Serial exposure
"What are you looking at?"
Li Mantao's eyebrows twitched subtly, and without even looking up, he said, "I'm reading... an analysis of our relationship."
Rong Yi raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Let me see?"
Li Mantao handed him the phone and squatted down to rummage through Rong Yi's suitcase.
Early this morning, he woke up and didn't see Rong Yi. He searched the whole house and then heard the sound of the door opening. He went over to see Rong Yi coming in carrying a suitcase.
This person is always good at making excuses, saying things like "I'm worried that you won't eat well when you're home alone", "The house is too big and hard to clean", "You must be lonely when you're alone", "Your underwear is too tight so I brought some with me", and then he would move in openly.
But... since he is such a kind-hearted person, he had no choice but to take in the lonely and empty-nest Xiaorong.
"Hmm...what this person said is pretty close to the truth." Rong Yi read the post, liked it using Li Mantao's account, wrote down the poster's ID, and prepared to send a private message to the poster to give her a gift later.
A long time passed after the words fell, and Rong Yi realized that Li Mantao didn't say anything. He lowered his head and found that Li Mantao was holding something in his hand and was in a daze.
"What's wrong?"
Rong Yi squatted down, and when he saw what Li Mantao was holding, his words suddenly stopped.
Li Mantao turned around, his face full of confusion, and asked, "This... is actually with you?"
In his hand was a misty blue bracelet.
Although it can be seen that it is well preserved, it has faded a little due to its age. In addition, the craftsmanship of the person who made it is not good, so it does not look worthy of being placed in such a good box.
Li Mantao thought Rong Yi was secretly giving him another gift, so he opened the box. Unexpectedly, it contained such a bracelet, and... it was a bracelet he had made himself.
Rong Yi opened her lips, but before she could figure out how to weave it, Li Mantao murmured again, "I thought I had lost it. Did you put it with me?... I wanted to weave a nicer one for you, but unfortunately you were gone by then."
"...What?" Rong Yi's mind went blank, and he subconsciously asked, "Are you planning to give it to me? Aren't you planning to give it to the girl who confessed to you?"
Li Mantao looked at him suspiciously: "Why would you give it to her? I don't like her."
After saying this, Li Mantao realized that his words were ambiguous and added a correction: "Of course, I didn't like you at that time. Back then, our friendship was still pure."
Rong Yi was stunned for a long time before he covered his eyes and laughed softly.
Li Mantao was so shocked by his laughter that he poked Rong Yi's face with his index finger and said, "What are you laughing at? It's so creepy."
Rong Yi grabbed Li Mantao's hand with his backhand and bit it gently a few times. Li Mantao's hand was itchy from being rubbed by his teeth, and he wanted to pull it out but couldn't.
"You are a dog, why did you bite me? What happened?"
Rong Yi finally placed a kiss on the back of Li Mantao's hand before letting go of Li Mantao's hand.
He sat cross-legged beside Li Mantao, thinking for a while before slowly saying, "At that time, you were always with that girl. I thought you wanted to make a bracelet for her and be with her."
Li Mantao blinked, then suddenly realized, "I was wondering why you were so weird back then. You even started interfering with my studies, saying that being in a relationship would affect my studies and asked me to behave myself. Turns out you were just jealous."
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Rong Yi's cold and handsome face.
Li Mantao was surprised by this and couldn't help but ask, "Are you afraid I'd give the bracelet to my classmate and start a relationship with her, so you secretly took it away? But if I really wanted to date her, stealing a few bracelets wouldn't help."
Rong Yi held it in for a while before whispering, "Originally... I didn't want to take it, but at that time, I was about to leave, and I didn't know what would happen to me when I returned, so I wanted to leave something behind as a souvenir."
Li Mantao couldn't help but think of Rong Yi's appearance at that time. He was caught by his scumbag father and taken home. He didn't know whether he was alive or dead. The person he liked was with someone else. He could only steal a worthless ugly braided rope as a last souvenir... Thinking about it, Li Mantao felt heartbroken.
He grabbed the bracelet and put it around Rong Yi's wrist.
"I was going to give it to you originally. You wear it first. I'll go buy some nice ropes online later and braid something even prettier for you. Hmm..." Li Mantao smiled and said, "You have to braid mine too. We can wear couple's styles."
Rong Yi looked at Li Mantao's smiling face, his chest swelling so much that he could barely breathe, desperate for oxygen. He pinched his beloved's chin and leaned in to kiss her.
"Manman, I love you so much."
…
After a lot of trouble, it was not until dark that Rongyi's luggage was properly put away.
Li Mantao slumped on the sofa like a salted fish, rubbing his waist and ordering Rong Yi, "I want to eat beef brisket stewed with tomatoes."
"Okay." Rong Yi responded softly, "How about some cold okra salad, yam and pork rib soup, and stir-fried shredded lettuce?"
Li Mantao made an OK gesture.
After lying on the sofa for a while, he suddenly noticed a familiar notebook on the coffee table.
He also had a copy of the same notebook, which was the points notebook they had agreed to buy for that trip.
Li Mantao raised his eyebrows and saw that Rong Yi was busy in the kitchen and didn't notice this side. He smiled secretly, picked up the notebook, turned his back to the kitchen, and opened the notebook.
Opening the first page, there was a date written on it, the day they bought the notebook, and below it, three numbers were written in black pen - 100.
There is also a sentence written under the number: Manman, accept me.
Li Mantao flipped through it and found that only the first page had a perfect score.
"Manman, I told you that your initial score is 100 points in my opinion."
Rong Yi's voice suddenly came from behind him. Li Mantao was frightened and stuffed the notebook under his body to cover it up.
Two arms wrapped around him from behind, Rong Yi hugged him and gave him a kiss that tasted like tomato.
Li Mantao asked dazedly, "Is the meal ready?"
"Well, let's eat later."
…
In mid-August, it was time to check the CET-4 results. A few minutes before the results came out, Li Mantao squatted in front of the computer, nervously picking his nails.
Rong Yi held a glass of milk and handed it to Li Mantao: "Do you want me to help you check?"
Li Mantao took a sip of milk, feeling his anxiety subside a little. He said, "Forget it, I'll take a look first. If the results are too bad, I won't tell you the score."
Rong Yi ruffled his hair: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, it's just a test."
"After all, you've spent so much time tutoring me." Li Mantao glanced at the time and saw that it was time to check it. He hurriedly said, "Turn around first. I'll turn around again if I say so."
Rong Yi turned away helplessly.
There were a few keyboard and mouse sounds, and then Li Mantao made a muffled sound.
Rong Yi felt bad and was just thinking about how to comfort her when she heard Li Mantao let out a long sigh, laughed a few times, and said, "Baby, turn around!"
"Hmm?" Rong Yi raised her eyebrows slightly, turned around, and was hugged by Li Mantao.
"I didn't let Teacher Rong down. I passed!"
Rong Yi caught him and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, "Then let's go out for dinner later to celebrate?"
Li Mantao frowned: "Why don't you ask me how many points I got in the exam? You don't care about me at all."
"Then, how many points?" Rong Yi asked cooperatively.
"498! I thought even if I passed, I'd just scrape by, but I didn't expect so many more points."
"Manman works so hard, she deserves it."
Li Mantao was extremely happy. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go to a restaurant!"
The two chose a Cantonese restaurant that has been very popular recently, but unexpectedly they ran into two fans as soon as they got out of the car.
The two little girls' eyes lit up. When they saw them, they suppressed a cry, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally called out to them.
After taking the photo, the girls said loudly: "We must be happy!"
Li Mantao was a little embarrassed, but he still held Rong Yi's hand tightly and did not let go.
After watching the girls leave, Rong Yi looked down at their tightly clasped hands and gave a sincere smile.
The vacation ended in a flash. Because the current house was some distance from the school, Li Mantao and Rong Yi discussed it and decided to move back to Rong Yi’s previous residence.
Although he had some unpleasant memories there, Li Mantao felt that they were all things of the past and did not take them to heart.
However, Rong Yi probably still had some psychological trauma, so before moving back, he renovated the house, especially the study.
As for the room where Li Mantao lived before, it was converted into a studio for the two of them.
Since the announcement, Li Mantao and Rong Yi have not done any live broadcasts. Rong Yi was not interested in live broadcasts in the first place. She did it before to get closer to Li Mantao, but now that she has her baby, she naturally has no interest in live broadcasts anymore.
Li Mantao, on the other hand, is intimidated by fans. Thanks to big data, his social media accounts are flooded with tons of fan-generated content every day, including books, pictures, and videos about his ex-boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend. Some of the content is so explosive that it makes his heart skip a beat.
If it really starts broadcasting, he can imagine the barrage of comments being all yellow.
In short, stay out of the spotlight first.
Anyway, he is still accepting manuscripts as normal, and his deposits are increasing at a fairly fast pace, so it won’t have any impact if he doesn’t live broadcast.
The pressure of survival was greatly reduced, and Li Mantao was no longer busy taking on painting commissions as a part-time job like before. He really began to enjoy his university life.
Halfway through the second semester of his sophomore year, Li Mantao's computer had some problems again. He remembered that his computer was broken during his first live broadcast, and it was through the recommendation of a group friend that he found a senior from the same school to fix it. This time, he also contacted that senior, Xiao Wang, first.
The problem last time was solved with just Xiao Wang's remote guidance, but this time it was more serious and the computer needed to be disassembled to see where the problem was.
Li Mantao: So, when are you free, I'll bring my computer to you.
AAA Professional Computer Repair Xiao Wang: Ah, well, if you're in a hurry, why don't you go to another repair shop first?
Li Mantao: I'm not in a hurry. Senior, please tell me when you have time. I've heard that some off-campus repair shops will secretly replace computer parts, so I'm worried. I still trust you.
Senior Xiao Wang was silent for a while and then gave a time.
When the time came, Li Mantao went over with his computer.
He knocked on the dormitory door, and soon a boy opened it.
Senior Wang, wearing a mask and glasses, lowered his head and didn't meet Li Mantao's eyes. He said, "Let me see the computer."
Li Mantao handed him the computer and looked around. There was only one bed in the dormitory with a mattress, and it seemed that Xiao Wang was the only one living there.
Xiao Wang took out his tools and started to inspect it. Li Mantao dragged a chair over and sat beside him, quietly looking at Xiao Wang.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that he had seen Xiao Wang somewhere before, and it should not be at school, but somewhere else.
Li Mantao crossed his arms. The more he looked, the more familiar he felt. However, because of the mask, he couldn't remember who he was. He couldn't help but ask, "Senior, why do you always wear a mask? Don't you feel stuffy?"
Xiao Wang shivered all over and said, "I, I have a slight cold."
"oh……"
Li Mantao sat for a while and went to pour a glass of water for Xiao Wang.
Xiao Wang took the water but didn't drink it.
Li Mantao was even more suspicious, as if Xiao Wang didn't really have a cold, but was afraid of being recognized by him.
Why...
He stood further away, observing Xiao Wang from a distance, observing his hairstyle, his figure, and his clothes. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he said in surprise, "Are you...are you the one who attempted suicide in Yunjin Mountain? During the summer vacation?"
Xiao Wang froze all over and said subconsciously: "It's not me!"
OK, confirmed.
Li Mantao said with a smile, "It's really you. Why are you pretending not to know me? It turns out we went to the same school, and you even helped me fix my computer. It's fate."
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Xiao Wang had no choice but to take off his mask and said, "It's me."
"You said at that time that your goddess wanted to date you. How was it? Did it go smoothly?"
Xiao Wang coughed lightly and said, "We are already together."
Li Mantao was about to congratulate him when he heard a male voice outside the door, trying hard to suppress his anger.
"Which goddess are you with?"
Li Mantao blinked and looked towards the door. A very tall and handsome man walked in with an angry look on his face. It was unknown how long he had been listening to their conversation outside.
Xiao Wang jumped up from the stool in shock: "Why are you here?"
"Answer my question first. Which goddess were you with during your summer vacation?" The man stared at Xiao Wang with dark eyes.
Xiao Wang was so frightened that he didn't care about keeping his good brother's secret for a moment. He shouted, "There is no goddess. I made it up!"
The man pressed, "So what did you just mean? You're going to commit suicide during the summer vacation?"
"It's fake!" Xiao Wang said anxiously, "I only went to act because Rong Yi asked me for help."
"What?!" Li Mantao was upset after the melon fell on his head. "What do you mean, Rong Yi asked you to act?"
Being stared at by two people at the same time, Xiao Wang put on a mask of pain and said, "I'll tell you everything."
After a while, the angry man was calmed down, and Li Mantao fell into doubt about his life.
To put it simply, in order to soften his heart, Rong Yi invited Xiao Wang and deliberately staged a suicide scene in front of him.
"No, he's sick, right?"
After holding it in for a long time, Li Mantao couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Ahem, actually, I think so too..." Xiao Wang said softly, "But actually, his intentions were good. He was the one who asked me to fix your computer when it broke down in the first place."
Li Mantao slowly: "?"
A string in his mind suddenly connected.
Seeing that Li Mantao had a wrong expression, Xiao Wang reacted for a few seconds, then suddenly covered his mouth, realizing that he had said the wrong thing.
"No, it's not Rongyi, it's..."
Li Mantao stretched out a trembling hand, signaling him not to explain any more.
It’s connected, it’s all connected.
No wonder Xiao Wang mentioned Brother Rong and the senior from the neighboring school. That was actually Rong Yi!
It's not easy. He hadn't noticed such an obvious name before.
Thinking back to a series of strange behaviors of Yi Bu Yi in the group, now there is an explanation for them all.
Li Mantao covered his eyes and chuckled softly.
Xiao Wang poked his arm timidly: "You, you should think more positively."
Li Mantao stood up and said, "Senior, please fix my computer first. When you're done, let me know and I'll come get it."
His eyes were blazing with fire, and he gave a twisted smile: "I won't bother you for now."
Xiao Wang shrank his arms and thought in fear:
It would be better for him to stay out of the spotlight for the time being.
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