RSK Chapter 9

I sent the message, but after waiting for a while, Wen Xu didn’t respond. He probably hadn’t checked his forum account yet. I wasn’t in a rush, so I switched to WeChat and pondered over the messages Wen Xu had sent earlier.

I definitely couldn’t go back to his place now. Alone with him? Who knows what he might do. So, I replied:

[Ning Ran]: I won’t be coming back tonight. Don’t wait up for me.

After sending the message and finishing my food and drink, I paid the bill using a QR code with the restaurant owner and decided to stay at a nearby hotel for the night.

Yunxuan Hotel, located right next to the internet cafe where I had been playing, was a place I had stayed at a couple of times before. It had a decent environment and was reasonably priced for students. However, upon entering the hotel, I unexpectedly ran into someone.

It was Qi Yiming.

Qi Yiming seemed just as surprised to see me. He even asked where I had been hanging out the previous night. I didn’t answer, but instead asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, the dorm is out of power and water, right? So, I booked a double room here with the dorm leader,” Qi Yiming said, draping an arm over my shoulder. “But the dorm leader probably won’t be back tonight. He’s got a rich nightlife, you know,” he added, winking at me.

I chuckled. “That sounds about right.”

“So, what brings you here?” Qi Yiming asked.

I shrugged. “Just looking to book a room, what else?”

“Oh, then don’t bother booking. The dorm leader won’t be back tonight, so just stay with me and save some money,” Qi Yiming offered generously.

It made sense, so I agreed.

I still hadn’t finished the cherries Wen Xu had given me, so after getting to the room, I shared some with Qi Yiming. He was delighted, munching on cherries and chatting away. I wasn’t really listening, just responding mechanically.

After settling in, I grabbed my change of clothes and told Qi Yiming I was going to take a shower. While showering, I couldn’t stop thinking about Wen Xu. Although his way of thinking was twisted, he had taken good care of me these past few days. He invited me to his place and obviously intended to cook for me with all the groceries he bought, not to mention the box of cherries.

It only seemed fair to invite him to a meal in return. After all, I’d still have to see him around, and avoiding him didn’t make sense. I just needed to step up the online counseling to help him correct his issues, and then we could still be good friends.

I’m such a good person!

After the shower, I found Qi Yiming laughing at his phone. I smiled and asked what was so funny.

“Nothing much, just posted about our random hotel encounter in the dorm group,” Qi Yiming said, still chuckling. “Gu Yang popped up saying he’s stuck in some backwoods place, poor guy, cracked me up!”

Hearing this froze my smile.

Qi Yiming!! He posted about us staying together in the dorm group chat?! Then Wen Xu must have seen it. With his jealous nature, wouldn’t he go mad?!

I quickly checked my phone, and sure enough, Qi Yiming had not only mentioned us staying together but also shared that I had given him cherries. I immediately switched to the anonymous forum app and checked Wen Xu’s homepage, and sure enough, he had posted a new message.

[Post on Wen Xu’s Page]: Not sleeping with me, but running off to sleep with someone else. Do you want to drive me mad? I should have pinned you against the wall last night.

Seeing this, I was scared enough to message him again using the psychologist burner account.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: Sir, please calm down and check your private messages.

Wen Xu was online and responded quickly this time.

He really loves using question marks.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: As I mentioned before, I stumbled upon your page by accident and feel you urgently need psychological therapy!

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: Your mental state is quite abnormal now. This kind of thinking can lead to criminal actions! It’s not too late to turn back now!

I bluffed my way through, but Wen Xu wasn’t playing along and ignored me. So, I sent another message.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: Sir, are you still there?

Still no response after 25 minutes. Just as I was considering a different approach, Wen Xu suddenly replied.

[g5d6o4gpu1]: …I’m perfectly normal.

Tch, normal my foot!

I thought for a moment and started typing on my phone.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: No, no, no, you’re really not normal. Based on what I’ve learned from your page, you’re in love with a man—that’s already beyond ordinary. Plus, you even want to… do that to him. This is simply unconscionable! So, you really must correct your thoughts!

[g5d6o4gpu1]: What should I do then?

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: Forget about him immediately!

After sending this, there was a long pause before he replied.

[g5d6o4gpu1]: I can’t forget.

[g5d6o4gpu1]: Is there no other way?

Other ways…

I hadn’t considered this, so to maintain my guise as a professional psychologist, I had to search for information on how to provide him with the right guidance. While online solutions varied, the most recommended approach was to let the patient express their feelings openly instead of suppressing them.

Damn, that’s not going to work. No choice but to solve it myself.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: Let me ask you, is the other person straight?

[g5d6o4gpu1]: Might not be.

Just as I was about to type, “See, he’s straight, you can’t mess with him, so better forget it!” and send it over, the reply came through.

What the hell? What did he send?!

Might not be? Who’s he saying isn’t straight?!

Annoyed, I deleted what I had written and started over.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: How can you be so sure he’s not straight? From your page, I think there’s a 100% chance he is.

[g5d6o4gpu1]: I thought he was straight before.

[A City First Hospital Senior Psychologist]: Well, there you go.

[g5d6o4gpu1]: But doctor, would a straight man sit on another man’s thighs?

[g5d6o4gpu1]: Yesterday, he sat down right on my lap and squirmed around mischievously. Isn’t that like he’s trying to seduce me?