Sometimes, imagining someone saying something and actually hearing it from them are two completely different experiences.
Wen Xia had been trying to push Lin Fengqi to say certain things, but he hadn’t expected the impact of those words to be so much stronger than he’d imagined. Just a single sentence, and his heart skipped a beat.
How pathetic.
Wen Xia scolded himself inwardly, trying to maintain his composure. “I knew it. You were so meticulous about asking for my off-work time this morning, but you never mentioned what you were planning.”
Lin Fengqi remained silent, seemingly feeling a bit guilty after being called out.
“But I finish work at six, and it’s already seven. You’re a bit late,” Wen Xia said. “What if I had left right after work?”
Lin Fengqi hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Something came up at the factory, so I had to go over, which is why…”
He had wanted to come earlier, but after dealing with the factory issue and getting stuck in rush hour traffic, he was delayed.
“Well, you could’ve sent me a message,” Wen Xia said.
Lin Fengqi’s face showed an unusual expression of bewilderment, though it only lasted for two seconds. Wen Xia caught it and made an incredulous guess. “…Did you forget that phones exist?”
“…”
Yes, Lin Fengqi had forgotten.
He had even taken a work call from Zeng Yuan on the way, but it never occurred to him to at least check if Wen Xia was still at the studio via WeChat.
All he could think about was getting to Wen Xia’s studio as quickly as possible, growing more and more frustrated as traffic slowed him down.
Though Lin Fengqi didn’t respond, Wen Xia got his answer from the awkward silence.
Unbelievable.
Maybe it was time to adjust his impression of Lin Fengqi’s intelligence.
In the thick of that silence, it was Lin Fengqi who spoke first this time. “What about you?”
Wen Xia was caught off guard. “Huh? What about me?”
Lin Fengqi glanced at the four now-empty workstations. “You didn’t leave either. Were you waiting for someone?”
Wen Xia had just mentioned that he mistook Lin Fengqi for someone else.
So, who was he really waiting for? He finished work at six but willingly stayed alone at the studio for an hour.
Wen Xia had no idea that his casual remark had been completely misinterpreted by Lin Fengqi. He was simply surprised that Lin Fengqi had learned to ask such probing questions!
But there was no way he could admit it. “No one. I’m not waiting anymore. Let’s go.”
Lin Fengqi was taken aback. “You’re not waiting anymore?”
Wen Xia nodded, shutting down his computer.
Lin Fengqi’s emotions were in turmoil—was it that Wen Xia didn’t want to wait, or had his arrival disrupted a meeting that was supposed to happen?
When Wen Xia stood up, he noticed Lin Fengqi’s unretracted expression, a mix of bitterness and disappointment. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think the sky was falling.
Wen Xia: “?”
He had only bent down to unplug his phone charger. What happened?
Completely puzzled, Wen Xia was about to ask when Lin Fengqi turned away and started walking out, as if afraid of being questioned.
Wen Xia scratched his head in confusion and mumbled something about how odd that was before packing up and following him.
Once they got into the car, Wen Xia glanced at Lin Fengqi’s face. He had reverted to that ice-cold expression that Wen Xia found so irritating. He had never seen Lin Fengqi smile at him.
Damn, this guy is hard to deal with.
Instead of heading straight home, Lin Fengqi drove to the vaccination clinic to get his second rabies shot.
Last time, he had gone alone, but this time Wen Xia was with him. As they were nearing the front of the line, Wen Xia suddenly asked, “Are you afraid of pain?”
Lin Fengqi replied, “No.”
“Oh,” Wen Xia nodded, then casually asked, “Is there anything else you’re afraid of?”
Lin Fengqi glanced at him, not quite understanding the sudden question.
“We’re just killing time while waiting in line, so I thought we could chat,” Wen Xia said.
Lin Fengqi shook his head. “Not at the moment.”
“At the moment?”
Lin Fengqi explained seriously, “There are still many things I haven’t encountered. I can’t say for sure whether I’d be afraid of something until I’ve faced it.”
“You’re talking about scientific things. What about supernatural stuff? Like ghost stories or urban legends,” Wen Xia continued to probe. “Are you afraid of paranormal things?”
Lin Fengqi thought for a moment and said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Xia silently cursed.
This is going to be difficult. He had hoped that if Lin Fengqi were afraid, he could protect him during their next visit to Zou Boyan’s place for an escape room game—maybe hold his hand or wrap an arm around his waist. Wouldn’t that bring them closer?
Damn.
The clinic wasn’t crowded, so it wasn’t long before Lin Fengqi got his shot. It was over in the blink of an eye, and then they headed home.
Before they left this morning, they had agreed not to separate Wen Da Ge and A Moo anymore—usually, A Moo would stay out all day while the poor bully Wen Da Ge was confined to a room. But this morning, while they were having breakfast, Wen Xia decided to let Wen Da Ge out. The cat and dog chased each other around the living room, and it was no longer just Wen Da Ge bullying A Moo. After yesterday, A Moo had gained some courage! He even dared to chase the cat!
To be honest, the two of them had a pretty good back-and-forth, and when they got tired, they each claimed a corner of the sofa to rest.
So, today, the two little ones were free to roam the house all day.
The living room’s surveillance camera was visible to Lin Fengqi, while the camera Wen Xia had brought from home was installed in his room and only showed what was happening there.
Even after gaining his freedom, Wen Da Ge would still return to the room to sleep. When Wen Xia was home, the cat would sometimes sleep in the cat bed by the window, but most of the time, he’d burrow under the covers and sleep in Wen Xia’s arms. When Wen Xia wasn’t home, he wouldn’t sleep in the cat bed at all, only on Wen Xia’s pillow. What a spoiled cat.
Everything at home was as usual—no broken vases, overturned trash cans, or shredded belongings. When they walked in, the cat and dog rushed to the door to greet them, though a minor scuffle broke out when A Moo, in his excitement to jump on Wen Xia, accidentally shoved the delicate Wen Da Ge aside.
Wen Da Ge hissed and started swatting at A Moo, and the two animals took off running around the house again.
“Did you check the camera today?” Wen Xia asked. “Everything okay with them at home?”
“No, everything’s fine,” Lin Fengqi paused, “Where’s your phone?”
“Why?”
“Give it to me.”
Puzzled, Wen Xia handed his phone over. Lin Fengqi fiddled with it for a bit before scanning a QR code. As he did, the phone buzzed, and a new message popped up at the top:
Old Wen: [Son, did you already pay off the debt from Xing Shi?]
Lin Fengqi’s hand froze.
“Are you done?” Wen Xia was playing with the little yellow duck and the two pets, seemingly unconcerned about Lin Fengqi seeing something on his phone.
Lin Fengqi continued with his task and soon handed the phone back.
Wen Xia took it and saw that the screen wasn’t on the lock screen or home screen but instead displayed a surveillance feed showing him and Lin Fengqi standing in the living room.
He glanced up at the camera mounted on the ceiling.
“I set the account password to eight eights. You can change it if you want,” Lin Fengqi said. “If you don’t want to leave Wen Da Ge in the room, you can check the camera whenever you’re worried.”
Wen Xia was familiar with how to operate surveillance cameras, even though he and Lin Fengqi used different brands—they were all pretty similar. Lin Fengqi’s system was likely a Feng Hang product, which explained why the company had quickly become a leader in the industry. The quality was far better than the two systems Wen Xia had purchased.
Well, except for that dumb little Xiao Wu robot.
But considering it might have been one of Lin Fengqi’s early projects, Wen Xia let it slide. After all, every big shot has some black marks in their history.
After tinkering with the camera, Wen Xia opened WeChat and saw the message from Wen Shan Hai. He casually replied, but when he noticed the timestamp, he paused.
Lin Fengqi must have seen the message earlier when he had his phone, right? Especially since his notifications were set to show message previews.
He glanced at Lin Fengqi, who was now in the kitchen preparing dinner. Today, he had dutifully put on an apron. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing the attractive lines of his forearms. Bathed in the kitchen’s warm light, even his normally cold black clothes seemed cozy and homely.
There wasn’t a trace of arrogance.
Wen Xia scrolled through the chat history again.
Whatever. If he saw it, he saw it.
Things were different now, and he had long accepted it.
After dinner, Wen Xia checked the pet friendship schedule hanging in the hallway. Tonight was the designated “alone time” for him and Lin Fengqi. This alone time was carefully planned, only appearing on Thursdays and Saturdays.
While he was reading it, Lin Fengqi walked over and took the schedule down.
Wen Xia gave him a questioning look.
“It’s no longer necessary,” Lin Fengqi said. “A Moo and Wen Da Ge can interact normally now.”
The schedule had originally been Lin Fengqi’s way of getting the cat and dog to get along faster, though he also had his own ulterior motives.
But in practice, the two little ones had grown accustomed to each other much more quickly than he had anticipated. This meant the schedule had served its purpose, and Lin Fengqi had no more reason to keep it.
“What’s the rush? It says ‘friendship’ on it, and I don’t think they’re at the level of friendship yet. They’re just familiar strangers… familiar animals,” Wen Xia said.
Lin Fengqi turned his head, slightly surprised.
“Put it back,” Wen Xia insisted.
“But today’s session is…”
“It’s the pet owners’ alone time, yeah, I saw.”
Two minutes later, the two of them were sitting on the couch.
This time, after what had happened before, Lin Fengqi carefully checked the magazine to make sure it was right-side-up before solemnly opening it.
Seeing this made Wen Xia a bit annoyed. The opportunity was right in front of him, but instead of trying to strike up a conversation, this guy was just pretending to read some boring magazine?
“I remember you weren’t reading from that spot last time,” Wen Xia said, pinching his fingers to show a thickness. “You had just a little bit left. How come you’re reading further back now?”
Lin Fengqi stiffened and said, “I just opened it randomly.”
Wen Xia dragged out his reply, clearly not convinced. “Oh, really?”
Lin Fengqi turned another page. “…Yes, really.”
Wen Xia nodded. “Mm-hmm, sure.”
“…”
The two sat shoulder to shoulder. A Moo and Wen Da Ge, tired from playing, climbed onto the couch and settled on their respective owners’ laps. Wen Xia stroked Wen Da Ge’s warm body while pretending to play on his phone, all the while sneaking glances at Lin Fengqi’s magazine.
Half an hour passed, and he had only turned one page.
And there weren’t even that many words on the page.
“Time’s up,” Wen Xia said.
Lin Fengqi had been lost in thought. He snapped out of it when he heard Wen Xia’s voice and checked the clock. He responded calmly.
He closed the magazine and got up to return to his room. Wen Xia stood up slowly and stretched, casually saying, “Next time, why don’t you pick up a book instead of a magazine? Maybe a novel or something.”
Lin Fengqi looked at him, puzzled.
Wen Xia smiled at him. “More words, so it’s not unreasonable to spend half an hour on one page.”
Then he picked up Wen Da Ge and headed back to his room.
Lin Fengqi stood there, stunned. When he finally processed what Wen Xia meant, his whole face flushed with embarrassment.
Wen Xia, however, had no idea his comment had just subjected Lin Fengqi to a wave of secondhand embarrassment. He went back to his room, prepared Wen Da Ge’s dinner, and then sat down at his computer.
He hadn’t streamed in days.
That afternoon, Nana had pulled him into a group chat. There were about a dozen people, all streamers. Nana said that the partner, which was Feng Hang, had approved the final list. The group chat members were all confirmed participants and couldn’t be changed. Then she sent everyone a digital contract related to the upcoming shoot.
The shoot was scheduled for the beginning of next month—pretty soon, just a few days away.
Today, the Gui Lai Club had a practice match, so he was busy coaching and didn’t have time to stream. Wen Xia decided to finish the single-player RPG he hadn’t completed last time.
He was in a good mood today, feeling calm and steady. Before going live, he posted a quick announcement on Weibo, but it wasn’t really useful—he went live right after posting it, barely giving his moderators a heads-up. Just a pointless heads-up, really.
“Good evening, Boss Xia! Finally streaming again!”
Wen Xia: “Good evening, good evening.”
“Streaming alone today? Gui Shen seems to be busy.”
“Are you finishing the game from last time?”
“I want to see a horror game.”
“I’m going to finish the game from last time. And no, I’m not alone—I’ve got Wen Da Ge. Come on, Da Ge, say hi to the viewers.”
Wen Da Ge was forced to perform. “Meow—”
“I’m dead from cuteness.”
“Where can I get such an adorable cat? I want one too, wah wah wah.”
“Doesn’t Da Ge deserve his own camera?”
“Boss Xia, can you ask Da Ge what color sack he likes?”
“I know this one. He likes whatever color his dad is wearing,” Wen Xia said.
As Wen Xia chatted and opened the game, he noticed a familiar notification: 5140005 has entered the stream.
The big boss never missed a stream.
But today, the big boss made a grand entrance. Twenty blue whale models were no longer enough to satisfy his generosity—he started by throwing forty.
Wen Xia: “???”
Wen Xia wasn’t the only one shocked. The entire chat was flooded with question marks as they tried to process the forty blue whale models.
It wasn’t over yet. Before anyone could react, the big boss dropped another forty blue whales. Why forty? Because that’s the maximum number you can send in one go.
“Am I crazy, or is the boss crazy?”
“The boss is going wild today…”
As the chat scrolled by, the third set of forty whales came crashing down.
“I’m speechless, guys.”
“Damn, that’s 240,000 yuan…”
“Did the numbers boss drink fake liquor today?”
“The boss is too generous.”
Wen Xia was also dumbfounded. Before the fourth wave of gifts could come in, he quickly spoke up, “Stop, stop, don’t send any more.”
5140005 sent a Super Chat: [ ? ]
“Boss, did you have a drink?” Wen Xia asked.
5140005: [ No. ]
“Then did something upset you at work? Or did a project go really well? Or did something else good happen?” Wen Xia guessed. “Or maybe you met a fortune teller who said you had bad luck and needed to spend money to get rid of it?”
5140005: [ … ]
5140005: [ What’s wrong? Why are you asking? ]
What’s wrong?
He’s asking what’s wrong! Does this guy have no self-awareness?
“You’re sending way too much. It’s really not necessary. Besides, I don’t even get all the money. The platform takes a cut, so it’s not worth it. A few gifts are fine if you’re enjoying the stream, but you’re going overboard.”
The platform takes a 50% cut of the gift money, which means Wen Xia would only see half of the 240,000 yuan. And that’s before taxes, so he’d get even less.
It’s such a loss.
5140005: [ But I want to give you money. ]
Wen Xia: “…”
Damn, I don’t know how to respond to this.
But you’re an audience member, a patron! Not an ATM!
“What a straightforward confession.”
“Damn, I’m tearing up. I wish someone would say that to me.”
“If Boss Xia doesn’t want it, I’ll take it. Seriously.”
“Got it, I’m going to start streaming.”
Wen Xia tried to reason with him. “Boss, that’s not how you spend money. If you really want to give me money, why not just transfer it directly?”
5140005: [ There’s no transfer function in the backend. ]
Of course there isn’t!
“Just don’t send any more gifts,” Wen Xia said sincerely. “I’m here for the performance, not the money.”
5140005 didn’t respond.
5140005 also stopped sending gifts.
The chaotic scene finally settled down.
Wen Xia breathed a sigh of relief and continued his stream.
Meanwhile, in another room, Lin Fengqi hesitated for a moment before dragging his mouse cursor away from the “Send” button. He knew that gifting wasn’t very beneficial for Wen Xia since he couldn’t keep all the money. That’s why he had sent more, hoping Wen Xia would get a bit more. But it seemed he had done something wrong again…
Wen Xia had mentioned being short on money this morning—could it be related to that debt repayment? The message from “Old Wen”… that must be Wen Xia’s father.
He knew Wen Xia’s family wasn’t as prosperous as it used to be.
The news of Wen Xia’s family’s troubles had spread quickly among their high school classmates. It wasn’t just Wen Xia; there were other wealthy kids at the school, and the parents often knew or had heard of each other due to work connections. For example, that classmate who drunkenly mentioned “my uncle can get your dad a project” had a family business that had once collaborated with Wen Xia’s father.
To put it bluntly, it wasn’t really a collaboration—it was more like they got lucky and hitched a ride on the coattails of someone successful.
Lin Fengqi learned about Wen Xia’s family’s situation right after they graduated. He was busy borrowing money and securing bank loans to start his company, which was still in its infancy.
Financially, Wen Xia and he were in similar circumstances back then. In fact, Wen Xia was still better off.
But in reality, things were different.
The favored son of heaven had fallen into the mud, while the poor boy was on his way to the clouds.
Lin Fengqi didn’t like this. He preferred seeing Wen Xia in his bright, carefree state. Wen Xia was supposed to be a shining prince among the stars, living a life of ease and luxury, never having to please anyone or worry about making a living.
But his little prince had still come down to earth.
Lin Fengqi wanted to be good to him but didn’t know how, so he resorted to the most direct approach—whatever Wen Xia needed, he would provide.
If his little prince needed money, he would give it to him—whatever amount, he’d give it all.
Now he had the means. He was no longer the poor boy who had to budget his meals and find ways to save up by the end of the month.
Aside from the intense moment at the start of the stream, everything else went smoothly.
The numbers boss disappeared for a while, then returned with a Super Chat, finally calming down and refraining from sending gifts in bulk.
He would occasionally drop a gift here and there, which made Wen Xia nervous. But when he saw it was just a regular gift, he finally relaxed.
“Thanks to 5140005 for the little star,” Wen Xia said.
The little star was one of the most basic gifts, costing five yuan each.
“This is hilarious. The boss doesn’t even dare send gifts anymore.”
“Boss: Cautious testing.jpg”
“Boss, don’t be afraid! You’re the patron! You should be showering Xia Xia with money!”
“Who would’ve thought this would be the highlight of the night, damn.”
For the rest of the stream, the big boss mostly stuck to sending Super Chats or occasionally—
[5140005 gifted Little Star x1]
He never sent more than three at a time.
The game still had half of its content left. Although it didn’t seem like much, the puzzles were well-designed, and even Wen Xia got stuck twice, spending some time figuring them out.
He finished the game just as the clock struck eleven. Time to wash up and go to bed.
“I’m logging off. Everyone, get some rest,” Wen Xia said, stretching his fingers as he watched the chat fill with goodbyes. “Good night, good night.”
After ending the stream, he remembered something and went to knock on Lin Fengqi’s door.
When the door opened, Lin Fengqi stood in the doorway, blocking the gap. “What is it?”
Wen Xia replied, “Nothing much. I just wanted to check if I was too loud.”
Lin Fengqi: “?”
Wen Xia continued nonchalantly, “Oh, I was on a call with someone earlier. I might have been a bit loud. I’m not sure how good the soundproofing in your place is, but if I disturbed you, I’ll be more careful next time.”
Lin Fengqi was momentarily stunned. “You… were on a call?”
Wen Xia: “Yeah.”
Lin Fengqi fell silent.
“Is something wrong?” Wen Xia asked.
“…No.”
Wen Xia nodded. “Judging by your reaction, I didn’t bother you. That’s good. Nothing else then.” It seemed the soundproofing in Lin Fengqi’s place was decent. He couldn’t hear the streaming noises from his room.
Without waiting for Lin Fengqi to respond, Wen Xia turned and headed back to his room.
Lin Fengqi stood at the door, only snapping out of it when A Moo, who was blocked from leaving the room, tugged on his pants.
He slowly closed the door, feeling conflicted.
After Wen Xia’s stream ended, nearly twenty minutes passed without hearing anything from the other room, just the faint sound of water, which suggested Wen Xia was showering.
But Wen Xia had said he was on the phone with someone.
There was only one explanation: Wen Xia had been talking to someone while he was in the shower.
Lin Fengqi closed his eyes.
Showering is a very private activity, yet Wen Xia felt comfortable talking to someone during it, not minding letting them into his personal space, even if it was just through his voice…
How close must they be for that to happen?
Was it Liao Xingchen? Or… Fang Huai?
It couldn’t be someone else he didn’t know about, could it? There couldn’t be a third person… right?
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