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

Wei Yangze extinguished his cigarette.

The ashtray in the car was already littered with cigarette butts of various sizes.

Rain splattered against the windshield.

Even though the wipers moved back and forth, they couldn’t clear the view completely, leaving his vision blurred.

Yet, he kept his eyes fixed on the scene ahead.

Only when the two figures disappeared completely from sight did he reach out and turn off the car’s engine. The headlights immediately dimmed, and the sound of rain filled the air, as if everything had returned to normal.

“You stay in the car. Don’t move around,” he said, glancing at the back seat. “I have something to take care of.”

The person in the back shuddered and broke into a cold sweat.

Move around?

He was giving him too much credit.

Forget running—he didn’t even dare to twitch.

It had been half an hour since he got into the car.

Knowing he couldn’t persuade Ye Jishu and staying there might make things worse, he had hesitated for a long time. He kept watching Ye Jishu, confirming that he wouldn’t change his mind, before finally leaving the dormitory building alone.

But it felt as if he had stumbled into some kind of hidden realm.

His limbs were ice-cold. He walked in fear for what felt like an eternity, yet no matter how many turns he took, he couldn’t escape the darkness of the dormitory.

This had to be a case of ghost walls.

[Ghost Walls].

Faced with endless dead ends, Bo Zhehan nearly cried, going over every bad thing he had ever done in his life.

I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done those things!

If he could get out of here alive, he swore he would never act arrogant or self-righteous again.

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

He stepped into the shrubbery, and suddenly, car headlights lit up.

Like a deer caught in the beam, he froze and looked toward the light, revealing Wei Yangze’s face, clad in uniform.

The man unlocked the car door and let him in.

Then, this officer from the Control Bureau sat there, smoking and staring at his phone.

His expression was unreadable, and he seemed lost in thought.

The phone kept chiming with new messages.

Bo Zhehan didn’t dare to speak, didn’t dare to ask. He just did his best to shrink into the back seat, trying to minimize his presence.

When Ye Jishu appeared, Bo Zhehan felt a flicker of hope. He wanted to call out to him—

But then he noticed the silent figure standing beside him.

“I’ll stay in the car. I promise.”

Bo Zhehan immediately assured him, fearing that if he hesitated, the man would lose patience and throw him out.

There was no way he wanted to go back out there!

Wei Yangze glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his gaze hidden behind dark sunglasses. Then, he flicked the remaining cigarette butt into the ashtray.

With that, he pushed open the car door—

And stepped into the rainy night. Rainwater slid off the special fabric of his jacket.

He walked toward the dormitory entrance.

As he passed the elevator, he glanced at it.

The panel above displayed a red light, with the words [Under Maintenance].

When he reached the dormitory floor listed in the records for Ye Jishu, he saw someone at the far end of the hallway—

Lin Lin.

The man was barely standing, his back against the wall for support.

Blood seeped from his eyes, nose, and ears, dripping from his chin and pooling on the floor.

It was a gruesome sight.

But Wei Yangze remained unmoved.

He didn’t even step forward to help—just stood there, watching as Lin Lin struggled on his own.

Severe injuries were always a possibility for their employees. And since [Source of Infections] killed in all sorts of ways, surviving at all was already a stroke of luck.

Wei Yangze had dealt with many cases before. It was clear to him—

Lin Lin hadn’t suffered any physical wounds.

Not even a single scratch.

His mind had simply been contaminated. His consciousness had collapsed, and his body was rejecting it, unable to cope with the breakdown of reason.

At times like this, only one thing could help—

Wei Yangze had a thought.

[He didn’t attack? From a certain perspective, that was rather surprising.]

Because—

His gaze shifted to the wall.

Not far away, a mass of sticky, mangled flesh lay crushed in a high-pressure chamber, bursting into a foam-like substance.

It writhed on the windows and floor, countless eyes squashed flat against the glass. The window was ajar, swaying slightly.

Rain and damp air seeped through the gap.

Black mucus clung to the window frame, giving off a sulfuric stench.

Something had fled from that spot earlier—

But it had left a part of itself behind.

Just from reasoning alone, there was no way to reconstruct exactly what had happened here.

“Can you hear me?”

Wei Yangze’s gaze returned to Lin Lin, the man who now looked like a blood-soaked corpse.

Lin Lin’s fingers twitched slightly.

A sign that he had heard the question.

Wei Yangze reached into his uniform jacket and pulled out his phone.

He opened the recording app and placed it on the floor in front of Lin Lin.

“Start when you’re ready—just recount what happened.”

The file would be uploaded to headquarters immediately.

Everyone needed to know what had transpired.

This was the key moment in deciding how to handle the situation.

Though Lin Lin now resembled a test subject, he should have been prepared for this the moment he joined the Control Bureau.

He should have understood.

Even the slowest person would, upon encountering the reason they had joined the Bureau in the first place.

Lin Lin’s body convulsed.

Finally, he forced out his first words.

“…That thing, it was Wen Yuhe and—”

He didn’t finish the sentence—

But he was referring to the writhing lump of flesh.

With each twitch, it let out a sound—a groan like an old man on his deathbed, yet also resembling the whisper of the wind.

Wei Yangze couldn’t tell if it was still alive.

But given the circumstances, death might be preferable.

Lin Lin’s pupils were dilated.

Yet he forced himself to continue, describing everything he had encountered.

And at the very end, he said—

“…We got it wrong. Yan Mei—he’s not the Source of Infection.”

A completely unexpected revelation.

Wei Yangze froze in place.

“I heard… the words spoken when killing Wen Yuhe and warning the other Source of Infection. He didn’t care at all that I was there because Ye Jishu is extremely, extremely important to him—this is the only reason he can maintain his current state.”

Lin Lin’s words, extracted from his struggling mind, were gradually losing coherence.

He kept repeating and describing, interspersed with eerie groans, barely managing to convey his thoughts to the headquarters observers.

That was—Ye Jishu’s existence was even more important than they had imagined.

Not to mention Ye Jishu’s ability to maintain normalcy in the world.

As long as he touches those abnormal entities, their infection value immediately disappears, and they become normal humans.

As long as he firmly believes something is normal, then it will inevitably become normal.

Even if one didn’t focus on this and instead looked at the real culprit behind everything, a chill would still creep up their spine.

Because [Yan Mei] doesn’t actually exist.

The reason it started in the first place—was now completely impossible to guess.

Perhaps it was just a whim, or merely an amusement, a persona created for fun.

As for why it had persisted…

The truth that headquarters had failed to uncover at the beginning could finally be glimpsed now.

[Yan Mei]…

Was merely a “normal” persona fabricated to exist beside Ye Jishu in the “normal” world.

If he left Ye Jishu…

Then [Yan Mei] would have no reason to continue existing.

In other words—Ye Jishu, without a doubt, was all that [Yan Mei] had.

If he wasn’t the Source of Infection they had originally speculated, but instead an unknown, overwhelming existence—then Yan Mei’s disappearance would mark the beginning of the most terrifying and unpredictable catastrophe in the normal world.

Even Ye Jishu’s ability to erase infections might not be enough to stop the spread of this contamination.

Yet, despite the immense risk, there was only one person who could resolve it.

And ironically—because [Yan Mei] loves him.

–

Ye Jishu sat in the car.

His gaze moved to the dashboard, where the flickering digital clock displayed 3:00 AM.

He had never gone out this late before.

Even if he were awake at this hour, he should be in bed playing games.

He was supposed to play until exhaustion set in, then fall asleep immediately.

[So how did things end up like this?]

Ye Jishu remained still.

But in the reflection of the car’s front mirror, he saw Yan Mei’s figure sitting in the passenger seat.

Yan Mei was staring straight ahead.

His face showed no visible emotion, but his fingers, resting on the steering wheel, tapped rhythmically—revealing an underlying agitation.

[Since earlier…]

[Where exactly are we going?]

The moment Ye Jishu had uttered the words “break up,” Yan Mei had frozen.

His smile had trembled for a brief moment.

He stared at him for several seconds.

Then, as if he hadn’t heard anything, he continued speaking:

“I wasn’t actually out gathering inspiration—I was preparing a gift for Jishu.”

A gift…

Why would he prepare a gift?

Even Ye Jishu was caught off guard by the abrupt topic shift.

“Shall we go see it together?” Yan Mei asked.

“Of course, if Jishu refuses, that’s okay. I understand. It doesn’t matter. It’s up to you.”

“I’m just making a suggestion—that we go together.”

Ye Jishu noticed something.

Inside the pitch-black room, eerie, bubble-like white eyes continued to float around.

The moment Yan Mei finished speaking, those black-tipped eyes seemed to sink slightly, drawing closer to stare at him unblinkingly.

[…]

Did it really not matter?

Because right now, it didn’t seem like he could refuse at all.

Ye Jishu quietly looked at Yan Mei.

If rejection was an option, then why were those tentacles emerging again?

Especially as they awaited his answer—those tentacles once again coiled tightly around his ankles.

They allowed no retreat.

Blocked all escape routes.

And were ever watchful.

Yan Mei continued, “I don’t mind.”

“….”

Ye Jishu had played enough games.

He already knew.

How to avoid triggering the worst possible outcome.

[Right now, there was only one answer.]

[—Agree.]

And so, things had come to this.

Ye Jishu looked out of the car window.

Half the streetlights had gone out, but the faint glow of the stars remained.

The world seemed to have returned to reality.

There were normal people on the streets.

Although it was late, the city still had its night owls.

Ye Jishu stared at those ordinary people for a few seconds.

The world was normal.

Exactly as he remembered it.

But—through the reflection of the car window, he could see the inside of the car.

Around Yan Mei…

Those eyes, black mist, and writhing tentacles still lingered.

His gaze remained on the outside world.

Seeing such an unnatural sight—contrasted against the perfectly normal scene outside—

only made the sense of dissonance even more jarring.

Yan Mei seemed to have completely abandoned his disguise.

His profile carried an icy chill, twisted slightly with resentment, his emotions unstable.

The steering wheel creaked under his tightening grip.

“It’s all because of you…”

Ye Jishu: “…..”

…Terrifying.

He could tell—the resentment wasn’t directed at him.

But it felt like someone else was being blamed.

And the consequences…

Would be severe.

The engine suddenly stopped.

Ye Jishu’s gaze snapped forward.

When he saw their destination, his eyes widened.

He hadn’t expected to be brought here.

[The arcade.]

This was where he and Yan Mei had gone on their first date.

A month ago, it had shut down.

But now—miraculously, its neon “OPEN” sign was flickering.

Yet, not a single person was inside.

Even when people passed by, no one seemed to notice anything unusual.

However—

From inside, the unmistakable sounds of an active arcade could be heard.

Even without stepping inside, Ye Jishu could already picture it—the arcade machines all running, lights flashing, as if the entire place was operating just for the two of them.

Was this… the gift that Yan Mei had prepared for him?

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a faint sound near his ear.

Realizing what it was, he was startled and immediately turned his head.

In the next moment, his gaze collided with Yan Mei’s figure.

At some point, Yan Mei had slumped over the steering wheel, his arms covering his entire face, his shirt completely wrinkled from being clenched.

Although Ye Jishu couldn’t see his expression, an unshakable intuition told him—

Yan Mei’s emotions had plummeted to rock bottom.

“Break up… absolutely not…”

Yan Mei’s voice came out in broken, incoherent fragments.

“If something went wrong, then we’ll just start over from there… I spent so long preparing… I absolutely don’t want to break up with Jishu… wuwu…”