CH 86.3

To Be Caught (3)

Rui-jie helped them pick some accessories to match and they went in front of the camera again. As she was about to start narrating, she was shocked.  The comments were refreshing slightly too fast, right? There were so many that it was almost impossible to read.

“A sightseeing group from Weibo has come. Where is the female crossdresser?”

“Ooh, I’ve seen him. Fuck! Is that girl really a boy?”

“He can really battle Green Vest Boss. I think Green Vest is slightly more charming while he’s slightly purer?”

“Please look at the boy beside him, so cool and beautiful! When he looked at the camera, Lao-Niang’s dried-up heart had already been stirred.”

“I declare he’s the most handsome ancient-style little brother I’ve seen!”

***

Not many customers were in the Heterochromatic Bar before the night began. Xiao-Ai served beer to one table and sprawled out clearly bored in front of the counter, tapping on his phone.

He searched for the title and found the live stream of “Qingfeng Ya Yun” on Taobao. After watching it for a while, he smiled and showed it to the bartender at the counter. “Do you recognize this girl?”

The bartender glanced at it. “I have no idea. Why do you like to look at women now?”

Xiao-Ai rolled his eyes. “This is also a man! He was the one coming to our shop on a rainy night and was driven away by Li-ge. Do you remember now?”

As they were talking, Li Yuan’s voice sounded behind them. “Who did I drive away?”

When Xiao-Ai turned his head and saw him, his eyes immediately lit up.

He hurriedly handed over the phone and leaned on Li Yuan’s shoulder. “Li-ge, look at this.”

Li Yuan took a closer look and really didn’t recognize him.

The bartender intervened at the side, “How can you tell? When you guys dress up as women, you look even more like a woman than a real woman.”

Li Yuan knitted his brows and finally hit his head. “Oh, the one who said his family was poor and wanted to dance folk dance here, who was not even 18 yet?”

“That’s right.” Xiao-Ai charmingly smiled. “Look, he could still find another place to make money even if he couldn’t find work here.”

Li Yuan reached out and pushed him away. “It doesn’t matter if he does a live broadcast, but is it the same to dance in a place like ours?”

Xiao-Ai grimaced and muttered, “What’s the difference? Sooner or later, after he grows up and knows what he is, he’ll still come here.”

Li Yuan glared daggers at him. “Give me the live stream address.”

He walked to the side alone and sent the address to his WeChat. “A-Nian, look at this. Is this your student?”

Gong Si Nian was lounging on the sofa while reading a book. When he clicked on it, he sat up straight.

On the screen, Fang Li had changed into a rose-red Bijia* and Ruan Qingmu at the side had also changed into a navy blue cloak, holding a golden folding fan with an iron handle in his hand. The two stood side by side, one red and one blue, a beautiful sight.

*T/N: Bijia: a sleeveless, collarless waistcoat with openings on both sides of the lapels and below the knees, and is longer, generally up to the hips or knees, with some less than a foot above the ground. It was popular in the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

He had personally witnessed the New Year’s Eve party, so how could he not recognize Fang Li and Ruan Qingmu?

“What is this?” he called straight away.

Li Yuan sat on the bar’s counter, holding a cigarette. “Xiao-Ai said these two boys are working part-time at a Taobao shop. They seem to be short of money.”

Gong Sinian let out an “mm.” “Okay, I understand.”

After hanging up the phone, he turned on the live broadcast and watched it for another while, but he couldn’t help but worry in the end.

He had inquired about Fang Li’s situation from others and it seemed that his family was in a bit of difficulty, but he hadn’t heard anything about Ruan Qingmu.

Now that they were facing the college entrance exams and since the winter vacation homework was so heavy, are these two children planning to neglect their studies?

After mulling it over in his head, he found Qin Yuan’s WeChat and sent a message. “Are you there? I want to ask something.”

Qin Yuan was in his sister’s room, helping her sort through the pile of books she had brought back this afternoon. When he saw the message, he immediately replied, “Dr. Gong, hello. I’m here.”

“Ruan Qingmu, who has a good relationship with you and Fang Li from his class, are their families in a difficult situation?”

Qin Yuan was stunned and hesitantly replied, “They are indeed not very well off. What happened?”

Gong Sinian contemplated, “Do they need to earn money to help support their families?”

Qin Yuan was even more shocked. “It should never come to this.”

Ruan Qingmu’s family ran a shop. Although his mother was struggling, Secretary Gao had just helped the family settle their five social and one funding insurances, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem in the end.

Fang Li’s family… he had heard Ruan Qingmu talk about his mother. Was it that serious?

“It’s good then. It’s nothing. Good night!” Gong Sinian breathed out a sigh of relief. It was probably just kids being playful and partnering up to work for some extra spending money.

The phone rang urgently just as he put it down and Qin Yuan’s voice was filled with anxiety. “Dr. Gong, what do you want to say? Do you hear any rumors about Student Ruan Qingmu?”

Gong Sinian hesitated for just a moment while Qin Yuan became even more anxious. “Please tell me no matter what, thank you.”

Gong Sinian helplessly sent the link to him. “Fine. I’m being meddlesome. I was afraid they would delay their studies, so I casually asked.”

***

In the live room, the traffic of people watching was increasing. Suddenly, the two phone screens placed next to each other lit up.

Although it was on mute, it kept flashing all the time. Ruan Qingmu and Fang Li had practically noticed them at the same time.

Didn’t they just talk to them? Why did they have to call so urgently?

Both were slightly distracted and hurried to run to the side in unison to pick up their phones after the demonstration of the outfit.

Fu Songhua looked at the screenshot of Ruan Qingmu and Fang Li holding hands on Weibo, his voice resigned and upset. “Fang Li, are you really… washing clothes at home?”

Qin Yuan looked at the video replay of the live broadcast and asked indifferently, “Ruan Ruan, are you really helping your mom to make dumplings?”