It was her first time meeting an online romance in person, and Chen Jia was a little nervous.
She had been in online relationships before—way back in middle school, when she was playing some grand romantic dance game, she’d added her in-game spouse on a messaging app and chatted with him all day long.
She still remembered that the guy was in his twenties, over a decade older than her. Back then, when the game launched its marriage quest, she’d followed the trend and wanted a partner too.
She didn’t have money to spend on the game herself, but she liked the characters who spent a lot and looked glamorous and polished in-game.
She’d pestered him for ages before this old man in his twenties finally agreed to marry her in-game. Later, he kept hinting, “Come find me when you’re eighteen—I don’t like online romance.” Chen Jia thought: I’m that young, you’re that old—do you really think that’s possible?
Not long after, Chen Jia divorced him in the game and never contacted him again.
Xu An’an was the first person Chen Jia actually wanted to meet.
After all, he was pretty good-looking, generous with money, didn’t talk in a greasy way, and his emojis weren’t old-fashioned either.
But Chen Jia still kept her guard up.
From the moment she got off the plane, she’d been sharing her live location with Chen Yue on WeChat, her phone connected to a fully charged power bank, with three more fully charged power banks in her bag as backup.
From a distance, she spotted Xu An’an.
Xu An’an was wearing a white T-shirt and black casual pants, standing tall and straight. When he saw her, he waved.
Chen Jia, outgoing online but introverted in real life, felt a bit shy as she walked over.
When the nearsighted girl got closer and saw that Xu An’an looked even better in person than on video, she lowered her head even more, tucking the loose strands of hair by her ears forward to cover her round cheeks.
Xu An’an was a little nervous too.
He kept observing Chen Jia.
Chen Jia looked pretty similar to her videos—maybe the video had beauty filters, but in real life her skin didn’t look as good, since she loved staying up late gaming. Her makeup didn’t suit her perfectly either, but her eyes were round and big, and her face was round too—very cute.
All of Xu An’an’s exes had been beauties, but the moment he saw Chen Jia, his heart pounded harder than it ever had before.
He really wanted to touch Chen Jia’s hair, but he chose to be more subtle instead.
Taking her suitcase, he still failed at being subtle—he quietly took Chen Jia’s hand and asked in a low voice, “Tired? If you are, I’ll take you to the hotel first. Once you’ve rested, we can go out and have fun.”
Xu An’an was exactly Chen Jia’s type—tall, handsome face, a smile that was especially nice to look at, and even his voice was pleasant to hear.
But the boyfriends she’d had before had never been Xu An’an’s type—everyone had been average-looking.
Chen Jia was a bit shy, almost getting hit with a fear of stylish guys. She stood there dazed as he led her along, shaking her head.
Xu An’an’s hand was so big—it just wrapped right around hers. All her attention was on that hand of his.
“Then we should still head to the hotel, drop off the luggage, and then I’ll take you to eat something good. Cantonese food okay?”
He remembered that Chen Jia’s taste leaned southern—light and mild flavors.
He led her out of the airport and into the car Xu An’an drove.
The car’s interior was high-end, with a starry sky ceiling. Chen Jia knew that cars with starry sky ceilings were usually expensive, but since she never paid attention to such things, she couldn’t tell what kind of car it was.
She looked at Xu An’an on her left and quietly sent a message to Chen Yue on her phone: I’ve arrived, heading to the hotel now.
Chen Yue replied quickly: Is your boyfriend a catfish?
Chen Jia: He’s so handsome, I’m so nervous, I suspect he’s a romance scammer.
Chen Yue: …How handsome? No picture, no proof.
Chen Jia turned her phone and discreetly snapped a photo of Xu An’an, who was driving, and sent it over.
Chen Yue: Sis, you eat well.
Chen Yue: Does he have a younger brother? Can you share one with me?
Chen Jia: Scram.
Xu An’an caught a glimpse of Chen Jia’s little move but pretended not to see it.
Just then, his phone lit up—it was a call from Zhang Zhian. Xu An’an’s phone was connected to the car’s Bluetooth, and he didn’t intend to avoid Chen Jia, so he answered directly.
“Where are your car keys? My car got scratched by Zhao Zhiqiang from the next dorm. Lend me your car for a bit.”
Zhang Zhian and Xu An’an had a pretty close relationship; he usually went to Xu An’an for things rather than his two roommates.
Xu An’an coughed. “I’m driving right now. Go ask Brother Qing.”
“Alright then. Where are you off to? I heard you leave early this morning—I thought you went to the library to study.”
“I’m picking up Chen Jia.”
“Oh~” Zhang Zhian’s “oh” was drawn out. “Sorry to bother you, haha. Have fun then. Are you coming back to the dorm tonight?”
Xu An’an glanced at Chen Jia and found her staring at him, which made him straighten his back in a start. “Uh, I’ll hang up now. There’s a lot of traffic on the road.”
He hung up, but his ears slowly turned red.
Chen Jia, who had been watching Xu An’an the whole time, noticed this too. She finally understood what he was blushing about and awkwardly turned her head to the right, staring blankly at the scenery receding behind the window.
She was definitely not letting Xu An’an stay the night at her place!
The hotel was booked by Xu An’an. Judging by the decor and service, it was probably five-star. Chen Jia took the room card, didn’t let Xu An’an in, and pulled her luggage inside herself. After putting her things away, she stood still for a moment, hesitating.
Using what little rationality she had left, she thought: logically speaking, handsome guys never lack partners. Could Xu An’an really not be some kind of scam organization?
The flight ticket was booked by Xu An’an—first class, no less—and he’d covered the hotel too. Investing that much… was he planning to sell her off to somewhere like Myanmar?
Caught in a mental tug-of-war and coming up with nothing, Chen Jia didn’t dare keep Xu An’an waiting too long, so she walked out.
The restaurant Xu An’an had booked was also very atmospheric. Chen Jia stumbled through the awkwardness and started leaning toward just giving up—after all, she was already here, and as long as she stayed with him in public places, what could he really do to her? She’d taken the necessary precautions, so worrying about useless things was pointless.
Once she came to that realization, she relaxed considerably. She ate and drank as she pleased, not the least bit stiff.
Xu An’an chuckled inwardly. She was so nervous—wasn’t he the same?
From the moment they met, he’d been staring at Chen Jia as if bewitched. When the water in her glass got low, he refilled it. When Chen Jia glanced at a dish a few times, he picked some up and placed it on the plate in front of her.
He didn’t want to act like a waiter, but he just did it instinctively.
But there was a silver lining—after the meal, Chen Jia was no longer as guarded against him, and she smiled at him more.
After dinner, Chen Jia checked her phone—it was only 7:30 PM, but she was already feeling sleepy.
Her mood had been anxious the whole way here, and she hadn’t rested on the plane. Now that she was full and satisfied, she felt a bit lazy.
After the meal, Xu An’an, with his handsome face and hearty smile, attended to Chen Jia with great care. Chen Jia, no longer as reserved as when they first met, took the initiative to hold his hand.
“I’m a bit sleepy. How about we go out and play tomorrow afternoon instead?”
“Why tomorrow afternoon?”
“Because I can’t get up in the morning.” Holding the hand of her handsome man, who was also her meet-up partner from online dating, Chen Jia finally adopted the attitude she usually reserved for boyfriends, adding a hint of coyness, “And I don’t want you to wait for me—I’d definitely be late.”
Chen Jia admitted to being unpunctual without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
Xu An’an could only say with a hint of disappointment, “Alright then. I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon. What time do you want to head out?”
Chen Jia said, “Four-thirty.”
“Got it.”
The two walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. Xu An’an didn’t rush to the car but instead strolled slowly with Chen Jia.
Xu An’an’s hand was warm, and as they walked, Chen Jia unconsciously leaned against her boyfriend’s arm and wrapped her arms around it.
One was tall, handsome, and striking; the other was petite and adorable. Unexpectedly, they made a perfect match.
They hadn’t walked far when Chen Jia spotted a large fountain in the square ahead, surrounded by a crowd of people.
Xu An’an glanced at his watch—perfect timing. He gestured for Chen Jia to look ahead. “Quick, look!”
Chen Jia looked up. The fountain suddenly stopped, and three seconds later, water shot up in columns, shifting shapes in time with the music playing across the square.
While Chen Jia was absorbed in watching the fountain, Xu An’an suddenly lowered his head and kissed her.
Taking Chen Jia by surprise, Xu An’an kept his eyes lowered, his heart pounding wildly, his long lashes trembling slightly—he was just as nervous.
Heat surged from her body to her cheeks. Chen Jia could feel Xu An’an’s scorching breath so close, and the moist warmth of his lips on hers. His tongue gently sucked at hers, and the sounds of passersby around them faded into the distance.
By the time she returned to her hotel and lay alone in bed, rolling around, her excitement finally subsided.
She’d never kissed a man this handsome before. No wonder she’d always thought kissing was disgusting—it turned out it all depended on the face.
In Xu An’an’s broad embrace, Chen Jia, blinded by lust, thought that even if this man were running a romance scam, she’d gladly give him a few thousand yuan. With that face and that aura, he was even more handsome than the male models online—totally worth it to her!
Xu An’an had no idea Chen Jia was comparing him to a male model. When he returned to the dorm, Zhang Zhian immediately sidled up to him.
Even Qin Yiming, who was usually devoted to studying, looked up at him.
Zhang Zhian checked his watch. Man, it was only nine o’clock—why was he back so early?
He voiced the question aloud.
Xu An’an grinned, looking in an exceptionally good mood. “Jiajia didn’t get enough rest on the way here. I’ll go pick her up again tomorrow.”
“Did you buy her an economy-class ticket or something? How could she not have rested well?”
Xu An’an didn’t respond to that. Zhang Zhian looked him up and down and noticed he was neatly dressed, the only oddity being a smudge of white foundation on his collar. He studied Xu An’an’s face more closely and saw that his lips were unusually red. He clicked his tongue and sat back down on his own bed.
Ridiculous. Who still played at pure romance in this day and age? He’d already moved past that in high school.
Yan Qinggong was also in the dorm, taking off his glasses as he said to Xu An’an, “Isn’t there a gathering tomorrow night? Do you want to bring her along?”
He had been in the same high school as Xu An’an and had seen what he looked like when he was dating back then, but today he seemed like a young boy experiencing first love.
Same high school, same university, and still roommates—the Yan family’s aunt also had business dealings with the Xu family. Compared to Zhang Zhian, he paid more attention to Xu An’an.
Xu An’an’s smile hadn’t left his face since returning to the dorm, as if he were surrounded by pink bubbles, looking a bit foolish. “Jiajia is a bit introverted, so let’s forget it.”
“You can ask her first. If you don’t introduce her to your friends, she might overthink things. I’ll also invite Wang Yan.”
Yan Qinggong smiled with his eyes curved, his peach-blossom eyes looking as if they carried deep affection even when gazing at a dog. His words sounded genuinely considerate of Xu An’an.
Xu An’an thought about it—it was true. Jiajia seemed shy and sensitive. If he brought it up, she could decline if she didn’t want to go. If she was happy to meet his roommates, that would be even better. And with Yan Qinggong’s girlfriend there, Jiajia probably wouldn’t feel too awkward.
Qin Yiming glanced at the two of them, then lowered his head back to his textbook.
He could guess what Yan Qinggong was trying to do, but he couldn’t understand it at all. He only felt that studying was the most interesting thing.
Just as he was about to continue focusing on his book, Qin Yiming felt a pat on his shoulder from Yan Qinggong. “Bring Zhu Wan along tomorrow night too.”
Qin Yiming looked up, furrowing his thick brows. “She’s not my girlfriend. Why would I bring her?”
“Jiajia said yes, she’ll come,” Xu An’an said.
Yan Qinggong smiled at Qin Yiming. “Then tomorrow everyone will have a partner except you. I’m just worried you’ll be bored.”
“I never said I was going either!”
“If you don’t go, wouldn’t Xu An’an be upset?”
Xu An’an wasn’t actually upset at all. Although Yan Qinggong’s sudden suggestion had cut into his alone time with his girlfriend, since Brother Qing had spoken up, he couldn’t very well refuse him. Hearing Yan Qinggong say this, he played along and put on a slightly disappointed, fragile expression while looking at Qin Yiming, who was only a casual acquaintance.
Qin Yiming: “…”
Chen Jia thought about taking an early shower and going to bed, but she was lying in bed playing on her phone instead. After replying to Xu An’an’s message, she sent Chen Yue a text saying she’d returned to the hotel, reminding her to sleep early, and then screenshotted Xu An’an’s invitation to Wang Xiaobao:
Help, I finally stopped feeling awkward, but tomorrow he wants to take me to meet his friends. I can’t exactly refuse his invitation.
Wang Xiaobao: Nothing to be scared of. Didn’t he say there’d be another girl there? Worst case, you just come back early.
Chen Jia: Oh right, I didn’t think of that. I’m so dumb.
Wang Xiaobao was still admiring the sneaky photo Chen Jia had sent of him in the car.
Wang Xiaobao: Even from that angle, he’s so handsome. I’m so jealous. Your boyfriend is so low-key—I’ve never seen him post photos in the group chat.
Wang Xiaobao: Those guys though, ugly as sin, still posing and posting photos to burn people’s eyes.
Chen Jia: I used to think Xu An’an was average-looking, you know. I mean, who would’ve thought a handsome guy would do online dating, hehe.
Wang Xiaobao: Slurp. Almost everyone I’ve met through online dating was either ugly or used fake photos—all stolen from the internet, not even them. I’m genuinely traumatized.
Chen Jia: Cat rolling around.jpg