AAUMOBIP C2

Chapter 2

“Log in.” Liu He said coldly.

“Xiao He is angry? Who made Xiao He mad?” The culprit’s playful voice came through the phone.

That only made Liu He even more annoyed.

“Yun Ge, what exactly have you lied to me about?” Liu He recalled how Jiang Yi had recently been scammed, and his heart leapt into his throat. “Don’t tell me you’re actually a scammer? And now you’ve suddenly grown a conscience and are dropping me hints?”

“I don’t even have money—what would you scam me for? My organs?” He thought about it for a moment. Really, the only thing of value on him was his organs.

“Not that, don’t overthink.” Yun Jingqiu answered vaguely, “You’re so eager to know what I lied about? You’ll find out when the time comes.”

“I don’t want to meet up in real life with a liar.” Liu He said harshly.

“I just ordered milk tea for Xiao He. Drink it and calm down.”

Liu He: …

Was this about milk tea?

With Yun Ge saying things like that, how could he possibly relax and go on a real-life meetup?

“You don’t have abs. You’re a bald, greasy middle-aged man. You’ve got a beer belly. You can’t even get it up.” Liu He started throwing out wild guesses.

He was trying to bait him into a reaction.

But all he heard was the low chuckle from the other end: “Wrong on all counts. I’m very handsome, have a great body, my abs are solid, and my sexual ability… should also be pretty good. I haven’t tried with anyone else though.”

Liu He thought about it, then said: “Virgin.”

And added: “Average, self-important man.”

Yun Jingqiu laughed in exasperation: “Xiao He, shut your mouth and focus on the game.”

But Liu He refused. His male character with an explosive afro hairstyle picked up a gun in-game and fired a few shots at his teammate.

He watched with satisfaction as Yun Ge’s health bar sharply dropped.

“Attempted murder of your own husband?”

Liu He: “Eliminating a scammer.”

“Eat my grenade!” Yun Jingqiu pulled out a grenade.

Liu He immediately made his character vault over a window to escape. An explosion went off behind him.

A grenade? No way he’d eat that!

The two of them bickered and played around, and the heavy atmosphere gradually lightened, as if they had gone back to how they used to be.

Yet, deep down, Liu He still couldn’t stop thinking about what Yun Ge had deceived him about.

Yun Jingqiu said he was just a corporate wage-slave, and happened to share the same name as a currently popular actor.

But name-sharing was not life-sharing; one was just an overworked employee, the other a famous celebrity.

It couldn’t be that Yun Ge was actually that actor, right?

Liu He gave a short laugh at himself. The idea was ridiculous.

How could he possibly be in an online romance with a trending star? Didn’t people say agents kept a tight leash on those celebrities anyway? Besides, that actor already had a partner.

Forget it—if things seemed off when they met, he’d just run off.

With that, Liu He finally calmed down, and told Jiang Yi about his plan to meet his online boyfriend.

【Jiang Yi: !】

【Jiang Yi: How could you not bring me for something like this?】

【Jiang Yi: I’m not just tagging along for fun, I’m protecting your safety!】

【Jiang Yi: There are lots of scammers in online dating, Xiao He, you’re too naive.】

【Jiang Yi: I want to see what this man of yours actually looks like, to have you so smitten.】

【fon: It’s not like I’m that lovestruck…】

【fon: Fine, then you’ll come with me.】

【Jiang Yi: [image]】

【Jiang Yi: Not obsessed, really?】

Jiang Yi had sent him a screenshot. Liu He opened it and immediately felt a little guilty.

It was from way back when he and Yun Ge had just gotten together. Newly in love, people said all kinds of things. At that time, he had messaged Jiang Yi: My boyfriend’s birthday is April 19. In English that’s 419, which sounds like “for one night.” If I change my username to fon, would that be too obvious?

Jiang Yi had replied: You planning to join the intelligence bureau?

But in truth, 419 in English wasn’t “for one night.” It was “four one nine.”

How long ago had that been already—and Jiang Yi was still digging up old dirt!

“Yo, who’re you chatting with? You’re typing so furiously sparks could fly from your keyboard, but your in-game character hasn’t even moved.” A teasing voice came through the headset.

Liu He snapped back to focus, closed his chat window with Jiang Yi, and said: “A friend.”

“He said he wants to come along when I meet you in person. You don’t mind, right?”

There was silence on the other end for a moment before a reply came: “I don’t mind.”

But from Yun Jingqiu’s voice, Liu He could hear the gritted teeth. Clearly, the man wasn’t happy.

Liu He returned to the game, where Yun Jingqiu was playing particularly aggressively—charging forward with two submachine guns blazing, emptying his magazines at anyone in sight.

It didn’t look like gameplay, but more like venting anger.

Liu He didn’t dare comment.

When the match ended, Liu He immediately said: “It’s late, I’m going to sleep. You sleep early too.”

“Mm.”

Liu He: “But don’t hang up. I want to fall asleep listening to your voice. Sing me a song.”

“You’re so demanding.” Yun Jingqiu muttered, but then softly began humming.

His voice was beautiful, and even more so when singing quietly.

The tender melody streamed through Liu He’s headset, and even though he hadn’t been all that tired, he yawned twice in quick succession.

He shut down his computer, carried his new phone over to bed, and crawled under the covers.

He was the only one left in the dorm.

One roommate had gone abroad with their advisor; another was up in the mountains with their professor collecting samples; the last—Jiang Yi—had moved out to live with his boyfriend.

Taking off his headset, Liu He let the gentle humming fill the empty dorm.

He was the only one who could hear it.

Within Yun Jingqiu’s singing, Liu He quickly drifted off to sleep.

Ever since he found out Yun Jingqiu would be coming to C City next week, Liu He had been counting down the days.

Time passed quickly, and the date of their meetup grew closer and closer.

Soon, he’d finally learn Yun Ge’s true face.

But before that, Liu He had to travel with his professor to City A for an academic conference.

【187-Boyfriend: Arrived in C City】

【187-Boyfriend: The food here is amazing】

【187-Boyfriend: [image]】

【fon: You mean that light meal in front of you is delicious?】

【fon: On a diet again?】

【fon: Don’t tell me you’re actually fat?】

【187-Boyfriend: I’m not fat】

【187-Boyfriend: I’m 187 cm tall, weigh 67 kg, body fat in single digits.】

Was that real?

With those stats, why eat fat-loss meals? With single-digit body fat, what was there to burn?

【187-Boyfriend: I’ve got a great physique】

【fon: I’ll take your word for it.】

Not believing it at all.

Fortunately, for the academic conference, all travel costs, lodging, and food were being covered by the professor.

Otherwise, how would he survive on the few hundred yuan he had left?

Liu He felt relieved.

But that relief didn’t last long. He was soon stressed again—because he was broke.

He knew living costs in City A were high, but hadn’t expected them to be this high.

That evening, he and a senior fellow student along with a junior went out to dinner. Their average spending came to over one hundred yuan per person.

When he calculated his budget afterwards, lying on the hotel bed, he went stiff.

He only had a little over 300 yuan left now.

Why had he given in to greed and gone out eating with his fellow students? But when both senior and junior invited him, how could he refuse?

He should’ve just eaten the hotel dinner that was included in coverage.

Head aching, Liu He stared at his dwindling account balance, nearly in tears.

The junior he was sharing a room with was still out wandering.

On impulse, Liu He called Yun Jingqiu.

“Back from dinner?” Yun Jingqiu’s voice mixed with the sound of running water, muffled and indistinct.

Liu He blinked, realizing what was happening, and quickly hung up.

He was showering.

Just as the call cut off, Yun Jingqiu rang him back.

Liu He answered.

“What’s this? Call me without saying anything, then hang up the moment you hear me—are you playing Truth or Dare with someone?”

“No… I just didn’t realize you were in the shower, so I hung up.”

“It’s fine,” Yun Jingqiu replied. “My phone’s waterproof—I can talk to you even under the water.”

Hearing his voice, Liu He’s dejected mood instantly lightened.

“Yun Ge, could you lend me some money?”

Only the sound of water came across—no reply.

Liu He’s heart clenched.

They were just online boyfriends—wasn’t asking for money crossing the line?

During holidays, Yun Ge would send him red envelopes, but they were always too large; Liu He didn’t dare accept them.

In the end, he only took the small ones.

He took a deep breath. “My friend was scammed not long ago, so I lent him some money.”

“I thought I had enough left for myself… but tonight I went out to dinner with classmates, spent over a hundred, and now I’m nearly broke.”

Still no sound from the other end. Liu He understood, and quickly said: “Never mind, I’ll just ask someone else. You finish your shower, I’m hanging up…”

“Don’t hang up.” Finally, Yun Jingqiu spoke. “How much have you got left?”

“A bit over three hundred.” Liu He admitted sheepishly.

“I don’t need much—just lend me two hundred. I’ll pay you back next month when my stipend comes on the fifteenth.”

“Two hundred, enough?”

“Then… one hundred?” Liu He tested cautiously.

“Wait a moment.” Yun Jingqiu said.

Liu He didn’t know what he meant and waited anxiously.

A notification pinged on his phone.

【Intimate Pay from “187-Boyfriend” has been activated for your account.¹.】

“The money in there is for you. No need to pay it back. You’ve got a twenty-thousand-yuan monthly limit—use it however you want.” Yun Jingqiu’s voice radiated security. “Why didn’t you tell me you were struggling? What’s the point of having me as a boyfriend if you treat me like an ornament?”

“If you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t even know you were planning to survive on steamed buns every day.”

That wasn’t it… Liu He had never dated before, and always felt talking about money would sour a relationship, so he’d been unwilling to accept Yun Jingqiu’s financial help.

After all, even his parents wouldn’t give him money—why would Yun Jingqiu, a stranger, do so for him?

But seeing that Intimate Pay now, something deep in his heart resonated.

His nose burned, and he couldn’t stop his tears from flowing. He breathed in deeply, suppressing his choked sobs: “Thank you, Yun Ge.”

“Don’t cry, I didn’t mean to make you cry…” Yun Jingqiu’s clumsy comfort came through, “If it’s not enough, just say so. If I lack anything, it isn’t money.”

Liu He let out a watery laugh through his tears: “Are you trying to keep me as your sugar baby?”

“Don’t make our relationship sound so filthy!” Yun Jingqiu barked. “Now you’ve angered me—be prepared for punishment.”

“What punishment?”

“Your punishment is to spend every last yuan on that account.”

Footnotes:

1. Intimate Pay (亲属卡): A feature in Chinese mobile payment/banking apps (like Alipay/WeChat Pay). A user can issue a “Intimate Pay” linked to their own account, which gives another person (usually a family member or close partner) the ability to spend from it up to a set monthly limit. This is often seen as a gesture of intimacy and trust.