Once they reached Liang Tian's apartment, Su Cimu launched straight into an interrogation.
"Stand up straight! I'll ask the questions, and you'll answer. Conceal anything, and you'll be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts! Is that clear?"
"Perfectly clear, Your Majesty. Ask away-"
Liang Tian stood ramrod straight, not daring to argue.
"When did you start fooling around with Fang Youwei?"
"The night we first met... I got drunk, he took me home, and then we rolled in the sheets."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Liang Tian, you're pretty wild. If Uncle finds out you had a one-night stand, he'll break your leg!"
"Ahem, as long as neither of us says anything, my dad won't find out. You'll keep it a secret for me, right?" Liang Tian looked at Su Cimu ingratiatingly, trying to appeal to their brotherly bond.
"Stand properly! Who gave you permission to cozy up to your emperor? I'm not finished interrogating you!"
"Yes, sir!"
Before they knew it, the two of them had switched scripts again.
"Between you and Fang Youwei, who tops and who bottoms?"
Su Cimu's eyes shone, eager to learn the answer.
"Ahem, Mumu, look at my little frame. Do you think I could top a big, tall guy like Fang Youwei?"
Fang Youwei was about as tall as Shen Yannian and solidly built, too. There was no question at all who topped and who bottomed between Liang Tian and Fang Youwei.
"Fine, I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Tsk, tell me, why is it that when we got involved with those two, we both ended up on the bottom? It's not fair at all..."
Shen Yannian and Fang Youwei were good friends, and both were tops; he and Xiao Tiantian were good buddies, and both were bottoms! The difference was far too great!
"Exactly, it's so unfair! Mumu, I support you turning the tables and topping Shen Yannian. You can absolutely do it!"
Liang Tian sat down as he spoke, trying to change the subject and make Su Cimu forget about interrogating him.
Unfortunately, Su Cimu was focused and didn't fall for Liang Tian's diversion. A single look sent Liang Tian obediently back to his feet.
"Reporting, sir! I'm standing!"
"Mm, good. At least you know what's what. Another question: aside from that night, have you two hooked up again? Why was Fang Youwei waiting to corner you at the school gates?"
"No, just that once. I ran off when I woke up the next day. Fang Youwei kept contacting me, but I ignored him. I don't know what he wants, either. Is there something wrong with his brain? No matter how you look at it, I'm the one who lost out. Why can't he just treat it as a casual one-night stand? Why's he taking it so seriously?"
Speaking of this made Liang Tian want to complain about Fang Youwei. Wasn't he a playboy with a notorious reputation? Why did he insist on making Liang Tian take responsibility for him?
"So he meant it when he said just now that he wanted to date you?"
"Who knows? He's lost his mind."
Liang Tian pursed his lips, indicating that he didn't want to say more.
Once the interrogation was over, Su Cimu let Liang Tian sit down.
"You can't keep hiding from Fang Youwei like this. If you ask me, you two should arrange to meet alone and talk things through so he stops pestering you. Otherwise, my youngest uncle will notice something sooner or later. When that happens, you won't be the only one in trouble. Fang Youwei will have it even worse."
Given how protective his uncle was, Su Cimu figured that if he learned his son had ended up underneath another man, he would probably grab a cleaver, charge straight over to the Fang family, and take a couple of swings at Fang Youwei, leaving him unable to perform for the rest of his life!
"I just don't know how to face him... If I remember correctly, I think I was the one who initiated it after getting drunk that day. At most, Fang Youwei put up a token resistance and didn't turn me down... I feel guilty..."
"What do you have to feel guilty about? You were drunk, but Fang Youwei wasn't. Not turning you down was his biggest fault! He bears the main responsibility!"
Su Cimu was fiercely protective, too. In his mind, Liang Tian was the victim in this matter and couldn't possibly be at fault. It was all because Fang Youwei had lusted after him!
If he had resisted temptation, they wouldn't have slept together that night, and there wouldn't be all this entanglement now.
"Huh, really?"
Liang Tian asked uncertainly.
"Of course. Trust me, I'm very fair. If I say Fang Youwei's at fault, then Fang Youwei's at fault!"
"Oh, then I believe you. It really is Fang Youwei's fault. I'll go talk things through with him another day!"
"That's right. Why should you be the one hiding from him? After what he did, he should be hiding from you."
Just like that, Su Cimu brainwashed Liang Tian with a few words, and Liang Tian decided to find Fang Youwei tomorrow and clear things up.
Su Cimu had no idea that he had unwittingly given Fang Youwei an assist.
For a long time afterward, whenever Fang Youwei saw Su Cimu, he greeted him with a smile as though he were his benefactor. But that was a story for later.
When he went back that day, Su Cimu vehemently condemned Fang Youwei's beastly behavior to Shen Yannian.
"Hmph, look at that disreputable friend of yours, bullying my Xiao Tiantian. Next time I see him, I'm definitely beating him up to vent Xiao Tiantian's anger!"
"Then how about I arrange to meet him, and you throw a sack over his head and beat him up?"
"Are you sure? Isn't Fang Youwei your good friend?"
"Compared to you, Fang Youwei doesn't matter at all. As long as you're happy."
Between his young boyfriend and his good friend, Shen Yannian chose the former without hesitation, selling out his friend of many years.
"Very good, very good. Comrade Shen Yannian, you have excellent ideological awareness."
"Since I'm taking your side so much, will you let me have one more round tonight?"
"Shen Yannian, is your brain full of filthy garbage? Is that all you think about all day?"
One second, Su Cimu had been praising Shen Yannian for seeing the bigger picture; the next, he was lambasting him for thinking with his dick.
Shen Yannian humbly accepted Su Cimu's criticism:
"Sweetheart, I was wrong."
Su Cimu patted Shen Yannian's doggy head with a couple of smacks and lectured him solemnly:
"Don't make such outrageous demands again, understand?"
"Yes, sweetheart."
The driver drove on, automatically tuning out the conversation between the two behind him that was explicit enough to need censoring. He was already used to it; as Second Master Shen's personal driver, this was an essential professional skill.
The next day, Su Cimu went to study at the library alone because Liang Tian had decided to have a proper talk with Fang Youwei. Su Cimu was happy to see it happen and eagerly awaited Liang Tian's return to hear what happened next.
Liang Tian arranged to meet Fang Youwei at a café.
"You're finally willing to see me?"
Fang Youwei had been thrilled to receive Liang Tian's text inviting him to meet, and had arrived at the café half an hour early to wait for him.
"I think Mumu was right. I can't keep hiding from you. We need to clear things up between us."
It would be best to settle this once and for all today!
"So you decided to meet and talk to me because of something Young Master Su said? Not because I moved you?"
Liang Tian immediately looked disgusted:
"Dude, who do you think you are? You haven't moved me at all, okay!"