Yu Yan’s future sister-in-law was returning to the country today, and a few friends were meeting her at a bar for a welcome party. His brother asked him to take Shen Yuming’s car there after work.

Yu Chen’s girlfriend, Xi Yuan, had already finished her exchange student program last year, but she took a gap year to travel around the world, so she only returned in November. The two families were going to discuss Yu Chen and Xi Yuan’s marriage soon.

He reluctantly moved money he had saved for a rainy day from his account and spent a large sum on a brooch as a gift, but he wasn’t sure if Xi Yuan would like it.

It wasn’t yet time to finish work, so Yu Yan and Shen Yuming left an hour early and headed to the bar.

The bar was located in the second ring road, in a great spot, with a live singer performing love songs.

Yu Yan paused for a moment. “Brother Chen, is this appropriate?”

Shen Yuming chuckled lightly, “Don’t worry, no one’s going to strip you down.”

Yu Yan rubbed his nose. “Maybe.”

When they reached the entrance of the private room, Yu Yan finally met his future sister-in-law.

Xi Yuan was tall, graceful in her movements, and exuded confidence.

“Hello, Sister Xi,” Yu Yan greeted politely, offering his gift.

Xi Yuan also prepared a gift for him, a handcrafted, heavy Bvlgari necklace.

“Xiyan?” Xi Yuan immediately pulled him over, “Let me introduce you, Shen—”

“Shen Yuming,” Shen Yuming quickly finished her sentence.

Xi Yuan nodded. “You must know Shen Yuming. The man sitting on the sofa is Fang Chi, next to him is Su Han, and the one singing is Ye Zhan. They’re all friends of me and your brother. There are a few more people still on their way.”

Yu Yan greeted everyone, scanning the room but noticing his brother hadn’t arrived yet.

“Brother, sit next to me,” Fang Chi moved over to make space.

Yu Yan sat next to Fang Chi, while Shen Yuming took a single-seat sofa beside him.

The atmosphere in the room was good, no unpleasant smells, and the table was filled with snacks, drinks, and alcohol.

“Brother, can you drink?”

Before Yu Yan could respond, Fang Chi handed him a glass of wine.

It was a welcome party for Xi Yuan, so it would be odd not to drink at all.

“I can drink, but I get drunk easily,” Yu Yan nodded.

“Then just drink a little,” Fang Chi poured a small amount into the glass and passed it to him.

Looking at the small amount in the glass, Yu Yan hesitated for a moment, then drank it all in one go.

“Oh, not bad, your alcohol tolerance is pretty good.”

Fang Chi poured half a glass more and tilted his head to look at him.

“How’s your drinking etiquette?”

“Not bad,” Yu Yan nodded.

He only got dizzy and sleepy when drunk, but he stayed aware and didn’t do anything embarrassing.

However, he would have a headache for days after a hangover, so he usually avoided drinking.

Two glasses of wine closed the distance between them, and with the loud music in the room, Fang Chi instinctively placed his right hand on Yu Yan’s shoulder, leaning in to talk.

“Bang—”

Shen Yuming accidentally knocked over a wine bottle on the coffee table.

Yu Yan quickly pulled away from Fang Chi and used a tissue to wipe the wine stain off Shen Yuming’s clothes.

“Brother Chen, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, continue, don’t mind me,” Shen Yuming said calmly.

The door to the private room suddenly opened, and Yu Chen walked in with two friends. “Oh, you guys have already started drinking?”

“You’re late, three shots as punishment,” Fang Chi said lazily.

Yu Chen didn’t hesitate and took three shots in quick succession, then looked over at the wine glass next to Yu Yan and furrowed his brows.

“Who’s so ruthless? Pouring wine for my brother? Shen Yuming, was it you?”

Before Shen Yuming could respond, Yu Yan quickly spoke up, “Brother, it wasn’t Brother Chen, I wanted to drink it myself.”

Yu Yan skipped the latter part of the sentence and turned to Fang Chi. “So it was you.”

Fang Chi chuckled twice. “Just two sips.”

“Don’t pour my brother any more wine, he’s too young to drink,” Yu Chen said, expressing his discontent, then turned to joke with Xi Yuan.

“Little brother—” Fang Chi suddenly leaned in, looking gossip-y.

Yu Yan turned his head. “What’s up?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Do you like anyone?”

“No, why are you asking this?” Yu Yan asked curiously.

Fang Chi casually rested his hands behind his head and spoke louder without realizing, “I have a younger sister, she just turned eighteen this year, and she’s stunning, you two would make a perfect match. What do you think? Want to consider it?”

“If this works out, you’ll be my real brother, and I’ll have your back no matter what.”

Yu Yan’s eyes widened, and he instinctively moved back a bit.

“No thanks, I don’t want to… hold up our little sister.”

He’d never thought about relationships, and especially not with someone who had just turned eighteen.

“How could it be holding her up? My sister likes good-looking guys like you. If it were someone like Shen Yuming, an old-timer, she wouldn’t even look at him,” Fang Chi said with a hum.

“You’re not that young anymore, your brother is already settled down, it’s your turn, don’t you want to think about it again?”

Hearing the name Shen Yuchen, Yu Yan subconsciously turned his head, just in time to meet his gaze.

Their eyes locked, neither of them looked away.

Shen Yuchen was naturally leaning against the couch, his legs stretched out. He didn’t look as composed as usual, instead, he appeared a little more lazy.

Yu Yan couldn’t help but remember the cigarette from last night at the restaurant, the swirling smoke blurring the contours, the dark eyes filled with emotion. If Shen Yuchen were holding a cigarette now, it would definitely look very sexy.

“I’m talking to you, why are you looking at Shen Yuchen? Don’t compare yourself to him,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue, his teasing tone unmistakable.

Yu Yan immediately snapped out of it, quickly shifting his gaze. He cleared his throat, using the excuse of drinking to ease the awkwardness.

Before the wine glass could touch his lips, Shen Yuming pressed it down with one hand.

Yu Yan looked at him in confusion, blinking twice.

“Your brother doesn’t want you to drink.”

Yu Yan said “oh” and put down the glass.

“Really meddling,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, casually taking the microphone from Su Han to sing.

Shen Yuming ignored him.

After sipping a few gulps of orange juice, Yu Yan leaned slightly toward Fang Chi and lowered his voice. “What happened to Shen Yuchen?”

“What happened?” Fang Chi tilted his head, asking.

“Didn’t you just say not to compare with Shen Yuchen?”

The female singer on the screen just finished, and after a melody, the male singer began.

Fang Chi’s eyes were fixed on the lyrics on the screen, distracted as he chatted with Yu Yan.

“Shen Yuchen is gay, why would you compare with him?”

As soon as the words fell, the room fell into an eerie silence.

Fang Chi’s voice echoed throughout the room.

“Shen Yuchen is gay…”

“Shen Yuchen is gay…”

“Shen Yuchen is gay…”

“Why would you compare with him…”

“Why would you compare with him…”

“Why would you compare with him…”

In an instant, all eyes turned to Yu Yan and Fang Chi, finally resting on Shen Yuming.

Yu Yan wished he could sink into the ground, slightly turning his head and locking eyes with Shen Yuming.

Shen Yuming just slightly raised his eyes, his dark pupils betraying no emotion.

“You like men? When did that happen! Never heard of it,” Yu Chen walked over casually, sitting on the armrest of the couch next to Yu Yan, effectively blocking his gaze with Shen Yuming.

Yu Yan clenched his palm, silently shifting forward a little.

“I’d also like to know when that happened,” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow, signaling Fang Chi to explain.

“You admitted it yourself!”

Fang Chi sped up his speech, “Two years ago, we went to an alumni lecture at Cai Da, and a female student confessed to you, wanting to add you on WeChat. You said you were gay and rejected her.”

“And you’ve never had a girlfriend all these years, isn’t it because you’re gay? Isn’t it?”

Shen Yuming gave a light scoff, but didn’t respond.

“Is it true or not?”

“What do you think?” Shen Yuming’s voice was slightly cold.

“Is that it? I thought he already had a boyfriend.”

“What kind of gossip is this? Isn’t it just an excuse for rejecting the little girl?”

After listening to Fang Chi’s explanation, everyone thought it wasn’t a big deal.

Fang Chi frowned, “Wait, is your way of rejecting a little girl to say you’re gay?”

Yu Chen seemed not to care and turned to talk to Xi Yuan.

Yu Yan quietly asked, “Is the little girl with her friend?”

“Hmm?”

“Shen Yuchen probably said he was gay to avoid embarrassing the little girl after being rejected.”

Fang Chi propped his chin, pondering.

“Fang Chi, stop thinking, come play dice,” Yu Chen called out.

Yu Yan didn’t know how to play, so he just stayed beside Shen Yuming, who also didn’t seem interested in the dice game.

After a while, unable to hold back, Yu Yan leaned closer to Shen Yuming and whispered, “Shen Ge, is what Fang Ge said true?”

If it were before, Yu Yan would have absolutely believed Shen Yuming without question.

But ever since Shen Yuming tried to test him on his birthday, Shen Yuming’s credibility had dropped significantly in his heart.

Everyone just now had pieced together the story, but Shen Yuming’s attitude was ambiguous—he neither confirmed nor denied it.

The blue and red lights interweaved, dazzling to the eyes.

Shen Yuming’s eyes were hit by the lights a few times, and he seemed a little uncomfortable as he rubbed his eyes.

Yu Yan immediately moved aside a little, “Ge, you can sit here, it won’t be so dazzling.”

Shen Yuming responded with an “mmm” and sat beside Yu Yan. He lazily leaned back on the sofa, his left hand resting casually on the back of the couch.

The distance between the two was very close—Yu Yan only had to lean slightly back, and his head would almost touch Shen Yuming’s fingers.

“Ge, you still haven’t answered me.”

“Answer what? Whether I’ve never been in a relationship, or whether I’m gay?” Shen Yuming still appeared relaxed, his face showing no sign of embarrassment from being exposed.

Yu Yan hesitated, “Both… sort of.”

Shen Yuming didn’t rush to answer his question but picked up a glass of blue cocktail.

His fingers were long and strong, with veins bulging slightly on the back of his hand, resembling an inverted white jade fan bone, almost blinding against the backdrop of the blue cocktail.

“It’s not exactly like that.” Shen Yuming gently pressed his lips together.

“What do you mean?” Yu Yan leaned in a little closer.

Shen Yuming took two sips of his drink, “Strictly speaking, I’m a loner. I’ve never considered getting married or having children, let alone being with someone.”

Yu Yan suddenly remembered the phone call Shen Yuming received the day after his birthday. Although he hadn’t deliberately inquired, he could probably guess that Shen Yuming’s parents were most likely divorced.

Perhaps it was his parents’ unhappy marriage that made him a loner.

“Then… what if a man confesses to you?” Yu Yan asked again.

“Then I’ll tell him I like women.”

Yu Yan: “…”

Shen Yuming shifted his arm from its uncomfortable position, letting it hang down casually. His forearm brushed lightly against Yu Yan’s shoulder, his fingers briefly touching Yu Yan’s soft hair. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Have you ever met someone who made your heart race?”

“No,” Yu Yan immediately denied, “Since I was little, I’ve been thinking about when I can eat enough and have warm clothes. Who has the time to think about these things? Isn’t there a saying, something like ‘economic foundation determines the superstructure’?”

“You understand philosophy?” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

Yu Yan awkwardly chuckled twice, “Not really, but when I was young, many people donated unwanted books to orphanages, all sorts of random books. I read a lot.”

“I also know about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—after fulfilling physiological needs and safety needs, one can pursue the need for belonging and love. I used to think about these things a lot.”

Shen Yuming slowly nodded, “Is doing charity about realizing self-worth?”

“I don’t have such high ideals. I just want to make sure they have enough to eat and wear.”

For Yu Yan, there were no high-end words—just the most straightforward wish.