AAUMOBIP C1

Chapter 1

“Ge! Liu Ge! Please, I’m begging you, lend me some money!”

In the dormitory, Liu He glanced at the person sitting beside him, then shifted his gaze back to the computer screen. His fingers tapped against the keyboard as he revised his thesis.

“I was scammed. The con artist swindled away all my savings. Now I’m completely broke,” Jiang Yi cried. “I don’t dare tell Xu Yi about this—you know how fierce he is.”

Jiang Yi’s voice entered his ears.

“Scammed?” Liu He finally gave some attention to the friend who had been wailing beside him. “How much? Did you call the police?”

“Over five thousand. I did report it,” Jiang Yi replied. “But Uncle Policeman said there’s little chance of getting it back. I don’t have a single cent left—even for tonight’s dinner.”

“Ge, lend me a little, please. Next month, when my stipend and part-time wages come in, I’ll pay you back right away!”

“I just bought a new phone.” Liu He saved his thesis, dragged his chair around to face Jiang Yi, and waved his freshly purchased phone in front of him. “So I can only lend you five hundred.”

“No problem!” Jiang Yi said quickly. “Five hundred is enough! Bro, you’re really something—you’re truly a good person!”

“Next month when I’ve got money, I’ll treat you to a meal. Anything you want to eat.”

Liu He nodded. He glanced at his account balance and transferred five hundred to Jiang Yi.

He didn’t have much left for himself either.

Just a couple of days ago, his graduate stipend and the wages from working under his advisor had come in. He immediately replaced the old phone he’d been using for five years with a new one.

He left himself just over a thousand for living expenses. Now that he had lent Jiang Yi five hundred, he was left with only seven hundred yuan.

Seven hundred would barely be enough to survive a month—of course, only if he didn’t pursue any quality of life.

At worst, he’d just eat cafeteria food for every meal.

“Keep this a secret from Xu Yi, okay~” Jiang Yi, now with money in hand, wrote an IOU and grinned, no trace of his earlier pained expression remaining.

“Xiao He, you really are a good guy.” Jiang Yi thanked him again.

“When you need me, you call me Ge. When you don’t, I’m just Xiao He, huh?” Liu He scolded playfully, then asked, “You’re really not going to tell your boyfriend about getting scammed?”

“No way. I’m afraid he’ll get mad. I’ll wait until I’ve earned the money back first. By then, he shouldn’t be as angry.” Jiang Yi shivered, glanced at the time, and quickly said, “I’ve got to go to the lab. See you next time.”

Liu He watched Jiang Yi leave the dorm and close the door behind him. He shrugged and returned to revising his thesis.

His new phone chimed with a message.

【187 Boyfriend: Busy?】

【187 Boyfriend: I want to call you】

Seeing the message from his online boyfriend, Liu He’s expression softened. His almond-shaped eyes curved into a smile.

He dialed, and the call was answered almost immediately.

“I’m in the dorm working on my thesis. How do you have time to call? Aren’t you at work?” Liu He asked.

Yun Jingqiu: “Slacking off. I wanted to hear your voice.”

He let out a sigh: “The moment I hear your voice, I feel full of strength.”

“Smooth talker.” Liu He scolded with a laugh.

“If I talk, you’re not pleased. But if I really stayed silent, you’d be even less pleased,” Yun Jingqiu said helplessly. “Xiao He, I was going to tell you some good news, but now I don’t feel like saying it.”

“What good news?” Liu He asked offhandedly.

“Let’s meet.”

On the computer screen, a string of fs appeared. Liu He’s hands froze above the keyboard, unable to lift them. In his ears, Yun Jingqiu’s words still echoed: Let’s meet.

Yun Jingqiu was his online lover. They had been together for over a year, yet had never met face to face.

Both of them were busy—one always traveling across the country for work, constantly on business trips and overtime; the other a graduate student, immersed in the lab every day, doing experiments and writing his thesis.

Over the past year, they had silently agreed never to bring up the subject of meeting, each being considerate of the other’s circumstances.

They hadn’t even video-called. The most intimate thing they had ever done was falling asleep to the sound of each other’s voices.

Now, the mysterious veil between them was about to be lifted.

Liu He had often wondered who would bring it up first, and what their first meeting would be like.

But he hadn’t expected it to happen on such an ordinary noon, without any warning—Yun Ge suddenly said they should meet.

Did he want to see Yun Ge?

Of course he did.

Other couples in love were glued to each other. That brat Jiang Yi and his boyfriend were practically conjoined twins, rarely apart.

Watching them made him feel envious.

He also wanted to date his partner—to go out for meals together, watch movies, play games, and do all the things couples normally did.

But his situation with Yun Ge was different.

Theirs was an online relationship, and a long-distance one at that. Until now, they had never met.

Usually, they could only talk on the phone at night and listen to each other’s voices. If Yun Ge had free time, they would play a few rounds of games together.

Yun Ge’s voice was pleasant—slightly deep, steady, not that sickeningly fake bubbly tone.

He was very curious about Yun Ge’s appearance.

Fat or thin? Ugly or handsome?

He had seen Yun Ge’s photo of his abs. If it wasn’t photoshopped, then his physique should be pretty good.

Liu He’s thoughts drifted off, and for a moment, he didn’t respond to Yun Jingqiu.

“Xiao He doesn’t want to see me? Didn’t you say you wanted to touch my abs when we met?”

Liu He snapped back to attention and cleared his throat. “When will we meet?”

“Next week. I’ll be in City C for a business trip. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Next week.

Liu He glanced at his calendar. The first thing he saw was his schedule for next week.

Regretfully, he said: “Next week I’ll be going with my advisor to City A for an academic exchange. How long will you be in City C? I should be able to rush back.”

“At least a week, at most half a month.”

That was plenty of time.

Liu He agreed: “Alright, see you next week.”

He was about to meet his online boyfriend in real life. Of course Liu He was excited.

Out of sight of anyone else, his fair face flushed. His almond eyes curved into crescents, and the smile tugging at his lips couldn’t be suppressed.

His heart pounded quickly, blood rushing hotly. Liu He tried to calm himself down.

He took several deep breaths, deleted the string of fs from the screen, and barely managed to steady his excited mood.

“Xiao He, aren’t you curious about what I look like?” came the voice from the other end.

Liu He asked, “Are you ugly?”

Ugly? Him?

Yun Jingqiu looked at his phone screen, Liu He’s voice in his earphones.

A makeup brush swept across his face. He closed his eyes, letting the makeup artist apply eye makeup.

Then he opened his eyes again, staring at himself in the mirror.

His features were well-defined. Under the makeup artist’s skillful hands, his sharp lines softened.

Styled in traditional costume, his long hair tied up, a smile lingering on his lips, his gaze gentle—he looked every bit the spirited young gentleman.

He was anything but ugly. His fans all said he was handsome. Makeup artists who had worked with him said his natural foundation was excellent—he barely needed makeup to look good.

“I think I look pretty decent,” Yun Jingqiu said.

The makeup artist holding the brush sneaked several glances at him, words on the tip of her tongue, but in the end she kept silent.

Everyone knew Yun Jingqiu had an ordinary, non-celebrity partner, and that their relationship was very solid.

But listening to Yun Jingqiu talk with his partner—why did it feel so strange?

Almost as if… they didn’t even know what each other looked like.

The makeup artist swallowed her curiosity. She only needed to do her job well. She mustn’t pry into what wasn’t her business.

This circle wasn’t exactly clean. What was so strange about a star having a few secrets? Only those who kept their mouths shut could last long in this industry.

She wasn’t some newcomer—she knew what should and shouldn’t be said.

“Xiao He, if I deceived you, what would you do?” Yun Jingqiu asked.

In the mirror, he saw his manager signaling to him. He nodded slightly and said to Liu He: “Sorry, I have to get to work now. I’ll tell you later.”

“Very soon, we’ll be able to meet.” He hung up the phone.

The phone screen lingered on his chat with the contact saved as “Baby.”

Deceived him?

Liu He didn’t quite understand what that meant. Yun Ge hadn’t given him the chance to ask before hanging up.

He stared at the darkened phone screen, Yun Jingqiu’s words replaying over and over in his mind.

Suddenly, he sat up straight, not even wanting to revise his thesis anymore.

【fon: What do you mean deceived me?】

【fon: Are you going to stand me up?】

【fon: Yun, you just wait. If you dare trick me, I’ll definitely beat you up!】

【187 Boyfriend: Not standing you up】

【187 Boyfriend: You’ll know when we meet】

【187 Boyfriend: I did trick you a little, so hit lightly, don’t hit my face】

So what exactly had he been deceived about?

Liu He couldn’t get the answer out of his online boyfriend.

Mini Theater

Liu He: “My boyfriend’s birthday is April 19th. In English, 419 is pronounced like ‘for one night.’ If I change my WeChat ID to fon, isn’t that too obvious?”

Brother: “What are you trying to do, apply to the intelligence bureau?”

 

187 = shorthand for “一见钟情” (yī jiàn zhōng qíng) → “love at first sight.”

📱 It became meme-y in online dating/BL circles because it looks like a number code couples use.

So when people say “网恋 187”, they mean like a dreamy, sweet “online love at first sight” kind of romance.