Public 1
I was just celebrating my birthday, but ended up selling myself out over a ring.
Li Mantao stood in the elevator, looking at the ring on his hand again and again, with a smile on the corner of his lips.
The elevator door slowly opened, he walked out, took out the key and opened the door.
"Brother Zhong, I'm back and brought you..."
Li Mantao paused before he finished speaking. The room was quiet. Kong Zhong's leather shoes were gone from the shoe cabinet, and the slippers he bought for Kong Zhong were neatly placed on the carpet in the entrance hall.
"Brother Zhong?"
He quickly changed into slippers and walked to Kong Zhong's room. The door was open and there was no one inside.
After searching the whole house, Li Mantao found a note under the vase on the coffee table.
"Taotao, thank you for taking me in these days. I'm much better now. I won't bother you and your boyfriend anymore. I'm going to find my second spring."
It is Kong Zhong's handwriting.
Li Mantao put the note down, found Kong Zhong’s WeChat, and sent him a message.
Li Mantao: Brother Zhong, are you really okay?
Soon, Kong Zhong replied.
[Kong Zhong: What could it be? It’s just a broken heart.]
【Kong Zhong: picture.jpg】
Li Mantao clicked on the picture. In the picture, Kong Zhong was sitting at the bar counter, sipping a glass of wine in his hand, and next to him was a handsome boy.
He looked at it suspiciously for a few more times, but didn't find anything wrong, so he replied, "Drink less."
The room felt much quieter with one less person in it.
Li Mantao lay on the sofa and started looking at his hands again.
After looking for a long time, he suddenly withdrew his hand and cursed himself for being in love.
As the sky gradually darkened, Li Mantao cooked some noodles for himself. After eating, he started a live broadcast.
He hasn't done a live broadcast for a while, but thanks to the last comic convention, he actually gained a lot of fans. Some fans even joked that he should stop being an artist and that being a cosplayer has great potential.
However, Li Mantao still prefers painting. It is fun to do cosplay occasionally, but it is stressful if he really treats it as work.
There was no advance notice of the broadcast, but people were still pouring into the room at a rapid pace. Li Mantao took a look and saw that more than a thousand people had entered in less than a minute.
"Hello, long time no see everyone." He greeted.
[Wow, baby, you finally came out. I missed you so much.]
[Why do I feel a little happy today? My tone is so cheerful.]
Li Mantao saw this comment and blinked. "Really? My tone has always been like this."
[I'm a new fan. Why hasn't the host been live streaming these days? I really want to see the host cosplay Yun Lexin again. It would be even better if he could cosplay with Yi Rufan Zhang.]
Li Mantao looked at the words "easy as pie", and the image of Rong Yi cosplaying as Xuan Ming emerged in his mind, and he was full of imagination for a moment.
After a few seconds, he shook his head.
The bald head is a bit too much.
Many people asked about this in the comments section, so Li Mantao explained, "A friend of mine is staying at home right now, so it's not very convenient for me to live stream."
【Friends? It's easy, isn't it?】
"No, it's my roommate. The school won't let me stay here during the summer vacation, so I rented a house. My roommate came to stay for a while because of something, but now he's moved out."
After answering a few questions, Li Mantao opened the painting software and prepared to start painting without microphone.
Just as I turned off the microphone, a conspicuous barrage flashed by.
[User 1231: Can you please turn on the camera? I want to see you]
This sentence was said in an extremely ambiguous way, and the barrage of comments suddenly exploded, with rows of question marks.
[????? What is the number one guy on the list doing???]
I have a terrible guess...
[No!! My CP can’t be blah, can the host clarify this?]
[Ahhh, host, why did you really turn on the camera?! ! !]
Li Mantao fiddled with the camera and coughed lightly: "Can you see it?"
User 1231: It's a shame it's not clear enough. I really want to see you.
Li Mantao: “…”
He glanced at the sea of question marks on the barrage, and sweat dripped from his heart. He really wanted Rong Yi to stop teasing his audience.
He took the cup beside him and took a sip of water. A flash of bright silver appeared on the live broadcast screen.
[…………Is my vision blurry? Is that on Taotao’s hand…]
[My peach was taken away? My peach was taken away? ? My peach was taken away? ? ?]
[Someone come knock me out! This is the first time in my life that I've truly felt a connection. How could this be?]
[The host didn't say the ring was given by the top guy on the list. Let's think positively, what if it was given by Yirukuai (help me up so I can still do it)]
Li Mantao took off the ring in an attempt to cover up his mistake. Not knowing how to respond, he simply turned off the microphone.
He opened WeChat, clicked on the pinned contact, and sent a warning text message.
[Li Mantao: That's about it, right? Is this a mental breakdown addiction?]
Rong Yi: I was wrong.
Rong Yi: Please put the ring back on.
Li Mantao: Don't add fuel to the fire and I'll put it back on.
Rong Yi: OK
Li Mantao put down his phone, glanced at the camera, and put the ring back on in what he thought was a covert move.
A series of ellipsis floated across the barrage.
[………………Hehehehe, I put it back on again.]
[I was wondering why the top guy on the list wasn't posting comments anymore. Turns out he was chatting with the main group on WeChat...]
【Actually, if you think about it carefully, it’s not impossible】
[Just take a look: Haha, on the one hand, he's being gay with Yi Ru Fan Zhang, and on the other hand, he's hooking up with the top guy on the charts... He wants both traffic and big money, right?]
[“Just take a look” has been banned by the property management user “user 1231”]
The barrage was in chaos. Almost anyone who implied Li Mantao would be banned by users. After a long time, this group of people finally learned their lesson and stopped posting in the barrage. Instead, they went to other platforms to post negative comments.
Before Li Mantao finished the draft, he was bombarded with messages from his anti-fan group.
He put down his digitizer worriedly and opened his phone to check the messages.
[Lu Renjia: Taotao, I'm just curious, what's your relationship with that number one guy on the list?]
[Lu Ren Yi: By the way, I'd also like to ask, what is your current relationship with Yi Ru Fan Zhang?]
[Not Easy: Do you prefer The Big Brother or Easy as Pie?]
This is not easy... Li Mantao clenched his fists.
Li Mi couldn't help but chat with him privately.
[Senior Li Mi: Taotao, are you and Rongyi... okay? What's going on with that number one ranking?]
Li Mantao has not yet told anyone other than Kong Zhong about the official start of his relationship with Rong Yi.
On the one hand, Li Mantao has always considered himself a straight man, and he was afraid that suddenly falling in love with a man would scare others; on the other hand, Li Mantao was actually a little embarrassed.
And no one knew that Rongyi was user 1231.
After struggling for a long time, Li Mantao decided to play ostrich for once and pretend that he had not seen the message.
People would come to watch the live broadcast from time to time. Li Mantao quickly finished the draft and went off the air with his neck hunched.
Li Mi was bombarding him with messages again. Someone was spreading negative posts about him everywhere, saying that he was being kept by the number one on the list. Li Mantao was overwhelmed.
The culprit first made a video call to apply. Li Mantao was furious and hung up directly. He took some clean clothes and went to take a shower.
When I came out of the shower, there were several missed video calls and a voice message on my phone.
Li Mantao raised his eyebrows and clicked on the voice message.
"Baby, can you forgive me?"
A familiar magnetic voice sounded, and Li Mantao got goose bumps all over his body because of the corny voice, but he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.
After clicking on it and listening to it a few more times, he searched for an emoticon package and sent it.
…
Rong Yi leaned back in his computer chair, casually looking at the private messages in the background.
He logged in with the account of user 1231, and at this time, the message interface had changed to 99+.
[Brother, are you really together with Taotao? Please tell me it’s not true.]
User 1231: [Really]
[Are you hyping it up again? Please come up with a fresh script, it's so cheesy.]
User 1231: [Let’s try something fresh tomorrow]
[Please take a piss and look in the mirror. If you are as handsome as Yi Zhuan, then compete with him for her! !]
User 1231: [As handsome as him]
[Brother, look at me. This is my photo. Although I’m not as pretty as the anchor, I’m definitely more relaxed than the anchor. If you like it, you can add v...]
User 1231: [Get lost]
After scrolling through the pages of my phone for a long time out of boredom, the message alert tone finally rang on my phone.
Rong Yi unlocked his phone and contact [Manman] sent him a picture.
【Manman: (A bucket of sweaty cooking oil: Really oily)】
Rong Yi: “…”
The next morning, Li Mantao was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone.
He picked up the phone in a daze and poked the screen a few times. A male voice came from the speaker.
"Manman, are you awake?"
Li Mantao took two seconds to react and finally realized that it was not the alarm clock ringing, but a call from Rong Yi.
He lay on the bed and said weakly, "No."
There was silence for a moment, then the other end said, "The sun is shining on your butt, baby."
Li Mantao half opened his left eye and glanced at his cell phone. It was already eleven o'clock.
After the broadcast last night, he played with his phone until midnight.
I mainly read the posts that scold him.
The last time he was scolded on such a large scale, Li Mantao felt anxious and sad, but this time, he felt a little strange.
To explain why...
No one could have imagined that his number one brother on the list would be the same person as Yi Ru Fan Zhang...
Moreover, he really was... together with Rong Yi, a man who seemed cold and gloomy to outsiders, and it was hard to imagine that he could easily fall in love with someone.
With this premise, Li Mantao felt conflicted when he read the posts saying that he was two-timing.
"Are you up? Can you open the door for me?" Rong Yi's voice came from the phone again.
Li Mantao came back to his senses and asked, "Are you at the door?"
"Well, come see you."
Li Mantao quickly got up, glanced around, and didn't see any slippers, so he walked barefoot to the door and opened it for Rong Yi.
Rong Yi had been waiting for a long time, with beads of sweat on the tip of his nose. He stepped into the door and saw Li Mantao's bare feet, and frowned slightly.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
Li Mantao said nonchalantly, "I didn't see it. I guess it was kicked under the bed. I was too lazy to look for it."
Rong Yi closed the door, changed into her own slippers, and then walked closer.
Li Mantao was actually quite excited. He stood there, wanting to see what Rong Yi was going to do... Then Rong Yi put his arm around his waist and lifted him up sideways.
"What are you doing?!" His body was suddenly suspended in the air, and Li Mantao subconsciously put his arms around Rong Yi's neck to prevent himself from falling.
Rong Yi silently held Li Mantao in his arms and strode towards the bedroom. Once inside, he gently placed the person in his arms on the edge of the bed, then half-knelt down and leaned over to look under the bed.
After finding the two slippers, Rong Yi stretched out his arm, hooked the slippers out, and placed them in front of Li Mantao's feet.
"The floor is cold, please wear proper shoes. It's okay if I wait a little longer." Rong Yi said.
Li Mantao was stunned by the smooth and flowing movements. He blinked, put his feet into the slippers, and said, "How come these ten-yuan slippers of mine look like crystal shoes?"
Rong Yi couldn't help laughing and curled his eyes slightly.
"What's the matter with you coming here?" Li Mantao asked.
"Yes." Rong Yi said seriously, "Let's see if my little princess is hiding and crying."
Li Mantao: “…”
"When did I cry secretly? How dare you spread rumors? Drag me away and behead me."
"Princess, please spare my life. I am willing to work for you like a slave, waking you up in the morning and warming my bed at night. Please spare my life." Rong Yi half-knelt on the floor, chuckling without any hindrance.
Li Mantao was so embarrassed that he dug his toes into the ground, made a "stop" gesture, and said, "Alright, alright, stop. If you keep talking about it, your character will be ruined. You are still the most handsome when you have a cold face."
Rong Yi paused and pursed his lips hesitantly.
"Hmm... it's nice to be gentle, a boyfriend-only item."
Rong Yi laughed again. He stood up and rubbed Li Mantao's head. "Are you really okay?"
"What could possibly happen? If you really think about it, they were fooled by you. It's really pitiful."
Li Mantao stood up and went to wash up.
When I came back from washing up, Rongyi was already washing vegetables in the kitchen.
"Where did the food come from?" Li Mantao widened his eyes.
"I ordered takeout before I came here, and it just arrived." Rong Yi waved a tomato at Li Mantao and asked, "Do you want tomato with sugar or scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"
"Let's mix it and cool it down." Li Mantao replied casually and went into the kitchen to see what vegetables Rong Yi bought.
Shrimp, lettuce, onions, some meat that you couldn't tell what it was, and broccoli.
"What dish do you want to cook?" Feeling that he couldn't eat for free, Li Mantao took a head of lettuce and rinsed it under the tap.
"Shrimp and broccoli, beef with onions, lettuce with oyster sauce, and a salad with tomatoes." Rong Yi took the lettuce from Li Mantao and said, "There's bread in the fridge. Go eat first. I'll take over here."
After being pushed out of the kitchen, Li Mantao was stunned for a few seconds, then obediently walked to the refrigerator to look for food.
He took a piece of toast and opened his phone boredly.
Discussions on social media about him being kept by someone are still in full swing, and the backend of Guaji Guaji even shows that he lost thousands of followers yesterday.
Li Mantao glanced towards the kitchen and finished his toast in a few bites.
After paying back the money he borrowed from Lian Yu, he felt much more relaxed. Although he had thought about returning the money Rong Yi had given him as a reward, now...
Thinking of the marks on his body that had not yet completely faded, Li Mantao decided to pretend that this matter did not exist.
The matter of keeping a mistress has become a big deal now, and I don’t know how to end it. If it is not resolved, it will more or less affect his ability to receive manuscripts.
Should I pretend to be dead and wait for the storm to pass, or should I clarify it in time?
What does Rong Yi think?
The dishes for lunch were not difficult to prepare. Soon, the plates were served on the table. Li Mantao tasted each dish and found them to be quite good.
"It's delicious." He praised it flatteringly, and Rong Yi smiled.
As he was thinking about something and had eaten toast before the meal, Li Mantao put down his chopsticks without eating much and used a fork to eat the tomato instead.
He thought for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Rong Yi, who was sitting opposite him, say, "Manman..."
"Huh? What?" Li Mantao asked.
Rong Yi put down the bowl, stared at the person opposite him, and said slowly: "Do you mind if I make our relationship public?"
Li Mantao was stunned: "Huh?"
Rong Yi pursed her lips and whispered, "Manman, don't you want to? I know you might be embarrassed, but I... am too insecure."
Li Mantao looked at Rong Yi, who was looking downcast, blinked, and said hesitantly, "I'm actually fine, but if this is made public, you'll probably be the one affected the most, right?"
After all, although he seems to have a lot of fans, most of them are just there to watch the fun and support the couple. He doesn't rely entirely on live streaming to make a living. Rong Yi is different. If it is really made public, it may affect his work as a cosplayer.
Hearing the meaning behind Li Mantao's words, Rong Yi suddenly raised his head and said, "Mantao, do you mean to agree to make it public?"
"Uh... since you said you're insecure, let's make it public, but what about your job?"
Rong Yi's eyes lit up with joy, and he picked up his phone and said, "It doesn't matter. I was just playing around. I don't make money from this."
Just playing around... and getting to this point? That's really asking for a slap.
Li Mantao approached Rong Yi and asked, "What are you doing with your phone?"
Rong Yi was typing. Before Li Mantao could read the words clearly, he put the phone away and said, "Nothing."
Li Mantao looked at him suspiciously. Rong Yi smiled slightly and said, "You'll know later. Do you have any plans this afternoon? Do you want to see a movie?"
So that afternoon, Li Mantao was dragged to watch two movies in a row. After the movies ended, it was already dark.
"What do you want to eat tonight?"
Li Mantao was still immersed in the plot of the movie. Upon hearing this, he said lazily, "Whatever."
Rong Yi ordered takeout from the restaurant they often ate at. After dinner, Rong Yi went into the study and asked to borrow the computer.
Li Mantao didn't care much about it. He took his change of clothes and prepared to take a shower first.
After taking a shower, he poured a glass of water and noticed that the phone on the table kept making message alerts, so he picked up the phone.
There were some whispering sounds coming from the study. Li Mantao was a little curious. As he walked towards the study, he lowered his head and unlocked his phone.
Pushing open the door, he saw a sea of question marks and exclamation marks on the phone screen. At the same time, Rong Yi's voice reached his ears.
"Well, we're together."
Li Mantao: “?”
He looked at Rong Yi in confusion, and Rong Yi turned around and gave him a faint smile.
The computer in front of Rong Yi was actually broadcasting live.
Li Mantao was holding a cup of water, petrified where he stood.
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