The blissful weekend concluded, and the miserable college student returned to his daily academic routine once more.
Ever since that video call at the B&B, Xie Tingchuan had been sending video invitations every single day. However, except for answering once at the very beginning, Lin Qing’an flatly rejected every single subsequent request.
There was no other reason than the fact that Xie Tingchuan was simply way too thirst-trapping!
How could a person be so scandalously hot? Was this guy genuinely the male lead of the story?
Lin Qing’an harbored serious doubts. Weren’t male leads supposed to be pure, noble, and upstanding gentlemen? Why on earth was Xie Tingchuan like this?
All day long, if he wasn’t spamming explicit text messages, he was sending lingering, deeply affectionate voice clips, or leaving ambiguous, heavy panting sounds.
Lin Qing’an was utterly speechless, questioning for the umpteenth time whether this person was truly the novel’s protagonist.
Furthermore, his demands were growing increasingly out of line. At the start it was still manageable—just asking for photos exposing a small section of his waist—but later it evolved into snapping pictures of his legs. Within two short days, Xie Tingchuan completely exposed his true intentions.
He actually wanted a nude photo? Get lost!
Where am I supposed to take that? Yours truly doesn’t have one!
As it turned out, Xie Tingchuan completely misinterpreted Lin Qing’an’s silence. Staring at the unresponsive chat window, Xie Tingchuan pondered silently to himself, “Could she be thinking that I lack sincerity?”
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
He pivoted tactics and began bombardment via photos instead, leading right off the bat with an ab shot.
His short-sleeve shirt was hiked up slightly, exposing chiseled, well-defined abdominal muscles beneath. The tight muscle lines were absolutely flawless, and the completely unposed nature of the casual shot added an extra layer of visual points.
Lin Qing’an regretfully patted his own soft, flat belly. Even though he had practiced martial arts since childhood, his muscles were merely firm and compact; as for a six-pack like the one in the photo, he couldn’t even dream of it—it was fundamentally impossible to train for.
Xiao Qinggan: “Your abs are great, how do you train?”
Replying wouldn’t have been a big deal, but this response made Xie Tingchuan firmly believe Xiao Qinggan actually fancied these kinds of photos. A brief moment later, he fired over another one.
And this photo carried a bit of calculated intrigue.
His entire upper torso was bare, completely displaying his perfect abs, while a pair of loose sweatpants hung precariously low across his lower abdomen.
Lin Qing’an’s pupils shrank violently, his brow furrowing deeply as he guiltily flipped his phone closed and slammed it onto the desk.
He… he… he…
Is Xie Tingchuan seducing me?
He is, right?
He must be, right?!
Deep breaths, deep breaths!
Lin Qing’an picked up his phone again, tapped open the image, and after staring at it for a few seconds, he suddenly realized something. He tossed the phone onto the desk with a sharp thud, and dashed straight into the bathroom the very next second.
By the time he emerged from the bathroom, his entire body was enveloped in a distinct mist of vapor. He hadn’t even dried his dripping wet hair, allowing water droplets to cascade down his shoulders, soaking a large patch of his short-sleeve shirt.
Lin Qing’an clicked his tongue, unlocking his phone once more. “Scheming Xie Tingchuan, do you think yours truly is that easily seduced?”
As he spoke, his finger firmly tapped his phone open again.
Exactly at that moment, Xie Tingchuan sent a voice message.
Xie Tingchuan: “An’an, do you like my abs?”
The deep, magnetic voice vibrated through the quiet room, sending a wave of electric numbness through him.
“Oh my god!” Clutching his wildly pounding heart, Lin Qing’an directly silenced his phone and dashed right back into the bathroom.
When Lin Qing’an emerged from the bathroom a second time, half an hour had already ticked by. He sat at his desk, sighing and groaning.
On one hand, he was bewildered by how easily he was bewitched by Xie Tingchuan’s voice; on the other hand, he was thrilled that his recently tested sexual orientation was completely correct.
Ring-ring-ring, ring-ring-ring… It was a call from Qin Zhiyi.
The moment the call connected, Qin Zhiyi’s frantic voice erupted from the other end.
Qin Zhiyi: “Qing’an, class is about to start! Why aren’t you here yet? Today is Professor Gao’s lecture!”
Hearing this, Lin Qing’an finally remembered he had class today. Leaping up with a jolt, he threw his things together haphazardly, grabbed his textbook, and sprinted toward the university.
Unleashing a full-on hundred-meter sprint, he sat down heavily in his seat, panting for breath just as the professor strode through the classroom door.
Professor Gao scanned the students in the lecture hall, delivering a pointed remark: “Students, please prioritize safety. Watch out for pedestrians when sprinting through campus.”
As he spoke, Professor Gao’s smiling gaze locked onto Lin Qing’an’s flustered, awkward expression.
“Classmate Lin Qing’an, don’t you agree?”
Lin Qing’an let out a couple of awkward chuckles, chiming in, “The professor is absolutely right.”
Professor Gao tapped the blackboard. “Let’s begin the lecture.”
Below the podium, Duan Xuan whispered secretly to Lin Qing’an, “What happened?”
Lin Qing’an slumped lifelessly over his desk, burying his head. “On my way here, I almost ran over Professor Gao. Thank goodness Professor Gao is young and has fast reflexes; otherwise, both of us would have taken a nasty spill.”
Duan Xuan was astonished, patting Lin Qing’an’s shoulder in deep sympathy while giving him a silent thumbs-up.
Buzz, buzz. The phone, which had been set to vibrate, sent another notification.
Xie Tingchuan: [Transfer: 5,000 yuan] (Note: Voluntarily bestowed.)
Xie Tingchuan: “Photo.”
Lin Qing’an accepted the collection without a hint of hesitation. As for the photo?
Glancing at the textbook open in front of him, Lin Qing’an casually snapped a picture of it and sent it over to Xie Tingchuan.
Buzz, buzz.
Xie Tingchuan: “In class?”
A shadow blocked the sunlight. Lin Qing’an’s movements froze. Lifting his head, he saw the professor staring down at him with a pleasant smile.
Shock! Lin Qing’an hurriedly shoved his phone away, flashing a sheepish, apologetic smile at the professor.
“Professor.” Lin Qing’an wanted to gloss it over, but clearly, it wasn’t going to fly!
“Come to my office after class.” Professor Gao swallowed his light smile, his knuckles gently rapping against the desk surface. “If I catch anyone else playing on their phone during class, watch out for your participation scores.”
With the professor’s warning issued, Lin Qing’an didn’t dare distract himself further, immersing his thoughts entirely in the lecture and pushing the constantly vibrating phone in his pocket to the back of his mind.
The 90-minute lecture finally came to an end, and Lin Qing’an’s personal punishment hour commenced.
Inside Professor Gao’s office.
Lin Qing’an sat restlessly, watching the professor sort through files. He wanted to stand up multiple times, only to freeze whenever he met that smiling gaze behind the rimless glasses.
“Professor, I promise I will never distract myself during class ever again.”
The nervous Lin Qing’an felt deeply guilty, wishing he could point to the heavens and swear an oath. Professor Gao nodded, beckoning to him.
“Lin Qing’an.”
Ten minutes had passed, and Professor Gao finally reacted. It wasn’t easy! Lin Qing’an hurriedly sat up straight.
Professor Gao: “I remember you are from D City?”
“Um, yes, that’s right.”
“Do you happen to have an uncle?”
Lin Qing’an hesitated before nodding. “Yes, I do have an uncle.”
“Lin Ji?”
“You know my uncle?”
“Classmates.” Professor Gao smiled. “Have you contacted him recently?”
“No.” Lin Qing’an shook his head. “He hasn’t contacted me in a long time. I haven’t received any replies when trying to reach him either. Professor, is there something you need from him?”
“Nothing. We’re old classmates, I just wanted to catch up and reminisce with him.”
Although the corners of Professor Gao’s lips were consistently turned up in a smile, Lin Qing’an felt an underlying chill emanating from those smiling eyes.
Professor Gao: “Pay close attention during class from now on. You may go back.”
Until he left the office, Lin Qing’an realized his skin was covered in goosebumps. Glancing back at the office, Professor Gao was busy processing paperwork, showing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
Lin Qing’an scratched his head in confusion. Could my senses have played tricks on me?
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
The moment he switched his phone back to ring mode, a succession of delayed message notifications went off in a row.
Lin Qing’an didn’t even need to open it to know it had to be Xie Tingchuan. After all, among his contacts, only he would act like this.
If someone didn’t reply to one or two messages, it usually meant they were occupied, and they’d naturally reply once they saw it. But Xie Tingchuan refused; he insisted on spamming, spamming, and spamming until a reply finally came through.
Previously, he wasn’t like this at all. Ever since he got that video call clip back at the B&B, this guy had transformed into a demonic harasser.
Opening his phone, before he could even skim through the various messages sent, Lin Qing’an replied to the other party first.
Xiao Qinggan: “I was just in the professor’s office! It’s all your fault! You insisted on spamming me with texts during class, causing me to get called in for a talk!”
Although he hadn’t actually been scolded, Lin Qing’an still took his anger out on the guy. If it weren’t for replying to his texts, how could he have looked at his phone during class, and during the lecture of the famously strict Professor Gao no less!
Xie Tingchuan: “An’an, it’s my fault. How about punishing me by letting me video chat with you?”
Lin Qing’an scoffed. Was this a punishment?
This was clearly a reward for him!
Muttering a silent curse of “shameless,” Lin Qing’an’s fingers furiously hammered against the keyboard.
Xiao Qinggan: “I’m at school right now, wait until I get home.”
After replying, he directly closed his phone and slid it into his pocket. Feeling his phone continuously ringing and vibrating, Lin Qing’an walked toward the school gates in a rather excellent mood.
There were no classes this afternoon, so Lin Qing’an prepared to head home. An isolated space all to himself was the environment best suited for studying.
Only, Lin Qing’an forgot one thing: with an online-dating boyfriend like Xie Tingchuan around, focusing his entire mind on studying was bound to be an impossible feat.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
The notification alerts kept chiming, successfully disrupting his perfect problem-solving train of thought once again. Unable to tolerate it any further, Lin Qing’an dragged Xie Tingchuan back into ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.
Whew.
“This time, absolutely nobody will interrupt my studies.”
However, even without the notification sounds, Lin Qing’an still began to lose focus. Every single time he solved a difficult equation, his gaze would instinctively drift toward the dark screen of his phone, burning with curiosity over whether Xie Tingchuan had sent him another text.
If he did, was it a text or a voice note?
What on earth would he say this time?
Slap! Lin Qing’an smashed his palm against the desk and bolted to his feet.
“No, I can’t let this go on any longer.”
Lin Qing’an opened his phone and directly dialed Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi.
Qin Zhiyi: “Qing’an, is something wrong?”
A voice incredibly raspy and husky rasped through the speaker. Glancing at his phone while sorting through his books, Lin Qing’an asked,
“Zhiyi, are you under the weather? Why does your voice sound so raspy?”
“I… I’m fine.” A heavy, ragged gasp echoed through the line. “I’m currently running. You were looking for me?”
Lin Qing’an: “Yeah. Is Duan Xuan beside you?”
Duan Xuan: “I’m here. What’s up, spit it out, I can hear you.”
Duan Xuan’s voice sounded a bit distant, but Lin Qing’an didn’t pay it much mind.
“We don’t have classes tomorrow, let’s head to the study lounge to review together. I can’t do it alone; I keep losing focus.”
“Sure,” Qin Zhiyi agreed. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, okay, see you tomorrow morning then…” Lin Qing’an stared at the phone screen which had already disconnected. “Why’d he hang up so fast?”
Lin Qing’an shrugged, flopping straight back onto his bed. With Xie Tingchuan’s voice notes looping beside his ears, his blinking slowed down further and further until he drifted off into dreamland.