Chapter 8 I'm Interested in You

Lu Shangyan works part-time to earn money all year round. Although he doesn't get tanned easily, the skin exposed is still a bit darker than the skin hidden under his clothes.

Pei Yumin looked up and saw nothing but white... nothing but white.

He also has firm abs and a V-line.

In a moment of panic, he felt a rush of heat to his head and nose, and immediately raised his hand to cover his nostrils to prevent any accidents from happening.

But Lu Shangyan interpreted this differently, and he quickly put his clothes down: "Seriously? You're making me sick of looking at you?"

Pei Yumin originally thought that he had finally come to his senses and would immediately ask him to confirm their relationship, get married, and live happily ever after.

He had almost figured out where to bury them, but Lu Shangyan put the clothes down.

Pei Yumin's expression darkened. By the time he finally realized what he had just said, Lu Shangyan had already gotten out of the car and walked away.

He quickly caught up with him and heard Lu Shangyan say, "What's said online isn't very accurate either."

Pei Yumin asked him, "What have you been looking at?"

Lu Shangyan said, "I saw a highly-rated answer online that said women who are good at seducing men are more suitable for being on the bottom."

He met Pei Yumin's gaze and said seriously, "It seems I am not."

Pei Yumin recalled the news he had just glimpsed and his mind went blank: "You can't trust what you read online, and besides, how can you be so sure with such limited knowledge?"

Seeing that Lu Shangyan remained silent, he added with another example: "If you get a small red spot on your body, a quick online search will tell you that you have a terminal illness."

Lu Shangyan looked down at the screen again.

Throughout his school years, he would review the questions he got wrong over and over again until he truly learned them.

Therefore, his judgment on the issue of positioning in bed was indeed a bit hasty.

Pei Yumin followed behind him, and as they were getting on the elevator, after making sure no one was around, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Were you feeling unwell that night?"

It had been a long time since the incident at the hotel had been mentioned, and Lu Shangyan almost didn't realize it.

But he got drunk that night and his head was spinning. He remembers feeling quite comfortable, but: "After waking up, I felt a bit bloated, and then I felt a bit uncomfortable."

When he returned to school, he wanted to clench his legs again because he felt like water was about to flow out, but he also felt bloated. In short, it made him very uncomfortable.

Pei Yumin pursed his lips, and the elevator stopped immediately. He quickly added, "That's because my technique isn't good enough, otherwise it would have been very comfortable afterwards!"

Lu Shangyan glanced at him, genuinely considering the question.

He remembered that there were many marks on the sheets and on his underwear. Even though Pei Yumin's technique was not good, he could still do this.

Thinking about it like that, his mind became a mess.

In a moment of distraction, Lu Shangyan's lower back bumped into the open shoe cabinet door. It didn't hurt; usually, he would just rub it with his hand and that would be it. But this time, as he rubbed, his hand ended up touching his front, pinching his stomach and pressing on his lower abdomen.

He looked down, unwilling to give up. His abs were still there, but something felt off. The muscles weren't as firm as they used to be, and they felt softer to the touch than usual.

But he recently found a new part-time job, and his physical activity level is clearly even higher than before.

Pei Yumin came back after washing his hands and saw him still standing blankly in the entryway, patting his stomach absentmindedly: "Hungry? Want to get a midnight snack?"

Lu Shangyan didn't want to eat it; he wanted to lose weight. But Pei Yumin had already opened the refrigerator, which contained freshly bought tomatoes that looked very juicy.

He thought for a moment and said, "I want to eat tomato and egg noodles."

So Pei Yumin obediently took one out, and then noticed that his gaze was fixed on his hand, so he took the one that looked the best, washed it, and stuffed it into his hand: "Go wait on the sofa first, eat this to fill your stomach if you get hungry, the noodles will be ready soon."

Lu Shangyan didn't like eating this before, probably because he was busy transferring money every day and was eating fast food or the school cafeteria. No one would wash a meal for him so he could sit on the sofa and eat slowly. This was the first time he discovered that tomatoes tasted pretty good.

When he was halfway through his meal, a delicious aroma wafted out of the closed kitchen door. He slowly walked over, opened it a crack, and peeked inside.

Before he could speak, Pei Yumin said, "I just finished cooking, it's smoky. Let's go outside and wait, it'll be ready in five more minutes."

Lu Shangyan took another bite, and the juice dripped onto his fingers. Pei Yumin, distracted, pulled out a napkin for him to wipe.

Lu Shangyan finally found an opportunity to speak: "I'll pay for the groceries at home from now on."

During the time they shared the apartment, Pei Yumin often picked him up and dropped him off from get off work, bought groceries, cooked, and did housework. He felt really embarrassed to continue enjoying so much housekeeping service.

Pei Yumin knew what he meant and immediately nodded in agreement.

Lu Shangyan can be stubborn at times; if you don't agree, he probably won't be able to eat much later.

However, he also had his own coping mechanisms. For example, after serving the noodles, he would see that Lu Shangyan liked the shrimp paste in them, so he would immediately send a message to the housekeeper and ask him to buy a few more pounds of Australian lobster, process them, and make them into shrimp paste for Lu Shangyan's convenience next time.

Lu Shangyan looked up and affirmed, "The vegetables I bought at the market this morning were indeed very fresh."

In fact, Pei Yumin would always pretend to go downstairs for a stroll, and then take out the ingredients he had prepared in advance from the car.

But Lu Shangyan knew nothing about any of this.

-

On the day of the photoshoot, Xia Li waited for Lu Shangyan at the school gate early in the morning. Beside her was a short-haired girl wearing a dark red dress with strawberries printed on it and a white lace trim at the bottom. Even her earrings were small strawberries.

Lu Shangyan thought she was very cute at first glance, like she had stepped out of an animated film.

But the moment she opened her mouth, the tone completely changed: "Hello."

That voice was excessively low.

Lu Shangyan abruptly stopped, his raised foot faltering, and a hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xia Li.

Xia Li chuckled and introduced, "This is my best friend."

Lu Shangyan opened and closed his mouth, making sure he was mentally prepared before looking at "Little Strawberry": "Hello, I am Lu Shangyan."

The other person smiled and said, "I know, my name is Zhao Jian, but I prefer people to call me Xiao Fu."

"Oh...oh, little..." Lu Shangyan muttered several times before finally saying, "Little Fu."

He was seeing a boy for the first time who didn't show any male characteristics, and he was a little unsure of what to do.

Xia Li laughed out loud: "He's my friend's boyfriend. He heard that I went to the store today, so he said he wanted to come with me."

Lu Shangyan didn't know where to look, and in the end, he made his face burn with anxiety.

Xiao Fu wanted to tease him even more: "I'm not Shi Yu's boyfriend, I'm her puppy."

Lu Shangyan licked his lips, which were now completely dry from the heat: "Oh... um."

Xia Li quickly ran to his side and slapped him hard on the back: "Zhao Jian, you're always itching to be cheeky! I'll tell on you!"

Xiao Fu started speaking in a high-pitched voice: "I already told you to call me Xiao Fu! Go ahead and complain to me. I like Shi Yu being mean to me, so just consider it as you helping me get some benefits."

Xia Li simply walked between them: "Be honest, he's not like you. He doesn't understand all that nonsense you're talking about."

Xiao Fu remembered what Xia Li had said on the way here: "I understand." Then she looked at Lu Shangyan: "Pufferfish."

He arrived on a motorcycle, but he couldn't carry two people at once, so he parked his motorcycle in the school parking lot and took a taxi with them.

On the way, Xiao Fu asked him what his impression of her was, but Lu Shangyan still didn't dare to look at her face and only said, "Quite a contrast."

Xiao Fu laughed and clamored to add him as a friend, but her expression froze when she saw his shattered glass screen.

Xia Li quickly changed the subject: "There will be other part-time models coming to take photos together later, so Da Yu has found three extra photographers. Since you arrived early, you can choose one to shoot first. Zhao Jian knows the specific work process."

She thought about Lu Shangyan's sexual orientation and was afraid that he would find it inconvenient to have a female cameraman or even more inconvenient to have a male cameraman, so she simply let Lu Shangyan choose for himself.

Xu Fang came over and had a brief chat with Lu Shangyan before going to the private room to film. Xia Li and Xiao Fu looked at each other for a few seconds and sighed and shook their heads in unison.

Xiao Fu said, "Does he really have a boyfriend? I think he's straight."

Xia Li said, "Maybe his Gedda connection is down, or it only works for his boyfriend."

Xiao Fu squinted her eyes, looking expectant: "Do you think her boyfriend would be angry and give her a good scolding if he found out that she was filming with a gay guy and even changed clothes in front of him?"

Xia Li covered his mouth: "Not everyone has special fetishes like you!"

Xiao Fu said in a muffled voice, "I think he definitely likes it, it just hasn't been discovered yet."

Lu Shangyan shot six outfits in one morning, which wasn't many, and it was only 11 a.m. when they finished.

When I got there after changing my clothes, I found a business card in my pocket. I didn't know when Xu Fang had put it there.

Lu Shangyan assumed that he wanted to facilitate communication about the photos taken later, or that he wanted to schedule another photoshoot, so he added him on WeChat using the number on the business card.

The other side responded very quickly, and sent messages very fast as well.

[I'll edit the photo as soon as possible. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any feedback.]

The official and businesslike attitude completely dispelled Lu Shangyan's wariness.

Xiao Fu pressed down on his hand that was replying to the message: "He's interested in you. He probably realized you're the one on the bottom. He's just pretending to be a big shot to lure you in."

Lu Shangyan was stunned for a moment before he could barely process what he had just said: "How did you figure out that I'm on the bottom?"

Xiao Fu couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Actually, you look more like a straight man, so I think you're more like the one in the middle."

Lu Shangyan's eyes lit up: "You know so much."

"Actually, I've never been on top. I only know that I'm more compatible with the same sex, but I'm not sure what I'm suited to do."

Xiao Fu has a peculiar fetish. She is outgoing and enjoys being trained herself, as well as watching straight men being trained.

He immediately said, "I have a few treasured films here. I'll send them to you later. After you watch them, you'll know whether you're better suited to lying down or putting in the effort."

Lu Shangyan nodded, but since there was no internet on the way, he didn't download it. He planned to watch it properly when he was home alone after school in the afternoon.

So he waited until he got home and there was free Wi-Fi before he started downloading. But by then, there were many people using the internet in the neighborhood, and his phone was lagging, so he couldn't figure out the progress bar for a long time. He just put his phone on the table and took a shower.

He didn't think much of it, assuming it was a short educational video about sexuality, like the sex education videos shown in physiology class.

But when he came out of the bathroom, he saw Pei Yumin holding his phone, which was almost falling apart.

Pei Yumin's expression was incredibly complex. Just as Lu Shangyan was wondering what was going on, a man's loud moan suddenly came from the phone, along with the words "Fuck me to death."