09

 When Song Yu woke up the next day, his head was heavy.

Then 009 said he drank three glasses of wine, not one.

No wonder... he couldn't remember much of what happened last night.

Song Yu huddled at the head of the bed and tried hard to recall.

He treated the boss to barbecue, drank wine, and then the boss took him home... that's about it.

009 couldn't help but curse the pervert in his heart when he thought about what Shen Yize did last night.

However, it couldn't tell the host, as it would definitely be blocked.

It could only prompt: [Host, please think again.]

Song Yu looked down and found that he was wearing pajamas: [I remember changing my pajamas, maybe I wasn't drunk. Has my alcohol tolerance increased?]

009: ...

It finally understood why those fragments liked to bully the host like perverts, they were just... too cute.

Afraid that the host would be tricked by bad men and end up with nothing left, 009 changed to a way of saying it that wouldn't be blocked: [Host, you didn't change your clothes yourself.]

Song Yu was stunned.

Shen Yize even helped him change his clothes?

Song Yu reacted slowly, his expression only changing when he got out of bed and opened the closet to get a change of clothes for the bathroom.

If Shen Yize helped him get his clothes, wouldn't he see his closet full of dresses?

What to do…

Song Yu panicked: 【What to do? He saw all these dresses…】

009 paused for a few seconds: 【Don't worry, he'll definitely think they're your girlfriend's.】

Oh, I see. Song Yu was still uneasy, so he tried sending Shen Yize a message, thanking him for coming home last night, and roughly estimating the cost of the barbecue, then transferring the money to him.

Two minutes later, Shen Yize replied—

【You're welcome.】

【I won't accept the money, save it for next time.】

His tone was similar to usual, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Song Yu put down his phone, and when he pursed his lips, he realized his mouth felt uncomfortable.

His lower back also felt uncomfortable.

He thought he'd been bitten by some insect, so he asked 009 to apply ointment. Only then did he grab his change of clothes and take the basin into the bathroom.

While squeezing toothpaste, Song Yu's finger accidentally touched the toothbrush.

It was a little damp.

Song Yu brought it to his nose and sniffed.

He was quite sensitive to smells. The toothbrush didn't smell musty, but it seemed a little different from usual.

It looked like he'd have to put it in a well-ventilated place.

Song Yu was quite particular about things like toothbrushes and towels; worried about bacteria if they weren't dry, he threw them away and went back to his room to get a spare.

After brushing his teeth, he slowly took off his pajamas.

The mirror was on the other side, so the boy didn't see the fine hickeys on his lower back.

*

That evening, on his way to work, Song Yu passed a cake shop and bought a small cake for Shen Yize.

"Boss, thank you for taking me home last night." He thought that if he didn't like it and returned it, he could eat it himself, so it wouldn't be a waste.

Luckily, Shen Yize accepted it.

The man stared at the boy's reluctant gaze on the cake, his lips slightly raised: "I'll get tired of eating too much; it's better if we each have half."

Then he glanced at the time: "There's still half an hour; let's go to the break room."

Song Yu obediently followed behind.

Shen Yize's lounge was on the second floor, a place Song Yu had never been before. Upon entering, he found it larger than he had imagined, with a bed, sofa, table, and even a bathroom.

Shen Yize had very few personal belongings; the room was tidy and had a faint minty scent.

Song Yu sniffed, and the smell seemed somewhat familiar.

"Sit here," Shen Yize said, pulling out a chair next to the table and sitting opposite him. He then opened a cake box and cut the cake in two.

He gave Song Yu the strawberry portion.

Song Yu was initially a little embarrassed, but then thought that perhaps the other person didn't like strawberries.

The chair in the lounge was a bit high; his toes just barely touched the ground when he sat down. His disposable slippers were too big, loose and wobbly.

White cotton socks squeezed out the only soft flesh on his ankles, as if they could sink in with a gentle press.

Song Yu quietly ate his strawberry cake, head down, when he suddenly heard Shen Yize ask, "Have things been going well with your girlfriend lately?"

Song Yu paused, then looked up.

Shen Yize's expression was indifferent, as if he were just casually mentioning it: "I saw your room was full of her clothes, did you two live together?"

It seemed 009's guess was correct; Shen Yize did indeed believe these dresses belonged to his fictitious girlfriend.

Song Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she began to lie: "We were supposed to live together... but we recently broke up, and I was planning to send the things to her."

Shen Yize raised an eyebrow slightly: "Not suitable?"

"Um..." Song Yu mumbled, not continuing the conversation.

Shen Yize didn't ask any more questions.

Just when Song Yu thought he wouldn't say anything more, the man suddenly said: "So beautiful, you'll find someone suitable."

Being praised for her beauty by Shen Yize felt a little strange.

Song Yu felt a chill run down her spine, unsure of what to say. She didn't finish the last few bites of cake, leaving behind the words, "Boss, I'm going downstairs to work," before quickly changing her shoes and leaving.

In the quiet room ,

Shen Yize placed the scattered cake in front of him.

*

With her online romance over and her creditor no longer in the country, Song Yu had almost no social life except for Zhao Ran's daily reminders to eat.

Before, he would have found it boring, but the thought of being with these men and being forced to wear skirts or do intimate things made him prefer his solitary life.

He couldn't say whether his luck was good or bad. On the one hand, every world has its share of obsessive people; on the other hand, his originally tragic ending had improved.

But now, he was probably considered unlucky.

Because at this moment, the protagonist was in the same noodle shop as him.

Song Yu was sitting alone at a table and hadn't seen Tan Yue until 009 reminded him, at which point he turned around in surprise.

It really was Tan Yue.

The boy was wearing a black shirt, sitting lazily in his chair, looking down at his phone, seemingly unaware of him.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Such an encounter was still quite awkward, so when the owner brought over the beef noodles, Song Yu asked the owner for a takeout box.

When he went to pay before leaving, the owner said someone had already paid.

"That handsome guy in black who sat behind you, wait, where did he go?" the owner exclaimed in surprise. "He also ordered the same bowl as you, paid for it, are you still serving it?"

Song Yu glanced back.

The seat was empty.

It seemed it wasn't a chance encounter; Tan Yue had come looking for him.

Thinking of the threats Tan Yue had made at the hotel, Song Yu instinctively shuddered and immediately took the bag, intending to go home.

The noodle shop owner, being a straightforward person, also packed up Tan Yue's portion and handed it to him: "You two are friends, right? Did you have a fight and that's why you're sitting separately?"

"..."

Song Yu nodded.

"He even paid for your meal after the fight, so he probably wants to make up with you." The owner was actually quite puzzled; the atmosphere between the two young men seemed off. They didn't seem like friends, more like... the way he and his wife argued when they were dating.

But he didn't want to pry into other people's business, so he just told Song Yu to take both bowls of noodles home.

Song Yu: "..."

He couldn't refuse, and carried the bag containing the two bowls of noodles back to his apartment complex.

Recently, for some reason, the roads in the neighborhood that hadn't been repaired for a year were suddenly paved, and even the streetlights were installed.

The sun had already set, and the temperature had dropped, making it a comfortable place.

If he hadn't run into Tan Yue, he probably would have taken a stroll around the neighborhood after dinner.

Song Yu was walking a little fast when he was suddenly stopped by a little girl as he turned a corner. This little girl was the daughter of the florist at the entrance.

The little girl was holding a bouquet of roses: "Brother, someone said they wanted to give you flowers."

Song Yu: "..."

He immediately turned around, but didn't see Tan Yue.

Song Yu bent down: "Did a very tall brother buy these flowers?"

The little girl nodded emphatically.

Sure enough.

Seeing the little girl staring at him with her big, watery eyes, Song Yu felt awkward. After a while, he made up an excuse and said tactfully, "Brother had something else to give you—"

Before he could finish, his hand felt light.

Song Yu turned around, and Tan Yue had appeared out of nowhere again, helping him carry the takeout box.

"..."

The child reacted quickly, shoving the bouquet into Song Yu's hands: "Good friends shouldn't fight!"

Then he left.

Song Yu, holding the roses, felt a little awkward and glanced at Tan Yue.

The other was looking straight ahead, his expression similar to usual—lazy, as if he didn't want to talk to anyone.

Song Yu didn't know what the other was up to, and standing there felt awkward, so he silently carried the flowers home.

When he was almost at the door, Tan Yue suddenly hung the takeout bag on the doorknob, took his portion, turned, and went downstairs, his figure quickly disappearing.

Song Yu was a little confused: [What's wrong with him?]

009: [Maybe his voice was poisoned.]

Song Yu: "?"

The person was already gone, so Song Yu didn't think about it anymore, taking the flowers and beef noodles into the house.

For the next three days, he encountered Tan Yue every day at noon when he went downstairs for lunch, and roses often appeared at his door. Everyone on the floor knew about it, saying he'd hooked a man's soul.

Song Yu: "..."

Although it had nothing to do with him, he felt that Tan Yue's state didn't seem like he had a soul.

According to the plot, Song Yu shouldn't have any further contact with Tan Yue, but the other person keeps appearing in his field of vision, silently doing things that seem like he's pursuing her. So today, at lunchtime, Song Yu didn't go downstairs. He hid in his room, took out his phone, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to send the other person a message.

He was blocked on WeChat, and the phone number had been deleted from his contacts since that day.

Song Yu found the message from the other person among a bunch of spam messages, edited a message, pondered for a few seconds, and then clicked send.

【Don't do this anymore.】

Almost instantly, Tan Yue replied to the message.

Incessantly.

【Didn't you block me? Didn't you not like me anymore? Why are you still sending me messages?】

【Regret?】

【But I'm having a great time right now. I go out with friends every day, and I'm almost too busy to schedule anything. I don't want to be in a relationship at all.】

【Want to ask me out? But I'm really busy. I only have time around noon.】

【Not much, just two hours.】

【If you want to ask me out, I'll reluctantly make time for you.】 Song

Yu: "..."

He was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of text messages, and the overly strong scent of roses in the room was making him dizzy.

Not knowing what to reply, Song Yu decided to deal with the nearly rotten roses first.

He threw the bouquet from a few days ago into a trash bag, went to the door to change his shoes, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw Tan Yue squatting against the wall, staring intently at his phone. Tan Yue

seemed surprised to see him open the door, his expression momentarily blank before he casually got up.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Song Yu stood there, momentarily considering closing the door and going back inside, but it was lunchtime, and the hallway was bustling with people, almost everyone glancing at him as they passed.

Song Yu's cheeks began to burn; feeling a little embarrassed, he gritted his teeth and grabbed Tan Yue's arm.

Fortunately, Tan Yue cooperated and followed him inside.

Once inside, Song Yu let go and closed the door.

He turned around, not expecting Tan Yue to be standing so close, and bumped right into Tan Yue's chest.

Touching his nose, still feeling frustrated from the past few days, Song Yu complained to Tan Yue, "Don't send me flowers anymore..."

Tan Yue suddenly turned his face away, "You blocked me a minute ago, and now you're acting all cute with me?"

Song Yu felt like he couldn't keep up with the other's thought process.

Fortunately, this time Tan Yue spoke up first, "Forget about the lie you told me."

Song Yu: "Huh?"

"About pretending to be a girl and lying to me about dating."

"...Oh." Song Yu thought Tan Yue was quite polite, and whispered, "Thank you."

"But I gave you my first kiss and everything."

"..."

"Not only my first kiss, you saw my whole body." Tan Yue scratched his head, his expression like a resentful husband who had been taken advantage of and dumped. "I usually wear a short-sleeved shirt under my basketball uniform, and I swore that I would save my first kiss for my wife."

The boy intentionally or unintentionally revealed how conservative he was, making Song Yu feel guilty. He thought for a moment, "It's okay, if I don't say anything, people will think you still have your first kiss."

"It's easy to forget..."

Just as he finished speaking, he felt a tall figure looming over him.

Song Yu stepped back and felt her back hit the door.

Tan Yue leaned closer and closer. The boy, who exercised regularly, breathed hot, flushing the boy's originally fair cheeks.

Song Yu tried to turn his face away, but the other suddenly spoke: "Three times."

"...Wh-what?"

Song Yu's expression was a little slow, yet it made him feel incredibly aroused. Tan Yue's Adam's apple bobbed: "The night we kissed, I took three cold showers."

Song Yu's shoulders trembled slightly.

Even he, in his dazed state, knew what the other meant.

Trapped in this corner, he felt very uncomfortable and called out softly, "Tan Yue..."

Tan Yue's shoulders stiffened at the sound of his voice, a surge of heat rising within him, his voice hoarse: "Hmm?"

"Don't push me..."

Tan Yue then realized that they were very close; he was almost touching Song Yu's face. The other seemed unable to catch his breath, his lips slightly parted,

revealing a bit of his soft tongue.

Tan Yue's mind went blank, as if he were instantly transported back to the night he kissed Song Yu.

He swallowed so much of the other person's saliva, kissing him until he cried, unable to push him away, only obediently placing his hands on his shoulders, letting him kiss him however he pleased. So

incredibly obedient.

Tan Yue had thought that in his future relationships, kisses would only involve touching lips, not mouths.

He wouldn't accept swallowing someone else's saliva.

Just like that night, after Song Yu pressed his lips to his, he only wanted to do the same, lightly pressing his lips again.

But Song Yu's lips were so soft and fragrant; with just a gentle press, their lips parted.

He couldn't help but want to explore further.

And how could someone's saliva even smell so good?

Staring at that beautiful face, Tan Yue lost his mind, almost blurting out, "I want to swallow your saliva."

Song Yu froze: "...What?"

Tan Yue then realized what he had said, immediately taking two steps back, but not much, still trapping Song Yu in front of him.

"You have to take responsibility for how I became like this."

Sure enough, he came looking for revenge.

Song Yu's eyelids drooped: "How do you want to take responsibility?"

Tan Yue glanced at him: "I told you, I saved my first kiss for my wife."

"..." Song Yu's ears burned, and he roughly understood what he meant. "But you only like girls."

Tan Yue seemed to have finally found a way out, and his tone became somewhat urgent: "That was before. I was very resistant to doing those things with boys, but I can accept it now."

Seeing that Song Yu was looking down and not speaking, he urged him back and forth.

"What do you think?"

"I don't treat you like a girl."

"My family is very open-minded, and they agree to bring boys home."

"Try it? I feel very comfortable kissing you, so we should be able to do other things too."

...

At first it was okay, but the later words became stranger and stranger. Song Yu's face was burning just from hearing them, and his whole mind was a little dull.

But he still remembered the plot of not having dated the protagonist, and stubbornly refused to budge.

In the end, he even went so far as to portray himself as particularly bad.

"I, I... have a lot of experience, it's not fair to you."

Tan Yue paused, and then asked in a sour tone: "How many have you dated?"

Song Yu didn't speak.

He probably couldn't count them all.

"They kissed you? They did everything?"

Song Yu remained silent, her ears flushed, her thick eyelashes trembling.

Tan Yue ground his teeth, staring at the beautiful face before him.

So beautiful, she must have many men surrounding her, and so naive and innocent, she'd probably be easily fooled by a few sweet words. And once

she'd won him over, how could she not do those things? She'd probably be itching to do it already.

"Tan... Tan Yue..."

the boy's voice trembled slightly, "My legs are so sore..."

Tan Yue then realized he'd been pressing her against the door.

He felt a surge of heat, and instead of backing away, he grabbed Song Yu's waist and pulled her to sit at the foot of the bed.

Song Yu gasped softly, her voice weak and helpless.

Tan Yue spread his arms, placing them on either side of the handsome young man's legs: "Are they still contacting you? Have you completely broken off contact?"

Sensing the unfriendly tone, Song Yu didn't dare to maintain her philandering persona and immediately nodded.

Tan Yue's expression returned to normal: "Then it's just me now."

Then, as if afraid Song Yu wouldn't believe him, he added, "I'm different from them; those things will wait until after we're married."

Song Yu felt incredibly awkward.

Even for the sake of the plot, he still didn't agree, finally relenting and saying they should be friends first.

Tan Yue stared at him for a long time, then suddenly chuckled: "Want me to pursue you?"

Song Yu was surprised, but immediately hummed in agreement.

Tan Yue seemed thoughtful.

Thinking about it, Song Yu was so beautiful; he was probably always the one being pursued. He finally liked him, took the initiative to pursue him, only to find out he was a straight man—he must be heartbroken.

Oh well, he'd pursue him

then. Having figured this out, Tan Yue straightened up, took two steps back, and asked in a light tone, "Are you hungry?"

Song Yu had only eaten a piece of bread this morning; it was almost one o'clock—no wonder he was hungry.

He sounded a little aggrieved: "You're always following me around, I don't even want to go downstairs to eat anymore."

"What do you want to eat? I'll come over and eat with you every day from now on."

After Tan Yue finished speaking, his gaze fell on his slender waist again, "I felt you were so light when I hugged you just now." Song Yu didn't want to hear him say that, so he picked up his phone and prepared to go downstairs to eat. Suddenly, Zhao Ran called.

"Hey, Brother Zhao."

The background noise on the other end was loud, and Zhao Ran's voice sounded a little tired: "Xiao Yu, did you just wake up?"

"No..." Song Yu guessed that Zhao Ran called because he hadn't replied to his messages, "I'm about to go eat."

"That's good." Zhao Ran laughed, "I'll be back in a couple of days."

The two chatted for a bit, and even Tan Yue, who didn't know who was calling, could feel Song Yu's relaxation. He felt incredibly jealous, but he didn't say anything.

He waited until Song Yu hung up and went out before following him, also taking the trash bag from the doorway.

*

On the way to dinner, Tan Yue urged Song Yu to let him unblock him. After that, it was as if the other person was making up for the messages from the period when they hadn't been in contact.

Song Yu couldn't keep up with them all.

Fortunately, the progress bar didn't rewind, probably because the two of them weren't dating, so it didn't disrupt the plot.

Song Yu began to eagerly anticipate Shang Linchu's appearance, hoping the two protagonists could officially meet and the plot could get back on track.

009: [Host, Shang Linchu has arrived at the airport.]

Before Song Yu could react, he received a message from his creditor—

[Immediately coming over.]

Song Yu's shoulders stiffened.

During Shang Linchu's time abroad, he hadn't been sending messages frequently, but they had maintained contact.

He had simply ignored them.

Someone like Shang Linchu would probably be very angry if ignored. Song Yu wanted to run away, but the other party was ultimately his creditor; he couldn't escape.

Sure enough.

The other party seemed to have guessed his thoughts: [I've found your brother's whereabouts.]

[Stay home obediently.]

[Don't wander off.]

Just reading the last two messages, one might think it was a husband returning from a business trip sending text messages to his waiting wife.

Song Yu realized he couldn't avoid it, so he first messaged Tan Yue, saying he was busy all day.

After sitting anxiously for an hour, he heard a knock at the door.

Reluctantly, he opened it.

Shang Linchu was without bodyguards today, and dressed casually, looking much younger than usual.

As soon as the man entered, Song Yu tensed up.

"After all this time, are you still afraid of me?" Shang Linchu chuckled softly, then muttered something else.

Song Yu didn't hear him clearly, but didn't dare ask.

He was nervous around his creditor, unlike his casual attitude towards Tan Yue, so he proactively asked, "Would you like some water?"

Shang Linchu glanced at him first, then his gaze swept across the table, pointing to the only water glass: "Is that yours?"

Song Yu had a bad feeling: "...Yes." Sure enough

.

"Then I'll use your glass."

It didn't sound like a discussion.

Song Yu regretted asking first, but didn't dare object, and poured him a glass of water.

Shang Linchu sat down elegantly, took a sip of water, and then handed the bag in his hand to Song Yu: "I saw this on a business trip, and I thought it would suit you."

Song Yu reluctantly accepted it.

"Look."

The man slowly opened the bag, and upon seeing the fluffy cat ears inside, the boy's cheeks immediately flushed red. He stared at the man with a shameful expression, his tone a restrained embarrassment: "I...I won't wear this!"

The man chuckled: "Oh, wrong one."

Then, he took a jewelry box from his jacket pocket: "This is the one."

"..."

Realizing he'd been tricked, Song Yu's expression clearly displeased.

He pouted, completely ignoring the man's gift.

Small in stature, but with a big temper.

But Shang Linchu's voice was incredibly indulgent: "The bracelet is seven million. If you want it, it can offset the same debt."

Song Yu looked at Shang Linchu incredulously, about to take it, when the other suddenly pulled away.

"?"

Song Yu thought he'd been tricked again, looking down at Shang Linchu, only to find the other staring at his phone on the table.

The phone was already on silent, but the screen was up, displaying a call from "Tan Yue."

Song Yu reached out to hang up, but his wrist was grabbed.

The man's tone was tinged with amusement, but it didn't reach his eyes; instead, it suppressed a frenzied jealousy: "Your little boyfriend called."

Song Yu felt the man's warmth on his wrist, slowly spreading to his limbs. He didn't know if it was the man's overwhelming aura, but his legs instinctively went weak.

The next moment,

the man whispered in his ear like a demon: "Does he know you're about to wear cat ears in front of another man?"

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