Part Eleven: Inner Circle (1)

Xia Zhi’s life was going quite well lately. Although there were some prejudiced individuals in the company, he was on rather friendly terms with the coworkers in his department. It was then he found out there was someone gay among his colleagues—the buff guy who had jumped out from the pile of documents that one time.

“You really couldn’t tell?” The buff guy’s name was Mi Jian’an. All four of his limbs were extremely built. Just judging by his figure, he was unquestionably a beefcake. “I trim my brows and wear women’s perfume. Is your gaydar broken? The entire department knows I’m gay!”

“Of course I knew, I just wasn’t completely sure. After all, you’re…uh, really manly at work.”

Xia Zhi smiled but he was feeling depressed. Perhaps he had inherited his mother’s ostrich-mentality. He honestly hadn’t discovered there was someone gay among his colleagues, though it was possible that he subconsciously overlooked it. Because this man had beautiful buttocks, Xia Zhi had even privately fantasized about him before, imagining them messing around in the bathroom while casually acting like nothing had happened during work. At the thought of him now, Xia Zhi was dying to find a hole to hide in.

“It’s called charisma!”

The beefcake threw him a flirty look, making Xia Zhi shudder and recall how it was always these beefcakes who handled the work that the “clerical” ones couldn’t. It was impossible to reconcile that scenario with a gay man!

“But you’ve hidden it really deep!” The beefcake looked him up and down. “I couldn’t tell you were gay either!” He paused for a moment, his eyes sparkling. “And you even had an affair with Bai Min.”

“There’s nothing between me and Bai Min.” Xia Zhi’s expression shifted and he said angrily, “You’d better not ever bring up that guy’s name in front of me!”

“So you’re not going to watch his movie that recently came out?”

“No!”

“I’ll treat.”

“No!”

“It’s an IMAX 3D showing.”

“Date and time?”

Ye Qia looked at Xia Zhi’s face and said calmly, “And that’s how you ended up inviting me to the movies?”

“Nevermind that, the film and the person are unrelated.” Xia Zhi said ingratiatingly, “Let’s go, let’s go, we haven’t watched a movie in so long.”

Just as Ye Qia was about to respond, Mother Xia emerged from the bathroom carrying a freshly bathed Michelle Junior. She asked, “You’re going to the movies?”

“Yes.” Ye Qia said smoothly. “Would auntie like to join?”

“No, those young people movies make me dizzy.” Just as Mother Xia was distracted for just a moment, Michelle Junior jumped down and made a beeline for the balcony. She promptly threw all thoughts of her son to the back of her mind as she yelled and chased after Michelle Junior. Regarding the cleanliness of a son’s home, a mother could never be satisfied. Mother Xia seemed to have decided to do a deep clean before leaving.

Ye Qia looked at Mother Xia’s retreating figure brimming with vitality and lamented, “Your mother’s ability to turn a blind eye is truly rare.”

“Don’t ridicule my mom!” Xia Zhi glared, then lowered his voice. “Are you coming or not?”

Ye Qia was silent for a moment before fishing out two tickets from his pocket.

Xia Zhi skeptically received them for a look. Immediately his expression recoiled as if he had touched something disgusting and he crumpled up the tickets before throwing them away. He seized Ye Qia’s collar and said angrily, “Bai Min gave them to you?”

Ye Qia smiled faintly, saying, “It’s the premiere. You’ll be able to meet celebrities.”

“I’m not going!” Xia Zhi shouted furiously, “You had the balls to accept something from him? You traitor!”

“Don’t you like this leading actor?”

“I’m still not going!”

“The film and the person are unrelated.”

“Bai Min is also attending the premiere, isn’t he?”

“I can tell Magician to come with me.”

“That’s not allowed either!”

Ye Qia moved in front of Xia Zhi and coaxed in a warm, lowered voice, “You’ll be able to see celebrities and you won’t need to see Bai Min. I’ll even treat you to a meal. There will be coffee and steak. Are you really not going?”

In the face of a “stick and carrot” offense, Xia Zhi’s bravado was immediately cut down. He swallowed and said, “Can you guarantee Bai Min won’t appear?”

Ye Qia leaned forward. “If you don’t believe in me, then you should at least believe in Magician’s ability to strike someone, yes?”

Xia Zhi’s momentum continued to stall. He desperately tried to resist those alluring phoenix eyes. “What, can’t you bring someone other than Magician?”

“I’m afraid not. Doesn’t your mom already believe that Magician is my boyfriend?” Greeted by Xia Zhi’s silence, Ye Qia threw out one last bait. “If you don’t go, then I’ll go with Magician.”

Xia Zhi finally gave in. “I’m going!”

Ye Qia smiled and gave him a soft kiss.

“What are you two doing?” Xia Zhi’s mother was standing right in the doorway of the room.

“Xiao Xia spilled soup on his collar.” Ye Qia said calmly, “I’m helping him wipe up.”

“Sorry for the trouble, this child is always making others worry.”

“It’s okay, auntie. We’re good friends after all.”

Xia Zhi: “…”

Ultimately, those who attended the premiere were Magician, Xia Zhi, Ye Qia, and Mi Jian’an. Regarding the composition of this group, Ye Qia was speechless. At the same time, he repeatedly side-eyed Mi Jian’an’s arm on Xia Zhi’s shoulders. Mi Jian’an was thrilled to meet the protagonist of the scandal and kept winking at Xia Zhi, making Xia Zhi extremely nervous.

Once the premiere was underway, everything was forgotten. Xia Zhi was preoccupied with taking photos of celebrities as well as thinking of a way to shake hands with the lead actor. He especially liked the gay film this actor starred in, and he himself was a self-proclaimed lifelong fanboy. Bai Min did not appear. After having fun for a while, Xia Zhi went and enjoyed the movie, noticing nothing out of the ordinary until the curtain call.

“Why are they standing on stage?” After a few minutes, Xia Zhi, who felt the mood was not right, leaned into Mi Jian’an’s ear and asked quietly, “Why isn’t it ending?”

“Maybe they’re waiting for someone?” Contrary to his usual fierce and muscular look, Mi Jian’an was wearing a pink bunny shirt. He clutched his heart and said dreamily, “I think it’s him!”

“Who?”

“Him! It’s him!”

Xia Zhi hadn’t yet reacted from “it’s him” when Bai Min walked out from the side of the screen. Under the shine of the spotlight, he walked directly in front of the spot where Ye Qia was sitting. He didn’t even have time to reproach Ye Qia. Just when he was about to make a move and disrupt things, Magician had already rushed out in front of him, embracing Bai Min in one motion and kissing him!

Bai Min was clearly struggling, the knuckles of his fingers white with exertion. Magician’s strength wasn’t one that the average person could resist.

Flashes converged in a sea of white light. The entire audience, countless cell phones, and several media outlets bore witness to this historic moment. Magician knelt down on one knee, holding up a ring, and said with deep emotion, “Darling, I can no longer bear waiting for you in secrecy. Will you marry me?”

Xia Zhi’s jaw dropped.

On the front page of the next day’s newspaper: Smoke Bomb Dissipates, Famous Director’s Secret Lover Exposed, Proposal On the Spot, Will The Long-Running Many Years of Love Bear Fruit?!

Xia Zhi silently glanced at his phone, saying, “I recall Magician hasn’t come out of the closet yet, right?”

Ye Qia shrugged. “He thought your experience coming out wasn’t bad, so he decided to come out.”

“…”

The world of doms was truly different. Xia Zhi sighed in lament.

“By the way, there’s going to be a big gathering in the circle soon. Do you want to come?”

Xia Zhi lazily responded, “Another cult ceremony?”

“No.” Ye Qia smiled faintly. “There will be perky butts, large pecs, leather outfits, a dance floor, and live performances.”

Xia Zhi’s eyes immediately lit up.

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