Chapter 17

11 o’clock.

The winter night wind was slightly bitter. Lin Si dropped off his performance teacher at home, rubbed his hands together, and climbed into the car, cheerfully sharing with Liao Ji, “Teacher Qiu just praised me, said I’ve made progress.”

Before the end of the performance class, he practiced a crying scene as instructed by Teacher Qiu. Now, his eyes were red, with traces of tears dried by the wind at the corners, and his nose was also slightly red.

“I heard,” Liao Ji took the black coat from Lin Si’s hands and handed him a down jacket. “After tomorrow’s gala, I’ll be flying home. Are you sure? You’re really not coming to my place for the New Year this year?”

Lin Si shook his head. “You and Sister-in-law can have your couple’s time. It’s only a few days, and I don’t want to keep flying back and forth.”

“Then spend the New Year alone properly,” Liao Ji said.

“Got it. Say hi to Sister-in-law for me. Tell her I love her!”

“She doesn’t need your love!” Liao Ji rolled his eyes at him.

Sitting across the car aisle, Lin Si raised his voice. “Papa Liao, Happy New Year in advance! I’ll give you a red envelope on New Year’s Eve!”

“You said the same thing last year and forgot about it the next day,” Liao Ji knocked him on the head. “Take care of yourself at home. If you’re really bored, call me.”

Lin Si leaned back in his seat. “I won’t be bored this year.”

Suddenly, the ringtone rang out. Liao Ji held up the phone to show Lin Si, “Zhang Tingxi.”

“Calling at this hour?” Lin Si zipped up his jacket. “Doesn’t sound like good news.”

Liao Ji made a shushing gesture and answered the call with a smile, “Good evening, Mr. Zhang.” He listened intently for a while before saying, “I’ll discuss it with Lin Si and get back to you tomorrow, is that okay?”

They exchanged a few more words before ending the call. After hanging up, Liao Ji’s face returned to its previous expression. “There’s an endorsement offer for you.”

“What kind of app?” Lin Si asked.

“They said it’s called Bubble, a dating app.”

Liao Ji checked his phone while reading aloud, “… The developer is Leyou. Two years ago, Leyou made a splash in the industry and was known as the dark horse of the year. From what Zhang Tingxi said, it seems the people at Leyou are familiar with him.”

When Lin Si heard it was Bubble, his eyes lit up. “I’m all for it!”

“What do you mean, ‘all for it’?” Liao Ji continued researching. “You can’t just casually endorse a dating app. Bubble might be new and clean now, but over time, if there’s any fraud or illicit activities, you as the spokesperson will definitely be affected.”

As a user of Bubble, Lin Si felt compelled to defend it. “Maybe Bubble’s better than you think. I heard it matches people based on compatibility.”

“You’ve never even used it, so how would you know if it’s good or not?” Liao Ji countered. “This endorsement offer really came out of nowhere, especially at the end of the year…”

Lin Si scratched his chin. “Then—”

“Leyou is offering a high endorsement fee. Zhang Tingxi personally vouched that the app is solid,” Liao Ji looked at him. “What do you think?”

Lin Si answered honestly, “I’m kind of tempted.”

“You’re hopeless when it comes to money,” Liao Ji scoffed as he pulled the car into the parking lot. He urged Lin Si to get out. “I’ll have someone look into it later. Also, tomorrow’s schedule is packed. You’re getting up at 5 a.m. sharp. When I call, you’d better come downstairs immediately.”

Lin Si got out of the car, turning his back. “Got it, got it, you old nag.”

Just before stepping away, Y’s goodnight message suddenly came to mind. He opened the door again, stuck his head back in, and smiled at Liao Ji. “Goodnight!”

The nanny van drove out of sight, and Lin Si turned around. In the corner of his eye, he caught a strange movement.

Wearing his puffy down jacket, he turned to look into the distance, staring for a long time.

After confirming there was no unusual activity, he lowered his gaze, slipped his hands into his pockets, and walked into the elevator.

---

The next morning, Liao Ji brought a piece of news—neither good nor bad.

Last night, he had someone look into Bubble and, in the process, heard that Zhang Tingxi’s talent scouts had recently signed a few rookies, preparing to groom them.

This morning, while consulting Leyou, he casually brought it up. Unexpectedly, Zhang Tingxi laughed and said the plan was to have these newcomers participate in a talent show. He hoped Lin Si could help guide them when the time came.

“You’re just a kid yourself, mentoring newbies? Besides, we don’t even know anything about them,” Liao Ji said. “And it’s unclear whether this idea came from Zhang Tingxi or Lu Wei.”

Still groggy, Lin Si yawned. “Just ask them and find out,” he replied. “What about Bubble? Am I taking the endorsement or not?”

“Zhang Tingxi just took office. You should give him some face,” Liao Ji said. “When it’s time to sign the contract next year, we’ll do a thorough review.”

Satisfied, Lin Si leaned back against his seat, ready to nap. But with year-end traffic causing the nanny van to lurch and stop repeatedly, he soon felt too uncomfortable to sleep. He sat up and sent Y a message:

[Good morning, are you still asleep?]

Y replied almost instantly:

[Good morning.]

Y’s long working hours were astonishing. Lin Si remembered Y mentioning he often worked until two or three in the morning, but he hadn’t expected him to be awake at seven and replying to messages.

[Don’t you need sleep?] Lin Si asked.

Y: [I slept at the office.]

Lin Si: [How many hours?]

Y: [Four hours and thirty-seven minutes.]

Lin Si: [… Maybe you should sleep a little longer?]

Y: [It’s year-end, no time to rest.]

Lin Si: [Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve. You’re not spending it at the office, are you?]

Y: [Not likely.]

Lin Si: [Can I talk to you during the New Year? Will you be busy?]

Y: [I won’t be busy during the New Year.]

Lin Si: [Great ^.^]

Y: [Why do you occasionally use these symbol emojis?]

Lin Si: [I think they’re cute. Or do you prefer sticker emojis?]

After a pause, Y replied: [Whatever you like is fine.]

Lin Si clutched his phone, his excitement bubbling over. He glanced at Liao Ji, who gave him a puzzled look in return. Lin Si then turned to the small curtain hanging from the car window and beamed like sunshine.

Y really knows how to talk!

Like a teenager in love, Lin Si spent ages editing his response before finally sending: [You’re so nice!]

Y seemed a little resistant to praise and took a long time to reply. When he did, it was a dry: [I’m going back to work.]

Lin Si sent Y a sticker of a bear patting its belly.

[Okay, I’ll talk to you tonight!] His text radiated happiness.

Y: [Alright.]

But Lin Si broke his promise that night.

After finishing his performance class at noon, Lin Si had lunch on the plane and rushed to the city where the gala was held. He rehearsed twice with the backup dancers, then moved straight into styling and waited for his turn backstage.

Before his turn to perform, he dozed off in his seat twice, each time waking up instantly. Somehow, though, someone captured the moment, and on the second-to-last day of the year, Lin Si’s nap made it onto the trending list.

#LinSiDozingOff#

The picture showed his head lightly tilted to one side, no support in sight, his expression one of pure exhaustion.

The trending topic exploded instantly, sparking a heated discussion among netizens:

“Brother, I’m done for! Don’t sleep alone! Let me sleep with you!”
“Even when he’s asleep, he’s handsome! Ahhh, let me lend you my shoulder!”
“This is so unprofessional. Falling asleep during a gala? Seriously?”
“Sweetheart, mommy loves you! Please come home for the New Year!”
“Hello? Look at the GIF. He just tilted his head twice! Those rumor spreaders need to take a seat.”
“I confess, it’s my fault. I’m the one who wore him out.”

The sudden trending topic left Liao Ji rambling non-stop during his entire wait at the airport.

Lin Si collapsed onto the sofa, rubbing his tired eyes. “Are people criticizing me? I think the pictures came out pretty good.”

In a hurry to board, Liao Ji replied, “They are good, but the fact that we didn’t buy this trending topic makes it better. It came out of nowhere. That said, some people are already accusing you of hyping it up and being a drama queen.” Standing on the jet bridge, he added, “I’m boarding now. Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve, so I won’t have time to find out who bought the trending topic until after the holiday.”

Too exhausted to argue, Lin Si squinted as he shuffled to his bedroom. Half-asleep, he mumbled, “Just enjoy your New Year at home. Don’t worry about me…”

---

Meanwhile, Lu Wei was working late, reviewing Leyou’s new verification system. Unable to ignore the strain, he rubbed the back of his neck. Sitting rigidly for so long had pushed his shoulders and neck beyond their limit, with his body repeatedly signaling its discomfort.

The secretary’s office had closed for the day, and Duan Yang had been given the holiday off. The building was eerily quiet, with fewer than twenty people still there.

Lu Wei sipped his cold tea, stood up, grabbed his coat from a nearby chair, and prepared to leave.

“Mr. Lu, are you heading home?” the driver asked.

Rubbing his temples, Lu Wei replied, “Leave the car for me. You can go home and enjoy the New Year.”

Lu Wei switched to the driver’s seat and sat silently in the parking lot for a few minutes. He picked up his phone, confirming that Forget Love hadn’t sent him a message yet, then stepped on the gas.

He headed toward Xiaoshan Hospital, and while waiting at a red light, he took out his phone and sent Forget Love a voice message: “Finished your class?”

After sending it, he realized that the question sounded like something you’d ask a college student.

By the time he arrived at Xiaoshan Hospital, there was still no reply from Forget Love.

Lu Shaoming remained in a deep sleep, and Deng Tian was nowhere to be found. Lu Wei didn’t turn on the light, instead gazing at Lu Shaoming in the darkness for a long time.

Before leaving, he whispered softly to Lu Shaoming, “You’ve survived another year. Congratulations.”

---

The early hours of Northern City were much quieter than anyone would expect. The drunk revelers and oblivious gamblers all returned home right on time, as if the arrival of midnight demanded that New Year’s Eve be celebrated in family reunion.

For the first time in over a month, Lu Wei lay in bed at one in the morning. He didn’t send another message to Forget Love, afraid the notification sound might wake him.

But being stood up didn’t feel great either. He felt a little disappointed or, perhaps, an uncommon sense of loneliness.

His biological clock and those vague, unspoken emotions kept him from falling asleep right away, giving him a rare opportunity to scroll through the news before bed.

When the trending topic of #LinSiHeadTiltNap# appeared on his feed, Lu Wei still clicked on it.

The photos he saw had likely been edited by fans, adding a thick, white down jacket onto Lin Si and a cute bunny-shaped U-shaped pillow where his head tilted. The pillow even had fluorescent bunny ears drawn onto it.

It didn’t look like Lin Si had slept very comfortably.

Lu Wei clicked into the GIF and saw Lin Si’s full sequence of actions:
His gaze lost focus → his eyelids drooped → his head tilted to the side → his eyes closed → his head jerked downward → startled awake.

The comments under the post were lively:

“Year-end events are exhausting; it’s understandable. I hope everyone can be considerate. The GIF proves he wasn’t really sleeping!”
“My darling 4 is absolutely stunning! Even without a bed, he’s killing me. Respect!”
“Please mark, please mark, please mark, please mark, please mark.”
“Baby is so well-behaved, never even had a rebellious phase. He doesn’t talk much, and when he’s tired, he carries it alone. I’m sobbing uncontrollably.”

Lu Wei closed the trending topic expressionlessly, thinking that if these fans ever witnessed Lin Si’s sense of entitlement and unreasonable behavior, they might not have such glowing things to say.

Not all Omegas were as mild-tempered as Forget Love.

Author’s Note: Oh, look who’s here—Forget Love’s solo stan is online!

T/n: New chapter is up 🥰. If you want to support me in other ways, buy me a Ko-Fi or go to my paypal page. Happy Reading ❤️