Ever since they started dating, “I was wrong” had become Lu Xingyan’s catchphrase. Even when he had done nothing wrong, he would still act obedient this way in exchange for a reward from Jiang Ji: a kiss, or a smiling glance.
—He was addicted.
Jiang Ji was not much better.
Week after week, once the game of romance started, it simply would not stop.
Rationally, Jiang Ji believed he did not need a relationship, especially not one with Lu Xingyan, which promised endless trouble. But there was something new to enjoy every day: Lu Xingyan was a toy, a puppy, a ball Jiang Ji could knead into whatever shape he wanted; he could coax him when he felt like it, deceive him when he felt like it, and it was endlessly entertaining.
After dinner that night, to celebrate Lu Xingyan’s successful thesis defense, they booked a hotel room again.
It was only Wednesday, and Jiang Ji still had plenty of work waiting for him. Getting a room disrupted his work schedule, yet he actually agreed, which showed just how badly the addiction had eaten away at what little rationality he had left.
It was the same hotel, in a similar room. Each time, Lu Xingyan worked harder than the last to please his brother, hoping that if Jiang Ji enjoyed himself enough, he would finally give up that last bit of restraint and go all the way with him.
Yet while they were being intimate, Jiang Ji found himself distracted by another thought: The longer this relationship goes on, the harder it’ll be to end. How am I supposed to stop it…?
Their dinner with Sun Cheng on Saturday was an opportunity.
Jiang Ji knew perfectly well that if he did not hurry up and dump Lu Xingyan, he might not be able to dump him at all later.
Strangely enough, Jiang Ji even found himself considering something he never had before: if he failed to dump Lu Xingyan, just how far would the two of them eventually go? Come out, be urged by their parents to break up, or stay together forever?
Forever was an astonishing word.
He certainly had not thought that far ahead when he first started toying with Lu Xingyan.
Jiang Ji said nothing and continued interacting with Lu Xingyan as usual.
After spending a sweet night together at the hotel, Jiang Ji spent Thursday and Friday busy with work, while Lu Xingyan resumed streaming, began discussing a contract with the platform, and dealt with various remaining matters at school. He was busy too.
By Saturday, Lu Xingyan told Jiang Ji that he had arranged the restaurant with Sun Cheng and that they could simply go there that evening.
It was a small matter, nothing more than having dinner with a friend. If Lu Xingyan had been treating by himself, Sun Cheng would have happily ripped him off without a second thought. But after hearing that Jiang Ji was the one inviting him, Sun Cheng inexplicably had the feeling he was heading into a trap and spent all of Saturday nervous; if not for the fact that Lu Xingyan had helped revise his graduation thesis, he would not have wanted to come at all.
Lu Xingyan was carefree and reassured him over WeChat: “What are you scared of? My brother isn’t some demon. It’s not like he can eat you.”
Sun Cheng asked, “What I don’t understand is why your brother wants to treat me to dinner.”
Do I really have that much face?
“Because you’re my buddy.” Lu Xingyan sent him a voice message, showing off without the slightest restraint. “You don’t know this, but he really cares about me now and wants to fit into my social circle. Treating you to dinner is the first step. He’ll be hanging out with us a lot more from now on.”
Sun Cheng: “…”
It sounded reasonable, yet something still felt wrong.
Was this really the Jiang Ji he knew? So warm and proactive, actually willing to hang out with the “little brats” he had never thought much of before?
Was the power of love really that strong?
Thinking about it that way made Sun Cheng curious. Wanting a front-row seat to the gossip, he decided he had to see exactly how Jiang Ji and Lu Xingyan behaved now that they were dating.
They had booked a private restaurant. Jiang Ji had something unexpected to deal with that afternoon and did not leave together with Lu Xingyan, so by the time he arrived, all the guests were already there: Sun Cheng, Sun Cheng’s girlfriend Zhen Shan, and Gu Xiaobo, who had heard about the gathering and rushed over to join the fun.
The restaurant specialized in upscale, refined private dining. There were few tables, but business was booming and every one of them was occupied.
Their table was beside the window. Lu Xingyan had saved the seat next to him for Jiang Ji, ordered the dishes half an hour in advance, carefully explained Jiang Ji’s dietary restrictions to the kitchen, and after receiving a WeChat message, eagerly went outside to meet him.
Gu Xiaobo stared after him. “What’s he doing?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just eat.” Sun Cheng did not want to contaminate his older cousin’s innocent mind.
Unexpectedly, Gu Xiaobo was so oblivious that he actually asked, “So who exactly is Lu Xingyan’s girlfriend? Why didn’t he bring her today?”
“…” Zhen Shan laughed and poked Sun Cheng. “Just tell him. I think Lu Xingyan would be thrilled if more people knew.”
They had barely exchanged a few sentences before Lu Xingyan returned. As usual, he had dressed himself carefully today and seemed to have coordinated with Jiang Ji: they were both wearing black and white, looking very much like they were in matching couple outfits.
Lu Xingyan walked half a step ahead, leading Jiang Ji over and turning back from time to time to talk to his brother. Their two handsome faces drew close together, making for an exceptionally pleasing picture.
Zhen Shan sighed sincerely. “They look good together.”
Gu Xiaobo: “?”
Sun Cheng: “.”
“What’s wrong? What are those faces for?” Lu Xingyan let Jiang Ji sit first, then immediately sat beside him. “The food’s already coming. Just eat. We’re all friends here, so why be polite?”
Sun Cheng did not stand on ceremony and immediately started eating. Only then did Gu Xiaobo finally catch up, reading Lu Xingyan’s “girlfriend’s” true identity from Zhen Shan’s comment, and his mouth slowly fell open. “You two… don’t tell me…”
It was actually rather impolite to ask like that, but Gu Xiaobo was too shocked. He had not expected there to be two couples at this dinner, leaving him as the only third wheel.
Lu Xingyan did not answer immediately. The way he instinctively looked at Jiang Ji for his reaction exposed exactly where he stood in this relationship, and only after seeing that Jiang Ji did not object did he say, “Yeah. You only just figured it out?”
Gu Xiaobo: “…”
Sun Cheng was delighted. This was called redirecting the trouble onto someone else; inviting his cousin along today had been the smartest decision he had made.
But if he thought that meant he would escape unscathed, he had seriously underestimated Lu Xingyan.
For practically the entire meal, Lu Xingyan flaunted their relationship with Jiang Ji as though no one else were there.
He picked up food for him, mixed his rice, ladled soup, and even blew on the soup himself before giving it to his brother because he was afraid it was too hot. Whenever there was something Jiang Ji did not eat, Lu Xingyan picked it into his own bowl and happily ate the leftovers.
Jiang Ji accepted all of this as a matter of course and showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Especially when Lu Xingyan was taking care of his food, Jiang Ji watched him with a smile in his eyes, clearly enjoying himself.
Sun Cheng was dumbfounded and thought, Are these brothers insane? Did they invite people to dinner just to satisfy their desire to show off their relationship in public?
Yet when he turned his head, he saw his own girlfriend watching with great interest and secretly messaging him: “I really want to take a couple of photos and send them to Qin Xiaoming.”
Sun Cheng: “…”
Qin Xiaoming was Zhen Shan’s roommate, the one who had wanted to pursue Jiang Ji before and had been blocked by Lu Xingyan.
Sun Cheng had no idea what to say. He certainly did not eat any less, and he did not drink any less either.
Jiang Ji was treating today, and all the alcohol he had ordered was expensive, each bottle costing several thousand yuan. Sun Cheng liked drinking and inevitably had several extra glasses.
Of everyone there besides him, Zhen Shan did not drink at all, Gu Xiaobo knew nothing about alcohol and did not particularly like it, while Lu Xingyan was the type who belonged at the kids’ table drinking soft drinks. Only Jiang Ji drank quite a lot as well and could clink glasses with him.
This made Sun Cheng feel rather embarrassed. Although Jiang Ji was not much older than them, his career and presence made him seem more like an elder, and Sun Cheng genuinely respected him.
“Brother Jiang,” Sun Cheng unconsciously switched to a more respectful form of address. “You can really hold your liquor.”
Three glasses of baijiu went down without the slightest reaction, as though Jiang Ji were drinking water.
Before Jiang Ji could speak, Lu Xingyan immediately shot Sun Cheng a glare. “Who said you could call him Brother Jiang?”
“…” Sun Cheng choked. “Are you nuts? You’re jealous over everybody now? If I don’t call him that, what am I supposed to call him?”
If Jiang Ji had not been there, Sun Cheng really would have liked to ask whether this guy still remembered his plan. So much for being a Method actor—he had acted himself straight into becoming a jealous, love-addled fool.
Jiang Ji smiled and held Lu Xingyan back. “Stop it.”
His words were exceptionally effective. Lu Xingyan immediately turned into a virtuous husband and began persuading him not to drink. “Bro, don’t drink so much. This stuff hits hard afterward. You’ll have a headache tonight…”
“Actually, you’re right.” Jiang Ji suddenly leaned against his shoulder as though the alcohol had gotten to him. “My head already hurts a little.”
“Then stop drinking.”
Lu Xingyan pushed his glass away, but Jiang Ji hooked it back. “There’s only half a glass left. I’ll finish it.”
Just like that, he was drunk, and the alcohol hit fast. After that half glass went down, the flush on his face became even more obvious; when he set the glass down, he nearly dropped it, and Lu Xingyan caught it with quick reflexes.
“You guys keep eating. Don’t worry about me,” Jiang Ji said. “Let me lean against you for a bit…”
“Okay.” Lu Xingyan could not help lowering his head to kiss him. His brother’s cheek was soft and burning hot from the alcohol, and it felt wonderful against his lips.
Gu Xiaobo stared at the scene with his mouth hanging open. Sun Cheng could not bear to look, while Zhen Shan lifted her phone, wanting to take a picture but stopping herself.
Lu Xingyan did not care about any of them and asked Jiang Ji, “Should I order you some hangover soup?”
“…Mm?” Jiang Ji responded with a vague sound, seemingly already half-conscious and half-asleep. Naturally, he was in no state to drink hangover soup.
Their seats were sofas, and Lu Xingyan worried Jiang Ji was uncomfortable, so he adjusted their positions and moved him farther back against the cushions. Jiang Ji ended up leaning lower, his upper body resting against Lu Xingyan with all his weight supported by him, and after closing his eyes, he really did fall asleep.
“You guys eat,” Lu Xingyan said, enjoying the feeling of openly holding his brother. “Don’t worry about us.”
Sun Cheng: “…”
As if we could do anything about you even if we wanted to.
Cups and chopsticks continued moving around the table. The food here was excellent and suited everyone’s tastes, but Lu Xingyan’s endless public display of affection was genuinely unbearable.
Not that it was entirely his fault. Jiang Ji looked completely different drunk compared with usual: his flushed cheek rested against Lu Xingyan’s chest, a button pressing a mark into it that made him look almost comically adorable. Still unconscious, he tightened his arms around Lu Xingyan’s waist in a rare posture of dependence that made it even harder not to soften toward him.
Lu Xingyan was already floating with happiness, as though he were the happiest person in the world and everyone sitting across from him were refugees whose lives could not possibly compare with his.
Sun Cheng could not resist mocking him. “By the way, who was the Method actor again?”
“Keep your voice down.” Lu Xingyan made a shushing gesture and pointed at Jiang Ji.
Sun Cheng said, “He’s asleep. He can’t hear.”
Lu Xingyan lowered his head to check. The person in his arms did not react—anyone would be out after four glasses of baijiu.
“What about the plan, my man?” Sun Cheng refused to let him off. “What did we agree on before?”
“What plan?” Gu Xiaobo asked.
Sun Cheng continued on his own. “First you get him to fall for you, then dump him, and once he’s devastated, you humiliate him mercilessly—”
“…” Lu Xingyan gave a faint, awkward smile. “Can we not bring up the one thing I don’t want to hear?”
“Oh? Why can’t we?” Sun Cheng said. “I’m just curious. You’ve already gotten him to fall for you, and you’ve been ‘experiencing’ this long enough. When are you dumping him? Your buddy’s waiting to see you win big.”
“Keep your voice down, for fuck’s sake, keep your voice down.” Lu Xingyan panicked. “Why are you talking so loud? Are you trying to get me killed?”
“Oh wow.” Sun Cheng was beside himself with amusement. “Is this really Brother Lu, the great strategist I knew? Why do you look like a henpecked husband now? I barely recognize you.”
“…”
Lu Xingyan was furious from embarrassment. If he had not been holding Jiang Ji in his arms, he definitely would have flipped the table and punched Sun Cheng twice, preferably hard enough to knock his mouth crooked.
Sun Cheng had been tormented by him every day and had finally gotten an opportunity to enjoy the show, so how could he resist digging at him a few more times? “Don’t tell me you actually turned the act into something real and don’t want to dump him anymore?”
“Will you shut up?” Lu Xingyan threatened him with his expression.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. The person in his arms suddenly moved, his arm slipping from around Lu Xingyan’s waist as Jiang Ji slowly sat up and opened his sleepy eyes. “Dump who?”
“…” Lu Xingyan was so startled that his chopsticks fell. “Bro—Bro, you’re awake?”
“What plan were you talking about?” Jiang Ji did not seem to understand what he had heard, but he had accurately caught the key words. “Pursue who, dump who, humiliate who? Are you talking about me?”
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