The persona must stay intact!

Although the venue and photographer had not been used, Qiao Xi still transferred the agreed fees to Yan Ningke, including his appearance fee.

Yan Ningke let out a delighted whoop when the money arrived, then caught the man looking sideways at him out of the corner of his eye and hurriedly shut his mouth.

Shao Ke asked, "What is it?"

Yan Ningke pretended nothing had happened. "Nothing. Oh, I just saw a funny video."

As if Shao Ke would believe him.

"I see. Hand it over. Let me take a look."

Yan Ningke played dumb. "At what?"

The corner of Shao Ke's mouth twitched in a faint half smile. "Let me see how funny it is."

Yan Ningke looked at his outstretched hand, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.

You little idiot! Why couldn't you keep your cool?

My plan to pocket the money got exposed. So annoying!

Yan Ningke hemmed and hawed, unwilling to hand over his phone. "Actually, it wasn't that funny."

Hurry up and say you don't want to see it! Say it!

Shao Ke smiled without a word and curled his fingers in a beckoning motion.

Fine, there's no hiding it!

Yan Ningke's eyes darted, and he leaned toward him with a grin. "I still haven't properly thanked you for helping me find a venue last time. Give me a chance. Let me treat you to dinner."

Between a ten-ninety split and the cost of one meal, he knew perfectly well which mattered more.

Whatever little he could salvage was worth salvaging.

Shao Ke withdrew his hand and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Got paid?"

Yan Ningke said, "..."

Great guess. Don't be so clever next time!

Shao Ke did not actually want the money. He was only teasing him. Watching his expression swing from joy to dejection put him in a much better mood.

The young man was uncomplicated and guileless, with everything written on his face, letting anyone see right through him at a glance.

Yan Ningke had never had much in the way of fine food, apart from that last outing with Shao Ke.

He opened an app on his phone and browsed, making sure to ask Shao Ke's opinion.

"How about barbecue?"

"Or Japanese cuisine?"

"A seafood buffet!!"

Lobster! Giant crabs!

Yan Ningke was practically drooling.

"You can't eat shrimp."

Shao Ke ruthlessly brought him back to his senses.

He would never understand the mindset of someone who still craved a food even though he was allergic to it.

Yan Ningke protested, "I can eat other things!"

Without even lifting his eyelids, Shao Ke took the decision out of his hands. "We're having Yunnan cuisine."

Yan Ningke wilted for a moment, then perked up again.

That worked too. He had never tried Yunnan cuisine anyway. Being able to look at seafood but not eat it would be miserable.

Their decision to eat out had been spontaneous. The driver had not known and had taken the car out for maintenance that afternoon.

When Yan Ningke called him, he was already hurrying back.

"Let's head out first. That way, the driver won't have to come up."

Shao Ke did not mind. He was in a wheelchair anyway.

When they came outside, the sun had just set, but the sky was still light, and the air was no longer so oppressively hot.

It was downhill all the way, and constantly braking the wheelchair was inconvenient, so Yan Ningke volunteered to help control its speed.

But he was too playful, letting the wheelchair roll on its own for a while before running up to catch it.

After several rounds of this, Shao Ke felt he was being made a monkey of.

"If you don't push properly..."

"Go, my child! Fly free!"

Yan Ningke suddenly gave it a hard shove, and the wheelchair shot off like the wind.

He chased after it, laughing.

And then there was no more laughing.

"No, stop, stop, stop! Stop!"

Shao Ke's face darkened. He wanted to give him a beating.

That little bastard! Did he think the wheelchair was voice-controlled!?

Yan Ningke watched in panic as the wheelchair rolled farther and farther away.

Seeing it hurtle uncontrollably toward a utility pole beside the road, he squeezed his eyes shut in fright.

A series of clangs and clatters rang out, then fell silent a few seconds later.

Yan Ningke opened his eyes, then immediately widened them!

"Y-you, you..."

Shao Ke stood beside the road and watched as he ran straight past without a sideways glance, heading directly for the overturned wheelchair.

"Oh no, this thing must be expensive! Oh dear, how did it get so banged up? Poor thing."

Looking heartbroken, Yan Ningke righted the wheelchair and examined it from every angle to see how badly it was damaged.

Shao Ke said, "..."

If I couldn't stand up, I'd be the one in pieces right now!

And this little bastard was feeling sorry for the wheelchair!

Yan Ningke tested it and found that the wheelchair really was well made. Apart from some scuff marks around the edges, everything worked perfectly.

He reached out and patted the backrest. "Hurry up and sit down. Look at that, it even forced you to stand up."

Sit down, quick. Our beautiful, powerful, tragic big shot's persona must stay intact.

This time, Yan Ningke did not dare fool around. He turned the wheelchair so Shao Ke faced him and dutifully pushed him down the slope.

By the time they got into the car, Yan Ningke had tired himself out playing and was reading comments on Weibo on his phone.

Shao Ke cast a few thoughtful glances at him, a dark glimmer passing almost imperceptibly through his eyes.

At the restaurant, they chose a booth by the window rather than a private room.

The waiter was still worrying about how to assist this "disabled gentleman" when, a second later, he watched dumbfounded as the gentleman calmly stood up and settled himself onto the booth's sofa seat.

The waiter looked at Yan Ningke.

Yan Ningke did not look at him. He was busy, busy hunting for treasure.

The restaurant's decor was understated and elegant, and the food tasted good. Naturally, the prices were quite impressive too.

Yan Ningke ate without even lifting his head.

"Why?"

"There's no reason. I just don't love you anymore."

A conversation drifted clearly from the booth behind them.

Yan Ningke's eyes widened slightly, brimming with curiosity!

A breakup was nothing unusual. What was unusual was two men breaking up.

"Yan Che, I don't want to keep living a life where I can already see how everything will turn out. Every day is the same, without a single ripple."

A scumbag's lines? Let's hear more.

Yan Ningke chewed his food, his ears pricked all the way up.

"But didn't you say before that you wanted a quiet, simple life..."

"Yes! I did, but people change. Yan Che, you're too bland. You're like that in everyday life, and in other areas too. We're still young. We need passion. Now, seeing that calm face of yours every day, I don't even feel like talking!"

Then what were you doing all this time?

Yan Ningke silently scoffed.

This was clearly a case of hormones overriding reason at first, then boredom setting in once things cooled down.

"Yan Che, you're a good person..."

Ding! One nice-guy card received!

"Say no more. I agree!"

An exceptionally good-looking man passed their booth and hurried toward the entrance.

Yan Ningke spared him a glance. It all fit. This was nothing but a farce born of physical attraction. The scumbag had only wanted a good time, while the other man had wanted a serious relationship.

When he liked someone, he could make any promise with ease. Once he got what he wanted, he started feeling hard done by.

He always felt he could have someone better.

To put it bluntly, his lower half had taken control of his brain.

Disgusting.

Yan Ningke sighed. "In the end, love comes down to conscience."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for everyone around them to hear.

Shao Ke glanced at him.

"I have one! A great big conscience!"

Yan Ningke speared the heart-shaped foie gras on his plate and placed it on Shao Ke's, smiling sweetly. "My conscience is shaped entirely like my love for you, big brother."