That afternoon, while Pei Zhen was discussing fragrances with Boss Chen, his mind was entirely filled with the young man with the teardrop mole from earlier.
Even after their meeting concluded, they shook hands, he stood up to leave, and walked towards the parking lot, he was still thinking about him.
Pei Zhen felt he was being a little ridiculous.
At his age, reduced to such a sorry state, how could he still have the face to go weak at the knees at the sight of a young, good-looking boy?
Then again… a good-looking, poor, blue-collar working youth.
Such a familiar, such a painfully thrilling setup.
Everyone says, “Once bitten, twice shy.” Only he had such a uniquely bizarre train of thought. He wasn’t afraid of it.
Not only was he not afraid, he was even seriously daydreaming… wondering how this guy’s backbone compared to the last one, and whether he’d be willing to let Pei Zhen “save” him with money.
…
When he reached the parking lot, Pei Zhen saw from a distance a tall, slender figure standing next to his black Range Rover.
Good-looking people often have especially good-looking silhouettes, even from behind.
But… it couldn’t be, right?
It didn’t make sense.
The closer he got, the more it looked like him. Pei Zhen cleared his throat, and the person turned around at the sound—sure enough, it was the same factory worker from earlier!
He wasn’t wearing his work uniform anymore. Just a very ordinary black baseball jacket, yet on him, it looked especially youthful and cute. His little teardrop mole also seemed even more eye-catching.
Pei Zhen remembered he’d checked his watch just after leaving Boss Chen’s office.
It was only a little past four in the afternoon, likely before the factory’s closing time.
“…” They were both adults.
The fact that the kid was waiting here for him could only mean one of two things. Possibility one: the little OEM worker didn’t want to work for Boss Chen anymore and wanted to jump ship to his small contract factory. Possibility two: the rest went without saying. They both understood.
Pei Zhen figured, given the compensation level at his own tiny factory, possibility one was instantly off the table.
Yet, he didn’t think his face clearly read, “I’m an empty, lonely old man looking to hook up with a gay guy,” so that someone of the same kind could spot him at a glance and dare to flirt.
After mulling it over, the only explanation was that he had greedily stolen a few too many glances at the young man in the factory, leading to a rather thorough exposure.
But, well, the guy was genuinely good-looking.
Forget it.
No matter the reason, what harm could it do him?
Pei Zhen got into the car. Without a word, he unlocked the passenger door. The young man was quite perceptive and obediently climbed into the passenger seat. The car slowly began to move. Pei Zhen asked him, “You’re getting off work now? Won’t your pay be docked?”
The young man replied, “I’ll be fired.”
Pei Zhen: “…”
Pei Zhen: “What do you want to eat for dinner?”
The young man: “I’d rather not eat anything too spicy. Anything else is fine.”
Pei Zhen: “Is that so? I’m actually craving curry. There’s a Thai place in the city with great, non-spicy curry. Want to take you there to try it?”
The young man: “Okay!”
It was a rainy day, so the car drove slowly. It was already half-past five in the evening when they reached the shopping mall.
Pei Zhen didn’t lead the young man straight upstairs. Instead, he guided him towards the luxury brand boutiques on the first floor.
“I saw earlier that your wallet is very old, the leather worn and peeling. Just yesterday I saw a new style, it should suit you quite well.”
Anyway, having a good-looking boy agree to have dinner with him—buying a little something first was only right. It was basic courtesy.
But upon hearing this, the young man stubbornly refused to take another step forward.
Pei Zhen frowned. He tried to tug him along, but surprisingly, he couldn’t budge him—he couldn’t help but wonder, what exactly was this guy’s purpose for getting into his car?
Could it be that he looked down on such trivial perks and was aiming for something bigger?
…
After finishing the Thai meal, the rain had stopped.
The commercial street, at seven or eight in the evening, was slowly awakening amidst the post-rain neon lights and revelry.
Sitting face-to-face, Pei Zhen still felt this little teardrop mole youth was simply stunning. Asking for a car or an apartment from him would seem entirely reasonable.
How was he put together so perfectly? A handsome face radiating innocence, an artistic aura mixed with sexiness. He was practically a fresh, tender little feast for a vitamin-deficient, withered old man!
“Have you… ever been to a bar before?”
Initially, Pei Zhen’s plan was to get the guy drunk first.
Ever since entering the bar, the young man had been curiously staring around at the counter, at the disco balls, looking left and right. Pei Zhen silently guessed he was probably a “newbie.” Softening, in the end he only ordered him a beer, getting a neat whiskey for himself and downing it in one gulp.
After a few glasses of foreign liquor, his whole body felt hot.
He felt a bit strange, wondering why he was chickening out—logically, it was just a transaction of money for intimacy. If it worked, it worked; if not, forget it. At worst, the guy would think he was a lunatic. Was he too scared to even ask?
Fine, he’d pop the question after finishing this glass of whiskey!
Just as he was about to down it, the young man covered the rim of his glass.
“Don’t drink so fast. It’s bad for your stomach.”
“…” Pei Zhen gave a dark, sinister chuckle, deliberately starting his “coaxing temptation”: “I heard you still have to work Saturdays at Boss Chen’s place. Pretty tiring, huh?”
“It’s okay.”
“You seem pretty good at taking care of people. Coincidentally, I’m in need of a secretary, the kind that looks after daily living. Consider coming to work for me, how about it?”
“…”
“I won’t shortchange you on pay. Bonuses for good performance. I’ll give you a monthly salary of…”
This bar, to be honest, should properly be called a “nightclub.” Every day, promptly at eight o’clock, the place erupted into a frenzy.
Right at that moment, the sound system, the lights, and the dance floor all activated in magnificent unison. The first half of Pei Zhen’s sentence was still being “said,” but the second half could only be “shouted” at the top of his lungs. The thumping bass drummed against his eardrums; he had no idea if the other party could even hear him.
The young man: “Okay.”
Pei Zhen continued to shout at him.
The young man: “Okay!”
Pei Zhen was about to keep shouting forcefully when his whiskey glass spilled.
Without any explanation, the young man hoisted Pei Zhen directly onto his shoulder and carried him out of the bar.
It was only early spring. The night air was bitingly cold. Pei Zhen, standing at over six feet tall, hadn’t experienced being carried like this since he was an adult! By the time he was planted back on his feet properly, his heart was racing wildly, and he was more than half sober.
“I said ‘okay’ just now.”
Pei Zhen was still a little dazed when his hand was grabbed and he was tugged towards the parking lot.
“A secretary who takes care of daily living, right? No problem, President Pei. I can start work right now. It’s too noisy in bars, bad for your health. Better to go back early, take a good bath, and sleep. Staying up late on a rainy night makes it easy to catch a cold.”
Neon lights flickered. Pei Zhen stumbled.
Maybe it was the alcohol hitting him again. The young man’s clear, dark pupils made him feel a little dizzy.
No, this isn’t right.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked himself, what am I even doing?
He could go buy a male escort, no one was stopping him.
He could buy whoever he wanted, however he wanted, but… he shouldn’t be messing with an ordinary young man.
“Ugh…”
A sour surge of alcohol rose from his stomach. He decisively bent over. After emptying his stomach, the world finally regained clarity. Only then did he realize the young man was supporting his body, one hand rubbing his back, the other massaging the pressure point on his hand to stop the vomiting.
Pei Zhen’s temples throbbed. What a pity, he thought.
He really seemed quite good at taking care of people. He really wanted to take him home and keep him…
“I’m not… looking for some secretary. I like men. I want to be your sugar daddy.”
“Did you hear me? Do you understand?”
Afraid of being disgustedly pushed away, he preemptively and roughly shook off the young man’s hand. To his surprise, the young man was super calm: “Mm, I know. If President Pei wants to keep me, it would be my honor.”
Pei Zhen: “…”
He had clearly heard the answer he wanted, yet he didn’t know why he couldn’t feel a trace of happiness.
“Sorry… I’m looking for someone who sells it. Not someone like you.”
He turned to leave. The young man chased after him. Pei Zhen: “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have messed with you. Whatever compensation you want, just name your price, I’ll pay.”
“No, President Pei, you misunderstand. I do sell it!” The young man’s face was full of sincerity. “I really do! My daytime factory job isn’t nearly enough to live on. I also work part-time in the nightlife scene in the evenings.”
Pei Zhen: “…”
The young man: “Really! President Pei, you don’t believe me? I can prove it.”
As he spoke, he actually grabbed Pei Zhen and dragged him back into the noisy bar, squeezing into the center of the crowded dance floor.
Pei Zhen couldn’t dance at all.
He’d never learned, and besides, his leg… but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t dance. It turned out that one person who could was entirely enough to hold the floor. The other person’s role was either a background board or a “pole,” whatever. A man who could dance wouldn’t let his partner’s clumsiness affect his performance!
A stir quickly spread through the crowd. People tacitly made space on their own. The dazzling lights shone down, and the entire dance floor instantly became the young man’s one-man show.
Pei Zhen, on the other hand, was stunned. In a sense, he had long given up thinking about what exactly the guy was trying to prove to him.
All he knew was that a huge crowd was going wild and screaming around him. The young man danced so provocatively, yet directed all his allure solely at him. The envious and jealous looks from all around made Pei Zhen foolishly happy—it had been a very long time since he’d been that happy.
His memory blacked out.
In any case, the next day, he woke up in his own king-size bed to the aroma of frying eggs.
Two eggs, arranged in a little smiley face. Truly golden and radiant, crispy outside and tender inside. With a tiny bit of soy sauce, it was so delicious and hot it almost brought tears to his eyes.
…
Of course, the madness of the bar and the nature of the arrangement—Han Fu wasn’t really stupid; he couldn’t broadcast that freely on camera.
So he continued to skillfully blur the details—”After work that day, the two of us went on our first date. That very night, we held hands and even hugged.” All of that was true, at least.
“The person I like… his whole presence carries the scent of this ‘Liquor Chocolate.'”
“Being able to date someone I fell for at first sight was truly blissful. That day felt like a dream.”
By the time the story reached this point, the PA Elimination Round entry “Liquor Chocolate” was also finished. In its small perfume bottle, it shimmered quietly with a brilliant golden wine luster. The cameraman was content and wrapped up the shoot.
Pei Zhen: “…”
Following Han Fu’s story and recalling their entire first encounter, he suddenly couldn’t be sure… back then, was it him who spent money to keep a little wolfdog, or was it the little wolfdog who actively sold himself to him?
He had never considered this.
What if the entire story was actually a “love at first sight” followed by a “calculatedly throwing oneself at him”?
“…”
Holy crap. If that were true, it actually seemed kind of romantic?
Although it also carried a slightly eerie suspicion of being deliberately schemed against like this…
Aging truly wasn’t a bad thing. A thirty-year-old man had already weathered great storms and embraced a sea of experience.
He didn’t mind being schemed against at all. He even found it a little cute.
