The rules were simple: roll dice on WeChat.
Odd numbers meant truth; even numbers meant dare.
F went first and rolled a three—truth.
Li Xia stared at her screen for ages before finally landing on a two. Dare. She squeezed her eyes shut as a single thought floated through her mind: she had hoisted a rock only to drop it on her own foot. She should have set the rules after rolling the dice.
F: 【I’ll go first. Don’t you have a question for me?】
Li Xia poked at her screen with tentative little taps as she organized her words: 【Tonight, I said I wanted to see your abs and stuff like that. Do you mind? Would it make you uncomfortable?】
The maturity and contradictions of adulthood lay precisely here: people craved sincerity yet excelled at pretense. With a total stranger, though, there was no need for any masks.
F: 【It’s fine.】
F: 【I get it.】
Li Xia: 【?】
Her eyes flicked to the top of the screen. He was typing… then stopped… typing again.
F: 【Teacher Lizi probably doesn’t see me as a real possibility anyway.】
…
When her thoughts were utterly laid bare like that, Li Xia felt both mortified and stunned.
She truly hadn’t considered it. She had never once imagined actually dating F. Her feelings for him had always been superficial, shallow—an animal instinct chasing nothing but dopamine hits. She only wanted to push boundaries within whatever limits he set, to sate her curiosity and her lust.
F was perceptive, no doubt about it.
He had sensed her casual attitude, her lack of real investment.
But what was her crime in that?
Could a man as enigmatic as him ever truly belong to her?
Maybe that wasn’t the point, Li Xia mused. The real question was whether she even wanted him to.
She hadn’t figured that out yet.
Flirting was far too easy, as effortless as one of those arcade machines in the mall. Drop in a coin, anyone could play a round. If it wasn’t fun, you walked away—no sunk costs, no strings attached.
Dating was different.
After agonizing over it for a long while, Li Xia typed: 【Saying stuff like that is going to give me the wrong idea.】
Before F could respond, she added: 【My turn.】
She laid down the law for this online game of dares: nothing involving money, no selfies, and so on.
But F replied: 【Save it for next time.】
Li Xia: 【Huh?】
F: 【I’ll hold on to this one.】
Words on a screen could betray emotions or conceal them entirely. Li Xia had no idea which it was with him.
Tentatively, she probed: 【So… can we still chat happily after this?】
A moment later, a voice invitation popped up on her screen.
The phone’s buzz nearly jolted her into insomnia. Her heart pounded so fiercely that her mouth went dry. Should she answer?
F: 【Answer it.】
Twenty-six years of restraint crumbled that night.
After several deep breaths, Li Xia accepted the call again.
She hadn’t even opened her mouth when F’s voice came through, serious and commanding, leaving no room for refusal.
“Don’t hang up. Just keep it connected.”
“So you don’t start overthinking.”