During dinner, Luo Xiao looked through many of the photos Wen Ran described as “unhinged.”
In his eyes, they were nothing more than hair dyed in various colors, lip rings, or different styles of earrings—overall, a very “aggressive,” “avant-garde” look.
If it were someone else, Luo Xiao wouldn’t care, wouldn’t judge. Everyone had their own aesthetic and way of living, and he wasn’t interested in commenting.
But because it was Wen Ran, the more he looked, the more pleasing it became. He even thought Wen Ran looked beautiful.
He genuinely thought Wen Ran looked good—stylish no matter what he wore.
“Really?”
That night, after saying goodbye to Ju Yaxin and Luo Feng and returning to the villa, Wen Ran pulled Luo Xiao upstairs, into the en-suite bathroom. He casually took out a lip ring from the box by the sink, put it on, then added a few exaggerated earrings and showed him.
“How is it?”
Wen Ran tilted his head, showing off the lip ring and earrings.
“Mm.”
Luo Xiao nodded in approval. “Not bad.”
“On you, it looks really good.”
“Really?!”
Wen Ran lit up, threw his arms around Luo Xiao, eyes shining. “I thought you’d be put off by it, so I dyed my hair back and stopped wearing these.”
“If you want to wear them, then wear them.”
Luo Xiao lifted a hand, hooked a finger under Wen Ran’s chin, and brushed the lip ring with his thumb. “Did it hurt when you got this pierced?”
“It was okay—not too painful. It just bled a little.”
Wen Ran took off one earring with one hand as he talked. “I don’t wear them that often. Depends on my mood. Sometimes I forget about them and just leave them lying around.”
“Mostly my mom doesn’t like them.”
“I don’t dislike them.”
Luo Xiao held out his hand, palm up, letting Wen Ran place the removed earrings and lip ring into it.
Then he said, “My parents and Luo Feng might not really appreciate them, but they’re pretty open to new things.”
“They’re fine with me not having a regular job and running around all the time. Compared to that, a few earrings and a lip ring are nothing.”
“So if you want to wear them, wear them. You don’t need to think about them.”
“That’s so nice.”
Wen Ran stood on tiptoe and kissed Luo Xiao’s lips. “Honestly, I’m pretty casual about it too.”
“If my mom doesn’t accept it, I just don’t wear them in front of her.”
“If you guys couldn’t accept it either, I could just not wear them.”
“It’s really just for fun—optional. It’s not about making a statement or anything.”
Wen Ran kissed Luo Xiao again. “Go shower.”
After a pause, “When you’re done… can I take pictures of you?”
“They’re all yelling in the group chat.”
“They want me to take photos of you.”
“Naked?”
Luo Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Not that far,” Wen Ran explained. “From the waist up.”
“Okay.”
Luo Xiao agreed, reached out, looped an arm around Wen Ran’s waist, and pulled him close. “Let’s shower together.”
Naturally, showering like that took a bit longer.
Afterward, Wen Ran was a little worn out, but he still forced himself up. He had Luo Xiao—hair still half-dry—lean back against the pile of plush toys at the head of the bed. Holding his phone, Wen Ran shot from a slightly lower angle, taking upper-body photos of Luo Xiao. Afterward, he picked the one he liked best and sent it to the big group chat with his gang of friends.
The moment it went out, the group exploded:
【OH MY GOD】
【HOLY SHIT!!!】
【AHHHHHHHHHHHHH】
【Those shoulders, that chest, that build—that body—Daddy!!! It’s Daddy!!!】
【Daddy!!!!】
【Daddy!】
【Daddy!】
…
The chat was nothing but screaming.
Wen Ran lay against Luo Xiao, phone in hand. Luo Xiao rested his chin on Wen Ran’s shoulder, his large hand covering Wen Ran’s as he looked at the screen and smiled.
In the group, people started spamming pictures of different outfits, all tagging Wen Ran:
【Put him in this! Make him wear this and shoot it!】
【The one I sent—this one!】
【I can’t even imagine that body in this—people would get nosebleeds!!】
…
Wen Ran had already flipped over and pounced into Luo Xiao’s arms. “I like you so much!”
If he’d had a tail, it would’ve been spinning like a helicopter.
Luo Xiao chuckled. “So you like the body.”
Wen Ran rubbed his nose against the man’s neck, speaking in a soft, clingy voice. “Liking your body is liking you too.”
“I liked you at first sight anyway.”
“You’re amazing~~”
“I really, really like you!”
Luo Xiao pulled Wen Ran’s waist closer and kissed him.
The next morning, as soon as they woke up, Wen Ran dragged Luo Xiao into the walk-in closet and started picking out clothes for him.
Luo Xiao stood there letting Wen Ran hold outfits up against him. Feeling a bit puzzled, he asked, “Why are there so many clothes in large sizes?”
Normally, it’d be easy to assume Wen Ran had lived with another man before, but Luo Xiao saw that all the clothes were new—many with tags still on—so he knew that wasn’t it.
“I bought them for fun,” Wen Ran explained while choosing clothes. “I’ve always been alone, so sometimes I’d think, what if I had a boyfriend?”
“So I bought clothes in the size of the kind of body I like. Sometimes I’d wear them myself at home.”
No wonder they were all new—and all fit perfectly.
Luo Xiao smiled.
Early that morning, Wen Ran had also received messages from Wen Pingping:
【Comb your hair properly—don’t you dare give me pink hair again. Black has been nice lately】
【No earrings, no lip rings at all. Hear me?】
【Dress properly. Pick something presentable】
【Take a photo of yourself before you come out】
【If I don’t approve it, you’re not allowed out the door】
Before heading out, Wen Ran sent Wen Pingping a mirror selfie of himself standing together with Luo Xiao.
Wen Pingping received it while driving. To get a good look, she pushed her sunglasses up her face. Wen Ran looked fine—dressed fairly properly today. As for the unfamiliar man beside him…
She practically leaned into the screen.
Seeing that the man was taller than Wen Ran and built completely differently from Wen Ran’s slim, long frame, Wen Pingping muttered as she drove, “So he found someone like this? Definitely his type.”
Putting her phone down, she slid her sunglasses back on, turning the steering wheel and talking to herself, “Well then. Guess he really is the bottom now.”
At the hotel they’d agreed on, as she entered the elevator to go upstairs, Wen Pingping was still thinking about tops and bottoms when she heard a woman who’d entered with her say to a tall man in a suit, “Ranran’s great in every way—he’s just not generous enough when it comes to spending money.”
“He bought twenty thousand worth of clothes yesterday, all for Luo Xiao…”
Wen Pingping turned sharply. “?” At the same time, she took off her sunglasses and looked at the woman. “And you are…?”
The woman and the man in the suit looked back at her.
Wen Pingping had seen photos before and recognized Ju Yaxin immediately. She smiled at once. “Luo Xiao’s mom, right?”
“Ranran’s mom?”
Ju Yaxin’s face lit up in surprise.
“Hello, hello—what a coincidence, running into each other in the elevator.”
Wen Pingping stepped forward, and Ju Yaxin did as well, the two women clasping hands.
“Was the trip long? You even had to fly here.”
“Not far. We’ll be there in no time.”
They exchanged a few polite remarks, both appearing gracious and easygoing.
Ju Yaxin then introduced the man beside her. “This is my eldest son, Luo Feng.”
“Such a fine young man.”
Wen Pingping wasn’t just being polite—she truly thought so as she looked him over.
“Auntie.”
Luo Feng greeted her politely.
When the elevator doors opened, Wen Pingping and Ju Yaxin stepped out together, both smiling, still chatting:
“I booked a private room. The food here’s pretty good—I’m not sure if it suits your taste, but we’ll see once we eat.”
“If you picked it, it must be good.”
“That qipao you’re wearing is beautiful.”
“Really? You’ve got a great eye. It was made by a master tailor—I waited almost a year just to get in line.”
…
So when Wen Ran and Luo Xiao arrived, Wen Pingping and Ju Yaxin had already been chatting on the sofa for quite a while, looking like they’d instantly hit it off.
“Mom.”
“Mom.”
Wen Ran and Luo Xiao entered together.
“Auntie.”
They greeted in unison.
“Ranran.”
Ju Yaxin smiled warmly.
As for Wen Pingping, once she clearly saw Luo Xiao, her heart skipped a beat—so tall, so broad-shouldered, good-looking too. Very manly. No wonder Wen Ran liked him enough to rush into marriage.
Wen Pingping looked Luo Xiao up and down and immediately broke into a pleased smile. Good, very good. She fully approved of Wen Ran’s taste in men.
At this point, she no longer felt any regret or heartache about Wen Ran being the “bottom.”
Bottom or not—so what.
In Wen Pingping’s mind: with a husband like this, being the bottom is no big deal. Just enjoy it.
“Shall we get ready to eat?”
Wen Pingping and Ju Yaxin stood up together and headed for the dining table.
As they walked, Wen Pingping smiled and complimented Ju Yaxin, “I really envy you—two sons, both so tall and handsome.”
Ju Yaxin, clearly wanting to build rapport, returned the compliment. “Ranran is the beautiful one. The first time I saw him, I was honestly surprised. I didn’t expect such a handsome boy to exist.”
“We just got lucky with good looks,” Wen Pingping said with a smile, modestly brushing it off, while gesturing for Ju Yaxin to take the seat of honor and sitting beside her.
After Ju Yaxin sat down, she asked, “I heard Ranran studied art?”
“He graduated from an academy of fine arts.”
Talking about this made Wen Pingping visibly proud. “He loved drawing from a young age and had real talent. He got into school ranked first in his major—his professors all adored him.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Ju Yaxin felt proud as well and added, “Luo Xiao did pretty well in school too.”
“He went to Stanford. Luo Feng studied in the UK—he got into Cambridge.”
Wen Pingping: !!!
She instinctively glanced at Wen Ran.
Didn’t you say he fixed cars? Someone who fixes cars can get into Stanford?!
Ju Yaxin was scrolling on her phone now, showing Wen Pingping photos from Luo Xiao’s college graduation.
“Oh wow—Stanford really is Stanford.”
Wen Pingping stared at the photos, trying hard to judge whether they were real. Inside, she was already overjoyed—Stanford! This was Stanford!
Even if he graduated and went on to fix cars, that was still Stanford!
Stanford!!
But Wen Pingping was, after all, Wen Ran’s mother—her capacity for wild imagination was unmatched.
Even though she was staring right at the photos on Ju Yaxin’s phone, her mind was already flashing through scenes straight out of TV dramas—scam plots, one after another.
Mainly because Ju Yaxin looked far too young, beautiful, and elegant, and both her sons were tall, handsome, and supposedly Cambridge-and-Stanford material.
In real life, how could you just run into people like this?
She immediately began to suspect that Wen Ran, just to get married, had hired a few actors. Hadn’t the drama she was watching a couple days ago done exactly that?
Could this be a romance scam targeting Wen Ran?
These two men and one woman—were they actually con artists?
In the blink of an eye, countless thoughts raced through her head.
She kept her expression steady, chatted and laughed with Ju Yaxin a bit more, then stood up and said, “I’ll go check on the dishes,” heading out—shooting Wen Ran a look along the way: Come out here.
?
Wen Ran stood up.
“You all sit for a bit, have some tea.”
Even as she walked out, Wen Pingping kept her smile on and politely addressed the mother and sons at the table.
Ju Yaxin and Luo Xiao didn’t think anything of it.
But once they were outside the private room and a little farther away, Wen Pingping’s expression changed. She grabbed Wen Ran’s arm and said in a low, serious voice, “Before, you said their family was richer than ours, and you even sent me his mom’s photo. I didn’t think much of it.”
“But now that I’ve met them, the more I think about it, the more wrong it feels.”
“One guy who fixes cars—fine, he’s handsome and manly, I’ll say you struck gold.”
“But how the hell is his brother like that too?”
What?
Wen Ran was confused.
Wen Pingping looked grave. “Just tell me—did you hire them as actors?”
Huh?
Wen Ran stared blankly.
Wen Pingping thought about it again and decided Wen Ran probably wouldn’t lie to her on this scale. She cast a wary glance toward the private room and frowned. “Then it’s a romance scam aimed at you.”
“Makes sense. You’re good-looking and your family’s well-off—if not you, who would they target?”
With a calm, “you can’t fool me” expression, she snorted. “Scamming a lovestruck kid like you is one thing, but trying to fool me? I didn’t come up from nothing.”
As she spoke, she calmly pulled out her phone and deliberately pressed three numbers: 1, 1, 0.
Before Wen Ran could react, the call connected, and Wen Pingping said, “Hello, is this 110? I’ve got three fraudsters here.”