Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Fine Arts Academy studio was close to the male dormitory, and a black Aston Martin DBS was parked downstairs.

The car’s pitch-black body was shrouded in the dim glow of the streetlights, its chiseled, predatory lines resembling a panther poised to strike—aloofly luxurious yet fiercely wild.

It was a definite head-turner.

Lin Xingxian walked out with his painting tools, paused for a couple of seconds when he saw the car by the entrance, then pulled open the door and got in. He sighed, "You actually drove such a flashy car today? Was this the ride you took him home in last night too?"

The person in the driver’s seat gave a lazy hum but didn’t start the engine. His gaze stretched past the windshield, fixed on a slender figure in the distance.

He seemed engrossed, as if he’d been staring for a while.

Lin Xingxian, curious, took a closer look at the person walking toward the dormitory with a backpack and immediately understood.

“Tsk,” he muttered. “Your little roommate’s out on a date with another handsome guy, huh?”

The atmosphere in the car instantly turned sour, but Lin Xingxian brushed it off. “The kid’s quite the social butterfly.”

At this late hour, the streets were filled with young couples, and the two walking side by side back to the dormitory looked like a perfect match from behind.

Lin Xingxian continued fanning the flames. “He seems like such a wallflower, yet he’s so close with everyone. Li Huaiche being your roommate is one thing, but this guy’s from the Athletics College—I know him. Those guys are all smooth operators. That kid’s a total sweetheart, better not let him get played.”

As the two figures disappeared into the dormitory, Wen Sinian finally started the engine.

“Depends who’s playing whom.”

*

Xu Yan was about to reply when the dormitory suddenly lost power, plunging everything into darkness. Carefully, he climbed onto his bed with his phone and power bank.

Yan Yan: Nope, I don’t have any other brothers.

The reply came surprisingly fast.

Year: Try that lie on someone else.

Yan Yan: I’m not lying to you.

Xu Yan exited the chat, took a screenshot, and sent it over.

Yan Yan: See? It’s true.

His WeChat was bare except for this chat. Xu Yan went on to explain why he hadn’t replied earlier.

Yan Yan: My phone died. Look at the battery level—I just rebooted. Didn’t mean to leave you on read.

Year: Purged the evidence quick, huh?

Xu Yan lay on his pillow, hugging his phone with both hands. He bit his lip lightly after reading the message.

Was he referring to the other chat logs he’d just deleted?

Annoyed, he buried his face into the pillow and rubbed it hard.

Why was this person so mean? A few words from him could shut him right up.

So what if he replied a little late? The other guy hadn’t responded all afternoon, and Xu Yan hadn’t said a word about it.

Year: Was in meetings all afternoon and evening. No reception.

Xu Yan’s eyes widened at the sudden message. Goosebumps prickled his neck, and he quickly flipped over, wrapping himself tightly in the blanket.

How… how did he know what he was thinking? And he even explained right away.

It was so creepy—like he was psychic.

Yan Yan: It’s okay, I’m not mad.

So… you shouldn’t be either, right?

After sending it, Xu Yan waited anxiously for a reply, but none came.

Sweltering under the covers, but the dead of night seemed to spawn countless pairs of eyes glinting in the dark, watching him unseen. The suffocating stare clung to his bare skin, as if ready to pounce and make a meal of him.

Scared, Xu Yan tucked his head and feet under the blanket, curling into a tiny ball. This little cocoon felt like his safe haven, no boogeymen getting in.

Still no reply. Was he really going to burn bridges with his No.1 sponsor right after adding him?

*The Simp Code* stated that one must always maintain a humble and friendly attitude. Tentatively, he pecked out under the covers.

Yan Yan: *[Cat peeking emoji]*

Yan Yan: Still upset with me?

A reply popped up quickly.

Year: No. Driving.

Xu Yan exhaled slightly in relief, slowly stretching out. His tousled hair emerged from the blanket.

Yan Yan: Oh, okay! Eyes on the road, don’t look at your phone~

After the gentle reminder, Year indeed stopped replying.

Xu Yan switched back to his main account and hesitated before opening the chat with Li Huaiche.

Xu Yan: Senior Li, are you asleep?

Li Huaiche: Nah, grinding. What’s the deal?

Xu Yan: I need a favor. You have Senior Wen’s WeChat, right?

Li Huaiche: Yeah, you want it?

Xu Yan: No, no! Could you just screenshot his WeChat profile for me? I just want to see.

Unaware of how odd the request sounded, Xu Yan waited quietly. Soon enough, Li Huaiche sent the screenshot.

Li Huaiche: I’ll just share his contact with you. You can try adding him, but odds are he’ll ignore it.

Xu Yan glanced at the tiny preview, and his anxious heart unclenched. The profile picture and nickname were different—of course, such coincidences didn’t happen in real life.

But just to be sure, he asked one more question.

Xu Yan: Does Senior Wen only have this one WeChat account?

Li Huaiche: Probably? He uses this one in all the group chats. Most people don’t bother with multiple burner accounts anyway.

Xu Yan: Okay, thanks a bunch! ^^

Xu Yan felt relieved this time. It seemed the senior was right—he really was timid, prone to overthinking, and often drained himself mentally by worrying about things that hadn’t even happened or imagining the worst possible outcomes.

He needed to fix this habit.

Opening the app backend, he checked his wallet. Over a thousand yuan had reached the minimum withdrawal amount. Xu Yan tapped the withdrawal button, and a small prompt appeared on the screen: *"Please confirm whether to withdraw to your WeChat account. This withdrawal will not incur any fees."*

His slender pale finger hovered over the confirmation button, hesitating for a moment.

The money wasn’t going anywhere if left in the app. He had already sent part of grandma’s medical payment recently, and he still had over three hundred yuan on hand—enough to get by for now.

Xu Yan didn’t want to develop the bad habit of getting lazy whenever he had cash. He clicked "Cancel," set an alarm for the next morning, and figured he’d go to the library to continue editing his video.

Besides, he still had a couple scenes left for the promotional video and needed to find time to film at the fight gym soon so he could finish the post-production.

Before bed, Xu Yan opened a shopping app and scrolled through dresses for a while. His last update had been days ago—most new bloggers posted more often than he did.

The beautiful dresses on the webpage dazzled him, but their prices made him look away. Well-designed, high-quality dresses cost hundreds, even thousands, and he couldn’t afford them.

In the end, he bought a new-style cheongsam for a little over 100 bucks. He only needed to wear it once anyway, and after washing it, he could flip it on Xianyu.

He remembered many comments urging him to wear a cheongsam, but he wasn’t sure about his measurements, so he bought a one-size-fits-all.

His frame was small, with narrow delicate shoulders—he hoped it would fit.

By the time he finished, it was almost midnight. Xu Yan was about to turn off his phone and sleep when the screen lit up again in the darkness.

He opened it—it was a message on his burner account.

Year: Just got home and showered.

Year: Asleep?

Xu Yan bit his lip and didn’t reply immediately.

Maybe he shouldn’t reply at all. Playing asleep would be fine—it was late, and a college student with an 8 a.m. class not staying up late was perfectly normal.

He turned off his phone, placed it beside his pillow, grabbed his soft, plush bunny toy, hugged it against his cheek, and closed his eyes.

A faint glow shone through his eyelids. Squinting, Xu Yan reflexively grabbed his phone and looked—only to widen his eyes in shock, like he’d seen a ghost.

Year: Read but didn’t reply. Pretending to sleep?

Year: Not afraid I’ll get mad again?

Xu Yan blinked up at the bed curtains above him for a few seconds, hugging the bunny tighter.

How did *year* know he wasn’t asleep? Or that he’d seen the messages?

His sleepiness disappeared. Silently, he and the bunny stared at the phone screen.

Sure enough, within two minutes, another message popped up.

Year: Are the photos really you? Not AI or stock images?

Now Xu Yan was fully awake, a small flare of irritation bubbling in his chest.

*Year* could say his photos weren’t flattering or that he looked awkward in dresses, but every single one was taken by him with effort.

Ugh, that’s so rude.

Fuming, he tapped angrily at the screen, his fingers flying over the screen.

Yan Yan: Of course they’re real!

Yan Yan: They’re all me—100% real, just filtered. I didn’t even edit them.

Yan Yan: How could you say that…

The other person seemed to reply instantly, without much thought.

Year: You don’t look like a guy.

Yan Yan: But I really am a guy!

Year: Prove it then.

Xu Yan’s fingers froze in shock. In twenty years of life, this was the first time he’d had to deal with this—how to prove he was male and not female?

How… how was he supposed to prove that?

After some thought, Xu Yan simply climbed out of bed, turned on his phone’s camera, and turned on the flash.

Luckily, his bed had curtains. Just a quick flash got through the gaps.

His two roommates were already asleep and didn’t wake.

Xu Yan worked quietly, cropping and checking the photo before finally hitting send.

The photo only showed his flat slender chest, with one small, pale hand deliberately tugging the hem of his shirt tight, pressing the thin light-blue pajamas against his narrow waist to prove there was nothing there.

The pajamas were slightly lifted at the edge, but the snow-white skin below was carefully cropped out. In the upper-left corner, a hint of his thin calf was visible—clearly in a kneeling position, legs slightly apart.

Yan Yan: See? [*smug-cat.jpg*]

Minutes passed with no reply. Xu Yan’s eyelids drooped as he stared at the screen, and eventually, he drifted off waiting.

Half an hour later, his screen lit up again.

Year: Saw it.

Year: You’re very pretty.