On Friday night, Xu Ze arrived a little later than usual.
There was still plenty of time before his match, so he went backstage, carried two cases of drinks out to the lobby, and began restocking the vending machines.
The vending machines were scattered around in different locations.
When Xu Ze was restocking the third one, he opened the glass door and casually looked up.
His gaze immediately seemed to become glued to something in the distance, unable to move.
In the corner on the right was a claw machine.
Usually, hardly anyone played it. Most of the people who occasionally fiddled with it were couples.
Lu Heyang was leaning forward, holding the joystick and trying to grab a stuffed animal.
Standing beside him was a curly-haired omega wearing an extremely short skirt. She was looking through the glass with him, pointing at one of the toys and laughing.
It was a very pleasing sight.
Xu Ze simply watched.
In terms of gender and pheromones, alphas and omegas were always naturally attracted to each other.
Xu Ze was reminded of this at certain moments.
Cheerful music played from the machine.
Lu Heyang successfully grabbed a stuffed animal.
The omega cheered.
Lu Heyang bent down to retrieve it.
It was a rather ugly little shark, blue and white.
Lu Heyang handed the little shark to the omega.
She accepted it, hesitated for a moment, then rose onto her tiptoes and leaned toward Lu Heyang’s ear to say something.
Xu Ze had been here for so long that he wasn’t stupid.
He had received plenty of similar hints—both subtle and obvious—before.
He could guess what she had said.
Xu Ze saw Lu Heyang turn his head and lower his eyelashes as he looked at the omega.
But then, very suddenly, he raised his eyes and looked directly toward Xu Ze.
Because Xu Ze hadn’t expected it, he barely had time to react.
By the time he came back to his senses, Lu Heyang had already looked away.
He smiled at the omega.
Xu Ze could see his lips forming the words:
Sorry.
The omega looked a little shy. She waved at Lu Heyang before running off.
Xu Ze’s gaze followed the little shark tucked in the crook of her arm.
Its craftsmanship was rough, but it had an ugly sort of cuteness.
Xu Ze found himself wanting that little shark.
If Lu Heyang gave him one too, he would definitely treasure it.
While Xu Ze was concentrating on watching the omega, Lu Heyang had already walked over to him.
“Know her?”
Xu Ze silently turned his head back and picked up several bottles of drinks, arranging them in the vending slot.
His movements were somewhat stiff, and he didn’t dare look directly at Lu Heyang.
“Yeah.”
She was one of the bar’s servers. He’d had some contact with her before.
“Very familiar with her?”
Lu Heyang took the bottle Xu Ze had put in the wrong slot and moved it into the correct one.
Xu Ze stared at the bottle.
It was a can.
The drinks in that slot were bottled drinks that stuck out considerably farther.
The difference was so obvious that anyone with eyes couldn’t possibly have put it in the wrong place.
Yet he had.
“Not really.”
Xu Ze paused, then asked, “Do you need her contact information?”
“You have her number.”
It sounded like a question, but Lu Heyang said it in the tone of a statement.
From Xu Ze’s perspective, Lu Heyang had asked about that omega three times in a row.
He must be very interested in her.
Xu Ze nodded.
Then, very efficiently, he immediately took out his phone from his pants pocket and prepared to find the omega’s number for Lu Heyang.
He didn’t feel anything particularly strong.
To some extent, people who became jealous did so because of possessiveness.
Xu Ze wasn’t possessive of Lu Heyang.
He was merely somewhat enlightened.
Ah.
Lu Heyang might like this type of omega.
Just as he unlocked his phone, something heavy landed on his head.
Lu Heyang had pressed the brim of his cap downward.
Xu Ze heard him say, “Keep stocking the drinks.”
Xu Ze was silent for a moment, then put his phone away and continued restocking the vending machine.
After that, neither of them said anything.
Not until Xu Ze closed the glass door of the last vending machine.
“I’ll go backstage first.”
Lu Heyang lifted the brim of his cap again, as though he were playing some kind of on-and-off switch game.
He asked, “Will you win today?”
Xu Ze turned his head and looked around.
Revealing the result of a match in advance was against the rules. If someone heard him and reported it to the manager, he could be suspended and fined.
After making sure there was nothing unusual around them, Xu Ze lowered his voice.
“Probably…”
Before he could finish, Lu Heyang raised his hand and brushed the back of his index finger against Xu Ze’s lower lip.
“Shh.”
Xu Ze froze instantly.
The bright lights inside the vending machine illuminated Lu Heyang’s profile with perfect clarity, like a finely drawn sketch with flawless light, shadow, and delicate lines.
Lu Heyang lowered his head slightly and looked into Xu Ze’s eyes beneath the brim of his cap.
“I shouldn’t have asked you that. Sorry.”
Instead, this only strengthened Xu Ze’s determination to tell him.
Xu Ze tilted his head and leaned toward Lu Heyang’s ear.
They were about the same height, so Xu Ze didn’t need to stand on tiptoe or tilt his head upward.
He cupped both hands around his mouth, like a child secretly whispering a confidential message, and told Lu Heyang,
“I’ll win.”
After saying it, Xu Ze straightened up and lowered his hands.
His expression was completely serious.
“Okay.” Lu Heyang smiled. “He Wei said he wants to play pool today. If you don’t have anything else to do after your match, want to join us?”
Xu Ze would never refuse.
He had been worried the entire time that Lu Heyang would feel uncomfortable after being kissed by him—that he would distance himself from him or even dislike him.
Xu Ze had almost painfully prepared himself for that possibility.
But Lu Heyang hadn’t.
Not every alpha could remain as open-minded as before after realizing that someone of the same sex had feelings for them. Xu Ze felt fortunate that they were able to maintain their current relationship, and he decided that from now on, he would exercise restraint, put his feelings away, and never do anything that might put Lu Heyang in a difficult position.
“Okay,” Xu Ze said.
No. 17 won. During the first half, he had symbolically allowed himself to take two punches to the face, but in the second half, he fought cleanly and decisively, bringing the match to a quick end.
“Wow, Xu Ze looks like he’s in a hurry to clock out.” He Wei was still not satisfied. “Does he have something urgent to do? Then why did he even come to fight?”
“He’ll come,” Lu Heyang said.
After Xu Ze left the ring, Lu Heyang and the others got up and left their seats, heading to the billiards hall in the southeast corner. Six or seven minutes later, Xiaofeng, who had been sitting nearby cracking sunflower seeds, said, “No. 17’s here!”
Lu Heyang turned around and saw Xu Ze pushing open the glass door. He wasn’t wearing a hat, and the moment he entered, he spotted Lu Heyang from across the room. As he walked toward the pool table, his eyes never left Lu Heyang’s face. But when he actually reached him, Xu Ze no longer looked at him, instead staring at the balls on the table.
“Did you put any medicine on it?” Lu Heyang asked.
Xu Ze looked up. The light flashed briefly in his eyes as he answered, “No. It doesn’t really hurt.” To prove that it truly didn’t hurt, he pressed the bruised corner of his mouth. “It’s fine.”
The water on his face hadn’t dried yet. Clearly, he had come straight over after washing his face. He must have scrubbed hard and hurriedly while removing his makeup, because there were still reddish marks on his face from rubbing—patches here and there. Mixed with the traces of water, it looked like a sheet of paper that had been unevenly stained, yet somehow his face still looked exceptionally clean.
For several seconds, Lu Heyang said nothing. Xu Ze inexplicably grew nervous, so he took the initiative to find a topic.
“Do you know how to play?”
Lu Heyang picked up a cue from the table. “No. You teach me.”
“Mm.”
Xu Ze also picked up a cue and rubbed some chalk onto the tip. Then he bent low and broke. His eyes stayed fixed on the target ball, while his left hand rested on the dark green pool table. His fingers were clean and slender. A hanging lamp above the table illuminated half of his handsome, refined profile.
From bending down to striking the ball, the entire movement flowed smoothly and took barely three seconds. With a crisp crack, the ball dropped into the pocket, and Xu Ze straightened up at the same time.
Lu Heyang watched the ball disappear into the pocket before looking at Xu Ze. Xu Ze’s expression was focused. He also chalked Lu Heyang’s cue for him, then raised his head as if about to say something.
But the moment his eyes met Lu Heyang’s, he froze.
“Your hand…” Xu Ze hurriedly shifted his gaze away. He adjusted his left hand into position on the table. “Your hand position. Put it like this.”
Like a proper beginner, Lu Heyang pressed his palm against the table and moved his fingers around, looking as though he was taking the lesson very seriously, with a hint of awkwardness.
“I’m not very good at this,” Lu Heyang said after trying.
“Can I touch your hand?” Xu Ze asked.
Lu Heyang didn’t answer directly. He simply moved his hand toward Xu Ze.
Xu Ze hesitated for a second before reaching out. One by one, he positioned Lu Heyang’s fingers correctly. Then he placed his own hand about five centimeters away from Lu Heyang’s, lowered his waist, gripped the cue, and demonstrated the complete stance.
He Wei was playing at the neighboring table with Gu Yunchi. After a while, something felt off to him, and he glanced over at Lu Heyang and Xu Ze.
“Are you kidding me? Isn’t Lu Heyang actually really good at playing? What the hell is he doing?”
Without even looking up, Gu Yunchi said, “Worry about yourself a little less.”
“Turn your body slightly. Keep this arm against the table, and raise your shoulder.”
Xu Ze was still teaching with complete dedication. His whole body was stretched out over the table. Through the white T-shirt, the raised line of his spine and the contours of his muscles could be seen, while his waist narrowed and dipped into a subtle curve.
Lu Heyang lowered his eyes and watched him for a while before bending down as well, raising his shoulder and gripping the cue. Xu Ze’s profile was right beside him.
Then Lu Heyang suddenly asked, “What shampoo do you use?”
It was such an unexpected question that Xu Ze wondered if he had heard correctly. He turned his head, only to realize that he and Lu Heyang were extremely close—far too close.
Xu Ze immediately turned his head back and stared at the pool table.
He named the brand, then remembered that Lu Heyang probably wouldn’t have heard of it, so he added, “It’s very cheap.”
He thought Lu Heyang didn’t like the scent. Awkwardly, he was about to stand up and move farther away when he heard Lu Heyang say,
“It smells really good.”
Xu Ze froze for a moment.
Before he could react, there was a sharp click.
Lu Heyang struck the cue ball and, from an almost impossible angle, cleanly sank Xu Ze’s target ball into the pocket.
Xu Ze slowly blinked, then straightened up and sincerely praised him.
“You’re really good.”
“You taught me well.”
Leaning against the pool table, Lu Heyang asked, “Do you come here to play often?”
“Mm. I play with other people.”
Lu Heyang curled his lips into a smile, but Xu Ze felt that he wasn’t really smiling. Instead, he looked rather cold. In any case, it was difficult to describe.
Lu Heyang asked again, “Who do you play with?”
“Other fighters, or some guests. They’ll ask me to play with them.” Xu Ze answered honestly.
“No. 17 charges for playing with people.”
Xiaofeng came over carrying a box of cut fruit and placed it on the edge of the table.
“No. 17 can even play blindfolded.”
When he saw Lu Heyang raise an eyebrow slightly, Xiaofeng immediately caught the hint and said, “I’ll go get a blindfold!”
He quickly brought over a black blindfold.
Xu Ze glanced at the pool table and carefully determined the target ball and angle. Once he had done so, he put on the blindfold.
Lu Heyang noticed that after Xu Ze put on the blindfold, his lips, which had originally been pressed together, parted slightly. He was probably a little nervous.
He wondered whether Xu Ze was this nervous when he played blindfolded with other people too.
“Are you going to tomorrow’s event?”
Lu Heyang asked before Xu Ze began.
Xu Ze nodded. After a brief pause, he asked, “Are you going?”
“I am.” Lu Heyang said, “Did the teacher send you your room number?”
“Yes. 1203.”
Xu Ze paused again, unable to resist asking, “What about you?”
“1205. He Wei is in 1204.”
“Mm.”
Those few lines of conversation successfully caused Xu Ze to forget the angle he had determined earlier. But he didn’t take off the blindfold to check it again. Instead, he relied on his instincts, bent down, and slowly moved the cue forward.
The moment the cue tip touched the white ball, he stopped.
Lu Heyang reached out and lightly caught Xu Ze by the side of his waist, drawing him a little closer.
“A little to the left.”
Following his instruction, Xu Ze shifted left. Even with the blindfold on, he still accurately fixed his attention on the 3-ball. The light fell across him. Xu Ze had a straight, prominent nose, and his lips were slightly parted, the shape of them curving upward just a little. They weren’t thin; they had a perfectly balanced fullness, making them the softest part of his otherwise cool, aloof face. They looked like the kind of lips that would be very easy to kiss.
Xu Ze held his breath and struck.
For some reason, someone nearby suddenly started cheering loudly, so Xu Ze didn’t hear the sound of the ball dropping into the pocket. He asked Lu Heyang, “Did it go in?”
“What do you think?” Lu Heyang countered.
“I don’t know.”
Xu Ze was about to take off the blindfold to check, but Lu Heyang caught his wrist and stopped him.
“It went in. Do you want watermelon or cantaloupe?”
It was a completely random question.
“Watermelon,” Xu Ze answered.
A few seconds later, he smelled watermelon right by his lips.
“Open your mouth,” Lu Heyang said.
His heart began beating faster. Xu Ze lowered his head and opened his mouth, but he missed the target. Instead, he closed his lips around the finger holding the bamboo skewer in Lu Heyang’s hand, as though he had kissed Lu Heyang’s hand.
Xu Ze awkwardly said, “Sorry,” then bit into the piece of watermelon.
After eating it, Xu Ze lifted the blindfold and glanced at the pool table. Then he covered his eyes again and took another shot without the slightest hesitation.
But because he was too nervous, he missed.
He didn’t hear the sound of the ball dropping into a pocket, and Xu Ze stood there looking a little disappointed.
Of course, he wasn’t disappointed because he had missed the ball.
He was disappointed because if he missed, Lu Heyang wouldn’t feed him watermelon.
He was just about to take off the blindfold when something cool suddenly touched the corner of his lips.
Watermelon.
Xu Ze heard Lu Heyang say, “Since you missed, as punishment, this piece of watermelon will be a little smaller.”
This wasn’t punishment, Xu Ze thought blankly.
He stuck out the tip of his tongue and lightly licked the watermelon. After making sure he wouldn’t touch Lu Heyang’s fingers, he slowly bit the watermelon into his mouth.
So it turned out that even failure could come with a reward.
To Xu Ze, losing meant being covered in bruises and blood. It meant someone would be disappointed. It meant coming up empty-handed.
But Lu Heyang always did the opposite.
After Xu Ze lost a match, Lu Heyang gave him an expensive new pair of boxing gloves to celebrate his next victory in advance. When Xu Ze failed to sink a ball, Lu Heyang gave him a tiny piece of watermelon as a “punishment” that could hardly be called punishment at all.
Xu Ze suddenly felt that Lu Heyang was strange.
And that very strangeness made him become even more special in Xu Ze’s heart.
Xu Ze was so deeply moved that, as repayment, after they finished playing pool, he sent that omega’s phone number to Lu Heyang.