GBROTAH CH81

In the chat window, the three words from Shen Bianye stunned Xie Yuanxing for a full five minutes.

After some thought, he turned to find someone else.

Xie Yuanxing: “Class President, Class President, has Shen Bianye’s account been hacked?”

Class President: “Haven’t heard anything. What’s up? Did he send you porn ads?”

No porn ads.

He wasn’t sure if the risqué message counted, though. Although he was the one who had proactively asked about dating, for Shen Bianye to immediately say “let me see your legs” was pretty risqué.

Unable to get an answer from the class president, Xie Yuanxing, unconvinced, went on to ask several other people. The news he got was that his account had not been hacked.

Xie Yuanxing: ……

He stared at the “let me see your legs” message on his alternate account, thought for a moment, and then sent a message to Shen Bianye from his own account.

Xie Yuanxing: “Shen Bianye.”

What if the account had just been hacked, and others didn’t know yet?

Although he didn’t get along with Shen Bianye, he didn’t think Shen Bianye was the type of person to send such words to a stranger.

His plan to tease Shen Bianye with an online romance was something he had prepared for a long-term battle. He and Zhou Chao had even spent a whole morning researching what type of person Shen Bianye liked.

The phone buzzed, and a voice message popped up.

Xie Yuanxing tapped it open, and a deep, magnetic voice came through the speaker. “What?”

?!

It really was Shen Bianye!

Xie Yuanxing’s dark eyes widened. He thought up a perfunctory excuse and casually replied, “I’m still writing my self-criticism. Do you have anything to say?”

Shen Bianye: “Rest early.”

Hearing his calm and casual words, Xie Yuanxing’s anger flared. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He found a random picture online and sent it to Shen Bianye using his alternate account.

Ruan Xing: “Do you like it, gege (older brother)?”

In less than half a minute, the other party threw back a screenshot.

X: “Trying to trick me with an internet picture?”

X: “I’m not that stupid, Xingxing (Star).”

Seeing the word “Xingxing,” Xie Yuanxing’s heart skipped a beat, a sense of unnatural awkwardness rising.

When he was choosing a name for his alternate account, he really couldn’t think of anything. He searched online for a bunch, picking one from all the sweet, soft, and cute options.

Then, adhering to the idea that the more similar it was, the less likely it would be him, he deliberately used a character from his own name to prevent Shen Bianye from suspecting him.

Now, seeing the other person call him Xingxing, he felt a bit like he had shot himself in the foot.

It was as if Shen Bianye was really calling him, as if he knew it was him.

Xie Yuanxing pressed his lips together and replied anyway: “Then what do you want?”

X: “Send your own, Xingxing.”

X: “If I find out it’s fake again, I’ll delete you.”

X: “Xingxing’s legs must be much prettier than the internet picture, right?”

Xie Yuanxing frowned and thought for a moment. He felt he didn’t need to stoop to pleasing Shen Bianye over such a small thing.

He had thought that to get Shen Bianye to take the bait, he might sometimes have to humble himself, but in his projections, that would only be an occasional thing.

Right off the bat, Shen Bianye wanted to see his legs. What if next time Shen Bianye wanted to see something else? Should he show him or not?

If he didn’t, his previous sacrifice would be wasted. If he did, he would be at a great loss.

Besides, it was a fact that his legs were better-looking than the internet picture.

He didn’t need Shen Bianye’s praise.

Sigh, if the online romance thing didn’t work out, he might have to think of another way to get revenge on Shen Bianye.

Ruan Xing: “Then just delete me.”

Xie Yuanxing, disheartened, typed these three words, then simply put his phone on the table and got up to take a shower.

Steam rose in the bathroom, filling it with mist.

Water streamed over clear, pure skin. A pair of legs, fair as jade, long and well-proportioned, were enveloped in the hot steam, his knees and ankles tinged with a faint pink.

It was indeed as Shen Bianye had said, prettier than the internet picture.

But the owner of these legs had no intention of taking a picture for the snake lurking in the dark to admire.

The heating at home was turned up high. Xie Yuanxing came out after his shower wearing only his pajamas, not bothering to fully dry his hair.

While he was showering, the phone on the table had lit up again and again. When Xie Yuanxing picked up the phone and lay down on the bed, he was startled by a string of messages.

11:05 PM—
X: “Didn’t you want to be in a relationship?”
X: “Giving up so quickly?”
X: “Do you really like me?”
……

11:30 PM—
X: “I was wrong. I won’t look, okay?”
X: “Why aren’t you talking?”
X: “Are you mad because I saw through you?”
X: “Sorry, don’t be mad, okay.”
X: “Didn’t you want to be in a relationship, baby?”
X: “Talk to me, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing scrolled up, looking at the messages that couldn’t even fit on one screen, feeling momentarily dazed.

When he had first added him, he didn’t believe it was Shen Bianye.

Now, he couldn’t believe the person on the other side of the screen was Shen Bianye either.

Ruan Xing: “You mean, as long as I talk to you, you”

X: “How do you want to do this, baby?”

The moment Xie Yuanxing’s message was sent, the other party replied almost instantly. Even through text, the eagerness was palpable.

The light from the phone reflected in Xie Yuanxing’s eyes, a small, bright, black question mark.

Why?

?

But from what he had heard, after Shen Bianye transferred schools, many people had confessed to him, and he had rejected them all.

So why had he succeeded?

He had clearly rejected Shen Bianye’s request.

…Although he couldn’t figure it out, it seemed his revenge plan had already taken a giant leap forward.

…It was just that the leap was too big. He hadn’t expected to get to the dating stage so quickly.

Shen Bianye’s question of “how do you want to do this” really stumped Xie Yuanxing.

Ruan Xing: “How many people have you said ‘let me see your legs’ to?”
Ruan Xing: “Has anyone sent you pictures?”
Ruan Xing: “The kind that aren’t from the internet.”

X: “I haven’t said it to anyone else.”
X: “Is baby jealous?”

In the student dormitory, Shen Bianye saw this series of questions and the corners of his lips curled up, a hint of pleasure in his eyes.

Although he knew it was impossible for Xie Yuanxing to be jealous, the illusion brought by these words still excited Shen Bianye.

When Xie Yuanxing saw his reply, the doubt in his eyes grew instead of lessening. His slender, fair fingers tapped out words, preparing to get to the bottom of this question before going to sleep.

Ruan Xing: “Then why did you send me that sentence?”

X: “It’s a meme, baby.”
X: “You there? Let me see your legs.”

These two sentences were completely against his true feelings. It was impossible to say there wasn’t a part of him that wanted to see.

Shen Bianye had originally thought that since Xie Yuanxing was trying to bait him, he would at least be willing to give a little something.

But as it turned out…

A look of helpless regret appeared on his handsome face, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue silently.

Tsk, Xie Yuanxing is fishing for him, but he’s not even willing to use bait.

And yet, he didn’t dare not to take the hook.

If he missed this chance, he didn’t know when he would ever have another chance to develop a relationship with Xie Yuanxing.

X: “Does baby feel offended?”
X: “I’m very sorry, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing’s phone kept buzzing as he received several messages in a row.

Just as he was considering whether to accept Shen Bianye’s apology, the other party’s message bombardment paused.

A short while later, Xie Yuanxing’s phone buzzed twice.

X: “Photo.jpg”

Xie Yuanxing tapped it open and his face instantly flushed red.

In the photo, a large hand with well-defined knuckles was lifting a piece of clothing. Another hand held a pen, its tip resting on his chest, at the end of a written sentence.

On his beautifully shaped, full, and firm chest, a sentence was written in black ink—“Baby, I’m sorry.”

A corner of his lips was visible in the photo. The cap of the pen in his hand was held between his teeth.

Ruan Xing: “What are you doing?!”

X: “I shouldn’t have asked baby for leg pics. As punishment, can I send you mine instead?”
X: “The apology is also written on my body. If baby is still mad, I can not wash it off.”

Xie Yuanxing’s ears were completely red as he finished reading these words and looking at that photo.

A person who had never been in a relationship, pure as can be, where had he ever seen such a bold way of apologizing? His heart was pounding furiously in his chest.

Is it fake?
Shen Bianye wouldn’t go this far, would he?
It must be an internet picture, right?

Xie Yuanxing muttered to himself as his hands flew, using various methods to reverse image search. He was soon shocked to find that he couldn’t find this photo anywhere.

Which meant…
This was taken by Shen Bianye himself, of his own body, with words he wrote himself.

He suppressed his embarrassment, opened the photo again, and tried to identify the lower half of the face visible in the picture. The more he looked, the more he felt…
This was probably… possibly… likely… Shen Bianye.

Xie Yuanxing’s eyes widened, and the fingertips of the hand holding the phone were faintly hot.

He didn’t dare to look anymore, but the questions in his mind snowballed, growing larger and larger.

Ruan Xing: “How could you…”
Ruan Xing: “Before I got your VX number, I heard from others that you’re very cold and aloof. Is this really you?”

X sent a voice message. Xie Yuanxing opened it. It was the familiar, deep, and magnetic voice of Shen Bianye, this time with an added touch of gentleness: “It’s me, baby.”

X: “Because baby’s photo is so beautiful. It looks a lot like someone in my dreams.”
X: “I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t expect to actually see you in reality.”
X: “I like baby. I don’t want to make baby mad.”

Xie Yuanxing’s alternate account’s profile picture was a photo, a small part of himself.

Because he was too embarrassed to use someone else’s photo for an online romance, he had used a scarf and a hat to cover his forehead, eyebrows, and the lower half of his face, revealing only his eyes.

It wasn’t strange to wear a fluffy hat and scarf in winter. With most of his face covered, and after spending ten yuan to have someone photoshop his hair to be longer, Xie Yuanxing wasn’t worried that Shen Bianye would recognize him.

In the photo, those eyes were very beautiful.

The curled eyelashes were thick and slender, and the dark eyes were sparkling, as if looking through the screen at the person on the other side.

Xie Yuanxing stared at his own profile picture for a while but didn’t see anything special. He could only conclude that the ten yuan was well spent.

X: “Are you still mad, baby?”
X: “Do you want to be in a relationship with me?”

Ruan Xing slowly sent a sentence. Even through text, Shen Bianye could imagine the coy expression on Xie Yuanxing’s face as he typed it.

Ruan Xing: “Alright then, let’s try dating for now.”

X: “Thank you, baby.”

Shen Bianye typed ‘send,’ and after putting down his phone, the smile on his face widened, his eyes dark and flashing with excitement. He whispered, repeating the words from the text, “Thank you, baby.”

On his desk, a previously crumpled piece of paper was now flattened and clipped inside a book.

Shen Bianye, having put down his phone, saw it and reached out to rub it with his fingers. The paper felt soft to the touch. He rubbed it again, forcefully.

As if trying to draw out a scent.

The next second, he pressed the fingertips that had touched the paper to the corner of his lips, tasting them, and pressed them together.

A sigh echoed in the quiet dorm. Shen Bianye’s face was an unreadable mix of regret and impatience. He reached out, closed the book, opened a drawer, and carefully placed it inside.

This piece of paper also didn’t have Xie Yuanxing’s scent.