Chapter 30: Shocked: A One-Meter-Eight Strong Man Was Dumped by His Ex

"... It was just us two having a fight, Guan Yue went to talk to him on my behalf, and just now he was just teasing you—he's sometimes just irresponsible."

Tong Dawei understood, or rather, saw clearly.

When Dong Xuan came downstairs, besides explaining to him, her eyes never left Yan Li, and Yan Li's attitude toward Dong Xuan and Guan Yue was completely different.

It was most likely that he had misunderstood.

Now Tong Dawei started to panic—before, their conflict had never been resolved, and now wasn't this adding fuel to the fire?

"Guan Yue, I'm sorry."

Tong Dawei quickly apologized, but Guan Yue's face was cold: "What exactly did you do wrong?"

"You're wrong for caring too much about her."

Before Tong Dawei could speak, Yan Li interjected again: "The reason this happened today is precisely because this guy cares too much about Guan Yue—concern leads to confusion, confusion stems from deep feeling, a minor lapse in composure, but his intentions were good."

Tong Dawei clearly understood Yan Li was defending him, nodding vigorously: "That's right, Guan Yue, I was just afraid you'd break up with me."

Guan Yue shot Tong Dawei a glare, then turned to Yan Li: "What does this have to do with you? Can you please focus on solving your own problems first?"

"Look at you—I'm trying to bring you two together, and you don't appreciate good intentions."

Yan Li was about to say more, but Dong Xuan could no longer bear it; she grabbed his arm and pulled him upstairs, tossing out one last line.

"You two talk."

"Good luck, buddy."

As Yan Li was being pushed upstairs by Dong Xuan, he called out one more thing; Tong Dawei wanted to thank him loudly, but seeing Guan Yue's dark expression, he clamped his mouth shut.

Leaving aside how Tong Dawei and Guan Yue sorted things out, Yan Li followed Dong Xuan upstairs into their shared apartment.

The space was slightly smaller than his own in Jimen, but more cozy, with all the furniture and appliances fully equipped.

Unlike their graduated vocational class, Dong Xuan's undergraduate class only entered their third year in September and had not yet graduated, so they could legitimately ask their families for living expenses.

Those attending Beijing Film Academy, an arts school, might not be from extravagantly wealthy families, but few came from poor backgrounds.

For instance, Dong Xuan's father was a professional soldier, but in the cultural division of the choir—he had served a long time, with a rank equivalent to regimental or deputy divisional level.

Guan Yue's family background was also good, possibly even better than Dong Xuan's.

With affluent families who doted on their daughters, generous allowances, their lives were certainly better than Zhang Songwen and those other broke Beijing newcomers who had just graduated.

"Drink some water."

As Yan Li was examining the apartment's layout, Dong Xuan poured him a glass of water.

"Do you two live here alone?"

"There's also Yin Xu. Originally Peng Xinyi lived with us too, but she went home because of family matters."

Yan Li knew both of them—they were fellow performance students from the 2000 class at Beijing Film Academy who got along well with Dong Xuan.

Especially Yin Xu, who could be called Dong Xuan's closest friend after Guan Yue.

Yan Li had a good impression of her, because when he and Dong Xuan broke up, Guan Yue urged him to end it, while Yin Xu urged him to reconcile.

For that alone, in Yan Li's mind, Yin Xu's image was far superior to Guan Yue's.

After handing him the water, Dong Xuan leaned in and sat beside Yan Li, her voice soft: "Did you come today just to see me?"

"Mind your distance—we're broken up."

Yan Li shifted slightly away, then pulled two red bills from his pocket.

"I mainly came to return the money for the fan."

Dong Xuan stared blankly at the money in Yan Li's hand, her eyes reddening, tears welling up, her voice trembling with disbelief.

"You... you really have to be this cold and clear with me?"

Yan Li sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Enough already. Right in front of Guan Yue, I didn't even dare expose you—you're dragging this out endlessly."

Compared to Qin Lan, Yan Li had always thought Dong Xuan was better suited for Qiong Yao dramas.

At least her crying scenes were deeply moving—she excelled at playing pitiful little wives; even when he knew she was acting, he sometimes couldn't hold out.

Exposed by Yan Li, Dong Xuan could no longer keep up the act; she wiped her tears, and her delicate, pure face transformed into the boldness of a Northeastern girl as she stepped forward to demand:

"Tell me the truth—are you seeing someone else?"

"No."

Yan Li firmly denied it, confidently—he truly had no one else, just one more... good friend.

Dong Xuan didn't believe him: "Then why did you insist on breaking up with me?"

"Sis, you're the one who broke up with me."

"But I gave you an out—that was me signaling I wanted to get back together. Why did you refuse?"

"Didn't I tell you not to let Guan Yue speak for me? After we broke up, I thought about it—I really was immature in many ways, made you suffer, and it made me uncomfortable too. If that's the case, it's better to be single—temporarily free from emotional constraints, I can focus entirely on my career."

"I don't believe you."

Dong Xuan stared intently at Yan Li: "You're just bored with me and chasing something new—is it that fox named Huang?"

"I haven't had any contact with her for a long time."

Dong Xuan pressed: "Then is it someone new you met in Hengdian?"

Yan Li's expression didn't change: "I'm not RMB—I'm not loved by everyone wherever I go."

Dong Xuan looked at Yan Li uncertainly; he met her gaze calmly, and this left her utterly confused.

Her entire plan had been for Yan Li to beg her to reconcile, then she'd firmly control him before reluctantly agreeing to get back together, rekindling old feelings.

But Yan Li didn't follow the script—he kept shouting "single is great" with no intention of reconciliation.

Worse, she had already revealed her hand, lost the initiative, and now the roles were reversed—she was the one begging to reconcile.

Watching Dong Xuan's mind grow foggy, Yan Li placed the money on the table.

"It's late—I'm going home."

"You can't leave."

Dong Xuan grabbed Yan Li; seeing he still didn't stop, she gritted her teeth, rose onto her toes, cupped his head, and kissed him.

Fine, if I'm pathetic, then I'm pathetic!

Since everything was out in the open anyway, Dong Xuan had also started to give up caring.

She didn't want to break up with Yan Li, and she dared not gamble that letting him leave would mean they'd part forever.

So first, she'd keep him steady; once they got back together later, she'd slowly make this dog of a man pay back today's humiliation.

Yan Li, over one meter eighty, built and muscular, was utterly unable to struggle free from Dong Xuan's forceful kiss.

He could only flail his hands wildly over Dong Xuan's body, finally stumbling helplessly as she dragged him into the bedroom, emitting low, stifled groans…

————

Belowstairs

After coaxing for a long time, Tong Dawei finally calmed Guan Yue down; they cuddled a bit, and just as they were about to part, Guan Yue suddenly noticed the light in her own living room upstairs had turned off.

"…"

Guan Yue turned to Tong Dawei: "I remember your rented apartment was a two-bedroom, right?"

Tong Dawei realized it too, nodding with barely contained joy: "Yes, two bedrooms."

"I'm staying over at your place tonight. Don't get any funny ideas."

"No funny ideas, no funny ideas."

Tong Dawei eagerly led the way for Guan Yue; as he turned the corner, he glanced back toward the apartment building, his eyes filled with gratitude.

That guy named Yan Li just helped me out big time!

Not long after, in Jimenli Community, Zhou Yi checked the time, turned off the lights, locked the door, returned to his bedroom, and made a call.

"Lao Gui was right—it's been nearly two hours; he's probably not coming back."

"Haha, each of them owes me a hundred yuan."

On the other end of the line, Zhang Songwen laughed triumphantly, but another man who'd lost a hundred yuan, Lin Jiachuan, laughed even harder.

"Haha, I'm going to be Yan Ge's brother-in-law!"

(End of Chapter)