Zhu Lianzhen was a bit shocked. In all the years he had known Koty, his impression of the guy had always been that he was just a good-looking fool who always brought trouble with his words and could only ever possess either competence or intelligence, but never both.
He had long grown used to Koty’s outward personality, to the point that he often overlooked the fact that Koty had always been capable of reading the room. Otherwise, with just a bold attitude, there was no way he could have built such a wide network in the entertainment industry.
Koty simply didn’t care about a lot of things, and didn’t mind either.
Fortunately, Zhu Lianzhen also knew how to deal with Koty. Playing dumb was enough. “Whether Tan Qing likes men or women, that’s none of our business, is it?”
Koty: “How can you just stay out of this?”
Zhu Lianzhen: “Then what are you so shocked about? Isn’t your social circle full of all kinds of species? Are you actually afraid Tan Qing likes you?”
For some reason, Koty’s expression suddenly became solemn. His eyes seemed to be weighing something, and when he finally spoke, it was with a deeper meaning. “I’m afraid he likes you.”
Zhu Lianzhen had rarely seen such a serious expression on Koty’s face. He even caught a hint of concern in it.
“What’s with you? Are you secretly in love with him or into me? Get lost.” Zhu Lianzhen raised his arm and held it out between them, drawing an invisible line.
“Hey, I’m not joking. You really haven’t noticed anything?” Koty pressed down on his arm, his words sincere. “You can think I’m talking nonsense if you want, but I seriously think you should take a closer look at him. See if maybe he really does have feelings for you.”
It was so accurate that Zhu Lianzhen’s heart skipped a beat.
There was no brushing it off this time. He let out a helpless laugh, trying his best to hide the awkwardness on his face. “Tan Qing and I are paired up for fanservice. You’ve been so bored lately stirring up stuff between us, you’ve started believing it yourself, haven’t you?”
Koty let out a heavy sigh. “I knew you’d react like this. As expected, my worries aren’t without reason.”
Zhu Lianzhen deflected again, “Wow, your Chinese is impressive. You’re even using double negatives to make a point now.”
Koty didn’t let him steer the topic away and continued, “Good thing I told you today, Zhu Lianzhen. Do you know what I’ve been most worried about? At first, I was afraid that one day Tan Qing wouldn’t be able to hold it in anymore and would confess to you. And if you just brushed it off, he’d definitely be hurt. And if he ended up feeling bad because of you, you wouldn’t feel too great about that either, would you?”
Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t help but think to himself: You sure think of Tan Qing as a normal person.
If he had ever witnessed Tan Qing’s sadness, it could only mean that Tan Qing had wanted him to see it.
As for the emotions Tan Qing kept hidden, Zhu Lianzhen never even had the chance to get close to them.
Koty placed a hand on Zhu Lianzhen’s shoulder. “I’m genuinely worried about you two. If something goes wrong, you won’t even be able to stay friends.”
Hearing him speak with such sincerity, Zhu Lianzhen felt mixed emotions. He honestly hadn’t expected to ever be moved by this unreliable fool, but alongside the comfort, there was also an undeniable guilt.
Unfortunately, Koty’s concern came too late. Things had already gone wrong between him and Tan Qing, and they had stopped being friends long ago.
“Have you ever said anything like this to Tan Qing?” Zhu Lianzhen asked him.
“Of course not. If he doesn’t want to make his sexual orientation public, how could I bring it up? That’s why I’m only saying this to you.” Koty lowered his voice. “Just get yourself mentally prepared. Think about how you’d turn him down without hurting him if he really confesses to you one day.”
Zhu Lianzhen blurted out, “Why would I turn him down?”
“Huh?”
“No, I mean… could you not make random assumptions about what Tan Qing’s thinking?”
Koty wanted to say more, but his eyes flicked to the side and he saw that Tan Qing had already come back with the umbrellas, not far from them now. He just said, “Anyway, just pay a little more attention to him.”
Zhu Lianzhen let out a low “Mm” in response.
Tan Qing had brought back three umbrellas. The quality of things sold at the scenic area wasn’t great, and he’d clearly spent a while just to find a few plain ones that looked halfway decent.
Because of the rain, there was now a long line for the cable car. The three of them didn’t rush to buy tickets, instead giving priority to the older tourists.
Zhu Lianzhen had already gotten used to the altitude. He held up his umbrella and looked down over the railing at the view below. Koty was still going on with his usual nonsense, while Tan Qing only spoke when asked a direct question. The rest of the time, he just stood there under his umbrella in a daze, seemingly uninterested in joining the conversation.
It wasn’t until most of the other tourists had left that Tan Qing finally spoke up. “You two.”
Zhu Lianzhen and Koty both turned to look at him.
Tan Qing glanced at their faces. “Is it because I’m here that there’s something you don’t feel comfortable saying?”
Koty knew Tan Qing had always been sharp at reading the room, but being called out so directly still caught him off guard. He quickly explained, “No, I was just about to ask you both what we’re eating tonight. I want Sichuan food, but you don’t really like spicy, do you?”
Tan Qing: “Anything’s fine. I can order something else.”
“Alright then.” Koty looked toward the ticket counter. “I’ll go buy the tickets. You two go wait by the cable car.”
As he left, he “accidentally” bumped into Zhu Lianzhen’s arm.
The fine rain drummed dully on the umbrella. Zhu Lianzhen quietly raised his own umbrella a little, sneaking a glance at Tan Qing’s profile. His eyes first landed on his lips, but he still couldn’t tell where the razor blade had cut earlier.
Tan Qing looked around, his gaze not settling on anything in particular. It didn’t take long before his eyes shifted to Zhu Lianzhen.
Zhu Lianzhen was often afraid of being looked at directly by Tan Qing. He knew the other could see right through his thoughts.
“Is your lip better?” Zhu Lianzhen asked. “Does it affect eating?”
Tan Qing replied, “It’s fine now.”
“Koty seems to have a bit of a misunderstanding about you… about the two of us.” Zhu Lianzhen avoided eye contact as he looked out toward the distant mountains. “He thinks you’re acting weird. He even suspects your… sexuality.”
Zhu Lianzhen mumbled the last word, hoping to brush past it, but Tan Qing immediately followed up with, “Suspects my what?”
“Your sexuality.” Zhu Lianzhen had no choice but to repeat it.
“Why does he think that?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that? Maybe you haven’t been restraining yourself in public—”
Zhu Lianzhen cut himself off mid-sentence, turning to look at Tan Qing.
Tan Qing was holding his umbrella with effortless ease, and his tone carried a faint carelessness. “Then why doesn’t he suspect you?”
Zhu Lianzhen realized it then. Tan Qing wasn’t really curious about what Koty had said; he was more interested in hearing how Zhu Lianzhen would respond.
Right—why didn’t Koty suspect me? Zhu Lianzhen had overlooked the most crucial point. With how meticulous Tan Qing usually was, how could someone like Koty have possibly caught a slip?
Unless everything Koty thought he had observed was something Tan Qing had let him see—on purpose or not. In that case, the answer was obvious.
“Probably because I hide it better than you do,” Zhu Lianzhen casually made up a meaningless response.
This time, he didn’t look away. He stared straight into Tan Qing’s eyes. He thought that the two of them must be able to catch the lie in each other’s gaze right now. But he didn’t want to call Tan Qing out on it, just like Tan Qing certainly wouldn’t refute him either.
Tan Qing said gently, “Then it’s good you didn’t get dragged down with me. If it had been you Koty misunderstood, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be so easy to explain.”
“You didn’t seem like you planned to explain anything to Koty either.” Zhu Lianzhen curled the corner of his mouth. “All those things he said should’ve been told to you. You’re the one who always stays calm like nothing gets to you.”
Tan Qing let out a quiet laugh, his eyes sweeping toward the distant mountains. “How could that be? When I’m standing at a height like this, my heart races too.”
Zhu Lianzhen didn’t respond.
Koty had already bought the tickets and was calling the two of them over from a distance. But instead of waiting, he greeted the ticket inspector and boarded the cable car on his own, clearly leaving the two of them to share the next one.
Zhu Lianzhen understood that Koty’s move was meant to give him a chance to sound out Tan Qing. The intention was thoughtful, but he could only sigh inwardly: Bro, don’t you realize Tan Qing already used you to test me a long time ago…
The rain grew heavier, creating an oddly comforting rhythm on the umbrellas. Zhu Lianzhen kept his head down to avoid getting mud on his shoes and didn’t pay attention to the path ahead. His umbrella kept bumping into Tan Qing’s.
After the last bump, Tan Qing slowed his steps, turned his head, and said, “You walk in front.”
When Zhu Lianzhen passed by Tan Qing, he hesitated and came to a stop.
Tan Qing looked at him, puzzled.
There were only a few seconds to decide, and he didn’t have time to think about anything beyond how he felt in that moment. In the end, Zhu Lianzhen tightened his grip on the umbrella handle and stepped toward Tan Qing.
The edges of their dark blue umbrellas overlapped, concealing the outline of their lips touching, creating a hidden little world.
It was a kiss that lasted an extremely short time—barely enough to check if there was a cut at the corner of the lips, or to make their hearts race. That was all. It was so quick that Tan Qing didn’t even have time to react.
Zhu Lianzhen then pulled his umbrella back slightly and tilted it lower, covering most of his face and his reddened ears.
Tan Qing lowered his eyes. He didn’t ask why Zhu Lianzhen had done that. He simply leaned in and whispered, “You have no restraint in public.”
His tone sounded ambiguous, as if teasingly trying to lure him in. Zhu Lianzhen shot him a sideways glance, silently cursing, “Copying me again.”
After coming down the mountain, they took a taxi back to the hotel. The rain was getting heavier. Koty gave up on finding a Sichuan restaurant and said they might as well just get something similar—McDonald’s.
And just like that, dinner was casually settled.
The company required them to post on Weibo: at least one set of work photos and one set of casual life photos every week. Tan Qing didn’t have the habit of taking selfies outside of work, and Zhu Lianzhen wasn’t in the mood today either, so all the photos they had were a few sets Koty had shared with them.
Zhu Lianzhen examined the group shots and thought Koty stood out too much in front, so he simply cropped him out. But leaving only himself and Tan Qing in the photo wouldn’t do either, so he made sure to leave in half of Koty’s arm to prove it was a group outing.
They each posted on Weibo from their hotel rooms. When Koty refreshed his feed and saw the posts, he was dumbfounded. He immediately messaged Zhu Lianzhen: “Why did both of you crop me out?!”
Zhu Lianzhen hadn’t expected Tan Qing to do the same thing. When he saw fans laughing in the comments section, he played dumb: “What a coincidence, you’re here too?”
Koty went to question Tan Qing, only to get an even more ridiculous reply: “My hand slipped, sorry.”
Koty then posted another Weibo, saying he was feeling emo: “Suddenly felt that even though I went out with the two of them, it’s like I was there, but also not really there. Why do I feel a little sad, like I didn’t fit in…”
What he didn’t know was that there was something even more unlucky waiting for him later that day. That night, he experienced sleep paralysis. He woke up in the middle of the night in a daze, with pain at the back of his head. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d disturbed something supernatural in this unfamiliar place. So he spent the rest of the night anxiously waiting for daylight, begging the other two to accompany him to a temple to make offerings.
Tan Qing asked the front desk for a thermometer and checked Koty’s temperature. He had a mild fever. After glancing over Koty’s body, he came to a conclusion: “The weather’s been fluctuating a lot. You’ve been working out too much, and with low body fat, it’s easier to get sick.”
Zhu Lianzhen gave a theatrical sigh but couldn’t help laughing at the end. Koty looked at him miserably, and Zhu Lianzhen pursed his lips before saying, “Don’t worry, bro. I’ve got connections in all kinds of industries. I’ll make sure your funeral arrangements are handled with care.”
Koty put on a feeble act, like he was on the brink of death. “Give me my phone… I need to order some medicine…”
“I’ll go out and get it. Faster than delivery.” Tan Qing didn’t mind the trouble and got up to leave.
Once it was just the two of them in the room, Koty dropped the weak act. “See that? That’s how real teammates show care when someone’s sick.”
Zhu Lianzhen: “And when I was hospitalized from poisoning, what did you say? If I’d really died back then, you’d probably sneak a bite of the offerings at my grave, huh?”
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey. Gross. I wouldn’t eat that.” Koty decided to switch topics. “Enough nonsense. About what I told you yesterday—have you verified it yet?”
“Didn’t you just say you had a headache? Still have the energy to gossip?” Zhu Lianzhen’s smile slowly faded, his gaze dropping. “I haven’t noticed anything strange about Tan Qing. He seems totally normal. Stop imagining things.”
“Oh, come on, Zhu Lianzhen. You should be thanking me for the heads-up. You’re so dense, it’d probably take him kissing you forcefully for you to finally catch on.”
Zhu Lianzhen looked annoyed, but inside, he was shocked by how accurate Koty’s guess was. Still, he forced himself to stay calm and refute it. “Tan Qing’s not that kind of person, okay…”
Then, he relaxed his expression a bit and asked, “So, why exactly do you think there’s something going on with Tan Qing? Give me some solid evidence. And don’t just say he treats me the same way off-camera like he’s still acting.”
Koty replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Of course it’s not the same.”
Zhu Lianzhen stared at him in silence.
“My throat’s starting to hurt now, I can’t talk much more.” Koty lay down flat, looking troubled. “Let me give you a simple example—what does he usually call you?”
Zhu Lianzhen didn’t think much of it. “You mean nicknames? Isn’t it just ‘Xiao Zhu’?”
“And in work settings? He calls you by your full name, right?”
Zhu Lianzhen frowned in confusion. “I haven’t noticed. It’s just a form of address, so what does that prove?”
Now it was Koty’s turn to sound impatient. “Don’t you think using a nickname in front of the camera would actually be better for the fanservice effect? But he does the opposite.”
Zhu Lianzhen’s brain stalled for a second. “Huh?”
Really?
He had never noticed that Tan Qing had that habit.
“I…” Zhu Lianzhen hesitated, his thoughts moving sluggishly. “You really stumped me with that one.”
