Chapter 37: Coming Clean
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The awkwardness at that moment was practically tangible—those who hadn’t experienced it wouldn’t understand. Shi Wenze felt Lin Lu’s gaze piercing straight through his spine, sending shivers down his back and a buzzing in his brain. He snatched the photo from her hands and, though the signature was a messy scribble, he could faintly make out the character “锐” (Rui). Clearly, he had gotten the wrong autograph.
Lin Su looked puzzled. “What’s going on?”
Shi Wenze kept a straight face. “I got it from a friend. Maybe she grabbed the wrong one—I didn’t look closely.”
At this point, all he could do was be grateful it was a group photo; that gave him some flimsy excuse to explain. Lin Lu still found the whole thing fishy, but her fan club sisters were already calling her to hurry up and meet. So she left in a rush, leaving only her brother and Shi Wenze standing silently, listening to the wind rustle.
Shi Wenze was still searching for a way to explain when Lin Su picked up the photo and asked soulfully, “Which one is Xia Jiayang?”
This was the simplest yet deadliest question. Despite having taken a few lessons at Lan Weiwei’s place, Shi Wenze couldn’t pick out the right person. He must really be cursed in exams. All the members of the group looked so alike—no, they weren’t twins, but they might as well be.
Lin Su pressed on, “You don’t like him?”
Shi Wenze fell silent. He actually could come up with a new excuse, but the more lies he told, the worse it would be when the truth came out. Considering their relationship had already moved beyond sleepwear-level closeness, he figured he didn’t need this little star’s autograph as a bridge anymore. So finally, he confessed, “Yes.”
Lin Su asked, calmly, “Then why pretend to be a fan?”
Shi Wenze thought the answer was obvious. Everything he had done was for one purpose: to chase after him. This particular mix-up was just hilariously awkward—too comical to fit the “cool, devoted Shi Wenze” image, so he hesitated to say it out loud. But Lin Su looked at him carefully, then asked, “Who told you I liked Xia Jiayang?”
Shi Wenze caught the key point. “You don’t like him either?”
Lin Su raised a brow, innocent as ever. “No, I like someone else.”
Shi Wenze stared at him in confusion, and after a moment’s locked gaze, said firmly, “So you don’t like him.”
Lin Su shook his head seriously, “No, I’m a hardcore fan. Unlike someone here who pretends to like him just to chase me. I even recharge my account for Xia Jiayang every day.”
Shi Wenze was equal parts annoyed and amused, but with too many people passing by, he couldn’t pull any domineering moves. Instead, he grabbed Lin Su’s wrist, “We’ll talk about this tonight. For now, let’s get inside.”
Lin Su was stunned. “Why go in now? We’re already this far—don’t tell me you actually believe I like Xia Jiayang? Seriously, we have no chemistry at all. Maybe you should sign up for a relationship class?”
Shi Wenze intertwined their fingers and stood with him at the end of the line. “I’ve got to find that Linghu Tangtang.”
Lin Su frowned. “Is this overtime?”
“Can’t help it, rare opportunity,” Shi Wenze coaxed. “Director Zhou promised me three days off once this mission’s done. I’ll definitely spend every day with you.”
Lin Su accepted the trade-off with some reluctance but felt genuinely happy. He glanced at the photo—Xia Jiayang looked great, and so did Mu Fengrui. What a perfect couple, right?
After standing in line for a while, Shi Wenze suddenly remembered something, wincing. “After getting the autograph, I said ‘Thank you, Mr. Xia’.”
Lin Su barely held back laughter, patting Shi Wenze’s shoulder. “It’s okay, we’ll buy some stuff he endorses later as an apology.” He pulled out his phone and searched for Mu Fengrui’s endorsements, but with a small-name celebrity, choices were limited—only braised duck neck or lipstick. Shi Wenze wanted two packs of spicy duck neck, but Lin Su preferred buying the lipstick to paint hearts on his boyfriend’s chest—some private, unshareable art.
Shi Wenze demanded, “I want the spicy flavor.”
Lin Su just stared. “Okay, you civil servants really are practical.”
He added ten bags of spicy duck neck to the cart and noticed the store was running a promotion with free Erguotou liquor. His feelings were complicated as he placed the order—if given the choice, he’d prefer some romantic wine on a date rather than gnawing on a spicy duck neck and playing rock-paper-scissors with strong liquor. Though both roads could lead to drunken antics and all sorts of plays, it somehow felt less romantic and more… peppercorn-scented. No offense to peppercorns.
Shi Wenze had no idea Lin Su was mulling over such poetic melancholy, still holding his hand tightly, searching for their seats.
Thanks to Zhou Yuansong’s arrangement, Linghu Tangtang’s seat was right next to Shi Wenze. The concert hadn’t started yet, so the theater was brightly lit. When two handsome guys walked by, she instinctively moved aside but couldn’t help sneaking glances.
Not because she recognized them—Taotie’s pink-lit store was practically a madhouse, and with some distance between tables, she could only vaguely tell that two attractive guys were passing but couldn’t tell how good-looking they really were. So she didn’t react much.
Shi Wenze pulled out a blue light stick from his bag. Lin Su didn’t mind—his boyfriend was on a mission, after all. Whether waving light sticks or flashing peace signs on camera, it was all fair game.
Linghu Tangtang was naturally drawn to the attention. Like Lin Lu, she was a devoted Xia Jiayang fan. Despite the recent social media storm and her fiancé’s mysterious disappearance, she still had the energy to come to the concert.
Xia Jiayang’s fans had fixed spots in Section 3 of the second floor. Linghu Tangtang didn’t expect to be alone there, so out of curiosity, she asked, “Are you guys Jiajia’s fans too?”
“A fake fan,” Shi Wenze smiled. “This spot has the best view—I’m here helping my sister film.”
He pulled a keychain out of his bag. “Here, a gift.”
“Thanks.” Linghu Tangtang accepted it without hesitation. She glanced at Shi Wenze again. Lin Su, wearing a big mask, only showed his eyes but was clearly a handsome guy.
Watching a concert with two super hot guys next to her should have been something to share with her fan group, but… after recent events, she sighed and idly squeezed the keychain.
Shi Wenze helped Lin Su insert a straw into a drink, whispered a few words, and checked his forehead temperature. Their closeness went far beyond just friends. Linghu Tangtang caught their eyes meeting accidentally and froze in embarrassment, then forced out a smile.
Shi Wenze introduced generously, “This is my boyfriend. He’s not feeling well today but insisted on coming with me to the concert.”
Lin Su played along, acting “unwell” with ease—after all, his bouts of melancholy were nothing new.
Linghu Tangtang said, “You two really have a good relationship.”
Shi Wenze smoothly asked, “What about your boyfriend?”
She shook her head, “I don’t have one.”
“No way, such a pretty girl,” Shi Wenze struck a knowing, big-brother-in-love tone. “I bet you broke up.”
Linghu Tangtang didn’t deny it.
Shi Wenze smiled, “Was it a spur-of-the-moment breakup? That’s not worth it. If you still like him, you should go find him before it’s too late.” Then, lowering his voice, he added, “I just managed to win mine back, so face doesn’t mean much.”
“I wasn’t impulsive. He disappeared on his own,” Linghu Tangtang explained.
Shi Wenze was shocked. “Disappeared? You should report it to the police.”
“No, not exactly disappeared,” she sighed. Talking about it gave her a headache, but she couldn’t help opening up to the handsome, gentle guys next to her, like the universe sent a savior because she’d been so unlucky. She went on, “We were fine. He was even going to propose, but something went wrong at the proposal. I scolded him a bit afterward, maybe he felt embarrassed. A few days later, he sent a message saying ‘If we’re breaking up, then so be it,’ and then he vanished.”
Shi Wenze found the story unbelievable. Playing the innocent college guy, he asked, “Wait, he breaks up and runs away from home? What about his job? Is he unemployed now?”
“No, he had a job before, with a decent salary,” Linghu Tangtang said. “But after all this, he quit.”
“Men like that aren’t worth chasing. Good you separated,” Shi Wenze tore open a snack. “Disappearing and quitting work, only living for the moment, not thinking about the future. Not good enough for you.”
“No, he was really good to me,” Linghu Tangtang insisted. “He’s an honest guy.”
Shi Wenze burst out laughing. Maybe she realized “honest guy” had become a euphemism for “a sucker” over the last two years. Her face flushed red as she hurried to defend, “He just worked, earned money, and spent time with me. At most, he played games. The proposal was because I joked about it once, and he took it seriously but messed it up.”
“What games?” Shi Wenze asked. “After he disappeared, did you try to find him in-game?”
“I did, but he’s not logged in,” Linghu Tangtang said. “Shan Hai Gu — I check every day.”
“Shan Hai Gu?” Lin Su perked up and turned toward her. “That game was made by a friend of mine. What’s his username? I can see if I can check the backend to see if he’s just hidden or really offline, maybe even check the last login IP.”
“Really?” Linghu Tangtang’s face lit up.
“Really, but it has to be secret. It’s against the rules,” Lin Su warned. “No one else can know.”
“Okay, I promise,” she raised her hand. “I won’t tell.”
Lin Su snapped a picture of Yu Feizheng’s game ID. The concert lights dimmed as the show was about to start. Shi Wenze squeezed Lin Su’s hand and whispered, “Quick on the uptake.”
“What quick? This game really is Du Siyue’s project,” Lin Su said. “I’ll give you his WeChat. You two can chat yourselves.”
Shi Wenze was speechless. “My bad. I thought he only knows how to juggle multiple smurf accounts to argue with Jiang Yuhao 24/7.”
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