The government had just announced the legalization of same-sex marriage today, causing gay bars to be packed to the brim, with people drinking, partying, and laughing loudly everywhere.

The famous “Boys & Boys” bar in City A was no exception.

“Hey! You bastards who are already in relationships, if you’ve got the guts, go register at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow!” Suddenly, someone in the crowd bellowed, instantly sparking a chorus of cheers.

“Yeah! Register! Register! Register!”

But that wasn’t all. A real show-off, eager to stir up trouble, rang the bell from the second floor: “Whoever dares to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow to register, I’ll give them 10,000 yuan as a wedding gift!”

The moment those words were spoken, the entire bar erupted.

“Ooooooh… a big spender’s on the loose!”

Ten thousand yuan isn’t exactly a fortune, but to make a promise like that takes some serious money and swagger.

Even Zhang Xu, who usually stayed out of the fray, couldn’t help but glance curiously up at the second floor.

Unfortunately, the crowd was too thick; he couldn’t make out who had shouted it.

“Shuyang, what do you think of the proposal I mentioned earlier?” Zhang Xu said, turning to look at his boyfriend, Yu Shuyang, sitting beside him. “We’re about to graduate. Why don’t we register our marriage tomorrow and move out together?”

Yu Shuyang didn’t say a word.

Zhang Xu continued, “Actually, I have a small apartment near the law firm you’re interested in. If you don’t mind, you can move in and live with me.”

An apartment?

Yu Shuyang finally blinked, thinking to himself: This guy’s been keeping this a secret for over a year—what good does it do now?

“Xu Xu, that law firm…”

“They didn’t hire you?” Zhang Xu asked in surprise. “That can’t be. You’re so talented—as long as the boss of that law firm isn’t blind, there’s no way they’d let you slip through their fingers.”

“No.” Yu Shuyang sighed deeply, unable to meet Zhang Xu’s gaze. “That law firm… is actually my family’s business.”

Zhang Xu’s hand froze mid-air as he reached for his glass. What?

XX Law Firm is Yu Shuyang’s family business?

As the heir to this office building, Zhang Xu thought to himself: This guy’s kept it hidden pretty well, it took over a year of dating before he told me.

“I know you’re surprised. I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to keep it from you, Xu Xu.” Yu Shuyang gave a wry smile and downed a large gulp of hard liquor. “My family doesn’t know I’m gay. They set me up with a girlfriend and even threatened to cut me off if I didn’t agree.”

“Wait, what did you say they did?” Zhang Xu interrupted.

“A girlfriend.” Yu Shuyang said it plainly, his expression reading: Go ahead, hit me or yell at me, whatever you want.

Zhang Xu froze for a moment, then laughed. “Ha, are you kidding me?”

This jerk was complaining last night that he was hard to get and wanted to go all the way with him, and now he’s sitting here making this kind of nonsense?

What the hell?

“I’m not joking…”

Just as Yu Shuyang finished speaking, a glass of ice-cold wine splashed right onto his face.

“Scumbag.” Zhang Xu spat venomously, slammed the glass down on the table, and told the bartender, “Another one—extra ice!”

The bartender stared in astonishment, but had to admit—this guy wasn’t just hot, he had a fiery personality too!

The gay scene’s sweetheart!

“Xu Xu!” Yu Shuyang wiped his face and defended himself. “Can’t you stop being so naive? A relationship that isn’t accepted by the family is bound to end sooner or later!”

“No need to wait, we’re breaking up right now.” Zhang Xu picked up the drink the bartender had just refilled, leaned against the bar, and took a sip. “Pfft! Just washing the trash off my lips.”

Yu Shuyang: “……”

Exactly!

That’s exactly the kind of fiery attitude he loved about Zhang Xu!

But his family didn’t approve—what could he do?

If he disobeyed, he’d become part of the proletariat—going from a rich, handsome, successful man everyone looked up to into a penniless loser.

Could there be love between two penniless losers?

Maybe for now, but what about later?

Yu Shuyang tried hard to convince himself that this was the right thing to do; Zhang Xu wasn’t worth giving up everything he was supposed to have.

“I don’t regret it.” Yu Shuyang only regretted not having created more beautiful memories with Zhang Xu.

Although Zhang Xu was a fiery character, he was also hard to get close to; no matter how much Yu Shuyang tried, Zhang Xu refused to sleep with him.

“Go tell that to a dog.” Zhang Xu rolled his eyes, picked up his drink, and walked straight away from Yu Shuyang.

“Xu Xu!” Yu Shuyang called out after him, offering what he clearly thought was sincere advice. “I urge you to work hard and better yourself while you’re young. Partying and indulging in pleasure leads nowhere. No one will love a good-for-nothing for the rest of their life!”

Damn.

Hearing that, Zhang Xu knew exactly what was going on.

That bastard Yu Shuyang was attracted to his youth, good looks, and energy—but looked down on him for partying and not being ambitious.

So all that talk about his family not approving was complete bullshit. It really just came down to them being from different worlds.

Snob.

Zhang Xu had originally planned to let it go—their values didn’t align, so they’d part ways amicably. But Yu Shuyang didn’t just break up with him; he went out of his way to put him down, and Zhang Xu wasn’t having it.

“Hey—what exactly do you mean by that?” Zhang Xu turned around and shoved his ex-boyfriend, who was half a head taller than him. “It’s my life and I’ll live it however I want. What gives you the right to lecture me in public? Did I ask you to be my life coach?”

Yu Shuyang raised his hands to signal he meant no harm. “Don’t get defensive. I’m telling the truth. I didn’t break up with you just because my family disapproves—it’s mainly because you gave me no hope. I don’t want to be out there fighting for my future while you can’t even keep up with what I’m doing.”

“Shut up!” Zhang Xu was so furious he wanted to throw another glass of wine at him. Was this guy determined to humiliate him to the very end?

By now, the whole bar was watching the spectacle.

Quite a sight, really—on such an important day, while everyone else was celebrating, these two were breaking up?

“He’s right, when the gap between two people is that big, they really can’t make it work…”

“Good looks don’t put food on the table, do they…”

“Number 1’s family is pretty wealthy, isn’t it…”

Hearing the whispers around him, Yu Shuyang shrugged and said nothing more. Anyway, he’d already clawed back some face after having wine thrown at him.

“Hah…” Zhang Xu’s mood was absolutely shot. He cursed his own poor judgment. His rational mind told him that walking away with pride right now was the best move—but rationality had left the building. He was a hotheaded bottom: “Yu Shuyang, you said no one would like a poor, uneducated guy like me, right? Then open your eyes and watch.”

Yu Shuyang frowned. “What are you trying to do?”

Although he’d taken a small jab at Zhang Xu, he genuinely meant him no harm and didn’t want things to spiral out of control.

Zhang Xu ignored his bastard of an ex, crossed his arms, and marched straight up to the second floor. Standing where everyone could see him, he leaned against the railing and shouted loudly: “I, Zhang Xu, twenty-one years old, poor and uneducated, but with a heart full of passion—am now sincerely seeking a boyfriend. Oh, no—a husband! Anyone brave enough to come register with me at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow, step right up!”

The moment those words left his mouth, the bar erupted again.

Whistles and jeers mingled with applause.

“Little bro, do you really have to go this far—”

“He’s so good-looking, who dares step up—”

Leaning against the railing, Zhang Xu spotted the lecherous guy who’d just called him “little bro”: “Screw your mom—I’ll help your dad send her off to heaven.” He added a long, pale middle finger for good measure.

“Hahahahaha…”

“Holy hell, that’s savage. I’m not messing with him.”

Yu Shuyang’s expression darkened as he called up from downstairs: “Look at yourself right now—what does this look like? Stop making a scene!”

Nobody paid him any mind.

Zhang Xu kept leaning on the railing. Getting bored, he grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from a nearby table and started cracking them while hollering: “I’m still a virgin, by the way. Once this opportunity’s gone, it’s gone for good.”

“Hahahaha…”

The moment those words landed, every eye in the bar turned to Yu Shuyang—clearly “Number 1” in this situation.

If Little Spicy Bottom up there is still a virgin, doesn’t that just mean Number 1 is useless?

Yu Shuyang’s face went alternately pale and red; he wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into. “Zhang Xu! Shut your mouth!” He hadn’t expected Zhang Xu to humiliate him like this—the truth was that Zhang Xu had refused to let him have his way, not that he was incapable!

“Pfft…” Up on the railing, Zhang Xu grinned like a little devil.

Honestly, he sometimes even found himself unsettling. One moment things were perfectly fine with Yu Shuyang, and the next he was tearing him to pieces without a second thought.

Yu Shuyang said: “Do you know what you look like right now? You’re like a clown. No one takes you seriously, and you’re completely oblivious to it—smug as anything. That’s exactly why I don’t want you!”

Zhang Xu tossed his sunflower seeds aside. Damn it. He was genuinely furious now.

“Is that so?” Before Zhang Xu could find something to hurl down at that spineless ex of his, the scene took an unexpected turn.

A tall, slender figure stepped up beside Zhang Xu. He was tall with a striking presence, and the words that came out of his mouth were even more startling: “In my humble opinion, being poor isn’t the problem, and lacking education isn’t the problem either. The real problem is being mean and cutting just because you’ve got a little more education than someone else.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Great—here comes someone with an even sharper tongue.

Looks like tonight’s entertainment was guaranteed.

“Who are you? What’s it to you?” Yu Shuyang had been fairly composed until now, but with this man of obvious presence suddenly stepping in to defend Zhang Xu, his confidence began to crack.

“Me? My name is Xu Bosu.” The tall, handsome man stood there with absolute composure, tilting his head toward Zhang Xu. “I’m a bit older—twenty-six. I don’t know if that bothers you?”

Damn.

Not just the bar crowd—Zhang Xu himself was stunned, nearly dropping the sunflower seed he’d been chewing.

What does this guy mean?

Then again, he was probably just here to join in the fun.

“Twenty-six isn’t old at all—that’s still young, isn’t it?” Zhang Xu patted Xu Bosu’s chest with the back of his hand, a plump sunflower seed still pinched between his thumb and index finger.

After the pat, he tossed it into his mouth. Crunch.

Delicious!

“Then it’s settled. But I didn’t bring my household registration book—can we go a little later tomorrow morning?” Xu Bosu leaned close to Zhang Xu, his lips barely two centimeters from Zhang Xu’s ear.

Zhang Xu laughed inwardly. Holy cow, he thought. This guy’s acting is way too convincing—he’s completely nailed the vibe.

“Sure, sure, I don’t mind at all.” Zhang Xu tried to wrap his arm around Xu Bosu’s shoulder, but the height difference made it awkward.

Fortunately, Xu Bosu played along and actually crouched down a little on his own.

Zhang Xu was thoroughly impressed and nearly wanted to swear brotherhood with him on the spot. “Xu Bosu, right? I’m Zhang Xu. Come on, let’s go drink—forget about that loser.”

“Alright.” Xu Bosu wrapped his arm around Zhang Xu’s waist and steered him toward his friends’ table. “Come on, let me introduce you to my buddies. After all, we’re basically family starting tomorrow.”

“Heh heh heh…” Zhang Xu crossed his arms and laughed. “What the hell kind of family is that? Oh wait—right, we are family!”

The second floor was packed and rowdy. Xu Bosu guided Zhang Xu along the railing, pushing through the crowd until they reached a table on the other side. “Here we are.”

Zhang Xu took one look and realized this prime spot had a perfect view of the exact place where he’d just been losing his mind.

In other words, Xu Bosu had gotten up and come over the moment he started shouting—though it must have taken him a while to make his way through the crowd.

What a stand-up guy. A true hero coming to the rescue.

Two other people were already seated at the rectangular table.

“Everyone, this is—” Xu Bosu began to introduce his new companion.

“Ah, let me handle this.” Zhang Xu smoothly took over, flashing a bright smile. “My name is Zhang Xu. Xu…”

“Xu Bosu.”

“Right—Xu Bosu’s new friend.” Zhang Xu said. “As for anything else, you probably already heard it all just now. I didn’t hold anything back.”

Xu Bosu’s two friends, Shen Feiqing and Lu Kai, were already laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

“Hahahaha, hello—” Lu Kai grabbed Zhang Xu’s hand. “Hello, hello! My name is Lu Kai, and this all-dressed-up rascal with the glasses next to me is Shen Feiqing.”

“Isn’t he handsome though?” Zhang Xu shook Lu Kai’s hand, then reached for Shen Feiqing’s. “Hello.”

“Hello, please have a seat.” The refined Shen Feiqing had a pair of silver-rimmed glasses perched on his nose and gave off a strong scholarly air—intellectual and elegant—which made him seem entirely out of place here.

“Hey.” Zhang Xu sat down and took stock of the three. The one named Xu had a sly, quietly devious quality—clearly the type who’d swallow you whole without leaving a trace. The one named Lu had a buzzcut and a ruggedly cocky look, wearing everything on his face. And the one named Shen was gentle and courteous, like a precious flower that had no business blooming here. “You three really are three completely different extremes. It’s remarkable you’re even friends.”

None of them were ordinary people, that was certain.

“A lot of people say that.” Xu Bosu, sitting beside Zhang Xu, picked up the thread as he pulled a small beer from the ice bucket and opened it for him. “Here. We’re childhood friends—grew up together in the same neighborhood.”

He glanced over at Shen Feiqing and Lu Kai. “Otherwise we’d never have ended up together. Right?”

Those two nodded cooperatively—yes, yes, yes. In a moment like this, whatever the brother says goes.

“Thanks.” Zhang Xu took the beer and tilted it back, gulping straight from the bottle.

“Take it easy…” Xu Bosu watched him with a trace of concern.

Lu Kai, meanwhile, gave Xu Bosu a meaningful look. That personality—man, it’s something else.

“Behave.” Shen Feiqing gave Lu Kai a quiet kick under the table, lest his friend cause trouble before things even got started.

“Man… that argument left me parched.” Zhang Xu finished his sip, let out an unapologetic boozy burp, then grinned—a row of white teeth on full display—and swept his gaze over the two sitting across from him. “Hey, you two—are you sure you’re in the right place? This is a gay bar.”

Shen Feiqing and Lu Kai both froze.

Lu Kai pointed at himself and then at his neighbor. “You mean the two of us?”

“Yep.” Zhang Xu took another sip, still talking through a mouthful of beer. “You two are completely straight.”

The two men blinked.

Then Shen Feiqing laughed, pushed his glasses up his nose, and asked: “How do you know Lu Kai and I are straight?”

They were, in fact, completely straight.

They’d come to the gay bar to unwind—mainly just to keep Xu Bosu company.

“A bottom’s radar.” Zhang Xu grinned openly, not the least bit ashamed of being a zero.

“Damn, you gay guys actually have that?” Lu Kai laughed so hard he slapped his thigh, finding this new friend genuinely fascinating—he’d completely overturned his impression of gay men.

“What about him?” Shen Feiqing asked, pointing at Xu Bosu, who was holding a bottle of liquor and smiling quietly as he watched them talk.

Following Shen Feiqing’s finger, Zhang Xu glanced over: “Him? He’s bent so far he’s wound up like a coil of mosquito incense.”

(TL note: “bent” is Chinese slang for gay, so Zhang Xu is saying Xu Bosu is extremely gay.)

Author’s Note: New story’s up! A sassy, feisty uke!

He’s sharp-tongued, talks too much, and can even have babies—please keep supporting me, little angels! ～