Lu Quan had never found waiting for a single message to be such exquisite torture.
Ten minutes dragged by, and Zhizhi still hadn’t replied.
The tip of his tongue pressed against a canine tooth, sending a faint sting through his mouth, soon followed by the metallic tang of blood.
He let the blood flow, his gaze darkening as a dangerous air seeped into his furrowed brow.
Jin Meng shot Xu Cheng a meaningful glance. He shrugged helplessly, indicating he had no idea what was going on.
After a moment’s thought, he tapped his temple with a finger.
Jin Meng: “…”
The three of them sat in heavy silence for half an hour.
Jin Meng couldn’t take the eerie tension any longer. She slammed her fan down on the table, her tone aggressive.
“Is he having one of his episodes?”
Xu Cheng shook his head. “Nah, he’s doing just fine.”
Their conversation reached Lu Quan’s ears. He coolly pocketed his phone, his eyes narrowing slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward in what seemed like a smile.
“You’re talking about me right to my face?”
Jin Meng rolled her eyes, snatched up her fan from the table, stood, and tossed out a parting shot.
“If you like him, go chase him.”
Lu Quan’s icy gaze drifted lazily to Xu Cheng, who froze, wiped the grin from his face, and hurriedly protested.
“It wasn’t me! She guessed it herself!”
Xu Cheng frantically distanced himself, not wanting to get dragged into this.
Lu Quan looked away and glanced back down at his phone.
Why wasn’t Zhizhi replying? Had he hit the nail on the head?
She’d said she liked him the most, after all.
Was it a lie?
No matter. He’d make Zhizhi like him even more.
And if she wasn’t his already, he’d just take her.
“Is this… Comic-Con?”
Liang Zhixia turned to Lu Xingzhu, his voice brimming with delight.
Lu Xingzhu lifted his chin proudly. Seeing Liang Zhixia’s happy expression confirmed he’d picked the perfect spot.
He huffed smugly. “There might even be some surprises inside.”
The event was hosted by one of his friends—a massive affair, packed with top online cosplayers whose costumes were spot-on.
The atmosphere buzzed with energy. Though Liang Zhixia wasn’t deeply into anime culture, he was thrilled all the same.
It was his first time at Comic-Con, and he’d already collected handouts from several strangers.
His phone in his bag lit up briefly before going dark again, as if nothing had happened.
Weaving through the crowds, Lu Xingzhu worried about losing him and tied a colorful balloon to his wrist.
And so, a peculiar sight emerged amid the Comic-Con chaos: a handsome young man with a colorful balloon tethered to his wrist, flanked by a yellow-haired guy in ripped jeans.
Plenty of people snapped covert photos and posted them online, sparking quite the buzz.
The convention was huge, and the two hadn’t even covered half of it before they grew tired.
Liang Zhixia beamed at the photos on his camera. “Thanks for bringing me here to gather material.”
Lu Xingzhu wasn’t into this stuff, but he was happy too. With a grand wave of his hand and a cocked eyebrow, he declared, “Of course. We’re best buddies.”
They rested for half an hour before resuming their stroll.
At one exhibit area, Liang Zhixia spotted a massive, rowdy crowd.
He tugged Lu Xingzhu over to check it out.
Lu Xingzhu knew it was one of his hobbies.
But no sooner had they arrived than someone called out.
“Young Master Lu!”
Liang Zhixia didn’t realize at first that it was directed at Lu Xingzhu—until a young man, drenched in sweat, planted himself in front of them and called out again.
“…He’s looking for you.”
He was a bit stunned by the form of address at first.
But on second thought, it made sense.
He’d vaguely sensed during their chats that Zhuzi’s family had money.
He just hadn’t expected a young heir from high society.
The young man eyed him hesitantly, and Liang Zhixia got the hint right away. “You two talk. I’ll go sit over there.”
The young man gave him a friendly smile.
Tugging the balloon string, he settled somewhere he could easily spot Lu Xingzhu. The place was enormous, and he was hopeless with directions.
If he lost Zhuzi, the rest of the day would be spent searching.
He pulled out his phone from his bag and froze.
The screen showed over a dozen messages from L.
The first one that caught his eye asked if he had a boyfriend.
He scrolled through their chat history, piecing it together with the context.
Did L think Zhuzi was his boyfriend?
He had no idea why, but this needed clearing up.
He typed slowly.
【Zhizhi】: He’s not my boyfriend. Just a good friend.
The message sent successfully. He figured it’d be a while before a reply came.
But the next second, one popped up.
【L】: Zhizhi seems to have a lot of guy friends.
He blinked and mentally tallied them up.
【Zhizhi】: Not that many. Four or five, maybe.
【L】: Zhizhi must be popular with the boys.
He pondered it. Truth be told, he’d always gotten along better with girls. Back in elementary and middle school, boys had mocked his looks. In high school, he’d even gotten a love letter from a guy. His desk mate found out and blabbed it everywhere with vicious glee.
The guy had apologized in the end, but he hadn’t accepted it.
So he typed back, head bowed.
【Zhizhi】: Average.
【L】: Is Zhizhi still with that guy friend right now?
【Zhizhi】: Yeah.
【L】: Just the two of you?
【Zhizhi】: Yep. He even bought me a balloon.
He raised his left hand, snapped a photo for the camera, and sent it. The colorful balloon floated above, tethered to a slender, pale wrist with clearly defined knuckles.
His long fingers curved gently downward, the skin smooth as porcelain, fingertips like polished jade—a flawless work of art.
And on the inner side of his ring finger sat a tiny red mole, so small he probably never noticed it.
But the man who received the photo stared with heated intensity, his sticky gaze fixed on that mole, unmoving.
A single thought consumed his mind.
He had to lick that hidden red mole until it was raw, stained with debauched crimson, erotic and dripping with desire.
Some time later, Liang Zhixia finally got a reply.
A short voice message.
【L】: Zhizhi’s hand is so pretty. I want to lick it.
The man’s voice was hoarse, his icy tone veiled in mist, laced with uneven breaths, low and husky.
It was unfairly seductive.
Only after a long moment did the din of Comic-Con filter back into his ears.
Heat crept over his face. He bent forward, hands covering it, his ears flushing ruby red.
How could L say something like that!
He resolved not to reply to L anymore!
Comic-Con was vast, but the air felt thinner, hotter by the second.
He licked his parched lips and chugged half a bottle of water to ease the dryness in his throat.
Lu Xingzhu came over and saw his flushed face. “Xia Xia, why’s your face so red? You okay?”
Liang Zhixia looked up at him, eyes shimmering like they held unshed tears, all dewy.
“A bit hot.”
He lifted his left hand to fan himself. The colorful balloon bobbed with the motion. His gaze flicked to it, and he yanked his hand back as if burned, planting it primly on his thigh.
That wicked voice echoed in his ears again.
I want to lick.
L wanted to lick his hand.
So perverted.
The heat on his face intensified, his cheeks burning brighter.
Lu Xingzhu frowned. “Maybe we should head out for a bit.”
Liang Zhixia shoved the thoughts from his mind, throat bobbing. “No need, I’m fine. Oh, right—what did that guy want earlier?”
Lu Xingzhu eyed his face—no other symptoms besides the flush—and relaxed a little.
“Something came up in that exhibit hall. The cosplayer for the role took a tumble and can’t perform now.”
Liang Zhixia gave him a puzzled look.
Lu Xingzhu scratched his head with a sheepish grin. “Forgot to mention—this Comic-Con’s put on by a friend of mine.”
Liang Zhixia nodded in realization.
No wonder the young man had addressed him that way.
“Any solution yet?”
Lu Xingzhu sighed and plopped down beside him, ruffling his hair.
“Nope. The character’s from a hot game—tall, stunning looks. The organizers want a perfect match, but good luck finding one on short notice.”
Liang Zhixia didn’t know how to console his stressed friend. Recalling some manga tropes, he ventured hesitantly, “Could a guy cross-dress for it?”
He knew just the guy—a master of drag with a killer figure, pretty face, and pro makeup skills.
Lu Xingzhu paused at the idea, then scanned his friend’s frame. His eyes lit up.
“You’re right!”
Liang Zhixia was thrilled to help.
“Then I’ll contact—”
He hadn’t even finished speaking when the person beside him grabbed his hand. Lu Xingzhu’s grip was incredibly strong. He yanked Liang Zhixia to his feet in one swift motion, spinning him around for no apparent reason. Then Liang Zhixia saw the other man beaming with excitement as he declared, “It fits perfectly! It’ll be spot-on!”
Liang Zhixia still had no clue what was happening. He stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
It wasn’t until a young man popped up out of nowhere that Liang Zhixia realized he and Lu Xingzhu were huddled together, deep in conversation.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t make sense of a single word they were saying.
“What do you think?”
“Setting aside the gender issue, it really matches. I’m just not sure how it’ll look when worn.”
“No need to try it on—we already know it’ll look gorgeous!”
Lu Xingzhu thumped his chest in firm assurance.
With no one else available on such short notice, the young man might as well give it a shot. He gritted his teeth and said, “Alright then. Young Master Lu, please bring your friend and come with me.”
Liang Zhixia, utterly bewildered, allowed himself to be pulled along.
He asked softly, “Where are we going?”
Lu Xingzhu’s voice brimmed with excitement and anticipation.
“I’m taking you to try on this character.”
“Huh? Me?”
Liang Zhixia stared at him with wide eyes in astonishment. Didn’t that mean he would have to dress in women’s clothing?
“No way. I won’t look good in it.”
Lu Xingzhu shot him a disapproving look. “Nonsense! Xia Xia, you have absolutely no idea what you really look like.”
The young man had been listening quietly to their exchange. He interjected, “We’ll pay an appearance fee. Two thousand.”
Liang Zhixia fell silent for two seconds.
“Okay.”
