Chapter 18

“Ex-husband? What kind of nickname is that?”

Even though they had never been together, could he really call him that? Jiang Yi didn’t understand, but he didn’t ask any questions. After all, Jimmy didn’t seem like the brightest person, and saying random things was typical for him.

Jiang Yi quietly sat down and glanced at Yang Yunran.

He wanted to talk to him but didn’t know what to say.

So, he just pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Ken, who had some difficulty distinguishing between East Asians, could still pick out the particularly good-looking ones, like those who looked like dolls.

He looked at Yang Yunran for a while and then said, “Evan, isn’t that your little boyfriend?”

Jiang Yi looked down at the menu and, with a blank expression, explained, “He’s not my little boyfriend; he’s my younger brother, Ken.”

Yang Yunran’s ears perked up. Hearing Jiang Yi’s words, he felt a mix of embarrassment and anger, glaring at him briefly before looking away quickly.

Ken asked, “He’s your younger brother? Then why don’t you say hello to him?”

Jiang Yi replied, “My brother is mad at me, don’t ask.”

Jiang Yi then inquired about everyone’s preferences and started ordering from the waiter, “Kung Pao Chicken, Curry Beef Rice, Eight Treasures Rice, Sizzling Black Pepper Beef…”

The wait for the food was long, and although Yang Yunran’s dishes had arrived, he found himself losing his appetite. He poured some beer into a glass and sipped it slowly.

Jiang Yi couldn’t help himself. He got up, paid the bill, and then wrote a note for the waiter to bring over.

When Yang Yunran picked it up, he saw that Jiang Yi had written, “Drink less.”

Yang Yunran: “…………”

What right did he have to tell him what to do!!

Yang Yunran didn’t look at him. Feeling very defiant, he downed his beer and told Jimmy, “Jimmy, let’s go to a bar tonight.”

Jimmy immediately caught on and, looking towards Jiang Yi, said, “Alright, alright, I’ll book the whole place. I’ll invite all the handsome guys in Boston for you to choose from as tonight’s bed partner, okay?”

Jiang Yi’s face turned dark.

He slammed his cup on the table.

Yang Yunran got up to pay the bill, only to find out, “The gentleman over there has already paid for your table.”

Jimmy let out an exaggerated “Wow,” and said, “Roy, even your show-off ex paid the bill for you. Not bad.”

Yang Yunran glanced over. Jiang Yi was sitting with his back to him, so he couldn’t see his expression. After asking the waiter for the price and converting it to RMB, Yang Yunran transferred the equivalent amount to Jiang Yi via WeChat.

But just like the previous few days when Jiang Yi had sent transfers to him…

He said it was like transferring Jimmy’s medication expenses, which Yang Yunran hadn’t accepted at the time, and now Jiang Yi didn’t accept his transfer either.

Jiang Yi asked, “Where are you going to drink?”

Yang Yunran didn’t want to reply and threw his phone aside irritably. “Even after breaking up, you still want to control me.”

Although he claimed that he had dumped Jiang Yi, the situation was more like he had rushed things with Jiang Yi, who clearly didn’t like him and had broken up with him. His first relationship had ended so abruptly, leaving Yang Yunran heartbroken.

Jimmy drove him to a bar and started calling people to join them. This bar had a bit of a nightclub vibe, where IDs were usually checked at the entrance, but for some reason, they didn’t check his or Jimmy’s.

The lights were confusing and the music loud.

Yang Yunran ordered a cocktail and sat in a corner booth, then asked the waiter for some paper and a pen. In the dim, noisy environment, he started scribbling down some melodies.

Jimmy asked, “Writing a paper? You sure know how to pick the time.”

He couldn’t understand what Yang Yunran was writing, thinking it was some kind of gibberish, assuming it was homework.

Jimmy clinked glasses with him. “Want to go to the casino?”

Yang Yunran replied, “No.” He neither had the money nor the desire to go.

Without looking up, Yang Yunran said, “I’ll just have some drinks.”

Jimmy stood up, saying, “I’m heading to the dance floor then. I’m not babysitting you, but I’ll be back when the others arrive.”

“Mm-hmm.” Yang Yunran thought he was just inviting a few friends and didn’t pay much attention. He continued to ponder the melodies in his mind, writing them down quickly.

He could create anywhere; when he was younger, he could produce masterpieces in bus stations or on airplanes.

His agent once said, “It feels like you’re having an out-of-body experience, possessed by something, writing non-stop.”

Most of the time, Yang Yunran’s inspiration came from his family. He had written many songs for his mother, some of which listeners interpreted as love songs, filled with a brilliance that he couldn’t match now.

Amidst the sorrow of his breakup, Yang Yunran wrote sporadically.

Jimmy, with his shirt open to reveal a necklace, danced over to him. “Roy, stop doing homework. The guys I called are here.”

“Huh?” Yang Yunran snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. In front of him stood a row of tall, well-dressed handsome men.

A mixed-race guy said, “Roy, I’m Harrison.”

The muscular guy next to him said, “I’m Victor.”

The chest of the guy to the left was adorned with a rose. With eyes reminiscent of peach blossoms, he said, “I’m Evan.”

Yang Yunran asked, “What’s your name?”

“Evan.”

Jimmy chimed in, “Do you like him?”

“…No, I’m just like another Evan,” Yang Yunran replied, sweeping his gaze past seven or eight handsome guys before him. Jimmy asked, “What talents do you all have? Introduce yourselves.”

Harrison said, “I have an 18cm talent.”

Victor said, “I have an eight-pack abs talent.”

Evan said, “They all say I’m good at kissing because my tongue is soft.”

“… “

As each one introduced themselves, Yang Yunran finally realized the problem. He turned to Jimmy and asked, “…Why do they look like ducks?”

Jimmy replied, “Because they are ducks.”

Yang Yunran said, “…”

Jimmy hugged his shoulder, “Brother, I tried my best to find for you. But it’s not easy to find someone as handsome as your ex. These are all popular high-end ducks, not cheap for a night. How about Harrison? He has an 18cm talent! Or you can pick two?”

Yang Yunran shook his head with a straight face, “I won’t pick. I can’t accept hiring ducks.”

Jimmy couldn’t understand, “Why? They all have health certificates.”

Yang Yunran said, “Because what I want is not just a physical need…”

He felt a moment of confusion, recalling what Jiang Yi had said: “I can’t give you what you want.”

What did he really want?

Was Jiang Yi misunderstanding his needs, and because he couldn’t perform, said that?

Just as he was lost in thought, Jimmy called two people over, “Accompany Mr. Roy for drinks.”

One claimed to have superior kissing skills, while the other was rather aloof and expressionless.

The appearance of these untouchable high-altitude flowers made Yang Yunran hallucinate about his ex-boyfriend, unable to help but look at them a little more.

But Yang Yunran held his bottom line and declined, “No, let them go.”

Jimmy insisted, “I’ve paid them! They’ll accompany me to bed tonight. For now, let’s drink together, and play cards, shall we?”

Play cards? Fine.

Yang Yunran then put away his music score drafts and played cards with the three of them…

Jimmy was generous and stopped the DJ, playing his cheerful card game music. Everyone dancing in the bar stopped, looking confused.

The music was downright comedic like it was Chinese New Year.

“Call the landlord.”

“I pass.”

“I pass too.”

The Chinese people on the dance floor: “??? What’s going on?”

Yang Yunran felt embarrassed. “Why play this song? Is this your bar? Do you just order the DJ around like this? Is it reasonable for the DJ to agree to such demands?”

Jimmy replied, “Did you forget? We invested in this bar, and you put in two million. The boss wants to play cards, so the music has to keep up.”

Yang Yunran said, “Oh… right.”

Jimmy shouted, “Don’t overthink! It’s just a game! There are plenty of men!”

“Okay,” Yang Yunran thought playing cards didn’t matter. They were accompanying Jimmy to bed, not him. Playing cards during holidays was normal, so he decided to get into it.

During this time, his phone vibrated many times in his pocket. Yang Yunran thought it might be Jiang Yi, but afraid of disappointment, he refused to take out his phone to check.

Jiang Yi left the restaurant halfway through dinner, saying, “Sorry, I have something to attend to. You guys continue.”

Accustomed to the split-the-bill practice among Caucasians, he paid for his portion, then left in his car, calling Yang Yunran on the way.

Yang Yunran didn’t answer, so Jiang Yi messaged him: “It’s fine to go to the bar, just don’t touch any random stuff.”

“Also, be careful with the alcohol, don’t drink anything suspicious.”

“Are you with Jimmy?”

“Don’t play with needles or any powders or leaves.”

“Please pick up my call.”

“Where are you?”

Jiang Yi thought he could leave Yang Yunran to his own devices. He was an adult and should take responsibility for himself rather than being controlled by Jiang Yi.

Yet, Jiang Yi still worried, fearing Yang Yunran might get into trouble. It was normal for international students to mess up, and Jiang Yi had heard about it happening. Since Jiang Yi maintained a clean social circle, he had heard about such things.

Boston’s bars were concentrated around Fenway and the park. Jiang Yi parked his car and went from one bar to another, searching frantically. His eyes darted around, searching for “Yang Yunran!” He grabbed the shoulder of a dark-haired young man in a jacket similar in color to Yang Yunran’s. The person turned around, revealing a face Jiang Yi didn’t recognize.

“Yang Yunran…” Jiang Yi stepped out of the bar, stood under a streetlamp for a moment, and called him. Yang Yunran didn’t answer.

This kid was really hard to control. Jiang Yi didn’t understand why he still bothered to care about him.

He went from bar to bar, finally entering a nightclub with mismatched music. Jiang Yi quickly spotted him in a corner.

Yang Yunran held a hand of cards, looking dazed, half of his face hidden behind the cards, but the exposed side was the familiar profile.

Standing there, watching him, Jiang Yi felt helpless and heartbroken.

—

His beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings, noticing several shady-looking men sitting nearby.

Jiang Yi glanced at the things on their table; they seemed to be cocktails.

He breathed a sigh of relief and his gaze fell on Yang Yunran and the man beside him.

Walking over briskly, Jiang Yi heard Yang Yunran’s voice calling his name, “Evan, you’ve lost…”

Jiang Yi froze, but Yang Yunran didn’t seem to see him.

“Because I have two kings, a pair of twos, hehe.” Yang Yunran threw down his cards on the table and pointed to the man beside him. “Evan, pass me some chips.”

Evan pouted, “Mr. Roy, what should I do? I don’t have any chips left. I’ve lost to you all. Your luck is too good. How about I accompany you tonight?” Evan wanted to be a 1 rather than a 0; obviously, if he accompanied Jimmy tonight, he’d be a 0, so he tried to flirt with Yang Yunran.

Yang Yunran held the wine glass, his eyes unfocused. “You’re good at kissing, aren’t you? But I don’t want to…”

The next moment, Yang Yunran felt a strong force snatch away his wine glass. A shadow loomed over him, blocking out all the light in front of him. He looked up in alarm and met Jiang Yi’s icy face.

Yang Yunran was stunned. Jiang Yi bent down and pulled him up, his grip strong and firm, his voice chillingly cold. “Come with me.”

Yang Yunran shook his head, his voice somewhat aggrieved. “It’s you… Jiang Yi, I won’t go with you.”

Jiang Yi wrapped his arm around Yang Yunran’s shoulder and back. Yang Yunran leaned against him, feeling weak.

With a strong smell of alcohol, Jiang Yi kept his expression tense and said, “When will you agree to leave? Is this place really fun for you?”

Yang Yunran said, “Playing cards… is fun, isn’t it? It’s not like gambling. I’ve just had a breakup. Why do you care?”

Jiang Yi lowered his head and stared at him, seeing his lips move, his cheeks flushed. He felt an inexplicable irritation rising in his heart. “I can’t care about you? What did your uncle tell you?”

“What does my uncle have to do with anything?” Yang Yunran continued shaking his head, his eyes misty. “I won’t go with you. You can’t control me either. Unless… your kissing skills are better than Evan’s, then I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Yi felt his anger rise. “Which Evan? How many Evans do you know? Besides me, who else is there?”