Chapter 34

What, what on earth is this!

Xu Er stared at the screenshot on his phone, unable to process it for a long time.

The image was crystal clear: Song Ruichi was sitting on the floor, and Xu Er was in his arms, leaning against him with his head tilted back, kissing his neck.

It was... so suggestive.

When your very first reaction is to label something "suggestive," you know just how outrageous the picture must be. Kissing a cheek might be one thing—you could arguably pass that off as a clumsy display of friendly affection—but what the hell is kissing someone's neck?

Xu Er felt goosebumps erupt all over his body, and he could feel his heart pounding hard and fast. This sudden rush of embarrassment was a hundred times worse than when he’d remembered kissing the cheek last time.

Once he finally regained his composure, Xu Er locked his phone and pressed it face-down onto the bed.

His mind was a whirlwind of question marks.

He had only just met Song Ruichi back then. They weren't even close yet.

Well, not that it would be okay even if they were as close as they are now.

Oh, right. There was a mole on Song Ruichi’s neck—one Xu Er quite liked. No wonder he remembered there being a mole there; it turned out he had kissed it.

"..."

Xu Er buried his face in his knees.

What a mess.

On the other end of the phone, Xu Chen had sent a barrage of messages.

Xu Chen: "Eh???"
Xu Chen: "Where did you go?"
Xu Chen: "No reaction???"
Xu Chen: "Brother!!!!!"

Unable to get a response through text, Xu Chen called him directly. Fortunately, the ringtone Xu Er had set was gentle enough that it didn't scare the soul out of him.

"Hello."
"Did you see the photo?"

Xu Er ran his hands through his hair, tugging at it wildly. "I saw it."
Xu Chen: "What does this mean?"
Xu Er pulled his hair until it hurt. "I was drunk that day."
Xu Chen: "I know you were drunk."

Xu Er let out a sound that essentially meant *I have no idea what to say.* "Ah."
Xu Chen started laughing on the other end.
Xu Er: "You’re still laughing."
Xu Chen: "What do you want me to do, cry?"
Xu Er: "I should be the one crying."

Xu Chen laughed even harder. He asked, "Where did you get this video? Did Song Ruichi send it to you?"
Xu Er: "Yes."
Xu Chen: "What is his intention?"

Xu Er recalled that Song Ruichi had sent it one night; he had been too tired and only checked it the next day, right when he started work during a very busy period. Well, that didn't matter.

Xu Er speculated, "Maybe I mentioned to him before that I didn't remember anything when I was drunk and that it was like it never happened, so he sent that to me."

Xu Chen asked again, "Does he know what’s in the video he sent you?"

Xu Er took a soft breath. How could he not know?

So... what did Song Ruichi mean? What was Song Ruichi thinking!

The brothers fell silent on opposite ends of the line. Xu Er’s brain, still groggy from waking up, suddenly opened the screenshot Xu Chen had sent again.

*Hiss.*

He couldn't look. He really couldn't look.

"Do you think Song Ruichi thinks I did it on purpose?" Xu Er felt speechless. "It happened once, then twice."
Xu Chen was shocked: "Once, twice?"
Xu Er said "ah," feeling incredibly awkward. "I went drinking with him another time after that, and I kissed his cheek."

Xu Chen burst out laughing. Xu Er couldn't help but laugh along too.

How did he end up like this? He felt like such a pervert.

Xu Chen: "Forget about Song Ruichi; even I think you did it on purpose."
Xu Er was on the verge of tears: "I really didn't!"

"Then I... uh," Xu Chen suddenly started stammering. "Brother."
Xu Er caught on immediately. "Just say it."
Xu Chen: "Should we exchange a code?"
Xu Er: "What code?"
Xu Chen thought for a moment: "Contact list?"
Xu Er: "What contact list?"

Xu Chen let out a "just as I thought" laugh. "Never mind, never mind." Xu Chen felt speechless for himself and for Xu Er. "Why is your WeChat Moments background a rainbow?"

Xu Er was confused. "What's wrong with a rainbow? Song Ruichi asked me that too."

Xu Chen laughed again, but quickly asked, "Song Ruichi asked you? How did he ask?"

"He asked if I knew what the rainbow meant." It sounded like Xu Chen knew, so Xu Er asked, "What does it mean? Song Ruichi’s background is a rainbow too."

With that, Xu Er opened Song Ruichi’s Moments. "Oh," he noticed, "he changed it."

Xu Chen sounded contemplative. "I suspect once again that Song Ruichi is gay."

Xu Er said "oh," and replied very calmly, "He is."

Xu Chen slowly let out an "Ah?"

Xu Er said, "Right, I forgot to tell you. Actually, I only found out yesterday."

Xu Chen was still "Ah?"

Xu Er explained that during yesterday's competition, he ran into a high school classmate named Wang Niannian, who told him that Song Ruichi being gay was common knowledge in their circle and not a secret at all.

"Even his parents know," Xu Er added.

Xu Chen: "I told you so."

"But," Xu Chen chuckled, "the word 'gay' sounds pretty funny coming from you."
Xu Er: "Why?"
Xu Chen: "It’s a bit of a disconnect."

Xu Er only knew the surface level of this. "So what does the rainbow mean?"
Xu Chen thought about it: "It's a symbol for the gay community."
Xu Er let out a sound of having learned something new.

But...
Xu Er: "How do you know so much?"
Xu Chen laughed: "Why do you think I know so much?"
Xu Er: "I'm asking you."
Xu Chen: "In that case, let me confess something to you."
Xu Er suddenly seemed to understand: "You’re not gay too, are you?"
Xu Chen: "Haha, yep."

The surprise took turns, and now it was Xu Er’s turn to let out a slow "Ah?"

Xu Chen said, "Oops, came out of the closet just like that."
Xu Er: "What is 'coming out of the closet'?"
Xu Chen: "..."
Xu Chen: "I’ll send you an instruction manual for 'contacts'."
Xu Er: "Contacts?"
Xu Chen laughed, speechless. "'Contacts' is just a slang term for gay people because the initials are the same; a lot of people use it now."
Xu Er held his temple. "Right, I'm learning new things."

"Still got the energy to make puns," Xu Chen teased. "You’ve got a good attitude."
Xu Er gave a short laugh. "Ha."
Good attitude, my foot.

"But Song Ruichi doesn't know that I know he’s gay," Xu Er said, turning on the light. "I haven't found the right opportunity to bring it up."
Xu Chen: "What will happen if he knows you know?"
Xu Er thought about it. "Probably nothing. Heterosexual lives are lives too, after all."
Xu Chen laughed. "Brother, you’re truly humorous now."

It was the first time Xu Er had been called humorous, but he couldn't feel happy about it. He was about to cry. "This isn't the point. Given the circumstances, if I acted that way toward him, what would he think?"
Xu Chen: "What else would he think? Isn't it obvious that you're seducing him?"
Xu Er: "Shut up!"

Xu Chen laughed again. Because of what Xu Chen said, the goosebumps that had only just faded on Xu Er reappeared instantly.

Xu Chen was laughing on the other end. Xu Er felt speechless, but he laughed along too.
What kind of situation was this?

Of course, he could pretend nothing happened. He could pretend he hadn't scrutinized that video and didn't know he had molested Song Ruichi while drunk.

When the word "molested" popped into his head, Xu Er was startled. He was such a pervert. How could he be this perverted?

"Is there a possibility..." Xu Chen suddenly said.
Xu Er immediately asked, "What?"
Xu Chen laughed: "You’re so nervous."
Xu Er: "Just say it."
"Alright, I'll say it," Xu Chen said with a mischievous laugh. "Is there a possibility that Song Ruichi likes you?"
Xu Er: "Impossible."

Xu Er answered so quickly that Xu Chen naturally had to ask, "Why is it impossible?"
Xu Er: "He likes someone else."
Xu Chen: "What? Did he tell you that?"
Xu Er: "Obviously?"
Xu Chen: "Fine, pretend I didn't say anything."
Xu Er: "..."
Xu Chen: "Who does he like?"
Xu Er: "I don't know. I don't know the person."
Xu Chen: "Alright."

Perhaps having Xu Chen for company helped, but Xu Er felt a bit more relaxed and lay back on the bed. He minimized the voice call and returned to his WeChat chat screen.

Song Ruichi was third on the list, and he hadn't replied to the message he’d just sent. He was probably in a meeting; Song Ruichi had told him he had a meeting in the evening and a dinner to attend later.

"He likes someone else," Xu Er suddenly said to the phone again.
There was a short silence on the other end. "And then?"
Xu Er said, "I don't think I've ever met them."
Xu Chen: "And then?"
Xu Er: "No 'and then'."
Xu Chen laughed: "I thought you had some clues since you brought it up out of the blue."
Xu Er: "None."

"You two haven't known each other long," Xu Chen said, "but I think with your current relationship, Song Ruichi will have you meet them soon."

Xu Er couldn't help but furrow his brow. He instinctively rejected the image. "Forget it."
Xu Chen: "Why?"
Xu Er thought for a moment. "Wouldn't it be a bit awkward?"
Xu Chen: "What’s awkward about that?"
Xu Er thought again. "That's true."

That's true. What would be awkward about it? It wasn't as if he hadn't met his friends' partners before.

Xu Chen had already finished dinner—it was prime dinner time—but Xu Er didn't feel hungry.

Since there were some fresh things to talk about from the past two days of the competition, Xu Er opened the floodgates and chatted with Xu Chen. He talked about how Song Ruichi had a dark purple shirt that looked particularly sexy on him, how many people were recording when Song Ruichi gave his speech, how popular Song Ruichi was, and how his friends joked about him being a big star...

After listening, Xu Chen sighed, "Brother, you sound more like his fan than I do."
Xu Er was quite cheerful. "Why couldn't I be?"

"Oh, right," Xu Er suddenly remembered. "Yesterday, a guy asked for Song Ruichi’s WeChat. I think that guy was also gay."
Xu Chen exclaimed, "Incredible, brother. You've got 'gaydar' now."
Xu Er: "What is gaydar?"
Xu Chen: "..."
So, Xu Chen explained what gaydar was.

"I don't think I really have it yet," Xu Er said. "I didn't even notice the two people right next to me."