Blinded by Lust chapter 6

The storm was quite intense, with torrential rain showing no signs of stopping and frequent thunder and lightning. The pitch-black sky was torn open by flashes of silver lightning, and the sea roared violently, looking exceptionally fierce.

The cold wind blew over Wu Bie, causing him to shiver. He quickly drank the remaining ginger soup from his bowl, wiped his mouth, and was about to stand up and enter the cabin when the voice message alert on WeChat suddenly went off.

The profile picture and note on the screen made Wu Bie sit back down on the bench. He blinked rapidly, as if confirming whether he was seeing things.

Zhanyan?

It was indeed Zhanyan, who had initiated a voice message to him.

Wu Bie hurriedly put down the soup bowl, swallowed hard, cleared his throat a few times, and after making sure his voice was okay, he pressed to answer. However, the voice request hung up.

“I!” Wu Bie almost jumped up. He should have responded faster. It was rare for a girl to take the initiative, and if Zhanyan thought he was unwilling to answer, that would be a huge misunderstanding.

Muttering “Oh no, oh no,” Wu Bie’s fingers uncontrollably dialed back.

The urgent music made his heart tighten. With a “beep,” the voice message was connected. Wu Bie felt his heart drop to his stomach, and after a brief silence, he vaguely heard the sound of fabric rubbing on the other end.

“Hello?” Wu Bie strained his neck, feeling his voice sounded strange, as if something was blocking his throat, making him feel particularly unnatural and awkward. “Zhanyan?”

There was no response from the other end. Wu Bie quickly glanced at the screen. The voice message wasn’t disconnected, and the time was still ticking away.

Was she angry?

Thinking about this possibility, Wu Bie, who had a tendency to babble, found his tongue tied, stammering, “Uh… Zhanyan… I just… didn’t… I didn’t mean not to answer… I… I…”

“Wu Ge.” A clear, cold female voice came through the phone.

Wu Bie was stunned, blinking in disbelief. The ginger soup was having its effect, and warm waves flowed from his abdomen to his limbs. He was even sweating lightly on his forehead.

Not hearing Wu Bie’s response, Zhanyan called him again, sounding more reserved and cautious this time, “Wu Ge?”

“Ah?!” Wu Bie suddenly came to his senses, almost biting his tongue. “I’m here! I’m here!”

Compared to the raging storm on the sea, Zhanyan’s side was much quieter. Wu Bie could even hear her occasional sighs.

“Wu Ge, why aren’t you talking? Is my voice unpleasant? Did I scare you?”

Wu Bie hurriedly stood up, like a headless chicken, pacing in place. He usually talked a lot, but why did he feel like he had lost his voice at a critical moment?

“No, no!” Wu Bie strongly denied, afraid that Zhanyan might misunderstand. He even repeated it twice for emphasis. “I just… I just didn’t expect…”

“What didn’t you expect?”

“Just…” Wu Bie wracked his brain, “I didn’t expect your… voice to be so mature…”

He had always thought Zhanyan was a pure college girl, but her voice sounded like that of an intellectual older sister.

“Different from what you imagined? Not pleasant to hear, so you don’t like it?”

“No, no, no!” Wu Bie shook his head like a rattle drum, “I just… was a bit surprised. It’s not unpleasant. It’s pleasant! Really pleasant!”

Huo Zhanyan breathed a sigh of relief. He had been a little worried that the voice changer wouldn’t be as effective as it was in the video. Seeing Wu Bie’s reaction, it seemed like he didn’t notice anything unusual.

Sure enough, text and voice are different. From the moment he heard the other person’s voice, Huo Zhanyan also felt a bit self-conscious. Normally, he could chat with Wu Bie quite comfortably through text, but now he found it hard to find the right words.

At this moment, a deafening thunder crackled. He lowered his voice, trying to sound a bit more delicate, “The thunder is so loud?”

“Yes, it’s pretty loud. It’s already dark, and I thought the heavy rain wouldn’t last long, but it’s getting heavier. Did it scare you?”

Huo Zhanyan wasn’t scared by thunder, even when driving through a cemetery in the middle of the night, but since Wu Bie asked, he naturally played along, “Hmm, the sound is a bit loud.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Bie quickly responded, “Then I’ll go back to my cabin to talk to you. The cabin has good soundproofing, so you definitely won’t hear the thunder.”

As soon as Huo Zhanyan agreed with an “okay,” he heard Wu Bie’s footsteps. Upon entering the cabin, there was the sound of the wind, and his breathing became a bit more hurried. Soon after, there was the sound of “thud, thud, thud” as if climbing stairs.

Wu Bie kept reassuring him, “It’ll be quick.”

After Wu Bie’s footsteps slowed down, the background noise did decrease significantly, and Wu Bie’s breathing became clearer.

“Done.” Wu Bie took a deep breath and then he heard the sound of a door closing. At this point, the call was completely quiet, “Has the sound become much quieter?”

“Yes, you didn’t need to rush.”

Wu Bie chuckled and panted, flopping onto the bed in his slippers, still trying to maintain his masculine demeanor, “It wasn’t more than a couple of steps.”

With the background noise reduced, Wu Bie could hear more clearly from Zhanyan’s end. He felt he should say something; he couldn’t always let the girl take the initiative.

“What are you doing right now?” After asking, he felt it was a bit redundant. What else could she do lying down?

Zhanyan didn’t mind Wu Bie’s awkward question, “A doctor came to check on me earlier. Right now, I’m lying down alone.”

“Hehe, you’re lying down, and I’m lying down too. We’re both lying down, hehe.”

Wu Bie’s laughter grew more awkward, and he couldn’t help but slap himself a couple of times. When did he become so tongue-tied? He felt like Chen Xian.

“Ah, I just…” Wu Bie groaned, unable to articulate why he felt this way.

Fortunately, Zhanyan didn’t blame him and asked warmly, “Wu Ge, are you nervous?”

Wu Bie still wanted to maintain his impressive image in front of Zhanyan. He wasn’t someone who couldn’t talk, so why was he like this?

“You were quite talkative when we chatted through text.”

Zhanyan’s tone was soothing to Wu Bie. Her voice was a bit low, but clear, making it easy to relax.

“It’s the first time we’ve used voice.”

Zhanyan honestly said, “I’m nervous too. I’m afraid you won’t like it and will ignore me later.”

When they were texting, the power of written words felt a bit weak. Often, it was hard to sense the other person’s tone. Now that they were using voice, Wu Bie could sense Zhanyan’s somewhat “insecure” emotions.

“What are you talking about? How could I be that kind of person?” Wu Bie thought the young girl was too lonely. With many siblings at home and neglect from parents, it was understandable she would be sensitive. He empathized, “How could I ignore you? I even take photos for you every day.”

“Ge, you’re really nice.”

The power of words was strong. Wu Bie almost lost his breath. Although Zhanyan’s voice wasn’t youthful, it was calm and soothing like a spring breeze, making Wu Bie’s heart flutter.

He grinned and chuckled, “That’s just how I am…”

“Do you treat others the same way? As long as fans chat with you, you’ll reply and even actively exchange contact information? You’re so nice, how could you ignore people who reach out to you?”

“Of course not!” Wu Bie almost wanted to take a screenshot of his WeChat friend list to prove his innocence.

Zhanyan casually asked, “But you asked me at first if I was selling tea.”

Wu Bie quickly got up from the bed, trying to clear his name. His tone became more serious, “When I first started posting videos, some people did message me. I’m not someone who just chats casually, but I do have basic courtesy. Once I realized they had ulterior motives, I immediately! Made a decisive move! And deleted them. I’ve learned my lesson, and I haven’t added anyone since. You’re really the first one I’ve added as a friend after so long. If you don’t believe it, just look.”

He quickly recorded a screen video and sent it to Zhanyan, almost swearing to prove his point, “See, I don’t chat much usually.”

Zhanyan asked nonchalantly, “Don’t you chat with your girlfriend?”

Wu Bie was a bit nervous, but in front of Zhanyan, he wasn’t an inexperienced young man. He could sense her probing.

He felt a bit helpless, “Are you teasing me? If I had a girlfriend, would I be chatting with you all the time?”

“Does that mean you’re upset with me asking?”

Wu Bie couldn’t stand Zhanyan’s aggrieved tone, “I’m not upset. There’s nothing to be upset about.”

Zhanyan wasn’t flustered at all. “I just want to make sure. You’re so great, how could you not have a girlfriend? They must not have good taste.”

Wu Bie felt a bit flattered by the praise. It’s not like no women had shown interest in him or that no one had tried to set him up before. However, because of his profession—being a seaman, especially working on a ship and staying away for years—people’s attitudes often became quite cold once they learned about it.

He was the type who could take a bit of enthusiasm from others, but if people were deliberately distant, he wouldn’t push his way into their lives.

“Being away all the time makes relationships fade; they don’t last long.”

Wu Bie didn’t blame others too much, understanding that his profession made dating and marriage challenging. He had seen many examples of this, so it was only natural.

“But I don’t think so. I think working on a ship is great,” Zhanyan’s tone grew more enthusiastic. “I think you’re very free, and you look so handsome in the videos. I really like your videos. You’re such a nice person, everything about you is great.”

Wu Bie’s face stiffened into a smile. Was he really that great? He might be a little handsome, but Zhanyan’s praise was making him feel a bit embarrassed, even though he usually had a thick skin.

He touched his forehead and humbly said, “Well… it’s not really like that…”

“Yes, you’re really great.”