TBS Chapter 3

The voice call hadn’t lasted long before the balcony door was pushed open. Xu Miao turned at the sound and saw it was Liang Dong.

He said to the ATM, “Hold on a second,” then muted the mic and asked Liang Dong, “Did you need something?”

Liang Dong leaned against the door and raised his eyebrows. “Not really. I just thought you couldn’t stand the heating and snuck out to the balcony for some fresh air.”

Xu Miao knew he was joking and waved his phone at him. “Just came out to make a call.”

“Oh,” Liang Dong pressed further, “Who are you calling that you have to hide it from me? Girlfriend?”

Xu Miao shook his head. “No, just a friend.”

The lighting wasn’t very bright, so Xu Miao didn’t notice the slight shift in Liang Dong’s expression. Liang Dong, unwilling to let it go, said, “What kind of friend? Can’t I even hear what you’re saying? You’re guarding against me that hard?”

Xu Miao nodded and teased, “Yeah, isn’t it obvious?”

Liang Dong was so annoyed he could grind his teeth. He was curious but had no way to keep asking, so he muttered under his breath, “Heartless,” and walked off.

Once Liang Dong had gone, Xu Miao unmuted the mic and brought the phone back to his ear. “Hey, can you hear me?”

“You made me wait so many times,” Xie Ge’s voice sounded clearly displeased. He gave a humph and, sounding a bit angry, said, “You don’t treat me like you used to when we first met. Aren’t we dating? Shouldn’t I be your number one priority? You keep making me wait—I think I’m the one who deserves to be waited on.”

Xu Miao didn’t hold back, bluntly pointing out Xie Ge’s lie: “It wasn’t even more than five minutes.”

Xie Ge shouted, “What do you mean ‘not even five minutes’? Look how short the whole call has been! Am I that easy to push around? Do I seem like someone who’s easy to talk to?”

As he kept talking, Xie Ge’s voice gradually softened: “When you talk to someone else, remember I’m still here waiting, worried and anxious. Can’t you just finish the call with me first before talking to others?”

Xu Miao lowered his eyes, hiding the emotion in them. He tried to press down the corners of his mouth from curling up but failed. “I wanted to talk with you a little longer, so I finished up with the other person first. Or… do you want me to hang up on you quickly so I can go talk to someone else?”

The breathing on the other end of the line suddenly sped up. Xu Miao pursed his lips and asked, “Are you angry?”

“Of course not… okay, maybe a little,” Xie Ge’s voice sounded exasperated and frustrated. “But don’t keep misunderstanding me! And who told you to hang up on me? What I meant was, when you’re talking to me, don’t be talking to someone else at the same time.”

Xu Miao put on an exaggerated expression of sudden realization. “Ah, so you’re not angry—you’re being clingy.”

“So what if I am?” Xie Ge shot back, even more righteous than usual. “Is that not allowed? Was it really that hard to tell?”

“Can I pretend I didn’t notice?” Xu Miao raised an eyebrow, the smile practically spilling from his eyes. “Feels like you’re about to make a demand.”

Xie Ge was clearly dissatisfied with Xu Miao’s words and raised his voice without realizing it. “Since you already guessed it, then I won’t hold back. My birthday’s next month—have you thought about what gift you’re getting me?”

Xu Miao replied, “Who straight-up asks for gifts like that?”

“I do,” Xie Ge huffed. “You gotta fight for opportunities.”

You’d get a gift even if you didn’t ask, Xu Miao thought.

Not just for the first birthday, and not only birthdays—as long as there was any reason to mark a day as special, Xu Miao would find some way to show Xie Ge he cared.

Xu Miao gave it all naturally, and Xie Ge never thought too much about it—he accepted everything happily. That was, until Xu Miao started transferring money more and more often with all sorts of excuses, and Xie Ge finally realized something was off.

[XM]: [Transfer]

[XM]: Happy New Year, baby.

[ATM]: Why are you sending me money again? I already told you I don’t want it. Why won’t you listen?

[XM]: I like spending money on you. Isn’t that allowed?

[XM]: Have you heard that saying? “Men with money become bad.” We girls are the same.

[XM]: If I don’t spend it on you, I’ll just end up spending it on someone else.

Almost the instant the message was sent, the money was accepted.

[ATM]: …Then you better keep spending it on me.

Xie Ge accepted the money and quietly recorded the amount in his notes app. Not just that transfer—every single one after that, he kept a clear record.

Spring came quickly the following year. The weather was warming, work was going well, and the weight of life felt like a heavy coat Xu Miao had shrugged off and left behind in winter. But… Some other things happened too.

Xie Ge began asking more and more questions—sometimes obviously, sometimes not—about the city Xu Miao lived in. It was clear he wanted to meet. Xu Miao could see it, but since Xie Ge wasn’t saying it outright, he pretended not to notice.

How could he just go and meet Xie Ge? Xu Miao didn’t want to face the consequences of that meeting. Things were fine the way they were—at least that’s what he kept telling himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. Caller ID: Liang Dong.

As soon as Xu Miao picked up, Liang Dong’s voice came through: “Where the hell are you? I called you half an hour ago and you said you were off work already. Why aren’t you here yet?”

“I was buying your gift. What do you like? I haven’t paid yet—if you want, I can still swap it out.”

As Xu Miao spoke, he returned the item in his hand to its place. He heard Liang Dong laugh on the other end, “What gift are you bringing me, acting all formal like this? But since you insist, I won’t be polite—buy me a bouquet of roses. I’ve never received flowers in my whole life, I kinda regret that.”

Liang Dong had helped him a lot in the past, and for such a harmless little request, Xu Miao naturally wouldn’t refuse.

When Xu Miao walked into the private room holding the flowers, only Liang Dong was there. He shoved the bouquet of roses into Liang Dong’s arms and said, “Now you’ve got no regrets, right?”

Liang Dong clutched his chest, dramatically saying, “I can die with no regrets now.”

Xu Miao rolled his eyes and found a seat. “Where’s Cheng Ye and Lin Yucheng? Why aren’t those two here yet?”

Liang Dong was fully focused on fiddling with the bouquet, and didn’t even look up. “When are they not late? I’m too lazy to scold them anymore.”

[ATM]: What are you doing?

[ATM]: Have you had dinner?

[ATM]: [puppy holding its face.jpg]

As Xu Miao typed, he asked Liang Dong, “What gift did you ask them to bring? Don’t tell me you asked for flowers too?”

[XM]: Just about to eat.

[ATM]: Alone?

[XM]: With friends.

[ATM]: Boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl boy or girl.

[XM]: …Boys.

The phone suddenly rang, cutting off the conversation between the three. Liang Dong saw Xu Miao pick up and immediately sensed something was up. Sure enough, after just a few minutes, Xu Miao had to leave. Damn company.

Liang Dong muttered sarcastically, “Busy. Everyone’s busy. Being busy is so great.”

Xu Miao was helpless too. But he couldn’t go. He never would. If he had to choose between work and literally anything else, he would always choose work.

Just as he got to the door, the private room was opened from the outside. Someone walked in, head down, fiddling with their phone. Xu Miao stepped aside to let them pass and left after the person had entered.

“Great. One leaves, another shows up—what is this, a relay race?” Liang Dong grumbled. “Where’s my gift? Don’t tell me you came empty-handed.”

The more Liang Dong thought about it, the more annoyed he got. Right now, anyone in front of him would be annoying. He kicked the chair next to him. “Xie Ge, can you stop messing with that damn phone? What the hell is there that you’ve been staring at since morning? Are you even listening to me?”

Xie Ge didn’t look up, his fingers flying across the screen, but he still responded, “Who left? Do I know him? What’s his name?”

Liang Dong was speechless. “Are you a damn chatbot?”

Still glued to his phone, Xie Ge repeated, “Who left? Do I know him? What’s his name?”

Liang Dong: “…”

Liang Dong sighed. “My roommate. You don’t know him. His name’s Xu Miao.”

It was like something snapped inside Xie Ge. His head shot up. “Xu Miao?! What a coincidence, my girlfriend’s name is Xu Miao too.”