Yeah, I get the play.

I'm not going to pretend to read minds on what exactly that emoji means.

Maybe that person still hates being called baby, but it's such a relief not to deal with mis-gendering asshole that was enough? Maybe it was absolutely fucking hilarious to them. We don't know. I'm not insulted, upset, or defending their honor.

I am saying that calling a complete stranger "baby" is a creepy opener. Immediately doing it again, after what could very easily be interpreted as being rebuffed, moves from being creepy into straight rapey.

Taking that shot, with zero consideration for the other person's perspective is also a bit creepy. Low yield win over making someone deeply uncomfortable on a dating app -- the kind of shit they very likely have to deal with constantly.