Love O2O- Beyond a Beautiful Smile

Chapter 7- The Start of Something New

Relating to Episode 16 of Love O2O

A/N: The dialogue from this chapter is taken from the series.

As it turned out, Hao Mei didn't end up needing the laundry powder he'd bought that night with KO. Life as a programmer for a start-up business was hectic and without realising it, Mei discovered that a week had passed since he'd slept in his own bed. Not that he'd done all that much sleeping in it anyway; for some reason, alone in his unit, sleep eluded him. Yawning, and stretching a hand out of his blue sleeping bag, Mei thought about the fact that he got better sleep on the bumpy, keyboard couch, than on his brand new mattress at home. What was the point of having a home to go to at night, if you weren't going to sleep when you were there?

    A yawn stretched his jaw and made his ears pop and he chuckled to himself as he took a sip of apple juice, letting the sweet juice wash the furry-feeling from his mouth. How long had it been since he brushed his teeth? He stretched and surreptitiously sniffed an armpit. Or showered? That was it... he was going home tonight and showering, changing, and sleeping. No deviations! No staying behind to 'just finish one last detail.' Nope. This beauty needed his sleep. If he could get any at home... No. That was self-defeating. He would get some sleep and it would be the best sleep. He stuck his nose in the air at his own pessimism.

   The alarm on his phone vibrated in his pocket and he fumbled to pull it out and turn it off. A message from KO flashed on the screen and Hao Mei groaned. He hadn't managed to meet up with his friend since that night at Wangfujing and even their text-conversations had started getting shorter and shorter. It wasn't because Mei felt slightly awkward after his reaction in the alley, or because he'd started to wonder what would have happened if KO had actually touched his face, instead of stopping before making contact. No, he told himself. It wasn't because of either of those things. Purely and simply, it was just because he was so busy with work that didn't have the time to chat. That was it. Just that.

    Text from: Number One Chef

Tonight. Food. Restaurant.

Text to: Number One Chef

Okay.

    Hao Mei looked at the message one last time before pressing send. Yup... totally looked like he felt awkward. The message was still on his mind as he turned his computer back on, so it took him a few heartbeats to notice the change in wallpaper. Assuming it was one of the guys pranking him- who else would find it funny to replace the picture of his goddess with a photo of a monastery- he flicked keys... then flicked again... Frowning, he sat up and leaned towards the screen, fingers flying over the keyboard as he tried to change the wallpaper.

    "Beauty... did you get drowsy from your nap?" Yu Ban Shan noticed Hao Mei's confusion and wandered over to tease him.

    "It's not that," Hao Mei shook his head. "I can't help thinking there's a problem with my computer these days. But when I check my system log there's nothing fishy about it. But now even my desktop wallpaper is changed."

   Ban Shan's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe. "Ah?" Leaning over Hao Mei's shoulder, the two men stared at the monastery roofline in silence for a moment, each letting the gravity of the situation sink in.

    "What was your desktop wallpaper?"

    Hao Mei looked at his friend with pitying eyes. "What else could it be? It's the photo of my goddess." The two exchanged meaningful looks; this was serious. Choosing a monastery over his goddess?

    "Oh no." Ban Shan addressed the elephant in the room, or should that be the monastery in the computer. "Your computer has been hacked."

    Really? Mei refrained from saying what immediately came to mind.

    "But this hacker is interesting. He changed the photo of a beauty to a shrine. He's trying to cleanse you of desire."

    Once more, Mei held himself back. Obviously he and Ban Shan had different priorities... Ban Shan was obviously collecting fuel for future torment, whereas Hao Mei found something else more important. "The biggest problem is that I can't change it back..."

Night had fallen before Hao Mei had been able to leave the office and he dragged himself home, mind full of his bed. And pillow. And blanket. He sighed, eyes drooping as he turned the key and stumbled through the doorway. His passage from doorway to bedroom was marked with discarded items of clothing before he collapsed, facedown, on the bed, clad in pale blue boxers and a single navy sock. In the pocket of his pants, dropped somewhere in the hallway, his phone vibrated with an incoming call. Light shone through the thin fabric then flickered off as the call ended. A minute later it shone again as the phone vibrated with a single text.

Text from: Number One Chef
You went home? Catch up next time?