Chapter 21: Wait, Why Hide in the Bathroom?

Chapter 21 Wait, Why Are We Hiding in the Restroom?

"Careful!"

Qin Yan quickly grabbed Su Zhiyu and pulled him forward. He had a firm grip, and Su Zhiyu was yanked forward, the gap between them closing in an instant.

Everything around them went quiet.

A faint peach scent filled his nostrils. Qin Yan's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared into those teal-green eyes, suddenly feeling like he couldn't breathe.

Su Zhiyu noticed someone approaching and, startled, quickly pulled his hand back and stood up. "S-sorry, I need to go get ready."

Then he hurried off toward the makeup room.

Qin Yan, still processing: ?

Okay, then.

His hand was still half-raised in the air, and he laughed to himself for no apparent reason before lowering it.

Su Zhiyu just kept getting cuter.

Qin Yan turned his head and caught Yang Yichen's look of utter disbelief. Puzzled, he asked, "When did you get here?"

Yang Yichen: "...When you grabbed Su Zhiyu's hand."

"..."

Don't say it like that.

"Brother Yan." Yang Yichen sat down beside him, studying Qin Yan with a curious look, and whispered in a gossipy tone, "Do you have a thing for Su Zhiyu?"

"?"

Qin Yan instinctively tensed up. He gave Yang Yichen a stern glare. "What are you talking about? Stop making stuff up."

Yang Yichen clicked his tongue. "You didn't see the way you looked at Su Zhiyu just now. I'm beginning to think you wanted to kiss him."

"Brother Yan, you used to hate Su Zhiyu so much, saying he looked sickly and girly, and that he got on your nerves. Was that just an excuse?"

"Ahem, ahem..." Qin Yan furrowed his brow. "Did I really say that?"

"Yeah." Yang Yichen nodded. "You said he was annoying, as frail as Lin Daiyu."

"..."

The original Qin Yan really was all about saving face. Wasn't it just that he'd been publicly rejected during a love confession back in school? He couldn't even own up to it.

Yang Yichen teased, laughing, "Did he get to you? Grateful that he's returning kindness for kindness? Your attitude changed so fast—did you hate him because you loved him?"

"..." Qin Yan rubbed his nose, playing along. "Don't pin that on me. I said I wouldn't bully him, so I won't. As for anything else, you need to get your eyes checked."

"Really? I think I'm reading you right..."

"Enough, enough. You could argue black is white."

"Fine." Yang Yichen dropped the topic and asked, "So, how did that thing get handled?"

Qin Yan spread his hands. "Solved. Those two packed up and got the boot."

Yang Yichen gave a thumbs up. "Nice."

They chatted a bit more, and then his phone vibrated. Qin Yan pulled it out and saw that a million had been deposited into his account.

He couldn't help but smile, and after a few taps, he transferred the money to Su Zhiyu's bank account.

The original owner had held leverage over Su Zhiyu largely because of money. Su Zhiyu's income mostly depended on the original owner's mood, so there was still a transfer record to his bank account saved in the phone.

Su Zhiyu sat in the corner of the makeup room. Everyone was busy now, and the show's makeup artists were swamped, so he'd have to wait a while.

Ding.

His phone rang.

Su Zhiyu pulled it out and looked—ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... a million?

He shot up from his seat, and the contestant next to him gave him a suspicious look. "What's wrong, Zhi Yu? If you're in a hurry, I could let you use my makeup artist."

Su Zhiyu composed himself and shook his head with a smile. "No, it's—I, uh, need to use the restroom."

"Oh, go ahead then."

"Yeah."

Clutching his phone, Su Zhiyu hurried out of the makeup room and caught a glimpse of Qin Yan's figure passing by—seemingly heading toward the restroom?

Su Zhiyu scanned his surroundings. Though there weren't many people, there were still people coming and going.

To avoid another awkward scene like the one in the lobby earlier, Su Zhiyu decided to follow him without making it obvious.

The restroom was a bit farther away, and the noisy chatter was muffled.

Qin Yan strolled leisurely toward the back when someone lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Qin Yan."

Su Zhiyu?

Qin Yan turned around, surprised to see him slightly out of breath, unsure if it was from rushing or exertion.

He glanced at the stalls in the restroom—all empty.

"Something up?"

"Yeah." Su Zhiyu held up his phone, showing the notification on his screen to Qin Yan. "Why did you suddenly transfer me so much money?"

It might be pocket change to Qin Yan, but to Su Zhiyu, it was a fortune.

Qin Yan leaned in to look, then casually took the phone from his hand, grinning. "Compensation for emotional distress."

Su Zhiyu froze. "Emotional distress?"

"Yeah."

"But wasn't that..." Wasn't that the money Cheng Xiang paid you?

"Why would I need compensation?" Qin Yan fiddled with Su Zhiyu's phone, a lazy smile on his lips. "This is something I got for you. Don't be shy."

Got for me?

Even if emotional distress damages were warranted, a million... is still way too much.

Su Zhiyu blanked for a second before remembering that his phone had been taken by Qin Yan. He reached out to snatch it back. "Give me my phone."

"Nope."

Qin Yan held the phone above his head. He was half a head taller than Su Zhiyu and had longer arms, so no matter how Su Zhiyu stretched, he couldn't reach it.

"Qin Yan!"

Su Zhiyu seemed to have a habit of calling his name when he panicked, and Qin Yan's heart stuttered again.

If he'd only meant to mess with the guy a second ago, now he really didn't want to hand it back. Watching the corners of Su Zhiyu's eyes flush red in his desperation, he felt a weird sense of satisfaction and exhilaration.

It was like even his tailbone had gone numb.

If... he were kissed until he could hardly breathe, would his eyes get red-rimmed and teary from panic too?

Sss...

Qin Yan's breathing suddenly turned heavy. In his eyes, Su Zhiyu's reaching movements seemed to slow down, and strands of faintly sweet-scented hair kept brushing past his nose.

White... sweet.

"Qin Yan, give me my phone back."

To Qin Yan, Su Zhiyu's frantic plea made him look like a rabbit with its fur all puffed up.

"Su Zhiyu..."

Qin Yan's voice was low and raspy, laced with something unreadable. Su Zhiyu flinched as an arm suddenly snaked around his waist, yanking him fully into his arms.

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the door, and Su Zhiyu's heart shot up into his throat.

No.

They couldn't be seen.

Qin Yan moved faster than him, directly yanking him into a stall and shutting the door.

In the cramped stall, the two of them barely fit, their bodies unavoidably pressed together, especially with that hand still on his waist.

Su Zhiyu's ears went bright red in an instant.

Why were they hiding?

Right.

Qin Yan was just as stunned. Why the hell had he hidden? He hadn't done anything wrong—he'd just come in to pee.

He really had to pee!

The person who came in didn't seem to notice anything unusual and even hummed a little tune.

The sound of urinating came clearly through the door panel to both their ears. Before they could even feel embarrassed, something even more awkward happened.

Su Zhiyu: ?

He pushed at Qin Yan in panic, looking exactly like someone who'd encountered a pervert.

Qin Yan's face stiffened, mortified and wanting to die, but mindful of the person outside, he could only hold him tightly and warn him with a silent mouth movement: Don't move!