Chapter 26: Cute Bluff
Sheng Fei, who had been directing, suddenly fell silent as if his fire had been extinguished.
Xi Rui and Song Xingyu also remained silent.
The entire voice chat was extremely quiet.
Even Xie Yang was a bit confused.
He never expected Qi Xu to suddenly kiss him while the voice chat was on, and the kiss was loud enough for everyone to hear, as if he did it on purpose.
Thinking about this, Xie Yang blushed and shyly whispered in Qi Xu's ear, "Didn't we agree to keep it a secret for now?"
Qi Xu turned off the microphone, kissed his cheek, and said in a deep, cheerful voice, "I couldn't help but show off a little about being in a relationship."
Show off?
Xie Yang was stunned by these words.
He turned to look at Qi Xu, only to be kissed again.
Qi Xu said, "They know how to keep things to themselves; they won't talk about it."
Seeing Qi Xu about to kiss him again, Xie Yang turned his head back to the phone screen.
Qi Xu asked, "Won't you let me kiss you?"
Xie Yang shook his head gently, not daring to look at him, and whispered, "No."
Qi Xu pinched his cheek, forcing Xie Yang to turn and look at him, then kissed him hard on the lips.
Xie Yang pushed him away slightly, shyly staring at the screen, and said, "Don't AFK."
Qi Xu, in a great mood, returned to the game.
Xie Yang's mind was in turmoil. He hadn't expected Qi Xu to think that way.
Did Qi Xu really want to show off their relationship?
Even though he was a guy, even though he wasn't particularly good-looking, even though he wasn't exceptional.
Would Qi Xu still want to make their relationship public?
Was the post Qi Xu made on Moments a subtle way of showing off their love?
If he hadn't insisted on keeping it a secret, would Qi Xu have openly announced their relationship on Moments?
Suddenly, Xie Yang felt a sense of reality about their relationship.
He leaned forward, kissed Qi Xu on the cheek, and then pulled back.
Qi Xu looked at him in surprise.
"Baby?"
Xie Yang's heart pounded, and his ears turned slightly red. He resisted the nervousness and found an excuse to avoid Qi Xu's impending kiss: "If you keep AFKing, we'll lose the game. Play well; I want to win."
Qi Xu sighed regretfully, "Alright, but then you'll have to let me kiss you later."
Xie Yang felt his face heat up.
He pushed his jumbled thoughts aside and forced himself to focus back on the game.
It was only then he noticed that the usually noisy and chatty voice chat was unusually silent tonight.
It seemed like everyone had turned off their microphones.
Xie Yang had noticed in the dormitory that they always used voice chat for communication during games, without exception.
But now, even during team fights, no one spoke, only using game signals and system voice commands for coordination.
Xie Yang's initial shyness gradually faded.
He couldn't help but wonder if it was because of him.
Was it because of his relationship with Qi Xu that they felt uncomfortable?
Xie Yang glanced at Qi Xu, who still had the same expression, unchanged, showing no signs of emotion, but Xie Yang thought he was probably happy right now.
So, he gathered his courage and said to Qi Xu, "I'll log off after this game."
Qi Xu quickly looked at him and asked, "What's wrong, are you tired?"
Xie Yang hesitantly nodded.
Qi Xu put down his phone and said, "Then let's not play with them anymore. Let's duo queue?"
Xie Yang didn't expect him to sense his emotions.
But that wasn't his intention.
Xie Yang hurriedly explained, "No, I'm just a bit tired. You should go play with them."
Qi Xu's brow furrowed slightly, his voice tinged with displeasure: "You want me to leave you alone and go play with them?"
Xie Yang fell silent.
Qi Xu laughed in exasperation: "Xie Yang, why do you think they're more important than you?"
Every time Qi Xu called him by his full name, it made Xie Yang's heart tremble, as if Qi Xu was angry.
Xie Yang didn't want Qi Xu to misunderstand, so he confessed, "I just don't want your friends to feel uncomfortable because of me."
He didn't know Sheng Fei, but Song Xingyu and Xi Rui…
They didn't usually play games like this.
A five-man queue should be lively and fun, like he had seen before.
Earlier, when he spoke quietly, they didn't recognize who he was.
He couldn't imagine how shocked they would be if they found out Qi Xu's boyfriend was him.
Or maybe they would think he had turned Qi Xu gay.
After all, Qi Xu was originally straight, and it was only because of their online relationship that he changed.
He had deliberately ignored this issue, but now it was in front of him, and he couldn't help but think about it. Would being with Qi Xu cause trouble for him or make them both the subject of criticism? He really didn't want that to happen.
Qi Xu said, "They won't mind me being in a relationship, and they won't care if my partner is a man or a woman. You don't need to worry about these things. If you're willing, I want to formally introduce you to them."
As Qi Xu said, even if he suddenly became gay, their reaction would probably just be: "Whoa, really? Congrats and best wishes!"
At most, they might tease a bit.
They wouldn't discriminate against their relationship just because Xie Yang was a guy.
Xie Yang didn't want to tell Xi Rui and Song Xingyu about his relationship with Qi Xu just yet.
He took a deep breath and found another reason: "It's getting late. I should go back to the dorm."
Since the start of the game, he had been feeling restless and distracted.
It was almost 10 PM. Even though the dorm didn't have a curfew, Xie Yang rarely returned this late. He wasn't used to spending the night outside, which made him feel uneasy.
The game had just ended, and Qi Xu switched to WeChat to send a message to their small group of four: [Not playing anymore] and exited the game.
He glanced at the time. For him, it was still early; his night was just beginning.
Xie Yang gently tugged on Qi Xu's shirt and softly said, "Can I go back to the dorm now?"
Qi Xu: "No."
Xie Yang nervously twisted the hem of his shirt: "It's very late."
Qi Xu: "Since it's late, you might as well stay here for the night. It's not safe to go back to school this late."
Xie Yang could guess that Qi Xu wanted him to stay.
But he was a bit worried. Was it okay to stay together on the first day of their online relationship becoming real?
Besides, he thought if he stayed overnight, Qi Xu probably wouldn't let him sleep in the guest room.
Thinking about these messy things, Xie Yang's mind was in a whirl, and he kept tugging at the pattern on Qi Xu's shirt.
When he snapped out of it, he realized he had wrinkled Qi Xu's shirt. He hurriedly smoothed out the creases.
After doing this, he sneaked a glance at Qi Xu.
He found Qi Xu looking at him intently.
Oh no, he got caught doing something wrong.
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at him with interest, as if to say: Why did you stop?
Xie Yang looked at him pitifully and whispered, "Sorry."
Qi Xu pulled him into his arms, his thumb brushing over Xie Yang's lips.
"You promised I could kiss you back."
Xie Yang's face visibly reddened. He tried to push away from Qi Xu's chest, but Qi Xu only tightened his grip around his waist.
Feeling uncomfortable, Xie Yang turned his face away and said, "I-I should go back now."
Qi Xu didn't give him a chance to escape, softly saying, "It's too late. It's not safe on the road."
What he didn't say was that if Xie Yang insisted on going back, he would personally take him to the dormitory, but he didn't want to let him go.
Xie Yang pursed his lips slightly. The apartment wasn't far from the school. Because he worked part-time at a nearby cake shop, he had walked this route countless times. The area was well-monitored, and perhaps because it was a wealthy district, security was good. The streetlights were bright all the way to the school, so it wasn't dangerous.
Xie Yang made a final attempt: "I don't have a change of clothes. It would be inconvenient to stay at your place suddenly. Maybe next time when there's an opportunity…"
Qi Xu interrupted him calmly: "I've prepared everything. Your clothes and personal items are all ready."
Xie Yang had thought of many excuses, but under Qi Xu's gaze, he swallowed them back down.
Qi Xu wrapped his arms around Xie Yang's waist, resting his chin on Xie Yang's shoulder, and softly coaxed in his ear: "I don't want to be apart from you. Stay with me tonight, okay?"
Without much thought, Xie Yang agreed.
He couldn't refuse Qi Xu.
Xie Yang was used to sleeping at midnight, so he started feeling sleepy around eleven.
The bathroom was filled with steam.
Xie Yang looked at himself in the mirror, wearing bear-themed pajamas.
The pajamas seemed to be bought in his size; they fit him perfectly.
But the style of these pajamas…
He didn't expect Qi Xu to like this kind of style.
The sound of running water made Qi Xu feel a bit restless.
When he heard the bathroom door open, Qi Xu immediately shifted his gaze from his phone to the bathroom.
Xie Yang, wearing fluffy pajamas, shyly walked toward him.
"Come here, let me hug you."
As soon as Xie Yang reached him, he was pulled into Qi Xu's arms, straddling his lap.
Qi Xu wrapped his arms around Xie Yang's waist and took a deep breath at his neck: "Baby, you smell so good."
It was the same scent as his own body wash.
Thinking of this, Qi Xu felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
Xie Yang stiffened, not daring to move, letting the warm, damp sensation linger on his neck.
He had just taken a shower, and his whole body had a pinkish glow.
He smelled sweet.
Qi Xu: "So obedient."
Wet kisses landed on his neck, making Xie Yang struggle slightly in Qi Xu's arms, his voice soft and a bit whiny: "I'm really tired, I want to sleep."
Trying to cutely get away with it.
Qi Xu: "Then let's go to bed."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yang quickly jumped off him.
He timidly glanced at Qi Xu and firmly said, "I want to sleep in the guest room."
Qi Xu was about to say the guest room hadn't been cleaned in a while and might be dusty, but changed his mind: "Sure, I have a guest room ready for you."
Xie Yang was surprised; he thought Qi Xu wouldn't want to sleep apart.
Hearing Qi Xu's words, he felt he had overthought things.
After a long day, Xie Yang fell asleep in a daze, hugging the blanket.
At 2 AM.
Qi Xu opened the guest room door.
If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain.