Chapter 14: The Proposal and the Predicament

[Yuan: Awake?]

Just these two words sent Su Mian’s heart leaping within his chest. He practically lunged towards his desk, eagerly unlocking his phone and tapping open the pink chat window.

The mystery of the strange sensation on his chest was instantly forgotten, completely cast from his mind.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Mm…]

[Yuan: Yesterday, you kept crying on the phone, begging me to be with you.]

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: …….]

Su Mian’s face flushed crimson as he read the message. He couldn’t believe he had done something so utterly mortifying last night.

Yet, from the other party’s words, it seemed his voice hadn’t been exposed. Su Mian decided to probe further.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: I drank too much, so I don’t remember a thing. My voice must have sounded awful back then…]

[Yuan: Not awful at all. It was very cute, making your husband’s heart ache with the desire to ‘cherish’ you.]

As he gazed at Xiao Moyuan’s message on the screen, a rush of heat surged through Su Mian, exploding upwards to his head. His cheeks, ears, and even his neck burned with astonishing intensity.

He instinctively buried his face into his soft pillow, letting out a silent wail. His legs involuntarily pressed together, and his toes curled in mortified embarrassment.

‘That scoundrel! That hooligan! How could he be so blunt?’

He cursed Xiao Moyuan a thousand times in his mind.

Yet, a secret, peculiar sensation of being so directly desired coursed through his alcohol-drained body like tiny electric currents, bringing with it an inexplicable tingling numbness.

Still, curses aside, a far more crucial piece of information forced him to calm down.

Xiao Moyuan seemed to harbor no suspicion about his voice whatsoever. He even described it as “cute”?

Could his voice truly morph into a tone he himself didn’t recognize when he was drunk? He was intensely curious about what that voice sounded like.

Suppressing his wildly thumping heart, he continued to probe, his fingertips trembling slightly. He had to confirm this point.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: As long as Big Brother doesn’t dislike it… (shy) I was always so worried before that my voice would become really unpleasant when drunk, and Big Brother would find me annoying…]

He sent an emoji of a kitten covering its face, meticulously maintaining his coy persona. Then, he subtly shifted the topic, posing the most crucial question.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: So… Big Brother, did you agree to an online relationship with me on the phone yesterday? o(￣▽￣)ブ]

After sending the message, he nervously held his breath.

[Yuan: Yes, I agreed.]

Seeing these three words, a flicker of secret delight had just bloomed in Su Mian’s heart. The very next second, the message that immediately followed from the other party plunged him into an ice cellar.

[Yuan: However, you also promised me something.]

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Ah? What… what did I promise Big Brother? (Confused kitten.jpg)]

[Yuan: To meet.]

‘Meet?!’

Su Mian’s vision blurred, and he nearly tumbled off the bed. What kind of utter idiot was he after too many drinks?! Not only had he tearfully begged for a relationship, but he had also actively agreed to such a self-destructive request?!

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: But Big Brother… I was completely drunk at the time, my mind was all muddled… That… could that not count, please? (Pitifully)]

He attempted to charm his way out of it.

[Yuan: You can.]

[Yuan: Then there’s no need for the online relationship to count either.]

[Yuan: Delete it.]

This trick again! Simple, brutal, yet unfailingly effective!

Su Mian gnashed his teeth in frustration, yet he was utterly helpless. He had only just reached the stage of an “official online relationship,” having invested so much “charm.”

If it were simply deleted now, wouldn’t all his previous efforts go down the drain?

‘No, absolutely not!’

He instantly caved.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Don’t delete it, don’t delete it! I’ll meet! Isn’t it okay for me to meet Big Brother…? (Feeling wronged)]

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: But… could it be a little later? I want to make thorough psychological preparations and meet Big Brother in my best state! (Starry-eyed attack)]

He began to employ his grand strategy of delay. In his heart, he calculated: ‘As long as I can drag this out, perhaps I can find a way to make Xiao Moyuan fall hopelessly in love with me without ever meeting, achieving the perfect “online freeloading”!’

[Yuan: Waiting is fine. Give me a specific time.]

‘Tsk, he’s really not easy to fool.’ Su Mian pursed his lips.

His eyes darted, and he thought of a date that sounded romantic and was sufficiently far off.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Then… how about Christmas? (✧ω✧) I think Christmas is super romantic, with snowflakes, colorful lights, gifts… I want to spend our first holiday together with Big Brother!]

It was only late September now; Christmas was more than three months away! Such a long period would give him ample time to maneuver.

He had originally wanted to suggest “after graduation,” but he feared enraging the other party enough to be blocked, so he didn’t dare say it aloud.

[Yuan: That’s too long. I can’t wait that long.]

He thought to himself, the clues were already appearing. He might have to leave N University soon; how could he possibly wait until Christmas?

[Yuan: I think the Mid-Autumn Festival in half a month is also good. It’s a day for reunion, with excellent symbolism.]

‘Mid-Autumn Festival?! Half a month?!’

Su Mian nearly bit his tongue. ‘That’s far too soon!’ He couldn’t help but inwardly grumble: ‘Is this guy a hungry wolf? Why is he in such a hurry to meet?’

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: But Mid-Autumn Festival… doesn’t Big Brother need to spend the holiday with his family?]

He asked cautiously. He found it somewhat strange; why would anyone choose a traditional reunion day like the Mid-Autumn Festival to meet an online friend?

[Yuan: I don’t have family. If you need to go home for the holiday, you only need to spare half a day for me during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival break.]

‘…No family?’

Su Mian froze, his heart inexplicably clenching. A complex emotion quietly spread within him.

Before he could ponder it further, Xiao Moyuan’s next message plunged into the lake of his heart like a massive stone, stirring up even greater ripples.

[Yuan: After all, if we develop this long-term, then in the future… you will be my family. Isn’t meeting during Mid-Autumn Festival perfectly fitting?]

‘Who the hell wants to be your family!’ Su Mian roared inwardly. Yet, his cheeks uncontrollably burned once more. The impact of this sentence was even stronger than the previous “wanting to ‘cherish’ you.”

[Yuan: If you find this time unacceptable, then let’s just drop it.]

This push-and-pull threat again! Su Mian gnashed his teeth in hatred, yet he was utterly helpless.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Then… alright… (Compromising kitten.jpg)]

He could only feign agreement for now to stabilize the other party.

‘There’s still half a month anyway,’ he thought optimistically. ‘By then, couldn’t I just find some excuse about being sick or an urgent family matter to fob him off?’

‘A path will emerge when the carriage reaches the mountain!’

However, a subtle unease, like a creeping vine, quietly began to entwine itself around his heart.

Xiao Moyuan’s relentless pressure, coupled with that declaration of “you will be my family,” made him feel as if he were slowly being enveloped by an invisible, vast net, and the one who cast it was patiently awaiting the moment to draw it in.