Shoutout to Kari for the commission!
He recalled Cheng Yufei’s analyses, which sounded somewhat ridiculous about “liking” and “getting hooked”, entirely illogical and naturally hard to believe.
Yet at that moment, Zhou Shirui found himself harboring the same absurd thought.
This was a troublesome situation.
If that were true and it ran counter to what he’d previously imagined, Zhou Shirui pursed his lips and, without hesitation, withdrew his hand.
The moment he pulled his hand away, the warmth vanished, and he regained his composure.
In any case, perhaps he’d misread the situation, but he didn’t like being so intimate with others, especially since Le Cheng’s current attitude was hard to fathom.
Le Cheng felt the emptiness in his palm, but he wasn’t particularly surprised.
After all, he’d gone into it expecting Zhou Shirui to reject him from the start. The fact that Zhou Shirui hadn’t questioned what he was doing had already moved Le Cheng deeply.
After all, he’d just wanted to hold hands, not make a complete fool of himself.
Having successfully taken that first step and completed today’s mission, Le Cheng felt quite pleased with himself. After all, he wasn’t all that used to holding hands with others either.
“!!!!”
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd ahead. Le Cheng glanced over and, following the crowd’s gaze, spotted numerous drones in the sky, their tails lit up with colorful lights, performing synchronized somersaults.
“Wow!!” Le Cheng exclaimed, instantly forgetting the awkwardness from moments before. He instinctively tugged at Zhou Shirui’s shirttail. “Look, this is so cool!!”
Zhou Shirui looked up at the sky.
Because of this unexpected show, the people who had been scattered about the playground strolling quickly gathered around.
Le Cheng and Zhou Shirui found themselves surrounded. They hadn’t been standing close enough to begin with, and the moment the crowd surged toward them, they were separated.
Le Cheng loved this kind of dazzling spectacle, just as he loved setting off fireworks during the Lunar New Year and he kept looking up, grinning, completely oblivious to where Zhou Shirui had gone.
Zhou Shirui was tall and naturally stood out in the crowd. He glanced around but had no intention of going back.
Yet his eyes still found Le Cheng.
Le Cheng was looking up at the sky, his face tilted upward. Colorful light streamed down from above, breaking into irregular shapes as it fell upon his fair, soft cheeks, casting a soft halo of light around his profile.
Le Cheng wasn’t short, but he wasn’t particularly tall either, so he didn’t stand out much in the crowd. Someone bumped into him, but he was so engrossed in looking at the sky that he didn’t react, he just swayed slightly to the side from the impact.
Zhou Shirui furrowed his brow. After a moment’s pause, he pushed through the crowd without hesitation, reached out, and gently turned Le Cheng around, positioning him in front of him.
Le Cheng was taken aback for a second; only when he turned around did he see Zhou Shirui. The crowd was letting out waves of gasps at the formation the drone was creating, so he asked loudly, “What’s up—?”
Zhou Shirui looked at his long, curled eyelashes: “ …Nothing. Keep watching.”
Le Cheng thought for a moment about what had just happened and realized what was going on. He turned his head and asked loudly, “Were you afraid I’d get bumped into again?”
Zhou Shirui looked at him but said nothing.
Le Cheng didn’t think much of it. After a moment’s thought, he said happily and loudly, “Zhou Shirui, you’re so sweet—!”
Even though he didn’t like him, he was still quite responsible, he hadn’t neglected his duties as a boyfriend.
The crowd fell silent. Zhou Shirui lowered his eyelashes, while Le Cheng’s eyes crinkled with a gentle smile, his gaze sparkling with tiny flecks of light, as if everything that had just happened was perfectly natural.
It seemed he’d read too much into it.
Le Cheng had suddenly taken his hand, it was just a casual gesture, perhaps a habit left over from his ex-boyfriend.
After watching the drone show, Le Cheng was still not quite satisfied. As the crowd dispersed, he stayed by Zhou Shirui’s side and couldn’t help but chatter on: “I never would’ve thought our school had people who could fly drones. That’s so impressive, and their maneuvers were all so synchronized!”
Le Cheng: “Most importantly, they put on a free show!”
Le Cheng added emphatically, “What nice people.”
Zhou Shirui listened to his somewhat chatty ramblings, turned around without stopping him and said softly, “I’ll walk you back.”
Le Cheng nodded. As they strolled to the dorm entrance, Zhou Shirui turned to leave but was suddenly called back.
“Zhou Shirui.”
He turned around.
Le Cheng was standing right in front of him, tilting his face up slightly, his eyes sparkling: “Will you be back at this time tomorrow?”
Zhou Shirui remained silent.
He hadn’t used phrases like “I want to be with you” or “I want to ask you out”—those slightly ambiguous words that make it hard to say no.
Le Cheng seemed full of anticipation. His expression was focused, as if he were waiting wholeheartedly for his answer.
Zhou Shirui didn’t completely rule it out: “We’ll see.”
Le Cheng broke into a smile: “Really? That’s great.”
It was as if he’d already agreed to it.
“Bye then.” Le Cheng waved at him, turned around, and happily walked back into the dorm.
As soon as he got back, with nothing else to do, he pulled out his phone and opened Douyin.
He was prepared for only a few dozen likes, but when he looked down, he saw “99+” in the notifications bar.
Le Cheng’s heart started pounding. He tapped on his notifications and found that the like count had skyrocketed to over 2,000.
Was this… a mini-viral hit?
In just three short hours, the like count had already reached 2,000. That meant Douyin would push more traffic his way, and his video was on track to hit 10,000 likes.
Le Cheng looked at the view count which had long since surpassed 10,000 and happily slapped his thigh; his follower count had also risen to nearly 200.
[Wanwan: Holy cr*p, this art is so awesome!]
[Barala Energy: Thank you, Madam, for coming down to earth.]
[Tomato Master: The ancient Greek god of painting [Rose]]
[This Servant Wants to Report Consort Xi’s Adultery: Proclaim! Bestow the title of “Master Artist” upon her!]
Of course, aside from the comments, there was also a bunch of weird, low-res little character memes.
Just as Le Cheng had expected, someone had already sent him a private message asking if he was taking commissions and what his rates were.
Some people even asked if there was an original image without the watermark, and if they could use it as a profile picture.
As a seasoned artist, Le Cheng naturally added a watermark before uploading it.
Le Cheng politely turned down everyone one by one, turned off his phone, and still felt really happy.
It was quite unexpected.
Is this what they mean by “where there’s a will, there’s a way”?
Although he’d been reincarnated into the body of a penniless college student, luckily, his very first post went a little viral on Douyin.
Le Cheng pondered: Could it be that he was a natural-born social media sensation?
Le Cheng scrolled through his inbox for a while longer, continuing to politely decline commission requests.
There was a reason he wasn’t taking on commissions right now. The viral Douyin was something he’d drawn specifically to get the commission approved, it wasn’t in his usual style, and he didn’t really like it either.
Besides, he was too busy right now; if he took on more work, he wouldn’t be able to finish on time. He wanted to stick to the platform, it was safe and trouble-free.
It would be much simpler and more convenient to post the door number after the artwork was approved.
Tan Xiaobai returned half an hour later, just as Le Cheng was working overtime on other commissions.
“You’re back so soon. Did you go see the drone show?”
“I did.” Le Cheng paused and stretched. “You went too? I didn’t even notice you there.”
“I was in the very back row, but I think I spotted your boyfriend. Being tall really does have its perks,” Tan Xiaobai said. After finishing, he chuckled, “So, strolling around the playground at night, wasn’t that the epitome of pure romance? Really helps bring you closer, right?”
Le Cheng nodded: “It was okay.”
He hadn’t really noticed whether it was “pure romance” or not, but it was a great opportunity to carry out his “drama queen” plan.
“Just ‘not bad’?” Tan Xiaobai teased him. “Didn’t you two take advantage of the darkness to hold hands or something?”
Le Cheng’s scalp prickled. He thought Tan Xiaobai would be perfect for writing mystery novels, how did he always guess so accurately?
He admitted honestly, “We held hands.”
“Good. It’s great to see some progress.” Tan Xiaobai patted him on the shoulder. “Keep up the good work tomorrow, strike while the iron’s hot.”
Le Cheng looked at him with a chuckle and nodded.
Tan Xiaobai, acting like a military strategist, carried a basin of water off to take a shower. Le Cheng sank into the soft chair, thinking he should come up with a new name for the “Hold Zhou Shirui’s Hand” plan.
Why not call it “Operation Straight Guy”?
Online, he’d use the “Drama Queen Plan” to act up left and right.
In real life, he’d use “Operation Straight Guy” to break through their defenses.
Combined, the two would definitely drive any straight guy to the brink, forcing him to say goodbye on his own.
Le Cheng opened Baidu and reviewed once more how to be a drama queen.
Hmm… First, be unreasonable, he felt he’d already mastered that.
Second, throw unreasonable tantrums, he felt he’d already mastered that too.
Third is being super clingy and constantly checking up on him.
He’d been checking up on him, but it didn’t seem to be working… Zhou Shirui kept his distance, so it wasn’t much of a challenge.
Ah, got it.
Le Cheng opened his class schedule and checked tomorrow’s classes.
Hmm, none in the morning, two in the afternoon.
A wonderful Monday where he didn’t have to rush to an 8 a.m. class.
Le Cheng tapped open the chat window, thought for a moment, and changed the note on his “Tap” message.
[Orange: Tapped himself and said, “Your Jell-O Orange has suddenly appeared~”]
Okay, that’s exactly the level of sappiness I’m going for.
[Orange: What are you up to?]
[Orange: Do you have class tomorrow morning?]
“Ding-dong—”
[Big Brother: Yes.]
[Orange: What class?]
[Big Brother: What’s up?]
Look at that cold attitude.
Le Cheng tapped the screen.
[Orange: I want to go to class with you]
[Orange: I don’t even know what you usually study]
[Orange: Puppy New Year Greeting.jpg]
Zhou Shirui’s chat window displayed “Typing…”
[Big Brother: It’ll be really boring]
Was that a polite way of saying no?
Le Cheng wasn’t discouraged in the least, after all, he was always ready to go all out online so he immediately began devising a plan to be a total pain.
[Orange: Is that not okay? But I want to go]
[Orange: Please say yes]
[Orange: Say yes, say yes, say yes, say y(o’3’o)]
The “Typing…” above Zhou Shirui’s head suddenly stopped.
Le Cheng stared intently at the chat window.
[Big Brother: You might not like what I have to say]
[Le Cheng: It’s okay, I love hearing it!]
Le Cheng thought for a moment, then added.
[Le Cheng: Don’t you want me to come?]
There was a moment of silence on Zhou Shirui’s end.
[Big Brother: Second period, can you get up in time?]
Who does he think he’s looking down on!
Le Cheng tapped the screen: [I can get up!]
[Big Brother: Then come.]
Le Cheng figured Zhou Shirui must have agreed only because he’d pestered him so much he had no choice.
Beaming, he tossed his phone onto the table, slumping back lazily, but then suddenly remembered something and snatched the phone back.
—He hadn’t even told Zhou Shirui how happy he was yet.
Le Cheng figured a voice message would sound more sincere, so he tapped the voice memo icon.
And he was right, Zhou Shirui really had agreed only because he couldn’t take Le Cheng’s pestering anymore. Just as his roommate came out of the shower, he stood up, and his phone suddenly went “ding.”
A voice message from Le Cheng.
After a moment’s pause, he connected his Bluetooth earbuds, slipped the tiny device into his ear with his long fingers, and then tapped to play it.
“Hehe, really? Then it’s a deal.”
His clear, pleasant voice carried a hint of softness, as if he were unconsciously acting coy.
The Bluetooth earbuds transmitted the sound faithfully and without distortion, as if a gentle breath were being blown.
“Ding-dong!”
Another voice message popped up and played automatically out of habit.
After a faint static, it sounded like little fish kissing.
“Peck, peck~”
![The Obsessive Shou Moves On [Rebirth]](https://i1.wp.com/lazygirltranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/download-1.jpeg?resize=151,215 "The Obsessive Shou Moves On [Rebirth]")
