Blinded by Lust chapter 14

Wu Bie was in a state of contentment, feeling full from emotional satisfaction. Several colleagues knocked on his door, asking him to come down for a meal, but he turned them down.

“You guys go ahead, don’t wait for me.”

Zhanyan, concerned, said, “Ge, why don’t you eat first?”

“I’m not hungry.” Wu Bie was firm in his refusal.

If they hadn’t been chatting for most of the day, Huo Zhanyan might have believed Wu Bie, but since Wu Bie didn’t want to go eat, Huo Zhanyan didn’t insist, as he also didn’t want to end the video call.

Wu Bie’s side was easy to handle, but Huo Zhanyan was at the hospital. When doctors and nurses knocked on the door, he couldn’t just send them away. He wasn’t sick, so when the doctor knocked, he awkwardly spoke.

“Ge, the doctor is coming for rounds.”

Wu Bie might be unwilling in his heart, but he still had to be magnanimous. “Alright, I’ll hang up. Your treatment is more important, and I’ll go have a meal too.”

It wasn’t until then that Wu Bie realized that while he was busy video-calling, Zhanyan hadn’t had a meal yet. “You haven’t eaten, have you? How are you handling dinner?”

“The hospital has a cafeteria where you can order food.”

“That’s good.” Wu Bie noticed there was still an unopened red envelope in the chat. Since he couldn’t celebrate Zhanyan’s birthday with her or deliver a gift on time, he said, “Just take the money. You’ll need it at the hospital. Consider it a birthday treat from me.”

Regardless of Zhanyan’s family conditions, Wu Bie couldn’t help but feel sorry for her being alone in the hospital. Two thousand yuan wasn’t much, but it would be enough for a decent dinner.

Afraid Zhanyan might refuse, Wu Bie urged, “Hurry up and accept it. The doctor is waiting.”

Zhanyan shook her head, “I don’t want it. Later, you might misunderstand and think I’m selling tea.”

The doctor had knocked a second time. Wu Bie could hear it clearly in the video call and couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed Zhanyan had a good memory, recalling his initial comment even now.

Wu Bie was amused, “Alright, alright,i won’t think that, just take the money. The doctor is waiting.”

After repeated urging from Wu Bie, Zhanyan reluctantly accepted the money. Wu Bie sighed with relief. “Alright, I’ll hang up now.”

“Mm.”

It was unclear whether Zhanyan did it intentionally or if Wu Bie was overthinking, but he felt that the “Mm” sounded a bit clingy, making him feel more attached even before the video call ended.

“How about you hang up? I’ll watch you hang up.”

To end the video call, they hesitated a bit more. Eventually, Huo Zhanyan hung up first, as he feared the doctor would call his name and give away any clues to Wu Bie.

With a “beep,” the call ended. Wu Bie pressed the lock screen, and his own face appeared on the screen. Why did he look so awkward while smiling? Had he been making this face the whole time he was video-calling Zhanyan?

Wu Bie jumped out of bed and grabbed a mirror from the table to check his expression. He was handsome, but he wondered if he had been smiling foolishly while talking to Zhanyan.

“Tsk,” he touched his chin, feeling satisfied. He had a lot of energy and nowhere to release it. Unable to message Zhanyan, he thought about it and opened Chen Xian’s WeChat.

Wu Bie first checked Chen Xian’s Moments. The latest post was from Turku. Without further ado, he sent Chen Xian a voice message request.

The voice message rang only twice before being answered. Wu Bie, impatient, asked, “Why are you so slow? Is it that hard to answer a voice message?”

He wasn’t acting all coy and pretentious like during the video call with Zhanyan. Now, he was overly corky.

Fortunately, Chen Xian had a good temper and didn’t get angry. Instead, he responded with a smile, “Why are you calling me at this time? Still in Cherbourg?”

In a good mood, Wu Bie talked more than usual. Chen Xian’s comments made him itch to retort. “What? Do I need to get approval from that guy named Shen to call you?”

Chen Xian glanced at the person next to him. Shen Jixue was sitting beside him. He discreetly moved the phone to the other hand, used to the tension between the two. If Shen Jixue heard, they might end up arguing.

But Shen Jixue was sharp-eyed. As soon as Chen Xian moved, he turned and stared directly at Chen Xian. Feeling uncomfortable under the gaze, Chen Xian had no choice but to switch to speakerphone.

“Forget about that Shen guy; it’s a mood killer.” Wu Bie, unaware that Chen Xian had put the call on speaker, was talking openly with his good buddy, “Me, well, I just…”

Chen Xian was almost in distress from listening. Wu Bie was hesitating but sounded excited with a touch of unnoticeable shyness, as if he had encountered something exciting.

“Did something good happen?”

Wu Bie slapped his thigh, “How did you know it was something good?”

Indeed, getting to know Zhanyan was a huge blessing, but in front of Chen Xian, he still had to pretend to be reserved, acting like he was in a difficult situation.

“Well, there’s this girl who likes me.”

After saying that, Wu Bie, in a place where Chen Xian couldn’t see, almost grinned ear to ear. His heart was bursting with joy, but he maintained an attitude of “it’s only natural for someone as charming as me to be liked by a girl.”

Chen Xian was quite surprised. He instinctively exchanged a glance with Shen Jixue, who signaled him with his eyes to keep asking.

“When did this happen? Which young girl? Aren’t you still in Cherbourg? Is she a foreigner?”

No wonder Zhanyan lacked confidence in front of him. Even Chen Xian would think like this: being so handsome, it’s only natural to attract a few foreign girls.

“Not at all.” For some reason, Wu Bie felt a bit embarrassed to mention Zhanyan in front of Chen Xian. “We met online. She watched my videos and added me herself.”

See, that’s the charm of my personality.

The phone went silent. Wu Bie had a lot to say and was worried no one would listen. Since Chen Xian wasn’t responding, he got a little anxious, “Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Chen Xian spoke cautiously, “You met her online… Aren’t you worried it might not be reliable?”

“You don’t know anything. At first, I thought she was a scammer too, but she’s serious. She keeps calling me, and she’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone so pretty. She’s just a kid who got into a car accident and is now lying in a hospital.”

At this point, Wu Bie felt a little heartbroken, regretting that he wasn’t in the country.

The more he heard, the more it sounded like a scam. Even a straightforward person like Chen Xian felt it was unreliable, “Have you seen her photos?”

“I’ve had video calls with her!” If it were just photos, Wu Bie might still suspect she was a scammer, but how could you fake a video? Anyone daring to show their real face must not be a scammer.

Chen Xian hadn’t expected them to progress so quickly to the point of video calls, “You said she’s young. How young? You’re not targeting a minor, are you?”

With how fast the internet develops nowadays, many minors are socializing online. While it’s understandable they don’t know any better, Wu Bie shouldn’t mess around.

Wu Bie couldn’t stand Chen Xian’s lecturing tone. Chen Xian could find someone ten years younger like Shen Jixue, but he can’t find a nineteen-year-old college girl?

“Do I seem like the type to mess around with a minor? She’s of age! She just turned nineteen today.”

Younger than Shen Jixue, Chen Xian was again speechless. Regardless, he felt Wu Bie’s story with this nineteen-year-old girl was quite surreal, sounding a lot like a phone scam.

Just as he was unsure how to start, Shen Jixue mouthed some words to him, and he immediately understood, “Did you give her money?”

Wu Bie, in a state of excitement, suddenly fell silent. His guilty conscience was the best answer. Chen Xian was frustrated, “Did you really give her money?!”

“I… didn’t I tell you? Today’s her birthday, and she’s alone in the hospital. I let her buy a cake.” Wu Bie thought giving money was reasonable.

“How much did you give?”

Wu Bie hesitated, “Two… two thousand…”

It seemed even he found it absurd. Two thousand sounded too much, and he couldn’t bring himself to lie about just two hundred, so he blurted out “two thousand.”

“Two thousand?! What kind of cake costs two thousand?”

Chen Xian’s tone, firmly believing Zhanyan was a scammer, made Wu Bie uncomfortable. He immediately defended Zhanyan, “She didn’t ask me for it; I gave it willingly.”

Sometimes, explaining makes it even more suspicious.

At this moment, a calm voice sounded, “Didn’t buying tea leaves from a scammer last time teach you a lesson?”

Who else could it be but Shen Jixue? Just thinking about how he’d been chatting with Chen Xian like a lovesick teenager made Wu Bie’s face flush. After a long pause, he came to his senses and cursed, “Damn it, why didn’t you tell me he was there!”

“You never asked.” Chen Xian was very innocent, “Ah Xue is right, I think people you meet online are unreliable.”

Wasn’t this hitting Wu Bie where it hurts? It broke his defenses immediately. He even thought Shen Jixue was a scammer at first, clinging to Chen Xian’s place and refusing to leave, sponging off him. Later, he even tricked him. So why was their relationship true love, but his Zhanyan was a scammer? They just couldn’t stand to see him in a relationship!

“You two are full of crap. Neither of you has met her, so why slander her? Anyone could be a scammer, but she definitely isn’t.”

An eighteen… nineteen-year-old college girl, pure and innocent, how could she possibly be a scammer!

Wu Bie was fuming, “Bah, you dogs, I’m hanging up.”

“Hey!” Before Chen Xian could speak, the call had already been hung up. He still felt uneasy and tried calling Wu Bie back, but Shen Jixue stopped him.

“It’s no use calling him now. He’s brainwashed, totally obsessed. Believe it or not, he’ll curse you back if you call him.”

Wu Bie was usually quite sharp, especially since Chen Xian and Shen Jixue got together. His guard against men had reached its peak, showing no kindness towards them.

But when it came to women, he fell for it every time, and they didn’t even need high-level scams. Just talking to him for a few days made him dizzy. He was bound to fall for a woman eventually.

Shen Jixue added, “Call him in a couple of days. Anyway, he didn’t bring much money with him. At most, he’ll lose a few thousand. He wouldn’t exchange much more than that.”