Ke-Luan 1
Ke Mingcheng loves to play. He used to have many social engagements with numerous friends and his social life became even busier after taking on the position of Vice President at Senlan. There isn’t a restaurant in Star City that he hasn’t tried. Recently, a friend recommended a Yunnan private kitchen. Since he was nearby and just finished his busy day, he decided to give it a try as a late-night snack.
He was satisfied with the meal, but unexpectedly encountered an incident. When he was preparing to leave after finishing his meal, he saw a familiar face in the corridor— Luan Qing, Zhuang Yiyun’s assistant. They met a few times before, and he remembered Luan Qing as having a cold personality, not one for many words, and, well… cold and indifferent. Honestly, he had seen his fair share of beauties, but Luan Qing, with his understated charm, left a lasting impression.
However, at this moment, Dr. Luan Qing, who usually exuded a cold aura, was holding onto a restaurant waitress, crying. The jar of Dai ethnic corn wine in front of him was already empty. The waitress, probably fearing what the drunken guest would do, tried to persuade him with the door to the private room open. However, this man who usually ignored others, was now shedding tears and holding onto a stranger.
“Sir, please don’t cry. Have you encountered any difficulties? Should I call the police?” The waitress was helpless and seemed on the verge of tears herself.
But Luan Qing only shed tears without saying a word. After hearing her words, he didn’t know how to refute and just shook his head.
“Sir, if you unlock your phone, I can help you contact a friend to pick you up.”
Luan Qing still shook his head but finally spoke, saying, “I have no friends.”
“This…”
Unable to bear watching anymore, Ke Mingcheng intervened. This was his employee anyway.
“I’ll take care of him. You can go back to your duties.”
The waitress obediently turned away but, upon seeing the well-dressed tall man, hesitated for a moment. It was good to be rid of this troublesome guest, but she still asked in a professional manner, “Sir, are you this guest’s friend?”
“Yes, I’m taking him home.”
Upon hearing this, she asked Luan Qing, “Sir, your friend said he will send you home. Do you recognize them?”
Luan Qing’s movements were sluggish, and he slowly turned his head to glance at Ke Mingcheng. His eyes were misty, cheeks flushed, and at that moment, he narrowed his eyes slightly as if dissatisfied, controlled only by the remaining shreds of his sanity. He appeared to be contemplating something and pursed his lips lightly. His lips were moistened by strong alcohol, and there were crystal tears sliding down from the corners of his eyes uncontrollably.
Ke Mingcheng couldn’t help but admit that he was captivated by that glance. He was accustomed to romantic encounters, encountering both men and women who willingly approached. He had maintained various relationships, some deep, some superficial, some long, some short. However, he had never been involved with someone like Luan Qing. The cold and stern exterior had been peeled back slightly by alcohol, revealing a charm that stirred his heartbeat. At that moment, he thought it was just the allure of beauty, but later, he realized there was something more profound between them, and that’s why he was moved.
“Dr. Luan, do you still recognize me? Ke Mingcheng.” He heard himself say, his voice low and unintentionally gentle.
When a man actively coaxes someone, there usually was an ulterior motive. The moment the words came out, he knew his intentions were impure. However…a vital talent for Senlan’s research was not someone to be taken to bed casually.
“Vice President Ke…” Luan Qing blinked and took a while before speaking.
The waitress breathed a sigh of relief and quickly handed over responsibility to Ke Mingcheng.
“Is his bill settled?”
“No.”
So, Ke Mingcheng settled the bill and then went to retrieve the person. Drinking a whole jar of over fifty-degree alcohol alone was impressive. It seemed he could hold his liquor, but tonight, he had definitely drunk too much.
“Can you walk on your own?”
There was no response. It seemed not. Ke Mingcheng had initially wanted to help Luan Qing to walk out, but Luan Qing’s legs were as limp as noodles. In the end, he had to carry him.
The first impression of holding him was that he was light, with narrow shoulders and a slender waist. The second impression was that he was soft, it felt like his bones and flesh were all soft, like holding a warm pool of water against his shoulder.
After adjusting the position to hold the person steadily, Ke Mingcheng called for the waitress to help open the car door before finally placing Luan Qing inside.
“Dr. Luan, where do you live?”
There was no response. Ke Mingcheng chuckled. If he weren’t an expert from his company, he could’ve just taken him to a hotel. Although he disdained doing such unscrupulous things, asking about his preferences tomorrow after everyone woke up might not be a bad idea.
“Luan Qing…” There was still no answer and, helpless, he pulled out his phone to call his assistant.
“Check the personnel records, find out where Dr. Luan Qing from Team Six lives. Yes, don’t alert others, handle it discreetly.”
The assistant worked efficiently. Despite it being late at night, he didn’t complain due to the high salary they received. Within five minutes, Luan Qing’s address was sent. A considerate note accompanied it: “It’s an old neighborhood, the building might be a bit hard to find. Do you need assistance?”
Ke Mingcheng replied, “No need, you rest.”
Before setting off, he adjusted the passenger seat for Luan Qing and then fastened his seatbelt. In the process of leaning down, he got closer and Luan Qing’s breath, tinged with alcohol, brushed across his cheek—it was so fragrant and intoxicating that he couldn’t help reaching out and wiping away the tears on his face.
“Who hurt you so badly that you’re crying like this?” he asked softly.
Knowing there wouldn’t be a response, he secured the seatbelt, started the car, and drove to Luan Qing’s home.
The assistant mentioned that Luan Qing’s residence was in an old neighborhood, and indeed it was. Ke Mingcheng remembered that most of the residents in this area were elderly.
“The company pays you a good salary, at least rent a decent place.”
After arriving at the destination, Ke Mingcheng carried Luan Qing out of the car, complaining while searching for the building. After much effort, he found it, but getting inside became another issue.
“Dr. Luan,” he shook the person in his arms, “Luan Qing, where are your keys?”
“Mm…” Luan Qing mumbled unconsciously, reluctantly opening his eyes.
“Where are your keys?” Ke Mingcheng asked again.
This time, no answer.
“Then I’ll find them myself.” Ke Mingcheng didn’t want to take advantage like this, but he had no choice. He put Luan Qing down, leaning him against the door so he could stand. Then, he searched through his pockets.
Fortunately, the keys weren’t in his pants pocket; otherwise, he might have entertained inappropriate thoughts. After finally finding the keys, he opened the door and turned on the lights. In that brief moment, Ke Mingcheng was somewhat surprised. Although it was an old apartment in an old community and the area was small, around sixty or seventy square meters, he could see the entire layout at a glance. But it wasn’t as he imagined, he thought he’d see old furniture and outdated decorations. However, Luan Qing’s residence was newly renovated, with mostly natural wood tones, elegant and unique.
He closed the door and understood why Luan Qing lived here. It wasn’t a rented house, he must have bought it. Probably, his financial ability was insufficient for a better house, so he bought this old one for renovation. He remembered hearing before that Luan Qing got a full scholarship to Cambridge, and his family seemed to have poor financial conditions. Unlike those born with a silver spoon, Luan Qing had to rely on himself.
He silently retracted his earlier complaints.
Once inside the apartment, he helped Luan Qing sit on the sofa. Seeing the person’s completely bewildered state, he felt uneasy. He went to the fridge to find honey, prepared a half-cup of honey water, and fed it to him. Then he took Luan Qing’s keys and decided to go to the pharmacy downstairs to buy hangover medicine. He noticed it when he arrived earlier; the entrance of the community had one.
By the time he returned with the medicine, Luan Qing was no longer on the sofa. His heart skipped a beat land he quickly searched around. He was not in the bedroom, not in the bathroom, not in the study; he began to fear that Luan Qing had climbed onto the balcony. Finally, he found him front of the fridge.
While this person didn’t make a fuss when drunk, his thought process was quite unique. Feeling hot, he opened the freezer door and leaned in to breathe the cold air.
“You want to freeze to death?” Ke Mingcheng was speechless. He lifted Luan Qing, closed the fridge door, and decided to take off his down jacket. “Let’s see if you still want to cling to the fridge.”
Luan Qing only had a shirt under the down jacket. After taking off the jacket, he no longer felt hot, but now he was cold and curled up on the sofa.
Ke Mingcheng let him be like that and went to pour some water before getting him a blanket. After wrapping it around him, he held him close and fed him the hangover medicine.
“If you hadn’t run into me today, were you planning to spend the night in the private room? Or were you prepared to have the police called to contact your family?” Ke Mingcheng put down the water cup. “Do you have family in Xing City?”
After a lot of tossing, Luan Qing had sobered up a bit, but his head felt heavy, and his body still didn’t cooperate. When he heard the question, he shook his head while nestled in Ke Mingcheng’s arms.
“You’re alone, the waitress asked if you had friends, and you claimed you had none. Where did you find the confidence to get drunk in a public place? Tell me, what sad thing happened to you tonight?”
Ke Mingcheng asked, partly curious and partly probing. Based on his experience, getting drunk was usually related to romantic issues. But Luan Qing had a cold and indifferent demeanor, who could he be attracted to?
Luan Qing didn’t respond, so he asked, “Did someone break up with you?”
Luan Qing nodded, hesitated, and then shook his head again. Ke Mingcheng could only interpret from his actions, guessing, “It was not a breakup, but close…your confession was rejected, right?”
This time, Luan Qing nodded decisively.
Ke Mingcheng, who was intrigued by beauty but not to the point of being moved, asked with interest, “Who is it? Who has the audacity to turn down our esteemed Dr. Luan?”
“Team Leader…Zhuang… why… doesn’t like me…” His answers were intermittent, but enough for Ke Mingcheng to understand. It turned out Luan Qing liked old Zhuang.
Can’t describe the feeling.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising. A man like Zhuang Yiyun was quite charming. He attracted both women and men, and if someone were gay, only a few like him (Ke Mingcheng), could remain unaffected.
So, Luan Qing was gay.
That night, Ke Mingcheng initially thought that once he had taken care of Luan Qing and given him medicine, however, Luan Qing had leaned against him during his questioning, he was so soft it made him reluctant to leave just like that. He kept thinking, what if this person gets sick from alcohol and vomits at night? People who drink too much can choke on vomit, and that’s fatal.
He took care of Luan Qing until very late. It was past 2 a.m. when he confirmed that Luan Qing was sleeping peacefully without any signs of needing to vomit and left. He didn’t expect much follow-up from this incident but sometimes fate worked mysteriously. The next day at the company’s annual meeting, Zhuang Yiyun brought someone. He was called Yan Yan, and claimed he was his spouse.
He had seen Yan Yan before, but not in such a docile state. He was curious about their relationship, partly out of concern for his friend and partly because of Luan Qing. When he saw Luan Qing at the venue, he noticed his evasive gaze and realized that despite being drunk, he remembered what happened yesterday.
On a whim, he decided to be a good person. Since Luan Qing seemed unbelieving, he would help him inquire. So, he hid Luan Qing behind the curtains in the lounge and pretended to chat with Zhuang Yiyun about Yan Yan.
