◎Handsome Men Spinning Records Are Also Sexy◎
The rarest thing in life is making peace with yourself.
The next day was Thursday, and Li Xia headed to work feeling utterly relaxed. She had originally planned to confront her boss about the weekend business trip. But when she clocked in that morning, the receptionist mentioned a package waiting for her. She rarely got deliveries sent to the office, so Li Xia peered closely at the label. The recipient was listed as “Little Summer.”
Only one person called her that.
With a knowing smile, Li Xia picked up the cardboard box and made her way briskly to her desk. She had barely stepped through the door when a colleague rushed over, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Xia Xia, Lin Xu is here!”
“He’s insanely handsome in person—like, the refined kind of handsome!”
“He’s wearing a full suit today, looking sharp as a tack. Total eye candy.”
“You really missed out by not snagging him!”
Every time Lin Xu visited the office, Li Xia heard comments like these. She smiled in agreement as she walked, asking casually, “Is he here to talk business again?”
Her colleague waved a pastry in her hand. “Nah, he’s delivering some warmth.”
As Li Xia passed by the desks, she noticed that everyone had a small portion of pastry and a tin of tea on their workstation—hers included. The colleague explained it was authentic lotus flower crisps and Longjing tea from Nanlin. “Surprised, right?”
Surprised? Li Xia was downright shocked. “He… he brought all this?”
The colleagues nodded. “Well, not exactly. Lin Hong asked her son to drop it off. We’re just benefiting from your connection. And it’s delicious.”
Lin Hong had sent them?
Then what about the heavy box in her hands?
Li Xia glanced down. This hefty package must be from Lin Hong too.
When Li Xia had been in charge of Lin Hong’s book, she had helped solve countless writing problems for her, and Lin Hong had been deeply grateful. Once they grew close, Lin Hong said calling her “Editor Li” felt too formal, so she started using “Little Summer” instead.
Last year, right after retiring, Lin Hong had moved to Nanlin alone, buying a villa in Jiangnan to devote herself fully to writing. She said the scenery there soothed the soul and kept her from feeling old. Li Xia greatly admired her.
And she was so generous—this was already the second time Lin Hong had sent her chain-hotel-heir son to personally deliver gifts to the office.
The first time was after Lin Hong’s book came out. In high spirits, she had her son come discuss a partnership. Any employee traveling to a tier-one or tier-two city could contact his hotels directly, with service far exceeding the price. Li Xia had experienced it a few times herself—modern, lightly luxurious vibes. Once, staying at headquarters, Lin Xu had even come by personally to treat her to dinner.
Best of all, it solved everyone’s reimbursement headaches for business trips.
She just hadn’t expected a second time.
A second time this thoughtful and grand.
Li Xia’s heart warmed.
A colleague had once teased her, “Xia Xia, why not just marry into the family? Lin Hong adores you—no mother-in-law drama.”
Li Xia had laughed and shrugged dramatically. “I’d love to, but my moral compass is too strong.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to break up Lin Xu’s marriage.”
It was all in jest, of course. Li Xia knew Lin Hong treated her more like a dear friend across generations. In her mind, Lin Hong was the hardworking author she admired, a kindred spirit for deep life talks.
Why risk losing a good friend over a man?
It wouldn’t be worth it.
Being remembered and treated with such care filled Li Xia with joy. She nearly forgot to ask, “Hey, where’s Lin Xu now?”
“Dropped off the stuff and left.”
“Oh.”
She thanked him via WeChat instead.
Before she could even sit at her desk, Li Xia grabbed scissors and dove into opening her personal box first. She had no idea what Lin Hong might have sent just for her. When she lifted the lid, she froze.
It was packed to the brim: Jiangnan cultural souvenirs, beautiful ceramic mugs, books from indie shops, even a Suzhou embroidered folding fan.
The real surprise? Each little gift had a sticky note attached—
“Grabbed this in Shaoxing on the way.”
“I hand-fired the glaze on this one ^^”
“This shop had my book on display—I wore a mask and snuck in to support it quietly.”
“To my dear Little Summer”
—
Precious gifts like these made her feel cherished by the world, ready to forgive everything. Even places she disliked held someone’s heartfelt gesture. Li Xia felt a swell of emotion.
She couldn’t let this Nanlin trip go to waste.
This time, she played it smart. She might not know how to butter up the boss, but paying it forward? That she understood. Hearing the deputy editor-in-chief was in a good mood after seeing Lin Xu off, Li Xia seized the chance to negotiate. In exchange for two weekend overtime days, she got Monday off, tacked on two more vacation days, and with the following weekend, that gave her nine full days in Nanlin.
She planned to visit Lin Hong.
—
When F messaged her, Li Xia was packing in her Nanlin hotel room.
He must have gotten home that morning, because she had seen his Moments update: a photo of a colored vinyl record.
The disc was nearly transparent, splashed with radiant colors, resting atop the album cover. It reflected minty, flowing water like liquid summer captured forever.
Li Xia’s eyes widened. She knew it instantly—
Her favorite band sheherherhers’ album location! A signed edition, no less!
She hadn’t snagged one herself, consoling herself that she didn’t even have a record player. Bursting with envy, she commented right away: 【Ugh! Jealousy is as easy as breathing! I equally hate everyone who owns a shhh album!】
F replied quickly: 【I have two.】
…
Li Xia was speechless: 【Lucky little punk.】
A bit later, WeChat pinged: 【Gonna crash for jet lag. Listen together tonight?】
Li Xia left him be.
June in Jiangnan struck a perfect balance of warmth and humidity. Though it was a business trip, she had brought a manuscript to review. Her luggage was hefty, including a gift for Lin Hong: a lotus stone seal custom-carved at the Forbidden City, wrapped in a satin box.
After sorting her toiletries and clothes, a wave of fatigue hit, so she lay down. Her phone buzzed—him.
F: Slept forever
F: Not a single message from you /dizzy /dizzy
Li Xia smiled, typing: What if I just didn’t send any?
F: Why not?
Li Xia: Didn’t want to wake you.
F: You can wake me.
F: You’ve got special privileges from me.
Li Xia: Got it. I’ll spam you awake tonight!
F: Sounds good.
Li Xia: ?
F: Waking up to your messages feels great, like when I’m abroad.
Leaning back against the bedframe, phone held high, Li Xia’s heart fluttered.
F: But now’s good too.
F: No time difference anymore, Teacher Lizi.
Ever since they slipped back into their old chat rhythm, Li Xia felt herself struggling to keep up. He always dropped these light, itch-inducing lines.
No time difference. We’re in sync.
We have so much more time.
An uncontrollable smile spread across her face.
Pretending to be miffed, she typed: 【Wait, no. Privileges are for your happiness. Only ones that make ME happy count as mine.】
He paused a few seconds: 【How about listening to the new vinyl together? Unwrapped it but haven’t played it yet.】
Straight to her heart. Li Xia perked up instantly, firing off an emoji: Approved!
F: Cool, give me a sec to set up.
Her phone rang suddenly.
They hadn’t called lately, so Li Xia felt a twinge of nerves, clearing her throat awkwardly. She hadn’t even planned her opening line.
But when the screen lit up with the incoming call, she froze for two seconds and bolted upright—
Video call?!
Video?!
Did he hit the wrong button?
Now?!
She wasn’t ready! SOS!
In a panic, she minimized the window, about to text him, when the call ended. Li Xia exhaled in relief, slumping back. Yeah, wrong button.
In all their chats, this was the first video attempt. The thought of finally seeing F face-to-face made her heart race and eyes eager. She ruffled her hair in regret for missing the chance to check him out.
Her palm vibrated. She checked.
F: 【Said we’d listen together. Where are you?】
Li Xia hemmed and hawed before typing: 【I’ll just use my ears.】
F: 【Live stream of the limited-edition vinyl spin. Not peeking?】
True—if it was just audio, it’d be boring. Vinyl’s magic came from the music’s texture, the visuals, the ritual.
Li Xia caved: 【Fine, a peek then.】
Her words said reluctant; her body had already rolled across the bed twice.
Would he show his face?
Li Xia couldn’t help wondering.
Was his face as handsome as his photos?
What about his build? As good as she imagined?
When the ringtone blared again, she took a deep breath and hit accept—
Ding.
The air hung silent for a second.
“Teacher Lizi?”
God, his voice was so close.
Li Xia forgot to breathe. On screen, only half his body: white short-sleeve shirt revealing a sleek forearm, the rest shrouded in fabric. Dim lighting from a metal floor lamp. To the left, the record player and speakers on a wooden base, accented with mint LED strips—eye-catching.
He was fiddling with a stand, image zooming in and out. When he bent, she glimpsed his crisp collar and defined collarbone.
Ah, love it.
The words popped into Li Xia’s mind.
Her heartbeat was her typewriter.
In the quiet, F called her name again.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Li Xia snapped back to her senses, having been staring too intently a moment before. “I’m waiting for the streamer to come online.”
“I’m tonight’s streamer.”
Li Xia scoffed. “I can’t see you anyway, so who knows if you’re the same person who just invited me to listen to music.”
F burst out laughing.
He must have been smiling right into the receiver, his breathy chuckles fluttering into Li Xia’s ear in little puffs.
“Of course I am.”
Li Xia’s head felt a bit fuzzy, but her thoughts were still clear. “Then prove it to me.”
Her intentions were as obvious as could be.
But F didn’t take the bait. “Prove it?”
“Do I really need to prove it? It’s pitch black on your end—who knows where you’ve stashed me.”
Right then, Li Xia was curled up on the bed with her legs tucked under her, a hotel pillow propped on her knees. Her camera was pressed against it, naturally making everything pitch black.
Prodded by F, her cheeks heated up. She lifted her phone a bit, revealing the hotel’s embroidered logo on the pillow. “Happy now?”
Now that her side had some visuals, F clearly leaned in closer. The thought of him staring at her made Li Xia fan her little face. “Focus on yourself, streamer.”
But then F asked, “You’re in a hotel?”
“Teacher Lizi.”
“Yeah, right.” Li Xia said, “I’m here on a business trip.”
“Where?”
“Nanlin,” Li Xia answered honestly. “I just got here today.”
He seemed a little surprised and double-checked. “You mean you’re in Nanlin right now?”
“Yeah. The air here’s more humid than I expected, but it’s pretty comfortable.”