The dishes were ordered, and Qiu Shufeng served them to Qiao Huaiyao in order. They didn’t order much, and Qiu Shufeng said, “Feels like it’s enough. You and your partner can add a few more dishes you like.”
Qiao Huaiyao glanced at them and said, “If you order more…”
Yu Luofan quickly interjected, “Let’s start with these. If it’s not enough when we eat, we can always order more.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and said, “Alright.”
The restaurant was quite spacious, with a Western-style architecture and walls surrounding it. There was some distance from the main entrance of the restaurant to the inside.
As the car reached the entrance, the rear gate lifted automatically after a scan. The driver didn’t stop and accelerated inside.
Bai Jinyan walked forward, opened the front passenger’s door, and extended his hand to help Qiao Huaiyao down. He asked, “Was the road busy?”
Qiao Huaiyao got out of the car and said, “Not too busy.”
They had missed the morning rush, so there weren’t many cars outside in the morning.
Qiu Shufeng and the others got out of the back seat and greeted, “Hello, Bai.”
They were younger than Bai Jinyan, so while Qiao Huaiyao called him “brother,” it was normal for them to call him “Bai.”
When Wang Zhan and Yu Luofan greeted him, their voices overlapped.
It was windy at the entrance, and Bai Jinyan naturally placed his hand on Qiao Huaiyao’s waist. He said, “Let’s go inside.”
“Okay.” Qiu Shufeng and the others followed behind, and they couldn’t help but notice the placement of Bai Jinyan’s hand.
Qiu Shufeng was briefly puzzled but then realized that it was normal for close friends and even closer in their relationship. They had seen such things in variety shows, after all.
The private room was on the top floor. The dishes were already on the table, each covered with a warm and dust-proof lid. When they saw someone approaching, the waitstaff started removing the covers.
Inside the private room, except for Yu Luofan, who appeared composed, Qiu Shufeng and Wang Zhan seemed a bit nervous.
Qiao Huaiyao said, “Don’t just stand there, have a seat and let’s eat. It’s been a busy morning, and I doubt any of you had breakfast.”
Wang Zhan hesitated for a moment and didn’t move.
Seeing this, Bai Jinyan said casually, “Sit.”
The three of them acted in unison, pulling out their chairs and sitting down promptly.
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow, looked at Bai Jinyan with a teasing smile, and his eyes carried a hint of mischief. “You really scared my roommates.”
From the moment they got out of the car until now, Bai Jinyan had said fewer than three sentences.
Bai Jinyan smiled wryly and ruffled Qiao Huaiyao’s hair with his hand. Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, stood up, and said, “You guys go ahead and eat. I need to take this call.”
Wang Zhan stammered, “Sure, Bai, you’re busy.”
The door to the private room had a slow closing mechanism. It wasn’t until the last latch clicked shut that Wang Zhan and Qiu Shufeng finally relaxed.
Wang Zhan couldn’t help but pinch his philtrum and said, “I’m having a meal at the same table with Bai Jinyan. I have to remember this day.”
Qiu Shufeng hadn’t expected Qiao Huaiyao to invite Bai Jinyan because it wasn’t common for people to introduce their romantic partners to their elders. Bai Jinyan was Qiu Shufeng’s brother, and introducing a new partner directly to the family seemed inappropriate.
Qiu Shufeng couldn’t help but say, “You’re quite daring, Study God. Bringing your partner to dinner and even your brother.”
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and replied, “I’ll introduce him later.”
Qiu Shufeng laughed and said, “Keeping us in suspense, I see.”
Wang Zhan sighed, “Study God, can you help me get an autograph?”
He had been wanting an autograph but didn’t have the courage to ask. He had missed several opportunities.
“Sure,” Qiao Huaiyao placed his drink on the lazy Susan. “I’ll ask for it when he comes back.”
“Thank you, Study God!” Wang Zhan quickly added, “I’ll treat you to this meal. Nobody else should pay…”
As they were talking, the door to the private room opened.
When Bai Jinyan walked in, Wang Zhan’s words abruptly stopped, and he sat obediently in his chair, looking like a young student waiting for his teacher to serve lunch.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Jinyan asked as he took his seat.
Wang Zhan shook his head suddenly, held his juice, and pretended to be calm. “Nothing.”
Qiu Shufeng thought he had been nervous enough, but watching Wang Zhan’s reaction amused him.
Qiao Huaiyao held Bai Jinyan’s hand and introduced, “Let me introduce you. This is my partner.”
With a light laugh, he placed his hand on the table and said cheerfully, “My boyfriend, Bai Jinyan.”
“?!?!”
“Gurgle… Cough, cough!”
Clank!
Wang Zhan, who was sipping his juice, suddenly choked.
Qiu Shufeng’s chopsticks also fell onto his plate. His eyes widened in astonishment, and his hand froze in mid-air, still holding the chopsticks, too stunned to retract them.
Only Yu Luofan appeared relatively composed. “Congratulations, you were hinting earlier…”
Cough! Qiao Huaiyao pressed his fingertip tightly and hastily interrupted him.
Yu Luofan paused for a moment and seemed to understand. He cleared his throat and said, “I meant… you had secretly made up your mind and gathered the courage to invite us to this meal, celebrating your ‘single to taken’ transition, right?”
As he spoke, he thought, regardless of how reasonable it was, at least it sounded plausible.
Qiao Huaiyao nodded in agreement without daring to look up at Bai Jinyan.
No need to look; he could guess that Bai Jinyan was probably staring at him right now.
Pretending not to know, Qiao Huaiyao said, “Class Monitor, there are new chopsticks on the side. You can use a fresh pair.”
“Alright.” Qiu Shufeng set aside the dropped chopsticks.
For some reason, he felt shocked for a moment upon learning the news. But after the initial shock, he thought, well… it kind of makes sense. It felt like Qiao Huaiyao and Bai Jinyan being together was a natural progression. After all, they were like brothers, and it was normal for them to have close physical contact, which they had turned into a habit. They were both outstanding individuals, and they seemed perfectly matched.
Qiu Shufeng poured a glass of juice and, at this moment, words of congratulations seemed too cliché. So he raised his glass directly and said, “Here’s to you two, may you be together forever.”
Wang Zhan was utterly amazed. “I… the Study God and the Male God are together?”
Well, well.
“Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations on getting out of singledom!” Wang Zhan laughed heartily. “This is great. It would be even better if I could get an autograph.”
Bai Jinyan raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”
Wang Zhan: “!!!”
“Oh my God, I actually said it out loud.” Wang Zhan hurriedly got up and fumbled through his pockets for something to be autographed, but… they were empty. He didn’t even have a piece of paper, let alone a pen.
Overjoyed and disappointed at the same time, Wang Zhan almost burst into tears on the spot.
Qiao Huaiyao only knew that Wang Zhan was a fan of Bai Jinyan, but at this moment, it seemed that Wang Zhan was not just an ordinary fan. When they went to morning class, none of them had brought paper and pens. Qiao Huaiyao’s notes were in the car, and he didn’t have them with him now.
Taking a sip of lemon water, Qiao Huaiyao said, “You can get it later. Come to my dorm room, or I’ll bring it to class for you.”
“Okay, thanks, Study God!” Wang Zhan sat back down. “Let’s eat.”
Qiao Huaiyao noticed that none of them were touching their food. “Let’s eat, or it’ll get cold and the flavors will change.”
Qiu Shufeng was holding his chopsticks, so he quickly said, “Yes, let’s eat, let’s eat.”
However, just as they had learned such explosive news, they couldn’t help but need some time to digest it. It wasn’t about digesting the fact itself, but rather… the fact that they had found out about this news even before the entertainment news outlets!
This was a juicy story, and whoever broke it would gain a lot of attention.
The tables in the private room were large, double-decker round tables. On the upper layer, there was a rotating glass plate filled with the ordered dishes, including some additions Bai Jinyan had ordered, covering the entire table. Each dish had a substantial portion.
Qiao Huaiyao’s lemon water had only been sipped halfway when it was taken away.
Bai Jinyan exchanged his bowl with Qiao Huaiyao’s empty one. “Eat this first, and then you can drink.”
Qiao Huaiyao wasn’t particularly hungry. “Didn’t we eat earlier in the morning?”
They had eaten before their morning class, and it had only been a few hours.
Bai Jinyan nodded and asked, “Then, the two bites of the sandwich or half a cup of milk?”
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips, picked up some stir-fried vegetables, and ate in silence.
Bai Jinyan chuckled and picked up a few pieces of fish, carefully removing the bones. He looked at Qiu Shufeng and the others and said, “There’s wine on the table.”
“Oh, okay.” Wang Zhan gave a command and activated the electric corkscrew, which was placed in a dish containing a bottle of red wine.
There were other types of alcohol, but the red wine was closest.
Wang Zhan poured two glasses first and placed them on the rotating glass table. “Come on, Study God, Bai, you guys should drink first.”
As he spoke, Wang Zhan poured two glasses for his two roommates as well, precisely controlling the amount to not fill them to the brim.
After everyone had a glass of red wine in their hands, Wang Zhan proposed a toast, “Let’s toast to Study God and Bai getting together.”
Qiu Shufeng raised his hand and lightly bumped it against Wang Zhan’s arm. “Study God can’t handle alcohol, and Bai doesn’t allow the Study God to drink.”
Let’s not force it.
Encouraging drinking in front of parents is really asking for trouble. Qiao Huaiyao glanced at Bai Jinyan and stood up, saying, “It’s alright, I’ll just take a sip, and that counts as drinking.”
Moreover, with his brother here, it should be okay to have a drink. He wasn’t allowed to drink not because Bai Jinyan didn’t want him to, but because his alcohol tolerance was low, and Bai Jinyan was worried that he would get drunk without anyone to take care of him.
Qiao Huaiyao lifted his wine glass and stood up. “Come, let’s have a toast.”
Around the large round table, they extended their arms towards the center, and the glasses didn’t quite reach. There was no need to awkwardly stretch and knock their arms; just a light touch in the air was enough to count as a toast.
Qiu Shufeng laughed and said, “Cheers! Happy transition out of singledom!”
Yu Luofan nodded and raised his glass. “Cheers.”
Bai Jinyan lightly tilted his wine glass to the right and clinked with the glass in Qiao Huaiyao’s hand, making a muffled sound.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled; the red wine was poured well, and he took a small sip. He didn’t drink often, but due to family reasons, he had to learn to appreciate wine. He had tried red wines from many vineyards.
The taste of this wine was evidently better than the ones he had tasted before. The wine was light, smooth, not bitter, with a rich floral and fruity aroma.
Qiao Huaiyao took a few more sips but then put down his glass and didn’t pick it up again.
Bai Jinyan subtly moved his glass to his side and replaced it with lemon water for him.
Looking at Qiao Huaiyao, whose expression remained unchanged, Bai Jinyan knew that it was just a matter of time. These sips of red wine were enough to make Qiao Huaiyao intoxicated. Red wine had a stronger kick than beer, but luckily, he had deliberately chosen a bottle that wouldn’t give him a headache after drinking.
He liked drinking, so taking a few sips was not a big deal—
During the meal, they chatted while eating slowly.
When they finished, it was already noon.
One car would be too crowded, so Bai Jinyan arranged for two cars.
The journey back to the dorm seemed normal.
But when they reached the dorm building, Qiao Huaiyao changed into his pajamas and went to bed, feeling a bit drowsy.
Bai Jinyan made a cup of fruit tea. When he entered the room, Qiao Huaiyao was lying under the blanket with his eyes closed, appearing to be asleep.
His complexion had changed slightly, a bit flushed, but it didn’t seem like he was drunk, just a little red.
Bai Jinyan placed the fruit tea on the bedside table, straightened the blanket for him, then got up and slowly pulled the curtains shut. He set the air conditioner to a constant temperature.
After arranging everything, he walked out of the bedroom and gently closed the door.
The room was very quiet.
The steady sound of breathing suddenly paused at some point. Qiao Huaiyao turned over and shifted towards the edge, but his outstretched hand only met air.
Narrowing his eyes, Qiao Huaiyao reached out and paused at the side, considering something. After a while, he lifted the blanket and walked out of the bedroom.
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips, looking around. “Brother.”
“Yes, about that contract…” Bai Jinyan’s voice paused, and he quickly said, “I hung up after mentioning it.”
Bai Jinyan lifted his hand and lightly touched Qiao Huaiyao’s cheek with the back of his hand. “What’s wrong?”
Feeling a bit warm, likely due to the red wine, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t say anything. He grabbed Bai Jinyan’s hand and turned, heading towards the bedroom.
Drunk, he even remembered to close the door when entering the room.
Qiao Huaiyao pushed Bai Jinyan onto the bed.
Bai Jinyan didn’t know what he was planning to do, so he just went along with his strength and lay down.
Qiao Huaiyao lifted the blanket and lay down again, lazily stretched, and hugged the pillow he had brought back from outside.
Content, he buried his head in front of Bai Jinyan and let out a long sigh.
Qiao Huaiyao cuddled and nestled, resting his head on Bai Jinyan’s arm, finding a comfortable spot in his embrace, and closed his eyes again.
Sleeping!