After helping Kang Lai and his lover to be buried together, and at Li Yaqing's request, accompanying her to visit Zhao Youyi and Zhang Hanrui's homes to handle the aftermath, a week had passed. Ke Xun returned to his home in Z City and slept for a whole day.
Upon waking, he began cleaning.
Of course, life had to go on, right?
His empty house wasn't too difficult to clean; the only large pieces of furniture were a bed, a dining table, a computer desk, and a set of beanbag chairs. The wardrobe was built-in; he wiped the wardrobe doors, tables, and window glass doors, mopped the floors in all the rooms, and took down the curtains and sofa covers to wash them. That left little to do.
Ke Xun went to the supermarket, bought bags of food, and went into the kitchen to cook. He made
sweet and sour pork ribs, black pepper pork, Kung Pao shrimp, eight-treasure tofu, creamed bamboo shoots, and crispy peach kernels, and also made a soup.
A table laden with delicious-looking food was laid out, and Ke Xun texted Wei Dong, "Come over for dinner."
"Holy crap," Wei Dong replied quickly, "If you'd said half an hour earlier, I'd be sitting at your table right now! I'm at my grandma's right now, the food's already on the table, it wouldn't be right to leave. I'll come over tomorrow, prepare a royal meal for me. Muah!"
Ke Xun put down his phone, realizing how foolish he'd been. He should have texted Wei Dong before cooking; by now, even if Wei Dong could come, the food would be half-cold.
Scratching his head, he served himself a bowl of rice and sat down at the table.
The tabletop was pristine white, the dishes pristine white, the steam rising from the white food, and the room was utterly empty and white.
Ke Xun picked at his food—six dishes and a soup, red, pink, green, and yellow. The vibrant colors of the dishes made the whiteness of the room seem even more desolate.
After finishing, he cleaned up and sprawled on the sofa, fiddling with his phone.
The previous Weibo post was before he entered the painting studio. Following Wei Dong's work-related Weibo post was a photo of the Fanghezi Art Museum, accompanied by the caption: "Going in now, see you later."
Fortunately, this wasn't his last message; his Weibo timeline could continue... for a while longer.
Ke Xun activated his camera, aimed at the sunlight on the white wooden floor, took a picture, uploaded it, and posted a Weibo:
"Corgi is a stray dog: Peace and tranquility in this world, life is good [smile]."
Immediately after posting, the comment count increased by over a dozen.
Ke Xun thought he was mistaken. Usually, his Weibo posts only received one or two comments at most, mostly from real-life friends; most of the time, there were zero comments, like any other ordinary person online.
He clicked on it and saw the first comment from "Wei Feng_Mang."
Wei Feng_Mang: "It's 2018, your ancient chicken soup is already stale!"
The next comment was from a friend at the gym: "
Exercise makes me abnormal: Bro, you have time to hide at home and talk nonsense, but no time to come and check out the place?"
Below that are all strangers:
Piapiapia: Oh my god, the handsome guy updated his blog! Please post a picture!
Did my idol marry me today?: If you are well, then it is a sunny day [doge]
That gentle touch: Handsome guy, you are so handsome, please follow me~
So handsome I can't close my legs: Handsome guy, where is your boyfriend? [Smiling without saying a word]
I only follow handsome guys: Judging from the angle and height of the photo, the person taking the picture should be lying on the bed or sofa. Judging from the brightness of the sunlight on the floor, the person taking the picture should be in a very good mood. Combining the smoothness of the floor and the angle of the sunlight, we can feel the lazy, satisfied, happy and soft physical state of the person taking the picture. So we can know that the blogger and her boyfriend are taking a break [doge]
A string of replies below:
Two dogs: Pfft—talented!
It's a pressure: Amazing [China thumbs up]
Crossing the ocean to come to you: Hahahaha, is the break okay?
Tian: The game lasted 90 minutes, and the final score was 1-0 [smirking]
...
Ke Xun: "..."
Where did all these people come from?
How do they know he's a man or gay?
How do they know he's handsome?...
Ke Xun clicked on the Weibo of the person named "That Bit of Tenderness." Judging from the tone and content of the comments, this person probably knows what he looks like.
Ke Xun has never posted his own photos online, so perhaps this person is someone he knows in real life?
Looking through this person's Weibo, he deduced that she was probably a girl, and a fujoshi at that, with eight out of ten of her Weibo posts being about shipping male-male couples from various dimensions—she was extremely enthusiastic.
Until she found a few of her Weibo posts from a week ago.
These are all reposts, and the original posts are all from the same user, whose ID is "日色欲明花晗烟":
— "Live photo and text update: I encountered a very handsome guy and am preparing to muster up the courage to flirt with him. I hope I have good luck, please wait for my follow-up!"
— "Oh my god, the guy is so nice, he readily agreed to take a photo with me! I'll post the picture later! Wait for me!"
— "Ahhhh! He's so tall! I'd estimate he's almost 1.9 meters! Perfect physique! All legs from the neck down! He's even more handsome up close! His skin is amazing! His eyes are especially beautiful, especially when he smiles, so sunny and warm, and a little mischievous~ Ahhh, my girlish heart is fluttering~~~"
— "—Oh my god! Oh my god! I can't breathe! Guess what the guy said!! He said! He! Has! a! boyfriend!!! Ahhhh! So cute! Only a man deserves such a handsome guy!!"
—"The handsome guy is going into the art museum, and the poster and her friend decided to secretly follow him... Well, since we're bored anyway, why not watch a handsome guy on a date? Oh, and his boyfriend also went into the museum; just from his back, you can tell he's a real heartthrob too!"
—"A photo of the handsome guy~ Isn't he handsome? The poster and her friend have already entered the exhibition hall. If she manages to take any [interesting] photos later, she'll post them. Wait for my good news!"
Below this Weibo post was his photo, with the entrance to the Fanghezi Art Museum in the background. He was standing in front of the entrance with a girl who was sweet and lovely.
The blogger, "日色欲明花晗烟," is Zhang Hanrui.
Ke Xun's gaze lingered on her last Weibo post for a while.
"Wait for my good news," that was the last sentence, and then there was no more news.
Zhang Hanrui has over 20,000 followers, and her Weibo profile identifies her as a beauty blogger. She probably called herself a beauty blogger; 20,000 followers only slightly surpasses those of unknown followers with a few dozen or a few hundred. Most of these followers are likely attracted to her looks, but some, like her, are also fans of BL (Boys' Love).
Clearly, "That Gentle Touch" is one of those fans, as she retweeted and commented on all of
Zhang Hanrui's Weibo posts with great interest. Ke Xun clicked on Zhang Hanrui's Weibo posts; the number of comments ranged from eighty or ninety to over a hundred. The post with Ke Xun's photo had over a thousand comments and about a thousand two hundred or three hundred retweets.
Ke Xun glanced at the comments under the Weibo post. Most were praising his good looks, and the comments were filled with the howls of female fans. The most liked comment was from someone called "Pretty Boy Locator":
"Little brother's ID: Corgi is a stray dog. Take it, you're welcome."
Hundreds of replies followed, a chorus of "thank you" and "may you have a peaceful life."
Ke Xun exclaimed "Holy crap!" He went back to his own Weibo account, checked his notifications, and saw over four hundred comments, over two hundred mentions, and over three thousand new followers, with the number still growing.
Switching back to his profile, he saw dozens, even hundreds, of comments under his previous posts, all praising his looks or demanding photos…
"Holy crap, holy crap!" Ke Xun stared at his phone screen.
What kind of undeserved disaster was this… How did "Pretty Boy Locator" know his ID?
Ke Xun clicked into this person's homepage and saw that the screen was full of handsome men and BL anime pictures. Ke Xun sent a private message to this person: "Excuse me, can I ask how you knew my ID?
" "Handsome Man Locator" quickly replied: "Ahhhhh! Handsome guy!!! How did you know me?! Ahhhhh! The handsome guy talked to me!!! I'm so happy I could die!!!"
Corgi is a stray dog: "...Hold your head still, answer my question first!
" Handsome Man Locator: "What a coincidence, what a coincidence, no, I'm lucky! I'm very lucky! I saw that Hua Hanyan's photo background was the Square Box Art Museum, so I searched for the city where the art museum is located, and after finding it, I went to the city page on Weibo, and then clicked on the city's name, and all that appeared were the latest Weibo posts from the city's official Weibo account and locals themselves!"
Corgi is a stray dog: "Wait... I'm not a local, I just happened to be there that day."
Pretty Boy Locator: But didn't you post a Weibo that day too? The one with the Square Box Art Museum photo, you tagged it there with your Weibo location~ Handsome guy, you're so cute, hahaha, so adorable~
Corgi is a Stray Dog: ...
Corgi is a Stray Dog: Goodbye.
Pretty Boy Locator: Handsome guy, don't go!! I'm a fan! I'm a fan of your looks!! Please give me some sweets!
Corgi is a Stray Dog: Blocked, never again.
Pretty Boy Locator: No way~~~~ Tell me your boyfriend's Weibo ID! Are you the top or the bottom?
Ke Xun ignored her. This person was probably a hopelessly obsessed BL fangirl. Who would dig so deep into someone's information based on just one photo?!
As Ke Xun thought this, his hand trembled. He cautiously clicked on several of his Weibo posts, and sure enough, he saw the "Pretty Boy Locator's" comment under every single one...
Ke Xun: "..." Perhaps it was a side effect of being drawn into too many pictures, but the style of the real world was starting to feel a little strange to him...
He clicked on the Weibo post he had made with a photo of the Fanghezi Art Museum, and unsurprisingly, he saw the "Pretty Boy Locator's" comment: "Handsome guy, are you in the art industry? I've noticed you frequent art museums in various cities!"
A picture was attached.
It was an electronic map; the search bar contained the words "art museum." The map was covered with densely packed red markers representing locations, and several of these markers were circled in blue by the person who took the screenshot: Changhe Art Museum, Rhinoceros Elephant Art Museum, Big Nose Art Museum, T University Art Museum, and Fanghezi Art Museum.
Except for the Starry Sky Art Museum he visited the first time, Ke Xun would take a picture of the museum at the entrance and post it on Weibo before each visit.
Perhaps it was to leave their final trace on earth, or perhaps it was to leave clues about the world of paintings for... who knows who might be the most powerful person out there. Even if they couldn't solve it, who knew that some unparalleled genius might be able to decipher it and save future generations?
But before the savior arrived, they were met with a terrifyingly obsessive fangirl who had dug so deep into his information.
Ke Xun stared at the screenshot, speechless for a long time.
Just as he was about to close the image and exit Weibo, he suddenly made a discovery—perhaps coincidentally—