After Making Videos with the Young Master to 'Sell Their Bromance'...

Also known as "Faking a Couple for Views and Pretending to Be Gay, Only to Fall for Each Other"

1

Regret. I'm just so, so full of regret...

Jian Zhao thinks he must have gone crazy wanting to make money. That's the only reason he actually believed his roommate and, in front of everyone after class, shouted at the rich, cool guy in his class:

"Hey, do you want to make videos with me?"

"Huh?"

"Have you heard of the 'food swap' challenge that's really popular online right now? I want to invite you to make short videos like that with me."

Social butterfly Jian Zhao is so embarrassed his toes could dig out a whole three-bedroom apartment, but he still manages to keep a polite smile on his face. "If the videos get a lot of views, we could make a pretty decent amount of money..."

Wearing LV sneakers and holding the latest iPhone, the other guy looks at him as if he's an idiot.

"Do I look like I need money?"

"Uh..." Jian Zhao freezes on the spot. "No."

He's done for. He thinks he's offended the guy.

2

To ride the wave of a social media trend, Jian Zhao keeps swallowing his pride every day. Eventually, the young master gets fed up with being asked and says:

"Why did you ask me to make videos with you?"

"Because you're rich and ridiculously handsome."

"I don't need money. Why should I make videos with you?"

"Because... you're gorgeous?"

This time, the young master stops and stares at Jian Zhao's beautiful, captivating peach-blossom eyes for a full minute. "Fine."

Wait, what?!

The video goes online, but why are the comments so weird?

[I'm shipping them! I'm shipping them!]

[Just a random passerby here, are you two dating?]

[So sweet... Ahem, I mean the food.]

Baidu says this is called "selling gay vibes" to promote a couple.

Jian Zhao: So basically, we just have to get close, right?

3

And so... a clingy puppy starts following the young master around.

When the young master gets sick, Jian Zhao stays by his bedside. When he eats unhealthy takeout, Jian Zhao cooks for him. When he can't sleep, Jian Zhao chats with him on WeChat late into the night...

Jian Zhao asks after him every day to get material for their "selling gay vibes" videos, but gradually, the young master's gaze starts to look more and more strange...

They agreed to be just "a little" intimate during livestreams, so why is the young master saying such terrifying things?

"I want to know too. Why is Xiao Jian so cute?"

"Then you can all be jealous. He only cooks for me."

"The livestreams only show you the surface. You'd never guess what we get up to after the stream ends."

"What do you think? Would black lace over those already gorgeous peach-blossom eyes make them even sexier?"

Jian Zhao trembles as he tugs at the young master's sleeve. "You have to keep the fake-couple act within reason, or Zhang Fei and Liu Bei might actually become a couple."

The young master: "Who said I wanted to be your sworn brother?"

Then... he forcibly kisses Jian Zhao.

Wait, what?!

Afterward, Jian Zhao, with a kiss mark bearing the young master's DNA still on his cheek, thinks miserably:

Faking a couple and pretending to be gay cost me my first love.

I'm taking a huge loss here.

Bonus scene:

Jian Zhao has a livestream account called "Xiao Jian's Food Diary."

His dead-quiet livestream is usually just him talking to himself.

Until... a passerby shows up with a shiny "Captain" badge and barges in.

In one night, the Captain sends him three Carnival gifts and a rocket.

The Captain's username is "Xiao Jian's Exclusive Sponsor."

Jian Zhao is stunned. "What?!"

Captain: "Do you like my name?"

Jian Zhao always thought he and the Captain were nothing more than an online fling.

Until... he sees the jade bracelet he gave the Captain on the young master's wrist.

You...?!

Jian Zhao looks up and meets a pair of dark, gleaming eyes, filled with turbulent, inscrutable emotions.

"What, you're not happy that I'm the Captain?"

A proud, scheming young master from Guangdong whose family owns a mine, the pursuing top (secretly brooding and sulky, gradually turning into a possessive, obsessive freak while pining for the bottom)

× A friendly, sunny bottom from Hunan who's all about making money

For readers who love livestream identity reveals, turning a straight guy gay, and other delightfully cheesy tropes.

A sweet 1v1 romance between college boys, guaranteed to be sugary!

This author is great at hilarious internet memes, and the writing is light and funny!

Theme: Straight guys don't "sell gay vibes," and guys who "sell gay vibes" aren't straight