Are All You Straight Guys Like This Chapter 41

Ye Ran slept deeply that night.

The winter quilt was warm and cozy. The room was dim, the heavy bedding piled up soft and thick, making it hard to get up. When Ye Ran blearily opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his childhood friend’s face.

They lay side by side on two pillows, sharing the same blanket, just like when they were little. Back then, An Yu’s parents were working abroad, and Father Ye was always traveling. The two little kids held hands and grew up together, carrying each other through their childhood and youth.

In high school, they had been mistaken for a couple more than once. Ye Ran wasn’t the most handsome boy in school, but he was definitely the most popular.

Most boys in the art department were bisexual; after they found out Ye Ran also liked men, their pursuit became childish and annoying. So Ye Ran simply went along with the rumor and pretended he and An Yu were together. After that, nobody bothered him again.

He got up and pulled open the curtains on the balcony.

The sky was filled with heavy, brick-like clouds; a thick layer of snow blanketed the sidewalk outside. Wherever he looked, it was a world of white.

Snow was still falling thickly. The villa’s heating system was running, the warmth filling the room. They ended up sleeping straight until ten the next morning, then got up and started talking about food.

The private restaurant they’d found downtown yesterday had been great: delicious food, fast service. Too lazy to search for another place, they called a cab straight back to the same spot.

When they arrived, the place was packed. An Yu rested his chin on Ye Ran’s shoulder, scrolling through his phone while they waited for a table.

He happened to glance up and saw that same guy from yesterday again.

Black hat, black mask, black scarf. An Yu’s first instinct was to look at his hands, no camera equipment this time. Only then did he relax a little. This guy must be really weak, just a bit of snow and he’d wrapped himself up like a snowball.

…Definitely just got back from Africa.

He sighed internally.

Couldn’t even handle the homeland’s climate anymore.

“An Yu,” Ye Ran called after walking a few steps ahead, “we’ve got a table.”

“Oh.” He snapped out of it and followed quickly.

A sweet-voiced waitress passed them, heading toward the man in black, saying in the same even tone, “Mr. Yu, your table is ready—”

An Yu didn’t pay it much attention and followed Ye Ran into a semi-enclosed booth.

“What should we eat today?” Ye Ran took off his coat. He was dressed casually, a light gray crewneck sweater, his hair tousled by the wind. Looking closely, An Yu noticed a tiny piece of paper stuck in his hair and reached over to pluck it off.

“Let me see…” An Yu scanned the menu. “Eight-treasure duck, sweet-and-sour pork, and a plate of fried lotus root sandwiches.”

“Alright,” Ye Ran nodded and added a bowl of fresh vegetable soup. “No drinking today. I’m taking you out this afternoon.”

“Hm?” An Yu perked up immediately. He was used to Ye Ran’s homebody ways, so hearing him voluntarily suggest going out was a surprise. “Where to?”

“There’s a hot spring resort in the south of the city, right by Xiangshan,” Ye Ran said. “It’s snowing, perfect weather for it.”

“A hot spring resort?” An Yu smiled slyly. “Since when did you start liking hot springs?”

Back in high school, Ye Ran wouldn’t even attend swimming class. When asked why, he said simply that he didn’t like water. Who’d have thought—after going to university, he’d even picked up new hobbies.

An Yu felt a little emotional. It was like watching his own child grow up; healthy, independent, while he hadn’t even been there to see it. As a proud, conflicted “mother,” he was torn between sentiment and pride—

“Shen Shi took me there once,” Ye Ran said casually.

An Yu: “…”

An Yu: “…………”

Motherf—

You, Shen Shi… you’re that free, huh?!

He swallowed his anger, took a big gulp of cold cola to wet his throat, and said through gritted teeth, “Cough—forgot to ask yesterday… so, you and this Shen Shi, how far have you gotten?”

“Mm?” Ye Ran’s gaze flickered, slightly evasive. “We’re… we’re still roommates for now.”

Roommates who’ve kissed, right?!

An Yu clenched his jaw. He knew Ye Ran tended to get selective amnesia after drinking. Taking a deep breath, he forced a stiff smile. “Hehe… you didn’t do anything else, right?”

Ye Ran’s voice dropped, a little guilty. “…No, nothing. Food’s here, let’s eat first. This afternoon we’ll go soak in the hot springs; tomorrow’s Christmas, we can go out and play after.”

“…Sure.”

An Yu forced a smile, pretending not to know, but his hand gripping the soda can was trembling.

He picked up a piece of fried lotus root sandwich, chewing it with loud crunches. He almost wished this piece of lotus root could be that Shen whatever Shi, so he could gnaw it to bits along with the bones and vent his anger.

The atmosphere of the meal had been tense, and toward the end, a small incident occurred.

Beijing was a small world.

The restaurant they had picked was in the city center, very popular, and during holidays a lot of students came to dine.

At the staircase entrance, Ye Ran and An Yu ran into a group of seven or eight high school classmates. They all looked flushed from eating and drinking.

The boy at the front was the art exam class monitor. He froze for a moment, then forced a smile: “What a coincidence, An Yu, Ye Ran, you two are eating here too?”

An Yu stared at him blankly. “What else?”

If you come to a restaurant, what else are you going to do? Tour it?

“Haha,” the monitor laughed awkwardly, “I just meant… what a coincidence, right?”

Ye Ran stood behind An Yu, feeling an uncomfortable gaze from one of the boys. He glanced up and saw a tattooed boy, crew-cut, tattooed, ear-pierced, holding a cigarette and staring at him shamelessly.

Just like a few years ago, clingy and disgusting, like a sticky little slug.

Before Ye Ran could frown, An Yu stepped in front of him, scowling: “Zhang Zichu, haven’t seen you for half a year and I can already tell your eyes are going bad. Can’t manage yourself? Go get it fixed!”

Zhang Zichu’s face darkened as he looked at An Yu.

An Yu sneered and grabbed Ye Ran’s hand, rolling his eyes: “What bad luck… I should have eaten less at lunch, now I feel like throwing up.”

…He knew it!

Sure enough, it was starting again.

The monitor’s smile faded, helpless and pitiful. He looked at Ye Ran, hands clasped, silently begging him to calm An Yu’s temper.

Ye Ran glanced at him, straightened An Yu’s slightly messy collar, and in a soft voice said: “Let’s go throw up. I’m feeling a little nauseous too.”

The surrounding area went completely silent.

The monitor froze, eyes wide, as if hearing the impossible.

An Yu was stunned, being led out by Ye Ran, and from afar, he could still hear the monitor stammer: “Wha—wow… Ye Little Ran, you’re so handsome…”

….

Inside the restaurant, the atmosphere remained lively.

A man was urging the waiter: “Hey, waiter, why isn’t our food ready yet?”

Waiters came in and out of the kitchen, politely weaving around people, apologizing and offering free snacks to the guests.

Amid the noise, the monitor wiped sweat from his forehead, finally regaining focus, and looked at Zhang Zichu: “Uh… I didn’t expect this, they’re still together?”

The others quickly chimed in to ease the tension: “Yeah, I thought An Yu went abroad, and Ye Ran would break up with him.” 

“Well, they grew up together, childhood friends, it won’t end so quickly. But long-distance relationships don’t last so it’s just a matter of time.”

Zhang Zichu snorted ambiguously, flicked his cigarette, and was about to speak when an oblivious man in black bumped into him.

The just-lit cigarette nearly poked his face. He jerked back, swearing: “F*ck—”

The man in black was completely wrapped up, barely reacting to the bump, only glancing back once while muttering loudly as he walked away: “Crazy… standing at the stairway, trying to scam people?”

The monitor and his group: “…”

“Cough… maybe we should just go?”

***

Outside, snow was falling.

An Yu examined Ye Ran excitedly, circling him like he was some alien, clicking his tongue in amazement: “Baby, since when did your temper get so explosive?”

Ye Ran blinked. “Really?”

“Of course,” An Yu said. “Back then, you probably wouldn’t even acknowledge them, let alone go on the attack. Why today?”

Ye Ran had always been gentle and easygoing, trained that way from a young age. Even when An Yu tried to encourage him to develop a little temper, it was nearly impossible.

Luckily, their personalities complemented each other—one hot, one cold; one impatient, one slow. Over the years, it worked out well.

This trip back home, An Yu noticed many changes in Ye Ran.

All very, very good changes.

…Oh, except for that Shen whatever Shi.

Silently adding that in his mind, he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around Ye Ran’s waist, wanting to spin him around but awkwardly realized he couldn’t lift him. So he leaned in to rub against Ye Ran’s shoulder, like a small bird nestling.

“Woo, baby, you’re amazing! Next time someone bothers you, we’ll just go straight for it, won’t spare them a word!”

Ye Ran laughed, patting his head, standing still in the cold wind: “Shall we go? Hot springs?”

An Yu had only been back two days. He didn’t want anyone to disturb their good mood.

“Sure! I’ve never been to a hot spring. You don’t even know how damp it is in England, come winter—”

An Yu released him and stretched. Out of the corner of his eye, he paused mid-sentence.

…Maybe it was just his imagination.

He thought he’d just seen a big black rat.

D*mn—what did that black rat eat to get so strong?

So fierce.

He was just thinking of observing a bit longer when the taxi arrived.

Ye Ran called out to him, “Ah Yu, let’s go.”

“Ah?” An Yu regretfully pulled back his gaze. “Coming.”

Sure enough, life back home really was better.

——

The taxi, its taillights glowing red, drove slowly away toward the south of the city.

Behind the big tree outside the restaurant, Yu Ting was breathing heavily, nervous and uneasy.

Holy sh*t, holy sh*t—Ye Ran’s little boyfriend’s eyesight was that sharp? He almost spotted him!

He yanked off his mask and, collapsing a little, replayed what he’d just seen in his head—only to realize in despair—

Shen Shi, that poor b*stard, had really been cheated on!

At this point, even the song Green Light couldn’t describe the extent of his being “green.”

It would take Green Light + Green + The Vast Green Prairie to barely capture it.

What should he do now?

As a brother, he couldn’t just stand by and watch like nothing happened.

But he’d already hinted at it yesterday, and Shen Shi still didn’t pick up on anything. Are all men in love idiots?

Yu Ting suddenly realized—oh, right, he almost forgot, Shen Shi was love-brained.

D*mn.

That’s worse than being an idiot!

At least idiots could still listen to reason.

People in love, though, couldn’t hear a d*mn thing!

What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do… Yu Ting bit his finger, pacing in agony behind the tree, thoughts flooding his mind one after another—only for him to suppress each of them.

D*mn it—

He made up his mind, giving it one last try.

Shen Shi—if you still can’t figure it out after this, then there’s nothing more I can do.

[Yu Ting]: image.jpg

——

The Shen family mansion.

Everyone had stayed up late last night, so they only got up one by one around lunchtime when the meal was ready.

The sound of cooking came from the kitchen. Madam Shen had specifically told the cook to make the dishes light today, in case anyone’s stomach was upset.

Shen Shi came downstairs. The TV was on in the living room, and a few little kids were quarreling noisily over whether to watch Armor Hero or Barbie.

Jiang Yun was hopeless at handling kids. Smiling helplessly, he held the remote and tried to coax them patiently: “One at a time, okay? You can also watch on the tablet, how about we split into two groups?”

The little boy hugging the Armor Hero toy puffed out his cheeks unhappily. “No! I wanna watch TV! I wanna watch the big one!”

The tiny girl’s eyes were already red. “Brother, I wanna watch Barbie.”

“Call him uncle,” Jiang Yun said, flustered, picking up an orange. “Nannan, how about we eat some oranges instead?”

The little girl’s eyes reddened further. “…Don’t want to. I want Barbie.”

Jiang Yun’s head instantly throbbed. “Hey hey hey, don’t cry, don’t cry—let me think, I’ll think of something…”

His eyes turned and he saw Shen Shi coming out of the kitchen, unscrewing a bottle of cold water. Shen Shi had just showered; his hair was half-damp, and under the light, his dark eyes looked cool and clear.

All the kids immediately fell silent. When they saw him approaching, they obediently sat up straight on the couch, not daring to move.

Jiang Yun: “…”

D*mn.

The little girl also sat sweetly on the couch, hugging her Barbie doll, eyes shining. “Wow, brother.”

Jiang Yun: “……”

D*mn!

“Call him uncle,” he muttered.

Shen Shi took the remote, sat on the couch, and switched to the noon news. The female anchor’s calm, poised voice described the Christmas scenes around town, trees strung with lights and little gift boxes, couples walking hand in hand through the festive streets, sweet and happy.

A reporter interviewed a young couple at random. “Can you tell us how you’ll be spending Christmas?”

“Us?” The boy, wearing a mask, smiled with his eyes squinting happily. “Just spending it with my girlfriend. We’ll catch a movie and go shopping, same as every year.”

“Wow,” the reporter said. “Have you two been together for a long time?”

“Yes,” the girl said shyly. “We’ve been together for many years now.”

Shen Shi took another sip of water, his expression unreadable, dark eyes deep beneath his damp fringe. He idly toyed with the remote under the wary gazes of everyone around him, when his phone buzzed.

[Yu Ting]: image.jpg

[Yu Ting]: Bro, I’ve got a serious problem. Really need your help.

The picture was of a plate full of green vegetables—so green it hurt the eyes.

Shen Shi clicked his tongue impatiently.

[Transfer – 1000 yuan]

[Shen Shi]: Don’t bother me.

There was silence for a few seconds, the money wasn’t accepted.

[Yu Ting]: This isn’t something money can fix.

[Yu Ting]: Bro, this is a very, very serious matter. Promise me you’ll listen.

Shen Shi raised an eyebrow, just about to reply when the Christmas tree Madam Shen had ordered was delivered. The workers, panting, carried it through the hall toward the backyard.

The kids immediately cheered and ran after them, shouting, “Auntie! The tree’s here! The tree’s here!”

——

Shen Shi glanced after them, then lowered his eyes again. A string of new messages had appeared on the screen—all from Yu Ting.

[Yu Ting]: I have a friend, he got cheated on. What do you think is the best way to hint that to him, to break the tragic truth gently?

[Yu Ting]: It’s killing me, man. I saw with my own eyes his partner going to a hot spring with someone else.

[Yu Ting]: The scariest part? They were childhood friends.

[Yu Ting]: And the even scarier part—they look like the real couple, and they haven’t even broken up yet.

[Yu Ting]: image.jpg

[Yu Ting]: This was my lunch today. What do you think?

[Yu Ting]: [image.jpg]

[Yu Ting]: Snow scene from yesterday. You know what they say, a touch of green amidst endless white. Pretty obvious shade of green, isn’t it?

[Yu Ting]: [Song share — “Beijing Welcomes You” ~ let’s listen together.]

——

Once the kids were gone, Jiang Yun lounged back lazily on the sofa, legs propped up on the coffee table, playing on his phone.

A bunch of his friends had gone to check out the new hot spring resort yesterday, it looked luxurious and cozy in their photos. He felt an itch of envy, wishing he could grab his buddies and head there tonight.

He liked one of his friend’s posts, and couldn’t help glancing up, wanting to ask if Shen Shi really wasn’t coming along— 

But in the next second, a chilling wave of cold air hit him.

It radiated from Shen Shi, who was sitting in the middle of the sofa.

Dark and terrifying.

The lights in the living room were bright.

Shen Shi was slouched against a cushion, posture loose and boneless, eyes down as he stared at his phone.

The black hair falling over his face cast his features in shadow; half in light, half in darkness. When he suddenly lifted his eyelids and met Jiang Yun’s gaze, Jiang Yun shuddered violently, as if he’d just looked into the eyes of a beast suppressing its rage.

He swallowed dryly and quickly put his feet back on the floor. “Wha… what’s wrong?”

If you don’t want to go to the hot spring, fine, but why so menacing—

Shen Shi said, “Hot spring?”

Jiang Yun froze. Then his eyes lit up, all fear gone in an instant. “Go, go, go! H*ll yeah! Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Where are you going?” Madam Shen and Madam Jiang were coming down the stairs together. Hearing that, Madam Jiang frowned and looked at Jiang Yun; she knew her son loved to fool around and couldn’t help asking, “Dinner’s almost ready. Where are you off to now?”

Jiang Yun grinned brightly. “Just going for a—”

“Hot spring,” Shen Shi cut in before he could finish. He stood up, carrying the calm, proper air of a model student, and said in a tone that made it sound perfectly reasonable: “Mom, Auntie, we’ve already bought the plane tickets. We’ll be off now.”

Jiang Yun: “Right, right, we’ll just—”

…Huh?

Wait.

What did he just say?

Plane tickets?

Did he hear that right? Hot springs need tickets, not plane tickets!

He burst out laughing, delighted at catching Shen Shi in a rare slip-up, teasing, “What are you saying, plane tickets? You mean—”

Then he met Shen Shi’s eyes—light, cool, utterly unreadable.

Jiang Yun’s laughter froze on his face.

…Wait a minute.

This b*stard didn’t misspeak.

What the h*ll?

Shen Shi, are you okay? You need to fly before you can soak in a hot spring??

Madam Jiang was also stunned, then glared fiercely at her son. “You useless boy! Always fooling around! Can’t you stay home for once?”

Jiang Yun: “?”

Completely baffled, he stammered, “No, I—”

“Jiang Yun,” Shen Shi suddenly turned his head, giving him a look—neither heavy nor light, but so dark, so deep, filled with a kind of brooding anger and cold impatience that Jiang Yun had never seen on him before.

His tone was calm, but there was steel underneath. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Yun’s mouth snapped shut. He stood up automatically and followed Shen Shi who had casually thrown on a jacket out the door.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the airport that Jiang Yun finally learned their destination.

——Beijing.

Jiang Yun: “…”

Speechless.

Just how amazing were the hot springs in Beijing that Shen Shi had to fly there?

——

Three hours later.

The plane landed at Beijing Capital Airport.

Bundled in a down coat, Yu Ting sat at the arrivals gate, sighing and sighing again.

Just two days and he was back in the same place, same situation, same feeling.

A crowd of people streamed out of the exit. He was a little nearsighted and squinted for a while before spotting two familiar figures.

One strode ahead, exuding a bone-deep chill, his dark eyes like ink, so cold people instinctively stepped aside. The other followed behind, looking utterly dazed, his whole face spelling out “hapless victim” and “tool man.”

Yu Ting: “…”

Hiss. Looked familiar.

He strode forward and looked at the dazed Jiang Yun. “You came too?”

Jiang Yun: “I have no idea.”

Jiang Yun: “The moment I got off the plane, I was just… here.”

Yu Ting: “……”

Great. Another one Shen Shi’s madness had claimed.

He twitched his mouth and said to Shen Shi, “They’re at the hot spring resort in the south of the city.”

“Mm.” Shen Shi’s stride was long and quick, his expression the terrifying calm before a storm. “How long have they been there?”

Yu Ting: “Three, maybe four hours.”

Getting no response, Yu Ting glanced up, only to see Shen Shi’s tightly clenched jaw.

Hard, cold—like he’d reverted to his high school self.

All that gentle, dependable façade he’d shown Ye Ran—completely gone.

Yu Ting’s heart thudded nervously, a strange worry creeping up for Ye Ran.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that… Shen Shi didn’t look like he was going to break up.

He looked like he was going to kidnap someone.