After Becoming Arch-Enemies with My Best Bro - Chapter 13

Despite He Chenshuang’s assurance the other day that they would never fall for the same person, Wen Huihan remained skeptical.

Since things hadn’t reached that point yet, he didn’t understand how this guy could say with such absolute certainty, “That day will never come.” It felt a bit overconfident.

Based on Wen Huihan’s years of experience watching various melodramatic ethical dramas, the probability of a “brother’s girlfriend” plot twist was extremely high. After all, the easiest way to turn best friends into mortal enemies is to arrange an internal conflict over a love interest. That’s just how these “Dragon Aotian” power-up novels go.

Despite comforting himself this way, Wen Huihan still felt uneasy. He spent several days brooding over it before finally realizing why things felt so off.

The battle between him and He Chenshuang shouldn’t involve anyone else, it would make the war feel “impure.” Love only slows down the speed at which one draws their sword. Besides, deep down, he didn’t actually want to break things off with He Chenshuang over something like that.

Once his thoughts were clear, Wen Huihan posted a specific update on his WeChat Moments to vent his feelings.

[From this day forward, I have decided to cut off all emotions and renounce love.]

Almost immediately after posting, He Chenshuang dropped a question mark in the comments.

Does this guy just live in my Moments feed now??

Wen Huihan sneered and typed back.

[Blackened One replied to He Aotian: As long as I don’t like anyone, no one can be liked by me.]

He Chenshuang didn’t reply for five minutes. He probably thought Wen Huihan looked like an idiot and didn’t want to engage.

Wen Huihan didn’t mind, after all, when building a character persona, all you need is a sense of conviction. Since his post wasn’t set to “He Chenshuang only,” it attracted inquiries from many people, mostly former middle and high school classmates and some college alumni.

[High School Class Monitor: The handsome guy is locking his heart away? The girls who like you are going to be heartbroken.]

[Lin Qihao replied to High School Class Monitor: Not just the girls, heh heh.]

Wen Huihan’s brow twitched when he saw those two comments. What was that supposed to mean? Did everyone know about the time he got confessed to by a guy?

He opened a chat window with Lin Qihao. They were high school classmates who had been on good terms and often played basketball together after class.

[Blackened One: What did you mean by “not just girls”?]

[Lin Qihao: Nothing, nothing! I was just joking. I mean, you’re really handsome and popular with both guys and girls. Plenty of people must like you.]

[Lin Qihao: Back in high school when you were playing ball on the field, there were actually a lot of underclassmen who came specifically to watch you.]

[Lin Qihao: And to be honest, don’t get mad, but you know you’re a total “top-tier choice” in the gay community, right? You definitely hold a spot there.]

Wen Huihan: “…” What on earth is a “gay community top-tier choice”?

[Blackened One: How do you know so much? Don’t tell me you…]

[Lin Qihao: I’m not. If I were, I would’ve fallen for you long ago.]

[Blackened One: …Don’t show up to the next class reunion, or I’ll beat you to death.]

[Lin Qihao: Heh heh. If you don’t believe me, go ask He Chenshuang. He blocked those people for you every single time.]

Wen Huihan frowned. How did he never know about this? Still, he didn’t actually go and ask He Chenshuang. It was such ancient history that He Chenshuang probably didn’t even remember it himself.

After chatting a bit more with Lin Qihao, he clicked into He Chenshuang’s Moments to see if there was anything new. Ever since He Chenshuang had uncharacteristically posted something recently, Wen Huihan would check it whenever he was bored, fearing he might miss an opportunity to mock him in the comments.

However, it seemed He Chenshuang had forgotten the feature existed again. He hadn’t updated at all. His entire feed consisted of that single, lonely, atmospheric handsome photo.

Wen Huihan looked at it again, marveling at his own superior photography skills. I messed up, he thought. I should have charged He Chenshuang a photography fee at the time.

After admiring his own masterpiece, he followed his routine of leaving a couple of disparaging comments. He Chenshuang only had one post, but the comment section was filled with Wen Huihan’s tracks, it was basically his solo performance stage. He’d check in whenever he remembered, it didn’t take much time and allowed him to curse He Chenshuang a bit, which felt great.

Sometimes He Chenshuang would reply. They essentially treated this space as a smokeless battlefield, subjecting each other to verbal storms.

On the other side, He Chenshuang was in class. Looking at the notification popping up on his phone, he didn’t need to click it to know it was from Wen Huihan, because his only post was set to be visible only to him.

And while the text of Wen Huihan’s recent post was public, He Chenshuang felt it was strangely pointed. Combined with Wen Huihan’s odd behavior lately, he figured the guy had either sensed something or was at least suspicious, even if he wasn’t certain.

He Chenshuang lowered his eyes, his finger unconsciously clicking through to see Wen Huihan’s comment.

[Blow you up [Bomb]]

He Chenshuang: “…”

Fine, he thought. It’s always been like this, and it probably won’t be any different in the future. Since Wen Huihan hadn’t asked, he would act as if he knew nothing and continue their friendship as usual, which was better for both of them.

After a pause, he reached out and threw a few [Bomb] emojis back at Wen Huihan.

***

During this period, Wen Huihan’s daily life consisted of nothing but classes and the gym. After all, he’d paid for the sessions and couldn’t let them go to waste.

Because he went so frequently, he naturally became familiar with Vincent. During a chat, he happened to learn that the tragic backstory Vincent had told him was actually just a sales tactic to sell training sessions.

“I had no choice, pressured by life! The competition in this industry is so fierce now, you have to have a gimmick. You’ve got a lot of social experience, Xiao Wen, you weren’t fooled by those lines.”

Wen Huihan was stuck in an awkward silence. Could he really admit that he had actually believed him? Only He Chenshuang had seen through the truth at a glance.

Vincent laughed. “My account got unbanned. Xiao Wen, have you liked my new video yet?”

“Not yet, I’ll do it now.”

Wen Huihan pulled out his phone. He had followed Vincent previously, and the first thing on his TikTok feed was him. He instinctively went to turn down the volume, but seeing the style of the new video, he was very surprised. “Brother Wen, you changed your style.”

Previously, Vincent’s homepage was full of suggestive, “thirst-trap” content. The latest video after his unbanning had completely ditched the old style, adding rhythmic cuts and background music. it actually looked quite good and wasn’t nearly as low-class.

To be honest, Wen Huihan hadn’t dared to open the previous videos in public, but he felt fine with the new one. Even though the clothing was still minimal, it felt much more normal.

Vincent said, “Yeah. Getting banned was a regular occurrence for me, but last time I was reported by a ‘colleague.’ I looked at the reason for the report, and I felt like what they said made quite a bit of sense. It actually inspired me.”

Intrigued, Wen Huihan asked, “You can see the reason for the report? What did it say?”

“Here, I took a screenshot, I’ll show you.” Vincent handed him the phone.

[…Truly high-quality video content does not lie in bodily exposure or suggestive hints, but stems from the sincerity of emotion, the light of thought, and the creator’s genuine expression. While extreme methods can gain temporary favor and attention, they cannot achieve the elevation of self-value. Desire can be acknowledged, and a beautiful body is worth appreciating, but I hope to see the creator display more diverse and healthy perspectives. Below, I have compiled the platform’s scale limits, as well as high-quality editing templates and tutorials that comply with platform rules, for your reference.]

The first half quoted classics, the second half moved into philosophical values, and the end even thoughtfully included scale guidelines, editing templates, and BGM selection tutorials. It was organized, thought-provoking, and taught him how to fish rather than just giving him a fish.

It was shocking. This wasn’t a report, it was a senior’s earnest guidance.

Vincent laughed. “My old videos always got shadowbanned, but now that the style changed, my traffic is much better. I don’t know who this person is, otherwise, I’d definitely thank them in person.”

The style reminded Wen Huihan of an old acquaintance. Previously, when he’d gone onto foreign sites to argue with people, he had dragged this acquaintance along. However, that acquaintance had tried to reason with the foreigners logically, leaving Wen Huihan stunned.

“He Chenshuang, where’s that energy you use when you curse me?! Are you acting like a Buddha saving the world on the internet?” Wen Huihan had questioned him on the spot. “So you only save your vitriol for me? Do you just not know how to mock people in English? Tell me and I’ll translate for you.”

He Chenshuang had only raised an eyebrow. “Your reaction is more interesting. Foreigners don’t understand my humor.”

 Wen Huihan had nearly coughed up blood from anger at the time.

Because the impression was so vivid, he associated it with He Chenshuang the moment he saw the report text. Speaking of He Chenshuang, Wen Huihan soon remembered the search history he’d seen when they were playing games. Behind a string of academic websites was the jarring entry: “How many days does a TikTok ban last for low-brow videos.”

Wen Huihan: “…” He hadn’t cared at the time, but thinking about it now, could it really be this guy?

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. But what was He Chenshuang’s reason for doing it? It couldn’t be because he’d made up that story about Vincent being his favorite creator, could it? Did He Chenshuang find it so offensive to the eyes that he personally stepped in to provide guidance?

Because he spent the whole afternoon thinking about it, Wen Huihan was a bit distracted during his workout. As he was finishing up, he received another message from He Chenshuang.

[He Aotian: What time?]

It had been like this for the past few days. While He Chenshuang didn’t bother escorting him to the gym, he would come to wait near the mall. Once Wen Huihan finished, the two of them would find a restaurant in the area to eat. This was quite normal, they were the closest in the dorm, and if He Chenshuang didn’t want to eat alone, he’d naturally come find him. So, Wen Huihan didn’t think anything was wrong.

Wen Huihan replied to the message, planning to ask about the Vincent situation once they met. After waiting a bit longer and estimating that He Chenshuang was almost there, he said goodbye to Vincent and prepared to leave.

Vincent smiled. “Your friend is here again?”

Wen Huihan hummed an affirmation. Seeing Vincent making that twitching eye expression again, he couldn’t help but ask out of concern, “Brother Wen, are your eyes uncomfortable?”

Vincent seemed choked up by the question. “No, no. It’s just my urge to sell memberships coming back. Whenever I see your friend, I want to make him sign up for a card too.”

“Oh.” Wen Huihan believed him and didn’t ask further. He hurried out of the gym and, sure enough, saw He Chenshuang waiting nearby.

With the Vincent matter on his mind, he blurted out the question as soon as he saw He Chenshuang.

“The reason?” He Chenshuang said calmly. “You want to know?”

“Yeah.” Wen Huihan was shocked that He Chenshuang didn’t even deny it, it really was his doing. Now he was even more curious about the reason. He Chenshuang never bothered with other people’s business, he seemed like the type of person who wouldn’t even bend down to pick up money on the street.

He Chenshuang pinched his fingers together, his tone indifferent. “Have you never actually looked at that creator’s profile description?”

Actually, he hadn’t. He had followed Vincent, but he’d never actually clicked in to look closely, since the video content was already a bit too “advanced” for him.

Since He Chenshuang mentioned it, Wen Huihan opened Vincent’s profile.

[Vincent] [Self-discipline is freedom. DM for collaborations.] [Stop asking. Not straight.]

Wen Huihan:  He internally screamed “Holy crap” several times. Brother Wen isn’t straight!

No wonder he’d looked at them with such suggestive eyes whenever he saw them together. It turns out he was looking at them through “fujoshi eyes.” Brother Wen, you’re not a good person!

Wait… He Chenshuang was so out of his mind that he reported someone just because they weren’t straight? He Chenshuang is even less of a good person!

Good heavens, what was happening to this world? Was he the only normal person left? Wen Huihan felt shaken, his worldview wobbling.

At the same time, all the moments he had forgotten were suddenly linked together, forming a perfect circle.

In high school, when an underclassman wrote Wen Huihan a love letter, He Chenshuang had been so angry he didn’t speak to him for a week. Lin Qihao said that when he played ball, underclassmen often came to watch him, and He Chenshuang always blocked them. And now, Wen Huihan followed a non-straight fitness creator, and He Chenshuang went crazy, not only reporting the guy but coming to the gym every day to wait for him, as if afraid a gay man would do something to him.

Everything became clear. The truth was staring him in the face. He cautiously looked at He Chenshuang’s cold profile and spoke.

“He Chenshuang, are you…”

He Chenshuang looked over, his calm expression appearing somewhat profound.

Wen Huihan finished his sentence. “Are you homophobic?”

And like, extremely homophobic. The kind where breathing the same air as a gay person makes you short of breath and anxious, making you want to flee to “Mt. Kongtong” overnight.

He Chenshuang: “…”

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