It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 52

 

ITOTIABSAM | Landlord Tenant | 52

Thanks to someone's less than ideal sleeping habits, the once clear boundaries had turned into a complete mess after several hours.

"Beep beep—beep beep beep—"

Nestled close to a warm furnace, Xie Ye was awakened by the sound of his alarm clock.

The pillow he lay on was basked in sunlight, making it both fluffy and soft. He had been sleeping soundly, his brow furrowing impatiently even before he opened his eyes. Without waiting to do so, the hand resting on his waist lifted, accurately silencing the alarm clock, before returning to its place.

And relying on instinct to do all this, Gu Cong also woke up seconds later. With his forehead against his own shoulder, he realized that Xie Ye had somehow rolled into his embrace, while his own hand was casually draped around the other's waist, causing the cotton fabric of their sleepwear to bunch up slightly, and he could distinctly feel the coolness under his arm.

I... Xie Ye... being held in my arms.

His brain felt like a program with a bug, Gu Cong blinked, stunned for a while before finally understanding this reality. The collar on his left side drooped slightly, as if being lightly tugged. 

He sneakily glanced downwards and indeed saw the fabric bunched up, along with the slender, pale fingers of the young man.

So cute.

So tempting to kiss.

His body acted faster than his rational mind, and with a "chu," Gu Cong planted a kiss on the top of the young man's head.

Usually vigilant towards the outside world, this time Xie Ye didn't react until his hair was repeatedly touched and the back of his neck was rubbed with the rough fingertips as if petting a cat. He then lifted his eyelids, lifted his foot to kick...

...But he couldn't.

His calf was entangled with another pair of legs, with him sandwiched in between like a cream-filled cookie.

Quickly, a suspicious blush tinged his earlobes as Gu Cong shifted backward. His voice, still hoarse and muffled from just waking up, murmured, "Don't move."

But Xie Ye didn't comply.

With a hint of the subtle morning grumpiness that comes from being disturbed from sleep, he intentionally leaned forward, his eyes lifting at the corners in a mischievous manner. His innocent tone contradicted his actions, "What's wrong?"

With his acting skills honed in countless parallel worlds, even Gu Cong couldn't tell if Xie Ye genuinely didn't understand or if he was teasing him. Gu Cong silently pulled the covers over a bit more, retreating further until he plopped off the bed with a "thud."

Looking over at him with a smirk, Xie Ye chuckled softly.

And so, Gu Cong understood the answer perfectly, but instead of feeling annoyed, he couldn't help but find Xie Ye's mischievous demeanor endearing, as if he were a cute little creature he wanted to cuddle and play with.

Without a thought of changing into his running clothes for a morning jog, Gu Cong hurriedly finished his shower while brushing his teeth, pondering. Just like falling ill on a rainy day, today's situation was unavoidable. 

He could always go for a run another time. On the first morning sharing the bed with Xie Ye, he definitely didn't want to leave the house.

Xie Ye usually loved to sleep in, but today, the cozy warmth of the bed held no appeal. By the time Gu Cong was heating milk in the kitchen, Xie Ye, still in his pajamas, emerged with tousled hair.

As if eating dog food on a morning like this, 1101 muttered with amusement, "As everyone knows, clean water spilled on the bed doesn't need washing."

Perplexed, Xie Ye raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the next moment, as he pushed open the door to the master bedroom to get ready for the day, he understood exactly what the system meant.

The dark-colored bed sheets, duvet cover, pillowcases, and even the thick velvet curtains were all stripped clean, leaving the minimalist bedroom looking even more barren, with a hint of forlornness.

From the kitchen, Gu Cong's voice came at the perfect timing: "I've put the soiled bedding into the washing machine. The curtains are velvet, should I take them to the dry cleaner?"

With a barely noticeable curve at the corner of his lips, Xie Ye leaned against the door and replied, "I heard they can be hand-washed."

Gu Cong, half of his body peeking out from the kitchen, immediately nodded. "Then I'll do it!"

This would surely make the task take even longer.

Seeing someone eagerly volunteering to do chores for once, 1101 was speechless. Its simulated sense of smell even seemed to catch a whiff of the unique sour scent of love.

After taking the initiative to claim "Xi Zhu" as "Big Eater," Xie Ye slept soundly, while the two IDs continued to dominate the top three trending spots on Y site without budging.

At the moment when the real-life photos of his alternate self began to circulate widely, he no longer seemed suitable for the identity of a virtual streamer, regardless of how attractive or unattractive he appeared.

His loyal fans as Xi Zhu understood this well. Instead of clinging to past loyalties, they migrated to his new account. Coupled with the influx of casual viewers attracted by Xie Ye's appearance yesterday, the follower count for "Big Eater" skyrocketed to over a million at a visible rate.

Among the long list of followers, the most eye-catching account was Guan Chen. Due to the entanglement between the two half a year ago, every follow or unfollow from him would prompt countless interpretations.

Guan Chen wanted to apologize.

But he wasn't sure if he could manage all of his fans.

Just like after the unintentional leak of the confession text, everything was unfolding in directions he hadn't anticipated.

Furthermore, bringing up past grievances was like picking at old wounds, and Guan Chen wasn't sure if Xie Ye still needed his apology or if he was willing to be disturbed again.

Usually decisive in his actions, Guan Chen hesitated for a long time before finally digging up an old account he hadn't used in a while and sent a message:

【I'm sorry.】

【Can we talk? If you're willing.】

When he received this message, Xie Ye was accompanying Gu Cong to the supermarket.

Originally, he didn't want to come. Although his fear of crowds had gradually been overcome through him, he wasn't someone who enjoyed bustling environments.

But Gu Cong had a pleading expression, claiming to have scoped out the supermarket's least crowded hours in advance, as if he knew Xie Ye would fall for it.

And indeed, Xie Ye did fall for it.

Instead of standing at the exit waiting foolishly, staying by Gu Cong's side made him feel more at ease. After a brief hesitation of two seconds, Xie Ye chose to come in with him.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated, displaying a message with the protagonist's name. Xie Ye briefly pondered before remembering that he hadn't deleted Guan Chen.

—It made sense. If he deleted him, they wouldn't be able to continue the storyline of being kidnapped into the little black room.

Keeping an eye on the young man beside him all along, afraid that he might feel uncomfortable, Xie Ye noticed that Gu Cong was slowing down his pace as he pushed the shopping cart.

Their positions at the moment were quite intriguing.

Their shoulders were almost touching, with the shopping cart on the right side. Xie Ye was using his left hand to operate his phone. If he made a slight move, he could naturally reach out and hold Gu Cong's hand.

But Gu Cong was feeling a bit nervous.

Here, after all, was a supermarket, a large one. Even if there were few customers, there were still staff moving around. Same-sex relationships were still rare, and it was inevitable to attract various looks.

"Watch the road."

Before he could finish sorting out the chaotic thoughts in his mind, his hanging fingertips were grasped by someone. It was cool, with slightly hard bones but soft fingertips.

Completing the supermarket hand-holding operation without changing his expression, bathing in the increasingly fiery gaze of the person beside him, Xie Ye remained composed and added, "Don't look at me."

"Watch the road."

"..."

Gu Cong wanted to say that he couldn't do it, but he obediently responded with an "Oh."

Turning his head, the sensation from their hands became clearer. Unable to resist, he squeezed the youth's fingertips. "What about having tomato beef brisket for dinner? These tomatoes look good to me."

Xie Ye, who was about to tap the block button: "Hmm."

Gu Cong: "What about soup? Winter melon with pork ribs? You might not be used to the cold, fresh area, so let's go there later."

"Oh, and strawberries too. We've finished all the fruits at home. I'll check what's in season for November."

Noticing that the other person's words seemed denser and more frequent than usual today, Xie Ye vaguely realized something and gently shook the phone. "Aren't you going to ask who it is?"

The obedient puppy, who had just been reserved a second ago, immediately followed suit. "Who is it?"

With an innocent look in his eyes, as if saying, "I'm not jealous, I'm super obedient, I only asked because you asked."

“Guan Chen," Xie Ye paused the action of blocking and smirked, boldly handing the lit screen to Gu Cong. "Would you like to handle it for me?"

Blocking, of course, was the way to go.

Although he really wanted to say so, Gu Cong forced himself to patiently read through the chat history from nearly half a year ago and asked, "Do you want to see him?"

Without hesitation, the black-haired youth shook his head.

"You don't need to consider me," fearing that the other person might be so decisive because of him, Gu Cong raised the corners of his mouth, then quickly tensed up again, "Do you want to see him?"

Xi Ye: "I don't want to."

The damage had already been done. What use were a thousand apologies when a single sentence had caused harm? If possible, he just wanted to stay far away from any protagonist and plot.

"But we still need to maintain a certain attitude. He must publicly and sincerely admit his mistake, not for rejecting a confession, but for indirectly contributing to online harassment. He always seems to forget that he is a public figure," Xi Ye explained, his tone firm.

Thinking about the suffering Xi Ye endured before they met made Gu Cong's heart ache. "Since you don't want to see him, let's add another condition: regardless of whether it's in real life or online, he must stay away from you."

Xi Ye, too lazy to deal with the protagonist's antics, simply handed his phone to Gu Cong. "Very well."

Taken aback by Xi Ye's decision to entrust such a private matter to him, Gu Cong hesitated. "Huh?"

"Ah, what?" Xie Yeraised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled by Gu Cong's response. "Give me the shopping cart, or let go."

Letting go was out of the question. Taking the phone handed to him by Xi Ye, Gu Cong felt like he was holding a hot potato—nervous yet oddly fulfilled.

After leaving it to him to handle, Xie Ye indicated to the system not to peek anymore. However, the person next to him kept up a real-time commentary. "Hmm, an apology."

"He promised to stay away from you... all the requests can be followed," he continued.

"He agreed. Do you have anything you want to scold him about? Anyway, I made it clear about my identity from the start. Even if it accidentally gets exposed again, you won't be blamed," he explained.

Identity clarification?

Shouldn't it be asserting sovereignty?

Knowing Gu Gong's personality all too well, Xie Ye was about to say no, but then something came to mind. "Desserts. Did he eat any?"

Desserts?

Although he didn't quite understand the meaning behind it all, Gu Cong obediently sent the message as instructed.

Two minutes later, his expression turned odd as he spoke up, "He said he's been running to the restroom for two days."

"But everyone he shared with is fine."

—So, not kicking out Guan Chen from the lottery was for the sake of making a point? Well, that's a bit humane of him, choosing to keep it confidential. Wait, no, the people he shared with didn't have any issues. It's purely Guan Chen's misfortune. There's no way this could be blamed on Xie Ye.

He could guess what Xie Ye was thinking. Xie Ye was intentionally causing trouble. In a low voice, he said, "Actually, I did it on purpose."

"Retribution."

"If you ever..."

"There's no such future," as if he wanted to prove something, Gu Cong tightly grasped Xie Ye's hand, intertwining their fingers tightly. "But just in case, I mean just in case."

"I can be put in a little black room, forever sealed."

"I promised."

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