ADTCP Ch20

…Impossible.

The thought of “Zhu Wensheng being rich” had only flashed across Tao Zhen’s mind for a second before he quickly dismissed it.

If Zhu Wensheng really were some pampered young master who never had to worry about food and drink, driving a Maybach, then why would he agree to Tao Zhen’s arrangement and rely on him for that half-baked sugar-daddy support?

Besides, what rich kid would be reluctant to ride the bus in the summer heat, wear no brand-name clothes, keep using a phone with a shattered screen, and fail to stomach a thousand-yuan-per-person Omakase?

Well, to be fair… that Omakase really was inedible.

Tao Zhen’s head was a jumble. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt absentmindedly, until suddenly the “du-du” waiting tone cut off, replaced by the boy’s cool, slightly husky voice:
“Tao Zhen, class over?”

Tao Zhen jolted back to himself. His messy thoughts extinguished like a charcoal fire doused in seawater.

“Mm, yeah, class is over. I was just going to grab lunch… what about you, want to come with me?”

“No, I’ve got classes all morning. I don’t finish until 12:05.” Zhu Wensheng’s voice softened a little; there was a faint gentleness in it. “You go ahead first.”

Tao Zhen froze, glanced at the corner of his phone screen, 11:38 a.m., clearly still class time. “Then right now, you…”

“I saw it was you calling,” Zhu Wensheng said lightly, “so I slipped out the back door of the classroom.”

“….”

Tao Zhen’s head grew hot. He squatted down abruptly, nervously tugging at his hem. “Oh…”

Their relationship contract didn’t include “must pick up calls instantly.” So… was this Zhu Wensheng actually flirting with him?

If Zhu Wensheng really were a rich kid, wasn’t his temper a little too good?

“Then, um, you’d better get back to class after this. Don’t fall behind,” Tao Zhen stammered, mangling the hem of his shirt, “oh, and if you have time, could you send me the video you filmed yesterday? I’ll find a time to upload it to the site today…”

Zhu Wensheng lowered his gaze. Instinctively he thought of the boy’s sweet candy-like air-kiss, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “…Okay. Anything else?”

Tao Zhen hesitated, covering his burning ears until the heat calmed.

“Actually, yeah. Just now after class, I chatted with Senior Bai Yuxuan again. He said that luxury cars like Maybachs aren’t likely to be used for ride-sharing. So, about yesterday, when you said that car was yours…”

Zhu Wensheng stilled, straightening slightly, holding the receiver closer. “Hm?”

Tao Zhen took a deep breath. “I know, you must really like that car. So you probably borrowed it from a friend, to experience what it feels like to own one. I’m sorry. I can’t afford such an expensive limited edition right now, but I’ll work hard to earn money by singing. Once I save enough, I’ll buy one for you right away, so you’ll have one too. Okay?”

Zhu Wensheng pressed his lips together. All he could hear was the heavy thud of his own heartbeat, a dizzy buzzing in his ears, as if struck by something.

Tao Zhen’s preconception led him to a completely wrong interpretation, something that should have been laughable. But instead, Zhu Wensheng only felt parched, his chest burning.

Clearly he already owned one, could buy one outright. The experience of owning the car was nothing new. Yet picturing his little boyfriend, big black eyes blinking pitifully as he promised to work hard just to buy him a car, he felt a strange, unprecedented anticipation.

Was insisting on proving his wealth to Tao Zhen really the right thing?

Maybe… being seen as a broke student wasn’t bad at all.

At least, that way, he received Tao Zhen’s burning, tender sincerity.

The teaching building bustled with noise, footsteps, and distant teachers’ voices booming with passion.

But inside the receiver, it was quiet. Only the sound of each other’s breathing. Zhu Wensheng was silent for several seconds, then called softly: “Tao Zhen.”

That odd, turbulent emotion surged up, momentarily taking control.

“Mm?” Tao Zhen responded with a smile in his voice. “What is it?”
The soft, playful lilt at the end was like a fluffy animal flopping over to expose its belly, openly vulnerable.

That fledgling bird’s heart, beating warm and fast, seemed to lie bare through a transparent ribcage, trembling.

Zhu Wensheng squeezed his eyes shut. Just as the words rose to his throat, he abruptly changed them: “…I’ll wait for you.”

Tao Zhen blinked, then grinned with delight. “Okay!”

Not long after hanging up, Zhu Wensheng sent the singing video over.

By then, Tao Zhen was in the cafeteria, tray in hand. Walking toward an empty table, he saved the video and prepared to upload it like last time.

But oddly, this time the quality was badly compressed, practically a blur. After some fiddling, he realized Zhu Wensheng had sent him a cropped version where the last “mua” had been cut off.

Helpless, Tao Zhen asked him again for the original.

The other boy was probably annoyed at being pestered; he stayed silent a while before finally sending the intact video.

Relieved, Tao Zhen uploaded it while eating.
The progress bar crept forward until: [Upload Successful].

At the same time, a system notification popped on the homepage of his 60k followers:
[The streamer you follow, Zhen Zhibang, has uploaded a new video, check it out now!]

Many bored users lit up instantly and clicked.

In the dim car interior, the blond boy smiled at the camera, a little tiger tooth flashing. His delicate face looked chiseled to perfection, every feature just right. The shifting glow outside the car window washed him in a hazy halo.

After two seconds of quiet that pulled every gaze toward him, he began to sing. Each clear, tender “baby” rang out until listeners felt dizzy, as if lulled to sleep by his side.

The short song ended too soon. Just as everyone wanted more, the boy laughed, leaned close, and dropped a light, sweet kiss on the camera.

“Mua, ”

The viewers froze.

Ten minutes later, they had already rocketed the fresh upload to thousands of likes, shrieking and tagging their friends like mad.

【IceCreamMilkTeaYyds: HOLY!!! SH*T!!! HUBBY!!! THAT FINAL MUA AHHHH AWsl!!】

【DoYouEven: Sis come here, I’m dead serious, I LOVE him, gimme his contact info within 10 minutes!!】

【McDonaldsIsLife: I’m gonna faint I swear, his name fits him perfectly, he’s MADE to sing this song!!】

【…】

Countless comments flooded in, just like on the last video.

Tao Zhen finished his meal, then eagerly scrolled through them, liking each compliment to say thanks. Scrolling down, he suddenly stopped at a highly upvoted thread with a strange discussion point.

【ProfessionalShipper: Actually I wanted to ask last time, who’s the one filming for the streamer? The filming is so good! Not just framing and composition, but it feels really gentle and focused. Does anyone else get what I mean?】

【Reply: YES!! I get you! Like that saying, “the one who loves you will film you beautifully.” And this time, during the song Baby, it felt like the streamer was singing straight to them. How could the cameraman bear to release that final mua for everyone to see?!】

Tao Zhen blinked, chuckled, and didn’t think much of it.

Sure, Zhu Wensheng was a good person, gentle and focused, but he was a total straight guy! Why would he care about sharing a “mua”?

Tao Zhen rubbed his face, about to scroll past, when he caught sight of the thread’s newest reply.

【Reply: But how do you all know it’s a he and not a she?】

【Professional CP Shipper: It’s simple. Turn the video volume up to max, right at the end when the streamer does the “mua,” you can hear another man’s slightly restrained breathing. It’s super obvious!】
【Professional CP Shipper: Not only that, pause the video at 1:32 and zoom in. You can clearly see the cameraman’s other hand right next to the streamer. Damn, the veins are popping, and it’s so big it looks like it could wrap around the streamer’s whole hand.】

【Professional CP Shipper: Hehe, I feel like if the streamer sings two more songs, the cameraman’s soul will fly away.】

【Reply: Holy sht.】

【Reply: HOLY SHT! The OP’s right!】

Tao Zhen was stunned. He hurriedly rewatched the video, following the commenter’s tips, and sure enough, he found the exact details that the “Professional CP Shipper” had pointed out. He froze for two seconds, clutching his phone in shock.

Because the comment had been posted early and all the details were on point, it quickly attracted a wave of likes and got pinned to the top of the comment section. As the video’s popularity soared, more and more people started paying attention to him and Zhu Wensheng’s relationship. Some even asked directly if he and this “cameraman” were actually a couple.

Seriously… there were way too many sharp-eyed people on the internet these days.

After hesitating for a while, Tao Zhen finally tapped “like” on one of the comments asking about their relationship and replied with a monkey-covering-face emoji.

Sigh. Even though it was fun reading these comments, Zhu Wensheng couldn’t possibly have feelings for him the way everyone was saying, right?

Last time he kissed Zhu Wensheng’s chin, Zhu couldn’t even handle that.

And every time Tao Zhen touched him, Zhu Wensheng’s breathing would grow a little too fast, like he was still desperately trying to restrain his straight-guy instincts!