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The bride admitted that she was already three months pregnant.

She begged for a wedding date and to give the baby her last name. For some reason, it seemed to Wei that this was not a wedding, but his funeral. The trap was slowly but inexorably closing with no hope of escape.

He could only challenge paternity after the baby was born, and until then he had to pretend to be a happy husband for another six months. Wei thought again about Ling and how it would affect him-"damn!"

Ling and his boss were relaxing at the bowling alley. Zhou Lian was quiet and sat on the couch, sipping a beer without looking back. There was no way Bin could relax his arm and was making mistakes with his throws.

Ling tried to show him how to do it right, but his friend stubbornly wouldn't listen and repeated his mistakes. Then Lian got up and walked over to him. He took him by the wrist and shook him several times.

"You're very stiff," he said.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Bin cut him off, pulling his arm out.

Nervous in Lian's presence, he grabbed the ball, but it slipped from his sweaty hands and fell on his foot.

Everyone got all flustered. Lian had to pick Bin up and carry him to the car. Tears welled up in Bin's eyes, and he struggled to control himself. Behind him ran Ling with their things.

Bin got a crack and his leg was rolled into a cast.

He sat on the couch in his living room and sulked: "if only Lian hadn't grabbed my arm! What's the big deal about him grabbing my hand? Why do I have such a reaction to mere touching?"

He always reacted acutely to his friend's jokes. But isn't it normal for friends to make jokes about each other sometimes?

But why did he have these exact feelings?

Bin grabbed the passing Ling's arm:

"You know what pisses me off?"

"Hmm?" Ling stopped.

"I can't stand it when Zhou makes a fuss and then backs off and pretends he didn't mean any of it and none of it means anything!"

"You now look like a kid who was teased with a candy bar but then laughingly taken back," Ling said.

"But it's true! You understand me! It pisses the hell out of me!"

Ling silently brought him some yogurt and some fruit. Slicing them up, he set them in front of Bin and took a slice himself. The man also took a piece and looked at Ling and asked:

"How did you know that....that you like men?"

Ling was embarrassed for a moment. It was too frank a question to answer without thinking. Pulling himself together, he answered:

"Make no mistake, I don't like men, how should I put it," Ling searched for the right words, "it's just that once I realized that I liked a particular man, and the fact that he was a man was a secondary issue."

"Is that so?" Bin chewed his apple thoughtfully, "and how did you know you liked him?"

Ling stared at him in bewilderment but then sighed.

"How do you like people in general?" He asked, "you catch yourself thinking about someone more and more, literally every spare minute. You just can't stop."

"What else?" Looking through Ling, Bin asked.

"You also start worrying about that person and putting their interests ahead of yours."

"I see. And more?"

"More?" Ling was perplexed. It seemed to him that these were commonplace truths.

"Yes, what else?" Tai Bin insisted thoughtfully.

Ling fell silent and suddenly his cheeks flushed.

"What's the matter?" Bin grabbed his arm, but immediately let go.

"There's something else," Ling said quietly.

"What is it?"

"Ahem," Ling coughed.

"?"

"It's a reaction."

"What? What reaction?"

"Well, the reaction of your body..."

Bin waited incomprehensibly for an explanation.

Ling sighed again.

"Let's say I like you, I think about you, I sincerely wish you happiness and am willing to sacrifice my comfort for you, but your touch does not arouse any feelings in me."

Bin still looked uncomprehending.

"You don't excite me, okay?!" almost lost his temper, Ling exclaimed and jumped up from his seat.

"Oh, that's it..." It seemed like Bin had finally realized something.

"Is that all?" Ling said impatiently.

Ling nodded back at him and continued mechanically eating the fruit.

"What a retard," thought Ling and walked away to the balcony.

The two were like a blind man with a deaf man. Zhou Lian was well aware of his crush and his desires, while Bin was impossibly slow, refusing to see the obvious.

But for all his resistance, Lian refused to accept such a reality and continued to pave the way for himself in his heart.

Ling had never wanted to be a matchmaker for anyone, but now these two were making his heart itch and for the first time, he felt the urge to help in love.

He guessed that Bin was not indifferent to Liag either, but how much, only Tai Bin himself could know.

One thing was clear, the man had to mature on his own, come to his senses, and make his decision. It is not right to push him into a relationship.

Thus, the initiator takes responsibility, and Ling didn't want that. But what was all that questioning just now?

Did Bin want to know something about him or... about himself?

****

Ling went to work alone and had to fill in for the boss all day. It made the day seem endless and stressful. Barely moving his feet, he returned home.

Lian and Bin were sitting on the couch. They said hello, raising their right hands in sync. Ling smiled, "two peas in a pod," and went to wash up.

The whole time Bin wore the cast, the detective was constantly taking care of him. Ling took over his work duties, so there was nothing else he could do.

When he finally got home, he was sure to catch them together.

Not knowing how far Lian had progressed in his relationship with Bin, the young man preferred not to interfere in their affairs.

That evening, Bin and Lian, covered by the same plaid, were talking about something on the balcony. "Fine," thought Ling and went to sleep.

He woke up because Bin was hovering over him like a ghost.

"What?!" jumped up Ling.

"I felt it!" Bin's eyes shone like stars.

"What felt..."

Ling suddenly understood what Bin had told him and slowly lowered his eyes to his groin.

Even in the dark, he could see that something was awake there, and he covered his eyes with his hand.

Why did he look? Looking at Bin with annoyance, he couldn't find the words.

"Was that a "yes?" Bin whispered.

"Well, from your side yes, but what about his?"

It was then that Bin realized that Ling knew everything. He felt uncomfortable and, wishing him to rest in peace, he retreated from the room.

No sooner had Ling closed his eyes than the situation repeated itself. This time Lian was looming over him.

"What now?" A distraught Ling couldn't sleep. He sat down on the bed and wrapped himself in a blanket.

"What did Bin want? Is he mad at me?" Lian whispered.

"Angry? Did you do something wrong?"

"Well, I stood on the balcony with him and... kissed him."

"And he?" Ling wondered, and his sleep vanished.

"He froze at first, and then he ran to you. Why the hell did he run to you, would you tell me?!"

"News to tell me," Ling laughed silently.

"???" It seemed like a pile of muscle was about to explode with anticipation.

"That he's got a hard-on for you," Ling continued to laugh, and, patting the detective on the shoulder, shoved him out of the room, locking the door.

The next day passed like the previous ones. Ling came home late and was immediately seized by Tai Bin.

After surrendering to his entreaties, they locked themselves in Ling's room. After asking about how things were going at work, Bin became nervous and became quiet.

"What's up?!" Ling couldn't stand it, "what more do you want to ask?"

He immediately regretted it. After all, what else was of interest to this big kid who had discovered a new world?

"I'm sorry... I was wondering if you could tell me how men do it," he blushed thickly.

Ling rolled his eyes. The two of them were driving him crazy. Couldn't they have been looking for a video? What exactly is bothering him? What does he want to know?

"Look, I'm not that person. The first time, I just went with the flow..." Ling thought he'd said it frankly enough, and stopped talking.

"Did it hurt the first time?" Bin asked.

Ling nodded. Bin sullenly lowered his head. Suddenly Ling felt very sorry for him.

He pulled himself together and decided to give him some advice, at the risk of regretting it again.

"My first time was when Wey was drugged. He wasn't thinking straight and didn't care how I felt. It hurt, but I wanted it, so I didn't regret it."

Bin listened without interrupting.

"The second time happened in Mexico. Then he was in his head and tried not to hurt me. I was still uncomfortable at first, but in the end, it worked out well."

Bin was still silent, greedily absorbing his words.

"For the third time, he bought lube. It made me feel better, but that's not the main thing... What matters is your compatibility and how you adjust to each other. Simply tell me when I don't have to go home, I'll sleep at work," Ling tossed and ran out of the bedroom all red.

Those two! How tired he was! On the other hand, why is he angry that someone wants and can be happy?

Because Ling can't? Because, remembering his experience with Wei, he suddenly felt dizzy and his heart pounded painfully.

"Wei, where are you?" Ling rubbed his wrist and stared into the darkness. Lian appeared on the threshold.

The young man looked at him and disappeared into his room.

Turning on the computer, Ling indifferently flipped through the news, and his eyes darkened!