Li Yi didn’t graduate from college but went straight to work at Gugu Comics platform in the provincial city. After three months of internship, he successfully became a full-time comic editor.
He rented a two-bedroom apartment, which was quite a way from Xuancheng, but it helped him settle down in the provincial city. More than a year after graduation, life was fairly stable.
The only downside was that he was still single, feeling lonely like a lone boat adrift at sea.
Actually, there were still some small joys in life.
Near the subway station he took to work every day was a coffee shop. No matter what time it was—whether he was rich in time or running late—Li Yi bought a cup of coffee there before work every morning.
First, to wake himself up, and second, well…
“Still a latte with no sugar?” The boy’s voice was fresh and clear. He wore a short-sleeved white shirt and a deep brown apron with the coffee shop’s logo.
He held a marker and carefully wrote Li Yi’s name on the white cup, stroke by stroke.
“I always think your name is so hard to write.”
“Hard?” Li Yi wrote it quickly on the glass table himself. “It’s just four fire radicals.”
“Still looks complicated to me.”
The boy turned to grind some coffee beans, while Li Yi leaned against the counter, sneaking glances at him.
His skin was wheat-colored, tall, with a bright smile showing off a row of white teeth—sunny and energetic.
Honestly, he was pretty impressive.
Li Yi clicked his tongue quietly. If he had been a fresh graduate, he probably would have made a move right then and there. But after a year of scraping by in the real world, he had already seen how things really were.
In this world, especially in the provincial city, “1” was as rare as a giant panda.
What if this sunny, energetic guy was a sunny, energetic bottom?
He definitely didn’t want to cry while being the “1.”
“Are you drinking here or taking it to go?” the boy asked.
“Here,” Li Yi said absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the boy in front of him.
The boy’s fingers were long and well-proportioned, nails neatly trimmed. The palm was a bit lighter in color than the back of his hand. He grabbed a cardboard holder from the table and slipped it onto the coffee cup. “Here you go. You’re probably running late for work.”
He smiled brightly.
Li Yi happily rushed to the subway, but the coffee overflowed and spilled all over his hand.
Through this back-and-forth, the two gradually got to know each other.
“Don’t college students have morning classes, Chang Qi?” Li Yi asked.
“I applied for work-study,” Chang Qi said while swiftly grinding coffee. “I finished all my required classes last semester, so this semester is pretty light.”
Chang Qi was a junior at the provincial city university, three years younger than Li Yi.
“You’re pretty studious. So, what’s your major?” Li Yi asked tentatively. “Sports?”
Chang Qi was tall and well-built. Besides Li Yi’s childhood friend Xiao Yao, he was the tallest person Li Yi had ever met, except for Yao Ming.
There were fewer customers on weekend mornings, and the manager wasn’t around, so Chang Qi leaned against the counter chatting with Li Yi.
“Comic illustration,” he said.
To make sure Li Yi understood, he added, “Manga and illustration.”
Li Yi was no fool; he knew what that meant. He was a professional too—just not from the provincial city university.
“Oh,” Li Yi raised his eyebrows and made a gesture in the air. “I thought someone as tall as you would be into sports…”
Chang Qi smiled, sunlight catching on his face. The light revealed every speck of dust in the air and cast a radiant glow all around him.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
For a moment, Li Yi heard something different in his voice.
To hide his reaction, he quickly took a sip of his coffee. “Your department has a senior who draws BL comics at our platform.”
“What?” Chang Qi didn’t understand.
Li Yi scratched his head and introduced himself. “I’m an editor at Gugu Comics. We’re recruiting comic artists. You’ve drawn comics before, right?”
“Have you read Little Wolf Pup?” Li Yi happened to have a newly published proof copy of Little Wolf Pup in his bag. He tapped the cover proudly. “This is from one of the authors I manage. It’s already published.”
Chang Qi didn’t say anything but stared at the cover of Little Wolf Pup for a moment. A flicker of some other emotion passed through his eyes before his face suddenly flushed red.
Li Yi figured the kid was probably still young and pretty straight-laced, not used to that kind of thing. Since there were still customers in the shop, he quickly put the comic away.
“Anyway, we’re currently recruiting comic artists,” Li Yi said, setting down his coffee cup. “College students probably haven’t found internships yet, right? You could try submitting something.”
One day after work, Li Yi bought a bag of duck neck and duck bones to snack on at home. On a sudden craving for something sweet, he stopped by the coffee shop.
“Huh? Aren’t you on the early shift?” Li Yi was a bit surprised to see Chang Qi working there at night.
“I swapped shifts with a coworker. I have things to do tomorrow morning, so I won’t come then,” Chang Qi replied. “You shouldn’t be drinking coffee so late. How about something else?”
“You won’t be coming tomorrow morning…” Li Yi’s tone was noticeably disappointed. “Which cake’s good? Recommend one.”
Chang Qi took a slice of Black Forest cake from the display case. The surface was covered with chocolate shavings. He carefully boxed it and walked over to the register. “What’s up? Sounds like you’re a bit let down?”
“Am I?” Li Yi didn’t realize his tone. He reached for the bag. “Give me a bag to take it home. How much?”
Chang Qi quickly pulled the bag away, and Li Yi didn’t get his cake. He looked up.
The evening sky was filled with a blaze of sunset clouds, bright and gorgeous. The shop’s lighting was dim and warm, and the scent of chocolate still lingered in the air.
Suddenly, his forehead got flicked.
“I’m treating you,” Chang Qi said with a smile, scanning the code and shoving the bag into Li Yi’s hand.
The flick on Li Yi’s forehead still tingled. It felt like an echo bouncing inside his head, traveling from one side to the other, skipping over every groove.
“What’s this?” Chang Qi pointed at another bag in Li Yi’s hand.
“Despair Duck Neck—no, no, no, it’s Delicious Duck Neck…” Li Yi felt like his thoughts were slipping; he couldn’t speak properly.
“Alright,” Chang Qi chuckled and shrugged. “Be careful on your way home.”
That night, Li Yi opened the cake box and scooped out a piece. The first bite was so sweet it almost made his molars fall out.
Some time later, after a summer break without seeing Chang Qi, November arrived. While sorting through a pile of submissions at work, a pen name caught Li Yi’s attention.
“Despair Duck Neck.”
Coffee almost spewed out of his mouth onto the screen.
Though he had blurted out “Despair Duck Neck” jokingly before, that night he dreamed the whole night about someone flicking his forehead. And after all this time, he had almost forgotten about that name.
The story and art skills were pretty good—at least Li Yi found it quite enjoyable. A few clicks later, he finished reading all the submissions from “Despair Duck Neck.”
Li Yi was itching to reply immediately.
“I recently signed a new author with a pretty interesting pen name. The person’s also really cute—feels like a total cutie,” Li Yi said at the coffee shop, ordering his usual sugar-free latte.
“Really?” Chang Qi paused mid-move, smiled as usual, and handed him a hot latte. “Super cute? How cute?”
“Cuter than you can imagine,” Li Yi took the coffee. “Definitely a total cutie.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Chang Qi said softly again. “So, do you like them?”
“Come on,” Li Yi laughed and picked another cake slice to take away. “You know what I like.”
Previously, Li Yi had confided to Chang Qi that he was bi.
“Do you like someone like me?” Chang Qi smiled, resting his cheek on his palm, showing his white teeth.
“You?” Li Yi denied it but didn’t sound convincing. “Little puppy dogs like you need a few more years to grow up. I’ve got work—see you tomorrow. I have to help an old author promote this cute duck neck girl’s new work today.”
Chang Qi watched Li Yi’s retreating back as he left.
Cutie… like, super cutie, huh?
A few days later, Li Yi came in the morning, fuming as he placed his order.
“Remember that cute girl author I told you about? She pissed me off.”
“What happened?” Chang Qi tried to keep his expression neutral, but the corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile.
“He’s a guy! He’s actually a guy!” Li Yi was indignant, drumming his fingers on the glass display. “And he keeps sending me photos—hands, abs, just missing sending me his dick. What does he even want from me???”
Chang Qi’s smile faded, replaced by concern. He frowned. “Is he being really annoying?”
“A little,” Li Yi pouted, then switched tone, flashing a “you know what I mean” look. “But… you probably get me, haha. The guy’s got a nice body.”
Chang Qi’s handsome brows relaxed, and he smiled again. “Do you like him?”
Li Yi stared at the little “puppy dog” in front of him for a few seconds. “Not really, but yeah, he’s easy on the eyes.”
Chang Qi smiled again.
A few mornings passed with Li Yi not coming by, and Chang Qi found his part-time shifts a little dull, even missing the little moments he shared with Li Yi each morning.
Then one day Li Yi came back, ordering his usual sugar-free latte.
“Where’d you go the other day?” Chang Qi asked as soon as he saw him, not realizing how much the question hinted at a relationship beyond mere acquaintances.
“I went back to my hometown in Xuancheng for a few days,” Li Yi waved his hand tiredly. “Caught up with family, old classmates, old friends…”
Li Yi spoke lazily as Chang Qi ground the coffee beans, listening carefully. When he heard, “I met someone I used to like,” his hand shook, and he accidentally spilled hot coffee on the back of his hand.
“Ah, did you spill it?” Li Yi stood on tiptoes, peering over. “I’m in a rush—if it spilled, just give it to me anyway.”
With his head down, Chang Qi quietly added a bunch of sugar and cream to the bitter coffee and handed it over. “Be careful on the way.”
Li Yi took the subway to work, sipped the coffee, and nearly got a toothache from the sweetness.
Soon after, he got a message from one of his authors, “Despair Duck Neck.”
Despair Duck Neck: Hey Guagua, are you there qwq? Could you help me check the storyboard for my next issue?
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