Lu Qi had an emoticon saved to his mobile phone.

Two cartoon characters were having a conversation, and a dialogue box appeared above one’s head. He said to the other character: I like your works so much.

Then the other character took the dialogue box and held it in his arms while sleeping.

During the holiday when Lu Qi’s parents discovered he was gay, he was gradually healed by the love of his fans. This emoticon was his state during that time.

Lu Qi also knew that love on the internet was unreliable and could be overthrown in the blink of an eye, but when he was really maliciously attacked by so many strangers, he still inevitably felt depressed.

Like a little mushroom that withered and drooped after being beaten by the wind and rain.

He posted a screenshot of his WeChat retrieval interface on Weibo, as well as the receipt of the case from the police station. Ordinary people would inevitably be at a loss when confronting a behemoth like capital, but Lu Qi still believed in the fairness of law, and at least the hot search had been removed.

It was just that it would take some time to wait for the results, and netizens who were instigated by trolls and didn’t know the truth had already turned his comments area into a mess.

[Whoever calls the police first is innocent, is that it?]

. . .

[Aiyo, the last person who said their account was hacked was that university professor who harassed first-year students. Do perverts like you share the same brain?]

. . . 

[You actually called the police. You won’t be slapped in the face, right? (covers face while laughing)]

. . . 

[The victim even sent you a WeChat code, but you self-destructed here and even made bogus accusations. Tsk, tsk, you are really thick-skinned]

Lu Qi even received private messages threatening his personal safety.

There was no telling how many were trolls and how many were passers-by who just wanted to “do justice” without knowing the truth.

The voices of “believers” began to become inconspicuous among the doubts that flooded the screen. Lu Qi temporarily disconnected from the internet and didn’t read any online news for three days, waiting for a report from the police.

On the fourth day, he was dug out of his nest by his cousin, Li Yimiao.

His cousin—a bright and savory little 0 from head to foot. He hooked Lu Qi’s neck and almost knocked him down.

“Ge! Don’t listen to those old dogs farting on the internet. What kind of man can’t you find? Would you still go harass that rotten man who looks like he has a kidney deficiency?^[1] Li Yimiao said: “Let’s go! I’ll take you to have fun! Let’s find a man!”

Lu Qi had still been sleeping before opening the door for him. His hair was stuck in bunches here and there, and there was a red mark on his cheek. He stared blankly at his cousin, who was looking through his clothes in the closet.

He calmed down after a while and hugged the clothes his cousin gave him, rubbing his eyes as he said: “It’s better not to go. I still have……”

He paused.

What else was there? The last Party A canceled their order, his private messages were full of malicious design invitations, and there was no response to a business proposal that was being discussed.

There was nothing that could be done.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Li Yimiao pushed him into the bathroom. “It’s time to go out and have fun, why are you growing mushrooms at home? What a waste of your face, ah. Ge, if I looked like you, I would switch men three times a year.”

Lu Qi’s muffled voice sounded from the bathroom, very low: “Why three…..can’t there be just one?”

“Ge, do you still have this ambition?” Li Yimiao touched his chin and thought about how his Ge looked just now.

Like a sleepy little rabbit being taken out of its nest, its eyes red, sweet and soft, making people want to pet it.

He burst out laughing, holding onto the bathroom door as he guffawed. “Ge, just think about it. Today, Didi will take you to see the world and realize how sought-after you are. Those who scold you on the internet are just idiots.”

In the real world, few people who knew Lu Qi disliked him. Li Yimiao had never met a person as good as Lu Qi. He was charming and good-looking, had a gentle temperament, and always considered the other person’s feelings first in everything.

He didn’t have much contact with his cousin before junior high school. Lu Qi was what parents called a typical example of a standard that could not be met by others. He started participating in stray cat rescue in junior high, donated part of his living expenses to primary school students living in impoverished rural areas, and had outstanding academic performance. After hearing many times about how outstanding his cousin was, he began to instinctively hate that name. After all, this was the legendary “other people’s outstanding child.”

He felt that this cousin, whom he had only met a few times, was a temperless bleeding heart.

It wasn’t until Li Yumiao’s parents discovered his sexual orientation and several “educational” sessions failed that on the way to school, he was stopped by several burly men and dragged into a van.

He had long overheard his parents talk about it. They planned to send him to some institute for “treatment.” When most of his body was stuffed into the vehicle, he was completely desperate.

But Lu Qi appeared on a small electric eMule, like a beam of light piercing through heavy clouds. Lu Qi, who was also in his third year of high school at the time, looked neat and gentle, his skin so white that it practically glowed in the midsummer sun. Seeing his cousin being stuffed into the van, Lu Qi was stunned for a moment, then decisively rushed over on the small eMule.

Li Yimiao saw Lu Qi’s firm, bright eyes between the arms of those strong men, and then the small eMule in shopping center colors ran rampant and knocked down two men. Lu Qi reached out to grab him, and he held that slender, beautiful hand and quickly climbed onto the eMule and was led away by his cousin.

The summer sun was bright and hot, and the shadows of the trees cast mottled shadows on Lu Qi’s slightly thin shoulders and back. Li Yimiao sat behind, feeling that his hands and feet were slowly warming up.

He didn’t know if it was because of the sunshine or because of his cousin.

Later, he dropped out of school to work and escaped from that suffocating home, and Lu Qi would help him every month. Li Yimiao couldn’t understand how when it came to such a good person as his cousin, strangers who didn’t know him at all and never met him could say evil things without knowing the truth.

When the two were taking a taxi on the side of the road, Li Yimiao proudly pointed to the dark circles under his eyes: “I spent the whole night setting them straight. Fuck, I scolded them until three accounts were banned. If that kind of person were standing in front of me, I would give them a left hook, then kick them to the ground and beat them to pieces…..”

He gestured and danced, but he was not as tall as Lu Qi, and was so thin that the whole thing was total bluff and bluster. Looking at the shining water droplets at the ends of his eyes, Lu Qi finally couldn’t help but laugh.

His eyelashes cast shadows under the streetlight. His eyes were bent, and there seemed to be a forest stream reflecting the sky flowing inside.

Li Yimiao’s voice stopped suddenly, and he murmured after a moment: “Ge…..why are your eyes so good-looking…..”

“You’re good-looking too.” Lu Qi pulled him into the car. “I’ll just find a corner to sit in for a while. You go play by yourself and don’t worry about me. I just want to sit in a place with people for a while.”

Li Yimiao laughed, haha, and agreed, but his eyes rolled around in circles.

Lu Qi looked at him suspiciously. “What are you planning?”

Li Yimiao: “I’m telling you, you don’t have to be afraid.”

Lu Qi: “……”

“I…..I found you an extremely handsome guy…..” Li Yimiao said with a guilty conscience, “Anyway, you broke up with your ex-boyfriend, and you don’t have much work during this period, so why not…..”

Lu Qi said decisively: “Driver, stop the car!”

“No, ge!” Li Yimiao rushed over and hugged Lu Qi’s waist. “What would I let happen between you and him? Just chat with him and relax, aiyo~ My best brother~ I really spent a lot of effort to find this perfect dish, why don’t you just take a look~”

. . . . . . .

Unable to bear Li Yimiao’s puppy-like whining, Lu Qi finally took a seat at the bar, intending to explain things clearly to the other person. He didn’t have the energy to enter a new relationship for the time being.

The lights at the bar were low and dim, with young people dancing to the rhythm on the dance floor. The noisy environment and rhythmic music at last dispelled some of his cold unease.

Lu Qi held a cup of Coke and said to himself: You see, in reality, everyone is too busy and has no time to attack a stranger. So don’t worry, these things will pass soon.

While he was lost in thought, a pair of long legs flashed in the corner of his eye, and someone sat down across from him.

Lu Qi looked up and was startled for a moment upon seeing the appearance of his “blind date” partner.

It was unknown if he was mixed-race, but his facial features were particularly deep-set and handsome. He was full of vigor, with thick black hair that curled down between his refined eyebrows. The shape of his eyes was completely different from Lu Qi’s. The tails of those eyes were narrow and sharp, regarding people with an indifferent and imposing look.

There was a sense of wealth all over his body, and he had a roguish aura as he sat with his legs crossed like a CG model.

If it weren’t for the identifying flirtatious burgundy shirt, Lu Qi would have thought he’d recognized the wrong person.

But to be on the safe side, Lu Qi still asked: “Are you Lion?”

The man didn’t respond, but raised his eyebrows in surprise, eyes gleaming. He looked Lu Qi up and down and chuckled after a moment: “Yeah, that’s me.”

He added: “Sorry, nobody’s called me that name for a long time, so I couldn’t react for a moment.”

His attitude was somewhat proud and haughty, which confused Lu Qi a little bit. Was this kind of persona more popular on blind dates these days?

When Lu Qi looked at him, the other person looked back with some unexplained amusement in his eyes.

Lu Qi appeared handsome and clean, with a temperament somewhere between a boy and a young man. Perhaps he himself didn’t notice, but countless eyes all over the bar were sneaking peeks over here, either veiled or intense, most of them looking at Lu Qi.

Sitting here talking business with such a “little friend” made him feel unscrupulous and guilty.

The onstage performance officially started, and rock music suddenly began. In order for the other party to hear him, he had to get up and sit next to the boy.

“Don’t make an appointment here next time.” He leaned closer to Lu Qi and said, “Let’s go to the hotel opposite.”

Lu Qi: ……

Ah? Was this a blind date or a hookup? So direct?

Lu Qi’s ears felt hot. Amidst the deafening music, he had to amplify his voice to say: “There is no next time. I don’t think we’re suitable…..”

The music was too loud, and the word “we” was unclear.

The man only heard that it was unsuitable. He frowned, and continued to lean closer to speak in Lu Qi’s ear: “If you think it’s expensive, we can discuss it…..but one time isn’t impossible, right?”

After he said this, he stared blankly as that fair ear covered by soft black hair reddened little by little, finally turning the color of strawberry milk.

He had a gut feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Lu Qi stared at him, his big eyes wide, like some kind of soft little animal with puffed up fur.

“Expensive…..” His voice shook slightly. “You, you…..you…..”

Seeing Lu Qi like this, the other party’s eyebrows knitted even tighter, and there was a hint of chill on that handsome and flamboyant face. “We negotiated the price beforehand and the deposit was paid. Do you intend to go back on your word?”

Lu Qi: ……

Mother! Was that what he meant? Did that little fool Li Yimiao find him a little duck?

His mind was filled with cries of “quack, quack, quack.” He didn’t know where to put his hands and feet for a moment, and it made his face heat up, the temperature even starting to spread to his neck. 

Wait…..

Prostitution was illegal!

Lu Qi couldn’t help but cast a vague glance at this man.

The dark burgundy shirt had two buttons undone. The brand was unknown, but the fabric was of high quality, and the other party also had a beautiful silver chain around his neck. It shined above the collarbones, and the chest muscles filled out those clothes just right. They were not overly large, very pleasing to the eye.

This was nothing more than a top-rate sex worker.

But…..

He was breaking the law!

Lu Qi’s little brain, which had been stagnant for several days, was working rapidly. He thought that Li Yimiao, who had solicited a prostitute, had also broken the law. If he reported this little duck and escorted Li Yimiao to turn himself in, could he get a lighter sentence?

Seeing that the little duck was obviously impatient, Lu Qi turned sideways and silently switched on his phone’s recording function. 

He had also recorded the phone call to that dog Lin Yuan. It was a pity that Lin Yuan did not directly admit to hacking the account, so it couldn’t be used as direct evidence. This time, he had learned his lesson, and made his position clear when he opened his mouth: “There won’t be a next time for sure!!!”

Fearing that the recording wouldn’t be clear, he was straightforward and decisive, like a child promising to his kindergarten teacher that he wouldn’t make any more mistakes.

The man: ……

If there wouldn’t be, there wouldn’t be. It wasn’t like this entertainment reporter needed to suddenly express his determination and try to scare him.

He stood up, his eyes cold and narrow: “The deposit is non-refundable, and there is no need for a person like you who has no credibility to be in this business anymore.”

Lu Qi almost laughed. Then thank you very much, are you quite proud?

Well, he did have the capital to be proud. His face, waist, and legs were all very expensive.

The other party had already said the word “deposit,” Lu Qi cautiously and prudently started fishing on behalf of law enforcement: “I can give you the balance, but I’m a little tired today and I don’t want to have sexual relations with you. However, I can’t spend money in vain. How about you…..be my model and let me draw your figure?”

He would normally be too embarrassed to say the words “sexual relations,” but his phone was recording, so he had to speak clearly and keep the little duck still. He was about to send a text message to the police.

The other person continued to stare at him. His eyes turned from cold to blank, then cleared bit by bit and finally turned into a natural smile. Unfortunately, the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes, which were as bone-chilling as two knives flashing toward him.

Lu Qi didn’t take the opportunity to send the message. 

The man didn’t speak for a long moment.

From the angle at which he was looking down, the neat young man sat with his head down, his long eyelashes fluttering like the wings of butterflies.

He was obviously a little panicked, but pretending to be calm. It was a little cute.

The annoyance of being mistaken for a duck was halfway suppressed, and he couldn’t help but think, could there be such a coincidence? That duck was also called “Lion?”

What quality. Using the same name as him.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to resolve this, he heard Lu Qi say softly: “That…..you also have to take off your clothes anyway to provide services. Being a model means you don’t have to move, and you’ll save energy, right?”

“……” The man smiled like a fox with a full belly teasing a rabbit. “I’m at your service, so of course I’ll strive to satisfy you. How far should I remove my clothing? Can I leave my underwear on? Or…..”

With a smile in his voice, he said: “Total nudity?”

He said these two words in standard English, and the last note was slightly hoarse, ticklish to the ear.

When speaking of this, Lu Qi considered it seriously. “You can wear underwear.”

“Then…..thank you.” He suppressed a smile, and saw from the corner of his eye a man stand up in the opposite booth and look around. He was wearing a high imitation burgundy shirt of the same style.

“Tsk.” The man frowned and glanced sideways at Lu Qi.

The boy’s profile looked as white as handcrafted porcelain under the dim lights of the bar.

How could he dare ask for money for that kind of thing? Who should be giving money to whom?

But Lu Qi didn’t see the other burgundy shirt, and was still thinking about when to call the police when he saw the man next to him suddenly turn sideways, as if he was about to leave.

Was he getting suspicious?

Lu Qi took a deep breath and tried his best to act like an experienced customer. He grabbed the man’s slender hand and rubbed it ambiguously twice.

“Ch…..charge some interest.”

Under his gaze, the little duck suddenly laughed wantonly.

Lu Qi was baffled.

Then the man bent down and rubbed his head, turned around, and left.

Lu Qi: Ahhhh!!

His chance to get leniency for himself ran away!!

Where was Li Yimiao, that abominable legal illiterate?!

. . . . . . . 

When he came out the back door of the bar, the assistant waiting outside lowered his head and stepped forward to put a coat on the man. He waited for a moment, but the boss didn’t move. He looked up doubtfully and saw that the boss was in a good mood with his lips curved up, that flawless face pleased as punch.

The assistant: ? ? ?

It was clear that the other party had gotten the address wrong, and the boss’s trip was in vain, but he still seemed to be in a good mood?

He asked in a low voice: “Mr. Mu, do you still plan to look for that reporter?”

“I do.” Mu Nanqiao touched the back of his hand. There were still a few red marks on it. That little friend had rubbed it very hard.

“I’ll sell the news so that it gets out before the Dragon Boat Festival…..” He smiled. “Best wishes to my dear uncle for the festival.

The assistant followed two steps, but the boss paused again.

The assistant: “Mr. Mu?”

Mu Nanqiao thought for a moment, then turned to the side and tapped the back door of the bar. “There’s a duck named “Lion” in there. Find him and tell him to change his name, then get out of Chongxin District and do business elsewhere.”

The assistant: ? ? ?

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[1] Kidney deficiency commonly means not being able to “get it up.” ⮐

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Chapter Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter Six