The expression on that face was listless, as if he couldn’t muster any interest in anything. If an ordinary person had this expression, they would most likely be said to have a “bitter melon face.”
However, Lu Xi’s features were delicate and clean, and even with a naturally unhappy face, he didn’t come off as offensive. Instead, he was quite pleasing to the eye. This might be the legendary “world-weary face.”
Ji Nian recalled how Lu Xi used to look and intuitively felt that something was wrong. But at that moment, Lu Xi frowned slightly, showing a bit of impatience in his expression. Ji Nian wisely straightened up and stepped back, saying, “Just kidding, don’t take it seriously.”
Lu Xi ignored him, bypassing him without a word, continuing to walk forward.
After a while, Ji Nian caught up quickly and walked side by side with him.
It was still class time. The two of them walked on the bridge connecting the two teaching buildings, with no one else around. The sounds of teachers lecturing could be vaguely heard from nearby classrooms.
Lu Xi glanced to the side and noticed that Ji Nian’s cigarette had somehow already been disposed of.
Ji Nian lowered his head, sniffed the lingering smell of smoke on his fingers, and suddenly asked, “Was that bottle of medicine Liu Siyi’s?”
Lu Xi looked at Ji Nian, his long, thin eyes showing a hint of confusion even though he remained silent. He had never mentioned whose medicine it was.
Ji Nian glanced back at him and immediately understood. He explained, “I saw her take it out before.”
Lu Xi nodded and returned to his uninterested look.
Ji Nian said, “You insisted that I hold the medicine earlier. To be honest, it made me a bit nervous…” He chuckled to himself, half-seriously adding, “I thought you were hinting at something.”
Lu Xi acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing to walk with his head down.
Lu Xi was a naturally reticent person who seemed very aloof. He had always been different from others since childhood, used to being independent, which made him the coolest kid wherever he went.
“Lu Xi.”
Just two steps away from the staircase, Ji Nian suddenly called out to him.
Lu Xi raised his eyes, his gaze questioning what was the matter.
Ji Nian smiled again, but this time the smile seemed less genuine, and Lu Xi felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.
While Lu Xi was puzzled by this inexplicable atmosphere that was obviously inconsistent with the boy in front of him, he saw Ji Nian raise a finger to his lips, let out a “shh” and whispered, “If you did find out something, treat it as a secret. You know how to keep a secret, right?”
They stared at each other for a long time, the wind in the hallway lifting their hair and clothes.
Ji Nian narrowed his eyes and his smile deepened.
After a brief moment of confusion, Lu Xi might have understood what secret Ji Nian was referring to.
He hadn’t expected to strike gold like this.
With a blank expression, Lu Xi finally spoke, “You mean premature ejaculation? Got it.”
Ji Nian: “…” What do you think you know?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Judging from Ji Nian’s momentarily silent expression, it was clear that they were not talking about the same thing.
–
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“Al Rljc, mjc sbe rabq ys atf mjofafglj bc sbeg kjs tfgf jcv ugjy j ofk ybaaifr bo vglcxr?” Vbwfbcf qjcafv jcv vfwjcvfv ecmfgfwbclberis lc atf mtja ugbeq.
Ji Nian smiled slightly and replied just as unceremoniously, “Not on the way. Not convenient.”
The cafeteria and the sports field were in the north-south directions, so it indeed wasn’t on his way.
Then, Ji Nian put away his phone, changed direction, and looked at Lu Xi, saying, “You want to leave school? I’m going to the cafeteria. Let’s walk together.”
The cafeteria and the school gate were in the same direction.
Whether there was one more person or one less beside him, Lu Xi didn’t care, because most of the time he could just tune them out.
When passing by the cafeteria, Ji Nian turned onto a small path, while Lu Xi continued straight ahead without even looking up. He had barely taken two steps forward when his backpack strap was suddenly pulled from behind.
“Wait a moment, I’ll treat you to a cup of milk tea.” Ji Nian dragged him into the cafeteria without letting him saying anything.
“…” Lu Xi, still facing away from Ji Nian, was pulled backward step by step.
The other party didn’t give him a chance to refuse.
“I really had something to do on that day during the typhoon,” Ji Nian said. “When you asked me out, I couldn’t make it, and I forgot to reply when I saw your message. I hope you don’t mind, the milk tea is my apology.”
Lu Xi, still facing away from Ji Nian, rolled his eyes listlessly. He didn’t care at all.
Canglan High School was a famous private high school in Cang City. To be able to study here, one either had to have a strong family background or an outstanding academic performance, or both, like Ji Nian.
The facilities at this private high school were naturally excellent. On the first floor of the cafeteria, there was a 24/7 convenience store, and next to it was a bakery selling drinks and desserts.
Ji Nian went into the bakery while Lu Xi leaned against a pillar in the lobby to wait.
There were other students coming and going in the first-floor lobby, but since it was class time, there weren’t many who were openly skipping class like Lu Xi or taking a break during gym class like Ji Nian. Overall, the lobby was quite empty and felt rather desolate.
When a few boys were passing by together, they saw Lu Xi leaning against the pillar and couldn’t help but take a few more glances.
Lu Xi was engrossed in his phone and didn’t notice the surprised or inquiring looks directed at him.
The original owner of the phone had many colorful apps on the screen, and it was filled with little red dots indicating unread messages, most marked “99+.” This showed that the original owner was an out-and-out social butterfly.
Which made sense, considering he was an internet celebrity.
Lu Xi had no interest in the various miscellaneous apps. He opened WeChat, wanting to get a general idea of the social connections he was about to take over.
However, upon seeing the message list, he found tens of thousands of unread messages piled up.
It wasn’t realistic to open each one, so Lu Xi skimmed through the most recent ones.
【General Manager of Fushuo Group: Sister, are you there? Want to hang out this week? I’ve got a private yacht.】
【A Heart Only for You: [Red Envelope] Wishing the beauty an advanced Happy Double Ninth Festival. Here’s a red envelope. I’ll be on a business trip to Cang City tomorrow. Can we meet up?】
【If You Become the Wind: Baby, you haven’t streamed this week. I miss you. I have all the money in my account waiting for you.】
【…】
The more Lu Xi scrolled down, the tighter his brows knitted. Over a dozen consecutive messages were all flirtatious texts from different men.
Lu Xi guessed that most of the messages were from fans, who seemed very willing to spend money on the original owner.
This wasn’t just a WeChat account, it’s clearly a “fish pond”, and it’s a massive one.
Internally, Lu Xi muttered a curse, feeling a chill in his heart. He wondered if the original owner had done something inappropriate or met some unsavory people at such a young age.
However, judging by the content, it seemed that these male fans were unaware of the original owner’s gender. This slightly relieved Lu Xi, indicating that the original owner hadn’t gotten involved in any messy male-male relationships.
Just as Lu Xi was about to exit, he finally came across a message that seemed worth reading. It was sent earlier today at noon.
【David: Are you at school? Contact me as soon as possible. New manufacturer collaboration, need promotion done by Sunday.】
Lu Xi frowned and pondered for a moment, guessing that this might be work-related.
Speaking of which, the original owner had amassed a large following and managed a personal account at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Setting aside the flirtatious male fans, their business ability should be quite impressive.
Lu Xi prepared to call and find out more about the situation.
Just as he was about to dial, his gaze inadvertently drifted downward, and he noticed a strange bulge in his chest area.
“…” Lu Xi looked down and finally realized the presence of his unexpected “breasts.”
Lu Xi put away his phone and reached a hand to grab one side—feeling the sponge-like texture.
Without much thought, Lu Xi expressionlessly reached into his collar and pulled out a sponge pad, then another.
Just like that, his chest… flattened out directly.
Ji Nian finished paying and turned around. Habitually lifting his gaze, he saw this scene through the glass and choked for a moment, then “puffed” out the orange juice he hadn’t had time to swallow, looking extremely embarrassed.
Ji Nian grabbed a tissue, pressed it against his mouth, coughing with a slightly flushed face, but his gaze remained fixed on the lobby.
He watched as Lu Xi threw the two sponge pads into the trash, leaned back again, and casually propped one foot against the pillar as if nothing had happened.
Ji Nian: “…”
He might need to get to know this female classmate again.
–
Lu Xi dialed David’s number.
After two rings, the call was connected.
Lu Xi held the phone but didn’t speak, waiting for the other person to start.
“Hello? Lu Xi?”
As soon as the other person spoke, Lu Xi couldn’t help but shiver with goosebumps.
The voice was somewhat high-pitched but with a drawn-out tone, with a twirl at the end, sounding overly flamboyant and effeminate no matter how he listened to it.
Lu Xi responded with a cold “Hmm.”
The voice on the other end fired off like a machine gun, “Finally got a deal with a big manufacturer this time. There’s only one slot in the union, and I gave it to you. No need to thank me too much, just work hard for me. The manufacturer will send you a beauty kit. You’ll need to make two videos, one tutorial and one makeup Slomo. Don’t be too voluptuous this time, the theme is girly. Remember, the theme is girly…”
“You know I’m a man, right?”
While the other person was rattling off instructions in an excited tone, Lu Xi interrupted directly.
The voice on the other end abruptly stopped, as if sucked into a vacuum.
After a moment of silence, the man sounded suspicious, “Huh? What do you mean, Lu Xi? What’s this all about, suddenly…”
Perhaps frightened, the man’s voice suddenly became a bit deeper, and in Lu Xi’s mind, the image of a brothel madam transformed into a rough man from the Northeast.
“Because I’m a man, I’m not interested in pretending to be a girl,” Lu Xi said bluntly.
“Wait a minute…” The man seemed confused. “Haven’t you always thought you were a girl? Why the sudden change?”
Lu Xi furrowed his brows lightly, starting to understand.
The original owner might not have pretended to be a girl out of a fetish; it’s possible they genuinely believed they were female from the bottom of their heart.
Commonly known as gender dysphoria.
“Lu Xi, listen to me carefully. Whatever shock you’ve experienced or whatever ideas you’ve got now, you’re going to play this girly role whether you like it or not. You made me a promise before, swore you wouldn’t reveal your true identity. If your loyal fans find out you’re a guy, it’ll be a disaster. Do you still want to stay in this business? Have you thought about what our team will do?” The man’s voice rose in frustration when he received no response, becoming very impolite. “How could you break your promise like this? You swore to me! If your loyal fans find out you’re a guy, they’ll be furious! Do you still want to continue in this industry? Have you thought about how our team will handle this?”
Lu Xi was puzzled and replied directly, “Do whatever you want.”
He wasn’t going to deal with the mess the original owner left behind.
“Hey? You little bastard,” the man huffed and puffed, then calmed down and said, “You better say that again.”
Lu Xi said, “If the account is signed to you, you can dispose of it at will.”
Meaning he didn’t care.
Just as he was about to hang up, the man grew anxious and said, “You’re taking this too lightly! Have you even considered your family in Italy? They haven’t paid back the money they advanced from the company. Who do you think you are to just wash your hands of this?”
Lu Xi was stunned for a moment and did not immediately hang up the call.
Thank you for the chapter! 🙏
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