BIAC CH 23

Chapter 23: Huh? You actually carry that around with you?

Tang He sat in his office, staring at the calendar. Being punished with two weeks of no contact with Du Jianyou meant, of course, he couldn’t go to his place either. But come on—how many days had it even been?

Truthfully, he could understand his boyfriend’s reasoning. With Tang He recently getting caught up in a string of romantic scandals, it was no surprise that the paparazzi were watching his every move.

It didn’t matter which woman they dug up—none of it really hurt him. But if they ever uncovered the truth about his relationship with Du Jianyou, that would be a whole different story.

Du Jianyou had been thoroughly spooked by the paparazzi’s tireless imagination and ability to piece together a story from mere photos and speculation. So, to be cautious, he decided it was best to keep some distance for now, just in case something blew up.

Fine. If he couldn’t go to Bunny’s house, so be it. He wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway—just sit there and drool in frustration. It was better to stay in the office and scheme up a countermeasure against the paparazzi: he’d just buy a place in the same building, directly above Du Jianyou’s floor.

Hehehe. With Su An’s capability, the unit could be ready in a month. And by then—surprise!

After giving Su An the order, Tang He finally remembered that, oh right, he was also the president of an entire conglomerate and should maybe get back to actually running it. At the very least, for the rest of this “house arrest” period, he played the role of a responsible CEO. Su An was practically moved to tears… for this rare display of productivity.

Finally, he endured two whole weeks of not seeing his lover. Just as he was happily planning to ask Du Jianyou out for dinner, his phone rang. What came next sent Tang He crashing from heaven to hell.

“Ge, I’m sorry,” Du Jianyou said cautiously, “I have to head out of town for a shoot. I might be gone for a week or two, so… we still won’t be able to see each other for a while.”

“…” Tang He was so frustrated he couldn’t even speak.

“Ge, don’t be like that! I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back, okay?” Du Jianyou coaxed him gently over the phone.

“…” Tang He still didn’t want to talk. All he wanted was compensation—in the flesh.

“…This time,” Du Jianyou finally whispered, voice soft and shy, “I think… I’m ready.”

Tang He gasped sharply. That one sentence dragged him straight out of hell and back to the land of the living.

“Th-then… I’ll wait for you to come back,” Tang He stammered, his throat dry.

“Ge, bye now!” Du Jianyou said quickly, bashfully hanging up the phone.

“Mn, bye,” Tang He echoed, barely hanging up before urgently reaching for another call.

A call? To whom?

Obviously—to that doctor friend of his!

When it came to this kind of thing, who could be more reliable than a doctor who not only had a boyfriend but also plenty of experience? Sure, Tang He had other options—like looking stuff up online—but he didn’t trust the information he found there.

He’d already spent several nights staying up late researching, only to be overwhelmed by all kinds of wild, unverified descriptions. Never mind whether the information was accurate—just the sheer variety of suggested positions was enough to make his nose bleed. So in the end, he decided to take the healthy and safe route: seek guidance, wisdom, and enlightenment from a professional.

Even though it was super awkward to talk about something this personal with a long-time friend, he trusted the doctor’s professionalism and seriousness enough to believe he wouldn’t be laughed at—or worse, have it used against him later.

“Hello, Dr. Lin? I have something I’d like to discuss with you. Would it be possible to make an appointment sometime soon? The sooner the better, actually. What’s it about? Uh, well… it’s not something I can explain over the phone. We’ll talk in person. Oh, no no—definitely don’t bring Doubao with you… Okay, it’s settled then. See you soon.” Tang He hung up, satisfied and ready to receive Dr. Lin Yan’s sacred teachings.

Dr. Lin, on the other hand, felt a chill the moment he received this unusually humble, polite, and honorific-filled phone call. Something was definitely off. His instincts were on high alert.

Meanwhile, Du Jianyou had also hung up. His face was burning so red it looked like steam might rise off it. The more he thought about how he had shamelessly made the first move and invited Tang He, the more he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it. He kept pacing in embarrassment, unable to calm down.

Zhao Tiancheng, watching Du Jianyou twist around like a pretzel—scratching his head one second and stomping the floor the next—finally couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you? You’re fidgeting like crazy, and your whole face is red. You allergic to something?”

Startled, Du Jianyou jumped, not realizing someone was nearby. He smacked Zhao while cursing, “You trying to scare me to death?! Why the hell are you sneaking around?!”

“I’ve been standing here the whole time, okay?” Zhao Tiancheng said, exasperated. “You’re the one who was totally spaced out, whispering all mysterious-like on the phone. What’s going on? You in love or something?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Where would I even find time to date?” Du Jianyou firmly denied it.

“Oh please. You and Tang He? Even if I went blind, I could smell there’s something going on between you two,” Zhao said bluntly, since no one else was around.

“So it was that obvious? But I was being so careful…” Du Jianyou quickly covered his mouth, realizing he’d just slipped up.

“You guys made it official, huh?”

Du Jianyou bit his lip and stayed silent.

“…Tang He isn’t an ordinary person,” Zhao Tiancheng said with a shake of his head. Facing his friend, he could only give a heartfelt warning: “You need to be careful. Don’t let yourself get hurt too badly.” He just couldn’t bring himself to offer any blessings.

Du Jianyou gratefully gave Zhao Tiancheng’s hand a quick squeeze. “Yeah, I know.”

Neither of them noticed that a third person had overheard the entire conversation from outside the door.

***

Yan Qiao couldn’t believe her ears. Did she just hear Du Jianyou admit he was in a relationship with Tang He?

No, no, no. He didn’t say it outright… Maybe it’s just one-sided—he’s the one in love with Tang He! That must be it.

“There’s no way President Tang would fall for someone like him.”

“Looks like I need to keep a close eye on Du Jianyou. I can’t just let him keep seducing my President Tang.”

Yan Qiao clenched her jaw, determined to get to the bottom of what was going on between them. If she couldn’t have Tang He, then that man wasn’t getting him either.

***

Since Du Jianyou went out of town for a shoot, it had been nearly two weeks. During that time, Tang He had dutifully played the role of a responsible, diligent, model CEO. Seeing him finally return to normal, Su An could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She had been genuinely worried—who knew how long that lovesick fever would last?

Su An handed a folder over to Tang He. “Here. The apartment above Du Jianyou’s place—I’ve secured it for you. The original owner was completely unreasonable and asked for double the market price at first. I had to beg and plead just to get it down to 1.5 times the going rate. You better make it worth it.”

She added, “Now you just need to renovate and clean it up, then you’re good to move in.”

Tang He flipped through the documents casually, nodding in satisfaction. “Thanks. Actually, I’m not even planning to live in it. Just keep the renovation simple and quick. What matters most is speed. I’ll leave the arrangements to you—your taste is trustworthy. Also, have the same electronic code lock installed, like the one at Jianyou’s place.”

“What, you planning to return the favor with another birthday passcode? Can you not be so predictable?” Su An rolled her eyes and walked out of the office.

Tang He just looked at her with an expression that said, And what are you gonna do about it?

He didn’t have time to bicker with Su An today anyway. He had finally managed to schedule that consultation with Dr. Lin Yan, after rescheduling over and over because of how busy they both were. The appointment had been pushed all the way to this afternoon.

And it had to happen today—after all, his lover was about to come back!

Speaking of Du Jianyou, though they kept in touch with phone calls and messages every day, he never actually said when he’d be returning. It felt intentional, like he wanted Tang He to count down the days himself. And now, nearly two weeks in, Tang He had come to… enjoy the wait. A torturous kind of enjoyment.

Seeing it was almost time, Tang He quickly got up and headed to the café where he and Dr. Lin were meeting. On the way, he thought:

This café isn’t far from Du Jianyou’s company. After I’m done meeting with Dr. Lin, I’ll swing by and ask when their boss is finally coming home.

When Tang He arrived at the café, Lin Yan was already there, sipping tea. When he saw Tang He walk in, he gave a slight nod and a subtle signal of greeting.

Tang He took a seat and ordered a cup of black coffee. After a bit of casual chatting, he realized that bringing up this topic was harder than he’d thought. Compared to the enthusiasm he had earlier, he was now only starting to feel the awkwardness creep in.

Lin Yan noticed that after some aimless small talk, Tang He suddenly fell silent. He was puzzled—this CEO was usually direct and to the point, so why was he being so hesitant now?

“Lao Tang, just spit it out. Are you having some sort of health issue?”

“You’re the one with issues,” Tang He shot back before muttering, “I actually have something… a bit private I want to ask you about.” Seeing Tang He deliberately lower his voice and stumble over his words, Lin Yan thought to himself: Don’t tell me Tang He really did mess around and catch something.

“Lao Tang, don’t tell me it’s… a venereal disease? That’s not my specialty, but I can recommend you to a doctor—everything will be strictly confidential…”

“Pfft! You’ve been drinking Doubao’s backwash or something? Can’t you say one decent thing?” Tang He cursed in irritation but quickly remembered that he was the one asking for help. He lowered his voice again, “Okay, I’ll just say it directly. Um, that… how do two men, you know, be together? Is there anything… I should be careful about?”

Tang He’s stammering bombshell made Lin Yan blink in surprise. This wasn’t what he expected at all.

Then he almost burst into laughter.

Tang He was sharp as a whip, but when he didn’t know something, he was always humble and willing to learn. Lin Yan never thought he’d “ask without shame” to this extent. Then again, that was just Tang He’s style—dominant, straightforward. If only he wasn’t so flustered and red in the face, he’d look even more like the powerful boss he usually was. Lin Yan couldn’t help feeling mischievous and decided to tease him a little.

“Just started dating?”

He asked with a serious face.

“You already knew, didn’t you? Yeah, we just started dating…” Tang He answered honestly.

“I meant anal sex,” Lin Yan replied, expression dead serious but voice laced with mischief.

“…” Tang He narrowed his eyes and glared at the man in front of him, annoyed.

Of course he knew what it was. But he had no clue how it actually worked. After all, men and women had different physiology—he couldn’t just use the same approach as with a woman, could he?

He stared at Lin Yan, unsure whether to keep pleading for help or cuss him out.

Seeing Tang He’s flustered and awkward expression, Lin Yan decided not to push it any further. After all, this man—who could dominate the business world—was now sitting across from him, cheeks burning, asking about the most indescribable topic. If he kept teasing, Tang He might actually blow up. And that’d be the end of their friendship.

Before Tang He could explode, Lin Yan finally took pity and got serious. Like a proper professor, he pulled out paper and pen from his briefcase and began the lesson.

He started with the basics of male anatomy and glands. Then he explained the differences in pleasure between the front and back, how to find the prostate, how to stimulate it, how to stretch and lubricate, and finally—how to clean up.

“…You have to remember, if you’re not using protection, you must help your partner clean up afterward. If anything’s left inside, it could cause stomach problems.” With that, the professional explanation concluded.

At first, Tang He was blushing furiously, but as Professor Lin maintained his serious and professional tone throughout the lecture, Tang gradually let go of his embarrassment and listened attentively like a diligent student—occasionally even asking follow-up questions. Anyone watching their serious demeanor might’ve mistaken it for a high-level business meeting.

“Lastly, do you have any other questions?” Lin Yan asked out of habit, like a teacher addressing a student.

“Hmm… I think I understand the physical part now. But I’d like to ask about the psychological aspect,” Tang He continued earnestly.

“Psychological? What do you mean?” Lin Yan was puzzled.

“I mean… as the one receiving… would there be any trauma or emotional burden? After all, we’re both men, and men are typically seen as the… you know, aggressive party. So now… could that cause psychological trauma?” Tang He had always suspected this might be the reason why Du Jianyou hesitated to get intimate.

“…Did you force him?” Lin Yan furrowed his brows at the question. He thought of that little cop Ji—who showed zero signs of trauma, even clinging to him while drunk.

“Of course not. I respect him a lot. He’s just never been ready, so we’ve never actually…” Tang sighed. Never made it to home base…

“Then there shouldn’t be any trauma, right? I mean, nothing’s even happened yet. Unless… maybe he had a bad experience in the past…” Lin Yan noticed Tang He’s expression fall and quickly backtracked, realizing he was being too speculative. “Or maybe… he’s just naturally shy. Some people are just like that, you know.”

Tang He gave a forced smile. “I get it. Yanzi, thanks for today. I don’t have any more questions.”

Lin Yan felt annoyed with himself for unintentionally upsetting Tang He. In this modern day and age, where things are more open-minded and both parties are men, there wasn’t really any concern over virginity or “purity.” But in a romantic relationship, a hint of jealousy over a partner’s past is natural.

Trying to lighten the mood again, Lin Yan pulled something out of his bag—a giant-sized tube of lube that Doubao had mischievously thrown in earlier.

“As a reward for your admirable courage and dedication to learning today, I hereby gift you this courtesy of Doubao.”

“…Huh? You carry this kind of thing around with you?” Tang He stared in shock at the “gift.”

Now it was Lin Yan’s turn to blush and fall silent, his expression clearly saying: You’ll understand later.

After saying goodbye to Lin Yan, Tang He checked the time—it was only a little past 5 PM. With that oversized “gift” tucked away in his coat pocket, he drove straight to Du Jianyou’s company.

But what he didn’t expect… was that upon entering the company, he would encounter something Du Jianyou never wanted him to know. And worse, he found out in the most inappropriate way… at the worst possible time.

It completely blindsided them both.

(To be continued…)