INT Chapter 20

In the following days, Lu Ze no longer coincidentally ran into Han Jing, and after Liang Xiao recovered from his illness, he became quite busy. The two hadn’t met again and were living peaceful single lives.

 

During dinner one evening, Mao Xin asked, “Ze-ge, why doesn’t your boyfriend come to see you anymore?”

 

Because he’s busy being someone else’s boyfriend, Lu Ze thought to himself and chuckled. “He’s busy. He’s a senior now and working.”

 

“You’re not busy, though. I don’t see you chatting with him much,” Mao Xin said.

 

Lu Ze clicked his tongue. Chatting with him costs money. “He’s busy. If I message him and he can’t reply, what’s the point?”

 

“True…” Mao Xin sighed, looking a bit down.

 

Lu Ze smiled and asked, “Why are you sighing?”

 

“I don’t like girls or guys. Ze-ge, do you think I might be asexual?” Mao Xin wondered aloud.

 

Lu Ze was speechless. “If you put the same energy into dating as you do into watching drama and helping others, you’d already have a partner. Asexual my foot.”

 

Mao Xin thought for a moment but shook his head. “Forget it. Dating isn’t as fun as watching drama.”

 

Just as he finished speaking, Lu Ze raised his chin. “Drama’s here.”

 

Mao Xin turned to look and saw Jiang Yijie standing face-to-face with a blonde girl not far away. The girl was smiling brightly as she handed him something.

 

“Jie-ge is dating someone?”

 

“No idea,” Lu Ze replied as he watched with Mao Xin. “I did notice he seemed off the past few days…”

 

They both watched as Jiang Yijie returned the item to the girl, who then stuffed it back into his hands. He returned it again, and she stuffed it back once more.

 

Lu Ze burst out laughing. “Are they playing tug-of-war?”

 

Mao Xin laughed too. “Who knew? Jie-ge gets shy?”

 

“He’s not shy—he’s got a thick skin,” Lu Ze said as he stood up. “I’ll go help him out.”

 

Walking up behind Jiang Yijie, Lu Ze called out, “Jie-ge.”

 

Jiang Yijie turned around, looking at Lu Ze like he was a lifeline. Lu Ze grinned and asked, “What’s going on here?”

 

The girl wasn’t embarrassed when she saw Lu Ze; instead, she greeted him with a smile. “Hi, Lu Ze! Just call me Xiaomi. I’m pursuing him, but he won’t accept my gift. It’s really nothing expensive—just take it! I won’t overthink it or assume you’ve agreed to anything just because you accept it.”

 

Lu Ze glanced at Jiang Yijie—this was definitely a case of someone with extreme social confidence.

 

Jiang Yijie gave Lu Ze a desperate look, silently pleading for help.

 

Lu Ze smiled and patted Jiang Yijie’s shoulder. “Xiaomi, here’s the thing. Jiang Yijie has a lot of quirks. He never accepts gifts from anyone, not even from me. I tried giving him a birthday present once, and he refused. If you want to pursue him, you’ll need a different approach.”

 

Xiaomi was surprised. “Really?”

 

Lu Ze nodded sincerely. “Yes, he never accepts gifts. For his birthday, I could only give him an apple, and we had to split it.”

 

Xiaomi laughed. “Alright then…” She turned to Jiang Yijie. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I won’t give you any more gifts.”

 

Jiang Yijie sighed. “Please stop pursuing me. I really don’t want a relationship.”

 

Xiaomi glared at him. “Are you trying to become a monk at such a young age? Why can’t you be more like Lu Ze?”

 

Lu Ze froze. What does this have to do with me?

 

Before leaving, Xiaomi patted Lu Ze’s shoulder. “Lu Ze, handsome guy, take good care of your brother.”

 

Lu Ze looked at Jiang Yijie in confusion. “What does she want me to take care of?”

 

Jiang Yijie pushed him away slightly. “Dating advice—since you’ve dated so many people, regardless of gender.”

 

“Hey!” Lu Ze laughed. “You know I’m straight…”

 

Jiang Yijie glanced at him. “Your fake boyfriend is pretty handsome. Who knows? You might not stay straight for long.”

 

Lu Ze was momentarily stunned. Although he had entertained that thought before, hearing someone else say it made him awkward. After a pause, he said, “Do you think I’m a wire? Switching between straight and bent? I’ve been straight for over 20 years!”

 

Jiang Yijie said nothing more.

 

On their way back to the dormitory without Mao Xin, Lu Ze asked directly, “That Xiaomi girl is pretty and has a great personality. Why not give it a try?”

 

“I just don’t want to date,” Jiang Yijie replied indifferently. “It’s meaningless.”

 

“You haven’t dated in ages! Don’t actually become a monk,” Lu Ze teased.

 

Jiang Yijie suddenly stopped walking. Lu Ze took a few steps ahead before turning back to see Jiang staring at him.

 

“Lu Ze,” Jiang Yijie called.

 

“What?” Lu Ze asked with a grin. “Are you going to ask me to be your master too?”

 

After a moment of silence, Jiang Yijie smiled and shook his head. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

 

“Come on,” Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “You said you’d tell me if something was up.”

 

Jiang Yijie lowered his head and walked forward again. “It’s nothing serious.”

 

Lu Ze caught up with him and suggested, “Fine, don’t tell me then. Let me treat you to some drinks at Fool’s Kingdom—how about that?”

 

Jiang Yijie shook his head. “Forget it…”

 

Lu Ze raised his hand and hooked it around Jiang Yijie’s neck from behind. “No ‘forget it,’ let’s go.”

 

He forcefully dragged Jiang Yijie to the bar, which was noticeably more crowded than last time, seemingly due to an event. Lu Ze casually asked a server and learned that a band would be performing later.

 

He didn’t order hard liquor, instead getting two Fool’s drinks at the bar. “You don’t have to talk,” he told Jiang Yijie, “just drink. There’s a band coming up—you can have some fun.”

 

Jiang Yijie downed his drink in one go. Lu Ze cautioned, “Take it easy.”

 

Jiang Yijie wiped his mouth with a grin. “Fool’s really tastes great.”

 

“I thought so last time too,” Lu Ze replied.

 

The bar was noisier and livelier than before. Not wanting Jiang Yijie to brood, Lu Ze pushed him into the crowd when the band started playing. They jumped, swayed, and waved their hands along with everyone else.

 

“Jie-ge, stop overthinking! Have some fun!” Lu Ze shouted.

 

“I am having fun!” Jiang Yijie yelled back.

 

“Then have even more fun—”

 

“Are you crazy?!”

 

Exhausted from dancing, they squeezed out of the crowd, only to find their original spot taken and the bar area packed with people. As Lu Ze considered finding another spot, his gaze lingered on one of the bartenders at the far right.

 

“What are you staring at?” Jiang Yijie asked.

 

“That bartender on the right—wasn’t he not here earlier?”

 

Jiang Yijie squinted for a moment before leaning closer. “I don’t know. Can’t see clearly. Who cares?”

 

Lu Ze walked over. “I’ll check it out—be right back.”

 

Despite the dim lighting, Lu Ze couldn’t shake the feeling that this bartender’s profile resembled Liang Xiao’s. As he approached, he noticed several people chatting with the bartender, who kept his head down.

 

Taking another step forward, just as Lu Ze was about to lean down for a better look, the bartender suddenly raised his head—and their eyes met.

 

Both froze.

 

After a few seconds, Liang Xiao recovered first. He said something to the people in front of him—Lu Ze couldn’t hear over the loud music—but then Liang Xiao smiled and glanced in his direction again. The group turned to look at Lu Ze simultaneously.

 

Damn. Lu Ze had a pretty good idea of what Liang Xiao had said.

 

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