Song Yongzhao: “Trust me, don’t wear shoes.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

“Side profile.”

“Turn your head.”

“Perfect.”

After Song Yongzhao snapped a few photos, he handed the phone to Bian’er. He stood beside Bian’er and sincerely offered advice, “Bian, I suggest you send this picture to M. I guarantee he’ll dream about you tonight.”

The photo Song Yongzhao was talking about was the one he had taken of Bian’er sitting on the desk. He had pointed the phone towards the back of the desk, adjusted the focus, and asked Bian’er to stick his butt out, put his hands on the desk, and arch his back.

It was a full-on shot of his lower back. Because the light was blocked by Bian’er’s front, only a sliver of light fell from his shoulders. Two thin straps were tied around his smooth skin. Below that was the inward-curving waistline, narrowing to the innermost point, where the silver-gray fabric covered a certain full part of his body, creating an indescribable curve.

It wasn’t a vulgar or pornographic photo. The overall tone of the picture was dark, and the composition was considered high-class. It instantly reminded Bian’er of an art film about love and desire, but with love prevailing over desire.

But if you looked at it for a few more seconds, you would feel a blush rising to your cheeks and your blood rushing.

Bian’er, with red ears, rejected Song Yongzhao’s suggestion.

Song Yongzhao was about to persuade him when his phone buzzed. He answered the call and walked to the balcony.

Bian’er went to the bathroom and changed out of the dress. The temperature was very low tonight, not even twenty degrees Celsius. But Bian’er had been wearing the thin, backless maxi dress for over twenty minutes and didn’t feel cold at all. He just felt hot all over.

Now that he had changed back into his long-sleeved pajamas and pants, the heat became even more noticeable.

Bian’er drank two glasses of cold water. The liquid, colder than human body temperature, slid down his throat and into his stomach. The temperature on Bian’er’s body gradually decreased. He saw a new message from M, asking if he hadn’t changed out of the dress yet.

Bian’er quickly went through the photos and chose one that was more appropriate. He sent it to M.

Little Crab: [Picture]

A minute later, he didn’t get a reply from M.

Three minutes passed, still no reply from M.

…

A long ten minutes passed, still no message from M.

He was clearly online a minute before the picture was sent. Could it be that he wasn’t satisfied with the photo he sent? Bian’er thought more and more that this was the case. M had chosen this dress out of countless others, which meant he had high expectations for it.

Bian’er stared at the photo he had sent. To cover up his flat chest, the photo was taken from a side angle, a full-body shot.

There were light strips on the ceiling of the dorm, one at the front and one at the back. Song Yongzhao had turned off the rear light strip, leaving Bian’er standing directly under the only light strip.

The cold white beam of light split Bian’er in half. One half was hidden in the darkness, the front half. The other half was the long, sunken, and undulating back half.

But because the camera angle had been slightly raised, shooting from top to bottom, the lines below the waist were weakened, with the focus on the straight shoulders and white back.

Of course, Bian’er’s shoulder lines were more pronounced than a girl’s. He was a real man, but Song Yongzhao had used the camera angle to hide this seamlessly.

He looked at the photo again. Bian’er felt more and more that it was unremarkable.

Still no reply from M. Bian’er made up his mind. He should trust the art student’s aesthetic. He opened his photo album, chose the photo that Song Yongzhao had suggested sending, and his breathing unconsciously quickened. His hand trembled as he sent it to M.

Lian Jichuan’s breathing had just returned to normal. He was about to reply to Little Crab’s message when, unexpectedly, a picture appeared in their chat window.

Lian Jichuan clicked on the picture. His eyes involuntarily turned dark and gloomy again.

The other person was sitting on a cold, hard wooden surface, his butt sticking out, creating a full curve. Above that was a narrow waistline, thin and beautiful without being exaggerated. The thin straps crossed his back, but they revealed a gap as they passed over the back groove, inevitably arousing a desire to fill it.

Not long after sending the photo, Bian’er felt a desire to retract it. Just then, Bian’er finally saw a message from M.

M: [More beautiful than I imagined.]

His cheeks flushed red. Bian’er raised his hand and patted them. After a while, he sent a few dry words, [It’s because the dress you bought is very beautiful.]

Little Crab: [I’m tired. I’m going to take a bath and go to bed.]

M: [Okay]

Bian’er had taken a bath after going to the gym in the afternoon. But he completely forgot. He grabbed another set of clean pajamas and ran to the bathroom. After taking a bath and coming out of the bathroom, Song Yongzhao had just finished talking about work with the student union members. “Bian, why did you go take another bath? By the way, which picture did you send to M in the end? Did it make him lose his mind and want more?”

Bian’er held his changed clothes and coughed. “I went to wash my clothes.”

He took two plastic basins from under the sink and had just stepped into the bathroom when he heard Song Yongzhao’s voice of realization behind him. “It seems like it made M go crazy.”

He stumbled, almost kissing the bathroom floor.

Bian’er was still a little embarrassed. He didn’t chat with M anymore that night. He flipped through the textbooks for the classes he had the next day and went to bed.

The next day, he didn’t have class for the first two periods. Bian’er woke up when he couldn’t sleep anymore. His unfocused eyes stared at the white ceiling for a while. Bian’er yawned and reached for his phone, which was lying on his pillow.

An hour ago, M had sent a message: [Good morning]

He sat up, rubbed his messy hair, and stuck out his tongue to lick his dry, red lips. [Little cat stretching jpg]

[I’m up, M.]

He didn’t get a message from M. Bian’er wasn’t surprised. The other person should be in class now. If nothing unexpected happened, today should be a pretty good day for Bian’er. Until dusk, he saw a few WeChat messages from someone he didn’t like.

Bian’er didn’t want to deal with him. He pretended not to see them.

When he was reading a book in the evening, a voice call invitation rang. After seeing who it was, Bian’er irritably pulled his hair, making his thick black hair slightly messy. He took a deep breath and answered the call.

“Bian’er, didn’t you see the message I sent you this afternoon?” Gu Zikang said.

Bian’er was silent for a moment. His tone wasn’t very pleasant. “I was too busy today. I didn’t look at my phone.”

Gu Zikang: “Lend me fifteen hundred yuan. I’ll pay you back during the New Year.”

Bian’er’s fingers angrily tapped on the desk. He didn’t answer quickly.

Gu Zikang: “I’m hanging up. Transfer the money to me quickly.”

He paused and added, “You don’t want me to tell Auntie that you…”

“Okay, okay, I’ll transfer it to you right away.” Bian’er interrupted him.

After ending the call, Bian’er sat there with a sullen face and opened the chat box with Gu Zikang. They were relatives. His father and his mother were cousins. So they had known each other since they were young. But perhaps their parents and grandparents were close, and by the time they were their age, their relationship was already not very close.

Their chat history for the year was sparse. Every time, it was Gu Zikang asking him to borrow money.

Annoying.

Bian’er transferred fifteen hundred yuan to him.

The moment he transferred the money, Bian’er saw the other person accept it.

He turned off the phone screen and pushed the phone to the back of his desk with his index finger. He opened his book. The content that had been interesting just now now seemed tasteless. Bian’er flipped through several pages but couldn’t focus on the content.

He took his phone back and clicked on another WeChat account.

Little Crab: [Puppet with three flames on its head JPG]

Little Crab: [Annoying. I hate people who only borrow money from me but don’t pay it back.]

M didn’t always reply to Bian’er’s messages immediately. Of course, Bian’er couldn’t reply to M’s messages every time. They weren’t people who lived in their phones. They had classes and their own lives in the real world. It was just that now, he knew that M would definitely reply to his messages once he saw them.

So Bian’er allowed himself to send him messages.

Little Crab: [I really don’t want to lend him money.]

Little Crab: [I curse all those who borrow money and don’t pay it back. May they always run out of toilet paper, have no umbrella on rainy days, have zero balance in their Yu’ebao, and the person they like will never like them back.]

Half an hour later, M finally saw Bian’er’s message: [Who borrowed money from you?]

Little Crab: [I called him cousin when I was little.]

M: [Don’t lend it if you don’t want to.]

Bian’er rested his forehead on the desk and said through gritted teeth, [But I have a little secret in his hands.]

M: [What secret?]

Bian’er tapped on the keyboard for a while. [M, can I have a little secret of my own?]

The moment he sent the message, Bian’er’s heart pounded wildly. The thumping sound reached his ears. It was the sound of nervousness.

Bian’er had very little interaction with Jiang Yuan in the real world. He didn’t want to have too much interaction with Jiang Yuan before revealing his identity. If Bian’er’s impression was too clear, it might be difficult to merge Little Crab and Bian’er into one, even though they were actually the same person.

But he had a superficial understanding of M, with whom he had been chatting every day for the past half a month. M had asked a question from the beginning: Could he accept a partner who had a stronger controlling desire than most people?

He did have a controlling desire that was beyond the norm.

But in his interactions with him, Bian’er hadn’t felt uncomfortable with this aspect of his personality. Perhaps because he wasn’t a very strong-willed person himself. M’s dominance was like a sapling standing in a dark, desolate wilderness, welcoming a fierce wind. The wind howled violently, bringing a taste of excitement to the silent, dark world.

This should be considered his first explicit refusal of M’s suggestion.

Would M be angry? Would he be unhappy?

Bian’er scratched his head and then thought that if M’s dominance didn’t allow even a little bit of personal space…

M: [Of course.]

Bian’er’s round eyes widened. He slapped his forehead. Strong-willed didn’t mean disrespectful.

M: [Transfer 10000.00]

After seeing the message M sent, Bian’er’s eyelashes fluttered. He closed his eyes and reopened them.

The chat window still showed the other person’s ten thousand yuan transfer.

Bian’er quickly returned the money.

Little Crab: [M, why are you transferring money to me? I don’t need it.]

Little Crab: [I was just complaining to you. I’m not short of money.]

Bian’er’s expenses weren’t high, but his allowance from home was not small. He could save some of his monthly allowance. He also worked part-time. He saved all that money. Plus, he received a lot of red envelopes during festivals. He had a considerable amount of savings.

Although Gu Zikang had borrowed money from him a few times, he was also a student. The amounts weren’t large. It added up to about a month’s worth of living expenses.

Little Crab: [But I’m in a bad mood now. Can you comfort me in a different way?]

M: [What way?]

Bian’er’s bad mood dissipated by more than half. He sat up straight, his expression expectant as he typed out a few words: [Take a picture of your hand and send it to me.]

Remembering his rough hand photo last time, Bian’er quickly added, [Don’t take it from the wrist up. The camera should be above your hand, looking down.]

Little Crab: [Can you do that?]

M: [Can.]

Bian’er’s eyes lit up. He stared intently at his phone for two or three minutes. Then, a photo appeared on the phone screen. Bian’er couldn’t wait to click on the photo. He was stunned.