Shan Ye's fingers twitched, and the Marlboro he'd only taken two drags from dropped straight to the floor. The cigarette butt bounced once and rolled into the corner.
"..."
Shan Ye's mind buzzed, and fear washed over him. Though there was nothing going on between him and Boss Fan, his first instinct was not to let him see him here.
He glanced down at the cigarette, still smoking, then looked back up at Fan Jin. His mouth opened, but not a sound came out.
Fan Jin said nothing either. He just looked at him.
The hallway was dimly lit, the music muffled by the walls, making this little stretch of space feel frighteningly quiet.
Shan Ye felt as if his heart was pounding so loudly the man opposite him could surely hear it.
"B-Boss Fan," he said stiffly. "What a coincidence. Are you out here for some air?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself.
Some air? Was this a place anyone came for air?
Fan Jin looked at him, his gaze slowly drifting from Shan Ye's face to the cigarette in the corner, then back again. "Why did you run?"
The question stumped Shan Ye.
Why had he run? He couldn't exactly say, I was scared you'd see me at a gay bar, think I slept around, and get a bad impression of me, could he?
"I didn't," he said, forcing a smile. "I just came out for a smoke."
Under that gaze, Shan Ye felt increasingly uneasy. He was about to make up something else when Tan Yi'an's voice suddenly came from the far end of the hallway. "Shan Ye? Shan Ye, where are you? Where'd you run off to?"
Shan Ye's scalp prickled.
A second later, Tan Yi'an appeared around the corner, still holding that pretty boy with the bunny ears in his arms. His eyes lit up when he spotted Shan Ye, and he hurried over.
"What are you hiding out here for? I thought you-"
Halfway through, he noticed the strikingly poised man standing in front of Shan Ye.
Tan Yi'an looked Fan Jin up and down, then glanced at Shan Ye and raised an eyebrow.
"Who's this? A friend of yours?"
Fan Jin raised an eyebrow. His gaze swept over Tan Yi'an's face, settled on the bunny-eared boy in his arms, then returned to Shan Ye.
Shan Ye felt as though that stare was about to burn him alive. It was so intimidating that he was a nervous wreck. Now that he'd been caught red-handed, what could he possibly say? But he hadn't actually done anything.
Shan Ye opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Tan Yi'an beat him to it. "Hi, I was his college roommate. I just got back from abroad. Are you a friend of his too? Come hang out with us."
As he spoke, he tightened his arm around the bunny boy, making his meaning obvious.
Shan Ye could feel his blood pressure soaring. Fuck. All that time he'd spent building a decent image, and Tan Yi'an had ruined it all.
"Stop talking. He's not here for that." He shot Tan Yi'an a glare.
"Um," he began, his voice painfully dry, "Boss Fan, it's not what you think." He wanted to explain, but had no idea how. All those years of education had gone to waste; he couldn't even stumble through a single sentence.
Fan Jin showed little reaction. His voice was flat. "Have fun." Then he turned and left.
He'd come here to meet someone. Xu Jing had said they were going drinking tonight, but he seemed to have come to the wrong place. This looked like a gay bar.
Shan Ye didn't know whether to follow him or stay put. To put it bluntly, Fan Jin had nothing to do with him. What obligation did he have to explain himself? He liked men anyway, so what was wrong with coming to a gay bar? He didn't sleep around. Surely having a few drinks wasn't hurting anyone.
Yet his heart felt twisted into a knot, because he cared. He cared about every word Fan Jin said, every move he made, and what Fan Jin thought of him.
He immediately chased after him, but by the time he reached the entrance, Fan Jin was nowhere in sight. Looking around, he spotted a figure dressed in black walking with his head lowered. He looked a lot like him.
Shan Ye ran up and tapped the man's shoulder. He regretted it the instant he made contact. This definitely wasn't Fan Jin. But it was too late; the man turned around and asked, "Can I help you?"
The face was completely unfamiliar.
Shan Ye immediately apologized. "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."
The man said nothing and turned to keep walking.
Standing on the sidewalk, Shan Ye felt lost. Panic churned inside him. He couldn't find Fan Jin, and he didn't have his contact information either.
The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it. Why had he stood there like a block of wood without saying anything? He hadn't done anything. Couldn't he have just explained that to Fan Jin?
He raked a hand through his hair in frustration.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Tan Yi'an calling, and he answered.
"Where'd you go?" Tan Yi'an asked.
"Where'd I go, where'd I go-is that all you know how to ask? He's the guy I like, you know? I'm trying to win him over." He couldn't hold back his temper. Things had already been a little unpleasant with Fan Jin at noon, though he'd been the only one silently sulking. Now this had happened tonight, and he couldn't find Fan Jin or clear things up.
He couldn't keep his emotions in check.
Tan Yi'an immediately understood what Shan Ye had been hiding from, and his tone softened at once. "Does he... not know you like men?"
Shan Ye took a deep breath and calmed himself before saying, "Yeah. I wanted to take it slow."
"But you and your big mouth had to go and give everything away."
Even if Tan Yi'an hadn't said anything, running into him here would probably have been enough for Fan Jin to guess he liked men. But Tan Yi'an had been holding a bunny-eared boy, making it obvious he was someone who picked up men at bars. Shan Ye was afraid Fan Jin would assume birds of a feather flocked together and think he was the same.
Tan Yi'an apologized. "Sorry, sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
Shan Ye said nothing.
Agitated, he pulled out his cigarettes, put one between his lips, and lit it.
Tan Yi'an continued, "But there's an upside, too. Now he knows you like men, so why not go after him harder? Just put your feelings out in the open. If you win him over, date him. If you don't, find someone else."
It was that simple.
Shan Ye took a drag and exhaled.
How could it be as simple as he made it sound? He didn't even know whether Fan Jin liked men or women. How was he supposed to pursue him? What if he hated gay people? What if it all fell apart?
In all his twenty-eight years, Shan Ye had finally found someone he liked. One glance at Fan Jin had been enough to leave him utterly smitten. He didn't want to just give up.
No. He still had to find a chance to explain everything to him.
He couldn't wait until tomorrow to go to the café. He had to go to Fan Jin's home right now.
Find him and clear everything up.
Before you continue