“Hey, An’an, how’s the move going? Need any help?”
“Cut the after the fact nonsense. You only say that after I’m already done.”
Su Yi’an clamped his phone between his shoulder and cheek, bent over and dragged the large cardboard box blocking the entryway toward the bedroom, huffing and puffing as he went.
He’d promised to help with the move yet hadn’t shown his face for an entire week. Who knew which man he’d been fooling around with instead.
The more Su Yi’an thought about it, the angrier he got. Tilting his head toward the phone, he shouted, “Yang Baocai!”
“Who’s that? Who are you calling? Who’s Yang Baocai? Don’t know him! Hello? Hello? Bad signal, I’m hanging up!”
Su Yi’an planted his hands on his hips. “Hmph. You think you can compete with me? You’re still too green.”
After speaking, he looked at the living room, so cluttered there wasn’t even a place to step and let out a deep sigh.
It had only been half a year since graduation yet he’d somehow accumulated and ruined this much stuff already.
After finishing his brief bout of sentimentality, Su Yi’an squatted down on the spot, opened the cardboard box and resigned himself to tidying up.
He worked all afternoon without even bothering to eat. In the end, he casually ordered takeout. Sitting on the sofa to rest, he received another call from Yang Jiayang.
“An’an, the new product is out. I’m not in the country right now, so I’ll have a courier deliver it to you.”
Here he was, sore and aching all over, while that guy was off abroad with his little lover, being lovey dovey and carefree.
Su Yi’an felt a mix of envy and jealousy and deliberately picked a fight. “Still fooling around? Do you even know how much the shop’s sales have dropped these past few days? Men only slow down your money making speed. Indulging in male beauty leads to degeneration. Making money is the righteous path!”
“Hey, what’s that smell? Do you smell it?”
“What smell?”
“A sour, sour smell. Oh, I get it now, it’s someone without a boyfriend, sour from envy, hahahaha!”
Unrestrained laughter burst from the phone. Su Yi’an was so annoyed he couldn’t find words to retort but he couldn’t lose momentum.
“Yang Baocai! Yang Baocai! Yang Baocai!”
After shouting, he decisively pressed the hang up button.
Yang Jiayang’s WeChat message followed immediately.
【Su Yi’an, you’re dead! Wash your neck clean and wait for Daddy to come back!】
Su Yi’an replied with a “not listening, not listening, turtle chanting sutras” meme.
After dinner, the same city delivery Yang Jiayang had sent arrived. There were also parcels in the Hive lockers at the neighborhood gate, so Su Yi’an asked the courier to temporarily leave everything with the security desk.
Five minutes later, after tidying himself up, he put on a baseball cap and went out.
The new residential complex was much larger than his previous one, with entrances on the east, west, south and north. His building was closer to the north gate, while the Hive lockers were at the west gate. Strolling over took nearly fifteen minutes. The lockers at the south gate were even farther, probably about a twenty minute walk.
That was a bit far. He should go online and buy a cheap balance scooter.
As he familiarized himself with the layout of the complex, Su Yi’an planned silently in his head.
Just as he was thinking, there was a sharp “Snap” sound and the packages he was holding fell to the ground.
He hadn’t expected there to be so many parcels. If he’d known, he would’ve brought a bag with him.
Full of regret, Su Yi’an bent down to pick up the fallen packages but a hand reached out before him and lifted them up.
“Your packages.”
The voice was very gentle, clear and pleasant, much like that of a voice actor he particularly liked.
Su Yi’an’s heart skipped a beat. He took the packages, then looked up at the man and thanked him.
“Thank you.”
The man was dressed in a black suit, his height easily over six foot one. With the brim of his cap blocking his view, Su Yi’an pressed it down slightly before he could clearly see the man’s face.
So handsome!
His heart skipped again. Afraid the man might notice, he only stole a single glance before hurriedly looking away.
“There’s a small trolley at the security desk. When you have a lot of packages, you can borrow it,” the man reminded him kindly.
Su Yi’an nodded. “Alright, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The man had already walked some distance away. Su Yi’an turned his head back again and again. Only after the figure disappeared around the corner did he finally quicken his pace.
That night, he continued tidying up the apartment. After four or five hours of nonstop work, the place was finally cleaned from top to bottom.
By then, it was already close to eleven o’clock. He went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Coming out with a towel draped over his head, he caught sight of the new product he’d casually tossed onto the sofa earlier. Only then did he remember that he still had serious business to attend to.
Su Yi’an had studied product design. After graduating, he’d spent quite a bit of effort before finally landing a job that was passable.
He’d planned to work hard but the boss looked down on his low academic credentials and offered a salary that wasn’t even two thirds of what had been promised during the interview. Several coworkers constantly dumped their tasks onto him. When something went wrong with a bid proposal, they even tried to make him take the blame.
Su Yi’an was young and newly entered into society, with little work experience. Helping out and doing miscellaneous tasks in exchange for experience, even if it was tiring, was something he could accept but those scumbags were clearly treating him like an idiot, trying to manipulate him.
Su Yi’an flatly refused to shoulder the blame. The more senior coworkers who got punished banded together to exclude him. During meetings, the supervisor spoke in a mocking, sarcastic tone, assigned him no projects and tried to force him into leaving the company on his own.
Su Yi’an understood perfectly well. They wanted to fire him but didn’t want to pay severance. Playing dumb while knowing full well what was going on, he dragged things out for two months and finally got the compensation he deserved.
It was just that with his job gone, finding another company with comparable opportunities was no easy matter.
Sure enough, after applying to more than a dozen companies with no response at all, he was eventually persuaded, thanks to his good friend Yang Jiayang’s silver tongue, to open an online adult products shop together.
Su Yi’an was responsible for product design and performance testing. Yang Jiayang handled store operations and promotion. The two of them poured a great deal of effort into it. Over four months, the shop went from complete obscurity to achieving over a thousand sales, small success but success nonetheless.
The income wasn’t much but compared to earning wages while watching people’s faces, his current life was downright comfortable.
Moreover, he’d done his research. The adult products market had huge potential. As long as one was willing to put in the effort, there was no fear of not making money. Once he saved up enough, he planned to open a proper physical store.
The notification sound indicating the device had finished charging pulled Su Yi’an back to reality. He first went to the bathroom and carefully cleaned the new product. Then, like a thief, he locked himself inside the bedroom.
He buried himself under the blanket, the right hand holding the toy gradually warming up.
This toy was something he had designed a month ago. Its appearance was extremely realistic, just holding it in his hand was enough to make one blush and feel their heart race.
Beyond that, compared to other models, this new product had many added functions, placing far greater emphasis on user experience.
What Su Yi’an needed to do next was test whether all of those functions worked properly.
After giving himself some mental preparation while holding the product, he opened his cloud drive, picked the radio drama that best matched his mood and began to build up his emotions.
One minute, two minutes…
Five minutes passed. With his ears burning red, Su Yi’an temporarily cast aside his sense of shame.
Ten minutes later, a muffled groan sounded in the dimly lit bedroom. Fragmented, broken moans followed, continuing intermittently for nearly half an hour before finally stopping.
“Hah…”
Su Yi’an let out a long breath and lay motionless on the bed.
Good thing it wasn’t on sale yet. With movements this intense, was it trying to kill someone?
“Mm… so tired.”
He yawned, got up and quickly cleaned himself in the bathroom. Not long after, sleep overtook him and he couldn’t resist the drowsiness, falling into a deep slumber.
The next morning, after breakfast, Su Yi’an sent a message to his good friend Yang Jiayang.
Su Yi’an: I tested the new product. The power is too strong, the size doesn’t fit. It needs to be reworked.
The reply came quickly.
Yang Jiayang: I can’t handle this! Little An’an, you’re hopeless. Who told you you’d date a man over 20? And now you can’t even take it. A 20+ guy would probably lift you off the ground [*Wangchai].
Su Yi’an: “……”
He vaguely remembered he had said something like that before. Back then, he was young and naïve. He hadn’t known that the normal size for an Asian male was just under ten centimeters, with erect lengths ranging 11–16, 18 considered exceptional and anything over 20 already bordering on abnormal.
He knew he couldn’t handle that but his pride wouldn’t let him admit it, especially not in front of his brother. So he bragged instead: “Who’s hopeless? Just wait. My future boyfriend will definitely exceed 20!”
Yang Jiayang: If you say 30, I’ll believe it anyway. I won’t get to see it, unless you let me sneak a peek [Wangchai].
Su Yi’an: [Get lost.]
Yang Jiayang then sent a voice message full of laughter, teasing him mercilessly before getting down to business.
“An’an, don’t you think our store’s products are too monotonous? I’ve seen other shops selling all sorts of uniforms and sexy outfits. How about we bring in a batch too? Little Ke has been getting a lot of feedback from customers wanting some nice outfits added to our catalog.”
The moment the conversation turned to the online store, Su Yi’an immediately shifted into work mode.
After listening, he offered his opinion: “We can’t buy in bulk. Our store is about quality, not quantity. Randomly stocking a lot could ruin the reputation we’ve worked so hard to build.”
“That’s right,” Yang Jiayang nodded in agreement over the video call.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What are you scheming now?”
Seeing his friend’s eyes darting around with a mischievous look, Su Yi’an immediately felt something was off.
“The sourcing is my responsibility,” Yang Jiayang winked. “The quality and effect of the outfits? That’s all you, An’an. I’ve picked out a few items that look pretty good. They’re already on the way, so make sure you check them out, baby~”
As expected, this guy wanted to use him as a guinea pig again.
Su Yi’an didn’t want to try on women’s clothes and tried to resist.
“Shouldn’t these clothes be tried on by someone who actually has a boyfriend?”
Yang Jiayang countered reasonably, “When would I have time? Besides, I only handle the store operations. The product quality has always been your responsibility, An’an.”
Resistance failed.
“Oh, by the way, the reworked product has been sent to you. Test it out and if it’s okay, I’ll coordinate with Little Ke to get it listed.”
“Got it.”
After hanging up the video call, Su Yi’an made himself a cup of coffee, then curled up on the sofa with his tablet, revising the design schematics.
It had been a busy couple of days. He needed to stay sharp, work hard while young and earn as much as possible. His goal was to achieve financial freedom and live a life of carefree travel across the country, backpack slung over his shoulder.
By three in the afternoon, another batch of packages had arrived.
Today’s deliveries were no less than yesterday’s. Su Yi’an had specifically brought a large woven bag before leaving the house.
The balance scooter he had bought from Xianyu had already been delivered by SF Express that morning. He had tested it at home a few times, familiarizing himself with it before daring to ride it outside.
He rode the scooter to the west gate, picked up the parcels and looked at the woven bag, nearly overflowing, taking a deep breath before angrily pulling out his phone and typing furiously.
Su Yi’an: Yang Baocai, didn’t you say there were only a few clothes? How many are these?!
This time, no reply came immediately. Su Yi’an carried the heavy bag back home, just as Yang Jiayang’s message arrived.
Yang Jiayang: Hehe, those who can do more, should do more. Hard work for our great designer Su! I’ll treat you to a big meal later! [Kiss kiss kiss kiss]
Su Yi’an wasn’t going to let him sweet talk him off the hook. Typing carefully, he wrote: I don’t think having only one person test the product is accurate. Experiments need a control group. From now on, whenever we have a new product, you’ll help test it too.
Yang Jiayang: But I only handle operations, you know [Cute]
Su Yi’an: Dare to refuse and I’ll tell all your ex boyfriends that your real name is Yang Baocai!
Yang Jiayang: You’re ruthless!
Finally, it seemed he had made his friend pause and reflect.
Su Yi’an crossed his hands on his hips, letting out a couple of triumphant hums. Then he rolled up his sleeves and, in high spirits, began unpacking the delivery.
Yang Jiayang had done his homework: all the clothes he ordered were the trendiest, most popular pieces online. Su Yi’an tore open three or four of them in quick succession. The fabrics were pitifully thin; some barely had more material than a pair of shorts.
“There’s only a single thin string at the back. Is this even comfortable to wear?”
He hooked a black thong with his fingertips, utterly baffled. It looked extremely sexy, no doubt but that string would probably wedge itself painfully.
Su Yi’an didn’t quite understand but he kept his respect for his friend’s choices.
After unpacking twenty packages, he only kept three outfits and two accessories. He photographed the pieces and sent the images to Yang Jiayang.
The reply was instantaneous: Thong, bra, chain, electric tail? Sounds good, An’an. I didn’t know you were this open [Wangchai]!
Su Yi’an: [One kick to send you flying]
To make photographing easier, he laid the items out on the sofa. He glanced at them and felt his cheeks heat up slightly before carefully putting them away.
By eleven at night, Su Yi’an had finished his shower, locked all doors and windows and took the reworked product into the bedroom.
Meanwhile, next door, Bai Yunchi was being pressured by his mother through her phone about marriage.
“You’ll be thirty one next year and you don’t even have a girlfriend. Even your neighbor, Zhao Aunt’s grandson, will have started a family by then.”
“Mrs. Xu, one shouldn’t compare themselves too much with others. That’s a principle you taught me since I was little.”
“Bai Yunchi! Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?”
He held the phone slightly farther away.
“I’m not asking you to immediately marry Shuang Shuang and have kids. I just want you to meet her, see if you get along. Who knows? Maybe you’ll hit it off.”
Bai Yunchi said, “I’ll wait until things settle down. I’ve been busy lately and really don’t have time for this.”
Finally satisfied, Mrs. Xu’s voice softened noticeably.
“Shuang Shuang just returned from studying abroad. She spent seven or eight years alone in a foreign country. You have no idea how much she’s endured.”
Bai Yunchi set the phone aside, listening to Mrs. Xu ramble while continuing to work. His pen hovered midair when a faint sound came from behind him, instantly freezing his movements.
“Mrs. Xu, it’s late. Don’t you have classes tomorrow?”
“Oh, it’s already this late? You should rest early too. Remember to come home for dinner this weekend, I’ll make salt baked prawns for you.”
“Okay.”
After the call ended, the room fell into silence yet the previously faint moaning sounded clearer than ever.
It was coming from next door and it wasn’t the first time, last night had been the same.
Bai Yunchi sat for a while, unable to concentrate. Finally, he picked up his laptop and moved to the living room.
He had no idea when the noises stopped. All he knew was that he woke up in the middle of the night on the sofa and the low, buzzing sounds from the neighbor’s bedroom were still faintly audible. He had no choice but to rough it out and sleep there.
After two nights of poor sleep, the next morning, Bai Yunchi, wearing a small smile, knocked on the door of his new neighbor.
_________
Wangchai: WeChat doge” meme (旺柴), symbolizing good luck and community prosperity in internet culture.
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator sacrificed sleep for this chapter. A coffee offering seems reasonable.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
Next →
ChaptersChapter 1 · New neighborsChapter 2 · Let’s just wash it.Chapter 3 · Pretty little girlChapter 4 · It’s impossible for us.Chapter 5 · Not as handsome as Teacher BaiChapter 6 · Happy cooperationChapter 7 · Making breakfastChapter 8 · LostChapter 9 · He’s hopelessly in love.Chapter 10 · Three CloudChapter 11 · Am I Old?Chapter 12 · Victory celebration banquetChapter 13 · Power outrageChapter 14 · Online dating meetupChapter 15 · Am I really that bad?Chapter 16 · Boyfriend?Chapter 17 · ConcertChapter 18 · Use Privileges.Chapter 19 · A night AloneChapter 20 · Do You Like me?Chapter 21 · The End