BIAC CH 15

Chapter 15;I’m Not in Love with a Man, I Just… Got Hard

Friday night, 9:30 p.m.—Tang He was already half an hour late.

When he arrived at Chengguang Clubhouse, the staff immediately recognized him as President Tang and respectfully greeted him, informing him that the other two guests had already arrived and the drinks and snacks had been prepared. Tang He nodded and followed the staff to the private room.

As he pushed open the door, he saw only Lin Yan lounging on the sofa. Guan Dongbao was nowhere in sight. Tang He was just about to ask when he noticed that Lin Yan was slumped motionless, his head tilted back—fast asleep.

Just how exhausted must he be to fall asleep like this? Being a doctor really isn’t a job for humans.

Suddenly, a thought popped into Tang He’s mind—he wanted to be sure of something.

He lightened his steps as he approached Lin Yan, kneeled on the sofa, and leaned over to get a closer look at the sleeping man. Lin Yan’s under-eyes were tinged with blue, and his brows were faintly furrowed, but none of it diminished his striking features.

Lin Yan had always been an outstanding man. Always.

Tang He carefully studied him. He took in the shape of his eyes and brows, the bridge of his nose, his lips—and even snuck a glance at the bit of collarbone peeking out from his slightly open shirt…

No reaction. Maybe he just wasn’t close enough?

Tang He leaned down a little more, closing the distance until he could catch the faint, sterile-clean scent of Lin Yan’s body—something between hospital disinfectant and freshness.

Still nothing. Did it have to come to an actual kiss?

Tang He stared at Lin Yan’s lips, tangled in internal conflict. But he had to be sure.

He leaned in even closer, stopping just before their lips touched, close enough to feel Lin Yan’s breath against his face. In that ambiguous and intimate moment—he waited to see if it would stir anything inside him.

Nothing. He didn’t feel a single thing. The man in front of him was just as handsome as Du Jianyou—how could there be absolutely no reaction? It didn’t make sense. In the past, if it were a woman that suited his tastes, he could easily be stirred by all kinds of beautiful faces. So what was going on now?

Just as he was about to get up and end this ridiculous experiment, the door to the private room suddenly flew open.

Guan Dongbao had just ended a call and was walking in with a cheerful smile, only to freeze in shock at the scene before him.

“You—you—you—what are you doing?!” Guan Dongbao’s finger trembled as he pointed at Tang He. Tang He didn’t even have time to explain or get up before Lin Yan had already woken up from the noise. His eyes fluttered open groggily and were immediately met with a face looming inches away from his own. Startled, he instinctively shoved Tang He off him, sending him tumbling to the floor, while Lin Yan quickly stood up.

“Ugh! Let me explain—it’s not what it looks like,” Tang He sat on the ground, rubbing his hip, feeling like he had just walked into the world’s most tragic misunderstanding.

“What’s there to explain? You beast! Trying to sneak attack him! Spill it—have you secretly had a thing for our Yan for a long time, and when you heard he’s dating someone now, you panicked and tried to make a move?” Guan Dongbao’s imagination ran wild, and even Lin Yan couldn’t listen anymore.

He took a step forward and extended a hand to pull Tang He up, calmly asking, “What happened?”

“What happened? He tried to kiss you! If I hadn’t walked in, your innocence would’ve been gone!” Guan Dongbao continued, his chaos-loving nature on full display.

Lin Yan rolled his eyes. “If you don’t shut that door, both our reputations will really be ruined. Shut up.” Finally, Guan Dongbao closed the door. Lin Yan sat back on the sofa and motioned for the other two to sit down as well. He turned to Tang He and asked again, “What’s going on with you? What happened?”

Such a considerate Lin Yan… Tang He looked at him, deeply grateful.

“I…” Tang He suddenly didn’t know how to begin. So he turned the question around: “Yan, how did you first realize you liked men?”

“Don’t change the subject!” Guan Dongbao was still mad, snapping at Tang He.

“You shut up,” Tang He said, eager to hear the perspective of someone with experience.

“Okay, okay—go on, Yan,” Guan Dongbao immediately switched into gossip mode, turning toward Lin Yan.

“Ahem…” Lin Yan’s ears flushed a bit. The three of them had never discussed this kind of topic before. For Tang He to suddenly bring it up, something serious must’ve happened. “Well, I started noticing something was different about me in middle school. At first, I couldn’t quite put it into words, just felt that when my classmates talked about girls, it bored me. I was never interested in girls. Later, when we got older and started watching, uh… adult films together, I realized… I was reacting to the male actors.”

Lin Yan looked slightly embarrassed, but he knew Tang He wouldn’t pry into his privacy for no reason—there must be something bothering him. So he forced himself to continue. “Back when we played basketball, there were a few times during rough plays where there was, you know, some physical contact, and I would feel… uncomfortable…”

He trailed off. The point had been made.

Guan Dongbao and Tang He exchanged a knowing glance—they both clearly remembered how much Lin Yan hated being touched, especially while playing basketball. There was that one time during a friendly match with another class where they encountered a guy who liked to stick too close and make unnecessary contact on the court. He kept bumping, shoving, and pressing against Lin Yan. After a few warnings that were blatantly ignored, the usually mild-mannered Lin Yan finally lost it—he threw the ball and walked off the court.

“Anyway, after observing myself for a while, I confirmed that I’m more attracted to men. I could be with girls too, but the emotional fulfillment just isn’t the same.”

“Hehehe, now you finally have something to compare it to,” Guan Dongbao teased.

“…,” Lin Yan wasn’t sure whether to kick Guan Dongbao out of the room.

“…So, do you feel attraction toward all men, or just certain ones?” Tang He hesitated before asking his second question.

Guan Dongbao clutched his chest in mock horror and looked nervously at Lin Yan. That earned him a glare and nearly a beating from Lin Yan. “Didn’t I tell you over a decade ago? I’m not interested in you.” Might as well just shove him down the stairs.

“Don’t be so sure. Look, even Lao Tang suddenly developed an interest in you,” Guan Dongbao grumbled, still sulking.

Tang He shot him a death glare. “No one would mistake you for mute if you just stayed quiet.”

“Do you get aroused by every woman?” Lin Yan shot the question back at Tang He.

“Of course not. At the very least, they have to be young, beautiful, and have a good figure…” Tang He started answering instinctively, only to realize halfway through that he sounded like some perverted creep. Both Guan Dongbao and Lin Yan gave him a look of total disdain.

“Of course I don’t feel something for every man. Like you said, it depends on chemistry. You have to like the person, you know? We’re not animals running purely on instinct.”

“He is. He’s definitely an animal,” Guan Dongbao declared, pointing accusingly at Tang He.

“I am not an animal! I just tested it—I don’t feel anything for Yan!” Tang He shouted angrily. The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how rude it was—using your best friend as an experiment and then yelling that he didn’t feel a thing.

“…” Lin Yan was speechless.

“No, no—that’s not what I meant, I mean…” Tang He fumbled for words, scratching his head awkwardly. “Yan, I’m really sorry. I was out of my mind just now and acted without thinking. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you or cross the line. I even made sure to keep a proper distance and didn’t touch you. Really.” He looked genuinely apologetic. “I just wanted to test whether I’d feel anything for another man,” he added in a small voice, trying to explain himself.

“Then why don’t you try me? Maybe I’m your type,” Guan Dongbao pouted and clung to Tang He, totally forgetting that he was just calling him a beast a moment ago.

“…Do you believe I won’t punch you?” Tang He swatted at him like a fly, absolutely fed up. Lin Yan was already rolling up his sleeves, ready to throw hands.

“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up. I won’t get in the way of your grand gay enterprise. You two carry on,” Guan Dongbao mimed zipping his lips shut.

“So, you encountered a man who made you react? And only him?” Lin Yan followed up on Tang He’s previous thoughts, immediately hitting the point. Guan Dongbao looked utterly confused.

“…” Tang He buried his head in his arms on the table and gave a small, helpless nod.

“That guy with the blood pressure monitor?” Lin Yan recalled Tang He asking about one before.

“…” Tang He stayed in the same position and nodded again.

“No way! You’re almost forty and you’re only now realizing you like men?” Guan Dongbao finally caught on and unzipped his imaginary mouth again.

“I’m thirty-seven,” Tang He muttered weakly. “And I don’t like men. I’m just, just…”

“You got hard?” Lin Yan said bluntly.

“…I got hard,” Tang He admitted in despair.

“…,” Guan Dongbao, the typical straight guy, was dumbfounded. “You got hard. So what? Why do you look like the sky just fell on you?”

Lin Yan sympathetically patted Tang He on the shoulder. He still remembered the shock of discovering his own reaction to men for the first time—it did feel like the sky had collapsed.

“Want to talk about what happened between you two?” Lin Yan tried to help him sort out his confusion.

“I don’t even know how it happened,” Tang He mumbled. How did a perfectly normal friendship end up like this?

“Well then, describe what kind of person he is. What made you break your straight streak?” Guan Dongbao was absolutely dying of curiosity. Tang He glared at him—break his streak? He hadn’t broken anything yet!

“He’s… very filial, very kind, simple-hearted…” Tang He tilted his head, as if trying to pinpoint what exactly it was about Du Jianyou that drew him in. Was it his charm on stage? Or his liveliness and authenticity off stage? His pure eyes, his unwavering trust, his laughter, his tears, his vulnerability, his fake strength, his honesty…

Tang He didn’t even know when it started, but he realized—he had long since begun seeing Du Jianyou differently.

“Filial, kind, and simple? That doesn’t sound very special,” Guan Dongbao pouted, disappointed. He was expecting some earth-shattering love story that could turn a straight man gay. “You better be careful. People who look all innocent nowadays usually aren’t.”

“He’s not like that! Don’t talk nonsense!” Tang He flared up instantly. Guan Dongbao was startled into silence.

“Okay, okay, I won’t say anything. Geez, no need to explode like that.”

“…” Tang He seethed. He couldn’t stand to hear anyone bad-mouth Du Jianyou.

“So what now? Your family would never accept this,” Guan Dongbao suddenly said after a moment of silence.

“Accept what?” Tang He had just sat up to yell and now collapsed back onto the table, burying his face in his arms. His voice was muffled and weak.

“You dating a man, of course?” Guan Dongbao replied as if it were obvious. Lin Yan’s expression dimmed. Even with his modest family background, his own family wouldn’t accept it either, let alone a big-name family like Tang’s. Lin Yan gave a bitter smile.

“Who said I’m going to date a man?” Tang He slammed the table. “So what if I got hard from a kiss? That doesn’t mean I’m starting a relationship! Don’t blow this out of proportion. No way, I’m not starting anything with him.”

“Oh, so you kissed,” Guan Dongbao said slyly, catching the slip.

“…” Tang He glared at him and decided not to engage. “Enough about me. Yanzi, your turn,” he said, trying to change the subject. “Didn’t Beanbag^[1] say you got a boyfriend? Come on, spill it.”

“…” Lin Yan sighed and gave Guan Dongbao a glare. “No comment.” He and Ji Ran were… indescribable. Besides that, there really wasn’t much else he could say.

“See? Told you, Yanzi guards his man like a state secret,” Guan Dongbao complained to Tang He, but then turned back with a hopeful look. “What does he do? How did you meet? That much you can at least tell us, right?”

“He’s… a cop. We met at a bar,” Lin Yan replied awkwardly. “We’re… not really in that kind of relationship yet.”

Guan Dongbao and Tang He had been expecting to hear about a boyfriend. Lin Yan wasn’t sure if he could even say Ji Ran was his boyfriend.

Because even he didn’t know if Ji Ran was his boyfriend.

Feeling conflicted, Lin Yan took a sip of his drink.

He [Tang He] was feeling bitter, so he took a sip of alcohol.

Guan Dongbao wasn’t feeling bitter at all—he downed an entire glass.

“……” Lin Yan and Tang He stared at him, confused.

“What? I can’t drink now?” Guan Dongbao raised his hand and poured himself another glass of whiskey. “When Xiaohua’s around, she nags about my health and doesn’t let me have a single sip. She’s not here today—of course I’m gonna drink a few more. What do you think I am, stupid?”

“……” Showing off his relationship so shamelessly.

The little boat of friendship can capsize just like that.

(To be continued…)

T/L: Guan Dongbao is so funny hahaha…