The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

Wei Zhuowei knew Bai Ruan because he was a gaming fan and a huge fan of anime.

Nowadays, there are so many TV shows casually giving the male leads the persona of a gaming expert.

Every time a drama shows the male lead playing a game, zooming in on their slender hands typing on the keyboard, with a chaotic mix of random key presses, it always results in a slew of meme reactions.

These scenes often get paired with game death scenes and captions like, “This is what a gaming expert looks like.”

Though it’s a bit mischievous, for a time, these memes became Wei Zhuowei’s favorites.

He couldn’t really blame himself for this; he blamed the internet users for being too creative.

He first got to know Bai Ruan during the summer, when he played a character in a TV show based on a novel. In the show, the character was a younger guy with amazing gaming skills, who spoke little but was fierce when it mattered.

Of course, the camera focused on his hands while playing, bringing a fresh wave of joy to fans online.

In a later interview, Bai Ruan candidly admitted that he auditioned for the role because he genuinely liked playing games.

To prove his love for gaming, he even had his staff bring a laptop, projecting it on the big screen to show off how he could easily beat a tough boss in a souls-like game without taking any damage.

This led to a new batch of meme reactions in their group chat.

Wei Zhuowei wasn’t a celebrity chaser, nor did he care much about the entertainment industry. However, after watching the show, he found himself with a mild, neutral admiration for Bai Ruan.

And when a group member shared a clip from the show, they couldn’t help but comment, “This is what happens when people are too perfect—guess they’ve been eating a lot of gossip lately.”

Thanks to internet users, Wei Zhuowei not only learned that Bai Ruan was good at gaming and that he was an actor who didn’t create unnecessary personas, but he also found out that his family name, Bai, belonged to the Bai Group.

Thinking about this, he felt that Bai Ruan’s persona seemed even more like a novel’s male lead.

And his own roommate, Lin Mo, also seemed to have a perfect “buff” stacking up in his life.

Wei Zhuowei wasn’t sure whether these two leads were playing out a fairy tale script, where they were the prince and Cinderella, or whether their story was more of an old-fashioned, bittersweet one, where they unknowingly fell in love only to end up with a tragic break-up.

He wasn’t sure what to say. He hadn’t recovered from the overwhelming shock of this reality and still felt like his presence here was almost unnecessary.

He felt that besides Lin Mo’s boyfriend, Bai Ruan, it seemed like the only person he could talk to was Li Heng.

After all, Li Heng was also born with a silver spoon in his mouth, so he and Bai Ruan could technically be considered in the same circle.

He instinctively leaned back, hoping to gauge Li Heng’s reaction, and just as he turned his head, he heard Bai Ruan happily call out.

“Heng cousin?”

… Huh?

Wei Zhuowei was stunned.

Not just him, but also Lin Mo, who asked, “Bai…Heng, you two…?”

“… My mom and his mom are cousins, but our families don’t interact much, so we’re not close,” Li Heng explained calmly, nodding at Bai Ruan. “Hello, thank you for taking care of Mo Mo these days.”

“Mo Mo is my boyfriend, and I didn’t expect that the roommate he always mentioned would turn out to be my cousin,” Bai Ruan winked. “What a coincidence.”

Li Heng wasn’t as calm inside as he appeared. To be honest, when he saw Bai Ruan sitting in the room after Wei Zhuowei opened the door, he almost wanted to leave.

He couldn’t accept the idea of Lin Mo’s boyfriend, whom he had imagined as someone cute and quirky, being the same person as Bai Ruan.

He couldn’t picture him patiently talking Lin Mo through his struggles, reassuring him that “this isn’t your fault, you’ve done great.”

… That image seemed so out of place with the Bai Ruan he had envisioned.

But leaving now would make Lin Mo wonder, and he couldn’t guarantee that Bai Ruan wouldn’t say anything to his roommate behind his back.

He could tell that Wei Zhuowei had a very good first impression of Bai Ruan.

Lin Mo and Wei Zhuowei had no idea about the tangled relationships in his family, and how things stood with Bai Ruan shouldn’t be used as a reference.

“It really is a coincidence, I didn’t expect Mo Mo’s boyfriend to be you,” Li Heng tried to keep his tone normal, neither too cold nor too warm.

Even though Bai Ruan was his roommate’s boyfriend and his good friend’s partner, he had to keep his emotions in check, making sure not to show any distaste.

Because it was Bai Ruan.

He was aware that his current thoughts were a bit bad. As Bai Ruan warmly greeted them, asking them to sit down and saying the kitchen was preparing their food, offering to adjust the air conditioning temperature and asking if they wanted to see the menu, Li Heng couldn’t help but question whether he had some ulterior motive.

Bai Ruan seemed to act as though the awkwardness that happened during the summer was trivial, or maybe it had never even happened.

“Heng cousin, don’t tell my mom about Mo Mo and I dating,” Bai Ruan clasped his hands together, “I haven’t prepared her for it yet.”

Then he started talking about his future plans, mentioning that he was looking into scripts with gay themes, slowly trying to ease the topic with his family and prepare for a confession.

At that moment, Li Heng began to wonder if Bai Ruan was planning to use such a reason to break up later, and then shift the blame to him as the “informant,” thus causing a rift in their dorm.

“I don’t have Aunt’s contact information.”

Li Heng subconsciously spoke with caution. Even though he realized his tone had shifted, he quickly returned to his previous, calmer demeanor.

“… You’re a celebrity, and there’s a high chance that the paparazzi or fans will catch you. If you want to hide this from Aunt, you should be extra careful.”

“And it’s also better for Mo Mo. He’s just an ordinary student.”

He paused, his tone warming as he spoke about Lin Mo, “What if you accidentally expose his personal info, and fans attack him online? Have you thought about how to handle that?”

Lin Mo had been anxious since he learned they were relatives, while Wei Zhuowei was still reeling from the multiple shocks.

Only Bai Ruan noticed the subtle changes in their expressions.

“Of course, I’ve thought about it,” he replied cheerfully, “I had everything planned before I even started pursuing him. When we went out yesterday, I already disguised myself.”

“I don’t have that many fans.”

“Mo Mo probably hasn’t told you, but I’m actually planning to retire from acting after this. My leave of absence ends next year, and I plan to attend S University and become his junior.”

“Or maybe just donate a building to S University… After all, when couples spend a lot of time apart, feelings can fade.”

Lin Mo looked even more embarrassed and quietly rebutted, “You told me not to say that.”

Bai Ruan heard this and laughed, his eyes twinkling as he looked at him.

His expression was light and carefree, and as he spoke, he was almost always looking at Lin Mo, as if he truly liked this somewhat insecure, dull, and unremarkable person.

Li Heng felt like he was split in two.

One part was shouting that Bai Ruan couldn’t possibly be so sunny and pure, he must have bad intentions, with schemes hidden under his smile.

The other part hesitated, advising him to not focus on motives. Bai Ruan seemed to genuinely care, his actions and gaze clearly full of affection—completely different from what he had imagined.

Could someone really disguise their feelings so perfectly, to the point that no one could tell?

Li Heng felt that both his instincts and analytical abilities had temporarily failed him due to the overwhelming contradiction and difference.

“However, the immediate priority should be to find a suitable script, test the waters with my mom, and then plan to retire after filming.”

Bai Ruan waved his hand, then affectionately leaned closer to Lin Mo. “Mo Mo, quickly look and see if there’s anything else to add. If not, I’ll have them start bringing the dishes.”

“You’ve already ordered a lot… What if we can’t finish it all?” Lin Mo pushed the menu back to him.

Bai Ruan hesitated for a moment, then added, “The dishes you ordered must be delicious.”

“Because my taste is really good.” Bai Ruan said, praising himself while also complimenting Lin Mo.

Wei Zhuowei had prepared a lot to say, but when he looked at Lin Mo and then at Bai Ruan, he realized he couldn’t find a way to insert himself into their conversation—he felt completely unnecessary.

He thought the main reason might be that Bai Ruan was simply too clingy to Lin Mo—constantly talking about him in a sticky, overly affectionate way.

… They must be in that kind of sweet romance story, right?

Besides, what could he possibly want from Lin Mo? Even if he were to hurt someone, with his looks and background, he’d probably hurt someone more attractive.

Wei Zhuowei thought about it, and in the end, his thoughts leaned towards the idea that maybe it was fate, a connection that brought them together.

“By the way, I just remembered, the fruit tea at this private restaurant is really good.” Bai Ruan suddenly slapped his head. “I think it’s made from hibiscus…”

His movement was a little too sudden, causing Li Heng, who was sitting across from him, to be lightly brushed by his leg.

In that moment, Li Heng felt goosebumps all over and almost stood up from the table.

Bai Ruan seemed to not notice.

“Mo Mo, can’t you eat sour stuff?” He continued asking Lin Mo, “This fruit tea has a sweet-sour flavor with a bit of hawthorn.”

“We should order something else, how about snow pear juice?”

Lin Mo couldn’t eat sour food, something everyone in their dorm knew.

Li Heng really liked the flower fruit tea from this private restaurant. During the period before the college entrance exam, he even treated it as a drink, chilling it and packing it into a thermos.

Since Xie Duzhi only bought half of this restaurant, the chef and manager didn’t provide any so-called secret recipes, just a batch of specially ground tea bags to be steeped and drunk immediately.

Now, Xie Duzhi still had a lot left at his house in Linfeng Bay.

“It’s fine, and like you said, besides the sourness, it’s also sweet, I can eat the sweet-sour flavor.” Lin Mo shook his head, feeling a bit touched. “As long as it’s not too sour, I’m okay.”

And even if it was really too sour, he felt he wouldn’t refuse it.

Bai Ruan had thought of him right away, and that made Lin Mo feel a sense of being cherished, so whether it was sour or sweet, he was sure it would taste good.

“Alright, let’s order that one, it’ll help with digestion and clear the palate.” Bai Ruan suddenly leaned in, and as he got halfway there, he remembered there were other people present and pulled back.

“Mo Mo, your expression just now was so funny, so cute.”

He smiled, saying what he originally intended to do, “I suddenly really want to kiss you.”

Lin Mo was startled and almost tipped his chair backward, his face flushed red, from head to toe, inside and out. His mind seemed to be consumed by those words.

 He and Bai Ruan hadn’t even kissed yet.

Not to mention kissing, they hadn’t even sent each other messages like “mwah” or anything.

He didn’t expect Bai Ruan, his boyfriend, to say something so sudden, especially in front of their roommate.

And just now, it seemed like he almost kissed him.

He didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed, but he felt like his heart was completely tied to Bai Ruan.

Wei Zhuowei, who had been trying to look at his phone and send messages while waiting for the dishes, had completely lost track of what he was supposed to do. He even started to think his presence here was a bit pitiful—life was far more dramatic and exciting than any novel.

But if he were living in a novel, his role would likely just be a spectator, observing the perfect love story unfolding between others, as if he were just an extra with no personal storyline.

His teeth were aching… he wished he could experience that sweet romance too.

Li Heng, although similarly quiet, felt completely different. He seemed even more confused, unsure of which direction to take. He also didn’t know whether he should immediately message Xie Duzhi.

When he first saw Bai Ruan, he should have messaged Xie Duzhi right away because Bai Ruan was most likely the one who would pose a threat to Xie Duzhi.

But Bai Ruan’s behavior made him hesitate; his suspicions seemed like coincidences—just like how Gu’s rival, André, had coincidentally been saved by him when he was kidnapped as a child.

What if he was just being paranoid, and Bai Ruan just happened to know Lin Mo and liked him without any hidden intentions? After all, scheming and liking someone could coexist.

Not having figured everything out made him realize that if he spoke out now, it would only make things more complicated for Xie Duzhi.

He knew he should talk about this, but before he did, he needed time—at least one night—to sort everything out and then tell Xie Duzhi in person, so they could analyze it together.

Relying on texts or phone calls wouldn’t do justice to the situation; it could even mislead Xie Duzhi.

“Mo Mo said you met through a message in a bottle, and you said you had no candy to eat, so he was curious and asked you about it.” He tried to get more clues from Bai Ruan, regardless of whether they were true. “Is it because aunt or your agent controls your diet and doesn’t let you eat sweets?”

“At that time, I was just in the crew.” Bai Ruan sighed, not exposing how awkward Li Heng’s curiosity had been. “It was a closed shoot, and we couldn’t even receive packages. It was such a hard time, of course, I wanted something sweet.”

— It seemed like the timeline matched.

Li Heng couldn’t find any flaws, so he continued to listen to Bai Ruan’s conversation with Lin Mo, trying to find more clues from other aspects to piece the puzzle together.

He ate his meal without noticing the flavors, even though all the dishes were exactly what he liked.

The squirrel fish, for example, was conveniently placed in front of him.