The thought of “If it were me, I’d definitely—” lingered in Zhang Taining’s mind until the next morning.
He still didn’t dare to finish it.
That photo, however, remained on his phone.
He hadn’t deleted it, and at night, he even glanced at it a few times, feeling a twinge of guilt and setting a lock on it.
He didn’t overthink it and continued his daily training with Tang Chen.
Tang Chen’s mother seemed to have lost interest in setting him up with anyone; no more blind dates were arranged.
Spring season passed, and the autumn season was right around the corner.
Zhang Taining continued training with Tang Chen every day, occasionally sneaking off to get a few tips from Zhuo Fan—he still remembered Tang Chen saying his sniping skills weren’t up to par.
After a week of training, Zhang Taining had almost completely forgotten about Tang Chen’s blind date.
That day, after finishing training, he went to find Tang Chen for their usual meal together.
“Ah? I already have plans today. Go find Zhuo Ge or Sanyue to eat with,” Tang Chen said, opening his wardrobe and frowning.
“Plans? I came straight here after training to ask you! Who could possibly be earlier than me?”
Zhang Taining was dumbfounded.
“He was way earlier! He already invited me last night to lunch today. He’ll be here to pick me up soon,” Tang Chen explained.
Zhang Taining’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze swept across the room.
Tang Chen spotted an off-shoulder top in the wardrobe.
“This one it is!”
Last night? Picked up by a car?
Zhang Taining’s mind jumped. He wanted to say something, but then Tang Chen picked up the top.
He froze, blurting out instinctively, “This top is a bit… too sexy, isn’t it?”
The shoulder was almost completely exposed! Any lower and it could be a wardrobe malfunction!
“Really? You think it’s sexy? Perfect! This is the one!” Tang Chen grinned.
He placed the top on the bed and nudged Zhang Taining toward the door.
“Hurry up and eat, I’m heading out!”
“Ah? But I—”
Zhang Taining hadn’t finished speaking when Tang Chen slammed the door behind him.
Standing there dumbfounded, Zhang Taining thought, Wait… didn’t we train together until after nine last night?
Tang Chen showered for half an hour, spent ten minutes blow-drying his hair, applied a face mask, body lotion, and that other mask…
There’s no way he could have done all that in less than two hours, so… where did he find time to meet someone for dinner last night?
Zhang Taining paced back and forth, realizing he needed to ask Tang Chen directly.
Moreover, someone was picking him up in a car at this hour? That didn’t sound normal at all!
Yes! He had to stop Tang Chen.
Determined, Zhang Taining raised his hand to knock—just as Tang Chen opened the door.
“You—”
Zhang Taining froze mid-sentence as his gaze met Tang Chen’s.
The top really was… very flattering.
It looked like a loose T-shirt, but the cut from the left shoulder to the right side revealed Tang Chen’s pale collarbone and shoulder.
Zhang Taining blinked. Again. And again.
Well… it does look good.
He sniffed lightly.
“You even wore perfume?”
Tang Chen blinked. “You noticed the scent?”
Good! Zhang Taining thought—he had made progress! He smugly gestured, showing off.
“How about it? Me, this outfit, and the perfume—icy yet sweet, a little refreshing. Isn’t it perfect?”
“What?” Zhang Taining was baffled.
“Icy yet sweet?”
“…Tch, I thought you were actually improving.”
Forget it. Whatever.
Tang Chen pushed him aside.
“I’m going to be late! Move, I need to go.”
“Wait!”
Zhang Taining hurried to catch up, scratching his head earnestly.
“It’s so late, and you’re wearing that… isn’t it too much?”
Tang Chen gave him a questioning look.
“Late? Ning, think about it—if it weren’t for me, what time would you have gone to bed before? Besides, didn’t you say this outfit looks good? Why would it be embarrassing to wear out?”
Exactly because it looked too good!
Zhang Taining’s words slipped out, reshaping into:
“It’s fine, it looks okay. But going out in it for dinner feels… a bit too casual. Maybe add a jacket?”
Tang Chen sent a single questioning emoji.
“Ning, are you out of your mind? It’s summer! Do you think I’m spraying this cotton-cool perfume for nothing? It keeps me calm and focused!”
A jacket in summer? That would be ridiculous!
“But—”
Zhang Taining felt a bit foolish under Tang Chen’s reasoning.
Still, he kept walking, watching Tang Chen dash ahead.
“I’m off! Bye bye bye!”
Zhang Taining followed, silently observing.
Outside the base, someone opened the car door for Tang Chen—wasn’t that Shang Wang? Who else could it be?
Zhang Taining felt like lightning had struck him.
Tang Chen was going to dinner with Shang Wang?
Weren’t they supposed to have a failed blind date?
Then why was Tang Chen going out with Shang Wang?
Or… had they secretly arranged something?
His mind spun as he stood frozen.
“Hmm?”
Shang Wang got back into the driver’s seat, noticing a shadow in the distance.
He glanced at Tang Chen, carefully dressed, and tentatively asked,
“You didn’t tell your… friend?”
Tang Chen buckled his seatbelt, puzzled.
“Why would I? He’s not my mom.”
Going out doesn’t require notifying Zhang Taining, apparently.
“Oh?” Shang Wang’s eyes flickered with understanding, and he smiled.
“No worries, let’s go eat.”
He pressed the accelerator, and the car quickly disappeared from sight, leaving Zhang Taining standing there in a daze.
At the restaurant, Tang Chen immediately got comfortable, ordering the dishes he’d enjoyed before while casually glancing at Shang Wang’s outfit.
Shang Wang was dressed cleanly—white shirt paired with black ripped jeans. On the surface, it seemed simple, but his aura carried a subtle charm.
Tang Chen’s sharp eyes even noticed a tattoo on Shang Wang’s neck. Not a big one—about the length and width of an index finger, a string of cursive letters he couldn’t read.
Despite that, Tang Chen felt his confidence slip.
Just… he felt like he had already lost.
Shang Wang noticed the change immediately, took a sip of water, and looked at him curiously.
“What’s wrong?”
Tang Chen rested his chin on his hands, staring at him for a while before speaking slowly.
“I lost… you’re stronger.”
“Lost?”
Shang Wang looked puzzled. What did he mean, lost? Were they even competing at all?
Tilting his head, Tang Chen said, “Yeah, you’re a 0, right?”
The sisters’ fashion showdown!
Tang Chen had lost.
Shang Wang froze, then stiffened.
He quietly looked down at himself, his expression twitching slightly.
“Where do I look anything but a 1?”
Had his whole “disguise” strategy gone wrong? Did he not look like a 1 in this outfit?
Tang Chen blinked.
“Does this look like a 1?” Shang Wang countered.
“Doesn’t it?”
Tang Chen scratched his head.
“I don’t know if it looks like a 1, but in my group chat, nine out of ten of my sisters dress like you, and your social media clearly screams a subtly playful 0. How could you be a 1?”
Otherwise, why would he be out having dinner with Shang Wang? Obviously, it was a bit of a style showdown.
Hiding his playful side?
Shang Wang felt a little hopeless.
“Really? I thought you agreed to come out because you thought I was a 1?”
Tang Chen slowly typed out a question mark.
“No. You’re discussing face masks with me—how could I think you were a 1? What are you thinking?”
A 1 wouldn’t even talk about this stuff…
Tang Chen paused, recalling some of the 1s who had snuck into his chat group before.
His gaze on Shang Wang grew suspicious.
He examined him from head to toe and asked the ultimate question:
“Are you a fake 0, a real 1? Are you pretending to be a 0 just to get close to a little 0 like me?”
Honestly, Tang Chen understood each word—but strung together like this, what did it even mean???
Shang Wang froze.
Tang Chen’s suspicion grew, his gaze increasingly sharp, almost as if he were staring at a weirdo.
Shang Wang understood—he might not know exactly what Tang Chen meant, but he could read that “weirdo” look!
He quickly forced a wry smile and explained.
“No, you’re not wrong—I am a 0.”
He paused, sighed.
“I came out before but was stubborn about saving face, claiming I was a 1. Now I just have to keep up the lie I told before. I was afraid my parents wouldn’t accept me being the bottom, so I pretended.”
Getting his parents to accept that he was gay had already been a huge step.
Telling them he was the bottom? Shang Wang figured they’d probably faint on the spot.
“Huh?”
Tang Chen looked confused.
“How is that possible?”
Shang Wang tilted his head at him, puzzled.
Tang Chen blinked back.
“If your parents accepted that you’re gay, would it really be harder for them to accept whether you’re top or bottom? I think if they couldn’t handle that, they wouldn’t have accepted you coming out in the first place.”
…Hmm, maybe he was right.
Tang Chen added, “Besides, my mom—she’d be like: I gave birth to you, raised you, I can tell exactly what kind of material you’re made of! Top or bottom? She’d know at a glance. So my being a 0? She totally gets it.”
Really? Was it the same for Shang Wang’s parents, maybe?
Tang Chen thought for a moment, then added, “But if you’re trying to hide it from your parents, they probably assume being the bottom is more embarrassing. So you’re keeping up appearances to protect your pride. My mom does that too sometimes—just an unspoken understanding.”
Hearing this, Shang Wang felt a wave of clarity.
He glanced at Tang Chen, then leaned forward, pinching Tang Chen’s cheek—a gesture he’d long wanted to try but worried it might not be manly enough.
Sure enough. Soft, springy, and perfect!
He grinned at Tang Chen.
“You make sense. This meal’s on me, as a little thank-you.”
Tang Chen made an OK sign and immediately called over the waiter.
“I want an extra order of duck jaws! The fried kind!”
“Got it, one order of duck jaws…”
The waiter had just acknowledged, when Tang Chen looked at him, both flustered and shocked.
“Zhang Taining, what are you doing?”