Chapter 19
ZHENG WEIZE WAS A PERSON with a certain degree of self-awareness. He knew he was poor and not particularly handsome. He fell a little short in comparison to his roommates, who averaged an attractive 7.2. They were admired whenever they went out together, but he was still riding their coattails. Among this group of tops (or self-proclaimed tops), the only thing notable about him was his candid admission that he was a bottom who needed love and protection.
There were simply too many high-caliber men at No. 7 Riverbay Road. Yes, it was just four of them, but that was more than he had ever encountered at once in any environment growing up. And on top of their looks, they were all very stylish and had great personalities.
Of course, this was because Zhang Yuwen pre-screened potential tenants during the selection process and chose applicants who were good-looking, straightforward, and easygoing. But with everyone claiming to be a top, it was inevitable that territorial instincts would run high, so Zhang Yuwen brought Zheng Weize in to give everyone’s protective instincts an outlet. His presence made the rest of them less likely to flex their muscles and release pheromones to show their dominance over the others.
Zheng Weize occasionally fantasized about being a princess and them playing the knights protecting him. He ranked them in his mind. Chang Jinxing was first, of course, followed by Zhang Yuwen and Yan Jun. At first Zhang Yuwen and Yan Jun were tied for second place, but eventually Zhang Yuwen’s temperament won out, pushing Yan Jun to third. Chen Hong brought up the rear in fourth place.
Once he’d spent some more time with Chen Hong, though, Zheng Weize realized that muscular men had their own appeal. They gave you a sense of security and were packed with testosterone, offering an entirely different flavor from the pretty boys. Besides, Chang Jinxing was always playing coy; he refused to give Zheng Weize a straightforward response or rejection. Zheng Weize wondered whether he should choose a new chief knight.
But then he’d look at them and go this one isn’t bad and that one’s quite handsome too. Even Yan Jun, patiently feeding his daughter on a cold winter night, seemed to exude a special kind of charm. Zheng Weize had never been in a meaningful relationship in his life; his history was littered with unrequited crushes on straight men. When he moved into No. 7 Riverbay Road, where everyone openly discussed their sexual orientation and partners and took care of him like they would a little brother, a whole new world opened up for him—one in which he was so flattered and overwhelmed by the attention, he might just fall for ’em all.
“Where do you want to hang out today?” Zhang Yuwen asked Zheng Weize, sipping his iced coffee through a straw.
Although Zheng Weize had some complaints about Chang Jinxing’s absence on Christmas Eve and the lack of explanation for his whereabouts, he was excited by the prospect of developing his relationship with Zhang Yuwen and Yan Jun.
“How did you guys usually spend Christmas when you were in school?” asked Zhang Yuwen.
“Nothing worth mentioning.”
Resigning himself to Chang Jinxing’s absence, Zheng Weize imagined himself as the protagonist in a dating sim. His main focus was on winning Chang Jinxing’s heart, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t spread his attention around and flirt with the others occasionally. Each had his own charm, after all.
Recently, a top fan with generous pockets had begun to show up on his female account’s live stream channel. He tipped Zheng Weize daily, sometimes two or three hundred, sometimes five or six hundred. As Christmas neared, the top fan generously tipped him a whole thousand, so Zheng Weize wasn’t as financially strapped as usual. He planned to get his roommates little gifts for Christmas. He couldn’t spend more than a hundred on each of them, though, of course, or he’d have to spend the next month eating dirt again.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuwen was browsing his phone for places to go on Christmas Eve, which was proving to be a bit of a headache.
“Are you not that keen on going out?” Zheng Weize asked.
“No, it’s not that,” said Zhang Yuwen. “I’m just…not very good with holidays and celebrations. I’m worried you’d be unhappy with my choices.”
“How could I be?”
Zheng Weize didn’t expect his opinion to be so important to Zhang Yuwen. He thought Zhang Yuwen must have been conditioned this way by his past relationships. If you failed to plan certain holidays and anniversaries to a partner’s satisfaction, there’d be hell to pay, and some tops had holiday anxiety—a fear that they’d be given the cold shoulder if their plans fell through. This was normal.
“I’m really cool with anything,” Zheng Weize told him. “Just the fact that you’re hanging out with me already makes me super happy.”
“How about a mall, then?” Zhang Yuwen suggested.
“Sure.” Zheng Weize just wanted to have fun, and if Zhang Yuwen was willing to pick up the tab, all the better. The guy hadn’t mentioned a word about expenses the whole time they’d been talking about it, so Zheng Weize’s odds of freeloading today were high. He could mooch off a handsome guy and get himself a free Christmas dinner, so why not? “What are we having for dinner?” he asked.
He’d been surviving off instant noodles for several days, and his hunger debuff was chipping away at his health points. He just wanted to chow down on something delicious.
“Yan Jun said he’ll make a reservation,” Zhang Yuwen said. “He’s getting off work early today. We’ll pick him up together.”
For once, Zhang Yuwen was driving. Zheng Weize settled into the passenger seat, and as he glanced at him, he discovered a whole new facet to Zhang Yuwen’s charm.
“This car must be so expensive!” Zheng Weize had no concept of the lavish upper-class lifestyle.
“Yeah.” Zhang Yuwen turned the steering wheel and drove out of the garage. “If only it were mine.” He grinned and winked at Zheng Weize.
Zheng Weize’s heart raced. He wondered where Zhang Yuwen had picked that up. Probably from hanging out too much with Chang Jinxing, goofing off and flirting. He laughed. “It’s as good as yours.”
“They’re the same in the sense that these are all material possessions,” Zhang Yuwen muttered to himself, “and yet they aren’t all the same.”
Zheng Weize didn’t understand what he meant. “How much does this car cost?” he asked curiously.
Zhang Yuwen thought about it for a moment. “Two million? Two point six million, I guess.”
This was a figure so astronomical that Zheng Weize couldn’t even begin to fathom it. The cars he’d heard of that cost a little over a million already seemed extravagant. “It costs more than a house!”
It was enough to buy several houses in Zheng Weize’s hometown, in fact.
“Yeah.” Zhang Yuwen sighed and drove onto the bridge, heading to Jiangnan to pick Yan Jun up. It was Christmas Eve, and the streets were packed, creating traffic jams everywhere. “The roads are so congested. We should have taken the subway.”
Zheng Weize was in familiar territory now. “You can take a right up ahead. There’s a shortcut that isn’t usually that busy.”
Following Zheng Weize’s directions, Zhang Yuwen drove the car around the back entrance of a shopping mall. “You seem familiar with this place,” he remarked.
“Yeah.” Of course he was. This was where Zheng Weize used to work, and he still felt nostalgic about the place. Coming back here more than a month later, to this narrow road with a row of small shops and food stalls lined up across from the shopping mall, his job here felt like a different lifetime. “I used to come here a lot with my classmates.”
With some difficulty, Zhang Yuwen carefully maneuvered the car to avoid hitting the railing or the vehicles parked on the curb. Zheng Weize gazed at the street, full of nostalgia. He used to come here with his straight colleague for the ¥20 lunches.
Zheng Weize suddenly spotted someone—that very same straight ex-colleague. “Eh!”
“What’s wrong?” Zhang Yuwen turned to look at him.
“That guy…is a friend of mine!”
With mixed feelings, he watched the straight colleague, who stood at the side of the road. He had left his counter to step out of the mall for a smoke, looking weary.
So ugly… So sleazy, man. How did I not notice before? Zheng Weize was shocked. How did I ever like someone like that?
Zhang Yuwen rolled down the car window, but Zheng Weize, not wanting to greet the guy, quickly intervened. “No need for that. He’s just an ordinary friend.” He was worried the guy might say too much and expose Zheng Weize’s fabricated story.
Zhang Yuwen casually put on his sunglasses and whistled at the guy. “Hello.”
This left Zheng Weize with no choice but to play along. He put his hand on the back of Zhang Yuwen’s seat and plastered a cheery smile on his face. “Hi!”
When the guy saw Zheng Weize, his jaw dropped. Then he looked at Zhang Yuwen.
“Long time no see, man.” Zheng Weize really did not like this straight guy anymore. Seeing him actually made Zheng Weize feel a bit nauseous.
“You guys…”
“We’re going to celebrate Christmas Eve.” After a moment, Zheng Weize added, “Happy holidays.”
His former colleague waved at him, looking conflicted. Zhang Yuwen rolled up the window and glanced at Zheng Weize, who fell silent for a moment. He knew that Zhang Yuwen must have sensed something between him and the guy.
“He’s straight,” Zheng Weize explained. This time, his smile came from the heart.
“I see.” Zhang Yuwen didn’t ask how they met.
“He’s pretty selfish. He knew I liked him, but he never outright rejected me so that I’d keep on sucking up to him. I’m really…”
“Hush.” Zhang Yuwen drove onto the main road and, with a smile, gestured for Zheng Weize not to say another word.
“Huh?”
“Don’t dwell on other people’s flaws, and don’t doubt yourself. Those memories also contain the past version of you. Forget what made you sad, remember what made you happy. Pick up the pieces and move on.”
Zheng Weize nodded, not really getting it. He was still so young, barely over twenty—at his age, matters of the heart still befuddled him.
“We’re here.” Zhang Yuwen parked the car in front of Yan Jun’s company building.
Yan Jun’s colleagues were just getting off work, and the sight of the expensive luxury car gave them a start as they stepped out of the building. “Yo!”