There's a guy on my Snapchat who loves showing off his body. He frequently posts mirror selfies flexing his muscles. I used to wonder which player was casting such a wide net. Later, I found out—his stories are only visible to me. 01 I swiped onto another post from our resident thirst-trapper. As usual, it was a photo. But this time, the style had changed, giving off a vibe of coy restraint. His hand lifted the hem of his t-shirt, revealing deeply defined abs. He was wearing loose gray sweatpants, the drawstrings hanging naturally—one long, one short—stealing all my attention in their extreme asymmetry. I stared at it for a moment, and my face silently flushed red. I forget when I added him, but as far back as I can remember, his stories have been exclusively these kinds of photos. Abs, biceps, back muscles... He posted one every few days, persistently tugging at people's heartstrings. I assumed he was a total player, for three reasons: First, he never showed his face. Second, he was incredibly good at teasing. Third, he lacked any sort of modesty. —What kind of decent, upstanding man posts stories like this! I originally just watched with a "might as well look if it's there" mentality, but today, it kind of went to my head. Those gray sweatpants really did something to me. My sleepiness vanished completely. I forwarded the photo to him and started a chat: "Is it cold in your house? Why are you wearing so much today?" I sent the message, but he didn't reply. I didn't know if he was busy or just ignoring me. I didn't dwell on it. Seeing that my lunch break was almost over, I hurried to catch some sleep. When I woke up, it was to the loud chatter in the office. My female colleagues were gathered in small groups, clutching their phones and wailing, "I'm heartbroken, I'm heartbroken." In my groggy state, I caught fragments of the conversation. It seemed some celebrity had just gone public with a relationship. I reached for my phone, clicked on the Twitter trending topics, and froze when I saw the name at the top. #ChloeMillerLiamHayes# The person who went public was my best friend! Fueled by the indignation of "how dare she not tell me she's dating," I clicked on the hashtag. The video content left me even more dumbfounded. It was from the recording of a late-night talk show. The cameras zoomed in on each guest's phone. The game segment required each guest to post a story claiming they were unhappy and see who received comfort first. Among the phones placed on the table, the one on the far left was the first to get a notification. It was Liam Hayes's. The host eagerly opened it, still making conversation: "Let's see who it is—" His voice abruptly cut off, and he stood frozen. Because in the chat window, there was no comfort. None at all. Instead, there was a borderline-inappropriate photo of a man, accompanied by a line of text: "Is it cold in your house? Why are you wearing so much today?" The video ended there. The quality wasn't great—it was probably filmed by an audience member—but even with poor quality, it was clear enough to see the details in the chat window. The sender's profile picture was of the actress Chloe Miller, saved under the contact name "Momo." She had sent the award-winning actor, Liam Hayes, a highly private photo he had never released to the public, accompanied by intimate—even borderline harassing—words! Since Chloe had previously stated in interviews that her childhood nickname was "Momo," netizens universally concluded this was her. Thus, the relationship between Chloe Miller and Liam Hayes rocketed to the top of the trending list. I rubbed my cheeks, the shock so immense I wondered if I was still dreaming. The conversation with the thirst-trapper was still sitting right there on my screen. With trembling hands, I tapped it open. The exact same content blasted my retinas once again. I had a stark realization—the guy who posted thirst traps on Snapchat every few days was the Hollywood A-lister, Liam Hayes. 02 The trending topic was still blowing up. The most triggered ones were the fans: "Usually you don't even show an ankle, and you button your shirts all the way to the top. I thought you were the most modest guy out there, but..." "What is this? Liam Hayes's abs, let me touch! What is this? Liam Hayes's abs, let me touch!" "Has anyone managed to get a high-res version of this? I need it for my lock screen." "Just a casual observer here, but is this Liam Hayes's usual vibe? This is hot." That last comment had the most replies. I clicked into the thread and was nearly blinded by a screen full of "HE IS NOT!" Undoubtedly, the fans were shocked. But I was equally shocked! I scrolled through the comments, trying to use the fans' shock to offset my own. Before I could fully process it, a new notification popped up at the top of my phone. It was from my best friend, Chloe, and she sent a screenshot. Chloe: "Audrey, please tell me this isn't you." The screenshot was of that exact conversation. Indisputable. I hung my head and admitted: "It's me." She sent a string of ellipses and asked genuinely: "How did you manage to strut your stuff right in front of Liam Hayes?" Honestly, I wanted to know too. I was just engaging in some ordinary ogling, how did I end up experiencing social death in front of the entire nation? Although, currently, the one experiencing social death was my best friend... Afraid of causing her trouble, I couldn't help but ask: "Is this going to be a huge mess?" She replied: "It's fine on my end. It wasn't me anyway, I'll just clarify it. Liam Hayes's side is the tricky one." I pursed my lips, still digesting the fact that "the thirst-trapper is Liam Hayes." My best friend started probing: "What exactly is going on between you and Liam Hayes?" I didn't know how to answer, so I just said: "He's the player I told you about before." My best friend slapped her desk in shock: "So you were the one he was trying to hook all along!" "..." I felt this was basically equivalent to a fairy tale. Liam Hayes and I were complete strangers. He didn't know me, and I didn't know him. Or rather, I knew of him; I knew he was a massive star. Aside from that, we had zero connection. How could he possibly be trying to hook me? Just as I denied it, another new message popped up at the top of my phone. It was the other party involved in the scandal. He replied to me. Liam Hayes: "I'll try to wear less next time then." "..." Dude, are you sure you didn't hook the wrong person? 03 If he were just a regular guy on Snapchat, I might have bantered back. But he wasn't. He was the acclaimed actor, Liam Hayes. I couldn't fathom how he had the leisure to flirt with me, a stranger on the internet? After the incident, my best friend immediately issued a clarification, stating she was not the person sending the messages. Her friends in the industry also vouched for her, proving that her personal Snapchat was not that account. As for me, I quickly changed my profile picture and display name, terrified that people around me might figure something out. Only Liam Hayes, at the center of the storm, remained completely silent. No PR statement, no clarification. It was as if he had no idea the internet was tearing itself apart over him. The biggest target of criticism was the collapse of his public persona. After all, Liam Hayes had previously been known as Hollywood's paragon of modesty. He kept his nose clean, had zero scandals, and his life consisted only of acting and hitting the gym. He had almost no other hobbies, and didn't even touch alcohol or cigarettes, which are ubiquitous in the industry. He was a gentleman, polite, and always covered up. The media had even interviewed him about his habit of "not showing a single inch of skin." At the time, Liam stated: "Only my wife gets to see my body." When that interview clip dropped, it was instantly shared and praised by countless netizens, cementing his status as the "modesty paragon." Let's just say, the harder they praised him then, the harsher they mocked him now. Because the guy who claimed "only my wife gets to see my body" was secretly blasting thirst traps everywhere. I also felt his public persona was a bit fake. If only his wife could see it, what was he doing posting on Snapchat all day? Photo after photo, I had practically seen his entire body. Was I his wife? As it turned out, I underestimated Liam Hayes's resilience. The very moment his Snapchat account was exposed, not only did he not lay low, but he actually posted another story that night. Still a photo. But the style was much more explicit than before, and true to his word, he was wearing a little less. I honestly didn't know what to say anymore. I could only sigh at how incredibly fake Hollywood personas were! Liam Hayes was practically a master-level player, casting a wide net, yet he managed to be called the "modesty paragon" of Hollywood... It was the joke of the century! I decisively chose to block his stories. Unexpectedly, moments later, Liam Hayes actually reached out to me with that same photo. He asked: "Is this okay?" I had no desire to play games with him and asked bluntly: "What exactly do you want?" He was even more blunt: "I want to date you." I was so freaked out I deleted him right then and there! Even after deleting him, my heart was still pounding. Thank goodness my best friend warned me. Turns out I really was just one of the fish in his pond! 04 I had just escaped the pond, but my best friend was caught in his clutches. It turned out she and Liam Hayes already had a professional connection; they were set to co-star in a commercial for a luxury bottled water brand. The contracts had been finalized ages ago, but the official announcement had been delayed. Now that the collaborating brand saw dating rumors swirling around their two spokesmodels, they decided to capitalize on it. The commercial shoot was urgently moved up on the schedule. Afraid my best friend would be taken advantage of, I warned her repeatedly: "You must be careful around Liam Hayes!" She nodded in agreement. Who knew that on the very first day of shooting, she'd drop a massive bombshell on me. Chloe: "Turns out Liam was the one who recommended me to the brand for this commercial!" My head instantly filled with question marks. While confused, I was also amazed. This guy Liam is casting a seriously wide net! I asked urgently: "How is it? Has he harassed you?" My best friend's reply surprised me: "No, he's totally normal. If you hadn't told me, I would never have imagined he's that kind of person in private." I typed back, distressed: "It's all a persona!" Afraid she'd let her guard down, I called her directly and told her about Liam saying he wanted to date me, emphasizing heavily: "He's literally just trying to hook whoever he can!" To my surprise, my best friend missed the point entirely: "So he really does want to date you!" Me: "?" She went further off track: "Do you think Liam gave me this commercial gig because of you?" I couldn't take it anymore, feeling a surge of frustration: "Why are you giving a player such a romantic backstory!" My best friend suddenly laughed: "What if he isn't a player?" "Of course he is," I argued. "What normal person posts stories like that? At first, I thought he was looking for a sugar mama." My best friend laughed harder: "I think the only person he wants to hook is you." I was speechless: "We don't even know each other." "Maybe you two—" Her voice cut off abruptly. Immediately after, a clear male voice came through the phone: "Can I sit here?" Thanks to the internet drama these past few days, I could instantly recognize that this voice belonged to Liam Hayes. Clear, clean, and highly distinctive. "Go ahead," came my best friend's voice. After some rustling sounds, Liam asked: "Are you close with Audrey?" "...Yes," my best friend sounded like she was holding back laughter. "Then do you know why she deleted me?" Liam's tone was so puzzled. "If she wasn't satisfied with the photos, I can push the boundaries a bit more." "Pfft," my best friend finally laughed out loud. After a long pause, her rather eager voice sounded: "Should I ask her for you?" "Please," Liam said politely. As soon as he left, my best friend couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, laughing continuously, making me incredibly annoyed. I snapped: "Stop laughing!" She finally gave a couple of 'hahas' and said teasingly: "He seems to know you." Me: "..." 05 Eggged on by my best friend, I visited the commercial set. The area had been cleared, but a large crowd had still gathered, forming three dense rings of people. Through the crowd, I spotted Liam Hayes right away. This is probably that legendary star quality; he stood there, and my eyes couldn't see anyone else. He was wearing a solid black tracksuit, looking elegant and tall. Currently, he was bending slightly while his assistant sprayed water on the loose hair at his forehead and temples. It seemed the assistant's hand slipped, and a mist of water rushed into his eyes. The air froze for a few seconds. I saw him blink his eyelashes lightly, the water droplets sliding down. He opened his sparkling eyes and comforted the assistant: "It's fine, keep going." I thought silently, He has a pretty good temper. As if sensing something, Liam looked with pinpoint accuracy in my direction. He looked surprised at first, then panicked, and a few seconds later, quietly averted his gaze. But his pale, jade-like profile slowly turned red, visible even to the naked eye. When I got closer, I even heard the stylist exclaim, "Did you already apply blush?" My best friend was snickering next to me. She whispered teasingly: "You really don't know him? But he blushed the second he looked at you." To be honest, I was also quite baffled. Is Liam Hayes really this innocent? But would an innocent person post stories like that? The next second, my best friend cleared up my confusion. Just as the commercial was about to start shooting, she tossed her phone to me, saying simply: "Just added Liam on Snapchat, go look at his stories." While muttering "What's there to see," I obediently tapped it open. The result surprised me. His stories page was completely clean, empty. There was no "Friend only allows viewing of the last 3 days" message, it was just literally empty. But I clearly remembered that when I looked a few days ago, it was full of thirst traps. Did he delete them, or put me on a custom list? Looking at Liam not far away, I found him harder and harder to figure out. The commercial shoot wrapped up quickly, and the crew discussed where to go for dinner. I waited beside my best friend, feeling a gaze seemingly fixed on me. I followed the feeling. No matter from which angle I looked, at the end of that gaze was Liam Hayes. My best friend watched like she was enjoying a show: "If you have something to say, say it. If you have questions, ask. Staring won't get you any answers." I was still debating whether to ask when Liam walked over. He was cleaned up and looking sharp, wearing a well-fitted dress shirt and trousers. Uncharacteristically, two buttons at his collar were undone, exposing a small patch of skin. Perhaps because he wasn't used to exposing skin, as he walked steadily towards us, he subconsciously tugged at the slightly open collar. A very simple movement, but done by him, it was exceptionally alluring. When Liam reached us, he looked at Chloe first and said: "The dinner is at the Grand Hyatt." My best friend feigned surprise: "Since when do we need you to personally deliver this kind of news?" Liam choked. He seemed to shift his gaze out of embarrassment, quietly turned to me, and without making a sound, mouthed the question: "Are you coming?" I felt a profound sense of absurdity and helplessness in that moment. To me, this action looked exactly like a couple pretending not to know each other in public, while secretly flirting behind everyone's backs. Were we really that close? It wasn't the place to talk, but I couldn't hold back. I took a step closer to him, using a piece of equipment for cover, and whispered: "Do we know each other?" He nodded: "Yes." "Then the Snapchat stories were...?" He stared at me for a long time, seemingly gathering courage, and said slowly: "The stories were for you." He leaned in close to my ear, his bright red earlobe right in my line of sight, and added softly and slowly: "Only for you." Boom. My ears burned red too.
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