Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Xu Yan pulled his phone away, took a few deep breaths as he stared at the shadowy ceiling above his bed, and touched his flushed cheeks.

He had only asked for a photo, but why... why wasn’t the other person wearing any clothes…

And the physique in the photo looked so strong, as if he could knock out ten Xu Yans with one punch.

A twinge of worry shot through Xu Yan. If he accidentally angered the other person and got caught, wouldn’t he get pummeled?

He absolutely must not reveal his identity!

"Yan Yan": Where are you?

"Yan Yan": Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?

"year": Catching the game with friends.

"year": Thought that's what you wanted to see.

Xu Yan’s fingers trembled, and he couldn’t help but mutter silently.

You perv.

"Yan Yan": I didn’t mean that.

"year": Oh, so it’s me who wants to see you without clothes.

"year": Wanna show me?

What a cocky attitude, such a bold request.

"Yan Yan": No.

"year": Do you still want to see me?

"year": Wanna see lower?

Xu Yan clicked back into the previous photo. It already showed the edge of the black waistband—any lower and…

Worried the guy might actually send something worse, his fingers flew over the keyboard.

"Yan Yan": No.

"Yan Yan": I don’t want to see anymore.

"Yan Yan": Don't you dare send that.

Seeing Xu Yan’s reply, no more photos arrived.

"year": You're such a scaredy-cat, baby.

A while later.

"year": I'll show you in person.

*

Xu Yan barely slept well all night, haunted by nightmares.

He dreamed that "year" really came to his school to catch him, dragged him into a dark room, made him put on a skirt, made him look at parts the photos hadn’t shown, and even made him do all sorts of weird stuff.

Xu Yan was close to tears. When he opened his eyes, he was still in his dorm bed. His roommates had all left for class or the library, leaving him alone.

Bleary-eyed, he gathered up the skirt from his bed, and put it away in the closet.

Second period was coming up. On the way to class, Shen Nanli kept going on about Zhou Zhengyi pursuing a girl from the sports department, but Xu Yan's mind was elsewhere, only half-listening, occasionally nodding absentmindedly.

He couldn't stop thinking about last night’s impulsive decision to agree to an online relationship with "year." Now that his head was clearer in the morning, the whole situation seemed more ridiculous by the minute.

"year" was straight, and Xu Yan didn’t like guys either.

How could this thing between them work?

He hoped "year" had also acted on impulse and would be the one to end it, sparing him the headache.

It seemed he needed to keep reminding "year" that he was a guy—he had to burst that bubble.

Shen Nanli noticed Xu Yan’s distraction and waved his hand in front of Xu Yan's face. "Yan Yan, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been zoning out since earlier. Did something happen?"

"I, uh..." Seeing Shen Nanli’s concerned expression, Xu Yan wanted to confess, but it was too embarrassing to talk about. "It’s just..."

Shen Nanli asked, "Is it about Top Fan?"

Xu Yan was stunned. "How did you know?"

Shen Nanli gave him a knowing look. "Are you two together?"

Xu Yan was even more shocked. "You..."

"Like I even need to guess," Shen Nanli said. "You two text nonstop. Something was bound to happen."

Xu Yan didn’t know how to respond. "We don't talk that much..."

"Really? Check your phone right now—has Top Fan messaged you?"

Xu Yan took out his phone and saw several unread messages on his burner account.

"Pure coincidence," he said defensively.

In reality, given how often "year" messaged him, these 'coincidences' were inevitable.

Wasn’t "year" always saying he was busy with work? Why was he acting so needy now, blowing up my phone?

He unlocked his phone to check.

Twenty minutes ago.

"year": Baby, are you awake?

"year": You have class soon, right?

Ten minutes ago.

"year": Why aren’t you replying, baby?

Two minutes ago.

"year": Miss you.

Students milled around them. Xu Yan didn’t reply, quickly locking his phone like he'd been caught, and nervously fiddled with his earlobe.

Shen Nanli accidentally caught a glimpse of the last message on his phone and couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh wow, Top Fan is so obsessed with you he's acting like a fool."

After arriving in the classroom, Xu Yan took out his phone to reply to the messages.

"Yan Yan": I've got class now.

After replying, he tucked his phone away for the time being and focused on the lecture.

By lunchtime, no new messages had come in on his alternate account. Xu Yan left school with Shen Nanli and met up with Shang Jia at a mall.

The three of them had planned to grab lunch together and then watch a movie in the afternoon.

While eating, Xu Yan received another message on his alternate account. He glanced at it quickly.

"year": What’s your afternoon looking like, baby?

"year": Will you be staying in the dorm?

Year obviously knew his schedule by heart. Xu Yan held a fork in one hand and typed a reply with the other.

"Yan Yan": I'm out eating right now.

"year": Who with?

"Yan Yan": Friends.

"year": What friends?

"year": Male or female?

This guy was asking way too much. Xu Yan didn’t want to tell the truth and was trying to figure out how to dodge the topic.

Shang Jia saw Xu Yan glued to his phone even during the meal and asked, "Yan Yan, who’s messaging you? Did you meet someone new recently?"

Shang Jia and Shen Nanli were Xu Yan’s ride-or-dies, and he usually only interacted closely with them—except now there was someone else.

Shen Nanli cut in, "Not a close friend, a boyfriend."

Shang Jia almost choked on her food, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at the baby-faced boy in front of her.

"Yan Yan, you—you have a boyfriend now?!"

She enunciated the last three words clearly, as she had always assumed Xu Yan was just a little too pretty, a little too well-behaved, a little too soft-spoken, a little too slender...

Well, she had always thought Xu Yan was the type to date a guy, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so suddenly.

Xu Yan set his phone down, nibbled on his spoon, and spoke somewhat guiltily, "It’s pretty recent."

Figured he’d come clean sooner or later anyway, he steeled himself and admitted, "Actually, it was just yesterday..."

"Yesterday?!"

Shang Jia felt like she was seeing her pure little lamb get stolen, and she got pissed. "Who? Who’s your boyfriend? Do I know him? Please don’t tell me it’s Zhou Zhengyi—he’s so not your league! Let me think about the guys in our department—none of them deserve you! Who is it?!"

Compared to Shang Jia’s outburst, Shen Nanli remained calm and even handed her a glass of water.

"Senior, don’t get so worked up. It’s not someone we know—it’s that Top Fan from before. I only found out today too, but I wasn’t as shocked as you."

Shang Jia was still wrapping her head around it. "That Top Fan? Wait, what? Yan Yan, weren’t you just chatting with him? How’d you wind up dating him?"

It was kinda complicated, but not that complicated. Regardless of the reasons, he’d basically agreed to be his online boyfriend.

"I don’t know," Xu Yan frowned. "But I plan to break up with him soon, and I don’t want to meet him offline either."

Shang Jia nodded. "Not meeting is good. For all you know, it could be some creep! And how much do you even know about Top Fan? What’s his name? How tall is he? How old? Does he work or study? Where’s he from?"

Xu Yan just stared cluelessly—he had no answers.

Shang Jia and Shen Nanli were exasperated. The kid was way too trusting—if someone sold him, he’d probably help someone scam him.

Shang Jia suggested, "Here’s what you do: when you chat with him, sneak in some personal questions and see if he answers. But don’t just believe everything he says—keep your guard up. He could be feeding you total BS."

Shen Nanli added, "Exactly. Sure, he’s loaded, but he might look like a troll and unable to find anyone in real life, so he resorts to online dating—preying on cute, gullible guys like you."

Xu Yan blinked. "I’m not a fool. I have a photo of him."

Shang Jia: "He sent you a photo?"

Shen Nanli: "What does he look like? Ugly? Handsome? Or just average?"

Xu Yan pulled up the shirtless photo year had sent him but hesitated—it felt way too personal to share.

He didn’t reveal the photo, only saying, "You can’t see his face."

"You can’t tell anything without the face."

The other two shrugged it off.

Xu Yan took a small sip of his milk tea. "His body... is decent..."

He didn’t have much to compare it to and didn’t know how hard it was to build muscles like that.

Honestly, it was seriously toned, but he didn’t want to admit it.

"How do you know what his body looks like?"

Shang Jia and Shen Nanli locked eyes before yelping at the same time—

"He sent you a nude?!!"

Xu Yan quickly waved his hands to quiet them. "No! Just—no shirt!"

Shang Jia couldn’t help but clap. "Top Fan’s playing games. Yan Yan, don’t let him fool you. Those pics could be fake, and even if they’re real, they could be Super Photoshopped."

Shen Nanli added, "Yan Yan, don’t tell me you’re actually into him? You’re both just stringing each other along."

"No," Xu Yan fiddled with his fingers. "It’s not like I’m invested."

Shen Nanli pointed at his phone on the table. "Your phone just buzzed."

Shang Jia: "Top Fan keeping tabs?"

With them staring him down, Xu Yan opened his alternate account to look.

"year": Babe, I’m getting worried.

"year": We can skip meeting up.

"year": But at least tell me what you’re up to.

There was also a missed voice call.

Xu Yan didn’t know if other people’s relationships were like this, but year was so controlling—always wanting to know every little detail about him, sometimes leaving him scrambling for excuses.

"Yan Yan": Just with my two good friends.

"Yan Yan": No one else.

"year": Got it.

"year": Baby, next time tell me on your own, alright?

"year": I can’t see you—don’t make me worry.

Seeing this, Xu Yan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.

"Yan Yan": Okay!

"Yan Yan": Then what are you doing?

A photo of a desk was sent over, with two monitors and a bunch of incomprehensible characters.

"year": Working. Missing you.

His breath caught for a moment, his heartbeat skipping irregularly.

Xu Yan averted his gaze, not wanting to reply anymore, but the next second, he suddenly received a payment notification.

"year" has sent you a transfer of 20,000 yuan.

"year": Please eat more. It breaks my heart to see you so thin.

Shang Jia asked, "Is it Top Fan? What did he say?"

Xu Yan looked up, "He sent me money..."

Shen Nanli: "How much?"

Xu Yan: "Twenty thousand."

Shen Nanli sighed, "I really want to fight these rich people."

Shang Jia: "Yan Yan, don’t accept it yet. These WeChat transfers aren't safe. Worst-case scenario, if you two ever break up and he decides to sue you, you might have to return all that money."

Xu Yan had considered this before. "I know. I never accept any of it."

Shang Jia relaxed. "That's good. Even real couples can end up in ugly fights, so you’d better be careful."

Xu Yan tapped to refund the money and sent a message.

"Yan Yan": I'm fine for money!

"Yan Yan": I’ll eat more, eat till I'm stuffed ^_^

Luckily, year didn’t insist, just replied with an "Alright."

Xu Yan: "I didn’t take the money, and he didn’t say anything else."

Shang Jia rubbed her chin. "Honestly, Top Fan doesn’t seem like the type to take no for an answer. Yan Yan, check your account in the app."

Xu Yan obediently logged in. "What am I looking for?"

"Wallet."

Xu Yan tapped into his wallet balance and gasped softly in surprise.

Shen Nanli: "What? What is it?"

Shang Jia: "Did it increase?"

Xu Yan looked up. "By thirty thousand."

Shen Nanli: "...I swear I'll take these rich people down."

Shang Jia nodded. "See what I mean? I knew Top Fan wouldn’t be so easy to brush off. If you won’t take it on WeChat, he’ll just tip you on the platform—paying double just to make sure you get the money. Basically, if he wants to give you something, you’ll end up taking it one way or another."

Xu Yan stared at the list of tipping records, quietly pitying year for the processing fees.

He checked his fan rankings. Of course, year was in the top spot, way ahead, untouchable.

But out of the extra thirty thousand, twenty thousand came from year, and the remaining ten thousand was from an unknown account named X, the #2 fan.

Xu Yan clicked into X’s profile—there was nothing there, like a brand-new burner account.

It was weird, but there was no way to tell anything from this empty profile.

The movie was about to start, so he didn't think too much about it, following Shang Jia and Shen Nanli to have their tickets scanned and enter the theater.

He didn’t check his phone during the movie. Two and a half hours later, when it ended, there were unread messages on WeChat.

Shang Jia and Shen Nanli, seeing him check his phone, started teasing him with playful whooping.

Shang Jia: "Dating someone really changes things, huh? Someone cares about you wherever you go. Not like us—if we ended up sleeping under a bridge tonight, no one would notice."

Shen Nanli: "Why don’t I have money to be Yan Yan’s top fan? This sucks!"

Arm in arm, they walked ahead while Xu Yan trailed behind, smiling wryly as he held his phone.

year had sent a picture an hour ago.

"year": This would look perfect on you.

"year": Baby, let me buy it for you, okay?

Xu Yan opened the image, and a flush spread from his ears down his fair neck.

A snow-white lace babydoll—more like a cropped top. The cutaway diagram showed it barely covering anything in front, and if worn, the fluffy skirt would definitely ride up over rounded curves, showing way too much.

Delicate straps crisscrossed the shoulders, topped with a fluffy bunny-ear headband. Further down, lace garters hugged both thighs, connected to a strip of fishnet stockings.

Most shockingly, there was a revealing cutout at the lower back, from which a soft, plush bunny tail peeked—perky and round, looking ready to bounce with every step.

The outfit looked disturbingly familiar. Xu Yan had worn something similar during a café event before, but that dress had been way longer and much more decent.

This...wasn't exactly streetwear.

As he walked, he lowered his head to type a reply.

"Yan Yan": No.

"Yan Yan": Don't buy it.

It's too revealing. He'd never wear that.

"Year": But I already bought it. What should I do?

"Yan Yan": I don’t like this.

"Year": ¥5800, can't return it.

Xu Yan stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded, staring at the number on the screen again.

How… how much?

¥5800?!

How could so little fabric cost so much?

"Yan Yan": You’re not allowed to send it to me.

After sending it, he felt a little worried and added another line.

"Yan Yan": Otherwise, I’ll never talk to you again.

Fortunately, whenever he used these obviously playful threats to threaten Year, it always worked.

"Year": Fine.

"Year": I’ll keep it for you for now, baby.

"Year": Heading back to school?

Shang Jia and Shen Nanli stopped to wait for Xu Yan, then each grabbed him by the arms and steered him toward the bus stop outside the mall.

"Yan Yan": Yeah.

The bus started moving, and it would take about half an hour to reach the entrance of Beishi University.

"Year": The timing works out.

"Year": Grab the food at the gate before going back to the dorm.

"Yan Yan": What is it?

"Year": Your favorite.

Xu Yan couldn’t imagine what he had ordered. Besides, how did Year even know what he liked? He didn’t recall ever being asked.

When the bus arrived, Xu Yan said he needed to pick up some takeout at the school gate before heading back.

Shang Jia asked, "What takeout? Are you hungry again?"

Xu Yan shook his head. "He ordered it."

Shen Nanli: "Hmph."

Just as Xu Yan was about to retrieve the order from the food pickup locker, Shang Jia grabbed his arm. "Wait—this isn’t a trap, is it? What if Top Fan is waiting right outside to catch you?"

Xu Yan hadn’t even considered that possibility. He got chills as he immediately scanned the area.

"N-no way…"

Shang Jia said, "Better be careful. Besides, there are surveillance cameras near the delivery lockers."

Shen Nanli: "Those cameras have been broken for days. Don’t worry, I’ll just ask someone to grab it for us."

With that, he went straight to the old security guard at the gatehouse. Without hesitation, the guard helped out and returned with three fancy pink gift bags.

The three of them thanked him like crazy, giving the guard a bottle of water before bolting like they'd stolen something, stuffing the takeout into their backpacks.

Only when they reached the boys’ dormitory did Xu Yan take the order out of his bag.

Inside were three small ice cream cakes, packed with ice packs, still holding up.

Xu Yan stared at the cute pink bags and the fancy little cakes inside. He had eaten one not long ago—it was truly delicious, and he’d got hooked on it from the first bite.

But it was too expensive, and there was only one shop in the entire city that sold them. He thought he’d never get to eat it again.

There were exactly three cakes, so he gave one each to Shang Jia and Shen Nanli.

Back in the dorm, he unwrapped his cake and took a bite. The creamy, cold goodness was just as delicious as last time.

He opened his second WeChat account and sent a photo of the cake.

"Yan Yan": OMG so good [heart eyes]

"Yan Yan": Thank you.

"Year": Do you like it?

"Yan Yan": Love it!

"Year": I love you too, baby.

Realizing Year was changing the subject, Xu Yan scrunched his nose, his mouth still full of ice cream, and sent back a sticker in response.

"Yan Yan": [angry cat meme]

After finishing the cake, Zhao Qingji returned from studying at the library.

Xu Yan switched gears, discussing with him how to wrap up the final scenes of the video project.

Once they reached an agreement, Xu Yan worked quickly, having the edit done in less than two days. After having Zhao Qingji and Shen Nanli review it twice, he sent it directly to the museum director.

The director was chill about it and approved it with almost no revisions, saying the boss was really happy with the final product. The payment was even more than they agreed on—a full ¥6,000.

Xu Yan was stoked. After dividing up the money proportionally with Zhao Qingji and Shen Nanli, he made sure to send Zhou Zhengyi a red envelope as well.

It wasn’t a large amount, but it was mainly to thank him for helping out that day.

Zhou Zhengyi wrote back right away.

"Zhou Zhengyi": I can’t accept this. If I did, that'd be messed up. It’d be like shaking you down for your paycheck.

"Xu Yan": You helped us a lot too. You deserve it. Otherwise, I’d feel awkward even being friends with you in the future.

"Zhou Zhengyi": How about this—I still won’t take the money, but you can just buy me dinner instead. Deal? Consider that my payment.

Xu Yan hesitated, leaving the message unanswered.

"Zhou Zhengyi": Don't misunderstand, it's not just the two of us. I'm bringing some friends too. You can bring yours as well—we can all meet each other. We all go to the same school anyway, sound good?

Xu Yan was naturally somewhat socially anxious and wasn't big on crowded, lively places. But he disliked the idea of being in Zhou Zhengyi's debt even more, so he eventually agreed.

Zhou Zhengyi had chosen a Sichuan-style hotpot place on the snack street behind campus. It was always crowded, and on weekend evenings, it was packed to the rafters, with many students hanging out there.

Zhou Zhengyi had reserved a table in advance, located in the main hall. Xu Yan brought Shen Nanli and Zhao Qingji along—since they both knew Zhou Zhengyi anyway, they figured it could double as a celebration for finishing their project.

Soon enough, Zhou Zhengyi arrived with two friends—a guy and a girl.

When Shen Nanli saw the tall, pretty girl, he gave Xu Yan's arm a pinch and whispered, "That’s the girl Zhou Zhengyi’s been chasing."

When he saw them, Zhou Zhengyi walked straight to Xu Yan’s side and plopped down.

"When did you guys get here? Have you ordered yet? The duck blood and tripe here are amazing—you gotta try 'em."

Xu Yan couldn’t take much heat, so he opted for a half-and-half pot. The other tables were all ordering the extra-spicy nine-grid hotpot, and just the aroma made his mouth tingle.

The tall girl sat on Zhou Zhengyi’s other side. From the moment she entered and took her seat, she kept sneaking glances at Xu Yan.

If Xu Yan had initially worried that Zhou Zhengyi might have other intentions, seeing this beautiful, fit girl put all his worries to rest.

Any fool could tell who to choose between him and her—especially since Zhou Zhengyi had claimed to be 100% straight.

The restaurant was crowded, and after ordering, the group had to wait a while. It took some time before a server finally brought them a pot of sour plum juice, which clearly wasn’t enough for six people.

While Zhou Zhengyi waved for another pitcher, he immediately poured Xu Yan a full cup.

"Have some first—might take a while before the food comes."

Xu Yan nodded politely. "Thanks."

The girl beside him didn’t lift a finger, expecting someone to pour for her. But after filling Xu Yan’s cup, Zhou Zhengyi just set the pot down and turned to chat with Xu Yan.

The other guy who came with Zhou Zhengyi was also stunned, unsure what his friend was playing at.

They waited a long time, and the hotpot still hadn’t arrived. Xu Yan excused himself to the restroom. On his way out, he ran into the girl just outside the door.

He gave her a small smile and nodded, stepping aside to let her pass—but she blocked his way with a long stride.

"What’s your relationship with Zhou Zhengyi?"

Xu Yan was confused. "There’s no relationship..."

She cut him off, looking him up and down. "Bullshit. Wasn’t it you he liked before?"

Xu Yan explained, "Him liking me was a misunderstanding. We’ve already cleared that up—we’re just regular friends now."

She clearly didn’t buy it. "Regular friends? You think I’m blind? The second he saw you, his eyes were practically eating you up. I heard he even ran over to help with some project you were filming. Didn’t he give you basketball tickets too? ‘Regular friends’—yeah right. Why don’t you smell yourself, how strong that ‘innocent act’ stinks?"

Xu Yan was stunned. "Doesn’t he like you? Isn’t he chasing you? Didn’t everyone in the sports department know?"

What was going on here?

The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Save it. If anyone’s good at playing innocent, it’s you. What, do you just flirt a little and all the guys come running like puppies? If you’re so good at it, why not go after someone else?"

She shot him a withering look, muttering under her breath, "Phony."

With that, she strode back to her seat, head held high.

Xu Yan returned to the table too, glancing between Zhou Zhengyi and the girl, trying to make sense of it all.

It hit him—was it possible that Zhou Zhengyi’s claims about chasing her and being straight were all lies?

The girl was now laughing and chatting with another guy as if nothing had happened.

Xu Yan frowned slightly but kept his mouth shut, surreptitiously watching Zhou Zhengyi’s every move.

When his sour plum juice ran out, Zhou Zhengyi jumped to refill it.

When he accidentally spilled his drink, Zhou Zhengyi immediately handed him napkins and wiped the table for him.

When his chopsticks fell to the floor, Zhou Zhengyi gave him his own clean pair and picked up the fallen ones.

!

Xu Yan’s eyes went wide. He tugged Shen Nanli’s sleeve and whispered, "Shit, I think Zhou Zhengyi still likes me."

Shen Nanli: "?"

Shen Nanli: "!"

Since they were already there, Xu Yan was stuck sitting through the meal. He didn’t want to expose Zhou Zhengyi publicly or make a scene.

He lowered his head, buried himself in his phone, acting busy and deliberately ignoring Zhou Zhengyi’s attempts to talk to him.

Opening his alternate account, he sent a message.

"Yan Yan": I’m having hotpot with friends tonight.

The reply came instantly.

"year": Checking in with me?

"year": That’s my boy.

"year": Same friends as last time?

"Yan Yan": No, different ones.

"year": You’ve got so many friends, baby.

"Yan Yan": Not really… we’re not super close.

"Yan Yan": And I don’t wanna eat with them again.

"year": Did someone upset you?

"Yan Yan": Not exactly.

As if sensing Xu Yan’s mood, "year" sent another message after a pause.

"year": Where are you eating?

"year": Off-campus?

Xu Yan, feeling troubled, made up an excuse to swap seats with Shen Nanli, putting distance between himself and Zhou Zhengyi. But now that he’d noticed Zhou Zhengyi’s behavior, that intense gaze became impossible to ignore.

This sucked.

Without thinking twice, he replied directly on his burner account.

"Yan Yan": Backstreet

After sending the message, Xu Yan exited his burner account and saw a few messages from Shang Jia on his main account.

"Shang Jia": Yan Yan, I think there’s something I should tell you.

"Shang Jia" sent over a screenshot.

"Shang Jia": You know how I follow Top Fan’s account? Well, today while scrolling through a suggestive content creator's feed, I actually saw that Top Fan and I both follow that blogger.

"Shang Jia": I thought I might’ve misread it, so I checked several times—it’s definitely him.

"Shang Jia": His account only follows two people, and it’s set to private mode. If I’m not mistaken, one is you, and the other is that suggestive content creator…

"Shang Jia": If he were just your Top Fan, then what he watches is his own business—we can’t control that.

"Shang Jia": But didn’t you say today that you two are dating? So I just thought…

Xu Yan read through each message, then clicked on the screenshot. It indeed showed they both followed the same blogger.

His mind seemed slow to process it, leaving him a little dazed.

Only when a WeChat notification from his burner account popped up on his phone screen did he suddenly feel a heavy, aching pressure in his chest.

"year": Just started eating, or almost done?

"year": Want me to buy you a small cake?

"year": Baby

"year": Why aren’t you replying?

"year": Are you upset?

It wasn’t like he hadn’t considered this before—that he might not be the only one for "year."

"year" could shower him with gifts, could pamper him—of course, he could also call someone else "baby," could thoughtfully send someone else a small cake.

The bitter, choking pain in his chest spread uncontrollably, swiftly overwhelming his entire body. Xu Yan took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, but it was no use.

He switched back to his main account to look at the screenshot, then back to his burner account to reread "year’s" messages.

The more he looked, the more his eyes stung unbearably.

His burner account only had "year" as a friend, but the other person clearly wasn’t the same.

If others could be treated the same way, then why say you liked him?

Why always want to meet him? Why agree to date him?

Through just a screen, where nothing could be seen or touched, all they had were cold, empty text messages.

It was all a lie, after all. Luckily, he hadn’t taken it seriously.

It wasn’t too late to back out now.

Xu Yan sniffled but didn’t reply, turning off his screen instead.

Beside him, Shen Nanli, unaware of what was wrong, called out to him but was startled by his expression: "Yan Yan, your eyes are so red—are you feeling unwell?"

Xu Yan rubbed the corners of his eyes, fingertips wet.

His voice was muffled: "No, it’s just… something's irritating my eyes. Must be the spicy steam."

Their hotpot broth was finally brought to the table—spicy pot facing Zhou Zhengyi, mild broth on Xu Yan’s side.

Soon, the dishes arrived one after another. Seeing Xu Yan sitting quietly with his head down, Zhou Zhengyi made up an excuse to switch seats with Shen Nanli, wanting to sit next to Xu Yan.

Shen Nanli refused, but Zhou Zhengyi tugged at his arm with a grin: "Come on, trade with me. I don’t like spicy food either—my throat’s been sore lately, so I can’t handle heat. Just do me this favor."

Shen Nanli was yanked off his chair and abruptly stood up: "What’s your problem? Yan Yan isn’t feeling well tonight—stop bothering him—"

Before he could finish, the entrance door opened again. A group entered, one person among them who stood out, drawing the attention of many in the room.

"Xu Yan!"

One of the newcomers called out excitedly, then quickly approached their table.

Li Huaiche glanced at the group and grinned: "Perfect, we know everyone! Old Zhou, why are you hanging out with our dorm’s junior?"

Zhou Zhengyi’s expression shifted slightly: "We met before. Just getting dinner together."

Li Huaiche waved at the others behind him: "Wen-ge! Over here! They haven’t started eating yet, and there’s no space elsewhere—let’s just join their table."

Then he turned back to the group with a smile: "Mind if we join? Otherwise, we won’t get to eat tonight."

At that point, they couldn't say no.

The waiter guided the newcomers over while bringing a smaller table to push together with theirs, forming one large table.

The seating arrangement had to be adjusted. Everyone stood up, shuffling chairs around until all ten were seated in small clusters.

Xu Yan stood waiting to the side. Once the chairs were set, he chose a two-person corner to sit—only for Zhou Zhengyi to move toward him, clearly intending to sit beside him.

Xu Yan quickly stood again, about to move to the other side, when a long leg shot out to block his path.

Trapped, he tried to turn and look back, but a hand settled on his shoulder from behind. It seemed to exert no force, yet carried a firm pressure, pressing down just enough to make him drop back into the two-seater.

He turned his head and saw Wen Sinian sliding into the seat beside him.

The hand on his shoulder withdrew, cool gaze fixed on him.

Xu Yan felt pinned in place, unable to move, while the others quickly found their places.

Zhou Zhengyi, unable to sit directly beside Xu Yan, had to take the spot at an angle instead.

They ordered more dishes, which arrived quickly.

Zhou Zhengyi reached to pour Xu Yan some sour plum drink, but before Xu Yan could decline, a pale, long-fingered hand extended from beside him, blocking his cup.

Zhou Zhengyi froze with the pitcher in hand: "What are you doing?"

Wen Sinian just gave a lazy look: "He's not having any."

Zhou Zhengyi turned to Xu Yan, who shifted slightly closer to Wen Sinian: "Yeah, I don’t want any."

Zhou Zhengyi slammed the pitcher down.

The hand resting on Xu Yan's cup then picked up his glass. Wen Sinian tilted his head slightly toward him, suddenly bringing them closer.

A deep voice murmured softly by his ear, "Want some warm water?"

Xu Yan had drunk multiple glasses of iced sour plum drink on an empty stomach earlier, and now his stomach felt a bit cold. He nodded, "I can do it myself."

Wen Sinian didn’t return the glass to him. Instead, after pouring the water, he set it down out of reach.

Xu Yan couldn’t reach it at all and tilted his head, puzzled.

Wen Sinian gestured, "Sit here."

Xu Yan understood immediately and stood up to switch seats with Wen Sinian, which created space between himself and Zhou Zhengyi.

He tried to step around the stool but was blocked by an arm behind his waist, gently pushing him forward to move past.

This seemed more convenient.

Xu Yan carefully edged between Wen Sinian’s legs, trying not to bump into the table or his legs.

As he passed between those long legs, something beneath the stool tripped him. He quickly steadied himself by placing both hands on the shoulders of the person in front of him, gazing up startled.

Large, warm hands lightly gripped his waist, helping him regain his balance.

His slender waist was so delicate it seemed a single large hand could span across his back, pressing lightly to pull his pliant body forward into an embrace.

Wen Sinian noticed the panic in his eyes, the faint flush beneath those thick lashes.

Such a distressed look.

The hands at his waist only remained briefly before withdrawing.

Wen Sinian said, "Easy does it."

Xu Yan quickly pulled his hands back and moved to the other seat.

Fortunately, no one seemed to notice their brief exchange, as if it had been nothing more than an accidental moment.

Xu Yan raised a hand to his mouth and leaned closer to whisper, "Thank you."

With Wen Sinian acting as a buffer, Zhou Zhengyi could no longer shower Xu Yan with attention. Xu Yan breathed a silent sigh of relief, though he still felt a bit down. After a few bites, he lost his appetite and began pushing food around his plate with his chopsticks.

Wen Sinian pulled out two tissues and held them near Xu Yan’s cheek, lightly brushing his face. Only when Xu Yan turned to look at him did he say, "Wipe your mouth."

Xu Yan thanked him again, wiped his lips, and tossed the tissues aside.

A short while later, a waiter appeared with a cup of hot milk. Wen Sinian took it and placed it directly in front of Xu Yan.

"Got this for you," Wen Sinian said, watching him. "You okay?"

Xu Yan shook his head. "No."

It wasn’t his body that was uncomfortable—it was his heart. But he couldn’t say that.

By the time Xu Yan finished the hot milk, the meal was finally over. He hadn’t paid attention to the conversations around the table, his mind too full of jumbled thoughts.

The group left the hot pot restaurant together, heading toward the dormitory.

Xu Yan and Shen Nanli had barely taken two steps outside when Zhou Zhengyi abandoned his companions to catch up. Xu Yan glanced back and saw the girl standing not far away, her expression stormy.

Xu Yan’s mind raced for an excuse to slip away, but before he could speak, someone called his name from a few steps behind.

"Xu Yan."

Xu Yan turned and saw Wen Sinian watching them with a cold expression, his voice equally icy.

"Come here."

His out had arrived.

Xu Yan didn’t hesitate. "Sorry, my senior needs me for something. You guys go ahead, don’t wait for me."

With that, he quickly hurried to Wen Sinian’s side. It turned out Li Huaiche had asked them to walk back to the dorm together.

Zhou Zhengyi, who had feelings for Xu Yan, was quick to notice when a rival appeared.

Even if he were blind, he wouldn’t have missed it tonight.

Wen Sinian was interested in Xu Yan.

The group ahead eventually left. Xu Yan noticed the girl looking back at him again, her gaze surprisingly respectful, even giving him a thumbs-up from afar.

Xu Yan frowned, not understanding her meaning.

Li Huaiche and two other CS majors walked ahead, while Xu Yan was falling behind, walking slowly. Wen Sinian stayed half a step beside him—close enough to take in his every move.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yan slowly pulled his phone from his pocket. Sure enough, his second account had several unread messages.

Maybe this was a good opportunity to set things straight with "year" and end their strange dynamic for good.

He opened the messages—all received about an hour ago.

"year": What’s wrong, baby?

"year": Tell me, okay?

Message upon message went unanswered, and the calls he made were never picked up.

Then, "year’s" tone changed.

"year": I told you not to make me worry.

"year": And not to keep me in the dark about what you’re doing.

"year": Forgot, huh, baby?

"year": Why are you so defiant?

The more Xu Yan read, the more his heart raced.

It was as if he could hear the icy tone behind those words—as if the person on the other side wanted to reach through the screen to grab him.

The last message made his chest constrict violently.

"year": I'm coming for you.

A shadow fell over him, enveloping him completely.

Bewildered, he looked up, his eyes glistening with tears threatening to fall—scared and confused.

The tall figure before him bent down slightly, his strikingly handsome, cold face filling Xu Yan’s vision.

Xu Yan’s eyes widened as he heard Wen Sinian ask in a voice laced with quiet amusement:

"See something interesting?"