Chapter 34

Act V: Avenue Q (6)

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On New Year’s Day, when the vast majority of people were still immersed in their dreams, the network distribution circle had already exploded for several rounds.

#Voice of Jiuxiao community#

#Wang Qingyun#

#Wang Qinyun is Shou#

#If You Were Gay#

...

Related entries rushed onto the hot search list; although they were only the last few, among many relevant tags full of ‘happy new year’, these entries were abnormal at first glance.

...

At nine in the morning, the curtains in the dim boys' dormitory were still tightly closed, and snoring sounds kept coming and going. People who didn't know would have thought they had strayed into the pigpen by mistake.

Xiang Cai couldn't sleep, so he got out of bed in the dark and quietly washed and dressed. In fact, even if he had heavier hands and feet, he would not disturb the sleep of the other three.

Last night, Xiang Cai’s three temporary dormmates went to the computer room of the school to play games on the Internet all night, "welcoming" the New Year until the sky was clear. The three talents played until their eyes drooped, then dragged their weary selves back to sleep.Plopping themselves onto their bed, kicked off their shoes, assumed death. Their carelessness woke Xiang Cai up.

… In fact, Xiang Cai didn't know whether he was already asleep or was about to nod off when he was woken up by the noise. 

He had a regular sleep routine, but last night was anything but regular, so when he closed his eyes in bed, he couldn't fall asleep as expected.

He was like a butterfly fascinated by the candlelight, flying towards the bright place, but his head got caught in a net instead. This net was woven from the innocent love of a teenager. He couldn’t escape from it even if he tried desperately to. 

Wang Qingyun's voice, Wang Qingyun's tenderness, Wang Qingyun's everything ... It turned out that Xiang Cai would lose his mind and fall into an online relationship in a daze, and most ridiculously, he knew almost nothing about Wang Qingyun's true identity.

But what about it?

He fell in love with Wang Qingyun; he fell in love with a symbol, a symbol on the other side of the network; he was male, and his love interest was also male—

He wanted to tell the world: he-was-in-love-with-him!!!

He plunged himself into this love that only he knew about and participated in. His heart was pounding. He was willing to stand on his toes and dance only in the palm of that man. He was also willing to transform into a nightingale and serenade him above his bedside.

Xiang Cai realized, it turned out to be love.

He was surprised, he was confused. He wept and rejoiced. He suddenly understood why the little mermaid was willing to abandon her tail for the human prince, and how Esmeralda made Quasimodo dream of her.

Because this was a secret love that belonged to him alone.

He tossed and turned, staying up all night and re-reading his and Wang Qingyun’s chat history carefully, over and over, from beginning to end. Every time he read a sentence, his thoughts would travel back to that time, to relive the experienced joy and tension.

There seemed to be a volcano in his body that needed an eruption.

He stayed awake for the whole night until dawn, and he couldn't wait to get out of bed, running to the practice room.

He found an outlet for all his emotions, singing and dancing wantonly.

He was both, very happy and very sad.

He wanted to share his joy and tears with everyone in the world, but he was afraid that the sound would shatter this charming dream.

He stood in front of the mirror, sweating, spent and eventually fell to the ground limply.

He laid there, staring blankly at the lights on the ceiling.

His feet were painful because of the constant dancing, and his throat was hoarse because of singing, but it was all worth it.

Was there anything else in the world that could express all his emotions more than singing or dancing?

No.

He smiled, but inexplicably wept.

He thought, the little mermaid had human legs, but so what? Eventually, she turned into sea foam, disappearing out of the prince’s sight. Quasimodo finally lost Esmerelda, and the passion of the gypsy dancer encouraged him to save her at the end of his tragic life.

[T/N: If you can’t tell, this is not based on the Little Mermaid or the Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney movie. Most likely the real story or musical.]

It turned out that this was a secret crush. The other party did not know, and in that corner where the other party did not know, it tormented him.

...
A notification bell sounded in the empty classroom. Xiang Cai listened dully. It took him a long time to get up, and slowly, running to the corner of the room to pull the phone out from under his clothes.

On the screen, the name ‘Miracle Girl’ jumped out.

Xiang Cai wiped away his tears, put on a smile, and connected the video call.

"Xiang Cai! Happy New Yearl!!" The girl's chubby face appeared at the other end of the screen. She tilted her head cutely. There was a delicate layer of light makeup painted on her face. He saw her holding her mobile phone in one hand and putting her fist on her cheek, swinging up and down like a lucky cat. "Congratulations on getting rich, grabbing the red envelope!!"

Her smile was contagious. When she smiled, Xiang Cai also laughed.

"Happy New Year." The teenager replied, "On the first day of the new year, I thought you would sleep until you naturally wake up."

"No way, I have to visit my relatives. I was dragged out of bed by my mother early in the morning!" She vividly used the word "dragged" and Xiang Cai couldn’t help but laugh when he imagined the scene in his head.

"That's right! I listened to yesterday's song festival!" Qi Ji said in surprise. "Why didn’t you tell me that the person singing with you was great god Wang Qingyun!" She whispered. "When did you become so familiar with the great god? Come on, did you know that this morning all the hot searches were about him, even though it only lasted for a short while, it was still a hot search!!!"

As soon as he heard the name that made his heart beat abnormally, spoken by his friend, Xiang Cai’s palms began to sweat uncontrollably.

"Yun Daren is fine ..." He said stiffly. "We are in the community. There was a radio drama before where I sang the theme song and he dubbed a character."

[T/N: Daren = adult, someone senior to you or in a high position. I can’t really translate it.]

He tried to answer in the simplest possible words, afraid that if he said a few more words, he would lay his heart bare in front of the girl.

"Wait!" Qi Ji suddenly widened her eyes, anxiously wishing to put her eyes through the screen, "Xiang Cai, how are you ... how are you ..."

Xiang Cai rubbed his eyes, a little flustered, for fear of being seen by his friend that he had just cried.

Fortunately, the girl did not notice his unnatural countenance. She shouted in panic: "It's 10:30 am on the first day of the new year! Even if you’re not sleeping, you don't have to go to the dance classroom to practice!"

It turned out that she saw the familiar practice room behind Xiang Cai through the small phone screen.

It's terrible, it's terrible! She thought, how could Xiang Cai do this? When she was eating lots of food to celebrate the New Year, he was actually working hard!

"..." Xiang Cai was overwhelmed. Why did Qi Ji’s two consecutive sentences just happen to step on what he was embarrassed to face? He couldn’t tell his friend: because I found that I like Wang Qingyun, I went to the dance classroom to vent my energy.

He didn't know how to explain it, so he could only vaguely pass it over.

He racked his brains and hurriedly shifted the topic: "Qi Ji, are you wearing your traditional costume? It is very beautiful."

Sure enough, Qi Ji, this silly girl, switched her attention and put her mobile phone on the table with joy, taking two steps back to show off her long skirt.

Whenever the New Year came, she and her sisters would put on beautiful and grand Korean ensembles, style their hair, and put on light makeup. Her skin was very pale, and she wore a gorgeous long skirt on her body, which made her look as beautiful as a Jindalai flower.

She did a few laps in front of the camera and shyly asked Xiang Cai if she looked good.

Xiang Cai said she was pretty.

Sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls, regardless of what they wore, had a natural vigor and were naturally most beautiful.

The two were talking, when someone suddenly broke into the camera.

It was a girl who looked a bit like Qi Ji, with round eyes and a chubby face, most likely in her early twenties. She also wore a grand tradition ensemble. She squeezed into the camera’s view with a teasing smile on her face. Qi Ji tried to push her away, but she was pressed firmly in her arms. The two spoke in Korean and Xiang Cai did not understand, but it looked like they had a good relationship with each other.

"Hello, is this Xiang Cai?" The young woman switched back to Chinese. "My sister always talks about you! She says you are handsome, get good grades, and you’re a famous ballet prince in school!"

Xiang Cai cried obediently, "Nice to meet Jin Jiejie."

[T/N: jiejie = older sister.]

He had previously heard Qi Ji mentioned that she had a biological sister who stayed in South Korea to work after studying there, and it seemed to be this young lady.

"Thank you, little handsome boy. My sister is not usually taken care of by you, right?" Qi Ji in her arms wanted to say something, but unfortunately, Jin Jiejie was very "violent", pinching her sister's head under her elbow and covering her mouth with one hand. Qi Ji struggled hard, but unfortunately, all her tricks were over powered by her sister.

Xiang Cai was an only child, and his relationship with his relatives in his generation was not close. This was the first time he saw such troublesome sisters, and he really didn't know whether to be afraid or envious.

"... The two of us sit at the same table, and we always take care of each other." Xiang Cai helped her stretch her legs, while she gave him dried fish. Was this regarded as taking care of each other?

"Very good." Jin Jiejie’s rounded eyes turned, and she suddenly asked an irrelevant straightforward question. "Little brother, you are so good, there must be many girls who like you, right? Have you dated anyone?"

Xiang Cai was surprised; he was only 17 years old, and he was actually asked such a thing by an elder he met for the first time.

Qi Ji in Jin Jiejie’s arms suddenly burst with mysterious power and broke free from under her elbow, her original white face already flushed, and even her meticulously styled hair was scattered.

She yelled, "Xiang Cai, don't listen to my sister!!!!"

But at the same time, the boy replied slightly shyly: "... I have someone I like."

Jin Jiejie: "..."

Qi Ji: "..."

The two sisters suddenly quieted at the same time, and an inexplicable embarrassment flowed across the screen.

Xiang Cai didn't expect that his answer would induce this effect. He asked stupidly, "What's wrong?"

Qi Ji didn't speak, and the flush on her face faded at an extremely rapid rate.

Jin Jiejie glanced at her sister, her lips moved, and she finally raised her hand to touch her head.

Qi Ji asked: "Xiang Cai, you ..." Her slender eyebrows were furrowed, and it took a long time before she asked, "... Is the person you like in our class? Is she a life committee member or the event secretary? ... No, she should be the representative of the Chinese class. She has good grades and looks good. "

"Ah?" Xiang Cai shook his head, "Why did you guess that? I haven’t said much to either of them."

He looked across the screen to his deskmate with foggy eyes, and unknowingly told the truth: "The person I like is ... I know them from online." He said vaguely.

"Online dating?!!!" Qi Ji exclaimed, then the screen suddenly went completely black, she hung up the video call.

Xiang Cai: "?????"

Three minutes later, Qi Ji sent a string of content with three lines of exclamation marks.

Miracle Girl: [Share-"The Internet Police remind you: Be vigilant of online dating scams, behind the delicate girl who is pure and innocent, it is actually ..."]

Miracle Girl: Online dating is fake!!!!!!!

Miracle Girl: Who knows if there is an obese, bald, and bearded middle-aged man across the network???!!!!!!!

guess: ...?

※

Across the twelve-hour time difference, when the people in the motherland had risen from their warm quilts and were ready for a meal, the Americans across the ocean were still celebrating New Year's Eve.

In Shang Xiaorui's apartment, more than a dozen international students were sitting around the long table, vying for the last meatball in the hot pot.

"Buy less and buy less!" George slumped in his seat, holding his belly not-completely-full stomach, and complained, "I didn't expect the Chinese supermarket lamb slices to be so sought-after. I grabbed five boxes and was scratched by two people. As a result, as soon as the five boxes were dropped in the pot, they were picked up without seeing their shadows!"

"Okay, save some money for your girlfriend." Tan Yiming, who was sitting opposite him, kicked him. "The bonus is only so small, let’s not eat it all in such a meal."

Just a few days before the new year, Shang Xiaorui's enrollment in the National College Student Animation Awards judged the final result, and her "Slowlytune" won the second place prize!!! The first place was a cyberpunk work that had a fascinating plot with complex pictures. Shang Xiaorui was convinced of the loss without any complaints.

At the awards ceremony, the judges gave good praise to this Chinese-inspired work, especially the dubbing and soundtrack which they scored very highly, making this work stand out and beat other competitors to win the second prize.

Before winning the prize, Xiaorui decided to take out money to celebrate. So, she gathered all her friends on New Year's Eve to eat a lively hot pot meal.

The small living room was crowded and the dozen people sat together, and some people needed to stand and eat.

It was a pity that Xiaorui miscalculated everyone's appetite. There was not enough beverages, wine, meat, and vegetables. In the end, the bowls were dry and yet everyone was still not full.

Shang Xiaorui was embarrassed: "Well ... I'll order some more pizzas." On New Year's Eve, the bunch of Chinese people gathered around to eat pizza. It was really sad for those who heard it.

"No need." At this moment, Yao Yin, who was sitting at the other end of the table, lifted his phone and shook it. "One hour ago, I called for ten two-pound crayfish from a nearby Chinese restaurant, a little spicy. It should be enough to fry seafood, barbecue, or whatever."

"Huh?" Tan Yiming was a little surprised. Because, just now, he had also wanted to order some take-away food from that Chinese restaurant, but the operator said that because New Year's Eve was too busy with dine-ins so they could not deliver. 

Yao Yin leaned on the back of his chair and said lightly: "They don’t deliver food, not because they are too busy, but because of the time and cost of delivering a food order, which is enough for them to earn two or three times more with a dine-in. If I make up for the difference, of course they are happy to send it off."

In more straightforward terms, it meant adding money, adding money, and adding money! When the price tripled, which restaurant did not want to deliver?

"Long live Brother Yao!" George raised his hands with a grin, "Long live crayfish!!! Long live spicy fried dumplings! Long live roasted chicken wings!"

Beginning with him, the whole house suddenly fell into a wave of longevity.

Across the crowd, Tan Yiming cast his gaze on Yao Yin with amusement. Yao Yin sat lazily with his hand on the back of his head, glanced over the others, and finally, his gaze fell on Tan Yiming.

The two’s gazes touched and clung together like they were wrestling.

Yao Yin raised his eyebrows, and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Am I now your favorite male guest? "

Tan Yiming: "..."

Yao Yin: "Well, I'll give you another chance. It's a big New Year's Eve. If you follow this brother now, I will give you five pounds of crayfish in a while."

Tan Yiming: "... Thank you, but no need. I'm allergic to seafood."

The dark tide between the two people was raging, but they encountered George's intrusion.

George: "Ah? Seafood allergies?" He wondered. "No, Tan Yiming, aren't all the meals you eat shrimp, fish, and shellfish?"

Tan Yiming: "..."

Yao Yin: "... Hey!"

Tan Yiming helplessly pushed away his chair and stood up: "I'll see what else is in the refrigerator."

As soon as he left, Yao Yin also stood up. The two walked into the kitchen one after the other and the door was closed, no one knew what they were saying inside.

After three rounds of drinking at the dining table, everyone drank so much that, one by one, they were paralyzed on the sofa like zombies, waiting for the rescue of spicy crayfish.

But after waiting and waiting, before the doorbell rang, who guessed that the cell phone would ring.

Everyone looked around in a daze, and finally found a mobile phone near the sofa.

"It's Old Tan’s." George recognized it. He turned his head and shouted, "Old Tan! Old Tan! Your phone is ringing!!! It's a video call!!!"

Across the kitchen door, Tan Yiming’s voice came out remotely: "I'm washing vegetables, you pick it up for me, it should be my family!"

"Okay ..." George rubbed his eyes and yawned, pressing the video answer button.

——So, after Xiang Cai mustered 120,000 points of courage, counted the time difference, and decided to make a video call to Wang Qingyun, what he first saw was a bald, fat, unscrupulous, middle-aged man with some hot pot splatters on his clothing.

The smile on Xiang Cai’s face froze instantly.

On the screen, the young bald man waved at him: "Hi~!"

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The author has something to say: I guess the short-term online dating is over, and the full text is finished (that’s it).

In fact, when I wrote the part about unrequited love, I really cried while writing. I think Xiang Cai’s unrequited love is so miserable! Unrequited love is too much!!! Let mother hug you!

But after writing it, I realized I wrote it myself ...

[T/N: I may update less often from now on, just warning you. There will be at least one update a week.]

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