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Alastor had been sitting at the table by the window for some time, and it was starting to feel more and more like a bad idea to he regretted agreeing to go on this date.
His mother's colleagues kept recommending her son to Alastor, promising that this man had many of the same hobbies as him, and after many endless rejections he agreed to meet this man, just so the lady wouldn't mention it again.
The result is only ten minutes before the scheduled time, this guy named Vox sent a text message saying that he would be late, which made him very angry. This was really rude .
He had been sitting here like a fool under the waiter's gaze for a while, and even considered ordering food first. After all, being late was the other person's problem. Alastor would rather stay at home and continue editing his podcast than waste time here.
Just when Alastor was about to end the wait and leave, a petite man with blond hair and blue eyes was led in by the waiter. He had snow-white skin, a rosy face and a slight smile. This man was like an angel descending, sweeping away Alastor's displeasure.
oh! This man is truly worth the wait .
Alastor almost jumped up from his seat and stepped forward to greet him, "Alastor, Pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!" Alastor stood in front of this charming man and stretched out his hand. The petite man looked up. Looking at him in surprise, "Oh! I know your voice," he gasped, "You are the Radio demon! I listen to your program every night!" He held Alastor's hand excitedly.
Nothing is a bigger plus than having your charming date be a fan.
"You listening to my show every night? I'm surprised, most people nowadays listen to the edited version," Alastor said. In addition to running his own radio channel, Alastor also uploaded audio clips to the platform, which made him famous quickly.
Was the man staring at him with shining eyes blushing?
"Actually, I listen to them all. I'm a fan of yours," he seemed a little shy, "I like to deal with things while listening, and I like your music very much."
"Why am I not surprised at all? You have very good taste." Under the surprised gaze of the blond man, Alastor pulled out the chair for him. "Why don't we sit down and chat to get to know each other better."
The waiter was still standing by and seemed not sure what to do. The blond man smiled reassuringly at him and said he would call them over to serve again when they were ready to order.
"Honestly, I'm a little surprised," Alastor said as he watched the other person pick up the menu, "You're much shorter than I thought."
When the other party didn't answer, Alastor couldn't help but reflect on whether such remarks were too offensive on a first date, but fortunately he paused and shrugged, "Oh, you're not the first person to say that," The blond man gave a wicked smile, "And you're gentler than I thought, I mean, after hearing all the sarcasm you made on the show, that's a little too light a jab, isn't it."
Alastor laughed, "Of course I wouldn't be so rude," although he had prepared a sarcastic conversation about the importance of punctuality before the meeting, but that could wait until the second date.
The two ordered food from the waiter, and Alastor talked about some interesting anecdotes about being a podcaster. Since his field involves a lot of shocking real history, Alastor tried to choose some gentle passages to talk about. The blond man was a little embarrassed at first, but as the chat progressed, he became more relaxed and engaged.
Alastor learned that the other person's favorite animal is duck and his favorite food is pancakes. He also runs a lifestyle channel "Proud Duck King" and has a wide range of creative fields, from toys to daily necessities, from wood carvings to 3D printers. Showcasing his unique creations to the audience, Alastor could tell he was truly charming as the man's sky-blue eyes sparkled with pride as he talked about his accomplishments.
"So you like jazz?" Alastor cut into his blue steak and watched the man taste his plate of Caesar salad.
"Actually, I prefer classical music, but jazz is also good." The smaller man said after swallowing his food, "Especially the music you choose, it always makes me want to dance."
Alastor believed that his eyes lit up, "Since you said so, we have to find time to dance together.I know a great club with good music and drinks. We can see if you have two Left foot."
The man's hearty laughter made Alastor feel warm, "Don't speak too soon, Radio demon. With my skills, I will make it impossible for you to keep up with me on the stage."
"I'll see," Alastor grinned, probably wider than usual.
Alastor was enjoying himself so far, comfortable in both conversation and silence. The date wasn't as bad as he thought. His mother's colleague was right. The man and he did have a lot in common. Alastor was glad that he agreed to the date, but also regretful that he had refused it many times before.
Alastor was thinking about when his next date would be, maybe they could meet on a Friday night, drink and dance at the club and decide whose house they would spend the night at, depending on the situation.
"That's good. I'm glad you invited me to dine with you." The blond man sighed, "Although I'm used to eating alone most of the time, it's really nice to have your company today."
"oh, the pleasure is mine. Even though I was reluctant to agree to this date at first, I can say that your company is more pleasant than I imagined." Alastor put his chin in his hands and said, "You are a charming little guy, I found our discussion enjoyable.”
The blond's face went from confused to blushing for just a moment before starting to panic a little, making Alastor snicker and think the guy was really cute.
The waiter chose this moment to approach, "Here's a dessert for you two." He put the plate down and winked at the blond man.
Alastor was a little surprised, and the blond man's face seemed to be even redder, "It's not like that! This is not a date!" He tried to grab the waiter in a panic, while the tall male waiter with light pink hair happily said Smiling, he avoided the hand that the blond man stretched out towards him, "Angel!"
"This is a date." From Alastor. The blond stopped trying to chase the waiter and stared at Alastor in shock, his mouth open but no sound came out. Angel laughed and walked away.
"You...I..." The blond man stretched out his hands as if to choke him, but finally chose to cover his face.
Alastor looked at his red face with interest, "What? Did the cat got your tongue?"
The blond man glared at him, groaned and fell on the table, "You will make my friends misunderstand what you say. It will be terrible if they take you seriously. They will chase you for every detail."
Now Alastor was beginning to look confused, "This is indeed a date, isn't it?"
The blond man stared up at him as if he had grown a pair of horns. "I just accepted your invitation to have dinner with you. I mean, I'm happy to talk to you! I'm also honored that you want to date me, but …" He waved his hands and suddenly realized, "Well, you don't even know my name!"
"I know your name, Vox," Alastor replied confidently, "I apologize, it just occurred to me that we didn't introduce ourselves properly at all. This is Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!." He held out his hand, expecting a response. But there was only silence , with only the music from the restaurant and the murmurs of the other tables playing in the background.
The realization on the blond man's face didn't seem to be recognition of Alastor calling his name accurately, shock and guilt flashed across his face, and his originally rosy cheeks now turned pale, "Oh my god... this is too bad. "The blond man laughed hysterically, "What are the chances of such a misunderstanding happening?"
Alastor's face must have been filled with confusion and worry. He wanted to reach out and comfort the other person, Alastor was surprised by how strong the urge to touch was.
All the happy expressions on the blond man's face faded and he stood up. "I'm sorry, but you misunderstood. I'm not 'Vox'. I'm not the person you want to date. You have the wrong person." He said, The little man who had just had a pleasant chat with Alastor was gone, and his smile did not reach his eyes.
Alastor stared at the other person in shock, "What...?"
"Hey! Don't block my way, I had reserved a table but I arrived late." The argument made them look at the door of the restaurant at the same time, where a tall man with black hair was yelling at the waiter. "It's Vox, a very popular live broadcaster recently. Check the guest list. I reserved a table. I just arrived late!"
"Speak of the devil, that one should be your date," the blond man gave him a final look, "I’ll spring for the dinner. I'm glad to know what Radio demon is like in private. It's really a pleasure to meet and chat with you."
Although Alastor was surprised, he still stood up and tried to stop the other party from leaving.
Almost at the same time, a black-haired man appeared in front of him, blocking his view, "Hey!You're Alastor, right? I'm Vox. Sorry for being so late. You know, celebrities don't rest in peace. I can hardly get away." Vox waved his hands, as if being late for a first date for more than an hour was just a small thing. "I sent a message, but you didn't reply."
Alastor looked past him to look for the blond's back but couldn't see it anywhere.
What Vox said to him behind him and the voice of the waiter clearing the table were completely ignored. He could hardly bear the questioning and concerned eyes of the waiter, Angel. When he was in a trance, Vox pulled him and forced him to sit down and listen to him. Talk loudly.
He doesn't care about Vox's career and interests, and is very angry with him. This rude guy is a live broadcaster and just wants to expand his company. Obviously, recruiting the now popular Radio Demon together can become a "great legend".
After the quality time spent with the blond, the chat with Vox was hellish in comparison, with the man constantly picking up his phone to text back ("The fans love me so much") and showing off ( "Do you know how many followers I have?"), the tone is condescending and the topic revolves around himself.
"You should be on camera with me, and I will dress you up beautifully." He also said how many viewers Alastor would lose by not showing up in front of the camera. Every time Alastor opened his mouth he was always interrupted. Vox was so focused on planning their future that he didn't seem to care whether Alastor agreed or not.
Alastor just wanted to get out of this farce and find the blond man to talk to.
While he was looking around, Vox reached over the table and covered Alastor's hand on the table. "You know, maybe we should find a secluded place to get to know each other better." Vox began to slowly draw circles on the back of his hand. , "We really have a lot in common, don't we?"
Is this guy serious?
Alastor's left eye twitched, and he used all his self-control not to stab his fork into the opponent's palm with his backhand. "Hmm - NO, I don't think so," he pulled out his hand forcefully, Ignore Vox's dissatisfaction, "You said that film and television will become the mainstream in the future, but not everyone has the opportunity to stare at the screen all day, at least the radio can be listened to at any time."
"We can combine each other's channels to have a better advantage in seizing the market. I have a few ideas-"
"You've said enough about your thoughts. Now LISTEN," Alastor interrupted unceremoniously, which made Vox glare. "First of all, punctuality is a basic and important attitude towards life. A continuous People who cannot control their time cannot bring trust at all. Secondly, you only care about yourself from beginning to end. I also have fans, but I will not ignore anyone in front of me," Alastor noticed that now the restaurant was listening, "Third, I don't like people who disrespect me, ignore me or don't care what I think, and that's why I don't want to be with you, romantic or not."
"Now, please excuse me-" Alastor pushed away his chair and stood up, striding towards the waiter who had just presented him with dessert. He raised his eyebrows at this dramatic development, "I'm sorry, but I need to know-"
"Sorry, no comment." Angel refused without thinking. "Listen, tall, dark, creepy handsome guy, I'm not going to give away information about my customers, especially if it makes my friend look bad when he leaves."
"I need to explain to him-" Alastor growled in frustration.
Angel waved him aside, "Listen, I'm not going to give you any information about him, but," Alastor's depressed heart began to rise again with hope, "he always comes here for dinner every few days," Angel revealed Smiling evilly, "If you want to come again, we sincerely welcome you."
-
That day, as usual, Lucifer decided to rest and satisfy his hunger in the middle of his creative work.
He took off his Bluetooth headphones and paused the podcast program playing on his mobile phone. He liked to enjoy music during the creation process, but this radio station would only intersperse music during live broadcasts at night, and the edited programs on the platform only had the sound of the host talking.
Lucifer was not used to it at first. After all, it is difficult to concentrate on creating and listening to conversations at the same time. However, this radio man’s voice has a soothing quality that can calm Lucifer’s emotions when he encounters bottlenecks or stagnation in creation, so he I have developed a habit of listening to this guy’s full live broadcast at night, and listening to the edited highlights he uploads while working.
At least the edited highlights are usually interesting enough that Lucifer doesn't mind listening to them again. (Or just as background sound.)
Although Lucifer is also a creator, his channel is very niche and does not have many followers and views. He uses it more to record the creative process rather than making money. Sometimes his impulse makes him want to speak in the other party's chat room or He called in, but the rational part of his brain always stopped him at the last moment.
What's more, the two of them are on different creative platforms, and their circles basically have no overlap... Lucifer stopped what he was doing to clean up, what was he thinking? It was too early to daydream now, Lucifer shook his head, no, he just liked the sound of that guy's voice.
After Lucifer finished tidying up and changed his clothes, he went to his favorite restaurant for dinner.
~
He didn't expect to encounter the real, living, radio demon himself. The moment he spoke, Lucifer knew it was him. The voice was almost imprinted in his mind, until now he revealed the true appearance of the owner of the voice.
Is this what it feels like to meet a celebrity? Why is he blushing and heart pounding like a high school girl and his mind goes blank?
Lucifer felt like he was floating on the clouds. After Alastor led the conversation in a relaxed tone for a while, he returned to the ground. Although he was a little uneasy at first, they gradually found the most comfortable conversational rhythm for each other.
Alastor is a very good chat partner. He occasionally leaves the topic to Lucifer and lets Lucifer talk about what he wants to talk about. Occasionally he takes the lead in leading the conversation to make up for the silence. His humor and fun make the whole process very enjoyable, even when Nor was the pause at the end of the topic embarrassing to Lucifer.
Alastor perfectly embodies the wit and skill that a good host should possess.
Of course, Lucifer was never destined to have a good time because fate would fuck him up.
Therefore, the Vox that Alastor mentioned was the one he wanted to date. Lucifer just accidentally walked in at the wrong time and started this beautiful encounter misunderstanding.
Of course he could handle it, and the best thing that would prevent the embarrassment from continuing would be a polite exit. Even though he was enjoying it, and Lucifer believed the feeling was mutual.
Oh my God! He couldn't face Alastor's disappointed face after Lucifer had shared so much of himself, even though they weren't even friends before this, and even though Lucifer had wanted to be friends with him after this, now it was all ruined.
Lucifer couldn't focus on Alastor's face. He just wanted to escape from this place as soon as possible, and maybe hide at home for the rest of his life.
Lucifer paid the bill under Angel's worried eyes and fled the restaurant almost in a hurry.
He certainly didn't take the time to look at the person Alastor was supposed to be dating, who was very tall (almost as tall as Alastor) and elite (like Alastor exuding the air of a successful person) even if a little rude and arrogant. The attitude made Lucifer frown, but who was he to judge the other person.
Lucifer didn't realize when he arrived home. When he came to his senses, he had finished his creation and was staring at the work in a daze, but this time he did not turn on the radio demon channel.
Or next time.
Or in the days to come.
The silence was deafening.
-
Alastor has been dining in this restaurant for several days, he believes his wallet will be empty by the end of the month and he'll gain at least a few pounds.
But the little blond guy still didn't show up, and he didn't even know his name, because damn, Angel didn't think he should just give his friend's name to a stranger. Is this really necessary? Even though he was already acquainted with all the waiters in this restaurant, but he couldn't even get a name, Alastor felt that his patience was getting less and less as time passed.
Alastor was even desperate enough to want to address the other person directly on the show, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea, Alastor didn't want fans to pay too much attention to his personal life, thanks.
"Didn't he mention his own channel?" Rosie, his lovely and smart friend said this, and then he thought of, that ridiculous channel name. Alastor quickly searched for it on his phone, even though he had been Hate this device but really appreciate the convenience at the moment.
Alastor ignored the text message from Vox and entered Proud Duck King in the search bar. Many videos popped up, including many very cool creations. The latest one was a day ago. He clicked on the video and found that accelerated photography of the blond man's slender hands carving a piece of wood, paired with post-produced music.
He looked impatiently at the second half of the video progress bar. Alastor's eyes widened and he saw the completed wood carving.
It was a perfect, old-style microphone with two lifelike antlers carved on it, and the whole thing looked like a cane.
That 's a true representation of Alastor's channel avatar.
He watched the other party demonstrate how to store the long handle so that the microphone could be reduced to a size that could be placed on the table, and then turned on the switch behind the wood carving with his little hand.
The light inside the microphone lit up, and the silhouette of the forest could be seen through the gaps in the wood carving. from another angle, a stag appears, and then there seems to be a text, but another angle is needed to make it clearer.
It is obvious that the blond man does not intend to show it, because the scene quickly switches.
This is a very stunning work. Alastor almost wants to ask the price to buy it. He is willing to collect such a work of art.
Then the blond man appeared on the screen, and his smile made Alastor forget to breathe.
He happily picked up the microphone on the table and stretched out the handle, and then showed the audience that this microphone can not only be used as a decoration, but also become a weapon.
Or use it as a flashlight in the dark, hearing the blond man explain its use enthusiastically, which made Alastor laugh.
Alastor missed him, his smile and his strange and endearing thoughts.
"This is not for sale to the public. It is purely a gift for someone special." Alastor looked at the other person looking directly at the screen, and those blue eyes seemed to be looking at Alastor's soul through the screen.
Alastor was definitely not arrogant enough to think that the blond man was talking about him, nor did he blush. The heat on his face must be due to the room temperature being too high.
The video ended here. Alastor opened the message area and found that many people were guessing who the Duck King planned to give it to. Many people thought it was a proposal gift, and some people directly thanked him as if the gift was prepared for him.
A feeling of dissatisfaction roared in his heart. Alastor wanted to leave a message below to admit that he was the owner of this gift, but in the end he failed to send the text.
He had to think hard about how to get his message to the blonde's attention without drawing attention to anyone else.
-
Lucifer was almost driven crazy by the silence. He couldn't stop thinking about Alastor's face and his humorous little jabs. After their NOT date, Lucifer never opened his favorite Podcasting platform, he tried listening to other people’s shows but always found them jarring or not to his liking.
And what about Alastor and his date (whose name he has forgotten), did they ever officially date again? Or have they confirmed their relationship? Sometimes Lucifer's impulse makes him want to turn on the radio demon channel, just to know the other person's emotional relationship.
Compared with Alastor's date, Lucifer is just an old man (the belly on his waist and the wrinkles on his face can prove the traces of time), relying on the savings of his youth to invest and start a business, and now he runs a business Follow your own little interest channel.
Is it possible for Alastor to have feelings for such a man?
With the other person's thoughts filled like this, Lucifer spent a few weeks carving out a wooden version of the microphone of Alastor's avatar, and spent a little attention on the details. After several skillful moves of the wood carving, Alastor's station name will appear in the light and shadow.
He wondered how many fans of his small channel would discover this.
In fact, this design had already been conceived when he started listening to Alastor's channel. He even drew a lot of exploded diagrams to deconstruct each layer of carvings. The wood Lucifer chose was dark red with beautiful black textures. Black rosewood, after polishing and polishing, the original color is very beautiful.
The sound of a new message notification brought Lucifer back to his senses, and he opened his phone to check.
@gamblercat now
Could it be that what I saw was a wood carving of Radio demon's avatar?
Lucifer smiled. He did not reply but just pinned it. Lucifer had not yet decided how to give this gift, or whether Alastor was willing to accept it. They were just strangers who had a meal together due to a misunderstanding.
When Lucifer was considering which takeaway restaurant to order for dinner, a call from Angel appeared on his phone, and Lucifer's fingers hesitated whether to answer it.
After a date on a misunderstanding, Lucifer was so focused on escaping that he threw his cell phone in a corner of his home, causing it to run out of battery. Then Lucifer devoted himself entirely to his creation. When he had nothing left at home with which to satisfy his hunger, he took the time to find and charge it.
Lucifer missed the call, so Angel sent a message instead: "Hey, Short King, I saw u uploaded a video. This proves that u're using your damn phone. Can u answer the phone? I need to know how u are, do u want to talk or need a shoulder or a hug, Angel is here for u. XOXO❤"
Lucifer later called back to confirm that he was alive and well, but Angel sounded unconvinced and insisted that they needed to meet.
Now that the microphone was completed, Lucifer had nothing to do for the time being. Maybe it was time to go out for a while, so he agreed to accompany Angel to a nearby club.
~
"So you're telling me, you became the date?! And to top it off, he called you by the wrong name." Angel dramatically tilted his head back and rested his forehead, "How bad, I need a little more alcohol to digest this shit."
"Keep your voice down! He doesn't know my name in the first place," Lucifer's face turned red. Angel shouted a little loudly because of his excitement. Even though there were no guests in the club tonight, Lucifer still saw the bartender raising his eyebrows at them, " I was so excited to see him in person that I seemed, maybe, probably forgot to introduce myself to him..."
"Okay, then maybe I was too harsh on him. When you were not here," Angel shrugged and drank another glass, "I thought he didn't treat you carefully, and he didn't even know your name. Please, Who doesn’t know the name of their date?! So I never revealed anything about you to him, ha!”
Lucifer then learned that Alastor ate at the restaurant every day after that, and asked Angel if he showed up. This made Lucifer feel warm inside, but he quickly shook his head to dispel any thoughts. No, maybe Alastor just wanted to ask Lucifer why he cheated on him by pretending to be his date.
One misunderstanding was enough.
The cheerful jazz music on the club stage faded to an end as did their conversation. Lucifer ordered another apple martini to cover up the silence.
When he heard the beginning of Debussy: Moonlight , he looked up to the stage in surprise. This is not music that an ordinary club would choose. Only the pianist is left on the stage playing this piece.
Lucifer nearly choked on his drink when he saw who was playing.
what the hell?
Alastor, the demon radio host he longed for, the stranger he met because of a misunderstanding, was playing classical music in this club.
This city can't be that small, Lucifer glared at his friend, Angel held up his cheek and wagged his eyebrows suggestively, "You already knew that," he accused.
"Which are you talking about, about him asking me to bring you here or about him owning this club?"
"He asked you to bring me here?" Lucifer asked in surprise, "Why?"
"You can only ask the answer to this question yourself, but I'd say it's obvious, Sugar." Angel looked at his friend from the rim of his glass, "He's been showing up at the restaurant these past few months just to talk to you again. He even was willing to pay just to know your name, but I refused.”
Lucifer's head was spinning, he couldn't believe this was real, like, what? his crush, the radio demon channel, Alastor would do anything to see him again, just like a dream come true and a romantic movie plot actually happened in real life.
Lucifer was so caught up in his own brainstorm that he didn't notice that the piano had stopped until he felt someone standing next to him.
Alastor was almost leaning against the bar, close to Lucifer's bar chair, and when he turned his head, their eyes were just at eye level.
After a long silence, the two of them did nothing except look at each other. Then Alastor spoke softly, "Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure. do I have the honor to know the name of this charming man?"
Lucifer opened his mouth, wanting to ask him why he planned all this, but he felt that he already had the answer, and this time he didn't want to give in.
Even if it was a misunderstanding, it was beautiful and wonderful.
"This is Lucifer." Lucifer smiled and held Alastor's hand, "Nice to meet you!"
"Lucifer," Alastor raised the back of Lucifer's hand and touched his lips gently, his eyes never leaving Lucifer's eyes, "So Lucifer, I find that I am fascinated by you, are you willing to date me?"
"I do," Lucifer closed the distance between the two, lowered his eyelashes and said slowly in a low voice, "As long as you don't call me the wrong name again."