A Straight Guy

Fu Zhilan felt uncomfortable under their stares. After thinking it over, he reached for the bottle of beer Jiang Qiao had just drunk from and took two swigs himself. "Now we're accomplices."

Only then did everyone let out a long breath, picking up their chopsticks and raising their glasses as they dug in with gusto.

Jiang Qiao looked at the beer Fu Zhilan had drunk from, then silently opened himself another bottle from the ice bucket.

He didn't trust Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng was Shi Junyi's loyal lapdog. Since Shi Junyi had told him to keep an eye on Jiang Qiao, he would definitely report every detail to Shi Junyi—who Jiang Qiao had spoken to, how many times he had smiled, and even how many seconds he had held someone's gaze.

Fu Zhilan had only just joined their little rule-breaking squad, and everyone had barely lowered their guard when there came another knock at the door before they'd even taken two bites.

Another frantic scramble to hide the bottles.

Given Shen Guiyi's unreliability, Chen Sheng opened the door this time.

But the person outside was clearly far less polite than Fu Zhilan. The knocking was hurried, growing harder and harder. They had probably been waiting too long without anyone answering and had lost patience.

The moment Chen Sheng unlocked the door, it was rammed open from the outside.

Shi Youxi shoved Chen Sheng aside and went straight for Jiang Qiao. "Jiang Qiao, are you avoiding me?!"

Jiang Qiao had a huge piece of chicken stuffed in his mouth. It was too hot to swallow, but his mouth wouldn't close around it either. As he was at a loss over what to do, Fu Zhilan simply reached in and took the chicken out of his mouth.

Then, completely calm, he put it into his own bowl and said with concern, "Slow down. Don't burn yourself."

Jiang Qiao got goosebumps from that outrageous move. "Why didn't you throw it away?"

Fu Zhilan blinked. "It's fine, Qiao-ge. I don't mind."

Shen Guiyi shot Jiang Qiao an annoyed glare, took Fu Zhilan's bowl, and dumped everything inside into the trash.

Shi Youxi's expression twisted. "What are you doing?"

Chen Sheng said awkwardly, "Eating..."

Shi Youxi stared at Chen Sheng.

"D-Do you want to join us?" Chen Sheng blurted out.

Shi Youxi walked over to the sofa without ceremony and squeezed himself onto Jiang Qiao's other side.

Sandwiched between Fu Zhilan and Shi Youxi, Jiang Qiao felt his head throbbing.

Zhang Liang, Chris, and Axu all looked at Chen Sheng resentfully.

Even less reliable than Shen Guiyi.

Everyone ate in silence, not even daring to make a sound while chewing.

Shi Youxi picked up Jiang Qiao's chopsticks, grabbed a slice of lettuce stem, and put it in his mouth.

Before Jiang Qiao could say anything, Fu Zhilan took two new pairs of chopsticks from the table. He handed one pair to Jiang Qiao and the other to Shi Youxi. "Young Master, those are Qiao-ge's chopsticks. Here are new ones."

Shi Youxi glanced at Fu Zhilan, glaring at him with an unfriendly expression. "None of your business."

Fu Zhilan pursed his lips, lowered his head, and said nothing.

Shi Youxi poked Jiang Qiao and asked again, "Are you avoiding me?"

Jiang Qiao denied it. "Why would I avoid you?"

"Then why didn't you come when I sent people to find you?" Shi Youxi demanded.

Jiang Qiao had indeed run into two unfamiliar servants who had delivered a message, telling him to go to the shark hall on the first floor that night.

But the servants had acted sneaky when passing on the message. When he asked who wanted to see him, they refused to say, so Jiang Qiao hadn't gone.

"I have to keep watch for the eldest miss at night. Did you need something?" Jiang Qiao lied without blinking. Shi Youxi had always believed Jiang Qiao worked under Shi Jiao anyway.

"I have something to tell you," Shi Youxi said.

Shi Junyi's people immediately perked up their ears.

"Say it here," Jiang Qiao said.

Shi Youxi swept his gaze over the others. "It's not convenient here."

Jiang Qiao didn't budge. "Then don't say it."

There were eight people at the table. Aside from Jiang Qiao, four of them were Shi Junyi's lapdogs. If he went out alone with Shi Youxi to talk, then once Shi Junyi returned, Jiang Qiao would definitely be in deep trouble.

Fu Zhilan put some meat into Jiang Qiao's bowl. "Qiao-ge, eat."

Shi Youxi glanced at Fu Zhilan and served Jiang Qiao some food as well. "Eat."

Fu Zhilan handed Jiang Qiao a cigarette. "Want a smoke, Qiao-ge? I'll light it for you."

Shi Youxi noticed a small bruise on Jiang Qiao's cheekbone and raised a hand to touch it. "How did this happen?"

Jiang Qiao dodged away and blocked him with his hand. "It's nothing."

Jiang Qiao was no slouch when it came to reading people. He was extremely sensitive to others' affection and flirtatious signals.

Ever since he had slapped Shi Youxi on impulse over half a month ago, he had no idea which switch he had flipped in him.

Shi Youxi might not exactly like him, but he definitely wanted to develop some improper kind of relationship with him.

As for Fu Zhilan, his little thoughts were obvious. He was afraid Jiang Qiao would fall for someone else and stop taking care of him, so he kept trying to make his presence known.

Jiang Qiao was annoyed beyond belief and stood up directly. "You guys eat. I'm leaving first."

"No!" Shi Youxi grabbed the hem of Jiang Qiao's clothes.

Jiang Qiao frowned. "Let go."

Shi Youxi had noticed the alcohol hidden under the table long ago. He took out a bottle and placed it on the tabletop, staring at Jiang Qiao as he threatened, "If you leave, every one of you will be punished."

Other than Shen Guiyi, everyone sucked in a breath, their gazes instantly converging on Jiang Qiao.

Chen Sheng hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Um, um, how about watching a movie? I'll put one on? Jiang Qiao hasn't eaten much. Eat a little more, a little more."

At that, Jiang Qiao's lips suddenly curved up. "Sure, but movies are boring. Let's watch something else."

"Watch what?" Chen Sheng asked.

Jiang Qiao gave Shen Guiyi a look and secretly made a gesture.

Shen Guiyi immediately understood. She stood up. "Give me two minutes. I'll be right back."

Five minutes later.

Two figures, a man and a woman, were projected onto the huge white wall.

The two first sat together and talked for a while. Then they started kissing. Then they began a series of indescribable special exercises.

Jiang Qiao turned the speakers up to maximum volume, filling the entire screening room with the woman's sultry cries.

Everyone stared in stunned silence.

Under the shocked gazes of Shi Youxi and Fu Zhilan, Jiang Qiao said seriously, "I don't mean anything else by this. I just want to say that right now, I'm a straight guy."

Shen Guiyi popped open a bottle of champagne with a perfectly timed bang. "Congratulations, Jiang Qiao!!!"

Jiang Qiao raised his glass to everyone. "Thank you!"

Perhaps because the atmosphere was too bizarre and the situation too absurd, that night, with the strange adult movie playing in the background, five of the eight people drank until they passed out.

Only Chen Sheng, Jiang Qiao, and Shen Guiyi remained sober.

Chen Sheng escorted the unconscious Shi Youxi back to the third floor. Fu Zhilan tearfully called Jiang Qiao's name and begged for a hug, so Jiang Qiao picked him up and shoved him at Shen Guiyi.

Chris and the other two slept in the screening room, while Jiang Qiao quietly climbed through the window into Shi Junyi's bedroom.

The last time he had climbed through the window into Shi Junyi's bedroom a few days ago, Shi Junyi had already fallen asleep without waiting for him.

Jiang Qiao couldn't bear to wake him. He had only crouched beside the bed and watched him for a while, replaced the roses in his vase, and left.

Tonight, the bedroom was empty and desolate.

As usual, Jiang Qiao picked fresh roses from the greenhouse, put them into the vase by the window, then took out the withered ones and threw them away.

In the dark, he used Shi Junyi's bathroom to shower, then climbed naked into Shi Junyi's bed.

Breathing in Shi Junyi's lingering scent on the sheets, he secretly pulled out two tissues and did something to temporarily vent his emotions.

He pulled Shi Junyi's pillow into his arms, only to unexpectedly discover two guns tucked underneath it.

Jiang Qiao sat up and weighed the two guns in his hands.

As if he had suddenly thought of something, he quickly removed both magazines.

Sure enough, one was fully loaded.

The other was empty.

So Shi Junyi wasn't unafraid of a gun going off by accident. The gun he loaded and pointed at Jiang Qiao's head each time was just an empty shell.

Jiang Qiao buried his face in Shi Junyi's pillow and laughed softly.

"You bastard. One day, I'll make you willingly tell me you love me."