What to Do if I Am Noticed by the Straight Guy Next Door?

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Su Bin is a naturally sensitive person. During his second year of junior high school, the summer hit TV series “Xiao Li Fei Dao” was airing. He was obsessed with it and would stay up every night to watch the new episodes, then rewatch them with Huang Zhengling the next afternoon during the rerun.

Su Bin would be deeply moved by Li Xunhuan’s tragic experiences. Whenever there were some melodramatic plotlines, he would get so excited that tears would flow down his face.

The most exaggerated part was when the ending theme song of “Xiao Li Fei Dao” played, and it reached the line “What would you do without me? Who would wipe away your tears…” Su Bin would instantly transform into Meng Jiangnu, with wide eyes magically filled with tears!

In such situations, Huang Zhengling would look at him with a speechless slanted gaze (→_→)… He couldn’t relate to Su Bin’s “sensitivity” and could only offer him two tissues.

As Su Bin grew up, went to high school and university, his innate sensitivity and vulnerability gradually became hidden. Instead, he developed a surface of strength, sunshine, and friendliness.

But as the saying goes, “a leopard can’t change its spots.” No matter how much he pretended, deep inside, he was still a crybaby, easily moved to tears by even the slightest touching or sad moments. However, Su Bin, now no longer a child, adhered to the belief of “real men don’t cry,” and even if he wanted to cry, he would hold it back with all his might. Apart from the moment he couldn’t hold back and sobbed while embracing Chen Xiaotian when they separated at the airport before going abroad, he hadn’t exposed his true nature in front of others for many years.

And now, Su Bin was struggling to hold back his tears, deeply moved by Allen’s actions…

The way he held back tears was completely different from Sun Yujie’s teary-eyed state. Sun Yujie’s vulnerability might evoke sympathy and a protective instinct in people… but Su Bin’s restrained tears would make someone with OCD want to slap him—stop holding back and just cry!

Indeed, even though his eyes were red, he pretended to be strong, which irritated Allen.

…If he could do something to make Su Bin cry, that would be great.

Just thinking about making Su Bin cry, Allen became a little excited… but his expression remained unchanged, with only his index and middle fingers lightly tapping his leg in an unconscious rhythm, revealing some unusual emotions.

“Thank you…” Su Bin didn’t refuse Allen’s kindness. After all, if he were to repay the money now, he would be using someone else’s money, so there was no point in being stubborn. “I will repay you as soon as possible!” Su Bin assured.

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Allen’s fingers rhythmically tapped his leg as he said, “Don’t feel too much pressure. Just repay £100 each month.”

Doing some quick calculations, Su Bin realized that the garbage picking job was a one-time opportunity, and he didn’t know when he would have another chance. Walking dogs, on the other hand, earned him £6 a day, not counting weekends, so at most, he could earn £120 a month. Allen’s proposed £100 practically accounted for all of Su Bin’s current part-time income…

“Okay…” It’s so hard to earn money. It seems like I need to find a new part-time job as soon as possible Q_Q!

Allen glanced at him sideways and reminded him, “Don’t forget to write an IOU, and, um, there should be a token.”

This guy is really meticulous… but Su Bin actually thought it was a rigorous idea. After writing an IOU, it would establish a proper borrower-lender relationship, leaving no room for ambiguity afterward. Moreover, Allen suggesting “installment payments” to some extent showed that he believed in Su Bin’s ability to earn money, which made Su Bin feel respected.

“I’ll write it when I get home,” Su Bin said, “but what do you mean by ‘token’?” Could it be collateral, something of equal value? That would be troublesome because apart from a laptop, Su Bin didn’t have any other valuable items.

“Anything will do as long as it’s yours, like a handkerchief…” Allen’s gaze drifted towards the window, hoping that Su Bin would understand.

Su Bin was puzzled, “A handkerchief would work?” He had seen Allen use a gentleman’s handkerchief before, and it seemed like many gentlemen in Country B carried handkerchiefs.

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Allen replied, “Yes, personal items.”

But Su Bin wasn’t accustomed to using handkerchiefs. He thought for a moment, then reached into his pocket and took out a keychain… “Can this be used?”

Allen looked at it disdainfully, “What is this? Where did you get it?”

“I found it… uh, it was a small gift given to me by the sports field staff after I finished work yesterday,” Su Bin said, then reached into his pants pocket and took out another one. “There’s another one…”

Allen furrowed his brow, “How many did they give you?”

“Only one… but I exchanged one with a colleague for a football ticket, so now I have two,” Su Bin explained. Besides keys, student ID, and wallet, these were the only two keychains he had as personal items. Luckily, he hadn’t changed into jeans today, so he quickly found the keychains in his pocket. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to come up with any personal items to use as a token.

Allen’s expression improved slightly when he heard that there were only two. He reluctantly accepted one of them and said, “Hmm, let’s go with this.”

Allen took out a key from his pocket and hung the rubber keychain in the shape of a stadium building on it. Then he waved it in front of Su Bin and said, “You should hang this too. Whenever you see it, remember that you still owe me money, got it?”

Su Bin: “…” He seemed like a pretty handsome guy, so why did Allen at this moment come off as a bit petty? Orz…

But Su Bin didn’t argue and obediently attached the other keychain to his own keys, carrying it with him.

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When Su Bin and Allen returned home, Yang Chengzhe was sitting in the living room reading a book and drinking tea. He smiled and greeted them, “Back already? Oh, you’ve changed.”

Su Bin was now wearing the shirt that covered his neck, but instead of a sweater, he wore a jacket on top. “Yeah, bought several pieces.”

Yang Chengzhe asked, “Where did you buy them? What brand are they? Let me see.”

“I didn’t buy them from brand stores. I got them at J. Lewis department store,” Su Bin said, not minding showing Yang Chengzhe the clothes and letting him evaluate Allen’s taste. “They’re all from unfamiliar brands…”

Yang Chengzhe thought that the clothes at J. Lewis might not target Su Bin’s age group, but considering Allen’s status, he could understand why he would take Su Bin there.

Su Bin took out the sweater and put it on in front of Yang Chengzhe. The style of this type of clothing was something that Su Bin, a junior in college, would never try in China. After all, the color was too plain and lacked vitality.

Yang Chengzhe looked him over and couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up.

Su Bin asked, “Does it look a bit old-fashioned?”

“Not at all. You have a youthful face. Originally, when you wore those Adidas or New Balance clothes, you looked like a kid who hadn’t grown up. But now, with this outfit, your temperament has improved a lot!” Yang Chengzhe gave his honest opinion. “Good clothes become more stylish the more you wear them. When you’re a little older, you’ll understand. This style and color are absolutely classic and versatile.”

Yang Chengzhe checked the price and added, “The price is not expensive either. J’s clothes have a pretty good cost-performance ratio compared to brand stores.”

Su Bin sighed, “It cost nearly 2,000 RMB!” And that’s not expensive? It seems like Brother Cheng is quite wealthy…

Yang Chengzhe smiled and said, “Good clothes come at this price. If they were sold in brand stores, the price would be at least triple, and you’d be paying for their advertisement costs.”

Since Yang Chengzhe said so, Su Bin felt reassured… Ah, it seems like my taste is gradually improving after coming abroad! Su Bin even had the urge to take a handsome photo and send it to Chen Xiaotian to show her!

But then he thought that maybe after a year in this place, he would undergo even more changes. Perhaps when they meet again, it will be an even more pleasant surprise for her.

Su Bin fantasized about their reunion, lost in his thoughts, when suddenly he heard the jingling of keys…

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Allen, holding his keys, reminded Su Bin not to space out and that he should write the IOU.

Su Bin: “…”

Ah~~ The road ahead is long and arduous. I must strive to find a “lock”! Job hunting, job hunting!

In the evening, Su Bin cooked dinner, and his roommates enjoyed a delicious meal.

When he went upstairs to his room, Allen called out to him and said, “Michael, here’s the deal. Considering that you work hard and cook for me in the future, it can offset the £5 debt you owe me. How about that?”

Su Bin: “…” (⊙ o ⊙) Is this really happening?

In fact, what Allen meant wasn’t that Su Bin would cook for him separately. Instead, if Su Bin cooked for everyone and Allen happened to be present and enjoyed the meal, it would partially offset the debt.

After all, Allen had independent expenses in this house and couldn’t contribute as much money for buying groceries and supplies as Yang Chengzhe and Jin Fei did.

Su Bin got a little excited upon hearing this and didn’t think it through. The next words slipped out of his mouth, “Really? Then I’ll cook dinner for you every night! (_)”

Allen: “…”

Sensing the strange expression on Allen’s face, Su Bin realized he had spoken impulsively and quickly corrected himself, “Um, if you ever want to eat the food I cook, I can make it for you…”

Allen’s lips curled up into a smile, “Heh heh…”

Realizing how awkward he must have sounded, Su Bin tried to explain, but before he could say anything, Allen gave him an order, “Tomorrow morning, prepare breakfast for me.”

“Huh, what?” Su Bin was a little slow to react, “Breakfast?”

“I want congee, and also those sweet and sour eggs you made last time.”

“…” This pace is a bit hard to keep up with!

“At 8 o’clock in the morning,” Allen smiled and turned around, “I hope you’ll have it ready on time.”

Watching the door of the opposite room close, Su Bin was still a bit stunned. At this moment, what he was thinking in his head was, “How do I charge for breakfast? Is it also £5? Then won’t I be making a huge profit!”

…Damn! Allen is so much easier to please compared to Alexander!

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