INT 10 Chapter

Jiang Yijie caught up with Lu Ze from behind, his tone changing with shock, “Lu Ze? What did you just say? When did you become gay?”

Lu Ze waited until they were far away before answering in a low voice, “I just said it casually.

Jiang Yijie walked silently beside him for a long time without saying a word. Lu Ze looked at him, “What? Did I scare you?”

Jiang Yijie snapped out of his thoughts and reached out to help him with the box, “No… Just a lot of people around heard it. Aren’t you afraid that it might have an effect?”

Lu Ze breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if his footsteps had lightened. He said nonchalantly, “What repercussions could there be? Being gay isn’t illegal, it doesn’t violate any school rules, and if Han Jing isn’t afraid as a girl, what do I have to be afraid of?”

Jiang Yijie couldn’t quite understand his thought process, “But Han Jing already likes girls, and you don’t really like boys.”

Lu Ze clicked his tongue, “From now on, just accept that your bro Lu Ze likes guys, okay?”

Back in the dormitory, he shared some fruits with Jiang Yijie. Jiang Yijie seemed absent-minded and dropped two apples while trying to grab one.

Lu Ze picked them up and put them directly into a plastic bag for him, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Hand tremor,” Jiang Yijie said, “just tired.”

Lu Ze waved him off, leaving enough fruit for the three people in their dormitory. He distributed the rest to the neighbors on both sides.

Then, while nibbling on a crunchy and sweet large apple, he found Liang Xiao’s WeChat and sent a message: [Xiao Ge, are you free?]

After a few minutes, Liang Xiao replied: [What’s up?]

Lu Ze said in a relaxed tone: [I’ve come out of the closet; it seems like I might need a boyfriend].

Liang Xiao didn’t answer right away. While waiting, Lu Ze continued to munch on the apple. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the words he had just casually uttered were quite refreshing. No matter what Han Jing might think, at least he felt comfortable. Others wouldn’t look at him as if he had suffered a great blow just because he broke up with her.

When he had almost finished eating the apple, Liang Xiao replied: [Do you need to talk, or would you rather meet in person?]

Lu Ze was momentarily surprised; he hadn’t expected Liang Xiao to ask this directly. He thought Liang Xiao would first ask why a straight guy like him would come out of the closet.

It seemed that Liang Xiao was as cool as ever.

With the apple in his mouth, Luze replied with both hands: [Having chat records should be enough].

Lu Ze: [I’ll reach out if I need to.]

Lu Ze: [But that way, it might not be fair to you in terms of fees.]

Lu Ze: [Do you have a price list or something? Send it to me.]

Liang Xiao actually sent him a price list, simple and straightforward with black text on a white background. Each service and its corresponding price were clearly outlined. Lu Ze laughed for a while when he saw that there was actually such a serious price list, and almost lost his grip on the apple.

He saved it, looked at it again carefully, and realized that his service fell under the category of companionship chat and charged one hundred and fifty per hour, which was quite high. Earlier, Sun Zhuoyu had arranged a companionship chat for Mao Xin on Valentine’s Day, and it seemed to only cost fifty for the whole day.

However, he didn’t know what she looked like. Maybe there was a creepy old man behind the girl. Considering that Liang Xiao is a handsome guy, he might be worth the price.

Lu Ze finished eating the apple in a few bites, threw the apple core into the trash can in the corner, and puffed out his cheeks to type: ［Are you working right now?

Liang Xiao: ［Chatting, working at two］.

Lu Ze: ［Isn’t chatting considered work?］

Liang Xiao: ［Simple.］

Lu Ze: ［ Does it only count as work if it involves a face-to-face meeting?］

Liang Xiao:［Yeah］. 

Lu Ze smiled and was still curious about Liang Xiao’s profession: ［Can’t you work during the companionship chat?］.

Liang Xiao: ［I can’t chat during work］.

Lu Ze replied: ［Got it, so during companionship chat, you can chat with several people at the same time］.

Liang Xiao: ［Yes, or you can request an exclusive chat for one person with an additional fee］]

Lu Ze raised his legs and jokingly said: ［Then just chat with me, I’ll pay extra］

He’s not really very outgoing. Although he is close to his friends and has strong relationships, the process of getting to know someone still takes a bit of time.

But Liang Xiao is different from all his friends. He’s older, already working, seemingly reserved and cool, yet effortlessly skilled at his job. So Lu Ze always likes to tease him.

Liang Xiao quickly replied: ［Sure, what to talk about?]

Oops, does the cool guy not follow common sense?

Lu Ze was startled, put his legs down and quickly replied: ［Wait a minute, I was just teasing you. Don’t take it too seriously].

Liang Xiao: [Hmm]

Hmm? What does “hmm” mean? Did he know I was teasing him? Or did he not take it seriously?

Lu Ze sighed. Chatting with Cool Bro was too challenging, especially when unable to see his face through the screen. It was impossible to judge emotions from expressions… Even though face-to-face didn’t seem much better. However, the “Yeah” spoken out loud was at least not as cold as the one sent through the phone.

Lu Ze replied: ［Won’t disturb you anymore, go and earn money properly.］

Liang Xiao didn’t respond further. Lu Ze stared at their chat box and muttered to himself, “I even treated you to such delicious pot meat…”

He changed Liang Xiao’s nickname to: Can’t handle Tan Rou (Pot meat) 

With no classes in the afternoon, Lu Ze changed into his pajamas and lay down on the bed. Perhaps due to his illness not being completely gone, he fell asleep after a short while.

Not knowing how long he had slept, he was startled by the sound of the door being forcefully opened. Before he could grasp what was happening, Sun Zhuoyu had already rushed to his bedside.

“Lu Ze! Lu Ze! Wake up! Don’t damn sleep!”

Lu Ze, looking bewildered, sat up. “What… happened?”

Sun Zhuoyu, panting, said, “Did you come back and sleep right after noon without checking your phone?”

Still a bit groggy, Lu Ze mumbled, “Uh…”

“Your thing with Han Jing, it’s spreading like crazy in the school…” Sun Zhuoyu took out his phone, tapped a few times, and thrust it in front of Lu Ze. “Some say they saw you two at the supermarket entrance at noon, and that you publicly came out there. What the hell is this nonsense!”

Lu Ze ran his hand through his disheveled hair, recalling what he had said and understanding the situation.

Sun Zhuoyu swiped the screen again. “Look at this, all sorts of things people are saying.”

Lu Ze leaned his head back, pushing the phone a bit farther away. “Don’t bother looking. It’s okay. Let them say whatever they want; it doesn’t matter.”

Sun Zhuoyu paused for a few seconds. “No, seriously, did you not wake up properly? Why are you so calm?”

Lu Ze yawned and stretched lazily. “Because I did come out of the closet.”

Sun Zhuoyu’s reaction mirrored those who had gathered at noon; he stared in shock, his mouth wide enough to fit the large apple Lu Ze had just finished eating.

So, it’s not impossible? Did they misunderstand the gender?

Suddenly, Lu Ze found everyone’s reactions quite amusing, including that of Jiang Yijie, who seemed more surprised than when Lu Ze knew about Han Jing’s feelings for Qiu Ning.

Isn’t it just being homosexual? Isn’t it just that Lu Ze likes guys? Why such astonishment?

Even though he had relationships with girls, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t like guys, after all, he hadn’t tried it before.

Suddenly, Lu Ze felt a rebellious surge inside of him, perhaps it could be called “the aftermath of realizing that your girlfriend never liked you and is a homosexual.” He didn’t know exactly what he was rebelling against, but he didn’t feel like explaining it.

So he jumped off the bed, grabbed a washed apple, and stuffed it into Sun Zhuoyu’s mouth. “Here, eat slowly and digest it.”

——

 

Seven Willow:

See you the day after tomorrow~