October 6, 2026

Chapter 15: Bronze

The familiar feeling disappeared in a flash.

No problem, Xie Wang told himself, people often feel a sense of déjà vu about what is happening in front of them.

It's a perfectly normal phenomenon.

Lin Jianlu pressed the wound with his handkerchief and rubbed it carelessly.

Isn't he afraid of pain?

Xie Wang thought.

The magazine's fashion gala showcased photos from the past year, featuring collaborations with many of the stars present.

Lin Jianlu found that the photos of Xie Wang taken by the roadside, which he liked very much, were from this magazine.

On the screen ahead, this set of pictures of Xie Wang were displayed.

He couldn't take his eyes off them.

He really likes this kind of alpha.

"You like?" Xie Wang suddenly asked him.

Lin Jianlu didn't react, only nodded slightly.

Xie Wang was delighted with his reaction: "In that case, I'll introduce you to the editor-in-chief of this fashion magazine later. You can shoot even better ones."

Anyway, Lin Jianlu would be in the fashion magazine sooner or later, with sales through the roof.

He was just pushing the boat along the current.

Lin Jianlu: "..."

"No." Lin Jianlu shook his head. "No need."

Crunch! The small spoon in the omega's hand cut off a piece of peeled grapefruit on the cake plate.

Xie Wang felt a sudden chill down his spine.

Did he say something wrong again?

Why did it feel like Lin Jianlu's attitude towards him had cooled down again?

Could it be... was Lin Jianlu looking at him just now?

As the screen flashed, the close-up photo of Xie Wang was removed and replaced with another alpha's.

Lin Jianlu was still watching.

Xie Wang became dejected again.

Lin Jianlu glanced sideways at the person next to him.

Did you suffer such a big blow just because I ignored you out of momentary anger?

The alpha's brown hair seemed to droop down, making him look a bit... pitiful?

Several members of the "Hidden Blade" crew were sitting there, and naturally, the conversation revolved around the promotion of their movie.

The director talked about the movie again, and then emphasized, "We're shooting it with the aim of winning awards. If there's anything you don't understand, please make sure to ask me."

"Director," Lin Jianlu said, "I forgot to mention, my manager has agreed to let me kiss Xie Wang."

Xie Wang perked up instantly.

Lin Jianlu: "During the shoot."

"That's great!" The director said, "You should exchange personal contact details with DaWang. DaWang, make sure to talk to Xiao Lin often about the scenes. A lot of feelings between the detective and his omega are not conveyed through lines but through their eyes."

Lin Jianlu looked at Xie Wang.

The live broadcast camera swept over. This time, it showed Xie Wang leaning back in his chair and raising an eyebrow, pulling a handsome face that made the audience scream—

Xie Wang: "Are you scanning me, or am I scanning you?"

Lin Jianlu scanned the QR code of QQ friends handed over by Xie Wang.

However, the 'add' interface didn't pop up on his phone.

Lin Jianlu: "?"

System notification: This user is on your blacklist.

Lin Jianlu: "? ?"

Xie Wang: "..."

"Did I add you before?" Lin Jianlu opened his blacklist and pushed the list of thousands of names in front of Xie Wang.

Lin Jianlu: "Which one are you?"

Xie Wang put on a bold face and picked [xw] out of Lin Jianlu's blacklist.

Xie Wang: "Maybe... it was just a system glitch."

The way he had greeted him before was too flippant—he definitely couldn't let Lin Jianlu find out.

Lin Jianlu: "Mm, maybe."

This time, they successfully added each other as friends.

Lin Jianlu's fingertips hovered over the friend note interface, seemingly hesitating for a long time.

Xie Wang couldn't resist sneaking a peek.

Finally, Lin Jianlu made a move.

The omega changed [xw] to [Xie Wang].

Xie Wang sighed in his heart, a wave of disappointment washing over him.

But then, Lin Jianlu made a move again.

This time [Xie Wang] was changed to [Senior].

It seems a bit more intimate? Xie Wang thought.

Finally, Lin Jianlu deleted [Senior] and replaced it with [Wang Ge]."

Xie Wang: "!!!"

He almost became Xie Wang from the expectation.

[The Wang used here is 望, meaning "to hope/expect.]  

Lin Jianlu merely moved his fingers, yet Xie Wang's emotions rose and fell with every action.

Fortunately, he finally saw the answer he had been longing for.

He had that faint feeling of losing control again.

The fashion gala didn't last long, and three hours later, cars from various companies arrived to pick up their own artists.

"YoYo, see you on set!" Chen Yimo waved.

Xie Wang raised his hand and knocked Chen Yimo on the head: "Don't casually call others by their pet names, it's too frivolous."

Chen Yimo thought to himself, weren't you the one who started it?

"Goodbye," Lin Jianlu sat by the car window and said softly.

The car drove away into the distance.

He leaned back in the rear seat of the car and closed his eyes for a while.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and searched for a chat record between him and Wei Lan according to the date.

[YoYo]: [QQ chat screenshot]

[Lan]: Bah.

[YoYo]: Bah.

The id in the screenshot was—

[xw]

The captured message was—

[xw]: Hello, I'm your future husband.

xw, Xie Wang.

The passing lights cast a faint glow over the boy's jet-black hair.

Lin Jianlu's perpetually cold face finally had an extremely subtle light smile.

Weren't you very brave?

Why are you so cowardly now.

He sent a message to Wei Lan—

[YoYo]: Send me the intermediate and advanced levels of "How to Make an Alpha Hellbent on Me."

[Lan]: Think you can handle it?

[Lan]: You cannot think of eating a fat man in one bite.

[YoYo]: He's not fat.

[Lan]: Take it easy, bronze player. Don't overdo it.

[YoYo]: You should take it easy with the twenty-plus alphas you're chatting up at the same time.

[Lan]: Forget it. You're bronze, and Xie Wang seems useless. You can handle it.

As soon as Lin Jianlu arrived at his dorm, Xie Wang sent him a message.

[Wang ge]: Have you reached the dorm?

Lin Jianlu put his phone on the desk and went to take a shower. Afterward, he lay down on his bed and replied to Xie Wang's message.

[YoYo]: Reached.

[Wang ge]: What are you doing?

[YoYo]: Taking a shower.

There was no further reply from Xie Wang.

[YoYo]: Do you want to go over the script?

[Wang ge]: Finish your shower first, don't catch a cold.

I'll expose your true colors today.

Lin Jianlu said to himself.

[YoYo]: I'm done showering.

[YoYo]: I'll send you the parts of the script that I don't understand, and senior can explain them to me.

[Wang ge]: OK.

Lin Jianlu chose eight screenshots of the script and also included a photo taken by Wei Lan.

It was taken in a classroom at X University, showing him asleep during class.

Nothing was exposed, but it was chúnyù.

[ chúnyù (slang): combination of innocence and sex appeal.]

He guessed Xie Wang would like it.

"What are you doing being all sneaky?" Wei Lan asked as he passed by his bed, "Not even a sound."

"Skinning." Lin Jianlu said.

Peeling away a certain person's fake front.

As soon as he sent the nine images, his phone ding-donged with a notification.

[Wang ge] liked your post: "Not bad. Soybean pushes glasses.jpg Reposted from [Lan]: Street snaps, summer alpha eye-candy outfits."

[黄豆 (soybean) can also be read as "yellow bean." lol]

Lin Jianlu: "..."

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Lin Jianlu: Oh no, my camouflage (quick, fix it)

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