TBS Chapter 16

Xie Ge tilted his head and leaned against Xu Miao, staying quiet for a long time before finally speaking, a bit upset as he complained, “You only call me ‘baby’ when you’re coaxing me. Don’t you realize how long it’s been since you last called me that?”

Xie Ge didn’t want to sound like he was always complaining, afraid it would make him seem unreasonable.

When Xu Miao stayed silent, Xie Ge immediately got a mischievous idea, completely abandoning the little vow he made to himself just a moment ago about not being unreasonable.

He already knew Xu Miao had deleted him from his contacts, but he still pretended not to know. “It’s not enough to just say it out loud—you have to change my contact name too. I want to see you with my own eyes change my name to ‘Baby.’”

Changing a contact name wasn’t hard, but the problem was… the current reality between them made it tricky.

Wait. If he remembered correctly, he had already deleted Xie Ge.

Xu Miao froze. “Right now?”

Xie Ge’s attitude was firm. “Mm, right now.”

Xu Miao realized Xie Ge had a talent for putting him on the spot. His eyes darted around, giving no clear answer.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to change the name, but objectively speaking, he couldn’t do it right now.

How could he explain it? Should he just say, “Sorry, my hand slipped yesterday and deleted you, and I even blocked your number. Can I add you back now?”

Or should he fake amnesia and say he didn’t know what happened—he just woke up and it was like that?

Would anyone believe such convenient and frequent memory loss? Obviously fake.

So Xu Miao came up with a not-quite-true-but-not-completely-false excuse to buy time. “My phone’s out of battery. I’ll change it after I charge it, okay?”

But the moment the words left his mouth, his phone started ringing.

“Didn’t you just say it was out of battery? Does that sound like a dead phone to you?” Xie Ge pressed harder, his performance exaggerated as he pouted. “You don’t want to, do you? You don’t actually treat me like your baby.”

Xu Miao picked up the call, then sighed and resigned himself. “Okay, I’ll change it now. Watch me.”

Hearing that, Xie Ge assumed Xu Miao must have already re-added him while he wasn’t looking. But as he watched Xu Miao scroll back and forth through his contacts several times, his name was nowhere to be found.

Xie Ge put on a fake-cry voice. “Why can’t I find myself?”

It was rare for Xu Miao to feel this guilty. He avoided eye contact but still told the truth: “Because I deleted you.”

Xie Ge knowingly asked, “And my number? Did you block that too?”

When people get nervous, they suddenly get very busy. Xu Miao shot up from the couch. “The delivery’s here. I’ll go get it.”

Xie Ge didn’t stop him. The food would be picked up eventually, and he didn’t believe Xu Miao would find another excuse.

While Xu Miao was gone, Xie Ge’s eyes didn’t rest—he looked around the apartment thoroughly.

The place wasn’t big, simply decorated, but the striking thing was that it didn’t look like it was lived in by just one person. It looked like two.

Two pairs of slippers at the door. Two cups of the same style in different colors on the coffee table. Everywhere he looked, daily necessities were in pairs.

A bad suspicion crept up in Xie Ge’s mind. People always said to separate online life from real life, but Xu Miao wouldn’t… wouldn’t really have one boyfriend online and another in real life, right? That would be too unethical.

But what if? It was Xu Miao, after all. It was normal for people to like him. He was so soft-hearted, looking like the type who would agree if someone just pestered him enough. Xie Ge couldn’t help doubting whether Xu Miao only had him as a boyfriend.

And the most important thing—Xu Miao had no idea he was coming back today. Which meant the state of the apartment right now was its normal state…

“Want to eat with me?” Xu Miao asked from the dining table as he brought the takeout in.

Xie Ge was snapped out of his spiral, blinking rapidly, clearly still in a daze. He blurted out the thoughts in his head all at once:

“You’re only dating me, right? You’re only dating me, right?”

“I’m not doubting you, but looking at how your place is set up, I just feel a little… a little…”

“I’m a very generous person. I wouldn’t mind if it’s like a shared living arrangement or something.”

“I wouldn’t even get mad at you. I’m a polite person. As long as you’re not juggling multiple boyfriends at once, I don’t really care about the rest.”

Xie Ge spoke so fast, and there was some distance between them, so all Xu Miao caught were words like “dating,” “living together,” and “boyfriend.” He thought Xie Ge had seen through his little wish for them to live together.

“Was it that obvious? I thought you wouldn’t notice.”

Xu Miao noticed Xie Ge’s expression gradually turning strange, like he was fighting some fierce internal battle.

Xu Miao felt a bit confused but mostly disappointed. “Isn’t living together after starting a relationship normal? You don’t want to?”

Who would want that? Who on earth would want their boyfriend to have another boyfriend—and that boyfriend had already moved in first? If he were even a bit more fragile, he’d already have jumped into the river out of jealousy.

No, wait, why should he be the one to jump?

Xie Ge’s lips trembled with anger as he spoke rapidly: “Of course I don’t want to! I’m not going to be the homewrecker!”

Xu Miao didn’t catch it. “What?”

Xie Ge shouted, “I said! I don’t want to be the third party! I saw online that the one who isn’t loved is the third party! You love me more, right?!”

Xie Ge always suddenly raised his voice, catching Xu Miao completely off guard. And it wasn’t just the volume—his words were always shocking too.

Weren’t they just talking about the deleted-contacts issue? Xu Miao hadn’t even thought of a semi-reasonable excuse yet, and Xie Ge had already leapt to another topic entirely.

Xu Miao didn’t get it, but he stayed patient. “No one’s asking you to be a third party. Or… do you have some special kink? If you do, you can tell me. I can’t promise I’ll accept it, though.”

What nonsense was that? Xie Ge frowned. Xu Miao was always like this—he said one thing, then contradicted himself.

He had admitted to living with someone else and even implied it was a romantic relationship. He even asked if Xie Ge could accept this “three-person relationship.” And now he was saying Xie Ge had some special kink? Was only dating one person considered a kink now?

Besides, how was he supposed to accept it? A three-person home would already be cramped. And looking around, everything here was in pairs—and none of it prepared for him!

Did Xu Miao think he wasn’t even qualified to have his own set of daily necessities here? Wasn’t that just too miserable?

Xie Ge stomped over in a few steps, trapping Xu Miao between the dining table and his arms, giving what he thought was a fierce glare, and said sarcastically, “Seems like the one with a special kink isn’t me. Don’t you think so, Xu Miao?”

Something was off. Very, very off.

Xu Miao quickly ran through Xie Ge’s words and figured out most of it.

So strange—how could someone glare and still look like they were pouting? Even angry, he was ridiculously cute.

Cute, yes, but not very bright.

Even though he was being “threatened,” Xu Miao’s eyes curved in a smile. He raised his arms to wrap around Xie Ge’s waist, happily adding fuel to the fire: “No way… Why do I feel like you’re kind of enjoying it? Exciting, isn’t it? Feels like we’re having an affair.”

“How about we just go get a hotel room? If he suddenly comes back, it’d be bad for the relationship.”

“What?” Xie Ge felt his heart burn. He grabbed Xu Miao’s shoulders and pulled back to look at him in disbelief. “You want me to make room for him?”

Some words really shouldn’t be said casually. No sooner had Xu Miao spoken than the beeping of the door code echoed from the entryway.

Xie Ge froze for two seconds and stammered, “No way… I really am the third wheel? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come. No, wait—why should I be the one not to come? I was here first! If anyone shouldn’t come, it’s him! And if he tries to hit me, you have to protect me, Xu Miao! You can’t take his side!”

“No, wait—why would he hit me? I should be the one hitting him! What if we make a deal—whoever loses the fight has to break up with you. I’ll win for sure.”

“No, no, that won’t work. If I hit him and he calls the cops, I’ll get arrested. Then he’ll have even more chances to be with you while I’m gone. Better if he hits me. I’ll protect my face.”

“If I ever find out who he is, I won’t let him off.”

Xie Ge chattered endlessly. Xu Miao was dizzy from how cute he was and only really caught the last line. He knew only a few people had his door code, and at this time, the only one who would come was…

“It’s a friend,” Xu Miao said.

Xie Ge didn’t believe him. “Boyfriend, right?”