Spare tire.
Of course, Mai Dong knew the meaning of this term. After intense questioning from his roommates, they concluded that the person Mai Dong liked treated him as a spare tire. They further interrogated whether Mai Dong had spent a lot of money being a licking dog for someone else. Mai Dong swore that he hadn’t spent a penny, and only then was he spared.
In the end, Du Chuan kindly advised him. There are plenty of people in the world. The reason you can’t let go of her now is because you haven’t got her. Isn’t there a lyric that goes like this, ‘What you can’t get is always in turmoil’? Don’t hang yourself on a crooked tree. Your conditions are good, even excellent. Your family is quite rich, you do well in your studies, and are handsome. Can’t you find someone who also likes you?
Mai Dong sat in front of his diary, holding his face with a troubled expression.
On one hand, he felt that his roommates made sense. If the other person made him feel ambiguous, it was at least enough to prove that the person didn’t like him enough. But with the recent misunderstanding about Yan Xuming being a scumbag, Mai Dong felt that his own speculations were unreliable.
He had already sworn to himself last time that he wouldn’t jump to conclusions like this again. Unable to come up with a conclusion, Dr. God Mai took a pen and started writing in his diary.
November 13, 2023. Sunny.
Will he use me as a spare tire? Although Du Chuan is very convincing, if this happened to someone else, I would agree. But now that it’s happening to me, subjectively, I really want to believe him. I’ve already misunderstood him once last time, causing him to endure my inner complaints for no reason. It would be too much if I misunderstood him again this time!
But why on earth did he withdraw that message?
I understand the motivation behind withdrawing messages. If it were me facing him, occasionally unable to suppress impulsive words that cross the line, I would choose to withdraw them immediately, praying that he didn’t see. This effectively prevents unnecessary awkwardness between the two. But clearly, he can say anything to me, he knows very well that I like him.
However, there are still things to be happy about!
I finally get to have that meal with him tomorrow! There shouldn’t be any problems this time, right? I heard that lowering expectations can make things go smoothly. I know there’s absolutely no scientific basis for this, but I can’t help but believe in this kind of thing. I’ve been trying hard to lower my expectations.
He’s very busy, and even if he cancels at the last minute, it’s okay. The important thing is that we can always have a meal together next time.
After comforting himself so much, Mai Dong closed his diary.
Tuesday is the day with the most classes for Mai Dong, from morning until night, packed with a full day of four classes.
After class, he had only an hour and a half left to the time agreed with Yan Xuming. Hastily rushing back to the dormitory to change clothes, Mai Dong had just received a few new pieces of clothing a few days ago. Although he was unwilling to admit it to himself, these clothes were bought for the purpose of having a meal with Yan Xuming. But the fact remains.
Mai Dong wasn’t particularly tall. He proudly inserted a pair of height-increasing insoles into his shoes, as if building a tower on flat ground. His height of 1.74 meters shot up directly to 1.80 meters, a ” secondary development” that was swift and dramatic. This scared Mai Dong, prompting him to quickly remove the insoles and switch to the three-centimeter ones.
En, going from 1.74 meters to 1.77 meters, it seems that being a bit taller does make the body proportions look better.
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.
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Wu Zimo sighed, “All our words to you are in vain, right? You still want to play the licking dog role, huh?”
Another roommate named Liu Hewei, who usually didn’t talk much, was a little nerdy guy with glasses. He always liked borrowing Mai Dong’s notes. Even Liu Hewei, with a serious expression, asked, “Mai-zi, tonight is your treat, right?”
Feeling guilty, Mai Dong explained, “No… really not. I’m going to have dinner with Yan Xuming. Didn’t we make plans before? I had to cancel last time because I had a fever.”
Du Chuan didn’t believe it at all and sneered, “Huh, you’re having dinner with Yan Xuming and even wearing new clothes and insoles?”
Mai Dong wished he could cover his face. How did these people even notice the insoles ah! Can’t he have a bit of personal privacy? He explained pitifully, “Can’t… Can’t I have an idol baggage? Yan Xuming is tall, and I have vanity.”
The three roommates chimed in unison, “Don’t believe you.”
Mai Dong couldn’t convince them with his explanations, so he simply gave up. He put on his clothes, shoes and all, and finally focused on his hairstyle in the mirror.
Mai Dong had a very ordinary differential broken cap hairstyle.
He didn’t really understand these fashion trends. When he went to the barber shop, the barber mentioned that nowadays, nine out of ten handsome guys have a differential broken cap hairstyle. Mai Dong wanted to refuse, thinking it was too common, but then the barber casually mentioned, “You’re from Nanjing University, right? The most handsome guy there, isn’t he called Yan Xuming? A lot of boys from your school come to get the same haircut as him, the differential broken cap hairstyle.”
So, Mai Dong nodded decisively, “Then, let’s go with that.”
Little did he know that the haircut turned out completely different from Yan Xuming’s.
Mai Dong stared at himself in the mirror silently. Unfortunately, the barber looked at him with great admiration, “How about it? Handsome!”
Mai Dong could only pay for it.
Yan Xuming’s hairstyle looked effortlessly casual, as if he naturally had that hairstyle, always in its perfect state without the need for grooming or trimming. However, on Mai Dong’s head, this hairstyle had a stiff quality that seemed to strive for trendiness.
Mai Dong’s gaze fell on the styling mousse that Du Chuan placed on the table. He wanted to borrow it but hesitated, afraid that Du Chuan would become more convinced that he was going out tonight as a licking dog. After struggling for a while, he couldn’t resist and finally spoke up, “Du Chuan, can I borrow your styling mousse for a spray?”
Du Chuan’s eyes narrowed to a slit as he snatched his styling mousse, cradling it protectively in his arms. “Tell me, where the hell are you really going tonight? Don’t just say you’re having dinner with Yan Xuming. You’re having dinner with him and still need to use this?”
Maidong ignored him, “I don’t need it then.”
Seeing him seemingly getting angry, Du Chuan shoved the mousse back into his hands. “Use it, use it. Ai, no, Mai-zi, aren’t we all doing this for your own good? You’ve never been in a relationship, and someone’s treating you like a spare tire. Now you’re dressing up so nicely to take them out to dinner. We’re afraid you’ll be fooled and will be left with nothing but your underwear.”
Wu Zimo suddenly remembered something and asked him in a low voice, “Are you coming back tonight?”
Mai Dong was startled by his question and quickly replied, “Of course, I’ll come back! I really am just having dinner with Yan Xuming. If you don’t believe me, ask him.”
Mai Dong swore that when he said, ‘If you don’t believe me, ask him,’ he didn’t mean for Du Chuan to actually go and ask Yan Xuming.
He just said it because he knew that, although Du Chuan knew Yan Xuming, their relationship was only that of WeChat friends. He thought Du Chuan wouldn’t bother Yan Xuming with such a trivial matter.
So, five minutes later, Mai Dong tearfully watched Du Chuan talking on the phone with Yan Xuming.
“Hey, President, it’s Du Chuan. Do you remember me? …Yes, yes, right, I’m Xiao Di’s boyfriend and Mai Dong’s roommate. Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to ask, is our Mai-zi having dinner with you tonight? …Oh, yeah? Really? … Ah, nothing, it’s nothing. We just worry about him. He changed into new clothes and put on height-increasing insoles in the dorm. He even borrowed styling mousse from me to do his hair. We thought he was having dinner with that scum woman. Alright, if he’s with you, then we’re reassured. It’s all good now, President, bye-bye.”
Mai Dong’s face turned ashen, “Just ask if you wanted to ask. Why did you have to mention that I used insoles ah!”
The meeting time was 7:00 PM. Mai Dong had prepared a newly released video game cartridge as a gift. A few days ago, Yan Xuming had forwarded a Weibo post about the upcoming release of this game. Mai Dong wasn’t sure if Yan Xuming had bought it.
Mai Dong arrived at the hot pot restaurant at 6:45 PM, only to find Yan Xuming already seated at the table.
His first words were an apology, “Sorry, senior, I’m late.”
Yan Xuming smiled good-naturedly, “It’s not the appointed time yet, it’s me who came early.”
Mai Dong was just about to sit down when he noticed Yan Xuming gazing at him with a smile that wasn’t a smile. He was momentarily unsure whether he should sit or not and asked sluggishly, “What’s wrong?”
Yan Xuming looked at him, “Wearing height-increasing insoles? Doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.”
Mai Dong covered his face with his left hand, dying of shame and anger. He quickly sat down, his voice slightly pained, “No… Du Chuan told you everything, so I just took them out.”
Yan Xuming nodded and handed the menu to Mai Dong. When Mai Dong took it, he seemed to mention it inadvertently, “Which scum woman?”
Mai Dong’s hand trembled, almost dropping the menu to the floor. “No… no scum woman. They just misunderstood.”
Yan Xuming understood, “Did I become a scum woman again?”
Mai Dong looked at him pitifully, “No, no, don’t tease me like that.”
Mai Dong concentrated on ordering as if fleeing.
Yan Xuming didn’t like spicy food, didn’t like pickles, didn’t like pasta, and wasn’t too fond of tomatoes. He liked sweet things and enjoyed sparkling water. These were bits of information Mai Dong had gathered from all corners during his four-year crushing. Whether they were accurate or not, he wasn’t sure.
Considering these “dislikes” and “likes,” Mai Dong ordered a mandarin duck hot pot with bone broth and a combination of mushrooms.
Yan Xuming looked surprised at his unconventional choice of hot pot base, “Don’t you eat spicy food?”
Mai Dong blinked, doubting the accuracy of his little-known information, and cautiously asked, “I thought you don’t eat spicy food?”
Yan Xuming smiled, “Who did you hear that from?”
Mai Dong crossed out his chosen hot pot base and handed the menu to Yan Xuming. “You decide ba. I thought you didn’t like spicy food and also didn’t like tomatoes.”
Yan Xuming reselected the combination of butter and tomato for the hot pot, asking him, “You like spicy food and tomatoes, right?”
Mai Dong nodded.
After ordering, Yan Xuming poured water for Mai Dong.
Mai Dong held his water cup with both hands, lifting it to reach for the water pitcher in Yan Xuming’s hand, resembling a junior employee at a dinner table trying to please a superior. Yan Xuming found it amusing and felt he was cute, but he managed to suppress his laughter, probably afraid that Mai Dong might misunderstand.
Once the water was poured, Mai Dong didn’t drink immediately. Instead, he picked up the neatly wrapped gift.
He was careful when handing it over, afraid that Yan Xuming would not accept it.
“Senior, I saw you forwarding about this game on Weibo. I wasn’t sure if you had bought it, so I took the liberty of preparing it as a gift for you.” Mai Dong’s hand with the gift hovered in the air. Yan Xuming didn’t immediately take it, making Mai Dong retract, thinking he didn’t want to accept his gift. However, unexpectedly, Yan Xuming conjured a box from beside him.
“Why is it always so coincidental? I also prepared a gift for you. But it seems… the gift I prepared is far less valuable than yours. I almost don’t want to give it to you now.” Yan Xuming seemed a bit helpless.
I can’t tell if my boy Yan Xuming is a scum or also a stalker? Hmmmm. 🤔🤔🤔
Very sus of you Yan Xuming to know that Mai Dong likes spicy food and tomatoes.
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ŐωŐ人)
This guy, Mai and his roommateys had me rolling on the floor🤣.
The author’s humor..is so one of a kind👍. I enjoyed the Chapters read up.. it put a smile on my face. Imagine the vanity of adding padded sole to the shoe ..whaoo.
Danke, for new translated Chapter 👍
Finally the date begins!!!
I love Mai Dong’s relationships with his roommates, you can really tell they care for him (even as they highkey embarrass our boy as good brothers do.)Mai Dong is such an interesting character, I’ve been surprised by him since they revealed he doesn’t have a fear of public speaking (so jealous) and that kinda thing juxtaposed against his timidity/overthinking near Yan Xuming is so cute.
Du Chuan is a true stereotypical straight guy😅
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
The roommates are a bunch of busybodies 😭 the secondhand embarrassment i felt for mai dong aaaa