INT Chapter 8

After finally waking up from his sleep, Lu Ze felt much better. Liang Xiao sat on the adjacent bed, looking at him. “Awake? How do you feel?

Lu Ze sat up, stretched lazily, and his voice wasn’t as hoarse. “Much better…”

He turned to Liang Xiao, “Did you help me wipe my sweat?”

Liang Xiao nodded, and Lu Ze smiled, “Thanks, I thought I was dreaming.”

He grabbed his phone, checked the battery full, unplugged the charger, and handed the power bank back to Liang Xiao.

Glancing at the time, Liang Xiao took the initiative, “While you were sleeping, I took a chat job. No charge for you.”

“No, really,” Lu Ze was genuinely embarrassed. “If I hadn’t called you, you could have taken other jobs that probably paid more than chatting. Besides, I fell asleep and you didn’t have to wipe my sweat. It’s not like you didn’t do anything.”

Liang Xiao remained silent, and Lu Ze habitually snapped his fingers, “How about this, give me a little discount. Let’s say a hundred per hour, will that work?”

“Eighty,” Liang Xiao replied and snapped his fingers.

“Hey…” Lu Ze lifted the blanket and got out of bed, “I have more energy now than before.”

He stood in front of Liang Xiao, both hands extended towards him. He snapped twice with his right hand, twice with his left hand, once with his right hand, once with his left hand, left… Right… And finally, he rhythmically raised an eyebrow at Liang Xiao.

Liang Xiao replied with a snap of his fingers, “You win.

Lu Ze was embarrassed again, cleared his throat and explained, “I’m not usually this childish…”

Liang Xiao stood up and poured him a cup of warm water. “Have some more. Do you want to check your temperature again?”

Lu Ze raised his hand and touched his forehead. “No need, I don’t feel anything.”

After finishing the water, he said to Liang Xiao, “Are you free later? Let me treat you to a meal.”

Liang Xiao looked at him. Lu Ze couldn’t quite read the emotions on his face, but he liked Liang Xiao’s cool appearance and personality, so he wanted to be friends. “Or I can rent another hour and take you out to dinner.”

“No need to rent,” Liang Xiao said. “I have time.”

“Then wait for me for a moment,” Lu Ze said, “I’ll take a shower and then we can go.”

“Sure.”

Lu Ze is a local, so even though this area isn’t near the school, he’s quite familiar with it and knows where the good places to eat are.

He asked Liang Xiao what he wanted to eat, and Liang Xiao said anything would be fine. Lu Ze led the way to an old restaurant where he had eaten for many years. “Let me treat you to Tan Rou¹TLN: “坛肉” (Tán Ròu) refers to a Chinese dish known as “Pot Meat” or “Jarred Meat.” It involves marinating and cooking meat in a pot or jar, often resulting in a flavorful and tender dish. The specific preparation can vary, but it’s a dish appreciated for its rich taste and aromatic qualities., they have a special taste.”

“Sure,” Liang Xiao agreed.

The Tan Rou Restaurant was located in a labyrinthine alley, clearly an old establishment, but well-kept and clean.

The moment the owner saw Lu Ze, he smiled and said, “Long time no see. Are you bringing another friend this time?”

“Yes,” Lu Ze replied with a smile, “I brought a super handsome guy this time.”

Looking at Liang Xiao behind Lu Ze, the owner nodded repeatedly, “Handsome, indeed handsome. Your friends are getting better and better looking.”

Lu Ze got addicted to snapping his fingers and said as he snapped, “Absolutely.

He took his usual seat and said to the owner, “Same as before, this time for three. We’re really hungry.”

“Listening to your voice, it sounds like you’re not feeling well. You should eat more.”

“Alright.”

Lu Ze paid the bill in advance, transferred money to Liang Xiao, and casually asked, looking at the “XL” on the chat box, “How is your name spelled? I’ll add a note for you.”

“Yunxiao’s ‘Xiao,'” Liang Xiao said.

Lu Ze looked at him again, “And ‘Liang’?”

“Liang Qichao’s ‘Liang,’ ” Liang Xiao replied.

Lu Ze smiled as he added a note, “I had a high school classmate with the surname ‘Liang,’ the ‘Liang’ with two dots, quite unique. That’s why I asked… Besides, I thought you were the brave and heroic ‘Xiao.’ ” 

After recovering from his illness, Lu Ze had a lot of energy. Liang Xiao followed his words and asked, “Why?”

Lu Ze turned on his phone, “I don’t know, maybe it just suits your temperament, very cool.”

Liang Xiao was genuinely surprised this time, the first time someone had called his name romantic.

“By the way, you don’t know my name yet, right? Lu Ze, ‘Lu’ as in street, ‘Ze’ as in radiance.”

Lu Ze finished speaking and kept looking at Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao had to take out his phone and added a note in front of him.

Now, Lu Ze wasn’t just his first male client; he was also the first client who invited him to eat outside of working hours and shared his full name.

Lu Ze was genuinely hungry. After the Tan Rou arrived, he only asked Liang Xiao, “How does it taste?” Once confirmed, he buried his head and started devouring the meat.

Midway through the meal, he suddenly took out his phone, aimed it at the Tan Rou, and took a photo. Liang Xiao’s chopsticks, about to reach out, hesitated. Lu Ze quickly said, “Go ahead, I won’t post it on my moments, just teasing my friends.”

He sent the photo of Tan Rou to Jiang Yijie, and Jiang Yijie replied: “Wow, I was just thinking about sending you a message. It looks like you’ve recovered. I’m craving for it too.]”

Lu Ze replied: “[Craving it, huh? There’s nothing for you today.]”

He put down his phone and started chatting with Liang Xiao. “Is your job interesting? Talking to different people every day, going out, and still making money, not bad at all.”

“It’s okay,” Liang Xiao said.

Lu Ze clicked his tongue teasingly and said, “After work, you’re like a different person compared to during work. You talk so much less.”

“Yeah, during work, it’s unavoidable. Forced by circumstances.”

Lu Ze found it amusing to hear Liang Xiao, with his cool demeanor, saying such things. He laughed for quite a while, coughed twice, and said, “Brother Xiao, looking so handsome, do you often have clients falling for you?”

“Not really,” Liang Xiao said. “It happens occasionally, but everyone knows I’m here to make a living.”

Lu Ze nodded, it made sense. Liang Xiao’s job didn’t leave much room for romantic involvement. What girl could tolerate her boyfriend playing the role of a boyfriend for someone else every day?

“How did you decide to do this?” Lu Ze curiously asked.

“Coincidence. It brings in money quickly,” Liang Xiao said candidly.

Perhaps due to the initial impression, Lu Ze couldn’t quite associate Liang Xiao with being poor or in need of money. Besides, he probably earned quite a bit, not likely facing financial struggles.

Although he had some doubts in his mind, Lu Ze tactfully refrained from asking further. He turned the conversation to himself and said, “If I hadn’t heard you talking to that girl at the bar, I wouldn’t have known that it could be like this. I went to the bar because I had just broken up with my girlfriend and was feeling pretty depressed…”

Lu Ze sighed, “And the reason for the breakup was quite bizarre. She said she suddenly realized she liked girls, especially her roommate, so I…”

Lu Ze didn’t finish the sentence, but Liang Xiao understood. No wonder, last night Lu Ze’s look was like that of a drunk gay guy trying to hit on him, and today he was acting so awkwardly.

Liang Xiao, not one to offer comforting words outside of work hours, simply said, “You could consider adding ‘angering ex-girlfriends’ to your business.”

Lu Ze was stunned for a moment, then he couldn’t hold back his laughter. He laughed so hard that he finally fell silent, his shoulders still shaking. Liang Xiao was afraid that he would laugh himself into oblivion.

After about five minutes of laughing, Lu Ze finally managed to speak, “I find you quite amusing sometimes…”

He burst out laughing again, directly laughing away the frustration that had been building up in his chest since the breakup.

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  TLN: “坛肉” (Tán Ròu) refers to a Chinese dish known as “Pot Meat” or “Jarred Meat.” It involves marinating and cooking meat in a pot or jar, often resulting in a flavorful and tender dish. The specific preparation can vary, but it’s a dish appreciated for its rich taste and aromatic qualities.