Me And My Four Dancers - Chapter 13

He casually typed a tentative “Are you there?” and sent it. The other party hadn’t replied yet, but Shen Ze, not far away, suddenly moved.

With a subtle movement, he shifted his phone from his left hand to his right, then glanced up at him.

Yan Shuo thought Shen Ze had something to say, but Shen Ze said nothing and returned to his phone.

On the screen, a new message appeared on QQ—

Very Annoying: “Yes.”

It was a simple word, but the reply indicated a desire to chat.

Yan Shuo calculated the time. It seemed he hadn’t been on QQ for several days. Their last chat was when the other party advised him not to confess.

123123: “Are you free to chat?”

Very Annoyed: “What to talk about?”

123123: “Gender, age, where are you from? Are you a student or working? If you work, what do you do?”

Very Annoyed: “…”

Very Annoyed: “No time, 88.”

“…”

The familiar grumpiness made Yan Shuo want to laugh, and his mood instantly brightened.

He increasingly understood why Qi Haoyu liked online dating. Online dating was so easy, there were no worries.

However, he still had some concerns. For example, he should confirm whether the other person was a man or a woman, and there was also the mysterious identity—he figured it couldn’t be a paparazzi. The paparazzi would definitely be eager for him to confess to Shen Ze immediately, which would make big news. They would also be willing to have an online relationship with him and wouldn’t keep rejecting him.

Then there was another possibility: this person could be someone who knew Qi Haoyu in real life, a celebrity, or a staff member at Yueshi.

But even if that were the case, this person might not know that “123123” was Yan Shuo’s number. No, it wasn’t “maybe not”; it was definitely unknown. Yan Shuo hadn’t added anyone as a friend, unless this person was a teammate. They’d played games together before and had seen each other’s accounts and profile pictures.

Calling them teammates was even more hypocritical. What teammate was so insane as to have nothing better to do than role-play with him on QQ?

The only one with a QQ addiction was Qi Haoyu, but Qi Haoyu didn’t need to stage this whole thing. What was his goal? Was he deliberately messing with him?

Yan Shuo didn’t think the silly elementary school kid was that cunning, nor did he have any motive for doing so. This person was probably just another online friend who had been put in the wrong group by Qi Haoyu.

Thinking of it this way—I don’t know him, he doesn’t know me, so what am I afraid of?

Yan Shuo’s sense of crisis gradually dissipated, and he returned to chatting casually with a stranger online.

123123: “No, just kidding. I don’t check your household registration.”

123123: “I’m just curious. Are you a boy or a girl?”

Very Annoyed: “I told you eight hundred years ago that I’m a boy.”

123123: “Really?”

Very Annoyed: “What do you think?”

123123: “…”

Yan Shuo’s desire to chat suddenly dropped significantly.

In fact, at this point, he was no longer obsessed with online dating. He simply wanted to find someone to chat with and let his feelings flow. But with a young woman on the other end, he could express himself freely.

To borrow Qi Haoyu’s words, when he thought about the stinky man on the other end who he didn’t know what he looked like, what was the point in chatting?

Yan Shuo got out of bed to pour himself some water. He also poured a glass for Chen Ze and placed it on the table.

After returning, he still couldn’t overcome his inner “sexism,” so he told himself that no matter whether the person on the other end was a man or a woman, he could just treat him as a woman, since he couldn’t see him in person anyway.

Yan Shuo felt relieved and finally replied.

123123: “Oh, so are you in school or working?”

Very annoyed: “…”

Very annoyed: “Do you think asking those questions separately won’t count as checking your household registration?”

123123: “Isn’t this just small talk?”

123123: “What else can we talk about?”

Very annoyed: “…”

Very annoyed: “Talk about your crush on a colleague.”

“…”

Yan Shuo was stunned. Was he really interested in this topic?

Although he really wanted to talk.

123123: “My colleague…”

Very Annoyed: “Yeah, and what about the follow-up? You didn’t confess, did you?”

123123: “No.”

Very Annoyed: “That’s good.”

Very Annoyed: “So you’ve come to terms with it now?”

123123: “Well…”

123123: “Actually, something happened the past couple of days.”

Very Annoyed: “…”

Very Annoyed: “What happened?”

“…”

Yan Shuo hesitated.

He shouldn’t have been so paranoid. He’d used QQ dating to vent and relax. If he were to be wary of a stranger online, it would be too much.

123123: “Actually, I wasn’t telling you the truth.”

Annoyed: “?”

123123: “My colleague is a man, not a woman.”

Annoyed: “Oh.”

123123: “Oh? That’s your reaction?”

Annoyed: “What else? It’s 2020, and you want me to jump up and yell, ‘Oh my god, look, there’s a homosexual,’ don’t you?”

123123: “…”

123123: “I’m not gay.”

Annoyed: “?”

123123: “Actually… sorry, I always thought you were a girl, and I was just kidding. I don’t actually have a crush on my colleague. That story about having a crush on him for two years is all just nonsense.”

Yan Shuo felt there was no point in making it up. It wasn’t fun to fool himself.

Since the manic 16 or 17-year-old girl he’d imagined was gone, he might as well be honest and just be friends online. No online romance, just ordinary friends to share their pent-up feelings.

But after sending this message, there was no reply from the other party.

He picked up his cup and took a sip of water. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Ze stand up from his chair, give him an unfathomable look, and then go into the bathroom with his phone.

What happened?

Yan Shuo’s thoughts on QQ and in real life were running parallel, and he hadn’t connected the two lines.

He didn’t think much about it and continued typing on QQ—

123123: “I was just joking with you, deliberately portraying myself as affectionate and loyal to win your favor. … It’s a bit awkward, I didn’t expect you to actually be a girl.”

123123: “Do you mind this?”

123123: “Hello?”

123123: “Are you still here?”

123123: “Did you block me?”

Very annoyed: “…”

Very annoyed: “You’re so good.”

123123: “…”

Very annoyed: “You made it up so convincingly, I almost believed it.”

“…” Yan Shuo pondered the two sentences and accepted them as compliments.

In reality, the matter wasn’t that serious, especially since the other party was a man. If he hadn’t been deceived emotionally, she wouldn’t have minded it. At most, she’d think he was a bit psychotic, a bit of a drama queen.

123123: “I’m not done yet.”

123123: “Although my crush on my colleague was fake, I recently discovered that he seems to like me.”

Very annoyed: “?”

Very annoyed: “What did you say?”

123123: “It’s incredible, isn’t it? I never thought someone with his personality would have a secret crush.”

Very annoyed: “…”

123123: “Hey, don’t disbelieve me. Even though it sounds fake, this time it’s true. I’m not making it up.”

123123: “It was probably from… I forgot the day, I noticed he suddenly changed… It’s really unusual. He’s paying more attention to me than he has in the past two years combined.”

123123: “I know it’s not good to be overly sentimental. What if it’s all a misunderstanding? But he’s really strange. I’ve been observing him for a long time, and I can’t see any other reason other than he’s secretly in love with me.”

123123: “Well, it seems a little weird for two men to discuss this, but I don’t have a place to talk. Thank you. If you don’t want to read it, just close QQ for a while. Let me borrow your “Shudong” for a while, QAQ.”

Yan Shuo skillfully sent “QAQ” messages, only realizing after he’d finished that he’d been infected by Qi Haoyu’s behavior. He looked like a gay man.

But the other person seemed to be buying it. Someone with such a volatile personality didn’t even reject him—

Annoyed: “Okay, go ahead.”

123123: “That’s about it. And last night…”

123123: “I was drunk last night.”

Here, Yan Shuo paused.

In fact, such intimate matters are incredibly difficult to keep to yourself, but even then, to actually speak out.

He was particularly bothered by the fact that the other person was a man. It was difficult for him to confide in a man about something like, “I got drunk and forcefully kissed my colleague.” It seemed so strange no matter how he thought about it.

If a man were to tell him the same thing, he’d probably burst out laughing and call him a complete idiot.

—It was incredibly awkward.

As he hesitated, the bathroom door suddenly opened.

Chen Ze emerged, his phone in hand. Yan Shuo looked up, his gaze meeting his.

Yan Shuo instinctively avoided him, but Chen Ze approached him.

“I have something to say to you,” Chen Ze said. “Let’s talk.”