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This was, without question, one of the worst deals Xia Fei had ever agreed to. The moment Liu Xiao proposed a sponsorship from Quede Games for Xia Fei's stream, Xia Fei assumed there had to be something more going on. Liu Xiao would never just do something out of the kindness of his heart, because Xia Fei was nearly convinced he didn't even have one of those. Everything he did was in service to some goal, and Xia Fei felt one hundred percent certain that included Liu Xiao's request to come onto his streams as a moderator.
Still, there was one aspect of this new partnership that he really couldn't ignore, and that was that Liu Xiao's addition to his streams was a popular one. Superchats flooded in with the sole purpose of getting Liu Xiao to read them, and Xia Fei almost didn't know what to do about all the extra attention he was suddenly receiving. Of course, Liu Xiao only ever read out the most ridiculous ones, just to see if Xia Fei could roll with the punches, but as time went on, the content of the comment section started to focus less on the merchandise and more on the speculated nature of Xia Fei and Liu Xiao's relationship.
At first, Xia Fei tried his best to ignore them. Some were innocuous enough - "they call each other XiaoXiao and Fei-ge, that's so cute!!!" or "aww did you see the way Feifei blushed when Xiaoxiao called him handsome?" Others were much less so, and while Liu Xiao didn't choose to read out the more obvious ones, Xia Fei knew he saw them, because with each inquiry about whether or not they were kissing off-camera, the nefarious glint in Liu Xiao's eyes that only Xia Fei could recognize got just that much stronger.
In between streams, too, the online comments poured in. Xia Fei could not have been more grateful that he'd already graduated, because he didn't want to imagine what school life would be like if his classmates read something like "I bet Felix is a submissive top!" or "I think Xiaoxiao lets him xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx!" He had no idea how to handle the sudden wave of scenarios that people who didn't even know him were suddenly making up in their heads and posting for everyone to see, as if he were a fictional character for them to project their desires onto.
Sure, he was used to being objectified, that was part of the modeling gig, but at least those hungry looks were directed at him alone, and didn't involve scenarios where he was making out with someone he hated.
Liu Xiao didn't seem bothered by any of these comments. Typical. Did anything bother that guy? No, it seemed to Xia Fei that Liu Xiao was enjoying all this attention, because he leaned more and more into the role of an admiring junior with each stream, and he played the part so precisely that sometimes Xia Fei almost believed him.
The next stream started with business as usual, the two of them exchanging a bit of banter before reading some comments, thanking donors, opening a few more of the supplied blind boxes. As usual, Liu Xiao inserted his usual brand of mischief into the proceedings, trying to discount the merchandise to a ridiculous degree. Through it all, Xia Fei maintained his composure - cool as always. Sure to earn him a bit of praise from Liu Xiao later.
It was going so smoothly… too smoothly, Xia Fei thought, as they barreled towards the finish line. Maybe he was spared another horrible Liu Xiao surprise. But, just as he clasped his hands together and opened his mouth to echo his typical finishing line, Liu Xiao interrupted him, and all hope of a peaceful conclusion to the afternoon vanished like cotton candy being dropped into a puddle.
"One last thing, before we log off!" Liu Xiao's face brightened into a warm smile, but behind that joyful exterior, Xia Fei saw that awful, awful gleam behind those glasses that meant he was really in for it. "Fei-ge and I have an announcement to make."
Immediately, Xia Fei felt a lethal combination of dread and panic well up inside his stomach. What announcement? What is he doing? Is this another merch promo? Did he contract someone else I don't know about? Xia Fei's eyes lasered in on Liu Xiao, wide and pleading: Whatever you're about to do —PLEASE! DO! NOT!
Liu Xiao continued on with no mercy. He clasped his hands together, wearing an expression that was somehow both shy and excited. "Last night, while we were preparing for this stream, Fei-ge and I decided that we should announce our ongoing romantic relationship."
In a split second, a few things happened simultaneously: Liu Xiao turned his (surely fake!) lovesick gaze on Xia Fei; Xia Fei prayed to God that some divine power strike him down and kill him immediately; and the chat went absolutely nuts.
I knew it!!!!! How long have you two been together??
SOOOOO cute!!! (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ yay felix!!! xiaoxiao is soooo lucky!!
congratulations to the happy couple!
KISS RIGHT NOW
The flood of positive attention rooted Xia Fei to the spot. Of course the audience was overjoyed at such an announcement - hadn't they spent the last couple of weeks theorizing about exactly what Liu Xiao and Xia Fei were doing when the cameras shut off? And now Liu Xiao, without preparing Xia Fei at all, was giving them the kind of ammunition that could obliterate an armored car.
Mercy, please!
Xia Fei refused to let Liu Xiao win. Even though it made his skin crawl, he knew that at least in this moment, he had to play along. God forbid Liu Xiao get one over on him, on his stream. Xia Fei blinked back, ochre eyes shining with what Xia Fei hoped could pass for affection. "Ahah… yeah, that's right. We noticed everyone speculating online, and wanted to quell those rumors, of course. It's true, Xiaoxiao and I are d…" Oh god, Feifei, please don't puke on stream! "… dating."
The comments flooded the chat so fast that neither Liu Xiao nor Xia Fei could read them all. This cliffhanger was where the stream ended, as Xia Fei stumbled over himself trying to properly conclude the event and get out a hasty "see you next time!" before shutting off the camera, ending the stream, and then rounding on Liu Xiao.
"Why did you do that? We're not dating! Now what, we are going to have to lie to everyone, all the time?" Xia Fei's resistance poured forth like a river bursting its banks. All the while, Liu Xiao watched him with a slightly tilted head, smiling as though he couldn't imagine a more perfect outcome to this little plot of his.
"I wanted to see how you would react," Liu Xiao laughed, lightly. Casually. Disgustingly nonchalant, as always. "You passed with flying colors, as expected."
"First the thing with the owl, then the merch collab… those were weird, but fine. But this is too much, Liu Xiao, how are we going to keep up — what are you doing?"
With each word Xia Fei spoke, Liu Xiao drew just that much closer, until they were directly face to face. Too close - Xia Fei could see past the glare of his glasses, into the strange, unreadable depths of his eyes. Xia Fei envied that, really, the ability to obscure what he was really thinking or feeling, as if those large round lenses were shields he could hide behind.
Liu Xiao was a man of many secrets, and Xia Fei never knew what he was thinking. He didn't know what Liu Xiao could possibly get out of a fake relationship between the two of them, besides the obvious attention that it garnered from the internet and Xia Fei's viewers. Surely, once the cameras were off, they'd return to their usual dynamic - Liu Xiao teasing him, Xia Fei telling him to kick rocks.
The cameras were off now, though, and still they were so close now that Xia Fei could feel the warmth of Liu Xiao's breath as he exhaled. He saw the way Liu Xiao's eyelashes lowered slightly as they looked at each other, and for a moment Xia Fei thought about backing up, but that strange, unreadable expression paralyzed him. Maybe, if he stayed still, Liu Xiao would give him some reason, some explanation for… well, anything.
"I want to make sure you can keep up appearances," Liu Xiao purred, the corners of his lips curling upward. "It's difficult to fake chemistry without practice. So — let's practice."
Xia Fei swallowed, hard. "Practice what, exactly?" he asked, as if he didn't already know exactly what Liu Xiao was going to suggest.
"Kiss me, Fei-ge."
"What? No! It's not like we are going to kiss on camera! We don't need to practice that!" Xia Fei stumbled over his own resistance like a train car uncoupling itself and then falling off the tracks. "I can pretend just fine!"
Another light laugh, gentle as wind-chimes, nowhere near as innocent. Liu Xiao's fingers lightly brushed up Xia Fei's arm, causing Xia Fei's skin to erupt into goose pimples. Not entirely out of disgust, though - he could almost fool himself into thinking that Liu Xiao really wanted to touch him like that.
Maybe he really wanted to kiss him, too.
"Ugh! Fine. One time! That's it." Xia Fei huffed, but if this was what it took, he was willing to play along, at least for now.
"Give it your all, gege."
Oh, what the fuck! Why'd he have to say that, like that? Xia Fei felt his cheeks heat up, and he nearly lost his nerve. But with a deep inhale, he lifted his palm to Liu Xiao's cheek, turning his chin slightly upward, and before his brain could get in the way again, pressed his lips to Liu Xiao's.
Xia Fei had thought that kissing Liu Xiao would utterly disgust him. He detested Liu Xiao, after all, even though he was constantly following his instructions and coming to his house and letting him boss him around and… well, everything he was doing was simply in the hope that Liu Xiao might let Xia Fei get some glimpse of the truth about Vein's death. It hadn't worked so far, but Xia Fei kept trying.
But as it turned out, Liu Xiao wasn't a bad kisser. Rather, he was gentle, accommodating, his lips slotting perfectly against Xia Fei's, welcoming him warmly. Slender fingers slipped around Xia Fei's waist, grasping at the fabric of his shirt and pulling him even closer. For one who was so guarded and enigmatic, Liu Xiao felt almost disarmingly vulnerable here in his arms, eyes fluttering closed as he leaned further into Xia Fei's arms.
Xia Fei should have pulled away then and there; the thought occurred to him that the way Liu Xiao's chest lightly leaned against his own did not feel like pretend. But this was a side of Liu Xiao that Xia Fei had never experienced, and it made him a little bit curious. Xia Fei's hand moved from Liu Xiao's face to the side of his neck, holding him firmly as his tongue hesitantly pressed against Liu Xiao's parted lips.
Liu Xiao opened to him as though he'd simply been waiting for Xia Fei to ask, inviting Xia Fei's tongue with a soft gasp. That sound alone was enough encouragement, and the kiss deepened. In that single moment, Xia Fei almost forgot himself, swept up in Liu Xiao's reciprocal affections. It wasn't until he realized his chest was burning from the lack of breath that he realized just how tightly they were wrapped up in each other.
Instantly, Xia Fei pulled back, dropping his hands from Liu Xiao's face as if afraid he'd overstepped. He had, hadn't he? They'd both overstepped. This was fake. But… two people playing pretend don't kiss like that, do they? Certainly not to the point of gasping for air and still, still wanting it to continue.
Liu Xiao's hands withdrew, and he brought his fingers to his lips, red and glistening from that kiss. While Xia Fei was fraught with insecurity, his mind rapid firing a million explanations at a truly impressive rate, Liu Xiao wore only that same soft smile. All-knowing. Content.
"A perfect performance, Xia Fei," he murmured, committing the feeling of Xia Fei's lips to memory. "As always."