Xu Yunyi was groggy when the ringing of his phone woke him up.
“Hello? Hello? Who is this?”
Lu Ziqing’s cool and detached voice came through. “Me.”
Xu Yunyi groaned. “Dude, do you have any idea what time it is? My phone started vibrating like crazy—I thought it was an earthquake.”
Lu Ziqing: “Bluegrid Bar. Put it on your tab.”
With that, he hung up.
“Damn,” Xu Yunyi grumbled. “Calling me out for a late-night drink and making me pay? Have some humanity, will you?”
….
Twenty minutes later, Xu Yunyi walked into Bluegrid Bar, yawning.
In the farthest corner, a tall, lean figure sat alone, downing drinks one after another.
Xu Yunyi sat beside him with a sigh. “Alright, what’s the issue? Spill it quick—I’d like to go back to sleep.”
Lu Ziqing said nothing and just kept drinking.
Xu Yunyi winced. “Damn, you sure have good taste—only picking the most expensive bottles from my bar.”
Lu Ziqing downed another glass before finally stopping. “Drinking your booze, and you’re this stingy?”
Xu Yunyi huffed. “Even blood brothers settle accounts properly. And we’re not even that close.”
Seeing that Lu Ziqing truly looked out of sorts, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “What is it? Another fight with the old man?”
Lu Ziqing shook his head.
Xu Yunyi guessed again. “Some rich kid or heiress bothering you? Or… did your dad get caught with another illegitimate kid?”
Lu Ziqing cursed, “Get lost.”
Xu Yunyi laughed loudly. “If you don’t tell me, how am I supposed to know? I can only make random guesses.”
But truthfully, he had already noticed that something was off about Lu Ziqing today.
Lu Ziqing, despite his father’s authority, was usually carefree and untamed.
But tonight, his face had been clouded the entire time, his expression heavy—like he was facing a real problem.
Since Lu Ziqing wouldn’t talk, Xu Yunyi knew he couldn’t force it out of him.
Still, since he was already here, it’d be a waste to just leave.
So he resigned himself to his fate, sitting there and drinking with Lu Ziqing.
Suddenly, Lu Ziqing’s phone screen lit up.
The caller ID read: Lin Yu.
The moment he saw it, Lu Ziqing immediately put down his glass and answered without hesitation.
Under the dim glow of the screen, his expression softened in an instant.
“Hmm.”
I… couldn’t sleep, so I went out for a drink with a friend.”
“I didn’t drink much. Just a little… actually, just one glass. The rest was all soft drinks.”
Xu Yunyi glanced at the row of empty liquor bottles on the table, deep in thought.
“You should sleep, don’t wait up for me. I’m fine.”
“I was worried you’d get too warm, so I turned off the air conditioning before I left. Make sure to stay covered so you don’t catch a cold.”
“Mm. See you tomorrow.”
Lu Ziqing ended the call and looked up—only to find Xu Yunyi staring at him.
Lu Ziqing frowned. “What are you looking at?”
“No need to explain.” Xu Yunyi gave him a knowing look. “I completely understand why you called me out for drinks in the middle of the night.”
Lu Ziqing’s expression stiffened. “I didn’t—”
“It’s gotta be because you’re ‘so done’ with Lin Yu, right?” Xu Yunyi said sympathetically. “You’ve been stuck in this fake marriage for so long, living under the same roof every day—of course, you’d be fed up. I get it.”
Lu Ziqing: “…”
The words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat. Denying it didn’t feel right, but admitting it felt even worse. His face darkened further.
Xu Yunyi rarely saw Lu Ziqing this flustered. He leaned back, comfortably taking in the sight.
After savoring it for a while, he finally burst out laughing. “Come on, drop the act. You’re just mad because you’ve fallen for him, but he doesn’t like you back. I noticed it ages ago, but you just wouldn’t admit it. Seriously, even a dead duck wouldn’t be this stubborn.”
Lu Ziqing struggled for a moment, his face stiffening again and again, before finally slumping his shoulders and softly saying, “He doesn’t have the slightest bit of that kind of feeling for me.”
Admitting this was quite embarrassing for him.
Growing up surrounded by admiration, he had always gotten whatever he wanted with just a gesture. Yet, he had encountered Lin Yu, this absolute blockhead, who remained oblivious even when things were practically spelled out and fed directly into his ears.
At his wit’s end, he had turned to Xu Yunyi for a drinking session to vent his frustration.
Lu Ziqing seriously doubted that even if he outright confessed, Lin Yu would just obediently go along with it and then quietly ask him in private, “Ah, is this another show for one of your relatives?”
…
Lu Ziqing briefly recounted recent events to Xu Yunyi.
Xu Yunyi pondered for a moment and asked, “Have you hinted at it?”
Lu Ziqing: “Many times. He hasn’t picked up on it at all—he just thinks it’s part of work.”
Xu Yunyi comforted him, “Take it slow. Start with the little things—give him flowers, maybe a ring. Over time, he’ll definitely catch on.”
“There’s no time,” Lu Ziqing said. “His work here is almost done. Before long, he’ll be transferred back to headquarters. He said… his parents are rushing him, and as soon as he returns, they’ll start arranging blind dates.”
Xu Yunyi found that odd. “His parents don’t know that you two are married?”
Lu Ziqing shook his head lightly. “He kept it from them because he wanted to separate work from his personal life and didn’t want them to worry.”
Xu Yunyi suggested, “Then just don’t get divorced. You guys already have a marriage certificate, and he still works under your dad. This should be easy to handle.”
Lu Ziqing rested his elbow on the table, lost in thought for a long while before saying, “He would hate me for it. I can’t be that selfish.”
Xu Yunyi fell silent.
What the hell?
Was this really the Lu Ziqing he knew?
Since when had he become so noble, so civilized, so considerate?
Had the sun risen from the west?
…
Lu Ziqing slowly continued, “Then again, if he rejects me, that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
He’d throw away all shame, cling to him relentlessly, and never let go.
Xu Yunyi: “…”
He wasn’t wrong—Lu Ziqing had always been someone who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
Xu Yunyi asked with satisfaction, “So, what’s your next move?”
Lu Ziqing placed his glass down with a crisp clink against the table.
“Confess.”
Go for it!!!!!