An Online Romance Confirmed, a Barbecue Interrupted

H had mentioned that if their time together proved unpleasant, they could always revert to being friends.

An Ran, however, felt that if anything disagreeable occurred during their relationship, they would likely lose even their friendship.

AR: Why did you agree?

AR: I don’t understand.

H: Why do you think I wouldn’t agree?

AR: You’re an Alpha, aren’t you?

H: Does that have anything to do with being an Alpha or an Omega?

AR: Of course it does!

AR: So, are you an Alpha?

H: Yes.

H: So, are you going to reject me?

AR: It’s not that I’m trying to reject you…

AR: It’s just that I thought Alphas would need an Omega’s companionship more.

AR: After all, during the Susceptibility Period (TL Note: In ABO dynamics, this refers to a period when Alphas experience heightened pheromone sensitivity and urges, often requiring Omega comfort or suppressants.)… I don’t think I’d be able to offer you any help.

AR: I’m not an Omega.

AR: Won’t you be a little disappointed?

H: Why would I be disappointed?

H: The initial reason we decided to date seems to have nothing to do with our secondary genders.

H: Moreover, I don’t place importance on what secondary gender someone is.

H: I can take inhibitors during my Susceptibility Period.

AR: My real-life appearance is quite plain.

H: Didn’t we agree to an online romance?

H: For an online romance, there shouldn’t be any need to care about what the other person looks like, right?

AR: ‘Uh, yeah…’

AR: Are you serious?

H: Of course, I’m serious.

With this back-and-forth conversation, the two confirmed their online relationship.

****

H: [WeChat Transfer] Please accept 5200 yuan.

AR: [Transfer Returned]

AR: Why is this even more than the last transfer!

It was more than An Ran’s entire monthly living expenses.

H: Can’t your boyfriend treat you to barbecue?

H: We’re official now.

H: Shouldn’t you be spending your boyfriend’s money?

An Ran reasonably suspected that H wanted to date him just to treat him to barbecue.

AR: That’s still too much; a single barbecue meal doesn’t cost that much.

AR: Aren’t you afraid I might be a scammer?

AR: What if I demand transfers from you every day and then run off with tens of thousands of yuan?

An Ran found a few online scam cases and sent them to him.

[Thinking I’d found true love, I fell into a trap and was scammed out of 500,000 yuan]

[Online dating beware: Man transfers 50,000 yuan over half a month, only to find…]

[19-year-old man claims to be scammed out of 200,000 yuan in online romance, attempts suicide]

[Sweet Trap! A certain man from XX was scammed out of 100,000 yuan, only to discover the other party already had a family!]

[Man scammed out of two million yuan over three years of online dating, only to find the other party was a big man picking his feet (TL Note: Literally ‘a big man picking his feet,’ this slang term implies someone unkempt, unattractive, or not who they claim to be, often used in the context of online deception.)]

H: [WeChat Transfer] Please accept 520 yuan.

H: I’m rich and naive; you can trick me however you like.

An Ran eventually had no choice but to reluctantly accept his transfer, depositing the money into another card.

If they ever broke up in the future, he would transfer the money back.

****

When class ended, An Ran still wore a sweet smile.

After confirming their relationship, he could feel a new closeness between them, and H’s reply frequency was much higher than before.

Fu Zao leaned closer, glancing at An Ran’s phone screen, and asked curiously, “Who are you chatting with? You’ve been smiling all afternoon.”

An Ran hesitated for a moment but decided to confide in his good friend, “H and I are dating.”

“???” Fu Zao stared at An Ran in astonishment, his eyes wide and round, taking a long moment to process it. “What did you say??!”

“You and H, the owner of that automatic feeding machine?”

“You two?”

“Got together???”

“Confirm I didn’t mishear that?!”

An Ran shyly nodded. “Mhm, we just made it official.”

Fu Zao still found it hard to imagine that An Ran, someone so prone to social anxiety, actually had a partner.

“Do you like him?”

“I suppose I do.” An Ran couldn’t quite articulate what kind of feeling it was.

However, the mere thought of losing contact with H filled him with a strong sense of reluctance.

Fu Zao frowned, worried he might be scammed, and disapproved, “You agreed to date him without even being sure if you like him?”

An Ran quickly explained, “I definitely have a good impression of him; I just can’t distinguish between like and dislike. We’re currently in an online romance and have no intention of meeting in person.”

Fu Zao: “So, you don’t even know his name?”

An Ran nodded sheepishly. “Because it’s an online romance, I don’t think it’s necessary to know each other’s real information.”

Fu Zao: “…”

So all that talk he had with An Ran that day was just to educate him on the rules of online dating?

An Ran felt that things were perfectly fine between him and H, and H was very respectful of his wishes.

Fu Zao, at a loss for words (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘yiyan nanjin,’ meaning ‘it’s a long story’ or ‘hard to put into words.’), finally managed to utter, “Sweetie, please don’t let people online trick you.”

An Ran paused, then smiled. “I don’t think I have anything he could trick me out of. We’re just in an online romance, haven’t exchanged any real information, and I don’t even have much pocket money for him to scam.”

On the contrary, H was, as he himself said, rich and naive; even before they confirmed their relationship, H had casually transferred money to him.

Fu Zao choked slightly. “What if he tricks you emotionally?”

An Ran lowered his gaze and smiled. “If he’s willing to play along with me, then that seems pretty good too.”

Fu Zao never imagined that An Ran was actually so love-struck (TL Note: A slang term describing someone whose thoughts and actions are primarily driven by romantic feelings, often to the exclusion of rational judgment.).

****

While eating barbecue, Fu Zao racked his brain but couldn’t come up with any good advice to warn An Ran about the perils of online dating; instead, seeing An Ran in such a lovey-dovey state, he felt a sense of relief.

An Ran’s life, from childhood to adulthood, had always been simple. He was a well-behaved student, a ‘good child’ in the eyes of his teachers and parents, never quarreling with other classmates, and his academic performance was consistently good, leaving his parents with no worries.

Whenever Fu Zao saw him, An Ran was either studying or reading.

This online romance was probably the most rebellious thing he had done in all these years.

Fu Zao could actually sense that An Ran had been chatting happily with H recently, always wearing a smile, unlike his previously solitary demeanor.

Out of concern that An Ran might be scammed, he had privately asked others who this H was, but regrettably, no one knew him.

Even the convenience store owner had only seen him once and didn’t have a deep impression, leaving all clues dead ends.

Fu Zao felt particularly melancholic seeing An Ran’s carefree smile; he simultaneously felt that as long as An Ran was happy, it was fine, yet he also worried he might be deceived, after all, Alphas were cunning fellows.

An Ran handed him a piece of grilled beef, smiling. “Don’t worry, I won’t be that easily fooled.”

With his mouth full of a lettuce wrap, Fu Zao mumbled, “You don’t understand Alphas at all, that’s why I’m worried.”

That guy H, claiming that inhibitors could solve the Susceptibility Period, how could he believe that!

Even if An Ran was a Beta, would an Alpha in their Susceptibility Period truly care whether the other person was a Beta or an Omega?

Most online romances are separated by thousands of miles, making it difficult to meet in real life (TL Note: A term used in online dating to describe the act of meeting an online partner face-to-face for the first time.).

But their online romance didn’t even need to consider a long-distance relationship; they were in the same school, so an online romance turning into reality would be effortless, wouldn’t it?!

He absolutely had to find out who that guy H was!

****

“Welcome! Just two of you?”

“Yes.”

“This way, please.”

An Ran heard a familiar voice and couldn’t help but look up, seeing a waiter leading his roommate over to a table right next to theirs.

Fu Zao: “???”

An Ran: “???”

What a coincidence to run into them here? Was it really that coincidental?

An Ran’s gaze met Gong He’s, and he awkwardly nodded at Gong He as a greeting.

Lu Ye whistled, hooking his arm around Gong He’s neck with a smile. “Isn’t that your roommate?”

Gong He simply hummed in response, swatting Lu Ye’s hand away.

Lu Ye sat down and unceremoniously ordered a huge pile of meat, shaking his head at the prices on the menu and clicking his tongue in wonder. “This is actually a place you’d come to eat? I remember you used to fly all the way to Kimchi Land (TL Note: A casual and sometimes jocular or mildly derogatory nickname for Korea.) just to eat authentic local barbecue. When you said you’d treat me to barbecue just now, I was looking for my passport, but I didn’t expect you meant eating here.”

Gong He: “Is there a problem?”

Lu Ye shrugged. “None at all, naturally. As long as someone’s treating, I have no complaints.”

The waiter approached, carrying two enormous 1000ml glass mugs of beer, a signature item of the establishment.

“Ding—”

The notification sound startled not only Gong He but An Ran as well.

Such a coincidence… could it be?

Gong He quickly pressed the button to mute notifications, and a second message popped up without any sound.

An Ran instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had almost thought his online dating partner was his roommate.

Gong He subtly scanned An Ran’s expression, and seeing his face relax, he too couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

AR: [Image: Beer glass.jpg]

AR: The specialty of this place: such a huge glass of beer!!

AR: It’s 9.9 yuan, I think that’s pretty good value!

AR: Eating barbecue and drinking ice-cold beer in this chilly weather is quite satisfying.

H: Can you drink?

H: Are you sure you’re not a lightweight (TL Note: A slang term referring to someone who has a very low alcohol tolerance and gets drunk easily.)?

AR: Who are you looking down on!

AR: I’m no lightweight.

Gong He, out of the corner of his eye, watched An Ran take a big gulp of beer, even declaring that he would finish the entire glass.

Before long, An Ran’s face was flushed with a slight tipsy red, his eyes hazy, looking thoroughly drunk.

Gong He: “…”

If that wasn’t a lightweight, what was?

Even Fu Zao, sitting opposite him, was surprised; An Ran hadn’t drunk much, yet how had he gotten so drunk?

“Don’t drink anymore! How am I supposed to get you back to the dorm later?! Go to the restroom, wash your face, and sober up a bit!” Fu Zao pulled An Ran up from his seat, supporting him towards the restroom.

Gong He watched their retreating figures, his brows subtly twitched, and a hint of eagerness flickered in his downcast eyes.

However, when he turned back to the pile of unfinished meat on the table, he frowned severely. “Are you a pig? You ordered so much?”

Lu Ye: “???”

Who was it just now who said he’d treat him to barbecue and told him to order whatever he wanted?

Was he already going back on his word so quickly?

Gong He urged, “Eat quickly, I have to go back to the dorm for something urgent.”

Lu Ye: “What is it? Can’t it wait until we finish eating?”

Gong He watched Fu Zao and An Ran emerge from the restroom and head straight for the cashier, then looked at the oil-mouthed Lu Ye with a look of disdain. “No, it’s very urgent.”

Lu Ye: “Then you go ahead, I’m staying to eat meat.”

“Fine.” Gong He decisively abandoned Lu Ye and left alone.

Lu Ye looked at the bill on the table and shouted after Gong He, “Hey, did you pay the bill? Pay the bill before you leave!”

Gong He left the barbecue restaurant without looking back.

Lu Ye: “???”

Did Gong He really trick him into coming out just to scam him out of a barbecue meal?