Chapter 46#

World 2: I Want to Be a Fish in Your Pond#

Ye Rongzheng, his mind in a whirl, finally realized that this man standing in front of him, smiling like a blooming flower, was that scammer!

His thoughts were a mess, unable to focus on anything. His heart pounded, emitting waves of heat. Blood rushed through the heat at an incredible speed.

The abnormal physiological reaction caused Ye Rongzheng to wear an irritable expression. He didn’t quite understand what this feeling was.

“What took you so long? A whole table of us is waiting for you.” Although his words were disdainful, Ye Rongzheng stood up hurriedly and gave his seat to Qin Qing.

“Sit.” He pressed Qin Qing’s shoulders. His fingertips didn’t land on the black sweater, but on Qin Qing’s warm neck hollow and deep collarbone.

The smooth, creamy touch dazed Ye Rongzheng for a second, and his mood became even more strange.

Qin Qing sat down naturally and said with a smile, “Sorry to keep you waiting. My name is Qin Qing. Qin as in ‘Qin Shi Ming Yue’ (The Legend of Qin), and Qing as in ‘Shan Qing Hua Yu Ran’ (The mountains are green and the flowers are about to burn). I am online friends with ‘Lao Zi Guan Tian Guan Di’ (I Control Heaven and Earth). This is our first meeting.”

“Hello, hello! My name is Qiao Nan! Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Yin Xiuqi, you can just call me Xiao Qi. Let me introduce you, ‘Lao Zi Guan Tian Guan Di’ is called Ye Rongzheng.”

“My name is…”

Ye Rongzheng’s friends scrambled to introduce themselves, smiling until their faces almost cracked.

“When he comes, if he says hello to you, ignore him, pretend you don’t see him. If he chats with you, pretend you don’t hear him. Let’s see if he feels awkward…”

Ye Rongzheng’s instructions were still ringing in their ears, but had already been thrown to the nine heavens by this group of friends. Pretending to be cool in front of Qin Qing? Who had that kind of self-control?

Ye Rongzheng took a few deep breaths, his face darkening.

He nudged a friend sitting next to Qin Qing, wanting the other party to make room for him, but the other party sat motionless in his original seat, playing dumb to the end.

Ye Rongzheng then nudged Jin He, who was sitting on the other side of Qin Qing. Jin He smiled and handed Qin Qing a bottle of beer, remaining immovable like a mountain.

Ye Rongzheng stood for a while with his thick eyebrows furrowed. Seeing that no one gave up their seat for him, and unwilling to give up the best seat next to Qin Qing, he had to run into the shop to move a stool and forcibly squeezed himself between Qin Qing and Jin He.

Jin He glanced at him and chuckled low, “You can’t fit, yet you still squeeze in. Are you childish or what?”

“You guys are staring straight-eyed, like you’ve never seen the world.” Ye Rongzheng retorted sarcastically, not afraid of being heard by Qin Qing.

Qin Qing smiled embarrassedly, a layer of thin red floating on his cheeks, making him look even more shy and delicate.

A rich second generation immediately retorted to defend the beauty: “Brother Ye, you are someone who has seen the big world. Can you find someone better looking than Qin Qing? Not to mention far away, just say the entertainment industry. Find one for us to open our eyes.”

Ye Rongzheng glared at that friend, but surprisingly didn’t speak. Counting back and forth in his mind, all he could count was Qin Qing’s beautiful smiling face.

Ye Rongzheng looked askance at Qin Qing, his thick eyebrows tightening: “Why do you look different from the photo? Did you lie to me?”

He had agreed to shove the photo in this person’s face and ask if the other party was disfigured, but he couldn’t do it. His tone sounded fierce, but it carried a trace of nervous trembling.

Qin Qing naturally heard the hollowness in Ye Rongzheng’s fierce tone. He propped his arm on the table, resting his snowy cheek on his palm, and smiled intimately and gently: “I was worried that using my own photo would cause trouble, so I used a friend’s photo. My friend knows about it too, he allowed me to use it, but I didn’t tell you clearly. This is my fault, I’m sorry.”

These words were not a lie. When the original owner used Yun Siyu’s photo as an avatar, he had asked for Yun Siyu’s opinion, and Yun Siyu said it didn’t matter. The original owner never had the intention of defrauding money; everything was a trick of fate.

Ye Rongzheng wanted to question him further, but his heart was softened by this intimate smile. After brewing repeatedly for a while, he just snorted coldly.

Jin He turned his head away to snicker. Those harsh words he said before had now all turned into slap marks, slapping back onto Ye Rongzheng’s face.

The rich second generation who had secretly saved Yun Siyu’s photo earlier was now quickly deleting it, then opened his camera, preparing to secretly take pictures of Qin Qing.

“Right, right, right, you really can’t use your own photo, otherwise you will be harassed by many people.”

“Across the internet, you don’t even know if the other party is a human or a dog. It’s better to be careful.”

“Looking like you, your safety awareness must be strong.”

The group of rich second generations scrambled to find excuses for Qin Qing.

“Thank you for your understanding. I’ll change my avatar now. I’m really sorry for causing a misunderstanding.” Qin Qing took out his phone and changed his WeChat and QQ avatars.

Ye Rongzheng glanced over carelessly, then froze.

The few rich second generations closest to Qin Qing stretched their necks to look, and their faces turned red one by one. Debauchery was their daily routine, yet just a small, inch-sized photo made them reveal uncontrollable throbbing emotions.

The few rich second generations sitting further away scratched their heads in frustration, itching in their hearts, but were embarrassed to stand up and crowd around to look.

[What avatar did he change to? Look at your silly looks, drool is almost flowing out!] The rich second generation sitting furthest away asked quietly in the group chat.

The rich second generation who secretly opened the camera to record a video sent a message.

Everyone hid their phones under the table to peek.

They saw that the avatar Qin Qing changed to was actually a man’s bare back and shoulders. On the roundest part of the shoulder, diagonally above the shoulder blade, a multi-petaled layered rose was tattooed with various gradient pearlescent inks of pink, red, orange, gold…

The flower, as magnificent as the morning glow, bloomed on skin that was finer and whiter than the first snow. That indescribable beauty…

Besides Qin Qing, whose back figure was like this?

The rich second generations, blushing due to a lack of vocabulary, saved the video one after another.

[QQ number and WeChat ID were both captured, can we add him! @Brother Ye, can we add him?] A rich second generation spoke in the group chat, eager for action.

[Get lost! No one is allowed to add him!] Ye Rongzheng gritted his teeth and typed this sentence. Finally, he said to Qin Qing with extreme irritability: “You might as well use the original avatar.”

“Using the original avatar isn’t good, right? That would be deceiving people.” Qin Qing put down his phone, resting his snowy cheek and smiling casually. His gentle eyebrows and eyes were dyed with the fireworks of the night market, half real, half illusory.

Ye Rongzheng looked at him, his pitch-black eyes fixed, a feeling of heart-pounding arriving quietly.

A group of rich second generations protested in the group: [Brother Ye, who was the one who said just now to let us all add Qin Qing? You can’t go back on your word!]

[Exactly! We won’t add him privately, we’ll ask him for his account face to face later.]

[He has such a good personality, he will definitely give it.]

[Let’s create another group and pull Qin Qing in. We can play together in the future!]

Excited snickering rustled under the table, and someone even made slurping sounds inhaling drool.

Ye Rongzheng was so angry he wanted to curse, but could only hold it in. The words of revenge were all released by him; he had no face to go back on them.

“The food hasn’t been served yet, shall we drink first?” Jin He took out two bottles of beer and placed them in front of Qin Qing and Ye Rongzheng.

Ye Rongzheng was feeling terribly irritable and couldn’t find an outlet, so he immediately picked up the wine bottle, preparing to bite the cap off directly with his canine teeth.

Qin Qing reached out and snatched the bottle of wine.

“What are you doing?” Ye Rongzheng stared and questioned, his expression a bit fierce. He was warning himself every moment—Ye Rongzheng, you are fucking here for revenge, don’t forget your original intention! So what if he’s beautiful? Can being beautiful turn you into a simp?

“Drinking while sick?” Qin Qing moved the wine bottle aside and gently held Ye Rongzheng’s large hand.

On the bronze-colored back of the hand, an inconspicuous needle hole was faintly visible; that was the trace left by an IV drip.

Qin Qing’s slender fingertips gently stroked the needle hole. The round fingernails, pale pink, scratched the skin itchily. The hairs on Ye Rongzheng’s arm all stood up at this moment. A strange feeling—hot, numb, crisp—made him have to grit his teeth hard.

In his moment of distraction, his friends asked in confusion: “Brother Ye, you’re sick?”

“You can even see such a small needle eye, Qin Qing, you are really attentive.”

Qin Qing still held Ye Rongzheng’s hand and asked worriedly: “What illness? Is it serious?”

“Nothing serious, just a cold.” Ye Rongzheng frowned with a face full of impatience, but obediently let Qin Qing hold his hand.

996 ran out of the barbecue shop with a big fish in its mouth, sat down at Qin Qing’s feet, rolled its eyes and complained: “The way this person looks being held by you is really like a silly dog.”

Looking at this situation, the Top 1 (Gong) is hopeless.

Qin Qing looked at this silly dog pretending to be fierce and smiled with curved lips.

Ye Rongzheng’s knitted thick eyebrows unknowingly relaxed a few degrees, unable to even maintain the facade of fierceness. Is Qin Qing’s hand a man’s hand? How is it so thin, so white, so tender? Smiling like a flower, really effeminate!

It seemed his heart was full of disdain, yet also full of dizziness.

Qin Qing let go of Ye Rongzheng’s hand and asked: “What medicine are you taking? Are there cephalosporins?”

Ye Rongzheng glared and said impatiently: “How do I know if there are cephalosporins.”

“Didn’t the doctor tell you?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Where is your medicine? In the dorm? Ask your roommate to check for you. You can’t drink alcohol if you’ve taken cephalosporins.” Qin Qing asked patiently and meticulously.

A group of rich second generations looked at Ye Rongzheng with envious eyes. Damn, is this a scammer? Is there such a pleasing-to-the-eye and caring scammer? If there is, they are willing to pay to be scammed!

Ye Rongzheng scanned his friends with fierce eyes, then took out his phone to call his roommate. His face was written with gloom and impatience, but the corners of his lips were slightly curved. Such an expression of secret delight was completely out of his control.

The call connected quickly. Ye Rongzheng told Yan Boxing that his medicine was on the table and asked him to read the names of the medicines.

Yan Boxing couldn’t find it.

Ye Rongzheng thought for a moment and said it was in the cupboard.

Yan Boxing still couldn’t find it.

Ye Rongzheng thought again and said it was in the drawer.

After busy work for a long time, Yan Boxing finally found the bag of medicine.

If it were anyone else tormenting Ye Rongzheng like this, Ye Rongzheng’s temper would have exploded long ago. But facing Qin Qing’s earnestly gazing eyes, he forced himself to be patient, grinding his back molars, and relayed the names of the medicines one by one.

“No cephalosporins, satisfied?”

After hanging up the phone, he asked grumpily, but couldn’t raise a trace of anger in his heart; instead, he felt somewhat pleased.

This pleasure even made him feel comfortable all over, his illness completely gone.

“Drink.” Qin Qing pushed the beer in front of Ye Rongzheng, instructing worriedly: “Drink less since you are sick.”

“Stop controlling me.” Ye Rongzheng bit off the bottle cap. This action made his lips grin, as if he was smiling.

But actually, he really was smiling, yet didn’t want the people around him to notice.

[Brother Ye, I don’t think Qin Qing looks like a scammer. He treats you really well!] A rich second generation said sourly in the group.

Ye Rongzheng glanced at his phone, his tense handsome face relaxing slightly, revealing a trace of smugness.

Jin He raised his chin at Qin Qing: “You drink too. We ordered a lot of food, it will take a while to be served.”

“Let’s drink together.” Qin Qing touched his wine bottle to Ye Rongzheng’s, then went to touch Jin He’s, and finally stood up, preparing to touch bottles with everyone.

The rich second generations who had originally agreed to ignore him hurriedly stood up and clinked bottles with Qin Qing one by one, the smiles on their faces incredibly brilliant.

Jin He asked: “What do you do?”

“I’m currently unemployed.” Qin Qing tilted his head and took a sip of wine, his tone very calm.

“You look the same age as us, aren’t you studying? We are all students of D University.” Jin He added.

“I was admitted to D University and was supposed to be your alumni, but something happened at home, so I dropped out.” Qin Qing’s tone was still calm, but he drank the wine a bit more urgently.

Jin He nodded and stopped questioning, because he knew that asking further would touch upon someone else’s wounds.

However, Ye Rongzheng asked in a deep voice: “What happened?” His pitch-black eyes looked at Qin Qing unblinkingly.

“My family went bankrupt, and my father jumped off a building.” Qin Qing put down the wine bottle and smiled faintly.

He used the most ordinary attitude to recount the most painful thing. The dinner table fell silent. The secret excitement, throbbing, admiration, and curiosity all turned into empathetic sadness.

“Let’s not talk about this kind of thing, drink.” Jin He reached out his wine bottle and clinked Qin Qing’s bottle across Ye Rongzheng.

So Qin Qing picked up the wine bottle and drank freely. The slightly sweet liquor dyed his lips red and also moistened his eyes. But he was still smiling, skipping over the pain as if it were light clouds and gentle wind.

The uncomfortable feeling grew stronger. Ye Rongzheng scratched his buzz cut irritably, took out a cigarette and held it in his mouth, biting it hard with his teeth.

Words of apology were in his throat, but he couldn’t say them no matter what.

[Brother Ye, stop messing with Qin Qing. I’ll pay back the 150,000 he scammed you for.] A friend said in the group.

[I’ll pay it! I’m not short of money!]

[I’ll do it, I’ll do it!]

[Who the fuck among us is short of money? Only Brother Ye is stingy!]

[Mainly Brother Ye didn’t know Qin Qing was like this. If Brother Ye knew, how would he care about that 150,000! Right, Brother Ye?]

Everyone scrambled to help Qin Qing pay off the debt, and persuaded Ye Rongzheng not to hold it against Qin Qing.

The phone vibrated one after another, making Ye Rongzheng even more irritable. Without picking it up to look, he knew that these brats must be speaking up for Qin Qing.

Waive the debt? If the debt is waived, how can he go back to cohabit with Qin Qing?

This thought flashed through Ye Rongzheng’s brain like lightning. Because the speed was too fast, he didn’t even realize the hidden excitement and expectation within it.

“Give me a cigarette too.” Qin Qing extended two long, slender fingers in front of Ye Rongzheng’s eyes.

Ye Rongzheng was stunned.

The rich second generation sitting next to Qin Qing immediately handed over his cigarette.

Qin Qing slightly opened his thin lips and held the cigarette butt. A wet spot of saliva deepened the color of the yellow-brown filter. Even such a trivial detail could be so charming.

Ye Rongzheng frowned at him, his tone gloomy: “You smoke?” Finally, he licked his dry lips, suddenly wanting to taste what the cigarette in Qin Qing’s mouth tasted like.

“Why, I can’t smoke?” Qin Qing asked amusingly.

Changing worlds, this person even changed his personality. He, who hasn’t awakened yet, is childishly cute.

“No, whatever you want.” Although his mouth said whatever, Ye Rongzheng’s expression was uncomfortable. Qin Qing’s face was really too clean, like a pure white flower, and shouldn’t be stained with any impurities.

Qin Qing hooked his lips into a smile, and using the lighter Jin He extended, he lit the cigarette in his mouth.

Curling blue smoke drifted and scattered, causing him to slightly narrow his gentle and affectionate peach blossom eyes.

Ye Rongzheng turned his head to look at him, his gaze straight and staring.

Holiness stained with the red dust inevitably gets dirty all over. But Qin Qing, full of fragrance, with an expression of indulgence in the smoke, was deadly enchanting and deadly dissolute, making people think of gold powder, silver powder, pearls, jade, gems, and all kinds of extravagant and magnificent things.

Compared to him, that 150,000 was simply not worth mentioning.

How much money would be enough for him? Even if the heart was cheated away, it seemed one would endure it gladly?

Ye Rongzheng stared blankly at Qin Qing, many strange and burning thoughts floating in his mind.

Qin Qing borrowed Jin He’s lighter and lit the cigarette for Ye Rongzheng.

Several rich second generations around also wanted to smoke. He stood up, bent over, and lit them one by one, his smile gentle and warm. His loose collar slipped down, revealing a large patch of fair chest…

Ye Rongzheng pulled Qin Qing hard, his tone a bit irritable.

“They have hands themselves, no need to light it for them!” These words were very choking, and also laced with sourness.

The rich second generations showed flattered smiles, constantly saying thank you Brother Qin. There were also a few rich second generations who already held cigarettes in their hands, waiting excitedly for Qin Qing to light them. After Qin Qing was pressed into the chair by Ye Rongzheng and not allowed to get up, they showed extremely disappointed expressions.

[Where did Brother Ye get the luck to actually be scammed by Qin Qing?]

[If Qin Qing came to scam me, I’d lie flat and wait for him!]

[The person is so beautiful, the smile is so sweet, and the personality is so gentle and considerate. If this were my lover, I’d take him home and worship him like an ancestor.]

[Tonight Brother Ye can enter the house, I’m envious!]

A thick sour smell quickly permeated the group.

Ye Rongzheng lowered his eyes to read these messages, the corners of his lips rising uncontrollably. He quickly finished smoking a cigarette and habitually flicked it into a nearby trash can.

Qin Qing looked back, then took a bottle of mineral water and walked over to extinguish the still-burning cigarette butt.

“Extinguish the cigarette butt before throwing it, otherwise it’s easy to start a fire.” He walked back and instructed.

If it were anyone else speaking to Ye Rongzheng like this, he would have already cursed “get lost”. But facing Qin Qing, besides frowning deeply and feeling secretly aggrieved, he could only pretend to be impatient and say: “You are really meddlesome! Won’t do it next time.”

Qin Qing shook his head and suddenly laughed in a low voice.

The God who had not yet awakened, nor stepped into society, was actually like this. Like a lion just reaching adulthood, bluffing and shaking his thick mane, wanting to show off his powerful strength. But in reality, he was still very immature.

This smile, finding it quite interesting, shone in the night, making Ye Rongzheng stare blankly for two seconds.

“Why did you quarrel with your mom?” Qin Qing asked helplessly.

“No reason!” Thinking of his mother’s increasing madness, and thinking that Qin Qing also knew this embarrassing secret, Ye Rongzheng’s pretended fierce tone carried genuine anger: “Ask less about my family affairs!”

Qin Qing felt his change, and his smile stagnated slightly.

The voices of the rich second generations who were chatting happily lowered a lot.

Brother Ye had a very bad relationship with his mother; this was something everyone knew. As soon as his mom was mentioned, he would definitely explode. Qin Qing would inevitably be affected.

Jin He patted Ye Rongzheng’s back from behind, hinting him not to lose his temper in front of Qin Qing, but heard Qin Qing say in a gentle and helpless tone: “I’m a bit older than you, just treat me as your older brother. It’s right for an older brother to care about a younger brother. You told me not to ask, so I won’t ask. If taking your anger out on me makes you feel better, then go ahead.”

After speaking, Qin Qing raised his hand and touched Ye Rongzheng’s head. After a pause, he said again: “So prickly, are you a hedgehog?”

He spread his palm, letting Ye Rongzheng see his skin pricked into a patch of light red, his voice carrying a soothing gentle smile.

Seeing him smile, the others couldn’t stop laughing out loud.

Although Brother Ye was scary when he lost his temper, Qin Qing’s gentleness was even more irresistible.

Ye Rongzheng held Qin Qing’s red palm, looked at it, rubbed it, and surprisingly said: “Sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

Qin Qing patted his hand and said with a smile: “That doesn’t count as yelling. If you’re in a bad mood, you should vent it out. I’m very happy to keep you company.”

Ye Rongzheng stared blankly at him, vaguely thinking: Is Qin Qing really a scammer? Or is this just his method of scamming? Being scammed by him like this, it seems… not unacceptable.

Just then, the waiter brought plates of barbecue over and arranged them neatly on the table.

Qin Qing looked around and said in surprise: “Why isn’t there anything you like to eat? Didn’t you order?”

Ye Rongzheng really hadn’t ordered, and indeed there was nothing on the table he liked to eat.

Everyone looked at Qin Qing in surprise, not understanding how he would know such small hobbies in life.

Qin Qing smiled and said: “When we played games before, you said that if we had a chance to meet in the future, you would treat me to barbecue. You also said you like grilled fatty intestines, grilled beef tallow, grilled pork belly, and grilled Shao Pi the most. None of these things are on the table. I guess you probably didn’t order. You sit, I’ll go in and order for you, and grab a bottle of milk by the way. You are sick, drink less alcohol. By the way, are you lactose tolerant? You didn’t tell me this.”

He asked chatteringly, his attitude intimate and natural, like an old friend he had known for many years. He remembered every word Ye Rongzheng said online, and also took care of Ye Rongzheng’s feelings at all times.

Where is there a scammer like this?

Where is there someone who can smile so warmly and act so thoughtfully?

Being scammed, it seems one can also be willingly addicted.

Ye Rongzheng stared blankly at Qin Qing, his head nodding subconsciously: “I can drink milk.”

So Qin Qing walked into the barbecue shop.

As soon as he left, the rich second generations at the table exploded, accusing Ye Rongzheng one by one: “Brother Ye, I’m not saying this to lecture you, but you are really too stingy.”

“Yeah! Do you have the heart to use that bullshit plan you and Mu Feiyan made on Qin Qing? If you really treat him like that, we will definitely expose you!”

“I want to expose you right now! I want to add Qin Qing on WeChat and tell him the truth!”

“Brother Ye is not a good person, Qin Qing, stay away from him!” A rich second generation had already taken out his phone and seriously wrote this sentence in the application field for adding Qin Qing as a friend.