"Of course not," Su Lanqiao disguised his panic, smiled casually and said, "I am a man, and he is also a man. Xia Ran, where did your mind go."
"Xia Ran, you're really going all out with your imagination," Xu Zhili helped him out, "He definitely likes girls, why are you dragging Su Cheng into this?"
"The blonde is right, Xia Ran, I'm telling you, all those rumors about you guys not getting along have been around for a long time. We might as well have a drink tonight and everyone can be good buddies," said the blonde, chiming in.
Xia Ran stared straight at Su Lanqiao, insistently wanting an answer, "Su Lanqiao, you said this person is not Chu Cheng, do you dare to swear?"
The atmosphere at the scene instantly fell silent. It was just a game, but it became awkward when taken so seriously, and it was childish to swear.
Su Lanqiao calmly glanced at him, "Swearing is quite risky. If I lose later, I can swear."
"Alright, I'll wait," Xia Ran said, swaying his glass with a determined expression, as if he insisted on getting to the bottom of this matter tonight.
"It's just a game, no need to swear," Xu Zhili lowered his voice, "We've asked three questions already. Let's just play together. It's meaningless to ask just one person."
"Come on, let's all play together. I'm going to deal the cards," the blonde said, carelessly handing out a deck of cards to everyone. "Tonight, none of you can get away."
Su Lanqiao stood up, feeling a bit dizzy in the head, "You guys go ahead and play, I'll go to the washroom."
He pushed the door open and went to the sink in the toilet to wash his face with cold water. Only then did he feel a bit calmer. His heart was still beating wildly; he had almost slipped up just now.
Su Lanqiao had never imagined that in this little game, someone had actually figured it out and even mentioned Chu Cheng's name.
There was a sound at the door, and Xu Zhili pushed it open and entered the restroom. After making sure there was no one else inside, he returned to the sink near the door.
The two men faced each other in the mirror for a few seconds. Xu Zhili spoke first, "Just now, when Xia Ran asked the question, you lied, right?"
"I didn't..." Su Lanqiao barely started speaking when Xu Zhili interrupted him.
"Don't lie to me, there's no need to lie to me. I won't talk nonsense," Xu Zhili leaned against the white wall, lit a cigarette, "I can tell that Chu Cheng really cares about you. He should like you a lot."
Su Lanqiao exclaimed blankly, "I didn't realize..."
Does Chu Cheng like him?
Wait, he had gotten trapped in a conversation, indirectly admitting the previously asked question.
Su Lanqiao wanted to knock some sense into himself; this stupid brain of his. As soon as he encountered matters related to Chu Cheng, everything fell into disarray.
Xu Zhili sneered, "So you're a fool. Have you also realized that I like you?"
"What?" Su Lanqiao's pupils dilated, then contracted abruptly, carefully pondering the truth of these words, "Don't joke around. This joke is not funny at all. Seriously. Have you had too much to drink?"
"Xiao Qiao, I really like you," Xu Zhili's expression suddenly became serious. "From the first time I saw you, I liked you. Even at the fashion show when you fell, I was in the audience. That's why I agreed to participate in this program, to become your roommate, and a friend. You are kind and considerate, making it hard for anyone to control their feelings around you."
"Afterwards, when the internet started shipping the two of us, I don't know what you thought, but I was quite happy. I even created a super topic for that lovely CP on a dummy account, it's quite ridiculous, a man sneaking around doing such things. But you see, many people have shown interest, indicating that everyone thinks we're quite suitable..."
As Xu Zhili continued to babble on, Su Lanqiao's mind was in a fog. It was the first time he had heard so many words from this cold, wealthy man, and the setting was unexpectedly a direct confession.
He had treated Xu Zhili as a friend, while Xu Zhili had considered him as a lover? This world was too magical.
Su Lanqiao took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, "So when you first told me you liked being a model, it was a lie?"
Xu Zhili looked at him for a few seconds before speaking, "It wasn't entirely a lie, but I came because of you, and for no other reason."
Su Lanqiao gripped his hands tightly, carefully choosing his words, trying not to hurt him too much, "Xu Zhili, I thank you for your liking, but I already have someone I like. Don't waste your feelings on me, it's pointless."
"I know, it's Chu Cheng." Xu Zhili lowered his eyes and flicked the ashes from his cigarette, then spoke with some difficulty, "So, are you two together?"
"We're not together," Su Lanqiao's voice lowered, sounding a bit lost, "We really have no relationship at all, believe me."
Xu Zhili instantly understood the situation between the two, quietly finished his cigarette, and then took a step forward, closing the distance between them, "If you don't like him that much, would you give me a chance? Give me a chance, and I can give you what Chu Cheng can."
He was confident that in terms of wealth and appearance, he was not inferior to Chu Cheng.
Su Lanqiao shook his head, stepping back and creating distance, "I'm sorry, I've liked Chu Cheng for many years, it's not just a moment of impulse. So, the two of us are not possible."
"Many years, but you only just met him, right?" Xu Zhili furrowed his brows. He had investigated it before, Su Lanqiao's first interaction with Chu Cheng was when they took promotional photos for their company.
Before that, Su Lanqiao was just a university student. How could they have any interaction?
Su Lanqiao explained softly, "I met him many years ago. Don't put your feelings on me. It's not worth it."
Xu Zhili opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything, waved his hand, and gestured for him to go back.
The two of them returned to the room one after the other. The blonde teased, "You two went to the toilet for so long. If the fans found out, they would go crazy."
Just coming out of an awkward confession, Su Lanqiao hadn't recovered yet, furrowing his brow, "Don't talk nonsense, continue playing your game."
"I'm still waiting for your daring adventures. After disappearing for so long, are you going to draw a card?" Xia Ran slouched on the sofa, his eyes challenging.
The follow-up from the truth or dare game just now, this person really remembered.
Su Lanqiao smiled, sat opposite him, and began to shuffle the deck of cards in a fancy way, "Today is my birthday, let me shuffle the cards for some good luck."
Thanks to his dad, he had various tutors since childhood who taught him not only literature, arithmetic, painting, horse-riding, and archery, but also some flashy things during leisure time.
Such as card magic, where to cut the cards and pass the specified number to someone, this was just the entry level, it was too easy to mess with Xia Ran.
Su Lanqiao didn't show any change on the surface, and swiftly inserted the largest card in the order when shuffling, then handed out each card to everyone.
After the first round, Xia Ran indeed got the highest score, the King of Spades.
Su Lanqiao smiled lightly, threw his 3 of clubs onto the table, "Sorry, you lost this round. Truth or dare?"
"What kind of luck is this? I choose dare," Xia Ran grumbled unhappily.
He knew in his heart that if he chose to tell the truth, in case someone asked something they shouldn't, it wouldn't end well.
Someone next to him spoke up, "How about Xia Ran performs a pole dance first, we won't record it, we'll just laugh."
"Can't you pick something normal," Xia Ran refused, his tone firm, "I won't do it."
"This is already the mildest, hurry up," the blond followed, rousing everyone.
Sulan Qiao watched Xia Ran awkwardly walk to the center and started dancing with embarrassment, almost laughing. She casually chose a song by a girl group as background music.
After a hard time, Xia Ran finished dancing and threw himself on the sofa in frustration.
"Are you still coming?" Sulan Qiao asked casually.
"Sure, I don't believe I'm so unlucky," Xia Ran muttered, slamming his glass on the table.
Sulan Qiao thought, you are really unlucky, running into me.
Thinking this, Sulan Qiao's hands moved swiftly, making Xia Ran lose twice in a row.
"What luck is this, Sulan Qiao, did you cheat?" Xia Ran irritatedly wiped his face, questioning.
"Admit defeat," Jing He looked amused, "with twenty people, you keep losing, you should go to a temple and pray."
Sulan Qiao raised an eyebrow at him provocatively, "How could I cheat? You all saw me shuffling the cards, with so many pairs of eyes."
"Okay, I'm unlucky, let's play 'Truth or Dare' again," Xia Ran said in resignation.
This group of people were all old hands at pranks, with punishments coming to mind instantly, "Xia Ran, we won't go overboard, we all have our dignity. Just go to the next room and sing a song."
"Damn, this game is not ending," Xia Ran got up irritably, passing by Sulan Qiao, "You're lucky tonight."
Sulan Qiao remembered what Chu Cheng had said, in this world, there's not so much good luck.
Indeed, it's all just human manipulation.
To be able to prank Xia Ran, his birthday wasn't spent in vain.
A group of people kept making noise until midnight when they staggered back to the dorm.
Everyone went upstairs, and Sulan Qiao stood on the spacious plaza of the building, a small plot hatching in his mind again. If Chu Cheng really had some feelings for him, would he be jealous?
As he thought about this, he had already dialed the number, feeling nervous at this late hour. Would it disturb the person since it was so late?
He was about to hang up, when Chu Cheng picked up, his voice slightly hoarse as if he was muffled under a blanket, "Is there something wrong?"
"No, I just wanted to chat with you, are you already in bed?" Sulan Qiao stared at the moon above, thinking how to bring up the topic.
Chu Cheng cleared his throat, sitting up from the bed, "I haven't slept yet, what do you want to chat about?"
Sulan Qiao paused for a moment and slowly said, "Today, when I went out to eat with everyone, someone confessed to me. I find it quite amazing, men liking men, it turns out to be so common..."
"Did you reject him?" Chu Cheng interrupted his rambling, going straight to the point.
Sulan Qiao knew Chu Cheng couldn't see him, but firmly nodded, "Of course, I rejected him. I like you."
Chu Cheng chuckled lightly, his tone relaxing, with a hint of a smile, "Good boy."