Chapter 6: The Art of Flirting for Beginners

Lin Chuji was unmoved.

 

Xie Yan lowered his voice to negotiate: “How about this?

Let’s make a few ground rules, okay?

For the next few nights, I can reluctantly act as your ex-boyfriend’s substitute, but you can’t put your hands on me.”

 

Lin Chuji turned over.

 

Xie Yan lowered his standards further: “Sleeping while hugging… sleeping while lying on top of me… fine, either one.

But tying me to the bed is a bit much, don’t you think?

Right now, if I want to go to the bathroom, I have to wake you up.

Going back and forth like this, neither of us will rest well.”

 

Lin Chuji clumsily climbed off him.

 

Xie Yan compromised again: “Don’t go, alright?

Fine.

Tying me is fine too.

But untie me first, let me go take care of business, and then you can tie me up again when I come back, okay?”

 

He had humbled himself this much, but the other showed no sign of responding.

After taking two steps, Lin Chuji went back to his own bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and covered up completely.

 

Having tried every kind word and harsh argument, Xie Yan was red in the face from holding it in, but still managed to suppress his temper: “Just how long are you going to torture me?”

 

He shouldn’t have drunk so much tonight.

His hands were tied, and the other slept like the dead through all the commotion.

What he regretted most was letting Lin Chuji cross the line again and again—he must have lost his mind too.

 

And now here he was, unable to move, and the tool of the crime was his own belt.

If he told anyone, they’d think it was an internet skit.

 

Earlier, Xie Yan hadn’t dared to use force, afraid of touching him and causing more misunderstandings.

Now that the other wasn’t in the bed, he simply tensed his arms and started a violent demolition, turning his palms sideways and wrenching at the tangled belt.

 

In the quiet room, dull thuds sounded.

The iron bed frame scraped against the floor, sliding with traces of struggle.

 

Fortunately, Lin Chuji hadn’t been too ruthless.

Slowly, Xie Yan managed to create a little gap.

After five minutes, he curled his hands together and squeezed out with difficulty.

 

After all that effort, Xie Yan was drenched in sweat.

 

When he sprinted to the bathroom, he was literally one step away from exploding.

 

Xie Yan let out a long, deep sigh of relief.

His dignity had almost been lost.

 

After lying back down, he still felt a dull ache in that area from having held it in too long.

 

He couldn’t sleep, and he was utterly tormented.

 

He stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, his mind stuck on one thought: I’m not going to break from holding it in, am I?

 

At that moment, Lin Chuji—dreaming of something—timely let out a soft laugh, strikingly clear in the silent night.

 

Xie Yan turned his head and slowly ground his teeth.

“You’re done for.”

 

Lin Chuji ignored him, turned over, and once again covered his head with the blanket.

 

Xie Yan’s breath caught in his chest.

His face darkened as he maintained his last shred of dignity: “Fine.

I’ll settle this with you during the day.”

 

***

 

Nearly nine in the morning.

Xie Yan stood in front of the toilet again, sighing deeply, when he heard a voice outside the door.

 

“Buddy, let’s go eat breakfast together,” Shen Yinan called out.

 

Xie Yan slowly emerged from the bathroom.

His physiological problem hadn’t been resolved smoothly, and even his hair seemed to radiate the message that he was very unhappy right now.

 

Shen Yinan lowered his voice: “What’s wrong?

Your face looks like your hometown got bombed by the enemy.

Did your house get destroyed?”

 

Xie Yan couldn’t bring himself to say it, his resentment overflowing: “Worse than that.”

 

Hearing the commotion, Lin Chuji also woke up.

He sat on the bed, hair messy, staring into space.

His first reaction was to check his wrists—good, no new marks.

The red marks from the day before had faded.

Nothing had happened during the night.

 

Relieved, he softly greeted the three men standing at the door: “Morning.”

 

Xie Yan sat back down on his bed, legs apart, glanced sideways at the other bed, and said nothing.

 

“What’s really going on?

Did you wet the bed because you drank too much?”

Shen Yibei teased.

 

“Of course not!”

Xie Yan’s response came from deep in his gut, forceful and emphatic.

 

Lin Chuji blinked blankly.

His gaze fell on the headboard, where a twisted, buckled belt hung swaying from the iron railing.

 

He had no memory of any of it.

He only remembered falling asleep before Xie Yan came back.

 

Could it be that what you think about during the day appears in your dreams at night, and I really did tie him up in the middle of the night?

 

No way.

Lin Chuji’s eyes shifted, guilt gradually setting in.

After all, the other guy hadn’t done anything to him yet.

If Lin Chuji had made the first move, that would really be unfair.

 

The room was eerily quiet.

 

Staring at the belt, Lin Chuji slowly said, “I think I might have—”

Following his gaze, Shen Yinan had an epiphany.

 

He slapped Xie Yan hard on the back and said with deep distress: “Animal.

What did you do to him when you were drunk?

You’re utterly depraved, completely devoid of conscience!

I tried to hint at you about this yesterday, but you just didn’t listen!”

 

Lin Chuji waved his hands frantically, the more nervous he got, the worse his tongue tied: “No.”

 

Xie Yan was shocked.

“What did I do?”

 

Shen Yinan pointed at the tool of the crime.

“You definitely tied him to your bed.

Brother, that’s not okay.

This is a moral decline, a distortion of human nature!”

 

Shen Yibei joined the condemnation: “I knew you were perverted, but I didn’t know you were this perverted.

Last night you kept muttering that you wouldn’t go back until your roommate went to bed, but then you used the alcohol as an excuse to run wild.”

 

Lin Chuji’s memory was fragmented, but he could clearly see the grievance on Xie Yan’s face.

 

“Really, it’s not…” he quickly interjected.

“He didn’t do anything to me last night.”

 

Xie Yan’s dark eyes stared at him without blinking.

 

Fake it.

Keep faking it.

I know you were awake then, just watching me suffer and laughing at me, weren’t you?

 

Standing between the two beds, Shen Yinan assumed the posture of a cruise ship judge and said slowly, “It doesn’t matter.

Even though we’re his friends, if he’s done anything to you that falls outside the bounds of law and morality, we will stand on the side of justice.”

“……”

Xie Yan was speechless.

 

Snow should fall in July.

I’m more wronged than Dou E.

 

Lin Chuji moved his lips: “Really, he didn’t.

I probably did something bad in my dream.

I don’t remember it, but I didn’t mean to.”

 

Shen Yibei clearly didn’t believe him.

“You look so slender.

One of his arms is as thick as two of yours.

He looks like Prince Bullfrog.

How could you possibly tie him up with a belt?”

 

“Stereotype,” Xie Yan scoffed.

 

Lin Chuji looked at Xie Yan’s arms beneath his short sleeves.

The wheat-colored skin couldn’t hide the rope marks.

The surface was even slightly scraped.

It looked like he had been rougher than Xie Yan had been with him the other night.

There were some signs of struggle—not severe, just humiliating.

 

But fair was fair.

Two nights, one incident each.

He hadn’t gotten this angry about it.

Xie Yan was usually so easygoing—why was he suddenly so upset?

 

Xie Yan glanced sideways at him without a word.

 

Fine.

I was in the wrong last night.

Lin Chuji sincerely apologized: “I’m sorry.

What can I do to make you happy?

Can I treat you all to breakfast?”

 

Xie Yan gave him a light, dismissive glance, noble and cold: “No.

I’m going for a run.”

 

He really seemed angry.

Lin Chuji felt at a loss.

 

“Don’t take it to heart.

He’s not usually this petty,” Shen Yinan said, trying to smooth things over.

 

“See you later,” Shen Yibei said, chasing after the other two as they left.

 

Lin Chuji buried his head in the blanket and repeatedly reviewed the details.

 

Why is Xie Yan acting so annoyed and ignoring me?

He was the one who sleepwalked first.

I generously didn’t even bring it up.

Only the official can light fires, but the common people can’t even light lamps?

Tyrannical, petty, childish, vengeful, nitpicky.

 

Ughhhh but I did tie him up.

 

No, I still need to apologize.

 

He got out of bed, and just as he opened the bathroom door, he saw Xie Yan hurrying back.

 

He politely stepped aside and said softly, “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

 

Xie Yan glanced at him.

 

Lin Chuji added, “I’m not in a hurry.

If you’re in a hurry, you go first.”

 

Xie Yan: “……”

 

Good.

Now he’s openly mocking and humiliating me for last night.

 

Lin Chuji even helpfully added, “It would be bad if you hurt yourself from holding it in.”

 

Xie Yan accused him resentfully: “You’re really vicious.”

 

Lin Chuji looked confused.

“Huh?”

 

After saying that, Xie Yan turned and left empty-handed.

When he went out, the door slammed shut with a gust of wind, somewhat expressing his pent-up anger.

 

Lin Chuji murmured to himself, “No way.

Is he really that angry?”

 

***

 

At noon, the cruise ship docked at the second island.

Lin Chuji rode a bicycle around the entire island and finally spotted Xie Yan again by the sea.

 

Xie Yan was with the friends he’d met yesterday, bobbing up and down in the ocean on surfboards.

His calves were bent, his back arched.

His healthy skin was scorched hot in the sunlight, radiating the kind of vitality that only young people have.

 

Lin Chuji, holding two bottles of chilled water, stood nearby, troubled.

 

If I make a peace offering now, it’ll be easiest to let bygones be bygones.

With so many people around, Xie Yan definitely won’t refuse.

 

But the problem is exactly that—with so many people around, I don’t have the courage to give it to him.

 

He turned back and went to the drink vendor, whispering, “Could you please give them this water for me?

Just say it’s from Xiao Lin.

I won’t show myself.”

 

The vendor smiled at him.

“Doing a good deed anonymously?

Which girl are you trying to give this to?

You’re being so obvious about hiding it.”

 

Lin Chuji’s ears turned slightly red as he explained, “No, it’s not like that.

I made my roommate angry.

See that guy over there?

Once he finishes his drink, please give him another one.

Sorry for the trouble.”

 

When he used to pass by the basketball courts, he’d always see classmates giving drinks to the players.

That couldn’t be wrong.

 

The vendor asked, “There are so many guys on this beach.

Which one?”

 

“Just… the one dressed the flashiest, the handsomest.”

 

To be fair, even though Xie Yan’s personality was completely lacking in any idol-like restraint, his facial features were truly impeccable.

Lin Chuji’s simple and direct description made the target easy to identify.

 

After giving his instructions, he pulled down the brim of his cap to hide most of his face, found a beach umbrella nearby, and lay down to watch from a distance.

 

When the vendor walked over, Xie Yan and the group had just finished a round and were standing by the shore chatting.

 

Xie Yan squeezed the bottle and instantly identified the suspect: “Why didn’t Lin Chuji come himself?”

 

“He couldn’t carry it,” the vendor said with a grin.

 

Xie Yan took the water suspiciously, tilted his head back, and downed half the bottle in one go.

Then he turned around and met the eyes of the guy in the cap under the beach umbrella.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

 

Lin Chuji frantically looked away, hiding his head in the shade of the umbrella, gripping the brim of his cap tightly with both hands—extremely obvious.

 

“Idiot,” Xie Yan said, looking away.

 

The vendor dutifully brought over a new bottle after a while.

After exercising, he was indeed thirsty.

But after finishing the third bottle of water, Xie Yan started to feel something was off.

 

He crushed the empty bottle and started walking toward the ship by himself.

“You guys keep playing.

I’m going to the bathroom.”

 

The moment Xie Yan pushed open the bathroom door, the awkwardness from the previous night came rushing back.

 

Only then did he belatedly realize the meaning behind Lin Chuji’s desperate water deliveries—he was here to repeatedly flog and mock him for last night.

 

Turns out the idiot was me.

 

“f*ck.”

Xie Yan unzipped his pants with a dark expression, paused for a few seconds, still feeling humiliated.

“f*ck, f*ck, f*ck.

So embarrassing.”

 

When he returned to the beach, his anger—which he had thought was over—came surging back.

He headed straight for the beach umbrella.

 

Before he could even get close, the boy on the lounger jumped up and tried to run, not giving him a chance for a direct confrontation.

 

Xie Yan was quick and grabbed him.

“Are you getting back at me?”

 

Lin Chuji paused for a second.

“No.

I’m apologizing.”

 

Can’t you see?

I’ve been bringing you water all afternoon, dude.

 

Xie Yan transferred the cost of the water to him.

“No need for this kind of gesture.

Stop bringing it.”

 

Lin Chuji didn’t accept the money, just nodded.

“Okay.”

 

If he didn’t like it, then he wouldn’t do it.

He still had that much sense.

 

Thinking about the previous night’s situation, Xie Yan felt annoyed and said, “I think we should keep some distance between us.”

 

Lin Chuji blinked slowly.

 

What’s the big deal?

Why are you so hung up on it?

 

He hadn’t been looking to make friends in the first place, and besides, this guy sleepwalked at night.

So he went along with it: “Fine.

For the next few days, we’ll each do our own thing.

No bothering each other.”

 

Xie Yan felt even more displeased by this cold, aloof attitude.

 

He was a straight guy who had been put through the wringer for two nights.

He had kindly played the ex-boyfriend substitute and hadn’t even received a thank-you.

No conscience.

 

Seeing that Xie Yan hadn’t moved, Lin Chuji asked, “Is there something else?”

 

Xie Yan mimicked his expression, his tone equally detached: “No.

Farewell.”

 

***

 

That evening, the cruise ship held a masquerade party.

Everyone changed into different clothes than usual to disguise themselves.

Xie Yan wasn’t in the mood—Lin Chuji had left him feeling blocked and unsettled all day.

 

The Shen brothers forcibly changed his clothes and dragged him in from both sides.

They wore one black and one white, with Chinese-style masks, looking like the Black and White Impermanences come to claim a soul.

 

“Since you’re already here…”

“It’s the holidays…”

 

“Paying New Year’s greetings eight months early, waiting for your dad to give you red envelope money?”

Xie Yan mocked.

 

Both brothers held out their hands in unison.

“Dad, where’s the money?”

 

“Get lost.”

Xie Yan grabbed a samurai mask at random, put it on, pushed through the noisy crowd, and his gaze landed directly on the central bar, fixing there.

 

A circle of people surrounded it.

Even the ship’s professional bartender stood with arms crossed, eyes focused on the guest in the middle who was mixing drinks.

 

That person wore a large raven-feather mask.

The ornate, flamboyant feathers covered most of his already small face, blurring even his gender.

Only the shape of his lips was visible—the lip bead round, reddish, slightly parted, looking enticing.

 

Standing in the middle of the crowd, he lowered his eyes and shook the shaker idly.

 

When he raised his arm, his black shirt lifted, revealing a stretch of his narrow waist.

The man in the floral shirt nearby went completely still, staring blankly.

 

Xie Yan’s gaze followed.

On the side of that waist was a faint, crescent-shaped scar.

He had seen it once on the first night and recognized it immediately.

 

“Lin Chuji?”

He called out the man’s name.

 

“Holy crap.

You can recognize him even with that much cover?

Your eyes must have X-ray vision,” Shen Yinan said, astonished.

 

Shen Yibei looked over as well and observed, “Xiao Lin’s style today is a bit different from during the day.

I thought he was pretty cool and aloof before, didn’t like crowds.

But he can actually mix drinks?

And he feels so… so…”

 

He couldn’t find the right word and got stuck.

 

“Another ‘minor, unremarkable skill’?”

Xie Yan said thoughtfully. Cooking last time, mixing drinks now.

He knows quite a bit.

He’s a loner, but he can still have fun by himself.

 

He hadn’t known Lin Chuji long, but he could tell he didn’t like being the center of attention and got embarrassed easily from a few words.

 

The only moment that resembled this was the first night, when Lin Chuji had hooked his neck and commanded, “Don’t move.”

 

Does wearing a mask make him bolder?

 

The urge to tease him resurfaced.

 

Xie Yan completely forgot that he had been indignantly determined to draw a clear line with Lin Chuji that afternoon.

He strolled over slowly, leaned on the bar, said nothing, and just watched Lin Chuji like everyone else.

 

Feeling the gaze, Lin Chuji looked up and met his eyes.

 

The other’s gaze came through the hard, sharp mask—open and direct.

Even though he couldn’t see his face, being exposed like this in front of so many people made Lin Chuji’s heart flutter.

His hand trembled, spilling a little wine.

 

Exposed in the first round, Xie Yan laughed lowly: “A paper tiger.”

 

The crowd was noisy.

Lin Chuji didn’t catch the words.

His gaze fell on the lit screen beneath the counter, repeatedly reciting Step 3 of A Guide to Saving a Social Phobic: When training yourself to make eye contact with strangers, be bold, be resolute, and wear a smile.

 

So he took a deep breath and looked back in that direction again, slowly raising the corners of his lips with stiffness.

 

Good.

Don’t panic.

The guide said wearing a mask can reduce nervousness, and sure enough—

“What are you looking at?

Want the same one as mine?”

The other person tapped his own mask.

“Then take yours off first.

We’ll trade.”

 

Lin Chuji: “……”

 

The other’s voice had a youthful clarity, with a drawl at the end and a distinctive way of pronouncing words.

Lin Chuji immediately confirmed that it was that bastard Xie Yan.

 

Wrong choice of training subject.

I forgot he’s an extrovert.

How do I respond to this?

 

A large crowd had gathered.

The man in the floral shirt, who had been standing there from the start, sidled up to ingratiate himself: “Look at me instead.

I knew from the moment I saw you that we have a connection.

It must have taken five hundred brushes past each other in a past life to bring us to this meeting today.”

 

So greasy.

Lin Chuji resisted the urge to throw a drink in his face.

 

The floral shirt man persisted, speaking in a deliberately lowered, breathy voice: “Give me that drink you’re mixing.

Or let me pay for it.”

 

“I’m not a professional bartender here.

Aren’t you afraid I’ll poison it?”

Lin Chuji didn’t stop his hands.

 

The man laughed.

“I’m not afraid.

Let me drink it.

A beauty mixing drinks—I’d die happy.”

 

Lin Chuji didn’t respond.

He just looked down at Step 4 of the social phobia guide: Free yourself, be bold, break the awkward distance with a nearby topic, and learn the courage to face embarrassment.

 

He scrolled down further.

For example: When you run into a crush at first sight on the street, here’s what a social phobic can do…

 

The example wasn’t quite appropriate, but roughly he could borrow the phrasing and techniques.

He had come here wearing a mask to mix drinks precisely because he wanted to learn to overcome his social anxiety.

 

Lin Chuji gently placed a lemon slice.

“Fine.

I’ll give it to you.”

 

“Right.

I knew you were playing hard to get—”

Before the floral shirt man could finish, he saw the beautiful bartender’s lips curl up slightly.

Slender fingers pushed the wine glass, sliding it toward the young man who had just spoken—deliberately going against his own advances.

 

Xie Yan looked at the drink before him and raised the corner of his mouth.

“For me?”

 

Lin Chuji silently recited: It’s fine if he refuses.

I’m wearing a mask.

He can’t recognize me.

So what if I embarrass myself?

 

“Yeah.

I’ve been watching you for a while.

I actually mixed it specially for you.”

His voice was softer now, with a gentle intimacy that contrasted with his previous coldness.

 

The floral shirt man’s hand hung in midair, his face full of embarrassment.

 

“I don’t drink,” Xie Yan refused.

 

One night of shame is enough.

Whoever drinks again is a dog.

 

“Just try it.

It’s not strong.

It’ll just make you a little tipsy.

I put a lot of work into it.

If you don’t drink it, it’ll go to waste.”

As he said this, Lin Chuji followed the guide’s instructions: he leaned forward, closing the distance.

Then he added, very stiffly, “It even has a nice name.

It’s called ‘Flame’s on Fire.’”

Xie Yan thought, That sounds like one of those flirty, coy pick-up lines online.

So this is what Lin Chuji is like when he’s trying to charm someone.

 

Wait a minute.

Is he treating me, someone in a mask, as Substitute Number Two?

He said this afternoon that we’d leave each other alone.

So has he already moved on to his next target?

Just how much do I look like his ex-boyfriend?

He found me again even with this much disguise.

 

Xie Yan put his hand on the glass, stared into Lin Chuji’s calm yet alluring eyes, and slowly pushed it away.

 

This practice of having a backup for every person he sees should be strongly condemned.

Draw a clear line.

Don’t go soft and indulge him any—

“Really not going to drink it?”

Lin Chuji was a bit dejected.

Then he recalled a form of address that had briefly appeared in the guide.

He hesitated for a second, then tried softly: “…Gege?”

 

Xie Yan immediately sat up straight and downed the drink in one go.

“…Finished.

Good mix.”

 

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