Chapter 9

A friend leaned close to whisper in Shao Kang's ear, and Shao Kang's eyes flickered.

Not long after,

Shao Kang returned to his seat, but his friend did not.

Before two minutes had passed, the bar's host took the stage.

"Hello, everyone, look over here! It's time for our bar's regular game again. Let's see who our camera picks today."

As soon as the host finished speaking, those in the know below the stage erupted into cheers and jeers.

Xin Chun was slightly confused and turned to ask Ke Hang, "What game?"

Ke Hang shook his head. "I don't know either. I've never been to this bar before."

At that moment, the large screen behind the host suddenly lit up, displaying the bar's patrons. The camera swept across the crowd, countless faces appearing and disappearing on the screen.

The host raised his voice. "Let's all shout three, two, one together!"

Quite a few people joined in. "Three, two, one, stop!"

As the final word fell, the constantly moving camera finally paused. The image froze on three people—three men.

Xin Chun stared at himself on the screen in surprise. Owen sat to his left, while Shao Kang sat to his right. All three of them were clearly displayed on the huge screen.

Seeing that the screen had landed on three men, each handsome in his own way—especially one of them being mixed-race—the bar instantly exploded with shouting, teasing, and whistles loud enough to blow the roof off.

The host had to shout twice before temporarily quieting the commotion. "Ahem, looks like it's another classic choose-one-of-two. The people selected by the camera have to kiss each other."

"So, little handsome guy in the middle, make your choice. Will you kiss the mixed-race hunk on your left, or the guy in the shirt on your right?"

"Kiss, kiss!"

The bar patrons clapped and hollered.

Ke Hang said, "Damn, what kind of lousy game is this?"

Xin Chun's boss was on one side, and Shao Kang was on the other. If he really had to choose someone to kiss, Xin Chun couldn't exactly choose his boss, could he? How awkward would it be to work together afterward...

Shao Kang's sexual orientation was known to be male, and he liked Xin Chun. If Xin Chun kissed him and explained things clearly afterward, that choice would still be far better than Xin Chun kissing his boss.

Even Ke Hang thought so, and everyone else did too. They could not help glancing in Shao Kang's direction.

That was exactly what Shao Kang's friend had intended.

Given the circumstances, he had no choice but to kiss someone.

Xin Chun stood up, and the camera shifted with his movement.

Xin Chun first glanced at Shao Kang. Owen's eyes darkened, but before he could react, Xin Chun turned his gaze toward him and spoke softly. "Sorry, Owen. I hope you don't mind."

At some point, Xin Chun had pulled a dark green plaid handkerchief from his pocket—the very one he had used to bandage his palm in the forest. The handkerchief draped smoothly, separating Xin Chun and Owen from view.

Slowly, the handkerchief covered Owen's face. Then another body and breath leaned in.

Owen first felt the handkerchief's silky texture, carrying the fresh scent of laundry. Then the weight on his lips gradually became more distinct. Xin Chun had kissed him.

Xin Chun had intended to leave after one kiss, but just as their lips touched through the handkerchief, someone gripped his wrist. The next second, his wrist was pulled down, and the handkerchief was yanked from between their lips.

This time, there was no barrier between them at all.

The cheers beside them sounded as if they were about to lift the roof off.

Yet Xin Chun and Owen seemed to exist in a world of their own. Neither of them closed his eyes.

Owen's eyes resembled those of a beast, glinting dark green as they fixed tightly on a rabbit already standing at the edge of a trap.

The kiss ended quickly. At the host's prompting, the camera moved away, and the image on the large screen went dark. Aside from the continued revelry around them, the atmosphere around Xin Chun, Owen, and Shao Kang was rather strange.

The students looked at one another, unsure whether they should tease them and make jokes or keep drinking.

Xin Chun had actually chosen to kiss his boss instead of Shao Kang, his senior... Shao Kang had lost. It looked like Xin Chun truly did not want anything to do with Shao Kang. He would rather face awkwardness with his boss afterward.

The bar was dimly lit. Owen had pulled Xin Chun's wrist down inside the booth, where no one could see. Everyone merely assumed Xin Chun had failed to hold the handkerchief properly, causing it to slip down.

Xin Chun did not sit back down. Leaving behind only, "I'm leaving first," he headed out of the bar.

Shao Kang tried to stand, but Owen pressed a hand onto his shoulder. The force could not be ignored. He frowned, yet he could not move. Looking up, he met those dark green eyes for a moment.

Before Shao Kang could make out the meaning in that gaze, Owen turned and left as well.

Ke Hang hurriedly said, "I'll go see them off," then quickly went after Owen.

"Please wait," Ke Hang said to Owen.

Owen stopped.

They had already left the bar, but Xin Chun was nowhere nearby. Ke Hang looked into the distance and spotted someone beneath a streetlamp. It was Xin Chun, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did he say to Owen, "Don't mind Xin Chun's choice. Shao Kang openly pursued Xin Chun in college, and it caused him quite a lot of trouble. Even after Xin Chun clearly rejected him, Shao Kang never gave up."

"So throughout college, Xin Chun avoided Shao Kang whenever he could. He did not even want to see him. He really didn't want anything to do with Shao Kang."

"Maybe... maybe Xin Chun thinks that since you're from Y Country, you're more open-minded about this sort of thing, haha."

Ke Hang gave an awkward laugh at the end. He did not understand why Xin Chun had chosen Owen either. Perhaps it really was as he said—Xin Chun believed that, as someone from Y Country, Owen would not mind such things.

As for Shao Kang, Xin Chun would not give him even the slightest hope.

"I won't mind," Owen said.

His tone was calm, without any anger.

Ke Hang relaxed upon hearing that. "As long as this doesn't affect your relationship with Xin Chun."