A Heartbeat I Can't Hide

"Upcoming: "I Want You to Misbehave" and "The Captain Is a Feast for the Eyes". Please add them to your collection."

"If you read pirated copies, don't bother commenting."

-

01

A new late-night post appears on Zhihu: What should you do if your new tenant turns out to be your favorite idol?

Night-owl user A: Keep him hidden away in a golden house... Lock him up!

User B: Go as wild as you want!

User C: Keep your secret identity under wraps, and remember not to grin too creepily.

Huai Sang nods along, then politely declines: What are you talking about? I'm a proper fan!

02

Ji Yan, the top prospect on the national swim team, finds his new landlady pretty interesting.

She lives in the same complex as him, uses a matching couple's mug, has saved his name as her 10086 customer-service contact, and even politely asks which building he lives in.

She also has a secret WeChat account that sends him cat photos every day.

The cat is soft, the cat is wild. You can see it, but you can't touch it.

Raising a cat online is starting to feel a little unsatisfying.

- Bonus scene -

Late one night, rising star Huai Sang reposts a post from one of Ji Yan's fan forums on her main Weibo account, declaring: "I want to gaze at this aloof flower, touch him, and have my wicked way with him."

The topic explodes on the trending list, and her devoted fans and haters alike are instantly stirred into a frenzy.

Netizens: Oh wow, another person who doesn't know when to quit, charging straight into a brick wall.

Not long after, during an interview after one of Ji Yan's competitions, a reporter presses him on how he feels about her. The whole country tunes in, waiting to see her get face-slapped.

But the man himself pauses for a moment, then lifts his brows and says, "I live under her roof and eat her food. Asking for just this much isn't out of the question."

The whole country: ?

Huai Sang: ???

That night, Huai Sang is backed step by step into a corner. Ji Yan leans over her, pressing her into the wall, his breath warm against her ear. "Didn't you want to have your wicked way with me? Why don't you continue?"

Huai Sang shakes her head so hard it nearly falls off. "I-I-I-I just switched accounts by mistake!"

#A game of two wolves is too hard, I don't know how to play#

#Mom! I think I've been outplayed!#

#I should never have lusted after my idol's body#

A role-model fan and landlady x a world champion and handsome tenant

-- Upcoming: "I Want You to Misbehave" --

Tong Jin has a heartless boss who cares about money, not personal relationships, and an incompetent supervisor who squeezes her employees dry.

So the three things she does every day without fail are: curse her boss, curse her supervisor, and work overtime.

On her birthday, Tong Jin's best friend buys her a two-hour online boyfriend.

"The most expensive top guy in the whole shop, a top-rated five-star catch. He'll do anything you ask. It'll let you, a lifelong single, experience the thrilling joys of being in love."

Soon, a friend request from a stranger appears on WeChat.

Tong Jin, the overtime-bound woman who keeps her distance from strangers: Hmph.

*

At a bar in Beicheng, Lin Chi accepts an invitation from a friend for once. He has barely sat down when his buddy suddenly yanks up his shirt. "Emergency! Let me borrow your abs!"

Then his friend shoves a phone at him. "I've got too many clients tonight. Chat with this one for me first. This is my food money for the month."

Lin Chi looks at the chat on the screen.

Jin: You're the top guy? Do you have eight-pack abs? A V-line? No refund if you don't.

A secretly snapped photo follows, but the other person suddenly goes quiet.

He loosens his tie beneath his Adam's apple, gives a cold laugh, and expressionlessly types into his phone at an unhurried pace:

-- If you want to see anything else, that'll cost extra.

#The tragic life of an overtime worker#

#A failed fact-check that turns into a failed attempt to play me#

#The top guy I booked is my boss#

#The evil capitalist's way of doing business#

The day after Tong Jin is promoted, she's assigned a difficult project. She stares at the blank title slide of her PowerPoint, completely at a loss and unsure where to begin.

The capitalist offers his help. "Need a hand?"

She eyes him warily. "Hmm?"

"One slide, one time."

"..."

An overworked wage slave at the bottom of the food chain x a capitalist who talks dirty but doesn't say much

Theme: Let dreams be our horses, and don't waste our youth.