Chapter 16

In ‘Forget Love’s mind, the silence between them over the past few days didn’t qualify as a cold war or anything significant. Forgetting came easily to him—if Lu Wei spoke to him, he would happily resume the conversation as if nothing had happened.

So, when Lu Wei mentioned he hadn’t eaten, ‘Forget Love’ began to nag him out of kindness.

Forget Love: [Patting your head, be a good boy and listen.jpg]

Forget Love: [Go eat something! I’m eating too right now.]

Lu Wei felt his phone warming up in his hand. The warmth was just right—not enough to make his palm sweat, but enough to feel comforting.

He rarely took the initiative, but he asked:
Lu Wei: [What are you having for dinner?]

Forget Love: [Ta-da! Picture.jpg]

The picture showed a bowl of very plain-looking noodles: watery broth, with more vegetables than noodles.

Lu Wei: [Is it good?]

Forget Love: [I think it’s better than a vegetable salad.]

Lu Wei: [Does it have flavor?]

Forget Love: [It’s okay!]

Lu Wei: [I don’t think so.]

Forget Love: [How can there be someone like you! It’s already hard for me to fool myself, okay!]

Forget Love: [Crossing arms.jpg]

Lu Wei’s lips twitched faintly. Closing his folder, he walked over to the sofa, opened the thermal container, and unpacked the array of dishes inside. After setting the table with the sumptuous meal, he snapped a photo from the same angle and sent it back as a reply.

Lu Wei: [My dinner.]

Forget Love: [Crying Cat Meme.jpg]

Forget Love: [I know this place! Their flagship store is under Shengshi Building. I had their clay pot rice once and never forgot it.]

Lu Wei stirred the clay pot rice with his chopsticks and, for some reason, smiled.

Lu Wei: [Want some?]

Forget Love: [I really want to, but I can’t.]

Lu Yan: [Why not?]

This time, Forget Love’s reply came slowly. After a while, they said: [Dancing. I need to maintain my figure.]

Lu Wei was a little surprised. In his stereotypical impression, ‘Forget Love’ might be a wealthy heir with no job or perhaps a naive student still in school. A dancer or dance instructor was the last thing he’d associate with them.

Conversations with ‘Forget Love’ were always scattered. Before Lu Wei could delve into the topic of dancing, ‘Forget Love’ had already jumped to another subject.

Forget Love: [It’s almost New Year. Are you staying in Beicheng?]

Lu Wei: [Yes.]

Forget Love: [What a coincidence! I’m also spending the New Year in Beicheng!]

Lu Wei didn’t bother teasing him about his excitement and simply replied: [Mm, what a coincidence.]

Forget Love: [Voice message.]

Lu Wei paused, straightened his back, and placed his chopsticks on the edge of his bowl. He seemed to ponder the soundproofing of the office before playing the voice message.

Forget Love: [Are you eating? Is that why you can’t type?]

Lu Wei’s back stiffened for a moment. He tapped the screen again.

[Are you eating? Is that why you can’t type?]

The boy’s voice was clear and refreshing, carrying the innocence and charm of a young Omega. Since he was eating noodles, some of the enunciation was slightly slurred.

However, Lu Wei had heard this voice far too often lately.

The only difference was the tone.

Lu Wei first asked: [Why do you say that?]

Forget Love: [Because in your last message, you forgot to add a period, hahaha!]

This voice message was much clearer. After listening, Lu Wei finally asked the question he had in mind: [Are you Lin Si?]

It seemed like ‘Forget Love’ had gone offline, as it took a whole ten minutes before replying with a voice message: [I’m not Lin Si! But everyone says my voice sounds like his, hehe.]

Listening to this voice again, Lu Wei noticed it was indeed slightly different from Lin Si’s. Forget Love’s voice was a bit deeper and didn’t have the same delicate tone Lin Si used in private conversations. But for some reason, Lu Wei couldn’t shake the feeling that it was Lin Si. Just to be sure, he asked again: [Are you really not Lin Si?]

[Of course not! He’s an Alpha, and I’m an Omega. We’re not even the same gender.] Forget Love replied. [Are you secretly hoping I’m Lin Si so you can match with your idol? Hahaha!]

Lu Wei felt a bit exasperated by this misunderstanding, akin to a “fan meeting their idol” situation, and responded: [I’m not hoping for that.]

Whether Forget Love believed him or not wasn’t clear, but they replied casually: [Alright, alright. If I’m not Lin Si, then that’s just as you’d like, right?]

Forget Love’s reactions were so natural, and the way they casually mentioned “Lin Si is an Alpha” was exactly how most people would react. Moreover, after several voice messages, there were noticeable differences between them and Lin Si. Although Lu Wei had instinctively assumed ‘Forget Love’ was Lin Si after hearing their first message, subsequent details slowly dismantled that certainty.

Maybe it was because the first voice message had been a bit unclear.

It wouldn’t be fair to make unfounded guesses about Forget Love.

Everyone is unique.

Lu Wei decided to drop the subject and focus on his meal instead: [Finished eating?]

Forget Love: [Finished! All done!]

Forget Love: [I’ve sent so many messages. Can you send me a voice message too?]

Forget Love: [Oh, but finish eating first. You can reply after you’re done.]

Lu Wei asked: [What do you want me to say?]

Forget Love: [Just say something like—Happy New Year!]

When Lu Wei put down his chopsticks and prepared to speak, he unconsciously cleared his throat a little before holding down the record button: “Happy New Year.”

…

The chat interface remained silent for a long time.

On the other side of the city, a speaker echoed in a small bedroom.

The slightly cold tone of the voice made the “Happy New Year” sound particularly stiff, even lacking any finishing note.

Lin Si pursed his lips. The voice felt familiar—it sounded like Lu Wei.

But how could it sound like Lu Wei? Of all people, it absolutely couldn’t be Lu Wei.

He listened again, and this time, he was certain—it was practically Lu Wei himself.

But even with the most basic reasoning, he knew it was impossible. How could Lu Wei be using a dating app to find a partner? If Lu Wei had that kind of time, he’d probably spend it flirting with more people like Deng Tian.

Still skeptical, Lin Si replayed the voice message over and over, eventually finding several differences from Lu Wei.

For example, while Y sounded like Lu Wei, he didn’t have Lu Wei’s sharp and aggressive tone. There wasn’t that trace of impatience or condescension in his voice either.

Y’s voice gave off a sense of comfort.

And, of course, voice messages on these apps often altered the sound slightly.

In some ways, Lin Si subconsciously resisted equating Y with Lu Wei.

Y was Y—different from everyone else.

Lin Si rubbed his nose, feeling a bit guilty. After all, he had used the excuse of “my voice sounds like Lin Si” to cover his own identity. So why couldn’t someone else’s voice resemble Lu Wei’s a little?

Besides, he was slightly embarrassed because he had lied to Y.

When Y had asked if he was Lin Si earlier, he’d panicked and lost his composure, scrambling to search online for tips on how to change his voice. After some rushed downloads of voice-changing software, he tested it a few times until he managed to make his voice sound like himself—but not quite like himself.

After getting past that hurdle, Lin Si stopped dwelling on it.

He leaned close to the microphone and sincerely praised: “Hey, your voice is so nice.”

It seemed like Y was shy on the other side of the screen, as they didn’t respond for a while.

Lin Si packed up his things, grabbed the trash bag, and slipped on a pair of fluffy dog slippers. As he walked out, he asked, “Do you want to say something else to me?”

Y really replied with another voice message: [Do you often eat this little?]

Lin Si lingered in front of the trash bin, clumsily sorting the garbage, and finally replied, “I have a class tonight. If I eat too much, it might affect my performance.”

Y didn’t send another voice message this time, opting for text instead: [Mm.]

Lin Si asked, “Hey, do you have any hobbies? I can pick something you like to talk about.”

Y: [No hobbies.]

Lin Si, with some time left before his performance class, wandered around the neighborhood in his slippers, his hood pulled up over his head. Feeling a bit smug, he said, “Then let’s talk about your idol Lin Si?”

Y: [I’m not his fan.]

Lin Si: “I don’t mind if you like Alpha celebrities. A lot of Alphas seem to like him.”

Y: [Do you like Lin Si?]

Lin Si: “He… is pretty handsome.” After saying that, Lin Si pulled his hood tighter over his face and grinned smugly in the darkness.

Y: [Mm.]

Lin Si cleared his throat, adjusting his voice to sound less like himself, and asked, “Do you listen to his songs?”

Y: [I’ve heard a few.]

Lin Si: “Which one’s your favorite?”

Y: [Don’t remember the names, nothing stands out.]

Lin Si: “…”

Fake fan. Report them!

Just as he was about to say something else, Y beat him to it: [I have something to do.]

Lin Si wasn’t done chatting with Y, but he had no choice but to relent.

“Alright, go ahead then.”

Y, seeming to notice the slight disappointment in Lin Si’s tone, added: [It’ll be late.]

Lin Si ducked into the building, brushing the snow off his head. Looking down, he typed: [Okay, got it.]

The elevator lost connection, and it wasn’t until Lin Si reached his apartment door that he received a voice message from Y—

[Just in case, goodnight in advance.]

Author’s Note:
“Goodnight”: Who knows what I’ve been through?

In the past — No time.
Later — Says it on time.
Now — Says it in advance.

T/n: New chapter is up 🤩. If you want to support me in any other way, buy me a Ko-Fi or go to my paypal page. Happy Reading 😍!