“Oh, pomegranates are delicious!”
Sheng Jun appeared behind Xie Tingchuan out of nowhere, reading the messages on his screen crystal clear before crouching down theatrically in front of Xie Tingchuan and looking up with a pitiful, puppy-dog expression at Liu Hao and Wang Huaijin.
“Brother Huaijin, Brother Liu Hao, do you guys like eating pomegranates?”
With teasing, playful eyes full of banter, Xie Tingchuan said with a trace of smug pride, “My girlfriend.”
“Oh, a gi—rl—frien—d,” Sheng Jun drawled out deliberately, hands shoved deep into his pockets as he put on a cool facade. “Chuan-ge, you’re not playing fair, secretly getting attached behind our backs.”
Instead of refuting him, Xie Tingchuan chuckled lightly. “Dinner’s on me this time at the B&B.”
“Yay!” The feigned coolness instantly dissolved as Sheng Jun beamed from ear to ear, pulling a chair over to sit right beside Xie Tingchuan and asking with burning curiosity,
“Big cousin, what does your girlfriend look like? I wanna see.”
What does she look like? Xie Tingchuan was quite curious himself; every single video call only ever showed her chin, and the photo with the most facial exposure was that half-body shot the other party had proactively sent him.
Although that skirt had a short hem, the upper portion was completely normal. Hesitating for a mere two seconds, Xie Tingchuan swiped back to his home screen and showed him his phone wallpaper.
“My girlfriend.”
Xie Tingchuan’s tone was dripping with boastfulness, drawing silent contempt from the three onlookers.
Sheng Jun grabbed Xie Tingchuan’s phone, three heads crowding around to inspect that wallpaper for a long, long time.
Sheng Jun clicked his tongue in wonder. “This girl is gorgeous. Xie Tingchuan, you really scored big.”
Wang Huaijin gave him a shove. “What kind of talk is that? Call him ‘Ge’.”
“Got it,” Sheng Jun dragged out his syllables. “Big cousin, second cousin, little cousin.”
The moment the words left his mouth, his chair took a kick.
Snatching his phone back, Xie Tingchuan barked, “Who are you calling ‘little cousin’?”
Ding-dong. A phone notification chimed.
The second Xie Tingchuan unlocked his phone, Sheng Jun leaned right over, positioning his head even closer to the screen than Xie Tingchuan’s.
Unable to maintain his cool, aloof male-god exterior any longer, Xie Tingchuan yelled at the two spectators watching the show from the sidelines.
“Wang Huaijin, get this brat out of here!”
“Received, I’m taking this brat away right now.” Wang Huaijin stepped forward, scooped Sheng Jun up with one arm, flipped him into a carry, and hauled him bodily out of the room in just a few strides.
With the two lightbulbs gone, Xie Tingchuan fixed his gaze on Liu Hao, staring at him without a word or smile, maintaining a deadpan expression.
Liu Hao held out for a few seconds before breaking under the glare, raising his hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, I’m leaving right now. Stop staring at people with those dead fish eyes of yours.”
Left completely alone in the bustling room, Xie Tingchuan stood up, drew the curtains, locked the door, and pulled out his projector equipment. Once the connection was successfully established, he sent a video call invitation to Xiao Qinggan.
Busy swapping fruits with his friends, Lin Qing’an never expected Xie Tingchuan to send a video invitation at a time like this, jolting him with sudden panic. He hadn’t brought a single item capable of disguising his gender on this trip, let alone the fact that they were staying in a three-person shared room at a B&B there was zero possibility of having those items on hand.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lin Qing’an rejected the call and quickly tapped out a reply.
Xiao Qinggan: “Ah-Chuan, I’m outside right now, there are too many people around.”
Xie Tingchuan was distinctly displeased. Dating online was one thing, and they hadn’t met in person yet, but the feeling of not even being able to video call out in public didn’t sit well with him at all.
Xie Tingchuan: “When can we video chat?”
Xiao Qinggan: “Once I get back home, tomorrow night?”
Xie Tingchuan: “No way, I want to see you today. The moment you get back to the B&B, go into the bathroom and video chat with me.”
Xiao Qinggan: “…”
Seated on the bed, Xie Tingchuan smiled as he stared at the photo used as his chat background, the corners of his lips curving upward.
Xie Tingchuan: [Transfer: 5,000 yuan] (Note: Voluntarily bestowed.)
Xiao Qinggan: “…”
Xiao Qinggan: “You really know how to bait me with cash, don’t you!”
Xie Tingchuan burst out laughing, his fingers tapping loudly against the phone screen.
Xie Tingchuan: [Transfer: 5,000 yuan] (Note: Voluntarily bestowed.)
Xie Tingchuan: “So, are you willing to take the bait?”
Xiao Qinggan: “Duh, who’s going to turn down free money.”
Xiao Qinggan: “Just wait, half an hour.”
Gritting his teeth, Lin Qing’an accepted the transfer. Video, video what’s so big about a video call anyway! What’s there to be afraid of!
“Zhiyi, I’m tired, I’m heading back to the room to wash up and rest first. Don’t call me for lunch.”
Returning to the room, Lin Qing’an finished washing up, made sure Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi wouldn’t suddenly burst back in, popped in his Bluetooth earbuds, and sent a video invitation to Xie Tingchuan.
Carefully angling the shot, Lin Qing’an framed it so the phone camera could only capture his midsection and waist, keeping every other part completely out of view.
The moment Xiao Qinggan accepted the transfer, Xie Tingchuan had been sitting on his bed waiting for the incoming video request. The instant his custom ringtone sounded, he tapped accept.
“Baby—” The endearment had barely left his lips when Xie Tingchuan realized that this time, not just his chin, but even his neck was missing from the frame, leaving only a waist encased in a white short-sleeve shirt?
Should be his waist, right? Xie Tingchuan wasn’t entirely certain, but at that height, it had to be the waist.
Xie Tingchuan: [Transfer: 10,000 yuan] (Note: Voluntarily bestowed.)
Clueless as to why, Lin Qing’an lowered his voice and asked, “Why are you transferring money again?”
“Baby, lift up your hem.”
Lift it up? Just like that?
Promptly and efficiently, Lin Qing’an hiked up his hem, exposing his smooth, pale waist directly to the camera lens.
“Baby, touch it.”
Having accepted the transfers so smoothly, Lin Qing’an didn’t hesitate now either. Just do whatever he says.
Lin Qing’an regretted wearing those Bluetooth earbuds; a soft, indistinct breath drifted into his ears one after another, seeming to carry a scorching heat that dyed his earlobes crimson, gradually stirring a vague, restless craving hidden beneath the surface.
Leaning back against the wall out of sight of the phone’s camera, Lin Qing’an slowly closed his eyes.
“Baby…”
“An’an, my nickname, An’an.”
“An’an…”
The gentle, playful chuckles and the lingering, affectionate calls drifted across the speaker, striking straight at Lin Qing’an’s heart and leaving his brain completely blank.
Realizing what he was actually doing, Lin Qing’an snapped his eyes open with a jolt, dazed for a fleeting second before his trembling fingers abruptly terminated the video call.
Gazing at his own reflection in the mirror, Lin Qing’an saw hesitation and uncertainty mirrored deep within those familiar eyes.
Ding-dong.
Xie Tingchuan sent a voice message. Lin Qing’an’s fingers hovered over the screen, wanting to tap it yet terrified of hearing something he didn’t want to hear.
Hesitating again and again, Lin Qing’an pressed his lips into a tight line, gathered his resolve, and tapped the screen to play the voice clip.
“An’an, my baby.”
The lingering, affectionate call drilled straight into Lin Qing’an’s ears.
The sensation that had only just receded began to aggressively stage a comeback because of this single voice message. Terrified, Lin Qing’an stared at his reflection in the mirror and muttered in a low, trembling whisper.
‘No, absolutely not!’