“You look really handsome,” Zhixiang whispered into Yixing’s ear as they walked into the restaurant, his hand resting on the small of his back. Yixing thanked him with a small smile as he looked down at his outfit, a pure white suit with tan dress shoes, all picked out specifically by his boyfriend. His typically soft bowl of hair was pulled back with gel, revealing the shaved sides, and the single silver earring on his left ear. He was normally a humble person, never taking compliments immediately, but he had to admit--he really did look handsome. It was a stark contrast to the clothes he often wore. The long table the couple was escorted to already sat some men, only a few that Yixing could actually recognize. They all wore suits that could pay Yixing’s rent for three years, and he suddenly felt underdressed (even though, Zhixiang had bought him a rather expensive suit and shoes). Zhixiang pulled out a chair for Yixing to sit before settling next to him, his hand already finding Yixing’s on the table. “You can order anything you want. Get the most expensive drink you can, if you want,” Zhixiang said simply with a smile.
    Yixing nodded, but internally sighed. He would probably end up getting a salad and a single glass of water. He stared down at the menu before he saw Zhixiang stand out of the corner of his eye, finding him bowing before shaking the hands of a couple of men. Yixing smiled and stood to bow slightly, Zhixiang already introducing them. “This is Wu Lei and Wu Yifan,” he said, then smiled. “They’re not relatives, but we do call them the Wu brothers.”
    “Nice to meet you two,” Yixing smiled, bowing his head again, “I’m Zhang Yixing.”
    Zhixiang gestured to the taller of the two, whose brown hair was slicked with gel. A black turtleneck sat under his blue suit. “Yifan is the journalist who I was telling you about.”
    Yifan held out his large hand over the table for Yixing to shake, which he gladly accepted. “I haven’t been working with Zhixiang for awhile, but it’s been great.”
    Yixing couldn’t help the smile that floated to his lips when he saw Yifan speak, his lips curved into a very gummy smile. “What exactly do you do for the company?”
    “I’m writing articles for some magazines. Wo Chen is really rising up in the country right now, so it’s my job to give it more publicity,” Yifan leaned his chin on his palm. “What do you do for a living, Yixing? Zhixiang doesn’t really have the time to talk about you to me.”
    “I’m a dance instructor at the college,” he replied. It wasn’t exactly as glorious as working at a fashion design firm, but it wasn’t like he was going to lie.
    Yifan smiled, and Yixing just had to smile back.

    The night rolled on with talking and laughter across the whole table, everyone talking in small groups with the people around him. Zhixiang did most of the talking, either to Wu Lei or the others around him, but he occasionally started a conversation with Yixing and Yifan. Other than that, Yixing and Yifan only spoke to each other. Since Yixing had no knowledge of his boyfriend’s job, he didn’t have much to add to the topics that the others talked about. Yifan didn’t mind. Even with his styled hair and expensive suit, he seemed like a normal person to him. None of his boyfriend’s other co-workers put that impression on him. “Where are you from, Yixing?" Yifan asked after taking a sip of his white wine.
    “Changsha.”
    “What are you doing in Shanghai, then?”
    Yixing swirled his wine around the glass. “It’s kind of a long story.”
    “I’m all ears.”
    Yixing smiled at him. “Originally I came here for college. I was going to go home after graduating, but I reunited with some of my friends, and one of them introduced me to Zhixiang, and the rest is history,” Yixing took a sip then put the glass down, “Where are you from?”
    “Guangzhou.”
    He grinned, “What are you doing in Shanghai?”
    “Well, mine’s a little long too.”
    “You have the floor.”
    “I moved to Canada when I was young, and after college I decided to move here. I felt like I could make it with journalism and photography here more than in Guangzhou.”
    “Oooh, so you speak English?”
    Yifan nodded.
    “Yixing,” Zhixiang’s voice was in his ear, and Yixing realized he was smiling rather wide. He looked over at the elder with a his lips falling back into a straight line. “Do you want another glass of wine?” he asked.
    “Um,” he looked at the wine glass, the purple liquid already gone, “I guess so.”
    Zhixiang laughed under his breath, “You get talkative when you drink. Keep that in mind, Yifan.”
    Yifan laughed lightly before turning back to Yixing, “You’re already pretty talkative with just one drink.”
    “Maybe I just like to talk to you.”
    The chuckle from the taller man made Yixing’s heart speed up.

***

    “You should have gotten his number,” Luhan said through the cereal he was crunching on, lounging on Yixing’s couch. The younger bounced his leg in the chair next to him, staring at the television that was playing a soccer match.
    “I have a boyfriend,” Yixing muttered at the idea.
    “So? You have other guys’ numbers in your phone already,” the elder remarked, dropping his bowl onto the table. “Are you worried Zhixiang’s gonna get possessive or something?”
    “Kind of.”
    Luhan scowled and sat up on the couch, kicking his feet onto the tabletop. “Just break up with him already.”
    “Can you not, Luhan?” Yixing spat, eyes narrowing at the elder, “You’ve never been in a real relationship before.”
    “Well, excuse me. I thought you wanted my advice.”
    “Not when your advice is stupid.”
    “You know, I’m really hurt.”
    Yixing let out an annoyed puff of air and collapsed back into the loveseat, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t know what to do, and he was really starting to get sick of saying that out loud. He loved Zhixiang. He really did. He really did. He told himself this every time he doubted their relationship. He knew Zhixiang loved him more than anything in the world, and he knew the elder always cared about his happiness.
    When Yixing was twenty-two, being with Zhixiang was like being a teenager that was just stricken with love. He was like a puppy following the elder around and dedicating himself to him. At that time, Yixing was something of a beggar. He would plead with Zhixiang to help him with payments. He would even urge the elder to buy him more material things, but it was honestly things Yixing needed. The elder had bought him his current guitar, and numerous other things to better his career. Back then, Yixing didn’t think much on how he would always end up in bed with Zhixiang after a purchase. It wasn’t until they were further along in their relationship that he first heard the term “sugar daddy” from Tao. Then he realized that the relationship probably wasn’t only about love.
    “There’s a soccer game on Saturday. Maybe you should come and volunteer. Could get your mind off Zhixiang and this Yifan guy for a bit,” Luhan announced, shaking Yixing from his thoughts.
    “Sure.”
    “I can introduce you to Minseok, too,” the sandy blond grinned.
    “And who is that?”
    “My future lover, remember? He’s Korean. I thought there was something off about his Mandarin.”
    “Why is he coming to a youth soccer match?” Yixing asked, glancing at the elder.
    Luhan jumped up on the sofa, curling up with his legs beneath him. Yixing and Tao always called this his gossip stance. “He’s super sweet. He barely uses his money for himself. He donates a lot of it to charity. So, when I told him what I do, he asked if there was anyone he could help,” Luhan grinned, “He’s so sweet, Yixing! I want to his .”
    He rolled his eyes, so far back he bet Luhan could only see the whites of them. “What’s his job, anyway?”
    “Well. He may or may not work for Wo Chen and he may or may not be Zhixiang’s superior.”
    Yixing threw the remote at him.

***

    The rain that had been giving everyone trouble in the recent days luckily subsided on that Saturday, but the field was still muddy as Yixing made his way across it. The blue awnings held tables of water bottles and snacks, and some had fliers to invite sign-ups for the next season. Luhan was already there, and so was his lilac-haired “bank”. When Yixing got to the tent, Luhan was uncharacteristically happy. “Yixing! You actually came!,” he gestured to Minseok, who was a good couple of centimeters shorter than Luhan, “This is Minseok.”
    “Yixing,” he smiled as he shook the shorter man’s hand.
    “You’re Luhan’s best friend, huh. He said you’re a dance instructor?”
    “Yeah, that’s me,” he nodded, a short sigh leaving him.
    “Do you want to put out some more water bottles? I need to talk to the team,” Luhan interrupted, jutting his thumb to the few kids who were kicking around their balls, “The game starts in ten minutes.”
    Minseok and Yixing both nodded and moved to tear open another flat of bottles.

    “So how did you meet Luhan?” Minseok chimed as they sat in the fabric folding chairs, watching as Luhan blew a whistle to initiate the game.
    “We went to summer camp together. I think I was ten? We were in the same cabin, and everyone else was older than us, so we buddied up. Same with our other friend, Tao, he was like, seven or eight.”
    “Wow, so you’ve been friends with him for almost your whole life.”
    “Pretty much,” Yixing smiled, “Couldn’t imagine not having him in my life, to be honest.”
    Minseok smiled too, and turned to watch the game. “That’s sweet.”
    “So why did you decide to hang out with him?” Yixing asked. As soon as it left his mouth, he regretted it.
    Minseok shrugged his shoulders, a lazy grin on his lips. “He seems really nice. I’d love to get to know him better.”
    There was a lot Yixing wanted to say against that. Especially since he knew a lot about Luhan’s ual escapades. But he held his tongue. Best not to ruin Luhan’s life anymore.

***

    Yixing laid back in Zhixiang’s bed with his phone screen illuminating the dark room. He didn’t know why, but his body brought him to his boyfriend’s home rather than his own. His plush, Queen-sized bed sounded a lot more inviting than his own anyway. His thumbs danced across the screen as Zhixiang shifted in bed. The elder wasn’t asleep, Yixing could tell, so he didn’t mind the cool light that Yixing was trying to hide from his face. He texted Luhan: I approve of Minseok.
    The elder’s reply came only a few breaths after: Thanks, Mom.
    I’m serious. He wants to get to know you better. Go out on a real date with him soon.
    Can you come with me?
    Yixing laughed softly. What am I, your wingman?
    No. I don’t want to go out with him on a real date yet, you know? If I invite him along with you, it’ll be okay.
    Whatever happened to your confidence, Xiao Lu?
    Don’t mock me. I’ll text you details tomorrow.

    Yixing woke up late in the morning to a kiss on the forehead. When he opened his eyes, Zhixiang wasn’t there, and he assumed the elder had rushed out, late for work. His cellphone was almost vibrating its way off the nightstand before Yixing caught it, finding that Luhan kept his promise of texting him the plans.
    Minseok loves comfort food! He’s so cute.
    This is good too. I can’t let him know that I can’t afford anything fancy.
    We’re going to that old dumpling shop in downtown.
    Be ready by one! We’ll see you there.
    Yixing glanced at the clock and found he only had half an hour to get ready and walk across the city.