Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

He couldn’t quite figure out when he started to have feelings for Gu Xu.

Maybe it was the day he quietly stood up for him, or when he came to visit him on set, or even when he picked him up at the door.

Anyway, whenever it was, he liked him, and that was that. He had never been great with matters of the heart. In high school, he dated a girlfriend once, but they broke up within a month. When he figured out his sexual orientation at twenty, he hadn’t been in any serious relationships, except for a messy thing with Xu Ze.

With no experience in pursuing someone, he could only follow his heart.

If he liked someone, he’d just go for it.

He originally thought that pursuing Gu Xu would be a slow process, something that couldn’t be rushed.

But he realized Gu Xu seemed pretty popular.

No, really popular.

So when he saw what just happened, he didn’t think twice before rushing over.

Gradual progression and all that could go to hell.

Meanwhile, Gu Xu was unusually stunned.

Lu Yan’s lips were warm, and the force was so strong they almost knocked their teeth together.

He recklessly kissed him all over, and Gu Xu, with a hint of amusement in his eyes, had his lips slightly upturned. Then, with one hand around Lu Yan’s waist and the other on the back of his head, he deepened the kiss.

He pried open Lu Yan’s lips, taking complete control, kissing him until he was dizzy and disoriented.

The fierce, aggressive kiss turned into a tender, lingering one. Before Chen Yiming could react, the guy who’d been trying to flirt with Gu Xu whistled.

“So you’ve got a partner,” the guy said, his expression relaxed, not at all embarrassed.

Gu Xu pulled away from Lu Yan’s lips, his hand still on his waist. He glanced at the guy, his eyes filled with annoyance at the interruption: “Can you leave now?”

Lu Yan was still leaning against Gu Xu. Their clothes were thin, and their body heat was close. He looked at Gu Xu’s red lips and stayed quiet.

The guy raised his hands in surrender: “Of course, my bad.”

After the guy left, Gu Xu used his thumb to wipe the corner of Lu Yan’s lips, his voice hoarse: “You got some on you.”

Lu Yan felt his face and mouth burning. He let out an “oh” and wiped it off himself, then reached up to wipe Gu Xu’s mouth as well.

He tried to stay composed: “Sorry, I’m not very good at this. Let me clean it up for you.”

“…” Chen Yiming finally figured out what was going on. He slowly walked back to his seat and asked, “Is Xiao Yan drunk?”

Lu Yan shook his head.

Chen Yiming: “Then are you two… in a relationship?”

Lu Yan looked at Gu Xu and asked uncertainly: “Are we?”

Gu Xu raised an eyebrow: “You kissed me, aren’t you going to take responsibility?”

Lu Yan said seriously: “I will.”

Then he turned his head and nodded: “We’re together.”

"..." Chen Yiming looked at his friend's satisfied expression and kept his questions to himself.

Just then, it was time for the bar's performance. Two men took the stage, dancing in a sexy yet tasteful manner, instantly pumping up the crowd.

Gu Xu asked, tilting his head, "Shall we go back? You have filming tomorrow."

Before Lu Yan could speak, Chen Yiming interjected, "Don't leave yet, the show's just starting. Stay with me a bit longer, it's no fun by myself."

Gu Xu scoffed, "Then go find a table and ask to join them."

Chen Yiming retorted angrily, "You're just ditching your friend for your lover."

Lu Yan chuckled lightly, "No hurry, we can stay a little longer."

If it weren't for Chen Yiming's sudden invitation to the bar, Lu Yan wouldn't have known how long he'd be stuck in his worries. Thinking this, Chen Yiming instantly became a good friend in Lu Yan's eyes.

"Xiao Yan's the best," Chen Yiming said emotionally, then tried to sling an arm around Lu Yan's shoulder.

But as soon as he looked up, he met his friend's gaze. Gu Xu's eyes seemed to say, "Try it and see what happens." Faced with such a possessive guy, Chen Yiming could only silently withdraw his hand.

At that moment, a waiter approached, carrying a tray with a colorful cocktail.

The waiter stopped in front of them, set down the glass, and smiled, "Hello, this 'Storm' is specially made by our bartender."

Chen Yiming said, "We didn't order a cocktail."

The waiter replied, "This is on the house. Our bartender asked me to apologize once again." After speaking, he glanced at the bar.

Following his gaze, they realized the bartender was the guy who had hit on them earlier.

Lu Yan thought to himself, so that guy wasn't a male escort.

As if sensing Lu Yan's confusion, the waiter explained, "He's just a part-time bartender. If you three need anything else... he's available."

After saying this, he smiled, "Enjoy your evening."

After the waiter left, Chen Yiming slid the cocktail over to Lu Yan, "Xiao Yan, this is for you."

The cocktail had three colors and looked no different from an ordinary cocktail.

Just as Lu Yan was about to pick it up, Gu Xu stopped his hand.

"We're not having any, you drink it."

Chen Yiming was deeply stung by the words "we" and "yourself." He pulled the glass back, looking hurt, muttering "showing off" as he took a big sip.

As a result, just that one cocktail got Chen Yiming so drunk he couldn't stand up straight.

The two of them stumbled out of the bar, holding up the drunk Chen Yiming, and sat him down by the roadside. Lu Yan let out a sigh.

Chen Yiming was quite heavy, and with his constant flailing, it took a lot of effort.

Gu Xu impatiently pushed away Chen Yiming's flailing hands and said to Lu Yan, "I'll go get the car, wait here."

Lu Yan nodded, "Okay."

After Gu Xu left, Lu Yan crouched down and patted Chen Yiming's back.

Although Chen Yiming kept retching, he didn't actually vomit anything. Drunk people can't stop talking, and from then until now, his mouth hadn't stopped.

Out of nowhere, a shadow blocked the light. Lu Yan glanced up, puzzled, to find several men standing in front of him, one holding an iron rod, clearly up to no good.

The leader sneered, "Mr. Lu, enjoying yourself? We've been waiting for hours."

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes, "Who are you?"

The man chuckled, "It doesn't matter who we are. Come quietly, and you won't get hurt."

They'd been tailing Lu Yan since he left the set, but with him accompanied and shops nearby, they hadn't found the right moment. Unexpectedly, the situation played into their hands—the bar was a rowdy spot where fights broke out often, and most folks leaving at this hour were drunk. Snatching someone would be easy, especially with the guy next to him totally wasted.

Four men, one armed with a rod.

Lu Yan was no stranger to fights from his high school days and was pretty good at it. But even he knew he was no match for four guys.

He quickly figured out how much time he could buy.

Bars had bouncers, but they were usually inside, and it was hard to tell how fast they'd react.

The men didn't wait and went straight for him. Lu Yan dodged and landed a solid kick to the leader's gut.

The man hit the ground, swearing, "Knock him out and grab him!"

One guy muttered, "Weren't we told not to hurt him?"

The leader snapped, "He'll live, move it!"

The three men went for Lu Yan's head. Lu Yan was quick, but he still got hit a few times.

The leader got up, fuming, "Three of you can't handle one guy? What good are you?" He then swung at Lu Yan.

"Don't hit his face, boss..." Before he could finish, the boss gasped in pain and dropped to his knees.

The three men stared in shock at the person standing behind their boss.

Gu Xu hadn't even retracted his foot yet. His expression was cold as he said, "Looking for death?"

Unable to take Lu Yan and now facing someone who could knock their boss down with a single kick, the underlings exchanged nervous glances.

The boss struggled to get up, "What are you idiots doing? Hit him!"

As soon as he finished, Gu Xu delivered a brutal kick from behind, this time with no mercy, sending the boss sprawling face-first into the ground.

The three men snapped out of it, exchanged a look, and two of them restrained Lu Yan while the other moved toward Gu Xu.

Lu Yan panicked, "Gu Xu, run! Go get help from the bar!"

Gu Xu looked at him and suddenly asked, "Does it hurt?"

"..." Is this really the time for that?

Seeing that Lu Yan didn't answer, Gu Xu bent down, grabbed the boss by the collar, and punched him.

Clean and powerful.

The others saw their boss knocked down again and crouched, ready to charge at Gu Xu. But before they could react, Gu Xu rushed toward them and landed a punch directly on one of their noses.

Lu Yan: "..."

The two lackeys holding Lu Yan were hesitating whether to step in and help.

"You hold him, I'll go help them."

"No way, I can't handle him by myself!"

At this moment, Chen Yiming, who was sitting on the ground, suddenly started creepily laughing.

"Gu Xu, why are you practicing sanda again... the sandbags, the sandbags are all broken, stop hitting, hiccup!"

Before they knew it, two men were already lying on the ground groaning in pain.

Now the two holding Lu Yan couldn't hold back anymore, let go of Lu Yan, freed from their grip, and rushed forward. Lu Yan, free from restraint, immediately wanted to help Gu Xu.

Suddenly, a glint of malice appeared in the eyes of the boss lying on the ground. He grabbed the stick they had been using to intimidate people, got up, and swung it at Gu Xu's head.

Without hesitation, Lu Yan took out his phone from his pocket and threw it directly at the boss's face.

Bullseye.

The stick and the phone fell to the ground with a loud thud. The boss, in pain, covered his face and let out a howl. At this moment, the bar staff finally caught on that something was off, and several bouncers rushed out, pinning all four of them down.

Gu Xu walked to Lu Yan's side, his voice sharp: "Did they hit you?"

Lu Yan didn't want to make a scene, so he reassured him: "I'm fine."

Gu Xu looked at the four men pinned to the ground with a cold stare and asked coldly: "Who sent you here?"

No one spoke.

Gu Xu sneered: "Not talking, huh?"

He suddenly grabbed the stick beside him and slammed the stick down on the boss's back, hitting him extremely hard. The other three men, hearing the dull thud, shuddered in fear.

Before the bar's bouncers could step in to stop him, one of the lackeys on the ground buckled under pressure.

"Stop hitting! Mr. Lu, it was your father who sent us here!"

Everyone present was stunned, except for Lu Yan, who showed no expression.

Afraid they wouldn't believe him, the lackey quickly added: "It's true! He said he was your father, we don't know his name, only that his surname is Zhou..."