◎ He was so nervous his mouth went dry, yet he had to act like he was calm and composed. ◎

That night, Teacher Seagull got off work late. Xu Tiancheng had already been home for a while before he finally received her message.

He had been standing on the balcony, letting the cold wind hit him for who knows how long.

Teacher Seagull seemed a little surprised:

“Teacher X, you’re still up? You’re later than usual today.”

X: “Yeah, had something to do.”

Teacher Seagull: “Really? Or am I just misunderstanding that you were waiting for me to say good night?”

Xu Tiancheng didn’t want to admit that was exactly the case. His fingers, chilled by the night breeze, hesitated slightly before he typed back with deliberate indifference:

“Maybe.”

Teacher Seagull: “Just maybe?”

He stared at the screen for a long time, unsure how to respond. In the end, he simply replied with a single word:

“Mm.”

For the entire next day, Seagull neither liked nor commented on any of his posts—she vanished completely.

Just as Xu Tiancheng was starting to wonder if she was upset, she sent him a photo in the middle of the night—

A bright crescent moon hanging in the sky.

“Just got off work. Looked up and saw this—it’s so beautiful! You don’t have to reply, I just wanted to share this happy moment with Teacher X.”

The moon shone through drifting clouds, its soft glow resembling an oil painting.

Yes, tonight’s moon was indeed beautiful.

Xu Tiancheng refused to let her get the upper hand and countered with her own words:

“Don’t tell me you were waiting for me to say good night?”

After a long pause, Teacher Seagull finally replied:

“Are you hoping I say yes, or afraid that I will?”

Alright, ok, got it.

Xu Tiancheng was utterly defeated by her flurry of punches, left sprawled on the ground like a half-liquid mess. There was no dramatic moment of realization, no hidden feelings he was unaware of. It was clear as day—he was completely subdued by Teacher Seagull. Truly, he had nothing to say. He didn’t even have the strength to struggle. The moment she lightly called out, “Teacher X,” he was already at her mercy, following along eagerly.

Who knew if that unique nickname was giving her any ambiguous ideas? Either way, he was already hopelessly smitten.

No, he couldn’t take it anymore. Xu Tiancheng felt like he had to pursue Teacher Seagull—immediately, right now. If he delayed even a day, he might just burn up in fever.

But how do girls even get chased?

Besides the objective fact that he was out of practice due to long-term inactivity, Xu Tiancheng was never one to rely on tricks in this area. People are visual creatures—both men and women. He had never seriously pursued anyone before. When he was younger, he was more playful. Now that he was finally ready to “blossom,” he had to be genuine.

And by “blossom,” he wasn’t referring to age but to his mindset. Age-wise, he was still considered young. However, looking at his peers, most had either settled down or were actively searching for a partner in the dating market. It was clear that he had reached the stage where people sought stability.

Determined to pursue Teacher Seagull with sincerity and the goal of a stable relationship, Xu Tiancheng turned to his married friends on WeChat for advice. However, he was baffled by their responses. Some claimed they had won their partners over by confessing ten times despite repeated rejections. Others shared grand gestures like arranging 999 candles on the ground. Then there were those who swore by so-called “irresistible” pickup lines—so cheesy that even he, as a man, cringed at them.

Putting aside men’s overconfident dating strategies, he happened to stumble upon his sister, Xu Tianyu’s latest vlog on the Xiaofanshu app. In the video, their parents were passionately discussing their views on love. Ever since Xu Tianyu had boldly chosen to have a child without getting married, their parents’ views on relationships had evolved to stay ahead of modern trends. Surprisingly, their opinions resonated well with young audiences, making the video quite popular.

Many viewers treated the comments section like a confession booth, sharing their own relationship dilemmas—partly as a way to vent, partly in hopes of hearing different perspectives.

Noticing that the app had a predominantly female user base, Xu Tiancheng hesitated for a moment before leaving a comment. He kept it simple, saying he liked a girl but didn’t know how to pursue her and asked for advice.

The sisterhood spirit in the comments section was strong. Seeing his sincerity, many women enthusiastically offered him guidance.

“Don’t rush into confessing! Pursuing someone doesn’t mean confessing right away, okay? That would put too much pressure on her. Wait until the time is right.”

“Oh, and don’t do things that you think are touching but actually make her feel burdened!”

“The most important thing: Do NOT act like a condescending dad! No lecturing! No life training! No matter how successful you think you are or how interesting your past experiences might be, do NOT casually give unsolicited advice on her life choices!”

There were plenty of comments like these. Xu Tiancheng took careful note of each one. He knew blindly copying others wouldn’t work. He had to genuinely understand and internalize these principles before applying them in his own way.

See? The internet was a great place to learn.

Following the advice from the comments, he started chatting with Teacher Seagull regularly. It worked well. She became increasingly comfortable sharing details of her daily life with him—her frustrations with demanding bosses, backstabbing colleagues, and difficult clients. No wonder she needed ways to relieve stress.

Their frequent conversations quickly closed the distance between them. Xu Tiancheng assessed the situation and felt like it was time to take the next step.

Just as he was about to, Xu Tianyu unexpectedly messaged him on WeChat, sending a screenshot of his comment section.

“Am I seeing this right? You actually posted this? Did you get hacked?”

“It’s me.”

Xu Tiancheng admitted it without hesitation.

Xu Tianyu, clearly entertained, teased, “You’re trying to chase a girl, and you didn’t think to ask me?”

Xu Tiancheng wasn’t about to fall for her tricks. “Are you the same as other girls?”

That shut Xu Tianyu up. She had no interest in men.

Thinking about Teacher Seagull made Xu Tiancheng unconsciously smile as he typed, “She’s not like anyone else.”

Xu Tianyu: “…That was so cheesy it actually lowered your IQ.”

Despite her complaints, Xu Tiancheng still sent her Teacher Seagull’s profile, along with three serious warnings: “Don’t scare her.”

Xu Tianyu was curious. “Is she timid? Super shy?”

Timid? Shy?

Xu Tiancheng nearly laughed out loud. “If anything, she’s way too bold.”

Xu Tianyu was confused. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Xu Tiancheng couldn’t be bothered to explain. “Just don’t worry about it.”

For a moment, there was peace. Then Xu Tianyu popped back in with another nosy question. “Just to confirm, is she someone you’re seriously considering for a relationship? Can I tell Mom and Dad?”

If their parents found out, things would be taken to a whole new level of seriousness.

Right now, he didn’t even have anything solid.

Xu Tiancheng hesitated for only a moment. But honestly, feelings like this didn’t come easily to him. She was interesting, bold, sweet-talking yet tough—a cute and captivating woman. Just thinking about her made everything feel exciting.

He gave his silent approval. “But nothing’s official yet. She hasn’t even agreed. I’m still chasing. Just tell Mom to stop setting me up on blind dates. She keeps sending them, and even if she doesn’t get tired of it, I’m already fed up.”

And just like that, his entire family now knew he had someone he liked. The only problem?

He didn’t even have her WeChat yet.

The first step was getting her WeChat. Only then could he transition from an online acquaintance to a real-life connection.

The comments section had taught him plenty—every girl had different preferences, and the key was to tailor the approach to what she liked.

She liked looking at abs, right? Alright, then he’d show her.

Wait—

What if she saw them and lost interest? What if she felt satisfied, got bored, and moved on to admire someone else? Then what?

Based on her past behavior, it wouldn’t be surprising if she really did something like this.

So, he had to show her, but not too obviously. It needed to be subtle, teasing, and just ambiguous enough to keep her intrigued.

For several days, Xu Tiancheng racked his brain trying to figure out the best way to go about it.

The first step—adding her on WeChat—went unexpectedly smoothly. He set up a simple trap, and she was already half-willing to add him. After a little coaxing, she finally accepted.

At the time, Xu Tiancheng was running on a treadmill. The moment she agreed, he sprinted back to his office at full speed and quickly changed into swimming trunks. Since everyone else had already left work, he didn’t care about his image.

The gym was full of large floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Standing in front of one, he examined himself from every angle. Was this good enough?

Something still felt off.

Then it hit him—it looked too staged.

So, he immediately jumped into the pool, drenching himself from head to toe. The black swimming trunks clung tightly to his muscular thighs, while water droplets slid down his body, creating an incredibly provocative visual effect.

He checked himself in the mirror again and nodded. This should do.

Remembering the principle of subtlety, Xu Tiancheng grabbed a T-shirt. The first one he picked up was white, but that wouldn’t do. White becomes too transparent when wet—he couldn’t reveal too much on the first try. He switched to black instead.

When the video call connected, his mouth went dry from nervousness, but he had to act casual.

“Can you see me?”

Keeping his eyes off the camera, he spoke in a relaxed tone. No one would have guessed that his heart was pounding like a drum.