At a wooden table, Yu Han and Li Hao sat side by side, their shoulders almost brushing, while Hua Yong occupied the seat directly opposite them.
"Treats on me, you can order anything," Yu Han announced, a wide grin spreading across his face as he gestured grandly at the menu.
Hua Yong, who had been studying the menu, glanced up. A playful snort escaped him. "Mr. Li, your boyfriend is truly the best in the world."
A proud and wide smile bloomed on Li Hao's face. He loved the sound of Yu Han being called his boyfriend, a warmth spreading through him that felt strangely youthful, like the giddy flush of a first crush. His cheeks reddened, a blush so deep it seemed to transport him back to an age of innocent puppy love.
Meanwhile, Yu Han chuckled nervously, he raised his hands to lightly scratch his cheek. "You can call me by my name, hehe."
Hua Yong hesitated, his brow furrowing slightly. "Uh... but you are my senior, Han ge. How can I just call you by your name?"
"I don't mind," Yu Han insisted, waving a dismissive hand. "Call me Han ge, then. It's fine."
Hua Yong nodded, accepting the compromise. He then turned his focus back to Li Hao,"Mr. Li, did you find a way to get the SD card? Is Han ge ready to help us?"
Yu Han, who had been idly stirring the ice in his water glass, snapped his head up, his gaze fixing on Li Hao in utter confusion. "What help? You want my help? For what?"
Li Hao coughed,and gently placed his hand on Yu Han's thigh under the table. He said in low voice,"I'll tell you later."
Bewilderment etched itself onto Yu Han's face, a silent question hanging between them.
Before he could press for more, the waiter arrived, moving with practiced quietness.
Three steaming bowls of noodles were gently placed in front of them, the rich, savory aroma abruptly filling their nostrils and chasing away the momentary tension.
Li Hao, ever the attentive one, subtly nudged one bowl closer to Yu Han, then slid another towards Hua Yong, treating the younger boy with an almost paternal gentleness.
Seeing this, Yu Han glanced at Li Hao from the corner of his eye. The wide, almost giddy grin on Li Hao's face made him feel… uncomfortable. He didn't understand the sudden surge of cheerfulness from the usually composed man.
Little did he know, this exceptional, almost buoyant behavior from Li Hao was purely a reaction to Yu Han's presence, blooming like a rare flower in his usually reserved demeanor.
"What's there to smile like this, huh?"
His gaze soon drifting towards Hua Yong. "Hua Yong, since when do you two know each other?"
Hua Yong squarely met his gaze. "A few days... why?"
"Uh... it's nothing." Yu Han paused, stirring his noodles aimlessly. "You're still young and look like you're still in college. How... how could you get involved with him?"
Li Hao, sensing the quickly tensing atmosphere, immediately meddled ,"Don't talk while eating, Yu Han."
But the question Yu Han had just asked hung heavy in the air. Hua Yong, despite his calm exterior, secretly detested two things: first, his perpetually baby face, and second, when anyone treated him like a child.
To prove his genius brain – and perhaps to subtly rebuke Yu Han's dismissive tone – he immediately asked, "Han ge, can I borrow your phone for a moment?"
Hearing this, Li Hao, who had just taken a mouthful of noodles, choked. He quickly reached for his water glass, a sudden memory of what Hua Yong had done to Gang Zi's phone flashing through his mind.
Meanwhile, Yu Han was bewildered by the sudden request but, curious, he cooperated, handing over his phone.
Li Hao wanted to stop Yu Han, but a powerful curiosity had ignited within him.
He, too, was desperate to know what secrets might be hidden in Yu Han's phone, what insights it might offer into the man he was falling for.
Hua Yong, with an air of practiced ease, pulled out a sleek tablet from his backpack. His fingers, surprisingly slender for a hacker, meticulously hovered and danced across the screen, typing a rapid series of codes.
In less than a minute, Hua Yong's expression shifted. His eyes, flickered from the screen to Yu Han, then to Li Hao.
Yu Han, oblivious to the drama unfolding, was busy in the satisfying ritual of finishing his noodles.
But for Li Hao, curiosity had completely consumed him.
Hua Yong returned the phone to its owner without a word, his expression carefully neutral.
Li Hao waited breathlessly for some response, some explanation, but none came.
Hua Yong simply placed his tablet down beside his bowl and calmly resumed eating his noodles in silence.
"I'm going to the restroom," Yu Han announced after he had finished every last strand of his noodles, rising from the table.
The moment he was out of sight, Li Hao immediately shifted in his seat, leaning across the table towards Hua Yong, his voice barely a whisper filled with urgency. "Hua Yong, what did you find in his phone?"
Hua Yong didn't say anything. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he simply passed his tablet across the table to Li Hao.
Li Hao immediately snatched it, his gaze leaping to the screen. His eyes rapidly scrolled through a list of recent search queries, each one a small, intimate revelation:
"Date ideas for new couples.
Li Hao interview highlights.
Pictures of Li Hao.
Where to go for a romantic first date.
Is it okay to fall for a man older than me?
Signs he's serious about you."
Seeing these raw, unguarded searches—all about him, about them—a profound blush scorched Li Hao's face, spreading from his neck to the tips of his ears.
His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat of disbelief and surging emotion. An overwhelming tenderness surged through him, an almost unbearable ache of affection.
He wanted, more than anything, to pull Yu Han into his arms, to hold him close, to tell him that yes, it was okay, more than okay.
He longed to soothe away any lingering doubts, to promise him a future filled with all the romantic dates Yu Han was so earnestly researching. The depth of Yu Han's quiet devotion, so innocently exposed on the screen, threatened to drown him in its warmth.
"He really loves you," Hua Yong said casually.
___________
Yang Zi and Shi Wang were settled on the sofa, comfortably watching a movie – this was the second time that they were together watching a movie that, again, a horror film.
But Shi Wang's gaze hardly registered the on-screen terror. His eyes were drawn instead to the figure beside him: Yang Zi, who had finally succumbed to exhaustion after a day spent tirelessly cleaning his home. He curled up on the sofa like a sleeping puppy, he was breathing deeply.
A sudden and tender impulse moved Shi Wang.
He carefully rose and made his way to Yang Zi's bedroom, returning with a soft blanket. Gently, he draped it over the sleeping form, then carefully shifted Yang Zi's head onto his own lap, settling back down. With a feather-light touch, he brushed Yang Zi's dark bangs away from his forehead.
An undeniable urge,bloomed within him, an urge to kiss Yang Zi.
He Leaned down and minimized the distance between their faces, his breath catching.
Finally, with a careful, almost reverent gentleness, he pressed a soft kiss to Yang Zi's cheek.
The scent of Yang Zi enveloped him—a fragrance like the softest lavender field at dusk, a calming embrace that settled deep within Shi Wang's soul. It offered peace and tender quiet, making every moment near him a tranquil haven.
"Listen to my heartbeat , Yang Zi. I'm going mad with it," Shi Wang was screaming inside.
"Since the day I truly saw you for the first time, it's been like the sun breaking through a perpetual haze. You've become woven into the very fabric of my existence."
"And yet," his internal voice whispered, laced with a bitter self-reproach, "here I am, sitting like a coward. I like you, Yang Zi. No, that's a lie. I'm so deeply, hopelessly, irrevocably in love with you. Could I just say it? Just once? While you sleep, so peacefully unaware of the storm brewing inside me?"
"No."Because you might wake up. And then what? This fragile peace, this precious closeness we share, this beautiful friendship... what if it shatters? What if my confession breaks your dream, and in doing so, shatters our reality?"
"Please, Yang Zi," he pleaded silently, his gaze fixed on the soft curve of Yang Zi's cheek. "Just for a little longer, stay asleep. Let me pretend, just for a moment more, that this is enough. Let me just love you, like this, where it feels safe."
"Because the fear of losing you…" The silent words caught in his throat, "It's a greater torment than the ache of keeping this love locked away. And God knows, it aches with a searing, unbearable intensity."
A small, warm tear escaped the corner of his eye. He gently stroked Yang Zi's head.