Chapter 21: “Is There Such a Thing as a Purely Platonic Friendship Between Two Men?”
Vancouver was deep in autumn. The streets were lined with maple trees, and their fallen leaves blanketed the lawns, creating a vast, uninterrupted sea of orange.
The salon was being held at a local art museum. After landing, Jian Huaiyi dropped his luggage at the hotel and took a car directly to the venue.
The museum was bustling with people, all attendees of the salon.
“Your invitation, please,” a security guard said in English.
Jian Huaiyi handed over his invitation, passed through the security check, and was led into the gallery by a foreigner.
The guide explained to Jian Huaiyi, “The theme of our salon is ‘Resurrection,’ which can be translated into Chinese as ‘Nirvana’.” Noticing Jian Huaiyi was Chinese, he even ventured a phrase in Mandarin. The accent was so thick and awkward, however, that it took Jian Huaiyi a long moment to understand he was saying niè pán.
Before them stood a three-meter-tall statue of a person. At its feet, an explosion of phoenix flowers bloomed, their vibrant, flamboyant petals resembling a cluster of hearts embracing the battle-worn general at the center. Phoenix flowers weren’t native to the area; they had all been shipped from abroad, undergoing a strict transportation process to be preserved so perfectly.
Jian Huaiyi felt a current run through his veins, a warmth spreading to his fingertips.
“Could you tell me about this piece?”
He spoke in a fluent London accent, a stark contrast to the guide’s clumsy Mandarin.
The foreigner paused, then chuckled lightly. “Of course.”
The floral art salon was a week-long event, open for two hours each day, with attendees free to visit at their convenience.
After studying that particular piece, Jian Huaiyi left. He had dinner at a nearby restaurant and then, on a whim, turned into a photography studio in an adjacent alley.
“Welcome.”
The owner, a man, was hunched over by the glass window, adjusting his camera’s angle against the light.
Jian Huaiyi remained silent. The owner paused his work, puzzled, and looked up at the young man by the door. His placid eyes instantly lit up.
“Jian Huaiyi!”
A small smile touched Jian Huaiyi’s lips as he responded in English, “Long time no see, Chen.”
Ning Chen placed his camera on the counter. Hearing Jian Huaiyi’s teasing tone, he laughed helplessly. “It has been a long time.”
After a few pleasantries, Ning Chen asked, “Are you here for the floral art salon?”
“Yes, and to see you while I’m here.”
“I knew it. In the great Jian Huaiyi’s heart, I’m just an afterthought,” Ning Chen said, clutching his chest in mock injury.
“What afterthought?” another, slightly deeper voice drifted from the back room.
Jian Huaiyi raised an eyebrow.
Ning Chen scratched his head, embarrassed, and whispered in English, “A friend.”
Jian Huaiyi smiled but said nothing.
“Ugh, fine! My boyfriend!”
As he spoke, a man pushed aside the curtain and emerged from the back. He wore a gray windbreaker, and his monolidded eyes, holding a pair of bright, peach-blossom-shaped pupils, looked慵懶. They held a clarity that suggested he’d never been beaten down by the world.
His gaze fell directly on the unexpected guest, Jian Huaiyi, and his brow furrowed deeper the longer he looked.
The man strode over to Ning Chen, placing a hand on Ning Chen’s shoulder blade in an incredibly possessive manner and pulling him flush against his chest.
“Hello, I’m Ning Chen’s boyfriend.”
Jian Huaiyi: ?
Ning Chen: ?
“Let go, Xiao Yuanzhou,” Ning Chen struggled.
Xiao Yuanzhou reluctantly released him, but not before spitefully ruffling a stray tuft of hair on the back of Ning Chen’s head.
“When did you make a friend from China behind my back?” Xiao Yuanzhou asked resentfully.
Ning Chen glared at him. “I knew Huaiyi back when you were still studying abroad.”
Xiao Yuanzhou’s gaze toward Jian Huaiyi turned even more hostile. As he stared, a strange sense of familiarity washed over him, a feeling that he had seen Jian Huaiyi somewhere before.
“Jian Huaiyi,” the man in question said coolly, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Xiao Yuanzhou’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second as he stroked his smooth jawline.
Where have I seen him?
Ning Chen, exasperated, poked Xiao Yuanzhou’s elbow and pointed to his own temple. “Huaiyi, please forgive him. He’s not all there.”
Jian Huaiyi, naturally, didn’t take offense.
“Who’s not all there!” Xiao Yuanzhou suddenly exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Chenchen, am I not ‘good enough’ for you?!”
Fearing what other outrageous things might come out of his mouth, Ning Chen slapped a hand over Xiao Yuanzhou’s lips and shot Jian Huaiyi an apologetic grimace.
“Huaiyi, shall we head to the backstreet later?”
“Sure.”
After locking up the shop, the three of them went to a quiet bar in the neighborhood.
It had been a long time, and Ning Chen had so much he wanted to say to Jian Huaiyi that he made a point of sitting right beside him.
Of course, this was also a clear sign of his annoyance with Xiao Yuanzhou.
Jian Huaiyi and Ning Chen had been high school classmates and were even desk-mates for a short period during their senior year.
The start of their true friendship, however, was not a pleasant one.
Ning Chen was introverted and came from an ordinary family whose parents ran a small company. His diligence in his studies earned him the scorn of a group of rich, arrogant kids. They would sometimes deliberately ruin his homework to vent their malice. Ning Chen couldn’t afford to provoke them, nor could he tell the teachers. Reporting them would surely lead to his expulsion, and he couldn’t disappoint his parents after they had worked so hard to get him into that school.
So, Ning Chen endured it in silence. But his quiet tolerance only made them bolder. The more he tried to avoid them, the more they wanted to bully him.
During their senior year, as was customary, the students changed seats, and Ning Chen was moved next to Jian Huaiyi. With his cold demeanor and prominent family background, no one dared to bother Jian Huaiyi. At first, Ning Chen was a bit afraid of him, too, barely speaking to him for a week outside of necessary exchanges. But later, when that same group of bullies cornered him on the rooftop, it was Jian Huaiyi, who happened to be passing by, who saved him. Only then did Ning Chen realize that the Second Young Master Jian, known for being proud and aloof, was actually a good person who was warm on the inside.
After graduation, Ning Chen went abroad to study photography while Jian Huaiyi attended university in China. Separated by a great distance, they gradually lost contact.
It wasn’t until Jian Huaiyi was traveling in Vancouver during his university years that they reconnected. He had gotten lost and happened to run into Ning Chen, who was out shooting photos. They exchanged WeChat contacts and had kept in touch ever since.
A waiter brought over a few plates of local snacks.
Ning Chen had no desire to reach for any of them. “These are all local snacks, Huaiyi. You should try some.”
Jian Huaiyi casually picked up a pastry. The food in Vancouver leaned towards sweet and sour, which wasn’t quite to the taste of a devoted Chinese cuisine enthusiast like himself.
Seeing his expression, Ning Chen complained with even greater despair, “Huaiyi, you think the food in Vancouver is terrible too, right? Even the Chinese restaurants here aren’t authentic. Ah—I want jianbing guozi, I want Goubuli baozi…”
Like every other Chinese student studying abroad, his endless litany of woes could be summed up in one sentence: “I want real food.”
Jian Huaiyi chuckled. “You should take a trip back to China when you have time.”
“Mmm…”
While the atmosphere between them was warm and friendly, a storm was brewing on the other side of the table.
Xiao Yuanzhou sat opposite them, glaring resentfully as they chatted. A waiter placed a glass of rum in front of him. Xiao Yuanzhou downed it in one go and slammed the tall glass back on the table with a heavy thud.
The waiter, who hadn’t walked far, flinched.
Fuck.
Xiao Yuanzhou took a deep breath and reluctantly pulled out his phone, opening his chat with a certain someone.
[Xiao Yuanzhou: You there? Come out for a drink.]
Across the Pacific Ocean, Liang Xun had arrived early at his top-floor office. He flipped over his phone and saw the message from Xiao Yuanzhou.
[Liang Xun: ?]
[Liang Xun: You back in the country?]
[Xiao Yuanzhou: No, just saying.]
[Liang Xun: .]
For the past few days, Liang Xun had been coming in early and leaving late. There was a saying that thirty was a major threshold for a man. Liang Xun was twenty-five this year, which, rounding up, was basically thirty. The employees below speculated that CEO Liang was trying to achieve his grand ambitions before he turned thirty, hence his relentless work ethic.
As Liang Xun’s assistant, Assistant Qin was suffering the consequences. His workload had nearly doubled these past few days. He pinched the tired bridge of his nose and let out a heavy sigh.
However, an outstanding assistant could handle any unexpected situation with composure.
Assistant Qin adjusted his glasses, fixed the curve of his smile before knocking, and wiped all traces of fatigue from his face. “CEO Liang.”
“Come in.”
Assistant Qin placed a file folder on the desk. “CEO Liang, this is the personal information on Lu Yang.”
Liang Xun didn’t open it, merely nodding faintly. “Got it. You can go.”
But Assistant Qin didn’t leave. Instead, he asked, “CEO Liang, should I clear your schedule for tomorrow?”
Liang Xun’s fingers paused on the keyboard. Assistant Qin kept his gaze lowered respectfully and offered a timely reminder, “Tomorrow is Jian Gongzi’s birthday.”
“You… didn’t forget, did you…” Assistant Qin muttered under his breath.
Liang Xun instinctively glanced down at the calendar, his thin lips pressing together. So much had happened recently that he had, in fact, completely forgotten about it.
But with Jian Huaiyi currently in Vancouver, it was too late to do anything.
“Keep the schedule as is,” Liang Xun said.
Assistant Qin was stunned. “You’re not celebrating with Jian Gongzi?”
“He’s not in the country right now.”
“I understand,” Assistant Qin replied. “In that case, will you celebrate it with him later?”
Liang Xun was silent for a moment. “We’ll see.”
Assistant Qin lowered his eyes, sighing inwardly.
Knowing CEO Liang, “we’ll see” meant the chances were infinitesimally small.
What a shame. A birthday—such a perfect opportunity to nurture their relationship, wasted just like that.
After Assistant Qin left, Liang Xun checked the time on his phone. With a thirteen-hour time difference, it should be late at night in Vancouver.
[Xiao Yuanzhou: I can’t take it anymore, bro. Hurry up and come drink with me. Bring a few packs of Huazi while you’re at it.]
Xiao Yuanzhou’s message popped up at the top of his screen.
Liang Xun couldn’t be bothered to reply, but Xiao Yuanzhou suddenly seemed to be possessed by a typewriter, firing off a dozen messages in a row to grab his attention.
Liang Xun skimmed them, thinking it was something serious. It turned out to be nothing more than Xiao Yuanzhou’s boyfriend chatting with a friend who had shown up unexpectedly. The two were getting along great, completely ignoring him, and Xiao Yuanzhou was having a meltdown over it.
Childish.
Liang Xun scoffed.
[Xiao Yuanzhou: Is this right? Liang Xun, you tell me, is this right? He’s having the time of his life, leaving me on the side without so much as a glance.]
Xiao Yuanzhou looked over again at the two, who were deep in conversation. Ning Chen’s eyes were curved into crescents, and dimples appeared on his cheeks when he smiled. He would even occasionally drape an arm over Jian Huaiyi’s shoulder.
Xiao Yuanzhou’s eyes were red with jealousy.
[Xiao Yuanzhou: Is there such a thing as a purely platonic friendship between two men?]
[Liang Xun: ?]
[Xiao Yuanzhou: This isn’t working, bro. You have to help me think of something. I need to break them up.]
Xiao Yuanzhou then bombarded Liang Xun with a dozen stickers of a running orange.
Liang Xun, at the end of his rope, finally replied: [You’re at a bar?]
[Xiao Yuanzhou: Yeah, why?]
A lightbulb went off in Xiao Yuanzhou’s head. He suddenly understood.
Of course. Bars were full of people on the prowl. He could easily find someone to tie Jian Huaiyi up for a while.
Besides, Jian Huaiyi wasn’t hard on the eyes. Xiao Yuanzhou scanned the room and, sure enough, saw a few men at a nearby table holding their drinks, their gazes drifting toward their table, sizing up Jian Huaiyi.
They were ready to make their move.
[Xiao Yuanzhou: Thanks, bro!]
Xiao Yuanzhou immediately stood up and greeted the men at the nearby table.
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