Lu Quan bent down to pick up the phone watch, the corners of his thin lips curving up slightly. The sharp lines of his profile were tinged with aloofness and indifference, his ink-black eyes calm and unruffled.
His distinctively knuckled fingers toyed with the small phone watch as he strode over. Squatting down in front of the fallen Lu Manman, who had just started to get up, Lu Quan scared him into plopping right back down on his butt.
It hurt so much, boo-hoo.
The tough little man was about to be frightened to tears by his big brother again.
Lu Quan held up the phone watch in his hand, his voice lazy. “What’s this? I remember yours is blue.”
Lu Manman shifted his butt, suddenly finding the floor surprisingly comfortable. He only dared to look, not snatch the watch back. In his childish, milky voice, he said, “It’s the phone watch I gave to Pretty Sister. Sister doesn’t have one, so I want to add her as a friend.”
Liang Zhixia had originally meant to help Lu Manman up, but seeing Lu Quan go over, he stayed on the side. Hearing his name, he curiously glanced at Lu Quan’s hand.
A pink phone watch?
And it was given to him?
Lu Quan leaned in to block Zhizhi’s line of sight from behind, reaching out to pinch Lu Manman’s cheek. In a low voice, he said, “Want to steal someone from your big bro?”
Lu Manman didn’t understand, blinking his big eyes innocently at his brother.
His brother’s expression was too scary right now. Better to play with his fingers for a bit.
The blue phone watch in his hand must have pressed something, because the screen lit up with a photo.
Lu Quan glanced down at it and released Lu Manman’s face, taking the watch from him.
Lu Manman felt wronged but didn’t dare say anything.
Lu Quan looked at the photo and raised an eyebrow. “Not bad.”
The photo seemed to have been taken earlier in the courtyard. It showed Lu Quan picking out hair for Zhizhi. Shot from below, it captured Liang Zhixia’s expression perfectly.
His long, curled lashes were slightly lowered, veiling those light tea-colored eyes. His red lips, glistening with moisture, were gently pursed, and the tips of his ears and his cheeks were both flushed. He looked stunning.
After studying it for a moment, Lu Quan added the two watches as friends, transferred the photo to the pink one, and deleted it from the blue one.
Lu Manman sat on the ground, a short, chubby little lump who couldn’t see his brother’s actions at all. In a small voice, he asked, “Brother, did you add her as a friend?”
Lu Quan tossed the blue phone watch back to him, drawling lazily, “Yeah. I’ll give it to your sister later.”
Lu Manman’s eyes sparkled. He pocketed the blue phone watch, then slowly clambered to his feet. Lu Quan stood right there watching, but Lu Manman didn’t ask his brother for help.
Liang Zhixia stood behind them, silently watching the brothers’ interaction.
Lu Quan slipped the watch into his own pocket and ruffled the little guy’s head, turning it toward the other side. He called out, “Take him home.”
A middle-aged man walked over, saying respectfully, “Right away, Young Master.”
Lu Manman didn’t dare disobey his brother’s order, especially since he’d already delivered his gift. He turned back to Liang Zhixia and said, “Pretty Sister, Manman will call you. Remember to pick up!”
Under the little guy’s expectant gaze, Liang Zhixia hesitated and nodded.
After Lu Manman and the middle-aged man left, Liang Zhixia looked at Lu Quan, his lips parting slightly. “Brother Lu, where’s the thing Lu Manman gave me?”
Lu Quan said, “I confiscated it.”
Liang Zhixia: “…Why?”
Lu Quan: “Lu Manman’s a handful. He’d stick to you nonstop. Do you have time to play with him?”
Liang Zhixia: “No.”
He still had to make money, go to classes, and have his online romance on L Net.
Lu Quan: “I’ll turn him down for you. My parents are home; someone can play with him.”
Only then did Liang Zhixia relax his furrowed brow. “Alright.”
The two of them headed down the stairs. Suddenly, Liang Zhixia tugged at Lu Quan’s shirt corner. “Brother Lu, don’t tell anyone else…”
Lu Quan gazed into his eyes and hummed in understanding.
Someone as pretty as Zhizhi—why share him with others?
After going downstairs, Liang Zhixia realized he’d spent so much time in the room with Lu Quan that the villa was nearly empty.
Only Sister Ai was still bustling about, along with Li Keke waiting for him, and Xu Cheng and Senior Qu Yizhou waiting for Lu Quan.
Seeing him come down, Sister Ai hurriedly pulled him aside, her expression serious. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
Liang Zhixia: “No, he recognized me.”
Sister Ai’s brows furrowed slightly. “You two know each other?”
Liang Zhixia: “He’s my roommate.”
Sister Ai: “…”
What a waste of worry.
On the other side, Xu Cheng teased, “It was really just dancing?”
Lu Quan shot him a cool glance. “What else? Get those dirty thoughts out of your head.”
Qu Yizhou said, “I just saw Uncle Zhang pick up Manman.”
Lu Quan: “Mm.”
He pulled a key from his pocket and tossed it to Qu Yizhou. “Birthday gift.”
Qu Yizhou smiled helplessly. “Thanks, Brother Lu.”
Xu Cheng hollered, “Yizhou doesn’t even like driving. Give it to me next time!”
Lu Quan: “Your birthday was two months ago.”
Xu Cheng: “I can celebrate again.”
Ignoring him, Lu Quan walked over to Liang Zhixia and murmured, “Heading back together?”
It was already very late, and hailing a ride here didn’t look easy.
Liang Zhixia touched his hair and looked up. “Let me grab my stuff first.”
Lu Quan hummed in acknowledgment.
By the time he and Li Keke fetched their bags, Lu Quan and the others were already waiting at the door.
Liang Zhixia, panting a little, said softly, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Xu Cheng had only planned to take one car, but Lu Quan insisted on two.
Leaning on the car window, Xu Cheng whistled. “Ladies, need a ride?”
Lu Quan slammed his door shut, saying coldly, “I’ll take them.”
Qu Yizhou, in the passenger seat, pulled Xu Cheng back in, his expression mild. “Drop me off first. I’ve got something at school.”
Xu Cheng started the car casually. “What is it? Weren’t in a rush earlier?”
Qu Yizhou: “…An experiment.”
Xu Cheng’s only comment: “Nerd.”
In the other car, Liang Zhixia sat in the passenger seat, head down adjusting his skirt hem. Suddenly, a shadow fell in front of him. When he looked up, he nearly bumped lips with the other person.
His body went rigid; he didn’t dare move.
Click—
The seatbelt beside him was fastened.
“…Thanks.”
Li Keke, alone in the back seat, glanced left and right before hunching over her phone, firing off messages like mad.
【It’s real!!!!!!】
【They’re real!!!!!!】
Lu Quan drove steadily and swiftly. Before long, he dropped Li Keke off at the school gate.
She grinned and raised her hand to wave, but the car zoomed off.
Li Keke: “…”
In the car, Lu Quan glanced at the sleeping Zhizhi, reached over to turn up the AC a bit, and slowed down.
Once they reached the school, he parked, unbuckled, and leaned toward Zhixia.
His toned arm braced on one side as he dipped his head. Finally, he stole a kiss.
The moment he’d recognized him, he’d wanted to do this.
So sparkly—gorgeous.
After several more kisses, he gently nudged Zhixia and whispered in his ear, “Xia Xia, we’re at school.”
After a few tries, Liang Zhixia woke up, blinking in a daze.
“We’re here?”
He started to get out but suddenly noticed the maid dress he was wearing. He glanced back at his bag in the rear seat.
“Brother Lu, could you wait outside? I need to change.”
Lu Quan, standing outside the car in the shadows, had deep, unreadable eyes that hid his expression.
“Need help?”
Liang Zhixia refused at once. “No, I got it!”
The door slammed shut. Lu Quan leaned against it, rubbing his fingertip, his gaze landing on the side mirror.
The dark window reflected nothing inside.
But imagining Zhixia in his car, defenseless and stripping down, sent a surge of heat straight to his lower abdomen.
Lu Quan pinched the bridge of his nose, pulled out his phone to handle some business, and tried not to focus on the car.
A few minutes later, the door opened from inside.
Liang Zhixia’s face was flushed from the stuffiness as he folded the skirt to stuff into his bag.
Lu Quan pocketed his phone casually. “Leave the skirt in the car. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
Liang Zhixia thought for a second and agreed, placing the folded skirt and wig in the car. He smiled. “Thanks for the trouble, Brother Lu.”
It was so late the campus was nearly deserted.
A breeze blew past, and Liang Zhixia pursed his lips, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, his long, straight legs gleamed under the streetlights.
Lu Quan rubbed his fingertip, a memory suddenly surfacing.
“You ran to the hospital before and shoved an envelope at me with five thousand yuan. What was that about?”
Liang Zhixia thought back. “That was compensation for your black shirt.”
Lu Quan frowned. “Which black shirt?”
Liang Zhixia: “The one I got handprints on.”
He briefly described the scene that day. Lu Quan remembered, his tone regretful. “Auntie Wang already threw it out.”
Liang Zhixia perked up his ears, blinking without a word.
Looks like Auntie Wang hadn’t ratted him out. That black shirt was still hidden in his closet.
Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated against his thigh.
Liang Zhixia pulled it out and saw that Lu Quan had transferred him four thousand eight hundred yuan.
Puzzled, he turned to look at the person beside him.
Lu Quan pocketed his phone.
“No need to pay me back. That was a gift from someone else. It’s not worth that much.”
Liang Zhixia grew even more confused.
“Really? But I searched online, and that shirt is custom-made. It costs at least five or six thousand.”
Lu Quan frowned. “Is that so? Mine only cost two hundred. Lu Manman won it at a ring toss stall by the roadside.”
“…”
Lu Quan had a cleanliness obsession. There was no way he’d wear clothes from a street vendor. An arm flashed by, and Lu Quan leaned in to accept the transfer.
“Brother Lu!”
Lu Quan said, “Can I trade this money for a wish instead?”
“A wish? What wish is worth this much?” Liang Zhixia asked curiously. “What’s Brother Lu’s wish?”
A flicker of amusement flashed in Lu Quan’s eyes. “I haven’t decided yet. I’ll tell you later, but remember—you owe me one wish.”
Liang Zhixia nodded. “Okay.”
Back in the dorm, Lu Quan pulled a paper bag from behind him and handed it over.
Liang Zhixia peered inside and found it full of makeup remover supplies.
He hadn’t even thought to buy these things himself. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly. “Thanks, Brother Lu.”
After removing his makeup and taking a shower, he sprawled on the bed and checked the messages from L.
【L】: Is Zhizhi done with your stuff? I missed chatting with you today. I missed you so much.
【L】: I went to a friend’s birthday party this afternoon.
【L】: But I was good. I kept my distance from everyone.
【L】: Can you reward me tonight?
【L】: Kitten flipping over.jpg
A reward?
Wasn’t that the promise from their mistaken friend add?
He typed back, lowering his head.
【Zhizhi】: That was the old reward. No more rewards now.
【Zhizhi】: I told you—it was a misunderstanding. You don’t need to report your whereabouts to me or keep your distance from others.
Then he opened his calendar app and crossed off today’s date.
He lay on the bed, growing drowsy.
After some time, his fingers went limp, and the phone nearly slipped to the floor. A hand caught it.
Lu Quan gently placed the phone by the boy’s pillow, just as the screen lit up.
A countdown appeared on the lock screen.
16 days until breaking up with L.
Lu Quan stood there, letting water droplets fall from his hair onto his neck and trickle into his clothes.
So Zhizhi wanted to break up with him that badly.
Then he needed to hurry.
He had to make all the preparations before Zhizhi found out.
He bent down, leaning close to Liang Zhixia, and pressed a kiss to the boy’s clean forehead.
“Good night.”
Bzzz—
In the quiet classroom, Liang Zhixia fumbled to silence his phone. The teacher on the podium glanced around before looking away.
“Next, we’ll cover—”
Liang Zhixia patted his chest lightly. That had scared him half to death.
Fan Li, sitting beside him, passed a note: Feels like something’s on your mind today. You okay?
He took a pen and wrote back, word by word: I’m fine.
But he wasn’t.
Before class, he’d gotten a message from Q.
He’d stopped posting his cross-dressing videos a while ago, and the demands for updates had dwindled.
Now Lu Quan stayed in the dorm almost every night, and sometimes came back at noon too. He had no time to film.
Besides, he only had those few skirts. He couldn’t buy new clothes just for videos.
On top of that, a couple days ago, he’d sent all his savings to Aunt Wang, leaving himself just enough for two weeks of living expenses.
The school cafeteria was cheap. He could eat at the coffee shop a couple times on weekends and pick up some commission gigs for extra cash.
But yesterday at noon, Q had messaged him.
Q revealed that he was actually a company employee. His boss had tasked him with scouting suitable models on various video apps.
They’d send samples, have the model shoot photos or videos for their account, tag it as their brand’s clothing, and draw in buyers.
Liang Zhixia hadn’t believed it at first. Q had originally contacted him because of a fight with his crush and needed advice. Now he claimed to be from some company? Not credible at all.
But Q quickly sent a work badge with the company name, position, and various proofs.
Liang Zhixia searched online and found that many famous influencers had collaborated with this company.
Q even sent a video of the company’s chairman.
Not AI-generated—a real, live-action clip.
The chairman called out his username accurately, expressed strong interest in working together, listed reasons and evidence, and even shared a super professional spreadsheet.
“Though you’ve only posted two videos, your follower growth is fast. I believe you can bring even more value to our partnership.”
So he’d taken the gig.
He needed the money too badly.
The phone vibration earlier had been Q saying the clothes had arrived at the delivery station.
Liang Zhixia had given an address away from campus, at a station a bit farther out.
With so many universities nearby, he wasn’t worried about his real location being exposed.
Back in the dorm with the clothes, he’d checked with Senior Xu Cheng first and learned Lu Quan had gone home. Only then did he relax and start changing.
The sender seemed sincere. The package not only had the outfits to shoot but also filming gear.
He snapped a photo with his phone.
【Muxia】: Is this stuff yours too? Or do I mail it back after shooting these outfits?
【Q】: It’s a gift. You starting now?
【Muxia】: Yeah, I have stuff this afternoon. Shooting now.
【Q】: Looking forward to your work ^-^
He set the phone down and unpacked the plastic-sealed clothes, laying them out on the bed one by one.
One was even a gown.
The others looked more casual, everyday style.
Might as well shoot the trickiest one today.
The blue mermaid dress trailed across the floor, dotted with tiny rhinestones—or what Liang Zhixia figured were just high-quality plastic bits.
The zipper was in the back. He reached behind, twisting awkwardly, but couldn’t see or reach it.
A wide expanse of skin bared to the air, he opened his phone camera and studied the image, trying again to zip it up.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Liang Zhixia had no time to react, no chance to dive under the bed like last time.
Lu Quan, pushing the door open, clearly hadn’t expected this. He shut it quickly, blocking out the outside noise.
Something Liang Zhixia couldn’t read swirled in the man’s eyes. He just thought Lu Quan looked dangerous right now.
Lu Quan approached, his voice a little hoarse. “Xia Xia, didn’t you say you don’t wear little skirts in private?”
Remembering his earlier solemn promise, Liang Zhixia flushed with embarrassment. He really hadn’t planned to wear skirts again, but the pay was too good.
And of all the luck, Lu Quan had walked in.
Senior Xu Cheng had lied to him.
The man’s palm pressed hot against his back. He shrank back instinctively.
Lu Quan’s voice sounded by his ear. “Can’t get the zipper up? Let me help.”
Through the phone camera, Liang Zhixia saw Lu Quan’s impassive face, eyes lowered as he worked the zipper.
But it took forever, and still no luck.
He spoke up. “Can’t get it?”
Lu Quan replied, “It’s stuck. Just a sec.”
The man’s breath puffed against his pale skin as he spoke. Lu Quan watched a flush bloom there, pink and pretty, begging for a bite.
His eyes darkened as his fingertip brushed it casually. The boy shivered again, just as expected.
Zhizhi was so sensitive.
Standing like this grew uncomfortable after a while. Liang Zhixia endured it, waiting for Lu Quan to finish, but the next second, he was scooped up.
He yelped in surprise, hooking his arms around Lu Quan’s neck from behind.
Lu Quan explained, “Couldn’t see back there. It’s brighter here.”
The man sat in the chair, with Liang Zhixia on his lap.
The position felt shamefully intimate. He tried to stand, but the arm around his waist held firm.
He could only endure the embarrassment, face burning red. “Brother Lu, is it done?”
A cool voice came from behind. “One more second.”
After what felt like ages, Lu Quan said, “There.”
Liang Zhixia scrambled off Lu Quan’s lap, his whole body flushed crimson.
He hesitated, lips parting. “Thanks, Brother Lu.”
He stood there without moving, but Lu Quan stayed seated, unmoving.
He hinted gently, “Brother Lu, what are you doing back in the dorm?”
Lu Quan said, “Came for a nap.”
“But… but I…”
But he still needed to shoot photos and videos. He couldn’t with Lu Quan here.
Lu Quan had already shrugged off his jacket. He blinked at Liang Zhixia. “Pretend I’m not here. Or shoot in front of me—”
A phone appeared before him.
It was playing a video: a boy in a skirt and pretty makeup, twisting provocatively in front of his sleeping roommate’s bed to film a suggestive clip.
“Like this.”
