CH 8

Jiang Heng saw Ji Yao for the first time at a “welcome party.”

At that time, he was still young, just finished the first semester of his second year of graduate school, with all his credits completed ahead of time. He had just left to intern in Beijing.

Ge Xing knew that he intended to settle in Beijing in the future, so he excitedly gathered a group of people and organized a welcome party for Jiang Heng to warmly welcome him.

On that day, all sorts of people came. Ge Xing, in order to liven things up, invited a bunch of friends from within the circle. Inside the club’s suite, chaos reigned with wild dancing. Jiang Heng, amidst karaoke and lively singing, wearing a faint smile, moved through the hall as if he could strike up a conversation with anyone.

—And it was at this moment that Ji Yao appeared.

Jiang Heng, holding a glass of wine, had just left the dice game and turned his head to see a young man sitting at the end of a long sofa, sipping his drink.

He was wearing a high-collared white sweater, sitting alone in the corner, looking very obedient and quiet.

The dazzling and flamboyant neon lights avoided that corner, outlining a thin rainbow of light and shadow only next to him.

Jiang Heng’s gaze fell on him, and he paused with interest.

Ji Yao was brought by a friend of a friend and had no direct connection to the host of this welcoming party. He didn’t like these forced social gatherings, but his mood had been low these past few days, so he was dragged along anyway, claiming that it was to change his mood.

However, he had no interest in the raucous dancing and had checked his watch three times that evening. Feeling bored yet not wanting to go home, he could only sip his drink absentmindedly and occasionally glance at the big screen, analyzing the out-of-sync music videos that had nothing to do with the songs.

Perhaps Jiang Heng had stood still for too long. Ge Xing, slightly tipsy, came out of the crowd and approached him.

“What are you looking at?” Ge Xing embraced Jiang Heng from behind and looked around with narrowed eyes, finally resting his gaze on Ji Yao.

“Mmm, well, do you find him attractive?” Ge Xing laughed ambiguously and slyly nudged Jiang Heng’s waist with his arm. “You actually like someone so well-behaved?”

“Well-behaved?” Jiang Heng chuckled with a strange tone. “I don’t think he’s as innocent as he seems.”

He had a clear view of it. Ji Yao might appear well-behaved in his attire, but his gaze wasn’t that of a naive rabbit. Amidst the chaotic scenes, he stood alone yet didn’t seem awkward or distant. Instead, there was a subtle air of composure and self-assuredness in his eyes.

Jiang Heng handed his wine glass to Ge Xing and then leaned in, taking a bottle of beer from under the counter and expertly popping the cap open.

“I actually fell in love at first sight.” This is what Jiang Heng would always say later to Ji Yao.

Ji Yao was half-skeptical about this statement. Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he would ask, “Is it really true?” Jiang Heng would just smile and not give a definite answer.

So, Ji Yao habitually regarded this as one of the “lines of love,” but Jiang Heng knew that at least half of that statement was true.

—Perhaps even more so.

Jiang Heng admitted that he was a commoner at heart and would be favorably inclined for a minute or two towards an appealing appearance that met his taste.

His tastes were peculiar and picky, his standards high. He liked the pristine and beautiful like a “straight guy,” but he wasn’t interested in those as soft and super submissive.

Ji Yao was the kind of appearance he liked very much—handsome yet not effeminate, with a touch of sharpness that was especially attractive in profile. The dim light fell on his face, outlining a slightly shaded contour along his profile.

To be honest, Ji Yao wasn’t what one would call a breathtaking beauty at first sight. But, coincidentally, that night he was wearing a watch with a leather strap. Due to his outing, his sweater sleeves had been pushed up a bit, revealing fair and slightly thin wrists.

The deep brown leather band wrapped around his wrist seemed to inexplicably hit Jiang Heng’s mark.

The timing, the circumstances, and perhaps the play of light and atmosphere—Jiang Heng felt a slight shift, as if something had been gently plucked in an instant. No matter how he looked at it, he felt a sudden attraction.

So he decided not to suppress himself.

Jiang Heng casually unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt, shrugged off Ge Xing, and went alone with a bottle of beer towards that corner.

Ji Yao, still engrossed in guessing the plot of a somewhat outdated music video, heard footsteps approaching from behind during a deafening gap in the rock music. He turned his head and saw a handsome stranger.

“Good evening.” Jiang Heng smiled, waving the beer bottle towards him. “Alone?”

Ji Yao raised an eyebrow at him, observing for a while before saying nonchalantly, “Flirting with me won’t work.”

Jiang Heng chuckled and extended his arm, lightly tapping Ji Yao’s glass with the beer bottle.

“No rush.” Jiang Heng smiled. “we have all night.”

Ji Yao squinted his eyes slightly, carefully scrutinizing him.

Jiang Heng, nonchalantly, allowed his scrutiny, even taking a sip of his drink in Ji Yao’s presence, glancing at the big screen following Ji Yao’s previous gaze.

The karaoke segment had transitioned into “classic nostalgic old songs.” The loud rock music had finally quieted down, replaced by a mellower intro style. The pitch of the person singing was somewhat better than before, and against the backdrop of a popular song from twenty years ago, there was a touch of retro charm.

Ji Yao wasn’t in a good mood. He intended to drown his sorrows in alcohol that night. Before Jiang Heng arrived, he had already finished two glasses of brandy. His reactions were slightly sluggish at the moment.

He seemed to weigh something in his mind and thought that Jiang Heng’s looks and physique weren’t too harsh on the eyes and he actually looked good. So, without saying anything, he silently consented to the other’s intentional approach.

“Is beer good?” Ji Yao asked.

“To be honest, it’s not. I changed drinks to strike up a conversation, but I didn’t expect it to taste so bad.” Jiang Heng handed the beer bottle over and smiled, “Want to try?”

“Why did you change drinks to strike up a conversation?” Ji Yao asked.

“Because you look young,” Jiang Heng said. “Young people might like something wild.”

Ji Yao smiled ambiguously and then took the beer bottle from Jiang Heng’s hand.

“Those under eighteen aren’t allowed in the club,” Ji Yao responded lightly to his “teasing,” and then paid his respects with a mock bow, saying, “Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Heng was momentarily taken aback, before he even processed how Ji Yao knew his name. Then he saw Ji Yao shaking the bottle and taking a sip at the bottle’s mouth.

He didn’t use a glass, just drank straight from the bottle.

Jiang Heng’s eyes darkened a bit, and a hint of interest curved his lips.

“Alright, I was wrong.” Jiang Heng humbly accepted the accusation. “What’s your last name?”

“Ji,” Ji Yao absentmindedly drew a few strokes on the coffee table. “Ji Yao.”

“Nice name,” Jiang Heng said. “I have high expectations.”

Ji Yao didn’t respond to this praise. He took the bottle and sipped the beer again.

Draft beer had a bitter taste, and he had no idea which brand the club had chosen. Amidst the bitterness was a residual tang of brewing, as Jiang Heng had aptly put it, it was quite “awful.”

Displeased with the taste, Ji Yao frowned slightly and turned the bottle, looking at the label on top, as if making a mental note to avoid it in the future.

Jiang Heng was amused by his reaction and pulled over a fruit plate from the coffee table, handing Ji Yao a slice of cantaloupe to cleanse his palate.

“As expected,” Ji Yao furrowed his brow, staring at the label on the beer bottle. He gave an objective evaluation, “They could go bankrupt with this.”

Jiang Heng burst into laughter.

“I agree,” he said.

The two of them exchanged a few words aimlessly, and Ge Xing, at one point joined in after having fun with the others for a while.

“What are you two talking about here?” Ge Xing grinned and said to Ji Yao, “What’s the point of being alone here? Come join the fun!”

“That’s not much fun,” Jiang Heng said with a smirk. “We’ve already played poker, and I’ve won almost every round. Winning too much isn’t fun”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Ge Xing seemed dissatisfied with this response. “You’ve just not met a worthy opponent.

Jiang Heng didn’t pay attention to Ge Xing’s urging. He just shook the small dice cup at Ji Yao. “How about a bet?”

“What kind of bet?” Ji Yao asked.

“Promise the other person to do something,” Jiang Heng suggested. “It’s cliché, but it works.”

Ji Yao raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He casually picked up an empty dice cup.

They both shook the dice cups simultaneously, both stopped at the same time. Ge Xing, an outsider, seemed more excited than the gamblers, straining his neck and eagerly watching.

“Roll!” Ge Xing urged.

Jiang Heng made a playful gesture and then opened the dice cup. Inside were three three fours.

Ge Xing cheered, and Jiang Heng smiled, then Ji Yao also revealed his dice—three perfectly aligned sixes.

“You won,” Jiang Heng smiled. “What do you want?”

Ji Yao raised an eyebrow unexpectedly and looked at him for a while, saying, “Tell me a secret.”

“A secret?” Jiang Heng pretended to think for a moment and then smiled, “I can’t let others hear it.”

He stood up, making a beckoning motion to Ji Yao. Pretending to get up, he took a sip from Ji Yao’s glass, and then, amidst Ge Xing’s protests, he rested a hand on Ji Yao’s shoulder, bent down slightly, and whispered in his ear.

“Actually, this is the first time I’ve pursued someone,” Jiang Heng said.