RTCBM 29

Mu Yuan made a spontaneous decision to drop by the shop and have Ryan touch up one of his tattoos. The place was busy today, and since he didn’t make an appointment, he sat on the couch playing mobile games while waiting.

A male customer who had just finished getting inked walked out of one of the rooms. As he passed Mu Yuan, he casually slipped a small note into Mu Yuan’s jacket pocket and gave him a flirty look. He mimed a phone call with his hand, mouthed “Call me back,” then turned and walked away with flair.

“Ryan, did you see that?” Mu Yuan waved the note in the air like a flag in front of Xiang Yang’s face. “That guy just gave this to me.”

“Of course I saw it.” Xiang Yang was just as surprised. Mu Yuan had been coming to this shop for years, and not once had a male customer ever tried to hit on him. Usually, the moment someone saw him, their finely tuned gaydar would instantly scream straight as hell and cross him off the target list.

But today was different. That guy earlier was famous in the gay scene for having sharp instincts. Someone that seasoned rarely made mistakes. So what changed? Was Mu Yuan giving off a new kind of energy?

Mu Yuan unfolded the note and glanced at it. Nothing but a phone number.

“Hah, turns out the way guys hit on guys is pretty much the same as how girls hit on guys.” He chuckled, rubbing his chin like he was pondering something.

“That guy just now looked decent enough, but he was kinda short and skinny. Not a shred of muscle on him. Way too feminine. Tsk, what a waste.”

What a waste… Those last three words caught Xiang Yang off guard.
Why was it a waste?
What was being wasted?

Until now, Mu Yuan had never said a word about any guy’s looks or body. Not once. Xiang Yang suddenly had a strange thought. Maybe it wasn’t the customer who misread things. Maybe it was Mu Yuan who had changed.

Testing the waters, he asked, “Then what kind of guy do you think fits your type?”

Mu Yuan didn’t even hesitate.
“Gotta be tough. Strong as hell. Gritty and manly. At least on par with me, that’s when it really feels right.”

The second those words left his mouth, Mu Yuan realized he might’ve just exposed something. But it was too late. Xiang Yang was already looking at him differently.

There was surprise all over Xiang Yang’s face. He’d known Mu Yuan for years. Maybe they weren’t blood brothers, but he’d always figured Mu Yuan was a textbook straight guy. He never imagined they’d end up talking about Mu Yuan’s taste in men like this.

“Mu Yuan… so when did your tastes change?”

Mu Yuan gave a few dry coughs. He glanced around, leaned in close, and whispered into Xiang Yang’s ear, “Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not actually gay. It’s just… lately, I’ve found that messing around with guys now and then feels kinda good.”

Xiang Yang patted his shoulder and gave a knowing smile. “Alright. I get it.”

Mu Yuan had no idea if he actually did get it, but since the topic was already out there, he went on, “Hey, Ryan, since you’re in that scene, know anyone suitable you could introduce me to?”

“What kind of ‘suitable’ are we talking about?” Xiang Yang asked. “Someone you wanna date seriously…”

“No no no.” Mu Yuan cut him off immediately. “I’m not trying to get into a relationship.”

“So you’re just looking to fuck?” Xiang Yang got straight to the point.

“Yes, exactly! That’s what I’m talking about.” Mu Yuan nodded rapidly, eyes lighting up with so much excitement it looked like he might actually bounce in place. He admitted it, and with such a wide-open attitude that Xiang Yang couldn’t help but see him in a new light.

Xiang Yang actually kind of appreciated how straightforward and shameless Mu Yuan was. He smiled and said,
“There’s a weekend party at my place tonight. Just some people from the circle hanging out. You wanna come? Maybe you’ll meet someone who’s your type.”

Mu Yuan agreed.

It was his first time going to a gay party, and he had no idea what to wear. So he called He Dongying over to help him pick an outfit.

“Which of these two looks better?” Mu Yuan held each shirt up to his chest one by one and asked for He Dongying’s opinion.

He Dongying glanced at him and let out a laugh. “What’s with the flashy look? Where the hell are you headed dressed like that?”

Mu Yuan smirked mysteriously.
“A friend invited me to a house party tonight.”

“The fuck? You got a party and didn’t invite your bro? You still human or what?” He Dongying punched him in the shoulder.

Mu Yuan narrowed his eyes.
“You seriously wanna come with me?”

He didn’t bother explaining anything, so He Dongying assumed it was one of those wild parties with pretty girls everywhere and said immediately, “Hell yes. I’m in.”

The party was held at a villa in the city. But once they arrived, He Dongying realized something was seriously off.

Everywhere he looked, it was nothing but men. Not a single woman in sight. A few guys dressed flamboyantly strutted past them, clearly trying to catch their attention.

He Dongying grabbed Mu Yuan by the collar and yanked him to the side.
“You better tell me the truth right now. What kind of party is this?”

“You can’t tell? This is a real man’s party.”

“Bullshit.” He Dongying glared at him.
“Don’t fuck with me. You dragged me to a damn gay party on purpose, didn’t you?”

Mu Yuan rolled his eyes and fired back,
“You never asked.”

“You serious right now? You couldn’t give me a heads-up?”

“Come on, we’re just here to have some fun.” Mu Yuan grinned and slapped his shoulder, then pointed toward a muscular guy sitting at the bar. “Check him out. What do you think? I’ve been watching him for a while. Got any ideas on how I should approach him?”

He Dongying was speechless. He stared at Mu Yuan in complete shock for over a full minute before finally saying, “What… what the hell did you just say? Say it again.”

Mu Yuan thought he didn’t hear clearly, so he repeated, “See that muscle guy at the bar? I think he looks good, but I’ve never tried chatting up a dude before. Got any tips?”

He Dongying just stared at him.

“You hit your head or something?” He Dongying reached up and touched Mu Yuan’s forehead. Normal temperature. Didn’t seem delirious. He glanced again at the muscle guy Mu Yuan had pointed at, then looked away quickly. From big-titted babes to beefy muscle bros, that’s one hell of a leap.

He Dongying grabbed Mu Yuan by the shoulders and made him look straight at him. “Mu Yu, what the fuck is going on with you today? You being serious right now?”

“I’m dead serious.”

“That’s it. Cut the shit. We’re leaving.” He Dongying grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away, but Mu Yuan stood rooted to the floor like he’d grown roots.

“Go back? What for? I haven’t even finished what I came here to do. If you want to leave, go by yourself.” Mu Yuan peeled He Dongying’s hand off and went right back to eyeing the muscle guy at the bar like a hungry wolf.

They’d been friends for over twenty years, but right now He Dongying felt like he was meeting Mu Yuan for the first time.
“What the fuck… since when were you into this kind of thing?”

“It’s not what you think.” Mu Yuan looked around quickly and then lowered his voice.
“Dongzi, have you ever heard of prostate massage?”

That made He Dongying freeze. His brain started spinning fast. Considering Mu Yuan’s shameless and impulsive personality, he had a bad feeling he already knew where this was going.

“Dongzi, listen. I saw this post the other day. It was about how guys can massage their own prostate.”

He Dongying cut him off. “And what the hell were you doing looking at that shit in the first place?”

“I was just curious, alright?” Mu Yuan explained. “That dude on the forum was going on and on about how amazing it felt. I thought he was full of crap.”

He Dongying folded his arms, already bracing himself. “And then?”

“So I tried it… and turns out, it actually feels pretty fucking great.”

He Dongying just stared at him. Honestly, this shameless bastard really was the type to do something like that.

Mu Yuan tugged at his sleeve.
“Dongzi, you wanna try it too?”

“Fuck off.”

“Don’t shoot it down right away. You haven’t even tried it. Talk shit after you’ve experienced it yourself.”

The way he said it, so earnest like he was recommending a five-star restaurant, made He Dongying want to smack him. He raised his leg and kicked Mu Yuan square in the ass.

“I don’t care what you do. Go play with yourself all you want. Just don’t drag me into your gay shit.”

“It’s just casual sex, not dating.”

“No fucking difference.”

Fed up, He Dongying turned to walk toward the door, only to freeze when he saw a face he knew far too well.

Xiang Yang had originally just come over to greet Mu Yuan. He didn’t expect to run into He Dongying at a party like this. Their eyes met for a split second, and neither of them spoke.

Mu Yuan, completely oblivious to the tension, threw an arm around Dongying’s shoulder with a bright grin and pulled him close. “Ryan, this is the guy I told you about. My buddy He Dongying. Just call him Dongzi.”

“Dongzi, this is Ryan, the owner of the tattoo shop I always go to. He’s a great guy and his tattoo skills are top-notch.”

“No need for introductions.” He Dongying cut in coldly. “We know each other.”

“Huh? You two already know each other?”

Xiang Yang quickly hid the flicker of surprise in his eyes and smiled politely at Mu Yuan.
“Known him for five years now. Didn’t expect we’d all be part of the same circle.”

He was speaking to Mu Yuan, but his gaze kept flicking toward He Dongying. Noticing that He Dongying had no intention of responding, his mood visibly dipped. He made up an excuse about needing to greet other guests and stepped away.

“You fucking did this on purpose, didn’t you?” He Dongying glared at Mu Yuan.

“What do you mean, on purpose?” Mu Yuan blinked in confusion. He had absolutely no idea what He Dongying was getting at.

“He’s Xiang Yang. I told you about him before.”

“Xiang Yang?” The name rang a bell. Mu Yuan thought about it for a good while before it suddenly clicked.

“Holy shit, Ryan is Xiang Yang?! The one who treats money like dirt and gave you that eighty-thousand-dollar luxury watch?”

He Dongying raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying.

All this time, Xiang Yang had introduced himself to customers by his English name. Mu Yuan had never asked for his real one, so it never even crossed his mind that the rich tattoo parlor owner he’d known for years was the same Xiang Yang He Dongying had mentioned in the past.

Mu Yuan had heard a bit about Xiang Yang from He Dongying before.

They met five years ago, back when He Dongying was still studying in Boston. One night, while walking home from a friend’s place, He Dongying saw Xiang Yang getting mugged. Without hesitation, he gave chase and fought the guy. In the struggle, he was stabbed in the thigh and lost a dangerous amount of blood. He ended up in the hospital, in critical condition, but was saved thanks to timely treatment.

To thank He Dongying for helping him, Xiang Yang covered all his medical expenses. While He Dongying was hospitalized, Xiang Yang visited him every single day, sometimes staying from morning to night. Two Chinese guys meeting abroad, and even from the same hometown, naturally drew close. They were around the same age too, able to chat about anything and everything. Before long, strangers became genuine friends.

Even after He Dongying was discharged, they stayed in close contact. Xiang Yang often invited him out to eat or hang out, and when He Dongying had basketball tournaments at school, he would always call Xiang Yang over to cheer him on.

Their friendship deepened with every little interaction. One night before Thanksgiving, they went drinking at a bar. Xiang Yang was in a bad mood and got totally wasted. He started yelling and acting out, and then suddenly broke down crying at the table. While sobbing, he confessed his heartbreak to He Dongying. That was when He Dongying found out the real reason Xiang Yang had come overseas. He’d just gone through a breakup with his boyfriend and hadn’t been able to move on. He cried and talked, and in the middle of it all, he ended up puking all over He Dongying.

The next morning, Xiang Yang woke up in his own bed. It was He Dongying who brought him home, helped him get undressed, and even changed his clothes.

Even after finding out Xiang Yang liked men, He Dongying didn’t avoid him or treat him differently. He interacted with him just like before. To He Dongying, Xiang Yang had always been, and would always be, a good friend.

But he was the only one who saw it that way.

In the second half of He Dongying’s years studying abroad, Xiang Yang made a point to visit three or four times a year. He said it was to collaborate with local tattoo shops, but truthfully, the biggest reason was always to see He Dongying. Xiang Yang never told him that.

On He Dongying’s last birthday in the US, Xiang Yang flew in overnight from China just to spend it with him. That night, Xiang Yang finally worked up the courage to confess his feelings, but He Dongying rejected him on the spot without even thinking about it. The reason was simple. He was straight and liked women.

After graduating, He Dongying returned to China to build his career. With his good looks and overseas background, he was considered a top-tier catch. Plenty of women chased after him, but strangely, none of his relationships lasted long. Each time, shortly after they got together, the woman would abruptly break things off and cut off all contact.

It kept happening again and again. To chalk it up as coincidence would be too much of a stretch. He Dongying knew something wasn’t right. So he started digging, and eventually found out the one behind it all was Xiang Yang.

Xiang Yang had secretly interfered more than once. He paid off the women He Dongying had dated, bribing them to break up with him. At first, some of them refused firmly. But the world is what it is. Money can’t buy everything, but it can buy most things. When they saw the kind of price Xiang Yang was offering, they caved.

Everyone who made a deal with Xiang Yang had to sign an agreement. They were required to sever all ties with He Dongying and never contact him again. If they broke the terms, they’d face consequences.

Burning with rage, He Dongying went straight to confront him. That day happened to be Xiang Yang’s birthday. In front of all of Xiang Yang’s friends, he landed two brutal punches square to his face and stormed off.

Those punches may have landed on Xiang Yang’s face, but the real impact hit straight to his heart. He didn’t fight back. He had nothing to say for himself because he’d brought it all on himself.

But even then, Xiang Yang didn’t give up on He Dongying. Instead, he did something even worse, something that pushed their relationship to the edge of a cliff.

One night, when He Dongying was drinking alone at a bar, Xiang Yang had someone slip something into his drink. When the drug kicked in and He Dongying was no longer in control of his body, Xiang Yang brought him back to his own bed and had sex with him.

The next day, when the effects wore off and He Dongying came to, he exploded. Last time, when he hit Xiang Yang, it had been a warning. But this time was different. Xiang Yang had crossed the line. He had violated the one boundary He Dongying would never tolerate.

He Dongying didn’t hold back. He beat him hard. Xiang Yang didn’t make a sound the entire time. He clenched his teeth and took every blow.

After that night, He Dongying completely cut off contact with Xiang Yang. It was the one outcome Xiang Yang feared the most, and the last thing he ever wanted to see happen.

To ask for forgiveness, Xiang Yang went to He Dongying’s building and sat outside for four straight days without eating or drinking a drop of water. It was around Minor Cold season, and the constant drizzle soaked through everything. The southern winter was damp and bitingly cold, straight to the bone. Starving and freezing, Xiang Yang still stubbornly refused to leave. In the end, he collapsed from exhaustion, fainting on the pavement with He Dongying’s name still softly falling from his lips.

In the end, He Dongying couldn’t harden his heart enough to let him die out there. For the sake of their past friendship, he went downstairs and took him to the hospital.

When Xiang Yang woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed with an IV needle in his hand. The moment he saw He Dongying turning to leave, he jumped off the bed like he’d been injected with adrenaline. He dropped to his knees right there on the floor and begged for forgiveness, saying he had only done what he did because he lost control for a moment. He cried and pleaded for He Dongying to give him another chance.

He Dongying gave him one final chance. He made Xiang Yang promise that from that day on, he would never again interfere in any part of his love life. This time, Xiang Yang kept his word. Even now, he still remembered that promise and guarded the line between them with extreme caution.