INT CHAPTER 79

During the National Day holiday, Lu Ze brought some friends to a bar. These were old high school buddies—some single, others bringing their significant others along.

 

From the moment they stepped into the bar, the group was overwhelmed by the lavish atmosphere, repeatedly exclaiming “Holy shit!” Lu Ze, also visiting for the first time, was equally stunned by the bar’s luxurious and indescribably extravagant dark aesthetic.

 

“This place is insane.”

 

“I can smell money in the air.”

 

“No, I can smell a lot of money in the air.”

 

“Ze-ge, are you sure we don’t have to pay for this?”

 

Lu Ze glanced at his boyfriend, who was walking ahead and leading the way. Liang Xiao immediately turned around and said, “You don’t need to pay. Just use my card.”

 

“Damn, that’s amazing,” one of them, Lao Gao, said as he slung an arm around Lu Ze’s shoulders. Leaning closer to his ear, he asked, “Is your boyfriend just working here?”

 

Lu Ze matched his conspiratorial tone. “What else would he be doing?”

 

“Not some underground mafia boss or something? Like, the bar is just a front for secret meetings…”

 

Lu Ze gave him a thumbs-up. “Your imagination is impressive. Liang Xiao doesn’t look like a mafia boss at all—he’s clearly a law-abiding citizen.”

 

At that moment, Liang Xiao led them to a private room at the end of a hallway. A waiter happened to walk out from across the hall and immediately greeted Liang Xiao with a respectful “Brother Liang.”

 

Lao Gao widened his eyes and stared at Lu Ze as if to say, And you’re telling me he doesn’t look like one?

 

Lu Ze chuckled helplessly but couldn’t help feeling proud. His boyfriend really was super cool and charismatic.

 

Once everyone entered the private room, they started another round of exclamations about how amazing it was. Standing by the door with Liang Xiao, Lu Ze still had a smile on his face when Liang Xiao leaned in and asked softly, “What were you guys talking about that made you so happy?”

 

Still smiling, Lu Ze replied, “Lao Gao said you look like a mafia boss.”

 

Liang Xiao paused for a moment before laughing. “I don’t quite have that vibe. If anyone does, it’d be Jiang Heng.”

 

He casually rested his hand on Lu Ze’s shoulder—the same spot where Lao Gao had placed his arm earlier—and said, “Let everyone enjoy themselves. They can order whatever they want to eat. The drinks on the shelves and in the mini-fridge are all free to take too.”

 

“They can’t handle such good liquor—it’d be wasted,” Lu Ze said. “Just bring some beer or wine instead.”

 

Liang Xiao chuckled. “It’s fine; it’s Jiang Heng’s liquor anyway.”

 

Lu Ze snapped his fingers playfully. “True! No need to save money for him.”

 

The private room was packed with entertainment options, and Liang Xiao personally introduced everything to them. However, before he could stay longer, someone called him away.

 

Before leaving, he waved his phone at Lu Ze and said, “Message me if you need anything—I’ll be back soon.”

 

Lu Ze gave him an “OK” gesture. “Go do your thing.”

 

As soon as Liang Xiao left, everyone immediately crowded around Lu Ze with curious questions flying from all directions.

 

“Lu Ze, your boyfriend is seriously amazing!”

 

“Yeah! He looks pretty young—he can’t be much older than us, right?”

 

“How did you two even meet?”

 

“This bar isn’t owned by him, is it?”

 

“No, he’s just an employee,” Lu Ze said helplessly. “Why are you all so nosy? Just know that tonight you don’t have to spend a dime—drink and play as much as you want.”

 

“Alright, let’s crack open a few bottles first,” Lao Gao suggested. “I’ve never had such fancy liquor before.”

 

Lu Ze’s phone buzzed twice. He glanced at it—it was a message from Jiang Yijie saying he’d arrived.

 

“You guys start without me,” Lu Ze called out. “Jie-ge is here; I’ll go get him.”

 

“Damn, if he’s here, we’ve got to make him drink as punishment!” the sports committee member shouted from the back. “He didn’t even show up at our last class reunion…”

 

“Yeah, punishment drinks for sure!”

 

Lu Ze closed the door to the private room, and the rowdy noise inside was instantly cut off. The hallway was completely silent—the soundproofing was excellent.

 

As he walked toward the entrance, Lu Ze glanced around, wondering which private room Liang Xiao might be in.

 

He took the elevator back down to the first floor. The moment the doors opened, he saw Jiang Yijie standing there with another man Lu Ze didn’t recognize. The man looked slightly older than them, seemed refined, and had a great physique.

 

Lu Ze immediately thought of the person Jiang Yijie had mentioned over the phone—the one he’d met at the gym. Smiling, Lu Ze asked, “Why’d you bring someone along?”

 

Jiang Yijie looked annoyed. “He’s not ‘someone.’ He’s like a damn leech—stuck to me no matter what. I couldn’t shake him off, so he insisted on coming.”

 

The man smiled politely and didn’t seem offended. He extended his hand toward Lu Ze and introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Shen Tang—Jie’s boyfriend.”

 

Lu Ze shook his hand and replied, “Lu Ze—Jie-ge’s high school classmate.”

 

Jiang Yijie was clearly on the verge of losing it. Lu Ze rarely saw anyone who could irritate him this much. “What the hell are you calling yourself? What ‘boyfriend’? Stop spewing nonsense!”

 

Shen Tang smirked and leaned close to Jiang Yijie’s ear, whispering softly, “So you’re admitting I’m your boyfriend?”

 

Jiang Yijie shoved him away with his elbow. “Admit my ass! Don’t listen to his nonsense, Lu Ze—he’s just a shameless pest who forces himself on people.”

 

Holding back his laughter, Lu Ze said, “Alright, stop arguing here—let’s head upstairs.”

 

The three of them got into the elevator, and a waiter helped swipe a card and select their floor.

 

Jiang Yijie sighed heavily. “When we get up there, don’t go spouting nonsense in front of my classmates.”

 

Shen Tang stayed silent at first but then gave Lu Ze a glance before turning back to Jiang Yijie. “Didn’t you say he’s your classmate?”

 

Already at his wit’s end with Shen Tang, Jiang Yijie snapped instantly. “Lu Ze just said it earlier! He’s my high school classmate!”

 

“Exactly,” Shen Tang said in an aggrieved tone. “So why can you talk about it in front of him but not the others?”

 

“I…” Jiang Yijie took a deep breath and said, “Lu Ze and I are the closest. We can talk about anything, alright?”

 

Lu Ze, who had been enjoying the show, suddenly found himself under Shen Tang’s sharp gaze.

 

He didn’t bother explaining, just smiled knowingly. After all, he understood Jiang Yijie’s intent—it was obvious he was trying to provoke Shen Tang.

 

As they walked down the hallway, a private room door opened. A waiter pushed a small cart out, and Lu Ze vaguely heard someone inside say, “Manager Liang.”

 

He froze mid-step and glanced into the room but couldn’t see Liang Xiao. However, he did hear the same male voice speaking again.

 

“Only the third glass…”

 

The waiter closed the door behind him. Jiang Yijie noticed Lu Ze’s hesitation and asked, “What’s wrong? Can’t find him?”

 

“No…” Lu Ze frowned slightly and glanced at the room number on the door. “Let’s go.”

 

As soon as Jiang Yijie entered their private room, the sports committee member threw an arm around his neck. “You finally showed up! It takes Lu Ze to get you here. Why didn’t you come to the class reunion I organized during summer vacation?”

 

Jiang Yijie laughed and pushed him off. “I really had something going on that time…”

 

“Less talking, more drinking! Punishment drinks!” Lao Gao chimed in. “I just had a small glass earlier—this stuff hits hard.”

 

Jiang Yijie glanced back at Shen Tang, who was glaring at him with a sour expression. Worried he might say something inappropriate later, Jiang Yijie quickly introduced him. “Wait, wait—I brought a friend along. This is Shen Tang.”

 

The class monitor grinned and teased, “Everyone else brought their significant others. Do you think bringing a friend means you’re not still single?”

 

Everyone burst out laughing.

 

Shen Tang tried to speak up. “I—”

 

Before he could finish, Jiang Yijie turned around and hooked an arm around his neck, gritting his teeth as he whispered, “Shut the hell up…”

 

He forcefully pushed Shen Tang onto the sofa and made him sit down. “Alright! Weren’t we talking about drinking?”

 

Lu Ze sat down next to them but was distracted as he stared at his phone. He had sent Liang Xiao a message earlier, but there was still no reply.

 

“Ze-ge! What are you doing? Come on—let’s have a toast!”

 

Lu Ze looked up and took the glass handed to him.

 

“First of all,” the class monitor began, raising his own glass, “let’s thank Lu Ze’s boyfriend! Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to get into such a fancy place.”

 

“To Lu Ze’s boyfriend!” everyone cheered in unison.

 

Lu Ze chuckled lightly. “Alright, enough already.”

 

“And next—” the class monitor started again but was immediately interrupted by the sports committee member.

 

“Oh, come on! Why are you still dragging this out? Stop giving speeches—I’ll do it!”

 

The class monitor laughed and handed him an imaginary microphone. “Fine, go ahead.”

 

After pausing dramatically for a moment, the sports committee member raised his glass high and shouted simply and bluntly: “Happy National Day!”

 

“Happy National Day!” everyone echoed as they clinked glasses together.

 

Lu Ze tilted his head back and downed his drink in one go. The quality of the liquor was evident—it tasted refined from the very first sip.

 

“Drink slowly,” Lu Ze advised with a smile. “Don’t let everyone pass out within an hour.”

 

“Don’t worry!”

 

“We won’t, we won’t…”

 

After chatting together for a while, the group dispersed to explore and play around.

 

Lao Gao called out, “Ze-ge, Jie-er, and… Shen Tang, right? What are you three sitting there for? Come play pool!”

 

“You two go ahead,” Lu Ze said, turning to Jiang Yijie. “I’ve got something to do.”

 

“I’ve noticed you’ve been distracted. What’s wrong?” Jiang Yijie asked in a low voice.

 

Before Lu Ze could reply, Shen Tang grabbed Jiang Yijie and dragged him away. “Let’s go play pool.”

 

“Are you a damn elementary school kid?” Jiang Yijie grumbled. “Let go…”

 

With the room finally quiet around him, Lu Ze sent Liang Xiao another message: [Xiao-ge, message me back when you’re free.]

 

He anxiously waited for five minutes, but there was still no reply from Liang Xiao. Frustrated, Lu Ze stood up and left the private room. As he walked toward the private room he had passed earlier, he dialed Liang Xiao’s number.

 

No one answered.

 

---