he answered.
Ye Peiyuan’s voice came through the line, gentle and soft, “Xiao Qiu, where are you right now?”
What an act.
Right now wasn’t the time to completely fall out with him yet. Yan Shiqiu quickly adjusted his tone, mimicking the original owner’s voice as he said, “Peiyuan-ge, I’m sick. I have a high fever. I’m at the hospital getting an IV.”
“Are you feeling any better?”
“No… I feel awful. Can you come and keep me company?” Yan Shiqiu said, face completely blank, but his voice was sweet and full of affection. Even when a passing nurse shot him a curious look, he remained perfectly composed.
“I have a meeting I can’t leave right now. I can’t come see you.”
Great, Yan Shiqiu thought. The less he shows up, the better.
But he still had to keep up appearances. “Peiyuan-ge, you really can’t come? I’m all alone in the hospital. I’m a little scared.”
“Sorry, Xiao Qiu. This meeting is important.”
His voice became even softer, full of tenderness, “I need to make more money to support you.”
“……”
Yan Shiqiu’s expression cracked for a second.
Then Ye Peiyuan continued, “Oh, right, Xiao Qiu. You still have that memory card from the camera, right? Send me the photos and videos on it. Now that the public opinion is already stirred up, we might as well take this chance to confirm the truth about his sexuality.”
…What?
Yan Shiqiu’s brows furrowed. He had a bad feeling about this. “What public opinion?”
“Ji Yunian is trending.” Ye Peiyuan only mentioned it briefly before urging again, “Xiao Qiu, send me the photos and videos first.”
Send them? No way. The memory card was already destroyed.
Yan Shiqiu said, “Peiyuan-ge, I’m sorry… I lost it. I was burning up and dizzy. I must’ve dropped it somewhere. I can’t find it.”
“You lost it?!” Ye Peiyuan’s voice shot up in volume.
Yan Shiqiu held the phone a little farther from his ear.
“How did you lose it?!” He sounded completely furious, no longer bothering to pretend to be gentle. “Why did you even take the memory card in the first place?! Do you have any idea how important it is to me?!”
Yan Shiqiu kept up the act. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I was planning to personally bring it to you tonight. We haven’t seen each other in so long… I really missed you…”
“Beep—beep—beep—”
Ye Peiyuan hung up.
Yan Shiqiu barely resisted the urge to block him. At the same time, he was immensely relieved that the original owner hadn’t actually done anything with Ye Peiyuan yet. Otherwise, he’d be utterly disgusted.
Then he remembered what Ye Peiyuan had said about trending topics. His lips pressed into a thin line as he opened Weibo.
As soon as he logged in, his phone lagged from the sheer flood of notifications. It took a long moment before everything finally loaded.
Unread messages: 80,123
Mentions: 179,801
Comments: 226,757
…That’s a lot.
There was no doubt—Ji Yunian was trending because of him.
Instead of checking his notifications, Yan Shiqiu went straight to the trending page.
At the very top was #JiYunianHomewrecker#, marked with a big, bold “EXPLOSIVE” tag in red.
Right below it was another trending topic—his own name, tied to Ji Yunian’s.
So his bad feeling had been right.
Clicking into the hot search, he saw a pinned video at the top. It was footage of Ji Yunian bringing him to the hospital, helping him walk.
But the angle of the video made it look like they were holding hands as they walked in together.
The comment section was a complete mess.
The top comments were brutal.
【Who even is Yan Shiqiu? Some kind of god? As if Ji Yunian, with his status and background, would need to be a homewrecker.】
【This washed-up loser is just trying to leech off Ji Yunian’s fame.】
【Disgusting. Is clout-chasing like this the new trend now?】
【Where’s Ji Yunian’s studio? Where’s the lawyer’s letter? Is his agent eating sh*t?】
【Yan Shiqiu, at it again! Just die already!】
……
The online hate didn’t faze Yan Shiqiu at all.
Back in his previous life, he had always been a controversial figure. His fans and haters were evenly matched, constantly clashing. He had long since developed a thick skin.
When he first stepped into the entertainment industry for money, he had already prepared himself for this kind of chaos.
So, he skimmed through the insults without a second thought, filtering out the noise. Then, among the angry comments, he spotted one that caught his attention—a detailed exposé on the original owner of this body.
The information was incredibly thorough.
The person who wrote it clearly knew “him” and, judging by the tone, really didn’t like him.
Yan Shiqiu took a screenshot for reference and put his phone away. Then he got up, pushed his IV stand, and left the infusion room to find a nurse on duty.
“Excuse me, does that road outside the hospital have surveillance cameras?” he asked.
The nurse looked up. “Which road?”
“The one leading from the entrance to the outpatient building.” he clarified.
“Oh, that one? Yes, there are cameras.” she replied, then suddenly seemed wary. “Why are you asking?”
Yan Shiqiu gave her a polite smile, meeting her gaze. “I lost something important and need to find it.”
He looked good, and even though his outfit was a bit flashy, it wasn’t over-the-top. He had just the right balance between eye-catching and stylish.
Attractive people naturally had an advantage in social interactions.
The nurse studied him for a moment before relaxing. She even helpfully pointed the way. “You’ll need to go to the security office. It’s in another building—exit the main doors, turn left, and you’ll see a three-story building. That’s the one.”
“Thank you.”
Using Ji Yunian’s name, Yan Shiqiu quickly got access to the security footage.
As soon as he walked out of the monitoring room, he called Ji Yunian.
It rang for a long time before Ji Yunian finally picked up.
“Sorry about the trending topic.” Yan Shiqiu said immediately. He didn’t waste time with small talk and went straight to the point. “I got the hospital’s security footage. It clearly shows that you were just helping me walk. I’ll send it to you.”
Ji Yunian didn’t respond right away. Instead, he asked, “Where are you?”
…???
Yan Shiqiu was momentarily stunned. “At the hospital.”
“Then why don’t I see you?” Ji Yunian said.
“……”
“……” Yan Shiqiu was speechless for a few seconds before replying, “I’m outside the security office.”
Discover more from Yamie tls
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
