Han Mo’s gaze fell on the straw, his eyelids fluttering slightly. After a moment’s calculation, he suddenly chuckled softly.
“Hmm, quite thirsty,” he said, his voice low and tinged with a suppressed smirk. The implications within those words made Yan Yibing’s joints feel numb just thinking about it.
So Han Mo took the plastic cup, lightly pursed his lips, and took a sip through the straw.
Yan Yibing’s eyes flickered.
The place where he had just sucked was now being touched by Han Mo.
Han Mo pursed his thin lips, squeezed the straw flat, and then gently pressed his tongue against the edge. A soft line was drawn by the delicate tip of his tongue, and he took a sip of water, and chewed on the barley, his movements slow.
Yan Yibing couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
Drinking water was turning into something so ambiguous, almost like he wasn’t just sucking on a straw.
Yan Yibing turned away, pretending to look calmly out of the window. “It’s all for you, I’ve had enough.”
It’s not like he’s never shared a bottle of water with someone before.
Although he felt a bit uncomfortable, men wouldn’t be so fussy about it. He had never thought that such an action could be associated with indirect kissing.
But Han Mo showed him with practical actions that this was not something two men should do.
It was too intimate.
Indeed, Han Mo didn’t like sweet drinks. Without even tasting the barley water, he swallowed it directly, dedicating more time to simply holding the straw in his mouth.
After a while, he looked up, facing Yu Yan, Lu Jianghe, Chen Chi, and the two professors. “It seems that Master knows what I want.”
Lu Jianghe, catching only fragments of their conversation, asked curiously, “What does Captain Han want?”
Yan Yibing lowered his head, rubbed his forehead, and covered his eyes, which easily revealed his guilty conscience.
He scoffed lightly, “Who knows?”
Han Mo began, “Tonight—”
But before he finished speaking, Ding Luo opened the door and came in.
As soon as she entered, without looking for Yu Yan, she glanced meaningfully at Yan Yibing and Han Mo.
Han Mo was sitting in the gaming chair, sipping his drink, while Yan Yibing leaned against Han Mo’s table, facing the window, his hand massaging his forehead.
Ding Luo seemed anxious.
Did the friend six years younger make a move or not…
Yu Yan suggested, “Since Luo Luo is here too, how about having dinner together tonight?”
The two coaches declined, saying, “We’ll pass, we’ve got dinner at home. You guys go ahead.”
Chen Chi added, “I won’t eat out either. My triglycerides have been a bit high recently.”
Lu Jianghe, however, had no objections.
Yan Yibing breathed a sigh of relief. “Sure, let’s go together.”
He was worried about feeling uncomfortable having dinner alone with Han Mo. Every time the two of them were together, things tended to spiral into an uncontrollable direction.
Han Mo looked up at Yan Yibing, and Ding Luo caught the regret in his eyes.
Licking her lips, she looped her arm around Yu Yan’s neck, “Let’s go to CNG instead. I’m craving CNG’s sweet and sour ribs.”
Yu Yan said, “Ah… that works too.”
Han Mo began, “Bing Shen, then—”
His phone suddenly rang.
Furrowing his brow, Han Mo glanced at the screen and answered, “Manager?”
Ding Jun: “Han Shen, are you done with your matters there? Finish up and come to Hao Jingxuan for dinner.”
Han Mo glanced at Yan Yibing again. “I’m not available tonight; I’ve made other plans.”
Ding Jun: “Oh, that’s a bit inconvenient. Can’t you reschedule? I’ve arranged for Attorney Chen to join us.”
There was a muffled voice beside Ding Jun, cautiously inquiring, “The Captain won’t be coming?”
Ding Jun: “Come on, tell them to prepare four sets of cutlery.”
Xin Chen brightened, “Okay!”
He dashed outside the private room and shouted to the waiter, “Prepare tea for four, please.”
Even from the distance of the phone, the shout was still audible.
Yan Yibing waved his hand, “You should go quickly. If Ding Jun is looking for you, it’s probably important. I’ll go with Yu Yan and the others for dinner.”
Han Mo hesitated for a moment, murmuring softly, ” Hmm.”
Hmm?
Hmm!!!
It’s another ” Hmm.” It was a ” Hmm ” last night, followed by a friendly interaction with the Rising Star.
Today it’s dinner again with the Rising Star.
Does Ding Jun even know that Han Mo likes men? Is he the reincarnation of the God of Love?
Yan Yibing elegantly walked over to Yu Yan’s side. “How about I join you guys at CNG?”
Yu Yan teased, “Tsk, spying on the enemy?”
Yan Yibing retorted, “I don’t care.”
Ding Luo’s gaze moved back and forth between Yan Yibing and Han Mo, forcing a smile. “Suddenly I don’t want to eat in the cafeteria, let’s have hot pot instead, at that newly opened seafood hot pot place.”
Yu Yan sighed, “Ah… sure.”
She sent away Yu Yan and Lu Jianghe to give Yan Yibing and Han Mo a chance. But now Han Mo was taken away by someone else, leaving her disinterested.
Han Mo packed his bag, slung it over one shoulder, and said calmly, “I’ll be leaving first.”
Yan Yibing glanced at him with the corner of his eyes, but quickly looked away, and replied with a “hmm” lukewarmly.
However, Han Mo was clearly unaffected by this word.
He pushed the door open, and soon his footsteps couldn’t be heard even in the corridor.
Yan Yibing had no choice but to go for hotpot with Yu Yan, Ding Luo, and Lu Jianghe.
This place was a boutique-style hot pot restaurant, specializing in seafood and Wagyu beef. The taste was excellent, but the prices were high. The four of them couldn’t secure a private room at the last minute and had to sit at a regular table.
The air was filled with the aroma of hot pot broth. While it was fragrant, it was certain that their clothes wouldn’t be wearable tomorrow.
Yan Yibing sat beside Lu Jianghe while Yu Yan and Ding Luo sat on the other side.
When the menu arrived, it was handed to the only woman present.
Ding Luo ordered crab sticks, shrimp balls, and tofu skin. Then, she passed the menu to Yu Yan, who ordered three plates of meat before passing it to Yan Yibing.
Yan Yibing was in a bad mood and just wanted to spend money.
He glanced casually at the menu. “Ten Belon oysters, a plate of large yellow croaker fillets, and a bottle of white wine.”
Lu Jianghe sighed, “Isn’t putting Belon oysters into the pot a bit of a waste?”
Yan Yibing nonchalantly replied, “If it’s not enough, order more. I’m treating.”
Lu Jianghe grinned, “Alright, boss.”
Yu Yan narrowed his eyes, looked at Yan Yibing and asked, “What are you angry about?”
Yan Yibing was stunned and asked, “What?”
Yu Yan repeated, “I’ve been watching you for a while. You’ve been in a bad mood since we left the league building. What’s wrong?”
Yan Yibing was taken aback, “Me?”
Yu Yan replied, “Obviously. It’s written all over your face.”
Yan Yibing subconsciously touched his own face, feeling a little confused.
Was he angry just now?
Or was he particularly visibly angry?
Why?
Not only was Yu Yan asking him, but he also wanted to ask himself.
What on earth could he be angry about.
Was it because Han Mo forcefully kissed him in the safety passage?
No.
Was it because Xin Chen intentionally did not buy him barley water?
Not worth his anger.
It was because Han Mo, who forcefully kissed him in the safety passage, went out for dinner tonight with Xin Chen, who didn’t buy him barley water.
But what did that have to do with him getting angry?
Why should he be angry?
As Yan Yibing thought about it, he became even more irritable.
Ding Luo lowered her gaze, heating the cup wall with hot water while whispering, “I know why Bing Shen is angry.”
Both Yu Yan and Yan Yibing looked at her simultaneously.
Ding Luo said, “Probably because it feels like when I wanted to go to the park with you before, but you ditched me to practice the game.”
Yu Yan felt a bit guilty, “Baby, I don’t do that anymore.”
Ding Luo replied, “I’m not bringing up old matters.”
Yan Yibing chuckled lightly, “What kind of feeling is that? I haven’t experienced it. I’m just a bit tired from today’s practice.”
Moreover, Ding Luo and Yu Yan are lovers, can that be the same thing?
Ding Luo nodded and didn’t continue.
The hotpot arrived soon, and the table was filled with various dishes.
Due to Ding Luo’s words, Yu Yan hadn’t dared to eat much the entire evening, just focusing on helping Ding Luo cook meat and seafood.
Yan Yibing also had little appetite, but to vent his frustration, he cooked several oysters.
These Belon oysters were expensive and usually eaten raw with lemon juice.
But now, he seemed to want to waste them.
He cooked the oysters so that they smelled like soup base and were drenched in a thick sauce, so that they couldn’t taste the slightest bit of freshness at all, and just swallowed them down absent-mindedly.
Only Lu Jianghe ate the most comfortably, devouring food like a whirlwind, stuffing his stomach to the point where he couldn’t eat anymore.
They had each had a bit of white wine, and since Yan Yibing was treating, the remaining wine naturally went to him.
After the meal, they bid farewell and went home.
Yan Yibing, with the smell of alcohol and hotpot clinging to him, even carried a bottle in his hand.
He didn’t want to embarrass himself at the club, so he chose to go home.
When he got home, even his mother was disdainful.
“Reeking of smoke and food. Go take a shower quickly.”
Yan Yibing casually placed the white wine on the shoe cabinet and lazily climbed the stairs.
Mama Yan asked, “Did you watch TV yesterday?”
Yan Yibing paused, “I haven’t turned on the TV for years.”
Mama Yan said, “There was a replay of Yayun’s competition on the sports channel yesterday.”
Yan Yibing furrowed his brows, “Who is Yayun?”
Mama Yan’s expression darkened, “What are you thinking all day? I introduced you to figure skater Mao Ya Yun!”
Yan Yibing still stood there in a daze for a moment before realizing, “Is that her name?”
Mama Yan scolded, “You didn’t even check her profile?”
Yan Yibing was puzzled, “Why would I? I wasn’t interested in her.”
Mama Yan scolded again, “Aren’t you interested in her? If you’re so indifferent, how can you expect the girl to take the initiative!”
Yan Yibing really had forgotten about it.
How could he be interested in someone he’d never met?
He just happened to run into her that day and wanted to shift his focus.
Yan Yibing said, “I’m not an outgoing person by nature; otherwise, I wouldn’t be so late in having a relationship.”
After grumbling, he rushed upstairs.
Mama Yan exclaimed, “You!”
Yan Yibing had already closed his bedroom door tightly.
He tossed his smelly clothes on a chair and took a shower.
As the hot water cascaded down, his gaze was confined to the small confines of the bathroom.
Bathtub, washbasin, tiled floor, towel rack with a towel hanging.
In his room, there were already traces of Han Mo’s presence.
Yan Yibing felt a bit confused.
He vaguely realized that his demands on Han Mo seemed to have exceeded the boundaries of a master-disciple relationship.
After the shower, he wiped himself casually, put on a new t-shirt, and leaned back in the chair.
After a moment of daze, he still felt stifled.
Taking advantage of the late hour, the silence around him, and nobody else present, Yan Yibing turned on the computer, searching—
【Can a straight guy be turned gay?】
He had no idea, but when he searched, he was shocked.
There were hundreds of similar questions. How many people were troubled like him!
Sighing, he clicked on the most answered one.
The first response:
【Thanks for asking. I am a straight guy who has been turned gay. As for why I’m bent, it’s probably because I’m small there, so I’ve always had a bit of an inferiority complex, and I always wanted a big one to belong to me, regardless of whether it belonged to the front or the back.]
Damn!
Impressive.
Yan Yibing blushed.
He was convinced by this logic.
Then he lowered his head and took a look.
He could confirm that he wasn’t considered small.
Although not an exaggerated 18 centimeters, it was still something to be confident about.
Hmm.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sure enough, I am not someone who is easily bent.”
After building his self-esteem, he let out a sigh of relief, swiftly deleted the search history, and closed the computer.
Just after finishing this series of actions, he found a WeChat message from Han Mo.
【Han Mo: Are you at home or at the club?】
Yan Yibing glanced at it, and the relief he felt just a moment ago suddenly vanished.
This message read—
【Want to have dinner together tonight?】
And above that—
【Sure.】
Neither of them made him feel good.
Yan Yibing ignored it.
But soon, Han Mo initiated a voice call.
Yan Yibing frowned, hesitating for a moment, but eventually answered.
“Is something wrong?”
Han Mo’s voice, mixed with the wind outside, sounded a bit distorted. “Are you at the club?”
“No, I’m not.”
Han Mo affirmed, “Then you must be at home.”
Yan Yibing asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Wait for me, I’ll come to find you.”
“Don’t!”
Han Mo insisted, “I brought some egg yolk pastries for aunt and uncle.”
Yan Yibing: “…”
Geez, the dinner would be quite enjoyable, eating and taking away.
Egg yolk pastries were indeed a specialty of Hao Jingxuan, and since he brought something for his parents, Yan Yibing had no grounds to stop him.
Han Mo kept his word.
Half an hour after hanging up the voice call, Han Mo knocked on the door of his house.
Yan Yibing was upstairs, and it was his mother who opened the door.
Soon, she shouted with her neck stretched out, “Son, Han Mo is here. Come down quickly!”
Yan Yibing sighed.
He rolled off the bed, slipped into his shorts, donned his slippers, and headed downstairs.
Mama Yan was exchanging pleasantries with Han Mo, “Oh, you came, and you brought something too.”
Han Mo smiled, “Doesn’t Auntie like to eat, this one tastes good, it just so happens that I went there for dinner today, so I just brought some.”
Mama Yan said, “Thank you, thank you. This place is quite expensive; you must not spend too much in the future.”
Yan Yibing smirked, his lips curved in a half-smile. Leaning against the staircase railing, his hair was half-dried and a bit disheveled.
After taking a shower, he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything. His lips were a faint shade of red, lightly pursed, and his skin glowed white.
Han Mo glanced at him, “I also brought some dessert for Master too. The honey-glazed cherries from that place are new and very popular. But they need to be eaten while hot.”
Yan Yibing ate ten oysters at night and didn’t touch anything else, so he wasn’t hungry or full.
But He said, “I’m not hungry.”
Han Mo raised an eyebrow, and his thin eyelids quivered slightly, “It’s just a few cherries—one serving has only four.”
His mother urged him, “He specifically brought it for you; just try it. Don’t you love sweets?”
With his mom speaking, Yan Yibing couldn’t refuse.
Han Mo said, “Let’s go to my place. We can also discuss the issues from this afternoon’s training. Don’t disturb Uncle and Auntie’s rest.”
Yan Yibing: “…”
He was really transparent!
“Just outside the door is fine; it’s not cold outside,” Yan Yibing said.
There were wooden chairs provided in the community for the elderly to rest while walking.
In front of Yan Yibing’s house was a small fountain, surrounded by two wooden chairs. Few people sat there because it was too close to their home.
Han Mo said, “Alright.”
Yan Yibing went out wearing slippers.
There was a gentle breeze at night, not strong enough to be unbearable but enough to lift stray strands of hair.
The deep summer night was filled with a rich fragrance, perhaps from some unknown flowers.
The moon was faint, and the stars were almost invisible. The city’s glow formed a giant retina covering the entire Magic City.
Han Mo carefully opened the box and handed a small fork to Yan Yibing, “Try it; it’s still warm.”
Yan Yibing shifted his gaze away, saying softly, “I won’t eat.”
Han Mo paused and smiled, “Does Master being mad at me mean that Master cares more about me now?”
Yan Yibing replied unfriendly, “Who said I’m angry at you.”
Han Mo said, “I wanted to have dinner with you tonight, but Ding-ge called me—”
“—Called you to accompany the Rising Star,” Yan Yibing interrupted.
Han Mo closed his lips and slowly said, “Called me to meet a lawyer. Xin Chen happened to be there, so he got involved.”
Yan Yibing furrowed his brows, “Why see a lawyer?”
Han Mo replied, “Nothing major, just a small dispute. I’ll tell you after you finish eating.”
Yan Yibing said, “…”
What frustrated him was that he did want to know what the dispute was about.
Yan Yibing took the plastic box from Han Mo’s hand, held the fork, and picked up a cherry.
The cherries were bright red, placed on a small tray made of sticky rice, fine petals mixed in with delicate sugar threads. A fresh and sweet fragrance wafted from the box.
He bit into a cherry, piercing its skin with his teeth. The rich juice flowed down, blending with the sugary syrup infused with osmanthus flavor. Together with the sticky rice, it had a peculiar and indescribable texture—a condensed taste of spring swallowed whole.
It was indeed delicious.
He licked the syrup off his lips, and his appetite was awakened.
He ate two more in a row before feeling somewhat satisfied.
As the fork approached the last cherry, Yan Yibing subconsciously raised his eyes and found Han Mo staring at him.
Under the bright streetlamp, Han Mo’s expression was especially clear.
His eyes were deep black, his eyelids slightly folded, and his gaze was openly affectionate.
This kind of affection was mixed with an indescribable desire, especially when Yan Yibing subconsciously extended his tongue to lick his lips.
Any man would understand that look.
But Yan Yibing still pretended to be oblivious, handed over the food box, and asked, “Do you want some?”
Han Mo smirked, murmuring in the wind, “Not this, I want to eat your cherry.”
Author’s Message:
Han Mo: Can I have both of them?
Thank you for reading! 
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