The moment the image appeared, He Xiaoyuan was shocked at himself and quickly tried to clear it from his mind.
But it was too late. The thought was already there. He froze for a moment, and then his ears flushed red. He turned his head toward the car window to hide it.
He told himself it was because of the earlier WeChat conversation with Xu Ruomeng.
Lu Chen, not waiting for a response, prompted: “Hmm?”
He Xiaoyuan muttered, casually: “If it’s not a soulmate… then, if it’s a man, it can be platonic, right?”
Lu Chen smiled inwardly: Platonic? Some body parts aren’t just for show. There’s no way it could be purely platonic for him.
“You think Yang Yun and Teacher Guan’s relationship is platonic?” Lu Chen asked.
He Xiaoyuan turned his head: “That’s different.”
“This is a hypothetical situation about me. And I’m not gay.”
Lu Chen thought a moment, then smiled: “True, you’re still young.”
He Xiaoyuan frowned: “What?”
Driving steadily, Lu Chen said: “I mean you’re young—you don’t yet understand the pleasures of certain experiences.”
He Xiaoyuan: “…”
And now the conversation was turning… colorful.
After a moment of silence, He Xiaoyuan said, half-defiant: “I’m not that young. I know what’s what, alright?”
Lu Chen spoke softly: “Self-service doesn’t count.”
He Xiaoyuan rolled his eyes, recalling the games at the winery, and retorted: “You didn’t do it yourself either, thirty-something virgin.”
Lu Chen calmly replied: “At least I know it theoretically, and have plenty of experience in theory.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
Men… when the topic turns to this kind of thing, there’s an unspoken tacit understanding: “You watch too many videos?”
Right—he was eleven years older, had eleven more years of experience.
Suddenly thinking about Lu Chen saying no limits and even men are okay, He Xiaoyuan curiously asked: “Then… what kind of videos do you watch? Everything?”
Lu Chen didn’t answer.
A little later, they stopped at a red light. Lu Chen reached over, pinched the back of He Xiaoyuan’s neck, pulled him close, and leaned toward his ear. The warm breath brushed against the still-red ears, voice low and deep:
“Don’t go talking platonic just because of your age. When you’re older, you’ll naturally understand where the real pleasures lie.”
He Xiaoyuan’s ears burned even hotter.
He didn’t realize how intimate, almost flirtatious their interaction had become—he only thought Lu Chen had just said something slightly naughty to him directly.
He glared at him, ready to scold: “Wait, didn’t you say last night that you believe in secret crushes and love at first sight?”
And now he’s saying no limits, won’t let an opportunity pass?
So… he confessed during that crush at first sight, dated, and then broke up?
Lu Chen released him but remained silent, smiling quietly.
He Xiaoyuan, curious: “You dated?”
Of course. Someone as excellent as Lu Chen couldn’t have gone thirty-plus years without dating.
Seeing Lu Chen remain silent, He Xiaoyuan pressed: “Tell me.”
Lu Chen finally said softly: “Privacy.”
He Xiaoyuan: alright, fair enough. No need to cross boundaries. If he doesn’t answer, don’t ask.
A while later, the car moved again through the green light. He Xiaoyuan asked: “Can I ask about the gender?”
Lu Chen drove calmly: “No.”
Okay.
After a while, He Xiaoyuan asked again: “It’s not really a man, right?”
Lu Chen smiled, glancing back: “Curious little cat tonight?”
So many questions.
He Xiaoyuan’s curiosity only grew, eyes wide, sparkling: “A man?”
He prodded: “Come on, tell me—is it?”
He tried all the tactics for an answer: “Bro, Lu Ge, Lu Zong, big boss, bro.”
Lu Chen smiled. Originally, he wasn’t going to answer.
As long as he held out, He Xiaoyuan would never hear it from his mouth.
But since last night, Lu Chen’s mind had been floating. And now He Xiaoyuan, calling him “bro” over and over, softened him without principles.
When He Xiaoyuan sweetly said: “Our Lu Zong is the best. You’ll tell me, right?”
Lu Chen’s lips curved into a smile, completely giving in. He glanced at the passenger seat and quietly said, “Mm,” admitting it—yes, the person he liked, right in front of him, is a man.
He Xiaoyuan: !!!
Shocked, he widened his eyes. Everything else faded from his mind; all he could focus on was the present revelation.
He gasped: “A man!?”
Then he puzzled: “You… aren’t straight?”
Lu Chen, knowing He Xiaoyuan was about to be overwhelmed, said steadily: “I said no limits.”
He Xiaoyuan thought for a moment, then asked one word: “Bi?”
Lu Chen: “No.”
He Xiaoyuan, serious: “Even if you don’t limit yourself subjectively, you must’ve had an original orientation at first, right? Like… when you first watched videos, what did you watch?”
Lu Chen: “My romantic awareness began before secondary sexual characteristics developed. I knew very early on not to limit myself by gender.”
He Xiaoyuan was shocked. Even that’s possible?
Instinctively, he asked: “How old were you?”
Lu Chen thought a moment: “Around ten.”
He Xiaoyuan was even more surprised. He asked, “Where did that kind of awareness come from when you were that age?”
Ten years old—he should have been in elementary school.
Lu Chen explained calmly, “Physical development follows age, but the mind doesn’t necessarily. One’s consciousness and worldview are shaped by their environment and what they are exposed to.”
He Xiaoyuan looked at Lu Chen in admiration and continued to dig into the juicy details: “So you chased him? Secret crush and love at first sight?”
Lu Chen’s answer was vague: “Something like that.”
He Xiaoyuan asked, “Was he gay?”
Lu Chen: “No.”
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes widened again in astonishment.
This revelation was intense—love at first sight, a secret crush, a boy, and the boy wasn’t gay. That sounded like a nearly impossible pursuit!
He Xiaoyuan leaned closer, elbows on the central armrest, practically sticking to the driver: “He must have been handsome, right?”
Lu Chen’s lips curved slightly: “Yes. Handsome.”
He Xiaoyuan pressed on: “How long were you together?”
Lu Chen didn’t answer.
He Xiaoyuan accepted the silence and asked instead: “How did it end?”
Still no reply.
He Xiaoyuan considered: “Maybe you can just say what you’re comfortable with? Surely it’s not a sore spot you can’t talk about?”
Lu Chen answered simply: “Younger than me.”
He Xiaoyuan pricked up his ears, listening intently.
Lu Chen continued: “Very smart.”
And then, “I liked him a lot.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Wow.”
That simple “wow” made Lu Chen’s chest tighten with joy—he found the boy so adorable, almost wanting to cup his face and kiss him twice.
Thus, they chatted and digested gossip all the way back to the Yanlan Bay basement. Lu Chen got there first, as He Xiaoyuan would later drive the car back to the apartment.
The car stopped at the elevator. He Xiaoyuan unbuckled his seatbelt. Lu Chen glanced at the passenger seat, thoughtful.
Stepping out, Lu Chen walked around the car, and He Xiaoyuan moved toward the driver’s side. They met face to face, and Lu Chen stopped in front of him.
He Xiaoyuan: ?
From his coat pocket, Lu Chen pulled something out and held it up against the front collar of He Xiaoyuan’s coat.
He Xiaoyuan was puzzled. Looking down, he saw the silver leopard brooch set with gems—the same one Lu Chen had shown him on WeChat before.
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes widened. He looked up at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen pinned the brooch in place and said, “This afternoon, I went with Yang Yun and the others to look at jewelry. I saw this and thought it suited you.”
He Xiaoyuan: “For me?”
Lu Chen finished pinning it, examined it carefully, then smiled: “Not bad.”
He Xiaoyuan glanced at it again, then looked up with clear, sincere eyes: “It must be expensive, right?”
Lu Chen: “You don’t need to think about that.”
But of course, Lu Chen had thought this through. He knew He Xiaoyuan’s spending habits and understood boundaries between people. Even among friends, giving something overly expensive could cause misunderstandings or discomfort, potentially harming their relationship.
That’s why he let He Xiaoyuan drive the X7 instead of buying him a car outright. He had plenty of money and could afford it easily, but he knew He Xiaoyuan would refuse such a gift.
When buying the brooch, Lu Chen had debated whether it was appropriate to give it. Stepping out of the car earlier, he reconsidered. But emotions are hard to control, and he wanted to give it—simply because he wanted to give it to someone he liked.
Knowing He Xiaoyuan might refuse because of the price, Lu Chen added: “It’s not expensive. Yang Yun has VIP access, so I got it at an internal discount.”
He Xiaoyuan didn’t understand jewelry but knew luxury items weren’t cheap. He said, “Even with a discount, it’s not cheap, right?”
Lu Chen smiled softly: “Just consider it borrowed, for you to wear.”
He Xiaoyuan looked down at the brooch again, then met Lu Chen’s gaze, earnest and sincere: “No need. I don’t usually wear this kind of thing. Take it back; it’s expensive. I’d hate to damage the stones.”
Lu Chen’s heart softened, touched by the boy’s care.
Yet because of this, he didn’t press “borrow” anymore. Instead, he gently stroked the brooch, then pinched He Xiaoyuan’s chin, voice full of affection:
“I specifically chose this for you. I knew you’d think it was expensive and might refuse, so I said you could borrow it.”
He added firmly: “Whether it’s expensive or not, you take it. Got it? This is my intention—you can’t refuse.”
“And money isn’t important to me. If you think it’s costly, to me it’s just a drop in the ocean.”
“Don’t worry about the cost. If anyone should worry, worry about me instead—just accept this gift properly. Understand?”
He Xiaoyuan was stunned, feeling like he’d been gently scolded. He blinked, trying to process it: “Bro… are you angry?”
Lu Chen faced him steadily: “I’d be angry if you didn’t take it. Angry if you returned it.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed: “I’m not refusing.”
He glanced down at the brooch: “It’s really expensive, right?”
And added: “If you gave me something like a few dozen, a few hundred, I’d accept it.”
Lu Chen had anticipated this. He placed his hand on the brooch over He Xiaoyuan’s chest, serious now, with a slightly stern undertone: “Take it. I don’t want to repeat myself.”
He Xiaoyuan then said, “Alright, I’ll accept it.”
He lowered his gaze to the brooch, gently touched it, and his affection for it was obvious. Whether he accepted it or not, he genuinely liked it—he had already thought it beautiful when he first saw the photo.
“Thank you,” he murmured, then looked up at Lu Chen. “It’s really nice.”
Lu Chen’s gaze softened: “You like it?”
He Xiaoyuan nodded: “Yes, I do.”
In that instant, Lu Chen felt a spark go through him, a sudden urge to buy every brooch in the world and present it to He Xiaoyuan. The strange surge of emotion stirred his soul—joyful, delighted, and impossible to contain. His entire world, in that moment, was the boy in front of him.