Chapter 20: The Perils of Online Dating Part 3

The other said: What does her dad have to do with her?!

And just like that, the second soul hammered the first one to death.

Ming Ying got up, found the phone he’d tossed aside to who-knows-where, and opened WhatsApp. He navigated to that familiar profile picture—there were messages?

XI: Did you get home okay?

Ming Ying sat down on his bed. That tone, this message was definitely from XI.

He sighed.

Mingo: Made it [Crying]

Mingo: Saw him too [Crying]

Mingo: Is he your father? [Crying]

Mingo: I didn’t know he was your father before

Mingo: So scary.

Mingo: Did he check your phone?

Mingo: [Puppy fainted sticker]

After firing off this string of messages, Ming Ying stared at his phone.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

All Read.

Then, Ming Ying saw the status at the top change to [Typing…]

After about five minutes, it was still in that state. Ming Ying frowned.

Just as he was about to send a sticker, the reply finally came.

XI: Ming, Wednesday. Let’s come out and talk.

We should indeed talk… Ming Ying thought. But why Wednesday?

Mingo: Okay.

Mingo: Let’s meet at school tomorrow then. Morning, at the café?

The reply came five minutes later.

XI: You have a full schedule tomorrow and the day after.

Ming Ying: “…”

Has God been this displeased with him lately?

Suddenly, his phone buzzed twice more.

XI: Wednesday. The library.

XI: 367

Library? Ming Ying paused, but then seeing “367,” he understood. It was one of the private reading rooms in the library. But usually, only professor-level staff had access to those.

Mingo: Is this your card or…? [Crying laughing]

Two minutes passed. Read, no reply.

Ming Ying hurriedly sent a message.

Mingo: I could actually skip class and come see you.

Two minutes later, a buzz.

XI: What time?

Mingo: How about 9 PM?

XI: I’ll be gone by the time you finish class.

XI: I’ll just wait until you have no class.

Ming Ying paused. Was it his imagination, or did XI’s tone seem a little off?

But… getting caught by your dad for online dating and receiving those kinds of lewd photos would put anyone in a bad mood, right…

Ming Ying suddenly frowned.

Mingo: Alright, see you Wednesday then!

XI: Mm.

Even in a bad mood, she still replied to him…

Ming Ying pursed his lips, hesitated, and sent one more.

Mingo: Um, he didn’t give you a hard time, did he?

Mingo: [Puppy head pat sticker]

After sending that epically insensitive message, Ming Ying got the expected “Read, no reply” result.

Ming Ying completely understood. If he imagined himself in her shoes, he wouldn’t feel like talking either.

Thus, he decided this was the time to step up and take responsibility as a “boyfriend.”

Mingo: I’ll be here for you.

Mingo: Don’t be afraid of him.

Mingo: Wanna eat something?

Mingo: Where are you right now? I can order takeout for you.

Mingo: [Puppy butt wiggle sticker]

Buzz. Ming Ying blinked.

XI: Ming, stop spamming.

XI: Also, there’s a bit of a misunderstanding between us. It absolutely has to be cleared up in person. Do not miss our meeting Wednesday.

Ming Ying’s heart suddenly tensed with nervousness.

Could it be… she was going to break up with him?

Wait, were they even dating?

Ming Ying desperately wanted to ask, but didn’t dare send any more messages.

Obediently, he put his phone down, opened his laptop, and started working on his assignment.

And so, all day Monday, Ming Ying didn’t contact XI. And naturally, XI didn’t contact him either.

This was the first time in a long while that they’d gone a whole day without any communication whatsoever.

As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from austerity to luxury, but hard to go back. Ming Ying felt very unaccustomed.

Over this period, whatever topic crossed his mind, his first impulse was always to tell XI.

Something fun, scary, bizarre, lewd…

Now, suddenly unable to chat with XI, Ming Ying had no choice—but to pester his childhood friends group instead.

However, the moment he opened the WeChat group, this was the style he’d been seeing for days:

[Noble Singles Group]

Son No. 1: Anyone there? You failed the meetup? @Mingo

Son No. 1: @Mingo

Son No. 1: @Mingo

…

Son No. 2: What if it was a success instead?

Son No. 2: @Mingo

Son No. 2: @Mingo

…

Ming Ying: “…”

Ming Ying was utterly speechless. He chose to play dead.

That night, while rushing to meet his paper’s DDL, he thought of XI again. He sighed. For the first time, he truly, tangibly felt he was an M. At least getting scolded was better than nothing.

Lost in thought, Ming Ying reached for his phone.

Unlock the screen, find WhatsApp, scroll to that familiar campus scenery avatar.

It felt like he’d performed this sequence countless times.

Propping his chin on his hand, Ming Ying let his mind wander on the chat page. Suddenly snapping back, he saw XI’s status was Online…

Ming Ying blinked. His fingertips hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before he tentatively sent a sticker.

Mingo: [Puppy peeking sticker]

Just one.

Ming Ying silently counted. One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

Buzz.

Ming Ying’s breath hitched.

XI: What is it?

Ming Ying covered his face. A sudden wave of grievance washed over him.

It was completely irrational, but he just felt wronged.

Ming Ying held it in, but couldn’t anymore.

Mingo: Let’s meet now!

Mingo: Just say whatever you have to say.

XI: Too late. Not safe.

XI: Be good.

Mingo: Tomorrow, then?

XI: You have class tomorrow.

Ming Ying was about to bristle. What kind of saint was this, caring about his attendance even more than he did?

Mingo: Aren’t you at school? Let’s just meet for a bit at noon.

Ming Ying saw “Typing…” flicker. He sighed.

Mingo: Then can I still talk to you?

“Typing…” disappeared.

XI: We’ll talk on Wednesday.

Ming Ying gave a bitter laugh. Ignoring whether XI wanted to or not, he snapped a picture of his project assignment and sent it over.

Mingo: I don’t know how to do this, teach me!

When it came to asking about homework, XI actually replied.

And not just once.

Ming Ying was cheerfully occupied again, even finding time to complain about Professor Oliver.

Mingo: Don’t you think our Professor Oliver is quite handsome, but so cruel? His assignments are always so hard!

Read, but no reply.

Ming Ying sighed, reaching over to mark another day off on his calendar.

He could have met XI yesterday.

At the same time, at the Aston Hotel in Manhattan.

Silas had considered looking for Ming Ying at noon to clear things up, but considering Ming Ying had afternoon classes, it was one or the other. He had to abandon that idea.

Because he wasn’t sure, if he confessed to Ming Ying, whether Ming could still calmly focus through an afternoon lecture.

Silas rose from the sofa and glanced up.

Little Ben and Miss Cherry had already been grabbed and sat down on opposite sides of the couch.

Cherry still wore that wide-eyed, defiant look. “Silas, this has nothing to do with me.”

Ben: “Nothing to do with me either!”

The man crossed his arms and smiled. “Did I say what it’s about?”

Cherry: “…”

Little Ben: “Hmph.”

Cherry added, “Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with me!”

Silas raised a hand. “I just want to ask something about Ming.”

“Ming?” Cherry turned the name over in her mind, seemingly taking a while to place it. “Oh, your cute boy?”

Ben: “Ming? Little Teacher Ming?”

Cherry turned to look at him. “When did Ming become your teacher?”

Ben made a face. “None of your business!”

Cherry snorted and was about to retort, but heard Silas say, “Cherry.”

When Silas spoke, both Cherry and Ben obediently lowered their heads.

The man frowned and asked, “Cherry, how exactly did you put Ming’s number into my phone?”

Hearing this, Cherry thought Silas was about to settle old scores. She started stammering.

Silas sat down across from her, not looking angry. “Cherry, something very troublesome has happened, and I need to resolve it. So you must tell me the truth. Can you do that?”

Cherry pursed her lips. “I stole your phone and added it.”

Silas frowned slightly.

Ben, beside her, covered his mouth trying to suppress a giggle.

Silas continued, “What else? Did he know who was on the other end?”

Cherry shook her head.

Silas didn’t seem surprised. His expression was neutral. “Why didn’t you tell the truth at the time? This joke wasn’t funny.”

Cherry paused, seeming to detect something from Silas’s tone. She looked up, a hint of curiosity in her voice. “I’m really sorry, but… did Ming mistake you for me?”

The man shot her a glance.

Cherry also started covering her mouth to hide her laugh.

“I really didn’t mean it,” Cherry said apologetically. “Did he find out? It didn’t go badly, did it?”

Silas said nothing.

Suddenly, Ben chimed in from the side, “Nothing bad would happen even if he found out!”

Cherry frowned. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Ben raised his little head, recalling the colorful screens he’d sneakily glimpsed on Little Teacher Ming’s phone, and declared righteously, “Little Teacher Ming is super popular!”

“He has tons of friends! He chats well with everyone!”

“He doesn’t lack just for Silas alone!”

Cherry: “…”

This was a truly interesting piece of innocent, childlike wisdom. Completely pure and flawless, yet capable of sparking endless implications.

Then, Cherry heard Silas laugh—a very soft sound.

…

Ming Ying had no idea he’d received such a compliment in his absence.

All he knew was that when he woke up the next day, XI’s response to his messages was still Read and Unreplied.

Ming Ying sighed, then stretched lazily, washed his face, and prepared to head out for class. Today was a full day.

For some reason, after days of rain, the weather today in New York was exceptionally good, with brilliant sunshine.

Before leaving, Ming Ying clasped his hands together and bowed once towards the window—a suggestion from Mark.

When you’re having an incredibly unlucky streak in life, you should pray a bit, to dispel the bad luck.

Wishing that everything today would go smoothly.