He lowered his head and silently stared at the glowing phone screen.
“Ah.”
He muttered to himself:
“We never took a photo together.”
Not just photos together.
There wasn’t a single photo of Yan Mo saved in his phone.
Out of more than a thousand pictures—
Not one.
…
Later.
Much later.
He finally opened their chat history and read Yan Mo’s last message.
That night, Yin Liuguang had a dream.
In the dream, he watched Yan Mo search for guides on how to take a plane.
Apply for a passport.
Learn how to buy tickets online.
Learn what could and couldn’t be packed into luggage.
After receiving his boarding pass, he accidentally went to the wrong gate and blushed bright red with embarrassment.
Yet once seated on the plane, he opened his phone.
Looking at Yin Liuguang’s photo on the screen, he wore an expression full of anticipation and barely restrained happiness.
After landing, he didn’t even know how to find the exit.
Stammering awkwardly, he asked a security guard for directions.
His face was so red it seemed ready to bleed.
Only after great difficulty did he find the taxi stand and arrive beneath the company building where his beloved boyfriend worked.
It hadn’t been easy for him.
A person who was timid and overly gentle.
Someone afraid to step beyond his small circle.
Afraid of flying.
Someone who had never traveled far from home.
He had exhausted every ounce of courage and love he possessed before making the journey alone to an unfamiliar city.
But the Yin Liuguang in the dream already knew the ending.
He watched helplessly as Yan Mo sat on the steps outside the company building.
From sunrise to sunset.
From excitement and hope—
To lowered eyes and disappointment.
In the evening light, the young man finally stood up alone.
Shouldered his backpack.
And retraced the road he had taken to get there.
Yin Liuguang didn’t know why.
But his chest felt tight.
He couldn’t breathe.
At the end of the dream, they broke up.
The boy shrugged.
“Can’t blame me for this.”
“If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too ordinary~”
“I’m a superstar, you know~”
The young man standing before him lowered his eyes and nodded.
“Mm.”
It’s my fault.
You wanted a beautiful boyfriend.
Yan Mo smiled at him and said:
“It’s a pity my appearance is ordinary.”
“I wasn’t able to become the person who brightened your youth.”
That year—
They broke up.
The person he had always been certain would never leave…
Left.
Yin Liuguang, who had been admired and praised his entire life, who had never experienced a single setback—
Only much later—
Finally understood what regret felt like.
“How the hell is Yin Liuguang here too?!”
The system had been cursing nonstop.
Among all the people Yan Mo had ever targeted, Yin Liuguang ranked firmly in the system’s top three most hated.
【Arrogant brat! Childish idiot! Loudmouth! Annoying little jerk! Spoiled kid! Ultimate appearance-obsessed narcissist!】
The floating sphere hopped around furiously.
Using every insult it knew.
Sitting on the hotel bed, Yan Mo’s gloomy mood slowly turned into helpless amusement.
He reached out and hugged the system.
Thinking about Yin Liuguang’s dazzling appearance, he sighed.
“Actually… he’s not a bad person.”
【…】
The system was horrified.
【…Host, exactly when did you become this foolish? Him? Yin Liuguang? That disaster of a human being?!】
Yan Mo: …
Yan Mo said:
“His personality is definitely bad.”
“But he’s really not a bad person.”
“He was just spoiled.”
Yin Liuguang.
A natural genius.
Academics.
Art.
Sports.
Whatever he touched, he could surpass results others spent years achieving.
As a result, he developed a personality that treated everything as easy and insignificant.
Since childhood, he had been accustomed to praise, admiration, and affection.
To him, such things were cheap.
Not worth cherishing.
He was obsessed with appearances.
A top-tier idol.
A superstar.
Yin Liuguang’s family was well-off.
Not outrageously wealthy, but comfortably affluent.
Both sets of grandparents were still alive.
He was the only child.
Every ounce of love in the family was directed toward him.
“This is way too easy.”
“How boring~”
While coaches and teachers looked on with shame, regret, and envy, the young genius merely shrugged.
Those were talents that even adults envied.
Not to mention that he possessed a face every bit as exceptional as his intelligence.
Yan Mo believed that anyone with Yin Liuguang’s talent and appearance would become proud.
Perhaps even more arrogant.
“Most of the things Yin Liuguang says aren’t intended to upset people.”
“They’re simply his honest thoughts.”
“To him, those things really are easy.”
His talent prevented him from understanding why people would spend decades—or even a lifetime—learning things he could master effortlessly.
Naturally, he couldn’t understand other people’s hardships.
Yan Mo smiled while holding the system.
“If we’re talking about his biggest flaw…”
“It’s probably emotional intelligence.”
“He never considers the despair of classmates, teachers, or seniors who are crushed by his talent.”
“He doesn’t realize how hurtful his words can be.”
“Of course… even if he realized it, he still wouldn’t change.”
“Because Yin Liuguang would simply say:”
‘Why blame me?’
‘Shouldn’t they blame themselves for being mentally weak and lacking skill?’
‘Instead of being jealous of me, why don’t they work harder and beat me?’
‘If they win, they’re welcome to mock me too.’
The system felt its blood pressure rising.
【Damn it! It’s the kind of thing that makes you furious, but somehow you can’t even argue back!】
Yan Mo nodded.
“That’s true.”
“Most of what Yin Liuguang says is technically true.”
“But in a society built on tact and indirect communication, not everyone can accept that way of speaking.”
He remembered when Yin Liuguang was still a trainee.
After winning first place, the contestant ranked second secretly hated him but still smiled and congratulated him.
Yin Liuguang casually slung an arm over the other’s shoulder and spoke directly into a live camera:
“Ah, thanks.”
“But you’re actually upset that I came in first, right?”
“So why are you congratulating me?”
“I honestly thought you were about to grind your teeth into powder.”
The second-place contestant instantly lost control of his expression.
He almost started a fight during the livestream.
【Wow.】
The system twitched.
【Is he stupid? Doesn’t he understand basic courtesy?】
Yan Mo shook his head.
“That person… grew up surrounded by praise and admiration.”
He had heard so many compliments that they no longer meant anything.
Every difficult challenge became effortless.
The endless admiration and pursuit became dull and boring.
And so he developed that carefree personality.
Indifferent toward others.
Doing whatever he pleased.
Completely unaware of how deeply his words and actions could hurt people.
Even when others disliked him, Yin Liuguang didn’t care.
He lived exactly as he wished.
The world revolved around him.
…
It sounded exaggerated.
But it really suited a genius like Yin Liuguang.
When Yan Mo first met him, Yin Liuguang was only fifteen or sixteen.
Back then, he was an absolute nightmare.
A sincere heart and endless devotion were useless.
Because Yin Liuguang received too much love.
He treated admiration as something natural.
As something he deserved.
To be honest, being with him had made Yan Mo angry.
Helpless.
Exhausted.
But never resentful.
Although he had been toyed with many times, what Yan Mo felt toward him was mostly helplessness.
Yin Liuguang was just a spoiled child.
In the end, Yan Mo gave up because making someone like Yin Liuguang understand love was too difficult.
And besides—
Yin Liuguang was obsessed with appearances.
Even after the system adjusted his looks, Yan Mo still wasn’t the type Yin Liuguang liked.
So when Yin Liuguang suggested breaking up, Yan Mo was heartbroken for a while.
But ultimately, he accepted it.
And abandoned the mission.
Yan Mo tried to comfort the system.
“Alright, stop being angry.”
“Getting angry at Yin Liuguang only hurts yourself.”
“Even if you pointed at his face and cursed him, he still wouldn’t understand why you’re upset.”
【That appearance-obsessed little brat!】
The system pouted.
【I’m just annoyed! Has nobody ever taught him what failure feels like?】
Yan Mo shrugged.
“Anyway, I couldn’t do it.”
The system: …
The system: …
Host, your ambitions are truly nonexistent.
Yan Mo thought to himself that ambition was irrelevant.
He simply didn’t have the courage to stand in front of an ex-boyfriend.
Even if someone beat him to death, he still wouldn’t do it.
“By the way, System.”
“Have you figured out why Yin Liuguang and An Zhihan appeared in this world?”
【No…】