TSIBAMS Chapter 69

Qi Guang was momentarily speechless. Often, people can’t escape their own biases when looking at things.

He was Xu Ge’s and Bai Shu’s friend, but if he wasn’t their friend, how should he judge this matter?

This kind of situation, where different perspectives lead to different interpretations, didn’t escalate into a farce because neither of them blamed the other.

“You have to believe, Bai Shu is an adult now, he’s considered the things you’re thinking about. Besides, he’s so thoughtful,” Qi Guang said. “He’s been with you these past years, has he ever put pressure on you?”

“No, I’m just… feeling guilty.”

Indeed, one was willing to wait, and the other was willing to bottle it up.

“So, what are your plans?” Qi Guang asked.

“Don’t ask me about plans. My life has never been planned, especially with these emotional things, it’s a headache,” he said, rubbing his head with one hand. “Maybe one day he’ll find someone good and realize that he’s just relying on me, not loving me!”

“Then, keep dragging it out,” Qi Guang said, slowly accelerating the car.

Though his tone sounded like he was lamenting their misfortune and frustration, it wasn’t his place to judge others.

Xu Ge didn’t respond. Instead, Qi Guang, using the principle of learning from others’ mistakes, came to a rather irritating conclusion: “It’s a good thing my little Ye Xing isn’t as stubborn as you two, he didn’t make me doubt myself for too long…”

“You’re showing off your love, have some restraint!” Xu Ge, jolted from his daze, slapped Qi Guang’s shoulder excitedly. “I’ve been praising you for your emotional intelligence everywhere. Don’t lose your IQ just because you’re in love. If you fail the final exams, I’ll personally break you two up!”

Qi Guang smiled. “Your words and actions, I can only classify them as jealousy.”

“Why are you suddenly so clingy?” Ye Xing stroked the back of Qi Guang’s head, unable to suppress his smile. “Have you hugged enough? If we don’t go out, they’ll think we’re doing something bad.”

Although he could hug his lover forever, the time and place would affect the experience to some extent.

Especially since they were in the bathroom, in the 1984 Bar’s bathroom.

When Xu Ge and Qi Guang came back, both of them were troubled. One went with Bai Shu to watch the surveillance footage, and the other pulled him into the bathroom, wordlessly clinging to him.

Of course, it was the kind of cling where both feet were on the ground.

“I’m just a bit emotional,” Qi Guang said, his head still buried in his neck, his voice muffled.

After hearing Xu Ge talk about his fears, he belatedly realized just how gay he was. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of not being gay.

“Just because you went to the police station, you’re so attached to me?” Ye Xing chuckled, his smile wide. “Tsk, tsk, looks like I can send you there for a walk more often…”

“Ye Xing, thank you for liking me,” Qi Guang interrupted him.

Shameless!

Ye Xing couldn’t help but pinch his head.

From when they officially got together until now, there had been no confession, and now he just says, “Thank you for liking me”?

His cheekiness had reached the school located eighteen streets away!

What should he say now to not lose?

Forget it, let’s settle for a tie, “You’re welcome, Qi Ge, thank you for liking me too.”

Who knew this guy had no intention of shaking hands and making peace? He continued shamelessly, his head still buried in his neck, “Look at how I turned gay for you, don’t you feel even a little guilty?”

Ye Xing was stunned.

He quickly let go of Qi Guang and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. “You turned for me? Wasn’t I the one who turned gay for you? Don’t try to pass the buck!”

Qi Guang instantly snapped out of his tenderness, smacked his hand away, and raised his voice several times, “What the hell? You weren’t already into this kind of thing? You even said we bumped numbers!”

Ye Xing quickly covered his mouth, pressed him against the wall, and yelled in a low voice, “You were the one who said you could never be the bottom, so I said we bumped numbers!”

“That’s right,” Qi Guang leaned against the tiles without resistance, allowing the other to cover his mouth. After contemplating Ye Xing’s words, he frowned at him. “So you admit it.”

“Weren’t you the one who said it first?” Ye Xing was getting frustrated with his logic.

Qi Guang’s eyes narrowed. Was the order of who said what important?

He didn’t say anything for a while, silently sorting out his logic. Although he couldn’t remember who started the topic, he had always been suspicious of Ye Xing’s sexuality. That was for sure.

But looking at his reaction just now, Ye Xing was thinking the same thing as him?

“No!” Qi Guang suddenly realized, shaking off his hand. “So what does this mean? We have a misunderstanding?”

Ye Xing also understood instantly. “Maybe! Is it a misunderstanding?”

A misunderstanding that the other wasn’t straight, a misunderstanding that he was turned gay, and in the end, it was unclear who should be blamed for this muddle.

“Fuck!” Qi Guang laughed out loud, leaning against the wall, unable to control himself.

Ye Xing couldn’t help but laugh as well, holding his arm with one hand and putting the other on his hip, laughing so hard he was about to fall on the toilet lid.

“Have you ever liked anyone before?” Qi Guang asked, holding his stomach, “Boy or girl?”

“No,” Ye Xing raised his head, tears of laughter in his eyes, “Not even animals!”

“Coincidentally, neither have I,” Qi Guang moved his arm, still laughing.

The atmosphere was a mix of awkwardness and ambiguity, and for a moment, no one continued the conversation.

After laughing enough, Qi Guang spoke, “So now?”

“Go back to being straight?” Ye Xing raised an eyebrow.

They looked at each other for a while.

Again, a mix of awkwardness and ambiguity passed second by second.

“I don’t think it’s possible,” Qi Guang shook his head.

“I don’t think so either,” Ye Xing stood up straight, pinched his face, and gave him a soft peck.

Xu Ge and Bai Shu sat in front of the computer, one behind the other, without saying a word.

“Did you see anything?” Qi Guang asked.

Xu Ge crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. “Saw shit. So many people going in and out, I don’t think any of them are as handsome as us here.”

Ye Xing burst out laughing. “I don’t think there’s even such a person.”

“Yeah,” Qi Guang agreed. “Spreading rumors doesn’t cost anything, you don’t have to find a handsome guy to play the role.”

“Maybe the post just assumed that this handsome guy is one of the staff members,” Bai Shu nodded with a wry smile, “I’ll look into that post later.”

Qi Guang then realized that there were only four of them in the bar. He asked, “Where are Zhou Tian and my sister?”

“After you left, I asked Zhou Tian to send Xiaoyun back. She needs to study for the college entrance exam, can’t waste time here,” Bai Shu said.

“You guys should go back too,” Xu Ge closed the computer, stood up, and patted his pants. “Rest for two days.”

Two days.

This was a measurement unit that didn’t follow the rules, its scope ranging from one day to countless days.

When Xu Ge said these two words, everyone felt a bit heavy. Before finding out who was behind the ID, it would be difficult for the bar to regroup. And even if Xu Ge was finally cleared, it wouldn’t make it any easier.

Rumors were just that, a disaster that made it impossible for the innocent to clear themselves.

“I have an idea,” Ye Xing, standing behind Qi Guang, spoke, “Since everyone’s been frightened by this post, maybe we can think outside the box and come up with a new business model based on the ideas in the post.”

Qi Guang and Bai Shu turned to look at him, and Xu Ge was also waiting for his answer with great interest.

“We can have ‘Boys’ Night’ and ‘Girls’ Night’ as two themes,” Ye Xing pointed to the door, “And set up entry restrictions there. There needs to be supervision. Girls are not allowed in ‘Boys’ Night’, and vice versa.”

“What if there are cross-dressers?” Bai Shu asked.

“We won’t judge people by their clothes, only their IDs,” Ye Xing smiled. “On the surface, we’ll be checking their gender with their IDs, but in reality, it will also imply to our customers that everyone who comes in here has been verified, thus making them more confident in our environment.”

After listening to him with his head tilted, Qi Guang clapped and said with a smile, “You got something!”

“I think it’s doable too!” Bai Shu turned to look at Xu Ge, “Xu Ge?”

“Ye, Xing,” Xu Ge said, nodding his head with every word, his eyes narrowing into a slit, “People from the city really do have new ideas!”

Although the business model was temporarily settled, the specific implementation plan and promotional copy needed some time to prepare. Xu Ge didn’t keep them and sent them all home.

When they said go home, they really meant go home. Ye Xing, who had rushed back early in the morning on an empty stomach and hadn’t rested much, had done homework all afternoon and was too tired to do anything.

He was so tired that he didn’t even get to be lovey-dovey with Qi Guang for a while when Qi Guang sent him home. This was a bit different from his expectations of what first love would be like. But before he could even regret it, he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already getting light.

He reached for his phone to check the time. He didn’t see what time it was clearly but he did see that Qi Guang was calling him. In his daze, he realized he was woken up by a phone call and then pressed the answer button, “Hello.”

“Ye Xiaoxing, come out and be punished!” Qi Guang’s voice came clearly from the phone.

What the hell?

Before he closed his eyes, this person was already at his door, and when he opened his eyes again, he was still there?

His mind was in a fog and he didn’t even bother to put on slippers before rushing to the door. When he opened it, he saw Qi Guang standing at the door, “well-dressed”, a far cry from his casual look yesterday.

Ye Xing woke up a lot.

A light-colored, linen short-sleeved shirt with a pattern, the hem of the shirt was tucked into his pants very flamboyantly, and he was wearing a pair of shiny little leather boots.

He looked like he was going to a dance hall from the last century to dance “Don’t Ask Me What Disco Is”.

Flashy and retro.

“Qi Guang?” Ye Xing asked, tilting his head and looking at him with blurry eyes.

The kid was full of question marks.

“From yesterday until now, I’ve sent you a total of twelve messages, and you haven’t replied to a single one,” Qi Guang patted the kid’s shoulder, “Are you rebelling already after just getting together?”

“No!” Ye Xing looked him up and down. “What are you doing?”

Qi Guang leaned in and whispered in his ear, “It’s a date! I promised you yesterday.”