The atmosphere was strangely quiet.
Manager Liu asked cautiously, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Bo, Jian is here. What would you two like to drink?"
Hua Jian said, "I've come up with a new cocktail. Why don't you give it a try?"
Lu Zexi coughed to cover his reaction. "Sure, sure. Go ahead."
How could he possibly care about drinking now? His curiosity was killing him!
What exactly was the relationship between this young bartender and Bo Lin?
Aaaaah!
No wonder Bo Lin had no interest whatsoever in those soft, sweet little boys.
All this time, he had thought Bo Lin was the abstinent type. Who knew this was what he liked?
Lu Zexi's mind was thoroughly in the gutter now, and a little of that excitement leaked into his eyes.
He looked at Hua Jian's long legs, his faintly visible abs, and his firm, pert ass straining against his trousers.
Tsk...
And those gold-rimmed glasses.
They should have made him look scholarly, but paired with his cool expression and a body that could work as either a top or a bottom, they made him look both restrained and wild instead.
Lu Zexi leaned toward Bo Lin and asked deliberately, "What do you think of him? You don't like those sweet little boys, but do you like this wild type?"
Bo Lin held an unlit cigarette between his fingers. His eyes remained lowered, looking nowhere in particular, as he said casually, "Lu Zexi, when did you become a pimp?"
Lu Zexi wasn't offended. He settled back and looked at the boy before him again. No, no-with that body, calling him a man would work too.
Bo Lin, oh, Bo Lin. Fine, keep your mouth shut. You probably don't know I can hear this 'Xiao Jian's' thoughts, do you?
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, as though he had unearthed a treasure.
When Hua Jian finished mixing the drinks and looked up, he caught Lu Zexi's expression of intense interest. His hand paused before he poured the cocktail into the glasses.
[Has Lu Zexi not met Shu Yao yet? Makes sense. If he already knew Shu Yao, he'd have fallen at first sight and been completely smitten by their second meeting, devoted himself to being a Simp, kept himself chaste for love, and never touched another pretty little thing. He certainly wouldn't be staring at me in such a disgusting way.]
"Pfft!"
Lu Zexi had just taken a sip of water, and he spat it straight out.
Bo Lin looked toward Lu Zexi in surprise. Shu Yao? He had heard that name before.
He had heard the name from the men who had barged into the hotel room, and Bo Lin had assumed Shu Yao was the person Hua Jian liked.
Apparently, that wasn't the case.
But Lu Zexi becoming a Simp? Keeping himself chaste?
Bo Lin couldn't imagine what a man as perpetually horny as Lu Zexi would look like with nothing to do, though he didn't particularly care either.
As Lu Zexi sprayed his water, Bo Lin raised his head for the first time since Hua Jian had entered, and their eyes met for the first time.
Hua Jian's gaze held no panic, nor did he avoid him. After meeting his eyes, he looked away naturally.
As though Bo Lin were merely an insignificant customer.
Somehow, the cigarette in his hand broke, scattering shreds of tobacco over Bo Lin's black trousers.
It looked as though some wild bird had flown across a clean, unblemished night sky. Though the bird had vanished, it had left its mark on the sky at last.
Lu Zexi choked on his water and coughed until his face turned red, frightening Manager Liu into handing him tissues and patting his back.
The other two, however, one standing and one seated, faced each other quietly from a distance, as though they existed in another space.
"Get away!"
Once Lu Zexi finally stopped coughing, he shoved Manager Liu aside, stood, and walked toward Hua Jian.
Bo Lin frowned, then quickly smoothed his brow.
[What is Lu Zexi coming over here for? Does he want to keep me? Right, he fell for Shu Yao at first sight and immediately wanted to keep him. Fuck, I'm a whole head taller than Shu Yao! If he dares talk any bullshit, I'll beat his ass!]
"You..."
Lu Zexi's face alternated between pale and livid. This little bastard certainly had an active imagination.
"Are the drinks ready? Why haven't you brought them over?" Bo Lin's cool voice rang out.
Hua Jian lowered his gaze. "Mr. Lu, please take your seat. I'll bring the drinks over for you and Mr. Bo."
With that brief interruption over, Hua Jian bent to place a drink in front of Bo Lin.
His long, pale fingers curled around the glass, tinted in vivid colors by the liquor, somehow looking sensual.
A certain part of Bo Lin suddenly tingled.
That night, this very hand had roamed his body like an unreasonable bandit, searching for something...
He shifted, his throat inexplicably dry.
"Please enjoy, Mr. Bo."
Though his voice was low, it carried a young man's vitality. Bo Lin gave a quiet assent in a husky voice.
Hua Jian felt a tingle at the base of his ears.
[Has his voice gone hoarse? What a strange sound. It makes my ears itch.]
Startled by such candid thoughts, Bo Lin felt the corner of his eye twitch uncontrollably.
Lu Zexi inwardly spat, cursing the pair of them for being such flirts!
And this "Xiao Jian" really knew how to treat people differently.
Most of the novelty of watching "Xiao Jian" mix drinks had worn off. Lu Zexi waved impatiently. "All right, you're done. Go back to work."
Then they could stop making eyes at each other in front of him. It was irritating.
After Hua Jian and Manager Liu left, the private room fell quiet.
The colorful cocktails sat on the table for a long while before someone picked one up to taste it.
Lu Zexi asked, "Do you know that bartender?"
Bo Lin took a sip, his brow relaxing. "He's Fanling's new art teacher."
Lu Zexi was startled. "Art teacher? Xiao Jian can paint?"
Bo Lin lifted his eyes to look at him.
Lu Zexi was puzzled. "Why are you looking at me?"
"You hire bartenders to serve those rich brats without checking their backgrounds first?"
"There's nothing to check. He's a student at Imperial University, and Xie Zhiwei's younger brother referred him." As he spoke, Lu Zexi frowned at Bo Lin. "Liu said he's Xie Zhiwei's younger brother's boyfriend."
Bo Lin's lashes fluttered. He suspected Hua Jian wasn't Xie Zhiwei's younger brother's boyfriend, but Xie Zhiwei's own boyfriend. He said nothing, tipping his head back to drain the rest of his glass.
The liquor went down smoothly, but left a somewhat bitter aftertaste.
He didn't stay long, leaving after finishing that cocktail.
Lu Zexi didn't even notice when Bo Lin left. He was distracted, thinking about that man named Shu Yao.
He had always been a staunch atheist, yet now he found himself instinctively believing Hua Jian's inexplicable thoughts.
Surely there wasn't really a man named Shu Yao?
Would he really fall for a man at first sight and keep himself chaste?
"Ha. Absolutely impossible!"
Lu Zexi scoffed, forcibly convincing himself and burying that trace of worry deep in his mind before going downstairs.
UP had always been a quiet, tasteful bar, but for two days running, it had been as noisy as a market.
Frowning, Lu Zexi called Brother Shen over. "What's going on here? Didn't I tell you not to let anyone in without a membership card or a reservation?"
Brother Shen hurriedly explained with an accommodating smile, "They do have a card. One of our VVIP guests brought in a new member who signed up a few days ago. See, that new guest is opening bottles over there."
As he spoke, the commotion over there grew louder.
Impatience crossed Lu Zexi's face. "Find an opportunity to revoke his membership. What the hell does he think he is?"
Brother Shen had no idea how he had managed to get on the boss's bad side. Lu Zexi usually left everything to others. Why was he suddenly getting involved in the bar's business today?
"Yes, yes. I'll remember, Mr. Lu."
Lu Zexi withdrew his gaze from the noisy group, but caught sight of the only boy in that booth who hadn't stood up.
He saw only his profile, yet his gaze involuntarily lingered for several seconds.
"Oh, Xiao Jian, are you off work?"
Lu Zexi abruptly snapped out of it, watching Hua Jian approach with an almost paranoid wariness.
"Goodbye, Mr. Lu."
"Mm."
They passed each other, and Lu Zexi heard nothing strange. Just as he was feeling relieved...
[Huh? Aren't those Shu Yan, Shu Yao, and Liu Yuze? So this is where they meant to have their gathering. Tsk, tsk. So today's the day Lu Zexi falls for Shu Yao at first sight. Time to become a Simp and lose it all...]
Ding!
The bell at the bar's entrance rang, and the door clanged shut. Hua Jian's thoughts cut off abruptly.
Lu Zexi gritted his teeth and snarled, "You're the fucking Simp!"
He turned to glance at the booth again. The same people, the same lighting, but this time, the only boy still seated didn't seem so special.
An ordinary complexion and a somewhat pretty profile, but he fell far short of the artists at Lu Zexi's company.
"Brother Shen, clean the private room upstairs and lock it. I won't be staying here for the next few days."
"Yes, yes, of course."
Watching his boss retreat as though something were chasing him, Brother Shen rubbed his chin in confusion.
"Brother Shen!"
"What is it?"
Oh, well. He was just an employee. What could he do about the boss's affairs?
Meanwhile, Shu Yao suddenly turned toward the bar's entrance, but it was empty. There was nothing there.
He pressed a hand to his chest and stared blankly, as though something important that should have belonged to him had vanished just moments ago.
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