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

The office door was ajar.

If one walked a little further, the corner of the desk would come into view.

[Still no voices.]

It was too quiet.

As if there wasn’t anyone inside at all.

Ye Jishu hesitated for a moment.

But in the next instant—

He felt a warm touch from behind.

Yan Mei pressed closely against his back, his hand slipping through the gap between Ye Jishu’s arm and his side, wrapping him in an embrace. Maintaining this posture, Yan Mei directly pushed the door open.

The scene inside the office unfolded in their line of sight.

Professor Chen was seated in his chair.

On his face was a twisted, angry expression, as though he was about to lash out any second.

And on the other side—

Ye Jishu’s dorm mate stood before the desk, head lowered. Long black hair obscured his eyes, making it impossible to see his expression.

When the door opened and Ye Jishu and Yan Mei stepped inside, his fingers twitched slightly.

The two figures remained silent, as though they were performing some bizarre pantomime.

Two marionettes placed within a stage setting, poised to begin their act the moment an audience appeared.

In such a situation, neither moved.

Suddenly, the dorm mate spoke.

“Teacher… teacher… that…”

“What is it? Speak up!” Professor Chen didn’t even raise his head, merely lowering it further to continue grading lesson plans. “I’m very busy. I don’t have time to deal with students. If you’re here about the math modeling competition again, then leave now!”

“But…”

Professor Chen clicked his tongue impatiently and tossed his pen aside. “I’ve already told you—you just didn’t win an award! That’s all!”

Still, the dorm mate didn’t move.

His hand clenched the hem of his shirt, tightening and releasing.

Then his hesitant voice, so soft it was barely audible, emerged:

“Teacher… I saw my paper… in an elementary school competition. But the name on it… wasn’t mine. Why would it appear there—”

Before he could finish, Professor Chen shot up from his desk.

Bang!

The desk rattled.

He shoved back his chair and strode toward the dorm mate, his bulging eyes glaring down at him.

“You’re implying something?”

“…”

“So what if I did?”

In Ye Jishu’s view, his dorm mate’s fists clenched tight, fingers digging into his palms so hard they drew blood.

In a voice barely above a whisper, the dorm mate eked out words filled with torment.

This was someone who had lost the strength to argue for himself, desperately trying, with all his might, to articulate his thoughts.

“But… you shouldn’t have used my…”

Smack!

A slap landed.

The dorm mate staggered backward from the impact.

“And what if I did?! Someone of your level could only ever place second in an elementary school competition… pathetic! I haven’t even scolded you for your incompetence! My child couldn’t even gain bonus points because of you. Don’t waste my time here!”

“I…”

Smack!

Another slap.

“You’re the worst student I’ve ever mentored. What gives you the right to stand here and lecture me? Huh? Want to accuse me of something?”

Smack!

“Your parents and I have been friends for years. How could they raise such a useless child?!”

“Ugh, what a pathetic piece of trash.”

“You don’t even have the decency to call me ‘Uncle Chen.’ Don’t tell me you plagiarized the paper yourself? I should’ve disciplined you on their behalf long ago!”

Every slap landed with more cutting words.

From trying to defend himself, the dorm mate eventually lapsed into murmured self-reproach, as though speaking only to himself.

The slaps weren’t particularly hard.

They were blows of humiliation.

To survive, his hands reflexively lifted to shield his face.

His thin forearms bore red welts from the strikes.

With each blow, his fragile skin seemed on the verge of breaking.

Yet he continued to stand his ground.

As if his stance alone could express his defiance.

“I… I’m not worthless…”

“That was my paper for the competition…”

The sound of rain boomed in the background.

His voice was swallowed by the darkness.

Ye Jishu had long wanted to step forward and intervene.

But Yan Mei’s hand, gripping his wrist since they entered, kept him in place.

Yan Mei watched the scene coldly for a moment.

Then, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Ye Jishu couldn’t pull his gaze away from his dorm mate.

Because at some point, the dorm mate’s sobbing had stopped.

A stifling, indescribable tension hung in the air of the office. Only the dull, lifeless sound of slaps echoed through the space.

“All right! That’s enough!”

At these words, Professor Chen finally lowered his hand, exhaling a heavy breath as though purging his anger.

“Get out of my office. I still need to grade your advanced algebra exams. I don’t have time to waste chatting with you!”

“…”

The dorm mate lowered his arms. His eyes, peeking out from beneath heavy bangs, fixed lifelessly on the middle-aged man before him.

“Will you fail me?”

“Heh, that depends on your performance. Your usual grades are nothing special. Don’t expect me to fudge the numbers for you.”

The dorm mate froze.

Then, dragging his weary body, he walked toward Ye Jishu’s direction.

Toward the door.

Recognizing yet another act of submission, Professor Chen’s gaze reflected unrestrained contempt.

Yes.

For such timid, hesitant victims, most people felt only disgust.

“Oh, and don’t tell your parents. Spare them the worry. You’ve embarrassed them enough as it is.”

The dorm mate lowered his head, remaining silent.

Dragging his heavy steps, he reached Ye Jishu, brushing past him.

Smack!

Suddenly, Ye Jishu raised a hand, breaking free from Yan Mei’s grip, and grabbed the dorm mate’s wrist.

The abrupt movement caught everyone off guard.

The dorm mate jerked his head up.

In his gaze was a face marred by pain and anguish.

Meeting Ye Jishu’s stoic expression, the dorm mate seemed to find an outlet for his pent-up emotions, letting out incoherent sounds.

“I hate it… I hate myself so much…”

“If I had the courage to expose it online, people would help me. If I stood up, I wouldn’t be slapped like this. If I weren’t so timid and cowardly, unable to express my emotions, my parents wouldn’t despise me…”

Even though he knew his behavior was foolish and detestable.

He couldn’t take that first step.

How did those who could voice their thoughts so freely, who could openly admit their mediocrity, manage to do it?

He envied them.

He envied them so much.

So much envy!

Tears of despair filled his eyes as he stared at Ye Jishu.

“…I didn’t want you to see this scene. But now, only by reliving this humiliation and channeling my hatred for myself can I find the strength to retaliate. Because, in that elevator, I—”

[In the elevator, what happened?]

Suddenly, above Ye Jishu, Yan Mei’s smiling voice cut through the air:

“You—”

The dorm mate instantly silenced himself.

It was a fleeting statement, so soft that it could easily be mistaken for background noise amidst the torrential rain. Yet it achieved its intended effect.

Yan Mei: “You’ve spoken enough.”

[Would he normally speak to a stranger this way?]

However, as soon as the words fell—

Ye Jishu abruptly let go of the wrist he was holding and tucked his hand behind his back.

The roommate immediately lowered his head, not daring to have even the slightest physical contact with him again.

Yan Mei’s expression remained blank as he stared at the spot where their skin had previously made contact. Suddenly, a smile crept onto his lips.

“Why so tense? I’m just another guest here. Pack up your things and head back now,” Yan Mei said.

[What things? What needs to be packed up?]

“N-no, um… that…” The roommate turned back to glance at Professor Chen, who was still seated.

Ye Jishu’s gaze instinctively followed.

The middle-aged man who had been hurling harsh words moments ago now sat motionless at his desk, his eyes clouded as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

After delivering those scathing remarks earlier, he had not moved an inch.

Yan Mei, without looking away, smiled faintly. “Is there a problem?”

The roommate’s pupils contracted—a reaction born of intense fear that he couldn’t hide.

“I-I’ll leave now…”

“…”

“Jishu, weren’t you worried about him? Walk him back. I still have some matters to handle here. I can manage on my own.”

Ye Jishu froze, turning to look at Yan Mei, who still had his arms loosely around him.

The man’s expression hadn’t changed. He didn’t look angry, yet the words he spoke were…

They were entirely out of character for him.

What was going on?

“What’s wrong, Jishu? Do you think I’m deliberately being sarcastic?”

Yan Mei lowered his head, looking at him. His eyes held no trace of a smile.

Then the answer was clear.

There was only one possibility.

“No, not at all,” Ye Jishu replied.

But Yan Mei gave him a blank look.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m doing—I’m being sarcastic,” Yan Mei said flatly.

“…”

Ye Jishu was at a loss for words, staring at him.

Seeing his expression, Yan Mei raised his hands and cradled Ye Jishu’s face. His thumbs pressed hard, leaving faint red marks on his skin.

Ye Jishu allowed the gesture without protest, seemingly mistaking it as a reaction to his perceived anger and choosing to indulge him.

How adorable.

Yan Mei lowered his eyes, watching quietly for a moment.

Suddenly, a strong and inexplicable surge of emotion welled up in his chest.

What was it?

[Love.]

That was the only word that surfaced in his mind.

He loved moments like this.

Just as he loved how Ye Jishu was looking at him right now.

Though this expression stemmed purely from confusion, the sight of it was enough for him to replay endlessly in his mind.

At this moment, those clear, untainted eyes soothed his foul mood—if only slightly.

Despite the storm of jealousy, anger, and joy roiling within him, Yan Mei maintained a gentle smile. Like a mask, it concealed his true emotions, ensuring Ye Jishu wouldn’t sense anything that might frighten him.

That was enough staring for now.

Yan Mei averted his gaze.

His dark eyes landed on the roommate, then shifted to Professor Chen seated nearby.

He had been holding back for a long, long time.

Perhaps it was the weather.

On rainy days, mosquitoes multiplied. The stifling heat exacerbated the relentless drone of cicadas, and the downpour grew ever fiercer.

In this stifling atmosphere, the pests seemed to have forgotten their place, daring to crawl out from the depths of the sewer and brazenly wander into his domain.

The secrets of this world…

Yan Mei would never allow anyone else to reveal them, disrupting the ordinary life he had carefully crafted with Ye Jishu.

Four months.

For four months, they had gotten along well.

Their relationship had deepened bit by bit, progressing from holding hands to hugging and eventually to sharing kisses.

And now—

[Reckless fool. You could’ve just stayed in the role of a roommate.]

[I spared you because you once interacted with Jishu, and I couldn’t be bothered to deal with you. But now, you dare to openly manifest your space here? Are you asking for death?]

Taking care of trash like you doesn’t even warrant using my space, Yan Mei thought with a click of his tongue.

This should’ve been Jishu’s task.

Yet this useless meddler had created such a disturbance, forcing Jishu to look at him with that faintly evasive expression.

Jishu… Was he afraid of him now?

Even though he had been so obedient and well-behaved?

Afraid.

He would undoubtedly be afraid.

That would be disastrous.

Terrible.

Yan Mei’s mood soured even further.

…

Narrowing his eyes coldly, Yan Mei muttered, “Summer is so disgusting.”

[What does summer have to do with anything?]

This was clearly misplaced anger.

Ye Jishu stared at him, utterly baffled by the abrupt shift in topic.

“Wait for me. We’ll go back together,” Yan Mei said.

“…”

“Just give me a moment more.”

After throwing out this seemingly unrelated statement, Yan Mei added in a soft voice, “It won’t take long.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Meeting Ye Jishu’s perplexed gaze, Yan Mei hesitated for a moment before answering with a gentle tone, “I just need a word with Professor Chen. Then, it’ll all be over.”

It was almost a coaxing tone.

[Then, we can return to our normal lives.]

[If any signs appear afterward, I’ll put an end to it ahead of time.]

He would never allow Jishu to discover his true nature and flee from him.

That kind of future…

[Unforgivable.]

He would never let it happen.