Chapter 4
Bian Ting’s new swim trunks were “on the way” for five days before they finally arrived.
Meng Xin could barely contain his excitement as he dragged Bian Ting to the school swimming pool, ready to kick off his new day as a “swimming coach.”
When Bian Ting came out of the locker room, Meng Xin’s eyes instantly lit up.
Unlike Meng Xin’s cheap trunks that cost $5.99 with free shipping, Bian Ting’s were the real deal — a name-brand pair straight out of a magazine. No matter how Meng Xin looked at them, they just seemed different.
Of course, maybe it was the person who made the difference.
Bian Ting usually dressed neatly and conservatively, so it was hard to tell that underneath his clothes, he was this built — broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and perfectly defined abs.
And his trunks sat a little low on his hips. With one glance, Meng Xin could even catch a glimpse of his V-line.
Meng Xin couldn’t quite put it into words, but if he had to, he’d just say:
Handsome.
Way hotter than the guy in the magazine.
Straight guys don’t easily think another guy is hot.
If they do, it’s because the guy is really, objectively hot.
At that moment, Meng Xin was like someone witnessing a breathtaking sunset, only to blurt out, “Whoa, that’s a big bird.”
Faced with Bian Ting’s ridiculously good physique, he could only say the most straightforward, heartfelt thing:
“Holy crap, Bian Ting, you’re so hot!”
Meng Xin’s eyes were full of pure, straight-guy admiration — the kind of look he’d give a cool new spear in a video game.
Bian Ting nodded and replied, “Thanks, you too.”
Then, in the brief moment Meng Xin wasn’t looking, he let out a nearly imperceptible sigh.
—
Meng Xin soon discovered that teaching someone to swim wasn’t easy — not even when that someone was Bian Ting.
Before stepping into the pool, Meng Xin asked, “Are you afraid of water?”
Bian Ting hesitated, pulling his foot back from the pool’s edge. “A little.”
He shuffled two steps closer to Meng Xin, his hand twitching at his side, just about to lift—
A rectangular kickboard landed in his hand.
It very inconveniently covered Bian Ting’s exposed waist and abs.
It also very inconveniently put some distance between them.
Meng Xin held the edges of the kickboard with both hands, solemnly saying, “Hold onto this tight. If anything feels wrong, yell for help, and I’ll come save you.”
“…Okay.”
Bian Ting asked, “Where did you get the kickboard?”
“I knew three days ago you’d need one, so I bought it on Taobao just for you.” Meng Xin held up three fingers, his face glowing with the expectation of praise. “Specifically for you, okay? Specifically!”
—Where else could you find a guy as gentle and considerate as him?
Bian Ting, playing along, praised him generously: “That’s amazing. You really thought of everything.”
One of the three sentences straight guys can’t handle is “That’s amazing.”
Meng Xin was a textbook example.
He got so flustered by the compliment that he waved his hands, pretending to be humble: “It’s nothing, really.”
Coach Meng Xin had zero teaching experience, so his approach was pretty much the same as helping the neighbor’s kid with math homework —
“Okay, kiddo, watch me solve this problem. Ask if anything doesn’t make sense.”
Except now it was:
“Bian Ting, watch me swim. Ask if anything doesn’t make sense.”
Bian Ting nodded. “Okay.”
Without another word, Meng Xin dove into the water and started swimming.
At first, Bian Ting was watching his technique. But before he realized it, his focus started drifting.
Meng Xin’s back looked really good. The groove between his shoulder blades was sleek and defined, and as he moved, water droplets rolled down that line, dragging Bian Ting’s gaze lower and lower to more hidden places.
Splash!
Meng Xin popped up from the water after a lap, shaking off the droplets from his hair. He tilted his head back and asked, “Did you get it? It’s just like that.”
Bian Ting had spaced out for a second. It was only when Meng Xin spoke that he snapped back to reality.
He furrowed his brow just enough to show a hint of confusion: “I didn’t get it.”
“Huh?”
Meng Xin refused to give up. “Not even a little?”
Bian Ting, playing the part of a lost student at an advanced math competition, answered honestly: “Not even a little.”
Meng Xin couldn’t believe it. Bian Ting was a straight-A student who could glance at complex calculus problems and immediately find the optimal solution — yet learning to swim, something so simple, seemed impossible for him.
Could it be that swimming was the one door God decided to close for Bian Ting?
“Maybe I’m just not cut out for this,” Bian Ting sighed.
“It’s okay, it’s okay! It’s not your fault. Swimming is kind of complicated, and I wasn’t paying attention — I swam too fast earlier. It’s normal if you couldn’t see clearly.” Meng Xin reassured him and added, “I’ll do it again. Watch closely this time, okay?”
“Okay,” Bian Ting said. “I’ll watch carefully.”
—
They stayed at the pool for three hours. Even though it didn’t seem like Bian Ting had learned much, Meng Xin still felt like they’d grown a little closer.
That evening, Meng Xin sent a message to Gao Yinghang, feeling satisfied.
Meng Xin: 【Remember that friend I told you about? The one who got called out for being a straight-man chauvinist?】
Meng Xin: 【He’s made some changes now. Do you think his friend might change their opinion of him?】
Gao Yinghang: 【Bro, why do I feel like you haven’t changed at all?】
Meng Xin: 【.】
He was too tired to keep explaining, “It’s not me, it’s my friend.”
Meng Xin: 【Real or fake, doesn’t matter. Just answer the question.】
Gao Yinghang scrolled up, reread the messages, and replied: 【How would I know? I’m not your friend.】
Then he added: 【If you’re that curious, just make a dummy account and fish for answers.】
Meng Xin thought about it and decided that made sense.
A while later, he popped up with a brand-new alt account.
Gentle Handsome Guy: 【How’s this account?】
Gao Yinghang: 【…………】
Gao Yinghang: 【Bro, can you change the name? If someone sees this in my contacts, they might think I’m gay.】
Gao Yinghang: 【Unless your friend is gay — then forget I said anything.】
Gentle Handsome Guy: 【He’s obviously straight!!!】
Gao Yinghang: 【I don’t even know what to say to you.】
Gao Yinghang: 【At least pretend to be a girl!】
Gao Yinghang: 【Do you think a straight guy would open up to someone named ‘Gentle Handsome Guy’?】
Meng Xin had a revelation.
That made sense! He needed to pretend to be a girl to test Bian Ting.
He quickly changed to a cute avatar and picked a name he thought a girl might use.
Snow White: 【How about this?】
Gao Yinghang went silent for a moment before replying:
【Bro, what girl in this day and age would call herself Snow White?】
Snow White: 【.】
Snow White: 【Why not? The magic mirror literally said Snow White was the most beautiful woman in the world.】
Not only was his name “Snow White,” but his profile picture was a cartoon Snow White.
Gao Yinghang: 【…………】
Gao Yinghang: 【Bro, can you scroll through a couple of influencer videos and get a feel for things?】
Snow White: 【Okay, okay.】
Meng Xin obediently watched a couple of videos.
When he came back, he proudly showed off his brand-new name.
Xue Xue (Already Has Besties): 【How about this?】
Gao Yinghang shot him down coldly:
【Sis, are you sure you’ve been to school? Show me your elementary school diploma.】
Xue Xue (Already Has Besties): 【What the hell, this doesn’t work either? This is such a hassle.】
Meng Xin went online to do more research, and ten minutes later, he returned with yet another name.
It’s Little Snow~: 【This should work, right?!】
Gao Yinghang, knowing he couldn’t be too harsh on a straight guy, relented:
【Barely passable, I guess.】
So Meng Xin used this name to add Bian Ting.
When he sent the request, he even made sure to sound extra cute.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Hello, Bian Ting-senpai www】
And then — he was mercilessly rejected.
Meng Xin: “…?”
He tried again. Rejected.
Tried again. Rejected.
Tried again. Rejected.
Meng Xin was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell? And Bian Ting dared to call him a straight-man chauvinist?
Bian Ting rejected such a cute girl’s friend request — wasn’t Bian Ting the real straight-man chauvinist here?!
Fuming, Meng Xin stubbornly sent a fifth request.
…Still rejected.
But this time, Bian Ting added a note:
【What do you want?】
On his sixth attempt, Meng Xin finally wised up and added a reason in the note.
It’s Little Snow~: 【I heard you’re really close to Meng Xin. I wanted to ask you something about him. Can you add me, please? qaq】
Meng Xin waited for a whole hour.
Finally, Bian Ting accepted the request.
The first message Bian Ting sent was:
【Where did you get my WeChat?】
It’s Little Snow~: 【I got it from someone else.】
Bian Ting: 【Who?】
Of course, Meng Xin wasn’t about to out himself. But he also couldn’t think of anyone to pin it on, so he decided to play dumb — like he always did.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Just… someone.】
Bian Ting didn’t reply.
What the hell? And he dared to call him a straight-man chauvinist?
Bian Ting was being so cold to such a cute girl — he was the real straight-man chauvinist!
After mulling it over, Meng Xin decided to break the silence with a cute cat sticker.
However, after he carefully picked and sent the most adorable cat emoji, the little circle next to the message spun twice…
Then turned into a bright red exclamation mark.
— Bian Ting had deleted him.
Meng Xin: “……”
Damn, and Bian Ting dared to call him a straight-man chauvinist?
Bian Ting deleted such a cute girl without hesitation — Bian Ting was the real straight-man chauvinist!!
Everything reset to square one, and Meng Xin had no choice but to keep spamming the friend request button.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Come on, I’m your junior in the same major. You wrote your WeChat on the sign-up form, and I asked the senior in charge of the event for it.】
It’s Little Snow~: 【Why did you delete me? I heard you’re super nice and never randomly delete people!】
Meng Xin waited painfully for another hour.
He never realized waiting for Bian Ting to reply could be this agonizing.
Even a single “1” would be better than nothing!!
After two hours, Bian Ting still hadn’t re-added him.
Meng Xin couldn’t take it anymore and sent another message.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Listen, my cousin was Meng Xin’s high school classmate — his childhood friend’s childhood friend! If you don’t add me back, I’ll make my cousin badmouth you to Meng Xin!!!】
Ten minutes later, Bian Ting finally added “It’s Little Snow~” back.
Bian Ting: 【Say what you need to say. One more word of nonsense and I’ll block you.】
This time, Meng Xin didn’t dare mess around. No chit-chat, no acting cute — he went straight to the point.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Oh, I just heard you’re his best friend at university and wanted to know what kind of person he is.】
Ten minutes later, Bian Ting, stingy with words, replied with just three:
【He’s a good guy.】
The answer was a little too concise, but Meng Xin was still satisfied.
He nodded to himself, then sent another line.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Could you tell me what’s good about him? I’m not very good at reading people, so I want to know how he seems to his friends. qaq】
Bian Ting’s reply was as brief as ever:
【Everything.】
This answer only had one more character than the last, but Meng Xin waited thirty-seven minutes for it.
“…” It took thirty-seven minutes to type three words?
At this rate, if he kept asking questions like this, he might not get the answer he wanted until tomorrow night.
So Meng Xin cut to the chase and asked the most important question of all.
It’s Little Snow~: 【Do you think he’d make a good boyfriend for me? I like sweet, sunny guys who are considerate of girls. He seems like a perfect fit, right? [/shy][/shy][/shy]】
Once again, Bian Ting went radio silent.
Twenty minutes passed.
Thirty minutes passed…
Still no reply from Bian Ting.
After nearly an hour, Meng Xin couldn’t stand it anymore. He pulled back his bed curtain to check what Bian Ting was doing.
Turns out, Bian Ting wasn’t even busy — he was casually flipping through a book. Judging by the cover, it seemed like a mystery novel.
Seeing Meng Xin poke his head out, Bian Ting looked up and asked, “Game?”
“No, no,” Meng Xin was losing his mind waiting for a reply — he had zero mood for games. “I just wanted to see what you’re up to.”
Bian Ting thought he was curious about the book, so he closed it and showed him the cover.
“Oh, I’ve read that one,” Meng Xin said. “Want me to tell you who the killer is?”
That way, Bian Ting could free up some time to reply to “It’s Little Snow~”!!
Bian Ting thought for a moment, then guessed, “It’s the main character himself?”
Meng Xin’s eyes widened in shock, and he gasped.
“No way… that’s a super hard twist to guess! How did you know?”
Bian Ting: “…”
He quietly reopened the book, and as he lowered his head, he seemed to laugh softly.
“I didn’t know before. But I do now.”
“Are you still gonna keep reading?” Meng Xin tried to nudge him, “You already figured it out.”
Bian Ting flipped another page and said, “Knowing the killer makes it interesting in a different way.”
Meng Xin wanted to argue, but he held back.
“…Okay.”
After failing to steer Bian Ting back to his phone, Meng Xin pulled the curtain shut and resumed his endless wait.
He waited and waited, until he started to wonder if Bian Ting had secretly deleted “It’s Little Snow~” again.
He hesitated, thinking maybe he should send a cute cat sticker to test the waters.
Just then, Bian Ting finally, finally picked up his phone.
His reply was as blunt as ever.
Bian Ting: 【He’s not suitable to be your boyfriend.】
Bian Ting: 【Give up.】
