“Ahhhhhh! What did you say? My goddess! She really agreed to meet me?”
Liang Sheng plugged her ears, convinced her eardrums were about to burst. That piercing squeal from the other end—like an excited chipmunk on steroids—left her in temporary amnesia, lips smacking as she stared blankly at her phone, words forgotten.
Only after a long moment, while he was still babbling on about his excitement, did Liang Sheng cut him off impatiently. “He’s not coming to see you. I told them a rich young master wants to take some photos and took a shine to him as a model. That’s the only reason they agreed. So don’t let the cat out of the bag when you meet, got it?”
“Okay, okay! Yes, yes!” He agreed hurriedly, sounding positively euphoric, like he was floating off to enlightenment.
But doubts began to creep into Liang Sheng’s mind. What if… what if He Wennuo found out Ye Yuzhe was a guy? You can’t keep the truth hidden forever—especially not when they’re meeting face-to-face. And He Wennuo struck her as such a lovable dimwit with rock-bottom emotional intelligence. What if he hurt Ye Yuzhe’s feelings? Maybe she should just tell him Ye Yuzhe was a man. Liang Sheng felt a headache coming on.
“Um…” She decided to test the waters. “Mr. He Wennuo, what’s your take on homosexuality?”
“Ah, I saw tons of it when I was abroad. What’s wrong with same-sex couples? That’s true love! You get it.”
His words left Liang Sheng stunned. Whoa… he said it just like that. Hold on—if she spilled the beans, did this blondie already suspect Ye Yuzhe was a guy?
“You… how old are you, sir?” Liang Sheng asked cautiously.
“Twenty-five. Why?”
Liang Sheng’s mind was racing over whether He Wennuo knew Ye Yuzhe was male when her mouth ran ahead without permission. “Ah, that’s pretty old.”
… The line went dead silent.
“No, no, no! I mean, you’re pretty old compared to sixteen-year-old Ye Yuzhe. Like, the age gap is kinda cute, haha, cough cough.” Liang Sheng stumbled through her explanation.
He Wennuo sounded downright aggrieved on the other end. Here he was, a strapping twenty-five-year-old in his prime—a promising, handsome guy with an English edge—being called old? Not okay. Absolutely not. This kid had no honor! Total bullshit.
But the girl was his matchmaker; he couldn’t afford to offend her. Swallowing his pride, he forced out a placid reply. “Ah, these days it’s all the rage—uncles with lolis. Totally normal.” Normal, his ass. How was he an uncle? The very thought aggrieved him.
“Haha, what about an uncle with a shota, then?” Liang Sheng let out an awkward chuckle before blurting out the nonsense.
“Uh…” He Wennuo paused. “What do you mean by that?”
Crap. He really thought Ye Yuzhe was a girl. Liang Sheng facepalmed. How was she supposed to clean up this mess? All because she’d lost her head, dying to ship a sweet gay couple to soothe her battered heart. Now it might blow up in her face like a concussion.
“Um…” Liang Sheng hesitated.
“Go on.” He Wennuo prompted politely.
She gritted her teeth. “Mr. He Wennuo, what if the person you fell for turned out to be a guy? What would you do?”
“Hahaha! What kind of joke is that? I’ve already got my goddess.” His hearty laugh made Liang Sheng throw in the towel. Good lord, did this guy grow up swallowing dummy pills?
“No, no—I mean hypothetically. Suppose you fell for a guy?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” He Wennuo turned bashful all of a sudden. “In my twenty-five years, Ye Yuzhe is the only one who’s ever stirred my heart. What if my future wife Yuzhe gets the wrong idea?”
Damn… was this dude really that sassy?
“Just answer the question. Please?” Liang Sheng begged.
He Wennuo finally lost patience. “Why are you harping on this? Don’t tell me my goddess is a dude?”
… The air turned to ice.
“…Yeah.”
“…Yeah?”
“…Yeah.”
“…”
Beep beep beep. Call ended.
What??? Liang Sheng stared at her darkened screen, utterly baffled.
Where was all that passion? Hadn’t same-sex love been true love, and straight relationships just for popping out heirs? Where was he? Poof—gone?
“Ring ring!” The bell shattered her thoughts. He Wennuo was calling back.
“Hello?”
Dead silence on the other end.
After a beat, He Wennuo spoke up. “You mean Ye Yuzhe is a boy?”
Gulp. Liang Sheng swallowed hard and nodded.
Nothing from his side.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Liang Sheng broke the silence.
“…Huh?” He Wennuo sounded lost. “You didn’t actually say yes or no.”
Liang Sheng felt deeply wronged. “I… I nodded, didn’t I?”
… You gotta be the real dummy here.
“Pfft.” Kazuko and He Wennuo both snorted in mocking unison.
Liang Sheng finally caught on, mumbling an awkward “Yes.”
“Ah…”
She heard his dejected “Ah” and knew he was crushed. She opened her mouth to console him, but before she could, He Wennuo beat her to it.
“I knew something felt off. I’ve been gay all these years—how could I fall head over heels for a girl at first sight?”
What…? What in the world had she just heard? Liang Sheng’s jaw dropped; she turned to stone, phone still at her ear.
“Gah, you… you’re gay?” Shock mangled her words.
“What’s the big deal? Gays are everywhere these days—totally normal.” He Wennuo shrugged it off casually.
Liang Sheng drew in a deep breath and let it out. All that worry for nothing.
Still… she ventured again. “Ye Yuzhe might not even like guys, you know.” Sure, in the original story he’d fallen for the male lead hard enough to get surgery over it, but He Wennuo wasn’t Su Ze. No telling there.
“No worries!” He shot back confidently. “I’m a pro at chasing people.”
“Huh?” Liang Sheng dismantled him without mercy. “Didn’t you say it was love at first sight with your goddess, Ye Yuzhe classmate?”
Silence.
She went straight for the kill. “Come on—how many boyfriends have you had?”
“One.” The voice was a mosquito’s whine.
“Hm?”
“Uh, three or four, maybe?” Barely audible.
“Tell the truth, or no meetup with Ye!” Liang Sheng snapped, out of patience.
“Not that many. Just, uh, two a year.” This time, he sounded a tad bolder.
Liang Sheng curved her lips in a smirk. “How many years~?”
Dead air again. After a heavy silence, his voice trembled. “About eight years, give or take.”
Pfft. Liang Sheng failed to stifle her laugh—this time it was her turn.
Once the giggles subsided, worry crept back in. Ye Yuzhe already had it rough—wanting so badly to be a girl but stuck in a boy’s body, crushing on someone like that scumbag Su Ze. And He Wennuo, with all those exes? Probably another player.
“Miss Liang Sheng.” As if reading her mind, he spoke gravely. “You can’t judge how sincere I am toward Ye Yuzhe by the number of relationships I’ve had.” He paused, then mumbled weakly, “Besides… I was always the one getting dumped.”
Ah… Liang Sheng was speechless. Fair point.
“Some went after my money. Some couldn’t hack the stares. Others just wanted a fling.” Melancholy seeped into He Wennuo’s voice.
“Don’t get down on yourself!” Liang Sheng hated seeing anyone like that and couldn’t help comforting him. “I bet Ye Yuzhe is the loyal type too.”
“Hope you’re right…” He sighed. “No need to sugarcoat it—you have no idea how rough same-sex relationships can get.”
I do, Liang Sheng thought, her own spirits sinking. She knew better than anyone.
“Alright, that’s enough for today.” His words had killed her mood entirely. She rattled off the meeting time and place in a rush, then hung up fast.
She flopped onto her bed, eyes half-lidded as a blurry figure took shape in her mind. “My senior sister…” she murmured. A love like this, scorned by the world—she absolutely couldn’t let Senior Sister Gu Yuqi find out. Not if she wanted to keep their friendship.
“Have you fallen for real?” Kazuko asked.
Liang Sheng turned her head away, clutching the bedsheet in a tight fist before slowly letting go. She sighed. “No. I haven’t.”
Kazuko could see Liang Sheng’s face, sense her turmoil. She let out a soft sigh of her own and dropped it.
—— —— ——
Sunday rolled around in a flash. Liang Sheng rose bright and early—this was her debut as matchmaker, and she had to make it count. She brushed out her long hair, feeling downright fabulous.
Today wasn’t her spotlight, though. She threw on a casual cartoon sweater topped with a gray puffer jacket, waddling out like a fuzzy ball.
Ye Yuzhe was already waiting at the school gate, decked out in a pink coat, pink scarf, and pink knee-high socks. His vibe was girlier than any girl’s, leaving even Liang Sheng feeling second-rate.
“Ye Yuzhe! Over here!” Liang Sheng waved frantically from a good hundred meters away, bubbling with excitement.
That was when her peripheral vision snagged on a familiar figure.
The guy was lurking creepily in a flower shop, crouched low like a total stalker, peeking at something.
Liang Sheng followed his line of sight straight to Ye Yuzhe. She facepalmed with a helpless sigh. What a grown man pulling that stunt.
She headed toward the flower shop where He Wennuo was hunkered down, oblivious as ever in his ridiculous pose.
“Hey!” Liang Sheng gave his protruding butt a light kick. He rocketed upright with a “whoosh,” whipping his head around in panic. Spotting the bundled-up Liang Sheng, he froze.
“Uh, miss? You looking for me?” He Wennuo blinked with wide, innocent eyes, pointing at himself.
Oh, for crying out loud. Her mask hid the twisted grin pulling at Liang Sheng’s face.
“It’s me! Liang Sheng!” she reminded him irritably.
“Ah!” He slapped his forehead like a man jolted from a dream, rubbing his hands together in a fawning smile. “Long time no see—forgot for a sec.”
Yeah, right. As if you’d forget your love-at-first-sight goddess. Liang Sheng’s mouth twitched. She ignored him.
She strode ahead, then glanced back to find He Wennuo still rooted to the spot like a fool. Channeling her inner young miss, she rolled her eyes in perfect disdain.
“What are you standing around for? Waiting for your goddess to come to you? Go make a proper impression!”
He Wennuo startled awake and quickly took a few steps forward. Liang Sheng, satisfied, turned around and continued walking. After a few steps, she noticed there was no sound from behind. She turned her head—the person behind her had vanished. She looked down, only to find He Wennuo squatting miserably on the ground.
“You won’t be so nervous that you can’t even walk anymore, will you?” Liang Sheng teased, secretly surprised in her heart. She hadn’t expected that this love veteran who’d been through so many relationships was actually a pure-hearted little boy.
“No,” He Wennuo flatly denied.
Liang Sheng grew even more resolute in her conviction and felt even greater relief toward him. It seemed she could confidently entrust Ye Yuzhe to this man’s care. Liang Sheng shed tears like a doting mother.
“My leg went numb from squatting just now.”
Ka, Liang Sheng’s smile froze solid, she’s completely done for, utterly shattered! Give her back her relief and sensitivity, damn it!
