May I kiss you?

Warm breath washed over his ear, and Mu Ze's ear twitched. "Have you drunk alcohol before? How well can you hold your liquor?"

Xie Yuan thought for a moment and shook his head. "I haven't."

Mu Ze's voice unconsciously grew a little more cheerful. "Then just have some fruit wine. We still have to go to the shop tomorrow."

Xie Yuan considered it and agreed, releasing his arm from around Mu Ze's neck.

Disappointment flashed through Mu Ze's eyes. "Is white peach okay?"

Seeing Xie Yuan nod, he told the bartender behind the counter, "Two glasses of white peach fruit wine."

They needed no special mixing, and the two glasses of fruit wine were soon set before them.

After a small sip, Xie Yuan's expression relaxed a little.

He had just set down his glass when a tall man approached him.

"Mind if I join you for a drink?"

Mu Ze frowned. The gentleness remained on his face, but his eyes fixed on the man.

Xie Yuan was good-looking. In a place like a bar, he would attract attention. Mu Ze had known someone would come up and hit on him.

Xie Yuan hooked an arm around Mu Ze's neck, bringing their faces almost cheek to cheek. "Sorry, I'm here with someone."

The man glanced at Mu Ze and turned to leave without pestering them.

Mu Ze's heart bubbled with joy.

Was Xie Yuan acknowledging my status?

Before Mu Ze could enjoy it for long, Xie Yuan let go of him.

Disappointment welled up in Mu Ze's heart.

He picked up his glass, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp.

As he put his glass down, a different drink was pushed in front of him. "My treat."

Mu Ze looked up.

The woman before him was beautiful, the type with a stunning figure and a mature, commanding air.

Quite a few people had noticed Xie Yuan and Mu Ze as soon as they appeared in the main room.

After all, both their looks and their bearing stood out.

Beautiful things always drew people in.

The woman had noticed them then too. Compared with the baby-faced Xie Yuan, she preferred Mu Ze's type. He was exactly her taste.

Even after learning they had come together, she refused to give up and wanted to try.

Perhaps they could have a brief fling.

Mu Ze took Xie Yuan's hand. "I like him."

The woman glanced at Xie Yuan and left with her glass.

Xie Yuan watched the woman's slender waist. "Good taste."

Mu Ze's grip on Xie Yuan's hand suddenly tightened. "You like that type?"

Pain shot through Xie Yuan's hand, and his thin lips parted slightly. "Let go."

His voice was quiet, but Mu Ze still heard him and instinctively let go.

Looking down, he saw a large red patch on Xie Yuan's fair hand, visible even beneath the bar's colored lights.

Mu Ze clenched both hands. "I'm sorry. I lost control."

Xie Yuan rubbed his hand to ease the pain. "Were you angry just now?"

"Why?"

Faced with that question, Mu Ze hesitated anxiously. "I thought you'd taken a liking to her."

Xie Yuan froze for a moment, then suddenly brought his face close. "Jealous?"

Looking at the face so close to his, Mu Ze swallowed. "We're on the show now, and we're a couple on the surface, right? Isn't it normal to be jealous?"

Xie Yuan's lips curved. "When I said 'good taste,' I meant her."

"She likes you, just like I do. Doesn't that mean she has good taste?"

"Or do you lack confidence, Mu Ze?"

All Mu Ze could focus on was the mouth talking nonstop before him, and a thought rose wildly in his mind.

Kiss him.

When Mu Ze didn't answer, Xie Yuan leaned a little closer.

His hot breath brushed Mu Ze's face, instantly igniting the reckless desire in his heart.

"May I kiss you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Mu Ze snapped out of it. Flustered, he quickly retreated two steps, putting distance between himself and Xie Yuan.

"Ahem. Of course she has good taste if she likes the same person as Young Master Xie."

As soon as he said it, Mu Ze inwardly berated himself. Mu Ze, what nonsense are you spouting?

He kept stealing glances at Xie Yuan, his gaze landing on the lips the wine had moistened and reddened.

The cameraman had been following them the whole time, but the music was too loud to make out what they were saying.

[A bar really is one of those places that brings people closer. Mu Ze and Young Master Xie have gotten a lot closer.]

[This is so annoying. I can't even hear what Young Master Xie and Mu Ze are saying.]

[Mu Ze looks so shy. What did Young Master Xie say?]

[As someone who knows a little lip-reading, let me give you some explosive news. Mu Ze just said, "May I kiss you?"]

The comments stopped for a moment.

[Really? Really? Did he really say that?]

[Isn't Mu Ze always such a coward around Young Master Xie? Why is he suddenly so brave? Did you read it wrong?]

[What about Young Master Xie? How did he answer?]

[What answer could he give? Didn't you see Mu Ze chicken out and back away first?]

[What a coward. I would've kissed him. Young Master Xie's lips look so kissable.]

[Heh. Try saying that to Young Master Xie's face. He'd curse you out so badly that eighteen generations of your ancestors would climb out of their coffins.]

At the bar.

Xie Yuan watched Mu Ze's flustered state and was just about to move closer when cheers suddenly erupted in the bar.

They both looked over. Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue had taken the stage.

As a queen of pop, she was still very popular.

Of course, Zhang Jue had gone onstage as an accessory.

The ear-splitting rock music disappeared, replaced by Tan Yaya's singing.

The bar stopped partying, and everyone listened quietly.

When the song ended, deafening cheers and shouts erupted.

With all the noise around him, Xie Yuan unconsciously frowned.

Suddenly, warmth covered his ears.

He looked up and saw Mu Ze covering his ears with both hands.

Xie Yuan's lips curved, and he didn't refuse.

He didn't refuse me.

Delight filled Mu Ze's heart, and his gaze fell on his own hands.

The warmth and the feel of delicate skin traveled from his palms to his heart, making his whole heart burn a little hotter.

With someone blocking out the noise for him, Xie Yuan discreetly surveyed the people in the bar.

In the original novel, something major would happen at the bar tonight.

After looking around, Xie Yuan saw no one suspicious.

It seemed they had already gone.

The production team stipulated that the number of songs they sang at the bar would determine their pay.

So Tan Yaya generally sang around seven or eight songs every night, though not consecutively, of course.

After finishing one song, Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue went backstage.

Xie Yuan turned to Mu Ze. "It's too noisy here. Let's go find Ms. Tan and the others."

The two went backstage. Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue were resting and looked a little surprised to see them.

Zhang Jue stood and fetched them each an unopened bottle of mineral water. "Why didn't you stay out there a little longer?"

Xie Yuan glanced around, his gaze lingering briefly on the mineral water in Tan Yaya's hand. "It's too noisy outside. We came here for some peace and quiet."

Zhang Jue nodded. "It is a little noisy."

"When I was younger, I quite liked noisy places like this. Now I find them a bit hard to take."

Xie Yuan smiled. "Mr. Zhang, you make yourself sound so old."

"You're only in your twenties. You're still young."

Zhang Jue dropped the subject of age and asked them, "How long are you and Mr. Mu Ze planning to stay, Young Master Xie?"

"We probably won't be able to head back until two or three in the morning."

Xie Yuan glanced at his phone. "It's still early. We'll hang around a little longer before heading back."

"All right," Zhang Jue said. "I'll have someone bring some food to the lounge."

Soon, the bar manager personally brought drinks, fruit platters, and snacks to the lounge.

There was still a long time before the next song, so they simply took out their phones and played games together.

After the pair finished singing for the third time, only Zhang Jue came back first.

Xie Yuan stood up. "Where's Ms. Tan?"