Cui Lengyun and Xie Zhitan were drinking in a booth.
By the time Xie Zhitan went to An City, Cui Lengyun had already been abroad for over half a month. All told, they hadn't seen each other in nearly two months.
"You're in a bad mood. What's wrong? Project not going well?" Cui Lengyun asked casually, a cigarette between his lips.
"It's going very well." Two strands of Xie Zhitan's hair fell beside the corner of his eye.
Cui Lengyun narrowed his eyes at him through the smoke. "You've been like this since you were little. You barely talk when you're unhappy."
Both wore neat white shirts and were handsome, looking utterly out of place amid the suggestive, dimly lit atmosphere.
Xie Zhitan glanced at him. As though the place felt too stifling, he raised a hand and undid the button at his throat.
Cui Lengyun raised an eyebrow and turned to look out over the club. "All right, I get it. You really are in a bad mood. No wonder you asked me out for drinks. Want to talk?"
"If it's not the project, then it must be something at home. Xie Zhiwei's married and blissfully in love, Xie Zhiyan seems to be on the straight and narrow too, and Hua Jian certainly doesn't need you worrying about him."
He abruptly sat upright. "Fuck... Xie Zhitan, have you been dating someone behind my fucking back? Is this a love problem?"
Xie Zhitan lifted his eyes to him, and Cui Lengyun waved a hand. "Okay, you talk."
Xie Zhitan lowered his head to look at the liquor in his glass, swirling it with his slender fingers. "Do you remember a classmate I helped in middle school? He was always getting bullied. I helped him avoid it twice."
Cui Lengyun frowned.