Lu Ping had always felt that there was an indescribable, wondrous scent on Shen Yuze’s body. It wasn’t noticeable in the classroom usually, but once they were in a private space—like Shen Yuze’s car, Lu Ping’s room, or when they were as close as they were now—that scent would waft into Lu Ping’s nose.
It was like a white shirt hanging under a clear sky, carrying the lingering warmth of the sun and the refreshing breeze.
Lu Ping had never worn a white shirt.
White shirts were too hard to maintain; the collar, cuffs, and underarms easily yellowed, and he helped at his parents’ stall every day, so white clothes got dirty fast. Back in middle school, he had almost owned his own white shirt once. The school had organized a choral competition, and Lu Ping gave it his all, practicing songs every day and even humming them on the way home after school… But on the eve of the competition, the music teacher gave his spot to another student, so he missed out on the white shirt he had dreamed of yet again.
Shen Yuze had never worn a white shirt in front of Lu Ping, but Lu Ping still felt that the scent on Shen Yuze belonged to one.
It matched his imagination perfectly: aloof and pure, reserved and proud.
This was Lu Ping’s little secret; he didn’t want to tell Shen Yuze.
After they finished taking the photos, the boss lady immediately printed them out. She had taken two shots, and they differed slightly in details.
In the first photo, the tall teenager gazed calmly at the camera, while the slightly shorter boy beside him stole a glance sideways at him. Perhaps because of the flash, the boy’s eyes looked bright and sparkling, full of light.
In the second photo, they stood extremely close, shoulders touching. The teenager had his arm around the boy’s shoulders. They looked so intimate and inseparable in the photo, with a gentle breeze ruffling their hair fringes, as if listening to their laughter.
Lu Ping, who had originally found the photoshoot troublesome, changed his attitude completely upon seeing these two photos and couldn’t put them down.
The boss lady pasted the photos on the promotional board and asked them again, “The photos turned out so nice. Let me print two more copies for you to take home as souvenirs.”
Lu Ping was of course happy with that. “A’jia, print two copies of the second photo then.”
He liked the second photo the most—the one where Shen Yuze had his arm around his shoulders. Though they were worlds apart, in that one second, they could break through the barrier and stand side by side as friends.
Unexpectedly, before Lu Ping finished speaking, Shen Yuze suddenly said, “No, just print one of each. I like the first one.”
“?” Lu Ping was puzzled. “But in the first photo, I’m not even looking at the camera!”
“Even though you’re not looking at the camera, aren’t you looking at me?” Shen Yuze chuckled lightly. “Lu Ping, I allow you to keep looking at me.”
Lu Ping: “…?”
Was he overthinking it? Why did those words sound like they meant something more?
…
By the time they returned to the Lu Family home, the sun was almost set. Although Lu Mom enthusiastically tried to keep Shen Yuze for dinner, he didn’t stay.
When Shen Yuze left, Lu Ping held his little sister’s hand and walked him to the car together.
An An had spent the entire afternoon repeatedly trying on the princess dresses Shen Yuze gave her. Shen Yuze was generous; besides five dresses, he also gave matching outfits and crowns, even little princess play-house toys. After putting on the Elsa Blue Princess Dress, An An didn’t want to take it off. She stroked the sparkling rhinestones on the skirt hem with her little hands and said she wanted to wear it to school on Monday to show her little friends.
Seeing Shen Yuze about to leave, she hurriedly ran over and clung reluctantly to the rear car window, not wanting him to go just like that.
Lu Ping reminded her, “An An, that’s rude. The driver uncle can’t drive like this.”
But An An didn’t listen to her brother. She tiptoed to peer into the car, her round eyes blinking and blinking as she asked Shen Yuze, “Prince Brother, when will you come play at my house again?”
Shen Yuze, sitting in the car, was inevitably surprised by the title. He asked her, “Why do you call me ‘Prince Brother’?”
“Because… because you’re so handsome…” The little girl blushed, stroking the lace on her dress. “And you gave me a pretty dress! Only princes give dresses to girls.”
Shen Yuze: “You’re mistaken.” The teenager mercilessly shattered her fantasy. “The one who gave Cinderella her dress was clearly the fairy godmother.”
Lu Ping: “…Pfft.” He hurriedly covered his mouth, afraid of getting pummeled by his sister’s little fists.
Upon hearing that Shen Yuze wasn’t her prince, An An’s little flower instantly wilted. Her small mouth pouted so much it could hang an oil bottle.
Shen Yuze wasn’t some black-hearted demon king who delighted in girls’ tears. Seeing this, he reached out from the car window and gently patted her head. “Though I’m not your prince, I see that you already have one by your side.”
“Huh?” An An immediately asked, “Who? Who is it?”
Shen Yuze didn’t answer. His gaze passed over An An’s head and landed on the figure standing behind her.
In the moment their eyes met, Lu Ping was once again overwhelmed by that familiar embarrassment, but this time, the boy with the heated face didn’t look away.
“Goodbye.” Shen Yuze mouthed silently. “Your Highness, the Prince.”
…
That night, Lu Ping suffered from insomnia. He tossed and turned in bed; even closing his eyes, he couldn’t fall asleep peacefully.
He wanted to sleep but didn’t dare to. He was afraid that when dawn came, he’d find that Shen Yuze’s appearance was just a beautiful dream in his endless loneliness.
—No, this wasn’t a dream.
Lu Ping told himself, this wasn’t a dream.
Shen Yuze had come; he really had. He ate the Crispy Shrimp Balls I made with my own hands, gave me the red sugar Plum Blossom Cake, rode horses with me… We had so many memories; he really existed!
Just a few weeks ago, they had been strangers separated by thousands of miles, and Lu Ping could only fantasize about Shen Yuze from afar online. But now, the lofty, perfect deity had heard the prayers of his most devout believer and descended into his world.
However, after this short half-month of contact, Lu Ping discovered that Shen Yuze wasn’t the perfect male god he had imagined.
At least, a real immortal wouldn’t be allergic to seafood or skip school on purpose to avoid the monthly exam.
Thinking of this, Lu Ping couldn’t help but snicker under the covers.
He reached for the photo frame on the bedside table—the one where he and Shen Yuze stood intimately close at the Horse Ranch, without a hint of distance.
He really loved this photo too much. As soon as he got home, he had put it in the frame and placed it on the bedside table.
Looking at this photo, the joy in Lu Ping’s heart bubbled up uncontrollably again. He looked at it over and over, especially at Shen Yuze’s hand on his shoulder. Even now, he could still recall the warmth of Shen Yuze’s palm.
At school, Shen Yuze never hid his germaphobia; he hated physical contact with others, let alone such an intimate gesture. But in this photo, Shen Yuze was so proactive… This meant that in Shen Yuze’s heart, he already acknowledged Lu Ping as a friend, right?
The more Lu Ping thought about it, the happier he got. He wanted to throw open the window and shout his joy to the starry sky.
But no, his parents were asleep, and the neighbors left and right were deep in dreams. If he shouted, probably the whole town would wake up.
But he really wanted to show it off! He really did!
He couldn’t hold back anymore!!!!!
Lu Ping’s hand reached for the phone under his pillow. When his fingertips touched the cool phone case, he hesitated for a moment, but in the end, the desire to be acknowledged overcame everything.
He opened the Partner App and used his phone to snap a photo of the framed picture.
@fake-diaond: Went horse riding with a friend today. So happy. [Shared photo]
Before posting, Lu Ping hesitated about whether to use a sticker to cover his face, but some subtle impulse made him decide against it.
This was the first time he faced his fans with his real appearance. He didn’t know what they would think. Good? Bad? He didn’t dare guess.
A tiny spark of courage and a faint hope rose in his heart: He hoped his true self would be seen, affirmed, and accepted.
He didn’t want to hide behind the deity anymore.
Lu Ping mustered his courage, tapped, and posted.
The wall clock showed it was 2 a.m. He thought his fans would be asleep at this hour, but he forgot it was the weekend, and the night owls were all wide awake.
As soon as the photo went up, more than a dozen comments flooded in.
“First! The male god hasn’t slept either!”
“Wuuu, it’s been so long since we saw the blog owner’s photo. New eye candy!”
“《About how my internet lagged for a few seconds and I missed the top comment》”
“Damn, the clothes on the male god are C brand’s fall new release. Some celebrity wore the same one a few days ago!”
After these meaningless rainbow farts, Lu Ping finally saw the comments he wanted.
“Huh? Is the person next to the male god your friend?”
“So envious! I want to be friends with the male god too!”
“Isn’t it true that handsome guys only hang out with handsome guys? The blog owner’s friend is pretty average looking…”
“The one above is so rude? The owner almost never posts group photos. Posting one this time means it’s an important real-life friend. He’s not super handsome, but he’s clean and refreshing.”
“The owner is so rich; his friend must be some young master from a good family, right?”
“I zoomed in on this friend’s outfit. Uh, clothes and pants are all fast fashion brands, probably not even 200 total. The most awkward is the shoes…”
“Those shoes look fake at a glance.”
“Look fake +1”
“Wearing fakes, get out of Denan!”
“Don’t be friends with fake dogs, owner. It lowers your status.”
“Fakes are fakes; they’ll never be real.”
Lu Ping hadn’t expected that the photo he posted in a moment of excitement would draw such comments.
The shoes on Lu Ping’s feet were ones Lu Dad had bought for him at the night market before. Lu Dad didn’t know anything about real or fake shoes; he thought they looked good and specially bought them for his son. Lu Ping didn’t want to disappoint his father’s kindness, so he wore them to school every day.
Being called out for wearing fake shoes didn’t bother Lu Ping; being said to look ordinary didn’t either. People should know themselves, and Lu Ping always understood how he appeared to others.
…But why did it still hurt?
He stared at the comments; every refresh brought new arrows shooting at him.
So in others’ eyes, he and Shen Yuze were so mismatched.
Wealth mismatched, family background mismatched, looks mismatched. Standing next to Shen Yuze, no one saw them as friends; they just saw a bold little mouse trying to climb the moon.
The eager joy he had felt moments ago to share with the world instantly collapsed into ruins.
Lu Ping felt awful; how could he keep reading comments?
He hurriedly deleted the photo, vowing never to do something so humiliating again.
Unexpectedly, not long after he deleted it, the system notified him of a new private message.
He rubbed his reddened eyes and opened it.
@ray: Why delete the photo?
@ray: That group photo with your friend looks great.
@ray: You two look great together.
Lu Ping: “…”
His nose tingled, and he grew so angry that tears welled up in his eyes.
Where the hell had these haters come from, talking in such a passive-aggressive way!! One second, the fans were saying, “Being friends with fakes lowers your own status,” and the next, the haters chimed in with, “You and your friend are a perfect match.”
A perfect match my ass!!
Lu Ping had no desire to waste words on the haters. With a flick of his fingers, he dragged @ray into the blacklist.
