Transmigrating Into a Book: After My Online Dating Identity Was Exposed, I Was Ruthlessly Retaliated Against by the Male Lead - Chapter 2

As soon as the word “punishment” came out, Lin Qing’an instantly felt his scalp go numb. While this “big boss” was certainly generous with his money, his bizarre and eccentric ideas were genuinely embarrassing.

How Lin Qing’an wished he could turn back time two minutes! He definitely would have swallowed those words about breaking up back into his stomach and never uttered them aloud.

“A-Chuan, we’re not breaking up anymore.”

Watching the dejected figure on his phone screen, Xie Tingchuan felt an itch in his teeth. His sharp canine teeth couldn’t help biting down on his lower lip, yet that still wasn’t enough to satisfy him. If he were biting that slender neck instead, the delicate skin would surely leave marks quite easily, right?

What a gorgeous person!

Xie Tingchuan couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke that fair neck, but the cold texture of the glass beneath his hand brought him back to reality.

Leaning back slightly against the sofa, he picked up the cola on the coffee table and drank it all in one gulp. Afterward, the empty bottle was instantly crushed with a squeeze and casually tossed into the trash can nearby.

The title of boyfriend.

Xie Tingchuan couldn’t help curving the corners of his lips. As for the details of the punishment, his mind was racing with endless thoughts though he couldn’t do it just yet, lest he scare the person away.

Even so, he wanted to do it so badly…

“Babe, words that have already been spoken cannot be taken back. You’ve already broken my heart, so for the punishment, pick one.”

As soon as those words fell, Lin Qing’an’s phone emitted a series of “ding-dong” sounds. When he tapped it open, there were three pictures: one of black silk stockings, one of a short skirt, and one of a sailor uniform…

Lin Qing’an awkwardly twitched the corners of his mouth, sitting on needles and pins as he stared at the three images, each with even less fabric than the last.

This level of heavy suggestion was a first. Could it be that he was genuinely angered by the mention of a breakup?

“Can I not choose?”

“Fine, you don’t have to choose.” A hoarse voice came through the earpiece. Before Lin Qing’an could even let out a sigh of relief, he heard the other person continue.

“Then show me your face. We’ve been dating for so long, and I’ve never seen what you look like.”

“I’ll wear it.” The moment he heard about showing his face, Lin Qing’an went into instant self-defense mode and hurriedly blurted out, “I choose… the short skirt.”

Seeing that his initial goal hadn’t been achieved, Xie Tingchuan felt a twinge of displeasure; yet, the mere thought of Lin Qing’an wearing that specific outfit he had picked out instantly made his heart burn hot again.

“Alright, the skirt it is. It’ll arrive tomorrow, and you’ll wear it for me to see.”

Lin Qing’an nodded, constantly comforting himself in his heart: It’s just a skirt, what’s the big deal? As long as it’s clothing, anyone can wear it!

“Babe, sing a song.”

Ding-dong, Alipay has received a transfer of five thousand yuan.

Lin Qing’an’s brow twitched. Here it came time to go to work.

As expected of his top benefactor; every time he requested a song, it was a grand gesture.

“What do you want to hear?” Lin Qing’an’s attitude instantly flipped to honey-sweet, his soft, gentle voice landing straight in Xie Tingchuan’s heart.

“Sing whatever you like.”

“Alright, let me look…”

Soft, cheerful music began to play in the room, and a gentle, lingering voice echoed in the ear. Lin Qing’an had chosen a love song—a remarkably bold English track.

Xie Tingchuan couldn’t help reaching up to touch his own neck. Hearing those deeply affectionate and lingering lyrics sung by his lover made sitting quietly right here a true challenge.

Sixty-nine days. It had been sixty-nine days since he first stumbled into “Little Green Tangerine’s” live stream room. At first, Xie Tingchuan had merely liked her voice; then came his obsession, and now, hearing this voice was enough to make him instantly excited and completely out of control.

In the end, Xie Tingchuan couldn’t hold back anymore. He grabbed his phone, walked into the bathroom, turned off both the camera and the microphone, enlarged the other person’s video feed on his screen, and cranked the volume all the way up.

…

As the love song came to an end, Lin Qing’an finally realized that the opposite camera had been turned off.

“Brother, are you still listening?”

Lin Qing’an chanted silently in his heart: If there’s no reply within five counts, I’m hanging up and making an excuse about bad reception. Five, four, three…

Lin Qing’an’s mouth curved up in excitement. However, the next second, the other person’s incomparably hoarse voice rang out. Lin Qing’an couldn’t help reaching up to touch his earlobes. What was going on?

Why did his ears feel so sensitive to sound today? Could it be that the weather was too dry and he was having an allergic reaction?

“Keep singing…”

Lin Qing’an: “…”

Lin Qing’an: “Alright, A-Chuan! I’ll sing for A-Chuan. I’ll never get tired of singing, no matter how many times you want~”

Hearing that overly brisk and bright voice, Xie Tingchuan let out a soft groan. His damp fingers tapped the earpiece button once more and said,

“Stop singing. Just moan—call out for me a few more times.”

Lin Qing’an, who had been getting ready to sing, felt a surge of pleasant surprise. There’s a perk like this?! All I have to do is talk a little, and five thousand yuan is already in the bag?!

“Alright then, let’s talk about my upcoming plans instead.”

“I might move back into the dorm in a bit. But a month has already passed this semester, and I’m not even sure if I can still apply for housing. If not, I’ll have to wait until next semester.”

“Oh right, I’ve never asked you before: what do you do, Brother? And how old are you this year?”

Lin Qing’an stared at the pitch-black screen, but the probing question he threw out went completely unanswered. Lin Qing’an pouted in resignation and simply kept talking.

“If A-Chuan doesn’t want to tell me, then I won’t ask.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you.” The hoarse voice rang out, and Lin Qing’an felt as though a fire had been lit inside his chest, slowly kindling a weak little flame.

Lin Qing’an instinctively covered his heart, his brow furrowing slightly. With the camera turned off, the microphone constantly active, and a hoarse voice dripping with raw desire, Lin Qing’an was startled by his own guess and asked in utter disbelief,

“What are you doing?”

Xie Tingchuan couldn’t help laughing out loud. “Babe, did you figure it out?”

Even though it was phrased as a question, Xie Tingchuan delivered it with absolute certainty. Panicking, Lin Qing’an hurriedly cut off the video feed. Staring at his chat box with Xie Tingchuan, he let out an annoyed, low cry, grabbed his hair with both hands, and felt a wave of internal panic wash over him.

What should he do?! What should he do?!

Not only did saying they should break up fail to get the other guy’s consent, but he’d also agreed to the punishment and none of that even mattered!

How, how on earth could Xie Tingchuan manage to conjure up that kind of thought process while staring at someone who only showed their chin and neck?

Lin Qing’an threw himself face-first onto the bed in frustration. As for why the supporting character in the book had ended up in such a miserable state, he now had a vague inkling of the reason. Could it be that the male lead had genuinely fallen in love?

And the lover he cherished with all his heart turned out to be another guy who possessed a matching set of “two taels of meat”! Anyone would lose their mind if they found that out!

Not to mention…

Lin Qing’an buried his head beneath the pillow. If he discovered that the girl he’d been fantasizing about turned out to be of the same sex, he’d definitely be driven stark raving mad!

“Ah!!!”

With a frustrated roar, Lin Qing’an flipped over and stared blankly at the ceiling with unseeing eyes.

What should he do? Should he just run away?!

But where could he run to? He was only a sophomore in college now—this was university, not high school, where was he supposed to transfer?

Lin Qing’an closed his eyes helplessly. The most tragic thing in the world was waking up to find you’ve regained memories of your past life.

At first, Lin Qing’an thought he was about to become the next generation’s Qidian web novel protagonist, embarking on a glorious, Dragon-Slaying-style life; instead, he tragically discovered that the world he lived in was actually a romance novel he had once read.

While transmigrating into a romance novel wasn’t entirely unacceptable, upon learning what his specific role was, Lin Qing’an was left completely speechless he turned out to be a mere blot of ink in the romance story of the male and female leads.

Because the supporting character in the novel shared his exact name, Lin Qing’an had once asked the author in the comment section about this character’s experiences and ending, so he remembered the cause and effect crystal clear.

And precisely because of that, he was having such a massive breakdown right now.

The scumbag who had cheated the male lead Xie Tingchuan out of both money and affection turned out to be none of other than himself!

Moreover, he had already been pulling this stunt for over two months. What made it even harder to accept was that Xie Tingchuan happened to be a student at the exact same university and in the exact same grade as him.

Fortunately, University A had a sprawling campus with tens of thousands of students, so up until now, the two of them had never crossed paths.

After all, the current male lead didn’t know who he really was. As long as he didn’t prance around in front of the male and female leads like the supporting character in the book did, and didn’t go meddling in their romance, saving his own little life should be a piece of cake, right?

Right! Why on earth did the supporting character Lin Qing’an keep inserting himself into Xie Tingchuan and the female lead’s business in the original book?

Lin Qing’an abruptly sat straight up, his eyes wide. Why was it again? How come he couldn’t remember?

Lin Qing’an blinked in confusion. What was going on? Did waking up memories only happen halfway? He had remembered so many other things, so why leave out this tiny detail?

No matter how hard Lin Qing’an racked his brain, he couldn’t recall why the original supporting character Lin Qing’an performed that entire sequence of self-destructive behaviors. With no answers after thinking it through, Lin Qing’an had no choice but to give up.

Half an hour later, his phone chimed with another “ding-dong,” yanking Lin Qing’an back from his own thoughts.

Without a second thought, Lin Qing’an unlocked his phone. Sure enough, it was a voice message from Xie Tingchuan.

“I didn’t want to hide it from you. I’m Xie Tingchuan, a finance major at University A, a sophomore, nineteen years old this year.”

Lin Qing’an never expected Xie Tingchuan to expose his identity so easily. Wasn’t he worried that he might be dealing with a scammer?

As Lin Qing’an thought this, he asked it out loud, only to be met with a light chuckle from Xie Tingchuan.

“Then tell me, babe when are you going to trick me?”