You Two Aren't Gay, Are You?

The First-Class Pavilion was a famous restaurant in Bingzhou. Its lofty prestige made it a gathering place for successful people, and naturally, its prices were anything but cheap. At that moment, the black sedan was heading there.

The restaurant stood opposite the villa district. Apparently, its owner was on pretty good terms with Bai Yun's father, so Bai Yun had eaten there plenty of times growing up and even received discounts.

They soon arrived. After the four of them got out, they saw a building with an elegant, traditional design. A plaque hung above the main entrance, bearing the words "First-Class Pavilion."

"Come on, come on! Let's eat here!"

The four of them entered the building. Quite a few people were already inside, eating or chatting, making for a lively scene.

When he saw them enter, a slightly plump man dressed in traditional clothing hurried over with a smile. "Well, look who it is!"

Cheng Tian and the others froze for a moment. "Aw, would you look at that! Young Master Bai has graced us with his presence today!" the plump man said.

Cheng Tian couldn't help marveling inwardly. What a eunuch's voice!

He had worked in Kyoto in his previous life and was thoroughly used to the authentic Capital City accent. That was proper local speech, not this eunuch-like drawl. That single "aw" was enough to make his scalp crawl.

"Manager, you're not even from Kyoto. Why do you keep copying their accent? You've made a complete hash of it," Bai Yun said with a laugh. "Hehe, Young Master Bai, listen to you! I may not be a born-and-bred Kyoto local, but my household registration is there, at least. When in Rome, do as the Romans do-I know the rules!" The manager wasn't offended and smoothly played along.

"All right, all right. Down to business. I'm here to eat with my friends today." At that, the manager looked at the other three and rubbed his chubby hands together. "You three must be Young Master Bai's friends. May good fortune smile upon you, honored guests!"

"Ahaha, and upon you too. And upon you too." The other three were a little embarrassed.

"Manager, do you have any private rooms left?" The manager promptly nodded. "What are you saying? You're the owner's friend! How could we not have a private room for you?" "All right, enough banter. If there's a room, just tell us."

"Hehe, your usual private room upstairs. This way, honored guests." "All right, we'll head up first."

Bai Yun led the other three to a private room on the second floor. They had to admit, the atmosphere was excellent. Even a hint of sandalwood greeted them as they entered, unlike downstairs, where everyone had to eat in the main dining hall.

Once they sat down, a waitress in a qipao approached with a menu. "Order whatever you'd like." Bai Yun handed the ordering over to the other three.

"Me first, me first!" Lin Lin took the menu and started ordering. Petite as she looked, the girl had a formidable appetite and ordered practically every kind of meat. Satisfied, she passed the menu to Su Han, who considered it for a moment before ordering a few side dishes. Then the menu reached Cheng Tian. Although he had come along to eat here a few times before, the prices still gave him a fright whenever he saw them. A single serving of fatty beef cost sixty-eight. Absolutely outrageous.

Cheng Tian checked off a couple of cheaper dishes and handed the menu to Bai Yun. Bai Yun glanced at it. "Why did you only order meat and vegetables? We have to get their Spicy Crab and Shrimp Combo."

"Hehe, this should be enough. There are only four of us. Don't order too much," Cheng Tian reminded him. He had just seen that a single combo cost several hundred.

"It's fine, it's fine. You think two grown men like us can't finish one serving of shrimp?" Bai Yun waved a hand, and the waitress left with the menu.

Before long, their dishes arrived, and the main attraction quickly followed. A huge black pot held a number of shrimp and crabs, which were actually still alive. Cooled broth and various seasonings had been poured over them.

Bai Yun deftly turned on the heat as he explained, "This is the First-Class Pavilion's specialty. The crabs and shrimp are brought out alive and cooked at the table. Guests can cook their other dishes in the broth, pretty much like hot pot."

Over the high heat, the broth soon came to a boil. Bai Yun took a pair of serving chopsticks and added the vegetables first, followed by the meat. Since the shrimp and crabs were still raw, they would save those for last.

"Here, Yun." Lin Lin picked up a cooked slice of beef, dipped it in the sesame paste in her bowl, and brought it to Bai Yun's mouth. "You try it first."

Bai Yun bit it off and nodded. "Mm, it's cooked. We can eat now." Cheng Tian was already used to this sight, but Su Han wasn't. Her little face immediately flushed.

D-did that count as an indirect kiss? She had noticed that Lin Lin hadn't used the serving chopsticks, but her own. After feeding Bai Yun, Lin Lin used the same chopsticks to pick up another slice of meat and eat it herself.

"Group leader, Cheng Tian, dig in. The meat's going to get tough," Bai Yun reminded them.

They quickly tucked in. Naturally, the two boys ate with the most gusto. They barely touched the vegetables and mostly ate meat. Between eating her own food, Lin Lin also picked up food for Bai Yun from time to time.

Although Su Han loved good food, she had a small appetite and ate sparingly to maintain her figure, taking only a bite or two of each dish. Watching Lin Lin serve Bai Yun, a thought suddenly popped into her head.

Should I put some food in Cheng Tian's bowl too...?

At that thought, Su Han glanced nervously at Cheng Tian, who was busy eating with his head down. Cheng Tian found it odd that Su Han wasn't eating.

Doesn't this girl have a pretty good appetite? She even dragged me around Food Street last Saturday.

Could she be feeling awkward here?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and Cheng Tian came up with an idea. She was their group leader, and they would be spending the next three years together. How could they not build a good relationship?

Besides, Cheng Tian had promised to be her friend that day and had told her that Lin Lin and Bai Yun were her friends too. He couldn't let things carry on like this.

So Cheng Tian picked up his serving chopsticks, took a slice of fatty beef from the pot, and placed it in Su Han's bowl. With a gentle smile, he said, "You should eat some more meat too."

Cheng Tian swore he had done it purely out of friendship, but the two spectators enjoying the show thought otherwise. Their eyes went wide.

Holy crap! Cheng Tian actually went on the offensive!

Seeing Cheng Tian put food in her bowl, Su Han's fair cheeks instantly turned red. Then she noticed the teasing smiles on Lin Lin's and Bai Yun's faces and nearly died of embarrassment. Still, she was very happy that Cheng Tian had kindly served her some food.

With her little face faintly flushed, Su Han lowered her head and ate in tiny bites. Cheng Tian, meanwhile, took this as a sign that she was touched and couldn't resist giving himself a huge mental thumbs-up.

That's me for you!

For some reason, Bai Yun and Lin Lin now looked at Cheng Tian with a little more gratification. They had thought he was a block of wood, but apparently, he did understand romance after all.

Once the vegetables and meat were finished, Bai Yun fished out a bright red crab, placed it in a bowl, and ladled some broth over it.

"Here, A-Tian. The crab's ready. The broth's really flavorful after cooking the crabs. Give it a taste."

Cheng Tian put on a pair of disposable plastic gloves and used a knife to pry open the crab's shell. Delicate pink flesh and golden roe appeared before him, accompanied by a mouthwatering aroma.

Cheng Tian hurriedly sucked up a mouthful of roe. The fresh, tender roe rolled across his tongue, wonderfully sweet and leaving a lingering aftertaste. "Mmm-delicious!" Cheng Tian couldn't help praising it. The crab really was incredibly fresh and sweet.

Just then, Bai Yun pulled out a tissue and wiped the corner of Cheng Tian's mouth before turning the tissue over. "Look. Be careful when you're eating the roe." Some crab roe remained on the white tissue.

"Mm, the shrimp look cooked too. Want to try one?" Cheng Tian asked. Bai Yun shook his head. "There's not much meat, and peeling them is a pain. I'll stick to crab." At that, Cheng Tian removed a shrimp's head and tail, dipped it in soy sauce and sesame seeds, and brought it to Bai Yun's mouth. Bai Yun ate it without a second thought.

"Good?" "Good."

To the two of them, this was perfectly normal: two good buddies feeding each other. In the two girls' eyes, however, something was decidedly off.

Su Han and Lin Lin wore strange expressions. Lin Lin had already prepared some shrimp meat, but after seeing that, she could only silently eat it herself.

The two girls exchanged a glance and immediately read each other's thoughts. After a long while, Su Han cautiously spoke.

"You two... aren't gay, are you?"

Cheng Tian and Bai Yun: ????

"Of course not!!!" ×2

The moment those words left her mouth, both boys felt that their sexual orientation had been called into question. "I'm straight! Straighter than steel, and harder too!" Cheng Tian protested.

"Haven't I told you already? I only have feelings for women-for two-dimensional fictional girls! Three-dimensional people, male or female, can all drop dead!" Bai Yun yelled.

Both of them desperately argued that their sexual orientation was completely normal, but even at the end, Su Han and Lin Lin still looked at them strangely.

Their meal ended just like that. Bai Yun asked the waitress for another pot of tea, and the four of them sat in the private room drinking it.

"Hm?" Just then, Su Han suddenly said, "Check the class group chat on your phones, everyone. Looks like we're having beginning-of-term exams."

Hearing that, the others hurriedly opened the class group chat.

Homeroom teacher: @Everyone, the beginning-of-term exams will take place next Thursday. I hope you'll all prepare properly.

My Wife Miku: Nice.

Homeroom teacher: ?

[My Wife Miku recalled a message and gave a mischievous grin.]

My Wife Miku: Understood.

The corner of Cheng Tian's mouth twitched. Bai Yun was such a rascal.

"Aaah, more exams! I don't wanna take exams!" Lin Lin complained. At Bingzhou No. 1 High School, the beginning-of-term exams were very important, rivaling even the finals.

If you bombed the finals, the worst you would get was a lecture from your homeroom teacher. After all, the term was already over. What else could they do?

But if you bombed the beginning-of-term exams, your homeroom teacher would summon your parents, and both sides would lecture you together-a two-pronged assault on your attitude!

Uh... the normal kind of two-pronged assault...

In short, if you didn't want your parents summoned, you had to do well.

"Relax. We've still got plenty of time. We just need to study hard from now on," Su Han reassured her.

"But what will the beginning-of-term Pokémon exam involve? Battles?" Bai Yun mused. "Probably. We're in Pokémon Studies, after all," Cheng Tian said.

And with that, their meal came to an end. Everyone headed home, saying they would study hard. Although Lin Lin didn't live in the villa district, her home was fairly close, so she walked back herself.

Su Han had called ahead and asked Uncle Wang to pick her up. Cheng Tian lived farther away, so Bai Yun had his driver take him home.

Just like that, their busy day slowly drew to a close.

Today's third update is ready. Please bookmark and comment!

Even if the numbers aren't great, I'll still post three updates a day during the promotion period. So, everyone, could you tap the request-an-update button or leave a few comments? Give this poor kid some numbers...