Lu Ze could hold his liquor well, but drinking to drown his sorrows made him more prone to getting drunk. By the time he and Liang Xiao had been drinking until midnight, he was already six or seven parts drunk.
Leaning back on the sofa, one hand resting on its back, Lu Ze turned his head to look at Liang Xiao and slowly said, “Xiao-ge, do you have anything bothering you? You can talk to me about it too.”
Liang Xiao, with his elbows resting on his knees, glanced at him. Lu Ze squinted and gave a faint smile.
Liang Xiao had drunk less than Lu Ze and was still sober. “Being short on money—does that count as a worry?”
Lu Ze tapped on his beer can. “Of course… Why are you short on money? Can you tell me?”
Liang Xiao didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed about such matters. He answered directly, “My family owes some money.”
Lu Ze stared at Liang Xiao for a moment, then slowly gave him a thumbs-up before snapping his fingers. “You’re really something—filial and capable.”
Liang Xiao chuckled. “Drunk already?”
Lu Ze first nodded, then shook his head. He turned to stare at the ceiling light for a long time before raising his hand to block it. In a soft voice, he said, “It’s just frustrating.”
He spread his fingers slightly, letting the light seep through the gaps, squinting as he opened and closed them repeatedly.
“I just don’t get it,” he said. “Jie-ge and I stayed close even after starting college. If he’s liked me this whole time…”
Lu Ze paused for a moment before continuing in a low voice, “If he’s liked me all along, how could he stay by my side—watching me chase people, date them, break up with them, and then come to him for drinks? That must’ve been so painful. If it were me, I couldn’t do it.”
Liang Xiao didn’t respond immediately. After a while, Lu Ze looked at him and asked, “Could you do it?”
“I’ve never liked anyone,” Liang Xiao replied calmly. “I’ve never thought about things like that.”
“Is it because he liked me too much?” Lu Ze muttered to himself. “Saying it out loud means we can’t be friends anymore… So he had to keep it bottled up until he couldn’t take it anymore.”
He gave a bitter laugh. “Why me? Why would someone like me so much…”
After saying this, he sat up abruptly and checked his phone. “What time is it…? It’s past eleven.”
Holding his slightly dizzy head, he paused before saying, “I can’t go back now. Can you let me crash here for the night?”
Liang Xiao replied with a simple “Hmm.” “I only have one bed—you’ll have to make do.”
Lu Ze waved his hands quickly. “No need! I’ll just sleep on the sofa.”
“The sofa’s too small—you won’t fit.”
Lu Ze kept waving his hands. “I’ll fit! I don’t sleep straight anyway—the sofa’s fine.”
If it were someone like Jiang Yijie—though now Jiang Yijie didn’t want to be “bros” with him anymore—Lu Ze would have just gone straight to the bed without a second thought. After all, two grown men sharing a bed wasn’t a big deal.
But his relationship with Liang Xiao had always been somewhat ambiguous. They weren’t exactly friends, nor was Lu Ze simply Liang Xiao’s client—their connection felt too close for that. After all, Liang Xiao wouldn’t casually drink at home with just any client.
Most importantly, Lu Ze always thought Liang Xiao was a cool and independent person who probably wouldn’t want to share a bed with anyone.
Propping himself up on the coffee table, Lu Ze stood and assessed his condition. He wasn’t too drunk. He asked Liang Xiao, “Do you have a toothbrush? I’d like to brush my teeth.”
“I do,” Liang Xiao replied.
He went to the bathroom and fetched a new toothbrush and a glass for water. “I don’t have a dedicated toothbrush cup—just use this. The face wash is the white one, and the towel—”
“No need for a towel,” Lu Ze interrupted with a smile. “That’s too much trouble. I’ll just use some tissues.”
Liang Xiao nodded and, while Lu Ze was washing up, set out a blanket and pillow on the sofa. After washing his face, Lu Ze felt more sober and asked sheepishly, “Uh… Xiao-ge, do you have… pajamas?”
Liang Xiao glanced at Lu Ze’s current outfit, which was clearly unsuitable for sleeping. He went into the bedroom and returned with clean shorts and a T-shirt. “No pajamas, but these are clean.”
Lu Ze accepted them. “Thanks.”
Liang Xiao looked at him briefly. “You’re welcome.”
Suddenly, Lu Ze chuckled. “I might be… a bit weird. I don’t like it when my friends say ‘thank you’ to me, but I always say it myself.”
“Mm,” Liang Xiao replied plainly. “Say it all you want—I don’t mind.”
Leaning against the doorframe, Lu Ze laughed for quite some time before resting his head against it and looking at Liang Xiao. “Xiao-ge, you’re really interesting.”
Liang Xiao quietly stared at him without responding.
“You’re kind of… strange,” Lu Ze continued. “I can’t quite describe it, but sometimes you’re just… different.”
“Am I?”
Liang Xiao didn’t seem curious about why Lu Ze would describe him this way.
Lu Ze nodded thoughtfully and suddenly had an idea. “You could be an actor—you’ve got the looks and great acting skills.”
“Great acting skills?” Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” Lu Ze said with a snap of his fingers—though he missed the first time and had to try again. “At the bar earlier, when you pretended to be my boyfriend—you were so convincing.”
Liang Xiao sighed softly. In truth, Lu Ze had it backward.
“Go to sleep,” Liang Xiao said. “Do you have class tomorrow?”
Lu Ze checked his phone. “Tomorrow… Oh, it’s Saturday! Are weekends busy for you? Do you have to get up early?”
“No need to wake up early—I only have clients in the afternoon,” Liang Xiao replied.
“Then… goodnight.”
“…Goodnight.”
Lu Ze returned to the living room. Liang Xiao hadn’t closed his bedroom door, and from the sofa, Lu Ze could only see a small corner of the bed.
He quickly changed out of his clothes. Since he and Liang Xiao were about the same size, Liang Xiao’s clothes fit him perfectly.
Lu Ze climbed under the blanket. The sofa was indeed a bit small—he couldn’t stretch his legs out fully and had to lie on his side with bent knees. Even then, it wasn’t wide enough, leaving his knees hanging in the air.
He scrolled through his phone for a while, unable to fall asleep. His mind was filled with memories of everything that had happened between him and Jiang Yijie, replaying uncontrollably in his head.
To distract himself, Lu Ze opened his chat with Liang Xiao and transferred some money: [Payment for chatting and accommodation.]
He heard Liang Xiao’s phone chime twice, and within seconds, Liang Xiao spoke up. “Still not asleep?”
Lu Ze froze for a moment. “You’re not asleep either? I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d send you the money while you were out.”
Liang Xiao didn’t reply immediately. Lu Ze added, “Just take it. If you keep refusing my money, I’ll feel too embarrassed to keep asking for your help.”
Watching the chat screen, Lu Ze saw that Liang Xiao accepted the money. Smiling, he sent an emoji and followed it up by sending the video he had recorded earlier.
Lu Ze: [Can I post this online? Your face isn’t visible.]
Liang Xiao: [Do as you like.]
Lu Ze had a small video account where he occasionally posted daily updates. It had just over 10,000 followers and hadn’t been active for a while. After logging in, he first deleted all videos related to Han Jing before uploading the one of Liang Xiao mixing drinks.
The account came to mind because Liang Xiao’s services were admittedly expensive. When Lu Ze checked his balance earlier, he realized he was running low on funds for the month.
Sighing deeply, Lu Ze wondered how Jiang Yijie felt about seeing him with Liang Xiao. Was he afraid they might actually get together? Or did he secretly wish they would?
He didn’t even know how to face Jiang Yijie when he returned to campus tomorrow—or if he’d even need to face him at all. What if Jiang Yijie simply ignored him from now on?
Pulling the blanket over his head, Lu Ze noticed it smelled nice—fresh and clean without any musty odor.
As drowsiness finally set in, Lu Ze’s thoughts drifted: Liang Xiao said he’d never liked anyone before… so was he straight or gay?
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
