IROAWTMTFL Chapter 3

“Is Auntie Zhuang urging you to get married?”

Very clever and perceptive, Zhuang Yiyun turned his face back, but unfortunately, the objective need for a partner wasn’t particularly strong.

“Actually… ever since I came out to my family, my parents have been worried about me. Even though same-sex marriage is now legal, they still think the community is chaotic. I’m about to graduate, and they want me to have a stable and reliable partner so they can feel at ease when I enter society.”

Yan Yan spoke slowly, perfectly gdisplaying the self-esteem of a college senior. He didn’t want to cause worry at home, but being this old and still being taken care of by his parents felt a bit embarrassing.

“Gege, I understand Auntie Zhuang’s concern. My family does the same, especially with all those blind date setups. Although I’m only 21, this is already my fifth blind date this month… I don’t like it.” Yan Yan rambled, his parents unaware of the big pot he was throwing to them.

Zhuang Yiyun thought he misheard. It’s only been seven days this month, and he’s already been on five blind dates? Compared to that, his mother’s grumbles weren’t so bad after all.

“We’re not familiar with each other, how do you know I’m reliable?”

“Gege, you were introduced by my parents, the son of mother’s old classmate. I trust you completely.”

“Your parents don’t really know me.”

“They know a little… I know I’m really ordinary compared to you. I went to a 985 university, which is not as impressive as your Ivy League education. Although I have decent looks, it’s nothing compared to you.” Yan Yan kept his head down, and only when he finished did he raise it, smiling with a soft dimple at the corner of his mouth. “Gege, you are so handsome!”

“Ahem…” Even though Zhuang Yiyun was indifferent, those words still had an impact on him and he subconsciously averted his gaze.

“So I don’t have naïve fantasies. After all, I’m just too ordinary.”

“Your personality is very good.”

Zhuang Yiyun’s words surprised both of them.

“Thank you.”

A brief silence followed, creating a subtle ambiguity. Zhuang Yiyun was the first to break the atmosphere. “I really don’t have any intention of finding a partner.”

Yan Yan fell silent, thinking that Zhuang Yiyun was truly cold. For anyone else faced with his cute and soft little persona, they would have gladly continued the conversation, taking advantage of the situation. But Zhuang Yiyun was different. To pursue him seemed to be an encounter with a “slippery slope.”

Yan Yan sighed internally. It seemed that he had hit a wall and could only retreat: “I’m sorry, Gege, I was too hasty and impolite.”

“It’s fine.” Perhaps Yan Yan’s expression of guilt and self-reproach was too obvious, Zhuang Yiyun couldn’t help but add, “You are in your final year, busy with your thesis. It’s normal.” He implied that he understood Yan Yan’s parents arranged too many blind dates, so he should find an excuse to spend less time at home.

“Thank you, gege. You’re right. I was a little desperate. My worries should be resolved by myself, instead of burdening you with hope and pressure. Gege, can we exchange WeChat?”

After saying this, Yan Yan squeezed his fingers tightly, “I won’t disturb you. I just feel you’re smarter, so if there’s something I can’t figure out, I can ask you for advice.”

Compared to dating or marriage, exchanging WeChat seemed like a trivial request. Zhuang Yiyun didn’t refuse again, especially when he saw the additional mark on Yan Yan’s hand.

This young man was just looking for someone reliable to solve his issue…In other words, Yan Yan didn’t have any special feelings for him. Zhuang Yiyun relaxed a bit and said, “Take more vitamin C and calcium. Maybe you have weak blood vessels.” Otherwise, why was he easily bruised?

This sentence seemed unrelated, and Zhuang Yiyun didn’t care whether Yan Yan understood or not. After speaking, he took his packaged coffee, signaled to pay for the bill, and prepared to leave. He originally wanted to drive Yan Yan back, but he thought better of it. It’s better not to let Yan Yan continue to find remedies for his worries.

Zhuang Yiyun pulled his car out of the parking lot on the other side of the street. Yan Yan watched the car turn the corner and smiled, walking in the opposite direction while taking out his phone to make a call.

“Lili, come out for a drink.”

A crisp female voice came from the other end of the line, “Yo, today you’re not asking a man out and are willing to invite me?”

“Nonsense, are you coming or not? If not, I’ll make an appointment with a young man and open a hotel room.”

“Huh, as if you have the guts to open hotel rooms, stop bluffing.” Jiang Li and Yan Yan were middle school classmates and had been hanging out together for a full decade. They knew each other inside out.

“I’ll do it if you don’t come.” Yan Yan took off the wig on his head with one hand, lowering his voice by half an inch.

“So there’s a situation. Fine, let’s meet at the usual place.”

Thirty minutes later, the two of them met at Liye Bar, a famous gay bar in Xing City, which was owned by Jiang Li’s brother.

Normally, Yan Yan liked sitting at the bar, making it convenient for all sorts of handsome guys to approach him. But for the first time, he reserved a private booth. When Jiang Li arrived, she saw him sitting expressionless, pouring himself drinks, and she was amused.

“Did you encounter some tough situation? Tell me, let me have a good laugh.” Jiang Li hugged his shoulder. As the captain of the women’s basketball team, she was 182 cm tall, even taller than Yan Yan, making him look even more petite. Indeed, since they met, Jiang Li had been like his big sister, protecting the shorter Yan Yan, who matured later in middle school. In junior high school, Yan Yan figured out his sexual orientation and whenever he faced teasing from male classmates due to his good looks, it was Jiang Li who scared those bullies away. So even though Yan Yan had a rebellious personality, Jiang Li could rein him in like a wild horse. Yan Yan’s parents had thought countless times that if Yan Yan weren’t gay, it would be perfect if they could be together.

Yes, they would think like that because Jiang Li was straight. Unfortunately, Yan Yan could only be her little brother; he wasn’t her type.

“I met our dream man. Tall, long-legged, ice-cold and abstinent, the ultimate invincible handsome type, incredibly striking in appearance, and also smart and studious. He’s the epitome of all I want in a man, but I couldn’t win him over.”

Jiang Li stretched out her hand, “Why talk so much without a photo?”

Yan Yan threw his phone to her. “Check the album.”

“Only one photo, and you still created a separate album? Yan Yan, you’ve really become devoted.”

“He’s too handsome, and my knees go weak. Not giving him a separate album would be underestimating my Zhuang Gege.”

“Fuck!” Jiang Li was mentally prepared when she opened the independent album named “Zhuang.” After all, she knew Yan Yan’s “fanboy” tendencies very well. He had high standards and wouldn’t settle for anything less than extraordinary. But she didn’t expect the man to be this exceptional. If he didn’t succeed with someone like this, it was only natural for Yan Yan to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Jiang Li saw him down another drink and handed the phone back to him. She tried to ask, “You’re giving up just like that?”

“How could I? I’m thinking of adjusting my strategy.” With a glass in hand, Yan Yan looked Jiang Li up and down, taking a good while before he said, “How about you cut your hair short, get some tattoos, and pretend to be drunk so that I can pretend to be unconscious, and then Zhuang Gege can come and rescue me?”

A smack landed instantly on Yan Yan’s head, and Jiang Li scolded angrily, “You can sell anything, can’t you?”

Yan Yan rubbed his head, trying to justify himself. “It’s just acting. You won’t lose anything. Just throw me at him and run away. If my confession is rejected, I’ll pretend to be drunk, and when he picks up my ‘corpse,’ I’ll make a move on him. After waking up, it’ll be the alcohol’s fault—perfect.”

“Why don’t you write novels instead?”

Yan Yan: “Then ask your brother to help me.”

At some point, the music had switched and the volume gradually lowered, creating a few seconds of silence, allowing the laughter from the adjacent booth to become more pronounced. It was a deep male voice, like the melodious sound of a cello. Yan Yan and Jiang Li turned their heads and met the man’s gaze.

He had overheard their conversation, and laughed. Yet, he didn’t seem embarrassed when caught by the protagonist, and instead, he lifted his glass and approached them.

The man had a handsome face. Although not as striking as Zhuang Yiyun, he was still a handsome man. He was impeccably dressed, with a warm and confident smile. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing well-defined muscles. Yan Yan couldn’t help but take a glance. He also noticed the watch on the man’s wrist. Although he didn’t know much about luxury brands, he recognized the name, Vacheron Constantin.

The man smiled again, clinking glasses with Yan Yan, and asked, “How about I help with this favor?”

Jiang Li pulled Yan Yan closer to her side, making it clear she wanted to create some distance between him and the man. The man was clearly a regular at nightclubs and appeared to have some wealth. He had an air of ease that Yan Yan couldn’t compare to with his quick wit. Jiang Li sensed danger and worried that Yan Yan might lose to this man.

Yan Yan remained silent, as if genuinely considering the offer. After a moment, he asked, “What do you get out of helping me?”

“I find it interesting. It’s a good way to pass the time, and it’s not every day that I come across something—someone—interesting,” the man replied, his smile bewitching under the bar’s colorful lights.

Jiang Li feared Yan Yan would accept and was about to refuse on his behalf when she saw Yan Yan purse his lips and coolly respond, “But I don’t think you’re interesting at all. And what I said earlier was just a joke.”

With that, he turned his head away, completely ignoring the man. Jiang Li was shocked. ‘Oh no, the handsome man is being ignored, does that mean Yan Yan really has feelings for the guy surnamed Zhuang? Should ai dress up as a man and try to create opportunities for Yan Yan to make a move?’

Ke Mingcheng didn’t pursue further. Seeing the sweet and cool little blonde getting cold feet, he offered some advice instead, “When chasing a man, you need to tease him. It’s okay to let him save you when you’re pretending to be unconscious, but don’t throw yourself at him. Be subtle and leave an impression so that a gentleman like him will take notice, but can’t have you right away.”

His gaze fell on the small, pale yellow sweater that Yan Yan had thrown aside. He smiled ambiguously, as if laughing at Yan Yan. Yan Yan felt embarrassed, like a child caught trying on adult clothes. He left immediately, dragging Jiang Li with him to the bar counter.

Once they sat down, Yan Yan couldn’t help but curse.

Jiang Li slapped his head, “Be patient!”

Yan Yan: “Have you become the dean of discipline or something?”

As they were about to argue further, the bartender inside the bar called for Yan Yan, “A customer ordered a Sunrise cocktail. Can you make it?”

“I’m on it.” Yan Yan promptly got up, went around to the bar counter, and put on a black apron and gloves, blending perfectly with the environment. He often helped out here and had good skills. Plus, he looked good, so when he tied his apron, his slim waist became visible, catching the attention of the customers at the bar.

Ke Mingcheng’s gaze followed the crowd and also landed on Yan Yan. He noticed the graceful waistline and found him interesting. He made a mental note.

After that day, Yan Yan did genuinely refrain from harassing Zhuang Yiyun as they had agreed. He was indeed interested, but Zhuang Yiyun seemed to have a sixth sense so he tried to avoid making him more guarded. Besides, he was suddenly swamped with tasks related to his graduation thesis.

Yan Yan was studying tourism management at a science and engineering university. This interdisciplinary major had 70% of its students transferred from other disciplines and some who solely chose it to get into a 985 university. Yan Yan belonged to the latter group, and he might not even be as good as some of them. At the time of choosing a major, he had no idea or preferences and just wanted to attend a local university. As a result, this was how he ended up here.

He was quite satisfied with his major in university, as the academic pressure was not too high. The unstructured courses allowed for lax class discipline, and internships were recognized without much scrutiny. He had the illusion that graduating would be a piece of cake. However, as it turned out, the graduation thesis was a serious matter in the department. Furthermore, the supervisor he was assigned was his department head.

The workload was intense, to the point where Brother Yan, the star anchor from the Cool Cat Emotional Zone had disappeared for half a month, and the dark livestream room was filled with viewers crying out in despair.

Yan Yan could only blame himself for not taking it seriously. When choosing a topic, he had drawn lots with his dorm mates for a blind selection, and he ended up with the department head’s topic. The department head’s main research direction was tourism development and design, so from the moment the topic was decided, he was assigned to field research. With the guidance of the department head’s graduate students, he had to visit the outskirts seven times a week.

Yan Yan’s head felt he was about to go bald, and his dyed blonde hair had grown a section of dark hair. However, he didn’t have time to get a haircut, so he clumsily tied it up in a small ponytail and buried himself in the library, frantically searching for information.

His roommate teased him, saying it was payback for his four years of slacking off: “This is the price you pay for idling around.”

“Heh,” Yan Yan rolled his eyes and tossed the book in his hand to him, “Help me check the meaning of this word.”

Amidst this busy schedule, Yan Yan almost forgot about Zhuang Yiyun. Whenever he remembered, it pained him to think that Zhuang Yiyun probably didn’t even remember him after all this time.

He had decided to give up on Zhuang Yiyun, but unexpectedly, Zhuang Yiyun came to him. The night he completed his graduation project assignment, Yan Yan received a WeChat message from Zhuang Yiyun. It was concise and to the point, asking him, “Are you free for dinner tomorrow?”