Transmigrating Into a Book: After My Online Dating Identity Was Exposed, I Was Ruthlessly Retaliated Against by the Male Lead - Chapter 3

“Trick! Trick! Trick! Aren’t I tricking you right now?!”

Lin Qing’an fiercely tapped on Xie Tingchuan’s profile picture. Against the pitch-black background was a capital white letter “X.” Staring at it for just a few seconds was enough for an inexplicable sense of oppression to wash over Lin Qing’an, suffocating him and filling him with an inexplicable wave of guilt.

Lin Qing’an sighed, flipped over, and lay flat on the bed. “Sigh.”

Just as Lin Qing’an was preparing to pretend he hadn’t seen this text message, he heard his phone ring out once more.

It was another voice message. Lin Qing’an clicked to play it.

Xie Tingchuan: “Babe, what’s your name, and when can we meet?”

The content asked in that hoarse voice made Lin Qing’an’s scalp go numb. Meet up? Wouldn’t that mean he’d die even faster?

Run away he absolutely had to run away!

Yet the moment running away crossed his mind, Lin Qing’an began to fret again. He reached out and unclasped the lace choker from around his neck. His Adam’s apple, suffocated for so long, finally came into contact with free air once more. The soft fabric in his palm felt wonderfully smooth to the touch a gift from Xie Tingchuan.

And it wasn’t just this item. In this very bedroom alone, the gifts from Xie Tingchuan numbered no fewer than ten. Lin Qing’an couldn’t help feeling a sliver of relief.

Fortunately, back when Xie Tingchuan had asked him for his address, he had given him an address in the southern district of the city, where there was also a university. Even if Xie Tingchuan had a sudden, whimsical urge to go find “Little Green Tangerine,” among all those students, it would literally work him to death and he still wouldn’t be able to find him.

The next voice message auto-played. Lin Qing’an tilted his head slightly to look at his phone.

Xie Tingchuan: “Babe, I want to see you. Can we meet just once?”

Lin Qing’an frowned. Meet what, meet who?! Do you believe me if I pull out something bigger than yours?! Meet up? It would be a meeting where either you die or I perish—better not to meet at all.

Hesitating for a moment, Lin Qing’an sent a voice message back.

Lin Qing’an: “I’m not ready to meet you yet. Let’s wait a bit longer—until our relationship grows a bit deeper.”

The moment the voice message went through, Alipay notified Lin Qing’an that he had received a transfer, followed immediately by another voice message from Xie Tingchuan.

“Is our relationship deep enough now?”

Lin Qing’an couldn’t help scratching his head. A fifty-thousand-yuan transfer this Xie Tingchuan was truly extravagant and wealthy, something his own family still couldn’t match. Ever since they established their romantic relationship over two months ago, the money transfers alone had already piled up to over four hundred thousand yuan.

If Xie Tingchuan actually discovered he’d been scammed, wouldn’t he end up thrown in jail to sew mailbags?

Even though Xie Tingchuan marked every single transfer as a voluntary gift, Lin Qing’an still felt uneasy inside. Whenever he faced Xie Tingchuan, a lingering sense of guilt gripped him, terrified that the guy might get unhappy and haul him off to the police station.

Lin Qing’an picked up his phone and slowly tapped out his reply on the keyboard.

“I mean the emotional connection between you and me, not the connection between me and Chairman Mao. Let’s talk about meeting up some other time.”

Listening to the voice message sent by Lin Qing’an, Xie Tingchuan’s sharp jawline tightened. Doubt flickered in his eyes—this was the fifth time. This was already the fifth time she had refused to meet.

When was “wait a bit longer”? And over some time just how long was that supposed to be?

He really, really wanted to meet her.

And then…

A phone ringtone interrupted their conversation. As if grabbing hold of a life-saving straw, Lin Qing’an swiftly hit the answer button.

“Hey, Mom, how did you suddenly remember your precious son?”

“Your old mom here won the lottery! I’m giving you a bit more living allowance this month. Your dad is too stingy; he can’t even bear to give my precious son a little extra.”

Lin Qing’an nodded along repeatedly in agreement, completely forgetting the fact that the other person couldn’t see his nodding expressions and gestures.

“Mom, you’re so right. You need to keep tabs on your husband look at how stingy he is. What if he starves me and stunts my growth? I’m only eighteen, I can still grow taller!”

“I don’t know what got into your dad either. After he had a phone call with your little uncle, he suddenly insisted on cutting your living allowance.”

“My little uncle?!” Lin Qing’an leaped off the bed in shock, pacing back and forth inside his bedroom as various guesses and theories popped into his head one after another, only for Lin Qing’an to ruthlessly shoot them down one by one.

“Mom, my little uncle hasn’t bothered with me in two years! Why did he suddenly start caring about my living allowance?”

Doubt and confusion overwhelmed Lin Qing’an. He had practically grown up glued to his little uncle’s heels. They called each other uncle and nephew, but the man was actually only thirteen years older than him. If the two of them walked out together, anyone would believe they were brothers.

Even when his little uncle went abroad to study, a distance spanning half the globe hadn’t managed to distance their bond.

Two years ago, the man had suddenly left for the United States and vanished completely without a trace. If not for the holiday greetings and continued financial support, Lin Qing’an would have suspected he’d been thrown into the ocean by some overseas crime boss and left without a whole corpse.

Lin Qing’an had always suspected the man had run into trouble, but no matter how he asked, he never got an answer. Slowly, Lin Qing’an stopped asking.

“I have no idea either.” Ms. Zhao was only half-in-the-know herself. “It wasn’t even your little uncle who brought it up it sounded like your dad just misunderstood something he said.”

“Whatever, let’s drop it.” Ms. Zhao laughed. “National Day is coming up soon, are you planning to come home?”

“We’ll see.” Lin Qing’an frowned. “If I don’t have any plans, I’ll go back.”

“Alright, your dad is walking over, I’m hanging up.” Ms. Zhao’s voice hurried.

The call disconnected, and Lin Qing’an couldn’t help sighing.

What on earth had happened to his little uncle? Two years had passed; had he finally decided to contact the family?

If his living allowance hadn’t been abruptly slashed, leaving him strapped for cash, he wouldn’t have seen his roommate gifting things to a female streamer, gotten struck by a whim to become a streamer himself, and consequently tangled himself up with Xie Tingchuan.

He let out a self-deprecating laugh, feeling like his luck was absolute rock-bottom. How could he wake up from a nap and suddenly gain memories of a past life?

Gaining them was one thing, but the awakened memories weren’t even complete—it was truly driving Lin Qing’an mad.

“Rumble…” A loud protest from his stomach interrupted his spiraling thoughts.

Shaking his head in frustration, he decided to toss these troublesome matters to the back of his mind for now and head out to find something to eat.

Glancing at the scorching sun still blazing outside, Lin Qing’an hesitated for a second, feeling zero desire to go out.

But he had classes in the afternoon, so Lin Qing’an had no choice but to pick up his phone, slip into his house slippers, and prepare to head out.

The moment he pulled the door open, a wave of heat rushed at his face, almost beating Lin Qing’an right back into his room. His rumbling stomach, however, urged him to hurry up and get moving.

Ding…

The elevator doors opened, and someone was already inside. Lin Qing’an glanced casually—pretty handsome. Must be a resident from upstairs. Wearing a jacket and a hat in weather this hot? He sure didn’t care about the heat. Impressive!

Lin Qing’an walked into the elevator and stood properly, instinctively starting to compare his height against the other person’s. Discovering that he was actually half a head shorter than the guy, he immediately averted his gaze and stopped looking.

It’s all his old man’s fault for cutting my allowance and leaving me underfed and underdressed. Otherwise, I definitely would’ve grown another five centimeters.

Ding… The elevator stopped at another floor again. The doors slid open, and a little girl’s voice called out from outside.

“Is this the elevator going up?”

Faced with a pure, innocent smile that no human could possibly resist, Lin Qing’an smiled. “Nope, this is the elevator going down.”

As the words left his mouth—whether it was Lin Qing’an’s imagination or not—he felt as though that strange man had glanced at him. That appraising gaze was skin-crawlingly eerie.

“Oh, okay then. I’ll wait a bit longer. Big Brother, you guys go ahead.”

Lin Qing’an smiled and nodded, hitting the close-door button. The elevator doors shut once more, and it slowly began to descend.

That spine-chilling sensation didn’t vanish until Lin Qing’an finally walked out of the elevator.

The familiar voice and tone felt somewhat reminiscent to Xie Tingchuan—it sounded a lot like “Little Green Tangerine,” which prompted Xie Tingchuan to give this unfamiliar neighbor a couple of extra looks.