Chapter Text
The dating app Shen Qiao had found was one that specifically catered to rich folk looking for potential sugar babies that they were willing to offer financial assistance in exchange for certain levels of intimacy. Shen Qiao had done extensive research before he even considered the option and found that most reviews were satisfied with its services.
After an entire night of thinking about whether or not this would be worth it, Shen Qiao had taken the picture for his profile. If anything went wrong, he would deal with the consequences accordingly. He had sent the first picture for his profile picture to his good friend, Bai Rong, for a second opinion on it but she called right after, informing him that she was on her way to help take some more alluring pictures that were sure to catch a potential sugar daddy.
Shen Qiao had expected something simple, like a change in scenery or some lighting, but Bai Rong arrived with a large, red suitcase that she insisted was necessary to take the right pictures. She ordered him to change into something nice, like a button-up shirt and some dress pants, something that would catch people's eyes. Shen Qiao does, settling for a simple white button-up shirt and black slacks. Bai Rong nods her approval but she unbuttons the first three buttons for him, just enough to show some skin. She drags him to the bathroom to put some very light makeup on him then drags him back in the living room.
Shen Qiao absentmindedly fixes his collar and watches her unpack in his living room. She pulled out a ring light that she set up near the couch along with a small comb that she used to fix Shen Qiao’s hair. Shen Qiao even allowed her to move around some of his decor and furniture until she was satisfied.
“Come sit here,” she pats the edge of the couch, reaching back in the suitcase for a camera.
“Is this really needed just for a picture?” Shen Qiao can’t help but question. He sits on the edge of his couch somewhat stiffly and Bai Rong walks over to fix his posture, telling him to loosen his shoulders, lean back into the couch, tilt his head to the side.
Shen Qiao feels ridiculous.
“The better your pictures, the more likely you are to get a sugar daddy. Did you forget why you’re doing this in the first place?”
Shen Qiao did not forget. With his adopted father stuck in the hospital, Shen Qiao needed the money for his expensive medical bills and he needed it as soon as possible. His salary could not sustain him enough to pay his own bills and his father’s bills.
Shen Qiao sighs and relaxes on the couch. “Let’s make this quick.”
Bai Rong grabs her camera, gets on one knee, and takes a series of pictures while instructing Shen Qiao where to look or when to change a pose. It felt like enough for Shen Qiao but Bai Rong drags him to the bedroom where she has him laying down in some… odd positions. He blushes as he turns on his stomach, looking back to Bai Rong to make sure his pose was okay.
“Ooh yes! Blushing will make you look even cuter!” Bai Rong comments, snapping more pictures that will likely have a good view of his ass.
They look over the pictures after, choosing the best ones to upload to Shen Qiao’s new profile. Shen Qiao types out a bio while Bai Rong wanders around his apartment, waiting for him to finish so she can proofread it.
“What’s your intimacy level?” Bai Rong asks, sitting on Shen Qiao’s kitchen counter snacking on some strawberry yogurt she grabbed from the fridge.
“Nothing too intimate.”
Shen Qiao pauses his typing. What else do you put on a bio besides age, city, and hobbies?
“Would you hold their hand if they asked?”
Ah. Level of intimacy would probably be a good idea to put down.
“It would depend,” Shen Qiao answers, typing in his preferred level of intimacy. Hand holding was negotiable.
“What about a hug?”
“It would depend.” Hugs were negotiable.
“Sex?”
Shen Qiao wasn’t doing this for the sexual aspect of it all, he wanted to keep it as innocent as he could manage. He hoped he could be paired with someone who wasn’t looking for someone who just wanted sex but he supposed that was what the settings were for.
“Probably not.” Sex was not negotiable.
With all the pictures uploaded and his bio practically finished, Bai Rong looked over his profile and after editing the bio a bit (“you have to show that you’re a great time. Your cute looks might reel them in but you need to keep their interest long enough for them to throw their money at you!”) she hits save. With Shen Qiao’s bio now successfully uploaded, it was only a matter of waiting for a response.
Shen Qiao waited anxiously.
“Don’t be so tense!” Bai Rong wraps her arms around Shen Qiao’s arm, tugging him toward the front door. “Let’s go eat to celebrate your road to being a sugar baby!”
Not something Shen Qiao would be proud of but he was hungry.
The first offer Shen Qiao gets, he declines it right away. The notification comes when Bai Rong has just ordered dessert and she hastily sits beside him to look at who had offered to be Shen Qiao’s sugar daddy.
The profile was of a man with a large hat on his neat black hair. He was sitting in front of a guqin table, his guqin looked carefully crafted and well kept.
“Why did you decline?” Bai Rong clicks on the man’s profile, looking through his gallery.
“Bad feeling,” Shen Qiao murmurs, looking with Bai Rong at the many pictures of his guqin, of the man posing with a sunset, of him at a traditional music festival.
Bai Rong clicks her tongue, exiting the profile.
“Yeah,” she says. “Maybe the next one?”
The next one comes when Shen Qiao is paying the bill despite Bai Rong insisting she pays because it was a celebration for Shen Qiao.
“Next time,” he says and hands his card to the waiter.
The ping once again prompts Bai Rong to sit close to Shen Qiao, looking over his shoulder.
The profile picture is of a bald man whose picture looks too serious for Shen Qiao’s tastes. The man does message Shen Qiao, offering him ten grand if he is willing to send him nudes every night.
“That’s not bad!” Bai Rong exclaims but Shen Qiao declines.
“He looks suspicious. I wouldn’t want him to post the pictures anywhere else.”
The next notification comes to Shen Qiao when Bai Rong has gone home.
Shen Qiao is wiping down his counters when his phone vibrates. He picks his phone up and opens the app, seeing that someone has sent him a message. Curious, he immediately clicks on the profile picture to get a better look at the man.
The man in the picture is sitting in a chair with his leg crossed over his knee, he’s leaning back with a glass of wine in his hand. Shen Qiao looks away from the man’s exposed chest because he doesn’t want to focus on such a detail. He focuses instead on the devilish smirk the man wears, the rings that adorn his fingers, the necklaces he wears, the high-collared purple shirt and black jacket hanging off his shoulders. Shen Qiao looks closer and spies the man has his ears pierced. All in all, he wasn’t bad looking, actually very pleasing to the eye even with the single white streak of hair in his short, styled hair.
Shen Qiao clicks back to the messages to read what he had said.
Good evening, is all the message says.
Shen Qiao smiles. The man was off to a good start. No obscure offers yet.
Good evening. How are you? Shen Qiao replies back.
Better now that I have the pleasure of speaking with you.
The implications of his message told Shen Qiao that he had had a bad day. He wanted to ask about it if only to make light conversation but he thought it too bold for their first conversation.
Shen Qiao should tell Bai Rong he found a potential candidate but another ping prompts Shen Qiao to look back down at the messages.
Your bio made it seem like you aren’t interested in any type of intimacy. Are you sure you’re in the right place?
Shen Qiao isn’t sure how to answer that so he decides to be somewhat truthful.
This is my first time doing something like this. I want to take small steps before I let myself go too far.
Although Shen Qiao planned to delete the app within the month if he could. This was only a temporary thing.
I see. The man replies. In that case, I would be honored to walk you through the process. What is your price?
Shen Qiao isn’t sure what the man meant by walking him through the process but so far he seemed like an understanding man. Shen Qiao felt no bad feelings from him. But he hadn’t thought of a price…
I’m not sure.
The answer comes after a few moments. What about five thousand for a phone call tonight? Nothing too extreme, I would just like some company after a long day at the office.
Shen Qiao has to sit down after that. The man was offering him five thousand for a simple phone call?!
That sounds great.
His phone pings again and Shen Qiao sees a notification of five thousand being transferred to his bank account. He blinks and freezes when his phone rings. The image of the man— Yan Wushi, he now sees thanks to the caller ID through the app— and a daunting green button beside the red one.
His thumb hovers over it for a moment before he picks up.
“Shen Qiao?” The voice is a deep, modulated voice that sends shivers down Shen Qiao’s spine.
“Yes,” Shen Qiao nearly croaks. “Yan Wushi?”
Yan Wushi hums, a smile evident in that tone. “Your voice is just as pleasant as your profile picture.”
Shen Qiao blushes, glad that the man cannot see him. He tries to picture what Yan Wushi was doing at the moment. He had said he had gotten back from the office, maybe he was sitting down on his couch much like Shen Qiao was?
“Thank you,” Shen Qiao manages. “You sound nice as well.”
Internally, Shen Qiao sighs for saying such an awkward thing. This was his first impression and he was already embarrassing himself.
Yan Wushi, however, doesn’t seem to mind. He chuckles, low and amused.
“I have never had my voice be described as nice. I wonder what other compliment I can get from you?”
A bit shameless but Shen Qiao chooses not to comment on it.
“Tell me about yourself, Shen Qiao. I want to hear everything there is about my new doll.”
Doll? Shen Qiao frowns but he knows it's just a pet name. He had made peace that he would likely be given a pet name when he had found a sugar daddy. The problem is Shen Qiao doesn’t know what to say. He didn’t think he would even get this far so soon.
“How about a trade off of questions?” Shen Qiao offers instead. He didn’t want to be the only one giving information.
“Fine,” Yan Wushi agrees. “What’s your first question?”
“Are you single?”
It wasn’t supposed to be a suggestive question. Shen Qiao had heard of many stories of people cheating on this site and he didn’t want any part in that. If he was to do this, it would be someone who was single.
“I am,” Yan Wushi answers. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I don’t share.”
Again, shameless. Shen Qiao brushes it off and decides to take this conversation somewhere where he could be comfortable. He had planned to shower but that would not happen if Yan Wushi was on the phone so he lays on his bed, propping his head on his pillow.
“What is your occupation?” Shen Qiao asks next.
“I’m a CEO.” Yan Wushi doesn’t offer any more information about his occupation but it’s enough for Shen Qiao. “And yourself?”
“Bartender.” It was nothing like a CEO but it was enough for Shen Qiao and he likes his job. It fit his schedule, paid just enough for him to live comfortably, and allowed him to meet some nice people. It was how he met Bai Rong.
“Perhaps you could make me a couple of drinks? I will tip generously.”
Shen Qiao didn’t doubt that but he would gladly make Yan Wushi a drink for free if only because of his first big payment. Five thousand was quite a lot for a simple phone call.
“Perhaps.”
Yan Wushi speaks up with his question. “How does your schedule look tomorrow?” Yan Wushi asks, something that sounds like typing coming from his side of the line.
“Oh,” Shen Qiao thinks. He has the day off tomorrow so he has nothing planned except to go visit his father in the hospital. “Nothing after 11am.”
“If you will allow it, I would like to take you out to dinner. I’m very eager to meet you.”
Dinner was no issue for Shen Qiao. They would likely be in a public place so there would be no opportunities for Yan Wushi to attempt anything.
“Dinner is fine. Where do I meet you?”
“I can pick you up or if you’re uncomfortable with that, I can send a cab your way.”
Shen Qiao liked how considerate he was to even offer to send a cab if he wasn’t comfortable.
“A cab would be fine. I’ll send an address for the cab to meet me at.”
“Wonderful. I suppose that means I answered the question already.”
“Not necessarily, what will you be doing in the morning?”
Silence from the other side. With the sound of papers flipping, he was likely checking his schedule. Shen Qiao can picture him sitting at a large desk with a stack of paperwork in front of him.
“I have a meeting at 9. Other than that, nothing until dinner.”
Shen Qiao’s phone vibrates suddenly. Shen Qiao checks the notification and sees a message from Bai Rong asking if he had any updates. He wanted to text back and tell her all about Yan Wushi but Yan Wushi started asking more questions that grabbed his attention.
Their conversation bled into hours of trivia questions about themselves and by the time Yan Wushi announced he needed to hang up, it was already two in the morning.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Correct,” Shen Qiao stifles a yawn, pulling the blankets on him.
“Good night, A-Qiao.”
“Good night, Yan Wushi.”
The end click of the call is strangely loud in the room and Shen Qiao sets his phone to charge on the nightstand. He’s half asleep when he realizes that Yan Wushi called him A-Qiao.
Something in him stirs and he’s not sure how to take that but he’s eager to tell Bai Rong that he has found himself a sugar daddy