Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

He pushed the hair off his forehead and carefully stood up.

The landline was ancient, and the room number on it was barely legible.

Lu Yan whispered, "Who’s there?"

The person on the other end was clearly startled, and it took a while before a voice came through.

"What are you doing in Brother Xu’s room?"

Hearing Lin Qing’s voice, Lu Yan let out a laugh, "What do you want?"

Lin Qing snapped, "Put Brother Xu on the phone."

When the publicity team sent him the promo blog content today, they offhandedly mentioned the meeting room incident. That’s when he found out that Gu Xu had come to the set again.

As usual, Gu Xu’s phone was off. He had to bribe the front desk to get Gu Xu’s room number. He’d planned to go straight to his room, but Chen Li warned him about the paparazzi swarming the hotel and told him not to stir up trouble.

Hearing Lu Yan’s hushed tone, he felt like kicking the door down.

Lu Yan said, "He’s out cold."

Click. The line went dead instantly.

"Who was it?"

Lu Yan glanced over and saw that Gu Xu was awake.

"Lin Qing."

Gu Xu frowned slightly. He got up, grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, took a few sips, and kept his eyes on the TV. "Haven’t been sleeping well lately—dozed off by accident."

"Ding dong—"

"Ding dong ding dong ding dong—"

The doorbell buzzed incessantly.

They both knew who it was. Lu Yan settled back on the couch, still holding the can of cold snacks, and lazily flipped the channel.

Gu Xu set the water bottle down, opened the door, and asked flatly, "What do you want?"

Seeing Gu Xu in a wrinkled bathrobe, Lin Qing’s eyes welled up. He hung his head and whimpered, "Brother Xu, did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Then why are you acting different?" Lin Qing’s voice rose, "Are you mad because I met that model?"

"Brother Xu, that model’s a total mess—slept with half the industry. I was just looking out for you..."

Lin Qing trailed off. He glanced up to see Gu Xu staring at him, expressionless.

"If you’re done, then leave. I need to rest."

A tone that left no room for debate.

After Lin Qing left, Gu Xu sat back down next to Lu Yan, grabbed the remote, and switched back to the pay-per-view channel.

Lu Yan glanced at him and noticed for the first time that Gu Xu’s eyes were slightly bloodshot.

He couldn’t help but say, "Why don’t you get some sleep?"

Gu Xu was genuinely tired. He leaned into Lu Yan, resting part of his weight on him, "What about you? Aren’t you tired?"

The closeness and sudden weight made Lu Yan’s ears turn red. He cleared his throat and replied casually, "...I’ll watch TV."

Meaning he wasn’t going anywhere. Gu Xu stood up and chuckled softly, "I’ll take a nap then."

After saying that, he reached out and ruffled Lu Yan’s hair, "Wake me when it’s time for dinner."

Lu Yan had been zoning out for a while before being pulled back to reality by a WeChat notification.

It was from Lin An: "Where are you? You’re not in your room?"

Lu Yan set his phone to silent and replied, "I’m in Gu Xu’s room. What’s going on?"

"????"

"Are you two together?"

"No."

Lin An sent a sticker that said "I don’t believe it," then got to the point: "There are a few scripts that I think are pretty good, so I brought them over."

Lu Yan propped his chin on his hand and replied, "Just reject them all."

"That’s final? Not even gonna check them out?"

"Not checking them out. I don’t have time to film."

Lin An was puzzled, "You don’t have anything lined up after 'War Song'?"

Without hesitation, Lu Yan replied, "I know. Just turn down all the recent scripts. I’ll handle them once I’ve caught up with Gu Xu."

"..."

"[Black guy question mark face.jpg]"

-

Gu Xu’s phone rang, waking him up. He grabbed his phone and squinted at the screen—it was already 8 PM.

He sat up, confirmed that Lu Yan was still watching TV on the sofa, and then leisurely answered the call.

Chen Yiming’s end was noisy. He shouted to make sure Gu Xu could hear him, "Hey! Are you in J City?"

Gu Xu impatiently moved the phone away, "Yeah."

"You sound exhausted. Are you okay?" Chen Yiming laughed, "That deal we’ve been grinding on for weeks is finally done. Come out, drinks are on me. J City’s not much, but the bars are lit, and the crowd’s hot!"

"Not happening."

"Come on, I’ll get you a ride back later."

Gu Xu clicked his tongue, "Not going." He was about to hang up.

"Hold up," Chen Yiming moved to a quieter spot, "Tonight’s a one-night-only gay party at this bar, packed with top-tier folks. Do you know how hard it is to get a seat here? Are you sure you’re not coming?"

Gu Xu arched an eyebrow, glancing at the back of Lu Yan's head. Sensing the stare, Lu Yan suddenly turned around, a questioning look in his eyes.

"What’s good to eat around here?"

"Food?" Chen Yiming stepped outside and glanced around, "There are several restaurants."

"Where."

Chen Yiming laughed, "I’ll text you the location!"

After hanging up, Gu Xu rasped, "Why didn’t you wake me?"

Lu Yan replied, "You seemed beat."

Gu Xu got up, washed his face, and walked over to Lu Yan, "Wanna head out?"

Lu Yan was still sitting, looking up at him, "To eat?"

Gu Xu nodded, "Let’s grab a bite, then hit a bar."

"A bar?"

"Chen Yiming mentioned a bar party tonight, you in?" Gu Xu asked, "If not, we don’t have to."

"Definitely, why wouldn’t I?" Lu Yan, who had been looking for a good opportunity to flirt with Gu Xu, quickly put away the cold dishes, "We heading downtown? Let me change."

Gu Xu smiled, "Yeah, bundle up."

In the city, they grabbed a quick bite before heading to the bar.

The bar was clearly high-end, with fancy cars lined up outside.

Chen Yiming greeted them, peeking around Gu Xu, "Xiao Yan Yan showed up!"

Gu Xu shoved his head back impatiently.

Lu Yan laughed, "Yeah, I crashed the party."

Chen Yiming, recalling the seat favor, quickly added, "Hey, don’t say that. If I knew you were free, I would have invited you first. C’mon, let’s head in, it’s popping inside."

As soon as they entered, Lu Yan’s ears were blasted by the loud music.

The hotel looked fancy outside, and the inside was just as flashy, with neon lights constantly scanning the room, the DJ high up setting the mood, the air thick with smoke and booze, with guys dancing wildly to the beat.

Yes, all men.

As they made their way through the crowd to the booth, seeing Lu Yan’s inquisitive look, Chen Yiming patted his shoulder and loudly explained, "This bar’s throwing a gay party tonight!"

The music was blasting, Lu Yan couldn’t make it out, "What?"

Chen Yiming leaned in, but a hand shoved his forehead back.

Pushed away, Chen Yiming looked displeased, "Don’t butt in between me and Xiao Yan..."

Before he could finish, he stopped.

He saw his usually icy friend whispering something to Lu Yan with a smile.

Lu Yan was also stunned.

Gu Xu was standing really close, his lips lightly brushed against Lu Yan's ear.

...It felt soft.

His voice was magnetic: "This bar’s throwing a gay party tonight."

Lu Yan nodded sheepishly, murmured "Oh," not caring whether Gu Xu heard it or not.

Several open bottles were already on the table. Lu Yan, his ears burning, reached for one.

Gu Xu stopped him, shook his head to say no.

But Lu Yan had come tonight to drink and build up his courage.

He didn’t care now, leaning in close to Gu Xu’s ear: "I'm not on an empty stomach, just a little won’t hurt."

Gu Xu sighed, held up a finger to say just one. Lu Yan smiled and took a sip, understanding.

Sitting across from them, Chen Yiming was completely baffled, wondering what these two were doing.

At that moment, the music in the bar suddenly changed, the strong rhythm made it hard not to sway. Chen Yiming decided to ignore the two in front of him and stood up, called out, "Xiao Yan, wanna dance?"

Lu Yan, looking at the bustling crowd on the dance floor, felt eager and instinctively looked at Gu Xu.

Gu Xu’s features were sharp, looking even more handsome in the light. He met Lu Yan’s questioning look and nodded with a light laugh.

Chen Yiming thought to himself, these employees are something else, even dancing needs the boss’s okay.

The two didn’t push their way into the crowd, just stood at the periphery.

Lu Yan rarely danced, and with the DJ's particularly exciting music, he couldn't help but raise his hands and twist his body along with the crowd at the edge of the stage.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, not long, so when he raised his hands, his slim and fair waist was faintly visible, and his pleasing abs successfully attracted a lot of attention.

Dancing unconsciously, he moved into the center of the crowd.

The air in the bar was already bad, and it was even more turbid in the most crowded place. Lu Yan frowned slightly, just about to squeeze out when he felt something rubbing against him.

The man in front of him... was rubbing his butt against him.

Feeling Lu Yan's pause, the boy in front turned around, a suggestive smile on his face, and reached out to touch his chest.

Seeing Lu Yan back away, the boy tilted his head, his smile undiminished: "I'm really good."

After saying that, he turned back and rubbed his butt against Lu Yan again.

"..."

Lu Yan turned to leave, but didn't expect the boy to wrap his arms around his waist from behind.

"Covered up so tightly, are you ugly?" After saying that, he quickly added, "It's okay, I'm very satisfied with your body, as long as you're good."

Lu Yan pried his hands off: "Find someone else."

"Not even this," the boy muttered, looking at Lu Yan's back, "Must be impotent, what a waste of that body."

When Lu Yan came out, there was a bit of sweat on his forehead.

He had never been to a gay bar before, and being rubbed by a man was a first for him.

He smoothed out his wrinkled clothes and headed back to the table, only to find a man sitting next to Gu Xu.

"How about I don’t charge you, and we leave?" The man propped his head with his hand, his eyes brimming with flirtation as he gazed at Gu Xu, his voice smooth and inviting.

Gu Xu remained silent, not even glancing at the man, his eyes still searching the dance floor for something.

When Chen Yiming returned, he happened to run into Lu Yan and followed his gaze, couldn't help but laugh: "Every time I’m at the bar with him, people flirt with him—always Gu Xu, never me. Isn’t that just the worst?"

Seeing that Lu Yan didn’t respond, he couldn't help but add: "Don't worry, someone will surely come to flirt with you too..."

Before he could finish, Lu Yan walked away.

Right after, Chen Yiming saw something he’d later recount for half an hour—

Lu Yan marched up to Gu Xu, grabbed his collar.

Then he yanked off his mask and kissed him.

Author’s note: Just so you know, many bar booths are standing-only, hence the leaning in.