Chapter 28: The Peril of a Familiar Voice

The days until Mid-Autumn Festival flowed like fine sand through an hourglass, silent yet swift.

It felt akin to the final agonizing days of a high school summer vacation countdown, each moment an unbearable torment.

His online ‘conquest’ of Xiao Moyuan, however, progressed with an infuriating sluggishness, seemingly drifting further and further from his initial vision of perfect revenge: ‘making the other party fall madly in love, only to cruelly discard them.’

While it was true that after their last video call where he wore women’s clothing, Xiao Moyuan’s chat frequency and content had indeed become ‘warmer,’ moving beyond mere perfunctory ‘Mm’s and ‘Oh’s to occasionally initiating topics himself.

Yet, every single time, no matter how the conversation began, it would inevitably circle back to the core topic that made Su Mian’s scalp tingle: their Mid-Autumn Festival meeting.

He felt as though he were caught in a ‘ghost wall,’ unable to escape Xiao Moyuan’s grasp.

[Yuan: Wife, show me today’s outfit.]

The message, suddenly illuminating his phone screen, felt like a small electric current, causing Su Mian, who had been curled on his bed, to bolt upright. His heart reflexively skipped a beat.

‘Show my outfit?’

He glanced down at his own oversized, plain men’s T-shirt and athletic shorts. Could he possibly show *this*?

He had only ever gritted his teeth and bought one JK uniform with matching black stockings, and that was hastily acquired for their last video call.

‘There’s no way I can send Xiao Moyuan the same outfit every single time, right?’

‘He’d think I have no clothes and am terribly sloppy.’

A reckless impulse, mixed with an inexpressible, secret anticipation for a ‘date,’ began to sprout and spread within his heart.

“It looks like… it’s time to expand my ‘strategic supplies,'” he murmured.

He mumbled to himself, as if searching for a rational excuse for his increasingly absurd upcoming actions.

If… if he truly couldn’t avoid the Mid-Autumn Festival meeting, it seemed only one path remained: attending in women’s clothing.

The moment this thought solidified, immense fear washed over him like a bucket of ice water, chilling him to the bone.

Yet, strangely, within the crevices of that fear, there was indeed a faint, yet undeniable… anticipation.

‘What am I anticipating?’

‘Am I hoping to see Xiao Moyuan utterly captivated by ‘Sweetheart Cotton Candy,’ shattering that perpetually icy facade?’

‘Or am I looking forward to witnessing that arrogant, dismissive love rival from reality reveal a humble, pleading ‘simp’ demeanor before the illusion I’ve crafted online?’

This thrill, born of a desire for conquest, was like a hidden poison, filling him with an uncontrollable excitement at the mere thought.

At this moment, Su Mian was utterly oblivious to how far his thoughts had strayed from his initial goal of ‘winning back Shen Zhixia.’

Instead, he was hurtling headlong towards the increasingly outlandish objective of ‘actually conquering his love rival, Xiao Moyuan.’

He took a deep breath, his fingertips tapping on the screen, striving to make his tone sound natural yet subtly playful.

[Sweetheart Cotton Candy: Gege, my new dress is still on its way. This old outfit I’m wearing isn’t pretty~ Once my new battle attire arrives, I’ll definitely wear it for you first! (Kitten spinning.jpg)]

[Yuan: Alright.]

But immediately after, another message popped up.

[Yuan: However, Wife, shouldn’t you change your form of address?]

‘Form of address?’

‘Why change it?’

Su Mian froze, momentarily failing to grasp the meaning.

The next second, a voice message notification appeared.

As if possessed, Su Mian instinctively tapped play—

“Don’t call me Gege. Call me Husband.”

Xiao Moyuan’s deep, magnetic voice flowed clearly from the phone’s speaker. It was as if tiny electric currents imbued his words, piercing Su Mian’s eardrums and making his very heart tremble.

An uncontrollable tingling sensation shot up his spine.

However, it was on speakerphone!!!

Su Mian instantly froze, as if his blood had solidified in that very moment.

In the dorm room, the sound of keyboard clicks and turning book pages abruptly ceased.

Lu Yang and Qin Xuan simultaneously paused their movements, both pairs of eyes swiveling in unison toward his bed.

The air hung dead silent for a second.

Su Mian’s face exploded scarlet, even his neck flushed crimson with mortification.

His toes curled wildly in embarrassment, wishing he could dig a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment into the floor right then and there.

He fumbled to turn off the screen, his voice slightly distorted by extreme mortification: “I-I was just scrolling through Douyin! The volume was accidentally too loud… I-I didn’t disturb you guys, did I?”

Lu Yang was the first to react, setting down his pink dumbbell. He chuckled mischievously, teasing,

“Haha, Mianzi, what kind of Douyin are you watching? Did the algorithm mistake you for a girl, always recommending stuff like this? But seriously, that guy’s voice is really nice, a deep, resonant baritone. Girls must love it.”

He touched his own throat, sighing enviously, “Sigh, why don’t I have a voice like that? With a voice like that for online dating, you could fool anyone!”

Su Mian forced himself to remain calm, seizing the opportunity to conceal his guilt:

“N-not nice at all! So slick and glib, utterly disgusting and cheesy! Your sunny, cheerful voice, Boss Lu, is much more pleasant and reassuring to listen to!”

“Oh, our Mianzi sure knows how to talk!” Lu Yang, thoroughly pleased by the praise, let out a hearty laugh. But then, as if remembering something, he scratched his head, perplexed.

“But… I don’t know why, that voice just now felt a little familiar, as if I’ve heard it somewhere before…”

Alarm bells blared in Su Mian’s mind, his heart, which had just begun to calm, once again spiraled out of control. He blurted out, attempting to muddy the waters:

“T-those guys online, when they put on an act, their voices all sound pretty similar. Nothing special!”

Qin Xuan, who had remained silent until now, pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His gaze behind the lenses was calm and unruffled, yet he precisely dropped a bombshell.

“It sounds quite similar to Xiao Moyuan’s voice.”

“Exactly!!” Lu Yang slapped his thigh, enlightenment dawning on him. “I knew it sounded familiar! The timbre and the way he spoke, it really does sound like that guy Xiao Moyuan!”

Qin Xuan’s observational skills were far too sharp. Su Mian’s heart nearly stopped from fright, a layer of cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back.

He opened his mouth, but not a single word emerged. He could only press his lips tightly together, terrified that any sound would betray the tremor in his voice.

Fortunately, his two roommates seemed to have only mentioned it casually, with no intention of delving deeper.

Lu Yang picked up his dumbbell once more, and Qin Xuan again immersed himself in the world of his books.

The dorm room reverted to its previous atmosphere, but Su Mian’s heart could no longer find peace.

With trembling hands, he tapped the screen. Xiao Moyuan’s messages had already followed.

[Yuan: Why isn’t Wife responding to me? Do you not want me to be your husband?]