The Price of Gossip and a Feverish Confession

Qiyu silently stared at his phone screen. No apology messages arrived, only a deluge of system notifications.

Tutu has left the group chat.

Depressed Purehearted Young Master Luo has left the group chat.

,. has left the group chat.

…

In an instant, the class group’s member count plummeted from double digits to single digits.

Those who hadn’t left were simply individuals who had stayed up late, were catching up on sleep, or hadn’t checked their phones.

It seemed everyone had forgotten that at the beginning of their first year of high school, he had been the one to propose creating this class chat group.

Through this incident, Qiyu also discovered something else: they apparently had other group chats.

Furthermore, neither he nor Lu Xingye were members of those groups.

This revelation left him speechless, yet he could only let it go. He had no desire to waste time bickering with these people.

Hadn’t he just helped the class secure first place in the 3000-meter long-distance run at the sports meet? He had casually jumped to first place in high jump for the entire grade, and even broken the academy’s historical record in long jump.

Being the subject of gossip didn’t faze him in the slightest.

Despite his classmates’ unfriendliness, and even their whispers behind his back, he felt that someone as kind, friendly, and domineering as himself ought to be more tolerant of them.

Before he could finish his internal monologue, a message from Xia Qingyuan, the forum administrator, popped up. As Qiyu’s number one ‘mom fan,’ she typically agreed to almost any request he made.

[It’s Qingqing: Why ban them from gossiping?]

[It’s Qingqing: You never seemed to care about these things before.]

[Insult Me And I’ll Act Cute: Sister Qingqing, please, only your prestige will work. T-T]

Xia Qingyuan particularly couldn’t resist Qiyu calling her “Sister Qingqing.” Typically, once he used that address, she would agree to even the most outrageous requests without hesitation.

What’s more, Qiyu’s current request wasn’t even that unreasonable.

Just as Xia Qingyuan pondered how to reply, another message appeared, sent by Qiyu.

[Insult Me And I’ll Act Cute: Sister Qingqing, I’m willing to do that…]

Xia Qingyuan had been on vacation for the past few days, completely unaware of the school’s latest gossip.

She lay sprawled on her bed, her bangs tied up to reveal her fair, delicate face. Upon seeing Qiyu’s message, her lips curved into a smile.

[It’s Qingqing: Howl!]

This was Xia Qingyuan’s unique brand of mischievous enjoyment; she loved hearing Qiyu act cute. There had even been rumors once that Xia Qingyuan had a one-sided crush on Qiyu, but she quickly clarified them. After all, her affection for Qiyu was akin to a mother’s love for her son.

‘Who would have a one-sided crush on their own son? That would be incest, wouldn’t it?’

And so, the legendary mischievous request arrived:

Before speaking, Qiyu cautiously glanced around. Once he confirmed no one was watching him, he picked up his phone, gritted his teeth, and whispered into the receiver.

“I’m a little cat, meow, meow, meow.”

The young man’s clear, pristine voice was filled with a playful whine. Who could hear it and not be moved, or even curse him out of exasperation?

If anyone could, it would certainly be Lu Xingye.

“Add another test paper.”

Lu Xingye pulled a fresh test paper from his otherwise empty drawer and casually tossed it onto Qiyu’s desk.

“If you don’t start writing now, I’ll add another.”

Qiyu was still reeling from being inexplicably scolded. The first words he uttered after regaining his composure were:

“Why are you scolding me?”

“Are you insane? I didn’t provoke you.”

Qiyu felt not only speechless but also a little wronged. Wasn’t he playing on his phone for Lu Xingye’s sake? Wasn’t it to prevent him from being gossiped about?!

Though, it seemed Lu Xingye was only being discussed and facing public opinion crises *because* of Qiyu.

Thinking this way, he didn’t feel quite so wronged anymore.

What arrived even before Lu Xingye’s reply was a message from Xia Qingyuan.

[It’s Qingqing: Ahhhhhhh! Mom will definitely arrange everything for you, don’t worry!]

‘No matter how many times he saw it, his embarrassment just exploded.’

Lu Xingye said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, “You’re quite the player, aren’t you?”

“Don’t forget, you have to listen to everything I say.”

The implied meaning couldn’t have been clearer: ‘You promised to be my dog.’

Unfortunately, Qiyu not only failed to understand but also retorted, “Why are you being so fierce?”

“It’s not like I can’t write it!”

“I won’t be with you until you change your temper,” Qiyu murmured softly.

Only Lu Xingye, standing nearby, could hear him. If he had said it louder and others heard, wouldn’t he have suffered the humiliation of being a ‘dog’ for nothing?

Despite always saying he’d make Qiyu his ‘dog,’ Lu Xingye never truly tormented him.

Lu Xingye: “…You’ve got some nerve.”

Qiyu said affectedly, “It’s all for my husband.”

Lu Xingye snapped his book shut. With tightly pressed lips and bottomless dark eyes, he stared directly at Qiyu. Finally, his ear tips flushed as he spoke.

“Don’t call me that again.”

Qiyu didn’t flinch from his gaze. He stared right back, then cutely raised an eyebrow, revealing his small canine teeth, and chuckled.

“How do you know I was calling you?”

“Hey! You’re already going to control me, and you’re still shy about a mere title?”

“Husband, you’re still too green…”

His mood brightened; the fog dissipated, and the sky cleared.

Qiyu lay sprawled on the desk, blinking his eyes. Lu Xingye’s forced composure was reflected in his clear, deer-like gaze.

Light streamed through the window, gently illuminating his strands of hair, his long eyelashes, his pale pink lips, and the slight baby fat on his cheeks.

Qiyu himself seemed to glow with radiance at that moment.

“Unreasonable…”

Qiyu: “…”

‘Whenever he couldn’t win an argument, he’d resort to that phrase.’

Lu Xingye lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting small shadows on his eyelids. He could only pretend not to hear Qiyu’s teasing words.

He was sketching and writing in his pristine book when he suddenly turned his head to Qiyu and added, “I really can’t out-talk you when it comes to teasing.”

Qiyu: “…”

Hearing this, Qiyu was immediately left speechless.

Lu Xingye was a prodigy; a genius in every aspect. He could score high marks on exams even without listening in class.

Consequently, his books typically contained few notes.

After school, he wouldn’t even review or practice problems at home, adhering instead to the excellent habit of early to bed and early to rise.

Yet now, his scribbles in the book were all to highlight key points for Qiyu.

“I’ve circled all the important points for the exam for you.”

“Read through it once, and I’ll explain it to you afterward.”

A pair of slender hands appeared before Qiyu—Lu Xingye was handing him the book. Before Qiyu could speak, Lu Xingye then affixed the schedule he had written to Qiyu’s desk.

“Today will be very busy,” Lu Xingye said with a smile that held a hidden edge.

And so, Qiyu spent his days befriending test papers, with every minute stretched into two, living such a monotonous existence.

This continued for half a month.

He was almost entirely listless, with prominent dark circles under his fair, delicate eyes. Even in this state, Lu Xingye wouldn’t allow him to sleep in class!

During this period, he had even given up gaming. He barely had enough time for sleep, let alone playing games.

Every night, he was so exhausted he’d collapse into sleep.

Yet, there was one thing he never forgot.

That was—constantly updating his dating routine on his forum account.

Because Xia Qingyuan, acting as the forum administrator, had posted a rule prohibiting private discussions of others’ personal affairs, people at school were no longer as brazen as before.

Xia Qingyuan was the eldest daughter of the Xia family in Haishi. The Xia, Bai, Lu, and Su families were known as the Four Great Families, their status and power immeasurable.

Of course, classmates would still gossip privately, but it was certainly not like before.

Previously, whenever these people heard a juicy piece of gossip, they’d be eager to print it out and plaster it all over the school, even making sarcastic remarks directly to the person involved.

Their gossip-mongering had reached terrifying levels. The forum even had a dedicated channel titled “True vs. Fake Young Misses, True vs. Fake Young Masters Battle.”

It chronicled several pairs of “true” and “fake” young masters and misses at the school, with daily detailed reports on their ongoing “battles.”

Therefore, Qiyu absolutely could not expose himself. He dreaded imagining what it would feel like to have every move monitored.

Although Lu Xingye’s dating gossip hadn’t been openly discussed, the strange looks he received were far from few.

In fact, they were increasing.

Qiyu’s only recent annoyance was this: fewer and fewer people believed him, while more and more people cursed ‘him.’

****

“You should go to bed early today.”

Hearing this, Qiyu excitedly slapped the table and shot up. He glanced at the time—only 9:30 PM. Could Lu Xingye be planning to let him relax a week before exams?

‘That wouldn’t be so bad.’

However, Lu Xingye was acting very strangely today.

He hadn’t even displayed his usual grumpy expression, and when Qiyu deliberately provoked him, he merely gave him a faint glance.

Strange, utterly strange.

‘Unless the person sitting here wasn’t the real Lu Xingye, but an alien who had possessed his exquisite face?’

“Brother, you’re not yourself today.” Qiyu had grown accustomed to using this address by now.

Lu Xingye’s hands paused as he tidied his desk. He sighed, replying weakly, “Weren’t you happy just now?”

Qiyu retorted stubbornly, “You’re usually much more malicious. There’s no way you’d be this gentle.”

Lu Xingye was speechless. “…”

“I need to rest. The door is over there; I shouldn’t need to teach you how to open it, should I?”

Lu Xingye pointed toward the door, his intention to dismiss Qiyu clear.

Qiyu tilted his head, looking at him with the bewildered gaze of a confused puppy.

Feeling utterly drained, Lu Xingye could only sit on the edge of the bed and wave him away.

“If you don’t leave, keep writing.”

The young man’s face was flushed, his eyes as indifferent as ice. If not for his hands bracing him against the bed, he might have collapsed.

Qiyu ignored the remark and abruptly moved closer to Lu Xingye, his lips pressed into a serious line.

“Brother, you seem to be sick.”

“You’re this old and still haven’t learned to take medicine or go to the hospital when you’re sick?”

Qiyu reached out, using the back of his hand to check Lu Xingye’s forehead temperature. “The back of my hand doesn’t seem to work.”

Lu Xingye: “I’m fine.”

No sooner had he spoken than Qiyu cupped his face, pressing his own forehead tightly against Lu Xingye’s.

Qiyu’s features magnified infinitely before him, his beautiful eyes tightly shut, as if truly concentrating on sensing Lu Xingye’s body temperature.

The scent of the young man’s clothes clearly wafted to his nostrils. “You seem to have a fever.”

“That’s a declarative sentence.”

“Could it be that I made you angry enough to get sick?”

“That shouldn’t be possible, my academic talent is so strong…”

Lu Xingye pushed his hand away. “How long are you going to keep talking to yourself?”

“Please leave, I need to rest.” Lu Xingye walked to the wardrobe and took out a change of clothes.

“You can’t shower when you have a fever, can you? Even someone with zero common sense like me knows that.” Qiyu took a large step forward and snatched the clothes from his hand.

“Let me take care of you, Brother.”

Perhaps sick people tend to be soft-hearted, as Lu Xingye surprisingly made an exception today and agreed to Qiyu’s request.

“Mm, thank you.”

As a child, Lu Xingye had always strongly resisted family doctors and detested hospitals.

Qiyu knew all of this from his childhood experiences.

When Lu Xingye was eight, he had a fever. He refused to go to the hospital or accept treatment from the family doctor, even using the excuse that he wanted to be alone to send his parents away.

But when he was tormented awake by the fever in the middle of the night, he found a fluffy head beside him.

It turned out Qiyu had been worried about him being lonely, secretly crying in his own room, and finally, unable to bear it, had brought his own doll and come to Lu Xingye’s room.

Even now, despite their extremely cold and strained relationship, Qiyu, out of habit, couldn’t bring himself to leave Lu Xingye alone.

“Brother, lie down quickly. Doctor Qi is here to take care of you.”

With that, he helped Lu Xingye onto the bed and thoughtfully tucked in the corners of the blanket.

Qiyu first found the medicine, poured hot water, and brought it to Lu Xingye’s lips. Finally, he felt relieved enough to let him sleep for a while.

The medicine took effect quickly, amplified by the fatigue of illness. Before long, Lu Xingye fell into a deep slumber.

Once Lu Xingye was asleep, Qiyu sprawled by the bedside, took out his phone, and clicked on the forum webpage.

During this time, he had been constantly trading insults with those people. Fortunately, no one knew he was the one controlling the account.

‘Otherwise, that would truly be too embarrassing.’

He clicked into the familiar forum, and a flood of messages popped up, most of them cursing him.

He glanced up at the person so close beside him, then quickly drafted a new post.

Today, 21:41

[OP: That’s enough. My husband and I are living a good life, and I don’t want to argue with you bunch of crazy men and women about meaningless things. You’re purely jealous that Lu Xingye is mine; you can only curse me with trembling hands out of anxiety because you can’t have him. I understand all of it. So tell me, what do you need me to do for you to believe Lu Xingye is my boyfriend?]

1L

[Aloof Dumb Fish: Unless you film a video of you two ‘doing it’ and upload it to the forum, hehe.]

2L

[Cheese Milk Cap Peach Ice: I’m not as demanding as the first floor. Since you two are together anyway, just film a video of you two French kissing.]

3L

[Don’t Want To Be Bald: Record a video of Lu Xingye saying, with his own mouth, that you’re the one he loves most.]

4L

[AAA National Highway Master Zhang: Finally, you posted! Have your boyfriend come for an offline one-on-one!]

Reply: Zhao Yuhang, don’t think I don’t know it’s you.

5L

[Ham Cheese Croissant: In the age of AI, who knows if you’re real or fake?]

6L

[Little Monster Isn’t Tiny Monster: I support the upstairs comment. Otherwise, I could also say Qiyu and Lu Xingye already have children, and I have proof.]

Reply: ?

7L

[Just A Little Bad Sometimes: Take a photo of you two kissing, and you make a peace sign.]

OP Reply: Okay.