Love O2O- Beyond a Beautiful Smile

Chapter 3- Common Ground

Relating to Episode 12 of Love O2O

It was a very despondent Hao Mei who dragged himself down to the small restaurant; in search of food, and company other than his dorm mates. His hangover had cleared, thanks to KO's food and medicine, but his mood had only sunk lower. It felt like everyone was pairing off and leaving him struggling to catch up. It wasn't that he begrudged Xiao Nai finding Bei Wei Wei- everyone was glad that someone from their own department had managed to snag the department beauty, and Hao Mei had never been a contender for Wei Wei's affections- but watching his usually aloof and slightly detached Laosan defrost? Hiding smiles at the corner of his mouth and displaying a degree of possessiveness that, despite being his dorm mate for years, had still taken Hao Mei by surprise... It wasn't the individual that he was envious of; it was the couple. He wanted the warm fuzzies that came with being part of a relationship.

It hadn't been too bad when they were all single. The four of them had each other, and had naturally paired off within the quartet. Yu Ban Shan and Qui Yong Hou, as the two eldest, had fallen into a natural rapport, while Hao Mei and Xiao Nai had bonded over their programming. It helped that Xiao Nai had always seen, and appreciated, his abilities, whereas the other two frequently failed to see past his youthful vanity. As a result, he had never mentioned either his part time job or his hobby to any of his dorm mates. He hadn't wanted to face the teasing of the Terrible Twosome, and hadn't wanted to disappoint Xiao Nai. After all, his part time job was essentially exploiting a talent he had little control over. Still, the money that he made by selling his face, paid for his hobby and that was something he didn't think he'd ever be comfortable sharing with the others. If he thought they'd be merciless about his modelling, if they found out about his hobby then their teasing about having a pretty face would be like nine cows and one strand of cow hair. (A/N: a drop in the bucket).

Hao Mei groaned at the thought. If that future came about then Ban Shan and Yong Hou wouldn't be satisfied with humiliating him at basketball; war would be declared. It was a future that didn't bear thinking of.

It hadn't been a conscious decision to head to the restaurant, but after leaving the dorm in a huff he was in no hurry to return, and his mood was too stormy to inflict on the cafeteria. His feet tugged him along the familiar path, instinctively heading towards comfort food and cold drinks, with the rest of his body simply along for the ride. It wasn't until his first mouthful of overly salty, meat deficient stirfry, that Hao Mei's mind caught up to the rest of him.

"Urgh... What...?" Tentatively taking another mouthful he grimaced as he swallowed. "Hey, KO..." Turning in his seat, he looked for the familiar back of his friend, surprise making his eyes widen when he couldn't find him. "Eh?"

Text to: Number One Chef

Not working?

Text from: Number One Chef

Working.

Text to: Number One Chef

Where? The food tastes terrible.

Text from: Number One Chef

Cafeteria. Forgot already?

Text to: Number One Chef

Oh. Yeah. Forgot. I need to remember

to only come here when you're working.

Only a camel can drink enough water to

offset the salt.

Text from: Number One Chef

You have the lashes of a camel.