V: You Said Your Surname Was Si, So What's Your Name?

[Little Si Invincible: Boohoo, darling, I'm so tired. I miss you.]

[Little Si Invincible: [Tears][Tears]]

A smile touched his lips.

Qin Wei opened WeChat and typed against the screen.

[V: You've worked hard, baby.]

[V: Go get some rest once you're done with work. [Hug][Hug]]

His little cutie had indeed been busy lately, though it was manageable. Their chat times always happened to coincide with when he finished recording.

What a coincidence.

Qin Wei climbed two steps when his phone chimed twice again.

A sighing emoji popped up in the chat box.

[Little Si Invincible: Not yet. I'm hiding in the restroom, sneaking in a few words with you. I still have to go back to work afterward.]

Qin Wei suddenly stopped on the stairs.

The smile on his face cooled.

Staring at the words "restroom," Qin Wei frowned slightly and could not help turning to look at the much lower second-floor stairwell.

His grip around the phone tightened.

His fingertips happened to touch the creamy-white kitten avatar on the other side of the chat box.

The account profile popped up.

Below the note "little cutie" was the nickname Little Si Invincible.

Qin Wei's pupils flickered.

Little Si. Invincible.

When they had first met, he had asked about it. His little cutie had said he used that nickname because his surname was Si. He hoped everything would go smoothly for him and that he would be invincible, so he called himself Invincible.

There were plenty of people surnamed Si.

But Qin Wei had never connected it to Si Di.

The reason was that his little cutie was simply too adorable—gentle, obedient, and polite.

He truly could not associate his little cutie with that lunatic.

Now that he thought about it, aside from being unbeatable and invincible, it seemed to have another meaning.

He opened their chat history and slowly scrolled upward.

The day his little cutie had become busy happened to be the day Limited Idol began filming.

The trainees had to hand in their phones, and his little cutie had not replied on WeChat for those few days either.

Then came the theme song evaluation, when Si Di stole a phone and accidentally slipped into his room.

He had suggested that the production crew temporarily return the phones to the trainees, and his little cutie's company had happened to be on break that day too.

Everything was far too coincidental!

Even the sworn enemy his little cutie hated had suddenly become suspicious.

Qin Wei's eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned and headed back to the second floor.

Filming had already ended, and the trainees were all in the living area. People constantly passed through the hallway on the second floor of the dormitory.

When they saw Qin Wei, they greeted him one after another. "Hello, PD."

"Mm."

Without slowing, Qin Wei radiated a chilling aura that seemed capable of freezing the world as he walked step by step toward the restroom at the end of the hall.

He pushed open the restroom door.

There was no one inside.

Qin Wei's gaze fixed directly on the innermost stall.

The stall door was tightly shut. A small red mark on the lock clearly read: Occupied.

The cramped space was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

The air seemed to have congealed, oppressive enough to weigh down one's mood.

—Bzz, bzz.

On his way here, Qin Wei had switched his phone to silent mode.

A faint vibration pulsed against his palm.

He lowered his head and looked at the screen.

[Little Si Invincible: ???]

[Little Si Invincible: Darling, why aren't you saying anything? Did you get busy? Or are you angry because I've been too busy lately?]

[Little Si Invincible: [Pitiful][Pitiful]]

Before this, every emoji his little cutie sent came with a soft-glow filter in Qin Wei's mind.

But at this very moment.

When he saw that pitiful little emoji, Si Di's image suddenly sprang into his mind: both fists clenched against his chest, lips pursed, eyes watery, looking like a rain-soaked pear blossom.

It was completely wrong!

That little neurotic could not possibly be that cute!

Qin Wei took a deep breath and tapped out a direct question.

[V: I suddenly realized we know very little about each other. Before, I always thought there was no need to know; after we met, we would naturally learn little by little. But now—]

[V: I think we need to have a proper talk.]

[Little Si Invincible: Huh?]

[Little Si Invincible: What's wrong? Did something happen? Why do I feel like you're acting a little strange today?]

Strange.

That was inevitable.

Only when his heart held something beautiful could he speak so gently.

Now, there was only unease left in his heart.

[V: Maybe I'm overthinking things. Or maybe—]

[Little Si Invincible: Or maybe what?]

[V: Or maybe the sky is falling and the earth is splitting apart.]

[Little Si Invincible: ...What exactly is going on? Now that you put it that way, I'm getting a little scared. [Wronged][Wronged]]

Just then, two trainees walked in chatting and laughing.

When they saw Qin Wei, both froze.

After all, this was the restroom in the trainee dormitory building. A mentor appearing here was extremely abrupt.

Their expressions tightened.

At ease. Attention.

Just as the two were about to greet him, Qin Wei suddenly glanced sideways at them.

His gaze was so cold it made them shudder.

Two words were written clearly in his eyes: Get out.

The two exchanged a glance, then backed out of the room as though ropes were tugging them from behind. They even shut the door softly.

Qin Wei withdrew his gaze and continued typing.

[V: I remember you said your surname was Si. What's your name?]

Inside the stall just a few steps away.

Si Di, who had also muted his phone, inexplicably felt the temperature around him plummet.

Looking at the WeChat message, the young man's delicate brows drew together lightly.

His name...

Although he had already planned to meet him.

They had not met in person yet, after all, and he was currently in a competition. If anything happened, the consequences would be serious.

In the entertainment industry, one had to be cautious about everything.

Si Di helplessly clenched his hands.

[Little Si Invincible: Can I tell you when we meet next month?]

[Little Si Invincible: Don't overthink it. Since I agreed to meet you, that proves I'm seriously taking our relationship seriously. Once we meet, I'll tell you anything you want to know, okay?]

Below the message, he attached a jpg of a rabbit "looking utterly sincere."

Outside the stall.

When Qin Wei saw that expression, his gaze turned even more sinister.

[V: What if I insist on knowing?]

[Little Si Invincible: ...]

After that string of ellipses came a full minute of silence.

Just as Qin Wei was about to lose his patience, another line finally popped up in the chat box.

[Little Si Invincible: I'm sorry, I really can't tell you right now. I don't know how to explain it, and I don't want to carelessly use a fake name to deceive you, but the truth is that, for some special reason, I really can't tell you for now.]

[Little Si Invincible: Can you give me a little more time?]

The tone was very sincere.

Qin Wei found it difficult to equate such a soft, docile little cutie with Si Di, whose mouth never said anything decent.

But reality was cruel.

It was only an online relationship.

What special reason could there be that prevented him from even revealing his name?

Surely he was not some national leader?

With so many clues piled together, the bad feeling was practically a foregone conclusion.

Qin Wei's heart weighed heavily. Clinging to one last shred of hope for his little cutie, he tapped the small plus sign in the lower-right corner of the chat screen.

His gaze settled on the words "Video Call."

Holding back a breath, Qin Wei decisively tapped it.