“What’s wrong?” Seeing that Xu Nanxin’s facial expression didn’t look quite right, Sheng Lu asked a question out of concern.
Only after sending a text reply saying “thank you” to Yang Xuan did Xu Nanxin lift his head to speak with Sheng Lu: “My colleague just sent a message informing me that when it was time to clock out, Ji Li was looking for me. I don’t know what it’s about, but I had already left.”
He felt a bit uneasy in his heart, primarily because the two-month deadline was roughly expiring, and nothing good ever came of Ji Li looking for him.
“Why do you care what it’s about? You’ve already clocked out, this is your off-duty time. Why do you always dwell on these things?” Seeing that Xu Nanxin still had to be dominated by work and his boss even after clocking out, Sheng Lu felt an even greater grievance toward Ji Li in his heart.
“True.” Xu Nanxin set down his cell phone, releasing a sigh as he stated: “At any rate, what must come cannot be evaded; I’ll know what he wanted with me come next Monday.”
In no time, the barbecue items were brought out. The two of them chatted while eating, continuing all the way until seven or eight in the evening.
Xu Nanxin had originally intended to head back immediately after finishing the food, but he hadn’t anticipated that Sheng Lu would propose going out to play.
The moment the two stepped out of the barbecue shop, a blast of cold wind swept over. Xu Nanxin instinctively shrunk his neck, both hands retreating entirely inside his sleeves. His face was scraped by the cold wind until it possessed a faint tint of red, and he couldn’t resist saying: “The weather is this cold, where else are we going to play?”
“Just follow me.” Sheng Lu merrily hailed a taxi, pushing Xu Nanxin into the car along with himself before saying to the driver: “Driver, please drive to Hello.”
This was a name that was relatively unfamiliar to Xu Nanxin. He turned toward Sheng Lu with great curiosity: “What kind of place is this?”
“This place is highly famous! You haven’t heard of it?” Sheng Lu’s gaze was also filled with absolute surprise.
Xu Nanxin shook his head honestly; he truly hadn’t even heard of it!
“Forget it, oh you!” Sheng Lu released a sigh, subsequently stating with an ambiguous smile: “You’ll know once we get there. Who knows, perhaps there will be some romantic encounter?”
Hearing up to this point, Xu Nanxin also guessed that it was roughly some sort of bar or clubhouse establishment. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Mm.”
He would just treat it as accompanying Sheng Lu out to play. Sheng Lu was still single, so it was more than normal to hope for some romantic encounter.
The car drove to the entrance of Hello bar, and the two stepped out of the vehicle together. Sheng Lu led Xu Nanxin inside. At the very beginning, Xu Nanxin hadn’t detected any issues. It was only after stepping into the interior that he discovered within a bar of this massive size, he actually failed to spot any females.
Sheng Lu went over to open a table and ordered two glasses of alcohol at the bar counter. Xu Nanxin glanced around the surroundings, discovering that over by the booths, there were actually two boys engaging in a kiss.
Sheng Lu had walked over to his side at some unknown moment, nudging his shoulder as he handed the alcohol over and smiled: “What are you looking at?”
Xu Nanxin accepted it from Sheng Lu’s hand, only then asking with delayed realization: “What kind of bar is this?”
“Brought you over to search for a romantic encounter, so of course it’s a same-sex bar! Sometimes I truly wonder whether you are the gay one or I am. The largest gay bar in B City, and you, a genuine, certified homosexual, have actually never heard of it!” Sheng Lu stated.
Xu Nanxin: “…”
“No, why didn’t you say so earlier? What did you bring me here for!” Xu Nanxin harbored absolutely no interest toward these types of places.
“To gain some experience and see the world, of course. To my eyes, it’s precisely because the number of people you’ve met is too few that you are so uniquely devoted to Mr. Z. Once you meet a few extra people, it’ll be fine. You’ll discover that there are plenty of people out there better than him. At any rate, you’re about to break up anyway, what’s wrong with coming out to play a bit?”
“Stop messing around, we haven’t even…” Before Xu Nanxin could finish speaking, someone had already approached to strike up a conversation.
“Excuse me, sorry to bother you. May I buy you two a drink?” A man walked over before the two with a smile, yet his eyes were locked onto Xu Nanxin, appearing as though he could pinpoint his own kind at the very first glance.
His gaze carried an obvious hint of interest. Xu Nanxin felt a bit uncomfortable, and just as he intended to decline, Sheng Lu had already spoken up first: “Of course you can.”
Xu Nanxin turned his head, casting a glare at Sheng Lu, while Sheng Lu blinked his eyes with absolute innocence.
Thus, the trio proceeded over to the booth area to sit for a while. Xu Nanxin’s enthusiasm was not high; with Sheng Lu chatting to warm up the atmosphere, he didn’t pay much attention. After all, things between him and Mr. Z weren’t finished yet; no matter what, he had to wait until a full stop was drawn before saying anything else.
Sheng Lu chatted for a few sentences with the individual when his cell phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it, subsequently saying to Xu Nanxin: “I’m heading outside to take a phone call.”
“Okay.” Xu Nanxin nodded his head.
Following Sheng Lu’s departure, only he and that unfamiliar young male remained. The individual obviously shifted his body, moving a few inches closer to sit near him.
Faced with this type of intimacy, Xu Nanxin instantly shifted a few inches away as well; he was exceptionally unaccustomed to it.
“Seeing that your age isn’t very large, is this your first time here? Was that individual just now your friend? Did you ask him to accompany you over?” The individual proactively initiated a topic to ask him.
Upholding basic courtesy, Xu Nanxin nodded his head: “Mm, however I already have a partner. I’m sorry, that friend of mine probably prefers to create a fuss a bit.”
“Is that so? Actually it doesn’t matter, I don’t mind it, we’re just out to play!” The individual smiled, signaling his understanding, and prepared to touch Xu Nanxin’s hand.
Xu Nanxin instantly retracted his hand to evade it, his entire being feeling a double layer of discomfort. This type of situation couldn’t help but remind him of that netizen from their very first meeting.
Why was it possible to do this kind of thing with someone they had barely just met? Or could it be that the people within this circle were all this open?
In a corner not far away, He Feng was currently consuming alcohol and flirting with the person beside him. He caught a glimpse of Xu Nanxin’s figure by pure chance and stopped instantly, subsequently pushing away the person on his body directly as his gaze turned cold.
What an absolute surprise!
To actually be capable of seeing Xu Nanxin in this kind of place!
Beside him, there was clearly an individual striking up a conversation.
At first glance, Xu Nanxin was indeed far too eye-catching. He looked precisely like a highly green and simple big boy who clearly didn’t frequent this type of establishment often. He alone was completely incompatible with the atmosphere in the entire bar, making it exceptionally easy for him to be targeted as a hunting objective.
He Feng was originally too lazy to care, but reflecting that he was Ji Li’s person after all, it wasn’t the turn of these messy individuals to strike up a conversation. Just as he prepared to stand up to help defuse the situation, a figure went over a step faster than him.
After He Feng clarified who the individual was, he paused for a brief moment and sat back down. Tsk, tonight was truly interesting; this position of his had become the prime viewing spot!
Xu Nanxin had originally intended to refuse directly and then leave. After all, he was no longer that individual from three years ago who understood absolutely nothing, who met with a netizen and was left unable to utter a single word with a face shifting between green and red due to a few unpleasant remarks.
He hadn’t anticipated that someone would intercept the front of him. “Apologies, this individual is my friend. May I ask if you have some business?”
Xu Nanxin was highly surprised. He lifted his eyes, looking toward the individual blocking the front of him, the depths of his eyes filled with absolute astonishment: “Brother Yuan?”
Seeing that it truly was an acquaintance of Xu Nanxin’s, the individual also knew there was no play left, so he had no choice but to depart unwillingly.
Only then did Jiang Yiyuan turn his body around to look at Xu Nanxin. He was still as gentle as he had always been, it was merely that his tone also clearly carried a sliver of surprise: “Nanxin, I didn’t expect to run into you in this kind of place.”
“What are you doing here?” Xu Nanxin asked a not-so-clever question.
Jiang Yiyuan chuckled and said: “What do you think? Generally, what kind of person comes here?”