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11 microfiction bonus stories

[He mistook bottled water for drool, and the handsome man in the next seat took him home]

Su Nuo was riding a green train for the first time. With a canvas bag nearly as tall as he was on his back, he anxiously paced the sleeper-car aisle until sweat beaded on the tip of his nose.

The straps had rubbed his shoulders red. He rose onto his tiptoes and tried three times, but the overstuffed bag still went “thump” as it fell back onto the bunk.

“Let me.”

A low male voice suddenly sounded above him. Su Nuo turned sharply and met the eyes of the man in the next seat. The man’s sleeve rode up as he reached out, revealing a well-defined forearm, while the slanting evening sunlight from the window gilded his profile in warm light. He was so handsome that Su Nuo instantly forgot what he had been trying to do.

Gu Yan lifted the bag onto the luggage rack with ease. When he looked down, he found the boy staring up at him with round eyes, like a startled fawn. The corners of his mouth curled up before he could help it.

Su Nuo blushed to the tips of his ears. He wanted to thank him, but his tongue tied itself in knots, and all he managed to say was, “Y-you’re really handsome.”

As soon as he said it, he wanted to crawl into a hole.

The long train ride made everyone drowsy. Su Nuo couldn’t fight off sleep, and his head tipped to one side as he nodded off. Gu Yan watched the fluffy crown of his head brush against his shoulder and didn’t move. Then he noticed the bottled water on the corner of the table and got a mischievous idea. He unscrewed the cap and let a tiny drop fall onto his shoulder.

“Mm...” When Su Nuo woke with a start, he found himself looking straight into Gu Yan’s amused eyes. Then he lowered his gaze to the “wet spot,” and his whole body froze.

H-he’d actually drooled?!

“I-I’m sorry!” The boy frantically patted his pockets for a tissue, his ears red enough to bleed. “I didn’t mean to, I...”

Gu Yan held down his flailing hand, his voice brimming with laughter. “It’s fine. Your head made a nice soft pillow.”

Su Nuo was completely dumbfounded.

Only later did he realize that it hadn’t been drool at all.

The dazzlingly handsome man in the next seat had used half a bottle of mineral water as bait to “hook” the clueless boy, on his first trip away from home, and take him home, bag and all.

The train clattered toward the distance, the shadows of trees outside the window retreating into blurred lines. Su Nuo stole a glance at Gu Yan reading beside him, his heart’s little rabbit hopping merrily. He didn’t know that the destination on his crumpled train ticket and Gu Yan’s address were on the very same street.

He also didn’t know that the awkward first meeting that started it all had already been quietly marked by Gu Yan as the beginning of “the rest of their lives.”

[Adorable university student shou x gentle, scheming gong | First meeting on a train | Mutual devotion]

[He used a bottle of water to steal my heart, and then abducted me too]

Theme: Those who take the bait do so willingly