After dinner, Xie Ling finished his homework and holed up alone in his room, sketching away. Outside, his mom Madam Fu was chatting and laughing with Gu Ran. Normally, he’d dive right in and join the fun, but today he inexplicably wasn’t in the mood.
A class notification popped up on his phone’s lock screen. It was Zheng Qianqian urging the students who hadn’t voted yet to hurry up and do so.
Xie Ling tsked. He logged into the forum’s voting section.
Qin Han: 1425 votes
Liu Fei: 332 votes
Xu Jian: 135 votes
…
The rest had plummeted below three digits.
No point in continuing the vote. Might as well call it tonight.
It was so frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.
Xie Ling glared fiercely at the two words “Qin Han” on the screen before tapping Liu Fei’s name with one finger.
He wouldn’t vote for Qin Dog no matter what! Their class monitor was diligent and hardworking, not to mention good-looking. He always called out “Ling Bro” so sweetly. Yeah, he’d go with him!
Just as Xie Ling was about to click “Vote,” a WeChat message suddenly popped up at the top of his screen.
It was from a group called “No.1 High F4.” Xia Yu and Zhang Chengrui had come up with the name back then, Xie Ling had given it the final seal of approval, and Xiao Yanfei thought it sounded pretty cool too.
Little Yu’er: Little Lingling? What’s Little Lingling up to? Still mad about this afternoon, meow? [Cat Petting Head.jpg]
Auspicious Beast: Ling Bro, don’t be mad! I haven’t voted yet! You tell me who to vote for and I’ll do it—you’re my one and only guide! So, can you carry me tonight while we grind ranks?
A minute later.
Auspicious Beast: Wuwu, Ling Bro, why aren’t you replying? Do you not love your little baby anymore? [Cat Crying.jpg]
Little Yu’er: Buzz off, you Alpha—what’s with the fuss? I’m Little Lingling’s little baby! [Shy][Shy]
Blazing Sun: So you voted for Qin Han?
Little Yu’er: !!! You promised you wouldn’t tell!
Blazing Sun: Be my little baby and I won’t.
Little Yu’er: ??? So you’ve been coveting my beauty all this time!!
Little Yu’er: No, Little Lingling, listen to me. I hadn’t seen your post yet when I voted this afternoon!
Xie Ling couldn’t help but chuckle at their antics. The corners of his mouth, which had been pressed tight all evening, finally lifted a little.
Free: Vote for whoever you want. That’s between me and him. Got nothing to do with you guys.
Blazing Sun: See? I told you he wouldn’t be mad @Little Yu’er
Blazing Sun: But hey, bro @Free, don’t be too down about it. Check out the water cooler section. Some guy followed up your post with a new one ripping into Qin Han.
Xie Ling: ???
He quickly backed out of the voting section and switched to the water cooler. His post from that afternoon had sunk without a trace—no one had dared echo its explosive content. In its place, a new post was floating at the very top—
Title: I’m from Huaining Junior High. I can prove Ling Bro’s post is true.
OP ID: Compulsory Love Lock
Main post: Although Qin Han only stayed at Huaining for one school year before transferring out, he bullied me plenty. But I see it differently from Ling Bro. I think all his bullying came from him secretly crushing on me but not knowing how to confess, so he resorted to picking on me to keep me tied to his side.
Pfft—
Xie Ling choked and coughed several times at that last half-sentence. His finger instinctively scrolled down.
2L: ??????
3L: Small question mark? Got a lot of friends like that?
4L: If you had even a peanut’s worth of brains…
They hadn’t dared say much about Xie Ling’s daytime post, but this shady little alt account? That was fair game.
Was this suspicious nobody on the same level as Ling Bro??
Spreading rumors and fantasizing about their male god like that? Unforgivable!
The OP ignored all the mockery from the early replies and, starting from the seventh floor, began laying out facts with cold logic.
7L: Back in junior high, Qin Han deliberately kept me after class to memorize texts—and not just once. He ate the chocolate I gave him but still ratted me out to the teacher for skipping class with my friends. He even deliberately scattered trash on the floor and made me stay behind for cleanup duty. I was furious at first, but then I noticed a pattern: every single time, I had plans to hang out with my childhood sweetheart. So I figure Qin Han just didn’t want me spending time with my childhood sweetheart and pulled all those stunts.
Xie Ling had to admit, this guy was a real piece of work. He’d buy most of what the poster said, but Qin Han crushing on him and acting out like that? No chance in hell.
That jerk pulled crap like that purely to abuse his position as class monitor. Crushes had nothing to do with it. As if a scheming, holier-than-thou dog like Qin Han would ever pine after anyone. Hilarious.
Still… that bit about the childhood sweetheart felt eerily similar to his own situation. The few times Qin Han had blocked him, he’d also been on his way out with his childhood sweetheart.
10L: [Keep it up, it’s almost believable.jpg]
11L: OP, have you been crushing on our male god for years, got rejected one too many times, and finally snapped???
12L: OP’s nickname fits your vibe perfectly~ Head over to the neighboring Green JJ for some yaoi development, why don’t you~
The OP remained unfazed, churning out more examples and vehemently condemning Qin Han. Even if he did have a crush, that kind of behavior was straight-up elementary school nonsense—immature and gross.
The guy didn’t seem all that bright, but his takedown of Qin Han really resonated with Xie Ling.
The campus forum had a private messaging function. Xie Ling tapped it to poke the OP.
Free: Bro, fellow traveler on this road of suffering. Wanna chat?
“Compulsory Love Lock” replied instantly, as if he’d been waiting by his phone: Sure.
Compulsory Love Lock: Qin Han is barely human. Crushing on me and using such dirty tactics.
Xie Ling didn’t bother correcting the guy’s wild imagination. He wholeheartedly agreed on the “dirty” part, though. He started typing a reply when a barrage of messages came flying in—
Compulsory Love Lock: He’s worse than a pig or a dog.
Compulsory Love Lock: I heard he used to mess with you all the time, Ling Bro. You should’ve taught him a real lesson—made him your slave or something.
Compulsory Love Lock: You’re way better than him, Ling Bro.
Compulsory Love Lock: Dog thing. Trash.
Xie Ling: …
This bro’s typing speed was insane. And the trash talk… filthy didn’t even cover it.
Sure, Xie Ling sniped at Qin Han plenty and called him Qin Old Dog behind his back, but he never got quite that crude…
The guy kept going, cursing out Qin Han’s ancestors for eighteen generations while showering Xie Ling with over-the-top praise. Probably one of his fans.
Xie Ling stared at the flood of messages. For some reason, instead of feeling satisfied, an inexplicable irritability bubbled up.
What was this? Why wasn’t he feeling better? The guy was cursing Qin Han out hardcore, and he was a fan to boot. Shouldn’t that make him happy?
Free: Uh, bro, Qin Dog might be a dog, but he’s crushing on you at least. You cursing him out like this—
Xie Ling paused, not even sure what he was typing. No message recall on the forum anyway, so he just randomly finished it—
Free: Doesn’t that mean you have zero interest in him?
The other side went quiet for about five seconds.
Compulsory Love Lock: It’s a long story. How about we switch to WeChat?
Free: Sure.
A minute later, Compulsory Love Lock sent a friend request.
Xie Ling clicked agree on instinct.
Then he realized something was off.
Why did this profile pic look so familiar?
It was the bunny from his favorite chocolate wrapper.
Xie Ling instinctively tapped into the profile. After seeing the WeChat ID, he froze.
A moment later, the corners of Xie Ling’s mouth pulled down.
Free: What kind of play is this, Chairman Qin?
Han: Feeling better now?
Free: …Having fun messing with me?
In a flash of heat, Xie Ling nearly blacklisted Qin Han again on impulse.
As if sensing it, Qin Han fired off a message at lightning speed: I’m sorry. I was wrong about what happened back then.
Xie Ling paused, his thumb hovering over the screen, refusing to drop for a long time.
Han: I wanted to apologize to you as soon as I transferred in, but I knew you wouldn’t believe me. So I figured I’d show it through actions first—being your little bro, though not just for the free lunches.
Han: Once I’m elected this time, I swear I won’t meddle with you anymore. You wanna ditch wherever, I’ll go with you.
Han: Don’t be mad anymore, okay?
Xie Ling was usually quick with the snark, but right now, words failed him.
He hadn’t expected Qin Han to apologize out of nowhere. And it felt… sincere?
Ever since Qin Han transferred in, unless Xie Ling provoked him first, he’d never brought up the past, let alone apologized.
Xie Ling had always figured a dog like Qin Han didn’t even care about what happened back then.
Free: …Where’d you get the idea I was mad?
Han: But lately you won’t let me hug you for long QAQ
Free: ???
Han: When borrowing pheromones, you’d always coax me for more before. Lately you don’t even talk—just cold face and “get it over with quick” QAQ
…Why did that sound so weird??
Free: Can you stop spamming “QAQ”?
Han: You don’t like it?
Han: Don’t you like pretty, soft Omegas?
Han: How does Brother Gu Ran usually chat with you?
Free: …What does Brother Gu Ran have to do with this?
Han: Nothing, just asking -0-
Xie Ling: …
Han: Back in junior high, you were so dazzling and outstanding. I was young and dumb, so I picked on you. After going to the States, I reflected on it every day and realized I was truly in the wrong.
Han: Can you forgive me?
Han: T ^ T
Xie Ling: ……
He really hadn’t expected Qin Han to be such an emoji whiz.
That barrage of over-the-top compliments from Qin Han had felt pretty good, though. As expected, being too outstanding just made others jealous.
Free: First, explain what’s up with that post.
Free: Are you secretly in love with yourself?
Free: Split personality?
This time, Qin Han went a full half minute without replying.
And yet Xie Ling stubbornly clutched his phone, waiting the whole time for a response.
Han: I figured the post from earlier today wouldn’t be enough to vent your anger, so I cooked up that one to cheer you up.
Han: Threw in the secret crush bit to make it feel more real.
Xie Ling couldn’t quite see how slapping “secret crush” onto an ID like Compulsory Love Lock made anything more realistic. But honestly, it didn’t matter anymore.
For a pristine type like Qin Han—who never let a curse word slip his lips—to trash-talk himself so viciously online, all just to make him feel better.
Xie Ling scrolled up through Qin Han’s apologies, his expression turning complicated.
Han: Everything I said was true.
Han: Believe me QAQ
Han: If I ever force you into something you don’t like again, I’ll bring that ball gag I bought last time to school.
Xie Ling nearly tumbled off the bed.
Free: …Screenshot taken.
Han: Whatever makes you happy -0-
Qin Han typed out another message: So, have you forgiven me?
He was just about to hit send when Xie Ling’s reply popped up first: Zhen is tired. Time for bed.
Qin Han paused, then deleted what he’d been typing.
Han: Retiring so soon, Your Majesty? It’s only seven thirty.
Free: Zhen handles a million state affairs daily and turns in early. That’s how the truly excellent operate.
Free: Zhen will rise at three to read by lamplight.
Free: No need to find it strange. You’re not on that level yet, so you wouldn’t get it.
Qin Han’s lips curved upward. Even without seeing it, he could picture Xie Ling’s expression perfectly.
At least the evening post and his apology hadn’t been for nothing.
He still didn’t have a straight answer, but pushing too hard wouldn’t help.
Han: Good night, Your Majesty.
Free: [Kneel and withdraw.jpg]
Xie Ling tossed his phone aside and flopped face-first onto the bed. A Polar Bear Plushie about as big as a person lay there, and he buried his head and face right into its soft belly.
He wasn’t sleepy at all. Just irritated.
Several minutes passed before Xie Ling twisted half his face free from the plushie’s belly. He picked up his phone again and tapped into the poll thread.
His gaze lingered for a moment between Qin Han’s name and Liu Fei’s. Then Xie Ling closed his eyes, and his thumb darted out to tap Qin Han’s name before hitting vote.
He exited the School Forum in a flash, took a moment to breathe, then switched over to WeChat. He tapped the three dots in the top right of Qin Han’s chat window and changed the contact name back to Troublemaker.
With that done, Xie Ling flung the phone aside once more. He shoved his face back into the Polar Bear Plushie’s belly and gave one of its fluffy ears a squeeze.
Annoying!
~~~
The School Forum poll ran for a full day and night. In the end, Qin Han clinched first place, beating second-place Liu Fei by a ridiculous margin of over a thousand votes.
Gu Ran let out a sigh of admiration. “Impressive. That’s over a hundred more votes than I got back in the day.”
Xie Ling pursed his lips. “There are more first-years this year than usual. Especially Omegas—way more than in our class. Otherwise, how could he have possibly beaten you?”
Gu Ran chuckled, struck by how indignant Xie Ling looked. It was almost as if Qin Han had broken his own record, not Gu Ran’s.
“Who’d you vote for this time?”
Xie Ling hesitated for two seconds before blurting, “Our Class Monitor, obviously.”
Gu Ran shot him a teasing glance. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Xie Ling’s eyes flickered. “When have I ever lied to you?”
Gu Ran arched a brow, on the verge of pressing further, when he suddenly noticed Xie Ling’s face.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.”
Xie Ling let out a vague hum. Truth be told, he’d been feeling limp and drowsy since the afternoon, but it was probably nothing serious.
“It’s nothing. Stayed up late reading comics last night.”
The two of them turned into a narrow alley. Gu Ran still looked concerned, but Xie Ling laughed it off. “I’m fine, really. Oh, right—the stuff Yu Rong sent should be here soon. He… uh—”
Mid-sentence, Xie Ling suddenly braced himself against the nearby wall. He bent at the waist and fumbled open the top two buttons of his school shirt.
Gu Ran blinked. “What is it?”
“…Nothing. Just suddenly feel hot.”
Hot enough to need to lean on a wall?
The alley was dimly lit. Gu Ran couldn’t make out Xie Ling’s face clearly, but he noticed a hint of red at the corners of his eyes. His breathing sounded a touch quicker than usual, too.
Gu Ran frowned slightly. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I didn’t…” Before he could finish, Xie Ling’s gaze sharpened. He stared straight ahead, snapped to his full height, and shoved Gu Ran behind him.
Gu Ran followed his line of sight, and his own expression darkened instantly.
The narrow alley was blocked off by a gang of thugs. They wore the school’s red-and-white T-shirts, but they didn’t have a shred of student vibe about them. Their hair formed a full rainbow spectrum, and rings pierced their noses and lips. The leader especially had some garish tattoo snaking up his arm—either a dragon or a worm, it was hard to tell. He looked every bit the lowlife street punk from the cheesiest Hong Kong gangster flick.
That lowlife street punk flashed a sinister, unfriendly grin. “Xie Ling. Long time no see.”
