Chapter 01: Scammed
Shi An had been scammed.
Four hours ago, he received a call from the police, asking him to come to the police station to assist with an investigation.
It all started when Shi An met a boyfriend online, a surgeon with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a physique so perfect he looked like a character out of a shonen manga.
Before he could even taste the sweetness of love, Shi An was informed by the police that the photos of his online boyfriend were not of the actual person, and the so-called boyfriend was actually a fraudster, involved in cases totaling over a million yuan.
In fact, Shi An had only mustered up the courage last week to suggest meeting in person, scheduling it for the following Wednesday. He had even dyed his hair for the occasion and was so excited he couldn’t sleep.
As for Shi An’s current mood?
Hmph, men are trash, time to cut off all emotions and love!
In the noisy environment, his phone buzzed and spun on the tabletop.
The caller was Shi An’s childhood friend, Wang Duo.
“Shi-ge, how’s it going?”
“Alive,” Shi An’s tone was like he had just chugged a bottle of herbicide.
Wang Duo really wanted to call him an ambulance. “You’re back from the police station?”
Shi An wasn’t in the mood for small talk. “What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
“A gay bar.”
“Holy crap, don’t give up on yourself,” Wang Duo yelled, “You’re a good, upstanding virgin. If you get into trouble, it won’t be easy to clean up.”
Shi An took a swig of his drink. “If I don’t want to, no one can do anything to me.”
“I’m not worried about you getting done,” Wang Duo paused for two seconds, “I’m worried about you doing someone else.”
Shi An: “…If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
“Wait, wait, send me your location, I’ll come find you.”
“No need,” Shi An didn’t want to see anyone.
Wang Duo was worried and kept preaching over the phone, “I told you long ago that guy was unreliable, but you wouldn’t listen.”
You haven’t even seen his face, how can you be so infatuated just from pictures of his chest and abs? Are you seriously this stupid?
Seeing that he didn’t reply, Wang Duo continued, “If he was really like you said, a surgeon with education, ability, and a good body, why would he like a high school student?”
“I told him I was in university, studying medicine too.”
“…” So, two liars together.
Wang Duo continued, “That’s right! Doctors are so busy, you know that. Where would he find the time to have an online relationship with you?”
“I’ve seen a picture of him in a white coat.”
Especially the one where he wore it without anything underneath, the stethoscope hanging on his chest, the half-unbuttoned buttons, the faintly visible muscle lines, and… never mind, I don’t want to think about it.
In short, it made Shi An’s hand sore for days.
“Just wearing a white coat makes him a doctor?” Wang Duo wanted to crack open his skull, empty it, and fill it with walnuts. “If I put on a dragon robe, would you have to kowtow and call me ‘Your Majesty, long live the Emperor’?”
Shi An was too lazy to entertain his nonsense. “Even if he’s not a doctor, I still like him.”
“You haven’t even seen his face, what’s there to like!”
“I haven’t shown him my face either!”
Wang Duo couldn’t figure out how to wake him up. “With how advanced AI technology is now, those kinds of muscle photos, you can synthesize thirty thousand in three minutes.”
“It’s not synthesized, he’s real!”
Shi An was sure that those were real photos, without any post-production editing.
“Okay, okay, he’s real, alright,” Wang Duo thought to himself that people in love are the biggest idiots in the universe, but he held back, “So what now? Keep trying to find the real person in the photos?”
Shi An didn’t speak.
He was the one who found this scammer, how could he dare to look again?
That’s precisely why Shi An couldn’t understand. How could the person he actively contacted and pursued turn out to be a fraudster?
More than half a year ago, Shi An saw a picture of abs online and was instantly captivated. He searched and inquired everywhere until he finally got the person’s social media account. He sent three friend requests before it was accepted.
Shi An was shy back then and didn’t dare to chat. He secretly followed him for over half a year, watching him post about his daily life and selfies without showing his face.
After the college entrance examination, Shi An learned that the other person had been betrayed by his ex and was heartbroken and struggling to move on. With a “give it a try” attitude, he mustered up the courage to send a message.
Shi An had never been in a relationship and had no experience in this area. They occasionally chatted, but the topics were limited, and Shi An was always the one initiating.
Half a month later, the class organized a graduation party. Shi An, drunk, chatted with him and confessed his feelings under the influence of alcohol.
After saying that, he fell asleep immediately and only saw the reply when he woke up.
The other person said, “Let’s be together.”
In Shi An’s heart, even if the other person was using him as a backup or a tool to relieve loneliness, it would be easier to accept than him being a fraudster.
Wang Duo was also curious, “How many people did he actually scam?”
The police didn’t disclose the specific number, but Shi An overheard an auntie providing evidence say that she was scammed out of 800,000 yuan.
Wang Duo: “Damn, this beast is taking advantage of both men and women.”
Shi An didn’t want to think about it too much, it was disgusting.
His good friend had been scammed, and Wang Duo felt bad too. Besides telling him to look on the bright side, he could only console him by saying that at least he didn’t lose any money.
But when the words reached his lips, Wang Duo hesitated, “You… you didn’t give him any money, right?”
Shi An remained silent, the atmosphere turning awkward and strange.
Wang Duo’s voice cracked, “How much did he scam?”
“Three thousand two hundred and fifty-one.”
The number sounded oddly specific. Wang Duo asked, “Why such an odd number, how did he ask you for it?”
“He didn’t ask, I gave it to him willingly.”
“…Are you seriously a simp?”
Shi An wanted to say “yes,” but his mouth struggled, “We agreed to go see the Olympic opening ceremony, the plane tickets and hotel cost money, I couldn’t let him pay for everything.”
“With that little money of yours, you couldn’t even buy a plane ticket out of Asia!”
“That was all my New Year’s money!”
Wang Duo: “……”
Luckily he was just a poor high school student.
Wang Duo comforted him, “It’s okay, it’s okay, just think of it as a lesson learned. At worst, your bro will use his New Year’s money to make up for it.”
“No need, his son gave it back to me.”
“What? Whose son?”
“The scammer’s son.”
When Shi An went to the police station, the suspect’s son was also there. He saw that Shi An was young and the amount wasn’t much, and the transaction records were clear, so he returned all the money to him in front of the police.
Wang Duo didn’t dare to ask the scammer’s age directly, he slowly brought it up, “His son… is he an adult?”
Shi An was utterly despondent, “His son’s son, is probably, not older than me.”
Wang Duo: “…………”
“Forget it, forget it.” Wang Duo struggled mightily, finally managing to hold back from cursing, “As long as the money’s back, after tonight, we’re still the coolest and most handsome guys in the universe.”
Shi An: “Is this about the money?”
Wang Duo: “Wake up, you dummy! He has a son who has a son, even if he gets out, you guys have no future!”
“Get lost! It’s not him I like.”
The person Shi An couldn’t forget was the person in the photos.
Although Wang Duo still couldn’t understand why Shi An liked big, muscular men, his friend was in trouble, and he couldn’t just ignore it.
Wang Duo gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, “At worst, your bro will sacrifice himself and let you touch him! I’ll close my eyes, tuck my neck in, you can do whatever you want, I won’t struggle!”
Wang Duo was an athlete, training in triathlons, but Shi An wasn’t someone who could just eat any “food.”
“If you disgust me again, we’re done!”
The phone hung up, and Shi An’s mood didn’t improve at all.
He had downed three bottles of alcohol, and taking advantage of the drunken haze, he finally made up his mind to delete the scammer’s contact information.
But it was meaningless. Shi An had backups of the photos, semi-nude photos from various angles, well-proportioned chest muscles, tight abs, a perfect V-line, ninety-three photos in total.
Similar muscle photos were everywhere online, mostly in bizarre and low-quality styles. To show off their bodies, those people would apply tanning oil, strike greasy poses, and make exaggerated movements, exuding a sense of vulgarity with a strange self-confidence.
Although this person was also taking selfies, there was no deliberate element, they were taken very casually, more like fulfilling a task perfunctorily. There was a kind of relaxed handsomeness, belonging to the type that looked thin in clothes but muscular when undressed. It must feel very good to touch.
Shi An zoomed in on the photo. On the upper left side of his chest, there was a light red birthmark, the size of a fingernail, with a very special appearance, like an exploding flame. On the right side of his waist, near the belt area, there was also a scar, not a surgical scar. At first glance, he looked like a man with a story to tell.
Super cool, insanely handsome.
Shi An touched the flame birthmark through the screen.
That person also said that this belonged to him, and this also belonged to him, and when they met, everything would be his.
The brightly lit street, 9:30 PM.
The phone rang three times before Zhong Yan pulled the car over to the side of the road.
Resting his elbow on the window frame, Zhong Yan tilted his head and answered the phone, “Yo, what brings the busy Director Yan here?”
Mother Zhong didn’t have time for his banter. “So you’re going into clinical medicine after all?”
“What’s the matter? Why don’t you, the old man, and your husband have a fight, and I’ll go with whoever wins?”
“It’s your choice, I won’t interfere,” Mother Zhong said, “Come back to the old house for dinner tomorrow night.”
Zhong Yan: “What for again?”
“Your Uncle Chen is visiting, and Manman will be there too.”
Zhong Yan was impatient, “I don’t have time.”
“Manman has been in Germany for many years, it would be good for you to have someone to look out for you when you go there.”
“Your son has hands and feet, he doesn’t need looking after.”
“Stop playing dumb,” Mother Zhong didn’t have the patience to beat around the bush, “Settle things between the two of you before you go abroad, so you can stop fooling around.”
“Also, dye your hair back before you come home, even your grandfather doesn’t have hair as white as yours, it’s not appropriate.”
Zhong Yan: “I’m not dyeing my hair, and I’m not going tomorrow.”
“What’s wrong with Manman, how is she not good enough for you?”
“I didn’t say she’s not good enough, but there’s no rule that says I have to like her just because she’s good, right?”
“Xiao Yan, you wouldn’t…” Mother Zhong thought for a few seconds before speaking, “You wouldn’t happen to like men, would you?”
This made Zhong Yan chuckle. He turned his head to look outside, the largest gay bar in Yang City was right in front of him. “Funny you should say that, I’m curious about that myself. Perfect, let’s test it out.”
Zhong Yan loved to play around and was a regular at bars, but this was his first time at a gay bar. He got a booth, ordered some low-alcohol drinks, and looked around.
Most people who came here had a purpose, each taking what they needed, understanding the unspoken rules. Heavy metal music wasn’t Zhong Yan’s preference, and he didn’t like the writhing waists and hips on the dance floor either.
In less than half an hour, Zhong Yan had rejected a guy in a tight suit, one with cheap cologne, and another in fishnet stockings and high heels.
The girls in his life only made him uninterested, but the men here made him disgusted.
The reason that kept Zhong Yan from leaving was a few meters away at the bar. Through the jarring music and the crowd, he spotted a special someone.
The person was wearing a white T-shirt and black sweatpants with gathered ankles, his outfit completely out of place with the environment. The disco ball swept over his head, his hair was golden, particularly conspicuous in the dimly lit environment.
In over ten minutes, he had only done two things: tilt his head back to drink and look down at his phone, like a lovesick fool buying himself a drunken stupor.
During this time, four people had gone to chat him up, and without exception, they were all rejected.
Now, the fifth one was approaching.
It was a curly-haired white guy, tall and muscular, wearing a gray striped shirt and black-rimmed glasses, trying to look like a cultured intellectual.
The white guy approached slowly with two glasses, and two minutes ago, Zhong Yan had seen him put something in the left glass.
The white guy sat down next to the golden-haired youth, handed him the glass in his left hand, leaned his shoulder in, and started chatting.
The golden-haired youth was so drunk he was swaying, he only glanced at the white guy’s chest, and took the glass.
Instinctively, Zhong Yan got up to stop him. But before he could take a step, his path was blocked, and a glass of drink splashed onto his shirt.
“Are you okay?” The man in front of him quickly apologized, “I’m so sorry, I was so careless.”
Zhong Yan didn’t have time to worry about himself, he looked up to the other side. The drugged drink didn’t go into his mouth, it was all poured on the white guy’s head.
Zhong Yan almost laughed out loud, this kid wasn’t stupid after all.
But provoking the other person would anger him, and with the disparity in their sizes, it would still be suicide.
But in less than half a minute, the golden-haired youth had the white guy in a chokehold.
Zhong Yan: “…”
He underestimated him.
“Hey handsome, can I get your number?” The man in front of Zhong Yan took out his phone, “I’ll buy you a new shirt.”
“No need,” Zhong Yan disdained this kind of low-level pick-up line, he pushed away the hand that was trying to get close to his chest, and walked straight to the bathroom.
There should have been egg white and syrup in the drink, it was very sticky, pink, the more he wiped, the dirtier it got, the more he messed with it, the more annoyed he became. Zhong Yan unbuttoned his shirt and used a wet paper towel to wipe it back and forth.
After a while, he heard the sound of vomiting nearby.
A thin figure was leaning against the sink, head down, swaying.
Up close, he could see that the person was very fair-skinned, his golden hair lazily sticking to his temples, his ears were so red from the alcohol they looked like they could bleed.
His arms pressed against the counter were thin, but surprisingly strong. Through the skin, he could see the arteries and veins.
Steady pulse, normal heart rate, healthy.
When he was done vomiting, Zhong Yan handed him a tissue, “Go home early.”
The golden-haired youth grabbed at Zhong Yan’s hand, his wrist, and the air, and finally got the tissue on the fourth try, “Thank you.”
When he turned his head, Zhong Yan saw his features clearly.
His hairstyle was like that of a fashionable youth, but he had a youthful face. If he didn’t dye his hair and wore a school uniform, he would look no different from a middle school student.
He really was a kid.
Zhong Yan lingered on his eyes for a couple more seconds, no wonder so many people were hitting on him.
The other person was also looking at Zhong Yan, his gaze fixed on his chest, as if he wanted to be glued to it.
Zhong Yan felt apologetic for his disheveled appearance, he lowered his head to tidy up his collar, but was unexpectedly pounced on, his whole face buried in his chest.
“What are you doing?!”
Zhong Yan was caught off guard, his waist was tightly hugged.
The little blondie pressed against his chest, the heat from his lips and nose sweeping up in a cycle, “Why did you take so long to come?”
Zhong Yan pushed the person away, “Who are you!”
“Don’t leave me again.” The little blondie not only talked, but his hands were also restless, groping around as if taking liberties, “You said this is mine, and this is mine too, and here, and here, they’re all mine.”
Zhong Yan’s anger was about to explode, “I’m only saying this once, let go.”
The little blondie loosened his grip a little, raised his chin, his gaze moved to the top of his head, he blinked, hesitated for a moment, and his expression changed, “Are you really this old!”
Zhong Yan: “…?”
“It’s all white,” the little blondie said as he grabbed his hair, truly upset, extremely sad, “Not a single black hair left.”
“…You little shit!” Zhong Yan pulled the hand off his head, “Don’t grab my hair.”
The little blondie was fixated on his white hair, mumbling, “Should I call you uncle or grandpa?”
Zhong Yan: “Call me gege!” (older brother)
The little blondie was obedient, “Oh, gege.”
“That’s more like…” Zhong Yan realized, what am I doing arguing with a kid?
He took half a step back, pushing the clinging person away, “Don’t try to get close to me, I don’t know you.”
The little blondie looked as wronged as a lost puppy, “Gege, you don’t want me again.”
Zhong Yan’s hair was practically on fire, “Are you crazy, who…”
Before he could finish, the little blondie pounced again, and bit him on his left chest.
“Fuck!”
