Although the moon couldn’t be plucked and gifted, Yu Feng could offer something more practical. He returned to the order interface and glanced at the price list.
Zhou Yi noticed Yu Feng fiddling with his phone again, the screen displaying the [Limited-Time Boyfriend] order page. He asked, “You’re not thinking of ordering again, are you?”
Yu Feng nodded and promptly placed an order—text chat, weekly package, 520 yuan[mfn]T/N: Around 72 USD[/mfn].
Seeing the payment prompt on the screen, Zhou Yi quickly grabbed Yu Feng’s arm, trying to stop him. “Are you under some kind of spell? Just playing around is enough, but now you’re addicted?”
Of course, Yu Feng wasn’t addicted. He simply saw it as spending 520 yuan in exchange for the moon in the sky. Though the two were fundamentally different, it should at least make Student Xiao Dao happy. After all, wasn’t the whole point of being a virtual boyfriend to earn money?
Zhou Yi watched helplessly as the 520 yuan payment went through and sighed heavily. “You—” He hesitated, giving Yu Feng a complicated look. “I feel like I’ve dragged you into a pyramid scheme, leaving you sinking deeper into this quagmire with no way out.”
Yu Feng chuckled.
“I’m serious. Don’t go overboard. I know you’re not short on money, but it doesn’t grow on trees either.”
Yu Feng suddenly looked out the window and said to Zhou Yi, “The moon is quite bright today.”
Zhou Yi turned to look out the window as well, nodding. “It is bright. Tomorrow should be a nice day.”
***
Xie An’yu received two orders in quick succession. The first was from a new customer—his second client after Xiao Zhou. For a moment, he felt dazed. After adding the new client’s WeChat account sent by customer service, the second order came through.
When Xie An’yu saw the order details, his face froze—
Order Time: 2023-04-08 21:23:04
Customer: Xiao Zhou Sails Away
Service Item: Text Chat (Weekly Package)
Unit Price: 520 yuan/week
His eyes slowly scanned downward, from the familiar username to ‘520/week’. Xie An’yu was utterly stunned.
To be fair, the ‘weekly package’ wasn’t even the most expensive option on the price list. Besides weekly and monthly packages, there was also the significantly more expensive ‘buyout’ option—which, as the name suggested, meant purchasing all of the employee’s time. During the validity period, the employee would exclusively serve the buyout customer and couldn’t accept orders from anyone else.
But 520 yuan was already a huge sum for a newly onboarded employee.
Xiao Dao: 【Did you order the wrong thing?】
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【No, I was just kidnapped】
Xiao Dao: 【Ah…?】
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【Maybe if I were 1000-degree nearsighted and not wearing glasses, I might’ve made a mistake. So which of these possibilities do you think is more likely?】
Xiao Dao: 【…Neither seems very likely】
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【Then why ask such a meaningless question?】
After a long pause, Xie An’yu finally asked: 【Why?】
The other person replied: 【Paying for your moon】
***
Yu Feng glanced up at the still-celebrating crowd—it looked like the party would go on late into the night. The villa’s second floor had plenty of rooms, and some single men and women who had hit it off were already heading upstairs arm in arm.
It was a perfectly normal scene. Alcohol stimulated adrenaline, and in this kind of atmosphere, hormones were bound to run wild—especially since this was, after all, a ‘bachelor party’.
Zhou Yi had long since left Yu Feng behind and was now chatting happily with a lady elsewhere. However, Zhou Yi was the type who could strike up a lively conversation with anyone—just because he was engaging didn’t mean he necessarily felt a strong connection with the other person. As a teacher, despite his seemingly carefree demeanor, he was actually quite conservative at heart.
Whenever the lady leaned slightly toward him with her wine glass, he would subtly lean back—
Yu Feng couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.
“What’s so funny?” Qian Wenhao walked up to Yu Feng, smiling as he looked at him.
***
While chatting with Xiao Zhou, Xie An’yu also received a new order from another customer. The second customer’s WeChat name was ‘Midmonth Lin’, and her profile picture was a chibi anime character.
Midmonth Lin: 【Is the photo on the official account really you?】
Xiao Dao: 【Yes】
Midmonth Lin: 【Are you really only 18 years old?】
Xiao Dao: 【Mm】
Midmonth Lin: 【Oh my, you’re so young! Two years younger than me. Working at such a young age [doge[mfn]T/N: Doge is an Internet meme that became popular in 2013. The meme consists of a picture of a Shiba Inu dog, accompanied by multicolored text in Comic Sans font in the foreground. The text, representing a kind of internal monologue, is deliberately written in a form of broken English. The meme originally and most frequently uses an image of a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, though versions with other Shiba Inus are also popular.[/mfn]]】
Xie An’yu didn’t know how to respond, so he sent a pink cartoon character waving its arm as a GIF sticker.
He had taken this image from Guo Tianyang’s collection. Xie An’yu had no idea which cartoon character it was, but it was cute enough.
Midmonth Lin: 【Do you also like LinaBell[mfn]玲娜貝兒 (líng nà bèi ér): LinaBell is a smart pink fox in the Duffy and Friends toyline introduced in 2021 at Shanghai Disneyland. She loves nature and solving mysteries.
[/mfn]?】
Xie An’yu guessed LinaBell must be the cartoon character in the sticker.
He answered honestly: 【The one in the picture? I don’t know. I saved this from a friend】
Midmonth Lin: 【Hahahaha, you’re so adorable】
Honesty was a killer move. Even though Xie An’yu didn’t know how to flirt, the young girl on the other end happened to love his straightforwardness.
Midmonth Lin: 【Are you in college? I see your location is in Beicheng?】
Xiao Dao: 【I am in Beicheng, but I’m not in school】
Midmonth Lin: 【Then you’re still in high school???】
Xiao Dao: 【No, I don’t attend school】
The other person didn’t reply for half a minute. During that time, Xie An’yu gradually sensed something off. Chatting with this customer always gave him an indescribable awkwardness, as if the usual conversational rhythm had suddenly changed, making it hard to adjust.
He soon realized the awkwardness stemmed from having another customer as a reference point—compared to this one, Xiao Zhou’s tone was much calmer.
Not just calm, sometimes even a little cold.
Generally, there was a big difference in how guys and girls talked. The person he was chatting with now was undoubtedly a girl.
It was only now that Xie An’yu realized Xiao Zhou was probably a guy.
Blame it on stereotypes—when someone ordered his service, he automatically assumed it was a girl, never considering that guys might also seek virtual boyfriends.
His phone’s vibration snapped Xie An’yu out of his thoughts.
Midmonth Lin: 【Why aren’t you in school?】
Xiao Dao: 【My family is facing some difficulties】
Midmonth Lin: 【It’s okay, there are other paths besides school. All roads lead to Rome~】
Xiao Dao: 【Mm, that’s true】
***
Yu Feng glanced up at Qian Wenhao and smiled politely. “Nothing much.”
Qian Wenhao checked his watch. “It’s getting late.” He casually sat down beside Yu Feng, still holding a half-empty glass of wine. “Looks like it’s going to be an all-nighter.”
Yu Feng gave a slight nod.
“I’ve noticed you have a really nice smile,” Qian Wenhao remarked openly, looking straight at Yu Feng.
The implication in those words was too obvious—it was practically like having ‘I’m kind of interested in you’ written on his forehead. Yu Feng knew the other person wasn’t trying to hide anything either. If there was interest, they’d chat; if they clicked, they’d see where it went; if not, they’d part ways. This was, after all, a place to meet potential partners. Even if one wasn’t looking for anything serious, a one-night stand could be a way to unwind.
“Is that so?” Yu Feng smiled faintly. “Thanks.”
Qian Wenhao tilted his head slightly, studying Yu Feng’s profile before asking softly, “When are you planning to head back?”
“Not sure. Probably later.” Zhou Yi was in the middle of a lively conversation. It wasn’t often he got to come to places like this, so Yu Feng wanted to let him enjoy himself to the fullest before leaving.
“Planning to stay here all night?”
Yu Feng shook his head. “No, I’ll be heading back with my friend later. He’s a teacher—staying overnight at a place like this wouldn’t look good if word got out.”
Qian Wenhao chuckled. “You’re pretty conservative, huh?”
Yu Feng pressed his lips together and didn’t respond.
Qian Wenhao drained his glass, then held the empty cup while staring unabashedly at Yu Feng’s thin lips. He was clearly quite drunk, his gaze unfocused, pupils hazy with a vague sense of flirtation. The scent of alcohol wafted over as he spoke. “Want to come to my place for a few more drinks? I live nearby.”
Yu Feng declined. “No, thanks.”
“Not looking for anything tonight? Just drinks.” Qian Wenhao’s eyes were glazed as he looked at him. “I think you’re really my type. Want to… give it a try?”
Yu Feng knew exactly what he was hinting at, so he made it clear, leaving no room for misunderstanding. “Drinks are out of the question. Thanks for the offer, Mr. Qian. As for hookups…” He smiled slightly. “Not tonight, and not ever.”
Qian Wenhao lowered his eyes and laughed softly. “Was I too direct? Sorry, I’ve had a bit too much to drink.” Worried that his drunken bluntness might have offend him, he softened his tone to explain. “You misunderstood my intentions… We could take it slow.”
“I didn’t misunderstand,” Yu Feng said. “You might not have grasped my meaning—I’m not interested in you, Mr. Qian.”
Qian Wenhao’s lips parted slightly, then he nodded after a moment. “Got it.” He set the empty glass down on the low table in front of him and smiled. “What’s your type, Mr. Yu? I could introduce you to someone. I know plenty of high-quality single men.”
“Thanks for the thought, Mr. Qian, but I’m used to being on my own.”
“Commitment-free lifestyle?”
Yu Feng was starting to get annoyed. This guy just wouldn’t let up, dragging out the conversation even after everything had been made clear. He gave a faint, indifferent smile. “If that’s what you want to call it.”
***
Meanwhile, Xie An’yu was still chatting with his second client. The other person had ordered a half-hour text chat, and since she were quite talkative, Xie An’yu had exchanged quite a bit with her in that short time—just ten minutes of their conversation had already surpassed what he usually covered in an hour with Xiao Zhou.
The client had been the one steering the conversation, so Xie An’yu hadn’t needed to come up with topics on his own.
Midmonth Lin: 【Looks like time’s almost up. Let’s call it a day for now. I’ll order you again if I get the chance!】
Xiao Dao: 【Thank you】
Midmonth Lin: 【Hahaha, could you stop being so serious all the time?】
Midmonth Lin: 【Hehe, I’m super happy. It’s getting late—you should sleep soon too. Goodnight~】
Xiao Dao: 【Goodnight】
Xiao Dao: 【[Image]】
Midmonth Lin: 【Hahaha, every time you send a sticker, I find it hilarious. How are all your stickers so girly? They really don’t match your masculine looks!】
This customer always used words Xie An’yu had never seen before, leaving him half-understanding each time. He could only muddle through by sending stickers in response.
The half-hour concluded, and Xie An’yu finally made it home. He took the back roads, where there were no cars—safer that way. As he walked, he replied to the customer’s messages while keeping an eye out for obstacles ahead. A trip that usually took twenty minutes ended up taking him an extra ten today.
Chatting with the second customer felt completely different from talking to Xiao Zhou. Girls really were more approachable—chatty and lively. Maybe too lively, because Xie An’yu actually felt a little exhausted.
He exhaled and tapped Xiao Zhou’s profile picture to take a look.
A 520-yuan order. If he didn’t chat until his fingers cramped, he’d feel like he was letting this customer down.
With that thought, he typed a few words into the chatbox and sent them.
Xiao Dao: 【Is the gathering over yet?】
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【Not yet】
Xiao Dao: 【It’s getting late. You’ll probably be home pretty late—how are you getting back?】
The other person sent a little red car emoji.
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【You don’t have to force conversation to chat with me just because of the 520 yuan. I’m not a fan of awkward small talk either. Just relax. I’ll come to you when I feel like talking】
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【Think of the 520 as the moon I plucked for you】
Xiao Zhou Sails Away: 【No need to treat it like a burden】
Indeed, Xiao Zhou was different from the second customer. It wasn’t just a matter of being lively versus aloof—the difference Xie An’yu sensed was the maturity that seeped through their words.
Truth be told, Xie An’yu actually felt more at ease when chatting with Xiao Zhou.
Because the other person was very perceptive, yet gentle.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 10″]
顧名思義 (gù míng sī yì): as the name implies; as the name suggests; as the term suggests; when you see the name, you will think of its meaning.吊兒郎當 (diào r láng dāng): (colloquial) sloppy; slapdash; lackadaisical; careless; half-assed; carefree; flippant; nonchalant; irresponsible; casual; indifferent; insouciant; used to describe a person who is untidy, undisciplined, and unserious.
一知半解 (yī zhī bàn jiě): lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge; to sort of understand; to only halfway understand; to be unsure of the meaning (of a word or phrase); dilettante; amateur; superficial understanding; half-baked knowledge; incomplete grasp; partial comprehension; shallow understanding; knowing or understanding only a little bit, describing partial knowledge and superficial understanding.
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