Chapter 6: It’s Over! Real-Life Solo Kill

“Cheers!”

In the university town, inside a self-serve beef hot pot restaurant, several glass cups filled with orange liquid clinked together, making a crisp sound.

A plain-looking young man sat down with his bowl of dipping sauce. Two patches of crimson had appeared on his face, not from shyness, but from the spiciness. Even his lips were fiery red.

Across from him sat a boy with a pale complexion, but the steam from the hot pot had given him a hint of color. He held chopsticks in his hand, dipping a piece of tripe “seven up and eight down” in the pot, then coating it in the red oil from his bowl before putting it in his mouth.

“Hiss! I didn’t expect you to be so good at eating spicy food, Ah Liang.”

“Hiss! Same here. I thought a refined guy like you wouldn’t be able to handle too much spice, just like me.”

Lin Haiyu and Li Wei were sucking in cold air from the spiciness, chugging down ice-cold beer. Although Tang Yunle wasn’t as exaggerated, he was also gulping down iced lemon tea, his Adam’s apple bobbing rapidly under the collar of his thin shirt.

The three of them had originally thought this “Wanqing Hot Pot” was just borrowing the name, but they never expected the medium-spicy soup base to teach them a lesson—just the medium spice had left the three of them in a mess, wishing they could rinse their mouths with ice cubes.

In contrast, Qin Liang, apart from his ear tips and lips being a bit brighter than usual, looked as composed as if he were eating a simple bowl of braised chicken rice. With a flick of his chopsticks, he added another serving of spicy beef balls to the pot.

“My hometown is Wanqing,” Qin Liang said lightly, wiping the corner of his mouth.

As soon as he said this, Lin Haiyu and Li Wei exchanged a glance, both coming to a sudden realization.

‘Wanqing City, no wonder.’

‘The most famous hot pot city in the Huayuan Federation, where everyone is a king of spice.’

However, for some reason, these light words fell into Tang Yunle’s ears and made his heart skip a beat.

The mention of Wanqing City inexplicably reminded him of that old perv sugar daddy.

“So Ah Liang is from Wanqing City. I heard that Wanqing people are rich and foolish… ahem, that there are a lot of rich guys,” Tang Yunle gulped down his drink, quickly correcting himself, almost blurting out the stereotype in his mind.

He couldn’t help it; that sugar daddy had given him too much money.

It had led him to form a stereotype for a moment.

“There are many poor people, so there are also many rich people.”

The ice-blue-eyed young man said faintly.

After three rounds of drinks, the red soup base was still bubbling.

The four of them had long since moved from lively conversation to burying their heads in their phones.

Tang Yunle leaned back against the wooden chair, his fingertips swiping through short videos, the iced lemon tea can pressed against his chin. Suddenly, a special notification popped up at the top of the screen, making his fingertips pause—

GentleAsAGem: –I’ve familiarized myself with the campus these past few days. Want to know the surprise I have for you? smile.jpg.

‘Surprise? Red envelope!!’

‘Five thousand yuan!!’

Tang Yunle’s eyes lit up!

He typed furiously, the screen reflecting a gleam in his eyes.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –Aaaaah! Of course I do! So excited I’m spinning in circles.jpg.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –Big brother knows me best~ I’ll love whatever gift it is!

GentleAsAGem: –Oh? Really?

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –noddingfuriously.jpg.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –Tell me, tell me~ I know you have a thing for legs, I have some leg pics here~ Want to inspect the goods? sly.jpg.

Just a table away, the ice-blue-eyed young man’s gaze swept over these lines of text, his eyes narrowing slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

GentleAsAGem: –Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.

GentleAsAGem: –I’ve come to your school. That’s right, Nanchang Jiaoyuan College.

GentleAsAGem: –Let’s meet.

“Pfft—!”

Iced sparkling water mixed with chili flakes sprayed out. The sudden turn of events startled the people at the neighboring table, who quickly stood up to get out of the way, looking at him in surprise.

Tang Yunle wiped his mouth with a napkin and waved his hand, smiling awkwardly. “You guys eat first, I… need to go to the restroom.”

With that, he fled as if escaping.

Qin Liang ignored this little episode. He saw the “It’s Kele, Not Leke” avatar flashing frantically, message after message spamming the screen. This time, however, it wasn’t text, but voice messages.

“Big brother, did you really come to my school?”

“Big brother, you’re not teasing me, are you? It’s not April Fool’s Day today.”

“Wait… how do you know my school address? You didn’t dox me, did you!!”

The female voice was as smooth and crisp as pearls falling on a jade plate, and as clear and pleasant as a yellow warbler leaving the valley, refreshing the heart. But the words were filled with undisguised panic and alarm.

Especially when she mentioned “doxxing,” the tremor in her voice was uncontrollable, as if she were shrinking in on herself.

Just by hearing this voice, Qin Liang could imagine the girl’s expression when she found out he knew her school address—

Her eyes must have widened suddenly, her eyelashes fluttering, and her fingertips might even be clutching the corner of her clothes in nervousness.

That panic, disbelief, and a touch of nervousness and apprehension, was just like… a little white rabbit with red eyes being stared at by a big bad wolf. It was very cute.

The young man looked at the screen, his lips curling up slightly.

And at the same time, in the restroom of the hot pot restaurant, another young man, using a fake voice, stared intently at his phone, his pupils filled with uncontrollable fear and panic.

‘Have I been doxxed?’

While chatting and playing games with this rich and foolish sugar daddy, he had never revealed any personal information, at most mentioning that he lived in Nanchang City.

And now…

Tang Yunle felt his legs trembling.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –Big brother, you’re not scaring me, are you? I’m very timid. whimpering.jpg

He sent the message with trembling hands, wanting the other person to admit that it was just a prank.

However, the only reply was a map location, completely extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in his heart.

The young man on the other end seemed to have noticed his fear of being doxxed and typed an explanation, saying that he hadn’t doxxed him at all, but had only figured out his university address through big data and the express delivery addresses, as well as their daily chats.

After a series of soft-spoken reassurances, Tang Yunle became even more afraid, and cold sweat soaked through his back.

‘It’s over, I’ve been found offline.’

‘It’s over, he’s come to my school.’

‘It’s over, if he finds out my real identity, won’t I be killed on the spot?’

On the other side, Qin Liang stared at the stagnant cursor in the chat box, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the phone case. Seeing no reply from “It’s Kele, Not Leke,” he couldn’t help but frown.

“Girlfriend?” Li Wei asked.

“A netizen I met online,” Qin Liang said calmly. “I flew here from Wanqing City to attend university mainly for her.”

“What’s this, a rich guy traveling for love?” Lin Haiyu said with a gossipy look on his face, clicking his tongue. “As expected, I don’t understand the romance of the rich.”

“I’m not a rich guy,” Qin Liang said, his eyes lowered as he typed, his ice-blue pupils reflecting the faint light of the screen. “But my dad and my brother are.”

Ding-dong!

Just then, his phone vibrated slightly, and the “It’s Kele, Not Leke” avatar popped up.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –I’m sorry, big brother. I was just too surprised and forgot to reply.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –As for your idea of meeting… since you’ve come to our college, you should know about the freshman military training in a few days. Let’s wait until after the military training.

It’s Kele, Not Leke: –That’s all for now. I’m logging off. My sister is calling me for dinner.

At the end was a tongue-sticking-out emoji. Qin Liang stared at the period at the end of that sentence, his fingertips hovering over the keyboard for two seconds, and finally typed out just one word:

“Okay.”