My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

Su Xiaoyue's heart skipped a beat.

She and Gu Qinghan had known each other since junior high school. They attended the same international school, and Gu Qinghan was the only person in the school who didn't mind the birthmark on her face.

Back then, someone called her "two-faced" to her face, and Gu Qinghan grabbed a thermos and smashed it over the person's head, giving them a bump. She was then suspended from school for a week.

From then on, everyone who could bully Su Xiaoyue avoided Gu Qinghan.

Therefore, Su Xiaoyue didn't hide anything from her.

This is the only one.

"Really, no." Su Xiaoyue shifted her gaze to the window, her voice very soft. "I'm just in a good mood lately."

"Oh? In a good mood?" Gu Qinghan raised an eyebrow. "You've had so many surgeries, when have you ever been in a good mood after one? You were always crying and screaming in pain. This time is unusual."

Su Xiaoyue didn't reply, her fingers unconsciously circling the edge of her phone case under the blanket.

She really wanted to talk to Gu Qinghan about that person.

There was a person who, when everyone else thought she was ugly, said she was very beautiful.

While everyone else avoided her, he stayed up with her every day until the early hours of the morning, chatting with her.

While she lay alone on the operating table, trembling with fear, he sent her voice messages all night long through his phone screen, letting her fall asleep listening to his voice.

But she didn't dare to say it.

Because she didn't know how to define it either.

Is the online lover I've been chatting with for almost a year, who calls me "husband" and "baby" every day, my boyfriend, or something else entirely?

Moreover, she had never seen him in person.

There was no video either.

He said his phone camera was broken, that he was too busy with work to make it convenient, and gave various other reasons.

Su Xiaoyue had her suspicions, but every time she thought of the long messages he sent her late at night, and the coincidences of him appearing when she was at her lowest point, she felt that she was overthinking things.

A con artist wouldn't waste so much effort on someone like her, would he?

"Qinghan," Su Xiaoyue suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Gu Qinghan was struggling with the orange peel and didn't even look up.

"You said..." Su Xiaoyue carefully chose her words, trying to make her tone sound like she was asking casually.

"If there were someone you've never met, but you chatted with them every day for almost a year, wouldn't you feel that this person was real?"

Gu Qinghan paused for a moment.

She looked up, a different glint in her usually carefree eyes: "An online friend?"

"No, no," Su Xiaoyue quickly denied. "I was just asking casually, it was just... a hypothetical situation."

"Oh, hypothetically." Gu Qinghan drawled meaningfully, then suddenly leaned closer to Su Xiaoyue, narrowing his eyes, "Su Xiaoyue, are you in an online relationship?"

"No!" Su Xiaoyue's voice rose a octave, sounding so fake even to herself.

Gu Qinghan stared at her for a full five seconds, then shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Fine, if you say no, then no. But since it's hypothetical, I'll ask you a few questions."

"What's the problem?"

First, did this person ask you for money?

"No." Su Xiaoyue shook her head, then added guiltily, "He never asks me for anything."

They never ask for anything.

He simply said his phone was broken, that he wanted to buy a new game, or that he was having a bad day at work and wanted to buy something to cheer himself up, and she gave it to him voluntarily.

"Secondly, did he ever let you take those kinds of photos?"

Which one?

"Which kind?" Gu Qinghan rolled her eyes. "The kind without clothes on."

Su Xiaoyue's face instantly flushed red: "No! Absolutely not! He's not that kind of person!"

"Oh my, and you say 'he's not that kind of person.'" Gu Qinghan perfectly mimicked her tone, then dropped his joking expression and became serious for once.

"Xiaoyue, I'm telling you the truth. There are so many scammers online, especially naive girls like you who've never been in a relationship. You're practically the perfect target for telecom fraud. You've never met him, you don't even know if he's a man or a woman. What if it's a burly man on the other end?"

Su Xiaoyue opened her mouth: "Impossible, I've seen his picture."

"Oh, what does it look like? Let me see!"

Gu Qinghan draped his long legs over Su Xiaoyue, trying to snatch the phone.

However, Su Xiaoyue was faster and had already stuffed the phone under her pillow.

"Tch! Fine, don't show me then!"

Gu Qinghan pursed his lips, then stuffed the fruit into Su Xiaoyue's mouth.

As Su Xiaoyue chewed mechanically, she recalled her most daring moment.

She took many selfies that time, choosing her favorite ones, and even risked not wearing a mask.

"Then it's settled. I'll watch yours too, that's fair."

That was the boldest thing she had ever done in her life.

Then he sent it.

The person in the photo is wearing a white shirt and standing under a ginkgo tree. Sunlight shines through the golden leaves onto him. His eyes are bright, and his smile is incredibly clean.

Su Xiaoyue saved that photo on her phone and looked at it many, many times.

So at least, the photo he posted was real.

But who is the person behind the photo?

"Qinghan," Su Xiaoyue suddenly spoke again, her tone more serious than before.

"If there's someone who's exceptionally good in every way, but they consistently refuse to video chat with you, what do you think is the reason?"

This time, Gu Qinghan didn't tease her immediately. Instead, he remained silent for a few seconds before answering seriously:

"Several possibilities. First, he doesn't look like the photo; second, he has someone with him, so it's inconvenient for him; third..."

She paused, looking into Su Xiaoyue's eyes.

Third, he lied to you from beginning to end.

The ward suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of the air conditioner blowing air.

Su Xiaoyue lowered her head, her fingers gripping the corner of the blanket tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"But..." she said softly, as if trying to convince herself.

"He's really good to me. Whenever I'm feeling down, he can sense it and he'll stay up with me no matter how late it is. On the day of my surgery, he didn't sleep all night and sent me hundreds of messages. Even my parents have never been this worried about me."

Looking at her, Gu Qinghan wanted to say something to shatter her illusions, but seeing the thin layer of tears in her eyes, he swallowed his words.

She knew how lonely Su Xiaoyue was.

From childhood to adulthood, this face has caused Su Xiaoyue to lose too much.

Her classmates avoided her, her relatives gossiped behind her back, and even her parents.

Although he was rich and treated her well, his kindness felt more like compensation and guilt than genuine companionship.

Her parents were busy with their business, flying around the world for 300 days a year. Su Xiaoyue had so many surgeries, and each time the housekeeper accompanied her.

It's not surprising that a girl who grew up in this kind of environment would fall for someone who is willing to chat with her every day, listen to all her nonsense, and stay by her side when she's at her lowest point.

Gu Qinghan just felt that something was wrong.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but her intuition told her that something was amiss.

"Xiaoyue," Gu Qinghan said carefully, "you just asked me so many hypothetical questions, now I'll ask you a question."

"What?"

"When do you plan to meet this person?"

Su Xiaoyue's fingers gripped her phone tightly under the blanket.

The phone screen was still lit up, displaying the message she had just received.

This was sent by her "husband":

"Don't overthink it."

She stared at those four words for two seconds, then looked up and smiled at Gu Qinghan.

"Soon."

When she said those two words, there was something in her voice that Gu Qinghan couldn't quite put her finger on.

It was anticipation, unease, and a hint of bluffing that she herself wasn't even aware of.

"He said he wanted to see me," Su Xiaoyue added, as if to encourage herself.

Gu Qinghan looked at her, remained silent for a long while, and finally peeled a segment of orange and held it to her lips.

"Okay, then let me know before you go. School starts soon, I'll go with you."

Su Xiaoyue nodded gratefully.

But she was thinking about something else.

She didn't tell Gu Qinghan everything.

For example, several months ago, when "he" mentioned what he liked, she began to pay attention and silently write down those inconspicuous details.

For example, she bought a light blue dress because "he" had said he liked blue.

For example, when her parents asked her how she wanted to celebrate the successful surgery, she said she wanted to go to Kyoto.

Why? She couldn't say, and she didn't dare to.

She just felt that the person on her phone screen, those late-night messages, those terms of endearment like "baby" and "wife," across more than four hundred days, seemed to have become the most real thing in her life.

But Gu Qinghan's words had still planted a thorn in her heart.

What if he's been lying to you from the beginning?

Su Xiaoyue shook her head vigorously, trying to banish those words from her mind.

She unlocked her phone with her fingerprint, opened the chat interface, and looked at the profile pictures and chat history.

Then she made a decision.

Meet.

I can be discharged next Wednesday, right next Wednesday.

She wanted to see for herself what this person, to whom she had spent so much time, energy, and emotion, really was.

Su Xiaoyue took a deep breath and typed out the words she had already recited countless times in her mind in the chat box:

"Honey, my parents said they can come with me to Kyoto to see you."

Looking at her best friend's dazed expression, Gu Qinghan unconsciously shook her head.

Buzz!

A vibration sound was heard.

Gu Qinghan quickly took out her phone.

Open a chat window labeled "Baby".

At that moment, a photo was sent to the chat box labeled "Baby".

Gu Qinghan quickly opened the photo.

The Luckin Coffee logo is clearly visible in the background of the photo.

The photo only showed a side profile, not the front, but the young man in the photo gave Gu Qinghan a clear and bright feeling.

Moreover, she doesn't look bad from the side.

Gu Qinghan stared intently at the photo.

Then save the photo, set it as wallpaper, set it as chat background, all in one go.

At this moment, a message came from the person whose name was "Baby".

Baby: Sorry, honey, I recently injured my face and am having surgery. I'll send you photos after the surgery last night~

Baby: Muma~

Without the slightest hesitation upon seeing the message, Gu Qinghan began typing.

Han: What's wrong with the baby? Is it serious?

Han: Baby, I know the best surgeon. Do you need my help?

Gu Qinghan then immediately transferred the money.

Han: Transfer 30

On the other hand, the message labeled "baby" was received almost instantly, followed by another message.

Baby: Honey, don't worry, it'll be fine after the surgery, it's a minor procedure.

Han: Oh my god, that scared me to death!

Han: If you're short of money, just tell me. I have plenty of money.

Han: Honey, I have to tell you, my best friend seems to be in a relationship!