WBAI Chapter 14

Guo Tianyang had classes that afternoon, so he couldn’t accompany Xie An’yu to the rental apartment. Xie An’yu simply carried his bags and took the subway to his new residence alone.

The apartment was located far from the city center, in an area where rural residents had been relocated after their villages were demolished. The buildings were newly constructed resettlement housing, quite tall. Xie An’yu had never ridden an elevator before, so he stood awkwardly at the entrance for a moment before stepping forward to press the button on the wall.

Midway up, the elevator stopped at another floor. Xie An’yu momentarily confused the open and close door buttons, nearly trapping a young girl who was rushing to catch the elevator outside. The girl nimbly darted inside, and Xie An’yu quietly murmured ‘Sorry’, his ears flushing slightly.

The girl quickly replied, “No worries! I should be thanking you for holding the door for me. I almost missed it.” Noticing his reddened ears and his tall, handsome appearance, her own cheeks grew warm. She quickly averted her gaze to the floor display.

The girl watched the numbers on the display steadily increase, then paused, “Ah… this is going up.”

The rental apartment’s door was secured with a combination lock. Guo Tianyang’s girlfriend’s senior brother had already given Xie An’yu the code in advance, as he had to work during the day and couldn’t be there. Xie An’yu moved his belongings into the apartment, and only that evening did he finally met the senior brother.

When Xie An’yu opened the door and entered, the senior brother was tidying up his backpack in the living room.

Hearing the door open, the other person looked up and greeted him, “You must be Xie An’yu, right? Hello, my name is Zhai Jing.”

“Hello.”

“You’ve already moved your luggage in, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll show you to your room.”

Xie An’yu picked up the black tote bag he’d placed by the entryway. Zhai Jing was surprised to see that this was all Xie An’yu had brought. “You only brought that little bit of stuff?”

“Yes, I don’t have many belongings.”

“No bedding or anything?”

Xie An’yu shook his head.

“Then you’ll have to make do for tonight. There’s only one mattress in the room, but I have an extra blanket. You can use it later.”

“That’s not necessary. I can just use my clothes.”

Zhai Jing glanced back at him. “What are you thinking? You’ll catch a cold if you don’t use a blanket. I’m not using it anyway, so I’ll grab it for you later.”

Zhai Jing led Xie An’yu into the second bedroom. “This room is pretty clean; I tidied it up a bit yesterday. It’s too late today, but tomorrow I’ll take you to meet the landlord. He’s a friend of mine, so he gave me a good deal on the rent. The lease is for the entire apartment, so if you’re sharing with me, we might need to revise the contract. Or, if you find that troublesome, you can just give me your share of the rent each month, and I’ll pay him the full amount. I already asked the landlord, and he said either way works for him.”

“I’ll just give it to you directly.”

“Okay, I think that’s more convenient too. No need to change the contract. Rent is paid quarterly, so you can just give me your share each month.”

“Okay, thank you, Senior Brother.”

Zhai Jing chuckled. “I’m Ding Ying’s Senior Brother, or rather, former Senior Brother. You don’t need to keep calling me that.”

Xie An’yu changed his address: “Thank you, Brother Jing.”

After showing Xie An’yu around the room, Zhai Jing asked casually as they walked out, “You’re a classmate of Ding Ying’s boyfriend, right?”

“Yes.”

“You came to Beicheng to work?”

Xie An’yu hummed in affirmation.

“You’re so young to be working in Beicheng. Aren’t your parents worried?”

“They’ve already passed away.”

Zhai Jing froze, then murmured, “…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Looking at the young man in front of him, Zhai Jing couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Having lost both parents, he must have been forced to leave his hometown and come to Beicheng to work alone.

Zhai Jing’s situation was the opposite of Xie An’yu’s. After graduation, he insisted on staying in Beicheng despite his parents’ objections. For nearly a year, their reproaches and complaints had never ceased. They were dissatisfied with his job in Beicheng, urging him to take a government position back home where he could live a stable life and stay by their side.

Time had not diminished his parents’ expectations. A year had passed, and their pressure had only intensified, their phone calls becoming more frequent.

Just last week, Zhai Jing had argued with his parents again. He sighed and glanced at the young man before him.

Compared to Xie An’yu, his circumstances were truly fortunate—at least his parents were still alive.

Zhai Jing patted Xie An’yu’s shoulder and said softly, “It’s getting late. Go take a shower and get some rest. I’ll get you a blanket.”

***

After returning home from work, Yu Feng switched his WeChat account back to his personal one and noticed a message from Xiao Dao, sent eight hours earlier. A quick glance revealed a lengthy message with formal wording and a polite form of address.

Xiao Dao: 【Mr. Xiao Zhou, I’m so sorry, but due to some unexpected circumstances, I won’t be able to send you WeChat messages for a while. I still owe you two days of text chats and a movie, which I will definitely make up for in the future. Thank you so much for all your support and help in various aspects during this time. Wishing you peace and good health.】

Yu Feng replied: 【What’s wrong?】

The other party didn’t reply. A long time passed, and still no reply. Yu Feng opened the [Limited-Time Boyfriend] mini-program and searched for Xiao Dao. He found that a small ‘Business Pioneer’ bubble had appeared under Xiao Dao’s profile picture, but the profile picture itself was grayed out, indicating he was offline.

Yu Feng’s weekly package service expired two days later, and until the platform sent the expiration reminder, Xiao Dao did not reappear.

***

On the third day after Xie An’yu moved into his new place, Guo Tianyang and his girlfriend wanted to invite him and Zhai Jing to dinner, but they couldn’t reach Xie An’yu and had to ask Zhai Jing to pass on the message.

That evening, when Xie An’yu returned from work, Zhai Jing was watching TV in the living room. He immediately called out to him, “Xiao Xie, did you see the WeChat message Xiao Guo sent you? Why haven’t you replied?”

Xie An’yu paused, then said, “I don’t have a phone.”

“Ah?” Zhai Jing was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected that a young person in this day and age wouldn’t have a phone. “Then how were you contacting him before?”

“I used to have one. What’s wrong? Did he need something?”

“What happened to your phone? Was it stolen?”

“No, that phone belongs to someone else. I borrowed it and already returned it.”

“I see… He and Ding Ying wanted to have dinner with us. He sent you a WeChat message, but you didn’t reply, so he asked me to check with you when I got back.” Zhai Jing pulled out his phone. “I’ll send him a message now.”

“Brother Jing, I’ve been really busy lately and can’t easily take time off. Could you please tell him that we can have dinner together another time when there’s an opportunity?”

Zhai Jing hummed and nodded. “Alright, I understand.”

Adjusting to life without a smartphone wasn’t difficult for Xie An’yu; he’d lived that way for over a decade. His daily routine remained unchanged with the absence of a smartphone, but a lingering sense of incompleteness persisted.

He pondered the reason and realized the reason: he still owed Xiao Zhou two days of text chat and one free movie viewing.

Xie An’yu received his first paycheck. Though not a large sum, it was a significant amount of money for him. He set aside 500 yuan for rent and, with the remaining money, headed to a phone store.

The store owner recommended one mid-to-low-range smartphone after another, but Xie An’yu rejected them all. Xie An’yu said, “I want the cheapest one.”

The shop owner sighed. “Handsome, these are already the cheapest we have. Are you buying a phone or a brick? How about this, just tell me your budget so I know what you’re looking for.”

“Do you have anything under 500?”

“At that price, you can only get a second hand.”

“A used phone is fine, as long as it can download WeChat.”

“Of course it can download WeChat,” the owner said, standing up. “Wait here, I’ll show you what we have.”

A moment later, the owner returned with a used phone that looked quite new. He swiped across the screen twice. “See? It hasn’t been disassembled before. The screen is pretty responsive, right?” He handed the phone to Xie An’yu. “Check it out yourself. If it works, take it.”

Xie An’yu couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. To the naked eye, it looked fine—the body had no flaws, and the screen swiped smoothly.

The owner took a sip from his water cup, plucked a tea leaf from his lip with his finger, and said, “If you want WeChat or any other apps, I can download them all for you right here.”

Xie An’yu asked, “How much?”

The shop owner pondered for a moment, then cradled his cup and said, “Seeing as you’re not very old, I’ll give you a student price—499.”

“Can’t you lower it a bit more?”

“I’m already giving you a great deal, handsome. This used phone is practically brand new—look for yourself, not a single scratch. I’m barely making any profit selling it to you. If you want it, this is the price. If not, it won’t go any lower.”

Xie An’yu hesitated, pursing his lips. The owner tapped twice on the glass counter with a curled finger. “Alright, if you’re serious, I’ll go even lower for you, 488. How about that?”

Xie An’yu deliberated for a moment, then finally nodded and accepted. “Okay, then please help me install WeChat.”

The owner agreed cheerfully. “No problem. Any other apps you want to install? I’ll install them all for you.”

Xie An’yu pulled out five hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to the owner. He said, “Then please help me install some job search apps and insert the SIM card for me.”

“Sure, just give me a minute.”

Xie An’yu logged into WeChat on his new phone. The interface took a while to load, then suddenly a flurry of messages popped up.

At the very top was a message from Guo Tianyang, its content identical to what Zhai Jing had already told him: an invitation to dinner. His aunt had also sent him numerous messages, all from the day he left home. In fact, she had called Xie An’yu’s old phone that very day and given him an earful, which Xie An’yu had spent half an hour calming her down from.

Xie An’yu had very few friends on his list. Besides the people he knew personally, the rest were all clients he had added from the [Limited-Time Boyfriend] mini-program. Several clients had messaged him, and Xie An’yu, unable to go through all of them, first scrolled down to find the blue-profile-picture avatar.

Xiao Zhou’s messages had been buried quite deep, the last conversation dating back six days.

Worried that his mini-program account might be suspended, Xie An’yu first logged into the backend. He was about to head back to the restaurant for work. Worried that someone might place an order, he intended to log in and then immediately log off. But barely two minutes after logging in, a notification popped up—a new order had arrived.

He clicked to view the order and froze in surprise—

This was the first time he had received a video chat order. The client’s username was Lying, a name Xie An’yu remembered.

Before Xie An’yu could even accept the order, Lying‘s messages came through.

Lying: Finally online! I thought you were on strike. I’ve been waiting so long my beard’s turned white.

Lying: I’ve placed an order. Remember to accept it promptly.

Lying: Waiting for you.

There’s a time limit for accepting orders—you have to accept within five minutes, or there would be a penalty. Xie An’yu never imagined he’d receive a video chat order while walking down the street. Like a headless fly, he stumbled into a park, sat down on a bench, and accepted the order.

After accepting, he mentally prepared himself, taking several deep breaths before initiating the video call with Lying.

The call connected, but the other side didn’t turn on their camera, immediately easing Xie An’yu’s tension. With no one on the screen, at least he wouldn’t feel constantly scrutinized.

“Fuck.” A swear word came from the phone.

Xie An’yu stared at the screen, his expression somewhat bewildered.

“Your profile picture really is you! I thought it was just some random internet picture,” Lying said from the other end of the screen. “Video calls are expensive as hell. spent a huge amount of money to talk to you today. But hey, it’s worth it—you’re much more handsome than in your photo.”

***

Yu Feng had been away on a business trip for several days and had just returned to Beicheng today. As soon as he stepped off the plane, Zhou Yi dragged him home for hotpot. It wasn’t until he arrived that Yu Feng realized he was just a tool man[mfn]工具人 (gōng jù rén): “工具” means “tools,” and “人” means “a person.” Coined by Chinese netizens, this term, literally meaning “a person used as a tool,” can be used differently depending on the context. One common usage is to refer to those who have an unrequited love for another and therefore are ruthlessly used as a tool by their love interest. The other common usage is when people refer to characters in a movie or TV show who are not given enough detailed characterization for audiences to relate to them, but are only used as a tool to propel the plotlines. These roles are often stereotyped and labeled.[/mfn], brought along as a third wheel[mfn]燈泡 (dēng pào): light bulb (figurative) third wheel (accompanying two people on a date), as if the person is the light bulb in the background; (Wu, figurative) bald head; gooseberry—unwanted third person accompanying a courting couple; (slang) unwanted third guest.[/mfn].

The hotpot meal had originally been arranged by Zhou Yi’s parents for him to meet his blind date. A cozy meal for two. Zhou Yi genuinely wasn’t interested in the girl, but to appease his parents, he agreed to a lunch and even tricked Yu Feng into coming along. Having an extra person would prevent the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.

Midway through the meal, Zhou Yi’s blind date started asking about Yu Feng’s situation, her probing questions making it seem like she was about to set him up with someone too.

Zhou Yi hated this kind of matchmaking meddling, especially since Yu Feng was gay. He directly cut her off with a blunt ‘He already has a partner’, effectively shutting the girl down.

Yu Feng, resentful at being used as a shield, deliberately undermined him. “Since when did I get a partner?”

“What do you mean? Aren’t you dating someone online?”

Zhou Yi’s blind date choked on her drink, staring at Yu Feng in disbelief. “Online dating?”

Her expression seemed to say, you’re almost thirty and still doing online dating?

Yu Feng was speechless, and his anger had filled him up. The mention of online dating reminded him of Student Xiao Dao. He pulled out his phone and habitually opened the mini-program to check his search history, and suddenly realized that Xiao Dao was online.

Had he already resolved his difficulties?

Then why hadn’t he messaged him?

But then again, the service period had long passed. Student Xiao Dao was such a straightforward person; if he didn’t place an order, the other probably wouldn’t reach out and take the initiative to chat with him.

And so, Yu Feng placed an order.

The page took an unusually long time to load before a notification suddenly popped up on the screen: 【Sorry, this staff member is currently in a video call and temporarily unable to accept orders. Please try again later.】

A video call?

How could the platform detect that the staff member was in a video call? The answer was obvious—

This staff member is video chatting with a customer.

I think I’ve stretched myself a bit too thin… I’ll upload the next chapters next week. See you again~

[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 14″]
迫不得已 (pò bù dé yǐ): being forced to; not having a choice; to have no alternative (idiom); compelled by circumstances; forced into sth; forced into a corner; out of necessity; under duress; as a last resort; one has to take certain actions under external pressure.

背井離鄉 (bèi jǐng lí xiāng): to leave one’s native place and move elsewhere; to leave one’s native place, esp. against one’s will (idiom); leave one’s hometown; be forced to leave home; be displaced; be uprooted; wander far from home; live in exile; to leave one’s hometown and go to another place.

遲疑不決 (chí yí bù jué): to hesitate and not make a decision; heel-dragging; hesitate to make a decision; be undecided/irresolute/uncertain; cannot make up one’s mind; waver; vacillate; hesitation and inability to make a decision. The original meaning of this idiom refers to being unable to make a decision due to excessive worry.

無頭蒼蠅 (wú tóu cāng yíng): headless fly (a metaphor for sb who is rushing around frantically); like a headless chicken; aimless; without direction; in a fluster; in a panic; running around in circles; a person or thing that acts recklessly and lacks a goal.

刨根問底 (páo gēn wèn dǐ): lit. to dig up roots and inquire at the base (idiom); to get to the bottom of something; get to the bottom/root of a matter; probe deeply; investigate thoroughly; get to the root of; dig into the details; ask for every detail; to investigate the details, to ask about the root of things, to look at the inner meaning of things.

亂點鴛鴦譜 (luàn diǎn yuān yāng pǔ): an arbitrary pairing of two people or two things; an odd pairing; misfits; match people arbitrarily; pair people indiscriminately; make unsuitable matches; force a couple together; meddle in matchmaking; a mismatched marriage or a forced marriage. In traditional marriage customs, it refers to the wrong matching of husband and wife status or marriage relationship. In modern times, it is extended to mean the act of forcibly combining things without respecting objective laws.

顯而易見 (xiǎn ér yì jiàn): clearly and easy to see (idiom); obvious; clear; obviously; clearly; it goes without saying; evidently; apparently.
[/dropdown]

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