Chapter 4

After breaking free from the life of a recluse, Xiao Yao first replied to messages from friends and family.

Then, taking his time, he opened his computer and typed “Little Wolf Dog: The Talented and Clever Big Sneeze.” He still hadn’t filled out the school forms, but with nothing pressing to do, he did remember to place his textbook in his bag—far away from the Little Wolf Dog book.

Ti Xiao, meanwhile, hadn’t been able to submit the manuscript by 10 PM. But after enduring a two-minute countdown of relentless reminders from Guapi Pi, he finally sent the character profiles over before the next day arrived.

Editor · Guapi Pi: Thanks for the hard work! Go get some rest now. 【heart】

After submitting the manuscript, Guapi Pi resumed his usual calm and polite demeanor, even reminding Ti Xiao to take care of his health and go to sleep without staying up too late.

After washing up, Ti Xiao lay in bed as usual, scrolling through Weibo. With a “ding-dong” sound, he saw his follower count jump from “29,999” to “30,000.”

“30k followers!” Ti Xiao exclaimed excitedly, rolling around on his bed with his phone in hand. He quickly took a screenshot of the milestone user.

The username was “pass by,” and the location was listed as the UK. The account had only a few followers and followed a small number of people. The most recent post was from three months ago—an image of a landscape with blue skies, white clouds, and what appeared to be a European castle in the distance. The user seemed to be someone who enjoyed photography.

Curious, Ti Xiao scrolled through the photos and came across one of a piece of rice paper with a bright red seal on it.

The seal read “堯舜禹” (Yao, Shun, Yu).

“Xiao Yao’s ‘Yao’ is probably this one,” Ti Xiao mused, turning over in bed and tapping on his phone screen with his fingers.

Xiao Hulu, lying beside him, was peacefully sleeping, occasionally making soft noises from her nose. Ti Xiao turned off his phone and placed it on the bedside table, reaching out to softly stroke her soft fur. Thinking back on the “good night” earlier, his heart softened even more.

He realized—he really might have fallen for someone.

Meanwhile, next door, Xiao Yao finished the last sip of his tea and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he had finished reading Little Wolf Dog, and now he could focus on filling out the school forms.

After completing the forms, it was already quite late. Originally planning to go to sleep, Xiao Yao somehow found himself opening Weibo and stumbling upon the account of the author, Da Aqi. He casually followed the account.

The account had many posts, mostly related to comic series, but occasionally there were reposts of jokes or life updates.

Da Aqi: Xiao Hulu’s snoring is so loud! Just finished my deadline, but she’s still keeping me awake. Thinking about renaming her Big HuLu.

Da Aqi: Huang Men Chicken with rice is so good! 【picture】

Da Aqi: Heating’s delayed, let me represent the Northern people and despise the gas company【angry】

The posts radiated positivity, clearly showing that the author loved life.

Xiao Yao scrolled for a while and was about to exit the app when he saw a new post.

Da Aqi: I think I want to fall in love.

…………………………..

It seemed that the gas company had sensed the people’s chill, as by mid-November, the heating in Ti Xiao’s apartment complex was finally turned on. Now, he could comfortably wear a short-sleeved shirt indoors while working on his sketches.

During the past half month, aside from listening to Ti Nanyi’s endless complaints about her English teacher, Ti Xiao hadn’t seen much of Xiao Yao across the hall. It was probably due to Ti Xiao’s strange schedule or perhaps the universe just wasn’t letting them cross paths.

Still, he often sneakily opened the Wi-Fi connection page on his device to see if any unfamiliar users were online.

But after that night, where three devices had been connected, there were only two listed—his own phone and computer.

To be honest, Ti Xiao had never been in a relationship. He’d had a few small crushes when he was younger, but strangely, those feelings would fade away quickly, even when he saw the object of his affection every day.

This time, however, it was different.

He genuinely wanted to see Xiao Yao.

He found himself daydreaming while drawing, only to glance down and see that he had written “Xiao Yao” on his screen, accidentally covering up his previous sketch.

Ti Xiao’s new webcomic had just started updating a few days ago. It was a story about unrequited love, something that had been in his mind for a long time. Now, it seemed almost eerily similar to his own situation.

Who knew he’d be caught up in the emotions of it all?

The early stages of serializing a webcomic were always the busiest. As an independent creator without assistants, Ti Xiao hadn’t left his apartment for days. Even the delivery guys, when bringing food up to his door, would remind him to go out for a walk.

After three days without washing his hair, now a greasy little tuft, Ti Xiao finally ventured downstairs to throw out the trash and ran into Xiao Yao.

The Xiao Yao he’d been thinking about constantly.

At this moment, Ti Xiao was deeply regretting not having washed his hair for three days.

He stood there, just five steps away from Xiao Yao, wishing he could throw himself and the trash he was holding into the bin together.

What was it like to stand in front of someone you liked while sporting three-day-old greasy hair and an ugly hairstyle? Ti Xiao could probably say he now truly understood what it felt like to reply with a “thanks for the invite.”

“Long time no see.” Xiao Yao had no evening classes today, so he finished work at six and had returned home. Upon seeing Ti Xiao, he took the initiative to greet him, then froze for a moment, staring at the messy tuft of hair on top of Ti Xiao’s head, deep in thought.

Why did this tuft of hair look different from the past few days? It didn’t stick straight up like usual.

This was probably Xiao Yao’s most tactful way of describing someone’s oily hair.

It had been over half a month since he last saw Ti Xiao, after the Wi-Fi borrowing incident. Xiao Yao didn’t know what Ti Xiao did for a living or even his name.

Meanwhile, Ti Xiao’s only thought was, Oh no, he must think my hair is greasy.

“Hello.” Ti Xiao tossed the trash into the bin, silently wishing he could throw his face in there too. He lifted his head and greeted Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao quickly shifted his gaze from the messy tuft of hair to Ti Xiao’s eyes.

Ti Xiao’s eyes were wide open, with clear double eyelids and expressive black-and-white pupils that seemed to convey an unspoken emotion. He still had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks, which made him appear soft and youthful. His skin was pale, probably because of staying indoors so much, and his short stature made him look two to three years younger than his peers.

After flicking Ti Xiao’s messy hair, Xiao Yao had the sudden urge to pinch his cheek.

Thankfully, he didn’t act on it this time. Instead, his hand dropped to his side, and he secretly played with his fingers.

“Do you have some free time later?” Xiao Yao recalled that he still owed Ti Xiao a meal.

But Ti Xiao didn’t immediately catch on, still lost in thoughts of his greasy hair. He blankly replied, “Ah?”

“I mean,” Xiao Yao cleared his throat, feeling that Ti Xiao might be a bit slow on the uptake. To be considerate of his intelligence, he decided to be more direct.

“I still owe you a meal, remember? The day you helped me with the Wi-Fi.”

 

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