Song Yuanxi was taken aback, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back as he turned his head to look.
The one speaking was Liang Han. He was leaning against a wall not far away, arms crossed. Behind him was the corner of the corridor. There was no one else around; the golden lamplight fell upon him, making it seem as if he were draped in a golden veil.
Song Yuanxi blinked, somewhat unable to believe it. Hadn’t he left? Why was he back? When did he return?
Seeing Song Yuanxi look over, Liang Han’s gaze swept across the boy’s frail face, as if confirming something. His originally somber expression relaxed slightly: “I’ve been waiting for you for a while.”
After walking out of the private room earlier, Liang Han felt his behavior had been a bit abnormal and impulsive.
The other party’s outfit was clearly not that of an ordinary waiter; he had obviously come here seeking a benefactor to fish for money and benefits.
Perhaps the boy had only used an excuse because he didn’t want to follow Shen Yu, hoping to take the chance to cling to him instead, rather than truly disliking Shen Yu.
Maybe if he went over now, he would just be meddling in someone else’s business and might even get pestered.
So when he reached the corner, he didn’t walk over directly nor did he speak; he just leaned against the wall to observe a bit longer.
At this moment, he was certain: he had seen a “burn-the-boats” aura of finality and rejection in the boy’s clear eyes just now.
The boy truly disliked Shen Yu and did not want to go with him. It wasn’t just Liang Han overthinking.
Thinking of this, he spoke up.
This was, after all, his purpose for returning.
Shen Yu also turned his head to look, his face darkening.
When Liang Han came out earlier, the two had met at the door, but they hadn’t greeted each other; Liang Han had simply walked away.
Shen Yu didn’t take Liang Han seriously. Although he had heard in the private room that Liang Han was here, he acted as if the man wasn’t present.
So when Liang Han left directly, Shen Yu had actually felt relieved.
He just hadn’t expected Liang Han to suddenly return and even speak to the young boy he had set his sights on.
Shen Yu’s expression was silent, even gloomy.
He had naturally heard of Liang Han’s character and conduct. He knew the man didn’t like men and knew it wasn’t an act there was even that incident where Liang Han almost called the police after being harassed by a boy here before.
He didn’t think Liang Han had taken a liking to Song Yuanxi; he felt Liang Han was just annoyed with him and was intentionally interfering to make him uncomfortable.
Shen Yu stared at Liang Han. He didn’t say anything to him directly but turned his head to look at Song Yuanxi, feigning ignorance: “Let’s go. Let’s not disturb Teacher Liang while he’s waiting for someone.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Han suddenly dropped his arms and walked over.
He grabbed Song Yuanxi’s slender arm, pulling him to his side. Frowning, he stared at Shen Yu and said: “I’m not waiting for anyone else. I’m calling him.”
His tone was poor, as if he couldn’t stand to see Shen Yu and Song Yuanxi standing together; even his brow was furrowed.
“…”
Song Yuanxi blinked and looked up at Liang Han, his heart beating a bit fast.
Anger surfaced in Shen Yu’s eyes, and he reached out to grab Song Yuanxi’s other wrist.
Shen Yu’s tone remained faint and sounded quite gentle, but the words he spoke were not so calm—they were clearly barbed: “I heard before that Teacher Liang was quite disdainful of this place, feeling it hindered your reputation as a straight man and that you didn’t like eating here. How come you’ve come today? Changed your mind? Or did you set your eyes on someone? Starting to like men now?”
Song Yuanxi glanced at him. In the private room earlier, people said he wasn’t arrogant, but standing before Liang Han now, he was certainly not being restrained.
“What the hell does it have to do with you?”
Reasonably speaking, since they both worked in the entertainment industry, they should give each other some face.
But no one expected Liang Han to speak to Shen Yu like that. There wasn’t a hint of politeness in his tone; he was even more arrogant than Shen Yu.
Not only was Song Yuanxi stunned, but even Shen Yu was surprised.
It also made Shen Yu increasingly certain that Liang Han was just picking a fight because he was annoyed, not even bothering to maintain a polite facade.
After Liang Han spoke, he felt that if he didn’t answer Shen Yu’s remark, the man might turn around and fabricate rumors. It would not only affect his own reputation but also hinder the young boy’s future life. Thus, he added coldly: “My private room is missing a wine pourer, so I came to call him over.”
Shen Yu didn’t believe it for a second: “Teacher Liang, there are so many waiters here. Why do you have to call this one of mine?”
“This one of yours?”
Liang Han hadn’t expected Shen Yu to be so unwilling to let go, staring intently at this boy. It seemed that if he didn’t step in, this boy really wouldn’t be able to escape the other party.
For a moment, an inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart; a sudden surge of possessiveness emerged.
He let out a cold laugh: “What? Is your name carved on him? Does he share your surname?”
As Liang Han spoke, he looked at Song Yuanxi: “Do you have a relationship with Teacher Shen? He says you’re his person and can’t be borrowed. Is that true?”
His gaze was very serious, carrying a forceful attitude.
Song Yuanxi was left completely dazed.
Shen Yu also glanced at Song Yuanxi. He stopped talking to Liang Han and turned his gaze to Song Yuanxi, asking with a smile: “You don’t need to worry. This isn’t a place where someone can cover the sky with one hand. If you don’t want to go, we’ll leave. With me here, no one can force you into anything.”
His tone sounded gentle, but his expression and eyes revealed the opposite.
His attitude was as if he would kill Song Yuanxi if the boy chose to go over there.
His words were even more ill-intentioned; if an outsider heard them, they would think Liang Han was bullying him and Shen Yu was playing the hero.
“…”
Having finished, Shen Yu looked up at Liang Han, showing a slightly smug smile.
As everyone knew, Liang Han was a straight man, and he had caused a scene at this club before, nearly sending someone to the police station.
As long as the boy wasn’t stupid, he wouldn’t make the wrong choice between him and Liang Han.
Furthermore, if a gay man hung out with him, at least he would provide resources. Hanging out with Liang Han would probably lead to being detested to death Liang Han was a homophobic straight man.
Besides, he had put it that way and offered a way out; he didn’t believe the other party wouldn’t take it.
But his smugness didn’t last two seconds before Song Yuanxi pulled his hand away, exceeding his expectations.
“I’m sorry, Teacher Shen.”
Song Yuanxi said softly, “I am a fan of Teacher Liang. I am willing to go and help him.”
Of course he was going. He had been hoping for such an opportunity, and now that it was handed to him, he certainly couldn’t miss it.
Having spoken, Song Yuanxi gave Shen Yu a nod, then reached back to grab Liang Han’s arm and walked forward.
Regardless of why Liang Han had come to the door to find him, he had to get past Shen Yu first.
No matter how he rejected Shen Yu, he was bound to offend him eventually. Now, with Liang Han as a shield, it was much easier to handle than facing it alone.
Liang Han was not at all surprised by the boy choosing him; after all, the person had been aiming for him just now.
If the boy hadn’t chosen him, then he would have misjudged him, and the other party would have been lying.
Seeing that Song Yuanxi had made his choice, Liang Han glanced at Shen Yu and smiled: “My apologies, Teacher Shen. It seems he isn’t your person. I’ll be taking him now.”
Shen Yu’s smug expression froze as he stood in place.
A moment later, he clenched his fists and turned his head to stare at Song Yuanxi walking away with Liang Han, his eyes cold and dark.
To think someone would brush off his face like this!
Especially since the other person the boy chose was Liang Han—it was doubly detestable!
This meant he had lost to Liang Han once again.
Behind them, Shen Yu’s gaze was sharp as a knife, never wavering.
Song Yuanxi didn’t dare look back. He bit the side of his lip, feeling his scalp tingle. He couldn’t help but grip Liang Han’s forearm tightly, leaning in closer to him.
How did Shen Yu feel even scarier than the high-level executives at his company? When the company execs were rejected to their faces, they just threw harsh words and left; they didn’t stare at him with that kind of look.
Liang Han’s naturally composed pace slowed down because of this movement.
As a straight man, he usually interacted with people in a very straightforward manner; no one had ever clung to him in such a “sticky” way.
Even Shao Dong only liked to tease and joke around; even when acting, contact was open and normal.
The last time someone had pressed against him like this was during that harassment incident at this club; back then, his reflexes were too strong, and he had pushed the person away directly.
At this moment, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of a stress response; goosebumps rose on his back, and his hair stood on end.
However, this time was different from before he actually didn’t have that impulse to push the person away despite the tingling scalp.
It was just a lack of adaptation, a strange sense of awkwardness. His whole body felt hot, his lower abdomen was burning, and there was even a sense of dizziness.
It felt as if he were having an allergic reaction… or going into heat.
Liang Han took a deep breath, restraining his move to dodge. His lips felt dry, and he couldn’t help but lick them.
Song Yuanxi followed Liang Han forward. Once they turned the corner and were far from Shen Yu, having walked a distance down the corridor, he finally regained his composure and lost that “thorns in his back” sense of crisis.
Releasing his lip, he said a serious thank you: “Teacher Liang Han, thank you for the help just now.”
The feeling of being protected was truly good, especially being protected by such a powerful person with such a forceful attitude. He had never experienced this before.
Liang Han stopped walking, glanced down at his hand, then looked away. His expression was controlled and his tone was faint: “I was just thinking, just in case. It’s not good for a scene to break out, after all. I’ll help where I can. Don’t overthink it.”
As soon as he finished, he added: “I don’t like men. You don’t need to worry.”
Song Yuanxi looked up at him, feeling inexplicable.
He wasn’t overthinking, and he wasn’t worried. It was better that Liang Han didn’t like men! If the man liked men, Song Yuanxi wouldn’t have dared ask for his help.
Was Liang Han misunderstanding him?
That wouldn’t do. He had already decided to target Liang Han; it wouldn’t be disliked by his future boss.
He quickly explained: “I know. I don’t like men either. I only came here purely to be a waiter; I didn’t think about finding a benefactor to sell my body for money or benefits.”
Liang Han didn’t speak. His expression remained silent for a few seconds; it was unclear if he believed it or not.
He just stared down at Song Yuanxi’s hand, signaling to him: “Shen You won’t come over now. You can let go of me.”
Song Yuanxi was startled, then looked down at his own hand. Several finger marks had actually been squeezed into Liang Han’s exposed arm.
Song Yuanxi snapped out of it and hurriedly let go: “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I was too nervous just now.”
Likely because Liang Han’s muscles were very firm, the finger marks quickly dissipated once he let go, leaving only a faint residual warmth lingering on the skin.
Liang Han gave a slight wave of his hand, as if trying to brush away that strange, sticky sensation on his body.
As for what Song Yuanxi said, he didn’t quite believe it. The boy said he was nervous, but he hadn’t looked very nervous when asking for help just now.
The boy said he didn’t like men, but just now he wouldn’t let go and was pressing close.
The boy said he came to be a waiter, but he wasn’t wearing a waiter’s uniform.
However, he didn’t take it to heart. It wasn’t a major problem anyway; it was just a casual favor.
Once he went back, there would be no more interaction. At that time, whatever inexplicable reactions he had would vanish.
Song Yuanxi stared at his movements, his face turning slightly red, feeling like he was being detested by Liang Han.
But in his heart, he actually felt quite happy because of this. It was better that Liang Han disliked his touch.
This proved that the man truly didn’t like men and didn’t like being touched by men; he wasn’t lying.
It seemed Liang Han lived up to his reputation, unlike the fake act put on by Shen Yu. He really was a straight man.
He looked at Liang Han, thoughts beginning to churn in his mind, pondering how to bring up the matter of signing as an artist.
Liang Han caught sight of his expression and, fearing the boy might get ideas and be unwilling to leave, said: “Alright, I’ve helped you this far. Over there is the direction of the lounge and the back door. If you go now and leave, you shouldn’t be stopped. You can leave with peace of mind. That’s all. I have something to do; I’m leaving now.”
If he stayed any longer, the boy would probably cling to him again. Thinking of this, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of panic.