MRFD Chapter 72
by VolareMost of the time, Zhou Li felt he was a very clear-headed person.
But when he saw those few photos of Rong Yi and Chen Ke Yao holding hands online, he immediately felt confused.
In theory, he felt he should be a little sad. Although on the surface, he had long adopted the attitude of “we’re just good friends,” Rong Yi was, after all, someone he had once fallen in love with at first sight, and deep down, he inevitably harbored some different feelings.
Rong Yi’s appearance completely hit his aesthetic sweet spot, the kind he could quietly admire all day without getting tired. Moreover, Rong Yi was a really nice person, nice in a way that didn’t make him uncomfortable. Unlike those Alphas, who were all about ambition in their words and actions, making it awkward to be around them.
So at this moment, strictly speaking, he was heartbroken.
The heartbroken Zhou Li held his phone, opened those pictures, zoomed in, looked at them up and down, left and right, and finally moved the focus to the hands of the two people holding tightly together.
Then he smiled.
An indescribable excitement slowly swelled in his heart.
What had he said to Rong Yi back then? These two standing together were just a perfect match. The more he looked, the more suitable they were, pleasing to the eye, a match made in heaven. After Zhou Li finished marveling, he immediately sent a message to Rong Yi himself.
Before he received a reply, he suddenly got a call from Liu Yuan. He originally thought this person had seen the news online and was calling to ask about his relationship with Rong Yi. Zhou Li had fully prepared himself for this, but when he answered, he realized it wasn’t the case at all.
Liu Yuan seemed completely unaware of the uproar on Weibo and enthusiastically asked if he was interested in playing a escape room.
Zhou Li immediately agreed.
This wasn’t actually the first time he and Liu Yuan had hung out together.
Since the two of them added each other on WeChat, Liu Yuan would occasionally like and comment on his posts, and sometimes even chat with him privately. A few days ago, Zhou Li had made plans with a friend to go to the movies. He had already bought the tickets, but on the day of, his friend suddenly had an emergency and couldn’t make it. So Zhou Li posted on his WeChat moments, asking if anyone happened to be nearby and wanted to see a movie, he could treat.
After posting, he refreshed and found that right above his message, Liu Yuan had posted a modern poem. Zhou Li, in a rare moment, understood it, this person was expressing that he was very bored and almost going crazy.
So Zhou Li, on a whim, tapped on his profile picture and sent him a message.
Actually, Liu Yuan’s first impression on him could be described as extremely poor, the kind that would give him a headache just seeing him. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, Zhou Li wouldn’t have wanted any in-depth interaction with him at all.
But life is always full of various necessities.
And after these few necessities, Zhou Li’s impression of this seemingly clueless Alpha underwent a huge reversal.
Some people are very strange, they don’t seem particularly witty or humorous, and might even be a bit silly, but they just make people feel very interesting. Liu Yuan was one of those people.
Zhou Li had previously talked nonsense on his WeChat moments, saying that after a physical exam, the doctor told him he still had a chance to grow five centimeters taller. Other friends told him to wake up and stop deceiving himself, only Liu Yuan replied with a particularly surprised expression and said, “That’s great, congratulations!”
So Zhou Li continued to lie to him, saying that the physical exam results showed he might even be able to differentiate into an Alpha.
Liu Yuan was silent for at least half an hour, then suddenly messaged him privately and sent him a bunch of information he had searched online.
“It seems there really are cases like this, but I heard the process is quite painful and it’s easy to have incomplete differentiation and leave behind sequelae. Remember to go to the hospital for regular follow-ups!”
Zhou Li was embarrassed and ashamed and could only honestly tell him he was completely making things up.
Liu Yuan sent a row of dots and then said, “I didn’t expect you to be so bad!”
He was particularly silly, but also particularly interesting.
So abruptly asking him to go to the movies, Zhou Li felt somewhat uneasy after sending the invitation, but quickly put his mind at ease.
Halfway through the movie, Zhou Li quietly said to Liu Yuan, “I saw spoilers for this movie, both protagonists die in the end.” Liu Yuan was shocked and then remained on high alert, highly nervous at every slightly thrilling scene.
Until the movie was nearing its end, and the two protagonists were passionately kissing in the sunset, he nervously whispered to Zhou Li, “Isn’t something going to happen now?”
Zhou Li stifled a laugh: “I don’t know.”
Until the credits rolled, Liu Yuan was finally bewildered.
“It can’t be in the end credits, right?” he asked.
Zhou Li pretended: “Ah, maybe I was tricked by the spoilers.”
Liu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and then said: “The person who made up those spoilers is really too bad.”
When they parted that day, Liu Yuan expressed his gratitude for the movie ticket and then emphasized that he must return the favor.
The escape room tickets were much more expensive than movie tickets. Liu Yuan said that one of them was given to him by a friend. He felt that this kind of activity was boring alone, so he wanted to find someone to go with. He only needed to buy one ticket, so it was still okay to split the cost.
The escape room was said to have been renovated not long ago, and it looked quite impressive. Zhou Li was enthusiastic, while Liu Yuan seemed much more nervous in comparison.
When they walked into the first room and found a corpse lying in the middle, he even let out a hideous scream on the spot.
Zhou Li quickly reassured him: “It’s okay, it’s all fake… Oh no, it’s actually real!”
Liu Yuan instantly retreated from the room.
But soon, he seemed to realize his gaffe and stiffly walked back, clearing his throat: “Uh, this is quite creative.”
The two of them turned on the lights and rummaged through the room. Zhou Li ran over to the actor pretending to be a corpse and circled around him, then said, “Could the clue be under his body?”
“Probably not, right?” Liu Yuan hesitated, “Otherwise, why don’t you check his pockets first?”
Zhou Li looked him up and down: “But the clothes he’s wearing don’t have pockets!”
So the two of them stood by the sofa, heads lowered, staring at the corpse, lost in thought.
Until the corpse’s face underwent a subtle change, Zhou Li finally spoke: “Probably not, right… If we needed to move it, they should have put a dummy instead?”
Liu Yuan thought for a moment, agreeing deeply: “You’re so smart!”
So the two of them turned around again and rummaged through the room for the second time.
When they finally found the password to the next room on top of the bookshelf with absolutely no efficiency and were about to enter, Liu Yuan gently patted Zhou Li’s shoulder and lowered his voice: “Look at that person, is he asleep?”
Zhou Li stood on tiptoe and glanced. The corpse seemed to be breathing evenly, with a relaxed expression, and his movements seemed a little different than before.
“How fun,” Zhou Li said, “I want to work here too.”
The next room was surprisingly smooth.
Liu Yuan said as he walked in: “Wow, this place looks like it’s been deliberately aged, there are signs of impact everywhere, are these clues?”
Then, he suddenly lowered his head: “I think I stepped on something.”
A click sounded from the wall not far away.
After pushing open the wall, Liu Yuan immediately gasped.
Zhou Li was also quite surprised, but quickly became highly excited. He walked back and forth in that eerily atmospheric room, but unfortunately, the collectibles on the shelves all had isolation barriers in front of them, making it difficult to get close, so he couldn’t see them very clearly.
“I’ll look here,” Zhou Li turned back and smiled at Liu Yuan, “You wait outside!”
Liu Yuan hesitated for a moment when he heard this, then actually walked in: “It’s okay, I’m fine, I’m not that afraid of these things.”
If he said he wasn’t afraid, then he wasn’t afraid. Zhou Li didn’t force him and continued to carefully observe the bottles and jars behind the protective railings.
“I don’t think there are any key items we need to find here, otherwise they wouldn’t be separated like this, don’t you think?” Zhou Li asked.
“That makes sense, you’re so smart!” Liu Yuan nodded, then walked to the glass tank in the middle containing a live snake, “Look, this area doesn’t have a railing, so does that mean there’s something inside?”
As he spoke, he looked behind the glass tank, then reached out and pulled out a hardcover book from the corner.
“Look at this?”
As he spoke, he opened the cover, and then the brightly lit room outside the dark room suddenly went dark.
“Oh my god!” Liu Yuan screamed in fright.
Before the sound faded, a beam of light suddenly shone down from the roof. In the light, the corpse from the room just now slowly walked in.
“What the hell? Zombie?” Liu Yuan was dumbfounded.
Zhou Li tilted his head and thought: “Seems not, look, he’s changed his clothes.”
The person began to monologue as he walked, reciting a few lines, and the two of them suddenly understood. What Liu Yuan found was the owner of this house’s diary. And the actor responsible for playing the deceased owner performed the passage of the diary they needed to understand in the form of a monologue.
They even needed to perform a short play, no wonder it was played by a dedicated person. The acting ability of this actor, who had been bored to sleep just now, was amazing, full of infectiousness, making people afraid to breathe.
When the actor finally left and the outer room finally returned to brightness, Zhou Li muttered softly: “Wow… I can’t do this job. So amazing. But did you remember what he said just now?”
“He said he wrote all the suspicious information in his diary,” Liu Yuan went to the outer room and started checking, “You’re smarter than me, come and see what useful clues there are?”
After that, they successively passed through three rooms, watched three short plays, and were still not satisfied when they finally reached the exit.
“This escape room is the most interesting one I’ve ever played!” Zhou Li was in a great mood, “It feels like watching an interactive movie.”
Liu Yuan said with emotion: “Your reaction is really fast, if it were just me, I probably wouldn’t be able to get out of the second room even now.”
Having been praised several times along the way, Zhou Li couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. But at the same time, he also felt a little smug.
“It’s okay, I just happened to think of it,” he clapped his hands, “To thank you for taking me to such an interesting escape room, I’ll treat you to dinner!”
Liu Yuan exchanged some pleasantries with him, then the two of them happily set off for the restaurant. On the way, Zhou Li received a call.
Then, his mind exploded.
The big news caused by his fake boyfriend Rong Yi had finally reached his uncle’s ears. And his uncle thought his precious nephew had been dumped, and was furious. He immediately introduced another potential partner to him.
His mother was informing him to go on a blind date.
Seeing him gloomy after he hung up the phone, Liu Yuan was very concerned: “What’s wrong?”
This guy only became less annoying after knowing that he and Rong Yi were a couple. Zhou Li didn’t really want to tell him the truth. So after thinking for a while, he decided to continue talking nonsense.
“It’s not convenient for me to bring Rong Yi home, you know, after all, he’s an Omega…”
Hearing this, Liu Yuan immediately nodded: “Oh, that’s true. Even if you can’t tell now, it’ll be obvious sooner or later.”
This person is really too easy to fool.
“So my mom just called me and told me to go on a blind date in a couple of days,” Zhou Li sighed, “Annoying.”
“Are you going?” Liu Yuan asked.
“What else can I do?” Zhou Li sighed, “Just go through the motions, otherwise they’ll nag me every day.”
Liu Yuan was thoughtful.
“Never mind this,” Zhou Li waved his hand boldly, “Let’s go! Let’s go eat!”
“Actually, I have similar troubles,” Liu Yuan followed behind him, looking quite awkward, “I think maybe we can help each other.”
Zhou Li turned around: “You want to pretend to be my boyfriend?”
He said it very casually, but Liu Yuan, after hearing it, suddenly became highly nervous for some reason, even his back straightened up particularly straight.
“It shouldn’t be too embarrassing for you, right…” he said cautiously.
Zhou Li looked him up and down, making Liu Yuan feel uneasy, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.
“How so?” he urged softly.
“It seems possible!” Zhou Li smiled, “We can form a mutual aid group! Ah, but you have to tell me when you have someone you like, I won’t cause you trouble.”
Liu Yuan licked his lips: “… I’ll try.”
“You come here.” Zhou Li beckoned to him with great interest.
When Liu Yuan walked over uneasily, he was pulled forward slightly by Zhou Li. When the two heads were almost at the same height, Zhou Li raised his phone, turned on the front-facing camera, and raised his other hand to make half a heart.
“Quickly, complete it!” he instructed Liu Yuan.
So Liu Yuan quickly made the other half of the heart.
The two hands, one big and one small, made a heart that was a little crooked. Zhou Li pressed the shutter and then looked down to confirm the photo.
“Okay, I’ll go back and show it to my mom!”
Liu Yuan looked down at the hand he had just used to make a heart: “Don’t you need to come back with me?”
“No need for so much trouble,” Zhou Li waved his hand, “I’ll send you the photo, if your family urges you, just say I’m your boyfriend.”
Liu Yuan nodded: “Okay.”
Unexpectedly, Liu Yuan, as his new fake boyfriend, received far more praise from his parents than the previous one.
In his mother’s words, Rong Yi’s face, at first glance, was the type that couldn’t stay put and wanted to wander among many flowers, making people feel insecure. It’s better to live with someone like Liu Yuan, who is handsome in a proper way, making you feel at ease.
“Look at this photo, he didn’t even look at the camera, just stared at you,” his mother said with great satisfaction, “We’re only relieved when we see someone who obviously likes you a lot.”
After she said this, Zhou Li began to feel that Liu Yuan in the photo did look a little strange.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to think too much about it at the moment.
He was busy preparing to resign.
Li Xiao Ran was really annoying.
Zhou Li felt that this guy was completely immersed in his own world, his actions had gone beyond the level of office sexual harassment and were completely impossible to communicate with.
He didn’t touch him, he endlessly tried to use his so-called sincerity to move Zhou Li.
Zhou Li’s scalp was tingling from being moved, and he frantically submitted resumes online every day after work. These days, he finally received a satisfactory offer and couldn’t wait to submit his resignation application.
Li Xiao Ran couldn’t accept it at all.
He even showed Zhou Li his divorce certificate, which had already been stamped.
This person had lost a lot of weight recently and looked presentable, but the words he spoke made Zhou Li’s head ache.
“Why aren’t you willing to give me a chance? I’m willing to make any changes for you,” he said, “Am I really causing you so much trouble?”
Zhou Li, who had already submitted his resignation application, could finally tell the truth: “Yes, a lot of trouble.”
“Did you see the news online a while ago,” Li Xiao Ran frowned, “That partner of yours isn’t someone worth entrusting yourself to. I’m different, my feelings for you are genuine.”
Zhou Li’s head was pounding.
He simply ignored Li Xiao Ran’s words: “Manager, do you have any work matters to explain to me?”
Li Xiao Ran was silent for a long time, and finally shook his head.
“No.”
Zhou Li quickly slipped away, and when he reached the office door, Li Xiao Ran’s voice came from behind again.
“Is it too late to start living the life you want now?”
Zhou Li thought, what the hell, none of my business.
Near the end of work, Li Xiao Ran appeared by his desk again.
Ever since this person quietly revealed his handsome face, which had been hidden under the fat, the attitudes of several Omegas in the office who had previously disdained him had undergone subtle changes.
As soon as he approached, someone immediately greeted him proactively.
Unfortunately, Zhou Li wasn’t in those people’s category. He was extremely annoyed.
“Can I have two words with you?” Li Xiao Ran asked him.
Zhou Li looked bitter, looked at the colleagues in the office who were secretly glancing in their direction, and sighed.
“Isn’t it inconvenient to say it here?” he asked.
He originally hoped that Li Xiao Ran would shut up and leave immediately out of consideration for the public, but he didn’t expect the other party to hesitate for a few seconds and then say very simply: “I want to treat you to a meal.”
“…” Zhou Li was startled, then immediately shook his head, “I’m busy.”
“Just once,” Li Xiao Ran said, “I promise I won’t bother you again in the future.”
Zhou Li was on high alert, but at the last meal, none of the things he was worried about happened.
Everyone has some appreciation for appearances. Li Xiao Ran, with his current appearance, didn’t seem annoying when he wasn’t pestering him. After he sat down, he mostly only talked to Zhou Li about work-related content, which made Zhou Li relax a lot.
But when the dishes were all served, the topic finally reached the part that annoyed Zhou Li.
“Am I a particularly annoying person,” Li Xiao Ran asked, “Pestering you, haunting you. Have you been scolding me in your heart all the time?”
Yes.
Zhou Li coughed, lowered his head to eat, and didn’t say anything.
Li Xiao Ran sighed and then said: “I’m sorry.”
Zhou Li was slightly surprised and raised his head slightly to look at him.
“You won’t accept me no matter what, right,” he said.
This wasn’t a question, so Zhou Li still didn’t answer.
“There’s no other meaning in treating you to a meal,” Li Xiao Ran continued, “Even if you don’t like me, I still want to thank you.”
“Why?” Zhou Li didn’t understand.
Li Xiao Ran suddenly smiled: “Suddenly a little curious about me?”
“Never mind.” Zhou Li continued to eat.
“I think you’re a very interesting person,” Li Xiao Ran said, “You just… give me a very different feeling. I can’t say exactly where it’s different. Anyway, I can’t help but want to care. I’ve never had this kind of feeling for anyone before.”
“…”
Zhou Li still didn’t look up.
“The reason I decided to get a divorce was really because of you,” Li Xiao Ran said.
“Don’t don’t don’t,” Zhou Li waved his hand, “I can’t take such a big gift!”
Seeing this, Li Xiao Ran actually smiled: “No, I mean… I want to thank you.”
“Ah?”
“It was you who finally gave me the motivation to get rid of the life I didn’t want,” he said.
“… Isn’t it a little rude to your ex to say that?” Zhou Li frowned.
“Then… I’ll thank you on his behalf too,” Li Xiao Ran said, “For finally giving him a chance to leave someone as bad as me.”
“…”
“We were both too self-destructive before,” Li Xiao Ran said, “If you can’t accept me, then so be it. People ah… should be with someone they like to be happy. Forcing things only hurts others and yourself.”
This meal was particularly inexplicable.
But given that Li Xiao Ran’s attitude towards him seemed to have changed, Zhou Li also became polite subconsciously. When it came time to pay the bill, Zhou Li forcibly went dutch with him. Li Xiao Ran couldn’t win, so he offered to take him home. Zhou Li refused twice, but seeing the other party’s bitter expression, he finally relented.
I have to say, a melancholic fat person and a melancholic handsome guy really give people completely different feelings.
Just as he got in the car, Zhou Li suddenly received a message.
The sender was Liu Yuan, asking him what he was doing now.
This person had been coming to chat with him from time to time these days, and if he knew he was free, he might even call.
Liu Yuan seemed to have started to become obsessed with strange novels and liked to share them with him after reading them. Zhou Li was very interested in these, so they chatted happily every time.
But now wasn’t the time.
Zhou Li replied, telling him that it wasn’t convenient for him to call now, and he would talk later.
A few minutes later, he received another message that shocked him.
Liu Yuan asked, who is the person with you?
Zhou Li particularly wished that Li Xiao Ran was still fat at that moment.
After all, him leaving a restaurant at night in the same car with a fat guy would look particularly pure and innocent.
But now, Liu Yuan had a big misunderstanding.
“If you have a boyfriend, you have to tell me in time,” he said.
“That’s not it, that’s my boss.” Zhou Li quickly explained.
Liu Yuan replied with six dots after a moment.
Zhou Li ruminated and found that his so-called explanation seemed to carry a mysterious ambiguity.
He didn’t know how to explain it clearly, so he could only add a few more exclamation marks to emphasize.
“Really not!!!”
“Then why isn’t it convenient for me to call you?” Liu Yuan asked.
Zhou Li was speechless.
He glanced at Li Xiao Ran, who was driving quietly, and felt that there really wasn’t anything inconvenient. Compared to this awkward silence, maybe making a call to pass the time was a good idea.
As soon as the call was dialed, Liu Yuan answered immediately.
“What are you doing, being suspicious, are you too gossipy or want to be a detective?” Zhou Li asked, “Where are you now?”
“… I’m at the place where you just ate.” Liu Yuan said.
“Eh? What a coincidence, you’re eating there too?”
“No,” Liu Yuan said, “I just happened to be passing by your company, and I wanted to come over and ask you to go eat something after work.”
“…”
“I saw you guys were chatting happily, and I didn’t want to disturb you.” Liu Yuan said.
His tone sounded quite aggrieved, but Zhou Li thought it was a little strange.
“No, isn’t this a little perverted?” he said, “Secretly observing?”
“… I also ate a meal myself by the way.” Liu Yuan said.
“Ah! Did you order their chestnut chicken? I think it’s delicious!”
“Yes yes yes,” Liu Yuan said, “I think the chestnuts inside are even better than the chicken, fragrant and glutinous!”
“I think so too!” Zhou Li said, “Let’s go together next time.”
“Okay, when?”
“Not recently, I just resigned here, and the handover is quite annoying…”
“Oh…” Liu Yuan paused, “Is your boss next to you now?”
Hearing this, Zhou Li subconsciously glanced at Li Xiao Ran, who was still driving silently: “Uh, yes.”
“He’s taking you home?”
“… Yes.”
“I have a feeling,” Liu Yuan said, “He seems to have some feelings for you.”
Zhou Li was stunned.
When did this silly guy become so perceptive?
“Not speaking, that’s tacit consent,” Liu Yuan said, “… Since you know and you still ate with him and let him take you home, is it because you also have feelings for him?”
“Of course not!” Zhou Li said.
He was distressed, after all, Li Xiao Ran was next to him, and it was really embarrassing to say some things.
“Last time I said I’d take you home, you said it wasn’t necessary.”
“You’re talking nonsense! Who wants you to take the bus with me!” Zhou Li couldn’t help but complain, “If there’s only one seat, you sit or I sit?”
“You sit, of course you sit.” Liu Yuan said, “I can save up for two more years and buy a car, and then take you.”
Zhou Li couldn’t help but laugh: “Okay, I’ll wait.”
“But I’m serious, don’t think I’m annoying,” Liu Yuan continued, “Not every Alpha is as gentlemanly and harmless as me, you just get into someone’s car, and if he misunderstands that you also have feelings for him, it’s easy for something to happen.”
“… What the hell.” Zhou Li frowned.
“But it’s okay,” Liu Yuan said again, “We’ll talk on the phone for a while longer, and if someone’s listening, he won’t dare to plot anything.”
“Well, thank you.” Zhou Li said.
Li Xiao Ran, who had been silent, suddenly spoke at this time: “Your boyfriend?”
Zhou Li was stunned. Liu Yuan on the other end of the phone didn’t know if he had heard clearly and didn’t say anything.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Li Xiao Ran asked again.
Zhou Li, on a whim, nodded: “Yeah, he is.”
Knowing that he had a partner, this person should be able to give up completely, right? Anyway, Liu Yuan was originally his mutual aid partner, of course he had to help out in such a situation.
“No wonder you didn’t seem sad when Rong Yi did that kind of thing,” Li Xiao Ran continued, “That’s good. I can see you like him a lot.”
Zhou Li’s face turned red instantly.
He wanted to shout what the hell, don’t talk nonsense, but it wasn’t appropriate at the moment, so he could only grit his teeth and remain silent.
Then, he heard someone laughing softly on the other end of the phone.
Zhou Li suddenly began to feel annoyed.
Li Xiao Ran said that he thought he was very interesting.
He said that he thought he was interesting, so he couldn’t help but like him. He also said that he looked like he liked Liu Yuan a lot.
Actually, Zhou Li always thought Liu Yuan was interesting.
When he slightly integrated this information, he immediately became annoyed.
This annoyance continued until the next day when he went to work. During lunch break, a colleague who he usually had a good relationship with chatted with him, asking him why he was so cold to Li Xiao Ran.
“Successful in his career, now he’s quite handsome, and he’s so serious about you, but you can completely stay unmoved.”
Zhou Li frowned: “Why should I be moved? He likes me, what’s it to me?”
“… You wouldn’t be touched at all?” the colleague asked.
Does feeling troubled and wanting to escape quickly count as being touched?
Zhou Li was a little helpless: “If I like someone, I wouldn’t think they have to be responsible for me.”
He fell in love with Rong Yi at first sight, and stopped after being rejected twice. Now he was very happy to see that his relationship was going smoothly. What a broad mind, worth calling on all those in unrequited love to learn.
“That’s not how it’s said,” his colleague was a little amused, “People are emotional creatures. Even if you don’t have feelings for the other person, knowing that someone likes you will make you a little happy, right?”
“The way you’re saying it makes it sound like I’m very cold-blooded,” Zhou Li pouted, “Am I not good to you?”
“That’s not what I meant,” the other party quickly waved his hand, “I just think you usually seem quite normal, but you’re particularly stubborn about this. But on the other hand, rejecting someone decisively is also a good thing.”
Zhou Li didn’t say anything.
The colleague suddenly asked again: “Have you ever been in a relationship?”
Zhou Li’s face turned red: “Is there a problem with that?”
“… Then you definitely haven’t liked anyone either.”
“I have,” Zhou Li emphasized, “He doesn’t like me, I’m heartbroken. Now we’re just friends.”
The colleague actually laughed. She reached out and ruffled Zhou Li’s slightly curly short hair, saying: “Little kid.”
She left after saying that, leaving Zhou Li sitting there, feeling inexplicably stuffy in his chest.
And at this moment, his phone vibrated. When he opened it, it was a message.
“Have you eaten yet~?”
The sender was Liu Yuan.
In an instant, Zhou Li suddenly felt particularly unhappy. That subtle feeling of annoyance even made him feel a buzzing in his ears.
So for the first time in this period, he deliberately didn’t reply to Liu Yuan’s message.
Liu Yuan was really annoying.
He intensified sending messages to Zhou Li from that day on, all of which were unimportant nonsense. Zhou Li replied to one out of ten messages, but still couldn’t dispel his enthusiasm at all.
Zhou Li felt that he was being harassed.
That feeling of annoyance was a little different from the aversion he felt the first time he met him and tried to avoid him at all costs.
He felt flustered.
He even realized that he had started to become a little mentally hypersensitive, and would subconsciously feel his phone vibrating. After opening it and finding that there were no messages, he couldn’t help but tap open the chat box with Liu Yuan again to confirm.
He even figured out the time intervals for Liu Yuan to send him messages and couldn’t help but take a few glances when it was about time to receive a message.
During this period, Liu Yuan had called him a few times, but he didn’t answer. Afterwards, he made up excuses, saying that he was busy with the handover and didn’t notice, and that if there was nothing important, he wouldn’t talk for now.
Liu Yuan asked him when he would be free to go eat chestnut chicken together. He replied after half a day, saying that he didn’t have time recently.
So Liu Yuan said, “Take care of your body.”
After a while, he said again, “It’s okay if you don’t have time to reply to my messages, it’s important that you’re busy with your work. I’m also happy to talk to myself.”
After a while, he suddenly asked, “Do you think I’m annoying?”
During this period, Zhou Li had been watching the phone screen, watching him send the last message, and then retract it.
He panicked, holding the phone and pacing back and forth, and finally decided to just pretend he didn’t see it.
He lived like this for more than a week, during which he couldn’t help but complain to Rong Yi once.
He originally wanted to tell Rong Yi, “Yesterday I heard a kid in an advertisement reciting ‘Only when there is a source can the water flow,’ and I was startled and couldn’t recover. Should I just block him?”
Unfortunately, this guy Rong Yi had no conscience and was busy with his two-person world with Chen Ke Yao and ignored him.
Until Liu Yuan asked him in a message: “Do you remember our agreement?”
Zhou Li thought for a long time before finally realizing that they had once formed a mutual aid group.
While he was staring at the phone, Liu Yuan sent a somewhat tangled emoticon.
After that, he quickly called again. Zhou Li hesitated for a moment and finally mustered up the courage to answer.
He planned to seriously and bravely tell Liu Yuan that he wanted to stop the cooperative relationship. Because the cooperative partner was making him restless, he couldn’t stand it, he was going crazy.
“There’s a bit of a problem,” Liu Yuan’s tone on the phone sounded very nervous, “I showed your photo to my mom, and she really likes it.”
“… Ah.”
Zhou Li subconsciously wanted to answer, “What a coincidence, so does my mom.”
Then he stopped himself.
“After she saw it, she asked… the New Year is coming in a while, can I invite you to my house for a meal?”
“…”
“I said I have to ask if you have time.”
“…”
“So, do you have time?” Liu Yuan asked.
Zhou Li frowned.
“No.” he said.
Liu Yuan was silent for a while, and suddenly breathed a long sigh of relief.
“Okay, then I’ll find an excuse to refuse,” he said, “Are you busy now? I read a book a few days ago that was really interesting, you’ll definitely like it.”
Zhou Li swallowed: “Busy.”
“…”
“…”
The two were silent for a while, and Liu Yuan finally spoke again.
“Okay, I won’t bother you. Bye, good night.”
Zhou Li almost blurted out, “Wait.”
But the words were at his lips, but he didn’t know why they stiffened. And after stiffening, he realized that there was no need for him to say that.
But Liu Yuan, who said he was going to say goodbye, didn’t hang up.
He paused for a while and then said: “Actually, you and Rong Yi haven’t been together, have you?”
“… Why are you suddenly saying this.”
“When he pretends to be your boyfriend, he definitely wouldn’t harass you like I do all day.”
“…”
“If you think I’m annoying, just tell me,” Liu Yuan said, “I’ll restrain myself. I don’t want to be hated by you.”
Zhou Li held the phone and paced back and forth in the room, his palms numb with panic.
He struggled for a long time, and then asked very abruptly: “Liu Yuan, do you like me?”
Liu Yuan was obviously taken aback.
After a long time, he finally replied softly: “Yes.”
Zhou Li didn’t say anything.
So Liu Yuan repeated again: “Yes, I like you.”
Zhou Li swallowed: “I don’t want to be in a relationship.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Liu Yuan said, “I know it.”
“Then you…”
“Okay okay okay,” Liu Yuan sighed very exaggeratedly, “I won’t harass you anymore, don’t delete me, don’t block me, okay?”
“Will we still be friends in the future?” Zhou Li asked.
“I’ll try,” Liu Yuan said, “But I’m afraid it won’t work.”
“…”
“Really hanging up, good night.”
He didn’t expect Liu Yuan to be such a decisive person.
From that day on, he never sent any more messages. Zhou Li checked every time his phone vibrated, and then was disappointed. Liu Yuan thoroughly understood his mental state. Once rejected, he would stop completely, which could be considered an advanced example.
But Zhou Li felt unhappy.
He felt that Liu Yuan was too stingy.
Just because he didn’t agree to go to his house for dinner for the New Year, he immediately stopped sending him messages and calling him. He rejected his confession, and they couldn’t even be friends.
After this person no longer appeared in his world, his annoyance didn’t lessen at all, but instead intensified.
He was confused until he had completed the resignation procedures. Before leaving, the company department held a farewell party. At the party, Li Xiao Ran came to talk to him again.
“Did you and your boyfriend argue?” he asked.
Zhou Li frowned and ignored him.
“Now do you think I’m pretty good too?” he asked again.
“No.” Zhou Li said.
Liu Yuan