True to his word, Zhang Yiming showed up at exactly 6:30. He wasted no time ordering the most expensive dishes on the menu.
The moment he saw Bian Ting, he got straight to the point. “Why are you spending every day watching stray cats? Feeling extra charitable lately?”
Bian Ting replied simply, “He wants to see them.”
“He wants to see them…? How? He’s not even here—” Zhang Yiming stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing. “Oh. Ohhh! You guys video call?”
Bian Ting’s lips curled up at the thought. “Mm.”
Zhang Yiming shot him a knowing look, waggling his brows. “Ohhh, I see how it is.”
Then another thought hit him. “Wait a sec—where are these stray cats even from?”
“Around,” Bian Ting replied, unfazed.
Zhang Yiming narrowed his eyes. “Around? Yeah, right. Your neighborhood is basically a fortress. They check IDs at the gate like it’s a government facility. There’s no way stray cats are just wandering in.”
He paused, then smirked. “You’re going all the way to the park, aren’t you?”
There was only one place nearby where stray cats gathered—the park a few kilometers away.
Bian Ting didn’t bother denying it. “Yeah.”
Zhang Yiming knew that area well. There weren’t any bus stops nearby, and the nearest subway station was a hassle to reach. “You’re walking?”
“Yeah.”
Zhang Yiming let out a low whistle. “Damn. Respect.”
Then he put the pieces together. “No wonder you’re hitting 10,000 steps every day. It’s all just an excuse to video call a certain someone, huh?”
With a dramatic sigh, Zhang Yiming shook his head. “Ah, love. Truly magnificent.”
Lately, Meng Xin and Bian Ting had been video calling every day—sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes at night. It started with Bian Ting showing him the two stray cats near his home, but their conversations would always drift off-topic.
After a while, it became routine. Meng Xin was so used to their daily calls that when one day passed without a single video call, he felt strangely unsettled.
By the time he was getting ready for bed, his phone screen remained frustratingly silent.
Lying in bed, he opened and closed their chat repeatedly.
Why didn’t Bian Ting call today?
Did he not go see the cats?
But he didn’t mention having other plans…
Meng Xin opened the chat again.
Would it be weird if he asked? Would it seem like he was waiting for the call? Straight guys could ask their gay friends why they didn’t call, right? It was just about the cats—what if Bian Ting read too much into it?
And if he did misunderstand, how was Meng Xin supposed to explain?
Or maybe… he should just let it go?
His head was a mess. He couldn’t figure it out no matter how much he thought about it.
So he did what he always did when he had an existential crisis—he went to bother Fan Da.
This time, he played it cool, casually sending:
Meng Xin: “Good evening.”
Fan Da responded with a single word:
Fan Da: “Yes.”
Meng Xin blinked. “Yes”…?
Meng Xin: “I haven’t even said anything yet. What are you ‘yes’-ing about?”
Fan Da, completely unfazed:
Fan Da: “Because I already know what you’re going to ask.”
Meng Xin didn’t believe him.
Meng Xin: “Oh yeah? Then tell me—what was I going to say?”
Fan Da: “You want to ask if it’s okay to message Bian Ting first.”
Fan Da: “No need to ask. My answer is yes.”
Meng Xin immediately denied it.
Meng Xin: “That’s NOT what I was gonna ask!”
Fan Da replied with a bored “oh,” then said,
Fan Da: “Then go ahead. What were you actually going to ask?”
Meng Xin hesitated for a moment before typing out:
Meng Xin: “Let’s say—hypothetically—there’s a guy.”
Meng Xin: “And this guy has a brother (a BROTHER, okay?) who video calls him every day.”
Meng Xin: “But today, that brother (definitely just a brother!) didn’t call him. Why do you think that is?”
Fan Da still responded with a single word: “Yes.”
Meng Xin widened his eyes. “You’re completely dodging the question!”
Meng Xin: “I asked why, not if I could! Read the question carefully, okay?”
Fan Da: “Aren’t you just asking me if you can call Bian Ting first?”
Fan Da: “Yes.”
Meng Xin was on the verge of breaking down. “Did you even see what I put in parentheses?”
Fan Da: “Yeah. You said ‘brother.’”
Meng Xin: “So?”
Fan Da: “I figured this was just one of your little couple quirks.”
Fan Da: “I get it.”
Meng Xin was too exhausted to keep insisting he was straight. He could only sigh and say, “Fan Da, please… stop ‘getting’ weird things, I’m begging you.”
Fan Da, ever ruthless, replied, “Begging won’t work. I’m in too deep. No cure can save me now.”
Meng Xin tossed and turned under his blanket, typing and deleting messages in Bian Ting’s chat over and over again.
He bit his lip, hesitating for a long time before finally typing:
Meng Xin: “Not watching today?”
Even after typing it out, he hesitated, unable to press send.
Letting out a series of muffled groans, he buried his face in his pillow and punched his blanket a few times. Once the blanket was sufficiently fluffed up, he shut his eyes tight, took a deep breath, and—sent it.
Bian Ting replied almost immediately.
Bian Ting: “What?”
Meng Xin: “The cats.”
Bian Ting: “They weren’t around today. It’s probably because it’s colder—they’re probably hiding under cars to stay warm.”
In reality, Bian Ting had gone to check, but after waiting for a long time, the cats never showed up.
Meng Xin: “Oh, okay.”
So… no video call tonight.
Lying flat on his back, Meng Xin set his phone face-down on his chest and stared blankly at the ceiling.
He just… wanted to see those two cats. That was all.
Oh well.
He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.
Just then, the phone on his chest vibrated.
The sudden buzzing felt like it resonated straight into his heart, sending a jolt through his entire body.
Meng Xin’s eyes flew open. He grabbed his phone and flipped it over.
The screen lit up with an incoming video call from—
Bian Ting.
His heart pounded as he hit “Accept” without hesitation.
The moment the call connected, a low chuckle came through the speaker.
“Gotta video call a gay guy every single day?”
It was Bian Ting’s voice.
The call was already connected, yet Meng Xin felt like that buzzing sensation hadn’t stopped. It was like electricity running through his veins, making his heart race so fast it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.
“Straight guys aren’t allowed to video call gay guys every day?”
His face felt hot. Worried it might look obvious, he pulled his blanket over his head, blocking out the light.
On his side of the screen, everything went dark, making Bian Ting’s well-lit background stand out even more. Meng Xin could see his face clearly.
For a moment, he completely forgot that the whole point of these video calls was to look at two adorable stray cats.
There was laughter in Bian Ting’s eyes, overflowing with amusement. His voice was warm as he asked, “Do you call anyone else?”
Meng Xin answered honestly, “No.”
Bian Ting raised an eyebrow. “Just me?”
“Mm…” Meng Xin felt his face grow even hotter.
In a small voice, he muttered, “Is that… weird?”
“Not weird at all,” Bian Ting replied with a smile. “Completely normal.”
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